Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 306: With Such a Scholar, This May Be Reported to His Majesty
“Silence! State your reason clearly and hand it over to the clerks beside you for submission. If this happens again, you will be severely punished!”
Hearing this rebuke from Xu Jie, the Assistant Examiner’s surging passion finally cooled down, and his usual composure and calmness regained control of his body. Right, he had almost forgotten about the procedure for grading papers. Recommending a paper, especially a high recommendation, followed a specific process.
Really, he had almost caused trouble. Being reprimanded himself was no big deal, but if this test paper was affected because of him, that would be a grave sin.
Calm down. I must stay calm.
The Assistant Examiner took a deep breath, steadied himself, sat upright, reopened the paper, and focused on it again. Since he intended to give it a strong recommendation, he needed to explain why—and he could not base that judgment on a single eight-legged essay. He had to read the entire paper carefully.
After reading the first essay, he found it extraordinarily brilliant, standing out like a crane among chickens, like a dragon soaring through the fields.
He continued to the second essay. “Only in the bitter cold do we see that the pine and cypress are the last to wither.” This piece used objects to express ambition, hitting the core—it was also a rare, excellent essay.
Then came the third piece. Like the first one, the examiner only needed to read the opening line: “The Way of the Sage is great and has its roots; the scholar must reach it step by step.” This opening line hit the mark with stunning precision, like a meteor streaking across the sky. The examiner’s blood, just cooled down, was nearly boiling again. If Xu Jie’s scolding hadn’t still echoed in his ears, he would have slapped the table and praised it aloud.
Forcing himself to be patient, the examiner read the entire test paper from beginning to end, then let out a heavy sigh.
If this paper isn’t highly recommended, I would be failing the Emperor!
“Our dynasty established the Northern and Southern Capitals, implementing the grand design of the world. The virtue of successive emperors has laid the foundation for ten thousand years. This essay speaks of these matters and has captured the people’s hearts. To rectify the ruler’s heart according to the teachings of Confucius and Mencius—this shows insight. To obtain such a scholar—this can be reported to His Majesty.”
The Assistant Examiner wrote out his reasons for the strong recommendation in one go, then carefully handed them to the clerk waiting beside him. The clerk passed the paper to Deputy Examiner Yan Maoqing.
This was the grading procedure: an Assistant Examiner recommended a paper, then the Deputy Examiner and Chief Examiner reviewed it in sequence. The paper’s fate ultimately rested with those two. If the Deputy Examiner approved, he wrote the character “取” (“accept”) on the vermilion copy in black ink. The Chief Examiner then reviewed it; if he also approved, he wrote “中” (“pass”), and the paper was selected.
Of course, if the Deputy Examiner disapproved, he could reject the recommendation, and the paper would be discarded. At that point, the Chief Examiner had the right to override and accept the paper. However, the Chief Examiner usually did not exercise this power, as it would embarrass the Deputy Examiner.
The paper reached Yan Maoqing’s hands. He opened the highly recommended paper and glanced at the comment written by the Assistant Examiner.
It’s just a test paper. Why get so emotional? Even writing “To obtain such a scholar—this can be reported to His Majesty”—is that really necessary? Yan Maoqing held clear disdain for the over-the-top reaction.
However, when Yan Maoqing opened the paper and began reading the main text, he could no longer remain calm.
If the paper were merely excellent, it could be accepted—nothing more. But the problem was, it was too excellent. So excellent that it could contend for the top scorer of the examination! From the beginning of grading until now, there were few papers that could compare.
No—if this paper was selected, what would happen to the eldest son of Grand Secretary Yan’s brother-in-law?
But if it isn’t selected, wouldn’t that be blatant favoritism? Moreover, Xu Jie kept glancing at the paper—it was clear he was paying close attention. Damn it! It was that Assistant Examiner’s overly excited reaction that drew so much attention to this paper—now it’s hard to sabotage it discreetly!
Who cares about the Assistant Examiner or Xu Jie? Clinging to Elder Yan’s leg is the real way forward!
No. I can’t let it pass.
But I need a reason. That’s not hard. I’m good at nitpicking.
Just because you did well in the first round doesn’t mean your other answers are good too.
Yan Maoqing therefore turned to the paper from the second session. Its practical official writing was polished and experienced, leaving him no obvious fault to seize on. He continued until he reached the key item in this session: the Qingci. Qingci ritual petitions were not easy to write well. Yan Maoqing himself had once practiced them diligently, hoping to win imperial favor and rise as Grand Secretary Yan had, but to no avail. He could barely stand to read his own efforts, much less submit them for imperial notice.
Yan Maoqing firmly believed he could find fault in this candidate’s Qingci.
But things did not go as Yan Maoqing expected. The moment his eyes reached the Qingci section, his expression changed.
“Heaven’s Command Revives the Vitality of the Nine Provinces”
Heaven’s command revives the vitality of the Nine Provinces,
A thousand horses gallop—how splendid a sight!
We respectfully admire Heaven’s great vigor,
Bestowing talents without constraint from all directions.
“Bestowing talents without constraint”—if that flattery doesn’t please the Emperor, nothing will!
Forget it. This paper had to be selected. The Huiyuan would not be decided until the last two days of grading; he could still push the eldest son of Grand Secretary Yan’s brother-in-law then. Yan Maoqing still believed he could force Xu Jie to yield.
With that thought, and under everyone’s watchful eyes, Yan Maoqing smiled slightly, then wrote the character “取” (accepted) on the paper and passed it to Xu Jie.
The Assistant Examiner who had been paying attention saw this and was overjoyed. From the brushstrokes alone, he could tell Yan Maoqing had written “accepted.”
Xu Jie, always the smiling, good-natured man, now beamed even more as he read the paper. He nodded repeatedly, very pleased. Xu Jie was the Chief Examiner for this exam, and many of the questions were written by him. The literary quality of the paper aside, the structure and arguments aligned perfectly with his intentions when designing the questions—that was especially valuable.
And the Qingci—truly unique, a shining star among the rest!
Indeed, the Assistant Examiner’s line “To obtain such a scholar—this can be reported to His Majesty” was a bit much, but Xu Jie himself could not be more satisfied!
Xu Jie read far more briskly than Yan Maoqing. Once finished, he immediately wrote the character “中” (“pass”) and placed this paper together with the one Yan Maoqing had backed earlier and two others. These separately set-aside papers were all candidates for Huiyuan, first place in the metropolitan examination.