Chapter 86. Who in the world does not know you?
The announcer's voice rang out three times, echoing throughout the Jiying Hall, both inside and outside. A storm of emotions swept across everyone's faces and hearts. But Fusu, at the eye of the storm, appeared unusually calm. He stood there, motionless, a multitude of thoughts racing through his mind.
...Is it really me?
This list clearly includes figures like Su Xun, Su Shi, and Zeng Gong, whose names are etched in history, and the exam questions were topics they excelled at. Why did the title of top scholar still fall to me?
To be honest, he had already lost all hope.
Could this be some kind of behind-the-scenes manipulation by the authorities?
Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Fusu's hand. He looked up and saw Su Shi's face flushed red. Fusu had never seen this man so agitated. He gripped Su Shi's hand tightly, and if he weren't worried about losing his composure in front of the emperor, he probably would have jumped up immediately.
"Zhao Xiaolang, did you hear that? You're the top scholar! Hurry up and enter the palace!"
Fusu: "Alright..."
Seeing that someone was more excited than him, he immediately suppressed all his chaotic thoughts and comforted the person with a wry smile: "Okay, okay, I'll go right away."
He immediately squeezed out of the crowd and walked up the steps alone.
However, Fusu was too short, and the steps were almost as high as his thighs, so he could only lift his clothes and climb up one step at a time, which was extremely difficult.
He had only climbed a few steps when he started to feel tired. After pausing to rest for a moment, he immediately felt countless gazes scratching at his back, as if silently urging him: Hurry up! You're going to meet the Emperor! How can you complain about being tired!
Fusu muttered to himself: Damn it, this was supposed to be the highlight of my life, how could it be so embarrassing! And these steps are way too high, not child-friendly at all, so inhumane!
Suddenly, a hand appeared and was placed in front of him.
Fusu looked up in confusion: "Huh? Master Fu?"
Fu Bi grunted in response.
"The Emperor noticed that you had not arrived for a long time and guessed that you were trapped on the palace steps, so he sent me to see what was going on."
Fusu suddenly pursed his lips, put his hand on it, and climbing the stairs became much easier with the help of the external force.
At the same time, the gazes behind him turned into whispers, as if they were discussing who he was that the current prime minister would personally act as his crutch.
Does the emperor really favor this child prodigy that much?
In fact, Fusu also felt that it was a bit exaggerated, and he became increasingly suspicious that the title of top scholar was undeserved. He secretly glanced at Fu Bi's expression.
The latter seemed completely oblivious to the gossip behind his back, his eyes filled with a sense of profound melancholy as he immersed himself in his own memories.
"When I last took your hand, I never imagined that this day would come."
Fusu: "Are you referring to... when we first met?"
"yes."
Back then, Fusu would turn pale at the sight of the Chuigong Hall and would desperately try to find an excuse to urinate. Some of those things are quite embarrassing to think about now.
Fusu lowered her head, her fair face flushed: "Actually, I didn't expect this either."
People can never truly empathize with their past selves.
As the two spoke, they had already climbed dozens of steps, leaving the uproar far behind.
Fu Bi immediately changed his form of address, saying, "It was I who misjudged Your Highness back then. Now Your Highness's talent is just beginning to show. I am very much looking forward to seeing what the future holds."
Um--?
Fusu was astonished: Judging from Fu Bi's tone, was his title of top scholar obtained illegally? Otherwise, given Fu Bi's character, he would definitely be criticized for awarding the title of top scholar randomly, rather than praised and expected.
He entered the main hall with suspicion. The emperor, sitting upright in the center at the head of the table, was none other than his familiar father. Although the two were quite a distance apart, Fusu could still see Emperor Renzong's worthless, smiling face, devoid of any imperial dignity.
Hurry up and collect them!
His grin is so wide it's practically reaching his teeth!
Emperor Renzong wasn't about to give up so easily. The top scholar, jointly recommended by Fu Bi and Ouyang Xiu, was none other than his own son! If he wasn't happy now, when would he?
The emperor scrutinized his son for a long while, until Fusu could no longer bear it and coughed loudly. Only then did the emperor reluctantly wave his hand and say, "Call out the name."
"Zhao Su was born in the first year of the Qingli era. His father's name was..."
"Zhao Zhen," Emperor Renzong suddenly said.
Fusu was startled: "Ah?" He immediately looked nervously towards the outside of the hall.
But the official in charge of issuing the imperial edict remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the emperor had called out the king's name. Reading out the family register fabricated by Fusu, the only missing entry was the "names of fathers and grandfathers."
Fusu immediately breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
Fortunately, they haven't been exposed yet.
Emperor Renzong frowned slightly, feigning displeasure, and said, "What's wrong, Su'er? At a time like this, you still want someone else to be your father? Am I that shameful?"
Fusu glanced at him: How old are you? Still so childish.
Seeing that everyone around him knew the truth, he decided to stop pretending: "I'm even thinking of becoming an official someday. This identity will still be useful. Please don't expose me."
"Oh?" the official asked eagerly, "What kind of official do you want to be?"
Generally speaking, the top scholar in the Song Dynasty would be immediately granted an official rank of the eighth grade. As for where he would be assigned to an official post, that depended on the Ministry of Personnel.
But Fusu discerned another meaning in the Emperor's words. He pointed to himself and asked, "Am I entitled to choose?"
"Of course." Emperor Renzong dropped the pretense: "In everything before, I acted with utmost impartiality. Even if I had some personal motives going forward, no one can criticize me for it. My two beloved ministers, don't you agree?"
Fu Bi: "..."
Ouyang Xiu: "..."
They realized the Emperor was joking with them. But what could they do? They were all too blind to recognize that Prince Cheng was the very top scholar, and he even adopted a posture as if he were prepared to die for his cause. Even if the Emperor was teasing them, they had no choice but to accept it!
"Huh?" Fusu said, "So, I really am the top scholar?"
"Your Highness, please do not underestimate yourself."
When Fu Bi saw that the top scholar he had personally selected had this reaction, he felt a complex mix of emotions: he sighed at the scholar's low self-esteem, but was also pleased by his humility.
"If what you wrote comes true, even if it's only one or two points, it's not that you deserve to be the top scholar, but that the top scholar is worthy of you."
Even if only one of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun were recovered, the achievement would be enough to warrant being enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple. Oh no, this is the one who should be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
Fu Bi added, “Similarly, the court should promote talented people and make the best use of them. When the emperor asks you what your intentions are, it is because the selection of officials is just and cannot be called selfish.”
Emperor Renzong laughed and said, "Fu Qing's words are correct."
Then he asked, "So, Su'er, where do you want to go?"
So it really is true that one can go wherever one wants. Fusu immediately became serious and thought for a moment: "Ministry of Revenue? No, let's make it the Commissioner for Agricultural Promotion."
The Agricultural Envoy was an official position specially created by the Song Dynasty starting with Emperor Zhenzong. His duties coincided with what Fusu wanted to accomplish.
Emperor Renzong immediately understood: "Cotton?"
Fusu: "Yes!"
He initially developed his ambition to succeed in the imperial examinations because of cotton. Now that he can choose his own officials, he certainly can't miss this opportunity!
Fu Bi and Ouyang Xiu, bewildered by the riddle being played by the imperial father and son, exchanged puzzled glances. Emperor Renzong readily explained, "It is a new crop discovered by Su'er. Its lightness and warmth far surpass those of reeds and wheat straw, making winter even more pleasant than spring."
Reed catkins and wheat straw were the stuffing that Song people used to stuff into their winter clothes. Their insulating effect was predictably poor. As a result, the number of people who froze to death in the Song Dynasty remained high every year, not to mention the Liao Dynasty to the north.
Fu Bi and Ouyang Xiu were utterly shocked. They had lost count of how many times they had shown similar expressions since they met Fusu. They thought they should have developed some kind of immunity. But His Highness Prince Cheng continued to shatter their expectations time and time again.
Fu Bi gripped his sleeve tightly, his throat bobbing twice: "So, Your Highness's plan is not just empty talk."
He wanted to say something more, but the father and son from the Tian family didn't give him a chance at all, and they quickly decided on their destination in just a few words.
Immediately, a smile, both expectant and malicious, spread across Emperor Renzong's face: "Just now, Minister Fu said that making the best use of people cannot be considered selfishness, so what about this?"
He snapped his fingers, and several eunuchs pushed out a huge wooden sedan chair. This sedan chair was different from ordinary ones; it was open on all four sides, allowing those around to easily see the face of the person inside.
"..."
A sense of foreboding crept into Fusu's heart. He asked, "What is this for?"
"Of course, it's for the top scholar to use in his parade through the streets," Emperor Renzong said. "I know that the top scholar is still young and small, and I'm afraid he can't ride a tall horse. I also couldn't bear to let him miss this once-in-a-lifetime moment of glory, so I specially ordered the officials to make this sedan chair. Young top scholar Zhao, do you want to be carried by people or pulled by horses? I can arrange it for you."
Fusu: "..."
Fusu: "…………"
"Your Majesty! Don't think I can't tell you're trying to suppress your laughter! You're just trying to mess with me, aren't you!"
Hahahahahahahahaha!
-
"I should have known better than to become the top scholar," Fusu said weakly.
But Fan Chunren ruthlessly pointed out: "Zhao Xiaolang, you said the same thing when you took the imperial examination."
"I mean it."
"Stop talking, your words are too enviable. Be careful that the scholars behind you don't like you."
"...And then? All I heard was Su Shi laughing wildly."
Fan Chunren said with an "uh," "I think I heard it too."
Fusu and Fan Chunren turned around simultaneously, and sure enough, they hadn't misheard. Su Shi was mingling in the line of second-class Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), pointing at his ridiculous sedan chair and letting out a loud, unrestrained laugh. Seeing the two of them looking at him, he laughed even more wildly.
Fusu was furious: "Tch! Only thirteenth place, what's there to be happy about!"
What Fan Chunren didn't dare say was: ...because that specially made sedan chair was really funny. Coupled with Zhao Xiaolang's utterly dejected and heartbroken expression, it was even funnier.
But thinking about it from another perspective, Zhao Xiaolang had earned such favor from the Emperor that he even had the longest audience with the Emperor in the palace. During the audience, no one knew how Xiaolang had behaved, but the Emperor's loud laughter could be heard clearly even from far outside the palace, so that the waiting students could hear it clearly.
Won't anyone be jealous of him because of this?
Fan Chunren wanted to remind Fusu to keep a low profile, but he was interrupted by a sigh from someone next to him.
"My son is unruly; please forgive him, both of you."
My son? Fan Zhongyan certainly wouldn't be here.
So it is...
Fusu asked incredulously, "You, you are Su Shi's father? You are Su Xun?"
Su Xun admitted sheepishly, "Yes."
Fan Chunren: "They are just friends joking around, you don't need to take it to heart."
Zeng Gong also said, "Yes, yes, we often see Su Xiaolang and Zhao Xiaolang playing around together. We're used to it."
They were all among the top five in the first class of the imperial examinations, and were assigned to the first batch during the procession of the successful candidates. Apart from Fusu, the second, third, and fourth place winners were Su Xun, Zeng Gong, Lu Renjia, and Fan Chunren, respectively.
Fusu couldn't help but gasp: "This is truly a place where hidden talents abound..."
He couldn't help but pray in his heart: He hoped that when they were going to perform the street-studding ceremony later, people would pay less attention to him and more to the people behind him. They were all literary giants of the Tang and Song dynasties, true literary stars descended to earth; it was always right to worship them, not him…
Unfortunately, things never go as planned.
When the eunuch reminded them that they could mount their horses to greet the cheering crowd, Fusu reluctantly stepped into the sedan chair. As the sedan chair passed through a street, a tsunami of cheers surged towards them. And the object of their cheers was the same name.
"child prodigy!"
"Little champion!"
"Young Scholar Zhao!"
"Top scholar! I want to have a son just like you!"
"Get out! The top scholar is my son!"
Who in the world does not know you?
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