Quick Transmigration: The Love Rescue Plan

[There's something wrong with you, host! Have you never learned about the background of the Liang-Zhu legend?]

"Aren't all the people who listen to these mythological stories children? Do children need to know the background of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai?" Dong Zhixin said speechlessly, "Speaking of which, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai have a background?"

The story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai is set in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

"Eastern Jin Dynasty? Isn't that the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties period? No wonder Zhu Yingtai disguised herself as a man to take the exam without being discovered! That wasn't the imperial examination system, but the Nine-Rank System!" Dong Zhixin nodded knowingly.

The Nine-Rank System, also known as the Nine-Rank Official Selection System, was an important system for selecting officials during the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties. Inheriting from the recommendation system of the Han Dynasty and paving the way for the imperial examination system of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Nine-Rank System held a very important position in the history of ancient Chinese political systems and was one of the three major official selection systems in Chinese feudal society.

The Nine-Rank System mainly consisted of three parts. First, the establishment of the Zhongzheng (中正) officials, a crucial element of the system. Zhongzheng officials were nominated by the magistrates of each prefecture. Second, the ranking of individuals, the primary responsibility of the Zhongzheng officials. They were responsible for evaluating scholars from their own prefecture, including those residing in other prefectures. The evaluation primarily considered three factors: family background, conduct, and rank.

The "character and conduct" section is a comprehensive evaluation of an individual's character and abilities, equivalent to a moral assessment.

This needs to be evaluated by the teachers at the academy.

The selection criteria for the Nine-Rank System were based on the results of the evaluation by the Zhongzheng (a system of officials in charge of official appointments). These results were then submitted to the Situ Mansion for review and approval, and finally sent to the Ministry of Personnel as the basis for selecting officials.

In that era, rank was determined by family background, not by conduct. Therefore, even if someone from a poor family had a high evaluation of their conduct, they could only be ranked as a low-ranking person.

In short, during the Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, it could be said that "the highest ranks were not held by people from poor families, and the lowest ranks were not held by people from noble families." Whether one could become a high-ranking official depended less on talent and more on family background.

No wonder, Master Zhao wants to arrange a marriage between himself and Magistrate Ma.

The prefect was also called the "prefect of the prefecture". It can be said that the chief official of the prefecture was selected by the prefect.

It can be said that as long as Zhu Weineng graduates from the academy smoothly, with the help of Magistrate Ma, the official position he obtains will certainly not be of low rank.

Dong Zhixin sat up in bed, unsure of what to do.

"Yingying, is Ma Wencai him?" Dong Zhixin thought for a moment and then asked.

Although Yingying appeared, she didn't say anything.

It seems this cannot be prompted.

Before meeting Ma Wencai, Dong Zhixin couldn't be sure if he was the one she loved. It's important to understand that not every world's destined lover is that person; in the second world, the one to be saved was Si Haochen, not Zhang Junyao.

In the original storyline, Ma Wencai first appeared after Zhu Yingtai went to study at the academy, presenting birthday wishes at Magistrate Ma's birthday banquet.

Ma Wencai became interested in Zhu Yingtai after hearing Zhu Wei boast about how intelligent his sister was, even claiming she disguised herself as a man to attend the academy in his place. Ma Wencai reasoned that if Zhu Yingtai could disguise herself as a man and attend the academy without being discovered by the headmaster, she must be very ugly, like a man. However, Zhu Wei claimed his sister was as beautiful as a fairy, which piqued Ma Wencai's interest.

After all, during the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was believed that a woman's virtue lay in her lack of talent, and there were not many women like Zhu Yingtai who possessed both knowledge and wisdom and courage.

Logically speaking, Dong Zhixin would definitely not be able to attend Magistrate Ma's birthday banquet. If she really wanted to see Ma Wencai, she would only be able to do so when Zhu Wei took Ma Wencai home to see Zhu Yingtai's portrait.

However, Dong Zhixin didn't want to wait until then, because by then Ma Wencai would already be interested in Zhu Yingtai, which wouldn't be a good sign. If Ma Wencai transferred to the academy where Zhu Yingtai was, Dong Zhixin, being a woman, wouldn't be able to follow him there.

There are still several months until Magistrate Ma's birthday celebration, and Zhu Wei has not yet returned to the Zhu family.

In a few days, Zhu Wei will return to the Zhu family, and the Zhu family will find out that Zhu Wei has been expelled from school. At that time, Zhu Yingtai will have the idea of ​​disguising herself as a man to study at the academy.

When the time comes, driven by his desire for officialdom and the fact that Zhu Yingtai's male disguise is so lifelike, Master Zhu will agree to let Zhu Yingtai study at an academy in another place.

Zhu Wei and Ma Wencai got to know each other because they studied at the same academy.

Dong Zhixin thought for a moment and then made up her mind. If Zhu Yingtai could disguise herself as a man to study at the academy, why couldn't she do the same?

Dong Zhixin carefully recalled the original owner's memories. The original owner's personality was that of a typical well-bred young lady, and she would never do something as unconventional as disguising herself as a man to study at the academy. Dong Zhixin couldn't completely go out of character (OOC), but after careful analysis, she felt that there was still room for maneuver in this matter.

To the Zhu family, Dong Zhixin was not some poor relative; on the contrary, the Dong family was a prominent family in Jiankang. Dong Zhixin ostensibly came to visit relatives, but in reality, she came to relax and unwind.

The Dong family was indeed a prominent family in Jiankang, but where was Jiankang? Jiankang was the capital of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. In such a prestigious capital, how could there not be prominent families? The Dong family was just an ordinary, minor family, not particularly significant in Jiankang.

Originally, Dong Zhixin was engaged to the youngest son of the Wang family in Jiankang. However, before the two were married, the young man from the Wang family came to break off the engagement and instead married the daughter of the Qian family.

Neither the Qian family nor the Wang family are people the Dong family can afford to offend, so the Dong family can only swallow their pride and bear it.

Regardless of whether the Qian or Wang family was at fault, Dong Zhixin, the victim, could no longer remain in Jiankang. Therefore, Master Dong arranged for Dong Zhixin to visit the Zhu family, firstly to escape the trouble and clear her mind, and secondly, knowing that Dong Zhixin's current reputation made it difficult to find a good family in Jiankang. While Wu County, where the Zhu family lived, wasn't as prosperous as Jiankang, it was still possible to find a decent family there.

It was only because Zhu Yingtai's personality was too unconventional that Master Zhu was even more worried that his daughter would not be able to get married. In addition, Dong Zhixin had just suffered the loss of her engagement, and immediately arranging blind dates for him made Master Zhu afraid that Dong Zhixin would not be able to accept it, and if something happened to her, Master Zhu would not be able to explain it.

Given this premise, a slight change in Dong Zhixin's personality wouldn't seem too abrupt. Furthermore, Master Zhu also has the task of arranging a marriage for Dong Zhixin, so persuading him to let her dress as a man and go to the academy shouldn't be too difficult.

Zhu Yingtai seemed to possess some strange buff; in men's clothing, she was dashing and heroic, leaving no room for doubt, while in women's clothing, she was as beautiful as a fairy. This versatility, able to portray both men and women, truly impressed Dong Zhixin. Keep in mind this was the Eastern Jin Dynasty, not modern times with a plethora of cosmetics for disguise.

Dong Zhixin felt that she might not be able to do this well.