Chapter 62

Chapter 62

By the end of March, apricot blossoms filled Huajing.

On the day the Spring Imperial Examination results were posted, the entrance to the Ministry of Rites was packed so tightly that not even water could trickle through.

Zhou Wei could not sit still. He ran to the Ministry of Rites first thing in the morning to wait for the list to be posted.

By contrast, Sheng Zhaoning, sitting alone in the courtyard, seemed exceptionally calm.

For those who passed the Spring Imperial Examination, the court would dispatch men to deliver a “victory report” according to the address each candidate had left behind. The Metropolitan Examination admitted three hundred candidates in all, and the reports were delivered in order from last place up to first. Those in the Capital could receive theirs the same day. Those far away in the various prefectures, with swift horses carrying the news along the road, could receive theirs within ten days.

The outskirts of the Capital were not far from the city proper. Most of the Juren who took part in the Metropolitan Examination would remain in the Capital for half a month to wait for the results. Thus, if the victory reports were delivered outward layer by layer from within the Capital City, it would still take the better part of a day for one to reach the suburbs.

Since Zhou Wei had gone to the Ministry of Rites early that morning to wait for the list, he naturally learned the result before Sheng Zhaoning did.

The sound of horse hooves stopped outside the courtyard gate.

“Hey, did you prepare any wine?”

Beneath the profusion of flowers, Zhou Wei stood at the gate with his arms folded, leaning lazily against the doorframe. The plain satin ribbon tying up his hair fluttered in the wind, and his eyes were bright and clear, like a pool of spring water.

Sheng Zhaoning’s lips curved as well. Seated on the stone stool in the courtyard, she reached out and pointed toward the peach tree in the corner. The wine they had bought when they entered the Capital was buried beneath it.

“Enough for how many jars?” she asked.

Zhou Wei walked up to her, cupped his hands, and bowed with a smile. “For such joyous congratulations, we may drink our fill.”

From the look on his face, Sheng Zhaoning already knew the answer.

The jars of clear wine buried beneath the peach tree were dug out.

By the time they reached the last jar, it was already the You hour.

The reporting official finally arrived, belatedly.

“Which one of you is Master Sheng?” The reporting official, dressed in a red robe, reined in his horse at the gate and peered into the courtyard.

Sheng Zhaoning rose and went out to meet him, giving a slight bow. “I am Sheng Zhaoning.”

The reporting official hurriedly returned the courtesy, his face full of joy. “Congratulations to Master Sheng Zhaoning of Liuzhou! You have placed first in the Spring Imperial Examination and are the top-ranked Huiyuan!”

Although she had already known the result, Sheng Zhaoning still felt the tension ease between her brows, a light, pleasant joy rising in her heart. She brought out a red envelope of silver and handed it to the reporting official, then had Zhou Wei take some wine and see him off.

The victory report in her hand was backed with plain damask, the characters written in gold. At the top was a soaring dragon, while clouds, mountains, and misty seas spread below. In the very center was her name, and above it were the words: First Place in the Metropolitan Examination.

What was different was that beside her name on the report, there was a small vermilion seal. No characters were carved upon it. There was only a vermilion plum blossom, twining beside her name.

Sheng Zhaoning stared at that red plum blossom for a long while. Then she folded the victory report again and put it carefully away.

A letter was sent from the Capital outskirts back to Xuzhou.

With swift horses carrying it along, the Sheng Mansion received the letter seven days later.

Song Fu ran all the way to deliver the letter to Qinghui Hall.

Old Madam Sheng was the first to learn that Sheng Zhaoning had passed as Huiyuan.

The hand with which she held the letter trembled uncontrollably. After the initial shock came great joy, and she immediately said, her expression full of excitement, “Quick, quickly tell the Eldest Master and the First Madam!”

Song Fu turned and rushed without stopping to Sheng Yuanzhong’s place.

The entire Sheng Mansion was once again enveloped in celebration.

…

The rankings for the Metropolitan Examination had been set. Next came the Palace Examination in April.

All those who passed as a Tribute Scholar could take part in the Palace Examination.

Because the Palace Examination was personally presided over by the Emperor, and every candidate had to meet His Majesty, the Ministry of Rites would teach them in advance the rules to be observed before the throne, lest anyone commit a breach of etiquette in the palace hall.

By the time the etiquette lessons were finished, the date of the Palace Examination was near.

Sheng Zhaoning did not continue studying the classics. Instead, she allowed herself to relax completely. She either sat in the courtyard basking in the sun or grandly drew up a menu and had Zhou Wei make it.

She discovered that Zhou Wei did, in fact, have some culinary skill.

The dishes he made were not only attractive in presentation but also good in flavor. Most suited her tastes very well. Compared to the food she cooked herself, the difference was simply heaven and earth.

Sheng Zhaoning had never imagined that someone she had casually rescued would prove to be so useful.

After several days of conserving her energy in this manner, the Palace Examination began.

The officials of Honglu Temple had already set up the yellow table early that morning, while the Luanyi Guard arranged the imperial procession and ceremonial regalia before the hall. Inside Taihe Hall, tables and chairs had been placed, each supplied with brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and the other necessary items.

The candidates entered at daybreak, with Sheng Zhaoning walking at the very front.

By then, the horizon had already begun to pale like egg white. The morning mist coiling through the air had yet to fully disperse, and the vermilion palace walls towered high, separating the imperial palace from the world outside, like a boundary that could never be broken.

For some reason, she disliked those palace walls. They felt too cold, too high, like an invisible net of a cage that trapped people within.

Everyone gathered outside the hall and formed two lines according to their rankings in the Metropolitan Examination, odd-numbered ranks in the eastern line and even-numbered ranks in the western line. Once all arrangements were complete, the whip cracked, drums and music sounded together, and after the formalities of roll call, distribution of answer sheets, ceremonial invocations, and ritual bows, the Ministry of Rites handed out the question papers.

Sheng Zhaoning sat upright at the head of the first row. Just a few steps ahead and above her was the Emperor’s throne.

A corner of bright yellow robes appeared at the edge of her vision. The emperor had already taken his seat. All around them, there was not a sound. Everyone kept their heads lowered, and no one dared look directly upon the imperial countenance.

The Palace Examination tested only the Policy Question.

Sheng Zhaoning unfolded the question paper and calmly scanned it. Her brows immediately drew together.

Written on the paper was: “The ancients said, ‘The timing granted by Heaven is not as good as advantageous terrain; advantageous terrain is not as good as harmony among the people.’ Analyze this saying and expound upon its meaning.”

It was a very brief prompt, yet it was not about the usual policies for governing the realm, nor about the classics or histories. Instead, it asked about the principles of Heaven’s timing, favorable terrain, and human harmony.

For a moment, she did not know where to begin.

The candidates around her had clearly been left just as bewildered by this Policy Question. For a long while, none dared put brush to paper. Only when time slipped silently by and they could delay no longer did they force themselves to begin answering.

Sheng Zhaoning did not immediately lift her brush. Instead, she stared at the question and pondered it carefully.

The saying came from Mencius: One who has the Way receives abundant support; one who has lost the Way receives little support.

On the surface, it emphasized the relationship between Heaven’s timing, advantageous terrain, and human harmony, pointing out that timing, or opportunity, was less important than terrain, or conditions, while terrain was in turn less vital than human harmony, or the hearts of the people. In truth, however, it was asking about the Way of benevolent governance.

The emperor was posing a question to the Tribute Scholar candidates before the throne: Given the Way of the ancient sages, what should be done today?

And this very question was precisely the topic of the ancient sages she had answered in the Policy Question during the Metropolitan Examination.

In an age of prosperity, benevolent governance should be practiced. In an age of disorder, strict laws must be applied.

If root and branch were reversed, chaos would inevitably follow.

Sheng Zhaoning finally understood the prompt. Once her thoughts were settled, she hesitated no longer and took up her brush to write:

“Your subject answers: Your subject has heard that the ancient sages once said, ‘The timing granted by Heaven is not as good as advantageous terrain; advantageous terrain is not as good as harmony among the people.’ These words are indeed the highest principle. As for Heaven’s timing, it is the natural course of fortune. Whether wind and rain arrive in due season, or cold and heat come at the proper time, these are all gifts of Heaven. Yet Heaven’s changes are unpredictable and cannot be relied upon. As for advantageous terrain, it refers to the natural defenses of mountains and rivers, the fertility of the soil, and the solidity of cities and walls. Though such advantages exist, if there are no people to defend them, they are still difficult to make secure. Only human harmony, when ruler and subject are of one mind, sovereign and people share one virtue, generals and ministers act in accord, and all the people give their allegiance, is the foundation of a state’s long peace and lasting stability…”

She first explained the words of the ancient sages in full. Then, with a turn of argument, she proceeded from the two approaches of benevolent governance and strict law, connecting them to the present condition of the state and dividing their advantages and drawbacks in detail. In particular, she focused on the matter everyone else had deliberately avoided: war. She gave a measured account of how benevolent governance should be applied in an age of disorder, and in one unbroken flow, filled an entire page of exam paper.

She did not notice in the slightest the emperor’s probing, assessing gaze from atop the dragon throne.

This one question and answer took up most of the day.

Outside the hall, flowers bloomed in sumptuous profusion. The golden glow of dusk spilled across the clouds, and great swaths of fiery red sunset clouds spread across half the sky like fish scales. Rosy light fell upon glazed jade tiles, upturned eaves, and vermilion walls, gilding the entire imperial palace in a rich layer of gold.

Outside Taihe Hall, a tall, slender figure stood quietly before the doors.

His gaze passed over the crowd and came to rest from afar on the person seated at the head of the first row in the hall.

That cool, austere, and slender back fell into his eyes.

So she was… Sheng Zhaoning?

Wei Heng watched her in silence, a touch of gentle, kindly amusement entering his eyes. The setting sun draped him in a layer of golden light. A clear breeze passed through, lightly brushing his sleeves, and carried a pale pink peach blossom down onto his shoulder.

Two figures reflected each other from afar across a sea of people.

Yet they did not meet.