Take the Imperial Examinations

Xu Xi asked, "How are those three doing now?"

Madam Cui said, "All three of them got married after passing the exams. The one who became a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations) initially taught at the Women's Academy, but after having children, she stayed at home completely."

"What a pity," Xu Xi sighed.

Madam Cui's expression had remained serious throughout, and she spoke without much emotion. However, upon hearing Xu Xi's words, a look of surprise appeared on her face, and she asked, "Why do you say that?"

"Given the poor conditions for women's education, the fact that they could still pass the imperial examinations and become scholars and officials shows that they were extremely intelligent, even surpassing many men in intelligence. It's a real pity that such women only stay in the inner quarters to be wives and mothers."

Madam Cui looked at her. "What would you do if you were in her shoes?"

Seeing the expectation in her eyes, Xu Xi had a sudden thought. He remembered that she had called him in for a talk because he had come first in the Four Books and Five Classics exam, and he made a bold guess about Madam Cui's thoughts.

She thought for a moment and said, "No matter what, don't bury your talents. Being an official in the government office might be quite tough. Not only do you have to perform as well as men to avoid criticism, but you also have to endure the strange looks and pointing fingers. Only those with extraordinary willpower can do that. So it's very difficult for women to persevere in being officials. But teaching female students in an academy is still an option. There's no need to go through all that trouble to get married and then be confined to the inner quarters. Of course, I wasn't there, so I'm not qualified to judge their choices. Perhaps in their hearts, their husbands and children are more important. I can understand that. I just feel a little sorry for them."

Disappointment flashed in Madam Cui's eyes, and she sighed, "What you said makes some sense."

She stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the distant sky. "Empress Shengyao has fought for such treatment for us women, unprecedented in history. Therefore, we women should not let her painstaking efforts go to waste. How can we go back to the inner quarters and become housewives? If everyone does that, what is the meaning of the Empress's painstaking efforts and our busy work?"

Xu Xi nodded. That's true.

"I saw your exam paper last night and couldn't sleep well. So I came to see you first thing this morning to ask if you would like to take the imperial examination? Could you set an example for us women?" Madam Cui asked, a hopeful look on her serious face.

Xu Xi pursed her lips and remained silent for a moment.

Actually, she had already considered this issue last night when the system told her that the points earned would vary depending on the level of the exam.

She is currently inside a novel, and the novel's setting is entirely created by the original author; whether it's plausible or not, it exists. [Note]

Since the original author set up the scenario where women could also participate in the imperial examinations and become officials in the court, participating in the imperial examinations would be a great way to improve one's score.

However, this involves too many things and could easily cause too much trouble. If it's just about getting high scores, she feels it's completely unnecessary.

Now that Madam Cui has elevated participating in the imperial examinations to setting an example for women, she is even less willing to agree to this matter easily.

Seeing the hesitation on her face, Madam Cui quickly said, "Go back and discuss this with your family." Even if Xu Xi agreed, it wouldn't go smoothly if her family objected. As women in ancient times, they lacked independence and autonomy. The issue of family was unavoidable.

To prepare Xu Xi mentally, she added, "Do you know why so few people take the imperial examinations? It's not because only a few women can match the men's talent, but because their families object."

Xu Xi had considered this question. She still had some questions, so she asked, "Did women have to take the imperial examinations in the same examination hall as men? And were they subjected to the same body searches as the men?"

She had read novels about this subject. In ancient times, when men took the imperial examinations, they were stripped naked during body searches, and some even jumped into the water to prevent them from smuggling cheat sheets. To prevent cheating, even their anuses were checked.

If a woman has to go through such an examination with a group of men, it's not about pursuing equality, but about humiliating herself. Not only would her parents not agree, but she herself would resolutely refuse to take such an exam.

"No, no, no..." Madam Cui quickly said, "That's not how it is. The Empress thought of this when she was securing examination qualifications for women. The reason why men are checked so strictly is mainly because there are many candidates and few proctors, so they can't keep up. There are fewer women participating in the imperial examinations, so there are three or four proctors. With several people watching each candidate, every move of the candidate is under their noses, so there's naturally no need for a body search."

Xu Xi breathed a sigh of relief, "I see."

She nodded. "Alright, I'll go back and ask my family, then I'll get back to you Teacher Cui."

Madam Cui nodded. "Alright, you go back to class first. Come find me here if you have any news." Before Xu Xi could stand up, she added, "If you participate in the imperial examination, we may provide you with individual tutoring to specialize in the subjects required for the examination."

Xu Xi immediately objected. "If I'm taking the exam, I'll spend time studying. But there are some courses I still want to learn, such as music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Could you have separate classes when the Four Books and Five Classics, law, and history are taught, and I'll study the others with my classmates?"

Of the four arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—music aside, calligraphy and painting are definitely powerful tools for racking up points. She also wants to learn calligraphy from Madam Xiao to increase the points earned from each piece of writing, so she can't give up on that. As for painting, she has a foundation in modern painting, which should give her a significant advantage in racking up points.

As for Go, she felt that she had a good memory and quick thinking, so learning Go shouldn't be difficult, right? Go involves competing against others, and the higher the level of the opponent, the higher the score, right? In short, it's worth a try.

She participated in the imperial examinations to improve her score, and she also learned music, chess, calligraphy, and painting to improve her score. It could also cultivate her character and was much more interesting than studying the Four Books and Five Classics. She didn't want to put the cart before the horse and take the imperial examinations for the sake of taking them.

Although she understood Madam Cui's intention in urging her to take the imperial examination, as a tech-savvy office worker, she had absolutely no interest in going into officialdom and fighting for power with those stinky men. The idea of her disregarding her own personality, preferences, and desires to fight on the front lines against societal norms for the sake of the Empress's good intentions and to set an example for women was something she felt she would never enjoy.

Having been given a second chance at life, instead of enjoying it, she chooses to sacrifice herself for others, risking her life to illuminate their path. She doesn't have that kind of high level of awareness or moral character.

At that moment, the thought of dropping out of school began to pound in her chest.

[Note] Ling. Blame-Shifter. Shui solemnly declares: All unreasonable settings in this book are the fault of the original novel's author and have nothing to do with the author of this book. Yeah, that's it.

Also, do you all want the female lead to take the imperial examination? Share your thoughts!