Top Scholar

Chapter 260 What's wrong with my grandfather?
In the Minglun Hall, forty sets of tables and chairs were neatly arranged in front of the large desk.

When Su Lu entered, he saw that Zhu Zihe had already arrived and was sitting behind the first examination table from the left in the first row. His examination number—'Tian'—was pasted on the table.

The examination numbers for the state examinations were still based on the Thousand Character Classic, and the top candidates from the four counties occupied the characters 'Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow'.

Zhu Zihe saw Su Lu, smiled at him, and gave him a thumbs up. Su Lu smiled back, gave him his index finger, and then the two stopped talking.

Su Lu glanced at his floating ticket and sat down behind the first row of exam desks marked with the character 'yellow'.

After settling down, he realized that his examination desk was directly opposite the main examination table, and the prefect could see his answer sheet with a simple glance down... What kind of divine position was this? Normal candidates would be so nervous under the gaze of the chief examiner that they wouldn't be able to perform at their normal level.

Fortunately, he had already trained himself to be a ruthless exam machine, so he could treat it as sitting on a stick after a major case...

After arranging the exam materials and draft paper neatly on the table, Su Lu took out a Kui Xing Pointing-the-Dou pen from his pencil case.

This isn't something you can buy in the market; it's made from Xiangfei bamboo personally selected by Huang E. It's seven inches long, with a perfect thickness, and feels warm and smooth to hold. The red dot at the tip isn't vermilion lacquer, but a delicate little red pearl. The brush head is made from the finest wolf hair, with three-tenths of a sheep's hair remaining at the tip, combining strength and softness for smooth ink flow—perfect for exams.

After preparing for the exam, Su Lu closed his eyes slightly, conserved his energy, and entered a state of complete absorption in the world around him.

After an unknown amount of time, a drumbeat was heard, and the master of ceremonies announced in a loud voice: "The Prefect has arrived..."

"Welcome, Prefect!" The candidates inside and outside the hall all stood up and bowed.

At this moment, Prefect Jia and his officials had already paid homage to Confucius. They then arrived at the Minglun Hall, set up an incense table, and invited the three deities to enter.

After doing all this, he addressed the candidates in a loud voice: "Listen carefully, fellow students! With the teachings of Confucius before us, Guan Yu guarding the examination from the left, Wenchang presiding over the examination from the right, and the God of Literature already seated atop the Big Dipper—today's provincial examination will determine the winners based solely on their true talents and learning! You should all abide by the rules, uphold the principles of literature, and answer with sincerity, so as not to fail the protection of the sages and the hard work of ten years!"

He paused for a moment, then called out loudly, "Return to your cells and await the questions!"

"Yes, sir!" the candidates replied in unison, returning to their seats and standing still.

Prefect Jia returned to the Minglun Hall and took his seat, saying in a deep voice, "Sit down."

"Thank you, Grandfather!" After expressing their gratitude, the candidates finally settled down.

"Propose the questions," Prefect Jia instructed, handing the prepared exam questions to the newly appointed head of the prefectural academy's water studies department.

The water studies official then copied the exam questions onto several wooden plaques covered with red paper. Each of the ceremonial officials held up a plaque and began to display the exam questions to each of the cells.

A group of clerks carrying exam papers followed behind, distributing them wherever the superior went. The process was exactly the same as the county-level exam.

The candidates in Minglun Hall were naturally the first to see the exam questions, and they hurriedly copied down the two questions on the Four Books and the beginning and ending sentences of the Classic of Filial Piety that they were to recite from memory.

~~
The students were copying down the exam questions, while Prefect Jia scrutinized the forty candidates in the inner hall. If all went as expected, these top students would be selected.

When he looked away and saw Su Lu sitting in front of him, a strong sense of regret welled up in his heart.

That old dog Lu Zhaoye actually used such a shameless method to take the top spot in Su Lu's exam; it's just a cheap trick to attract attention!

What's most infuriating is that I originally intended to do the same thing...

Ever since he paid his respects to the old scholar during the Lunar New Year, he knew that Su Lu was about to take off. At this time, he would definitely give him a push, which would be far better than adding icing on the cake in the future.

So he planned to take Su Lu's top spot in the very first round! Who knew that old dog Lu Zhaoye would only read one paper before awarding Su Lu the top spot! He went his own way, only to find himself with nowhere to go...

Now I'm in a difficult position! If I follow his example, it will just be a poor imitation, making me a laughingstock. But if I don't follow, and Su Lu takes the exams one by one, it'll feel like I'm deliberately making things difficult for him... How can I do him a favor?

In short, Lu Zhaoye only cared about currying favor with himself and left no room for his superiors; he truly deserved to die!

How could he possibly make something stand out? Prefect Jia was racking his brains…

~~
Su Lu never looked up. Of course, even if he did, he wouldn't have been able to discern the deep sorrow hidden beneath the prefect's calm exterior...

At this point, the answer sheets were distributed, and they were exactly the same as those for the county examination, consisting of twelve sheets of white cotton paper with grids.

Su Lu followed the same procedure as the first exam, first checking the exam paper step by step for any errors. After confirming that there were no errors, he put it into the exam paper bag and hung it next to the exam desk.

Then I picked up the draft paper and carefully examined the first exam questions.

The two passages from the Classic of Filial Piety need not be mentioned; let's focus on the two questions on the Four Books. Similar to the county examination, there was one short answer question and one long answer question.

The most crucial part of this exam, and indeed the entire state exam, naturally lies in that question about cutting off the passage—

Parents are only worried about their children's illnesses. Ziyou asked about filial piety. Confucius said, "Nowadays, people think that being filial means simply providing for one's parents. But even dogs and horses are provided for. Without respect, what is the difference?" Zixia asked about filial piety. Confucius said, "It is difficult to maintain a pleasant countenance."

Su Lu glanced at it and saw that this was a question with a connection between the preceding and following chapters. The "connection" meant that the text was linked, so the question was taken from three consecutive passages on filial piety in the *Analects*, Book 2, Chapter 2: The first sentence, "Parents are only worried about their children's illnesses," comes from the chapter "Meng Wubo Asks About Filial Piety." Meng Wubo asked what filial piety was. Confucius said: "Except for unavoidable illness, do not cause your parents any worry about anything concerning your children."

The middle section comes from the chapter "Ziyou Asks About Filial Piety." Ziyou asked what filial piety was. Confucius said: "It means to be respectful and dutiful to one's parents, not merely to provide for them. What difference is there between that and feeding dogs and horses?"

The final sentence, "Zixia asked about filial piety, and Confucius said, 'Maintaining a pleasant countenance is the most difficult thing,'" comes from the chapter "Zixia Asks About Filial Piety." Zixia asked what filial piety was, and Confucius said, "Maintaining a pleasant countenance is the most difficult thing."

Although the three quotes are from different disciples asking about filial piety, they progress step by step—from 'physical filial piety' to 'mental filial piety', and finally back to 'nurturing with one's appearance'.

Therefore, this question is much easier than the cross-reference question in the county examination. None of the candidates sitting here are likely to go off-topic or fail to solve the problem.

But that's precisely the difficulty: topics that are too common are too easy to turn into clichés.

When everyone knows the skills, to stand out, you have to do your best in the most demanding way possible. This requires both personal skill and a lot of dedication.

So Su Lu didn't immediately start working on the problem. Instead, he recalled a little bit of information he had received at the literary gathering... Feng Muyou told him that last month was the 80th birthday of Prefect Jia's mother, but he was far away in Luzhou and couldn't return to his hometown in Shandong, which made him very sad...

Clearly, Prefect Jia set this question because he was feeling grateful to his parents. Therefore, when writing the essay, one must take into account the prefect's feelings.

If you can write an article that touches his heart and evokes his emotional resonance, you will surely gain the favor of the prefect.

But this wasn't exactly top secret. Last month, Prefect Jia had hosted a banquet at his residence to celebrate his mother's birthday, and gentry from all over the city had come to offer their congratulations.

Therefore, quite a few people know about this, and these people will certainly share the same thoughts as him. If it's just constant sentimentality, one or two articles might be fine, but if it goes on too long, Prefect Jia will definitely get tired of reading them…

Therefore, one must avoid clichés in order to stand out from the crowd of "mama's boy" articles.

Having recorded my art for so long, I've written countless essays, but writing a completely emotional and formulaic essay is truly a first for me.

Fortunately, after more than a year of instruction from the old headmaster, he has transcended the stage of "seeing a mountain as just a mountain," and even when taking exams, he is no longer bound by the rigid formula of the eight-legged essay...

He closed his eyes slightly, the old abbot's earnest teachings echoing in his ears: 'Now I ask you to forget about exams, forget about formulaic writing, and return to the original intention of writing.'

"This initial intention is the 'soul' of words—not to appease or please anyone, but simply because of that 'must-speak-out' feeling in your heart… It's the joy of wanting to share with others, the pain of wanting to cry to someone… Once you have this 'must-speak-out' feeling, then using the rigid framework to hold it together won't be empty; it will contain your own spirit, your own passion, your own sincerity. Only then can what you write be called 'writing'…"

Under the old abbot's guidance, Su Lu shed his opportunistic mindset and forgot that it was an exam, focusing solely on his mother. The person who would forever remain in his heart, yet whom he would never see again…

When Su Lu closed her eyes, her mother's image became even clearer.

When he was a child, he fell and scraped his knee, crying loudly. His mother held him and comforted him, applying saliva to his wound and laughing, saying, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, you won't die."

When he was in elementary school, his mother, who had resigned from her respected job to allow him to study well, took him to study in the city, and worked in a factory herself, her hands covered in cuts every day, was now a source of grief.

When he was in college, his mother always complained that he didn't call and that she had almost forgotten what he looked like.

After he got married and started a family, his mother always looked through his childhood photos.

His mother, who never uttered a sound of pain in front of him after being diagnosed with a terminal illness, for fear of upsetting him...

Unbeknownst to her, Su Lu was already in tears, her tears dripping onto the manuscript paper and staining it like white plum blossoms.

Su Lu picked up her pen, dipped it in tears, and poured all her longing and guilt for her mother into her writing...

~~
Su Lu's unusual behavior had already caught the attention of Prefect Jia. He knew that Su Lu's mother had died early and thought to himself that his question had saddened the boy.

I couldn't help but sigh inwardly, it seems this child is also a filial son.

I can't help but look forward to his articles...

Before Su Lu could even finish his draft and make any revisions, Prefect Jia stood up, bent down, and snatched the article from his hand.

Su Lu looked up in surprise, and Magistrate Jia gestured for him to continue to the next question.

"No... I haven't changed it yet." Helpless, Su Lu had no choice but to compose herself and prepare for the next big question.

The old mountain chief's "writing method of having to speak out" is good, but it's too mentally taxing.

He had just calmed himself down when he heard sobbing. He wondered if there were other people in the same boat.

But the crying came from directly in front of him. Su Lu looked up in surprise and saw Prefect Jia holding his tear-stained manuscript, sobbing uncontrollably...

The officials and subordinates were also stunned, looking at each other in bewilderment. What was wrong with the old patriarch?
P.S. Thanks to the new patron 'Old Man Who Was Experienced Back in the Day' for this chapter! Please keep voting with your monthly tickets!
(End of this chapter)