J'ai passé mon bras autour de la taille fine de l'homme fort

Chapitre 70

Liu Ji wanted to argue, but the princess glared at him and immediately suppressed him, saying, "If you say another word, I will have them take you to the Dali Temple for questioning!"

Liu Ji lowered his head in anger and remained silent.

Seeing this, I wanted to speak up to offer some advice, but the princess stopped me as soon as I opened my mouth: "You, don't say anything... You just wasted so much effort trying to reason with them, it was useless, wasn't it? It was much cleaner and more efficient for me to respond to their grievances with justice and violence with violence... The more books these people read, the more cunning they become. If your reasoning had been effective, they wouldn't have attacked Ouyang Neihan..."

Before she could finish speaking, the sound of hooves rose again. We looked over and saw that a horse that had not been properly tied up had suddenly galloped wildly, running extremely fast, and trampled a yellow dog lying on the street to death.

Upon seeing this, Ouyang Xiu seemed to be deep in thought. He then stepped forward, bowed to the princess, and said, "Please allow me to say a few words to the candidates."

The princess nodded in agreement. Ouyang Xiu then turned to the assembled scholars, pointed to the dog that had just been trampled to death by the fleeing horse, and said, “You all should have witnessed what just happened. Since you are all interested in using the imperial examinations to enter officialdom, you will likely enter the Imperial Academy to compile books and study history in the future. I would like to ask you all to write about this matter in one sentence. If your words are more concise, fluent, and direct than mine, I will resign from my position in the Imperial Academy tomorrow, request to be transferred to a post outside the capital, and will no longer be involved in matters of literature and education.”

The scholars looked around, a hint of joy in their eyes. After a moment of contemplation, one of them spoke first: "A yellow dog was lying on the road. The horse was startled and galloped over, trampling the dog to death."

Ouyang Xiu remained calm, and soon another person gave a second version of the story: "A dog was lying on the main road when a horse ran away and killed it."

Ouyang Xiu remained silent, then turned to look at the others, and someone else said, "A horse ran away in the street, and a dog lying down was hit and killed."

Ouyang Xiu smiled slightly and said, "If history is written in this way, even ten thousand volumes cannot contain the events of a single day."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ji raised his voice and gave his answer: "The red horse ran away, crossed the main road, and died while lying down."

As soon as these words were spoken, someone sneered. Looking in the direction of the sound, they saw it was the scholar in the blue robe from before.

Liu Ji angrily retorted, "Is what I said so ridiculous?"

The scholar in the blue robe smiled and bowed slightly: "Not at all. I was just overjoyed to hear the beautiful lines in the Imperial Academy style, and I couldn't help but express my delight."

Liu Ji snorted and said, "I'm sure you have other excellent lines, brother. I'm all ears."

The scholar in the blue robe said, "Master Ouyang already has a plan in mind, so I dare not presume to teach him. Please enlighten me."

Ouyang Xiu then asked the surrounding scholars if they had any other opinions, but those people probably saw that Liu Ji had already said it all, so they said no more and asked the Imperial Scholar for guidance.

So Ouyang Xiu slowly revealed his answer: "A runaway horse killed a dog on the road."

The six words were concise and to the point, quite reminiscent of Sima Qian's writing style. After a moment of silence, the princess spoke first, saying "Bravo!" and gradually, applause and cheers rose from the crowd.

Ouyang Xiu then turned to Liu Ji and said, “When you enter officialdom, whether you hold a position in the Imperial Academy or serve as a censor, whether you compile history or write memorials, you should always remember the four words ‘clear and fluent writing.’ Your writing should be concise yet methodical, fluent and natural, neither ostentatious nor obscure. Only simplicity and clarity can accurately convey your meaning and make it easy for people to understand. Words convey events, and writing embellishes words. Most importantly, your words must have substance and principle. When the principle prevails, the writing will naturally follow. Once the reasoning is clear, there is no need for deliberate embellishment; the brilliance of the writing will naturally shine through.”

Liu Ji remained silent, seemingly moved, lowering his eyes in contemplation, and ceased his argument. The other candidates were similarly stunned, as if still pondering Ouyang Xiu's words.

Ouyang Xiu then pleaded with the princess on behalf of the candidates, asking her to release them. Although the princess was displeased, she still obeyed and ordered the guards of the Imperial City Guard to release them.

After the troublemaking scholars had left, the princess asked Ouyang Xiu, "They offended you so much, how could you not punish them?"

Ouyang Xiu said: "Governing the people with punishments may make them know fear, but their hearts will not be moved, which is of no benefit to the ruler and the country. It is better to enlighten them with reason, regulate them with rites, and guide them with virtue, so that they will be moved and transformed by themselves."

The princess said, "Even so, the Imperial Secretary has offended too many candidates this time, and not all of them may be able to be influenced by him. I'm afraid some people will take the opportunity to cause trouble. I'd better send some guards to escort you home."

Ouyang Xiu bowed in thanks, and the princess smiled and said, "No need for such formalities, Your Excellency. If you really want to thank me, then write fewer poems and essays in the future."

Seeing that Ouyang Xiu was puzzled, I smiled and explained to him that the Emperor wanted the princess to recite his masterpiece. Ouyang Xiu suddenly understood, smiled, and bowed to the princess to apologize.

The princess waved her hands repeatedly and laughed, "I was just joking. Of all the ministers in the court, I still prefer reading your poems and essays, Inner Scholar."

After seeing Ouyang Xiu off and the princess boarded her carriage, I suddenly remembered the scholar in the blue robe. I immediately looked around and saw him striding confidently, already several feet away. I quickly spurred my horse to catch up. When I reached him, I dismounted, cupped my hands, and said, "Scholar, your insightful remarks are truly admirable. May I ask your honorable name?"

The scholar smiled and returned the greeting, saying, "I am Su Shi from Meishan."

I also told him my name, and then said, "I have another question for you, Scholar Su: What is the source of the story you just told about Li Yishan paying homage to Bai Letian?"

Su Shi laughed heartily and waved his sleeve, saying, "Why should I care about origins!"

It turned out he really did make it up. I couldn't help but laugh.

"With hundreds of scholars around, only you have raised doubts, which shows your great talent, sir." He smiled and then explained, "When discussing matters and writing, one must first have a plan, then the classics and histories can all be used by me, let alone allusions that are both true and false!"

The Lonely City Closed (The Princess Who Fell in Love with a Eunuch) Leaning idly against the twelve balustrades 3. The Investiture Ceremony

Chapter word count: 3509 Update time: 08-08-21 17:31

3. Investiture Ceremony

Back in the palace, the princess first complained to her father about the failed candidates, recounting their attack on Ouyang Xiu and the process of Ouyang Xiu setting the exam questions, but omitting the part about her threatening Liu Ji and others. Deng Duzhi and I exchanged a smile after hearing this, but neither of us added anything.

Upon learning of Ouyang Xiu's incident, the Emperor sighed, "These failed scholars are far too arrogant. Attacking the examiners is not the first time. It is said that Ouyang Xiu had just returned home from the examination hall the other day when someone threw a scroll of documents over the wall into his courtyard. When he picked it up, he found it was a 'Memorial to Ouyang Xiu'..."

The princess raised her eyebrows and said, "It would be better to arrest one of these troublemaking scholars and make an example of him. At the very least, break one of his legs or lock him up for a year or two. That should make them behave."

"In that case, they will criticize you even more, and even the ministers in the court will chime in, describing your father as a tyrant who wants to silence people and burn books and bury scholars alive." The Emperor smiled and shook his head, earnestly instructing: "My daughter, there are two things in this world that you must never touch, and you must go around them when you see them. One is a hornet's nest, and the other is a group of scholars."

The princess glanced at herself for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, bending over: "That's right! Today, Scholar Ouyang's appearance was just like stirring up a hornet's nest!"

After laughing, she didn't forget to speak up for Ouyang Xiu: "Scholar Ouyang has offended too many people this time. Tomorrow, when the names are announced, another batch of candidates who participated in the palace examination will fail. It's hard to guarantee that this kind of thing won't happen again in the future. Father, you have to think of a way to prevent him from being stung by wasps again!"

The Emperor pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "Yes, I've been thinking about it."

The next day, when the names were announced, we discovered what an extraordinary decision he had made to protect Ouyang Xiu: that year, all those who participated in the palace examination would be granted the title of Jinshi, without exception.

Therefore, the recitation of hundreds of names made the ceremony particularly long. The palace ladies on the Taiqing Tower watched with little interest; several yawned and muttered complaints about how tiring it was to stand, and that this year's top scholar wasn't particularly handsome.

The top scholar of this year is Zhang Heng from Jian'an. He is about thirty years old, mature and dignified, but in terms of demeanor and bearing, he is naturally far inferior to Feng Jing of the past.

As for the princess and me, there was an unexpected highlight in the announcement of names: the second person to pass the imperial examination was the scholar in blue robes who had defended Ouyang Xiu the day before—Su Shi from Meishan.

The princess seemed to have a good impression of him, so when all the scholars bowed to thank the empress in front of the Taiqing Tower, she specially ordered someone to give him an extra piece of pastry.