The imperial examination.
To pass it meant one could become an official.
That little girl from the Tao family—what virtue or ability did she possess to deserve such fortune? Had she not, out of desperation for a meal, enrolled in the Physics department at Tian Sheng Academy, she would never have had such an opportunity in this lifetime.
The speaker's voice was loud, charged with such excitement that even from a fair distance, Yun Shu could feel the surge of emotion.
Around them, voices followed in a chorus of envy, regret, and jealousy.
"The Tao family really struck gold this time. I remember hearing from his wife just last year that their girl was studying some useless subject at Tian Sheng Academy. At most, she said, it would teach her enough literacy to find better-paying work later on. Who would've thought it would come to this? She can even sit for the imperial exams now!"
"Why couldn't they have announced the new math and science track for the imperial exam a few years earlier? My third boy went to take the entrance exam for Tian Sheng Academy back then. He passed both math and accounting. If we had chosen math instead of accounting, he'd be eligible for the exams too!
But we didn't know! We just thought accounting would land him a stable job as a bookkeeper somewhere…
Ah! Such a loss! I wonder if it's still not too late to send him back to study math?"
"Times have changed, haven't they? Since when did little girls need to take the imperial exam? If not for the Academy admitting those money-wasting daughters, my Yaoyu would've gone to Tian Sheng Academy last year too!"
"You must be mad!"
The moment Yaoyu's mother finished speaking, someone beside her immediately chided in a hushed voice.
"Admitting girls to the Academy was proposed by Her Highness the Crown Princess! And what's wrong with that? Aren't our lives as women far better now than they were before?
Back then, I spent every day at home looking after children, doing chores, and serving my mother-in-law. My husband and his mother would scold me endlessly, always finding fault with something I did or didn't do.
But now? I can go out and earn money. I even make more than my husband does. My mother-in-law sweetly helps me look after the children. And when my husband comes home, he sees me managing the house and actually offers to help. Just yesterday, I came home later than him, and he had already tidied up on his own.
In the past, I wouldn't have dared to dream of such a life."
"That's only because you don't have a son," Yaoyu's mother grumbled, still unconvinced. "And besides, I haven't seen any of the benefits you're talking about. All I know is that those money-wasting girls took up spots in the Academy, and now my Yaoyu can't get in. I have to save even more to send him to another academy!"
"Money-wasting girls, you say? If you've got the gall, go say that in front of Her Highness the Crown Princess!"
Seeing her words fall on deaf ears, the woman trying to persuade her finally lost her patience.
"If not for the Crown Princess, forget Tian Sheng Academy—your Yaoyu wouldn't even have a sliver of a chance to attend any school, no matter how much money you saved!"
Yaoyu's mother fell silent.
…
Whether the two women continued arguing afterward, Yun Shu could no longer hear. The sound of their voices faded behind the creaking wheels of the carriage as it rolled farther down the street.
She wasn't particularly upset by what she had overheard. After all, people's thinking would not change overnight.
Even in the modern world, there were still many like that "Yaoyu's mother." How much harder would it be to shift such views in an era where the status of women was only just beginning to rise?
Still, slowly but surely, change would come.
In just two or three short years, the transformations were already astonishing. That alone was heartening enough.
With a calm and contented heart, Yun Shu arrived at the residence where Huyan Mingchuan currently lived. Her steps carried a subtle lightness.
This residence had been a reward from Emperor Xuanwu himself. During his birthday celebration, Huyan Mingchuan had offered a great gift from Bei Xiang and, after declining a princely title, was granted this grand mansion in its stead.
The layout was elegant, the furnishings exquisite, and the servants had already been arranged in advance.
Originally, Emperor Xuanwu had even promised to fund further renovations if Huyan Mingchuan found anything lacking. But the man paid no mind to such earthly matters. All he cared about was studying the mathematics book gifted to him on the Emperor's birthday.
He hadn't even moved a single stone in the courtyard. He had simply packed his bags and moved in.
As expected, when Yun Shu arrived, Huyan Mingchuan was buried in his study, still poring over that treasured mathematics tome.
When someone knocked on the door, he didn't even look up. His voice snapped out, impatient and irritable.
"Leave!"
"You're certain about that?"
A pause.
He had already been annoyed at the disturbance—someone daring to interrupt him during his mathematical studies was already skating on thin ice. And now, this person dared talk back?
Huyan Mingchuan instinctively prepared to scold, but before the words could escape his lips, a corner of his mind clicked into place.
That voice…
It sounded like Her Highness, the Crown Princess.
She had promised to deliver the rest of the mathematics books before the New Year. Could it be…
The thought wiped away all trace of irritation. Straightening himself, Huyan Mingchuan called out hastily.
"Come in!"
"I was starting to wonder whether you had lost interest in those mathematics books altogether."
Pushing open the study's heavy doors, Yun Shu entered with a few attendants in tow, her pace leisurely and unhurried.
Yet Huyan Mingchuan never once looked at her. His eyes were fixed entirely on the boxes being carried in, glued to them as though they contained priceless treasures.
"These... are all mathematics books?"
"Not just those."
Yun Shu held up the volume in her own hands, waving it gently in front of him.
"There's this one as well."
"What is tha—"
He reached out instinctively, knowing anything Her Highness carried personally could not be ordinary.
But just as his fingers were about to touch the book, Yun Shu tilted her body to the side, dodging his grasp.
"Not so fast. I never said I intended to give you this one."
"What do you mean by that?"
The longed-for book was within arm's reach, yet out of his grasp. Huyan Mingchuan's expression turned cold.
"Your Highness made a promise before all those officials—to provide me with all the remaining mathematics books. Are you now planning to go back on your word?"
"You said it yourself. I promised the mathematics books."
Yun Shu arched a brow and raised the volume again, gesturing toward the cover.
"Did you read what's written here? 'Mathematical Physics.' While this book does deal with mathematical theories and methods, its aim is to solve problems in physics.
From a disciplinary standpoint, it belongs under physics. Therefore, it is a physics book, not a mathematics one."
"So what?"
Huyan Mingchuan's face was stormy, his entire expression clearly stating, "I am not pleased."
"If you had no intention of giving it to me, why bother bringing it here yourself?
What are you scheming? Speak plainly."
"A few months from now, Tian Sheng will introduce a new subject track to the imperial examination—Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry. This Princess would have you take part in it."
===
After Killing Dao Partner, the Villainess Becomes the Demon Ancestor has officially gone through the book vetting process and is now available on my profile! So far, I've translated 100 chapters, and my impression? This novel is pretty solid.
The beginning is packed with schemes, like layers being built up and peeled away one after another. It's more about scheming than fighting at first. Then from chapter 100 onward, the scheming runs really deep. You can't just set it aside and only look at the fight scenes. The level of intrigue is almost on par with Gōngdòu (宫斗), the "Palace Fight." That kind of scheme-driven tension and pacing is super rare in xianxia, which makes this novel feel really fresh. Of course, the fight scenes are also well written.
I think it's good overall, though the author's writing in the early chapters can feel a little stiff or awkward at times, mostly because it focuses on Yun Qingyue's intelligence and intricate intrigues. I get what the author wanted to convey, and I polished it a bit so it's easier to digest. At least I think it's better now—though I'm curious what you'll think!
The later chapters with fighting are really well done. I even found myself laughing and speechless in some moments, lol. There's that saying, "you will find happiness watching others' misfortune." She's definitely not a saint—she's ruthless, and I'd say she's somewhat similar to Song Wanníng.
The author has a very distinctive style—I got this unique feeling while reading and translating it, something I haven't experienced in other novels I've worked on.
Anyway, I personally think you should give this one a shot!
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Yun Qingyue never expected her grand wedding to end in divine execution. All because a manipulative little junior sister with a hidden "system" and a talent for tears convinced their entire sect to force Yun Qingyue aside. When she unleashed her full power to crush the traitors, it wasn't her enemies who finished her—it was the Nine Heavens' Thunder Tribulation, a punishment she never deserved.
She thought it was the end. But a shred of her soul survived, now trapped in a mortal body so weak it's practically a prison. Her spirit root is gone, her meridians are feeble, and her immortal path is sealed shut.
But Yun Qingyue has finally seen the truth: her "pure" junior sister is a system-wielding thief, her sect are all pawns, and the very Heavens are blind. So if the heavens call her a villainess, she'll become the demon they fear. If the path of immortality is closed, she'll open the road to the Demonic Path.
Her new philosophy is simple: sever all karma and dominate everything in her path. This time as Xie Zhaolin, she's not just climbing to the top; she's burning the entire mountain down on her way up.