Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 201 Off-site Purchase of Articles
Even with lax discipline in the examination hall, a large group of people gathered together for a meeting is still somewhat conspicuous. Especially now, as dusk approaches, it's a time when disturbances are easily stirred up.

So when the candidates gathered outside the examination hall, the examiner Yan Tingzhi immediately arrived with the patrolling soldiers. He first dispersed the crowd, then picked up Zhang Dai's paper and glanced through it again. Afterward, he looked up and asked him, "The paper is already finalized, no changes are needed?"

Zhang Dai took the paper back, glanced at it, and carefully checked the wording for any violations. After confirming that there were no errors, he nodded and said, "My humble work is presented here and does not need to be revised."

"Then let's leave now and not linger to cause trouble. The results will be announced in three days, and the test of strategies will be held three days later. Remember that?"

Yan Tingzhi gave another instruction, then took Zhang Dai's examination paper back to the hall, had it reprinted, and locked it in the cabinet.

In the previous essay exam, Zhang Dai struggled until the latter half before finishing, but today's miscellaneous essay was a breeze. Although it was already getting dark, most of the candidates were still pondering and conceiving their answers, and had not yet completed them.

This time, his family stuffed even more supplies into his exam box, and Zhang Dai was too lazy to carry them back. So he distributed the food and other items to his friends in the exam hall before carrying the half-empty exam box out of the exam hall.

As he left the examination hall, the patrolling guards began distributing candles to the examinees one by one.

The candles were quite thick and long, each lasting about an hour. If the questions weren't finished after one burned out, one could ask for another. Judging from the fact that most of the candidates were still in the examination hall, writing furiously, it was clear that many would be continuing their studies late into the night.

As Zhang Dai walked out of the examination hall, a group of people immediately surrounded him. Besides Ding Cang and others, there were also servants of other examinees.

This was the second exam, and many people already knew Zhang Dai. As he walked out of the exam hall, someone couldn't help but ask urgently, "Young Master Zhang, how did my son do inside? Did the exam go smoothly?"

"You can wait here patiently and without making a sound. Everything is going smoothly, and the young men will soon be leaving one by one."

Zhang Dai waved to the people who had gathered around him and gave a casual reply.

But some people did not leave. Instead, they moved closer to Zhang Dai and whispered, "May I ask, Young Master Zhang, would you be willing to recite the essays for the examination? Please rest assured, Young Master, we are not trying to cheat on the exam. We are just compiling a collection of the finest contemporary writings."

Unexpectedly, he encountered a competitor vying for his business as soon as he left the examination hall. Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai's interest was piqued, so he asked the man, "How much are you willing to pay for my writing?"

Seeing that Zhang Dai seemed quite interested, the man became even more enthusiastic and quickly said, "Young Master Zhang is a scholar from a prestigious family with a high reputation. I am willing to offer you two essays for thirty strings of cash. If you pass the imperial examination, I am willing to offer an additional one hundred strings of cash to request your past writings."

This amount of money was already considerable, especially for Zhang Dai, who had some experience in the epitaph business and knew a little about the market. Although a masterpiece was not easily sold for a fortune, it probably wouldn't fetch a very good price if it were put up for sale in the marketplace.

Zhang Dai's two examination essays could fetch thirty strings of cash, and there would be even greater business after he passed the exam. Hearing this man's asking price, he laughed and said, "Aren't you afraid of losing everything by spending so much money?"

"Young Master Zhang is too modest. Although I am but a despicable scoundrel who schemes for money, I have long admired your talent. If I were to receive your gift, I am confident that I could spread your masterpieces throughout the capital!"

Upon hearing this, the man quickly added that the booming sales of the "Selected Essays" last year had shown these booksellers the amazing potential of the industry. As a result, at the very beginning of this year, many experienced individuals have set their sights on this market, even buying exam essays directly from candidates outside the examination halls.

Zhang Dai naturally looked down on these petty gains, especially since these guys were trying to steal his job. Moreover, judging from their tone, they were already planning to take advantage of the popularity of the imperial examinations to release their own collections, which made him very unhappy.

But there was nothing he could do about it; he simply didn't have the energy to pursue any more multi-tasking. Especially since most of his subordinates had already been sent to the disaster area; otherwise, he wouldn't have directly resold the compiled and printed collection of writings to merchants last year.

He waved his hand to refuse the man's request. Just then, there was another commotion at the entrance of the examination hall. When he looked in the direction of the noise, he saw Li Yi following Zhang Dai as he left the examination hall.

Upon seeing this, the man who had bought the document no longer bothered to pester Zhang Dai, but hurriedly went to greet Li Yi, presumably with the same idea.

Zhang Dai watched from a distance and saw the man approach Li Yi and whisper to him as before. Li Yi then glared at him and scolded him, and the man hurriedly bowed and took his leave.

"How is this going?"

When Li Yi, still visibly angry, approached, Zhang Dai asked him with a knowing smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi became even angrier. He immediately glared at the man again and said angrily, "This unscrupulous merchant is truly ignorant. He wants to buy my exam essay for twenty strings of cash as soon as I appear. It's ridiculous..."

At this point, he suddenly glared at Zhang Dai and said, "No, Zhang Dai made his offer before me, so he must have been affected by this as well! How much did this fellow offer you?"

When Zhang Dai heard him ask this question, he proudly held up three fingers and smiled, saying, "Ten strings of cash better than Li Shiqi!"

"That unscrupulous merchant!" Upon hearing this, Li Yi first cursed angrily with a look of shame and anger, then sighed, "This Jia slave is indeed shrewd. If it weren't for Zhang Liu's inspiration, I'm afraid my eight rhymes would still be difficult to complete. I'm willing to pay you ten strings of cash!"

After several encounters, Zhang Dai realized that Li Yi wasn't the arrogant type who looked down on the common people because of his status and family background. Of course, this was also because the guy had helped him before.

Upon hearing this, he laughed and said, "Does this negate the favor of giving me the scriptures the other day?"

"The meanings are quite different. Classical texts can be memorized by rote, and one can eventually memorize them thoroughly. It's normal for Zhang Liu to make mistakes when studying major classics at such a young age. But composing poems requires exceptional talent and inspiration; without that talent, even spitting blood and sweat won't suffice. In comparison, I still owe you a great deal of kindness!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi waved his hand and said that in his opinion, the inspiration from literary works was far more important than the guidance from classical texts.

In fact, it was the same situation for Zhang Dai; it was just a matter of rote memorization. But since this guy insisted on owing him a favor, he was too lazy to explain further, and of course, he couldn't explain it anyway.

"Now that the most troublesome essay exam is finally over, I can breathe a sigh of relief! And since I owe Zhang Liu a favor, I must repay him."

Li Yi, worthy of being a leader at the Imperial Academy, immediately grabbed Zhang Dai's arm and said with a smile, "To make it easier to take the exam, I rented a courtyard house at Song San Niang's house in Chengfu Lane. When I return, I will have beautiful courtesans to keep me company."

The women in Song San Niang's household are all stunning beauties. Zhang Liu, you're certainly aware of this, being a dissolute young master. Would you be willing to join me tonight, and become sworn brothers sharing a meal?"

Zhang Dai was an honest and straightforward boy, but everyone assumed that as a native of Luoyang, he must be a playboy and a notorious womanizer.

However, Li Yi had indeed heard of Song San Niang. She was a famous actress in Luoyang whose fame was no less than that of Gongsun Da Niang. She was known as "Little Flying Swallow" and was said to be able to dance in the spring breeze on the willow branches. She was highly sought after by the wild and unruly young men of Luoyang, including her grandfather Zhang Shuo.

Now, Song San Niang is old and frail. She has taken in several women in Luobei and runs an art gallery brothel, which is one of the most prominent pleasure quarters around Xintan.

Recently, during the Lantern Festival, his cousins ​​went on a night out and invited the daughter of Song San Niang's sect to ride with them through several streets, which cost them several dozen strings of cash, a truly high appearance fee.

When Zhang Dai heard that Li Yi had actually booked an entire courtyard at Song San Niang's house, he was amazed by the guy's generosity and couldn't help but ask, "How much does it cost to stay at Song San Niang's house for a night?"

"I'm afraid it would take ten years of exam preparation to be enough."

Li Yi answered first, then glared at the merchant who was again soliciting customers at the entrance of the examination hall and said fiercely, "This cunning merchant! If he ever comes here to serve as an official in the selection department or to govern the people, he will surely lock this slave up in the government office and ask me how much I earned!"

It seems this guy became an official just to show off his power in front of unscrupulous businessmen.

However, when Zhang Dai heard that a night's stay there would cost several hundred strings of cash, he couldn't help but sigh that these brothels were truly money pits. He thought to himself that when he left the selection office to become an official in Henan the following year, he would have to find out what kind of service dared to charge such prices!
"going or not?"

Seeing that Zhang Dai remained silent, Li Yi patted him on the shoulder and asked.

Zhang Dai shook his head. He was indeed eager to broaden his horizons, but he was still shaken by the Wang Shouzhen incident and worried that wandering around Luobei would lead to him being ambushed by the Northern government officials. He decided to wait until the results of the imperial examinations were released before relaxing.

“Boring, boring!”

Upon seeing his refusal, Li Yi first complained, then her gaze shifted and she smiled, saying, "I know, I know, the heartbreak hasn't healed! The person from last year is gone, tears wet my spring robes..."

As he sang, he ran towards the entrance of the examination hall, ready to invite other acquaintances to go back and become brothers in the temple.

You know shit!
Zhang Dai gave the man the middle finger as he walked away, then went home with Ding Cang and the others. Although it was already dark and curfew had begun, the candidates could still travel at night using their examination records. If they encountered the Imperial Guards checking them, they could show them to avoid punishment.

Back home, most of his family members were waiting. Zhang asked Zhang Dai to write down the two essays for the examination from memory, and then he held them and examined them. After a while, he smiled and said, "Just do your best in the exam tomorrow, and don't go off-topic or break any rules. The matter is settled!"

Zhang Dai breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. Although he was still a little worried that his grandfather's prediction might be wrong, he still had some confidence in his grandfather's abilities. So he relaxed and had a meal with his family.

After dinner, Zhang Dai slowly walked back to his room. He was slightly tipsy and felt completely relaxed. He thought about how he had been preparing for the exam for a long time and hadn't tasted meat in a long time. He was also teased by Li Yi when he left the exam room.

Zhang Dai looked at Aying, who was kneeling by the bed, laughing and talking about family matters, and found her even more beautiful and charming. He immediately pulled her into the bedchamber and gave her a good thrashing.

(End of this chapter)