Top Scholar

Chapter 427 Jieyuan's View on Jieyuan

At the foot of Jiming Mountain, in the Imperial College.

As soon as the lecture ended, the students of the Imperial Academy swarmed around Su Lu, completely surrounding him. Some asked him to explain the essentials of the teachings, some held up their scriptures and asked for annotations, and some even offered paper and pen, hoping to have a piece of his calligraphy as a memento.

Having experienced the trials along the way, Su Lu had become accustomed to this celebrity treatment. He maintained a smile throughout, answering questions and signing autographs without showing the slightest impatience. This humble and composed demeanor further impressed the students of the Imperial Academy.

In the distance, under the eaves, two unconventional middle-aged scholars stood with their hands behind their backs, observing the spectacle with indifference.

One of the younger men was handsome, with a pair of beautiful, large eyes, but his gaze was as melancholy as a deep winter pool. His hair was loosely tied at the back of his head, with a few strands of prematurely gray hair hanging down his temples. A ring of dark stubble around his chin added to his melancholy and desolate appearance.

The other, slightly older one was equally recognizable, with a round head, round face, round eyes, and two lively triangular eyebrows. His lips and cheekbones were plump, making him look like Thomas the Tank Engine. He seemed simple-minded, but his eyes were always darting around, and he was actually quite shrewd.

He tucked his hands into his sleeves, nudged the handsome but forlorn man next to him, and chuckled, "Bo Hu, aren't you going to ask for an autograph?"

"Get lost!" The handsome middle-aged man glared at him and said, "It's more like he's asking me for it."

"Hehe." The round-faced man chuckled teasingly, "So you came all the way from Suzhou just to get his autograph?"

"..." The handsome middle-aged man sighed and said, "I thought he must be in great pain after being captured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. We are both in the same boat, so I came to comfort him."

"But look at him, he doesn't look down on anyone at all." He glanced at Su Lu, who was being fawned over, and said sourly, "Everyone else is in trouble because of lawsuits, but he is revered by thousands, while I get scorned wherever I go. Zhishan, tell me, we are both top scholars, how come there is such a big difference?"

“What’s so hard to understand?” Big-faced Zhishan laughed. “He’s a hero who single-handedly stood up against the powerful eunuchs, and he’s also a highly sought-after master of classical studies. How could he not be admired? You, Tang Bohu, cheated on the imperial examination and implicated the entire class. Of course, everyone is against you.”

"How many times have I told you? I didn't cheat!" Bo Hu's face immediately turned red, and he grabbed Zhi Shan's round face and shook him violently. Luckily, Zhi Shan didn't have a neck, or he would have choked him unconscious.

"Let go! Let go!" Zhishan quickly pressed down on Bohu's hands and said in a muffled voice, "I trust you, okay?"

"Hey, isn't this Tang Jieyuan who cheated on the imperial examination?" The commotion of the two attracted the attention of the students of the Imperial Academy. Some of them recognized Tang Bohu, who had lost his composure.

"Tang Bohu, who let you in?"

"Get out! The Imperial Academy doesn't welcome you!"

"Don't defile this peaceful place, go back to your Qinhuai River!" The students of the Imperial Academy revealed their extremely unfriendly side, and even rudely chased people away.

"See, it's no use me believing you, others don't believe me..." That Zhishan was naturally Zhu Yunming, one of the Four Talented Scholars of Wuzhong. Despite his foul mouth, he was a loyal friend of Tang Bohu who never abandoned him in times of trouble.

Tang Bohu ignored him, glaring angrily at the students. "How dare you slander someone's innocence like this?!"

"How dare you, a cheater like you, claim to be innocent?" the students of the Imperial Academy sneered.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has already conducted a thorough investigation, and their conclusion has been made public—I did not cheat!" Tang Bohu argued loudly.

"If you didn't cheat, why are you forbidden from taking the imperial examination again? And why are you being punished by being demoted to a minor official?!" The students of the Imperial Academy laughed and retorted.

"A bunch of bastards who only know how to bark like dogs and kick someone when they're down!" Tang Bohu's face turned red from the rebuke, and veins bulged on his forehead as he said, "Don't you even think about it? If I really cheated, would the court still keep my degree as a Juren?"

"That's just the court trying to maintain the dignity of the imperial examinations!" The students of the Imperial Academy ignored him completely, insisting on chasing him away: "Why waste your breath talking to him? Throw him out!"

Just as Tang Bohu was under siege, the crowd suddenly parted to make way for Su Lu, who walked up to him, bowed respectfully, and asked, "May I ask if you are Tang Bohu, the top scholar from Jiangnan?"

Tang Bohu looked at Su Lu warily, then snorted and said, "That's right, it's me. What, are you here to mock me too?"

“Tang Jieyuan, you are mistaken,” Su Lu said earnestly and respectfully. “I grew up listening to stories of Tang Jieyuan and have long admired you. I absolutely do not believe that someone as proud as Tang Jieyuan would cheat in his area of ​​expertise!”

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was in an uproar.

“Su Jieyuan, you were young then and didn’t know how serious the case was. He was arrested by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and interrogated in the Imperial Prison!”

"There's no smoke without fire! Why aren't the Embroidered Uniform Guards arresting anyone else?!" a student from the Imperial Academy exclaimed shrilly.

Su Lu rolled his eyes at the Imperial Academy student, who then remembered that Su Jieyuan had also been arrested and brought to Nanjing by the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He stammered, "Su Jieyuan is different; you were honorably arrested..."

"I wasn't there at the time, but my mentor and headmaster both participated in that imperial examination. Both elders always praised Tang Jieyuan (Tang the top scholar) highly, saying he was exceptionally talented and of outstanding character, and they firmly believed he didn't cheat!" Su Lu said firmly.

"I am a scholar who seeks truth and is pragmatic, and I never speak based on conjecture or recklessness. Since I am speaking out for Tang Jieyuan, I naturally have evidence!"

"What evidence does Su Jieyuan have?" someone asked.

Su Lu's gaze swept over the crowd, and he said firmly, "The evidence is obvious—in the imperial examination that year, Cheng Minzheng was not the chief examiner, but only the deputy chief examiner! He didn't even know the exam questions before entering the examination hall, so how could he have leaked them? And how did Tang Jieyuan know?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was speechless, and their arrogance faltered.

"Of course, you could argue that the deputy examiner had the right to suggest exam questions, but the chief examiner for that subject was the current Grand Secretary Li, who was not involved in the case—which shows that the exam questions were created solely by the Grand Secretary, and the deputy examiner had no say in it. Otherwise, how could a cheating case have occurred, yet the chief examiner remained completely uninvolved?" In fact, this is also why the court later determined that the cheating was not established and punished the censor who reported it.

Of course, everyone loves to see their idol's image crumble; nobody really cares whether he actually did it or not...

So no matter how Tang Bohu tried to explain, it was useless; everyone just wanted to see him suffer.

But now that the renowned scholar Su Jieyuan had spoken up for Tang Bohu, and even used Wang Yangming and Zhu Liu as examples, he immediately silenced the gloating noises, and no one dared to criticize him to his face anymore...

Tang Bohu stood frozen on the spot, his eyes already reddening. His melancholy eyes were fixed on Su Lu, never expecting that this junior he had just met would believe in him so much, willing to stand against the crowd and vindicate him.

I came here to comfort him, but instead he ended up comforting me deeply...

Seeing that everyone remained silent, Su Lu turned to Tang Bohu, cupped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "Scholar Tang, this place is not suitable for conversation. How about we find another quiet place so that I can learn from you? I would be honored to have you grace me with your presence, Scholar Tang?"

"That is indeed my wish, but I dare not ask." Tang Bohu quickly returned the greeting with a serious expression.

"please."

"Please." The two top scholars then left together.

~~
"Wait for me, wait for me..." The two had just left the Imperial Academy when Zhu Zhishan caught up with them, panting. "Let's go for a drink, count me in."

"Where were you when I was being besieged?" Tang Bohu rolled his eyes at him.

"I need to pee urgently," Zhu Zhishan said with a grin.

"Every time it's a crucial moment, he either makes a hassle escape or a pee escape," Tang Bohu said irritably. "And you call yourselves sworn brothers?"

"Who is this?" Su Lu looked Zhu Zhishan up and down, feeling that the man looked like an Oreo.

“Su Jieyuan, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Zhu Yunming, courtesy name Xizhe, one of the Four Talented Scholars of Wuzhong!” Zhu Zhishan greeted him with a cupped hand and a smile.

"I've heard so much about you..." Su Lu returned the greeting with clasped hands, but when he saw that the other person had an extra finger, his pupils contracted, and he felt like he was seeing things.

He rubbed his eyes; they were still blurry…

"Are you seeing things? I do have six fingers." Zhu Zhishan laughed and shook his right hand, saying self-deprecatingly, "That's why I call myself Zhishan."

"Having six fingers is fine too; it gives him an extra layer of integrity compared to others." Su Lu suddenly realized that this was how Zhu Zhishan got his nickname.

"Hahaha!" Zhu Zhishan laughed heartily, "This is the first time someone has ever complimented my six fingers. Just for that, this meal is on me!"

As he spoke, he put his arm around Su Lu's shoulder and laughed, "Let Bo Hu treat us to the activities after dinner. He knows all the ladies on the Qinhuai River well, and he can even give them a discount."

"We two top scholars are going together, why should we pay?" Tang Bohu snorted and said arrogantly, "It's more like we should be paid."

Su Lu was sweating bullets, thinking to himself, "Who are these people? We've only just met!"

He could only cough and say, "My every move is being watched by the Imperial Guards, so it's not appropriate for me to go to such a place."

"Alright, let's go to a vegetarian restaurant then." Zhu Zhishan sighed.

~~
The afterglow of the sunset painted the Qinhuai River with a golden-red hue, half of it golden and half green.

The boatman gently rowed his wooden oars, the sound of which rippled across the shimmering water. The water murmured, the zither music played softly, and the painted boats on the river gradually lit up with their glazed lanterns, creating hazy, enchanting circles.

In a painted boat adorned with lotus lanterns, a female musician gently plucks the strings of her zither, playing the melodious and soothing piece "High Mountains and Flowing Water."

Inside the cabin was an exquisite banquet. Su Lu, Tang Yin, and Zhu Zhishan sat as host and guest, respectively, with a courtesan serving wine and dishes to the honored guests.

Tang Bohu raised his glass to Su Lu and said gratefully, "Brother Su, you spoke up for me today and cleared my name of all my stigma. I am deeply grateful and would like to offer you a toast!"

"You flatter me, Tang Jieyuan. You and my teacher were in the same class." After finishing his cup, Su Lu said respectfully, "We can just address each other as uncle and nephew."

"Hey, how can we be considered classmates if I didn't pass the exam?" Tang Bohu shook his head and said, "Let's just call each other brothers. When you pass the imperial examination, I'll definitely have to call you senior."

“Don’t let my appearance fool you, I’ve been a Juren (successful candidate in the imperial examination) since the fifth year of the Hongzhi reign…” Zhu Zhishan pointed to himself. “So we’re all brothers.”

"Alright," Su Lu said with a smile, "Then I'll toast my two elder brothers."

"Cheers!" Tang Yin and Zhu Zhishan both drank the cups to the brim.

(End of this chapter)