Chapter 154: Appreciating a Masterpiece Together

The Ming Dynasty was not as fond of poetry and wine as the Tang Dynasty, nor did it produce as many literary giants as the Song Dynasty. Yet it had Master Wang Shouren—a great scholar skilled in both literature and martial arts!

Zhang Yue had never been particularly interested in Zhu Xi’s teachings, but since Neo-Confucianism was now in vogue, he could only pretend to agree. He had always held Master Wang in the highest esteem, reading those three essays from *Guwen Guanzhi* over and over again, finding their beauty lingering on his lips and in his mind. So when he heard the assigned topic was “A Record of the Scripture Hall,” he thought nothing of choosing this essay, which he could recite by heart. For writing wildly inspired poems, bold cursive script was appropriate, but for this essay, he felt even his delicate regular script was insufficient, and he sighed inwardly.

Wouldn’t it be perfect if Scholar Da Shen, with his powerful and elegant handwriting, wrote such a masterpiece?

Zhang Yue shook his head in regret, but others thought he was being mysterious. Those who had passed the imperial examinations naturally had keen eyes for quality. After reading this essay, with its meticulous logic and splendid language, everyone, including Qin Sun, realized that if Zhang Yue truly participated in the selection, he would surely secure a spot among the twenty finalists. Wu Guangyuan read it word by word repeatedly. Though reluctant, he eventually took a deep breath and reluctantly bowed.

“Young Zhang, your writing is truly excellent!”

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to admit defeat. Without another word, he turned and left. Qin Xuan was glad he hadn’t spoken rashly and brought shame upon himself; instead, he offered a few polite compliments before taking his leave. As for Sun Lianggan, he was in the most awkward situation. Among everyone, aside from Zhang Yue, only he had not been selected for the Hanlin Academy. Having blurted out such words in his haste, he didn’t know how to make amends. But words spoken in public were like water spilled—unpossible to retrieve. He could only leave dejectedly.

After they left, Wan Shijie let out a long sigh and gave Zhang Yue a thumbs-up with a smile. “Bravo, Yuanjie! You’re truly remarkable—anticipating that someone would challenge you and preparing such an essay in advance! I must take this back with Xiao Xia to study it carefully. How did you come up with such a masterpiece?”

“Brother Wan is right. One reading isn’t enough; we need to take it back and ponder it thoroughly!” Xia Ji also beamed with admiration. “If you could write something equally brilliant during the imperial examination, the first place would surely be yours!”

Isn’t Mr. Yangming the number one scholar? Zhang Yue impulsively brought up this article, thinking to himself that indeed, once forced into a corner, one’s luck would soar. Just as he was about to speak, the shopkeeper, who had been preparing ink and helping hold the paper on the other side, hurried over, rubbing his hands and smiling. “Three young masters… no, three esteemed gentlemen, it is truly an honor for our shop that you have written such a wonderful piece here. I know it’s presumptuous… but could you please leave us an inscription as a memento?”
Hearing this, Wan Shijie immediately laughed. Back in Nanjing, he had had to sell his calligraphy to make a living, and thanks to his title as a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, his works could be sold at a slightly higher price than others. Over a year, he had managed to save about 200 taels of silver. But now that there were three Jinshi here, how could he let Zhang Yue sell off such a valuable inscription at a low price?
“Listen, shopkeeper, since you know we three are Jinshi from this year’s examination, can you really give away this inscription so easily?”
This was clearly an invitation to negotiate, and the shopkeeper’s smile grew even wider. He quickly nodded and bowed, saying, “It’s a great honor for our shop to have three esteemed gentlemen visit. I know you three will become important figures in the court in the future. I only ask that you kindly bestow a single character upon us. I’m willing to…”
At this point, the shopkeeper gritted his teeth, intending to offer 100 taels of silver right away. But seeing the other patrons staring and listening intently, he quickly changed his mind with a smile. “I may not have any other skills, but since you three competed in writing here today, I can help promote it. The three who lost just now must also be Jinshi from this year’s examination. It’s extremely rare to see six Jinshi compete in writing. I know a publisher. If you’re willing, I’m willing to go all out to print this remarkable piece!”
Zhang Yue noticed there were many onlookers and had been worried that Wan Shijie might make an outrageous request that would damage his reputation. But the shopkeeper had taken the opportunity to make such a proposal, proving that he was indeed a seasoned old fox. Xia Jisu, who loved anything interesting, immediately clapped his hands in approval.
“That’s great! But if it’s just one piece, it won’t look good when printed. How about adding a few more articles? I can write an inscription, and Brother Wan can write a preface. Wouldn’t that be even better? Shopkeeper, it’s easy for you to get an inscription, but we’ll need to borrow writing tools from elsewhere… It’s a shame that Yuan Jie’s excellent handwriting and writing can’t be fully displayed with such ordinary paper and pen!”

Seeing the overjoyed shopkeeper rush downstairs to take care of things, and noticing the uproar among the patrons, all with excited expressions eager to watch the spectacle, Zhang Yue simply accepted the situation—the three of them together were still under sixty years old. Wan Shijie and Xia Ji were both prone to causing trouble, so being with them made him act more freely as well.

Due to this sensational incident, Jixiang Tavern was in chaos all day long. The shopkeeper was sent running around nonstop until finally seeing those three important figures out the door. When he returned to the counter, he almost stumbled, luckily caught by a quick-witted young apprentice. Even though he sprained his ankle, he remained beaming with joy.

As both the owner and manager, he had struggled to keep the business afloat for twenty years—now, after all his hardships, he finally saw rewards. As for those three scholars who left in shame, leave them be for now; among those who stayed, there was even a third-place winner and two second-place scholars! If it weren’t for a whim, how would such a printing project fall to him?

Since Zhang Yue hadn’t participated in the imperial examinations before, Zhang Zhuo naturally didn’t fare as well as he had in the previous exams. His essays were known for their calm tone, not as sharp, ornate, or elaborate as those of his peers. Though he failed, he wasn’t unhappy—after all, passing the exams was already an unexpected blessing for him.

Being a generation older, when Wan Shijie and Xia Ji invited him together that day, he knew the three of them might not have a good time, so he deliberately declined, asking only Zhang Yue to go. But Zhang Yue didn’t return until sunset, completely drunk, which angered him greatly. He ordered Qiuhen Amber to help him inside, and after seeing his son sober up a bit from the sobering soup, he scolded him sternly, asking, “Where were you today? Why did you come back so drunk?”

Zhang Yue rarely drank alcohol. That day, Wan Shijie and Xia Ji had drunk him half to death, leaving him still dizzy. Ever since he was reborn as a noble, he had little contact with commoners. Usually, even when flattered, it was in subtle ways. But today, his ears were filled with crude, blunt, and outright flattery—a stark contrast.

“Father, today… I met three scholars at the tavern with questions from the Hanlin Academy’s examination… They challenged me. In anger, I wrote an essay titled ‘Record of the Zunjing Pavilion.’ Well… hehe.”

He barely managed to grasp the general idea, and Zhang Zhuo’s expression darkened. Due to Duke Zhang Fu of Britain, the fact that both father and son had passed the examination this time inevitably led to doubts. Yet he hadn’t expected that even after that day’s imperial examination, someone would still dare to challenge him face to face.

Seeing his son finish speaking, tilt his head, and fall into a drowsy sleep, he sighed. By chance, he noticed the scrolls Zhang Yue was carrying back. He ordered Qiu Hen and Hu Bo to help Zhang Yue onto the bed, while pondering how to explain things to others later. Then he opened one of the scrolls. At first, he was somewhat casual, but after reading a passage, he was deeply moved and eventually began to recite it aloud.

He naturally recognized his son’s handwriting, but he couldn’t believe the article was written by his son. However, after reading the preface written by Wan Shi Jie and the postscript written by Xia Ji in the other two scrolls, and understanding the meaning behind their words, he had no choice but to believe it, marveling greatly. At that moment, he realized that with such an outstanding piece, Zhang Yue could act as wildly as he wanted without consequence.

The capital was already a place where news spread quickly. Since there were several scholars at the Jixiang Tavern that day, even before the books printed by the shopowner hit the market, the article had already been copied and circulated privately among literati. Some found it arrogant, others thought it heretical, but most praised it loudly.

The candidates who had come to the capital for the examination hadn’t all returned to their hometowns. Hearing about this remarkable piece, they tried every means to copy and study it. Thus, this short article quickly spread among people from both the north and south, causing quite a stir. Even those from the south, though unwilling to admit it, could only sourly point out that Zhang Yue was a student of Du Zhen, implying that only southern scholars could produce such a disciple.

Naturally, such an article soon appeared on the desks of various ministers, the officials of the six ministries, several princes and nobles who appreciated fine writing, the crown prince, and even in Zhu Di’s hands—more than one copy. The first was submitted by the Jinyiwei immediately, the second was recommended with a smile by Yang Rong, and there were also a third, fourth, fifth… In short, there were various channels, and even censors included it in their accusations.

“I never thought such a cautious kid could write such incisive and passionate words… Hmm, I’m really curious. This entire article revolves around the character for ‘heart’—what exactly does it refer to?”

If someone else had written such an article, Zhu Di might not have simply dismissed it with a smile, but at that moment he found it amusing. The Zhang family, from Zhang Yu to Zhang Fu, all had cautious and mature natures. He had assumed Zhang Yue was the same, only to discover he also had a competitive side. With this young man showing such determination, the scholarly pride of the other three Jinshi happened to end up at the tip of the spear.
Zhang Qian, the eunuch in charge standing by, clearly heard the capricious emperor whisper with a cold smile, “This is truly self-inflicted!”