Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 208: Can it better serve as a melody for "Xiangling"?
When Zhang Dai returned to the hall with the food box, Cui Mian had already finished his speech, and all the candidates had taken their seats.

These people were brought directly to the Censorate after finishing their provincial examinations. Most of them were already starving, and when they saw Zhang Dai returning with a food box, many of them couldn't help but rumble with hunger.

Especially since Li Yi and others knew that Zhang Dai had already eaten at the Ministry of Personnel's kitchen that afternoon, and now someone was bringing him food again, their gazes toward Zhang Dai turned resentful and angry.

Ignoring Cui Mian's scrutinizing gaze, Zhang Dai walked straight into the hall and greeted everyone with a smile, saying, "King Shou knows that you are all tired from the exams and have not eaten yet, so he specially asked Vice Minister Song to invite you to have a meal. Vice Minister Song has agreed and allows you to continue the exams after you have eaten!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned their gaze to Song Yao, who was walking in afterward. When Song Yao smiled and nodded, they cheered, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty! Thank you for the food, Your Excellency!"

Seeing the candidates cheering and making a ruckus, Cui Mian frowned in displeasure. Song Yao stepped forward and said, "Although Prince Shou is young, he is kind-hearted, benevolent and loving. He is truly a treasure of the clan."

Moreover, what he said was quite reasonable. Those who submit tribute to the court and are recommended for official positions should be provided with food by the relevant officials. Since His Majesty refuses to enter the hall to receive thanks, I have taken the liberty of agreeing first, and will come later to request the assistance of Attendant-in-Ordinary Cui.”

Having said all that, what could Cui Mian say? He could only nod in agreement and say in a deep voice, "The Ministry of Personnel should provide the food, but since we are borrowing this land, I will trouble Vice Minister Song to handle it."

After saying this, he instructed the candidates, "You may have half an hour to eat later. The exam will begin on time after you finish eating!"

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement. After Cui Mian withdrew temporarily, the officials of the Censorate brought in the food and drink. Then, everyone came to Zhang Dai to express their gratitude, and someone said, "The selection officials have great power. They treat us, the tribute students, like servants and thieves. We are bound to the Censorate and not allowed to leave."

It is truly remarkable that Prince Shou has shown such compassion for us humble scholars by inviting us to a meal. This is far more than just a meal; we should express our gratitude in person! May I ask if Zhang Liulang could introduce us to this esteemed prince?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai smiled and said, "Although Prince Shou already possesses a dignified demeanor, the Emperor still pities his youth and inexperience, and has not permitted him to go to the mortal realm. I dare not presume to disturb him. Please keep this matter to yourselves, and we can thank you again when we meet again next year!"

“Your Highness can thank me later, but I must thank you now for your advice! Although Your Highness is kind-hearted, you may not know how much hunger and suffering my disciples have endured. If it weren’t for Zhang Liu’s advice, Your Highness’s teachings would not have been able to reach you!”

Wang Changling approached Zhang Dai, bowed to him in gratitude, and said, "My stomach is empty, my heart is in turmoil, and my thoughts are blocked, making it even more difficult to take the exam. Zhang Liulang does not only care about his own comfort but also provides food for his students. Whether I pass the exam or not, I will always remember this kindness!"

Upon hearing Wang Changling's words, all the candidates expressed their gratitude to Zhang Dai.

Zhang Dai was merely helping Prince Shou accumulate some favors on the side, and he didn't expect everyone to be too grateful. Upon hearing this, he smiled and said, "The examination hall is not a battlefield. After this battle, we can still laugh and talk together. There's no need to waste time thanking each other. It's better to focus on preparing for the exam and have enough to eat."

Upon hearing this, everyone dispersed to their seats and began to eat. The food provided by the Censorate was indeed more refined and abundant than that provided by the Ministry of Personnel, but it was still incomparable to what Consort Hui had sent by Prince Shou.

Zhang Dai was planning to take the re-examination tonight. He had already eaten quite a bit in the Ministry of Personnel's kitchen in the afternoon, so he wasn't very hungry. To avoid feeling drowsy from overeating, he only ate a little of the exquisite food and drank two bowls of rich and refreshing dairy milk.

The other candidates, however, were not as composed as him. They were all eating heartily. Li Yi, who was sitting at another table, saw him put down his chopsticks and quickly came over to ask, "Are you full?"

As soon as Zhang Dai nodded, he picked up a plate of shrimp and took it back to his table. Wang Changling, who was next to him, quickly took a plate of fish stuffed with goat's milk. The others followed suit, and the dozen or so dishes were quickly devoured by everyone.

The candidates were already starving and preoccupied with their own thoughts, so they didn't eat for long. Once they had filled their stomachs and put away their utensils, they couldn't help but start talking about the upcoming re-examination.

"This provincial examination has encountered setbacks before it was even finished. Do you all think that after tonight's re-examination, the selection committee will still be able to select officials fairly? Will they dismiss someone because of this incident and cancel this session?"

Someone asked, which was also the question on everyone's mind. Another person said in a deep voice, "It shouldn't be that serious, right? The leak of the essays is the fault of the selection officials. What does it have to do with us scholars? We have already been implicated by taking the exam again. If Cui Sanqi really wants to cancel this event, why bother with all this trouble?"

"That's not necessarily true. Do you all remember the incident at the Imperial Academy where everyone questioned Master Miao the other day? The fact that Master Miao replaced Master Yan as the head of the examination was probably a scheme by Cui Sanqi, but it was ruined by us scholars. We thought that although Cui Sanqi had a high position, he was not the chief examiner after all. Now that he is supervising the re-examination, he might give us a break?"

Someone else said this with great concern, which only made everyone more worried.

At this moment, Du Mengyin, the former head examiner of the Jingzhao Prefecture, suddenly pointed at Li Yi and angrily said, "If it weren't for your reckless and troublesome behavior, how could this have happened? I, Li, studied Yan Tingzhi's writing style, which is why I was able to rank high on the list. Now that things have failed, I've dragged others down with me!" Hearing this, the others didn't say anything, but their eyes towards Li Yi held a hint of resentment. They were all aware of the examiner Yan Tingzhi's appreciation for Li Yi, even to the point that he had ranked Li Yi first in the miscellaneous essay examination.

In their view, Li Yi was naturally the biggest beneficiary of the recent disturbance, and now that a group of people had fallen into Cui Mian's hands, they were naturally also suffering because of Li Yi.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi was furious. He stepped on the desk in front of Du Mengyin, pointed at him, and shouted angrily, "Even if I colluded with others to question the master, what would you do? If you had dared to report me back then, even though we are on different paths, I would still respect you as a man of integrity!"
Who could have predicted what would happen today? This scoundrel uses the past to frame me, but does that guarantee your safety? I still have no regrets about what I did. Now you can tell Cui Sanqi about this, and you'll see why you knew but didn't tell him!"

"I, I didn't..."

Seeing Li Yi's outburst, Du Mengyin was momentarily speechless with shock. He then looked at the people around him and said, "I only feel sorry for all of you who are about to waste a year of your studies and future prospects. If... if..."

"It's too late for regrets now. Du's son, there's no need to dwell on the past. Cui Sanqi hasn't punished anyone for this, and still allows us to make a name for ourselves based on our talents. If we're filled with anxiety and fail the exam, then we've truly wasted our learning!"

Zhang Dai knew that things had developed to this point and that it was not solely due to the incident at the Imperial Academy. So he spoke up again, saying, "You should all know that there is a right path in the world. At the beginning of last year, I was also caught up in this situation, but I was not afraid of authority and spoke out honestly. No one could subdue me!"

What we encounter today will not be as terrible as last year, so why are you all feeling sorry for yourselves and so anxious? Will all the knowledge and skills you've painstakingly accumulated in your art be wiped out by this one setback? As long as you do your best in your duties, if you are truly defeated by those in power, it's not just our tragedy, but the tragedy of the world!

"Zhang Liulang's words are truly inspiring; they resonate with the sentiments of us all! But if we hold fast to our resolve and do not falter, what is there to fear in the face of criticism!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Changling and the others clapped and praised him.

Li Yi gave Zhang Dai a grateful look. If Du Mengyin were allowed to complain like that, even if he could not be punished by law, he would still be labeled as unruly and disrespectful to his elders, and would face discrimination and difficulties in his future life, whether as a person or as an official.

Just then, Cui Mian walked back, indicating that half an hour had passed. Besides Cui Mian, there were Song Yao and two others, one of whom was Yao Yi, who had previously pleaded for his nephew's life but had been refused, and the other whom he did not recognize.

It seems this is the lineup of examiners for tonight's re-examination. Upon seeing this scene, Zhang Dai thought to himself, "Good heavens, they're afraid I won't get a thrill!" He had encountered Yao Hong's harassment in Henan Prefecture during the prefectural affairs examination, and now he had run into his uncle during the provincial examination. This was truly a case of "beating the young and then the old!"

As Yao Yi entered the hall, his gaze fell upon Zhang Dai.

While he was not as narrow-minded as his nephew Yao Hong, he had recently swallowed his pride to go and beg for forgiveness, only to be rebuffed and questioned by Zhang Dai. Naturally, he was not in a very good mood.

Therefore, he took the initiative to ask Li Yuanhong to let him supervise the exam today, naturally wanting to see Zhang Dai's embarrassed and helpless state under his authority.

"Two essays for the examination are due tonight. From dusk till dawn, you must write them down before the morning court session, regardless of whether they are finished or not!"

After returning to the hall, Cui Mian, as the chief examiner, announced the procedures for the re-examination: "You have taken three previous examinations, but the essay section is invalid. Tonight's examination will be the standard. You will leave after the examination tomorrow, and the results will be announced at Tianjin Bridge in three days! If there are no questions, the examination questions will be distributed."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions tightened. They were unsure of the exact time of night, and although they had eaten, they were not as energetic as they had been during the day. Answering two essay questions in the middle of the night was undoubtedly a very difficult task.

After the procedures were announced, Cui Mian went to the main seat in the hall and sat down, while two officials from the Secretariat and the Chancellery were responsible for distributing the examination questions.

Yao Yi walked to Zhang Dai's desk with the exam paper in his hand. As he placed the exam paper on Zhang Dai's desk, he looked at him with a teasing smile and said, "Today, I am fortunate to be here as the supervisor. Can Zhang Dai play the zither for Xiangling?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai felt a chill run down his spine; the feeling of being targeted head-on was extremely unpleasant.

Although Yao Yi's words were just a joke, the meaning he conveyed was quite clear: if he couldn't produce a masterpiece like the one he did in the last prefectural examination, judging from the personnel lineup today, he probably wouldn't get a chance to stand out.

(End of this chapter)