Tie Ci paid no heed to those weaklings’ glares, only smiling and nodding at the friendly round-faced student. She quietly tossed over a delicately wrapped pastry, saying, “Have some walnut cake, it’ll nourish your brain.”
This was walnut pastry made by Chi Xue, a palace secret recipe with main ingredients including water buffalo milk, eggs, walnuts, pine nuts, and more. As soon as it was opened, sweet fragrance filled the air. The scholar secretly popped it into his mouth, and his eyes immediately lit up.
Above them, the kind-faced Teacher Ying was dictating the question: “…Compose an imperial edict from the first year of Tianxing era of the previous dynasty, when Emperor Ruizong of Qi issued a decree appointing Rong Qingxu as Military Commissioner of Longyou.”
The question seemed simple enough. Everyone pondered for a while, then began writing one after another.
Tie Ci, however, was slowly grinding her ink. Teacher Ying watched her for a moment, then walked over to remind her, “Only a quarter-hour remains.”
“Thank you for the reminder, Teacher. It’s just that this question has many pitfalls—please allow this student to lay down a few more stepping stones.”
A glimmer of amusement and slight surprise appeared in Teacher Ying’s eyes. After a while, he said, “Teacher Yao suggested I give a quiz today, though I was planning to quiz you today anyway. Don’t worry too much. Being able to see that the question has deeper meaning is already quite remarkable. I certainly won’t make things difficult for you.”
Tie Ci could tell from his expression that he clearly didn’t believe she could do it. Without saying more, she simply nodded.
Teacher Ying continued, “I’ve heard you help serve meals for others in the dining hall. Many teachers disapprove of this. We scholars value integrity above all—we mustn’t learn from merchants and pursue profit.”
Tie Ci offered no explanation, just smiled and nodded again.
Teacher Ying sighed with slight disappointment and walked away.
Tie Ci was the last to submit her paper. When she handed it in, Qi Yuansi walked past her. Their sleeves brushed against each other, and Qi Yuansi immediately stepped aside, politely dusting off his sleeves—and dusting them again.
Tie Ci simply watched him perform his act.
When Qi Yuansi didn’t get the reaction he expected, he chuckled lightly, “Such a simple question, yet you needed to agonize over it for so long!”
Tie Ci had already brushed past him, leaving him standing there.
When Tie Ci sat down, the round-faced scholar leaned over and asked, “What was that about just now?”
“Does Qi Yuansi have quite a following among you all?”
“It seems the female students at the women’s academy pay a lot of attention to him. After all, he’s good-looking, well-born, academically capable, and has a decent temperament.” The round-faced scholar said, “This guy was originally from the Superior Hall, but got demoted here as punishment for fighting. He’ll return to the Superior Hall in a few days. He’s got some pride in his bones, but he really is usually the one with the best answers.”
“I feel like he’s targeting me. Did I offend him somehow?”
Losing at mahjong shouldn’t warrant such resentment.
“Not really. His mood’s been unsettled lately. Being beaten up by that barbarian from Xirong for no reason and then dragged down to a lower hall—he’s probably unhappy with all the exchange students!”
So it was Dan Ye who beat up Qi Yuansi? Why would he attack this effeminate fellow for no reason?
The in-class quiz was graded on the spot. Teacher Ying examined each paper, pulling out the ones that caught his eye and placing them to one side. The students sitting in front craned their necks to look, then turned back to make eye contact with Qi Yuansi. Qi Yuansi straightened his back and, facing Tie Ci, tilted his head slightly.
Tie Ci asked in surprise, “Do you have a toothache?”
Qi Yuansi’s face flushed red instantly.
At that moment, Teacher Ying suddenly exclaimed “Eh!” and bent his head down, gripping the desk with both hands as he read for a long time.
The students in the front row craned their necks again, but were blocked by the large pile of papers in front of the teacher and couldn’t make out what was happening.
Qi Yuansi had turned his head earlier and hadn’t seen the teacher flip through several more papers during that time. Assuming it was his own paper, and already confident that his answer was extremely brilliant, he became even more pleased. Under the envious gazes of his classmates, he actually relaxed his posture and revealed a faint, modest smile.
Teacher Ying buried his head in reading for quite some time, then sighed in admiration before saying, “Today I have discovered a dragon among men.”
Everyone gasped. They had never heard such high praise from Teacher Ying. They all turned to look at Qi Yuansi, whose face appeared unchanged but was gradually reddening.
Tie Ci, however, was looking outside the lecture hall.
A long shadow stretched diagonally across the ground. From its position, it seemed someone was standing where she had been made to stand as punishment earlier.
Who could it be? Why were they standing there?
Outside the lecture hall, a tall man in black robes stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the paintings on the wall.
After a moment, he also took out a stone chip and drew a few strokes.
From Tie Ci’s angle, she could only vaguely see the changes in light and shadow. Before long, the figure moved and seemed to leave.
Teacher Ying was a deliberate person. Regardless of everyone’s curiosity reaching fever pitch, he slowly savored the paper for quite some time before finally picking it up and saying, “I must properly ask this dragon among men how he conceived of this.”
Qi Yuansi smiled slightly as he slowly began to stand.
“…Ye Shiba.”
Qi Yuansi’s half-risen body froze midway, bent at the waist like someone with a hunched back.
He remained stunned for quite a while. It was only when the student beside him gave him a forceful tug that he suddenly collapsed back into his seat.
Before he had even settled properly, his face had already become like Teacher Yao’s earlier—a veritable color wheel.
Half the students stared at him in bewilderment, while the other half looked even more bewildered as they swept their gazes toward Tie Ci.
Tie Ci rose calmly and nodded to Teacher Ying.
Teacher Ying looked at her, very satisfied with her composure in the face of honor and disgrace. Feeling that the young man before him possessed a rare bearing, his tone became even more gentle, “This edict you wrote—in terms of pure literary style, it cannot be called refined or elegant. It falls short compared to many of your classmates’ work, but it very cleverly avoids numerous taboos. How did you think of this?”
Everyone looked completely confused.
Taboos? What taboos?
“This isn’t an ordinary edict, because it involves three sensitive points. To write it, one must first understand the political background and timing of that era,” Tie Ci said. “Emperor Ruizong of Qi was the ruler who revived the dynasty. Before his ascension, Emperor Wuzong of Qi favored Consort Cao’s family, appointed corrupt officials, causing regional military governors to become alienated from the court and build up their own forces, ultimately triggering the Jingyuan Rebellion. Rong Qingxu turned the tide during this chaos, restored order, rescued the fleeing Emperor Wuzong, and supported Ruizong’s ascension. After Ruizong took the throne, he needed capable generals to guard the Longyou frontier, hence this edict. During the Jingyuan Rebellion, the court fled south in panic, the emperor and empress went into exile, and hundreds of officials suffered. Therefore, this edict needed to include appropriate self-reproach to appease the ministers’ dissatisfaction.”
Teacher Ying nodded.
“But this isn’t a formal edict of self-reproach either. After all, the events had nothing to do with Ruizong. If Ruizong issued a self-reproachful edict right after ascending the throne, it would be disadvantageous for his future rule. At this time, Wuzong had already become the Retired Emperor, residing in Changle Palace. So this edict needed to subtly shift responsibility to his father while remaining appropriately self-reproachful, doing so tactfully without violating filial piety or damaging imperial dignity.”
Teacher Ying nodded again.
“Finally, Rong Qingxu was a female general who faced severe criticism from court officials even before taking command. Therefore, appointing Rong Qingxu required mentioning her supreme achievements during the Jingyuan Rebellion to solidify the foundation for the military commissioner appointment, while also appropriately reminding the officials of their mistakes to silence them, and clearly explaining the difficulties of being Longyou Military Commissioner at that time, so everyone would understand it wasn’t a plum position, preventing excessive envy and complications.”
Teacher Ying slammed the desk.
“Excellent!”
The students blinked rapidly, their faces showing expressions of “Did we do the same assignment?”
“Do you understand now?” Teacher Ying waved the paper. “This question isn’t just about writing an edict! It tests your understanding of history, imperial political strategy, and the way of being a minister. One edict involves many considerations—how to use subtle language to conceal, how to whitewash situations, how to criticize without damaging dignity and praise while subtly undermining, how to express something everyone knows is terrible in a dignified and grand manner. The profound depths of this cannot be explained to fools!”
“Teacher, this question should be one from the imperial examination in the eighth year of Kaichang, shouldn’t it? The top scholar Li Meng, second place Ren Yunlin, and third place Lin Lanzi who emerged from that exam all eventually entered the cabinet—truly unprecedented and unmatched since.”
“Your ability to answer this paper today shows your talent is no less than Li Meng and the other two.” Teacher Ying wrote his comments on the paper with great joy.
The young men stretched their necks like geese.
No matter how much they prayed or refused to believe it, judging by the flowing brushstrokes, it was clearly the characters for “Excellent.”
Everyone’s expressions became like they had actually gone to the toilet and eaten that something.
The second class also ended. Teacher Ying made a special detour to tell Tie Ci that if she had any questions about coursework, she should feel free to ask, before walking away with a smile.
Tie Ci’s heroic achievements in two consecutive classes quickly spread throughout the entire lecture hall. During the break, countless people were peering around in front of the Superior Hall of Section A.
The reaction from Section A’s Superior Hall was particularly intense—not only because if Tie Ci continued to excel academically she could be promoted to the Superior Hall, but also because that class contained many of his acquaintances.
After class, when Tie Ci came out, the crowd dispersed with a roar. Some cold gazes were cast from afar, but Tie Ci paid them no mind.
Her attention was drawn to the paintings on the wall.
The paintings were rather high up, with light strokes that weren’t very obvious—others wouldn’t notice them, but Tie Ci thought of the shadow she had seen earlier.
The paintings had been altered.
In the first painting, a small child was being helped onto a pony by their mother.
In the second painting, warriors sharpened their weapons on sand dunes. In the distance beyond the moon, a mounted woman approached, the triangular flag on her horse indicating she was a scout.
In the third painting, amid the sandstorm torrent, a leader charging down from the high slope had been added—armor cinching a slender waist, long hair flying high with the sand and billowing cloak.
In the final painting, victorious people were singing and dancing, while the female general walked alone toward a tent. Inside the tent, her elderly parents welcomed her. The three embraced by the campfire.
Tie Ci stared at the four paintings, especially studying the last one for a long time.
Some strokes seemed casual yet mysteriously touched upon hidden secrets. Deep, concealed thoughts and wishes were echoed in this moment, as if she could hear fate’s grand music in the mysterious depths.
Women shouldn’t only be dependents and recipients.
She too could support younger generations in their stumbling progress, use wisdom to earn respect, lead brothers in charging enemy formations, and protect her parents to secure peace.
This wasn’t a dream—this was what she must accomplish in this lifetime.
She didn’t know who had altered Dan Ye’s four paintings. The artistic skill wasn’t superior to Dan Ye’s, yet she felt these were the best paintings she had ever seen.
So good that she stood there transfixed, preserving them permanently in her memory.
Because these four paintings told her that in this era where men were honored above women, in this era when women were habitually looked down upon, there were still people who understood and respected her and others like her.
She stood there for a long time, until someone looked over in surprise.
Then she walked away.
The four paintings displayed their lines faintly in the sunlight. At the very bottom of the last painting, a small image had been added.
It was a hand with the thumb raised up—a “like” symbol.
…