Drawing Lots

Xu Hao, being a member of the royal family, was by no means ignorant of the royal family's tricks. The clear sound of the tea cup falling to the ground, seemingly inadvertent, had actually disrupted the rhythm of the musicians on the stage, preventing those bewitching tones from continuing. Naturally, he had to see who the culprit was. Xu Hao was a cautious and suspicious person. He didn't think this was just a coincidence.

A young girl in purple was resting her chin on her hand, talking to someone beside her. Her expression was cold, and from a distance, she had an indescribable air that clearly set her apart from those around her.

"Who is Ninth Brother looking at?" Prince Zhou, Xu An, followed Xu Hao's gaze and gave an understanding smile. "Come to think of it, among our brothers, only Ninth Brother hasn't taken a wife yet. Father has mentioned the matter of Ninth Brother choosing a concubine several times. Say, which family's young lady is that? She looks quite good. I wonder whose relative she is here. Does anyone know?"

"She's the fifth young lady of the residence of the Mighty General of Martial Power. She's my student," Liu Yan, who was standing not far away, replied upon hearing this.

"The fifth young lady of the residence of the Mighty General of Martial Power?" Prince Jing, Xu Xuan, had a good memory. Perhaps Ye Lily's reputation was so well - known that even the royal family was familiar with her name. He said, "Isn't she the legitimate daughter of General Ye Xin? I think her name is Ye Lily?"

"How could it be Ye Lily?" Xu An laughed dismissively. "The whole capital knows that Ye Lily is chasing after our Ninth Brother. Didn't she fall into the water some days ago just to catch a glimpse of Ninth Brother? If Ninth Brother really liked Ye Lily, there wouldn't be all this trouble. Besides, Ye Lily is a complete dunce. Look at that girl over there. She has a calm and noble temperament. There's no way she could be Ye Lily."

"Fourth Brother, be careful with your words. I have no such intentions," Xu Hao shook his head, but his eyes were fixed on the young girl in purple in the ladies' area.

He was shocked in his heart. Who was Ye Lily? In his eyes, she was no different from those other young girls who were infatuated with him. At least those girls would pretend to be reserved on the surface and knew some basic etiquette. But Ye Lily... she probably just stared at him like an idiot and couldn't do anything else. Naturally, he wouldn't take a liking to a girl who was the laughingstock of the whole capital. If it weren't for Ye Xin's sake, he would have made his disgust obvious.

In his memory, Ye Lily always loved to wear clothes in bright reds and greens, was crazy about gold jewelry, and smeared rouge and powder on her face so thickly that she looked like a clown on a stage, and not even a good - quality stage, more like a shabby rural one. But the young girl in purple in front of him now had skin as smooth as creamy jade, delicate features, and an air of nobility that clearly distinguished her from the other women around her. How could this be Ye Lily?

He wasn't the only one confused. Liu Yan was also puzzled.

As Ye Lily's teacher for two years, Liu Yan knew her much better than Xu Hao. While a person's appearance and clothes could be changed, their overall temperament was a different matter. Liu Yan was a scholar, and scholars valued temperament more than others. It was impossible for Ye Lily to change overnight like this.

He hadn't thought about the incident with the tea cup. Although he also felt that there was something wrong with the music, in his mind, how could a young girl tell what was wrong with it? Moreover, Ye Lily had never been a master of the zither.

Everyone was lost in their own thoughts, and the musicians on the stage had finished playing. It was time for the competition to start.

This year's competition was different from previous years. It was divided into civil and military categories instead of by gender. Although Guangwen Hall required students to be proficient in both civil and military skills, and both civil and military subjects were taught, the rules had been the same for hundreds of years. Very few women chose the military category. In the civil category, subjects like policy - making, contemporary - poetry writing, and classic - interpretation were mostly taken by men. Because these three subjects were actually ways to select talents for the court. As one official once said, "Those who pass the imperial examinations often become generals and prime ministers, achieving great prominence."

The military category required tests in horse - archery, foot - archery, horse - lance, and weight - bearing. But after all, it wasn't a real military examination, so there was no need for military drills and actual arena competitions.

Most of the young ladies took the four subjects of poetry, lyrics, songs, and paintings in the civil category. This was the default tradition. Even though the Mingqi Dynasty was relatively open - minded, it was still much harsher on women. It wasn't just Mingqi; almost all countries were like this. Women were supposed to stay at home, take care of their husbands and children, and engage in leisurely pursuits.

The Mingqi competition had always been divided into three parts: drawing lots, self - selection, and challenge.

Drawing lots was something everyone had to do. The examiners shuffled the order, and the items for the competition were determined by lottery. To avoid making it too difficult, women drew lots among the four civil - category subjects, while men drew lots among the military - category and the civil - category subjects of policy - making, contemporary - poetry writing, and classic - interpretation.

Since this was an inevitable part, every year Ye Lily would make a fool of herself in this regard. Because she was not good at any of the four subjects of poetry, lyrics, songs, and paintings.

Self - selection was the second stage. One could choose a category they were good at and go on stage to show their skills. For example, Ye Amy often chose to play the zither, and Ye Cindy chose arithmetic.

As for the last part, challenge, it wasn't about choosing but challenging. Someone could go on stage and randomly choose a student to be their opponent and compete in a certain subject. This usually happened when the two sides were evenly matched. For someone like Ye Lily, choosing her would be an insult to one's own strength. But there were also those who wanted to make fun of Ye Lily and deliberately chose her to go on stage and compete in a certain subject. The outcome was predictable. Ye Lily would lose miserably in any subject.

So for Ye Lily, the annual competition was a nightmare. Every year, she was laughed at as a joke. Such days were too numerous to count.

And this year was no exception.

The chief examiner on the stage gave a long - winded speech as usual, just like in previous years. Two others brought out two small wooden barrels from behind. Inside the barrels were the lottery tickets. These tickets were marked with the items for the competition, and the students would draw them themselves.

Both men and women had to draw. One person walked to the men's area and handed the barrel to the male students one by one. Another tall woman held the lottery barrel and walked to the ladies' area, asking the female students to draw in order.

Feng Anning blinked her eyes. "I hope God blesses me. I just hope to draw the zither or arithmetic. I really don't know anything about painting and chess." She looked at Ye Lily. "You don't seem worried at all. Are you confident? Or have you just given up?" It wasn't that she was being mean, but Ye Lily really was a girl who didn't know anything about these things.

Ye Lily didn't respond. Did it matter what she drew? She was not good at any of the four arts of the literati.

When the barrel reached Ye Lily's table, Feng Anning drew first. She took out the lottery ticket and opened it impatiently. Then she let out a sigh of relief. "It's the zither! It's the zither! Great, all the zither practice these days wasn't in vain. What did you get, Ye Lily?"

Ye Lily had just withdrawn her hand from the barrel. In her palm lay a white lottery ticket, folded into a long strip. She opened it and saw a single character inside.

Painting.