BH (QT) 150 – Rogue Scholar (26 – Extra 2)

Chapter 150 – Rogue Scholar (26 – Extra 2)

Yan Jing Ze passed the provincial examination without much surprise.

At this time, he was already very famous in the south, and he was a recognized scholar. Therefore, it was no surprise that the academic commissioner placed him as the jieyuan.

Wei Lingxiu did not take the provincial exam, he is still lacking in the end.

After the provincial examination, Yan Jing Ze and Wei Lingxiu lived in Fucheng for a period of time, discussed their knowledge with other juren, and learned a lot of things.

In September of this year, Yan Jing Ze and Wei Lingxiu are preparing to go to the capital to participate in the national examination next spring. By the way, Wei Lingxiu’s adoption to Zhou family was also completed. After the three-year academic administration tenure, Zhou Song has already returned to the capital before they did.

Originally, Yan Jing Ze wanted to enter the capital later. Wei Lingxiu has not yet passed the juren exam and the provincial examination must be taken in his hometown. If he is admitted as a Jinshi official in the capital, they will be separated for a long time in the future when Wei Lingxiu returns to the village to take the provincial examination.

But Zhou Song said, because the Zhou family’s ancestral home is near the capital, as long as Wei Lingxiu’s adoption is done, Wei Lingxiu will be able to take the provincial examination near the capital in the future.

Upon learning of this, Yan Jing Ze took Wei Lingxiu to the north.

It was September when they set off.

Jiangnan’s September, although the sky has cooled down, the weather is actually just right and is particularly comfortable, but all the way north, the situation is different.

They went north with other juren. Most of the time, they took a boat and hired a car in some places. The farther north they went, the colder it got.

“The weather is clean and clear, the frost is falling, the rooster crows in the morning, the geese fly south…” A juren sat on the bow of the boat, reciting a poem to the mountains by the river. However, as soon as he finished speaking, he sneezed and immediately wrapped his clothes tightly and hid in the cabin.

The wind on the boat was so strong that Wei Lingxiu was blown by the wind and rested the idea of composing a poem.

On the whole boat, Yan Jing Ze was completely unaffected, he was even excited to learn how to sail the boat.

“Brother Wei, Brother Yan is really…different!” a juren surnamed Wang said to Wei Lingxiu.

This Wang Juren was in his thirties, he was not too old, but also not too young. He was very rich, but he became less and less rich all the way to the north.

“Brother Yan is naturally different from ordinary people.” Li Xiucai…no, now he should be called Li Juren. He respects Yan Jing Ze very much. He praises Yan Jing Ze every day and tells others by the way that he has a very good relationship with Yan Jing Ze.

“Brother Yan’s body is very good.” Wei Lingxiu was a little proud when he heard people praise Yan Jing Ze.

This journey is quite tiring. Among the fellow juren, some even fell ill halfway through and could only find a place to stay to recover from the illness. Yan Jing Ze is different… At this time, he still has the energy to toss him!

Wei Lingxiu felt that he was about to fall apart.

Fortunately, they are almost in the capital!

Since the beginning of winter, the weather in the capital has been getting colder day by day.

But in some restaurants, the atmosphere is very warm.

The national exam will be in the spring of the coming year. Right now, almost all the juren from all over the country have gathered in the capital.

And among them, the most famous one is a juren named Cai Shaozhang.

Cai Shaozhang was born in a big family, and when he was seven or eight years old, he made a poem that made people marvel, and after that, his fame became bigger and bigger every year.

He had already passed the juren exam and won the jieyuan rank before, this time, he went to the capital to participate in the national examination, and get the huiyuan rank.

Recently, his fame has spread in the capital, and his collection of poems has been sought after by countless people.

Cai Shaozhang participated in the literary meeting this day and made another poem. Someone praised him: “Good poem! Next year’s spring examination, Brother Kong Lin will definitely be nominated for the Golden List.”

Cai Shaozhang’s courtesy name is Kong Lin, at this time, when he heard the compliments of others, his face showed a reserved smile to.

Another person said, “Brother Kong Lin may be able to achieve the jieyuan.”

“It is very difficult to achieve jieyuan, you have a high opinion,” Cai Shaozhang said. Although he said that, he showed some pride on his face.

Someone didn’t enjoy seeing Cai Shaozhang like this and suddenly said, “Although Brother Kong Lin is very talented, I am afraid he cannot compare to another person.”

Hearing the man’s words, the crowd was curious, but Cai Shaozhang was frowning.

The person continued: “When I went to the capital to rush for the exam, I stayed in the Jiangnan area and learned that there was a man named Yan Jing Ze, who had the ability to never forget, and his brushstrokes were even more comparable to those of the previous dynasties.”

Jiangnan is too far away from the capital. Although Yan Jing Ze has some reputation in Jiangnan, not many people know him in the capital.

“Saying he can never forget, many people can remember something for a short time, but after some days they will forget them, it is not much,” Cai Shaozhang said.

Of course, there are people who can memorize things easily, but in the imperial examination, they do not necessarily have an advantage.

Because most of these people can only remember for a short time and they will forget it after a few days.

However, despite what Cai Shaozhang said, many people still praised Yan Jing Ze: “I have also heard this person’s name.”

“It is said that he used to be illiterate and didn’t start studying until he was 18 years old, but in just one year, he passed the xiucai exam and became anshou!”

“I’ve seen his writing, and I really sighed to myself.”

…

Most of the juren in Jiangnan have heard of Yan Jing Ze’s name. They didn’t mention it before because they are all scholars and don’t want to praise others.

But now that Cai Shaozhang is too popular, some people have brought up Yan Jing Ze.

Cai Shaozhang did not believe it at all: “He just started reading and learning at the age of eighteen, and in one year, he passed the xiucai exam? That’s ridiculous!”

“Brother Kong Lin, there are men beyond men.”

“Whether it’s a cat or a tiger, let’s wait until I get past him!”

Yan Jing Ze has not yet entered the capital, there are already people thinking about him, but he knows nothing about it.

When they were on the boat, the wind was strong, so they always felt cold, but the last part of the journey was by car, so it was warm, but the road was too bumpy.

Yan Jing Ze took Wei Lingxiu in his arms and let Wei Lingxiu sit on himself, so he could also feel better.

The two of them hired a car separately. No one else knew about this. However, when taking a break on the road, Wang Juren rushed over and lifted the curtain…

The three looked at each other, Yan Jing Ze calmly released Wei Lingxiu’s hand, but still held Wei Lingxiu: “Brother Wang, something is wrong?”

Wang Juren smiled awkwardly: “Nothing.” He just suddenly couldn’t remember the content of a book he had read before, so he wanted to ask Yan Jing Ze, but he didn’t expect to encounter such a thing.

He thought about it too, why Yan Jing Ze and Wei Lingxiu were too good to each other…so that’s it!

Wei Lingxiu was suddenly seen by someone. When he got out of the carriage and went to rest in the tea shed next to him, he was very uncomfortable. Seeing Wang Juren looking at him covertly, it was even more embarrassing, so he only went to talk to Li Juren.

As for Yan Jing Ze, he borrowed the kitchen from the people who run the teahouse and planned to make something to eat.

A tantalizing aroma came from the kitchen and they could see that Yan Jing Ze was cooking inside… Wang Juren came up to Wei Lingxiu and asked, “Brother Wei, how did you please Brother Yan?”

Wei Lingxiu’s face changed.

Wang Juren said again, “I wonder if Brother Yan can see me…”

Wei Lingxiu stepped on the foot of Wang Juren.

Yan Jing Ze can’t look at this fat guy!

Li Juren, who heard Wang Juren’s words: “…” Brother Wang, you’d better look in the mirror before you say this.

“Brother Wei, forgive me…I just want to be able to discuss knowledge with Brother Yan day and night…” Wang Juren said. If there is someone beside him who can answer his questions at any time, he is willing to sell his body!

Wei Lingxiu increased the strength on his feet.

Wang Juren: “…” He was wrong!

Wang Juren was indeed wrong.

Before that journey, he approached Yan Jing Ze to ask questions, Yan Jing Ze has always had an answer, but since that day, Yan Jing Ze ignored him.

He didn’t expect that such a big man like Yan Jing Ze would be afraid of his wife!

Wang Juren was extremely sad.

When they arrived in the capital, they separated.

These juren have different family backgrounds. The rich can live in good inns, while the ordinary ones can only borrow to live in the homes of the people or even live in the temples.

As for Wei Lingxiu and Yan Jing Ze, Zhou Song prepared a small courtyard for them in advance, just in time for them to live.

The house Zhou Song prepared was not big, and there were not many rooms inside, but the yard was not small, and there were a lot of flowers and plants planted in the yard.

Wei Lingxiu fell in love as soon as he arrived and Yan Jing Ze also liked it. They started directing the servants Zhou Song sent them to organize the house.

Seeing a pile of firewood in the corner of the yard, he was eager to try, and finally couldn’t hold back to chop the firewood.

Wei Lingxiu: “…Brother Yan, let the servants chop the firewood.” Zhou Song prepared a family of servants for them, a middle-aged couple in their thirties and their two sons and a daughter.

The middle-aged man is still very capable of working hard.

“I want to train my body,” Yan Jing Ze said. He has been on the road all the way. He never had the opportunity to exercise. Occasionally, he would just throw Wei Lingxiu up and catch him… He always feels that the muscles and bones are stiff.

Alright… Wei Lingxiu didn’t stop him.

It’s better for Yan Jing Ze to chop firewood than to throw and catch him again.

He was not even thrown up and then caught when he was a child. He never thought he would be able to experience one when he grew up. At the beginning, he was scared!

He couldn’t even scream—the soundproofing on the ship was not good!

It was really too hard for him!

Wei Lingxiu couldn’t find anything to do, so he simply found some paper and prepared to paint Yan Jing Ze.

He likes painting very much recently, and he doesn’t know how many times he has painted Yan Jing Ze along the way.

Wei Lingxiu painted very attentively. After he finished the painting, he wrote a poem: “The spring mountains are indifferent to the light smoke, and the misty ravine is filled with the sound of chopping wood.”

Putting down the pen, Wei Lingxiu was extraordinarily satisfied with himself and picked it up and showed it to Yan Jing Ze: “Do you think I painted well?”

“It’s a mess!” A voice suddenly said.

Wei Lingxiu froze, and only then did he realize that someone was actually watching him from the side.

It was a few literati in their 20s and 30s. The one who walked in the front was a young man with a tall stature. At this time, he grabbed his painting and said: “This painting is simply made by a child. As for the characters… Is this a calligraphy comparable to the masters of the previous dynasty?”

The person who spoke was none other than Cai Shaozhang.

After he learned that Yan Jing Ze came to the capital, he specially brought people to find Yan Jing Ze, and wanted to know Yan Jing Ze for a while.

The door of the yard was open, the servants were cleaning, and there was also a weak looking man wearing a crown who was painting… Cai Shaozhang naturally felt that this man was Yan Jing Ze.

And after he saw the man’s calligraphy and painting…

To be honest, the painting of this man, although there is no skill, but it is full of emotion. He painted the man who was chopping the wood with great charm.

But that’s all. He could have made such a painting when he was about ten years old!

As for the handwriting, it’s not bad, but it’s ordinary, at least his handwriting is better than this guy’s!

“Who are you?” Wei Lingxiu frowned.

“Cai Shaozhang.” Cai Shaozhang said: “You should have heard my name.”

“Never heard of it.” Wei Lingxiu said, “Return the painting to me.”

“This kind of painting, I am ashamed to show it to people.” Cai Shaozhang let go of his hand and said with contempt, “You really are… not living up to your fame!”

As a result, just as he finished speaking, he was given a heavy slap on the shoulder, and he staggered and almost fell.

When Cai Shaozhang raised his head, he saw the tall servant who was chopping wood before, standing beside him now, looking at him with an unpleasant expression, and added: “You’re the one who’s in a mess!”

Yan Jing Ze glared at Cai Shaozhang and then looked at Wei Lingxiu: “Lingxiu, you don’t need to care about this lame man! You drew extremely well, I like it very much.”

His Lingxiu is in his own home painting for fun, does he need others’ evaluation? This person is really annoying.

Cai Shaozhang was “beaten” by someone, and suddenly became angry, and said to Wei Lingxiu, “Yan Jing Ze, is this how you are, you let your servant beat me?”

Among those who came with Cai Shaozhang, there were actually some who were dissatisfied with Cai Shaozhang, but at this time they also felt that the “Yan Jing Ze” was not doing the right thing.

Cai Shaozhang is still a scholar, how can he allow his servant to treat him like this?

“Who are you calling a servant?” Wei Lingxiu said angrily.

Yan Jing Ze also said: “Did you make a mistake? I’m the one who is Yan Jing Ze.”

Cai Shaozhang and others: “…”

<< ToC >>

***TN

Jieyuan – the juren who ranked first in provincial exam.

Juren – a qualified graduate who passed the triennial provincial exam.

Huiyuan – the gongshi who ranked first in national exam.

Gongshi – a recognized scholarly achiever who passed the triennial national exam.