Ming Dynasty: Empress Ma and I swapped clothes!

Chapter 7 Empress Ma: Another chapter change?

"That can't be done! In previous years, it was a whole month, and sometimes they would even give us a few extra days. Other 100-household offices could at least have a month and a half off."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiulin continued to complain with dissatisfaction.

"Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime. You little brat, how could you understand the centurion's good intentions?"

"If they try to cheat now, and the war breaks out, nine out of ten of them will be sent over with their heads hanging in the air and won't come back. Commander Sun is already doing quite well."

Mr. Ma gave a fair assessment.

Suddenly, the huge Ma family home fell silent.

No one can be blamed or blamed; it seems that this humiliation can only be swallowed down by oneself.

Blame them for being incompetent.

Most farmers and ordinary people can only console themselves with this thought.

"Father, are we going to have another war?"

Wang Shiyun suddenly thought of something and asked aloud.

Old Master Ma let out a long breath, his bright old eyes flashing with a sharp light, revealing the unique insight of an old military household in the Hundred Households: "We can only take it one step at a time."

With a muffled thud, Ma Xiulin, his face full of resentment, slammed his fist hard into the ground.

"I wonder when the imperial court will reopen the imperial examinations."

"Father, don't worry. Once the imperial examinations begin, I'll first pass the county-level exam and then the provincial-level exam. Our family will be exempt from corvée labor and taxes, and you won't have to risk your life on the battlefield anymore."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Ma's eyes filled with relief. He reached out his calloused hand and patted his only son's shoulder, smiling as he said, "It's nothing serious. Even if this old man really passes away, I still have you, my rascal!"

"father……"

Ma Xiulin called out in a pitiful tone.

It wasn't that he was afraid of death, but that the Ma family had made arrangements long ago.

Over the years, Ma Xiulin has been reading and learning to read, studying classic texts. Although he also practices a lot of self-defense techniques with his grandfather, he can still joke around with the idle men in the village.

But if they actually went to the battlefield, they would definitely be among the first to die.

Grandpa Ma suddenly looked at Ma Xiuying again, and continued to laugh as he asked, "See? Wen boy, your father's scared. Wen boy, are you scared?"

"Sir, I'm not afraid."

Ma Xiuying straightened up from the small stool. She was not tall, but her face was resolute and her eyes were calm, as if going to the battlefield was just an ordinary day for her.

At this moment, even Grandpa Ma did not take her ambitious words to heart, dismissing them as mere ignorance.

Even so, Ma Xiuying's words and her heartfelt words warmed Grandpa Ma's heart and temporarily put the entire Ma family in a state of joy and laughter.

"There will definitely be an imperial examination this year."

Ma Xiuying continued, her face resolute.

Upon hearing this, Wang Shiyun picked Ma Xiuying up and held her in her arms, saying as if coaxing a child, "If our Awen says it's true, then it's true. Mother will wait, until your father passes the imperial examination and Grandpa can enjoy his old age in peace, okay?"

As Wang Shiyun spoke, she would occasionally poke her delicate little face, teasing her relentlessly. The way she acted was as if she were about to use a slingshot to target her little bird, which was quite frightening.

……

As evening approached, the laughter and chatter of the Ma family gradually subsided, giving way to tranquility.

Grandpa Ma lived alone in the main room, while Ma Xiuying lived with her parents in the side room.

Wang Shiyun was doing needlework, mending and sewing, while an oil lamp lit up the room, making it fairly bright.

Ma Xiuying and Ma Xiulin each turned the pages of their books, making a rustling sound.

Ma Xiulin did not recite aloud.

It was too noisy at that late hour, so I just murmured the words softly to memorize them, engraving the content in my heart.

The books he read were nothing more than the Four Books and Five Classics.

The Four Books are The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects, and Mencius. In addition, Zhu Xi's Collected Commentaries on the Four Books is even more important. This book is crucial for the imperial examinations and must be memorized. It is the foundation of the foundation. If one cannot even do this, one may not even qualify for the first degree.

Secondly, there are the Five Classics: the Book of Poetry, the Book of Documents, the Book of Rites, the Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals. Compared to the Four Books, one must be proficient in the Book of Changes to be considered qualified for the Five Classics.

In addition, one should study classic works of Neo-Confucianism such as "The Complete Works on Human Nature and Principle".

The primers such as "Mingxin Baojian" that Ma Xiuying brought to the private school were not newly purchased by her family, but were carefully preserved by Ma Xiulin when he read them years ago.

In those days, especially after the war, books were a rare commodity. If it weren't for the fact that Grandpa Ma still had some influence in Ma Family Village, it wouldn't have been an easy task to collect all these scientific research books.

People often say "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts," but regardless of whether one is a scholar or a warrior, for most farmers, the slightest possibility of crossing social classes is still as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Take Majia Village for example. Only wealthy families could afford to send their children to school, but even so, it was extremely difficult to pass three rounds of examinations to obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations).

Not to mention achieving the scholar-official rank of Juren, which truly transcends social classes and allows one to become an official or gentry.

It's unlikely that even one person from the surrounding villages could leave.

For this reason, those who pass the imperial examinations are jokingly referred to by the people as "the reincarnation of the God of Literature," truly chosen benefactors.

While in the private school, Ma Xiuying had already read through all the enlightenment books from her previous years. She could not recite them by heart, but she had memorized them well.

At this moment, she was carefully examining the Mencius that Ma Xiulin had stopped reading, and she kept writing her own annotations and interpretations on the book.

When Ma Xiulin saw it, he thought it was just a child's scribbles and didn't take it to heart.

A little distance away from the candlelight, Wang Shiyun, the mother, looked on, a hint of relief flashing in her eyes, and a faint smile appearing on her lips.

She was already very content with this kind of life.

……

As night deepened, the candlelight in the side room was extinguished.

Wang Shiyun carefully placed the remaining lamp oil away before the family members went back to bed.

"Xiulin, if what Awen said is true and the imperial examination is held this year, how confident are you?"

Although they were already on the kang (heated brick bed), the family members were still worried. Wang Shiyun asked with a hint of concern.

"Ugh."

A heavy sigh followed, followed by Ma Xiulin's disappointed words: "You might still have a sliver of hope for the Xiucai degree; but the chances of becoming a Juren are slim."

"Now I can only hope that the court will not start a war this year. If we can wait until next year, I will still have a chance of success."

Ma Xiulin continued.

Gradually, the two parents fell asleep in each other's arms.

Ma Xiuying used her hands as a pillow, her gaze bright and clear under the moonlight.

She stretched out her small hand in the moonlight, and you could barely see the palm of her hand, which had small calluses from blisters that had broken while doing farm work.

"Father, Mother, Grandfather, none of us in the family will be in any danger."

Silent all night.

……

The capital city, Kunning Palace.

In a daze, the figure on the phoenix bed twitched its nostrils, smelling the faint musk fragrance wafting in the hall. The scent was neither too strong nor too weak, just right, capable of calming the mind and refreshing the spirit, and was of great use.

Although it was a little extravagant to live in the palace, the benefits to one's health were definitely significant.

Ma Xiuying subconsciously tried to pull out her left hand, which she had been using as a pillow last night, but the back of her head did not hit the bamboo mat directly; instead, it sank into the soft silk pillow.

A familiar feeling washed over her, and Ma Xiuying suddenly opened her phoenix eyes. Looking at the folded gauze curtains on the phoenix bed, she was immediately startled: "Have I... changed back again?"