No Room for Backroom Manipulation
Zhao Ruxi then stood up and bowed again. "Therefore, Ruxi has come here to apologize on behalf of her mother."
Although Grand Princess Shangde was Zhao Ruxi's headmaster, she didn't manage affairs and had little contact with Zhao Ruxi. She only met Zhao Ruxi a few times for reasons such as becoming a disciple, taking the annual exam, and running a newspaper. When they met, she only offered a few words of general praise and encouragement and didn't have a particularly deep understanding of her.
At this moment, one can see the whole picture from a single glimpse. With just a few words from Zhao Ruxi, she knew that this Miss Zhiwei truly lived up to her reputation.
What she said was exactly what I had thought.
As the eldest princess, and over forty years old, it's normal for her to think things through. But Zhao Ruxi, a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl who grew up in the countryside, is quite remarkable.
All I can say is that this child is too smart and too insightful.
Grand Princess Shangde's smile grew even more amiable, "Don't say that. Your mother was merely raising her own questions, wanting to seek justice for you. What crime has she committed in loving her daughter? Not only your mother, but even I must protect my students and cannot stand by and watch them suffer unfair treatment, can I? Otherwise, I would be unworthy of being the headmaster."
Madam Cui seized the opportunity to curry favor with Grand Princess Shangde, saying, "Zhiwei, when you arrived, the Princess was just about to go to the palace to seek justice for you."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Ruxi tried to stand up again, but Grand Princess Shangde gestured to Matron Yin to push her back down.
"Thank you for your protection, Your Highness, but there's really no need for that." Zhao Ruxi looked at Grand Princess Shangde with a sincere expression.
"Whether the Prefect of the Capital truly believes my essay is unworthy of the top six or is trying to suppress me, I don't feel wronged. The imperial examination is for selecting talent for the court. The scholars, licentiates, and jinshi who are selected layer by layer will dedicate their lives to serving the court and the people of the Great Jin. As for us women, looking back over the past few decades, even if we pass the licentiates or jinshi exams, how many of us have served the court and the people like men have?"
"From this perspective, even if the Prefect thought my essay was better than others, but still chose a male candidate over me, it can't be said that he had any ulterior motives. When the court officials found out, they would still praise him for having a broad perspective and not being afraid of powerful figures. He has his own reasons for daring to do this."
Grand Princess Shangde was taken aback, exchanged a glance with Madam Cui, and then gave a wry smile.
She was wrong. She was just bragging, but she's not as insightful as a little girl.
Isn't the "powerful and influential" that Zhao Ruxi just mentioned, who is "not afraid of those in power," referring precisely to her?
The Prefect of the Capital has dug a pit for her, waiting for her to fall into it.
The prefect of the capital city is named Zhang Li, and he was only transferred to this position last year.
The position of Prefect of the Capital is extremely difficult to hold. There are too many powerful and influential people in the capital. Everyone has more power than him, and everyone can point fingers at him.
Many powerful figures are likely watching him closely, seeing if he can maintain his position. If he can't, they might try to influence the imperial examinations to secure a degree for their descendants. After all, the county-level examinations are different from the provincial and metropolitan examinations; they are much easier to manipulate, requiring only coercion or Zhang Li of Zhang Li.
They could interfere not only in the imperial examinations, but also in other matters.
It seems that Zhang Li set this trap not specifically for her, but to make an example of her.
He was telling everyone that the imperial examination was an extremely serious matter, and anyone who dared to interfere with the imperial examination in his jurisdiction, no matter who they were, would have a finger chopped off by him. And she, Grand Princess Shangde, was the perfect target for this demonstration.
Other powerful figures rely on their families, but Shangde's only support is the Emperor. And the Emperor would never support his sister interfering in the imperial examinations. Whatever the reason, he will inevitably reprimand her and praise the Prefect of the Capital for upholding principles, thus serving as a warning to the court officials.
Thus, Zhang Li achieved his goal of making an example of Zhang Li.
Thinking of this, Grand Princess Shangde shook her head and sighed, "I almost did something foolish."
"Your Highness was only trying to protect me, that's why you didn't think so much," Zhao Ruxi said.
Seeing that Zhao Ruxi had persuaded Grand Princess Shangde to relent, Madam Cui was relieved, but a strong sense of resentment followed.
She dedicated her life to fighting for women's rights, always hoping that women would not be inferior to men. This was evident in her encouragement of students to take the imperial examinations.
But if they're already defeated by the rules from the start, is there any point in them trying?
Zhao Ruxi, in particular, was her most promising student over the years. She had a good memory, was quick to understand, and wrote articles with boundless imagination that often surprised readers. If such a student still did not have a chance to succeed, she would probably never encourage any more students to take the imperial examinations again.
She knew she shouldn't interrupt at this moment, but after holding back for a while, she finally couldn't help but ask, "Are we just going to be suppressed like this forever?"
"Of course not," Zhao Ruxi said. "The county examinations don't involve anonymous papers or copying; the rankings are entirely determined by the preferences of the officials in charge. Later examinations will be more rigorous. At that time, no one will know whose exam paper it is, so naturally, rankings won't be based on gender..."
Upon reflection, Madam Cui became agitated and, disregarding Zhao Ruxi's unfinished sentence, interrupted her, saying, "Yes, yes, I was confused."
If one passed the county and prefectural examinations, one became a student of the preliminary examinations. These two examinations were collectively known as the preliminary examinations for students of the preliminary examinations.
However, being a student who passed the preliminary examination only qualified one to participate in the provincial examination. They had neither the privilege of not kneeling before officials nor the qualification for tax reduction or exemption. Therefore, the examination format was not very strict, and only the number of students admitted each year was specified.
However, starting with the provincial examination, the examinations became more rigorous. After the exam, the papers had to be sealed with the names of the examiners, and then they had to be copied by a scribe. By the time these papers were presented to the examiners, it was impossible to tell which paper belonged to which examiner.
There were not one examiner, but five. The five examiners took turns grading the same exam paper. If they approved of the paper, they would draw a circle on it, and if they particularly liked it, they would write comments on it.
Finally, once a test paper has five circles drawn on it and comments written on it, all of which are full of praise, that paper will be taken out and ranked among the top few along with several other papers that have performed similarly. After the rankings are determined and the first and second place are decided, the test papers are handed over to the soldiers guarding the examination hall to verify the names and post the results on the notice board.
This multi-layered screening process effectively prevents collusion and greatly reduces the possibility of underhanded dealings and cheating.
If the examiners unanimously agree that Zhao Ruxi's exam paper is the best, then the sergeant will announce it directly, without changing it because she is a woman.
Grand Princess Shangde also breathed a sigh of relief.
She then became indignant again. "I almost got tricked by Zhang Li, and he even suppressed your ranking. I really can't swallow this."