The sky had just brightened when the academy gates were surrounded so tightly not even water could leak through. Regardless of whether they were men or women, adults or children, all wore faces of eager anticipation as they gazed at the academy’s main gate. Although there were many people, the food vendors had no business at all. The vendor selling jar chicken had shouted himself hoarse without anyone paying attention. The fermented rice stall belonging to Huang Shu’s family was clearly run by experts—the workers all leaned against pillars, pointing and gesturing at the crowd. Seeing the jar chicken vendor get soundly cursed at, they laughed with ill intent.
Who was more familiar with the academy’s situation than they were? Until the morning drum sounded, hoping for the academy gates to open was a pipe dream. Even if these people here were starving, they had no mind to eat. Only after the academy posted the list would the various businesses have customers.
From far down the bluestone road, several horses came galloping, all wearing official robes. Just by looking at the style, one could tell they were officials from the Ministry of Rites. The calling of names still had to go through their mouths for the credibility to be stronger.
The academy continued following its own rhythm. Only after the breakfast drum sounded did those craning their necks to watch the academy gates see the main entrance swing wide open. Four soldiers carrying trays emerged from the maze formation, fully armed. They walked to stand beneath the wooden boards that had been prepared long ago outside the academy gates, waiting for the Ministry of Rites officials to break the seals.
Qi Dali had once again become Vice Minister of Rites. Today he was responsible for verifying the seals. He examined them roll by roll. Seeing the wax seals intact, only then did he open the first roll and hand it to the officials beside him. Immediately two people stepped forward, unfurled the scroll, and pasted it horizontally on the wooden board. Someone had already applied paste there. Taking a broom and smoothing it down, the first roll was already up on the wall.
“Capital Region, Wang Yuanyi. Capital Region, Liu Dongcheng. Hebei, Dai Wei. Jinyang, Li Cheng…” As the Ministry of Rites officials called out names, the entrance examination for Yushan Academy in the tenth year of Zhenguan finally came to a close. A total of eight hundred fourteen people were admitted. The farthest came from Yazhou. Even this year, there were students admitted from Haizhou. There were no rankings, no grade points, no indication of anyone’s special status. The name Li Zhen from the Capital Region was unfamiliar to everyone. Few people knew he was Prince Han, Li Zhen.
Zhang Jianzhi listened from beginning to end. The first roll had no name of Zhang Jianzhi from the Capital Region, and his heart couldn’t help but cool by half. He considered that he had tested quite well, yet he was still not on the list. The second roll, the third roll—neither had his name. At this moment, Zhang Jianzhi’s heart was already dead as ashes because he knew that the later names were called, the higher the ranking. This was the academy’s custom. He wasn’t yet strong enough to appear on the final list.
“Heyang, Lai Shengyi. Jingzhou, Ge Tianlai. Capital Region, Zhang Jianzhi…” Zhang Jianzhi’s head swelled terribly. His ears were buzzing and ringing. Tears flowed down in a rush. He raised his head to look at the sky, crying freely under the sun. At this moment, he felt incomparably powerful. A prostitute’s son—his name登 on the highest list. What more could he ask for in this life?
“Rather than concealing and hiding only to be known in the end, ending up disgraced and ruined, better to openly and honestly bare one’s heart, using one’s own efforts to earn others’ respect.” The words of that young teacher in the blue robe once again rang in his ears. Zhang Jianzhi couldn’t help but laugh loudly. That’s right—nothing that cannot be spoken of to others. I can’t choose my father or mother, but I can be responsible for myself. Howling toward the heavens, he felt the depression in his heart instantly disperse clean and clear.
Heedless of others’ surprised gazes, Zhang Jianzhi squeezed out from the crowd and came to the academy’s registration area. Respectfully, he said to the steward in charge of registration, “Two gentlemen, this student is Zhang Jianzhi from the Capital Region. This is my admission ticket. Please register me.”
The academy steward smiled cheerfully as he took Zhang Jianzhi’s documents and admission ticket, checking them one by one. A plump steward said with a smile, “Young master has great ability—your name is actually on the fourth list. Remarkable! In the future, you’ll certainly be a pillar minister of our Great Tang. Looking at young master’s simple clothing, your family situation must not be very well-off. How about this—you can take the academy robe first. Hehe, I also came from humble origins. If you don’t return home in fine clothes, what’s the point of living? Just wait—I’ll go apply for the robe for you right now. If the manager is here, perhaps I can even apply for some copper coins for you. When you return, you’ll need to treat the neighbors to a few tables of food and drink.”
Zhang Jianzhi quickly bowed in thanks. He was currently destitute and desperate. From yesterday noon until now, he hadn’t touched a grain of rice. Hearing the steward’s words naturally suited him perfectly—how could he not be delighted?
When spring winds brought success, naturally everything went smoothly. A broken drum would naturally be beaten by ten thousand people. Zhang Jianzhi now seemed to be in a dream. Fifteen years of good fortune seemed to have all exploded at this moment, making him almost unable to believe he had already achieved success.
Wearing the academy’s new robe, with one hundred copper coins tucked in his bosom, heavy and substantial, he kept touching the robe, afraid of soiling it. The copper coins in his bosom seemed about to fly out from there—he needed to press them tightly to feel at ease. Chang’an City on this spring day remained towering and majestic. Zhang Jianzhi straightened his chest and, under the envious gaze of the city gate officials, slowly walked into Chang’an City.
“Heavens, how can there be such an ugly person in the world? Put a pig’s head on him and he’s a pig, put a cow’s head and he’s a cow. Haha, short little legs, toad eyes, potbelly—if you kicked him, would he roll around?” The girls today were ordered to stay confined in the courtyard and not go out. Demon Concubine was leading them to familiarize themselves with their environment. Yun Ya had never been obedient. Plus, Demon Concubine always doted on her. She found a ladder and propped it against the wall to watch the excitement outside. Outside was truly very lively.
Xiao Wu supported the ladder and shouted, “Come down quickly, it’s my turn! Who is this ugly person?” Seeing Xiao Ya wouldn’t come down, she let go of the ladder and climbed up herself. Following Xiao Ya’s pointing finger, she immediately laughed so hard she couldn’t catch her breath. Sure enough, there was a short, stout fatty circling around the master. Every two steps, he needed to wipe his sweat. The master seemed unwilling to pay attention, talking to others everywhere, but that fatty kept following, impossible to drive away.
Laughing happily, extreme joy led to sorrow. The ladder fell, and the two girls were left hanging there, hugging the top of the wall and shrieking. Just then, Shishi came to the academy to visit the two of them. She ran two steps along the base of the wall, stepped on the wall, and scaled to the top. First, she embraced Xiao Ya and brought her down, then caught Xiao Wu from above. With a dark face, she said, “You’re both grown young ladies now. How can you still not have any decorum? What if you fell?”
Little did she know that her actions just now had all fallen into those young girls’ eyes. One by one, they stared wide-eyed, looking at Shishi incredulously. Lan Ling ran over, took Shishi’s hand, and said, “Sister Shishi, teach me—I also want to climb walls.”
Gao Yang yanked Lan Ling over and said, “A wild country girl—why should she put on airs in front of us? The teachers have long said that warriors use martial arts to violate prohibitions while scholars use literature to disrupt law. You martial artists are the most boring. Be careful the Court of Judicial Review doesn’t arrest you and exile you to the frontier to fight barbarians.”
Shishi usually spoke very little, but she had keen insight. Seeing Gao Yang’s face begging for a beating, she didn’t bother arguing with her. Seeing Xiao Wu continuously rubbing her arm, she rolled up her sleeve to look. A large patch of skin had been scraped off. She took out a roll of gauze from her small bag and wrapped it in a thin layer. The few young girls at home getting injured was commonplace, so she always carried these things with her.
Xiao Wu rolled down her sleeve and said to Gao Yang, “You’re finished. Sister Shishi is your sister-in-law. How dare you speak so rudely? Sister Shishi, take out the jade pendant Consort Yang gave you and make her apologize to you.”
“Nonsense! Brother An would never marry you. At most, you’d be a concubine. How dare you make me apologize to you? Wu Mei, don’t bully people too much.” Gao Yang jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on—three feet high, without half a trace of a princess’s elegance.
“Hehe, Li Ling, you’re finished. My master’s senior disciple is Sister Shishi. Who would dare make her my brother’s concubine? Consort Yang followed all proper etiquette and asked my master for the marriage proposal. My master even said it was a bargain. I’ll go tell Li An and have him talk to you.”
Shishi angrily slapped Xiao Wu. Without bothering with Gao Yang, she dragged Xiao Wu and Xiao Ya to their room to properly inspect their life at the academy.
Yun Ye was extremely vexed. Just four spots—impossible to deal with those crazy colleagues. Military comrades were one thing, but having those pot-bellied, greedy merchants crowding around was disgraceful.
“Marquis Yun, this humble one is Pang Zhun of the Golden Jade Pavilion. Previously, I was accustomed to doing business on the great river, dealing in gold, pearls, jewels, and other valuable goods. Here is a cicada jade pearl—truly a rare treasure. This humble one asks for nothing else, only that Marquis Yun allow my son to enter the academy to study. My son merely slipped up this time. Once he enters the academy, he will certainly become a pillar of talent.”
Without looking, Yun Ye knew what kind of outstanding son such a father could produce. Sure enough, looking in the direction Pang Zhun pointed, he saw a similarly short and stout youth with bulging eyes, a wide mouth, and pockmarked skin, blowing snot bubbles and grinning stupidly at him. This fellow not only suffered from hereditary hyperthyroidism, but more importantly, his IQ definitely wouldn’t exceed fifty. The cicada jade pearl was a fine treasure, but accepting such a person into the academy—Master Li Gang would definitely chase him all around the academy.
“No, your son clearly has problems. Under no circumstances can he enter the academy. Don’t even think about this matter—there’s not the slightest possibility.”
“Marquis Yun, I also know my son is a bit lacking, but my daughter entering the academy should be no problem, right? My daughter is as beautiful as a celestial maiden.” Pang Zhun still clung to Yun Ye, not letting go. At this point, Yun Ye was becoming somewhat unhappy. You’re grown like this—how good-looking could your daughter possibly be? For the sake of his own heart, better not to look.
“Marquis Yun, just look, just one glance. If my daughter also doesn’t catch your eye, I’ll turn around and leave immediately, absolutely won’t pester you.” This fellow was introduced by Liu Hongji. Yun Ye couldn’t turn hostile. Hearing him say this, he had no choice but to turn his head, preparing to look at his spectacular daughter.
A woman wearing a white gauze dress was using a handkerchief to wipe drool from that toad-like foolish boy. Seeing Yun Ye look this way, she shyly turned her face away. Not only did her face flush red, but that rouge color spread along her neck all the way down beneath the white gauze clothing…