“I’m not sure yet. I only know she’s taking this medicine.”
Wang Qiqi didn’t dare lie. She couldn’t afford the price of offending Liu Lei.
Liu Lei’s attitude changed completely. “Keep watching her for me. It’d be best if you could get some evidence that Su Jin is taking rifampin.”
Since she couldn’t find out what Su Jin had in her hands, she could start with Su Jin herself and make sure Su Jin came back empty-handed.
The Dayue History Department had to be shut down.
……
Shen Yubai picked up the three paper packets of medicine one by one and examined them.
Detailed instructions for taking them were written on each packet.
The medicine had arrived with a letter from Su Jin.
He opened it with his long, slender fingers. The crooked writing made Shen Yubai press a hand to his forehead.
“I asked Zhao Qinghan. Tuberculosis gets better faster if you take a combination of medicines. Take these as instructed, and by next month you’ll be feeling much better. Here’s something funny: Zhao Qinghan thought I had tuberculosis and insisted on writing me a referral for tests. She even wanted you to get checked too. I told her you couldn’t come, and she scolded you for not caring about your health.”
Tests?
A referral?
He had never heard those words before.
Even more curious about what she had written, Shen Yubai read the note several times, then carefully set it on the kang table. He picked up his brush and wrote in neat regular script[1]Known as kaishu, this is a clear, standardized style of Chinese calligraphy, commonly used for legible formal writing. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717534_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717534_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); on a sheet of white paper: “Can Zhao Qinghan treat tuberculosis?”
He placed the letter beside the scroll and waited quietly.
A reply came soon.
“My aunt Zhao Qinghan is an associate chief physician in ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and head and neck surgery—in other words, she’s the senior doctor at your prefecture’s medical clinic. She’s highly skilled. If you take the medicine she prescribed, you’ll definitely be much better in less than a month.”
Shen Yubai’s handsome eyes shimmered, and a flicker of astonishment appeared in them.
Could women really be doctors?
Would patients trust them?
“Women here can work in any profession: doctors, merchants, teachers…”
Shen Yubai’s heart shook.
He couldn’t bear to send these letters to Su Jin through the scroll, so he took some more of the cheap bamboo paper and wrote down his questions.
Soon, another sheet of white paper came through from the other side: “Women here can take the imperial examinations[2]A historical examination system used to select candidates for government office; it is distinct from modern civil-service recruitment. Its rules in fictional Dayue are not fully established. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717534_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717534_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); and even become high-ranking officials!”
Shen Yubai was utterly shaken.
Women could take the imperial examinations!
It completely overturned everything he had known.
From the beginning of the Dayue Dynasty and throughout the ages before it, there had never been a woman who took the imperial examinations.
Most women were confined to their homes, their fate for their whole lives tied to three men.
At home, they obeyed their fathers; after marriage, their husbands; and in old age, their sons[3]This describes the traditional “three obediences,” a Confucian patriarchal ideal prescribing a woman’s deference to her father, husband, and then son; it did not describe every woman’s actual … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717534_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717534_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.
If all three men proved capable, a woman could live a comfortable life. But if even one of them could not be relied on, her whole life would be miserable and destitute.
If women could take the imperial examinations and pursue every profession just like men, wouldn’t they be able to determine the course of their own lives?
Shen Yubai’s thoughts surged. He bent over his paper and wrote furiously, pouring all his questions onto it.
After the rough, awkward bamboo paper was sent through, he waited a long time without getting a reply. He couldn’t help growing restless.
He was intensely curious about the world a thousand years in the future.
To calm himself, he picked up the Analects[4]A foundational Confucian text containing sayings and conversations traditionally attributed to Confucius and his disciples. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717534_1_4').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717534_1_4', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, annotated by his father.
He knew the book’s contents by heart, and had long since absorbed the annotations, so he couldn’t focus on it anymore. His gaze kept straying toward the scroll.
At last, something shaped like a booklet appeared.
He unfolded it. The pages were covered in tiny, closely spaced writing.
Sitting propped up in bed, he read every word, line by line.
In the future, women had the same status as men.
Quite a few women were even stronger than men.
A woman could remain unmarried her whole life and still support herself and live freely.
Women could even go out to work and earn money to support their families.
Shen Yubai closed the booklet, his heart surging.
What a radiant world it must be!
If only his mother could live in that world—how free and happy she would be.
Even if his father were gone, she could still go out and earn money to support the family, without having to watch her in-laws, uncles, and clan for every sign of disapproval.
Even if he couldn’t be cured and died, his mother could still live well on her own.
Perhaps she could even become a doctor like Zhao Qinghan, or study and pursue scholarship like Su Jin.
Shen Yubai lowered his eyes and gently stroked the booklet.
What kind of world would the future be?
Shen Yubai wanted to write again, but the ink had dried.
He poured water from the bamboo tube into the inkstone, took up the inkstick, and ground it slowly.
When it was ready, he dipped his brush in the ink and wrote the question that had long troubled him: “Why are you researching the Yue Dynasty?”
After the bamboo paper was sent through, he picked up the booklet and began reading again.
……
When Su Jin received the reply, she was holding the bamboo paper up to the light.
Its thickness was extremely uneven. The thin parts were almost completely transparent, while the thick parts blocked the light entirely, revealing nothing.
No wonder the ink had bled through.
She carefully tore off the unwritten portion and saved it.
Once she proved the Dayue Dynasty had existed, bringing out this bamboo paper would definitely shock those experts.
Su Jin was still delighted when Shen Yubai’s letter came through.
Su Jin tapped her chin with a finger and thought for a while, then used a ballpoint pen to briefly describe the current situation at the back of her notebook.
Shen Yubai seemed eager for an answer. “The Dayue Dynasty was established more than forty years ago. Why isn’t it recorded in the official histories?”
Su Jin: “That’s the mystery we’re trying to uncover.”
Shen Yubai: “How can I help you?”
Su Jin rubbed her hands together excitedly.
Here it came—she could finally ask him to do whatever she wanted!
First she’d have Shen Yubai find her pigments and materials for restoring the scroll. Then she’d have him look for all the places depicted on it, and after that…
Then Su Jin’s shoulders slumped, and the smile vanished from her face.
Shen Yubai was too ill to get out of bed. How could he help her do all that?
She had to get Shen Yubai healthy first.
Su Jin quickly perked up again. If they couldn’t tackle the big things, they could at least do what was possible for now.
She scribbled her request in the notebook: “Does your family have any history books about the Yue Dynasty?”
“I donated all my family’s books to the Shen Clan School. If you want one, I can borrow a copy from the school library and transcribe it for you.”
Su Jin answered without hesitation: “Yes!”
She’d soon be able to learn about the first forty years of the Yue Dynasty.
Only a fool would turn that down.
Although the histories couldn’t prove the Dayue Dynasty had existed, they could be cross-referenced with records from other surviving dynasties, which would still help advance their research.
“Make sure you take your medicine. I’ll send you lots of delicious food in the coming days to build up your strength. You’ll be running around in no time!”
Shen Yubai smiled. He tucked the paper beneath the bedding under his pillow, then took four different medicines and swallowed them.
The future’s medicine really was effective. As soon as he took it, he felt more energetic than before.
For the next ten or so days, Su Jin sent him fish and meat every day, along with white rice and noodles at every meal.
Shen Yubai’s color improved, and he gradually regained some strength.
When he learned that Su Jin would be attending a hearing in a little over ten days, he decided to go to the Shen Clan School to borrow the books.
He didn’t know what a hearing was, but from the way she wrote about it, he guessed it was important to Su Jin.
Though September wasn’t exactly cold, Shen Yubai still wore one more layer than other people.
The Shen Clan School was near the ancestral hall[5]A building where a lineage honors its ancestors and may hold important family or clan ceremonies. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717534_1_5').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717534_1_5', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, about a li[6]The li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, defined as 500 meters today; its length varied historically. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3717534_1_6').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3717534_1_6', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); from home.
For a farmer, that distance was only a few steps. For Shen Yubai, it was a considerable challenge.
He went to the kitchen, chose a sturdy wooden stick to use as a cane, and leaned on it as he made his way outside.
Madam Luo, who was feeding the pigs, saw him and hurried over. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to borrow a book from the Shen Clan School and read it.”
Madam Luo was worried. “I’ll go with you.”
A sharp, irritable shout came from the main house. “The pigs have been squealing with hunger for ages! Are you just standing there sunning yourself?”
Madam Luo stiffened. “I…I’ll feed the pigs first, then take you.”
Shen Yubai remained calm. “I’m much better. I can walk there by myself.”
As he spoke, he gave the wooden stick in his hand a little shake.
Madam Luo hesitated, glancing at the main house before looking back at Shen Yubai.
After these days of nourishing meals, there was finally some color in Shen Yubai’s face. He must be feeling much better.
“Getting out for a walk will do you good, too. If you get tired, sit down by the roadside and wait. I’ll come find you as soon as I’ve finished my chores.”
References[+]