Top Scholar

Chapter 457 The Rap of Ming Dynasty

Frost covers the capital as dawn approaches; the morning chill seeps into the bones, white as scales on the roof tiles.

Su Lu woke up promptly at the first crow of the rooster, and slept relatively soundly that night.

Although the wind blew all night, making the cell roof rattle, and the wood-burning stove went out in the middle of the night, making the cell feel increasingly cold, fortunately, the insulation measures were in place, and apart from his nose being icy cold, he didn't feel particularly chilly. In particular, the bear-patterned coat given to him by the young princess was warm and cozy, enough to withstand the coldest winter months, let alone the chill of early spring.

What's even better about the bear-shaped clothing is that it keeps you warm even after you get out of bed, effectively alleviating the difficulty of getting out of bed in winter.

Besides, now is not the time to stay in bed; not a single second can be wasted!

Su Lu dared not delay. After getting up, he quickly cleaned the ashes from the stove, relit the fire, and prepared to make breakfast.

No cooking is allowed in the examination room during the day, so you must eat a hearty breakfast so that a light snack at noon will last until dark.

At this point, the most important thing is that the food is nutritious and easy to digest, and no one cares about how delicious it is. Su Lu threw all kinds of ingredients into the pot at once, and also cut half a cabbage, added water and cooked a pot of vegetable porridge and minced meat stew.

Of course, scholars like Su Jieyuan would euphemistically call it:
"The flavors of life, the freshness of mountains and rivers, the warmth of the martial world—all are captured in one pot."

At this time, the sounds of cooking fires could be heard from the next cell... According to the rules of the cell, the fires had to be extinguished as soon as it got light. Anyone who dared to let smoke out would have it put out by the patrol officer, who would also stamp a small blue 'resistance' mark on their exam paper!
In such a fiercely competitive imperial examination, if you fail even once, you basically have to wait three years to try again.

Therefore, all the candidates had to race against time and finish what they needed to do before dawn.

Su Lu was no exception. While the rice was bubbling in the pot, he boiled a kettle of water and filled the thermos. He also took out a few pieces of silver-bone charcoal from the burlap sack and threw them into the stove to ignite them... This charcoal was as white as silver, burned for a long time, and was smokeless and odorless. It was difficult to ignite and difficult to extinguish. It was a precious item that the Xishan Imperial Kiln had specially supplied to the palace, and it was perfect for use in a hand warmer.

Just as the rice in the porridge burst open, the rough shouts of the soldiers outside rang out:

"Stop the fire! No open flames are allowed in any of the cells!"

Upon hearing this, Su Lu quickly pulled out the furnace, covered it with ashes to extinguish the flames, and then carefully used fire tongs to remove the few pieces of silver bone charcoal... The charcoal seemed to be covered with a layer of frost, appearing to be extinguished, but when he brought it to his lips and blew on it gently, it revealed a few dark red spots. This is called 'half-extinguished by smoldering'. After this treatment, the silver bone charcoal entered a slow, smoldering state.

He divided the silver-boned charcoal into three portions, placed them on the copper mesh pockets inside the three hand warmers, tightened the inner lids, and then closed the outer lids. The cool copper walls gradually warmed up.

Don't underestimate this little bit of charcoal; it can last until almost noon.

Each of the three hand warmers has its own use: one can be tucked into his sleeve to warm his hands, and another can be placed on the desk to warm the ink... In the cold weather, the ink easily congeals, making the writing sluggish and mottled. Yesterday afternoon, he had to put the inkstone in his pocket, but today, with the hand warmer, he can rest easy.

As for foot warmers, they've become a useless item these days.

After finishing all that, Su Lu wolfed down his food and drank his fill, then took the tableware outside to the vat to wash it.

Then the patrol officer led the soldiers to check the smoke from cell to cell. If any cell was still emitting smoke, they would immediately carry a bucket in and put it out, then stamp it with a 'resistance' mark, without any leniency.

~~
As dawn broke, Su Lu sat in his cell, concentrating his mind and beginning to answer the questions on the Five Classics.

Meanwhile, inside the leopard's chamber.

Zhu Houzhao had just gotten up when he lazily leaned back on the large dragon-shaped pillow, letting the eunuchs and palace maids fuss over him and help him with his clothes.

Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow slightly, and Zhang Yong, who was standing to the side, immediately caught the signal and hurriedly whispered, "Stop."

The palace servants immediately retreated in silence, while Zhang Yong stepped forward and knelt down. He deftly unbuttoned the emperor's dragon robe, carefully removed his dragon trousers, and respectfully took out the 'dragon tool'.

Zhang Lin, who was standing nearby, quickly handed over the golden water pot that was warming on the brazier. Zhang Yong took it, first tested the temperature of the pot's spout, and found it to be just right, neither too hot nor too cold. Then he gently touched the dragon head and whispered, "Please, Your Majesty, sprinkle the dragon water."

Zhu Houzhao nodded casually, and a moment later, he began to release water.

The emperor wanted to relieve himself silently and without any smell, so sandalwood shavings were added to the chamber pot beforehand. Not only was it silent, but it also smelled quite nice...

After the dragon water had been poured out, Zhu Houzhao shuddered. Zhang Yong understood immediately, and gently shook the dragon head for the emperor before returning the golden chamber pot to Zhang Lin. He then carefully put the dragon-shaped implements back on, put on the dragon trousers, fastened the robe belt, and tidied the dragon robe until it was perfectly smooth.

Only after this smooth and flowing water-spouting process was completed did the palace servants resume their work as if nothing had happened.

After urinating, Zhu Houzhao finally felt a bit more energetic and asked Zhang Yong, "Is the provincial examination over? That fellow has been off duty for two days, making me wait so long!"

Zhang Yong chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, how can it be so fast? Today is only the second day, there are still seven days to go."

"Damn it! Another seven days of suspension, how am I supposed to endure this..." Zhu Houzhao said impatiently, "What kind of ridiculous rules are these? If someone has real talent and ability, one test will be enough to prove them right away. Why bother with testing for so many days?"

“There must be a profound reason why our ancestors decided this way,” Zhang Yong said with a light laugh. “At least those who can pass the exam are all in excellent health.”

“Yes, in this cold weather, the sickly fellow would have died in the examination hall long ago.” Zhu Houzhao nodded, then added with some worry, “I wonder if Su Xiaoban can hold on.”

"It should be fine, he's young and strong," Zhang Yong said softly. "But he must have suffered a lot too, I heard that you can't light a fire in the examination hall during the day."

"What? You're not allowed to light a fire during the day in this cold weather?" This was the first time Zhu Houzhao had ever heard of such a thing.

"It seems that's the case," Zhang Yong said. "Have someone go to the Ministry of Rites to verify this. If it's really the case, correct it immediately." Zhu Houzhao then instructed, "Can't the court afford to provide even a little bit of charcoal? Won't people say my Zhu family is stingy!"

"Yes," Zhang Yong replied softly, his heart filled with joy. Although it wasn't a big deal, this was the first time the Emperor had allowed him to deal directly with the Six Ministries.

Previously, these kinds of things were all left to Liu Jin...

"Ugh, I'm so bored! I need to find something to have some fun!" Zhu Houzhao stretched lazily, feeling utterly bored.

"Yes, yes, this old servant will think of a way right away." Zhang Yong hurriedly replied, but felt immense pressure in his heart.

Finding amusement for the Emperor is no easy task. They have been serving this playful master for ten years, and they have already let him experience everything that is fun, interesting, appropriate, and inappropriate.

Playing day after day, year after year, in modern terms, the emperor's threshold for happiness is now extremely high, making it increasingly difficult to keep him happy and prevent him from getting bored.

Moreover, this has always been his weakness; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so thoroughly suppressed by Liu Jin.

He had finally managed to turn the tide thanks to Su Lu, but as soon as Su Jieyuan entered the examination hall, he was out of luck again...

As a result, the emperor had a poor appetite for breakfast. He was the kind of person who only had a short attention span for everything, but he was persistent when it came to "playing" itself. If he didn't enjoy playing, he wouldn't eat or sleep well.

"Have you thought of anything yet?" Zhu Houzhao picked up a donkey roll from the plate and threw it at Zhang Yong.

"I've got it! I've got it!" Zhang Yong quickly took the pastry and tentatively asked, "Your Majesty, how about we go horseback riding and archery?"

"It's so cold, I don't want to move at all. I'll wait until I'm warmer." Zhu Houzhao shook his head and said, "Besides, I want to ride a boat right now, not a horse."

"Shall we go to Taiye Pond and ride a dragon boat?"

"What's the point of that small boat?" Zhengde shook his head again and said, "I want to ride in a treasure ship, the kind with nine masts, understand?"

"Hey, hey..." Zhang Yong wiped his sweat and made several more suggestions, but none of them aroused the emperor's interest.

Just when they were at their wits' end, they suddenly heard festive music playing outside.

"Let's go take a look." Zhu Houzhao was immediately drawn out.

"Master, you're dressed too lightly!" Zhang Yong called out from behind.

Zhu Houzhao ignored him and rushed to the palace gate. He saw that a stage had been set up outside, and someone was performing acrobatics and comedy on it.

"Oh, who's putting on this show?" Zhu Houzhao asked with great interest.

"Your Majesty, it was Eunuch Liu who specially arranged this to keep you entertained," Li Bin said with a fawning smile.

"Haha, Your Excellency is so thoughtful. Where is he?" As Zhu Houzhao spoke, Zhang Yong led people out to set up a throne for him, draped a cloak over his shoulders, put on a warm hat, and tucked a hand warmer into his pocket.

"Your Majesty, just you wait and see, Eunuch Liu will personally take the stage to perform!" Li Bin said with great seriousness.

"Oh, really? He has that skill?!" Zhu Houzhao became interested upon hearing this, leaned back on the throne, and raised his legs. Zhang Yong then placed a footstool with a heated bottom on it for the emperor to rest his feet on.

After watching a wonderful opening performance, the emperor urged, "Why hasn't the Grand Eunuch appeared yet? I'm here specifically to see him today!"

"They're here!" Liu Jin's voice rang out from behind the curtain.

Before long, a clown with rouge on his cheeks, white makeup, holding a pipa, and with clappers hanging from his feet made his grand entrance.

"This old servant greets Your Majesty!" If that person hadn't spoken, Zhu Houzhao wouldn't have been able to connect this old man, who was "long-awaited and only just appeared, still half-concealed like a pipa player," with the Grand Eunuch Liu Jin.

"Haha, my dear friend, what's this all about?" Zhu Houzhao asked with great interest.

"Your Majesty, this is a family tradition of Shaanxi storytelling," Liu Jin said with a smile. "My father used to make a living doing this."

"So it seems this industry isn't profitable, otherwise why would you have to go through the ordeal of being cut open and sent to the palace?" Zhu Houzhao teased him.

"Your Majesty is right. How much money can a storyteller earn?" Liu Jin said with a smile, "But if I didn't enter the palace, how could this old servant have the honor of serving Your Majesty?"

"Hahaha, well said! Sing!" Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and adjusted himself into a comfortable position to watch his performance.

Liu Jin apologized, sat down on the stage, and skillfully began to play the pipa. The resounding sound of the pipa echoed throughout the Leopard Chamber, making even the pandas raise their heads.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but clap along, and said to Zhang Yong with a smile, "Look at that eldest son of his, so talented..."

"This old servant will certainly learn as well..." Zhang Yong hurriedly replied helplessly. Liu Jin had been begging since childhood, and even if he studied until he died, he couldn't compare...

(End of this chapter)