When the ancients participated in the imperial examination, they had to go through four major exams: tongshi, xiangshi, huishi and dianshi.

Among them, tongshi was divided into the county examination, prefectural examination and academy examination. Tang Shen would face the county exam in three months.

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There were five sessions in the county examination. The first session was the most important. It was called the main session of the county examination. Two eight-legged essays and one test poem in five characters and six rhymes were required. Ever since he made a bet with Tang Yun and decided to take the county exam, Tang Shen began to write two eight-legged essays and one test poem every day.

This was much more difficult to write than the compositions of the modern world. The eight-legged essay had strict requirements for contrast and structural patterns, and test poetry was even more hellish. Even the number of words, rhythm and rhyme of each sentence must be arranged neatly, and not a single word could be wrong.

After Liang Song read the two eight-legged essays, he stroked his beard and said with a smile: “I don’t understand a word!”

Tang Shen: “…”

“Sir, it’s at least better than half a month ago!”

“That’s all you’ve got? Let me ask you, there are only three months left before the county exam. Do you really plan to just barely pass the county exam and continue to take the prefectural exam in that exam hall?”

Tang Shen’s face turned green: “No way!” It was enough to suffer this kind of pain once in this life, and he would never do it a second time!

Liang Song said: “Then let’s look at the first question topic, ‘the great spirit can be exceedingly great.’ You also know that this sentence comes from “Mencius·Gongsun Chou”. How did you break the topic?” Before Tang Shen could answer, Liang Song answered his own question: “You break the topic——the great spirit can be exceedingly great, heaven and earth exude righteous energy; it commingles with objects and gives them forms.”

Tang Shen: “Is this not a good answer?”

Liang Song laughed angrily: “Great, great! But what do you write after? There is no problem in borrowing other people’s ideas to break the topic when writing an eight-legged essay. Nine out of ten candidates would do this. But you have to at least capture three out of ten of other people’s charm. Let me ask you, you little rascal, after being able to write something as brilliant as the line ‘heaven and earth exude righteous energy; it commingles with objects and gives them forms’, why is it that the next sentence flows down so vigorously!” (TN: expression used to describe a descent in quality)

Tang Shen was speechless.

He couldn’t say that, don’t mention a vigorous downward flow, ten thousand of him combined couldn’t compare to the great master Wen Tianxiang, let alone write an eight-legged essay worthy of “The Song of the Spirit of Righteousness”.

Liang Song: “You broke the topic so ground-breakingly that any examiner’s eyes would light up after seeing it. But then looking at the following, you could be considered diligent, careful and correct in your writing. Normally, you could get a third rank. But compared with the line you used to break the topic, it is simply worthless. What the eight-legged essay requires is echoing from beginning to end, the essay must be coherent…”

Tang Shen accepted the teachings earnestly.

When he first began to write the eight-legged essay, Liang Song thought his sentences were not smooth and uneven. After writing ten essays, Liang Song began to formally teach him the eight-legged essay format. So far, Tang Shen had made rapid progress. According to Liang Song, he had reached the level to pass the county examination. But if he wants to come out on top, he must work harder on breaking the topic. That was why today Tang Shen borrowed “The Song of the Spirit of Righteousness” to break the topic.

In webnovels, it was always written that when the protagonist traveled to the ancient times, they immediately showed great talent, simply casually plagiarizing the poems and songs of the ancients and becoming famous. Don’t mention the county exam, they didn’t even hold the palace exam in their sights.

However, after Tang Shen arrived, he could only wipe away a handful of bitter tears.

Everything in those webnovels was a lie!

Plagiarizing poems could only make you a talented person, but couldn’t help you take the imperial examination!

Yes, the imperial examination required poems to be written, but even if they wrote poems, they were all test poems, “composition poems”. Just like the eight-legged essay, it must follow a strict format! Not to mention the eight-legged essay itself. Tang Shen lived for more than 20 years and had a doctorate degree but he never read a single eight-legged essay. Even if he wanted to plagiarize, he couldn’t. Besides, the examiner wouldn’t give the exact same question topic!

While Tang Shen listened to Liang Song’s teachings, he took out his small pen and wrote down Liang Song’s words.

Voice pausing, Liang Song asked, “What are you writing?”

Little Tang Lang answered honestly: “Sir, although I have a super retentive memory, you speak too quickly. I am afraid that some words might not be remembered at the moment, so I am writing them down.” Taking notes was an essential skill for future generations of students.

Liang Song was stunned for a long time, and then said happily: “Ai, you kiddo, go back and write two more essays!”

Tang Shen’s expression collapsed.

However, it didn’t take long for him to escape from the sea of suffering. Xu Hui hurriedly entered the study with a letter and handed it to Liang Song. Liang Song opened it and took a look, his expression changed drastically, and he said to Tang Shen, “You go back first, you don’t have to come tomorrow.”

Tang Shen felt strange, but he did not ask, only asked: “When can this student come again?”

Liang Song thought for a while: “I will ask the steward to let you know one day in advance.”

Tang Shen accepted the order and left.

Tang Shen also didn’t expect that he and Liang Song would not see each other until after the New Year.

At the beginning of the first lunar month, Tang Shen got up before dawn and celebrated the New Year with Tang Huang, Yao San, and Aunt Yao.

“Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year!”

Tang Shen and Tang Huang were both young, and though it was custom to stay up late to greet the New Year, Aunt Yao asked them to go to bed first and she would stay up instead. The next day, the four people posted Spring Festival couplets and worshiped the gods of heaven and earth. Tang Shen took Tang Huang to visit the graves of Tang xiucai and their mother, and worshiped together again.

In the afternoon, Accountant Lin came to check the accounts.

“Happy New Year, little boss!”

“Why be in such a hurry? It won’t hurt to come back to work in two days.”

“Last year, I checked the accounts at Zhenbao Pavilion. The scented soaps and essential oils were sold very well. I couldn’t help but want to come and tell the little boss this good news earlier.”

Although Accountant Lin was old, he could calculate accounts clearly. Madam Tang did not deliberately hide the account books either. Accountant Lin got the account books of Zhenbao Pavilion for this quarter just before the New Year and calculated the earnings of last year carefully for a day.

“The scented soaps are the best sellers and have made a lot of money. The essential oils are also selling well, but they are too expensive and few people are buying them.” Accountant Lin said, “Madam Tang said that last year’s dividends will be brought to you today.”

Before he finished speaking, people from the Tang Manor arrived, including Housekeeper Tang and Madam Tang’s personal maid Haitang. The two of them paid New Year’s greetings to Tang Shen and Tang Huang, gave them their New Year’s gifts, and handed Tang Shen the dividends he earned last year.

The housekeeper said: “Young Master, Madam has found some clues about what happened a month ago. Madam said that when the county examination results are released, she will definitely catch that person red handed. There are many guests over today for the Lunar New Year, so Madam cannot come in person. She asked if the young master and the young lady would come over for dinner at home tonight.”

Tang Shen had forgotten about this incident a long time ago. After recalling it, he realized that it was about Tang Yun coming to smash their courtyard, and Madam Tang felt that someone was instigating him behind the scenes. “No need, we have food to eat.”

The housekeeper said nothing more and left with Haitang.

The New Year atmosphere in Gusu City was very strong. Until the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, people everywhere were visiting relatives and friends to pay New Year greetings.

With money in hand, Tang Shen began pondering if he should sell something else. But he conducted an on-site investigation and found that although Gusu City was rich, it was precisely because it was so rich that it lacked almost nothing! He could sell scented soap and essential oils because they were “luxury goods”. At least essential oils were luxury goods and scented soaps were affordable luxury items. Tang Shen knew that without the strong financial support of the Tang family, it would not be easy to sell scented soap and essential oils.

On the seventeenth day of the first lunar month, there were fewer people visiting Tang juren’s home to pay New Year greetings, so Tang Shen and Tang Huang came to pay New Year’s greetings. Madam Tang personally received the siblings. Madam Tang did not ask what Tang Shen planned to do with the dividends from the sale of scented soap and essential oils, but said, “I want to sell soap after the new year. What do you think, nephew?”

Tang Shen: “Aunt and I think the same thing. It’s indeed time would not be good to delay it any longer.”

Madam Tang: “Good, then I’ll go prepare it. I hope this thing can sell as well as you said.”

Essential oils were luxury goods that ordinary people could not afford. Scented soap was an affordable luxury product. There were many people buying it, but the number of people buying it was limited.

From beginning to end, Tang Shen’s real trump card was regular soap.

He went to the workshop on the outskirts of the city again. The workers had all gone home for the New Year. He and Yao San made a pot of soap together. Tang Shen calculated the cost of making soap and checked with the hired workshop supervisor to confirm that the cost of production had been reduced to the limit.

Yao San said: “Little boss, this soap is too cheap. We are really losing money by setting such a low price. Why not set it a little higher.”

Before Tang Shen could explain, he heard the little girl beside him say abruptly: “Brother Yao, how is this still cheap? This is two copper coins more expensive than the old soap!”

Yao San was stunned: “Ah, I’m talking about this new soap, how come Ah Huang is bringing up the old soap.” (TN: the kind used by ancients which are made of pig pancreas and plant ash)

Tang Huang shook her head, looking very disappointed, very much like Tang Shen half a year ago: “Brother Yao, you have also used our soap. Is it similar to the old soap?”

“Yes. But our soap is much cleaner, and the effect of washing things is much better!”

“You’re right, but our soap is very similar to the old soap after all. Our soap is not sold to a few people, but to the majority of people, with small profits but quick turnover. If it is much more expensive than the old soap, the people of Gusu City are not fools, why not just buy the old soap?”

Yao San thought for a while and suddenly realized: “So that’s it.”

Tang Huang imitated a pedantic old scholar, shaking her head and saying, “The child is promising and worth teaching.”

Tang Shen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and flicked her forehead: “What the child is promising and worth teaching! Where did you hear these words?”

“Accountant Lin said so, the child is promising and worth teaching. Tang Shen, you are bullying me again!”

Tang Shen straightened his expression slightly: “Who is asking you about that? What I want to ask you is, who told you that our soap is intended to be sold to most people, with small profits but quick turnover.”

Tang Huang’s eyes wandered: “I guessed it!”

“You guessed it my foot!” Tang Shen grabbed the back of the little girl’s collar, “Don’t even think about running away. Tell me clearly when you heard these things.”

Tang Huang covered her eyes: “Bully, you are bullying a little girl, Tang Shen is not a human being!”

Tang Shen: “…”

What kind of an oddball family is this!

More than half of the first month had passed, and Liang Song still had not returned to Gusu City, but Ziyang Academy had already started classes again.

On the first day of school, Tang Huang and Aunt Yao prepared a food basket for Tang Shen. Tang Shen wanted to flick Tang Huang’s forehead, but she nimbly dodged it.

Tang Huang: “Tang Shen wants to bully me again, you baddie!”

Tang Shen sneered: “When I come back in the evening, you have to tell me what you are doing going to the Zhenbao Pavilion every day!”

The little girl made a face.

Aunt Yao brought another thick cotton coat out of the house: “Little boss, please wear more clothes. I didn’t expect that the weather would suddenly become so cold after the New Year. I heard that it snowed heavily in the south and the water froze. Even the roads are also blocked.”

Tang Shen also felt a little cold, so he took the cotton coat and put it on.

Yao San came out of the house: “It’s really strange. We used to see such heavy snow in Shanxi. But I have never heard of such heavy snow in Jiangnan.” After sighing, he said: “Let’s go, little boss, I’ll send you to the academy.”

During the Lunar New Year month, while Tang Shen was at home, Aunt Yao did a lot of cooking and fed him like crazy. Finally, Tang Shen gained some weight, but he was still very thin. He was wearing two thick cotton-padded coats and looked a bit bloated. From the back, he looked like a young master from a rich family. However, when he arrived at Ziyang Academy and saw Sun Yue, Tang Shen burst into laughter.

Fatty Sun was wrapped into the shape of a ball and let out a big sneeze when he saw Tang Shen.

Tang Shen: “Hey, if you catch the cold, don’t give it to me. You’re sick, and you still come to school? Are you not afraid that Principal Zheng will drive you back?”

Sun Yue grimaced: “The cold? I wish I had caught the cold, so I wouldn’t have to come to school.”

After entering the classroom, Tang Shen realized that nearly half of the people in the class were missing.

Tang Shen: “What’s going on?”

Sun Yue rubbed his hands that were red from the cold: “What else? They really caught the cold.”

Tang Shen smiled and said: “You are wearing more clothes than me, why are your hands so frozen? Isn’t it that chubby people are not afraid of the cold?”

Sun Yue glared: “Who told you this nonsense? We fat people are not allowed to be afraid of the cold?! You are obviously the strange one. Didn’t you see those people outside the city? Those are the real thin people. They are all nearly frozen to death, okay!”

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Tang Shen was suddenly stunned: “Who is outside the city?”

Sun Yue rubbed his hands, and as if he remembered something, his tone lowered: “Who else could it be? Refugees from the south. My mother and I went to set up a soup kitchen outside the city yesterday. There were so many people… really so many, that you can’t even see or count them all. It’s snowing heavily, and everywhere there are people.”

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The southeast corner of Zhenbao Pavilion was close to a small river. From the meandering river came the sound of rushing water, and the carved windows were actually open. The dazzling sunlight shone along the window edge and was reflected on a square of high stand made of Chinese cedar.

Chinese cedar was inherently expensive, and even someone from a family like Madam Wang’s found it extremely precious. Yet it was placed in the store. This Chinese cedar high stand was covered in brocade silk handkerchiefs embroidered by the top seamstresses in Gusu Prefecture hand by hand. They were stacked layer by layer and in the center of the handkerchiefs, there was a crystal clear jade bowl.

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Filling the jade bowl was the intoxicating essential oil.

Jewelry inlay and petal embellishment. Anyone who looked at the objects in this corner would feel that they were extremely expensive. Most of the ladies who entered the store stayed a distance away from it when they saw it, for fear of accidentally breaking anything. Many people didn’t know what it was and asked the shop assistant standing by.

“This is called Golden Wisp. It has a similar effect to aromatherapy, but it doesn’t need to be so complicated. Simply put a drop on your clothes or jewelry, and the scent will be fragrant and last for a day.”

The shopkeeper clapped his hands, and two shop assistants immediately came out from behind the counter. Each of them held one end of a scroll and slowly opened it.

Madam Wang read out the words on the scroll: “The moths are like golden wisps of snow and willows, and the laughter is full of hidden fragrance. Searching among the crowd for him a thousand times, but suddenly looking back, in the dim light there stands that person. Searching among the crowd for him a thousand times… What a wonderful ‘searching among the crowd for him a thousand times’! Oh, this signature is actually Liang Bowen, Liang daren!”

“It is actually Liang daren’s personal inscription.”

“Is this Liang daren‘s new work? Oh, no, it’s the work of a poet named Xin Qiji. ‘The moths are like golden wisps of snow and willows…’, this is referring to this Golden Wisp?”

The shopkeeper had the assistants mount the scroll right above the wall of the lobby. At the same time, the madams and ladies of Gusu Prefecture were already going crazy about this Golden Wisp.

Searching among the crowd for him a thousand times, but suddenly looking back, in the dim light there stands that person!

The young ladies recited this sentence with shy expressions on their faces. Customers who could afford the Golden Wisp were from wealthy families, which usually hired private teachers to teach their daughters how to read and write at home. As for this poem, even if you were only literate and have not read the Four Books, you would still feel intoxicated and charmed when reading it.

Instantly, the expensive Golden Wisp was snatched up by the ladies of Gusu City.

The shopkeeper was a little suspicious: “Did I mark the wrong price? The price of this Golden Wisp was written wrong?”

Of course he made no mistake.

A masterpiece of poetry that could be passed down through the ages, coupled with Liang Bowen’s inscription. If it didn’t sell well, then it would seriously be a disappointment to Tang Shen’s marketing campaign. What was more, he personally went to the Zhenbao Pavilion to design the packaging and presentation of the essential oils.

In the Zhenbao Pavilion, the madams and ladies from wealthy families were very fond of the Golden Wisp, while those from lower backgrounds could only look at the essential oil in the jade bowl and reluctantly stay away. However, soon, they discovered a light pink paste-like object placed next to the essential oil.

“Oh, what is this? It looks delicate and smooth, and it is also placed on the brocade. Is it also an object as good as the Golden Wisp?”

The shopkeeper came over immediately and said with an apologetic smile: “Madam, this is called scented soap…”

Zhenbao Pavilion was newly opened, and there was a huge flow of people.

Although the ladies in the boudoir were literate, their study of poetry was not that profound. They were simply intoxicated by the romance of the poem, but no one noticed that the poem was only half written.

Liang Manor, Tongde Lane, Gusu Prefecture. 

Tang Shen carried a box of scented soap and essential oils, and a bookcase on his back, and entered the gate of Liang Manor with a grimace.

Liang Song had been waiting for a long time.

Tang Shen handed the box of scented soap and essential oil to the steward.

Liang Song: “Tang juren‘s family powder shop opened again today?”

Tang Shen nodded: “That’s right. Sir, when I came here, I heard from Yao San that all the people in Gusu City had gone over. When they saw the calligraphy written by you, teacher, they were all dumbfounded. They passed it on word of mouth and simply could not forget it.”

Liang Song glanced at him: “If you hadn’t blackmailed me, insisting I write the words before you would tell me the author of the poem, I wouldn’t have inscribed it for you.”

Tang Shen blinked innocently.

That’s right, Liang Song was one of the four great Confucian scholars in the world and had an outstanding literary reputation. For ordinary people, even asking him to give some advice would be as difficult as climbing the sky, let alone asking him to write special inscriptions. The attitude of the Song Dynasty towards merchants was pretty good. Scholars could engage in business, and merchants could also take part in the imperial examinations. It was not as harsh as later generations. But that didn’t mean Liang Bowen would be willing to write an inscription for a makeup shop.

When Tang Shen shamelessly asked Liang Song to write an inscription, Liang Song almost kicked this young son (the only student he accepted after reaching old age), out of the study door, or preferably into the pond in the yard.

“Can’t you have some proper aspirations?!”

But Tang Shen was such a thick-skinned fellow. In his previous life, when his professor scolded him for submitting his paper late, he always said nice things to muddle his way past it. He directly took out Xin Qiji’s poem, and sure enough, Liang Song’s eyes lit up when he saw the poem.

“Did you write this?” Just as he finished asking this he said, “No, it’s impossible. You, a scoundrel, can’t create this kind of poetry.”

Tang Shen, who was just about to answer modestly and not be a plagiarizer: “…”

Liang Song carefully mulled over the poem and said: “This is only half of it, there is still another half. Where did you get this work?”

Tang Shen had already made up a lie, saying that this was a poem given to him by a down on his luck wandering scholar who accidentally came to Zhao Family Village and after drinking his fruit juice, used it as money to pay for the fruit juice.

Liang Chan: “‘Looking back suddenly, in the dim light…’ Only a great scholar who had experienced the vicissitudes of life and death could write such words and phrases. It’s a pity that Xin Qiji, that fellow scholar who sees through the ways of the world, is not known, and I have never heard of him either.”

In order to get the other half of the poem, Liang Song inscribed it for the Zhenbao Pavilion of the Tang family.

When Tang Shen came to Liang Manor, he was in a hurry. He didn’t get to take a look at Zhenbao Pavilion, but he was not worried about the sales of the essential oils and scented soaps. He took out the two articles he had just written yesterday from his bookcase and gave them to Liang Song for review.

The article was the eight-legged essay, which was indispensable in every exam in ancient times, from county level examinations to palace level examinations.

However, this eight-legged essay was not as easy to write as later generations thought. The structure alone was divided into eight parts: “breaking open the topic”, “receiving the topic”, “beginning discussion”, “initial leg”, “middle leg”, “later leg”, “final leg” and “big knot”. (TN: opening, amplification, preliminary exposition, initial argument, central argument, latter argument, final argument, conclusion—>more details can be found on Wikipedia)

The question topics for the eight-legged essay all come from the Four Books and Five Classics. It stood to reason that ao long as you were familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics, it should not be difficult to solve the questions. But it was never that simple. Among the questions in the eight-legged essay, there was a very difficult intersecting question, which was to disassemble two unrelated sentences and put them together and directly use it as the topic question.

In the previous dynasty, there was a county magistrate who gave a top-notch intersecting question in the tongshi (TN: exam taken by tongsheng), which stumped all the scholars in that test. The title of the topic was “Mi Zi’s Wife and Zi Lu”. This sentence was originally from “Mencius”: “Mi Zi’s wife and Zi Lu’s wife are sisters.” As a result, the last five characters were removed, and all the candidates were dumbfounded.

Mi Zi’s wife and Zi Lu…

No matter how you write it, it was about an extramarital affair, which must be punished with drowning in a wicker basket!

Tang Shen originally wanted to take the test casually. Gusu Prefecture was a place where talented people from all over the world gather, and it provided a large number of jinshi talents for each imperial examination. Other wild mountains and ridges dare to come up with such weird and bizarre questions, but Gusu Prefecture could not. Gusu Prefecture was similar to the major college entrance examination provinces of later generations. It was nothing to stump the scholars with the questions but they were afraid that these scholars would become high-ranking officials in the future and make trouble for those who set the questions back then.

Therefore, the test questions were destined not to be too biased, and Tang Shen had a golden finger for easily memorizing everything, so taking the tongshi would definitely not be a problem. With only three months left, he planned to study seriously, but he did not plan to study desperately.

Liang Song could tell at a glance that his apprentice was “pleasure seeking” and without saying a word, he took him directly to the examination hall for the next year’s tongshi.

This was a ten-foot-square courtyard, just behind the Gusu Prefecture County Office.

Tang Shen walked around and looked at his future examination venue, but didn’t feel anything was wrong.

Liang Song said: “Each county in Gusu Prefecture has set up its own examination venue. Now that you have arrived in the prefecture city, you will take the examination here. Last year, 150 people applied for the tongshi. Do you know what this means?”

Tang Shen was stunned for a moment, then he realized: “So many!”

This examination venue was only about 30 meters wide and 30 meters long. But it had to accommodate more than 100 people?

Liang Song looked at him and said mildly: “So many? What if I told you that these people will enter the examination venue before dawn and can not go out until dusk. There is no toilet in this examination venue, and everything must be done in the examination booth. Hehe, you little scoundrel, are you thinking of handing in the paper in advance?”

Tang Shen’s face had already turned green. When he heard the words “no toilet”, he realized the seriousness of the matter.

“You can indeed hand in the paper in advance, but after you hand it in, your paper will be put aside. No matter how good you are and have the talent to be zhuangyuan, it will be difficult for you to pass this exam.”

Tang Shen: “Then… where do we eat?”

Liang Song asked in surprise: “Eat?” Then, in a calm voice: “I heard that more than ten students fainted last year and failed to finish the exam.”

“Did they faint from hunger?”

“Some fainted from the odor. There were also people who fainted from hunger because of the odor.”

Tang Shen: “…”

Whoever wanted to take this exam could take it!

Think about it, a place the size of a small square would be used for square dances by aunties a thousand years later, but now it would be used for more than a hundred people to take exams. From morning to night, you had to eat, drink, and go to the toilet here. No matter how healthy your stomach was, you still had to go to the toilet at the end of the day, right? After all, you had to eat something.

Imagine that you were eating a dry flatbread that you brought with you. It was extremely unpalatable and difficult to swallow. At this time, the person next door suddenly took a pot and started shitting. This distance was closer than the squatting pits of later generations!

This was such a odorful sentence!

Tang Shen’s mind wandered too much, and he felt uncomfortable all over.

Liang Song suddenly said: “The tongshi is divided into three examinations, the county examination, the prefecture examination and the academy examination. I seem to have remembered something. The top ten in each examination will have special treatment. They can take the exam in the building. It is at least better inside than outside.” He pointed to the county office lobby.

Tang Shen’s eyes lit up.

Liang Song smiled and said: “Where you place in the exam, Little Tang Lang, it all depends on you.”

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TN1: Imperial Examination Ranks: tongsheng (county level)—>xiucai (prefecture level)—>gongsheng (all gongsheng are xiucai but not all xiucai can become gongsheng)—>juren (provincial level)—>gongshi (all gongshi are juren but not all juren are gongshi)—>jinshi (palace/highest level, divided by third rank, second rank, and first rank. First rank includes tanhua(3rd), bangyan(2nd), zhuangyuan(1st))

TN2: Examinations and their resulting rank: tongshi (divided into county exam=tongsheng, prefecture exam=xiucai, academy exam=gongsheng)—>xiucai/gongsheng, xiangshi—>juren, huishi—>gongshi, dianshi—>jinshi

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Tang Shen told the truth of why he was going to take the tongshi (TN: county level exam taken by tongsheng to become a xiucai) next year.

Liang Song glanced at him: “What else are you hiding?”

Tang Shen said righteously: “No more.”

“Why must you insist on taking the exam next year?”

Tang Shen was silent.

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“If you don’t tell the truth, I won’t care about you, you little rascal. I will see how you will pass the tongshi with your bad handwriting!”

Tang Shen thought to himself that there were still a few months left. At worst, he would just have to practice calligraphy and study at home every day. With his doctorate degree from one of the top 2 universities in China (although it was in science and engineering), and his photographic memory golden finger, he could easily pass the tongshi.

​…It shouldn’t be a problem, right?

Liang Song: “En?”

Seeing his teacher put on a serious face, Tang Shen thought for a while and had no choice but to tell of the boast he made.

Liang Song laughed: “So it was like this? It turned out that you were angered by your elder cousin. No matter how smart you are, you are only a thirteen-year-old child. It is normal to occasionally have a childish temper. Fortunately, what you said this time was the county examination. If you said the xiangshi (TN: the triennial provincial imperial exam), even if you are wenquxing’s reincarnation, you would only fail.” (TN: the constellation in charge of scholarship and exams, a term used to call those good at studying and academics)

Tang Shen: “I’m not that stupid.”

Liang Song glanced at him: “But you are arrogant.”

Tang Shen pretended to be deaf and dumb to muddle past the matter.

Tang Shen didn’t know that the reason why Liang Song was determined to ask him for the truth was not because he was overly curious, but because he was worried that Tang Shen had been influenced by something and decided to take the tongshi in advance. Tang Shen was still young and he was also talented. If someone learned that he was Liang Bowen’s student and became jealous, they might sow discord and provoke him to take the tongshi early. Once he failed, it was very likely that his confidence would be severely damaged, resulting in the outcome of a boy whose talent was lost for glories.

Liang Song: “You said before that the Four Books and Five Classics have been memorized by heart.”

“Yes.”

“With your ability, the tongshi shouldn’t be difficult. In that case, you go to the prefecture academy to report today. Steward Liang, go with him and let Yu Boyan know.”

The steward said: “Yes.”

Tang Shen came early. He already had breakfast at home, but Liang Song kept him for a bowl of hot porridge. After eating, Tang Shen and the steward went to Ziyang Academy. Before they went out, Liang Song said: “Wait a minute, I’m going to write a letter.” Soon, he wrote a letter in the study and gave it to the steward.

Ziyang Academy was in the south of the city. When Tang Shen and the steward entered the academy, the students had already started classes.

The main gate of the academy was a single door with double eaves. In front of the main entrance was a plaque with white words on a black background, “Ziyang Academy”. The literary couplet of Ziyang Academy was inscribed by Liang Bowen himself last year. On the right side of the pillar was the first couplet “The Immortal Bears the Dew Plate” and on the left was “Smile and Chat Among the Fragrance of Ink”.

After entering the academy, he heard the sound of students reading aloud. 

The ancients paid attention to reading aloud in order to memorize it by heart. Except for a few well-connected students like Tang Shen, and the children from wealthy families who bought school certificates to study, the only people who could study in the prefecture academy were at least xiucai. Every scholar who passed the county examination of tongshi becomes a tongsheng; then passes the prefecture examination of tongshi and becomes a xiucai. Only when you become a xiucai could you be qualified to study in the prefecture academy.

However, even if they were xiucai, they were just students in the prefecture academy.

Tang Shen followed the steward, bypassed the Sage Temple and the Lecture Hall, and found Yu Boyan, the principal of Ziyang Academy.

Yu Jing, courtesy name Boyan, was a jinshi in the 14th year of Kaiping. He was already over fifty when he became a jinshi. Three years ago, he was discharged from the army and returned to his hometown, becoming Ziyang Academy’s principal.

The steward met Yu Boyan and made salutations. Tang Shen also saluted.

Yu Boyan took the letter and read it, then looked up at Tang Shen. Then he read the letter carefully again and said, “I already know what Liang daren means, but now the entrance ceremony has passed, and there are only four months left before the county examination. So, your name is Tang Shen, correct?”

“Yes.”

“You may be a visiting student, and attend with other students every day.”

It was easier than Tang Shen thought to be admitted to the prefecture academy. The next day, he took his book bag to the prefecture academy to study. The ancients did not attach too much importance to transfer students or new faces. The fuzi who was teaching that day entered the Lecture Hall and caught a glimpse of Tang Shen out of the corner of his eye but he soon looked away and started lecturing without any such process as “introducing the new student”.

Not only the fuzi, but other students also didn’t care about Tang Shen. At first, some people were surprised at the sudden appearance of a new face. After the first class, several students gathered together and quietly observed Tang Shen.

After a while, a slightly rich looking little fatty was pushed over by everyone. The fatty wore a jade crown on his head and a Hetian white jade pendant at his waist. He walked to Tang Shen’s desk and said, “My name is Sun Yue, what is your name?”

The other didn’t have any malice, so Tang Shen said: “Tang Shen.” After a pause, he said again: “What character ‘yue’? The ‘yue’ in ‘a maiden of Yue gathers lotus’?”

Sun Yue was stunned: “No, it’s the ‘yue’ from ‘five marchmounts and four seas’.”

Tang Shen thought to himself: So it’s not Sun Yue. (TN: a Taiwanese actor)

Sun Yue didn’t know that Tang Shen had connected him in his heart with a well-known comedian actor in the future. He said: “You are a new face. I have never seen you before. Where are you from? Have you just arrived in Gusu City? Although you are tall, you are very thin. Are you fifteen years old at least?”

Tang Shen: “I am thirteen this year, and I am not a xiucai.”

“Eh, you’re not a xiucai?”

The students in the distance also heard Tang Shen’s words. They breathed a sigh of relief, and most of the hostility in their eyes disappeared.

But Sun Yue was very happy. He sat down on the seat next to Tang Shen and said, “Then you are like me, your family donated money to study at Ziyang Academy? Don’t be afraid, we are grasshoppers on the same rope.”

Tang Shen didn’t explain that he didn’t come in through donations, but through connections. He was a student of Liang daru, but there was no need to publicize this matter everywhere. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “I’m not afraid. Besides, how are we grasshoppers on the same rope?”

Sun Yue: “Have you seen those classmates? They are all xiucai. You and I are the only ones in the classroom today who are not xiucai. They studied for ten years by the cold window (TN: expression for studying in hardship) and finally became a xiucai, but in order to pass the academy examination of tongshi and become a gongsheng, that is too difficult. If you don’t pass the academy examination, it would be as difficult as climbing the sky to take the xiangshi. They thought you were a xiucai from another place who had just moved to Gusu Prefecture, so you entered the academy now, and you would be taking the academy examination with them in the future. There are only around 20 spots in each county for the academy examination. You are so young and you must be extraordinarily intelligent to have become a xiucai, so of course you would be a strong enemy for them.”

There was some truth to that.

Sun Yue patted his chest: “Don’t be afraid, I will protect you from now on.”

With a slight twitch of his nose, Tang Shen leaned closer and sniffed the scent wafting from the little fatty: “Scent of osmanthus?”

Sun Yue smiled and said: “I didn’t expect your nose to be so sharp. Yes, this is the scented oil my mother brought back from Zhenbao Pavilion a few days ago. This thing seems to be called Golden Mist, and currently it cannot be bought in the entire Gusu Prefecture. But you got a chance to smell it today. If you like it, I will switch to another scent tomorrow and let you smell some more.”

“…You’ll only let me just smell it?”

Sun Yue said warily: “Why, this thing is very expensive. Do you still want me to give you a bottle?”

Tang Shen laughed, and the relationship between the two became closer.

Soon, a lecturer came to class, and everyone sat down.

On the other side, in front of the Tang family’s Zhenbao Pavilion shop on Sujin Street, Madam Tang, who was wearing brocade, got off the carriage and entered the shop. Not long after she entered the shop, she met an acquaintance. The other said casually: “Madam Tang, I haven’t seen you for a long time. I didn’t expect to bump into you today.”

Madam Tang smiled and said: “Madam Wang, you have time to come to my Zhenbao Pavilion today. Do you see anything you like?”

The maid accompanying Madam Wang said: “Answering Madam Tang, our Madam has already bought a lot of things.”

Madam Tang looked at the shopkeeper: “Bring a bottle of Golden Mist to Madam Wang.” She turned around and asked: “What scent does Madam Wang like?”

Before Madam Wang could speak, the shopkeeper said: “The two selections Madam Wang made before were all rose-scented Golden Mist.”

Madam Tang gestured, and the shopkeeper immediately took a bottle of rose-scented essential oil, put it into a box for Madam Wang, wrapped it in brocade, and handed it to the maid.

Madam Wang said: “This thing of yours smells good and lasts a long time, but it’s just not for sale. Are you never planning to sell it?”

Madam Tang said helplessly: “How could you know that it is very difficult for me to make this Golden Mist, and the first batch hasn’t even been made yet, so I can only use it as a gift to give to my good sisters. The cost is too high, and ordinary people can’t afford it. Each bottle of this stuff is no cheaper than a chi of brocade.” (TN: a Chinese foot, one-third of a meter)

Madam Wang was surprised: “So expensive?”

“That’s right! The entire Gusu Prefecture, only you, my good sister, Madam Sun and Madam Zhao in the west of the city, Madam Li in the east of the city, and the county magistrate’s wife have used it. Of all the good things in the Gusu Prefecture, which have not been used by us five sisters first.”

Madam Wang left with the maid, and Madam Tang asked the shopkeeper: “In the past half month, who has taken the Golden Mist?”

The shopkeeper counted the list.

The maid said: “Madam, this is more than just five people.”

“Don’t worry, Madam Wang is only familiar with these four ladies. The five of them have been good friends since they were children. They rarely interact with other ladies in Gusu Prefecture and would not mention this matter to others. Besides, even if they know that someone else has used the Golden Mist, we can just say it was sent after today.”

The shopkeeper said: “Madam, when will we start selling this Golden Mist? It won’t last to always just give it to distinguished guests like this.”

Madam Tang then carefully asked the shopkeeper about the gifting of essential oils and what these distinguished guests said about the essential oils. She said: “Wait a little longer.”

At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, Tang Shen went to the workshop to inspect the first batch of goods.

This time he was selling soap and essential oils so a batch of soap was also made, but it was left untouched and packaged there.

Yao San: “Little boss, why not sell that soap together. Essential oils are extremely expensive and ordinary people can’t afford them. Scented soap is cheaper, but it’s not as good a deal as plain soap.”

Tang Shen: “Wait a little longer. Do you know what celebrity effect is?”

Yao San was stunned: “Celebrity effect?”

Tang Shen thought for a while and explained the ancient version of celebrity effect: “If I tell you now, Liang daru uses Hui ink every time he writes, and he loves Hui ink the most. As a scholar, would you also want to use Hui ink? “

“That’s natural!”

“But Hui ink is very expensive, and ordinary people can’t afford it. You can only think about it. But if I tell you after a while that while you can’t afford Hui ink, you could afford the Tang family brush that Liang daru likes to use, would you want to buy it.”

“What is the Tang family’s brush? Little boss, when did we ever make a brush?”

“Hai, it’s just an example. Just give me your answer.”

“Then of course I want to buy it!”

Tang Shen smiled and said: “Exactly so. Liang daru is the model for scholars in Gusu Prefecture, so what kind of person do you think is the model for all the madams and young ladies in Gusu Prefecture?” Knowing that Yao San didn’t know how to answer, Tang Shen said: “The wives and daughters from wealthy families are their models.”

Yao San nodded in understanding.

Tang Shen said helplessly: “Just wait some more!”

On the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, the Tang family Zhenbao Pavilion was closed for renovation, and several madams and ladies who often came to buy makeup were very puzzled. The Tang family’s business was exquisite and meticulous. Even if the store was closed, a servant boy was sent to wait outside. While these madams and ladies were wondering, the servant boy immediately stepped forward and said: “We will open again on the sixth day of the lunar month.”

A maid asked: “What is this? Why is the store closed?”

Servant boy: “I don’t know either. I just heard from the shopkeeper that he has gotten some rare items to sell on the sixth day of the lunar month.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang said: “Could it be that expensive Golden Mist?”

“I don’t know.”

Madam Wang had some ideas in her mind and thought: I must come and see on the sixth day of the lunar month.

On the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, several wealthy madams and ladies from Gusu Prefecture came to Zhenbao Pavilion at the same time. When they saw each other, they were all surprised and entered the store together. The newly opened Zhenbao Pavilion was no different from usual. It was the same as several other famous powder shops in Gusu Prefecture. It was rich and luxurious, but it was only rich and luxurious.

It was just that today there were many wives from wealthy families.

Madam Wang entered the shop curiously. After taking two steps, her eyes were suddenly attracted by something by the window.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

TN1: Imperial Examination Ranks: tongsheng (county level)—>xiucai (prefecture level)—>gongsheng (all gongsheng are xiucai but not all xiucai can become gongsheng)—>juren (provincial level)—>gongshi (all gongshi are juren but not all juren are gongshi)—>jinshi (palace/highest level, divided by third rank, second rank, and first rank. First rank includes tanhua(3rd), bangyan(2nd), zhuangyuan(1st))

TN2: Examinations and their resulting rank: tongshi (divided into county exam=tongsheng, prefecture exam=xiucai, academy exam=gongsheng)—>xiucai/gongsheng, xiangshi—>juren, huishi—>gongshi, dianshi—>jinshi

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Tang Shen followed Tang Huang into the small courtyard.

As soon as they entered the door, a black thing flew at the two of them. Tang Shen pulled his sister behind him and kicked the thing away. The earthen pot fell to the ground and shattered with a crack. Tang Shen’s expression became angry. He looked up and saw that the things in their yard had all been smashed.

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

Seeing him back, Yao San hurriedly ran over: “Little boss, what should we do? If it was someone else who came then fine, I dare to argue with him, the worst is to end up in a fist fight. But that person said that he is the eldest son of Tang juren‘s family. He brought two people over and has been smashing the yard for an hour, ignoring me no matter what I say. They claim that it is exactly us they want to smash.”

Tang Shen saw the sturdy young man standing in the corner of the yard at a glance.

This sturdy young man wore a satin robe and a tortoiseshell jade crown. He was decent-looking, just a little portly, and had a wealthy appearance. He heard the sound of his entrance and followed the sound to look over. The eyes of Tang Shen and the young man met across the yard. The young man was stunned for a moment, and then said domineeringly: “Are you that Tang Shen?”

Tang Shen held back his anger and sneered: “And what is your name.”

“Oh, you don’t even know my name? My surname is Tang and my given name is Yun. I am the eldest son of the Tang family in the west of Gusu City.”

This was the biological son of Tang juren and Madam Tang. He was Tang Shen’s elder cousin by seniority.

Tang Shen half-smiled but said: “Tang Yun, what are you doing here?”

Tang Yun signaled at the two strong men he had brought, and the two men immediately stopped smashing things. The three of them stepped forward, and Tang Yun spoke in an arrogant tone: “What am I doing here? Of course I have something to do! What kind of drug did you, a mere boy from the countryside, give my mother to pay for you to make that soap or whatever. Bah! What the hell is that? Where did a scammer like you come from, how did you confuse my mother!”

Tang Yun was fifteen years old this year, two years older than Tang Shen, and half a head taller than him. Coupled with his strong build, he looked a lot bigger than Tang Shen.

Tang Shen looked at the other’s attitude and suddenly let out a laugh.

Unexpectedly, Tang Yun came here for this matter.

Tang Yun became angry from embarrassment: “What are you laughing at!”

“Why should I tell you why I’m laughing? You can take a guess.”

Tang Shen ignored Tang Yun and started walking in the yard.

Tang Yun smashed a lot of things, including the earthen pot with flower petals, the pickles made by Aunt Yao last month, and the rice wine Yao San bought two days ago. They didn’t smash anything inside the house, but they smashed the things in the yard. Fortunately, Tang Shen bought a workshop on the outskirts of the city two days ago and moved all the tools for making soap and essential oils there, otherwise Tang Yun would probably have smashed it all today.

Seeing Tang Shen walking in the yard and ignoring him, Tang Yun stepped in front of him angrily: “You scammer, if you don’t apologize today and explain your deceitful tricks to my mother, you won’t be able to walk out of this yard.”

Tang Shen was amused: “What do you want to do?”

Tang Yun said: “You two, seal up this courtyard.”

The two strong men stood in front of the door, guarding the door.

Yao San said angrily: “Don’t bully others too much!” As he said that, he wanted to take action.

Tang Shen stopped him and said to Tang Yun: “I have to apologize? Young Master Tang, you smashed my things, but you want me to apologize to you? I didn’t know that this Gusu City belongs to your family, or… that the Song empire actually belongs to your Tang family!”

Tang Yun’s face changed drastically: “You scammer, how dare you talk nonsense, don’t slander me!”

Tang Shen dared to say such rebellious words because he was sure that no one in the courtyard would dare to tell anyone about what happened today. If this were to be spread, none of them would be able to escape being beheaded.

He said: “Brother Yao, please calculate for him, and let him know just how much loss he has caused us today!” 

Yao San watched Tang Yun smash the things, and he had already calculated it in his mind. He directly counted: “Forty strings, at least forty strings!”

Tang Yun said coldly: “It’s only forty strings, which is not even enough for my daily allowance.”

Tang Shen: “Heh, Brother Yao, count it for Young Master Tang.”

Tang Yun glared at Tang Shen, suddenly at a loss. This was the first time he saw the rumored Tang Shen. When he brought people over, he didn’t expect that Tang Shen would be like this. Madam Tang and Tang Shen cooperated to do soap business and did not hide it from the Tang family. Tang juren tried his best to object, but Madam Tang insisted on having her own way, and Tang juren could do nothing to his wife.

Today, Tang Yun heard the news just after he returned from the Ang family private school. How could this happen, a boy from the countryside actually dared to deceive his mother. He was so angry that he brought two house guards with him to demand an explanation. Unexpectedly, after smashing so many things, Tang Shen didn’t look angry at all, and instead asked him for compensation.

Was this Tang Shen so devoid of self-esteem? He had smashed so many things, but Tang Shen still didn’t get angry. On the contrary, his attitude was so shameless.

Tang Yun was about to speak when suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside the courtyard. Tang Yun looked up and saw Madam Tang rushing over with her maid and the housekeeper.

Tang Yun was dumbfounded: “Mother…”

Madam Tang strode up to Tang Yun, raised her hand high, and slapped it downwards. But when it was about to hit Tang Yun’s face, she stopped, and finally used her finger to poke Tang Yun’s forehead hard, and said angrily: “You unfilial son, go back with me now! You two actually followed him to do evil, after going back I will also deal with you. Drag him back!”

With scolding words on her lips, Madam Tang carefully observed her son over and breathed a sigh of relief when she found that Tang Yun was not injured.

Madam Tang looked at the mess in the courtyard and said apologetically: “Shen’er, I didn’t teach your elder cousin well. You have been wronged.”

Tang Shen: “It doesn’t matter, none of us were injured, but a lot of things in the yard are broken.”

“Eldest Aunt will make it up to you later. This unfilial child has been spoiled since he was young, so don’t quibble with him. I promise that nothing like this will happen again in the future.”

Tang Shen didn’t care. Madam Tang felt very guilty towards him and apologized repeatedly. The Tang family servants grabbed Tang Yun and were about to take him home, but Tang Yun shouted angrily: “Mother, why are you always on the side of that boy? He is just a country bumpkin who has never read a book! What kind of bewitchment has he cast on you, deceiving you so. You believe him, but I don’t!”

The moment Tang Shen knew that the person who smashed things was Tang Yun, he had Tang Huang go to the Tang Manor to report the news, and then find Madam Tang. The little girl came with Madam Tang. When she heard this, Tang Huang couldn’t bear it: “You are a country bumpkin! My brother is much better than you. My brother will be a xiucai and juren in the future. He will be an official!”

Tang Yun said disdainfully: “Ignorant child, narrow and shallow.”

Tang Huang: “You…”

“Who are you calling narrow and shallow?”

Tang Yun did not expect that Tang Shen would suddenly ask this. He was stunned for a moment then replied with ridicule: “Two children of a concubine, you don’t even know where the academy gate is. Narrow and shallow, ignorant and uneducated brats. You two siblings are the same!”

Madam Tang scolded: “Shut up and drag him back home!”

Tang Shen smiled and said: “I’m afraid you can’t even compare to me, a narrow and shallow,  ignorant and uneducated child.”

Tang Yun: “What a joke, how can I not compare to you? I took the county exam last year and got the rank of tongsheng.” (TN: candidate who has passed the county exam of the tongshi)

“You’re just a tongsheng, it’s not like you are a xiucai.”

Madam Tang persuaded him: “Shen’er, don’t quibble with this rascal. Eldest aunt will teach him a lesson when we go back.”

Tang Shen said: “Eldest Aunt, I’m not quibbling with him. It’s just that tongsheng is really not that impressive. I’m just telling the truth.”

Tang Yun: “Mother, you see him, he is so arrogant!”

Tang Huang: “Bah, you are clearly the one who is arrogant.”

Tang Shen said calmly: “Is it difficult to become a tongsheng?”

As soon as this was said, everyone was stunned. Even Tang Yun didn’t understand what Tang Shen wanted to say.

Then, Tang Shen said casually: “The county exam will be held in February next year. Why don’t I take the exam and become a tongsheng?”

Madam Tang was startled: “Shen’er, it is your eldest cousin who is wrong.”

Tang Yun: “Mother, let him take the exam, I don’t believe he can become a tongsheng!”

Tang Shen: “Oh, what if I do?”

Madam Tang was about to stop him when she heard Tang Yun say: “Then I will be your slave for the rest of my life, Tang Shen,  I will call you eldest brother!”

Tang Shen muttered, “Who wants to be your eldest brother? I’d a loss on my part,” and then said, “That’s fine. Eldest Cousin, you didn’t pass the prefectural exam last year. We will take the exam together next year. Don’t let me pass the prefecture exam and become a xiucai, while you are still a tongsheng.”

Tang Yun: “Oh, I want to see what capital you have to dare to talk so big.”

The corners of Tang Shen’s lips curled, but what he said was like thunder: “What capital do I have? If I say, I will go to Gusu prefecture academy to study from tomorrow, and my teacher is Liang Bowen, one of the four great Confucian scholars in the world?”

There was dead silence in the courtyard, and no one spoke.

Only when Madam Tang took Tang Yun away did Tang Huang and Yao San react.

Tang Huang was so excited: “Brother, you said Liang daru accepted you as his student?”

Yao San: “Little boss, is this true?”

Tang Shen: “Why would I lie to you about this? I am indeed going to Ziyang Academy to report tomorrow. Ziyang Academy is a prefecture academy in Gusu Prefecture, and I am not a xiucai. If it weren’t for my teacher’s guarantee, could I go to study there?”

“That’s great! Did you see Tang Yun’s speechless look? I could remember it forever.”

Everyone was happy for a while, and Yao San spat: “Bah, that Tang Yun is really spoiled rotten, with his eyes above his head. Little boss, you didn’t see his attitude before Madam Tang came. I really wanted to give that brat a good beating.”

“You think I don’t want to?”

“Ah, little boss, I didn’t think you were angry at all.”

Tang Shen looked at the broken tiles all over the yard: “In your mind, I am just a clay figurine? Even clay figurines have a temper. But Brother Yao, if I beat him, Madam Tang would definitely result in a disagreement.”

Yao San: “No way, Madam Tang seems very fair. This was clearly the fault of Tang Yun who was looking for trouble.”

“Yes, that eldest aunt of mine is a fair person, and she also understands in her heart that we have been wronged in today’s matter. However, people’s hearts are made of flesh, and he is her only biological son. From now on, we will be cooperating together. It is exactly because she is a fair person that she will definitely compensate us twice as much for the grievances we have endured today. Beating Tang Yun would only create a crack between us and Madam Tang. If we don’t beat him, and let him act out in front of Madam Tang, Madam Tang will feel guilty.”

Yao San: “Little boss is truly a scholar. You are right.”

Tang Huang: “Brother, are you really going to take the county exam in three months?”

Tang Shen: “…”

“Elder Brother?”

“…”

“Tang Shen?”

Tang Shen raised his head and looked at the sky, speechless and choked up: “The boast I made must be carried out even if I must cry while doing so!”

On the second day, Madam Tang sent someone to bring two large boxes of things over. At the same time, she asked the housekeeper to bring a message to Tang Shen: “Young Master, Madam asked me to tell you that Tang Yun is used to being spoiled and arrogant, but with his temperament it should not have come to smashing things indiscriminately. She will investigate this matter carefully and will definitely give you an explanation. In addition, the essential oils have begun to be prepared to be put up in the shop today. Madam would like to know when you can have the first batch ready.”

Tang Shen: “It will be ready in half a month.”

“That’s good!”

After sending the housekeeper off, Tang Shen didn’t even eat breakfast. He tied a long piece of cloth around his forehead and ran to Liang Manor. At this time, Liang Song was still eating breakfast when he suddenly heard from the steward that Tang Shen had arrived. Liang Song wondered strangely: “What time of the day is this? What is he doing here? Isn’t he supposed to report to the prefecture academy?”

Before he finished speaking, he saw Tang Shen running over with a long cloth tied around his forehead with tears in his eyes.

“Teacher, you must save this student!”

Liang Song: “Ah?”

Tang Shen wiped the non-existent tears from the corner of his eyes: “Teacher, there are still three months left,do you think with this student’s talent and intelligence, could I pass the county exam?”

Liang Song: “…”

“Teacher!”

Liang Song almost kicked Tang Shen in the butt. He scolded with amusement: “You little rascal, you ask for help, and you have to throw in a praise for yourself. And your talent and intelligence? You don’t even know the eight-legged essay formula, let alone have decent enough handwriting. The more handsome your looks are, the more disgraceful your handwriting is!”

Tang Shen: “…Teacher, my handwriting isn’t that ugly.”

Liang Song said with exasperation: “Tell me, what happened.”

Tang Shen: “Teacher, save me!”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

AN: Little Tang Lang: The boast I made must be carried out even if I must cry while doing so!

TN1: Imperial Examination Ranks: tongsheng (county level)—>xiucai (prefecture level)—>gongsheng (all gongsheng are xiucai but not all xiucai can become gongsheng)—>juren (provincial level)—>gongshi (all gongshi are juren but not all juren are gongshi)—>jinshi (palace/highest level, divided by third rank, second rank, and first rank. First rank includes tanhua(3rd), bangyan(2nd), zhuangyuan(1st))

TN2: Examinations and their resulting rank: tongshi (divided into county exam=tongsheng, prefecture exam=xiucai, academy exam=gongsheng)—>xiucai/gongsheng, xiangshi—>juren, huishi—>gongshi, dianshi—>jinshi

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In the biting cold wind, two armored guards, holding spears and with their backs upright, stood guard in front of the manor.

Suddenly, a thin figure rounded quickly from the corner of the street. The guard standing on the left was about to yell, but when he saw the person clearly, he smiled and said, “Tang Gongzi, you just left at noon, why are you here again today?”

You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e bl mu se . c o m )

These guards were all veterans who had retired from the battlefield, apparently they were injured on the battlefield. They were originally from Gusu Prefecture. After being disarmed and returning to their hometown, they could not do any other work, so Liang daru took the initiative to recruit them to be his guards. They were originally ruffians in the army, but after entering the Liang Manor, they all absorbed Liang daru‘s literary halo, and after a few years they became much more polite and courteous when speaking to others.

Tang Shen said: “Brother, please report that I am here to see Liang daren.”

“Wait a moment.”

After a short while, Tang Shen was led by the steward to the study of Liang Manor.

Liang Song was painting. What he painted was an orchid, rooted between cliffs and swaying in the cold wind. A young man wearing a green robe was grinding ink for him. This person’s name was Xu Hui, also known as Yu Zhi, and he was Liang daru‘s maternal nephew. (TN: maternal cousin’s son)

Seeing Tang Shen coming, Liang daru glanced at him and then continued painting. He was holding a thin brush, while brandishing it freely, he said: “Why did you come back after only a couple hours? Did you forget something, if so let Yu Zhi go and get it with you.”

Tang Shen took three steps forward and took out something from his sleeve.

“Sir.”

Liang Song looked up and saw what was in Tang Shen’s hand. He was slightly startled.

After a long while, Liang Song said with a smile: “Yu Zhi, you go out first.”

Xu Hui bowed his head and left the study.

Tang Shen raised his arms, held the invitation in both hands, and leaned forward in a salutation.

Liang Song said: “Yu Zhi left, why don’t you come and grind ink for me?”

Tang Shen stepped forward and handed the invitation to Liang Song. Liang Song took the invitation and placed it on the corner of the table, and began to draw again. Tang Shen rolled up his sleeves, picked up an ink stick, and grinded the ink on the inkstone. Under the brush, the orchids on the cliff were noble and elegant, but there was silence in the study.

After finishing painting an orchid, Liang Song said, “Why did you come back?”

Tang Shen grinded the ink and said, “I’m here to apologize to you, sir.”

“Oh, apologize? Did you do something wrong?”

Tang Shen thought for a while: “Maybe I didn’t do anything wrong, but I didn’t do anything right either.”

“Tell me, what did you do right and what did you do wrong.”

“Three days before the Double Ninth Festival, sir gave me an invitation, inviting me to come over for a chat. I did the right thing and guessed that the date was noon on the Double Ninth Festival to admire the chrysanthemums with sir in the pavilion. However, to this day, I have done one thing wrong.”

“What is it?”

“Arrogant and conceited, proud and forgetting myself.”

Liang Song put down his brush and said with a smile: “I didn’t say that, young man, you are quite good at finding troubles for yourself.” 

Tang Shen also put down his ink stink: “Sir, if you didn’t say that, wouldn’t I feel even more ashamed? I am not talented, and once said that I have a retentive memory and can recite the Four Books and Five Classics backwards. However, sir also said it twice, even old xiucai who have read it fifty or sixty times dare not talk so big. To this day I hadn’t understood the word puzzle on the invitation. Now I understand that sir only said to appreciate the chrysanthemums, and has sincerely invited me. Sir also hid the words “Double Ninth” in the poem to tell me that I am still very shallow. There are others better than yourself, thus one must not be arrogant.”

Liang Song looked at Tang Shen for a long time and said, “You said everything I wanted to say. You also said what I hadn’t wanted to say. Little Tang Lang, you really leave me speechless.”

Although he had nothing to say, Liang daru stroked his long beard and looked pleased.

When Tang Shen saw that Liang daru was not angry, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He continued: “Before coming, I heard a story.”

“Oh, what story?”

Tang Shen hesitated for a moment and said: “In the third year of Kaiping, outside Wuyuan City, the Liao army invaded with great momentum.” After Tang Shen said the first sentence, Liang daru‘s expression changed and his lips moved, but he did not speak. Tang Shen continued: “The Liao people suddenly attacked, and Wuyuan City was short of soldiers and horses. It was a drought year, and there was not much food and grass in the city. The imperial reinforcements would not arrive for ten days, and the Liao army surrounded Wuyuan City.”

“Not ten days, they only arrived half a month later.”

Tang Shen was stunned for a moment: “Yes, it took half a month to arrive. Seeing that the soldiers and civilians in the city were trapped and unable to get food, the general guarding Wuyuan City took out one hundred thousand silver taels and gave it to the provincial military commander at the time, asking him to secretly leave the city to raise food and grass.”

That was twenty-one years ago, in the third year of Kaiyuan, some unrest occurred when the new emperor ascended the throne, and the country’s strength was seriously damaged. For ten consecutive years, the Liao people invaded frequently, making the common people miserable.

Wuyuan City was not bordering the Liao territory, so there were only more than 3,000 defenders in the city. Unexpectedly, the Liao people took advantage of the drought in the Song Dynasty and suddenly launched an attack. They captured Youzhou City overnight and arrived at Wuyuan City. The general who defended the city was named Zheng Yuanping. He came from a common background and was a general who rose in the ranks with his own sweat and blood.

The Liao army attacked the city, and Zheng Yuanping defended it for three days. The food in the city had already reached the bottom. Zheng Yuanping found the provincial military commander Liang Song. He knelt down and asked Liang Song to take one hundred thousand silver to Xixia and come back to save the people.

Zheng Yuanping: “Wuyuan and I shall live and die together.”

At night, Liang Song escaped from the defenders and went to Xixia. There was a waterway from Xixia to Wuyuan. If they transport grain by water, they could avoid the Liao army’s spies. But at that time, Xixia had friendly relations with both Liao and Song and had an alliance. Liang Song found a Xixia merchant who coveted the one hundred thousand silver taels, but was worried about getting involved in the war.

Liang Song was in his early thirties at the time and was a well-known talent in the Song Dynasty. Seeing that day by day passed, there was no food and grass in the city, and the Liao army was laying a fierce siege against the city. He immediately knelt down, knocked the ground with his head, and kowtowed until his forehead was bleeding. He begged the Xixia merchant to send out two ships full of food and grass to Wuyuan City.

It was a pity that by the time he arrived, Wuyuan City had already been destroyed, and Zheng Yuanping’s head was chopped off by the Liao army and hung on the top of the city gate.

Tang Shen said: “Seeing that you had failed General Zheng’s instructions, sir drew your sword and planned to apologize with your death. Fortunately, sir was saved by the people accompanying you.”

Liang Song seemed to recall the people and things from more than twenty years ago. He sighed and said, “More than twenty years have passed. In the tenth year of Kaiyuan, the Song Dynasty defeated the Liao army in Shuozhou. Why do you mention this again today?”

Tang Shen walked to stand in front of the desk, bowed respectfully, and said: “I was born in the countryside. Since I was a child, I only knew about frogs and insects, but not the world. Today I heard an old xiucai talk about this, and I finally understood what sir meant by ‘be concerned, worried for the country and forget one’s own family’.”

Liang Song looked at him: “Then tell me what it means.”

Tang Shen raised his head, his eyes were very bright, and he said word by word: “For the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation!”

Liang Song’s body shook, as if he had been enlightened, and he remained motionless for a long time.

After a long time, he murmured to himself, “For the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation.” After a while, he laughed loudly: “Yes, for the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation! You are right. Do you know why I gave you this invitation card, or why I gave you that name card in Zhao Family Village that day?”

Tang Shen paused.

He had never thought about this before. Now that he thought about it carefully, he suddenly felt as if he had a bucket of icy water overturned on him and realized his ignorance.

From the moment he transmigrated into the ancient times, he had always had a feeling of superiority. He felt that as a person from a thousand years later he was smarter and more knowledgeable. Whether it was Zeng fuzi or Liang daru, he never really took these ancients too seriously. He always maintained a high position and saw no one in his eyes. Even if he didn’t show it, he had this thought deep in his heart, but he never noticed it. Now that he had discovered it, he was simply too ashamed.

Tang Shen was ashamed, and he said frankly: “I don’t know, sir.”

Liang Song: “Because you and I are so similar!”

“Ah?”

“I have also seen a child prodigy with a highly retentive memory. Of the ten talents in the world, he occupied eight (TN: expression for extraordinary talent). Speaking of myself, I gained the rank of xiucai at the age of twelve and juren at the age of sixteen. At the age of twenty-one, I passed the palace examination as the zhuangyuan (TN: top scorer). Tang Shen, do you dare to say that you would be a jinshi at the age of twenty-one?” (TN: successful candidate in the highest imperial civil service examination)

If it were in the past, Tang Shen might still have confidence that this was possible. But he was no longer arrogant now. He knew that in ancient times, becoming a jinshi was as difficult as climbing the skies.

The imperial examination was held every three years, and each time 300 jinshi were admitted. On average, there were only 100 jinshi a year.

These one hundred people were to the backdrop of the entire Song Dynasty, not a certain city or a certain province! In later generations, Tsinghua University and Peking University admitted tens of thousands of people a year, but in ancient times, there were only a hundred jinshi each year. All the scholars of the world were taking the exam with you and were your classmates.

Tang Shen said: “I don’t dare.”

Liang Song looked at Tang Shen’s humble and ashamed look, and felt even more satisfied. He sighed: “Alas, you are so similar to me. Tang Shen, twenty-four years ago, I was just like you, feeling that the world was in the palm of my hand. But you have to remember that there are things in this world that you can’t do, and there are people that you can’t save. Have you ever seen bones covering a thousand miles, and blood flowing everywhere outside Youzhou City?”

Tang Shen said sincerely: “Sir, I was too arrogant.”

“Enough, come here, Little Tang Lang, that proud and complacent look of before suits you better. But what you said is quite right, for the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation!”

No matter how thick-skinned Tang Shen was, he was still a little embarrassed at this moment. How was he proud and complacent? Sir really doesn’t know how to speak.

Liang Song: “When are you going to study?”

“Uh, this…”

“I’m afraid you won’t be able to catch up with next year’s county exam. There are only three months left. You haven’t even learned the eight-legged essay format, have you?”

Tang Shen lacked confidence: “No…”

Liang Song: “Next month, go to the prefecture academy to study.”

Tang Shen was surprised and said: “Sir, isn’t it true that only xiucai can attend the prefecture academy?”

“My students can attend too.”

Tang Shen said in surprise: “Sir?”

Liang Song laughed and scolded: “You naughty Little Tang Lang, you have come to visit me several times since the Double Ninth Festival, isn’t it just to formally become my student?”

Tang Shen pretended to be dumb: “I just want to see you sir.”

“Enough, go.”

After sending Tang Shen off, Liang daru looked at his thin back and felt relieved and amused at the same time. He rolled the orchid painting into a scroll and put it away, took out a letter paper, and began to write a letter. At the end of it, he pondered a bit and then added another sentence.

“…You old fellow, you found a good student eighteen years ago and showed off to me again and again for eighteen years. Did you know that I also accepted a student today, and he also has a retentive memory like Zi Feng? Moreover, this student of mine is no more than thirteen years old yet he said this to me.”

“For the rise and fall of the country, every common man has his obligation!”

“Did Zi Feng ever say this when he was thirteen?”

After writing the letter proudly, Liang Song called his maternal nephew: “Send this orchid painting and letter to the old fellow in Shengjing.”

“Yes.”

On the other side, Tang Shen still felt a little light-headed after he walked out of the gate of Liang Manor.

Liang daru was right. From the beginning, Tang Shen did not come to visit him for no reason, but with selfish motives: he wanted to formally become the student of Liang Song.

Liang daru was not a person who did not accept students. It was said that before the tenth year of Kaiyuan, when he was the provincial military commander and when the late emperor was still on the throne, he also accepted a few students. It was a pity that most of these students died on the battlefield, and one died of illness many years ago. Perhaps because he was older now, he stopped accepting students.

Logically speaking, Tang Shen was not qualified to have the other make an exception for him, but Tang Shen had one confidence: Liang Bowen personally gave him his name card.

Even if Tang Shen did not enter officialdom in the future, the title of “Liang Bowen’s student” would allow him not to worry about other things.

Now, Tang Shen sincerely wanted Liang Song to be his teacher.

He didn’t have that kind of integrity, but he respected people like that. The world could lose one Tang Shen, but the world could not lack people like Liang Song.

When he returned home, Tang Shen saw his sister waiting outside the door from a distance. As soon as she saw him, Tang Huang hurried over.

Tang Shen was still a little proud at this time. He smiled and said, “Ah Huang, guess what I just accomplished.”

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Tang Huang stamped her foot: “Bad Tang Shen, I don’t care what you accomplished, something happened, hurry and come in quickly!”

AN: Why do I feel that today you all are going to start guessing the age of old Wang next door…

Old Wang next door: Huh? I’m very young.

Thirteen-year-old little mantis: What, what are you guys talking about? (TN: Little Tang Lang=homonym for little mantis)

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On the other side, Tang Shen and Yao San went to the Liang Manor, but unfortunately they did not come at the right time.

Liang daru had gone to a poetry gathering on the outskirts of the city. He just left in the morning and had not returned at noon. Tang Shen handed the gift to the steward and went home with Yao San. As soon as the two entered the house, they saw someone who shouldn’t be here. Yao San was shocked, but Tang Shen had a certain idea in his heart.

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Tang Shen said: “Why has Eldest Aunt come?”

The visitor was none other than Madam Tang.

Madam Tang did not come alone, she also brought her personal maid and the housekeeper. Madam Tang gestured at the maid, who immediately brought over the small box Tang Shen had given her earlier.

Madam Tang said: “We are all a family, and eldest aunt will be honest with you. You said you made these two things with your own hands before, is this true? If you made them with your own hands, how much did it cost? How much is the production cost of the soap? And the scented soap? Also  the scent on your letter paper, was it scented with aromatherapy?”

Tang Shen smiled slightly: “Eldest Aunt, please come with me. The tools are still in the yard. I will demonstrate it to you. You will understand after seeing it.”

The several people walked into the yard, and Tang Shen made Madam Tang a basin of soap, a basin of scented soap, and a small bottle of essential oil in person.

Madam Tang asked the housekeeper to try it, and the effect was exactly the same as what Tang Shen had given her before.

Madam Tang had some concerns in heart, and the look in her eyes when looking at Tang Shen was no longer the same as before. She thought about it for a while and said seriously: “Nephew, this thing of yours can be sold for a lot of money.”

In many webnovels, once the time traveler traveled through time, it was given they would make soap. What was even more amazing was that some could also make glass, and even discover penicillin. Tang Shen felt that his golden finger was not that big yet.. He could not even make chocolate, let alone penicillin. After all, cocoa beans were still growing freely on the land of South Africa at this time, and Columbus had not yet discovered the New World.

But there was something in the webnovels that was not false. The reason why time travelers made soap and glass was because they could really make these things and make a lot of money.

Madam Tang asked the housekeeper to calculate the approximate production cost of a basin of soap and a basin of scented soap, and also calculated the cost of making essential oils.

Madam Tang frowned and said: “This essential oil smells very fragrant. It could also be mixed into soap to make the soap fragrant. But the cost is too high. Such a small bottle requires five or six kilograms of petals. It is fine to use it to make soap, but selling it alone is not possible.”

Tang Shen said: “Eldest Aunt, do you think the function of this is just to make things smell better?”

“No?”

Tang Shen smiled and said: “It is actually a beauty product.”

In the modern world, essential oils were often used by women to beautify their skin. The essential oils made by Tang Shen could certainly not be compared with the assembly lines of large factories, but this thing was absolutely impossible to disfigure, and it should also have certain beauty effects, though he didn’t know just how effective it would be.

Tang Shen thought for a moment and said, “Eldest Aunt, have you ever heard of a kind of pearl called mermaid tears?”

Madam Tang was surprised and said: “Mermaid tears, what is that?”

Tang Shen said: “I read it in an ancient book. The book records that the mermaid tears were originally just an ordinary type of pearl. They were not much more precious than ordinary pearls, let alone the one-in-a-thousand eastern pearl. In the past dynasty, there was a rich businessman who got many mermaid tears, but he couldn’t sell them no matter what, and was about to become a total loss in his hands. So he came up with an idea and named the pearl “mermaid tears”, and claimed that only if one loves a woman could you give her the one and only ‘mermaid tears’ in this life.”

Madam Tang’s eyes lit up, and the housekeeper beside her also understood the underlying meaning.

“How were the mermaid tears at the end?”

“Of course they were all sold out.”

If there were any time travelers present and hearing Tang Shen’s words, they would probably roll their eyes at him.

What mermaid tears! I might as well call myself the Little Mermaid and The White-Eyed Wolf Prince!

This was clearly diamond marketing!

That’s right, this was the famous diamond marketing that caused a global sensation in the early 20th century and remained influential even after a hundred years. Diamonds were not originally such precious gems, at least not so expensive. However, at the beginning of the 20th century, a major diamond merchant in the United States cooked up what could be called the most powerful scam in history, linking diamonds with eternal love. From then on, diamonds became an eternal luxury product.

Tang Shen smiled and said: “Eldest Aunt, it’s not that the essential oils can’t be sold, but it depends on… how we sell them.”

Madam Tang said: “Nephew…” After a pause, she said in a serious tone: “Tang Shen, you must’ve already figured out the reason why eldest aunt is here. The cost of soap is not high, you may be able to afford it. But if you want to do that essential oil business on your own, it will be as difficult as climbing to heaven. Moreover, you are new here, and have yet to learn the ways of Gusu City. To be honest, Tang Manor has three shops on Suijin Street, one jewelry shop and two powder shops.”

Tang Shen: “Eldest Aunt, I gifted you the soap and scented soap for this very purpose.”

Madam Tang breathed a sigh of relief and said, “What do you intend?”

Tang Shen said without hesitation: “We are family, 50-50 split, you contribute the capital.”

As soon as this was said, the Tang Manor’s housekeeper and maid frowned. 

What Tang Shen meant was that he wouldn’t have to pay a coin, Madam Tang paid all the money, and in the end he got to share half of the dividends. Even if this soap and scented soap were good things that he made, he couldn’t be so greedy.

Madam Tang also hesitated.

After a long while, she asked: “Are there any more stories like the mermaid tears?”

Tang Shen looked at the woman seriously.

Although Madam Tang had a son who was older than Tang Shen, in fact she was only in her early thirties this year, so her womanly charm was still present. In the modern world, she was not much older than Dr. Tang Shen. That an ancient feudal family could raise such a smart lady, Tang Shen had a deeper understanding of this era, and he did not dare to look down on any ancient person.

“Of course there are stories like the mermaid tears, and there can also be more stories in the future.”

“Alright!”

Madam Tang was generous and after agreeing to pay the capital, she had the housekeeper stay and discuss with Tang Shen the making of soap and scented soap and selling them in the Tang family’s powder shops. Originally, Madam Tang wanted the big shopkeepers of several shops in the Tang family to come over and directly assign Tang Shen a soap-making workshop, but Tang Shen refused.

The separation of investors and business operators must be established from the beginning, otherwise there would be endless troubles.

Tang Shen first needed to find a bookkeeper.

Yao San thought for a while: “Little boss, Lin xiucai from Linglong Lane, just left Qianji Pawnshop a few days ago and have been looking for a job as an accountant. But he is already old, in his late fifties. Of course, you can trust his character.”

“Age is not a problem, you can ask him to come over to have a talk.”

Soon, Yao San went to Linglong Lane to find Lin xiucai.

Lin xiucai had gray hair and was said to have gotten the scholar rank three years ago. It was supposed to be a happy event for him to finally become a xiucai at his old age, but he was too old and had no hope of passing the provincial examination and becoming a gongsheng (TN: candidate for the Imperial Examination proposed by a tributary state). Gusu City’s xiucai were not as valuable as those in Zhao Family Village, and Lin xiucai lived in poverty. Previously, he found a job as an accountant at Qianji Pawnshop, but unfortunately he was getting older and the pawnshop fired him when a better accountant became available.

Tang Shen looked at him and asked, “What books have you read?”

“I have read the Four Books and Five Classics, I have also studied mathematics, and I have read Zuo Zhuan and the Book of Changes.”

Tang Shen asked a few simple math questions. Lin xiucai did not calculate quickly but he used the abacus steadily and did not make any mistakes.

“It’s you. Uncle Lin, are you willing to be my accountant?”

“Yes, yes!”

In the next few days, Tang Shen and Yao San began to look for a suitable workshop in Gusu City.

If he wanted to sell soap and essential oils, a shop was not a problem. The Tang family’s shop on Suijin Street sold women’s items, so there was no need to worry about the lack of a market. This was also the reason why Tang Shen specially visited Madam Tang and gave her the gift. He had already found out what kind of shop the Tang family opened and what kind of business they did.

After searching for four or five days, Yao San and Accountant Lin each found a workshop.

Yao San: “This workshop is located in the west of the city. It was originally a winery. The owner is eager to sell and offers a low price. He also said that all the workers in the workshop can stay. They are skilled winemakers.”

Accountant Lin: “The shop I found is also in the west of the city. It was originally a dyeing workshop. The price is a bit higher than the one Yao San found, but the owner is an old Gusu resident and is trustworthy. This workshop also had one more room than the one Yao San found.”

Tang Shen thought about it for a while, and the three of them went to two workshops for field inspections.

Tang Shen: “Let’s use this dyeing workshop. It’s a big place and will be convenient for making things in the future.”

Yao San was a blockhead and he only repeatedly said good before taking his mother to bargain with the owner of the dyeing workshop. However, Accountant Lin heard the underlying meaning: “Little boss, do you plan to sell other things in the future? Soap, scented soap and essential oil are not going to be sold?”

Tang Shen said: “Of course we will sell them, but what else we will sell is another matter.”

Accountant Lin didn’t ask anymore.

After all, they were not related, so Tang Shen had not completely let go of his guard against Accountant Lin.

Another half month later, Tang Shen bought the dyeing shop. During this period, Tang Shen went to Liang Manor again, and this time he met Liang daru. Liang daru invited him to stay for dinner. During the meal, Liang daru said: “That soap is very useful. Do you have any more, I will also send some to some old friends.”

Tang Shen’s eyes lit up. The reason why he brought the things over was to borrow Liang daru‘s reputation to gain free publicity for the soap.

“Of course I have more. I’ll deliver it to sir as soon as possible tomorrow.”

Before leaving, Liang daru asked: “Do you still remember that half a year ago, I met you in Zhao Family Village? At that time, you recited the entire The Analects of Confucius backwards. Zeng fuzi said that you are a child prodigy, proficient in The Analects of Confucius and The Doctrine of the Mean. Now that half a year has passed, what books have you read?”

How could Tang Shen dare say that he hadn’t read a book in the past six months and had been busy doing business. He said: “If we just talk about it superficially and don’t talk about understanding its meaning, I have read Great Learning and Mencius, and I have also finished reading all the Five Classics.”

Liang daru laughed and said, “Young man, you really dare to say that. You have read all the Four Books and Five Classics. Even an old scholar in his sixties would not dare to talk so big.”

Tang Shen blinked. As a thirteen-year-old child, he could confidently pretend to be innocent. “Sir only asked what I read. I didn’t say I understood everything, I just read it.”

“And by the way recite it fluently?”

Tang Shen nodded.

Liang daru shook his head: “You little rascal!” The implication was not that he didn’t believe that Tang Shen did not have the ability to memorize everything, but that he didn’t believe that Tang Shen had studied in the past six months.

Suppose Liang daru asked Tang Shen to recite the Four Books and Five Classics backwards on the spot, he would not panic. After hearing Liang daru’s answer on the Double Ninth Festival “be concerned, worried for the country and forget one’s own family”, Tang Shen went back and read all the Four Books and Five Classics. Thanks to his golden finger, he had a photographic memory, and could really memorize the Four Books and Five Classics.

However, since then, Tang Shen had never touched a book again.

After leaving Liang Manor, Tang Shen returned home. He found the invitation card stuck in the book Spring and Autumn Annals. Tang Shen looked at the words on it carefully and read softly: “The sky is clear, the sun and the moon are fixed, and the fragrance of fruit is blowing from the wind. After entering the room and looking up, raise the wine cup and drink to the chrysanthemums outside the window… en, drink to the chrysanthemums outside the window…”

Tang Shen looked at it for a long time, but still didn’t see anything particular in the invitation poem.

At this time, Accountant Lin entered the room and saw Tang Shen looking at something: “What are you looking at, little boss?”

Tang Shen put down the invitation card, raised his head and said, “This is an invitation card from Liang daren.”

Accountant Lin’s eyes shone with excitement and his body trembled. He came over and said, “I have heard from Young Lady Ah Huang and Yao San that little boss and Liang daren know each other a long time ago. I never expected that to be true. Little boss, this invitation was written by Liang daru himself?”

“I don’t know about that.”

“Can I have a look?”

Tang Shen handed the invitation card to Lin Accountant.

Accountant Lin took the invitation card with trembling fingers, as if he was seeing a holy object, and he held it to the utmost respect. He looked at the invitation card carefully and read the poem on it: “The sky is clear, the sun and the moon are fixed, and the fragrance of fruit is blowing from the wind. After entering the room and looking up, raise the wine cup and drink to the chrysanthemums outside the window. Eh, this poem is a little strange.”

Tang Shen was surprised: “What’s strange?”

“I can’t be sure at the moment. Please wait a moment, little boss, and let me take a closer look.”

After looking at it for an hour, Accountant Lin smiled and said, “It turns out to be a poem with hidden words.”

“Hidden words?”

“Yes. Little master should be able to tell. This invitation is about the Double Ninth Festival, inviting little boss over. ‘Drink to the chrysanthemums outside the window’ is an invitation for you to enjoy the chrysanthemums on the Double Ninth Festival. But this is only the first layer of this poem.”

Tang Shen: “First layer?”

Accountant Lin: “That’s right. Look at the first sentence, the sky is clear, the sun and the moon are fixed. On the surface, it means that the weather is good to meet up. In fact, the clear sky means ‘yang’, and where the sun and the moon converge together is ‘yao’. Yang Yao, comes Yi Zhuan (TN: commentary on the Book of Changes), also known as ‘Qi Yao’, which is the ninth hexagram. Look at the third sentence, ‘after entering the room and looking up’. On the surface, it means that after entering the house, we shall enjoy it to the extreme. In fact, to the extreme refers to the ninth.”

Accountant Lin took the invitation card and looked at it carefully. Tang Shen on the side was shocked and speechless.

Accountant Lin: “Yang Yao is nine, and the extreme is nine. Yang is nine, and nine is Yang. And this double nine points to the Double Ninth Festival. It’s strange, why would Liang daru write such a poem with hidden words. He had already said ‘drink to the chrysanthemums outside the window’, so why hide the word Double Ninth Festival in the poem.”

Tang Shen was stunned in place, unable to make a sound for a long time. Suddenly, he said to Accountant Lin: “Mr. Lin, there is a saying that I have looked for in the Four Books and Five Classics, but I couldn’t find it. I wonder if you know it?”

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Accountant Lin: “What saying?”

Tang Shen: “Be concerned, worried for the country and forget one’s own family.”

“Haha, what little boss said, ‘be concerned, worried for the country and forget one’s own family.’ This comes from “Zuo Zhuan·The 24th Year of Zhaogong”. Zuo Zhuan does not belong to the Four Books and Five Classics. So it’s normal for little boss to have never heard of it.”

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