Top Scholar

Chapter 341 A Sunny Day on July 7th

The seventh day of the seventh lunar month is Qixi Festival, which is not only the day when the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl meet on the Magpie Bridge, but also the birthday of the God of Literature.

Therefore, on this night, women pray to the Weaver Girl for skill in needlework, while scholars pray to Kui Xing, the God of Literature. As the saying goes:
"We pray to the Seventh Sister in front of the Five-Colored Pavilion, and worship Wenchang in the Three Families Village."

The bridge is filled with magpies and stars, each busy with their own affairs, both in heaven and on earth.

Kui Xingye is the Kui star in the Twenty-Eight Mansions, and the first star of the Big Dipper.

Legend has it that although Kui Xing was a learned man in his lifetime, he failed every exam, just like the talented man before him. Finally, unable to bear the setbacks, he attempted suicide by drowning. Unexpectedly, he was rescued by a turtle and ascended to heaven to become Kui Xing, in charge of the examination fortunes of all scholars. Therefore, every year on his birthday, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, scholars worship Kui Xing.

Moreover, the provincial examination was in a month, and families with scholars taking the exam would naturally not dare to be careless in their worship of Kui Xing.

Moreover, with four members of the Su family taking the exam, a grand ceremony is definitely in order.

Similar to the worship of the Weaver Girl, the ceremony of worshipping Kui Xing is also held under the moonlight.

During the day, the eldest grandson of the Su family, who was in charge of superstition... uh, ancestral worship, invited back the 'Lord Kui Xing' from the Wenchang Temple... a paper figure about two feet tall and five or six inches wide.

He had a blue face and round eyes, wore a brocade robe and black boots, stroked his flowing red beard with his left hand, and held a vermilion pen in his right hand. Anyone who didn't know him would mistake him for a judge.

Su Lu had just uttered an opinion when his elder brother glared at him and stopped him. "Stop talking nonsense! If you anger the God of Literature, you'll suffer bad luck in the imperial examinations!"

As Su Man spoke, he respectfully placed the statue of Kui Xing on the table, muttering softly, "The child is ignorant, please forgive him, Lord Kui Xing..."

Su Tai then asked in a low voice, "Brother, won't our ancestors be unhappy if we worship Lord Kui Xing?"

"No, this is our ancestor's superior." Su Man shook her head to reassure him.

"Oh, then burn more paper money later and ask Lord Kui Xing to give our ancestor a boost." Su Tai was truly a clever little devil.

“You’re…” Su Man was about to say, ‘Isn’t this blatant bribery?’ But then she thought, burning paper money is itself a form of bribery. It’s just that other people’s ancestors didn’t work under the God of Literature, so she changed her words and said, “Double the offerings!”

So a cooked sheep's head and a cooked pig's head were placed on the offering table. The sheep's head was that of a ram, with a beard and horns, and the two horns were tied with red paper. The pig's head was not so particular, but its ears were also tied with red paper.

Many other offerings, including tea and wine, were placed in front of the statue of Kui Xing.

As night fell and the stars and moon rose, Su Man lit a pair of tallow candles, set off firecrackers and burned incense, and led Su Tai, Su Lu, and Su Dan to kneel and worship the God of Literature.

Although Su Tai couldn't help but wonder if the God of Literature could bless him, he didn't dare to ask in such a solemn occasion. Anyway, the military examination also included a civil service exam, so there was no harm in praying along.

After the prayers, the four of them sat around the incense table and played a game called "seeking fame and fortune" to bring good luck.

The four people sat around the incense table and took three kinds of round dried fruits—lotus seeds, longan, and walnuts—as tokens, corresponding to the joy of becoming the top scholar in the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination, and the imperial examination. They then put the three dried fruits together into a covered copper plate.

During the game, each person takes turns holding a plate and shaking it, letting the dried fruit roll around in the plate. Once the rolling stops, they open the lid to check the omen—whichever dried fruit stops in front of them indicates that they will achieve the corresponding academic success; if all three fruits are in place, it is the jackpot of "winning the top three honors in a row".

If all the dried fruit rolls off course, it's considered a failure in this imperial examination, and one must try again, a process called "re-examination." Before the re-examination, the failed candidate must offer a toast to those who have already achieved success before they can try again.

The game began with Su Man starting. He picked up the copper plate with both hands, shook it vigorously so that the dried fruit bounced around in the plate, and then slowly put it back on the table.

After the noise subsided, he clasped his hands together in prayer before solemnly lifting the lid of the statue of Kui Xing.

A lotus seed landed steadily in front of him—an auspicious sign of passing the imperial examination with top honors.

"Excellent! Brother is definitely going to pass the imperial examination this time!" Everyone cheered immediately!
Next was Su Tai, who picked up the bronze plate and shook it, leaving afterimages...

"Second brother, slow down, what if you break it?" Su Lu hurriedly advised him.

"Hey hey..." Su Tai smiled sheepishly and quickly stopped.

When the noise subsided, the copper plate was opened, and a lotus seed and a longan rolled out in front of him, a double auspicious sign of becoming the top scholar in both the provincial and metropolitan examinations, which naturally drew cheers again.

"Xia-ge'er is going to pass both the imperial examinations this time!"

When it was Su Lu's turn, he picked up the bronze plate and shook it for a while before putting it back on the table, hoping for good luck.

Once the noise in the dish stopped, Su Lu steadily lifted the lid.

The moment the lid was opened, the three of them exclaimed in unison—the lotus seeds, longan, and walnuts had all come to rest steadily in front of Su Lu, a truly one-in-a-million "Triple Success" prize!
"Qiu-ge'er is amazing! Not only is he the best at studying and taking exams, but he also has incredible luck!" Everyone couldn't help but exclaim, "It seems he'll pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi in one go."

"Thank you all for your kind words." Su Lu smiled and cupped his hands in greeting. He dared not be modest at this time, lest the God of Literature take it seriously.

Finally, it was Su Dan's turn to shake the plate. Of the four candidates, he was the only one who was unlucky; when he opened the lid, all the dried fruit had rolled off course.

He had to follow the rules and toast Su Man, Su Tai, and Su Lu with a cup of wine each in order to gain the qualification to retake the exam.

They shook the cup again, but still no luck. After drinking several cups, almost bringing Su Dan to tears, her luck finally turned, and a lotus seed landed steadily in front of her, bringing her the prize of becoming the top scholar. "Alright, alright, congratulations to everyone on achieving success!" Everyone raised their cups in unison, thanking the God of Literature for his blessings!

When the game ended, everyone set off three firecrackers, burned a lot of paper money, and finally burned the Kui Xing statue on the table as well.

As they watched the streaks of sparks rise into the sky and merge with the stars, the crowd silently prayed, hoping that this good fortune they had received would translate into real success and bless them with a smooth journey to Chengdu for the imperial examinations…

~~
On the west side of the same courtyard, another incense table was set up. Four girls were also praying to the Weaver Girl for skill in needlework.

They laid a plain brocade cloth on the altar and offered fresh flowers and fruits such as pomegranates, peaches, lotus pods, and osmanthus, as well as the clever fruits made by the girls themselves, and a bowl of clear water for reflecting the moon.

A sewing basket was also set out, containing five-colored silk threads, embroidery needles, and plain-colored silk. Finally, two sticks of incense were lit, and they waited quietly for the twin stars to rise.

When the stars Altair and Vega appear on opposite sides of the Milky Way, the girls kneel together on prayer cushions in devout worship.

After burning incense and praying, they sat around the table, each holding a five-colored thread, and threaded a needle under the moonlight. They were threading a seven-hole needle, and whoever threaded it the fastest and smoothest would be "begged for skill" and receive the Weaver Girl's skillful hands and craftsmanship.

Because Huang E's advantage in this competition was too obvious, in order to increase suspense, She Yunlu blindfolded her with a handkerchief and made her thread the needle by feel.

Huang E was the first to get dressed, and after removing the blindfold, she laughed and said, "I'm number one!"

Zhu Yin, who was only halfway dressed with her eyes open, said dejectedly, "Both of you are so competitive. If you have a son in the future, just name him 'Su the Number One'."

Just as Xiaotian was about to thread the thread through the seventh hole, upon hearing this, she slightly trembled her finger, and the thread went astray...

It wasn't until Athena Chu had threaded all seven holes that she finally managed to thread the last one with great difficulty.

It wasn't that she didn't want to wait for her second sister-in-law, but rather that She Yunlu was simply incapable of doing such delicate work; by now, she hadn't even managed to pierce a single needle hole.

Furious, she threw the needle and thread into the winnowing basket and muttered, "Fine, fine, let's have a contest of eating Qiaoguo (a type of pastry) instead."

“There’s no need to compete, the three of us can’t beat you alone,” Athena Chu laughed. “Let’s test our skills with a needle throwing game.”

The water in that bowl was prepared in the morning, left to dry in the sun until noon, and then placed in a shady spot to stand, where a thin film formed on the surface.

The girls each took a sewing needle and gently placed it on the water's surface, letting it float and observing its shadow at the bottom. If the shadow resembled a beautiful shape like a flower, bird, or butterfly, it was an auspicious sign. If it was a straight line, it meant they hadn't succeeded in their prayers for skill and needed to burn more incense to ask the Weaver Girl for protection.

Finally, the girls silently made their wishes to Vega once again, this time all for the men in their families to pass the imperial examinations.

Then the men and women sat together at a table, shared the pastries, and said their goodbyes.

The girls also tied five-colored silk threads used for threading needles to their fiancés' wrists, wishing them skillful hands as well.

Su Dan felt a little awkward. Every time this happened, he felt superfluous and thought to himself that he needed to find a wife as soon as he got back...

Fortunately, Xiaotian is a kind and good sister. She presented him with the colorful silk thread, saying, "Brother Dan, if you don't mind, this is the thread of sisterly affection."

"I don't mind at all." Su Dan quickly shook her head, almost moved to tears.

~~
The next morning, the four Su brothers dressed neatly, ate a farewell feast, bid farewell to their parents, and set off for the imperial examination with their bags on their backs.

Behind them were their respective pageboys carrying book boxes, and a carriage fully loaded with their belongings...

Huang E helped the proprietress, Xiao Tiantian helped Su Youcai, and the whole family saw them off to the street corner.

"Father, Mother, you should go back and lie down," Su Tai said hurriedly.

"Alas, your father should have gone to take the exam with you, but now I can only stay at home and burn incense and pray for you," Su Youcai said with mixed feelings.

"Don't worry, Second Uncle, our ancestors will protect us!" Su Man patted the bag on his back.

"Okay." Su Youcai nodded, his eyes red, and waved his hand, saying, "Go, have a safe journey."

Neighbors also spontaneously came out to see them off, loading boiled eggs and sausages onto the cart. Although the Su family had only recently moved in, they still offered their best wishes.

Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, the four mounted their horses and embarked on their journey, seeing off their relatives and neighbors.

Firecrackers echoed from all directions in Luzhou City. Zhu Zigong, Zhu Zihe, Baiyunshan Lei Jun, Lei Shengyuan, Deng Dengying, and others left their homes amidst cheers and farewells from their families and neighbors.

All the classmates gathered at Aizu Gate. Once everyone was present, Su Lu waved his hand and shouted, "Let's go!"

"Alright!" The classmates responded in unison, and followed Su Lu out of Luzhou City, heading north along the Baolian Street post road towards Chengdu!

P.S. I'll post two chapters first, the next one will be a little later...

(End of this chapter)