Martial Arts Crossover: My Wife is the Top Scholar

Chapter 78 Those who criticize me to my face, I will remember you.
Upon arriving in Kaifeng, there is one place you absolutely must visit.

That is the famous ancient Buddhist temple, the most prosperous temple in the Song Dynasty, with the most disciples, eminent monks, and the most melodious chanting... Daxiangguo Temple!
Mentioning the Great Xiangguo Temple immediately brings to mind Lu Zhishen, his superhuman strength in "uprooting the willow tree" and subduing dragons and tigers, and the realization that only today do we truly understand who we are.

The Xiangguo Temple was not only a Buddhist temple, but also the most prosperous trading market in the capital. The temple specially designated an area for the people of the capital to set up stalls and trade.

The trading market is open five times a month: the 1st, 8th, 15th, 18th, and 28th of the lunar month. Because the market is so bustling, it is known as the "Trading Market for All People".

The businesses that followed included: fortune telling, blessing, consecration, counterfeiting, appraisal, brokerage, and lending.

Loans are an important source of income for Daxiangguo Temple.

It is said that some researchers have studied the origins of the ancient Chinese banking system, and the most important part of it was the lending of money by monks, which was already quite mature during the Tang Dynasty.

Of all the wealth in the world, Buddha possesses seven or eight tenths.

Then came the massive persecution of Buddhism.

Buddhist monks love money, Taoist priests love to rebel, and martial arts sects rule the mountains. Relatively speaking, the Great Xiangguo Temple is more peaceful; at least they allow people to set up stalls on the street.

Today happens to be the eighth day of the lunar month. There is a trade fair for all surnames outside Daxiangguo Temple. Feng Suzhen, Lan Fenghuang, and Meizhu changed into men's clothing and went to Daxiangguo Temple to go shopping.

Li Zhaoting was responsible for carrying the bags from behind.

Shopping is a man's nightmare.

Even someone with the physical prowess of a special forces soldier would be exhausted from shopping with a girlfriend wearing high heels; many stores have designated seats for men to rest.

Unfortunately, the Great Xiangguo Temple is not a shopping mall.

Street stalls are everywhere.

The only place I could rest was at a stall selling sour plum juice.

Lan Fenghuang, who had lived in the Miao region for a long time, had never seen such a bustling shopping mall before. She stared wide-eyed at the surroundings, looking around like a country bumpkin who had just arrived in the city, looking adorably cute.

Feng Suzhen came from a prestigious family and was a well-bred young lady, but she rarely went out shopping, let alone visited a supermarket. If she weren't so composed, she would have jumped up long ago.

Mei Zhu was relatively calm, with only one thought in her little head: This guy isn't as handsome as the master! This guy isn't as handsome as the master either! This guy is too ugly!

After strolling around for a while, Li Zhaoting had seven or eight bags hanging on his body and a cup of plum juice in his left hand.

Authentic sour plum drink.

Sour plums are all smoked.

It is completely different from the brewing method used in later generations.

After buying several pieces of jewelry, the group headed to the calligraphy and painting market. With the imperial examinations approaching, the capital was teeming with talented scholars, and many impoverished students would consign their calligraphy and painting works for sale.

On the one hand, it's about earning a living.

On the one hand, it's about promoting one's own reputation.

Li Zhaoting wandered around the bookstall for a while and saw several volumes of earth-shattering masterpieces that rivaled the Four Great Classical Novels. Even if Shi Nai'an were reincarnated or Cao Xueqin were reborn, he would still spit out a few pui when he saw these massive volumes.

wrong!

Cao Xueqin was a scholar who used words rather than actions.

Shi Nai'an emerged from a chaotic era, and it's quite possible that he sneaked in at night and wiped out these bastards' entire families. Anyone who has read Water Margin knows that Shi Nai'an was an expert at wiping out entire families.

"Grand Tutor Pang, a Wise Minister of His Time"

Grand Tutor Pang, whose kindness was like that of parents.

A Few Things About Grand Tutor Pang and My Mother

The language was full of flattery, sycophancy, and opportunism, making the reader feel as if they had drunk poison, wishing they could gouge out their own eyes. It gave the impression of stinky tofu, durian, blue cheese pizza, herring cans, and a bottle of Ganges water. Li Zhaoting glanced at it a few times and suffered fatal damage due to reading too fast.

Even someone as strong as Kumārajīva or Bai Yujing could only injure Li Zhaoting at most, but he would recover after a few days of rest. These pedantic articles written by scholars and literati would still be remembered by Li Zhaoting when he was old and gray, lying in a rocking chair. He would think, "Don't let me see them, or there will be a series of deaths of examinees in the capital."

As the saying goes, "Master the Three Divine Skills of the Starry Sky Sect, and you'll be able to go anywhere in the world without fear." These bastards have already mastered the three divine skills of the Starry Sky Sect to the highest level.

His conch shell blowing skills were unparalleled.

Flattery has reached its peak.

Shamelessness destroys conscience.

It gives you a jolt that makes your brain pound.

Li Zhaoting leaned against a large tree and vomited.

What about the character of literati?
Would you rather die for a noble cause?

What about sacrificing one's life for righteousness?
That's absolutely shameless!

Grand Tutor Pang is only a possible candidate for chief examiner. The position of chief examiner has not been determined yet. It may be replaced by Zhuge Zhengwo or the Eighth Prince. Isn't it too early to place a bet?
Li Zhaoting lacked experience in matters of the imperial court.

The candidates who come up with these things are all insecure about their knowledge and want to take shortcuts. These people have no background, so how could they possibly have a chance to get ahead?
They can only go all in at once.

If the prediction comes true, everyone will be happy.

If you lose the bet, you have to start over.

Even knowing that taking shortcuts is fraught with danger, even knowing that Grand Tutor Pang looks down on sycophants, they will still do everything in their power to seize any opportunity.

Here's a question someone asked!
It would be so much better to focus your efforts on studying!

When the imperial examinations reached the spring examination stage, which candidate wasn't a peerless genius or a top student? Which one hadn't studied diligently for ten years, enduring hardships like hanging their head from the rafters and pricking their thigh with an awl?

I can't keep up with the effort anymore.

At this stage, talent is what matters.

If you don't have enough talent, you can only win by surprise.

Another point is that different examiners have different requirements for the writing style of candidates. Some examiners prefer ornate language, while others prefer simple language.

The same article, graded fairly and impartially, might receive a top grade from Grand Tutor Pang, but I think it fails. Sometimes it's the other way around.

What can test takers do?
First, go find out who the chief examiner is!
Feng Suzhen was very familiar with these matters, after all, Feng Shaoqing had come from a family that had passed the imperial examinations and had gone through the same process.

After explaining quietly for a few moments, Li Zhaoting stopped vomiting.

I rinsed my mouth with plum juice and noticed a small painting stall next to the big tree, where a young scholar in his early twenties was selling his paintings. The scholar had a rather aristocratic air about him.

hiss~~
Li Zhaoting gasped.

This kid's face is something else!

With dragon-like eyebrows and phoenix-like eyes, a purple aura filling the doorway, and a pure aura rising straight to the sky from the top of his head, he was clearly a wealthy and noble prince.

This kind of person is actually selling paintings on the street?

It’s not that I can’t understand it.

Many young masters from scholarly families would sell their calligraphy and paintings to prove their talent.

For example... Tang Bohu!

The paintings of spring trees and autumn frost, the phoenix in its proud pose, and the eagle spreading its wings to conquer the world are all priceless.

Li Zhaoting glanced at the young scholar, then at his painting, and gave Feng Suzhen a meaningful look.

I don't understand, my wife, you go ahead!

Feng Suzhen stepped forward and carefully observed the brushstrokes in the painting. She couldn't help but shake her head: "If we're talking about winning by surprise, you are still the most brilliant."

The scholar smiled and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Feng Suzhen pointed to the painting: "Other candidates only want to please the examiners, flattering and fawning over Grand Tutor Pang, Grand Tutor Hua, and Mr. Zhuge. Only you flatter the emperor and sing praises to the current emperor."

The scholar was not angry, but retorted, "I like the paintings of the sages and imitate their painting style. Is that not allowed? Is that considered flattery?"

Feng Suzhen commented dismissively: "If it has an official seal on it, it's worth ten thousand taels of gold; if it's clean and has nothing on it, it's worth at most one tael of silver."

The scholar frowned upon hearing this: "With a seal, it's worth ten thousand taels of gold; without a seal, it's only worth one tael of silver. Are the paintings of the sages really so worthless?"

Feng Suzhen shook her head: "The paintings of the sage cannot be measured by money. It's just that the sage lived in the deep palace for a long time, surrounded by palace maids and eunuchs, or the three palaces and six courtyards, or court officials. Who among them wasn't flattering the emperor?"

Brother, you are a scholar, you should have read "Zou Ji Advises King Qi to Accept Criticism". The concubines in the harem said that the emperor's paintings were unparalleled in the world because they wanted to gain exclusive favor. The court officials praised the emperor's paintings because they wanted to be promoted and make money. The palace maids and eunuchs praised them because they were afraid of being beaten to death.

My wife praises me because she loves me.
The concubine who praises me is afraid of me;
Those who praise me do so because they want something from me. Zou Ji knew he was not as handsome as Xu Gong, but he used himself as an example to advise the King of Qi. The King of Qi humbly accepted the advice, and as a result, the State of Qi became rich and powerful. This is a famous story that has been passed down in history.

Judging from your attire and demeanor, you are quite distinguished, and I imagine you come from a distinguished family with many sycophants around you. My words may not be pleasant to hear, but honest advice is hard to swallow and beneficial to one's conduct.

Be close to virtuous ministers and keep away from petty men.

Befriend petty people and distance yourself from virtuous ministers.

Please make the decision yourself.

"I'll take all these paintings and calligraphy."

Feng Suzhen took out a silver ingot.

The scholar stared at Feng Suzhen in disbelief.

His hands and feet were trembling, as if he wanted to overturn the table.

Feng Suzhen moved with incredible speed, sweeping up all the paintings and calligraphy with a wave of her hand. Mei Zhu quickly packed them up, rolled up a large bundle, and rushed back to the inn.

Scholar: What happened? I just went out to sell some paintings. Where did you all come from? You all have such sophisticated speech, why are you talking so much nonsense?

No sooner had Li Zhaoting and the others left than the Stink Hero arrived on his donkey, carrying sugarcane in his mouth. Looking at the empty table, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh, not bad! You sold out so quickly. I thought you wouldn't be able to sell them! Looks like I underestimated you. How much did you make?"

The scholar smiled bitterly: "All the paintings have been sold for ten taels of silver, but I'm still seething with anger..."

"Who dares to make you angry? Tell me how they made you angry, tell me so I can have a good laugh. My husband keeps trying to set me up on blind dates, I'm so annoyed."

"That's what they said..."

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"

He smelled the stench and burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

"What's so funny?"

"I bet when they said your paintings were worthless, they didn't know who you were. But when they mentioned Zou Ji, the King of Qi, they guessed who you were."

Those dressed as scholars are mostly candidates for exams.

That perfectly matched what they said.

What's the point of flattering the examiner?

Flattering the emperor is the most effective thing!
You definitely remember them now.

This is a bonus point during the palace examination.

Brother, you've been tricked by them!

The scholar, laughing and joking about the stench.

The scholar was none other than the current emperor, Emperor Renzong of Song, Zhao Zhen.

With the imperial examination approaching, Zhao Zhen was itching to show off his skills. He secretly slipped out of the palace to sell his paintings, hoping to display his literary talent. Unexpectedly, he found himself with few customers and couldn't sell a single painting. Then, he was ridiculed by someone and was completely bewildered.

It wasn't until the stench alerted him that he realized his identity had been exposed, and he couldn't help but smile slightly.

As the most deserving emperor in Chinese history to be called "Renzong" (benevolent emperor), Zhao Zhen was truly benevolent, regardless of other aspects.

Smelling the stench, he raised the sugarcane and brandished it, saying, "Should I grab them and spank them?"

King Qi Wei said: "Those ministers and officials who can point out my faults to my face will receive the highest reward; those who submit written advice to me will receive a medium reward; those who can criticize me in the marketplace and whose words reach my ears will receive the lowest reward. How can I punish the virtuous and good people of the country?"

"Is Your Majesty going to bestow official titles upon them?"

"Let's wait until they pass the imperial examination with flying colors."

"What if they aren't test takers?"

"Hiss~ Tianxiang, go investigate them. One is a handsome young man in a blue robe, holding a folding fan; the other is a dashing young man, with a feminine air..."

"Ah? The young master in blue robes? No need to investigate!"

"Do you know them?"

"I went to a martial arts contest to find a husband a while ago..."

"Nonsense!"

Zhao Zhen gave a loving scolding.

Tianxiang shrank her neck and then explained, "I was defeated by a guy named Li Zhaoting. Li Zhaoting is that handsome young man in the blue robe. His father was punished for his words and exiled to Lingnan. The other handsome young man is his wife, Feng Suzhen, who is disguised as a man. Li Zhaoting's academic achievements have long been revoked, so he will not participate in the imperial examinations."

"What crime did his father commit?"

"This...this...uh..."

"Speak directly!"

He submitted a memorial criticizing the Empress Dowager for being a hen crowing at dawn.

They ran away as fast as they could smell the stench.

Zhao Zhen gently rubbed his fingers together.

There are many different situations in which someone is punished for their words.

Some people are just foul-mouthed and deserve to be criticized.

Some were just gossipy and deserved to be beaten. The most famous example is Ru Taisu, whose memorial of 17,000 words consisted of 16,500 words of nonsense and only 500 words of the main text.

Some were tricked into taking the imperial flogging, deliberately finding fault and pushing the emperor's limits, waiting for the emperor to give them twenty strokes of the cane so that they could go down in history.

Some were implicated.

Li Nanxing clearly belongs to the last category.

Not only was he not a corrupt official, but he was also Zhao Zhen's most loyal minister. When Zhao Zhen came to power, he would definitely reinstate him to his original position and then promote him three ranks.

……

"Brother Li, why are we running? Is that scholar very powerful? Could he be a prince or marquis?"

Blue Phoenix carries a heavy load on her chest, causing her to writhe as she runs, and she doesn't particularly enjoy long-distance treks.

Previously, when competing with Xiao Feng in lightness skills, Lan Fenghuang decisively conceded defeat, allowing Li Zhaoting to carry her.

Li Zhaoting waved his hand: "A prince? How could he be a prince! He's just the current emperor!"

"Oh~ so he's... ah?"

Blue Phoenix gasped.

Mei Zhu then let out another cold breath.

The climate in the capital city subsequently became warmer.

Make outstanding contributions to global warming.

Feng Suzhen's expression was very calm.

She knew that the scholar selling paintings was Zhao Zhen.

Li Zhaoting secretly told her this via telepathy.

Feng Suzhen was so shocked that her mind went blank. The rest of her words were taught to her by Li Zhaoting, and she regained her composure and calmness by the last few sentences.

Extend your head with a knife, shrink your head with a knife.

Feng Suzhen dared to disguise herself as a man to participate in the imperial examination, which shows that she was a very bold person. She thought to herself that she would scold him and scold him to her heart's content, and then get back at him.

That being said, as a scholarly family, the emperor's authority made Feng Suzhen very nervous.

Grabbing Li Zhaoting's soft lower back with her small hand, she pinched him hard. "If you have nothing better to do, go pick up some manure! What are you doing provoking the emperor? Do you want to be exiled to Lingnan?"

What a pity.

Li Zhaoting didn't realize it when he bought the painting!
(End of this chapter)