Chapter 029: Little Report

These examination papers were prepared in advance, mainly to assess the knowledge and cultivation of the princess and her companions. Overall, they are not complicated and don’t require many copies. Thus, each teacher prepared their own questions and had them copied twelve times. The writing is uniform, neat, and all done in a beautiful standard script.

Xie Wei, after giving his instructions, continued to open the papers. After checking the number of papers, he asked the three elderly Hanlin scholars who accompanied him, “Would the honorable gentlemen like to review these?”

The three remained standing and shook their heads.

One of the elderly scholars sighed and said, “It’s just a bunch of little girls taking exams. This is almost like child’s play. Why bother reviewing them? Aren’t they all the same? Master Xie, you’ve seen them, that’s enough.”

Xie Wei glanced at him, said nothing, and handed the papers to the palace attendants.

The attendants received the papers with both hands and distributed them to each person.

Jiang Xuening received the last one.

As soon as the paper was placed in front of her, she quickly scanned through it: the questions were nearly identical to the ones she had done in her previous life and were exactly the same as the ones Yan Lin had given her last night.

Then she heard Xie Wei say from the front, “This examination is merely to gauge the level of knowledge and cultivation of the companions. The questions set by the teachers are relatively simple, and the difficulty of the answers is not high. Therefore, the time to complete the answers is only an hour and a half. By the end of the examination, please submit your papers. The three teachers and I will spend about two quarters of an hour grading the papers on the spot. Now, you may begin.”

His voice was calm and unperturbed.

In the ears of the listeners, it felt like a gentle breeze, perhaps because there was a comforting tone in his words that easily dispelled the initial tension of entering the hall, allowing them to relax slightly.

Those below, such as Xiao Shu and Fan Yilan, were all well-versed and confident. Upon hearing Xie Wei’s words, they began writing with ink, answering the questions on the blank Xuan paper.

Jiang Xuening, however, stared at the paper for a long time.

After quite some time, she finally reached out, curled her five fingers like a chicken claw, grabbed a small brush beside her, and began writing slowly and crookedly on the answer sheet.

At this point, the teachers had already seated themselves on the chairs to the left, asking the attendants to serve tea.

They were all old scholars from the Hanlin Academy, and upon seeing the twelve little girls busy answering papers, they couldn’t help but shake their heads.

The elderly scholar who had spoken to Xie Wei earlier said, “One princess wants to study, and the emperor indulges her by inviting some people to teach. After all, girls don’t need to understand grand principles. At home, they listen to their parents, after marriage, they follow their husbands, and if their husbands die, they follow their sons. Studying the ‘Classic of Filial Piety’ and the ‘Admonitions for Women’ should suffice. Yet, they go to such lengths that an outsider might think it was a prince studying. I’ve diligently studied in the Hanlin Academy for over a decade, and now I’m here teaching a bunch of girls. What a joke!”

Xie Wei, sitting beside him, lowered his eyes, held his tea cup, lifted the lid, and said nothing.

However, the other two teachers were a bit dissatisfied by these words.

One of them sighed and agreed, “Indeed. I’ve been in office for many years, and no one has ever asked me to teach girls! We’re at least jinshi with honors in both examinations, having studied the Four Books and the Five Classics. Coming here to teach the princess and her companions, it’s hardly fitting to cover just the basics. It’s not about overestimating ourselves; it’s like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. You and I might be just a few frustrated old scholars in the academy, but it’s baffling that someone like Master Xie, who usually presides over major lectures, was appointed by the emperor to teach the princess and these companions. And even more baffling that he agreed.”

These elderly scholars all came from the prestigious Hanlin Academy and had their own sense of integrity. They spoke their minds freely, even in front of the emperor. They had expressed similar sentiments several times in the court.

However, Shen Lang favored the princess and was stubborn, refusing to listen to advice.

So, their words were to no avail.

Xie Wei had heard their complaints in the court before, and they often dragged him into the conversation as if he shared their discontent.

Yet, he didn’t show much emotion about it.

At that moment, he glanced at the young ladies diligently answering their papers, pausing briefly on Jiang Xuening’s awkward grip on the brush. He slightly frowned, took a sip of tea, and said, “Everyone is working on their answers, we should speak less to avoid disturbance.”

The elderly scholars had no choice but to fall silent.

Proctoring exams was always tedious.

Xie Wei had brought a book, “Shoubai Lun,” and sat on the side, slowly flipping through it.

The elderly scholars, however, couldn’t sit still for long.

The emperor’s decision to have them teach the princess and a group of aristocratic girls was already displeasing to them. After sitting for a short while, unable to talk or read with interest, they decided to step outside for some fresh air, leaving the proctoring to Xie Wei.

Throughout this, Xie Wei didn’t even look at them, focusing on his book.

Jiang Xuening, sitting in a corner, heard the elders’ words and saw them leave soon after. She couldn’t help but frown.

After all, they were typical “old scholars.”

Old and decrepit like this, they ought to be buried in the ground!

Even if she doesn’t stay as a companion in the future, she must definitely report these few rotten old men to Shen Zhiyi.