Top Scholar

Chapter 111 The Magistrate's Inspection
Those who came to greet Magistrate Lu included Commander Ma and Headmaster Zhu, their respective subordinates and attendants, as well as a group of prominent figures from Taiping Town.

Well, there's not much to say about this small place, it's just filler.

Commander Ma was dressed in the official robes of a fifth-rank military officer, with a majestic bear emblem on his chest, and was surrounded by a group of centurions and garrison commanders. Although Su Youjin was only a captain, he was a favorite of Commander Ma and had also come to greet him.

Zhu Liu wore a large hat and a round-necked robe, typical of a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations. He was surrounded by a group of students from the Imperial Academy and other scholars. Although none of them held official positions, their demeanor clearly surpassed that of the military man beside him.

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was a local tyrant in Taiping Town and not someone to be trifled with, they would all be ashamed to stand alongside him.

The official sedan chair slowly approached the crowd and gently landed on the ground, its movements as if in slow motion. This startled Commander Ma and Zhu Liu, who wondered what was going on.

But they couldn't ask or say anything, so they could only suppress the risk of a heart attack as they watched the sedan curtain be lifted, revealing a pink-soled black satin official boot slowly, slowly. After quite a while, the other boot finally emerged.

After quite some time, Magistrate Lu, his face covered in sweat, finally came down, supported by his attendant's shoulder, to greet the two men.

"Oh dear, what's wrong with the magistrate?" The two were startled by his appearance.

"Alas, it's a long story." Magistrate Lu had already prepared an excuse, and said with a wry smile, "My back injury flared up on the way."

"Oh dear, why get out of the sedan chair?" Commander Ma hurriedly replied, "Sir, please just sit and pay your respects."

His humble demeanor was completely different from his usual self.

"Hehe, etiquette cannot be disregarded." Magistrate Lu forced a laugh. He wasn't after the fifth-rank military officer, Commander Ma, but rather because of Zhu Shanchang's status as a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations, which forced him to get out of the sedan chair.

The Ming Dynasty officialdom had an extreme worship of academic qualifications. Even if the other party had no official position, as long as their academic qualifications were higher than his, he could not put on airs in front of them.

Magistrate Lu was a student of the Imperial Academy, and the lowest-ranking among the four categories of students, his academic qualifications were far inferior to Zhu Liu's, a genuine scholar. In formal settings, Magistrate Lu naturally held the higher position. However, if Magistrate Lu dared to put on airs in front of Zhu Liu in private, he would become a laughingstock.

Lu Zhaoye had suffered greatly from his lack of education, so even in formal occasions, he endured the sharp pain in his localized area, got out of his sedan chair to greet Zhu Liu, and did not give the other party a chance to find fault.

In fact, Zhu Liu still respected him quite a bit, otherwise he wouldn't have gone out twenty miles to greet him. But you can know a person's face but not their heart. Who knows what kind of rumors they might spread about him behind his back?

Magistrate Lu, who had been traumatized by the abuse, thought to himself in this way.

After exchanging greetings, Lu Zhaoye slowly sat back in his sedan chair and, surrounded by the crowd, headed towards Taiping Town.

~~
By the time we arrived in town, it was already noon...

Once the sedan chair reached the cobblestone street, it finally stopped swaying violently, gently pounding against Lu Zhaoye's vulnerable anus.

Lu Zhaoye had been sitting with his back slumped the whole way, but now he dared to sit up straight a little, his stiff back finally relaxed, and the cold sweat on his forehead dried up.

He then recovered and had the leisure to open the thin cotton paper window on the side of the sedan chair to admire the scenery of the town.

I didn't expect Taiping Town to be so big and so prosperous. It truly deserves its reputation as a vital water and land port and a crucial transportation hub.

The shops lining the street were one after another, with all sorts of signs and banners stretching out in a continuous line, which gave Magistrate Lu a feeling of returning to the human world.

Then he noticed that the roadside was covered with colorful flags. At first, he thought it was a special arrangement by Commander Ma to welcome him, but upon closer inspection, he realized that wasn't the case.

Because the flags had slogans like "Drink Erlang wine when you drink alcohol," "Erlang wine won't give you a headache," and "Give Erlang wine as a gift," and the repeated red flags with black lettering made his eyes dizzy.

Early in the morning, Commander Ma ordered his men to sweep the road, splash water on the streets, and disperse the idlers... mainly the roadside vendors and those foreigners who didn't know the rules.

But none of those eye-catching flags were pulled down; there was no way around it, it was their own business…

"This Erlang wine is quite prestigious," Lu Zhaoye remarked casually through the sedan curtain.

"It's just some small-town businessmen fooling around," said Commander Ma, who was accompanying them, with an awkward laugh. "But their wine is really good. We'll have them send over a few jars later to help everyone relax."

Then he added solicitously, "This humble official has prepared a small feast in the office to welcome Your Excellency and wash away the dust of your journey. I humbly request Your Excellency's presence."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Lu's liver trembled. These soldiers had such heavy tastes. Yesterday, they had drunk the wine of a centurion and developed hemorrhoids. If they drank the wine of a thousand-household officer today, they would die.

He waved his hand and politely declined, saying, "Thank you for your hospitality, Commander, but the students of the academy have been waiting for a long time. It would be improper for us to go for drinks. I appreciate your kindness, but let's go directly there."

"It's just a simple meal, it won't take long." Despite Ma Qianhu's repeated invitations, Magistrate Lu remained unmoved and insisted on going directly to the academy without eating.

"Sigh, alright then." Commander Ma could only say dejectedly, "Magistrate Lu is truly diligent in his duties and loves the people; he is a role model for us all."

Upon seeing this, the gentlemen's impression of Magistrate Lu changed drastically. Who said Lu Zhaoye was indulging in wine and women all day, neglecting his duties? How dedicated he is! His back was almost broken from the bumpy journey, but upon arrival, he didn't even eat and went straight to inspect the place!
As the saying goes, "Hearing is believing, seeing is believing," and the ancients were right!

~~
Taiping Academy.

Su Lu and his classmates have been bothered by this for the past two days, so yesterday they started a school-wide cleaning, even scrubbing the outhouses that the county magistrate would never visit.

This morning, the teachers went with the headmaster to greet the emperor, so they couldn't hold classes and could only wait in the lecture hall.

Apart from specially trained animals like Su Lu, who could still study without being affected, most of the classmates were inevitably affected and couldn't help but discuss the county magistrate, Lu.

Although it was a hundred miles away from the county seat, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast. Everyone had heard quite a few stories about Magistrate Lu.

Besides naming his son "Ding Sheng" and making pillows in the shape of coffins, which Su Lu had heard of, there were also embarrassing stories like him taking the county's tuition money to give to passing scholars in order to gain fame, only to be reported to the prefecture by local students and ordered to pay the difference out of his own pocket...

Perhaps it was because the official in question wasn't their actual superior, or perhaps they were influenced by their parents. In any case, the classmates' conversations were not very respectful towards the magistrate who was about to make an inspection tour…

Ma Zhaizhang couldn't stand it any longer and reminded everyone, "It's fine for you all to talk here, but watch your mouths when you go out. If you offend Magistrate Lu, you might never pass the county examination again!"

To prove his point, Ma Zhaizhang gave an example: "I heard that someone has been struggling for more than ten years because they offended him."

"The headmaster is right." The classmates were all intelligent and immediately realized their rashness. To disrespect the person who decided their fate was truly foolish.

Just then, the gong in the courtyard sounded, and the big wolfhound roared, "Hurry up and assemble in the front yard!"

The students quickly filed out. Not only the students from the lower quarters, but also the senior students from the middle and upper quarters did the same.

Upon arriving at the front courtyard square, the students tidied each other's clothes and lined up under the sun for half an hour before finally hearing the sound of seven gongs ringing out from outside the mountain gate!

Li Qiyu whispered boasting, "The sound of this gong is a symbol of status. The county magistrate strikes it seven times, the prefect nine times, and the governor eleven times!"

"You might as well become a night watchman; you can knock dozens of times a night..." Cheng Wanfan's words drew laughter from his classmates.

"Quiet!" the large wolfhound warned fiercely. "The county magistrate's inspection of the school is of great significance to this academy! Anyone who dares to make the slightest mistake will be expelled from the academy!"

The students were still very afraid of the big wolfhound, and they all remained silent, not daring to utter a sound.

At this moment, a grand procession led the county magistrate's sedan chair through the wide-open mountain gate into the academy...

Previously, Su Lu had only met one proper official, Commander Ma, and that was in the yamen, where he hadn't seen any pomp or ceremony.

This was the first time he had ever seen a real official procession, and he was naturally taken aback by the grand scale and the throng of people surrounding him. No wonder everyone wanted to be an official; how many people would be captivated by such a grand spectacle?
At this moment, the academy's musicians played the welcoming tune "Deer Cry".

The song goes: "The deer cry 'yoyo,' as they eat the wild apples. I have guests, so I play the zither and the sheng. I play the sheng and the reed pipe, and carry baskets of offerings. Those who are kind to me show me the way..."

The older students even performed the Yuyue dance to welcome Magistrate Lu.

This time, Magistrate Lu alighted from his sedan chair more nimbly, and his voice was more confident. He addressed the students who were bowing in welcome, saying, "Distinguished students, no need for formalities. I am here on behalf of the Imperial Court to inspect the academy. This is to demonstrate the nation's appreciation for you..."

Before he could finish his long speech, his lower mouth started hurting again. After a cold sweat broke out, he had no choice but to abandon his plan for a long lecture and ended his reprimand by saying:
"Yes, it is like that."

"..." The teachers and students were dumbfounded. How could it end after saying the first one? Was there no second or third one?

But keeping things brief was ultimately a good thing; the students applauded enthusiastically, thinking the magistrate was truly excellent. Magistrate Lu, in a twist of fate, gained a huge boost in public opinion…

After a brief address, Magistrate Lu, accompanied by Headmaster Zhu, went to the ancestral hall to pay homage to the sages Confucius and Mencius. Musicians played the "Welcoming the Gods" section of the "Confucian Temple Sacrificial Music," and dancers performed the Yi dance.

Upon seeing this, Magistrate Lu couldn't help but praise, "Indeed, although Taiping Academy is privately run and located in a remote area, just as the couplet on your mountain gate says, 'The wind from the Central Plains carries elegant rhymes, and the clouds from the remote border turn into sweet rain,' your etiquette and rules are impeccable! Only in this way can you educate the people of this region, and your merit is immeasurable."

"You flatter me, sir. We have done far too little." As expected of a scholar who had passed the imperial examinations more than ten years ago, Zhu Shanzhang was quite adept at welcoming and seeing off guests.

Seeing that Magistrate Lu was unable to walk properly, he decisively canceled all subsequent sightseeing arrangements and said softly:

"My lord, would you like to rest for a while? Have a simple meal, and then test the disciples this afternoon."

"Very well, just give me a bowl of porridge." Magistrate Lu nodded, this time not refusing.

So all the attendants went to the Thousand Household Office for a banquet, but Magistrate Lu did not accept the invitation. Instead, he rested at Daonan Hall and ate only a bowl of white rice porridge at noon.

(End of this chapter)