She Should've Just Taken the Imperial Exam from the Start

At Qingya Academy, Mingtang had a classmate who worked incredibly hard.

He was always the first to get up and the last to rest.

He did his assignments better than anyone else.

Mingtang envied his neat, beautiful calligraphy.

He only had two or three sets of clothes, but they were always spotless.

Mingtang often saw him sitting alone in a corner of the dining hall, eating greens and tofu with not a drop of oil in sight.

Unable to bear it, Mingtang gave him some of his own clothes and shared his meals with him.

Whenever he did, his classmate would raise his clear, handsome eyes and say, "Thank you, Brother Ming."

Mingtang thought how wonderful it would be if they could serve at court together one day and keep each other company for a hundred years.

But in the end, his classmate couldn't sit the imperial examinations with the others.

Not because she lacked scholarly ability, nor because she came from a poor family.

It was because "he" was actually "she."

She was a poor young woman who had entered the academy disguised as a man.

After her identity was exposed, she quietly packed her things and left the academy where she had studied for three years.

She had very little luggage, just enough to fit in a small bundle.

Mingtang carried it for her and saw her out through the mountain gate.

Standing before the gate, Mingtang didn't know what to say to her.

Should he say, "I've been in love with you for a long time, but when I found out you were a woman, I felt more sorrow for your hopeless future than joy"?

Or, "My family is well-off. You could lie low at my home, then after two or three years, transfer to another academy and keep disguising yourself as a man"?

In the end, he said nothing.

As he handed her the small bundle, into which he had secretly tucked some banknotes, all he said was, "Take care."

So she said, "You take care too, Brother Ming."

Mingtang stood at the mountain gate, watching her walk farther and farther away until she disappeared into the mountain mist.

He returned to the academy, shut himself away to study, and paid no attention to the outside world for five whole years.

At last, after five years, he emerged from seclusion, convinced that his studies had reached perfection and that he was sure to top the imperial examinations that year.

But his classmates told him he had missed a lot during his five years in seclusion. For instance, the dynasty had changed, and that year's examinations were special exams held in the first year of the new emperor's reign.

Mingtang remained unmoved.

Even if the dynasty had changed, didn't people still have to take the imperial examinations?

His five years of study hadn't been wasted. Sure enough, he came first and passed the highest-level examination.

Kneeling before the new emperor in the Golden Hall, he said, "Your Majesty, your servant dares to beg for his life and ask you to hear these words from my heart."

The new emperor said, "All right. Lift your head and look at me."

He said, "Your servant is willing to trade his honors for one wish. I beg Your Majesty to grant it."

The new emperor said, "I can do that, but lift your head and look at me."

He said, "I have an old friend of noble character and profound learning, a hundred times my equal. It is a shame that she was born a woman and cannot serve Your Majesty with all her strength. I beg Your Majesty to show mercy and allow women to sit the imperial examinations and serve at court."

The new emperor laughed.

After laughing for quite a while, she finally said, "I agree."

Then she added, "But, Brother Ming, lift your head and look at me."

Mingtang raised his head in confusion and saw her sitting on the dragon throne, smiling just as she had when she beat him at pitch-pot back at the academy.

She said, "Brother Ming, it's been a while."

Mingtang suddenly remembered hearing all sorts of stories about the new emperor on his journey to the capital for the examinations.

They said the new emperor had three heads and six arms and could eat ten oxen in one sitting. They said the new emperor had exiled the previous emperor to Qiongzhou, where he spent his days counting coconuts for fun.

Mingtang thought the former emperor must regret it now.

Why hadn't he let her take the imperial examinations in the first place?

Theme: Life always finds a way forward.