Daily Life of a Villain at Work [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: The Third Day the Villain Became Emperor~

The distance between the Forbidden City and the Imperial Academy (Guozijian) was not far. With Wen Qingyun’s riding speed, it took less than fifteen minutes to gallop from the palace gates to the Academy.

An Emperor’s excursion usually required a massive ceremonial procession, but Wen Qingyun’s favorite pastime was breaking rules. She only informed her guards of her travel plans fifteen minutes in advance and ordered them not to disturb the commoners.

Ignoring the kneeling officials and students along the way, Wen Qingyun strode directly toward the lecture hall where the female students were situated.

“Regardless of your previous status, you are students here and must learn to respect your teachers. You are not allowed to talk back while the master is lecturing!”

Wen Qingyun arrived just in time to hear a master’s booming reprimand.

“Master, my sisters and I are to participate in the special Imperial Examination in one month. Could you please lecture on the examination content?” a female student’s voice followed.

“Those are matters for Juren scholars. Your foundations are weak; there is no need to concern yourselves with that,” the master replied dismissively. “You are women. You are more familiar with the Admonitions for Women than the Four Books and Five Classics. The Empress’s permission for you to test is an act of grace; it does not mean you truly possess the knowledge of a scholar. Do not think of reaching the heavens in a single step. Study the Four Books for a year, then the classics for another… only after three or four years should you prepare for the exams.”

Wen Qingyun frowned. She gestured for her followers to stay silent and stepped lightly into the classroom.

The master sat with his back to the door, unaware that his ultimate boss was standing behind him. He continued his long-winded lecture, attempting to use “ancient rules” to break the spirit of the female students.

The students recognized Wen Qingyun immediately. Seeing the Empress place a finger to her lips, they collectively suppressed the urge to kneel, lowering their heads to avoid “offending the heavenly countenance.”

Chu Xin, sitting in the front row due to her high entrance scores, could see the corner of a white imperial robe in her peripheral vision.

Thump—thump, thump—

Chu Xin felt her heart racing. The Empress was younger than she imagined, more majestic, and… far more beautiful. As a girl raised on loyalty to the throne, she viewed her sovereign with a divine filter.

The master, seeing the women sitting so still with their heads bowed, thought he had successfully tamed them. He smiled, his tone becoming even more condescending. “This is the attitude one should have. You study what I tell you to study. Do not question—”

“Ouch—!”

Before he could finish, a powerful shove hit his back, sending him tumbling off his chair.

“Who dares to—” He looked up from the floor and froze. His words died in his throat as he met Wen Qingyun’s expressionless gaze. “Subject… subject greets Your Majesty!”

“Students greet Your Majesty!” The female students rose in unison to salute.

“Mhm, rise,” Wen Qingyun said flatly. She looked at the shivering master. “Continue. Do not question… what?”

The master swallowed hard, cold sweat pouring down his face. “Subject… was teaching the students the way of respecting a teacher… I…”

“He can’t even speak clearly, yet he’s a master here?” Wen Qingyun tutted. “Eyesore.”

On her signal, the guards gagged the man and dragged him away. He would likely never see the sun again.

“Your Majesty, the Chancellor and others are waiting outside for a summons,” the attendant whispered.

Wen Qingyun’s voice was cold: “Tell him these female students are talents I personally selected. If he doesn’t know how to teach them, I’ll find someone who does.”

Her gaze swept over the students and landed on Chu Xin. Chu Xin stood straight, her hands hidden in her sleeves.

An protagonist who looks outstanding but not yet overly prominent, Wen Qingyun thought. It seemed she had leaped into this timeline early; the protagonist hadn’t grown up yet. She could crush her with a single look if she wanted to.

“I have high expectations for you. Do not disappoint me.” Leaving them with that, she turned and left.

…

Wen Qingyun didn’t just check on the women. She moved to the Rate-of-Nature Hall (Shuaixing Tang), where the senior male students were. These students were terrified but excited, hoping for a chance to be noticed.

Wen Qingyun picked ten of them to question: “I have allowed one hundred women into the Academy. What do you think?”

“Students believe Your Majesty’s move is brilliant, selecting talent for the nation without prejudice.” “Your Majesty has great foresight. The more women read, the more reasonable they become, benefiting both the family and the state.”

None of them were fools. They knew exactly what the Empress wanted to hear. They remembered the Censor who was beaten to death only a month ago.

“You speak well. I hope to see you at the Palace Examination,” Wen Qingyun said, dangling a “big pie” (a promise of future success) in front of them before departing.

On her way back to the palace, she passed the residences of the only two remaining Princes—Prince Rong and Prince Lian.

Prince Rong was a sickly “medicine jar” who couldn’t even stand, having stayed out of the previous succession struggle due to his health. Prince Lian was the late Emperor’s eldest brother, an elderly man who had survived an assassination attempt years ago and now lived a quiet life.

Wen Qingyun decided to visit Prince Lian. After some polite conversation, she asked him about the viability of her new policies in the south (Jiangnan).

“Your Majesty, the Jiangnan scholar-officials are a tangled web of great clans and local families,” Prince Lian warned. “They occupy sixty percent of the Imperial Examination spots. Your new policy threatens their interests. They are not easily moved; even the late Emperor could only pressure them with garrisoned troops.”

He recalled his own assassination attempt, hinting that the “bandits” who attacked him were actually trained death-guards kept by the southern clans. “The Emperor rules with the scholar-officials. If the monarch isn’t strong enough, power inevitably falls into their hands.”

…

The insights gathered from Prince Lian were fruitful. Back at the palace, Wen Qingyun summoned Si Yu.

“Si Yu, what if I change the Military Examinations (Wuju) to once every two years?”

“Does Your Majesty wish to select more generals?”

“Partially. But also, I want to increase the influence of the military in the south. Compared to ten years of cold windows for the civil exams, the military exams have a lower threshold for commoners. If the south produces more generals, they can suppress the scholar-clans.”

Si Yu added a clever twist: “Your Majesty need not change the exams loudly. Simply offer the soldiers in the local garrisons (Weisuo) an extra path for promotion. People will think you are merely boosting military morale, rather than sharpening your blade for the great clans.”

Wen Qingyun smiled. “A good method. How long will it?”

“I wish to travel south in the spring to investigate. A pilot plan could be ready by next year.”

…

November 9th arrived—the first day of the special Imperial Examination.

To show her support, Wen Qingyun visited the examination grounds on the first day to check the heating. By the third session, when the political essay topic was revealed, the candidates were stunned.

The topic: “The Viability of Women as Government Officials.”

Most candidates had prepared for this, guessing that the Empress would test them on her new policies. Many wrote with “divine inspiration,” and the number of early submissions was higher than usual.

Of the three hundred successful candidates on the Xingbang (the pass list), thirteen were women. Chu Xin ranked third overall. Three other women were in the top hundred. This was impressive, considering they had only had two months of intensive study compared to the men’s years of preparation.

The Palace Examination was held on the 13th of December. When Qingyun sat on the throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and personally announced the final topic: Land Annexation. She asked them how to suppress land annexation so that the commoners could pay taxes in full while remaining fed.

During the exam, she paced like a proctor. She stopped behind Chu Xin and looked at her opening lines. Chu Xin’s handwriting was not delicate, but bold and unrestrained—unlike a cloistered young lady.

Interesting, Wen Qingyun thought. She sat in a chair next to Chu Xin to watch her write. While Chu Xin remained steady, the candidates around her were so nervous that one even spilled ink on his paper, ruining his chances for a top grade.

“System, what is the task progress?” Wen Qingyun asked while admiring the snow later.

[Host, the current progress is 34.56% and rising steadily. Would you like a guide to speed it up?]

“No need. This speed is fine,” Wen Qingyun replied. She watched the plum blossoms in the snow. “When the results are out the day after tomorrow, I wonder how many women will be on the list, and if Chu Xin will make the cut.”