Unbending Bones
After the Emperor's birthday banquet concluded, the matter that drew the most attention in Dadu was, naturally, the results of the palace examination. People waited with bated breath for the announcement, wondering whether the top graduate would come from the household of Grand Preceptor Zhen, from Chancellor Yu's family, or whether some poor scholar's son might claim that glory for himself.
The gambling tables had already opened for business.
Someone had leaked a list of seven names provisionally slated for the top ten. Ye Yuanjing, Ye Yuanbo, Zhen Cuilu, Wu Anbang, Zhang Ruohuai, Lin Chaodong, and Wang Chengyu — every last one of them a son or grandson of a meritorious official family. Word had it that the households of these seven had long since slipped a word to Chief Examiner and Hanlin Academician Wen Zhenkang, and had even sent along generous gifts.
As for Zhang Ruohuai, some remarked that it was strange for a man who had barely scraped by as a mere Provincial Graduate — one who had failed the exams repeatedly — to suddenly pass as a tribute scholar in one leap and sit the palace examination as well.
The people of Wang Chengyu's hometown had still harsher things to say. Wang Chengyu, son of the Governor of Yingzhou, was a foul-mouthed man who had never swallowed so much as a proper mouthful of ink, they insisted. Back in Yingzhou, they said, he had been the standing joke of every poetry gathering where literati and scholars assembled. That a man like that should rank within the top ten of the palace examination — there was no greater farce under heaven, they went around proclaiming to anyone who would listen.
Only the two grandsons of Chancellor Yu and the grandson of Grand Preceptor Zhen were spared such slander; against the remaining four, a ceaseless flood of doubts about their true ability poured forth.
In a tavern near the Kuishou Inn, Xue Renyi — whose name was whispered with respect among the scholars — had fallen into deep despondency over his failure, drowning his grievances in drink day after day. He swore all the same that he would stay right there until the Golden Board was posted.
He had believed that in the metropolitan examination he would place within the top ten, if not earn the rank of metropolitan graduate itself. Failure was something he had never once imagined, even in dreams. But when the list of ten names was made public, he wailed that this examination, once again, was riddled with corruption.
"Even a blockhead like Wang Chengyu… that idiot! I, Xue Renyi, fail, and a man like him passes? Who in the world is going to believe that!"
His former classmates tried to console him.
One of the men seated at the table took a sip of wine and spoke up.
"What good is grumbling here? If you ask me, you ought to follow the Commandery Princess's example and strike the Dengwen Drum to seek justice. When the Commandery Princess struck it, the Emperor stripped even King Xin, his own legitimate son, down to commoner status and shipped him off to exile in Yingzhou, didn't he?"
One of the classmates who had been offering comfort turned his head and glared with irritated eyes at the man, who seemed determined to pour oil on a house fire.
"The Commandery Princess held bamboo slips bearing her campaign records. We have no evidence at all by comparison—"
"No evidence, you say? Isn't this leaked list evidence? If you have the courage to stake your life on seeking justice, then strike the drum! When a man strikes the Dengwen Drum prepared to die, His Majesty is certain to order an investigation. If these seven really were slated for the top ten before the Golden Board was posted, wouldn't the Emperor be thrown into a panic?"
The man picked up a bit of food, put it in his mouth, and continued.
"If even a man like me knows what is right, how is it that you learned men don't?"
With a smiling face, the man raised his wine cup. He seemed slightly drunk.
"Before the Golden Board is posted — better still, before the chief examiner and the associate examiners come out of the palace. Once the drum is struck, we can put this already-leaked list to excellent use."
The failed scholars glanced at one another. What this drunkard said sounded disturbingly plausible.
"Still, when power frightens you, it isn't so easy to step forward."
The man set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth with his hand.
"I come from a poor family myself, and nothing disgusts me more than the sight of official clans wielding their influence to line their own pockets!"
The man went on, speaking like some wanderer of the rivers and lakes.
"If anyone has the courage to strike the Dengwen Drum, then let me take the beating in place of you poor scholars! We ought to show these power-hungry aristocratic clans something, shouldn't we? That though our origins are humble, our bones have not gone soft!"
Xue Renyi, deep in his cups, smashed the wine cup in his hand against the table and sprang up.
"I, Xue Renyi, am a man who has read the words of the sages. How could I kneel before power? I will go strike the Dengwen Drum this very moment! Even if it costs me my life, I must seek justice for the poor scholars of this land!"
When he finished speaking, Xue Renyi seized the wine pot on the table and poured its contents down his throat in great gulps.
His classmates hastily rose to their feet, urging him to calm himself — there would be chances again next year.
"The powerful clans cover the sky with the palm of one hand. For the sake of private gain they cheat, embezzle, and neglect their duties, and such things happen without end. And it only grows worse by the day.
Think carefully! It becomes harder and harder for a poor family's son to rise in this world! If we do not stand at the forefront — if we all go on bending our knees before power — then there will be no place left for the poor scholars of this great Jin dynasty, now or ever! All of you with any spine left, come with me!"
With that, Xue Renyi, unable to contain the fury and fire boiling in his blood, strode off toward the palace gates.
* * *
Hanlin Academician Wen Zhenkang, wholly unaware that these seven names were the talk of every street in Dadu, had ranked the policy essays of the palace examination together with the associate examiners, written out the top ten, and submitted them to the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
The Emperor read only a single essay before passing the rest to the Crown Prince to judge.
Though the Crown Prince's learning was ordinary, he had seen and heard enough to know good policy essays from bad.
As he read Dong Zhangyuan's examination paper, a light sparked in the Crown Prince's eyes, and he handed it respectfully to the Emperor.
"Your Son believes this policy essay is logically rigorous and offers remarkably original views. Its prose may not be flamboyant, but its reasoning is lucid and sharp."
The Emperor gave a nod and set Dong Zhangyuan's paper aside.
When he came to Jin Lang's paper, the Emperor seemed to take an interest, reading it with genuine attention.
The Emperor had once praised Jin Lang as a model for the sons of the great clans, and so he had placed his hopes on the young man — hoping Jin Lang would prove that the words he had spoken were true.
As he finished Jin Lang's essay, a smile crept into the Emperor's eyes. He nodded and set Jin Lang's paper beside Dong Zhangyuan's.
Next the Emperor examined the papers of Chancellor Yu's two grandsons, holding one in each hand and comparing them. At this, Wen Zhenkang spoke up with a light laugh.
"These two essays excel not only in style but in their analysis of the state of the realm — they strike the heart of the matter with perfect precision! If Your Majesty's servant had two grandsons of such brilliant learning, he would surely have made them sit the examinations separately. Yet Chancellor Yu had the two sit them together. It amounts to a household competing against itself."
Hearing this, the Emperor could not hold back his laughter and looked toward the Crown Prince.
"They say one should never put all one's eggs in a single basket — but it seems a man who spent his whole life keeping his seat at court has forgotten that bit of wisdom."
With that, the Emperor set Ye Yuanjing's and Ye Yuanbo's papers alongside those of Jin Lang and Dong Zhangyuan.
The Emperor then took up Zhen Cuilu's policy essay and began reading it in careful detail.
"The Grand Preceptor's temperament shows through in every line. Zhen Cuilu, was it… the Grand Preceptor's grandson?"
"Your Majesty has a discerning eye!"
Wen Zhenkang bowed to the Emperor with a smiling face.
"Grand Preceptor Zhen was himself a top graduate, was he not? And his son, Vice Minister of the Secretariat Zhen Pingxing, likewise placed first in his year. The people of Dadu are watching with great interest to see whether the Grand Preceptor's grandson can claim the top spot as well. If the grandson should succeed, it will be a fine tale told throughout Jin — a family that produced top graduates for three generations."
At these words, the Emperor deliberated a moment, then picked up Dong Zhangyuan's paper once more.
"This Emperor… believes that of these ten essays, the one by this man Dong Zhangyuan is the finest of all."
In truth, the Emperor had privately felt that the caliber of the tribute scholars who sat this year's examinations seemed a shade below those of years past.
Wen Zhenkang hurried to echo the Emperor's judgment.
"Your Majesty, what wisdom! Your Majesty speaks the truth! The ten policy essays submitted to Your Majesty are all the finest writings of this examination. Whatever decision Your Majesty renders, these young men will all be ones to serve Your Majesty faithfully."
The Emperor nodded. It seemed to him that Wen Zhenkang spoke rightly.
Within the Emperor's study, sovereign and ministers deliberated for the better part of several hours before finally settling the rankings of the Golden Board.
To create the celebrated tale of three generations of Grand Preceptor Zhen's family all placing first, the Emperor designated the Grand Preceptor's grandson, Zhen Cuilu, as the Zhuangyuan — the top graduate.
Mindful of Chancellor Yu's standing as well, the Emperor named Ye Yuanjing the Bangyan — second of the first class.
Dong Zhangyuan's policy essay had been outstanding beyond question. Gao Demu had once reported that Dong Zhangyuan was a young gentleman with a face as gentle as polished jade. So striking were his looks that the Emperor made him the Tanhua — third of the first class. Jin Lang was set as first of the second class, a Chuanlu.
The Crown Prince ranked the remaining six, placing Ye Yuanbo as second of the second class.
Third of the second class went to a son of a poor family; Wu Anbang took fourth, Zhang Ruohuai fifth, Lin Chaodong sixth, and Wang Chengyu seventh of the second class.
The moment the Golden Board was finalized, Wen Zhenkang led the associate examiners out of the great hall, and no sooner had he stepped outside than he let out a long breath of relief. But at that very instant, a drumbeat that seemed to shake the very heavens rolled out from the direction of Wude Gate.
Wen Zhenkang's heart pounded like a war drum in his chest.
What in the world is wrong with this year? The Dengwen Drum, silent for centuries, rings out again and again like this. Don't tell me it's the Commandery Princess again?
Whoever it was, nothing good ever came of the Dengwen Drum sounding.
Wen Zhenkang turned his head and glanced once back into the great hall. His Majesty is about to have another headache.
Seated upon the dragon dais, the Emperor had just raised his teacup to take a sip when the sound of the Dengwen Drum reached him. He startles so violently that his hand trembled and a bit of tea spilled over.
Irritation surged up in him at once. He wanted to tear that accursed drum out by the roots this very moment.
The Dengwen Drum had not sounded through the reigns of several emperors — so what on earth had possessed it during his own? It had rung out with maddening frequency since the year's end, as if determined to grant him not a single breath of peace!
The Crown Prince, too, started violently. Bai Jingyan came to his mind unbidden. But Bai Jingyan had already placed herself under his command, so if something had happened, surely she would have come to him first. She had no reason to strike the Dengwen Drum and rouse his father's displeasure.
The Emperor slammed his teacup down onto the table and bellowed.
"Gao Demu! Go and find out what is happening!"
Gao Demu clutched his horsetail whisk to his chest and scurried out of the great hall as fast as his legs would carry him.
"What is the meaning of all this drumming! What could possibly have happened that they strike the Dengwen Drum again! How is a man supposed to live a single day in peace like this!"
The memory of Bai Jingyan striking the Dengwen Drum in a bid to kill King Xin flared up in the Emperor's mind, and rage boiled over in an instant — he hurled the teacup crashing to the floor.
The eunuchs of the great hall dropped to their knees in a rustling wave, trembling from head to toe.
Even the Crown Prince, startled, knelt and pleaded with his father not to let his anger take hold.
"If it turns out to be Bai Jingyan again this time, I will overlook it no longer!"
The Emperor ground his teeth, a lethal chill radiating from him.
The Crown Prince had begun to intercede on Bai Jingyan's behalf, but the moment he raised his head and caught sight of the Emperor's fury-contorted face, he hastily dropped his gaze again and answered in a small voice.
"It cannot be the Commandery Princess. Your Majesty has bestowed heavenly grace upon her — how could she fail to withdraw now?"
The Emperor only curled his lip in a cold sneer and said nothing.