Chapter 501 The Academician's Banquet
The provincial capital is bustling and prosperous.
From dawn till night, the streets are full of people. There is no curfew here, and shops are still open at dawn.
The teahouses and taverns on the street were filled with the figures of scholars. The scholars who had just become candidates for the imperial examinations spent money like water here, all in order to secure a good future.
In a high-class tavern, Shen Zheng and a group of literati sat at a table, engaging in lively conversation and enjoying themselves immensely.
"Brother Shen, you're really lucky this time. I heard you also ranked ahead of Sun in the academy exam. What kind of deity did you pray to?"
Shen Zheng proudly fanned himself and said, "It's because our Shen family's ancestors accumulated virtue that I have such good luck. You can't envy me for it."
One person sighed and said, "You can rely on luck for the provincial and prefectural examinations, but you won't be so lucky for the metropolitan examination. All the scholars in the Great Yu Kingdom are gathered in the capital, and those of us who are ranked last have no hope at all."
A student who ranks near the bottom in a province will be utterly crushed in a national exam.
Although becoming a Juren is already very lucky, who wouldn't want to go further? A Juren can only be a low-level official. If you become a Jinshi, you can seek a formal official position. If you accidentally participate in the palace examination, your life will be complete...
Shen Zheng was fanning himself and becoming a little absent-minded.
At the beginning of the year, he felt that he was already very lucky to have passed the county-level examination and become a scholar. Now that he has become a provincial-level scholar, it should be considered that the Shen family has been blessed with good fortune.
Perhaps influenced by this atmosphere, he also wanted to take it a step further.
A scholar nearby whispered, "Have you heard? Tonight, the academic official is hosting a banquet for the top 20 students in the provincial examination. If the rest of you want to attend, you must bring a gift. Only if the gift satisfies the concierge can you enter the banquet."
"Are we, who are ranked last, allowed to send gifts and attend the banquet?"
"Since there is such a rule, then it should be possible. It's getting late, so I need to hurry back and prepare the gifts."
"Wait, let me be clear first. What is the minimum value of this gift?"
"The academic official's banquets never disappoint. There are delicious food and fine wine. He might even reveal some news about the imperial examinations. A gift of a few hundred taels of silver wouldn't be too much."
"Hiss, a few hundred taels..."
Some people gave up immediately.
Many of them were from poor families and had spent almost all their travel expenses in the provincial capital. How could they possibly have a few hundred taels of silver left?
Shen Zheng weighed his purse. When he came, his father gave him 100 taels of silver, his grandmother gave him 200 taels, and his godmother gave him 500 taels, totaling 800 taels of silver. It was unbelievable that he had only spent a little over 100 taels left... He just went out to drink and chat every day, how could he have spent it so quickly?
He got up to pay the bill and then went back.
After arriving in the provincial capital at the end of August, he and Cheng Zhao did not stay at an inn. Instead, they rented a small courtyard in a back alley behind the bustling city. The courtyard had only four rooms. Because it was not far from the market, the prices of the surrounding courtyards had been inflated, with a monthly rent of more than twenty taels of silver. Although expensive, it was still cheaper than an inn and had the advantage of being quiet.
On his way back, he ran into an acquaintance on the street.
"Hey, isn't this Young Master Zheng?"
Shen Zheng walked over with a smile and looked at Zheng Wangfeng. He couldn't help laughing when he saw the servant behind Zheng Wangfeng holding a valuable coral bonsai.
"Brother Zheng, you lost face in front of the governor last time. I think the school official probably won't want to see you. Your gift was prepared in vain."
Zheng Wangfeng looked grim.
He truly never expected that Shen Zheng, that good-for-nothing, could actually pass the imperial examination and become a scholar. Heaven was just too unfair.
Shen Zheng, the last one, is very popular among the literati. However, because he was framed at the last banquet, people in the circle sneered at him. He had to find a way to go further. Tonight was his only chance.
"What a pity, what a pity! You only ranked twenty-first, just a little short of receiving an invitation from the academic official." Shen Zheng clicked his tongue and said, "It would be better to give this gift to Brother Cheng instead of the academic official. Brother Cheng came in first place this time and is highly favored by the governor and the academic official. Wouldn't it be much better if Brother Cheng put in a good word for you than for you to make the trip yourself?"
Zheng Wangfeng's face turned ashen with anger.
Many scholars passed by and cast strange glances at him. If he were to enter the residence of the academic official, such glances would only increase.
Many of these people are jealous of him, and if he were to attend, they would surely try to sabotage him.
Shen Zheng is right. Perhaps we can give this generous gift to Cheng Zhao.
He suppressed his emotions and said, "Brother Shen is right. Since there's still time, let's go and pay a visit to Brother Cheng."
"Brother Zheng, you're a very busy man. I'll just tell Brother Cheng for you." Shen Zheng unceremoniously brought the coral bonsai over. "Brother Zheng, don't worry. With me, this will definitely be done. Just wait for news at the inn."
He grabbed the bonsai and left quickly.
Zheng Wangfeng's page frowned and said, "Young Master, why does this Young Master Shen seem so unreliable?"
“Cheng Zhao is more reliable than him, but Cheng Zhao won’t accept gifts.” Zheng Wangfeng said with pursed lips, “Cheng Zhao and I have always been at odds. Last time, he was able to help me out in front of so many people, which shows that he is a good person. This time, Shen Zheng accepted my gift, which is the same as him accepting the gift. He will definitely handle this matter well. Let’s go back to the inn and wait.”
Shen Zheng returned to the yard triumphantly, holding Shanhu.
He had some knowledge in this area; this coral bonsai would cost at least four hundred taels of silver. Zheng Wangfeng was really rich.
He stepped into the courtyard. Cheng Ding was sweeping the yard, while Afu was chopping vegetables to prepare dinner. Originally, he thought he could just buy food from the restaurant every day, but Brother Cheng said that the food in the nearby restaurants was too expensive at this time. Dishes that usually cost several hundred coins were now priced sky-high. So they finally decided to cook at home.
Fortunately, Afu can cook some home-style dishes, so he will only go to a restaurant to buy some food and drinks to satisfy his cravings when he feels like it.
"Brother Cheng, where are you? Why are you still reading?" Shen Zheng rushed into the study. "The banquet will start in half an hour. Hurry up and change your clothes. Let's go."
Cheng Zhao put down his book, his brow furrowing slightly: "What banquet? Where are we going?"
"Hey, weren't you first place? You must have received an invitation from the provincial examiner. I heard that the top twenty in the provincial examination are all invited."
Ah Fu leaned closer, holding a dark-colored invitation in his hand: "Young Master, is this it? Young Master Cheng said I should use it to start a fire..."
Shen Zheng's eyes widened suddenly: "Good heavens, an invitation that others would dream of getting, and you actually had Afu burn it! Look at this in my hand, it's a gift that Zheng Wangfeng was preparing to give to the academic official, just to sneak into the banquet. But I promised him that if you put in a good word for him with the academic official, he'd give this thing to you. I was planning to use this to sneak in..."
Cheng Zhao stood up, his face serious: "We can't go."
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