In this prefecture examination, three people from Ziyang Academy participated, and all three of them passed.

Sun Yue held no hope at all but when he saw his name at the last spot on the list, the little fatty was so excited that he clamored that it was his treat.

“Tomorrow at noon, Qianqiu Tower! All classmates are invited!”

Tang Shen gave him a thumbs up: “Rich!”

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Sun Yue said with a smile: “Tang an shou, what are you talking about? I have been very happy these past two days. I actually became a xiucai. I, Sun Yue, was actually able to become a xiucai at the age of fifteen. Sure enough, I am a genius.”

Tang Shen thought to himself that these words sounded familiar.

Tang Shen: “Are you going to invite all your classmates to eat at Qianqiu Tower tomorrow?”

“That’s right, you have to come too and build a good relationship with your classmates. Let me tell you, you are a thorn in the eyes of many people now. If you want to study comfortably in Ziyang Academy for the next two months, you must come tomorrow at noon.”

Tang Shen said in amusement: “Why am I a thorn in other people’s eyes? What have I done?”

Sun Yue’s eyes widened: “What did you do? Do you know that you are the an shou twice in a row? What does this mean?”

“What?”

“It means that in the academy examination in two months, you will most likely still be the an shou!”

“You have so much confidence in me?”

“Heh, what confidence do I have in you? The academy exam is not a county or prefecture exam. Half of the students in our Ziyang Academy will take part. Although you, Tang Shen, are talented, you have only been studying for a few years, so how could you compare with these old scholars. It’s just that you have already obtained the an shou twice. As long as you perform well and there are no outstanding candidates this time, Magistrate Jia will definitely give you the position of an shou and achieve your three in a row top spot in the tongshi.”

“It can be like this?” Tang Shen didn’t know that there were such unspoken rules in the ancient imperial examination.

Sun Yue said with emotion: “I am satisfied. I am a xiucai now, and my mother will not bother me in five years. I am not sure about the academy examination, and I am just going to give it a try. Unlike you, you have to work hard. Tang sanyuan!” (TN: candidate who gets the top spot three times in a row)

Tang Shen actually had no interest in the title of an shou, and he did not have obsessive-compulsive collecting disorder. He was not expecting to get the top spot twice. Tang Shen actually didn’t attach much importance to the last of the three tongshi examinations, the academy examination. Even if he took the top spot again this time, he would still have to sit in the exam booth out in the great examination hall and take the exam with all the candidates the next time he took the xiangshi.

There were no extra rewards, so why bother trying to pass the exam as high as you can, the most important thing was as long as you could pass it!

On the second day, Tang Shen came to Qianqiu Tower. Sun Yue said that he would invite all the classmates to eat, but not everyone came.

Students from poor families account for the majority in Ziyang Academy, and those from rich families were half their numbers. This time, several young masters from wealthy families who played well with Sun Yue came to support him. The students from poor families who came only filled two tables and sat separately from them without much interaction.

After they had had enough wine and food, these scholars from the government school were no different from ordinary people and began to make bluffs.

A scholar from a wealthy family said: “Tang Shen, you are the an shou twice in a row now. Congratulations! Gusu Prefecture is not one of those remote places. We have a strong reputation for academics and many scholars of poor families have become the zhuangyuan. In our Ziyang Academy, it has been three years in a row in which the an shou of the tongshi comes from poor families. You have to get back our dignity in the academy exam in two months.”

Tang Shen smiled and said: “Although it is not decided by me, all of us here, classmates, will give our best in the academy examination. At that time, I can only say, do the best I can and listen to fate.”

“What a good saying to do your best and obey fate!” said the young master of the Wang family in the east of the city, “Tang Shen, I heard that you are a student of Liang Bowen, Liang daren?”

This matter spread throughout Gusu City at some point. Tang Shen felt that he did not spread it intentionally, so he wondered why did everyone know about it.

If Liang Song knew of his confusion, he would definitely kick this scoundrel out of his study.

But thinking about it. Every time he did marketing and promotion, Tang Shen never failed to use Liang Song’s name. He must squeeze a pot of oil out of Liang Song everytime. It was already like this, even a blind person could see that Tang Shen and Liang Song had an unusual relationship!

Tang Shen: “Yes, I am his student.”

Wang xiucai raised his cupped hands and said, “I am so envious of you!”

Someone said: “I heard from my cousin who works in the government office that Liang daren has been away from Gusu City in recent months and often goes to Jinling to do business. I wonder what he is doing. Is there something that would make Liang daren leave our Gusu City?”

For anyone else it was a great joy to become the governor of Gusu Prefecture. But with Liang Song’s literary reputation and status, he could become a powerful official in the capital, Shengjing, and coming to Gusu Prefecture was instead a sense of demotion.

Tang Shen didn’t want to reveal his teacher’s thoughts. Of course, he didn’t talk with Liang Song about these things either. He remained silent and ate his food with his head down.

Wang xiucai said: “Ai, don’t make wild guesses. Gusu City is the hometown of Liang daren. How could Liang daren leave so casually? I also heard from my family that Liang daren went to Jinling not for other reasons but for the great scholar Mr. Zhong who had been in prison for twenty-five years!”

The customs of the Song Dynasty were open and generous to scholars. Taizu once made a special law: Do not kill scholars! (TN: founding emperor of a dynasty)

When Wang xiucai talked about current affairs in the country, no one stopped him, in fact everyone participated in it.

“Mr. Zhong has been in prison for twenty-five years. I was only five years old at that time, and now I have passed thirty. Time has really flown.”

“Twenty-five years of ups and downs, yet Mr. Liang has never forgotten his friend. He attaches great importance to love and righteousness. He is indeed a role model for scholars of our generation.”

After Tang Shen traveled to this era, the people he came into contact with were not only Tang Huang and Yao San, but also Madam Tang and Liang Song. Liang Song never talked about political affairs with him. When the teacher and student got together, he was like an ordinary teacher, teaching Tang Shen knowledge. Anything else he would not say to Tang Shen.

Tang Shen ate the food in silence while listening to these scholars talk. It was a pity that these scholars, even though they were from wealthy families, did not know much. After a few words, they started talking about the academy examination in two months.

Back home, Tang Shen came to Accountant Lin and asked, “Mr. Liang has been going to Jinling City to do work recently. As his student, I didn’t even know about it. I have really neglected my responsibility. Accountant Lin, have you ever heard of this person?”

“Who?”

“Mr. Zhong, the great scholar.”

Accountant Lin’s eyes dilated sharply, and he said: “Little boss, be careful what you say!”

Tang Shen noticed something was wrong: “Who is this Mr. Zhong?”

Accountant Lin sighed: “Actually, it doesn’t matter. The Song Dynasty never restrict the words of scholars. Mr. Zhong’s full name is Zhong Wei, and his courtesy name isa Tai Sheng. When the late emperor was alive, he was the left minister of the political affairs hall, and he was known as Zhong xianggong.” (TN: old form of access for prime ministers, can be translated as lord, similar to daren but daren is used for all officials)

Tang Shen was shocked.

The official system of the Song Dynasty followed the previous dynasty and was divided into three departments and six ministries. Among them, the Central Secretariat, also known as the Palace Secretariat, was one of the three departments and made up of the emperor’s trusted. In the Song Dynasty, the left was the most noble, and the left prime minister of the Central Secretariat was worthy of being known as being inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people.

Accountant Lin: “When Zhong xianggong was in power, he pacified the northlands and conquered the southern barbarians. He is a hero of our Song Dynasty. It’s a pity that there was a coup in the palace twenty-five years ago. Zhong xianggong in a muddle-headed moment broke into the palace with the crown prince, intending to force a coup. The crown prince was shot to death by an arrow from the current emperor outside the palace gate, and Zhong xianggong was captured alive and has been imprisoned until now.”

Tang Shen immediately said: “Then what does this have to do with Mr. Liang?”

“Little boss should know that Liang daren is one of the four great Confucian scholars in the world, but I’m afraid you don’t know who the other three are. The other three are Zhong xianggong, Fu xianggong and Chen xianggong. Among them, Zhong xianggong can be said to be the head of the four great scholars! Alas, among the four, I don’t know much about Chen xianggong. But everyone knows that Liang daren, your teacher, has been a close friend with Zhong xianggong for many years. If it is true as the little boss said, Liang daren often goes to Jinling City for Zhong xianggong, then I am afraid that Liang daren’s efforts will be in vain.”

Tang Shen thought for a long time and asked, “Why did the crown prince want to force a coup?”

Accountant Lin was shocked and said: “Little boss, although the Song Dynasty is generous to scholars and does not kill them, and they are allowed to discuss government affairs. But after all, this is the emperor’s family matter, so you’d better not discuss it outside.”

Tang Shen smiled and said, “As you know, I just care about my teacher. And we are talking in private after all.”

“That’s fine too.”

Tang Shen: “Since the crown prince is already the heir, it makes no sense for him to force a coup. Or could it be that the late emperor’s life span is very long?”

Accountant Lin: “The late emperor was fifty-six years old when he passed away.”

Tang Shen frowned: “It’s not very long, not very short either.” It didn’t reach the point of forcing a coup, did it?

Accountant Lin: “Little boss, I am just an ordinary scholar. I only know a few things from listening to people discussing in teahouses. If you really want to know, why don’t you ask Liang daren?”

Tang Shen said: “My teacher has been very preoccupied in recent days. Since I got the top spot in the county examination, we have only met twice. I don’t want to bother him with this kind of thing.”

After Accountant Lin left, Tang Shen took a piece of rice paper and sketched on it.

According to Accountant Lin, the late emperor was fifty-six years old when he died. No matter how you calculate it, the crown prince would have been in his early forties at most. He was already the crown prince, and unless the late emperor showed signs of deposing the crown prince, he would not take the risk of forcing a coup.

Unless the forced coup was fake and there was something else hidden behind it.

Tang Shen didn’t know the truth of what happened back then, but he believed Mr. Liang. Since Mr. Liang was willing to go to Jinling Citu many times for Zhong xianggong, his choice was to believe Zhong xianggong, and Tang Shen also chose to believe that Zhong xianggong had not forced a coup.

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However, no matter what the secret behind it was, there was a saying in the modern world. If you want to know the truth about anything, you only need to look at the person who benefits from it. After the coup incident, the crown prince died, and the current emperor ascended the throne, he was the biggest beneficiary. Zhong xianggong was thrown into a prison and Mr. Liang wanting to save him was tantamount to going against the current emperor Zhao Fu.

How could Zhao Fu accept this?

Mr. Liang could not succeed.

Tang Shen sighed. Legitimacy belongs to the victor; might makes right. He just hoped that Mr. Liang would see through this soon and not fall into the danger.

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After a long time, Tang Shen lowered his head and said, “This student realizes my mistake.” His voice was muffled, and there was still a trace of dissatisfaction deep in his heart.

“You think this is taken out of context. You clearly don’t mean that way, and the content of your essay is not about that.”

Tang Shen said nothing.

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Liang Song looked at Tang Shen and shook his head helplessly. He stepped forward and pulled him, his student, over. Tang Shen raised his head and saw Liang Song looking at him quietly. As people age, their eyes become cloudy. Tang Shen knew that this was due to the accumulation of time. The old man’s eyes were never as bright as the young man’s. This was the case for everyone.

However, at this moment, looking at Liang Song’s cloudy and aged eyes, Tang Shen felt that perhaps some things might be more than just a physical change. These eyes were full of aged and weathered, hiding something that was subtle and silent. He couldn’t understand it at this time, but he knew that every word the elder in front of him said was for his own good.

Liang Song stared at his last and only student in this life and said: “People’s hearts are unpredictable. When you are at the height of power, even if you walked through the city with a knife and acted domineering, it is not a problem. But when you are downtrodden, everything you said and did, will be used as evidence when you are convicted. You have to remember, you can’t trust anyone. The boundary between a gentleman and a villain is just a thought. But before that, Tang Shen, you must be clear-minded and not leave behind any weakness for others to grasp.”

“I know that even if Jia Liangsheng is not the examiner, you should still be able to take the top spot. This essay you wrote is indeed stunning. It is the best essay you have written in these months. However, if someone wants to slander you in the future, just this sentence ‘I don’t believe it’ will be your fatal blow. They could take it out of context and deceive the emperor. This is officialdom.”

“I know, you were never fond of the imperial examination.”

Tang Shen was stunned for a moment and defended: “Sir, that’s not it.”

Liang Song: “We are the only ones in this study, so what can’t you say? Not to mention you, there are so many scholars in the world who don’t like imperial examination, so how do you matter?”

Tang Shen said no more.

The imperial examination and the eight-legged essay were criticized in later generations as feudal dross with no merit whatsoever. Tang Shen really didn’t like it. Putting him aside, how many future generations would like and approve of the imperial examination? But since he traveled through time, he had no choice but to take the exam.

Liang Song said: “However, the imperial examination is the only way for scholars in the world to change their situation. I don’t ask you to score the top spot and become a zhuangyuan. I had one top student who became a zhuangyuan. He died on the wall of Zhuozhou City in the 19th year. He was shot through the heart by random arrows from the Liao people and died. Shen’er, you are talented and intelligent, but you don’t have a world embracing aspiration. This is not a bad thing. But the imperial examination is also officialdom. As long as you participate in the imperial examination and get involved in officialdom, I must require you to be moderate. Even if you cannot win first place, protecting your life and surviving in this world is the most important thing.”

Tang Shen understood what Liang Song meant. After all, Tang Shen was not an ancient person, and he had traveled through time less than a year ago. When he wrote the “I don’t believe it” eight-legged essay, at most he thought that the examiner might feel that what he wrote was wrong and would not agree with his point of view, which was what later generations called off-topic writing. He didn’t expect that someone could use it to hinder him and slander him.

Officialdom was like a battlefield, perhaps even more cold-blooded and ruthless than the battlefield.

Tang Shen: “This student understands, I will definitely think twice before writing or speaking in the future.”

Liang Song: “I suppressed this essay of yours. Are you sure about the prefecture examination in two months?”

Tang Shen: “…Yes?”

“En?”

“Yes!”

Liang Song smiled.

In the study room, the teacher and student carefully read Tang Shen’s test paper again, and Liang Song pointed out several areas that could be improved. After dark, Tang Shen had dinner at Liang Manor. When he returned home, he bumped into someone before leaving the gate of Liang Manor.

When the two saw each other, they were both stunned.

Tang Shen cupped his hands and said, “Cousin Xu, long time no see.”

This person was none other than Xu Hui, Xu Yuzhi.

The first time Tang Shen met Xu Hui met was at a tea shop outside Zhao Family Village, and the second time they met was at Zeng fuzi‘s home. There was some unpleasantness that time. Now more than half a year had passed, Xu Hui looked at Tang Shen steadily, and bowed: “Long time no see, congratulations to the new an shou.”

“Cousin Xu is joking.”

“You are daren‘s student, just call me Yu Zhi.”

“Yu Zhi.”

After a back and forth exchange, the relationship between the two eased. Tang Shen asked: “You seem to be in a hurry, I haven’t seen you in the past few days either, are you very busy?”

Xu Hui nodded and said: “I just came back from Jinling and dealt with some affairs for daren.” After saying that, he thought for a while and took out a rabbit brush from his sleeve: “I got this from Wuxin Stationary in Jinling City when I happened to pass by a few days ago, congratulations on your success.”

Tang Shen accepted it: “Thank you so much, Yu Zhi.”

The two said goodbye.

When Tang Shen returned home, Aunt Yao cooked a table of delicious food and invited Lin Accountant and his family over as well to celebrate happily.

Tang Huang and Yao San were overjoyed, as if they were the an shou themselves.

After Tang Shen was advised by Liang Song, he was no longer so excited. He said: “It’s just a county exam an shou. Your brother hasn’t even become a xiucai yet. Once I do, it won’t be too late for you to be happy then.”

Tang Huang: “No way, my brother is the most amazing anyway. Brother Yao, you were not here this afternoon and didn’t see when that Tang Yun came to apologize, his face looked like he had just eaten a big lump of poop! He seemed a little dazed when he left, and seemed to not understand how my brother got the top spot in the examination, it was so funny.”

Yao San: “It’s not surprising that the little boss passed the examination on the first try. I think it’s not a big deal for the little boss to pass the exam and become a juren!”

Tang Shen thought to himself: Although I feel the same way, we should still be low-key, low-key.

He coughed: “Eat, eat.”

After all, Ziyang Academy was a government school in Gusu City. Of the four students who took the county exam this time, only one failed. Fatty Sun also passed the county exam, but he was not calm and still panicked. As soon as he arrived at the academy in the morning, he pulled Tang Shen and said, “Tang Shen, you are Liang daren‘s student. Did Liang daren tell you any exam secrets? We are good buddies, if you have something good, don’t forget me.”

Tang Shen laughed and scolded: “If I have any good thing, why would I still study? Why don’t I just sleep at home every day and go to the examination hall to use the exam secrets during the exam?”

Sun Yue suddenly wilted: “There are still two months until the prefecture exam. What would I do if I fail to pass the exam?”

Tang Shen waved his hand: “I’ll tell you a way.”

Sun Yue’s eyes lit up and he immediately perked his ears.

“If you don’t pass the exam, take off your clothes, find some brambles and carry it on your back to find your mother. In ancient times, Lian Po bore the bramble to plead guilty, and today Sun Yue pleads with his mother Madam Sun to be soft-hearted on him.”

“…”

“Tang Shen, are you looking for a fight!”

“Ha ha ha ha.”

After half a day, the two reconciled as before and went to the entrance of the academy to eat big meat buns together.

Two months passed quickly, and in April, many candidates who had passed the county exam took the prefecture exam. Not only those who passed the county exam this year took part in the exam, but also all those who had passed the county exam but failed the prefecture exam in previous years. Among them, Tang Shen saw Tang Yun. The two looked at each other from a distance, and Tang Yun depressedly raised his cupped hands to Tang Shen.

After entering the examination hall, under the envious eyes of Fatty Sun and Tang Yun, Tang Shen and nine other people entered a room and took the exam indoors.

Tang Shen held the test paper, feeling very energized, and took a deep breath.

Ah, the air was so good.

Now this was the proper way to take an exam. Next time he must also be in the top ten!

Opening the test paper, it was still the same two eight-legged essays and one test poem structure.

The first question was “A gentleman appreciates the virtuous and loves his family”, which comes from the third chapter of “The Great Learning”. The original sentence was “The superior man treats the worthy as worthy and loves his family. The inferior man enjoys his enjoyment and grabs profit whenever he has a chance. It is in this way that they are not forgotten after their death.” It means that a virtuous monarch had high moral character and cared for his people and relatives. When future generations of monarchs feel the benevolence of the late emperor, they would follow suit and carry forward the benevolence of the late emperor. Then the people could also receive blessings, be happier, and gain benefits.

This sentence referred to a phenomenon in which subordinates followed the example of their superiors, thus the country was peaceful and the people were happy.

Liang Song asked Tang Shen to be cautious in his words and deeds, not to curb his rich imagination or restrict his visual thinking, but to ask him to think twice before acting. Tang Shen thought about it for a while, with countless ideas flashing through his mind, and finally wrote: “With the respect of the forefathers, and the eternal happiness of the future generations, a gentleman would be virtuous and close to the nine-story pagoda.” He broke the topic, and then eloquently wrote the rest of the essay parts.

The second question was a little more difficult. It was an intersecting question, and the title was “As for governing the country, it will be advantageous to be a guest of the king”. The first half comes from “Mencius·King Hui of Liang”, and the second half comes from “Book of Changes·Guan”. Tang Shen thought for a long time and began to write.

After writing two eight-legged essays and a test poem, Tang Shen looked at the other nine people in the room. He took a deep breath and let it out happily.

So refreshing!

After checking the test paper and mistakes, Tang Shen handed in the paper and waited for ten people to gather together and leave the examination hall.

When Tang Huang and Yao San saw him coming out, they immediately ran forward. The little girl said cautiously: “Brother, are you okay?”

Tang Shen raised his eyebrows and said, “Of course your brother is okay. Your brother also wants to get into the top ten!”

Tang Huang beamed with joy.

Tang Shen felt that his performance this time was pretty good, not much different from last time. This time, ten people took the exam indoors. Although the exam lasted a whole day, they were not attacked by biochemical weapons. Tang Shen felt refreshed, had a full meal and went to bed, preparing for the second session tomorrow. Of course he didn’t know that in the Wu County government office, Jia Liangsheng had just finished overseeing the prefecture examination and picked his out of the many candidates’ papers.

“With the respect of the forefathers, and the eternal happiness of the future generations, a gentleman would be virtuous and close to the nine-story pagoda…”

Jia Liangsheng and the academician officials gathered around to read Tang Shen’s exam paper. After reading the two eight-legged essays and a test poem, Jia Liangsheng said: “Using quotations from classics and putting forth unique thoughts, the essay seems to be conciliatory, but it gradually has its roots. It is excellent work. The test poem is not bad either, this Tang Shen wrote an eight-legged poem without any flaws today, but the literary quality of it is not as good as his county examination work.”

An academician official said: “Excellent indeed, but not as unexpected as during the county exam.”

Jia Liangsheng nodded in agreement.

After the marking was over, everyone put together the best test papers. Jia Liangsheng commented: “This time, one first rank essay for Tang Shen of Gusu City and one for Yang Zhifan of Wu County. And as for the test poem Liu Yong of Wu County wrote the best poem, and he deserves the first rank. As for the an shou…”

The first session was also the most important in the prefecture examination. The next four sessions were just extras. Basically, the first day determined the exam results.

Jia Liangsheng looked at the three examination papers, thought for a long time, and said: “These three people have their own merits and it is difficult to distinguish them. However, if Tang Shen wins three top spots in a row for the tongshi this year, it would be this year’s sensation.”

With a stroke of his pen, Jia Liangsheng wrote the words “Tang Shen of Gusu City”.

At this time, Tang Shen didn’t know that he had just taken the first test session and had already won the title of this year’s an shou.

Tang Shen took the exam for four days, and the results were released after seven days. He originally just wanted to be in the top ten, but unexpectedly he saw that he was the an shou again.

This was not the an shou of the county examination. Once you passed the prefecture examination, you would gain the scholar rank of xiucai. This was a xiucai’s an shou!

Tang Shen stared blankly at his name while Tang Huang pulled at him excitedly. Tang Shen asked, “Am I really a genius? What I was best at before was obviously math, physics, and chemistry, while language and literature always pulled me down. Now I can score the top spot after a year of study?” He automatically ignored his golden finger of photographic memory.

Yao San and Tang Huang didn’t understand what mathematics, physics and chemistry referred to. In their minds…

“My brother is indeed the best!”

“The little boss really got the title of an shou!”

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Tang Shen even began to suspect whether he was an all-around genius in arts and sciences hidden in the secular world.

“Ai, Heaven has made us talents; we’re not made in vain. A thousand gold coins spent, more will turn up again! I am already a talent, and it’s time to get my money back. Accountant Lin, let’s talk about the logistics price increase reform.” (TN: “Drink Wine”, by Li Bai, a famous poet in Tang Dynasty)

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Tang Yun wore rich and brocade clothes, his head downcast. His mouth opened and closed again, embarrassed and unable to speak.

Seeing this, Madam Tang sighed: “How useless!” She ordered the maid Haitang to bring someone over. This was a boy of fourteen or fifteen years old, also wearing brocade clothes. But his behavior was timid and his expression was uneasy. From time to time, he cautiously glanced at Madam Tang from the corner of his eye. Just a look from Madam Tang and he was so frightened that he almost sat down on the ground.

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Madam Tang said: “Shen’er, this is the son of your uncle’s concubine and your second elder cousin.”

Then, Tang Shen finally understood why Tang Yun was so crazy for no reason three months ago and smashed up his courtyard.

Every family had their troubles. Madam Tang was a well-known virtuous lady in Gusu City. She was knowledgeable and courteous, Jiangnan’s famous beauty when she was young. Unfortunately, her family had declined. Although she was from a scholarly family, underneath the dazzling surface they had difficulty making ends meet. But Madam Tang was fortunate. After marrying into the Tang family, she gave birth to a son and a daughter for the Tang family. Her husband also managed to live up to expectations and passed the imperial examination to become a juren.

Madam Tang managed the household well, and the several shops belonging to the family were well maintained. However, she was only one person, and this time it was her family that caused the trouble. Tang Yun was secretly instigated by the concubine’s son and misunderstood Tang Shen, which led to Tang Yun’s angry attack on Tang Shen’s property three months ago.

Tang Shen knew that Tang juren had a son from a concubine who was the same age as himself. He looked simple and honest, and was even a little plumpee than him, but no one could have imagined that he would be the one causing trouble behind the scenes.

This concubine’s son must have been taught a lesson by Madam Tang before he came here. He shrank into himself and did not dare to speak.

Madam Tang spoke again and Tang Yun finally gritted his teeth and apologized to Tang Shen: “I was ignorant and was provoked by others, so I misunderstood you. Tang… Cousin, we are originally blood related, could you forgive me.”

Tang Shen smiled and said, “I forgave you three months ago. Eldest Aunt had already sent someone to compensate me for the things you broke.”

Tang Shen acted generously, but Tang Yun felt bad.

He never expected that Tang Shen’s lame idea would actually make the Tang Family Zhenbao Pavilion a lot of money. During this period, Tang Shen also started a strange logistics business. No one was optimistic about this thing at first, even Madam Tang felt unsure, so she just suggested Tang Shen to give it a try, as they wouldn’t lose much money after all. Unexpectedly, this logistics thing was actually a success!

Everyone Tang juren was surprised. During mealtime, he once said: “That half brother of mine has a dumb head. He only knows how to study and doesn’t know how to change and adapt. I wonder how he gave birth to a son who is completely different from him.”

Tang Shen came up with the idea of soap, and Tang Yun knew clearly how much money the Tang family made; Tang Shen started a logistics business, and maybe he didn’t make much profit, but his name was very resounding in Gusu City, and even Madam Tang felt that this logistics business may have other potential, and the future was unpredictable.

What was even more amazing was that Tang Shen’s teacher was actually Liang Bowen!

Tang Yun took a serious look at his younger cousin for the first time. He looked quite handsome, but no matter how he looked at him, he could not tell that he was as amazing a person as his mother said.

Was this Tang Shen really that amazing?

Madam Tang said: “Shen’er, your elder cousin had been spoiled by me since he was a child. I will watch over him from now on and not let him do such stupid things again.”

Tang Shen: “Eldest Aunt’s words are too serious.”

Tang Yun didn’t live with him, so what did he care about Tang Yun? 

Madam Tang asked after Tang Shen’s county exam two days ago, and ordered the maid to hand over some food supplements: “That exam is too harmful to the body. Your elder cousin took the county exam and the prefecture exam last year, and he fell seriously ill after the exam.”

Aunt Yao accepted the food supplements.

Tang Huang said: “Since it was someone else who caused the trouble,” when he heard this, the concubine’s son trembled, and the little girl continued: “Then Eldest Aunt, Tang Yun… hai, the bet between elder cousin and my brother… Does it still count?”

Madam Tang was stunned, and then she remembered this matter.

Tang Yun was also stunned, a little unhappy: “Of course it counts. How could I, Tang Yun, be that kind of petty person who doesn’t mean what he says! But who said I will lose? The county exam results haven’t come out yet, how do you know Tang Shen will definitely be able to pass? If you want me to call him big brother, he must first pass the exam and become a tongsheng!”

Madam Tang sighed and took her simple-minded son home.

After they left, Tang Shen looked at his sister and saw Tang Huang hug his arm with a smile and said: “Brother, aren’t I very smart. Look at that Tang Yun, he doesn’t even act like he is here to apologize. He is clearly unwillingly pushed over by Eldest Aunt! I want to see what he looks like when he calls you big brother three days later!”

Tang Shen: “So you deliberately provoked him?”

Tang Huang let go of his arm: “I didn’t.”

“You little girl, you’re quite the schemer.”

Tang Huang ran away quickly: “I’m not, Tang Shen is talking nonsense!”

Tang Shen laughed.

Although she had a tough attitude, in fact, the one who was most worried in the entire Tang family was Tang Huang.

There were three exams for the tongshi, and results would be released seven days after each exam. Every morning, Tang Huang would get up early and go to the temple with Aunt Yao. The little girl knelt on the mat and kept chanting, “Bless my brother to pass the exam.” The day before the results were released, even Tang Shen became nervous.

Accountant Lin: “Little boss would be afraid too? I remember when I was waiting for the results to be released every year, I was so nervous that I couldn’t sleep or even close my eyes. But the little boss is not like me. You are very smart and you will definitely pass the county exam.”

Tang Shen: “You don’t understand.”

Accountant Lin: “Don’t understand?”

Tang Shen let out a long sigh.

Not only was he worried about whether he would pass the exam, he was also worried that he would not be among the top ten!

The day for the results came, and early in the morning, Tang Huang dragged Tang Shen to the gate of the school. It was still dark, but many people had already gathered in front of Ziyang Academy. There were young adolescents like Tang Shen, and there were also octogenarians with gray hair. All the scholars stretched their necks and looked nervously and expectantly at the gate of the academy.

As soon as mao shi (5-7 am (in the system of two-hour subdivisions used in former times) arrived, the door of the government school slowly opened, and two government workers and an academician official walked out. The government workers walked through the crowd holding the red list, and the two of them posted the red list on the wall together. A large red paper scroll unfolded in front of everyone, rapid breathing could be heard, and cries of joy and pain came one after another.

Tang Huang grabbed Yao San’s arm and was so anxious that she forgot to breathe.

Tang Shen was not much better than her. He craned his neck and carefully looked from the last place to the eleventh place.

“I don’t see my name!”

Tang Shen was immediately relieved, and then became a little worried again. He looked up the list again, and when he saw his name, he froze in place.

Tang Huang turned to look at him in astonishment: “Brother?!”

Yao San: “Little boss?!”

Tang Shen looked at the first name on the red list in dumbfoundment and asked, “Am I Tang Shen from Gusu City?”

At the same time, a servant boy quickly ran to the west of Gusu City and knocked anxiously on the door. Tang Yun was sleeping when he was awakened by the banging on the door. He said angrily: “Come in!” The servant boy ran in stumbling, because he ran in a hurry and was panting, unable to say a word.

“Young Master, Young Master…”

Tang Yun said impatiently: “If you have anything to say, just say it. If you disturbed my sweet dreams for no reason, you will not be allowed to eat today.”

The servant boy cried out in his heart and finally came to his senses: “Young Master, then Tang Shen is on the list!”

Tang Yun was startled. After a while, he murmured to himself: “He was so confident, it is natural that he would definitely pass. The county exam is not difficult. Just like my mother said, I fell into his trap. If he wins, I have to call him big brother. But if he doesn’t win, I won’t get anything. Forget it, after all, it was me who was wrong, and I was provoked. My mother is right, one learns from every experience, and I, Tang Yun, am not a sore loser, it doesn’t matter if I call him big brother!”

The servant boy said again: “Young Master, he is not only on the list, he is at the top of the list, the an shou!”

Tang Yun raised his head suddenly, thinking he heard wrongly: “What did you say?”

“Tang Shen from Gusu City is the an shou in this year’s county exam!”

Tang Yun: “…”

Go to hell Tang Shen! ! !

Towards Tang Shen passing the county exam, Tang Yun could still be calm and admit his mistake. But Tang Shen was actually the an shou, and Tang Yun felt awful all over. After wallowing in pain d r a day, he came to Tang Shen’s house obediently.

Tang Yun said awkwardly: “I, Tang Yun, keep my word. Tang Shen, I call you big brother. I was wrong before.”

Tang Shen: “Did you call me big brother?”

Tang Yun: “…”

“Big brother!”

Tang Shen smiled: “Young Master Tang, please walk slowly.”

Tang Yun was so ashamed and angry that he ran home crying.

As the sun set, Tang Shen came to Liang Manor after sending off classmates and friends who came to congratulate him. As soon as he came to the door, the steward said: “Congratulations Tang an shou.”

After entering the study, Liang Song glanced at him and said, “Tang an shou has arrived?”

Tang Shen was originally very gleeful. He got first place in the exam, who would not be full of glee. But when he saw Liang Song’s expression and heard his tone, Tang Shen suddenly felt something was wrong. He walked over obediently and said, “Sir, I just came in and didn’t say a word. I just came to tell you the good news. I passed the county examination and I can now be regarded as having made some achievements.”

Liang Song put a piece of paper on the desk and said, “’I don’t believe it’?”

Tang Shen was stunned, and soon he remembered: “Sir, you read the essay I wrote?”

“Did I read it, come and see for yourself.”

Only then did Tang Shen realize that the pieces of paper on Liang Song’s desk were the copies of his two eight-legged essays and one test poem.

“Sir, I got two first ranks and one second rank. I got first rank in both essays.”

“In ‘the marriage of Wu’, your writing is quite conservative. Among the students taking the county examination in Gusu City and Wu County, no one had written well enough to be eye-catching. It is normal to give you this first rank.” Liang Song said, “And this first essay ‘when a nation or clan is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens’… Hmmph, Tang Shen, do you know what mistake you made!”

Tang Shen was confused. He was clearly here to announce the good news to his teacher, but he actually scolded him? He even got first place in the exam!

“This student doesn’t know.”

“When a nation or clan is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens. This sentence comes from “The Doctrine of the Mean”. “The Doctrine of the Mean” was written by Confucius, but now you actually say, ‘I don’t believe it’?”

Tang Shen suddenly understood. Liang Song was calling out on the arrogance of uttering “I don’t believe it” to “The Doctrine of the Mean”.

Tang Shen explained: “Sir, I don’t mean that I really don’t believe it. Please read on. I have demonstrated the relationship between auspicious signs and the rise and fall of a country. I have demonstrated why I sometimes believe it and why sometimes I don’t believe it.”

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Liang Song: “Yes, you wrote it, but so what? For this county examination, the examiner is Jia Liangsheng, the magistrate of Wu County. He is a young scholar, and he gave you a first-rank rating. He has been strongly recommending you in academic and political circles these days, saying this essay is a stunning work. However, this is because he is young, quick in thought, and eclectic. If he were a pedantic county magistrate, after just seeing this “I don’t believe it” he won’t even finish reading the rest of it, and you would be punished for disrespecting the sage’s words. Not only won’t you not pass the county examination, you could even forget about taking the imperial examination from now on!”

These words were nothing short of thunder, and Tang Shen was stunned.

There was a long silence in the study.

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Tang Shen hunched over on his desk and covered his mouth and nose with his hands and sleeves. He felt like stars were popping up in his vision and he was about to faint.

Simply farting wouldn’t be so smelly. The two candidates on his left and right had just… excreted into the jar they brought with them!

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

Even if the jar was sealed with a lid, the stench would inevitably spread to the candidates seated close to them.

Tang Shen was so dizzy from the foul odor that his “fair and good-looking” face was now as black as the bottom of a pot. He only prayed that three more people submit their papers as soon as possible, so that he could leave the examination hall early!

After waiting for another quarter of an hour, perhaps it was likely some people also couldn’t stand the smell wafting everywhere in the examination hall, and finally three more people handed in their papers. The county deputy called out the names of the ten people to take them out of the examination hall. When he called Tang Shen of Gusu City, Jia Liangsheng suddenly raised his head and said, “Who is Tang Shen?”

Tang Shen was holding his nose in suffering. Suddenly his name was called, and he was startled to find that the person calling him was Jia Liangsheng. He put down his sleeves, bowed solemnly, and said, “My lord, this student is Tang Shen of Gusu City.”

Jia Liangsheng looked at Tang Shen. He didn’t expect that it would be such a young child. After being stunned for a moment, Jia Liangsheng said: “You may go.”

Tang Shen was confused but left with the other students.

As soon as they left the examination hall, Tang Huang and Yao San hurriedly walked up to him. Seeing his family, Tang Shen could no longer hold on and fell down, but was supported by Yao San. The stench still lingered on his clothes, lingering for a long time. Throughout the whole day, Tang Shen only ate one bite of flatcake and didn’t drink a drop of water. He also spent energy writing two eight-legged essays and one eight-legged test poem.

It was always said that when the ancients took the imperial examination, it was just like taking a trip to the gate of hell. Tang Shen now understood.

Yao San: “Little boss, are you okay?”

Tang Shen shook his head: “I’m, I’m fine… Yao San, I’ll be sleeping first, and when the county exam results come out, you can then tell me whether I’m in the top ten.”

Yao San said: “What are you talking about, little boss? This is the first session of the county exam, and you have four more sessions to take!”

Tang Shen sat up in shock when just a second ao he was on the verge of dying, and said in horror: “There are four more sessions?!”

“Yes.”

Tang Shen closed his eyes, kicked his legs, and this time he really fainted.

Yao San was right. In Gusu City, even non-scholars know that the imperial examinations were not just one session at a time. Each exam usually took five consecutive days, and the results were released seven days after the exam was completed. The first session of every exam was the most important, as it basically determined your future ranking. However, if you missed the next four sessions, your results would be invalid.

But as long as you do well in the first session and don’t make any mistakes in the next four sessions, your ranking would be guaranteed.

The first session of the Gusu Prefecture County Examination was over, and Tang Shen was carried to a nearby clinic by Yao San where Tang Huang anxiously asked the doctor to treat her brother. Tang Shen was still unconscious. On the other side, Jia Liangsheng and the county deputy had returned to the government office with the examination papers. In the government office, the academidician officials from Gusu City and Wu County had already arrived and were waiting to grade the papers.

The three exam sessions of the tongshi were all small tests, and there was no need to disclose the candidate names. As soon as Jia Liangsheng entered the room, he carefully placed an examination paper on the desk and said, “Dear colleagues, this paper is to be designated as the an shou of this county examination. Do you have any objections?” (TN: candidate who ranked 1st in imperial examination on prefecture or county level)

As soon as he said these words, the whole room was in an uproar, and the academician officials came forward one after another, wanting to take a look.

“Man has a period of prosperity, Heaven has a response to peace. Interactions between Heaven and man, such opportunities are very good. It is said that this is Heaven at peace and harmony, rather than a sign of human affairs. I don’t believe it…”

“In the past, “The Doctrine of the Mean” talked about sincerity and foreknowledge, but now it says that when a nation or clan is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens…”

After reading the first eight-legged essay, the academician officials were all stunned and speechless for a long time.

“I don’t believe it?”

“I don’t believe it! It’s novel in conception, sharp in writing style, and has the potential to feed the horse and sharpen the weapon!”

There was also an academician official who said: “I don’t believe it, this candidate… his name is Tang Shen, yes? Is this Tang Shen too boastful and arrogant?” He continued to read: “This essay “the marriage of Wu” is written quite conservatively, with no problems, and it can be rated as above second rank. As for the last piece “Endowed With The Neighing Of The Fine Steed”, although it has the eight-legged essay, it is only in the form and not the content. And you see these two sentences…”

Everyone followed his finger and looked.

He continued: “The level and oblique tones are wrong.”

Jia Liangsheng: “Oh, I actually didn’t notice.”

Jia Liangsheng also didn’t expect that Tang Shen, who was so amazing and talented, would make such undue flaws. But how could he know that Tang Shen could not be blamed for this. The level and oblique tones of these two sentences were correct in later generations. But in today’s era, the level and oblique tones were different from that of later generations. No matter how careful Tang Shen was, he could not help but to accidentally make a mistake under the attack of the foul odor in the examination hall.

Another academician official said: “It’s also not considered wrong. This word has multiple pronunciations, and ‘xiang’ can also be found in “The Classic of Mountains and Seas”.”

“In “The Classic of Mountains and Seas”, it specifically refers to mountain demons and ghosts, so it is read as ‘xiang’. In my opinion, this person’s first essay is too sharp and eccentric, but the second essay is indeed a masterpiece. The test poem possesses the meaning of the eight-legged essay, but not the soul, and there is a minor flaw. If he is the an shou, it is better to look at this examination paper.”

Everyone looked over.

The academician official said: “This person’s two essays are steady and sure, his meaning clear. Let’s look at the third test poem. It is simply wonderful! A horse’s bones are shocking, but no one’s eyes can see… No one knows the bright moon, and no one knows the course of the floating clouds. I am willing to take off the salt truck now and travel thousands of miles for you… Beautiful scenery, beautiful meaning, what a wonderful poem!”

Jia Liangsheng looked at the second candidate’s paper, nodded and said: “Yes, this test poem should be the first in this exam.”

It took the whole night for everyone to read all the papers for the county exam.

Jia Liangsheng rubbed his eyes and said: “Dear colleagues, in this exam, we must all have a conclusion on who should be given the three first-rank grades in this exam. This official thinks that the second essay “the marriage of Wu”, first rank should be given to Tang Shen of Gusu City. The test poem “Thoroughbred Horse Neighs” first rank should be given to Yang Zhifan of Wu County. As for the first essay “When a nation or clan is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens”… first rank should be given to Tang Shen from Gusu City!”

An academician official said: “This essay by Tang Shen is too arrogant. Might it be inappropriate?”

Jia Liangsheng pondered for a moment: “What do you think?”

It was still dark, and the lights in the government office were brightly lit.

Of course, this had nothing to do with Tang Shen. It was still dark, and he was supported to the entrance of the examination hall by Yao San and Tang Huang with his legs dragging and the examination basket in hand.

The handsome boy looked at the closed door of the examination hall, and then at the fellow candidates around him.

Tang Shen almost cried.

Tang Huang: “It’s really strange, Brother. The doctor said that you are not sick at all. You are just hungry and you will be fine after you eat something. Why are you still so weak today?”

Tang Shen said weakly: “What do you know? The shadow on the soul is a hundred times more painful than any physical trauma!”

Tang Shen would never forget that moment in his life. He was eating a flatcake when the examinee next door suddenly took off his pants and started shitting in front of him.

Never! In! This! Life!

Yao San had also heard about the difficulty of the imperial examination. He said: “Little boss, just bear with it. It will be over in four sessions.”

Tang Shen: “…”

You really don’t know what not to mention, four sessions! There were four more sessions to go!

Tang Shen encouraged himself deceivingly: “Yes, there are four sessions left. As long as I am in the top ten, I win.”

Tang Shen’s eyes shone, as if he saw hope.

Four days later, he staggered out of the examination hall, fainted again, and was caught by Yao San. Before he passed out, the last words Tang Shen said were: “In this life, I, Tang Shen, will definitely invent a flush toilet! In this life, I will definitely!!!”

The county exam ended on the 5th, and Tang Shen lay at home for a whole day before he recovered. He was already considered lucky, having a good physique in the first place, and Yao San and Aunt Yao had prepared enough for him. In the examination hall, some candidates from poor families and had weak physiques became seriously ill after just one exam session and were absent from the rest of the county examination.

Tang Shen first went to visit Liang Song and told his teacher about his experience in this exam. He did not mention the exam answers he wrote, because Liang Song said: “The test paper of the an shou of each imperial examination, as well as all first-rank essays and test poems for that exam, will be made public.”

Tang Shen: “…”

Okay, I will definitely get the first rank, just wait.

Then, Tang Shen spent two days forgetting everything that happened in the examination hall. In the early morning of this day, several uninvited guests suddenly arrived.

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

As soon as Madam Tang entered the courtyard, she said to her son: “Tang Yun, now you still dare to say that Shen’er has done wrong to our Tang family? Do you know your wrong? Tell your younger cousin, what happened that day, how you misunderstood him and what a big mistake you made!”

AN: In this chapter, Yang Wanli was quoted in “when a nation or clan is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens”; Tang Bohu was quoted in “the marriage of wu”. Two test poems are quoted from Chen Quji and Meng Haoran~

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Along the way, Tang Shen thought carefully about Liang Song’s words, and he suddenly became more confident about the county exam the day after tomorrow.

In the past four months, Liang Song could always find flaws in the essays and test poems he wrote. However, now he finally understood that the flaws his teacher picked out were never that the content he wrote was not good, but that he could express his thoughts in a better form.

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

Compared with the ancients, what was Tang Shen’s advantage? His advantage was that he had a free mind and soul that transcended the times! He would not be shackled by this era, and his vision would always be a step higher than that of people of this era. This was his greatest advantage, and perhaps one of the reasons why he was accepted by Liang Song as his student.

Tang Shen had some thoughts about the county exam, and suddenly he remembered something.

“Sir, were you really unable to climb Xiangshan today?”

Liang Song was stunned and asked, “Why do you ask that?”

Tang Shen: “Sir, you just want me to climb to the top alone?”

Liang Song: “Haha, you kiddo, you think a lot. I’m old and can’t climb anymore. The mountains stand tall and the scenery stops. Although I can’t reach it, my heart longs for it!”

The teacher and student stayed at Zhao juren‘s house for another night. Tang Shen copied the books. The day before the county exam, they returned to Gusu City.

On the day of the county examination, crowds of scholars gathered before dawn outside the examination halls in the five counties of Gusu Prefecture.

Under the sky full of stars, government officials guarded the entrance to the examination hall, and the local county magistrate was present in person. The governor of Gusu Prefecture was Liang Bowen, but during the imperial examinations, Gusu City was merged with the adjacent Wu County for the examination. Wu County Magistrate Jia Liangsheng arrived early, wearing official robes and a black gauze official hat, holding a long white jade ceremonial tablet.

Jia Liangsheng sat in the middle of the entrance door of the examination hall. At this time, one main door and two side doors of the examination hall were all opened. There was a table and chairs in front of the main entrance, and Jia Liangsheng sat there. The two side doors were each guarded by government workers.

When the time came, Jia Liangsheng shouted: “The candidates may come in.”

The county deputy took the order, stepped forward, and called out the candidates’ names. Each time he called out five candidates, the five candidates would walk out of the row of candidates, and look at each other to confirm that the other four were correct. The county deputy called again: “Who is the guarantee?” At this time, a xiucai came forward and called out his own name, indicating the name and place of the people he guaranteed.

This was the five-person joint guarantee system of the ancient imperial examination.

Before the exam, five candidates must be found to jointly guarantee each other. The five people then find someone of a scholarly rank together and ask the scholar to vouch for them: guaranteeing that the candidate was who they say they were, had a clean background, and had no criminal history in three generations of their family. If anyone among these five people and the guarantee scholar cheated, the remaining five people would all be disqualified from the imperial exam, lose their honors, and be thrown into prison for trial.

The county deputy shouted: “Sun Yue, Li Jin… Tang Shen!”

Tang Shen stepped forward and confirmed each other’s identities with Sun Yue and the others. And with a xiucai acting as a guarantee, their group also passed.

The county deputy confirmed that all candidates have vouched for each other, and the chief registrar of Wu County then came forward. Each time he called out the names of two candidates, the two candidates each walked to a side door.

Gusu Prefecture was a prosperous place and an important place for imperial examinations, with many talented scholars. Each candidate carried a long-eared examination basket and walked to the side door and handed his identity booklet to the government worker. After the government worker checked it, he was then released into the examination hall.

“Gusu City, Tang Shen!”

Tang Shen walked to the side door on the left. A government worker took his exam basket and checked whether there was anything he shouldn’t have brought. Another government worker took his identity booklet and looked at his face.

The identity booklet stated: Tang Shen, tall and slightly thin, with no birthmark, fair face and good looks.

“Pass!”

After the body search, Tang Shen entered the examination hall carrying his examination basket.

After all the candidates entered, they gathered in the open space in front of the examination hall. Wu County Magistrate Jia Liangsheng came in and ordered the examination hall door to be closed. The three doors were immediately closed. After Jia Liangsheng completed the inspection, everyone took their seats according to the number cards they were issued.

There were a total of 120 seats in the examination hall, arranged in ten columns and twelve rows, arranged according to the heavenly stems and earthly branches. Tang Shen’s position was ding wei (forty fourth year D8 of the 60 year cycle, e.g. 1967 or 2027), which was the fourth column and eighth row.

This examination hall was completely different from when Liang Song brought Tang Shen to see it last year. In addition to one hundred and twenty more desks and chairs, a roof was built in the examination hall to prevent the examination papers from being exposed to the sun and rain. However, no matter how well prepared the yamen was, once the 120 people were seated, the examination hall soon became stuffy and smelly.

Tang Shen sighed, already very satisfied.

Gusu Prefecture was a main place for imperial examinations. The government here attached great importance to the imperial examinations, and had the conditions to provide more than 100 desks, chairs, and a roof for candidates. As for some poor and remote places, don’t even think about building a roof. Candidates had to even prepare desks and chairs by themselves and carry them into the examination hall. Sometimes scholars from poor families could not find a desk at home, and even had to borrow tables and chairs from restaurants and teahouses to use as tables and chairs for the exams.

All candidates sat down and the government workers began to distribute test papers and answer sheets.

Hearing the crisp ringing of the gong, Tang Shen opened the test paper and read the questions clearly.

The first question: “When a nation or clan is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens.”

Tang Shen was stunned.

This question was so simple!

The county examination was the only one among all the imperial examinations in which the county magistrate could independently make questions. In order to show their erudition and talent, many county magistrates would come up with some weird and bizarre questions, such as the rumored intercepting questions. Tang Shen pondered about it and realized that Jia Liangsheng, the magistrate of Wuxian County, was only twenty-six years old this year and had only taken up his post in Wuxian County last year. He had no roots in Gusu Prefecture, nor was he an old-school county magistrate, he had no intention of making it difficult for the candidates.

This sentence “When a nation or clan is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens” comes from “The Doctrine of the Mean” Chapter 24. The original sentence was “When a nation or clan is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens; when a nation or clan is about to perish, there are sure to be ill omens.” It meant that when a country or clan was about to prosper, there would be auspicious signs and when the country or clan was about to fall, there would be evildoers causing trouble.

The question was not obscure and the meaning of the question was very clear.

The question was simple so candidates were less likely to make mistakes. But simple questions also made it more difficult to get high scores and get a good ranking.

His teacher once said that his greatest advantage was that he could see further than people of this era and think more openly than people of this era.

After thinking for a long time, Tang Shen opened his eyes and wrote the first sentence on the draft paper.

“Man has a period of prosperity, Heaven has a response to peace. Interactions between Heaven and man, such opportunities are very good. It is said that this is Heaven at peace and harmony, rather than a sign of human affairs. I don’t believe it.”

After writing this sentence, Tang Shen looked at it carefully. This time he was very aggressive in breaking the topic. If he made a mistake here, he would make mistakes every step after. But this was what he wanted to say: I don’t believe it!

After breaking the topic, Tang Shen had the rest in his mind, and he started writing as if words flowed out of him. Soon he finished the initial leg, middle leg, later leg, and final leg all in one go.

After he finished writing, he checked it carefully to make sure there were no flaws, and then copied it onto the answer sheet. You could scribble freely on the scratch paper, but there should be no stains on the actual answer paper. If there were traces of modification or smearing, the most you would receive was a deduction of points in the modern world, but in this era, it could directly turn an excellent essay into scrap.

After finishing copying in Guange style, Tang Shen was already sweating profusely.

He looked at the second question. This second question was also not difficult at all. The title was “the marriage of Wu”, which comes from “The Analects of Confucius·Shuer”. The original sentence was “I have heard that the gentleman is not partisan, but maybe he can be since Prince Wu took a wife with the same surname, saying that she came from ‘the elder family of Wu.’ If this prince knew the rules of propriety, then who doesn’t know them?”

It was about a passage by the Minister of Justice Chen criticizing Confucius.

The Minister of Justice Chen asked Confucius if Duke Zhao of Lu was a man who understood etiquette. Confucius said yes. After Confucius left, he said to Wu Maqi, I heard that a gentleman (Confucius) never protects others biasedly. Would a gentleman also be biased? Duke Zhao of Lu married a woman of Wu whose surname was also Ji, so he asked her to change her name to Wu Mengzi. Was Duke Zhao also aware of etiquette?

Tang Shen did not intend to take any more risks with this question. For the sake of conservatism, he broke the topic by saying, “It was disrespectful for Duke Zhao to marry someone with the same surname and have the other change their surname.” He quickly wrote a well-organized essay.

After finishing the second eight-legged essay, it was already noon, and some candidates took out dry food and started eating.

Tang Shen carefully copied the essays on the draft paper onto the answer sheet. He wanted to solve as many test questions as possible while he still had the energy and the examination hall environment was good. Otherwise, by the time an issue cropped up, it would be too late.

After finishing transferring over the answer to this question, Tang Shen took out the dry biscuit in his exam basket and began to eat it. He had just eaten half of it when he smelled a foul stench.

Tang Shen: “…”

Whose fart was that? It stank to high heaven! ! !

Suddenly the mood for eating was gone, and Tang Shen looked at the last test poem.

When solving test poems for exams in the previous dynasty, candidates were only required to write a five-character and six-rhyme poem according to the topic. In this dynasty, the late emperor, on the basis of the previous dynasty, required that eight-legged essays could be added to the test poems. This meant that when candidates wrote test poems, they had the option of only writing poems regardless of content. But if the poem written by the candidate had an eight-legged essay incorporated, and it was not just a poem, only then could they get high marks.

Whether it was essay or poetry writing, there were four levels: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. In other words, if you want your test poem to get first-rank, you must write an eight-legged test poem. Otherwise, even if you were the Poet Immortal reincarnated, you would only get a second-rank at best.

The topic of Jia Liangsheng’s test poem was “Thoroughbred Horse Neighs”.

Thoroughbred horse, a fine steed.

An ancient article “On Horses” immediately appeared in Tang Shen’s mind! There was no “On Horse” written by Han Yu in this era.

Only after Bole came into the world were there horses able to gallop one thousand li. Such horses are common, but a Bole is rare.

But does this mean there are truly no good horses, or that he does not understand horses?

Tang Shen immediately had an idea, and he wrote: “The fine steed is a confidant, its neighing suddenly became abnormal…”

After finishing writing, he pondered over words’ level and oblique tones, changed a few words, and copied the poem onto the answer sheet.

After doing all this, Tang Shen looked up again and found that the sun was already setting. At this time, the earliest prescribed time for handing in papers had passed. Six candidates had already handed in their papers and were sitting in their seats waiting. Each time, ten candidates’ papers must be collected before the door could be opened. The first ten candidates who submitted their papers were the most distinguished and were called the “top candidates.” When they leave, there would be ceremonial gongs and drums to see them off.

Tang Shen checked his paper to make sure it was correct and handed it to Jia Liangsheng.

Jia Liangsheng glanced at Tang Shen, took his paper and put it on the desk. He glanced briefly at Tang Shen’s paper. The first thing he looked at was the test poem “Endowed With The Neighing Of The Fine Steed” written by Tang Shen. Jia Liangsheng’s eyes lit up and he nodded frequently. Then he looked at the second essay “the marriage of Wu”, and his expression didn’t change much.

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

When he saw the first essay, “When a nation or clan is about to flourish, there are sure to be happy omens”, Jia Liangsheng was stunned and astonished. Then, as if his whole body was struck by lightning, he stopped secretly peeking in astonishment. Instead, he held the paper in front of himself openly and read the essay seriously.

This scene was seen by the candidates who had already handed in their papers. They were all startled. They knew that Magistrate Jia’s reaction was that the paper was either brilliant or terrible. But among the seven people who had already submitted their papers, Tang Shen was the only one who didn’t notice Jia Liangsheng’s actions because…

He was about to faint from the odor!

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Tang Shen was scolded by Sun Yue for three days. Only after he agreed to treat Fatty Sun to a big meat bun sold at the entrance of Ziyang Academy did he finally vent his anger.

Sun Yue: “How could you only be the young master of the Tang family? You definitely have a share in Zhenbao Pavilion!”

Sun Yue was not a fool. There were many rich people in Gusu City, but to be able to enter Ziyang Academy, one at least had to pass the standards of Zheng Shanchang and have some real talent and learning. When Tang Shen and Madam Tang unveiled the red cloth in front of them, how could he not know Tang Shen’s identity?

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

After thinking about it, the little fatty was still upset: “You have to treat me three times!”

Tang Shen: “That’s all the ambition you have!”

The two laughed.

After eating the buns, the two talked about the county exam in five days.

Sun Yue said: “Are you sure about the county exam in five days?”

Tang Shen thought to himself: This was not a question of whether one was sure or not, this was a matter of passing the exam no matter what.

“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Tang Shen asked, “What about you?”

Sun Yue let out a long sigh: “I came to school last year and have been studying for a year and a half now. In addition to the seven years of studying privately at home, I have been studying for more than eight years. You are only fourteen this year, and I am already fifteen years old. Did you know that my cousin became a xiucai at the age of fifteen?”

Tang Shen said: “There is no injury without comparison, I understand.”

Sun Yue’s eyes widened: “You understand? What do you understand? Tang Shen! I originally thought that we were grasshoppers on the same rope, advancing and retreating together. Who would have thought that you plan to pass and become a xiucai!”

“Isn’t this too soon to say?”

Sun Yue: “You will definitely pass the exam. God, why must I be your classmate? If you don’t pass the exam, that’s fine. But if you pass the exam, my mother will definitely nag me. I have studied longer than you, yet I’m far lacking in studies than you! Brother Tang, my Brother Tang, could you spare this little brother this time?”

Tang Shen said calmly, “You are not the only child who has been vexed to death by your Brother Tang since childhood. Go study hard, Fatty Sun.”

“Hah?”

“Nothing. Do you still want to eat meat buns?”

“Let’s go!”

Tang Shen was determined to pass this county exam.

Five days before the county exam, the students of Ziyang Academy were given a vacation, allowing them to study on their own. Almost all the students in the school had achieved a scholarly rank, but there were also a few like Tang Shen and Sun Yue who had to take the county examination.

Tang Shen originally wanted to study hard at home for five days, reviewing the past and familiarizing the new. Unexpectedly, early on the first day, a carriage stopped in front of his house. Tang Shen went out to greet Liang Song who got out of the carriage and said, “Yu Zhi went to Jinling for some business. I’m going to Shazhou County in the next few days, will you come with me?”

Tang Shen was stunned: “Sir, I will take the county exam in five days.”

Liang Song: “You can’t pass the exam?”

“No.”

“Then what is it?”

“…”

I want to be in the top ten! ! !

Tang Shen couldn’t say this. Liang Song looked at his awkward expression while holding back his words, which finally made him look his age. Liang Song laughed and said, “Let’s go. If you can’t pass the county exam, don’t call yourself my student in the future.”

Tang Shen accepted the order, packed his things and left with Liang Song.

The carriage left Gusu City and headed north. The weather was getting warmer, but there was still a bit of chill. The carriage was equipped with a small heater. Tang Shen remembered that when he went to pick up his teacher at the city gate a month ago, his teacher gave him this thing to warm his hands.

The teacher and student didn’t chat in the carriage, they both read books separately. Sometimes Liang Song would ask Tang Shen to answer several questions. Tang Shen would answer them one by one, and Liang Song would point out the flaws.

In the evening, the two arrived at Shazhou County.

Shazhou County was in the northernmost part of Gusu Prefecture. The snow in Gusu Prefecture City stopped three days ago, but Shazhou County was still covered in snow. The endless fields were thinly covered with a layer of silver-white snow, and several villages were dotted among the endless white. The driver drove the carriage to one of the farm houses.

The carriage stopped in front of a small courtyard. Before they even got off the carriage, the owner of the house went out to greet them.

This was an old man with gray hair and a stooped back. He walked to the carriage with a cane, bowed to Liang Song, and greeted: “Liang daru.”

Liang Song got out of the carriage and saluted back: “Zhao juren.”

Tang Shen was stunned. He didn’t expect that this old man, who seemed to have an ordinary appearance and an ordinary background, was actually a juren.

Zhao juren invited them in and arranged a room for them.

Liang Song said: “I came to borrow two books from him and take a look around Shazhou County. We will leave the day after tomorrow. My eyesight is dim and he is no longer the age to read and write. As Yu Zhi is not here, you will take his place and help me copy down the two books.”

Tang Shen smiled bitterly and said, “Yes.”

So he was dragged over to do hard work!

Zhao juren gave Tang Shen two books on the customs, people and sentiments of Shazhou County, and Tang Shen copied the contents carefully. He didn’t write quickly, especially as when writing such small characters, one had to hold the brush with the wrist in the air. After copying a few pages, he felt a little tired. Tang Shen rubbed his arms and continued to copy.

Liang Bowen was a great contemporary Confucian scholar, but he liked all kinds of books.

Tang Shen once went to his teacher’s study room, where thousands of books were kept. From astronomy and geography to poetry, song, legends, and Confucian miscellany, there was everything one could ever want to read about. Liang Bowen never stuck to any kind of genre. He was erudite and knowledgeable.

When Tang Shen began to copy the second book, it was already dark.

“When making a hook, restrain the sharpness.”

Tang Shen was stunned for a moment and almost made a mistake, but inevitably, there was still a small ink dot on the book. He raised his head: “Sir?”

Liang Song stood beside him at some point, quietly watching Tang Shen write by candlelight.

Tang Shen never liked studying at night. As the saying went, to stay up late to read. Tang Huang once joked about this, saying that her brother was not diligent enough and he did not want to go to school. However, Tang Shen said confidently: “To study with the light of the oil lamp, do you want your brother to gain myopia at a young age?”

Ah Huang didn’t understand what myopia meant, but she could see Tang Shen’s firmness.

The warm candlelight swayed gently, Liang Song stood at the table, and Tang Shen sat copying books.

Liang Song: “Continue.”

“Yes.”

Tang Shen wrote more carefully, concentrating on his handwriting. Halfway through writing, Liang Song said: “It is indeed effective for you to practice calligraphy every day, but you always show your sharpness when writing.”

“Isn’t it good to reveal your sharpness?”

“It’s not good to show off one’s sharpness and edges. But you only do so a little, so it’s not a big deal, rather it gives your writing more character. If this handwriting is too much, wouldn’t all the masters of remix cursive script in the world be considered sharp and arrogant? But Tang Shen, you must remember that you are just a common scholar without any rank. If you want to take the exam, you must be able to write in the Guange style.”

Liang Song held Tang Shen’s hand and guided him to write. In an instant, beautiful ink characters appeared on the paper.

Perhaps in this era, many fathers once held their sons’ hands and patiently taught them: “Square and round, beautiful and gorgeous. Do not stand out of line, and do not reveal the sharpness of the hook. Each word is of the same size and detailed. You must write the Guangge style well, otherwise even if you are wenquxing reincarnated, you will not be able to pass the palace exam.”

There was silence in the room. After a long time, Tang Shen said: “Sir, when did I say that I wanted to pass the palace exam?”

Liang Song laughed and scolded: “You little rascal, are you implying that if you want to pass the palace exam, you can pass the palace exam? I’m afraid you won’t even pass the juren exam!”

Tang Shen thought very seriously: “If I fail to pass the juren exam, wouldn’t it mean that sir’s reputation will be ruined? I will be the first of your students to fail the juren exam?”

“Begone, you!”

“Ai!”

Tang Shen was guided by Liang Song to write two pieces of paper, then Liang Song had him write a few more pieces by himself.

“Okay, go to bed first and continue writing tomorrow.”

Tang Shen: “I want to write for a while longer.”

Liang Song: “Go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow to go have a look around Shazhou County.”

Tang Shen had no choice but to accept the order.

After resting one night at Zhao juren‘s house, the teacher and student took a carriage and headed to Xiangshan in the north of Shazhou County. The carriage reached the foot of the mountain, and the two got out of the carriage and walked along the path. Xiangshan was the highest mountain in Shazhou County, more than 100 meters high. There were yew and masson pine on the mountain. The green trees cover the sound of the stream but the sound of birds singing amidst the white snow could be heard.

Tang Shen was young and fit, and he did not find it difficult to climb up with his luggage on his back. However, Mr. Liang was old, and he was already gasping for air after they reached Peach Blossom Stream. At this spot they could see the mountain of green pine trees buried in silver snow and when one stepped on it, the snow reached their ankles.

Liang Song stopped and said, “I really can’t walk anymore. Tang Shen, go up the mountain by yourself.”

Tang Shen was stunned: “Sir?”

“I’m old and there’s still some distance to the top of the mountain. You go up by yourself.”

Tang Shen didn’t want to go up. He came to climb the mountain with Liang Song. If Liang Song didn’t even climb anymore, what was the point of him climbing alone? But Liang Song also said that he had climbed up to this point, and he had more ambition than strength. Tang Shen might as well climb to the top and take in the panoramic view of the scenery.

So Tang Shen climbed up alone.

“Where is the scenery that sir promised!” Tang Shen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

In fact, this was true, this Xiangshan was just an ordinary little mountain in Shazhou County, Gusu Prefecture. In his previous life, Tang Shen climbed Mount Tai, the first of the five mountains, and Huashan, which was famous for its rugged and steep cliffs. Compared with the former two, Xiangshan was nothing to mention.

After going down the mountain, Liang Song asked: “How nice was the scenery on the mountain?”

Tang Shen thought for a while: “The mountain is high and the air is refreshing. It is cloudless today. Although I can’t see Gusu City after reaching the top, I can get a clear view of Shazhou County. The scenery is quite good.”

“Standing at the top of the mountain is better than being within the mountain, with a new atmosphere and a glimpse of the grand view, yes?”

Tang Shen was about to answer when suddenly he was stunned and stared straight at Liang Song.

“Sir… did you not bring me out for some fun?”

Liang Song asked back: “When did I say it was for fun?”

Tang Shen himself laughed first, and said: “So it’s like that! Sir asked me to copy books because you are testing my calligraphy skills and teaching me to write in the Guange style. But now that sir has brought me to mountain climbing, I don’t understand.”

Liang Song: “You are going to take the county exam the day after tomorrow, are you worried, scared?”

“It would be a lie to say I am not afraid, but I am also not very afraid either.”

“You are arrogant, but you are also honest. Tang Shen, you have been in Gusu City for half a year and have been my student for four months. In these four months, you have written more than 200 eight-legged essays. Do you have any reflections made?”

Tang Shen thought carefully: “Sir, do you think I did not write well?”

“No, you wrote very well.”

“Sir?”

“Do you know what your strengths are and what your weaknesses are?”

Tang Shen didn’t know.

Liang Song: “Your shortcoming is that your writing style is mediocre, and occasionally there are minor mistakes regarding the level and oblique tones. But your advantage is that your style is free and unrestrained!”

Tang Shen suddenly realized.

In the past four months, Liang Song asked him to write more than two hundred eight-legged essays. He taught Tang Shen what breaking open the topic was and what the middle leg was. The eight-legged essay had a certain format, and even in some details, it occasionally required the writing to have level and oblique tones. Liang Song was like the most strict teacher, not allowing Tang Shen to make any mistakes.

But he never taught Tang Shen how to write an eight-legged essay!

What he taught was format, neat words and sentences, the form and template that must be required for eight-legged essay writing.

But he never corrected Tang Shen’s thinking.

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

“Shen’er, when you break open the topic, you often have brilliant insights. You are always unconventional, just like the sentence, ‘the great spirit can be exceedingly great, heaven and earth exude righteous energy; it commingles with objects and gives them forms.’ You have your own spirit! You see further and broader than many people, in fact, you are even more free and magnanimous than I, your teacher. I hope that you will remember that all the mountains in the world have their own shapes, and you should never stick to one mountain. You have to climb to the top to see its grand view.”

Tang Shen looked at Liang Song steadily and said loudly: “This student will remember the words of sir’s teachings.”

Liang Song smiled and said, “Let’s go back.”

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