Top Scholar

Chapter 284 Hairpin Flower Grant Robe
The next morning, the fifty newly appointed scholars from Luzhou gathered at the entrance of the academy.

Everyone's face was beaming with joy, and regardless of whether they knew each other or not, they clasped their hands in greeting and said:
"congratulations."

"Happy together."

Besides congratulating each other, everyone also wanted to see who among their acquaintances had won and who hadn't...

Su Lu was no exception. Seeing that most of his adopted sons were still alive, he was very gratified, but also asked curiously, "Why didn't I see Li Zongsheng?"

"I didn't win," Deng Dengying said happily.

"Really? Aren't the requirements for music and dance majors more lenient?" Su Lu said, somewhat nervously, "With his level, he shouldn't be unable to pass this exam, right?"

“He’s really messed up this time,” Bai Yunshan laughed. “He was dissatisfied when he found out he failed the exam yesterday, so he went to the Grandmaster that afternoon and asked to see his paper.”

Everyone shares the same sentiment when it comes to disliking Lee Tsung-sheng.

"And the result?" Su Lu and Deng Dengying asked in unison.

"It was his right, and the Grandmaster naturally agreed. However, he discovered that his paper originally had three circles, but the Grandmaster judged it as plagiarism and dismissed him directly."

"He even tried to argue with the Grandmaster, saying he hadn't plagiarized. But the Grandmaster immediately pointed out that his article was from three different Cheng Wen texts, which he had pieced together into one." Lei Jun also laughed:

"He even argued that if it wasn't completely copied, it wasn't plagiarism. The Grandmaster kicked him out and banned him from taking the academy exams for ten years."

"Good heavens..." The scholars gasped upon hearing this, but it was in line with the style of a grandmaster.

At this moment, the gates of the academy slowly opened, and the head of the water academy came out and said loudly, "Everyone, line up according to your ranking and follow me to pay homage to the Grand Master."

The group quickly straightened their clothes, lined up neatly, and followed the Water Academy Master into the academy to pay their respects to the Grand Master at the Minglun Hall.

Xiao Tixue smiled kindly, a stark contrast to his demeanor during the academy examination. He instructed the group of new talents to dispense with formalities, saying, "In theory, we should conduct another interview today, but as I said during the academy's re-examination, you have all gone through layers of selection, with some having taken ten exams, which is enough to prove your excellence. Therefore, this interview will be waived; let's just get to know each other."

"Thank you for your kindness, Grandmaster," the new scholars said with delight, bowing.

“This is what you deserve. Although our academy is strict in its academic discipline, it is not rigid and dogmatic.” As Xiao Tixue spoke, he stood up, and his subordinate presented him with a tray full of red flowers, including a gold flower.

Xiao Tixue smiled at the assembled scholars and said, "Starting with those of you who achieved the top three honors, please come forward one by one to give your introductions, and then I will bestow flowers upon you and bestow robes upon you."

Su Lu then stepped forward according to etiquette, bowed to the Grandmaster, and rose to proclaim in a loud voice:
"Reporting to the Grand Master, I am Su Lu, courtesy name Hongzhi, sixteen years old. I study the Book of Rites and am registered in the Yongning Guard. I am a student of Hejiang County. I have studied at Taiping Academy and Heshan Academy. My father, Youcai, entered the academy in the same year. My grandfather, Dacheng, once served as a centurion in the Yongning Guard."

"Hmm." Xiao Tixue naturally knew Su Lu's family background very well. Looking at this handsome scholar with "eyebrows like ink-stained spring mountains and eyes like inkstone reflecting autumn water", he felt a mix of emotions, but in the end, he still smiled.

“Hongzhi, step forward, let your teacher adorn your hair with a flower.” Xiao Tixue said, picking up the golden flower.

"Yes." Su Lu stepped forward as instructed and bowed slightly.

Standing on the steps, Xiao Tixue carefully pinned the golden flower, symbolizing 'passing the imperial examination,' to the left side of Su Luru's turban, and said softly, "Actually, with your talent, you could have been ranked first after the first round, but I insisted that you finish the entire exam. Will you think I'm being too strict with you?"

"No," Su Lu said softly. "Only strict teachers can produce outstanding students."

"Hehe, not bad." Xiao Tixue's smile became even more natural. "You passed the county and prefectural examinations too easily, which inevitably led to some rumors. Although the corrupt are corrupt and the innocent are innocent, it is hard to guarantee that rumors will spread like wildfire. You have a bright future, and I do not want your reputation to be damaged at the very beginning... After this, no one will question your worth."

"Yes." Su Lu nodded gratefully and said, "Grandmaster, I am deeply grateful for your painstaking efforts."

"Good, good, I'm glad you understand." Xiao Tixue smiled with satisfaction: "Keep up the good work, and I hope that when we meet again next year, you will have made even greater progress."

"I will remember the Grandmaster's teachings!" Su Lu replied again.

The Grandmaster then took the complete set of scholar's attire and handed it to Su Lu with both hands, saying, "Go next door and change into it, then come with me to pay homage to the Supreme Sage Confucius."

"Yes." Su Lu took the set of crown and robes with both hands, feeling that they were extremely heavy. Since he came into this world, he had studied diligently day after day, overcoming one challenge after another. It took him three whole years to finally obtain this set of clothes!

Holding the official robes in both hands, Su Lu went to the next room and placed the scholar's robes on the long table.

Then, they took off their original white shirts and put on the blue silk and blue cloth-edged robes that were exclusively for students.

Despite its ordinary style, this robe is made of silk, and even the wealthiest commoners cannot afford to wear it.

Su Lu then removed his scholar's cap and put on the square-shaped cap reserved for students, tying it with a black sash and hanging black ribbons. These were all symbols of a scholar's status.

Finally, he took off his cloth shoes and put on black high-top boots with white thick soles, which were now official boots...

Wearing this outfit, from this day forward, he will no longer be a commoner, but a member of the gentry.

At this moment, Bai Yunshan, Su Man, Xiao Tingjie and others also came in with their official hats and ribbons to change into. Before long, they all transformed into the elegant scholars they had always dreamed of.

There were no mirrors here, so everyone could only straighten their clothes and look at each other as if they were looking at themselves, and couldn't help but laugh foolishly.

"Brother, am I as handsome as you?" Su Lu asked Su Man.

“Nonsense, we’re brothers, you’re just like me,” Su Man said. “Then I’m really handsome,” Su Lu said, grinning from ear to ear. “I’ve always envied Scholar Cheng since I was little. He always wears this outfit and rides in a sedan chair, it’s just amazing…”

“Who isn’t?” Chun Ge’er laughed. “I wish I could strip him off and wear his clothes myself.”

"We don't need to envy him anymore, we're scholars now!" Su Lu said happily. "How about we get a sedan chair too, so we won't have to walk anymore?"

"Don't be so pretentious," Chun-ge rolled her eyes at him. "We have legs of our own, why do we need someone to carry us?"

“Brother Yingzhi, you are mistaken. According to the rules, we scholars should travel by sedan chair,” Xu Chengye said with a smile.

"Then we'll have to hire two sedan chair carriers?" Su Man said speechlessly, "Even if we can get a stipend, how can we afford to support them with just six dou of rice per month and four liang of silver per year?"

"Then we'll keep one less child, and let him carry you when you go out," Bai Yunshan said jokingly.

"Hahaha." Everyone chuckled softly. Xiao Tingjie said, "Actually, most scholars don't live a very comfortable life and it's indeed difficult for them to hire porters for a long time. So they can walk when they go out and don't have to worry about being ridiculed."

He paused for a moment and then reminded him, "However, when visiting teachers or superiors, it is necessary to hire a sedan chair for transportation. Otherwise, it would be difficult to meet the standards of etiquette and would appear quite inappropriate."

"Thank you for your guidance, my brother." Su Man hurriedly expressed his gratitude. His family really didn't know anything about this kind of thing, and they would have made a fool of themselves if no one had given them any pointers.

Su Lu then realized that when Cheng Xiucai went to the Baihu Office to ride in a sedan chair, it wasn't just for show; it was also to comply with etiquette requirements.

Yes, once you become a scholar, it becomes much easier to understand them.

"We can save money on sedan chair bearers, but we still need to keep a page," Xu Chengye reminded him.

"Why do we need pageboys?" Su Man asked, puzzled.

"That way, on rainy days or under the scorching sun, someone will hold an umbrella for us," Xu Chengye said matter-of-factly, without any hint of sarcasm.

"Can't I handle this myself?" Su Man said speechlessly.

“You can hold it yourself, but then you can’t use the scholar’s ​​special umbrella,” Baiyunshan said.
"A scholar's umbrella is like an official's sedan chair, with a gleaming tin roof. Especially on a sunny day, it shines brightly, attracting attention and letting people know from afar that a learned gentleman is approaching!"

Bai Yunshan couldn't contain his excitement and said, "I've been looking forward to this day since I was a child!"

“But wouldn’t it be undignified to hold such a respectable umbrella yourself?” Xiao Tingjie chimed in, “That’s why the page has to hold it; if you hold it yourself, people will just laugh at you.”

"No wonder people call scholars 'sour scholars,' they're so fussy about money," Su Man couldn't help but shake his head and say.

"Hehe, it's just that his status isn't high enough yet. He'll be all high and mighty once he passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar." Everyone laughed. "But no one ever calls a scholar a 'sour scholar,' right?"

“That’s true,” Su Man nodded.

At this moment, Su Youcai, the last one, also came in. Su Man and Su Lu quickly went over to help him change into the scholar's robes.

"Who is this person? What a grand entrance! Sanyuan and Jingkui are helping him change his clothes," a fellow student asked in a low voice.

"Didn't you hear Su Sanyuan say that's his father?" someone whispered.

"Oh." The man suddenly realized, then asked in a low voice, "So how should we address each other? Should we each use our own names?"

"Come on! Call him Uncle if you should call him Uncle, and Brother if you should call him Brother!" The adopted sons glared angrily. How dare they take advantage of their adoptive father? That would be taking advantage of them even more.

After Su Youcai dressed himself properly and straightened his wide robe sleeves, he immediately exuded the air of a scholar.

Indeed, this outfit can only be truly appreciated by someone who has reached a certain age.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" Su Youcai asked curiously.

"Uncle, we think you look the best in that outfit," everyone said in unison.

"Haha, my dear nephews, let's hurry up and go out, don't keep the Grandmaster waiting." Su Youcai was very happy, it would be awkward if they called him "brother".

The group then returned to the Minglun Hall and, dressed in their robes, bowed to the Grand Master once more.

"The student bows in gratitude to the Grandmaster for his guidance."

"Haha, good. You look so different in the robe!" Xiao Tixue waved his hand happily and said, "All students, please follow me to pay homage to our late master!"

"Yes, sir!" the students responded in unison, following Xiao Ti Xue out of the Minglun Hall and heading to the Confucian Temple in the east to pay homage to the Supreme Sage and Teacher.

They entered through the Lingxing Gate, crossed the Pan Pool, and entered the Dacheng Hall. They lined up neatly in front of the hall and bowed four times to the shrine of Confucius, while the school officials read out the prayer.

This is the apprenticeship ceremony before entering the academy. After paying homage to the most revered teacher, they officially become scholars.

P.S. Okay, the questions for this volume have been collected, and the mission is over. But don't worry, the best is yet to come! Please vote with your monthly tickets!!
(End of this chapter)