The Noble Woman's Guide On How to Tease One's Husband

Chapter 23 - Visit

The Noble Woman's Guide On How to Tease One's Husband – Chapter 23

Translated by: Oinkoink

Chapter 23 – Visit

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The palace examination was just around the corner. Ye Huaixin however was having trouble with sending an invitation to seek a mentor. After pondering about it, he decided to discuss it with Ye Huaiyang.

Since the founding of Chu Country, there had been an unwritten rule in the imperial examination system. All elected scholars and their hall must choose among the three excellencies as their mentor unless one was the student of the Emperor. Otherwise, even if their names were listed on the honorary board, they would be regarded as unorthodox who would be scorned by the crowd of ministers.

This rule which was preceded during the rise of the prominent families, had then gradually evolved into another means of forming factions for personal interests when the poor families emerged and objected to such practices. The new generation scholars would need to be recommended by mentors in order to gain firm footholds in the royal court while these mentors also needed fresh blood to strengthen their powers.

However, there were also some clear streams*, such as the outstanding person from the poor families faction – the Head of the Secretariat*, Yue Ting who had only one student under his mentorship. Only those who were completely virtue of moral integrity and knowledgeable would enter his sight. Mentors and students however would only discuss principles and knowledge, never involving any political affairs. He was not the only one like this, but in the royal court, he could be regarded as a minority.

[T/N: Clear Streams (清流 -Qīngliú) – refers to the name of a political faction within the ruling class. It is also a metaphor for political clarity]

[T/N: Head of Secretariat (中书令 – Zhōng shū lìng) – an official who helped the emperor handle government affairs at the royal court]

For descendants of a noble family like Ye Huaixin, sending an invitation to seek a mentor was just a formality, after all he had such a huge Ye family backing him and also an elder brother in the royal court who was the chief commander of Guanzhong. Even if he didn't conform to the rules, who dares to diss him? It was merely his desire to find a mentor to gain more knowledge, therefore his hesitation till date.

"Elder Sister, who do you think I should send this invitation to? Looking at the royal court, the influential officials were factions of the Wang and Xie. Although Yue Ting is my heart's inclination, he never accepts descendants of the noble families as students. This is really a headache...."

Ye Huaiyang looked up from the document she was reading. The corners of her lips slightly curled up, "How would you know it will be impossible if you don't try?"

"Will it be useful to try?" Ye Huaixin was still a little skeptical.

"Yue Ting is a great scholar of this age. You should try as long as there is a glimmer of hope. It doesn't matter even if you are rejected. Ye family can still take care of such small matters, moreover..... " Ye Huaiyang paused when a strong enticement raised in her eyes, "I don't believe that you can't compare to Pei Yuanshu."

Pei Yuanshu was precisely the only student of Yue Ting.

Ye Huaixin laughed too. He wasn't lacked courage and intelligence. He was just a little worried that should this matter spread among the royal court, it might bring adverse effects to the Ye family. Ye Huaiyang's encouragement was finally a reassurance to him.