Chapter Thirteen: What Are the Chosen Ones of Heaven?

The monthly exams at the clan school certainly didn’t require students to sit in designated rooms like the imperial examinations, with only Zhang You, the examiner, occasionally dozing off—so the students below were naturally very happy. The moment he saw the exam paper, Zhang Yue’s expression turned strangely peculiar, as the entire paper was filled with excerpts from The Analects, with the other three books of the Four Books and the Five Classics seemingly forgotten by the teacher.
Moreover, if his memory served him well, all of this content was something he had already read before.
“What the hell is this?”
“It’s The Analects, right…”
“Idiot, I know it’s The Analects! Hey, Gu Xiaoqi, can you solve these questions?”
“There are too many questions. Even if I finish mine, you guys probably won’t have time to copy them!”
“I don’t care if you hand in a blank paper! Anyway, I’ll leave my paper to you—I’ll give you ten taels of silver!”
Zhang Yue didn’t have the energy to pay attention to the noisy voices behind him, nor to the endless sighs. What worried him most at that moment was his inability to write. But now, with hope rekindled for what he thought would be a lost cause, how could he give up? So, he dipped his brush in thick ink and began writing furiously, gradually getting into the flow.
An hour later, when the gong sounded, nine out of the ten students looked ashen. The wealthy students worried about being scolded by their parents upon returning, while the poor feared not receiving their stipends from the school next month—after all, there were few private schools these days that allowed students to study for free and still receive financial support. Thus, Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi, who had missed several classes and today’s exam as well, were instantly resented by everyone.
Why could they avoid this exam? They were legitimate members of the Zhang family!
Since the exam was over, worrying was useless. Hearing that there were no classes in the afternoon, the students scattered like birds and beasts. Zhang Yue watched as Lian Sheng and Lian Hu packed up their things, ready to leave, when suddenly Gu Bin called out to him.
“I’m sorry… I really had no choice… I also handed in a blank paper today…”
Zhang Yue originally didn’t like this cold and awkward guy, but seeing Gu Bin’s usually icy face turn red, he immediately felt that his slight displeasure was nothing to worry about. As the cold-faced youth prepared to leave after saying that, Zhang Yue suddenly called out to him.
“You exchanged your place to take someone else’s exam for money and handed in a blank paper yourself. Aren’t you afraid of being scolded by your parents when you get back?”

Gu Bin suddenly turned around and saw that there was no mockery on Zhang Yue’s face, so his expression eased a bit. After a long silence, he said slowly, word by word, “You have never experienced hunger, nor have you ever gone through the hardship of borrowing money or rice from others. Ten taels of silver is enough to cover my family’s expenses for several months. It’s worth it even if I get beaten or punished. Although your father can help my family for a while, he can’t do so forever.”

Zhang Yue sneered inwardly. Watching Gu Bin turn and walk out of the door, with no one else in the room, he suddenly raised his voice and said, “Even if you consider yourself noble, believing that one should not lose spirit in poverty and rely on oneself in everything, you came to the clan school to study so that you could pursue further education in the future. While what you’re doing now may bring some benefits, it ruins your reputation. How will you be able to take the provincial and imperial exams later?”

As soon as these words were spoken, he saw Gu Bin freeze outside the door. Seeing this, he couldn’t help shaking his head, thinking that although this cold-hearted youth had some talent for studying, he was quite incompetent in dealing with people. There’s no wall that doesn’t leak; once this matter became known, which educational official would choose such a scholar in the future?

No matter what storms had occurred that day, in any case, the monthly exams were finally over. On this day, as preparations were made for the 60th birthday of the elderly Lady Gu, Zhang Zhuo specifically went to the clan school to ask for half a month’s leave for Zhang Yue. Naturally, he also asked for leave for his brothers, Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi. Since their father, Zhang You, couldn’t leave Jiaozhi, he had to handle this matter himself.

It was rare for the father and son to go home together. As they walked, Zhang Zhuo asked about the progress of the apprenticeship matter. Having managed to get by yesterday, he couldn’t avoid answering today. Zhang Yue had originally planned to make an excuse or tell a white lie, but after thinking it over, he decided to tell the truth honestly, including about the strange exam paper from today.

“Well, let’s leave it to fate,” Zhang Zhuo said thoughtfully, sighing and gently patting his son’s shoulder before dropping the subject.

As the 60th birthday of Lady Gu neared, Kaifeng gradually became more lively. After all, even out of respect for the British Duke in Nanjing, how could the local officials in Henan fail to pay their respects to this elderly lady of the Zhang family? If they flattered her well enough, she might pass on a word or two to the British Duke—a great opportunity indeed.

So, for over a dozen days, Zhang Xin and Zhang Zhuo, the two sons, along with their three wives—Feng, Dongfang, and Sun—were all extremely busy, with not a moment to rest. Zhang Yue and his other grandchildren were also kept constantly on the go, and even Zhang Qing and Zhang Yi, the granddaughters, were not spared. Yet Zhang Jiu, as the eldest grandson of the eldest branch, was quite idle; he only needed to accompany the Gu family to receive guests, and countless red envelopes and gifts ended up in his pocket. Zhang Chao and Zhang Qi watched enviously but could only grumble in secret, feeling deeply disappointed.

To persuade these two cousins, who had been greatly hurt by being neglected, Zhang Yue spent a lot of effort, eventually soothing them by pointing out that Zhang Jiu would eventually leave.

He himself didn’t have much fondness for his cousin Zhang Jiu either. Normally, the youngest in the family is the most cherished, but Zhang Jiu acted cleverly in front of the adults and acted arrogantly among his peers, earning him the nickname “upward-looking eyes” among his siblings.

At that moment, Zhang Yue was trying on new clothes specially made for his grandmother’s birthday the next day. As soon as he took off his old clothes, Zhang Chao rushed in eagerly and grabbed his neck without hesitation.

“Third brother, do you know? It’s said that ‘upward-looking eyes’ is going to seek apprenticeship at the birthday celebration tomorrow—it’s even a favor requested by my uncle’s father!”

Zhang Yue found it baffling and couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “What does that have to do with us?”

“Do you really not know or just pretend not to? If it weren’t for my aunt constantly praising ‘upward-looking eyes’ as a genius and smart kid in front of our grandmother, would she have been so cold to us these days? Don’t forget, my uncle even said you were ignorant that day! I thought he was a good person at first, but turns out he’s just as sinister as mom said…”

“Cough!” Zhang Yue coughed forcefully, preventing Zhang Chao from finishing saying “sinister” in front of Qiu Hen. Seeing that only Qiu Hen was in the room, he lowered his voice and asked, “Even if he wants to seek apprenticeship, it’s my uncle who arranged it. What can you do?”

“He can only write some silly poems, right? Have you forgotten there’s also a genius in our school—Gu Xiaoqi? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of this. I’m just letting you know—just wait and watch the show!”

Zhang Yue was about to give a reminder when he saw Zhang Chao dash away out of sight. He could only shake his head in exasperation. Even prodigies need to be ranked—those from wealthy and noble families are naturally precious, while those from poor families must rely on luck to stand out. Bringing Gu Bin into the competition against Zhang Jiu? How could Zhang Chao even think of that!
What is a child blessed by heaven? First, their family must be wealthy and powerful, and they themselves must be the darlings cherished by their elders—that’s what makes them a child blessed by heaven!