Chapter 23

The examination took an entire morning. Four cases of cheating were caught, and two people fainted from excessive nervousness. Si Yunqin sat up above, shaking her head in disdain. Their mental fortitude really wasn’t up to par—it was just an exam.

Was it really that big a deal just because there were a few more Right Imperial Guard soldiers watching the exam?

At least Shen Yanxin was somewhat humane—she never cut off the fruit supply.

After sitting all morning, she had eaten her fill, to the point where she didn’t even want lunch.

At noon, she had the noon meal with Shen Yanxin. She and the Young Emperor stared at each other like big eyes meeting small eyes. They were a classic case of snacking too much and having zero appetite for actual food.

Shen Yanxin glanced at the two of them. “It’s one thing for little Luo’er to skip meals since he’s young, but why is the Empress being picky too?”

Si Yunqin lowered her head and poked at a mouthful of rice, muttering quietly, “I’m not an adult yet.”

Going by the rule from her previous life that adulthood started at eighteen, she really wasn’t an adult. She was still a middle school student—fifteen years old. How young was that?

Shen Yanxin raised an eyebrow slightly, not expecting Si Yunqin to talk back with such childish words.

She shouldn’t have let those two binge eat all morning.

Fortunately, there was nothing much to do in the afternoon. Si Yunqin returned to Eternal Peace Palace and crashed into bed.

She slept until the sun was nearly setting before waking up.

The next day, in the Imperial Study, Shen Yanxin was present. A man with completely white hair, not wearing an official robe, sat inside.

Lan Xi brought tea up. “Grand Tutor, please.”

“Thank you.” The old man nodded slightly, took the tea, sipped a mouthful, then looked at Shen Yanxin, cupping his hands in salute. “Empress Dowager, all the students’ exam papers have been collected, and the grading arrangements are all in order.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Yanxin put down her brush and said to him very seriously, “Thank you for your hard work, Grand Tutor. This matter is about reserving excellent talent for our Great Zhao. Please put in your best efforts.”

“It is my duty. The reason I came today is to ask the Empress Dowager for one person.” The Grand Tutor said.

“Oh? Who?” Shen Yanxin asked curiously.

The Grand Tutor then knelt down. “What I request may violate ancestral precepts, but I hope the Empress Dowager can understand my heart that cherishes talent.”

“Grand Tutor, please rise quickly. Just say it.” Shen Yanxin came out from behind her desk and personally went to help the Grand Tutor up.

“I hope the Empress can come to assist me in grading these exam papers. Although the Empress is a woman, I am willing to stake my head as guarantee—the Empress’s talent is not inferior to any man in the realm, and given time, she will not be inferior to me. She only lacks experience now. Empress Dowager, our Great Zhao needs such talent.” The Grand Tutor spoke sincerely again.

Back then, the Grand Tutor was the Late Emperor’s Honorary Father and the Grand Ancestor’s sworn brother. The Grand Ancestor once said that the Grand Tutor was a talent that would appear only once in a hundred generations. Later, when the realm was initially settled, the Grand Tutor resigned from his official post on his own, only taking the idle position of Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince, with no other official duties.

In those days, it was the Grand Tutor who recommended Shen Yanxin to act as Regent.

When the Late Emperor was on the verge of death, the Grand Tutor advised him: looking at the entire Yuwen clan, no one was more suitable than the Empress to assist the Emperor.

Thus, the Late Emperor overruled all objections and let Shen Yanxin oversee the state as Regent.

Now he was recommending Si Yunqin again. In Shen Yanxin’s eyes, this wasn’t surprising.

“Since the Grand Tutor has spoken, how could I refuse?” Shen Yanxin was actually happy about it.

This would save her the trouble of having Si Yunqin spend her days in the Imperial Harem practicing sword, walking birds, and playing mahjong—looking far more leisurely than the Empress Dowager herself, which was both annoying and enviable.

She resented her lack of ambition, envied her endless leisure, and regretted her unused talent.

Getting such a quick agreement from Shen Yanxin surprised the Grand Tutor a little.

Shen Yanxin just smiled. “The Grand Tutor cherishes talent. Don’t I as well?”

“Speaking of the flood disaster, it was thanks to the Empress’s reminder that I woke up in time.” Shen Yanxin laughed.

The Grand Tutor stroked his beard approvingly. “This child is a rare talent. It’s a pity she’s lazy by nature and especially hates trouble.”

So there was Si Yunqin, lying in the palace, when an imperial decree arrived from Respectful Peace Palace directly ordering her to assist the Grand Tutor in grading papers.

It stunned Si Yunqin so much she felt dumbfounded.

And just as the decree arrived, the sedan chair to pick her up also came.

That was how Si Yunqin ended up sitting in the Examination Hall, looking disgruntled and reluctant as she graded exam papers.

At first, reading these papers made her think the literary talent was decent enough, but after seeing too many, she grew tired. It wasn’t that none of them had talent, but Si Yunqin felt like they could write well and sound good, yet there was no substance.

A thousand papers with the same kind of showy prose, rambling on without hitting the point—just like her fresh-out-of-school self in her previous life.

This was a civil service exam, not an essay competition.

After grading for a whole morning, Si Yunqin yawned, thoroughly bored. In the afternoon, her eyes darted around, and she sidled up to the Grand Tutor, whispering, “Master, can I find someone to help me?”

Si Yunqin asked the Grand Tutor.

The Grand Tutor glanced at her. “What’s this? Not a single essay by these students catches your eye?”

Si Yunqin dared not brag like that, quickly shaking her head. “No, no, I’m not as good a writer as they are. My level isn’t up to theirs, so I can’t grade properly. Wouldn’t that be unfair if I just muddle through?”

“Shouldn’t this kind of thing be done by court officials? Why does it fall to you, Master? That’s not standard at all.” Si Yunqin pouted.

“This final exam was proposed by me, and for all these years, I’ve been in charge of it.” The Grand Tutor teased as he looked at Si Yunqin, and sure enough, he saw an awkward expression on her face.

“It’s right that you’re in charge, but why am I grading? I have neither the seniority nor the knowledge.” Si Yunqin felt she wasn’t qualified for this responsibility.

“Oh? Then tell me, who do you want to recommend?” The Grand Tutor was curious who she had in mind.

Si Yunqin sat up straight. “The daughter of the Minister of Rites, your disciple, my senior sister, Zhu Jing’an.”

This Zhu Jing’an was also an unusual person. She was thirty years old, had once been married, but because her husband took a concubine outside and had a son with her, she angrily divorced by mutual consent.

But Si Yunqin had heard about her divorce letter—that was no divorce. Between the lines were written two words: “Divorce Husband.”

Back then, she was only eight years old. After hearing about it, she looked up to this sole senior sister with deep respect. From then on, she stuck to her side all day.

Now Zhu Jing’an worked as a teacher at an academy in the city, and she was quite famous even in Heavenly Light City. The disciples she taught were almost always excellent.

At first, people wondered what a female teacher could teach, but later Zhu Jing’an proved herself with her strength.

Calling her a senior sister was a bit of a stretch, since Zhu Jing’an had only followed her elder brother to attend two years of the Grand Tutor’s classes.

The Grand Tutor did have some memory of Zhu Jing’an. Back then, he had found this woman intelligent, but no matter how smart a woman was, she still ended up marrying and focusing on family. He had felt a slight regret at first.

Now, hearing Si Yunqin bring her up, he grew a little curious. “When did you get so close to her?”

Si Yunqin covered her mouth and coughed lightly. She couldn’t exactly say it was because she admired her for kicking a scumbag of a man, and had shamelessly acted cute and clung to her since she was young.

“Anyway, Senior Sister is more capable than me. Master, won’t you consider it?” Si Yunqin looked at the Grand Tutor with pleading eyes. “You dare to use me, but not a teacher with a well-established reputation?”

After being pestered and coaxed, the Grand Tutor finally agreed.

Of course, it wasn’t possible to leave the entire grading to Si Yunqin alone. The final exam grading had to go through three rounds of review by three different groups of people. Si Yunqin was only responsible for the first review.

The next day, Zhu Jing’an was summoned to the Examination Hall. When Si Yunqin saw her, it was like seeing a savior.

Zhu Jing’an was only in charge of helping with Si Yunqin’s portion of the task. After she graded three papers, the Grand Tutor personally reviewed them and found them acceptable. He was also genuinely surprised by how much Zhu Jing’an had changed over the years—she now had far more life experience, and her knowledge was much richer.

When the Grand Tutor praised her after reading, Si Yunqin proudly said, “See? My recommendation is never wrong.”

The Grand Tutor kept a straight face and tapped her head. “Get to work.”

Si Yunqin reluctantly went back and sat down. Zhu Jing’an looked at her and rubbed her head.

It was a habitual gesture, but after doing it, she felt it was inappropriate, given how much their statuses had changed now.

Si Yunqin, as always, just smiled at her.

With Zhu Jing’an’s help, Si Yunqin slacked off even more. Reading these papers was just too sleep-inducing.

When the Grand Tutor caught her slacking off again, he sternly scolded her, with a hint of hidden frustration at her lack of ambition.

Si Yunqin just lazily yawned, then said to the Grand Tutor very seriously, “Master, it’s not that I’m not being serious. I just feel this final exam review has its limits. Most of what we see are from aristocratic youth. No matter how we review them, they won’t end up too poorly. Even at the worst, they still have the ability to be minor officials. Since I can’t change anything either way, I’ve lost interest in looking closely.”

Recruiting more qualified talent for today’s Zhao was not her business. She admitted that among these people, many were absolutely capable of the posts they’d be appointed to. But she also had to admit that no matter what, they all had a stance of protecting their family interests.

This one point alone discounted their talent.

Protecting family interests wasn’t wrong, but the current aristocratic clans had monopolized too many things. Even the Imperial Family feared them, so one could imagine how many ordinary people were blocked by them.

After saying this, Si Yunqin simply put down her brush. “Besides, isn’t the helper I found more useful than me?”

In the Imperial Study, Shen Yanxin heard about Si Yunqin’s remarks. After listening, she just laughed. She didn’t scold Si Yunqin at all—in fact, she even looked somewhat satisfied.

Because it also proved that at least Si Yunqin shared the same stance as her. Perhaps their goals differed in specifics, but the people they needed to deal with were the same.

It only made Shen Yanxin want Si Yunqin to work for her even more.

But then she thought of how this person was impervious to persuasion and genuinely wanted to be a wandering freeloader, which gave her a headache.

That evening, Si Yunqin returned to Eternal Peace Palace. When she got back, she was greeted by a surprise.

It was a full set of rouge and powder, sent by Shen Yanxin’s order.

These items were tributes, limited in quantity. Si Yunqin had used them once at Grand Consort Yuande’s place and had liked them very much. She even wanted to trade something for a set, but Grand Consort Yuande wouldn’t agree to exchange.

She had no idea how Shen Yanxin found out.

Delighted, Si Yunqin accepted the gift, and her goodwill toward Shen Yanxin increased a few notches. This person was reliable—give her work, and she actually gave her things.

But then she thought again: Shen Yanxin was simply a master at managing subordinates—first the stick, then the candy. Damn.

The key point was that Si Yunqin really was happy. Staring at the rouge and powder in front of her, she silently cursed herself for having no dignity, but her body honestly reached out to try them.

While cursing, she couldn’t resist.