Two days later came the posting of the examination results. Outside the examination hall, crowds surged and jostled.
The Crown Prince sat in plain clothes inside an unremarkable carriage, with Hua Zhi and Hua Bailin accompanying him at his side.
“Elder Sister, is that not our cousin?”
Hua Zhi nodded. And it was not only their cousin — she spotted many familiar faces as well: Shen Qi, Jiang Huanran, Liu Ruyi, Chu Sheng… an entire group of scions from noble families. Had they actually sat for the civil examination this year?
“They participated in this year’s Locked Hall Examination.” The Crown Prince had also spotted them, and the smile on his face deepened. Although the great Qing dynasty was not precisely one where the imperial family and the noble clans ruled together, the relationship between them was not something easily disentangled either. From where he sat, he was naturally glad to see the noble family scions stirring themselves to make something of their lives.
Hua Zhi was genuinely taken aback. Compared to an ordinary person who had spent a decade or more hunched over their books, these young men had still taken the easier road — yet those willing to walk even that road remained extremely few. When all was said and done, it still required a certain measure of courage to enter that hall, along with the mental readiness to embarrass oneself publicly. Most scions of noble families lacked both.
“The results are posted.”
A gong rang. Two officials carried a large sheet of red paper out and pasted it to the wall. Instantly everyone surged forward. Before long, a servant boy squeezed his way out and began jumping up and down on the spot, grinning from ear to ear as he ran off — no need to ask; his master had clearly passed. The others remained: the anxious, the crestfallen, those feigning indifference and holding forth loudly — every variety of human feeling was on display.
The three in the carriage watched this small world and its tableau of human life in silence, not a word among them.
Only after the second and third sheets were posted did those who remained grow truly tense.
The great Qing took eighty candidates per examination cycle, with twenty names on each sheet of results. Now only the final sheet remained.
When the last gong sounded, even conversation fell away. Some minds went completely blank. This sheet of results would determine whether years upon years of effort had earned their reward.
“I passed! Brother Yuan, you passed too! Look here — right beneath my name!” A ringing shout broke the near-breathless silence. Hua Zhi recognised the voice; Hua Bailin had already called out in delight, “Elder Sister, that is Brother Yu!”
Yu Xiasheng? So he had passed after all. And “Brother Yuan” — could that be the one whose betrothal to Second Sister had been arranged? Hua Zhi felt a flicker of something she could not quite name. These two had not yet become family by marriage, yet they were already growing close.
Still, she was glad. With this standing behind them, their path forward would be far smoother. Little Sister was still young — by the time a match was made for her, the Hua Family would certainly be at the height of its glory, and the family she married into could only be excellent. If the gap between the sisters grew too wide, resentment would inevitably follow in later years.
“Ha — I passed! The young master has passed!” Jiang Huanran burst from the crowd in a state of near-euphoria, looking as though he wanted to throw his head back and let out a long howl.
Close on his heels came a succession of voices crying out that they had passed. Watching those beaming faces, Hua Zhi could not help a quiet laugh. “If the chief examiner were not the Grand Preceptor, I would almost think the results had been deliberately loosened.”
Every person she knew appeared to have passed without exception. Her cousin was understandable enough — he had always been diligent. But Jiang Huanran was one of the capital’s most notorious wastrels. How many jaws would drop at this?
“The Grand Preceptor did loosen the results.”
Hua Zhi looked over in surprise. The Grand Preceptor was not someone known for flexibility.
“For too many years the noble families have grown rigid. While seniority and order have their place, there is no logic in letting those without ability hold positions while those with ability are suppressed and denied advancement. Carried on this way, each generation falls further behind the last — and that benefits no one.”
“You discussed this with the Grand Preceptor? And he agreed?”
“I learned these individuals had registered for the Locked Hall Examination and thought to see what would come of it. Each of them has their own flaws, yet each still carries some spark of genuine passion. Take a close look at Jiang Huanran — has he not lost a great deal of weight? That he endured these past months, studying by lamplight until all hours, was already enough to make me see him in a new light.” The Crown Prince leaned lightly against the carriage window, a faint smile on his face. “The Grand Preceptor is hardly unaware of the flaws in the noble family system. That, combined with perhaps not wanting to dampen my enthusiasm, led him to indulge me in this experiment for once. As for the outcome — that remains to be seen in time.”
Watching the jubilant figures outside, Hua Zhi smiled as well. “The Crown Prince is wise.”
“It is entirely thanks to the Grand Tutor’s teaching.”
How full of vigour they all were — the Crown Prince, and those scholars outside alike. They would all be the Qing dynasty’s hope. As long as the Chaoli tribe was driven back — once the foreign enemies were expelled, Hua Zhi thought, the Qing dynasty would enter its finest age.
Zhu Ziwen seemed to sense something and glanced toward the carriage — and looked directly into Hua Zhi’s eyes. They had not seen each other in some time, so the unexpectedness of it made him falter for a moment.
Hua Zhi gave him a slight incline of her head, then let the carriage curtain fall. “Let us return to the palace.”
“Brother Ziwen, what is it?”
Shen Qi followed his gaze toward the departing carriage. That was…
“A mistake on my part.” Zhu Ziwen shifted the subject without any change in expression. “Not a single one of us fell short — we all passed. Shall we not celebrate properly over drinks?”
“We shall — come, I know a place. Fine wine, fine company, ha!” Jiang Huanran gave his servant a wave, and the servants who had gathered nearby quickly led the horses forward.
Shen Qi did not move. That had been the eldest daughter in the carriage, had it not? The earth-shaking words she had spoken the other day had by now spread throughout the capital. He could not help imagining what it would feel like to have those words spoken to him — how his heart would surge. He suspected he would give his very life for her. Such profound devotion. He never could have imagined that the young woman he had first met, feigning a timid and meek demeanour, could be so fierce and unyielding beneath.
“Come now, Brother Shen, hurry up.”
“Coming.” He swung into the saddle and rode after the others, letting that hollow, ever-deepening emptiness in his chest sink further — bottomless.
“The Palace Examination is set for five days from now.” Back in the palace, the Crown Prince turned to matters of business. “What does the Grand Tutor think?”
It was somewhat rushed — by customary practice, the Palace Examination should be held twelve days after the results of the civil examination were posted. But the present circumstances truly did not permit delay. Hua Zhi nodded in agreement. “Very well. The examination questions remain unchanged?”
“Unchanged.”
No sooner had the results been publicly posted than Zhu Ziwen — barely recovered from a round of celebratory drinking — was jolted sober by his grandfather the Minister Zhu, who had thrown a bucket of cold water over him. Fearing a scolding, and speaking in a moment of panic, he mentioned what he had seen: his elder female cousin, his younger male cousin, and the Crown Prince sharing a single carriage.
Minister Zhu’s brow creased slightly. “You saw this clearly?”
“Yes, I am certain I was not mistaken.” Zhu Ziwen grew serious as well. “If anyone else were to see this, I am afraid tongues would wag again.”
“The carriage curtain was raised?”
“It was.”
Minister Zhu paced back and forth several times, then let out a long sigh. “Zhi’er has always conducted herself with a clear sense of propriety. If she dared to do this, she is not afraid of what people might say. The next time you see her, there is no need to bring this up.”
“But a sister and brother both serving at the side of the sovereign… should they not keep some distance?”
“One as Grand Tutor, one as an imperial companion in studies — how exactly are they to keep distance?” What the Hua Family ought to be thinking was not how to keep distance, but how to withdraw at the right moment. When Hua Yizheng returned and the Hua Family was fully reinstated, that would be the height of their glory — but after such a height, decline would follow. Hua Yizheng understood this. Zhi’er certainly understood it too. And perhaps it was precisely because she understood it that she was seizing every opportunity to do what she could while she still could.
Thinking of that audacious granddaughter of his, Minister Zhu felt equal parts pride and headache. He turned and looked at his grandson, still reeking of wine, and felt his irritation sharpen. “You are not to set foot outside before the Palace Examination. We will settle the account for that drinking session afterward.”