Five days after Tinghui submitted her memorial requesting the abolition of next year’s women’s jinshi examination, various lower-ranked officials in the capital jointly submitted their memorials supporting her proposal. Two days later, Shen Zhili led more than ten female officials in presenting another memorial, requesting His Majesty to allow women from all regions to take this year’s jinshi examination alongside men. His Majesty instructed the Zhongshu Department executives to deliberate on this matter in court. At that time, Censor Liao Congkuan, Left Remonstrator Cao Jing, and others also endorsed Meng Tinghui’s proposal as beneficial, publicly voicing their support.
Over several days, memorials flooded into the Zhongshu and Menxia Departments. Although the voices supporting examination reform among the young court officials grew increasingly louder, the senior officials maintained that this momentum was deliberately manufactured by Meng Tinghui. They therefore remained adamantly opposed to any reform of the examinations.
While debates raged without resolution, His Majesty issued an edict to the Zhongshu Department, ordering an imperial decree to be drafted announcing to the realm: that the women’s jinshi examination for next year would not be abolished; however, women who wished to take the jinshi examination alongside men this year would be permitted to do so. Those who passed would enjoy the same privileges as regular jinshi graduates, with ranks and positions equal to their male counterparts. Next year’s women’s jinshi examination will proceed as usual. The number of women from female schools taking the prefectural examinations for this year’s jinshi could not exceed one hundred.
Upon this edict, the senior officials kowtowed and acclaimed His Majesty’s wisdom, while Meng Tinghui also submitted a memorial expressing gratitude. Thus, the controversy over examination reform subsided.
Although the women’s jinshi examination had not been completely abolished, those female students who wished to compete with men for scholarly honors now had an opportunity they could never have imagined before. This greatly pleased Meng Tinghui and the young court officials who supported the reform.
However, limiting the number of women taking the prefectural examinations to no more than one hundred seemed negligible to the senior officials—a mere drop in the ocean. They considered it insignificant—with tens of thousands of scholars across the nation taking the examination every three years, how could a mere thousand women squeeze into the final few dozen jinshi positions? Therefore, the senior officials believed that His Majesty’s edict was merely intended to appease the ambitious young officials at court and not a genuine desire to change court regulations. With this mindset, no one continued to remonstrate with His Majesty on this matter.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the prefectural examinations began, His Majesty issued another edict appointing the Right Vice Minister of the Board of Rites Xu Ting, and Acting Drafter of Edicts Meng Tinghui to jointly supervise the Board of Rites examination in the capital.
This made the senior officials displeased. Setting aside Meng Tinghui’s limited experience—what virtue or talent did she possess to jointly supervise examinations with the Right Vice Minister of the Board of Rites? Moreover, during the previous debates on examination reform, Xu Ting repeatedly criticized Meng Tinghui directly and indirectly as a person lacking virtue. With such strained relations between them, how could they jointly supervise the Board of Rites examination?
Xu Ting repeatedly submitted memorials arguing that Meng Tinghui lacked the talent and virtue to serve as co-examiner with him. His Majesty rejected his memorials, stating that since this was the first time women were permitted to take the jinshi examination, and Meng Tinghui was the top graduate of the women’s jinshi examination with accomplishments unmatched among female officials at court, she was the ideal candidate for this supervisory role.
The young officials of Meng Tinghui’s faction at court were excited upon hearing this, while the senior officials grew increasingly angry. Though they could not refute His Majesty’s decision, they could not bear to see Meng Tinghui receive the prestigious title of examination supervisor that scholars throughout the realm envied!
After the prefectural examinations concluded, out of the 2,100 candidates who passed, 132 were women. The Board of Rites then arranged the metropolitan examinations in the capital according to past practice, and successful candidates from various regions gradually made their way to the capital.
With the nationwide triennial metropolitan examinations about to commence, Meng Tinghui suddenly, citing the Personnel Department’s assessment regulations, demoted more than ten officials of the sixth rank and below from the Pacification Commission and the Transport Commission of the Northern Chao’an Circuit. The Personnel Department followed her recommendation and prepared a memorandum for the Zhongshu Department’s review. However, this was firmly rejected by the senior officials who had long harbored resentment against her!
Since the founding of the dynasty, no matter decided by the Six Ministries had ever been jointly rejected by the executives and parliamentary officials. This incident of Meng Tinghui’s attempt to demote multiple officials of the Northern Chao’an Circuit being blocked by the Zhongshu Department immediately stirred massive waves in the previously calm court and society.
Meng Tinghui had initially offended the senior officials of the Eastern faction due to the Wang Qi and Wei Mingxian matters, and now she had also offended the elder statesman of the Western faction, Xu Ting, over the examination reform issue. As a result, the high officials of both the Zhongshu and Menxia Departments directed their hostility toward her, while the relationship between the senior officials of the Eastern and Western factions gradually harmonized. The more than decade-long struggle between the Eastern and Western factions had now transformed into a conflict between the new and old factions!
At noon, the spring sun was dazzlingly bright.
Meng Tinghui, carrying a stack of registers, was walking briskly toward the Inner Government Hall.
Along the way, young officials from the two departments who passed by would bow or greet her with a respectful “Official Meng.”
Unable to return their bows while carrying her documents, she nodded and smiled in acknowledgment. As she approached the Government Hall, she stopped one person and asked, “Is Minister Xu presiding in the Hall today?”
The man gave her a meaningful look, secretly pointing behind himself with his hand, curled his lips, and then walked away.
Understanding his hint, Meng Tinghui waited under the corridor outside the Government Hall.
The spring breeze was gentle, rippling the green willow leaves. Fine catkins brushed against her face, causing a ticklish sensation.
Basking in the warm sunlight, her eyes were fixed on the koi fish in a nearby pond when she heard footsteps behind her. She quickly turned around and saw Xu Ting coming out of the Inner Government Hall. She immediately approached him, bowed her head with a smile, and said, “Minister Xu.”
Upon seeing her, Xu Ting’s face darkened, and he stopped in his tracks but did not respond.
Meng Tinghui looked up, gazed at him silently for a moment, then said directly, “Following standard assessment procedures, I found thirteen officials in the Military Commissioner’s Office and Pacification Commission of Northern Chao’an Circuit unfit for their positions and recommended their transfer elsewhere. I wonder why the Zhongshu Department rejected this.”
Xu Ting replied coldly, “The executives of the Zhongshu Department are not just myself. Why don’t you ask others?”
She smiled, “Most of these thirteen officials are affiliated with the Eastern faction. I can understand why Minister Gu rejected this proposal. But I don’t understand why you also rejected it, Minister Xu. Is there any reason besides personal animosity?”
“Personal animosity?” Xu Ting’s beard quivered with anger. “I have served at court for decades, loyally serving the Emperor Emeritus and assisting the current Emperor. When have I ever let personal grudges interfere with court affairs? What are your true intentions in wanting to dismiss thirteen officials from Chao’an at once?”
Meng Tinghui did not reply but extended the registers she was holding toward him.
Xu Ting refused to take them and continued angrily, “You, Meng Tinghui, disregard court regulations. Taking advantage of His Majesty allowing you to oversee personnel assessments, you seek to harm important officials in frontier regions—a truly disloyal act! If you insist on this course, I will personally report your misconduct to His Majesty!”
She continued holding out the registers and said softly, “If Minister Xu insists on rejecting my proposal, I will also report to His Majesty about Minister Xu’s misconduct in his role.”
“Absurd!” Xu Ting knocked the registers from her hands. “If His Majesty listens to your nonsense, he will be an incompetent ruler!”
Papers scattered across the ground, layering like snow.
Meng Tinghui heard his last two words. The calm expression on her face instantly collapsed as she fixed her gaze on him, her lips pressed tightly together, remaining silent for a long while.
Xu Ting, assuming she was intimidated, let out a cold snort and turned to leave.
She stood straight, staring after him until his figure disappeared. Only then did she slowly crouch down to pick up the scattered papers one by one?
Just as she was about to stand, a shadow suddenly appeared before her.
A pair of black boots embroidered with gold thread came into her view.
She looked up, recognized the person, and forced a smile, saying softly, “Is Your Majesty coming from the Privy Council?”
He looked down at her, raised an eyebrow slightly, and instead of answering, asked, “What are you doing crouching here?”