The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 038 Auspicious Dragon And Phoenix Symbols Part 1
Outside the Shengjing Examination Hall, the candidates swarmed out.
Seeing Tang Shen asleep, Yao San said, "Why don't I carry the little boss?"
Wang Zhen thought for a moment and saw Tang Shen's page boy Feng Bi asking the coachman to park the carriage not far away. He said, "No need, I'll just carry him to the carriage."
Yao San wanted to say something, but seeing Wang Zhen's elegant demeanor and graceful manners, the very image of a true gentleman, he felt too rough, and did not dare to argue with Wang Zhen. He thought it wasn't a big deal, so he just followed Wang Zhen and watched him place Tang Shen onto the carriage.
Wang Zhen waiting outside the examination hall for Tang Shen was a coincidence. He happened to have some business at the Imperial Academy, which was next to the examination hall, so he decided to check on Tang Shen. Seeing Tang Shen asleep, Wang Zhen recalled his earlier words and couldn't help but laugh, patting Tang Shen's cheek twice.
Yao San: "?" What's this about?
Wang Zhen said righteously, "He seems to have a slight fever. Better get a doctor to check on him."
Yao San was shocked, "Yes!"
They parted ways.
Driving back home, Yao San hurriedly called a doctor. The doctors in Shengjing were incredibly busy as countless candidates had fallen ill after the first round of the xiangshi. All the medical halls in Shengjing were packed, and Yao San had to spend a lot of money to get an elderly doctor to visit.
After taking Tang Shen's pulse, the old doctor said, "He indeed has a slight fever, but it's not serious. It’s normal for scholars to be weak after spending three days and nights in those cramped, filthy examination cubicles. I'll prescribe some medicine, and he should be fine after taking a dose when he wakes up. Come with me to get the medicine."
Tang Shen woke up in the middle of the night and drank the medicine brewed by Feng Bi. He indeed felt a bit clearer-headed.
After eating a bit, Tang Shen remembered something and asked, "Brother Yao, did I hallucinate when I left the examination hall? I seemed to have seen my Senior Brother Zi Feng?"
Yao San laughed, "You didn't hallucinate, little boss. Wang daren was indeed waiting outside for you and caught you when you fainted!"
Tang Shen: "..."
That really was Wang Zifeng!!!
Tang Shen felt a mix of emotions, wishing he could fall asleep again and forget about these troubling matters, such as Wang Zhen inexplicably patting his face and him admonishing Wang Zifeng, "Don't pat my face."
The next day, with another exam to take, Tang Shen sighed deeply and went to sleep.
The following day, before dawn, over ten thousand examinees gathered again at the Shengjing Examination Hall. Tang Shen looked around and noticed that the number of people had decreased by about one-tenth compared to three days ago. He sighed, understanding that some examinees had been worn out by the previous exam, falling so ill that they couldn't attend this one. Others knew they hadn't performed well in the first session, so they decided it was useless to continue and went home to study hard for another three years, preparing to try again.
However, this was a good thing for him—fewer competitors.
Tang Shen pulled himself together and entered his examination cubicle. At midnight, the chief examiner stood on Mingyuan Tower and loudly struck a gong.
Dong!
The officers distributed the exam papers to the examinees.
In the second session of the xiangshi, five essays in the eight-legged essay style were required, with the topics drawn from the Five Classics. This didn't mean one topic from each of the five books, but rather that the chief examiner would set twenty-five topics, five from each Classic. The examinees could choose one Classic and write five essays on the topics provided.
Without hesitation, Tang Shen opened the five topics from the "Book of Changes" (Zhouyi).
He saw that the five topics were clearly written on the red exam paper.
The first topic: Strive to improve.
The second topic: Small success.
The third topic: The gentleman discerns.
The fourth topic: What is the road to Heaven?
The fifth topic: Making music to exalt virtue.
Just by seeing the first topic, Tang Shen frowned, feeling uneasy.
It was said by Wang Zhen that Grand Secretary Yang was fond of the "Book of Changes," and Tang Shen never doubted it. If he chose the "Book of Changes" to answer, he would certainly win the favor of the chief examiner. However, Grand Secretary Yang was so well-versed in the "Book of Changes" that these five topics seemed increasingly daunting.
"Strive to improve" comes from the original phrase "As Heaven maintains vigor, a gentleman should strive to improve himself," meaning that a gentleman should strive for self-improvement and diligent learning.
"Small success" comes from the phrase "Small success, beneficial to go somewhere, beneficial to see the great person." Here, "small" implies humility and caution, and "success" refers to smoothness. Only by being humble and cautious can one succeed in all endeavors. This is a self-discipline required of a gentleman.
Moving on to the next three topics, "the gentleman discerns" requires the gentleman to distinguish right from wrong. "What is the road to Heaven?" suggests the need to employ the wise and capable. The last topic, "making music to exalt virtue," comes from the phrase "the ancient sage kings created music to praise virtue," meaning "the ancient virtuous rulers created music to celebrate virtuous deeds."
In summary, the first three topics concern the expectations and self-restraint of a gentleman, while the last two can be seen as advice for those in positions of power.
Each topic covers a broad range, with much to discuss. Yet, each topic also has some superficial connections. Especially the first three topics, which are easily linked together. Once you've written one essay, you'd need to write another similar one, effectively requiring you to write three nearly identical essays in a row.
Tang Shen sighed in his heart, "Grand Secretary Yang really does love the 'Book of Changes'!"
What emotionally stirring topics these are!
Tang Shen looked at the other exam papers and checked the topics on them. Sure enough, the five topics from the "Book of Changes" were the most challenging!
The five topics from the "Book of Changes" might please Grand Secretary Yang, but they were also incredibly difficult to write about!
As Tang Shen racked his brain, the sky began to lighten. The rising sun illuminated the densely packed, beehive-like examination cubicles. The emperor ruled facing south, while the ministers faced north in their duty. All the cubicles in the examination hall faced north. Sunlight slanted into the cubicle, and Tang Shen squinted, gazing at the slowly rising sun.
He steeled himself and suddenly stopped doubting: "So what if the writing isn't great? This is the 'Book of Changes,' as long as I don't stray from the topic or write rebellious words, Grand Secretary Yang won't mark me down. Besides, I'm quite confident about the first session of the xiangshi. The five topics in this second session are just additional points, so it should be fine."
Having made up his mind, Tang Shen carefully studied the five topics again.
A gentleman must be discerning, humble and successful, and must strive relentlessly. No matter how difficult the road ahead, one should be joyous and uphold virtue!
Tang Shen's eyes lit up.
These topics were difficult, and their scope was repetitive. With only two years of experience in writing eight-legged essays, it was hard for him to write something truly outstanding.
But whether it was Liang Song or Wang Zhen, they all said that Tang Shen's most remarkable talent in writing eight-legged essays wasn't in his writing style or logic, but in his unconventional approach to breaking open the topics. Since that was the case, why not be even more innovative?
He decided to combine the five topics into one grand essay!
The grand essay would be divided into five parts, each part a complete essay, but all parts together would form one work titled "A Gentleman Seeks the Way, A Sage Seeks Talent." This kind of creativity should help cover up some of his lack of literary talent.
With this plan in mind, Tang Shen sketched out a logical diagram on a draft paper, finding the relationships between the five topics, and then used progression and parallel relationships to categorize them.
By the evening of the second day of the exam, he had finally organized the connections between the five topics and began to formally write his answers.
Grand Secretary Yang's topic was "Strive to improve."
Tang Shen picked up his brush and responded, "To strive in improvement is to conquer oneself, a gentleman seeks the way and aligns himself with the principles of Heaven. Small successes are gained through discernment and action; what is trodden above is to harmonize with Heaven and become virtuous, until the ultimate spiritual transformation..."
After writing the first essay in a grand and fluent style, Tang Shen did not stop. Seizing the burst of inspiration, he quickly wrote the second essay.
He wrote three essays in a row, then took a deep sleep. Waking up to the moonlight and candlelight, he completed the remaining two essays.
By now, the roosters were crowing—it was the final day.
After a deep sleep, Tang Shen woke up again, neatly copied his five essays in the elegant Guange script, blew on the ink to dry it, and submitted his papers.
The candidates who finished early walked out of the Shengjing Examination Hall together. It was only the third afternoon, around shen shi (3-5pm). Yao San and Feng Bi were sitting under the big willow tree in front of the examination hall, enjoying the shade, when they suddenly saw Tang Shen. Neither of them reacted at first. When Tang Shen approached, Yao San quickly stood up, "Little Master, you're done already?"
Tang Shen smiled, "I finished, so naturally I came out."
That seemed to make sense. Yao San scratched his head, "Then let's go home and rest."
Tang Shen looked around, "Senior Brother Zi Feng didn't come today?"
Yao San: "No, he didn't. Is Little Boss waiting for Wang daren?"
Tang Shen: "…No, let's go."
After resting at home for a day, Tang Shen went to the examination hall again the next day.
The third session of the xiangshi was almost like just showing up; the candidates were all relaxed. Whether one could pass or not was nearly decided by then. The third session tested current affairs and policies, but how could these xiucai understand real political matters? It was just empty talk on paper! The examiners didn't expect these xiucai to produce any great policy essays; as long as they didn't overstep their bounds and write something blatantly rebellious, they would pass.
Tang Shen wrote with ease, and three days later, after leaving the exam hall, the first thing he did when he got home was take a bath.
Soaking in the warm bath, Tang Shen let out a long sigh of relief, "Refreshing!"
But he didn't idle around. After washing and dressing in new clothes, Tang Shen took advantage of the daylight and went to the Fu Residence.
Fu Wei was holding a handful of bird food, feeding two parrots in his study. Seeing Tang Shen, he gave him some bird food. Tang Shen found this scene strangely familiar, and a refined and elegant figure flashed in his mind. Startled, he looked at Fu Wei and said, "Sir, the xiangshi is finished."
Fu Wei immediately put on a stern face, "How can you say ‘the xiangshi is finished? Jing Ze, your choice of words is problematic!"
Tang Shen, half-laughing, said, "Yes, yes, I’ve completed the xiangshi."
Fu Wei smiled, "How do you feel?"
Tang Shen carefully recalled, "The first session should have gone well, I performed slightly above average. The second session also went smoothly. As for the third session on policy essays, I wasn’t very skilled, so I followed Senior Brother Zi Feng’s advice: write honestly, and don’t be too radical."
Fu Wei snorted, "Who asked you about that?"
"Huh?"
"I’m asking you, how was the smell of sweat, feces, and stinky feet in the exam room? Was it fragrant?"
Tang Shen: "..."
What kind of person asks about that!