Chapter 9 Chapter 9 I see the gentleman from afar, and a magpie flies to his eyebrows.
Xue Yuanyin felt several gazes from behind, and with everyone's heavy hopes, she walked into the hall and bowed to Zhang Jingxuan as he approached. This was the formality of reaffirming their friendship.
The next step was to draw lots. Each person drew a card. Xue Yuanyin drew "The Analects" and Zhang Jingxuan drew "She".
Xue Yuanyin first studied the Analects of Confucius, and he is still the best at it. He has no problem answering questions from many civil servants.
Although the girl was wearing plain clothes, her eyes and eyebrows were lively and her spirits were high. Her conversation was as smooth as flowing water. She was young and immature, yet she had the fearlessness of a newborn calf.
On the other hand, her opponent Zhang Jingxuan, probably because she entered the officialdom at a young age, was calm and sharp in her answers, but because she was used to taking everything into consideration, her performance was not as outstanding as the girl next to her.
The civil servant thought about it and felt that there was nothing wrong with Zhang Jingxuan's answer. Although he liked Xue Ling's enthusiasm more, he shouldn't act according to his preferences. So he gave both of them an "A" grade, making the case a draw.
The next "shooting" test is about four of the five archery skills, namely Bai Shi, Can Lian, Shan Zhu, and Jing Yi. *
The eunuch placed the wooden target and bow and arrow outside the door. The two men used four archery techniques in turn, and finally combined them to determine the winner.
This wasn't a skill that everyone could master. Coincidentally, Xue Yuanyin and Zhang Jingxuan were both skilled in archery, one agile and tenacious, the other powerful and sharp, and they were both equally skilled.
The military officer weighed the pros and cons for a long time, and finally gave two "A" grades.
It was not the first time that the two had been tied, but it was unprecedented that both of them had received two "A" grades.
The Emperor glanced at the two of them with some surprise and praised them, "It's rare to find someone who can rival the Zhang family's child. There's no telling who's better. Good!"
The chief eunuch immediately understood what was going on and announced an extra round of testing, asking one of the candidates to come and collect the lot.
Xue Yuanyin glanced at the calm and composed Zhang Jingxuan beside him, feeling nervous. She took a step forward and said, "I'll do it!"
Zhang Jingxuan was best at the I Ching, but this was her weakest subject. She didn't trust Zhang Jingxuan's luck. What if he caught her? She had to catch it herself to feel at ease.
Xue Yuanyin prayed devoutly in his heart while looking at the bamboo tube handed to him by the eunuch. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief and then took out a wooden token from the bamboo tube.
Everyone was craning their necks to look, including the great scholars, civil servants, and military officers in front. Xue Yuanyin looked at the words on the wooden sign and froze in place as if struck by lightning, not knowing whether he should lament that fate loved to play tricks on people.
The chief eunuch looked at her with a puzzled look and announced loudly:
"Next, Zhou Yi——"
Zhang Jingxuan beside him twitched the corners of his lips and laughed inexplicably. When Xue Yuanyin heard his laugh, she wished she could faint on the spot.
It's over!
Gao Songlin must have secretly wiped it with the handkerchief, otherwise why would it be so black!
The two stood in the middle of the hall. The great scholar of the Book of Changes came forward to ask a question. There was no problem with the next sentence of the previous sentence until the final debate topic was tested. After Xue Yuanyin carefully answered, she waited for Zhang Jingxuan to come forward. When she heard his explanation, her face turned pale.
The scholar asked, "The Book of Changes, Shi Gua, says, 'An army must be disciplined; failure to follow the rules will lead to disaster.' If our army and the Western Qiang have been locked in a standoff for over a month and are unable to defeat them, how should we break the deadlock, if victory or defeat is determined by the Qiankun Gua?"*
Unexpectedly, when asked about the military strategy, Xue Yuanyin had heard his father talk about it in his early years and knew what to do, but he never thought that he needed to put it into words, because it started with sowing discord and disrupting food supplies.
Who would have thought that a young scholar like Zhang Jingxuan could be so eloquent? Not only did he discuss multiple angles, he also identified her flaws and refuted them, quoting the Book of Changes: "Imitate the Kan hexagram's 'flowing water without overflowing,' and adopt a strategy that combines firmness and flexibility."*
Including strategies to lure the enemy into an ambush, etc., she was amazed when she heard it.
The young man stood in the hall, the sharpness in his bones cutting through his gentle brows, he was at ease and arrogant, as if he was invincible wherever he was.
It was easy to catch everyone's attention.
The emperor was delighted and said, "I didn't know Zhang Xueyou had the potential to be a military strategist. Great! Dequan, go get the sheep-hair brush I brought and give it to Zhang Xueyou."
Dequan took the reward with a smile on his face and gave it to Zhang Jingxuan. He bowed to take it and thanked him with a smile.
Xue Yuanyin watched this scene and knew that he had lost.
It turned out that Zhang Jingxuan didn't care about winning or losing at all. He had already decided to attract the emperor's attention and regarded this competition as a stepping stone to climb up.
She actually felt that she had no confidence to compare with him.
She only thought about winning and had no foresight at all.
This time, all the judging officials unanimously gave Zhang Jingxuan an "A" grade, while she got a "B" grade.
The two of them returned to their original positions, and the others continued to monitor the test. However, perhaps because the two of them had been too popular before, the others seemed to be bored.
Finally, after all the students finished their exams and the overall results came out, Xue Yuanyin came in second, one place behind Zhang Jingxuan.
The Emperor did not linger, but offered a few words of encouragement before returning to the palace. Once the Emperor had decided on the number of attendants to accompany him to the palace, the eunuchs would inform the various residences.
Xue Yuanyin couldn't help herself, and when Zhang Jingxuan passed by, she said with a hint of indignation, "You're just a little luckier than me. You got the Zhouyi right. If it were any other subject, I wouldn't be inferior to you!"
Zhang Jingxuan stopped, looked at her with clear eyes, and said calmly: "That's true, but you caught Zhou Yi yourself, how can you blame me?"
Xue Yuanyin was speechless, but as if he didn't feel his ridicule was enough, he added calmly, "You still don't want to admit it. Ultimately, it's because you're afraid of this subject and your level isn't up to par."
He actually added fuel to the fire!
How could she not know? Why did she need him to tell her?
Xue Yuanyin felt all the blood in his body rush to his head in an instant, but his body froze in place, unable to respond at all.
At this moment, there was only one voice left in her mind - it was a sign that her mind was broken.
She clenched her fists and couldn't bear it any longer. If she continued to endure it, she would be so angry that she would die!
"Zhang Qu, don't be too proud. I, Xue Yuanyin, will eventually surpass you!"
Zhang Jingxuan nodded slowly and said calmly, "I'll wait."
The students who witnessed the quarrel did not dare to interrupt for fear of being implicated.
Xue Yuanyin walked around Zhang Jingxuan and returned to the Imperial College with many other students. From now on, they would no longer attend lectures in Ruexing Hall and had to pack up their bookcases and leave.
The crowd left one after another, and the rest of them said goodbye to Zhang Jingxuan under the eaves of the entrance to Suixing Hall. After all, they were parting today and didn't know when they would meet again.
Xue Yuanyin finished packing her bookcase and took out yesterday's gentleman exam questions to worry about. She turned around and saw a familiar figure. She rubbed her eyes and asked in surprise, "Princess Ning Yan?"
Princess Ning Yan, who was wearing eunuch's clothes at the door, made a "hush" sound and sneaked in from the corner. The others were surrounding Zhang Jingxuan outside and did not notice that a stranger had entered the school.
Xue Yuanyin quickly pulled her outside where she couldn't be seen, not caring about hierarchy for a moment: "Why are you here again? Your father just left, and you're here looking for Zhang Jingxuan again..."
"I know. It's because my father passed away that I dared to sneak in. I'm not here to look for him. I'm here to look for Miss Xue." Princess Ning Yan interrupted her, speaking with a hint of disdain. "I don't like him anymore. But Miss Xue, the other day I overheard two young masters named Su and Guan saying, 'So you're also attracted to Zhang Jingxuan? Why didn't you tell me earlier?'"
Xue Yuanyin:?
Are they very familiar with each other?
No, wait, when did she become attracted to Zhang Jingxuan? Were Su Mian and Guan Bai drunk and talking nonsense?
Princess Ning Yan was still trying to dissuade him: "Miss Xue, I don't want to see you go astray. You must not fall in love with Zhang Jingxuan. He has no feelings for you at all! I saw it all while I was invigilating the exam. You came in second place. You have a bright future ahead of you. It's not too late to turn back now..."
Xue Yuanyin: ? ?
She quickly interrupted Princess Ning Yan and said, "Princess Ning Yan, they are simply slandering me!"
Seeing her resolute attitude, Princess Ning Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief: "It's a shame that Princess rushed here so hastily. It turned out to be a misunderstanding."
Xue Yuanyin was speechless. Princess Ning Yan sneaked out from house arrest to find her and told her not to like Zhang Jingxuan. She really didn't know what was wrong with this princess's brain. She was so naive and cute.
But she also inexplicably liked the princess's innocence. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Princess, may I ask what it was about Zhang Jingxuan that you liked before? Why did you express your feelings so recklessly?"
Princess Ning Yan grumbled, feeling rather embarrassed. "Oh, I was so lost in thought earlier. I just liked his arrogant look. But I'm here to make it clear: I'm giving up on him."
Xue Yuanyin nodded and said nothing.
It was no secret that Princess Ning Yan had been in love with Zhang Jingxuan for several years, and it would be great if she could let it go. Considering the generous reward of five hundred taels, she hoped that the princess would have a smooth romantic life.
Princess Ning Yan lowered her voice and explained, "It's mainly because I feel I can't control someone like him, so I've decided to choose someone else. I think Miss Xue must be a powerful woman to be able to become a mortal enemy of Zhang Jingxuan. Next time, I want you to help me screen men."
After a brief pause, she emphasized, "If you're leaving the capital with the emperor in a few days, we can discuss it in detail after you return from the temporary palace. Money is easy to negotiate!"
It turned out that he had come to ask her for help. Xue Yuanyin comforted him, "Princess, just think it through. Zhang Jingxuan is not a good match."
The two didn't talk any more, and Princess Ning Yan sneaked out again, planning to find a place to wait for Zhang Jingxuan to say goodbye to his classmates and then go find him to talk things over.
Xue Yuanyin sat alone in the empty classroom, packing her books. She saw the test papers left on the desk, and she had not finished yesterday's homework yet.
The golden glow of the clouds is falling, and the scorching sunset is slowly sinking into the clouds, dyeing them with a gorgeous rich color.
It shone obliquely on the window frame of the school, half of it was split and fell on the people under the eaves of the school corridor, and the other half fell on her manuscript.
Xue Yuanyin turned her head and took a look. Several classmates in the corridor outside had not left yet. They were congratulating, flattering, saying some farewell words, and surrounding Zhang Jingxuan like stars surrounding the moon.
Zhang Jingxuan was standing a little far away, so she couldn't see his expression clearly. He seemed to have some of the unrestrained and boldness of a young man, but also seemed to have restrained his edge under his gentle and comfortable appearance.
Wait, why is she looking at him again?!
Xue Yuanyin quickly shook her head, she was so confused after losing the test.
She admitted that she didn't want to lose, but she also admitted that he was good.
He had been low-key and calm for so long that she almost forgot that he used to be quite a sharp-tongued person. He was born to stand in such an occasion and endure the admiration and flattery of others.
Xue Yuanyin retracted her gaze and sat at the desk, concentrating on solving the "Gentleman" test that Dr. Jiang had given her yesterday.
There were a bunch of clueless thoughts in my head, such as "there are bandits and gentlemen, like cutting and polishing, like polishing, like a gentleman cultivates himself, manages his family and protects the country, and like the friendship between gentlemen is as pure as water..."
But at the same time, a completely irrelevant and off-topic thought flashed through her mind, as well as the handsome figure that always existed in her memory.
Thinking about Princess Ning Yan's words, she guessed that if she had a lover, she should do the same.
Perhaps it was some strange coincidence, or perhaps the sunset was just too stunning... She picked up her pen and wrote:
"Seeing a gentleman from afar, a magpie flies to his eyebrows."
The author has something to say:
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The next chapter will be released the next day, and will be updated on Sunday.
*For the five types of archery skills, please refer to the relevant materials on the Six Arts of a Gentleman. There is also a type called "Xiang Chi" in which the king and his ministers shoot together, which is omitted here.
*All famous quotes or phrases mentioned in the article are quoted from the ancient Four Books and Five Classics and their related explanations, and will not be listed in detail.
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