Chapter 147

The first half of the exam hadn’t passed when Mu Er Pang finished writing his essay. Because he made sure not to let his mind wander to the poetry question while writing, he was highly focused, and it took him only an hour to draft and finalize his essay, which was concise and to the point.

After thoroughly checking his essay, Mu Er Pang guessed that Liu Xuezheng valued poetry and put considerable effort into this section. However, regardless of the weightage, he was confident that his essay accurately reflected his abilities, earning him at least seventy percent of the possible score.

Now it was time to tackle the poetry question.

The question consisted of two phrases that seemed balanced, but Mu Er Pang was certain they didn’t come from the same poem. Otherwise, he would remember them. They must have been pieced together. Mu Er Pang had encountered many of these nonsensical poetry questions lately, so once he had an idea, he skillfully analyzed and deconstructed the sentences.

First was “Travelers need not ask.” He thought of Weng Chengzan’s “Two Poems Written Impromptu in the Study.” The original line was “Travelers need not inquire about my surname; in the sound of reading, you’ll find my home.” Another memorable line from the same poem was “One doesn’t need to discuss wealth or poverty; the sound of reading is paramount.”

This poem praised the scholarly atmosphere, emphasizing the importance of education over wealth.

As for the second phrase, “Poetry is on the imperial screen,” he couldn’t recall the entire poem, but he remembered the original line: “Who can match Yang Xueshi of Jinhua? His ten linked verses adorn the imperial screen.”

This passage tells of a scholar named Yang Huizhi, who was known for his diligence in studying since childhood. He studied under the renowned poets Jiang Wei and Jiang Wenwei, and through tireless effort, he eventually became as famous as them.

Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty admired Yang Huizhi’s poetry greatly and selected ten lines to be written on a screen, which became a celebrated tale.

Though it might sound simple, uncovering the origin of these two sentences from the countless poems and writings was a daunting task, causing Mu Er Pang to sweat profusely and spend half an hour.

Even after understanding the source of the two sentences, Mu Er Pang felt that the connection between them was not significant. However, it was common for literary titles to have somewhat forced associations. Nowadays, some literati criticized such titles for being disjointed and artificially difficult.

Mu Er Pang chose to write about the praise of reading and the praise of scholarly families as the main theme, while also supplementing the missing parts of the poem’s title and mentioning Yang Huizhi.

Having embarked on the path of studying himself and undergone a transformative change, Mu Er Pang found it natural to write on such a topic.

Mu Er Pang was quick to form his poems but slow to polish them. After writing on the draft paper, he repeatedly revised it until the afternoon — there was still about half an hour before the deadline.

No one had yet finished and submitted their papers in the exam room, evidently struggling with the difficulty of the final question.

Before preparing for the final copying, Mu Er Pang silently recited all the complete poems and essays.

“Passers-by need not frequently ask my surname, for within the sounds of reading lies my home… Who is comparable to Yang Huizhi of Jinhua, whose ten-line poem adorns the imperial screen?”

He felt like he had seen such an arrangement somewhere else, not just stumbled upon it while reading.

Indeed, he had seen it, not merely come across it coincidentally.

What had he recently read? Apart from the two collections of poetry and prose given by Shen Cui, which were difficult to find in the market, there was also related information about Liu Xuezeng.

Wei Shu and Cui Fei had really gone to great lengths; they not only collected Liu Xuezeng’s writings but also even found out his hometown.

Liu Xuezeng hailed from a place called Pipa Ridge Village. Over seventy percent of the original surnames in that village were Xiao, with Liu’s surname later moving in, making it a common homeland for both surnames.

With the help of the Cui family’s connections, Cui Fei even found fellow villagers of Liu Xuezeng who worked as peddlers, asking them to recount unique aspects of their hometown. These nostalgic details were likely to become poem themes, and outsiders generally wouldn’t know about them.

Unfortunately, the peddlers were hesitant, saying, “I’ve never read any books since childhood, and although I’ve traveled far and wide to make a living, I only know a few numbers…”

Naturally, Cui Fei wouldn’t force him to write; he just let him speak.

The peddler was still hesitant. “Our little village doesn’t have any special products. It’s just an ordinary village, named after its terrain, which resembles a ‘pipa’ (a Chinese musical instrument). In the village, there are some houses, alleys, small rivers, and big trees… If there’s anything different, it’s probably that the ancestral hall of the Xiao family and the Liu family is combined, built better than those in other villages.”

But Cui Fei’s offer was quite generous, and just a few sentences wouldn’t fetch any money. Reluctant to let go of such a good opportunity, the peddler mentioned that he was quite good at drawing and had a much better memory than most people. He could draw everything he remembered from the village.

Since he thought that the village had only these few things, everything was here for them to see!

The peddler couldn’t read, but he had seen the ancestral hall since childhood, and the couplets on the plaque were deeply ingrained in his memory. So, he “drew” those words several times.

Of course, he relied on drawing to remember, so the characters were crooked and twisted, barely recognizable. But astonishingly, those were the lines from the poem title!

So, the origin of this poem title was here!

This poem not only encouraged diligent study and praised scholarly families but also had to commend Pipa Ridge Village!

Luckily, there was still some time left. Mu Er Pang could revise his poem, replacing the elements used to express emotions with references to the Pipa, symbolizing Liu Xuezeng’s hometown.

As long as Liu Xuezeng, the examiner, saw it, he would understand the meaning.

During the final copying, Mu Er Pang, exhausted and sweaty, felt like crying. Liu Xuezeng’s question was too convoluted. He could have simply asked about one’s hometown, and surely, everyone would have praised their own hometowns, inadvertently praising his as well! There was no need for such ‘subtlety’!

With the final draft copied, there was only a quarter of an hour left until the end of the exam.

It was another case of excessive mental strain, but fortunately, the exam time was short. Mu Er Pang felt only tired, without any other discomfort. He waited patiently for the end of the exam, for the officials to come and collect the papers.

No one submitted their papers early this time, so all the candidates left their seats around the same time and headed towards Longmen.

Before exiting Longmen, Mu Er Pang bumped into Ren Shun and Zhao Xiuwen.

The three had bonded over two previous exams, so it was natural to greet each other and exchange a few words. Today, however, none of them seemed in good spirits after the initial greetings.

Once outside, the candidates and their accompanying relatives gathered, many anxious parents approached and asked, “How did the exam go?”

“How difficult was the question?”

“Didn’t they say there were only two questions? Why didn’t anyone submit their papers early this time?”

Various concerned inquiries filled the air. For candidates with less robust psychological resilience, being bombarded with questions from their families prompted one to blurt out, “Stop asking! The poem question was too difficult. I couldn’t even concentrate on writing my essay because of it. I’ll have no chance of advancing to the next round this time. I’ll try again in two years!”

Mu Er Pang finally squeezed out of the crowd and found Shen Cui waiting on the side.

Shen Cui had already learned about the situation through the screen and listened to the commotion. While wiping his sweat with a handkerchief, she comforted him, saying, “It’s okay. If you found it difficult, so did others.”

Mu Er Pang nodded wearily. Just as they were talking, they overheard another conversation nearby, with a parent asking a candidate, “They all say it’s hard. What do you think?”

The candidate replied nonchalantly, “It’s alright, just a bit tricky.”

His calm response stood in stark contrast to the complaints of other candidates, immediately drawing many accusing and resentful glances.

The candidate remained unperturbed, treating others as if they were invisible.

Mu Er Pang also observed him, not to resent anything, but to recognize him as Shen Aoshuang.

Like before, Shen Aoshuang treated Mu Er Pang, with whom he had interacted several times, as if he were air, not even giving him a glance.

Apart from other considerations, the psychological resilience of this competitor was truly admirable, Mu Er Pang couldn’t help but marvel internally.

After meeting with Shen Cui, Mu Er Pang got into a carriage and returned to the academy.

In the academy, Ayao had already prepared hot water in the tub. Since it was hot, they weren’t worried about the water getting cold.

Mu Er Pang first changed out of his sweat-drenched scholar’s robe, took a hot bath, and then changed into casual clothes before returning to his room for a nap.

By the time evening approached, Wei Shu and the others had returned from the prefectural school. Assuming Mu Er Pang was resting, a few of them stealthily returned to their rooms to change clothes.

But Mu Er Pang wasn’t particularly tired, so he was already waking up by this time. Hearing the rustling sounds, he got up.

Once everyone settled into the classroom after leaving their rooms, Shen Cui had already prepared sliced watermelon for them.

With no outsiders present and only two questions to recall, Mu Er Pang, while munching on watermelon seeds, began discussing today’s exam with everyone.

“Wow,” Lao Buyu exclaimed as he spat out watermelon seeds, “I also felt that Xiao Xi’s question was a bit narrow-minded. After all, the technique of (using a line from a poem as a writing prompt) is usually used in the Eight-Legged Essay questions, not in poetry questions. I didn’t expect him to hit the mark. Oh well, if Xiao Xi becomes an examiner after high school, the students below will suffer!”

Wei Xi laughed as well, “That’s good then. In the future, I’ll incorporate our academy’s motto into the questions. If anyone doesn’t know the origin or forgets to praise our academy, I’ll just fail them.”

Of course, this was a joke. Neither of them, nor Liu Xuezeng, would actually fail a student who didn’t recognize the source of the poem title.

They could only say that mentioning it in the essay would surely leave a lasting impression.

As they talked, Wei Shu and Cui Fei also found the drawings made by the peddler earlier.

Surprisingly, Mu Er Pang’s memory was spot on — there were indeed two plaques on either side of the ancestral hall!

Though the characters on the plaques were drawn by the peddler and looked crooked, with varying strokes, they were still recognizable as the poem title!