It has to be said that Dong Shangshu is quite unique in trying to figure out the holy meaning of the Holy Heart.
The emperor made up his mind to open a women's department to select female officials, and the first women's department examination was particularly important. This time's admission rate is setting a tone for future women's examinations.
One out of five is indeed far better than one out of twenty for men. However, very few women study at an early age. There are even fewer people who can sign up for the Etiquette Department and walk into the examination room. From this point of view, choosing one out of five is very appropriate.
Sure enough, after Dong Shangshu entered the Zhaohe Palace holding twenty successful examination papers, Jiang Shaohua smiled and praised: "Dong Shangshu is really neat in his work."
Dong Shangshu responded seriously. : "I am deeply favored by the emperor, and it is natural for me to share the emperor's worries."
"The imperial court has set up women's examinations and selected female officials, which is a major event that is beneficial to the country. I personally do everything in order to select the truly useful talents for the emperor."
"I have selected twenty, please also ask The emperor will look at them one by one. The real ranking will be determined by the emperor himself after the palace examination. "
Generally speaking, those who are successful in the palace examination will not give up, and only the final ranking will be determined. The emperor personally marked the papers and determined the rankings, and all the new scholars became the emperor's disciples.
Jiang Shaohua said with a smile: "The palace examination will be in ten days. When the examination starts, I will be the chief examiner, and Dong Shangshu will be my deputy examiner."
Actually, there are still errands to do. Dong Shangshu had to do it, and Jiang Shaohua was just the examiner. This was originally the responsibility of the Minister of Rites.
Dong Shangshu responded with a busy smile.
After Dong Shangshu left, Jiang Shaohua carefully read the twenty women's examination papers.
The exam questions were all written by Dong Shangshu himself. The number of questions was one-third less than the men's exam paper, the difficulty was much lower, and the focus was also different. This is also determined taking into account the actual situation of women’s education. When wealthy ladies read books, they mostly read poems and songs to make them happy and nourish their character. The scientific examination requires reading a subset of classics and history, and writing about current affairs and national policies. It is indeed a bit difficult for women to take these exams.
Dong Shangshu focused on the silent writing of classics and history, and there were only two national policies at that time.
The number of women who can come to participate in the selection of women's subjects is indeed small, and they all have real talents. Li Ying and Cui Wenxiu were both selected without any doubt.
There is also a girl named Li, who should be a descendant of Queen Mother Li's natal family.
There are people named Cui, people named Lu, people named Wang, and even people named Zhang. Look, Zhang Shangshu is not stupid at all. While wooing his party members, he also has to take advantage of the benefits that belong to female officials.
Jiang Shaohua twitched the corner of his mouth, feeling confused in his heart.
The name on the last examination paper came into view. Jiang Shaohua took one look at it and laughed. He turned to Chen Jinyu and said, "Lu Zhen is indeed promising and he was selected."
< br>Chen Jinyu’s eyes lit up and he came over to take a closer look.
Lu Zhen started studying at the age of eight. She studied at Yexian Girls' College for six years and got first place in every exam. It can be said that he is the most outstanding student trained by Ye County Girls' College.
"Lu Zhen's handwriting is very good." Chen Jinyu smiled and praised: "Let's not talk about the article first, just look at the words, it is also first-rate."
Jiang Shaohua smiled I hummed and said, "The article is also well written."
A young girl who is just starting out is full of energy and courage. When writing articles, the pen is extremely sharp. The talent and vigor are really overwhelming.
After reading the test papers, Chen Jinyu was full of praise for Lu Zhen: "Good! This Lu Zhen is a promising talent. After the palace examination, let her work in the palace as an errand. I will train her well."
Chen Jinyu is already twenty years old and has reached the age to consider having children. She couldn't be separated before, but when female officials came to work in the palace in the future, she would take the time to conceive and have a child, so the emperor wouldn't have to worry about having no one available. Compared with the rich lady who came from a rich family, Lu Zhen, who came from a commoner in Ye County, was obviously more in line with the emperor's wishes.
If nothing else, the first and most important thing when serving as an errand beside the Emperor is absolute loyalty to His Majesty the Empress. Women born from the Lu family, the Cui family, the Li family, and the Wang family, no matter how talented they are, they will still have concerns about using them. Once there is a conflict between the emperor's order and the family, will they be too selfish and turn towards their own family?
Lu Zhen has no such trouble at all. Her family is ordinary people, thousands of miles away. From now on, he will be alone in the palace. It has nothing to do with the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty. From this point of view, he is even more suitable to be the emperor's sacrificer than Chen Jinyu.
Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly: "After the palace exam, take a look at her test paper and give her a good ranking."
...
Of course Lu Zhen didn’t know that he had already been given a high ranking by the emperor before he passed the palace examination.
On the day when the rankings were released, the men’s rankings were posted first. The women's list is much shorter, with a total of twenty names. There were so many people around the table that the women couldn't squeeze in.
For example, Miss Li, Miss Cui, Miss Wang, Miss Lu, etc. all sent their servants to look at the rankings.
Li Ying also asked her servants to look at the list. All in all, there were only twenty names. I squeezed my way to the front and took a few glances, and then I saw them all.
The servants who were looking at the list tried their best to squeeze forward, and soon came back with beams of joy to report: "Great joy! Great joy! Both the mountain chief and Master Cui are on the list! Miss Lu also passed the exam!"
Li Ying and Cui Wenxiu looked at each other and smiled.
Lu Zhen did not have such determination. After hearing the good news, Le raised his eyebrows and smiled happily: "I passed the exam! Master! Chief! I passed the exam!"
Li Ying smiled and touched Lu Zhen’s head: “Good job "
"There is still the palace examination. Prepare carefully and get a good score." Cui Wenxiu was full of confidence in his lover: "Perhaps, the emperor will just leave you as an errand in the palace. Reach the sky in one step! ”
Lu Zhen nodded vigorously, his bright eyes shining with joy.
Who would have thought that a girl from Zhihu's family in Ye County could study in an academy, take the women's examination, and pass the exam to become a female official?
The ambition she has set since she was a child is already within reach.
In the next few days, Lu Zhen didn't even leave the door. Under the guidance of Li Ying and Cui Wenxiu, he practiced Shi Wen hard.
Cui County Magistrate was born as a second-ranked Jinshi. Li Ying accompanied her husband to study and was quite accomplished in contemporary literature. Even if Li Ying passed the women's examination, she still wanted to return to Ye County Academy and continue to manage the academy as the mountain chief. The same goes for Cui Wenxiu. The only one who can really stay in the capital and work as an errand is Lu Zhen.
The two of them almost gave up on their own imperial examinations and focused on guiding Lu Zhen in preparing for the exams.
On the day of the palace examination, one hundred men and twenty women lined up in three teams and filed into the Jinluan Palace. Under the guidance of the ceremony officer, they all saluted the emperor with their hands raised.
Jiang Shaohua glanced at the nervous faces of everyone, smiled and said: "Without courtesy, take a seat. Today is the palace examination, and I will be your examiner."
"Dong Shangshu, let's get started. !”
Dong Shangshu responded and ordered the two officials of the Ministry of Rites to distribute the examination papers. (End of chapter)