Chapter 615 analyzes past imperial examination questions.
Cheng Wanwan and Shen Zheng bought many books in the capital, which totaled ten large boxes.
She had Cheng Jia and Cheng Yi make several trips back and forth before they finally managed to move all the boxes to the reading room in Dahe Village.
The reading room was built next to the Dahe Academy. Although Dahe Village had a lot of land, the reading room was not very big because there were too few books. The front was a place to read books, and the back was a library. There was only one room with a dozen or so bookshelves, and the books were scattered around, making it look very shabby.
"Sui Gongren has been a great help." Mr. Zhou, the new teacher at Dahe Academy, stared at the ten large trunks of books with wide eyes. "There are even rare copies among them! My God, these are the Records of the History of the Great Yu Dynasty, and biographies of royal figures... Shouldn't these books be in the Imperial Study? How did Sui Gongren manage to get her hands on them?"
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "A reading pavilion has also opened in the capital. Her Majesty the Empress selected a thousand books from the Imperial Study to donate, so I had some of the more valuable books copied and brought back. Among them are some books that Shen Zheng bought. These ten boxes contain about five thousand books. I would appreciate it if Mr. Zhou could sort and classify them... Also, here is one hundred taels of silver that Zhao'er donated to the reading pavilion in Dahe Village. If any new books are published, you can purchase them."
The reading room is currently being managed by Mr. Zhou. He took the silver and said with emotion, "Even after Lord Cheng went to the capital to take up an official post, he still did not forget his hometown. This character is worthy of respect."
After chatting with Cheng Wanwan for a few minutes, he immediately went to organize the books. It could be said that he hadn't read 80% of them. When a scholar sees a book, it's like a traveler finding a spring in the desert; he immediately immerses himself in it, as if thirsting for knowledge.
Cheng Wanwan didn't disturb him. After leaving the reading room, she went to Master Yu's residence.
When Mr. Yu first came to teach in Dahe Village two years ago, he lived in an adobe house. Later, Dahe School raised funds to build a new house and also built a small courtyard for Mr. Yu's family. The family of four lived a simple life and kept the courtyard very clean and tidy.
When she entered, Master Yu was painting. The landscape of Dahe Village always took on various forms under his brush.
"Lady Sui has arrived." Master Yu put down his brush and stood up to greet her. "Jiaojiao, go and pour a cup of tea."
Yu Jiao's soft, sweet voice came from inside the house: "You're here!"
A moment later, the young girl came out with a cup of tea and respectfully placed it in front of Cheng Wanwan.
After taking a sip of tea and asking about the daily affairs of the Great River Academy, Cheng Wanwan got straight to the point: "Master Yu should know about the opening of the Capital Reading Pavilion, right?"
Master Yu smiled wryly. When Cheng Zhao wrote to him, he actually refused because his reputation was too bad and he was afraid it would affect Cheng Zhao's bright future.
But this child was stubborn. In his next letter, he said that the reading room was under construction and that he needed to write a plaque by hand. He even gave him a nickname, something like "Dongliu Jushi" (Eastward Flowing Hermit).
He couldn't refuse Cheng Zhao's earnest efforts, so he wrote the plaque and sent it to the capital as fast as he could.
He said slowly, "I hope no one will ever know that the Hermit of Dongliu is the infamous Yu Qingsheng."
His life is already ruined; he can't ruin Ziyu's.
“If that’s how Master Yu thinks, there’s nothing I can do,” Cheng Wanwan said helplessly. “But the Reading Pavilion has already been established, and everyone in the capital knows that Dongliu Jushi contributed to it. We can’t let his name appear on the plaque once and then be forgotten. Besides, Master Yu also receives one-fifth of the Reading Pavilion’s profits. Even for the sake of those profits, Master Yu should do something.”
She placed a money bag on the table, which contained several hundred taels of silver from the first share of the profits.
Master Yu pursed his lips.
He is not the kind of person who would bow down for a pittance. Even when he was in dire straits, he never bowed his head to the powerful and wealthy. Now that he lives a peaceful and prosperous life, he would never do anything he doesn't want to do for money.
Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side; it was Lu Yingxue.
She opened the money bag and laughed exaggeratedly: "I was just thinking of getting a set of pure gold headdress and jewelry made for Jiaojiao as a dowry, but I was worried that I didn't have enough money. Now, the money has come. Sister Wanwan, you are our family's goddess of wealth."
Master Yu frowned slightly: "This money shouldn't be..."
"Old Yu, you're just a hypocrite." Lu Yingxue snorted. "Cheng Zhao went to great lengths to clear your name, writing several letters before you finally agreed to cooperate. Whether you're willing to live with that stigma for the rest of your life is your business, but I don't want Xiao Zhan to be affected by it forever. Anyway, I've taken the money, and you have to work for the Reading Pavilion, hmph!"
She took the silver and left, making Master Yu so angry his beard almost bristled.
Cheng Wanwan suppressed a laugh and said, "If Master Yu really doesn't want to, then forget it. We can find someone else..."
"Please don't trouble yourself any further, Lady Sui," Master Yu conceded. "Since my name is on the Reading Pavilion, I have to do my job. Whether it's clearing my name or helping Ziyu establish himself in the officialdom, the Reading Pavilion is crucial."
Cheng Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief; it was easy to get things done once this pedantic person had figured things out.
There wasn't much for Master Yu to do at the Reading Pavilion. It mainly served the literati. Nowadays, almost all the literati in the capital had become members of the Reading Pavilion. The Reading Pavilion provided them with all kinds of books, but books are limited and resources will eventually run out. Therefore, it was necessary to create a continuous stream of new resources.
"I want Master Yu to analyze the past years' imperial examination questions, the metropolitan examination questions from the capital, and the provincial examination questions from each province, to conduct in-depth analysis and derive new questions," Cheng Wanwan said carefully. "Another area is arithmetic problems. Although they don't account for a large proportion, doing well in this area can improve one's ranking. Master Yu can put more effort into this... The Reading Pavilion holds a seminar once a month, inviting someone to analyze the materials specifically for Master Yu. Firstly, this shows people how much the Reading Pavilion values the imperial examinations. Secondly, if anyone is interested in the materials, they can buy them, which will also be a source of income..."
Actually, there are past imperial examination questions available on the market, but they are all superficial analyses without in-depth analysis or the creation of other questions. There is great potential in this area.
Master Yu was astonished. He finally understood why Lady Sui was able to make money and get promoted. It was because her mind was different from others.
He did pay attention to the imperial examination questions from various provinces and regions, and he would analyze them himself, but he never thought of writing them down to share with others, let alone making money from them... Although it is shameful for scholars to talk about money, if one has no money, one cannot even raise enough money for the journey to the examination, so how can one talk about a future?
He nodded: "Then I will do as Sui Gongren wishes."
"That's good." Lu Yingxue, who had been standing at the door, came in with a smile when she saw that her man had finally come to his senses. "Sister Wanwan is amazing. If you follow Sister Wanwan's plan, you will definitely be able to go back to your old Yu family before you die, and maybe you can even be buried in the Yu family's ancestral tomb."
Master Yu: "..."
He's only in his early forties, can you please stop talking about death all the time...?
Yu Zhan followed him in, his face resolute, and said, "Father, don't worry, after I pass the imperial examination, I will find a way to clear your name."
He would study hard, strive to pass the imperial examinations to become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations), a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial level of the imperial examinations), and a Gongshi (a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examinations), and try to participate in the palace examinations so that he could plead his father's case before the emperor...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com