Chapter 32 "I have an Imperial Academy..."
"I have a recommendation spot from the Imperial Academy that I can use as a prize." How casually he said that.
No one would think this prize was worthless, and no one would think that Prince Cheng's move was just a casual, unintentional act on a whim.
A place at the Imperial Academy was not something easily obtained; even high-ranking officials in the court often only had their eldest sons receive a place.
Looking at the official schools of Jiangzuo Prefecture as a whole, the number of students that could be allocated to the Imperial Academy each year was only between six and ten.
Prince Cheng also had other nomination slots, but compared to other princes, he probably didn't have more than three slots available.
Most importantly, this prince has been enfeoffed in Jiangzuo for many years, and he has never used the quota of recommendation he has.
It was already a strange thing that he, who had not shown his face for many years, could come to the banquet hosted by the Prefect's wife. Unexpectedly, he would bring out such a rare spot in the Imperial Academy just as a prize for a poem.
Almost everyone is speculating about the deeper meaning behind his move.
Is he going to declare to the prominent families and officials of Jiangzuo that he still wields considerable influence in the court? Or is he going to declare to the scholars and intellectuals of Jiangzuo that Prince Cheng would be an excellent choice?
These are things to be thought about after the banquet, but for most people right now, the whole attention is still focused on the quota for the Imperial Academy.
......
"The Imperial Academy, that's the Imperial Academy!" Upon hearing this prize, the First Madam gripped Xiao Yan Hui's hand tightly, her eyes filled with excitement.
"Ouch, Mother, calm down!" Xiao Yan gasped as her hand was pinched, and quickly pulled it back. She then gently patted the First Madam's back to calm her down.
The first wife quickly calmed down, but her agitation turned into regret that made her want to slap her thigh in frustration.
"Oh, oh! What bad luck! If your brother had come, wouldn't we have had a chance to compete for this recommendation spot?"
"It's my fault, all my fault! I only mentioned this flower-viewing banquet in my letter that day, and he said he had to study and wouldn't attend, so I let him be. Who knew I would miss such a great opportunity?"
He looked extremely regretful, as if he wished he could rush to the academy right now and drag Xiao Heyou over.
"Mother, I remember my brother's poetry is only so-so, so even if he came, he probably wouldn't stand a chance." Seeing the First Madam's expression, Xiao Yan Hui comforted her.
Although these words of comfort sounded like they were laced with poison, they were surprisingly effective.
The first wife glared at her daughter and muttered a few words under her breath: "You brat, you're deliberately trying to provoke me. Can't you speak properly? Your brother is just better at classical texts." But she was also relieved of most of the regret of missing out on Jinshan.
Because the eldest son was indeed critiqued by his master, who said that he was diligent but lacked talent in poetry.
"You'd be better off relying on me than my brother!"
Xiao Yan could only say this to herself to feel good, because in reality she couldn't count on it.
Although she has a poem that can completely captivate the audience—"Staying Overnight at the Luo Family Pavilion and Sending My Thoughts to Cui Yong and Cui Gun," which she specifically memorized after reading the line "Leaving behind the withered lotus to listen to the sound of rain" from Dream of the Red Chamber.
That poem was a perfect fit for the topic of today's Prince Cheng, but she knew her own situation well. She could barely put together a doggerel, let alone a poem of this caliber. How could someone like her, who occasionally misspells traditional characters, write a poem of this caliber?
If she really makes a splash today and gets that recommendation spot from the Imperial Academy, whether she actually gets the spot in the end is another matter. Even if everything goes smoothly, there will be endless troubles to come.
Most importantly, the spots in the Imperial Academy were not available to women.
Even if a woman can write good poetry, the greatest benefit will be given to the men in the family. At most, she will only be given the title of talented woman and become a little famous, or be more favored at home.
"Ha, a prize that a woman has absolutely no use for." Xiao Yan Hui sneered inwardly, but she couldn't show this emotion on her face so that others would notice, because it seemed that she was the only one in the room who felt indignant about this.
Just then, another maidservant approached the prefect's wife, carrying a box with gold-plated corners and exquisite patterns inlaid with tiny gemstones.
"Madam, His Highness the Prince has sent me a box of beads." The maid bowed and opened the box in front of everyone.
All eyes immediately fell on the box, where they found perfectly round pearls with an inner radiance.
A series of faint gasps could be heard from the crowd.
Although these pearls are nothing compared to the quota for the Imperial Academy, in the realm of jewelry alone, a box of pearls of similar size is not only valuable, but also extremely rare and highly sought after.
Because if you don't have a certain status, you can't buy beads of this caliber even if you have money.
"His Highness said that he hadn't considered things thoroughly enough, and he didn't expect that the young ladies wouldn't be able to use the quota for the Imperial Academy. It just so happens that he just acquired a few pearls of very good quality, and pearls are only worthless when they are in the hands of beautiful women, so he had me deliver them. If any of the ladies have good poems, the quota for the Imperial Academy will remain unchanged, and this box of pearls will also be added."
The already eager crowd became even more excited; this was a golden opportunity to gain both fame and fortune. Moreover, with Prince Cheng's saying that "a pearl should be in the hands of a beautiful woman," the prestige of the poetry champion among the women today had risen to another level.
Because everyone present was overly excited, Xiao Quexian, who was particularly confident and ambitious, did not seem out of place.
But Xiao Quexian knew that her opportunity had come. Before coming to this flower-viewing banquet today, she did not expect that the slightest change from her previous life would bring her such a wonderful opportunity. The Prince Cheng, who was not supposed to attend this flower-viewing banquet, would bring her such a wonderful opportunity.
It was so good that she was even willing to postpone her "first encounter" with Liang Erlang.
Indeed, the hardships she had endured had turned into blessings. Xiao Quexian was filled with emotion, and once again became convinced that she was truly blessed by heaven, and that those who had wronged her in the past would indeed return in another form in this life.
She happens to have a poem about withered lotus.
In his previous life, Qin Ji used only one poem as a stepping stone to successfully enter the ranks of scholars from a merchant's family, but in this life, that poem has not yet been written.
No, to be precise, this time, she wrote this poem herself. So what if her status wasn't high enough? She could make up for it with her talent. Although Qin Ji hadn't written many poems or essays before, almost every one of them had a good reputation; now, they were all hers.
Not only Qin Ji's, but also others'. Xiao Quexian suddenly felt enlightened, as if the world had become much broader. She realized that the wealth she brought back from her previous life was probably far more than she had realized. She had just been limiting herself and hadn't thought about it more deeply.
Thinking about it more deeply, poetry and related things are actually the least worth mentioning.
Xiao Quexian trembled slightly, partly from excitement and partly from fear of emptiness.
Because she discovered that her reborn self knew the most deadly secret of this dynasty: the news of the crown prince's unexpected death in the year she died spread throughout the country. Even as a woman in the inner quarters, she knew about the accident that shook the entire court.
If... Xiao Quexian felt she dared not think any further.
Her inner turmoil went unnoticed; everyone around her was whispering about the withered lotus, and the lotus flowers by the waterside pavilion suddenly became the most talked-about spot of the day.
Looking at the lively women and the young men who were gradually approaching to admire the lotus flowers, the prefect's wife, sitting at the head of the table, had a slightly troubled and conflicted look in her eyes.
Prince Cheng's actions were somewhat overstepping his bounds, but on the other hand, they also showed that he was giving his own family a lot of face, since that person would never even attend other people's banquets.
Why was she so lively at her own banquet? Wasn't that a sign of special regard? All of this left the Prefect's wife with extremely mixed feelings.
Moreover, she also thought of another problem: the fact that Prince Cheng had brought out such a prize made the prize she had originally prepared to add to the festivities of the banquet seem somewhat inadequate.
"This person has indeed been out of the public eye for a long time, and being so young, he is quite unfamiliar with these social customs." The prefect's wife sighed inwardly, and whispered a few words to the person beside her, asking them to change all the prepared prizes to better ones, even though these embellishments were destined to go unnoticed today.
As her thoughts raced, the Prefect's wife secretly instructed someone else to quickly find her husband. That recommendation spot for the Imperial Academy was coveted not only by families who had no chance of ever getting into the academy, but even by her own family—frankly, the Prefect's wife wanted it too.
Their patriarch was indeed the governor of Jiangzuo, and their family had indeed obtained a spot in the Imperial Academy without taking the exam, according to the court's rules. However, there was only one spot available, and the Liang family had more than one son.
The eldest son had already entered the Imperial Academy a few years ago using the family's quota, leaving the second and third sons to settle for less and choose better academies instead. The third son was quite talented in his studies, so she wasn't too worried about him, but the second son...
If Prince Cheng could recommend Erlang to the Imperial Academy, wouldn't that be wonderful?
......
Today's flower-viewing banquet, thanks to a spot at the Imperial Academy, has made Prince Cheng an instant sensation among all the young men, who have become his most outstanding talent scouts.
At this moment, everyone in the garden was probably in one of two states: those who considered themselves talented were racking their brains to come up with a brilliant "assigned poem".
Those who knew their talents were mediocre and their chances of success were all trying to find out where Prince Cheng was. They hoped to have the opportunity to meet him, even though they weren't good at poetry. Perhaps they had other talents that would catch the prince's eye!
Unfortunately, so far, this prince has only sent messages, but has not shown up at all.
"My lord, even if you insist on elevating her status, her family is still fundamentally a merchant family. No matter how much she uses her brother to enhance her status, she is still not qualified to be your princess consort..."
"Chirp chirp... twitter twitter twitter..." Two round little birds perched on one side outside the window, chirping and preening their feathers.
"You've reached a certain age, and the Sage painstakingly selected an auspicious day after many days. Each and every person is of first-rate character and family background. This old servant has brought you portraits and all the relevant information..."
"Coo-choo-choo..." For some reason, the two birds started arguing again.
In a quiet little courtyard specially prepared by the prefect's wife, Qin Ji propped his head up and looked out the window. It seemed that the interaction between the two birds and their chirping chatter was a hundred times more interesting than the people talking around him.
"Your Highness!" A middle-aged man in his forties with fair skin and no beard, seeing Qin Ji's reaction, finally stopped talking as if giving up. Then, with a slightly pitiful look on his face, he knelt down directly in front of Qin Ji.
"Your Highness, please have pity on this old servant! If things don't go well, I'll be facing a severe beating from the inner court when I get back."
Judging from his appearance and behavior, this man was actually a eunuch serving in the inner court.
"I'm a merchant too." Qin Ji, who had been silent with a cold expression, suddenly uttered these words.
"Oh, Your Highness, you dare not say that. You are His Majesty's own son, the most honorable person in the world." The eunuch kowtowed first, then hurriedly retorted.
"Whether I am noble or not, haven't you seen it all?"
Withdrawing his gaze from the window, Qin Ji turned his attention to the eunuch for the first time today: "Go back and tell him that since he didn't interfere before, he shouldn't interfere in the future either. The Qin family has arranged my marriage. It's a match made in heaven, a family of equal social standing, and I'm a perfect fit. Noble ladies are not good enough for me, so there's no need for him to bother."
"If Your Highness likes it, then grant her family a place in the Imperial Academy as you wish, and gradually help her rise in rank. After all, she can be a concubine. You can then choose a proper princess consort, would that be alright?" Eunuch Anping asked cautiously.
"Good, very good, much better than when you arranged things for my mother back then! So even if she's a merchant's daughter, she can still be properly arranged." Qin Ji's eyes burned with a cold flame, and his usual gentle expression turned into sarcasm.
"Go back and tell him that he asked me to establish my own residence, which I did, and that I will report back on the movements in Jiangzuo regularly. He shouldn't force me to do anything else."
I despise those aristocratic ladies who are high and mighty and full of scheming, and I don't want to get involved in the infighting among his women and sons. All I want to do in this life is run my small business, traveling north and south. Don't try to test me anymore; he knows I'm capable of anything if you annoy me.
Seeing that Anping was about to kowtow again, Qin Ji smashed the teacup in his hand in front of him with a crash: "Get out!"
Judging from Prince Cheng's expression, there was clearly no room for negotiation in this conversation. Anping could only kowtow heavily again, then leave with the words, "Your Highness, please think about it again. I'll leave the things with you," before bowing and retreating.
"Your Highness, please have some tea." Wei Sa, who had been attending to Qin Ji the whole time but seemed to be completely absent, finally made his presence known and stepped forward to hand him a cup of tea.
His act of serving tea was also a way of implying to Qin Ji that no one else had been found in the vicinity.
"This is awful." With a soft sigh, Qin Ji picked up his teacup and took a sip.
The resentment, sarcasm, and unequal emotions he had felt earlier receded like a tide, leaving him calm and composed—a stark contrast to his earlier demeanor when facing Anping.
"Our lord will be meeting with Wang Heng and Su Mingyue later," Wei Sa reminded him.
Although his tone was calm, his eyes were almost filled with sympathy when he looked at his master. No matter how good the acting was, it couldn't withstand several emotionally charged performances a day. Look how exhausted his master was.
"It's almost time. Have someone collect the poems they wrote; I want to take a look." Qin Ji pressed his temples and gave the order in a calm tone.
"His master doesn't get tired; he still has the mind to scheme against people. How could he be tired?" Wei Sa silently withdrew her slight sympathy in her heart, and then once again felt fortunate that she was her master's confidant.
Look at those people, look what the Lord has done to them!
Even the Emperor himself felt that the time was ripe to gradually let everyone in Jiangzuo know that this was indeed his fiefdom as Prince Cheng.
But the emperor himself had coaxed and pleaded with the emperor to grant him this position. Even so, he still felt guilty and grateful to the emperor for keeping an eye on the potentially unstable aristocratic families and officialdom in Jiangzuo.
As for today's quota for the Imperial Academy, Anping simply assumed that it was prepared by the emperor for the families of the women he favored, with the aim of elevating the status of the Xiao family.
But Wei Sa knew that his master was indeed targeting the Xiao family, but his purpose was not to elevate anyone's status.
As for what exactly he intended to do, he was merely the lord's guard, not the lord himself, so how could he possibly know so clearly?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Qin Ji: Performing N shows a day is annoying! But not tiring. People don't get tired when they're doing bad things.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com