Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 32 A Scholar from a Humble Abode, A Family with High Official Status!
The students dispersed from the county school.

Gu Zhimian carried a heavy set of rattan exam tools on his back, walked briskly through half of the county town, and returned to his home in Chianli, east of Jiangyin City.

Three earthen houses with reed-roofed roofs swayed in the smoke from their chimneys.

The old woman was busy in the woodshed, scooping a bowl of coarse rice from the bottom of an earthenware jar, and then washing the rice and vegetables.

"mother!

"My child is back!"

Gu Zhimian pushed open the door and placed his study materials beside the bed. Beside the wooden pillow was a stack of rough-edged paper provided by the private school, and on the table was the lamp oil he had exchanged for copying scriptures for others at night.

He drew a bucket of cold well water, poured it into a ceramic basin, and the unwashed vegetable leaves floated to the surface.

As the old woman wiped her hands with her apron, she caught a glimpse of her son, his eyebrows frosty, adding firewood to the earthen stove.

He probably failed the exam!
The firewood crackled and popped.

She sighed, "It's alright, I'll take the imperial examination again next spring. Your father took it for over ten years back then!"

Before she could finish speaking,
Gu Zhimian, however, changed his solemn expression and said with a smile, "Mother! Your son has passed the imperial examination and become a student."

Jiang Xingzhou passed the imperial examination with top honors, and my son is no less impressive, ranking tenth in the first class of the imperial examination!

The government provides three bushels of millet each month to supplement household income!

As he spoke, he took a bag of millet from the examination tools and smashed it onto the earthen stove.

Under the stove fire, the golden millet grains reflected the light, and two flames of excitement leaped in Gu Zhimian's eyes. He said, "Mother, from now on we'll have millet like this every month, and our rice jar will be full!"

"You little rascal, you were just trying to scare your mother!"

The old woman's face lit up with joy, and she picked up a tallow wood rice spoon and pretended to tap him.

Cooking rice over a wood fire, with wisps of smoke rising from the chimney.

Before long, the old woman had set out a table of delicious four dishes and a soup: boiled vegetables with tofu, stir-fried tofu with vegetables, vegetable soup, and tofu soup.

There were also large bowls of fragrant rice porridge.

"Beifang tofu condenses into the residual snow in the south, and the vegetable soup in the south is filled with spring waves of Taiye~~!

The Gu family is having a banquet today too!

Gu Zhimian tapped the rough pottery bowl with his chopsticks, laughing and saying, "Sooner or later, we'll replace these three mud houses with reed-covered houses with the grand courtyards of scholars with ochre walls."

Stop being silly and eat!

The old woman laughed.

"okay!"

Gu Zhimian had been on his way to the exam all day and was starving. He picked up the earthenware bowl full of brown rice and wolfed it down.

Eat slowly, and you can have more if you're still hungry!
Although our Gu family has fallen on hard times and is a poor, humble family.

Don't forget, your ancestors were descendants of Gu Ye of the previous dynasty, who once served as governor. Our Gu family has lived in Dongchian, Jiangyin for generations and was a well-known family in the past.

Although your family has lived in poverty for three generations, your father, Gu Run, was still able to serve as the Assistant Magistrate of Jiangyin County.

Unfortunately, he died young, losing his official rank and title, and the Gu family of Dongchianli fell into complete ruin.

Thanks to the Duke of Xue's generosity, he sponsored your studies at the Xue family's private school, waiving your expensive tuition fees.

You must not bring shame upon your ancestors; always remember to revive the Gu family of Dongchianli. Have your name engraved on the plaque of the Gu family ancestral hall in Jiangyin.

In the future, you must do your best to repay the Duke Xue's family for any requests they may make.

At the county school, you should get along well with your classmates and help each other, so as not to be alone on the path of learning.

The old woman solemnly gave him her instructions.

"Yes, Mother! Your son will strive to revive the Gu family of Jiangyin! I will never forget the kindness of the Duke Xue's family and the friendship of my classmates!"

Gu Zhimian knelt down and kowtowed, his throat choked with sobs and his eyes reddening.

Jiangyin County Town.

As midnight ended, the city gate's watchman's drum sounded, and the lanterns of the patrolling soldiers flickered on and off.

"Boom~!"

Suddenly, a muffled thunderclap rolled across the sky and struck the roof of Magistrate Li's residence.

The provincial education commissioner, Cai Chao, carried a sandalwood box and then entered the Li residence that night to respectfully return the treasure box—inside which was a scholar's inkstone carved from a dragon tail stone from Shezhou, a relic from a previous dynasty.

"The sound of the Confucian temple bell resounds for three hundred miles, known throughout the county. I am truly ashamed that I have been unable to assist you, sir!"

Cai Chao said with shame.

"Hmph~!"

County Magistrate Li Mo flicked his sleeve and snorted coldly.

Did he want an inkstone?

What they wanted was for Li Sanlang, Li Yunxiao, to pass the imperial examination with top honors and obtain the secret technique of rapid calligraphy from the "Jijiuzhang".

But it's too late to say anything now.

Moreover, Jiang Xingzhou's article about "leaving the county" triggered a decree from the Confucian Temple, which no one could change.

He really couldn't accuse Cai Chao of being incompetent in this matter.

"It is not that I am incompetent, but I have already leaked three words of the exam question in advance. Even with such an advantage, Li Sanlang is still unable to suppress Jiang Xingzhou."

Indeed, your son's literary talent is at least three levels inferior.

If Your Excellency takes your anger out on me and we break off relations, this case will have far-reaching consequences. I will not sit idly by and wait to die!
I imagine even the adults wouldn't want to see this!
Lord Li should really consider the annual performance evaluation.

After ascending the throne in the first year of the reign of Empress Tianshou, she listed the civil service examination and education as her top political achievement.

Jiang Xingzhou's poem "Leaving the County" has been engraved in the cultural heritage of Jiangyin County, greatly revitalizing the cultural heritage of Jiangyin County!

If he were to be fortunate enough to achieve the highest honor in the imperial examinations three times in a row and gain fame upon His Majesty...

You and I will also be promoted because of this achievement, and advancement will be a piece of cake!
Our official careers depend on this. That concludes my words; I take my leave!

Cai Chao put down the scholar's inkstone and left the Li residence.

When he came out of the Li residence, he straightened his back, covered in cold sweat. He felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his heart, and his body felt much lighter, and his steps were much lighter.

If Li Mo really wanted to openly suppress the Cai family, he would expose the matter.

While he, the education commissioner, was imprisoned and executed, the county magistrate Li Mo, who was suspected of cheating, would suffer a fate no better than his.

He now has a higher opinion of Jiang Xingzhou.

Jiang Xingzhou's foundation in the imperial examinations was exceptional; among the 1,500 counties of the Great Zhou Dynasty, few could rival him.

There is a real chance that he will win three consecutive top prizes in the future.

Once achieved, the history of the Chen family of Yingchuan will be renewed, attracting worldwide attention. They will enter His Majesty's sights, rise rapidly through the ranks, and become ministers of the Six Ministries.

With this in mind, Cai Chao's confidence was greatly boosted.

He had previously feared Li Mo because the magistrate of Jiangyin County held the power to open and close the Jiangyin Sluice Gate, which threatened the Cai family's salt-trading merchant ships.

Now that the county school in Jiangyin has achieved such a great political achievement, his annual performance evaluation as the education administrator will surely be top-notch.

If he accumulates excellent performance in academic and political evaluations over three years, he may even be promoted to the position of Education Commissioner of Jiangzhou Prefecture.
The position of the Jiangzhou Prefectural Education Commissioner is even higher than that of the Jiangyin County Magistrate, so why should he need to fear Li Mo?

There was no need for him to care about the magistrate of Jiangyin County, Li Mo, anymore.

After the education commissioner Cai Chao left,

"That old mudfish, his temper changes like the flip of a book."

Seeing that things were going wrong, he slipped away without a trace, and immediately went to praise the divinely ordained scholar!

County Magistrate Li Mo flung his sleeves, his face contorted with rage.

Despite his extreme displeasure, there was nothing he could do now that things had come to this.

County Magistrate Li Mo turned around, looked at the dejected Li Yunxiao standing to the side, and couldn't help but be angry at his lack of ambition, saying:
"Jiang Xingzhou wrote a poem titled 'Deep in the Clouds' in his casual writings. The bell of the Confucian Temple rang, and the poem spread beyond the county!"
You, a scion of a distinguished family, can't even control this mere scholar from a humble background?

"Dad, I can write about the county too!"

Li Yunxiao retorted stubbornly.

"Shut up!
You've only written one essay, 'Hearing of the Village,' ranking fourth among the students, which is even worse than Han Yugui's 'Knocking on the Town'!

Li Mo was extremely annoyed.

"If my father had been willing to ask a skilled scholar to write a practice exam for me in advance, how could I have ranked fourth in the county exam?"

Li Yunxiao was unconvinced.

Since he can't win, he can find more helpers!
"You worthless good-for-nothing!"

Knowing the exam questions the night before isn't enough; you also want to answer the questions?

If you hold this mindset, you'll only ever reach the level of a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations) or a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations), and you can forget about ever becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest-level imperial examinations).

Stay home for three days and reflect on your actions!

Li Mo was instantly enraged, wishing he could slap Li Yunxiao. He turned and stormed off in a huff.

He was the top candidate in the county examination for the young scholars, and he was able to find ways to help Li Yunxiao.

When it comes to taking the imperial examinations for scholars and provincial graduates, which require prefectural and state examinations, it all depends on one's own abilities.

Who has such extraordinary abilities that they can control everything in the prefectural and state capitals?
If he had that ability, he wouldn't have been just a county magistrate.

Lu Mansion in Jiangyin.

The elders of the Lu family, along with the scholars and officials, gathered in the hall to analyze Jiang Xingzhou's essay on leaving the county. They praised it and sighed deeply.

"It's not an unfair loss!"

"Jiang Xingzhou's essay 'Leaving the County' is unparalleled!"

Han Yugui's "Knocking on the Town," and Cao An, Lu Ming, and Li Yunxiao's three "Hearing of the Hometown," each have their own strengths!

"The ingenuity of this piece about leaving the county is beyond the reach of ordinary people; even we ourselves could not produce such a masterpiece."

"We, the young scholars of the Lu family, should take Jiang Xingzhou as our role model!"

"There's no reason why my Lu family, a distinguished family with a rich and powerful background, should be inferior to his!"

Lu Ming's eyes were bloodshot. He was determined to study hard, even through the night, to catch up with Shang Jiangxingzhou.

Han Mansion.

Former Minister of Revenue, Mr. Han Mingyuan, held a teacup in his hand and spent the whole night studying Jiang Xingzhou's "Deep in the Clouds: Seeking the Hermit in Vain," pacing back and forth in his mansion.

He sighed.

"I hereby order all members of my Han family to study this text, 'Deep in the Clouds'!"
If your writing is inferior to others, you should accept it!
If one can gain some insight from this article, one's literary skills will greatly improve.

If you study this text diligently throughout the night and can grasp its profound meaning, you might even achieve the top rank in the imperial examinations next year.

"Yes!"

The many students of the Han family held their breath and listened attentively to the teachings of their ancestor.

The study in the Cao family mansion.

"'Where the clouds are deep and the sky is unknown'!"
wonderful! Wonderful~!

We, his fellow students, should regard Brother Jiang as our role model.

Cao An, on the other hand, completely put it down and held the copied "Deep in the Clouds: Seeking the Hermit in Vain" to study it carefully, looking quite engrossed.

In a daze,

He seemed to have become that little shepherd boy, pointing to the vast Kunlun Mountains, where the clouds were deep and the way was unknown.
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(End of this chapter)