In the Northern Song Dynasty, he started by marrying the eighth daughter of the Su family.

After attending classes at the Imperial College for several days, he finally had his first day off. He couldn't contain his excitement about the upcoming Friday holiday.

As soon as the Imperial Academy let out, he planned to leave immediately, but Shen Kuo and Lü Huiqing stopped him.

"Brother Han, why are you in such a hurry?" Lü Huiqing asked knowingly, still with his usual frivolous expression.

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking? I promised Eighth Aunt I'd bring her some fried dough sticks when I got back!"

Han Zhi was very anxious at this moment, so Shen Kuo patted Lü Huiqing and said, "Alright, alright, Brother Han is eager to go home, so I'll be frank. This afternoon, the candidates from Yingtian Academy will be heading to the capital."

"Oh~ but what does it have to do with us?" Han Zhi said, intending to leave, but was pulled back by Lü Huiqing.

"Brother Han, don't be anxious!" Lü Huiqing said, "It's those people from Yingtian Academy who've come to challenge us! They say they want to hold a poetry gathering and compete with our Kaifeng Academy!"

Han Zhi was confused: "So you mean—we still have to compete? I didn't know participation was mandatory."

“It’s not mandatory to participate, but among all the people we know here, you are the only one with decent literary talent,” Shen Kuo said. “In the competitions of the past two years, we were only slightly better than you.”

"Isn't this good enough?" Han Zhi frowned and said.

"Why is it only slightly better? Doesn't Brother Han know?" Lü Huiqing said. "It's simply because we are in the Kaifeng Academy, the Imperial Academy right under the emperor's nose. This slight advantage is because of the Emperor."

Han Zhi then understood and said, "So, if it weren't for the fact that we were in Kaifeng Prefecture, we definitely wouldn't be able to beat them?"

Lü Huiqing and Shen Kuo both nodded, and Han Zhicai said, "Then I should go back and explain things, right? Also, there's something else..."

“Yes!” Shen Kuo immediately knew what Han Zhi wanted to ask and said, “Although it is a competition between academies, its influence is not small. People are allowed to participate and watch, from high-ranking officials to ordinary scholars, all are allowed to come.”

Han Zhi was delighted and said, "Then there's no problem. But even if I do my best, I may not be able to beat those from Yingtian Academy."

Lü Huiqing said, "It's alright. You just need to bring me the 'West Island Ballad,' and you'll be able to overpower all the heroes!"

Han Zhi shrugged and said, "See? I really should go!"

With that, he finally broke free from Lü Huiqing and quickly ran towards the outside of the Imperial Academy. Shen Kuo and Lü Huiqing watched his retreating figure, somewhat taken aback—

The books in the boxes are all the same weight, so how can he run so fast? We can't?

......

Su Zhen waited a little longer today, and just as she was feeling a bit annoyed, Han Zhi's carriage stopped in front of her.

"Eighth Sister, Eighth Sister, I'm late!" Han Zhi jumped out of the carriage and said, "Just now at the Imperial Academy, Brother Huiqing and Brother Shen talked to me about some things, so..."

Su Zhen reached out and smoothed the stray hairs hanging by his ear, saying, "It's cold, my lord, don't talk at the door, go back inside first."

Han Zhi nodded and followed Su Zhen inside. As they walked, he didn't forget to "feed" Su Zhen, holding a freshly baked meat pie in his hand and tearing off pieces for Su Zhen to eat.

However, Su Zhen ate very slowly, only finishing half a piece after returning to her room. She pulled Han Zhi to sit down at the table and asked, "What was it you wanted to say, my lord?"

"This afternoon, the candidates from the Yingtian Academy next door are going to come and cause trouble," Han Zhi said, placing the pancakes in front of Su Zhen.

Su Zhen, like Han Zhi at the beginning, asked with the same doubt, "What do you mean by 'crashing the party'? This is Kaifeng Prefecture, right under the emperor's nose. How could anyone possibly embarrass the emperor?"

Han Zhi shook his head and explained everything. Su Zhen finally understood and exclaimed, "So there are so many talented people in Yingtian Prefecture that even the candidates in the capital can't compare."

"I don't know, so Brother Huiqing and Brother Shen wanted me to go, saying that I have good literary talent and so on." Han Zhi said, putting a bowl of rice in front of Su Zhen.

This finally drew Su Zhen's attention back. Usually, it was she who was in charge of serving the food. In her stereotyped mind, such a mundane task was not something her husband should do.

“Then my lord, please go and do your best. I will wait for you at home,” Su Zhen said.

"Eighth Sister, you don't need to wait for me at home. We can go together."

"You think I can go? This isn't a matter for the scholars and students, what does it have to do with a mere young lady like me?" Su Zhen didn't understand.

Han Zhi laughed and said, "But Eighth Sister is my disciple's wife. How can we not have a relationship? Anyway, there are no restrictions, so I can go. Who knows, Eighth Sister might even be able to help me out."

“Then I won’t go. My husband is so unambitious, there’s no use in me going,” Su Zhen said.

"Just kidding, I can do it myself, no need for Eighth Sister to help." Han Zhi quickly smiled and said, "After all, if Eighth Sister were to help, those candidates would probably be too ashamed to hold their heads up."

"Stop talking nonsense, eat quickly, or you might miss the competition."

Su Zhen was immune to compliments from others and could always manage a fake smile in response. But with Han Zhi, she was genuinely happy, and even when he was scolding her, she couldn't suppress the joy on her lips.

......

After lunch, Han Zhi changed his clothes and led Su Zhen toward the Imperial Academy.

Lü Huiqing, Zhang Huaimin, and Shen Kuo arrived at this time. After seeing Han Zhi and Su Zhen, they greeted each other and then followed them inside. Su Zhen, as a "family member," was naturally allowed to enter as well.

Several rows of tables had already been set up in the square, dividing the area into two sides with the main entrance as the boundary. Lü Huiqing led them to sit down on the left, in fact, in the first row.

Su Zhen had only given a brief explanation before intending to stand at the back, but Han Zhi pulled him down to sit. This action immediately drew the attention of the students from Yingtian Prefecture opposite him, and several of them even began to whisper among themselves.

"My lord, is this really appropriate?"

Su Zhen asked in a low voice, because she looked around and saw that even those who had brought female relatives were mostly standing behind them. Han Zhi gently took her hand and comforted her:

"What's there to be afraid of? There's no rule against sitting here. Besides, Eighth Sister is my rightful wife, why can't she sit here?"

Therefore, Su Zhen could not say much more.

The chief priests from both academies walked to the center and began to introduce the rules of this poetry gathering:

"This poetry gathering will follow the old format, with a fixed theme for creative writing. At the same time, we will draw lots to select the rhyme scheme and the words to be embedded, strictly adhering to the poetic form; otherwise, it will not be counted."

The vocabulary was quite standard, at least for Han Zhi. He immediately adopted a serious expression, while Su Zhen, who was secretly watching him from the side, covered his face and chuckled.

Then she picked up the ink stick and began grinding the ink herself.

The Chancellor of the Imperial Academy of Kaifeng glanced at Han Zhi and Su Zhen, and then announced directly:

"This poetry gathering is now officially open!"