Chapter 12 The Top Scholar Who Murdered His Wife and Daughter (Part 12): The Farmer's Son's Counterattack...
A quarter of an hour later, Madam Fang, Carpenter Zhou, and Zhou Yunhui all came out of the house. Zhou Yunhui's eyes were red, and she clung to Song Ce's leg, refusing to let go. Madam Fang handed the bulging bundle in her arms to Song Ce and instructed him, "Ce'er, take good care of yourself on the road. Don't worry about the family. Also, the teacher at the county school lent you so much money, don't forget his kindness."
Song Ce nodded and hurriedly said, "Mother, please rest assured, I am not the kind of person who forgets kindness. If I am fortunate enough to pass the imperial examination this time, I will definitely repay my teacher properly."
Fang wiped away her tears and said, "That's good."
Song Ce looked at Uncle Zhou beside him, bowed solemnly, and said, "I will leave the household to Uncle Zhou."
Carpenter Zhou quickly wiped his hands on his clothes, helped Song Ce up, and said, "Brother, what are you doing? We're all family. Just go and take the exam with peace of mind!"
Song Ce nodded, then looked at the little girl who was clinging to him and said, "Yun Hui, be a good girl at home. When your brother comes back, he will bring you some nice things."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yunhui raised her head with red eyes and asked softly, "Really?"
"Of course it's true."
Having received Song Ce's assurance, Zhou Yunhui, though reluctant, managed a smile.
The family took Song Ce to the post station in the county town. Several mule carts were waiting outside the post station. Song Ce negotiated the price with the driver, then bid farewell to his family and headed towards Jinling.
Qingzhou County was far from Jinling. Even a mule cart, which was faster than an oxcart, would take about seven days to reach the local ferry. After resting for two days, it would take another five days by water. It took Song Ce about half a month to finally arrive in Jinling.
In his previous life, Song Ce was a northerner who usually traveled by plane or high-speed rail. He had never been delayed on the road for so long. The mule cart had traveled along the official road, but even the smoothest official road couldn't compare to the asphalt roads of his previous life! The bumpy ride had taken a toll on his body. When he finally stepped off the boat, pale-faced and trembling, he repeatedly reviewed the original owner's memories of traveling from Qingzhou County to Jinling City, and came to a conclusion: it wasn't the original owner who was seasick, but himself.
Despite feeling unwell, Song Ce entered Jinling City and found an inn in a relatively remote area. With the provincial examinations approaching, even the most secluded inns were packed with people.
After finally getting his turn, Song Ce quickly booked a regular single room, which cost five times more than the price in Qingzhou County.
After resting in his room for two days, Song Ce felt much better. He spent the morning studying in his room. Around noon, he felt hungry, so he went downstairs to the lobby to have some lunch.
Just as Song Ce took a bite of noodles, someone patted him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw that it was Yu Lou.
Yu Lou greeted him with a smile, saying, "I recognized that figure just now, and when I came over, it was indeed Brother Song. It seems that you and I are quite destined to meet, as we even chose to stay at the same inn."
Song Ce: "Brother Yu, when did you arrive in Jinling?"
For some reason, ever since returning from Miaojin Pavilion, Yu Lou had been quite affectionate towards him, and he had also become rather talkative. Back at the county school, he would often sit with him to read and practice calligraphy, leaving the usually quiet Song Ce feeling rather helpless.
However, Yu Lou has a good personality; he is cheerful and straightforward, and is someone worth befriending.
Yu Lou waved to the waiter and ordered a bowl of noodles, saying, "I only arrived yesterday, Brother Song, what about you?"
"I arrived the day before yesterday."
Yu Lou nodded and said with a smile, "The women of Jinling City are all beautiful and charming. Yesterday, when I first arrived here, a classmate from our county school invited me to Quanxiang Pavilion, saying that Yan Ji there is skilled in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. I was tired yesterday, so I went back to the inn to rest." As he spoke, he glanced at Song Ce and smiled, "Brother Song, do you have the same idea? Why don't we brothers travel together today?"
Song Ce raised an eyebrow and asked in surprise, "With the provincial examination just around the corner, Brother Yu, you still have such thoughts?"
Yu Lou opened his folding fan and, waving it, said with a smile, "As Confucius said, 'A balance of tension and relaxation is the way of both literature and martial arts.' We scholars are the same. If we only study books and our heads are buried in books, even if we are talented, we will be too rigid and boring. The more we see, the more we understand, and good articles will come naturally."
Song Ce shook his head and politely declined, saying, "With the exam approaching, reading more books will increase my chances of success. I appreciate Brother Yu's kind offer."
Yu Lou nodded and asked with a smile, "Brother Song, you're refusing so readily, you must already have a beautiful woman in your heart and look down on those ordinary women, right?"
Upon hearing this, Song Ce inexplicably thought of Du Ningwan's beautiful face. He coughed lightly, his expression somewhat unnatural, and said, "Brother Yu is joking."
Yu Lou nodded, looking like he understood. Song Ce didn't want to say anything more, so he quickly finished his noodles and went back to his room to continue studying.
Time quickly passed to August 9th. Song Ce got up early, tidied himself up, took the examination basket he had prepared the night before, opened the door and went downstairs. He found that Yu Lou downstairs had already tidied up and was smiling at him.
Yu Lou stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "We brothers won't say much more, Brother Song. I wish you success in the imperial examination and all the best."
Song Ce returned the greeting with a cupped hand and said, "I appreciate Brother Yu's kind words. I also wish Brother Yu success in passing the imperial examination and all the best."
It was still dark outside, but the square in front of the Imperial Examination Hall was already packed with people. The Imperial Examination Hall was surrounded by two layers of walls, covered with thorns. Every five steps, someone stood with a lantern, and the plaque in the center of the main archway bore the words "Imperial Examination Hall," exuding an imposing aura.
The provincial examination was divided into three sessions, starting on August 9th, with each session lasting three days, totaling nine days and six nights. Even though Song Ce had done a lot of preparation work, it still took a lot of his energy.
From the moment the exam began, all candidates were locked in their cells and were not released until the exam was over.
The examination cells are only equipped with lights and some daily necessities. Candidates must bring their own water and dry food. This is to ensure the safety of the candidates and because the candidates come from all over the country and have different eating habits, so they usually bring their own food.
After the final exam, Song Ce and Yu Lou returned to the inn together, along with many other scholars. Some of them, who were unwell or lacking energy, had their servants help them back.
Yu Lou looked better than him, though a little haggard, but otherwise seemed to be in good health. Once inside the inn, Yu Lou let out a long sigh of relief and said, "Finally, the exams are over."
Song Ce chimed in, "Yes."
The quick-witted waiter at the door had been watching this side. Seeing this, he hurried over: "Scholars, please have a seat. I'll go and boil some water for you to relax. Would you like something to eat?"
Song Ce nodded, and Yu Lou agreed. The waiter hurried to the kitchen to serve, while another flatterer said auspicious words: "The scholars really should eat their fill and get a good night's sleep. When the results are announced, they will surely be on the list!"
After the exam, some candidates did not leave immediately but stayed to wait for the results to be released at the end of the month. The two of them did the same. After eating, they dragged their tired bodies back to their rooms, washed up, and went straight to sleep. Both of them slept until noon the next day.
Amidst the tense wait, even the usually amusement-loving Yulou was unusually quiet, as many students counted down the days until the results were announced.
Some impatient students inquired everywhere, asking: "Is this exam feasible? Are you confident?" Song Ce vaguely replied, "Let nature take its course."
Yu Lou, on the other hand, seemed much more optimistic: "I have done my best. If it doesn't work, there are still many days ahead."
Finally, at the end of August, the results of the provincial examinations were announced.
Early in the morning, Yu Lou called Song Ce to go see the list of successful candidates. Unexpectedly, there were far more candidates in front of the list than he had imagined. It took them a quarter of an hour to squeeze in front of the list.
Song Ce, who came in first place in the provincial examination, was called the Jieyuan, while Yu Lou was not on the list.
Yu Lou sighed, seemingly quite disappointed in himself. This was his second time taking the imperial examination, and compared to Song Ce, a young man who was only nineteen and had passed on his first try, he couldn't help but feel a bit more frustrated.
Well, well, geniuses like Song Ce are few and far between. There are many students in the county school who are much older than him! There are also many who spend their entire lives obsessed with the provincial examinations and remain unknown.
Let's fight again in Nanjing in three years! Anyway, he's still young, and he has a long life ahead of him.
While Yu Lou was lost in thought, he was pushed aside by others and surrounded by the scholars from the same county school as Song Ce, who showered him with compliments.
"Brother Song is indeed exceptionally intelligent. He achieved first place in the provincial examination on his first attempt. Congratulations!"
“Who says otherwise? Brother Song, do you still remember me? I sat in the second seat behind you at the table.”
"Me too, the provincial examination is really grueling. I can see that Brother Song has become much thinner than a few days ago. Why don't I treat you to a drink tonight?"
After dealing with these shrewd and sophisticated students, Song Ce pushed through the crowd, and Yu Lou, standing beside him, cupped his hands in congratulations: "Congratulations, Brother Song, on passing the imperial examination with flying colors."
Before Song Ce could speak, Yu Lou smiled and continued, "Brother Song, your talent is extraordinary, I admire you! However, I am determined to fight Jinling again in three years. I will definitely invite you to have a drink then to add to the joy."
Song Ce nodded, quite pleased with Yu Lou's frank attitude, and immediately returned the greeting with a cupped hand, saying, "I will leave it to Brother Yu to arrange."
Ten years of hard study go unnoticed, but one success brings fame throughout the land. Over the next few days, Yu Lou gained a profound understanding of this saying.
In the prosperous and bustling city of Jinling, the inn where they stayed learned that Song Ce had won first place in the provincial examination and immediately offered to waive their room and board for the next ten days. They also provided them with the best food and utensils, all in the hope that Song Ce would inscribe a name for their inn. Wealthy merchants of all sizes in Jinling came to pay their respects, wanting to give their precious illegitimate daughters to Song Ce as concubines. There were also extravagant landlords who offered their houses and land deeds for free, without taking a penny.
Yu Lou watched as Song Ce's behavior over the past few days truly embodied the noble character of an ancient gentleman. Faced with the allure of various forces, he maintained a clear mind and politely refused them one by one, not even giving the charming beauty a second glance.
This caused his favorability towards Song Ce to rise rapidly, showing a strong potential for breakthrough.
Meanwhile, the Zhou family continued their lives as usual, and the yamen runner who brought the good news rode a fast horse from the county, went straight into the village, and randomly stopped a villager to ask for directions.
Coincidentally, this fellow villager was none other than Uncle Zhou, who had escorted Song Ce to the county town last time.
Uncle Zhou pointed out the direction to the yamen runner and asked with a smile, "May I ask what brings you here, sir?"
The constable was easy to talk to and replied, "Someone in your village has passed the imperial examination. I have come to deliver the good news on the orders of the county magistrate."
Uncle Zhou was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly continued, "Great! Our Chen Family Village has produced a scholar who passed the imperial examination! May I ask who it is...?"
"It's Master Song Ce!" The yamen runner said quickly before he could finish speaking, then rode off. After all, he had official business to attend to and couldn't afford to spend too much time exchanging pleasantries with a villager.
"Master Song Ce? Is that Brother Ce?"
Uncle Zhou suddenly slapped his thigh and rushed home to report the news.
When the constables arrived at the Zhou family's gate, the people working in the fields stopped what they were doing and gathered around in twos and threes, whispering among themselves.
"Her third sister, what's going on?"
"What could have happened? Maybe someone in the Zhou family got into trouble?" a woman in a bright pink jacket said with a smile.
"Ignorant woman! Don't talk nonsense! It's Master Song Ce who passed the imperial examination! Only three people in our entire Qingzhou County passed, and Master Song Ce is the top scholar!" the yamen runner shouted.
"First place! My God, from now on, he won't be a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination), but a Juren (a scholar who passed the provincial-level imperial examination)!" a middle-aged man exclaimed.
"Of course! This kid is promising! I've known he's smart since he was a kid!" an old man chimed in.
"Fifth Master, you can't call me 'Little Clerk' anymore! We have to call you 'Master Scholar'!"
The yamen runner didn't put on too much airs; after all, these were the fellow villagers of the scholar, and he had to treat them with courtesy in the future. At this moment, Madam Fang and Carpenter Zhou led Zhou Yunhui out. Carpenter Zhou, having seen some of the world, exchanged polite greetings with the yamen runner. The runner, also wanting to make a good impression, explained that the county magistrate awaited his report. Carpenter Zhou quickly agreed, taking a dime from his pocket and slipping it to the runner. He said it wasn't much money, but rather a token of his appreciation for the visit. The runner flattered him a few times before accepting the money with a smile.
Among the villagers, those who were close to the Zhou family hurried home, carrying eggs, hens, and other uncommon mountain produce. Even those who were at odds with the Zhou family had no choice but to offer their congratulations against their will, asking for their continued support. Uncle Zhou was the first to receive the news, and he brought some rare sweets from home to congratulate Song Ce on his success in the imperial examination.
A note from the author:
----------------------
The baby's almost ready to be carried home late! [droopy-eared rabbit head]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
