Chapter 153: Can’t Bear It Any Longer

Although May’s weather wasn’t yet unbearably hot, the sun in the sky was already quite scorching. Under the blazing sun, aside from those who had to travel urgently and laborers forced to find work, most were carriages or riders coming and going. The restaurant also offered plum snow tea and sour plum soup to cool people down, and those with leisure time certainly wouldn’t skimp on such small expenses.

At that moment, three such leisurely patrons sat in the cool seats by the window. They were roughly the same age—though there was some difference, it wasn’t significant. Moreover, the oldest of them, Wan Shijie, was known for his love of joking and chatting, adding an extra bond between them, so they naturally liked to hang out together. The youngest, Xia Ji, though more reserved than usual, still lacked the self-awareness of a top scholar and kept complaining about the heat. After drinking a bowl of chilled sour plum soup, he fanned himself vigorously.

“It’s so hot! I hate summer the most!” After complaining, he said to Zhang Yue with regret, “It’s really a shame for Yuanjie this time. Even Brother Wan got admitted as a Shujishi. If you hadn’t been sick, you would’ve made it too. We three could have kept each other company in the Hanlin Academy!”

“Xiaojia, I worked hard to become a Shujishi. From what you say, it seems like if I passed, it wouldn’t be worth anything?” Wan Shijie, usually quick-witted, often felt outmatched by Xia Ji, who was several years younger. Seeing him laughing, he retorted irritably, “You’d better worry about yourself. Last time, you scolded an imperial censor from the Censorate—surely you won’t be able to get into that institution again! After three years as a Shujishi, let’s see where you’ll end up!”

“Anyway, this title of top scholar is free. Even if I’m sent out as a county magistrate, what’s there to worry about?”

Hearing Xia Ji’s confident words, Zhang Yue choked and started coughing. Once he recovered, he took a big sip of hot tea to soothe his throat before saying, “I really can’t imagine how your two temperaments will work in the Hanlin Academy. Brother Wan, you’ve always been independent, and Xiaojie, you’re carefree and indifferent. That might work for lower-ranking officials, but the Hanlin Academy demands gentleness and refinement.”

“So, we should just swap places with Yuanjie.” Seeing Xia Ji nod in agreement, Wan Shijie also nodded, staring at Zhang Yue as if trying to pierce him with his gaze. “I just don’t understand. Why did you get sick at this exact time? Beijing might be tough to survive in, but it shouldn’t be too difficult for you, right?”

“Thank you, Wan Brother, for your concern. I’m sorry too for missing the chance to become a Shujishi, but what good is regretting now?”
Zhang Yue knew Wan Shijie was extremely clever and would never admit he was feigning illness. With so many people visiting him these days, it was already difficult to actually see him “recovering,” so he didn’t expect to be exposed and thus simply showed an expression of remorse. Yet Wan Shijie still didn’t believe him, and even Xia Ji looked at him with skepticism.
Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind the three of them: “Oh, what a coincidence to meet three peers here! Has Brother Zhang really recovered from his illness? You missed such an important selection just because of illness—we really felt sorry for you! Spending three years as a Hanlin Shujishi and having the support of nobles and officials—who could surpass Brother Zhang’s prospects?”
It is said that scholars often look down on each other. At first, Zhang Yue didn’t feel much of it. Even during his time at the local academy, he only found the atmosphere a bit dull, that’s all. After arriving in Nanjing and being introduced to Yang Shiqi by Du Zhen, and later meeting people like Fangling’s Sun Han and Wan Shijie, he lost any prejudice against scholars. After all, it was only some people who ruined the country through idle talk, not everyone—there was no reason to condemn all scholars alike.
However, after being mocked for no reason after the imperial examination last time, and now this group showing up again, even his best temper couldn’t be suppressed.
Standing up and glancing at the three people behind him, he casually took in their appearance and realized that the one in the middle, waving a folding fan, was the same person he had seen at Yang Shiqi’s house and who later exposed his identity after the examination. The two beside him, though smiling, seemed to have an antagonistic attitude toward him. As he sneered inwardly, Wan Shijie also stood up and lazily interjected, “Yuanjie, this is Wu Guangyuan from Hunan. The one on the left is Qin Xuan from Jiangxi, and the one on the right is Sun Lianggan from Zhejiang. Brother Wu and Brother Qin are now Shujishi, while Brother Sun failed the exam—what a pity.”
“Wan Shijie, what do you mean by this?” Sun Lianggan, angered by Wan Shijie’s words, snapped, “You’re from Fujian, also a scholar from the south. What’s the point of mixing with these two northerners? Even though the Prince of Ying is a high-ranking official, civil and military powers are separate—don’t think you can take advantage of his influence!”
“Brother Sun, calm down. If people find out that a newly appointed scholar lacks grace, won’t that become a joke?”

Seeing the curious onlookers around, Zhang Yue became even more calm. He smiled again and said, “Speaking of which, thank you very much for your concern, gentlemen. I truly feel frustrated right now! If I had been there back then, wouldn’t one of those twenty Hanlin scholars have been left out? As for your talk about differences between the north and south, our Great Ming has always upheld fairness in selecting scholars. Since the emperor ascended the throne, scholars from both regions have been admitted equally. Constantly bringing up the north and south—could this be an attempt to create factions in the court?”

Sun Liang, who had already been furious for failing to become a scholar, saw Zhang Yue and the others sitting together. Wu Guangyuan was the first to mock them, but he felt that Wan Shijie’s remarks were a mockery of him, so in his anger, he spoke rashly. Now, with such a reply thrown back at him, he immediately realized things were going wrong. Seeing many patrons whispering and glancing over, he grew even more anxious and suddenly thought of the notorious Jinyiwei.

If those fierce men heard about this trivial incident, would he really be ruined by it?

Back when they held a literary contest at Yang Shiqi’s house, Wu Guangyuan happened to be one of the first two to compose a poem. He thought he could take first place by chance since the emperor was visiting incognito. But then Zhang Yue appeared and stole all the emperor’s attention. His resentment had been building for days. After that imperial examination, he thought he could vent his anger a bit, thinking he had surpassed Zhang Yue in the preliminary exams. But who would have thought he would end up right behind Zhang Yue in the final rankings?

Now, seeing his companion turn red with embarrassment after just a few words from Zhang Yue and the situation escalating, he realized things were bad. He wanted to accuse Zhang Yue of bullying others, but there were Wan Shijie, the third-place winner of this examination, along with several curious patrons and the shopkeeper. If he simply apologized and left shamefully, he couldn’t bear it. Finally, after some thought, he came up with an idea.

“Brother Sun spoke rashly just now. Please don’t take it to heart, Yuanjie.”

His mocking tone vanished instantly, replaced by a warm smile. He even stopped addressing Zhang Yue as “brother” and started using his given name directly. “Yuanjie said earlier that if he could participate in the selection, he would surely stand out. I fully agree. This time, the Hanlin Academy is renovating the Zunjing Pavilion, so one of the three exams requires an essay about it. If Yuanjie has any excellent writing, why not compose it now so everyone can appreciate it?”

Xia Ji had always been unable to keep secrets, so he laughed and said, “If Yuan Jie’s piece is truly remarkable, could it be that Brother Qin intends to give up his position as a Hanlin scholar to him?”
Zhang Yue had already experienced Xia Ji’s skill at teasing people, and seeing Wu Guangyuan’s face turn red from that remark, he couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. If the other party had chosen a different topic among the three assigned, it would have been fine, but Wu Guangyuan had chosen “A Record of the Zunjing Pavilion” — he could only say it was self-inflicted. Immediately, he called out, “Owner, bring pen, ink, paper, and inkstone!”
Ever since he learned that these six men were all Jinshi from this examination, the owner had known his small tavern had a great opportunity. Who would have thought that these two distinguished groups would end up in dispute? Hearing about the pen and paper, he suddenly had an idea and quickly slapped a young apprentice who was watching to send him to fetch the writing supplies. As soon as they arrived, he hurriedly brought them himself. He unfolded the paper and weighted it down with a paperweight, then rolled up his sleeves to grind ink — his excitement was indescribable.
If only this masterpiece could stay in his shop! If only people knew that his small shop had attracted six Jinshi, who even fought over a single piece of writing…
At that moment, Zhang Yue had no interest in the owner’s thoughts. He didn’t care about the quality of the pen and ink. He dipped his brush in thick ink, gave Wu Guangyuan a meaningful look, and began writing. He was already extremely skilled at regular script, and now, forcing himself to stay calm, he took a deep breath and wrote each character neatly. Meanwhile, Wan Shijie and Xia Ji stood on either side of him, their eyes following his brush.
“The Constant Way. It exists in heaven and is called ‘fate’; it is bestowed upon humans and is called ‘nature’; it governs the body and is called ‘heart’. The heart, nature, and fate — these are all aspects of the Constant Way. It permeates all people and places, spans all times, and encompasses everything. There is nothing it does not encompass, nothing it does not share, and nothing that changes within it. When it responds to external stimuli, it gives rise to compassion, shame, modesty, and a sense of right and wrong. In actions, it manifests as the affection between father and son, the duty between ruler and subject, the distinction between husband and wife, the hierarchy between elders and juniors, and the trust between friends. Compassion, shame, modesty, right and wrong — affection, duty, hierarchy, distinction, trust — these are all expressions of the heart, nature, and fate.”
The owner found these two paragraphs utterly confusing, but Wan Shijie and Xia Ji paid close attention. Wu Guangyuan, Qin Xuan, and Sun Liang all froze in shock as they leaned in. As Zhang Yue continued writing, their expressions grew increasingly grim. By the time they reached a certain passage, Wu Guangyuan’s face had turned ashen.

“Alas! The ignorance of the Six Classics in the world is not the result of a matter of days or weeks. Valuing utility and promoting heretical doctrines is called distorting the Classics; focusing on exegesis and memorization, and being immersed in superficial knowledge and narrow views to deceive people’s senses, is called despising the Classics; using extravagant language and engaging in deceitful arguments to cover up evil intentions and fraudulent actions, seeking monopolies in the world while still claiming to understand the Classics, is called corrupting the Classics. In such cases, those so-called records are torn apart and destroyed—how can there still be any respect for the Classics?”
In their view, it was like a loud slap in the face, one that could not be avoided at all.