Although the aristocratic families of Dongqing were becoming more and more outrageous, it was undeniable that the children of the aristocratic families indeed had some skills.
“Each age brings forth new genius in this noble land.” The deputy examiner sighed. “The young generation has really replaced the old. These young people are really terrific. They’re the pillars of the country.” He was seated next to Liu She and spoke with emotion. What he said was confirmed by a few others.
“If not, why are they called the young talents? The world will be theirs very soon. It’s good to be young. After a few years, old people like us may have to retire in favor of talent. The young people these days make other people jealous.” A revered Confucius scholar spoke. The hair on his temples was snowy white and his face was covered with wrinkles, but his skin was ruddy and he looked quite sharp.
The assessment was held once every three years. It was a very important day for Dongqing.
Although Liu She was the head examiner, there were more than ten deputy examiners beside him. They were either senior ministers in the palace, famous figures, or revered Confucius scholars who were overflowing with knowledge. Their seniority was all higher than that of Liu She, but he hated it the most when they took advantage of their seniority.
A few of them sighed with emotion. He secretly snorted in his heart and sneered coldly. Even a pig would walk with its two hooves when it was given a lot of resources, let alone people.
The other assessments were about to end. The atmosphere at the assessment venue had livened up. With the urging of several deputy examiners, Liu She got up from the ta and pulled out a scroll from his sleeves. Two servants went forward and removed the scroll’s seal. Then, it was displayed and hung on the shelf.
Upon seeing the scroll, all the scholars kept their spirits. The highlight of the assessment that day had arrived.
Seeing the vigorous touches and fine strokes of the word displayed on the scroll, they were all confused. They were either frowning and pondering or secretly reciting the word…
“People!” That was the only word on the scroll. It was also the question for the assessment.
To say it in common terms, it was a composition with an assigned topic. The examiner would give a question and the students would answer with their own creativity.
There was no limit to the number of words and there was no restriction on the format of the content and subject matter, as long as the theme––”people”––was discussed. The governance of people, farming, commodity trading, and education were all examples related to the theme… It seemed easy, but the theme was actually very difficult to tackle.
First of all, the topic was too broad and a lot could be written on it. Because of that, it was extremely difficult to write an excellent and incisive essay that could make people introspect and express their admiration, as well as be accepted by Liu She. Most of them went for moderation.
Secondly, most of them were the sons of the aristocratic families, which had very decent backgrounds. They did not visit brothels and did not have much contact with the people. Most of their knowledge came from books. They would easily engage in false and empty talk if they were careless. How were they going to start?
It was not difficult for them to submit to the task. What was difficult was how to be outstanding and beat the others!
Of course, Jiang Pengji saw the question. She frowned. Liu She’s question could either be said as easy or very difficult. It was really a bit tricky.
The Chinese character for the word “people” originated from the Chinese characters for the words “corpse” and “family name.”
The word “corpse” could be described as the inability of the body to move; it had the implicit meaning of not migrating and not moving. “Family name” referred to a country and its clans. The combination of the two was “people.”
Using divergent thinking, not only could the word “people” be interpreted as people, but also the national economy and the people’s livelihood.
Connecting those two points, the basic necessities of life, which were related to people, could be included in one’s thinking as well. Topics related to the national economy and the people’s livelihood, like education and prospering the country, could also be used as a starting point… More importantly, after giving the question, Liu She did not give any other hints, so the students were very confused.
If one knew Liu She’s personal preference, it would help the students in pondering about the key points so they could cater to his taste.
Many scholars were in a difficult position. Upon seeing the situation, although the deputy examiners had objections, they did not say them out.
Liu She cared about the people and the people’s livelihood. He was a pragmatic person. What more could they say?
Wei Ci slightly curled his lips upon seeing the question.
He was very sure that there was something wrong with Liu She. However, in general, he was not that annoyed.
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The question had been given and it was not good for the scholars to exchange ideas and discuss it among each other. Many examiners were staring at them from above, so they could only rely on their own skills.
While others were still thinking about Liu She’s preference, a few scholars rubbed the ink stick on an inkstone, laid out their paper, and started writing.
Liu She scanned the situation with his eyes. The students who had started writing were basically the choice of people he had expected. He could not help but heave a sigh of relief secretly.
There was a reason that people went down in history with their abilities. Their talents could not be admired, nor could they be envied.
He walked around a little and glanced at their writing desks. He could not help but nod.
The question he gave was indeed very broad, but as long as it was related to the word “people,” they would not stray away from the topic. Instead of greedily wanting to present countless content in a few short pages, which would result in the essay not being sufficient, it was better to take a subject and emphasize on it. Using a subject to point out the essence of the topic was the principle.
Of course, understanding the principle was one thing; it was another thing if one could write the real thing.
Some people already understood Liu She’s intentions, but they realized that they could not write something real once they started writing.
According to their analysis about Liu She, he was considered as a man of action. What was the use of flattering him in an exaggerated manner? He might care more about those who knew about agriculture and irrigation, as well as those who were hardworking.
Of course, those people had self-knowledge. Most people just shrugged it off. No one would not like to listen to flattering words. What was wrong with writing the essay in an ornamental way? It would be fine as long as the head examiner felt comfortable reading it… Therefore, there were still fools who liked to show off their intelligence and vocabulary.
Among the many scholars, Liu She cared most about a few of Master Yuan Jing’s disciples. They were pretty much what he expected. Judging from the content of the essay alone, the temperament of the people could actually be explored as well.
The only one that surprised him was Wei Ci.
The fourth disciple of Master Yuan Jing… did not seem to be like what Amin said. He only had looks.
Cheng Jing was steady and pragmatic. He paid attention to agriculture and irrigation. Han Yu was upright and open-minded. His article related to criminal law. Lu Zheng seemed average, but as he elaborated further on his essay, he directly pointed out the corrupt practices in Dongqing and spoke out on behalf of the people… However, Wei Ci…
Looking at his appearance alone, he looked like a piece of jade. He was aloof, but he had the gentleness of a gentleman. They were oddly balanced.
However, his essay was… quite jarring. Even if Liu She appreciated his essay very much, he could not have given him a very high score. That was not the way to look for trouble!
He seemed to naively hope that everyone could get an education. He even gave a lot of real suggestions and plans.
Liu She twisted his lips. Wei Ci was not afraid of getting into trouble, so he provoked the authority of the gentries at this point of time.
Liu She secretly sighed. Wei Ci deliberately seeking trouble was the opposite of Amin’s words!
However, the bad things were not over yet. In the pavilion, Jiang Pengji was watching the scholars write with their heads down. Her heart felt somewhat more at ease. That was how examinations were supposed to be.
However, she soon changed her mind.
Hiss… The sound of a fabric being torn was heard.
Wei Ci was about to use the sandalwood burner to dry the ink marks on the essay that he had completed. A scholar near him was still pondering and his face was flushed. He sometimes squinted his eyes and glared. He could not stop tearing his clothes. He was wearing some old clothes that were loosely worn. Of course, his clothes could not withstand the suffering and they were soon torn apart.
Wei Ci did not say a word.
Liu She turned his head upon hearing the sound. That Langjun had already taken off all his clothes and got up from his seat. His back was facing Liu She and his buttocks was revealed.
Liu She was speechless. I want to curse right now!