Chapter 51: The Way Home

In the final half-day spent in Chengdu, Lu Beigu went nowhere.

It wasn’t that he, like Guan Ning, would “pass by a carriage with imperial insignia and read as if nothing had changed”—he simply feared that if he went out to amuse himself, his mind would wander.

So he stayed in his room and reviewed all the gains he had acquired during this trip to Chengdu.

The gains he had in hand: a jade pendant gifted by Li Pan, perhaps useful to ask him for favors that weren’t too troublesome; a handwritten manuscript of poetic and prose insights from Zhao Bian, which, if studied continuously, would provide enough material for him through the departmental examination; a set of Zhang Fangping’s annotated edition of *The Spring and Autumn Annals: Expounding the Reverence for the King*, sufficient to carry him through the Ministry of Rites provincial examination.

The gains not yet in hand: first, Li Pan’s promise that once he was promoted to Assistant Prefect of Luzhou, Lu Beigu would surely receive a quota to take the Ministry of Rites provincial examination if he passed the departmental examination as a juren; second, Zhang Fangping’s letter of recommendation to Ouyang Xiu, which, if Lu Beigu passed both the county and departmental examinations, would allow him to meet Ouyang Xiu upon arriving in Kaifeng.

In short, his gains were abundant—this journey was well worth it.

Yet although the future was bright, Lu Beigu did not forget that the path ahead remained arduous and winding.

After all, others could assist with matters within the rules, but the rules themselves would not change for him.

Under the current imperial examination system of the Song Dynasty, everyone must compete fairly to defeat their rivals.

Thus, everything ultimately depended on his own strength!

If his strength was insufficient, all else was empty talk!

Inside his book satchel, crimson Sichuan silk of hibiscus red protected Lu Beigu’s books; he laid them one by one on the table and calculated his progress by comparing the number of pages or scrolls studied against the total.

Poetry and prose: Zhao Bian’s handwritten insights on poetry and prose (progress ~10%).

Spring and Autumn Annals: 12-scroll *The Spring and Autumn Annals: Expounding the Reverence for the King* (Taishan Master’s annotated edition) (progress ~1%), 10-scroll *Compendium of Explanations on the Spring and Autumn Annals* (progress ~25%), anonymous notebook edition of *The Correct Meaning of the Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals* (progress ~10%), *Supplementary Annotations to the Guliang Commentary* (progress ~50%).

Book of Rites: 3-scroll *Examples from the Book of Rites* (progress ~75%), anonymous notebook edition of *The Correct Meaning of the Book of Rites* (progress ~10%).

Judging by the urgency of each subject for the county examination, the first book he needed to study was the three-scroll *Examples from the Book of Rites*, lent to him by the school inspector—it compiled the most frequently tested passages from the Book of Rites and included standard answer templates for the written commentary section, ideal for rapidly improving his performance in the Book of Rites portion of the exam; he had barely studied anything else on his way to Chengdu and was nearly finished with it.

Regarding the Spring and Autumn Annals, he certainly had no time to study the massive *Expounding the Reverence for the King* before the county examination, so his focus must remain on completing the *Compendium of Explanations on the Spring and Autumn Annals*, to at least gain a complete understanding of the text and ensure he could answer any Spring and Autumn-related question in the written commentary section.

The *Supplementary Annotations to the Guliang Commentary*, being only a small booklet, required little time to study and could be completed in spare moments—it was supplementary material.

As for the anonymous notebook editions of *The Correct Meaning of the Zuo Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals* and *The Correct Meaning of the Book of Rites*, both were thick volumes he could not possibly finish before the county examination, but he could study them alongside the more exam-relevant *Compendium of Explanations on the Spring and Autumn Annals* and *Examples from the Book of Rites* to reinforce his understanding.

As for poetry and prose, his current level was already sufficient to barely manage the county examination, and Lu Beigu trusted that since Zhao Bian had given him a systematic method for tackling poetry and prose exams, simply studying the insights manuscript continuously would naturally raise his skill level.

As for the memorization section, it was simply daily morning recitation of the *Analects*—nothing more to say.

He did not need to prepare for the policy essay—he trusted himself.

Staying in his room at Qingyang Palace, he read *Examples from the Book of Rites* all afternoon, ate a simple meal at night, then lit a lamp and continued reading. The lodging fee, which included oil for lamps and meals, had already been prepaid by Li Pan.

In this era, oil for lamps was a considerable expense for ordinary students, so Lu Beigu had no qualms about taking full advantage of Li Pan’s generosity.

Of course, he still did eye exercises—this era had no eyeglasses.

He couldn’t afford to go blind before passing the imperial examination.

By nightfall, he heard the sound of four clerks returning, full and satisfied, after their meal, then he blew out the lamp and went to sleep.

He slept well, and the next day, the group set off on their return journey.

Unlike the bumpy overland trip to Chengdu, the return journey saw the driver take the government carriage back alone, moving slowly.

They boarded a boat at Huxindao in Chengdu’s southern district and traveled downstream by water.

Huxindao shared its name with Hejiang County and carried historical significance—Du Fu once wrote, “The window frames the autumn snow of the western peaks; the door moors ten-thousand-li boats from the east,” right here.

The “western peaks” referred to Mount Min to the west of Chengdu, perpetually snow-capped, hence described as “autumn snow.”

The “ten-thousand-li boats” did not mean boats traveling ten thousand li to Wu—rather, beside Huxindao stood a bridge called “Ten Thousand Li Bridge.”

Li Pan, soon to be promoted, was in high spirits; though the passenger boat charged by cabin, with single cabins costing one guan per three days and shared cabins one guan per five days, he generously booked single cabins for everyone.

The passenger boat was large; each single cabin had a fixed small table beside the bed, so Lu Beigu, who didn’t suffer from seasickness, could continue his studies aboard.

Summer floods had swelled the river, increasing its current speed, greatly reducing the time needed for their return journey.

The passenger boat sailed downstream along the Min River, passing through Shuangliu, Xinjin, Meizhou, and Qingshen, and on the third day reached Jiazhou, where the Min River converged with the Dadu and Qingyi Rivers to form a tri-river junction.

The river surged, the Great Buddha bowed its compassionate gaze—though only a fleeting scene, it left every traveler on the river awestruck.

Even Lu Beigu, buried in his studies in the cabin, was called out to admire the sight.

Thereafter, the passenger boat continued eastward along the Yangtze River, passing through Qianwei and Rongzhou; after another five days, it entered Luzhou territory, where the Yangtze’s swift currents demanded extreme caution.

In the Luzhou stretch, many dangerous rapids required haulers to drag the boats, and capsizing accidents were frequent during flood season; Li Pan even considered disembarking and returning overland.

Fortunately, the journey remained perilous but uneventful, and after another half-day, they arrived at Hejiang County.

To be honest, Lu Beigu felt Hejiang County, aside from having slightly fewer people, was no worse than Luzhou City.

The reason was simple: Hejiang County’s location was ideal—it lay at the confluence of Anle Creek and the Yangtze River, and as the starting point of the ancient “Litchi Road” that delivered lychees to Yang Guifei during the Tang Dynasty, Shiba Water Station in eastern Hejiang City had always been the central hub for goods in Chuannan; not only did all goods transported from the southern mountains via Anle Creek pass through here, but it was also the mandatory transit point for goods traveling from western Sichuan to eastern Sichuan via the Yangtze.

And as they disembarked, Lu Beigu, who had studied relentlessly throughout the journey, finally completed his full study of *Examples from the Book of Rites*!

(End of chapter)