Top Scholar

Chapter 288 Your Senior Uncle's Help
"Why?" Su Lu asked in a deep voice.

"Hmm..." Zhu Jie groaned, and walked for a while with his hands behind his back before finally making up his mind to say, "I heard it's because Huang Bingxian promised a family."

For someone of his status to speak to him like this, he truly treats Su Lu like his own child...

"Huh?!" Su Lu immediately bristled and asked urgently, "But Sister Huang hasn't had her coming-of-age ceremony yet!"

A hairpin (笄) is a type of hair ornament. Since the Zhou Dynasty, girls were considered of marriageable age at the age of fifteen. If they were already betrothed, they would undergo a hairpin ceremony. Their braids would be coiled on top of their heads and secured with hairpins, thus announcing their adulthood and signifying that they had found their place in the family.

If a woman remains unmarried, she must undergo a coming-of-age ceremony at the age of twenty. However, this would be rather awkward... which explains the eagerness of Zhu Jie and his wife.

Huang Bingxian was also a scholar of the Book of Rites, so he would naturally strictly adhere to this etiquette. If he were to truly betroth Huang E, he would certainly perform the coming-of-age ceremony for her.

Xiao Tiantian continued to study with Huang E every other day, so although the two hadn't seen each other for a long time, they had kept in touch through letters. Su Lu hadn't heard that the old scoundrel Huang was going to give her a hairpin ceremony...

"So it's only a verbal agreement, and the marriage hasn't been formally arranged yet," Zhu Jie said softly. "But Miss Huang is of marriageable age, and we might get engaged anytime soon."

"Hiss... Hah..." Su Lu felt a sharp pain in his teeth.

"Sigh, I didn't mention it before because I was afraid it would affect your preliminary examination. But now that you've passed the county-level examination, your uncle has to remind you." Zhu Jie sighed.

"If you still want to take a chance, you should ask someone to act as a matchmaker as soon as possible."

According to etiquette, if one wishes to marry a girl from a certain family, a matchmaker must first visit the girl's family to privately convey the intentions of both parties. Only after the girl's family agrees to the marriage can the formal betrothal ceremony begin.

"Yes, I've had the same idea for a long time, just waiting to pass the imperial examination!" Su Lu nodded and said in a deep voice, "Now it seems we must find someone to act as a matchmaker as soon as possible!"

“I’m afraid most matchmakers wouldn’t even get a chance to meet Huang Bingxian,” Zhu Jie reminded him. “Huang Bingxian is a gentleman who values ​​his word. Even without a written engagement, it’s hard to get him to change his mind. So the matchmaker needs to be influential enough to at least give him a chance to speak!”

"Yes." Su Lu nodded and immediately began to think about who to ask to act as matchmaker.

The two walked silently to the gate of the Zhu family's house, with Zhu Jie hesitating several times before speaking.

Logically, as his senior apprentice, he should have taken the initiative to help Su Lu arrange a marriage. However, this matter was revealed to him by Han Si, Commander Han's brother, during a gossip session…

Commander Han's mother, surnamed Huang, was not only Yang Tinghe's elder sister-in-law and Yang Shen's aunt, but also Huang Bingxian's cousin, making her Huang E's aunt.

With these two connections, she enthusiastically tried to matchmake her talented nephew and niece. In addition, Yang Tinghe and Huang Ke were old friends, so the matter naturally came to fruition.

However, Yang Tinghe and his son had always been in Beijing, and the child was still young, so they hadn't yet formally engaged. But in this relationship of strengthening ties through marriage, a verbal agreement was more reliable than a formal engagement…

In Zhu Jie's view, Su Lu's only hope was whether Huang E could withstand the pressure and refuse the marriage proposal.

However, this also requires Su Lu to provide strong support from the outside, relieving Huang E's pressure and giving her the courage to rebel...

Therefore, Su Lu needs a very capable matchmaker to have a deterrent effect. At this point, it is his duty to help him save face, but doing so will definitely offend the Han family.

Huang Bingxian would also be very unhappy...

Even Grand Secretary Yang, who was far away in the capital... well, the capital is too far from Luzhou, so Grand Secretary Yang wouldn't be so fussy as to investigate who was the matchmaker.

But this was enough to give him, the head of the Zhu family, a headache.

"Thank you for telling me such an important thing, Uncle Master. I'm going back now." Su Lu then clasped his hands in farewell.

"Wait a minute." Zhu Jie finally made up his mind and said, "Hongzhi, don't be discouraged. Your master will help you find a spouse!"

"That won't do." Su Lu naturally understood Zhu Jie's predicament and quickly declined, saying, "It's inconvenient for my senior uncle, who knows the situation, to step forward. I'll ask someone else to handle it..."

“No, we’re family. The more difficult the situation, the more your senior uncle should step up for you!” Zhu Jie shook his head resolutely and said, “If I were afraid of offending people, I wouldn’t be talking to you.”

“Master Uncle still has to take care of the Zhu family’s connections in Luzhou City,” Su Lu said, deeply moved and understanding. “It’s the same if I ask someone else for help.”

"Alright, stop talking. If I back down this time, how will I ever have the face to visit your family again?" Zhu Jie laughed. "If you feel bad about it, then help me match Chun-ge with your sister Zhu Yin."

“That works.” Su Lu readily agreed, then pondered for a moment and said, “But we can’t let my senior uncle take the lead alone. I should invite a few more people to join you. How about we form the number one matchmaker team in Sichuan?!”

"Great idea! The law doesn't punish everyone!" Zhu Jie clapped his hands and laughed. "If everyone comes to propose marriage, it won't be my fault... Even if the Han family comes to me, I'll have something to say. I can't just stand by and do nothing while outsiders are all acting as matchmakers, can I?"

'The Han family...' Su Lu silently noted down this information.

~~
When Su Lu returned home, he told his father and brothers what his master had said, and Su Youcai immediately became furious.

"No one can take my daughter-in-law away, not even her father!" Brother Youcai, now dressed in a traditional Chinese robe, spoke with unwavering resolve, slamming his hand on the table as he declared:
"Son, tell me what we should do? I'll listen to you!"

"That's right, son!" The proprietress slammed her hand on the table, encouraging Su Lu, "We've got plenty of money at home, let's fight for our pride, even if we don't fight for a steamed bun!"

"Speak!" Chun Ge'er and Xia Ge'er slammed their fists on the table. "How do we take down Huang Bingxian?!" "Brother, I'll go through fire and water for you and Sister Huang!" Xiao Tiantian exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes!" Su Lu looked at his family with emotion. No matter what, they always supported him wholeheartedly!
With them by my side, I'm sure I can defeat the dragon and rescue the imprisoned princess!

"What I discussed with my senior brother was—if we're going to do it, we'll do it big and spectacularly, making a huge fuss throughout the city! We'll leave Huang Bingxian with no other choice!" Su Lu gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the table, saying, "I've put up with him for a whole year, this time I'll make him pay back!"

~~
The next day, Su Youcai and his wife took a car full of gifts and began to thank the guests who had given them gifts.

Although Su Lu was anxious, since he was planning something big, he couldn't rush it and had to proceed step by step...

Su Lu didn't let Xiao Tiantian pass the message on to Huang E. Firstly, he didn't want Huang E to break down, and secondly, he was worried that Huang E might not be able to resist clashing with Huang Bingxian, which would be detrimental to his confrontation with the old thief.

As the ancestor of the Su family said, "Even if Mount Tai collapses before you, your expression will not change; even if a deer runs past on your left, your eyes will not blink. Only then can you control advantages and disadvantages, and be ready to face the enemy!"

There was no use in him being anxious; he couldn't get involved in this kind of thing. Seeing him pacing around at home, his older brother dragged him along to the Luzhou martial arts school to cheer on Su Tai…

After the provincial examination, the Grand Master continued to preside over the annual examination.

The annual examination was held twice every three years, open to all civil and military students in the prefecture, and the results were divided into six grades.

Those who achieve first-class merit can fill vacancies in the subsidized student system. Those who are already subsidized students can directly qualify for the provincial examination without having to participate in the following year's examination.

Second-class students can fill vacancies in the number of students admitted to Guangyuan.

The third class retains its original eligibility.

Those in the fourth category will have their food rations suspended for one year and will be punished with beatings with bamboo sticks.

The five classes were: those who received stipends were demoted to those who received additional stipends, those who received additional stipends were demoted to those who received additional stipends, and those who received additional stipends were demoted to those who received black clothes or those who received black clothes. Both were humiliating punishments.

Those in the sixth rank were expelled from the civil service examinations and banned from taking the exams for life. Military personnel were registered and recorded by the Ministry of War, which would also severely impact their career prospects.

Therefore, for both civil and military students, the annual examinations were like a death trap. It was precisely because of this immense pressure that they didn't simply waste their time in their studies…

The Grandmaster first tested the Confucian students, and then immediately began testing the martial arts students.

The subjects for martial arts students were similar to those for the martial arts examination, and were also divided into two parts: an internal written test and an external martial arts test.

Yesterday was the written exam. The written exam consisted of three parts: first, copying the Four Books; second, reciting excerpts from the Seven Military Classics; and third, writing an essay on how to defend against threats from the northwest border.

When the answer sheets were collected, Xiao, the supervisor, glanced at them briefly and almost vomited blood. Each student's dictation was riddled with errors, their policy essays were utter nonsense, and some even contained typos.

According to him, apart from a few passable papers, he wished he could get all of them down to the fifth or sixth grade.

But we can only think about it and give up, because Chengdu martial arts are in the same state, we can't just liquidate them, can we?

So Xiao, the supervisor, had no choice but to reluctantly lower his standards considerably. As long as there were no typos, he'd give it a third-class grade. And if the text was fluent and didn't give him a headache to read, he'd directly classify it as a second-class grade!

If one's words are substantial, then one is considered first-class!
In the end, out of more than two hundred students in the entire martial arts academy, only five were ranked first, including Su Tai and She Yunluo...

Today's martial arts test in the outdoor arena was finally less of an eyesore. The martial arts students seemed like completely different people, full of energy and eager to compete!
The martial arts test is divided into three parts, with archery being the first test in the morning.

Archery is divided into mounted archery and foot archery. In mounted archery, candidates need to use a six-force mounted bow, which means a bow with a draw weight of sixty jin (approximately 30 kg). They ride a horse across a track that is sixty zhang (approximately 33 meters) long, with three targets about fifty paces apart from each other.

The candidate must ride three times and shoot nine arrows; hitting the target with three arrows is considered passing. If an arrow falls off after hitting the target, it is not considered a successful shot.

The martial arts students were all quite skilled. As they rode their horses, their arrows flew like shooting stars, and most of them were able to hit the target with five or six arrows, far exceeding the passing standard!

The family members watching cheered, and the grandmaster under the reed shed also looked a little better, thankfully his martial arts skills hadn't gone to waste.

At this moment, Su Lu and the others saw She Yunluo, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, riding a chestnut horse, and majestically taking to the track.

At the examiner's command, She Yunlu spurred her horse's flanks, and the warhorse took off running.

She Yunlu sat steadily on her horse, her left hand holding a bow and her right hand reaching into her bag. The bowstring was drawn to its fullest extent, and with a whoosh, an arrow hit the first target!
Before Su Lu and the others could keep up, she won the second and third prizes in a row...

Then she turned her horse around and galloped back to the track for a second and third round of shooting. In the end, only one arrow grazed the target and flew back, while the other eight arrows hit the target!

Su Lu and the others were dumbfounded, and only one thought remained in their minds:

'My sister is so cool!'

(End of this chapter)