Chapter 4

The county examination was the first stage of the entry-level examinations.

After it came the prefectural and academy examinations. Only after passing all three did you qualify as a tongsheng.

This was the year Jiang Mian would pass them all in one attempt, taking first place as well.

Then he would be welcomed into the Jiang household in grand style.

Grandfather registered me too.

He wasn’t particularly hopeful, though.

He told me to try it for the experience. It wouldn’t matter if I failed.

After all, I was only six. There was no shame in it.

Other merchants, however, teased him when they heard.

“The county examination requires eight-legged essays, examination verse, policy essays, and more. Surely you don’t think memorizing the Three Character Classic and Hundred Family Surnames will be enough to pass?”

“Jiang Mian may not memorize as well as your grandson, but with Graduate Fang teaching him, the examination should be no trouble. And Fang has been full of praise for his poetry lately. What has your grandson got to compete with that?”

“Exactly. The gap will only grow wider.”

Grandfather was furious. “Get away with you! Little Yu is only six. He can barely hold a brush. What are you comparing them for?”

In fact, I could hold a brush perfectly well.

And my calligraphy was beautiful.

The first time Grandfather saw me write, he was astonished.

He had no idea that literature had been my field in the modern world, or that I had spent over a decade copying Yan Zhenqing’s calligraphy.

Oh, and Yan Zhenqing didn’t seem to exist in this era.

When we returned home, muffled arguing drifted from the courtyard.

Soon afterward, Father stormed out, his face livid, and slammed the door.

Mother leaned against the doorway, weeping quietly.

Jiang Mian’s reputation in Wushui was growing by the day. Everyone considered his passing a certainty.

Father wanted to bring him home and had confronted Mother about it.

After all, who wouldn’t want a genius for a son?

When she saw me, Mother held me and cried.

“Yu, I know you’re only sitting the examination for practice, but you must do your best. Your three sisters and I are depending on you.”

The county examination wasn’t especially strict. The inspection at the entrance was only a search over one’s clothes.

I was still small. There was no danger of my identity being exposed.

Mother held me again and apologized.

I sighed helplessly.

Life was hard for women in this era. I didn’t blame her.

Everyone had selfish wishes, after all.

The second day of the second month dawned overcast.

Carrying the writing implements, little stove, and other supplies Mother and Grandfather had prepared, I set off for the examination hall.

Wushui was only so large. Inevitably, I ran into Jiang Mian.

Being a boy, he was growing faster. Though only eight, he already had a tall, slender figure, and thanks to Graduate Fang, the other candidates clustered around him.

At the sight of me, they all gave peculiar smiles.

“The little bean actually dared to come.”

“He’s so short. Can he even reach the desk?”

“Hahahaha!”

I kept my face blank and couldn’t be bothered to raise my eyes.

A bunch of expendable side characters.

Just then, a slender figure stepped between us. A boy’s clear, pleasant voice rang out.

“A whole crowd bullying one little child, and you call yourselves scholars? You’re worse than street peddlers and porters.”

I looked up silently into the spirited face of a boy of about ten.

Oh. This one wasn’t expendable.

He was the second male lead.

The hero’s greatest rival in the novel.

So handsome that he had been named the third palace graduate, he had almost been betrothed to the dynasty’s most beloved young princess.

Unfortunately, his entire family had ended up executed.

For coming to my rescue, the boy drew their attacks instead.

“Who are you? What business is this of yours?”

“How come we’ve never seen you in Wushui before?”

He curled his lip. “I live with my grandfather in Jiangnan. My ancestral home is Wushui, so I’ve come back for the examinations.”

Gongs and drums sounded. The runners called for us to enter. Jiang Mian stopped the others and hurried inside.

Seeing me alone, the boy invited me to go with him.

On the principle that my enemy’s enemy was my friend, I readily agreed.

We were assigned our places, and the examination soon began.

The moment I received the paper, an irrepressible smile spread across my face.