After Fan Xian left the Tongfu Tavern, the four scholars in the room looked at each other. It seemed that they had never imagined that such a big piece of cake would fall from the sky and fall on their heads.
"What do we do now?" Yang Wanli sat on the bed, somewhat stupefied. After Cheng Jialin and Shi Chanli congratulated him, they laughed. "From now on, Brother Yang, you have the support of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Revenue. I'm afraid your career will be smooth sailing."
Yang Wanli's simple and honest face showed a hint of bitterness. "I have always admired Sir Fan's talent and learning. This spring examination was also thanks to him making an exception. I presume that Sir Fan also put in a lot of effort to mark the papers behind the scenes. Only … I wish that Sir Fan had not made this trip today."
Cheng and Shi were speechless. They knew that Yang Wanli felt that Fan Xian had done him a favor.
Hou Jichang, who had always been the hidden leader of the group, smiled and shook his head. "If Sir Fan had done him a favor, he would not have come in person. Wanli, you worry too much. I have decided that from now on, in the court, I will think of Sir Fan as my idol. I will make a name for myself."
Shi Chanli was stunned. Why had Hou Jichang, who had always prided himself on being virtuous, suddenly changed his temperament?
Yang Wanli shook his head and said, "I also know that in every exam, teachers and students are the norm. But as you know, Brother Hou, I have always respected Sir Fan junior's talent and learning. Because of the item I carried on my person, and because I like Sir Fan junior's personality, I always hoped that Sir Fan junior would be different from these court officials."
"I've asked for perfection, I've asked for perfection." Cheng Jialin scolded him. "Although Sir Fan has the talent of poetry, he is still an official of the court and the son of a noble. It is not easy for him to come here in person. Brother Wanli, do you hope that Sir Fan is a true immortal who does not eat the food of common mortals? Besides, a true immortal is not necessarily better for this impoverished mortal world than a capable official who is good at scheming. "
Shi Chanli clapped his hands in praise. "Brother Jialin, although you are a man of few words, your words today are very clear." He turned to Yang Wanli and said, "If we are talking about admiration, Wanli, you definitely cannot compare to me. I often hold the Banxianzhai Poetry Anthology in my hands and can recite the hundreds of poems inside like the back of my hand. However, seeing Sir Fan junior today, I am not at all disappointed. Why? It is all because poetry speaks from the heart. Sir Fan junior is indeed a free and easy person of my generation. How can he be compared to those corrupt officials in court? "
He smiled and continued, "When I brought the roast chicken here earlier, there weren't many people holding umbrellas in the alley. I'm a person who likes to play around. Looking at the young man under the umbrella, his face was delicate and pretty, his breath was fresh and pleasant, and his comments were somewhat novel and frightening. Therefore, I recklessly crawled under his umbrella and walked all the way here. If it was any other powerful official, how could they tolerate my rudeness? Sir Fan junior's face was full of smiles. Traveling with me, there was not a trace of unnaturalness in his expression. In the inn, I found out that he was Fan Xian. To tell the truth, I was pleasantly surprised. Fan Xian, Fan Xian, you really didn't disappoint me. "
Only now did everyone realize that there had been such a thing. No wonder Fan Xian had said that he and Shi Chanli were fated. Thinking of the feeling, they couldn't help but smile. Yang Wanli scratched his head awkwardly. "Maybe … I just feel a sense of nirvanic disillusionment? I've always felt that Sir Fan junior should be the kind of person who sits idle on a grape rack, writes thousands of poems, and doesn't care about the filthy matters of the court. "
Hou Jichang shook his head in disapproval. "That kind of person seems elegant and refined, but he's really useless to the country, and of no benefit to the people. If Sir Fan really was like that, I would actually look down on him."
"Not necessarily, not necessarily." Yang Wanli sighed.
Hou Jichang smiled lightly. "I'm not afraid of being laughed at, but how can a scholar serve his country? The only way is to enter the court and become an official. But how can outsiders like you and I understand the mysteries and terrors of the court? So, Sir Fan junior came today not because he needs us, but because he knows that we need him. "
He paused, then continued, "Although I have some pride, I'm not a pedantic person who doesn't know when to advance or retreat. Since we have this opportunity, of course we must seize it. If we must follow someone in the court, then I think that Sir Fan is the best choice. I think that in the future, his achievements in the court will not conflict with our daily ideals."
Everyone asked in unison, "Why?" Everyone was a little puzzled by Hou Jichang's resolute attitude. Hearing him emphasize it now, they became even more curious.
Hou Jichang picked up his teacup from the table and looked at the remnants of Fan Xian's tea. He was a little lost in thought. After a while, he said, "A popular person of the court on a rainy day would actually take care that the water on his umbrella wouldn't drip into the pot of a street vendor sheltering from the rain. He would rather get himself wet than lean to the side. Such a considerate and kind person, if he isn't a great villain, then he's a great sage. "
He smiled. "A seventeen-year-old youth can't hide it so well at any time, so I believe that Sir Fan junior is a great sage. My judgment is that simple, because I was moved by that scene in the rain."
The room was silent. After a long time, there was a sigh.
— — —
The next day, on the red wall to the left of the exam hall, the yellow paper that the examinees had been waiting for was finally pasted. The rules for selecting scholars in the Kingdom of Qing's spring examination were not complicated. After the provincial examination was the general examination, and after the general examination, the top three candidates would be chosen. However, there was no ranking, and they were arranged according to the strokes on the imperial list.
The number of people in the top three varied from year to year. Because there had been an additional examination in the third year of the Qing calendar, the number of candidates in the next two years was a little low. This year, there were only 108 names on the imperial list. Because there were so few candidates, whether it was the students of the Imperial College in the capital or the scholars from various counties who had come to the capital to take the exam, they were all nervous and uneasy.
To the west of the examination hall was a bridge. If one wanted to look at the results under the vermilion wall, they had to cross the bridge. At this time, the area under the vermilion wall was already surrounded by students wearing long gowns. The crowd was moving, and they were nervously searching for their names on the big yellow paper.
On the other side of the bridge, Hou Jichang and Yang Wanli, who had already taken the medicine to calm their hearts, walked slowly. The bridge was still stained with yesterday's rain, and the moss between the bricks was particularly slippery. The four of them walked that way, and Cheng Jialin almost slipped, which made the crowd laugh. Cheng Jialin laughed at himself. Although his and Shi Chanli's steps were as slow as his two friends, they couldn't help but be nervous deep down.
Coming to the red wall, the four of them squeezed through the crowd with great difficulty. They began to look from the left side, and after who knew how long, they suddenly heard Shi Chanli cry out in joy. "Brother Hou, Brother Hou! Got it! Got it! "
The other three heard the sound and hurried to Shi Chanli's side. Sure enough, they saw Hou Jichang's name on the third row above their heads. They couldn't help but feel excited. Yang Wanli lightly punched Hou Jichang's shoulder, his face full of smiles.
Hou Jichang smiled slightly, wanting to show a trace of pride, but this was a big deal! Although he considered himself virtuous, thinking of the ten years of hardship he had suffered, the ardent expectations of his parents at home, and the envious gazes of the scholars around him, he couldn't help but feel a little smug. He couldn't help but open his mouth, revealing an extremely happy smile.
At this time, the three golden words "Hou Jichang" on the imperial list seemed to shine in the sunlight, appearing incomparably precious and with a limitless future.
...
...
The four of them no longer separated and simply looked carefully to the right. After who knew how long, they finally succeeded in finding Yang Wanli's name on the imperial list. Only now did they truly believe what Sir Fan junior had said the day before. Yang Wanli saw that his name was indeed on the imperial list, and he was extremely excited. His eyes were a little red, and he mumbled to himself, "I really got it, I really got it."
He suddenly let out a strange cry and rushed out of the crowd. He ran to the side of the bridge and roared at the water below. His voice reverberated through the bridge, making a buzzing sound.
The three friends looked at him with smiles, knowing why he was so excited. Yang Wanli lost his mother when he was eight, and grew up alone in Quanzhou. It was all thanks to his father, who endured the cold and hunger to buy him a lot of books and urged him to enter the family school. He endured the supercilious look and studied, and with great difficulty, passed the provincial exams and came to the capital.
But after a month in the capital, Yang Wanli discovered that he should have been talented, and that his reasoning was more practical than other scholars. Unfortunately, the He family mountain was far away, and the family school was simple and crude. He never learned the flourishing rhetoric of the scholars in the capital, and his essays were always dry and unattractive.
So even his close friends, Hou Jichang and Shi Chanli, thought he couldn't get it. Yang Wanli himself didn't have much hope, so he spent the last of his silver to buy the most popular shirt among the students, and put Shi Chanli's essay in it. He wanted to gamble.
He didn't expect that before he even entered the examination hall, he would be dragged out by the scholar Fan Xian. At the time, Yang Wanli was devastated. He had thought that his ten years of hard work had been wasted, and he didn't expect that Sir Fan junior would give him a second chance.
After the examination, he left the hospital and didn't dare to use the notes in his shirt. Naturally, the essays he wrote were not brilliant, and so he gave up on the idea of writing. He just drank and made merry. Only when he heard that Minister Guo had been imprisoned did he smile a little more. He didn't expect that Sir Fan junior would personally come to Tongfu Tavern to see him, and secretly mention that he might enter the top three.
After sorrow came joy, and after despair came hope. This kind of emotional impact continued until today. After Yang Wanli crossed the bridge and stood under the red wall, he increasingly felt that Sir Fan junior's visit yesterday was a dream, and that he couldn't have gotten it.
But, he really did get it!
Yang Wanli looked at his slightly twisted face in the rippling water, and calmed down a little. Naturally, he understood why he had been so lucky in a few short days, and he was very grateful to that young man.
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