Chapter 26: Killing the Chicken to Scare the Monkey

Wei Zhaoxian was consumed by intense regret.

Why hadn’t he noticed Shen Shilang’s unusual state when he returned that day?

After all, Shen Shilang’s father was the renowned Shen Liangyu! How could Shen Shilang possibly be an unambitious, worthless person?

That day, despite being injured, Shen Shilang had managed to withstand several of his moves—an impressive feat.

Yet Wei Zhaoxian had still assumed Shen Shilang was lazy, forcing him to kneel for so long while injured.

The more Wei Zhaoxian reflected, the more his self-loathing grew.

The Shen family had placed such trust in him, entrusting their only heir to his care.

And he had allowed Shen Shilang to suffer such mistreatment in his residence!

Wei Zhaoxian’s eyes reddened, his vision blurring with unshed tears.

Wei Jianming was jolted awake by a bucket of cold water.

Some water splashed onto his back wounds, causing him to twitch in pain.

But Wei Zhaoxian showed no intention of holding back.

However, mindful of Wei Jianming’s upcoming exams, he refrained from striking his buttocks.

After five lashes, Wei Jianming passed out again.

Seeing that Wei Jianming couldn’t take any more, Wei Zhaoxian knew that even if he woke him up, he wouldn’t last beyond another lash.

He angrily threw down the whip, ordering, “Take him away!”

At this point, Madam Wei cared about nothing else and hurriedly followed as Wei Jianming was carried out.

“You said all the servants in the mansion laid hands on Shilang tonight,” Wei Zhaoxian said to Wei Jianlang.

“Yes,” Wei Jianlang replied. “They certainly deserve punishment, but we hadn’t gotten around to it tonight.”

“First, dismiss Steward Zhou,” Wei Zhaoxian ordered. “He manages all the servants in the mansion. Without his lead, the others wouldn’t have dared. He played no small part in this.”

“This is a case of ‘killing the chicken to warn the monkey^[1] kill chicken scare the monkey (杀鸡儆猴) is an old Chinese idiom.

It refers to making an example out of someone in order to threaten others.,'” Wei Zhaoxian said. “With Steward Zhou as an example, others won’t dare neglect Shilang in the future. “Tonight, everyone who participated will receive ten lashes.

“As for the steward position, I’ll write to our hometown and ask Grandmother to send someone trustworthy to take over,” Wei Zhaoxian said. “In the meantime, we’ll transfer a manager from one of our shops to temporarily fill the role.”

“As for Mama Liu , send her back to your maternal grandparents’ house,” Wei Zhaoxian added. “She knew your mother was wrong, but she didn’t advise against it and even encouraged her evil deeds.”

“Your maternal grandfather and grandmother are reasonable people, so have them send over a stricter nanny later.”

“Yes, Father,” Wei Jianlang replied, secretly sighing to himself.

His father was already overwhelmed with military affairs, yet he still had to personally handle the mansion’s matters. Feeling guilty, Wei Jianlang said, “It’s my fault for not managing things well, forcing Father to take charge.”

“You’ve done well,” Wei Zhaoxian reassured him. “I’m the one at fault for allowing people to deceive me right under my nose.”

“I’ll go check on Shilang first,” Wei Zhaoxian said.

Wei Jianlang didn’t follow. Wei Zhaoxian went alone to Shen Shilang’s small courtyard.

By now, dawn had fully broken.

As he approached the entrance to Shen Shilang’s courtyard, Wei Zhaoxian heard the sound of a sword slicing through the air.”

It was clear that Shen Shilang had never neglected his practice.

Thinking back to his criticism of Shen Shilang that day, Wei Zhaoxian’s face flushed with shame.

What had he said?

Wei Zhaoxian pushed open the door and entered the small courtyard.

Seeing Wei Zhaoxian, Shen Shilang paused, “General.”

“Do you practice swordsmanship at this time every day?” Wei Zhaoxian asked.

Shen Shilang nodded.

“Don’t mind me, continue your practice,” Wei Zhaoxian said.

Shen Shilang smiled slightly, “I was about to finish anyway.”

As Shen Shilang picked up a cloth from the stone table to wipe his sweat, Wei Zhaoxian asked, “Have all your injuries healed?”

“They’ve all healed completely,” Shen Shilang replied.

“Would you be willing to spar with me for a few rounds?” Wei Zhaoxian asked.

“Certainly,” Shen Shilang drew his sword again, “General, please.”

Wei Zhaoxian drew his personal sword. The sword intent it exuded made the air in this small courtyard seem to suddenly become cold.

Wei Zhaoxian’s attack was swift; only a blur of the sword could be seen.

In the blink of an eye, the sword tip was already at Shen Shilang’s face.

For others, this might have been too quick to react to.

But Shen Shilang had anticipated Wei Zhaoxian’s move the moment he raised his sword.

“Clang!

Shen Shilang deflected the incoming blade and immediately counterattacked with his own.

The two exchanged blows back and forth, completely different from their previous encounter.

It had been a long time since Wei Zhaoxian had met such an evenly matched opponent. He fought with great enthusiasm, unwilling to stop.

Finally, Wei Zhaoxian and Shen Shilang simultaneously withdrew their swords.

Despite the invigorating match, Wei Zhaoxian’s face showed no joy. Instead, he looked ashamed. “Shilang, when I returned last time, I didn’t notice you were injured. I even made you spar with me.”

“You were forcing yourself to meet my attacks while injured, yet I thought you were just lazy and hadn’t been practicing properly,” Wei Zhaoxian said, his expression awkward. “Shilang, I’m sorry.”

“General, there’s no need for that,” Shen Shilang said. “You didn’t know, and besides, I didn’t tell you, so it’s not anyone else’s fault.”

“I let you suffer such mistreatment in my residence,” Wei Zhaoxian shook his head. “I’ve failed…”

“General,” Shen Shilang interrupted before he could say “the Shen family.” “It’s all in the past now, and it was my decision not to tell you. If I had told you, you would surely have sought justice for me as you are doing today.”

How could he blame anyone when he chose not to speak up?

On his way back from the military camp, Wei Zhaoxian’s initial fury had gradually cooled as he came to understand why Shen Shilang hadn’t told him. Shen Shilang had always been mindful of his kindness, not wanting to cause trouble in his family or give him worries while he was in the military.

“Shilang, you must never do this again,” Wei Zhaoxian said sternly. “Nothing is more important than you. If anything happens, you must tell me honestly.”

“I will,” Shen Shilang felt a bit guilty too. “I originally thought I could keep it from you forever, believing it was better if you didn’t know these things. I didn’t expect you to find out, causing you such distress and unease. That wasn’t my intention. Since that’s the case, I won’t dare to hide anything from you in the future.”

Wei Zhaoxian finally felt somewhat comforted, but then another thought occurred to him: “That day when I tested you and Jianming on your studies, did you also pretend not to know things out of consideration for Jianming?”

The possibility of this made Wei Zhaoxian feel terrible.

To think that Shen Shilang would humble himself like this to avoid overshadowing his good-for-nothing, pampered son.

Shen Shilang nodded a bit awkwardly, “I did indeed conceal some things.”

Just as he had told Su Jinshi before, it was to prevent Madam Wei from causing him trouble.

Pretending to be useless was better than inviting bigger problems.

Wei Zhaoxian’s eyes reddened, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

He had already said “I’m sorry” enough times.

No matter how many more times he said it, it would be meaningless now.

“Did you also hide your abilities in previous exams?”

Understanding Wei Zhaoxian’s meaning, Shen Shilang said, “Hiding my abilities before wasn’t entirely because of Madam Wei and Jianming. It was also to avoid standing out too early and drawing attention to myself.”

_ _ _

T/N: Crash course on the Chinese imperial examinations: 

The Chinese imperial examination system, known as “keju” (科举), was a civil service examination system used to select candidates for the state bureaucracy in Imperial China. This system played a crucial role in Chinese society for over 1,300 years, from its inception in the Sui dynasty (581-618 CE) until its abolition in 1905 during the Qing dynasty.

 

Key aspects of the imperial examination system:

a. Purpose:

   – To recruit officials based on merit rather than family or political connections

   – To ensure the loyalty of the educated elite to the imperial government

   – To maintain cultural unity and the Confucian ideology throughout the empire

 

b. Structure:

1. County-level examinations (县试 xiàn shì):

   – Held in local counties (县 xiàn)

   – Initial screening process for aspiring candidates

   – Successful candidates earned the title of “Student of the County” (县生 xiàn shēng)

 

2. Prefectural examinations (府试 fǔ shì):

   – Conducted in prefectures (府 fǔ), which were larger administrative units comprising several counties

   – More rigorous than county-level exams

   – Successful candidates became “Students of the Prefecture” (府生 fǔ shēng)

 

Both the county level and prefectural examinations were part of the entry-level examinations (collectively known as tóngshēngshì (童生试) or simply tóngshì (童试); lit. “child examinations”) that were held every year locally and were accessible to educated individuals from their early teenage years. 

 

3. Provincial examinations (乡试 xiāng shì):

   – Held in provincial capitals every three years

   – Highly competitive, typically lasting several days

   – Successful candidates earned the title of “Provincial Graduate” (举人 jǔ rén)

   – This was a significant achievement, often leading to minor official positions

 

Also know as ‘countryside/hometown examination’

 

4. Metropolitan examinations (会试 huì shì):

   – Held in the imperial capital, typically every three years

   – Only provincial graduates could participate

   – Extremely rigorous, lasting up to a week

   – Successful candidates became “Metropolitan Graduates” (贡士 gòng shì)

 

Also known as ‘department examination’ or ‘ministry of rites examination’

 

5. Palace examinations (殿试 diàn shì):

   – Final stage, held in the imperial palace

   – Personally overseen by the emperor

   – All metropolitan graduates participated

   – Top performers became “Jinshi” (进士), the highest degree

   – Jinshi were ranked into three classes:

     a) Zhuangyuan (状元): First place

     b) Bangyan (榜眼): Second place

     c) Tanhua (探花): Third place

 

Also known as ‘hall examination’, ‘imperial/government examination’ or ‘courtyard examination’

 

c. Content:

   – Focused heavily on the Confucian classics

   – Required extensive knowledge of literature, history, and philosophy

   – Included essay writing, poetry composition, and policy questions

 

d. Preparation:

   – Candidates often spent years or even decades studying

   – Private academies and tutors flourished to prepare students

 

e. Social impact:

   – Created a class of scholar-officials (士大夫 shì dà fū)

   – Provided a path of social mobility for commoners

   – Influenced the development of Chinese culture and education

 

e. Challenges:

   – Extremely competitive, with very low pass rates

   – Corruption and cheating were ongoing problems

   – Criticized for emphasizing rote memorization over practical skills

 

That’s about everything you need to know for now.

_Steamedbun💞

 

Reference: “Imperial examination – Wikipedia” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_examination