Chapter 41

"Virtuous brother Renjie."

"Brother Chen."

In the *Water Margin* world, in an inn in Jinan, the capital of Shandong,

Zhang Jie was greeting a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar.

"Young Master, I have prepared everything you need."

Pan Jinlian walked to Zhang Jie's side with hurried steps and said.

"Hmm." Zhang Jie nodded.

"Haha. Lady Pan, no need to worry,

today is just the day for reporting, the provincial examination officially begins tomorrow."

Seeing Pan Jinlian busy and panting, feeling quite at a loss, the scholar Chen reminded with a smile.

"This is my first time participating in the provincial examination, my wife has no experience, thank you Brother Chen for telling me."

Zhang Jie thanked the scholar Chen.

Although he had long known the process of the provincial examination and had told Pan Jinlian not to be so anxious,

it was the anxious Pan Jinlian who couldn't let go and wanted to check the imperial examination tools again and again,

but the scholar Chen's reminder was ultimately out of good intentions, and Zhang Jie also accepted this favor.

After all, no one is obligated to help anyone; it is the scholar Chen's duty not to say it,

but since he said it, Zhang Jie had to accept this favor.

"Young Master~"

Pan Jinlian's voice was charming, and the look in her eyes when she looked at Zhang Jie was pulling threads.

The reason she was so excited was that "my wife" was the term used by an official to introduce his wife to others.

Zhang Jie's words directly established her status!

Her greatest expectation before was just to be a concubine.

After all, her background was too humble, just a sold maid.

Looking at Pan Jinlian, whose eyes were filled with spring water, Zhang Jie felt calm in his heart.

He didn't have a deep concept of hierarchy, and Pan Jinlian had accompanied him through his weakest years.

Now that he was going to be successful, he naturally wouldn't abandon Pan Jinlian.

As for Pan Jinlian's background being too humble?

Zhang Jie said that a thousand gold cannot buy my willingness!

"However, can I unlock some new knowledge after the provincial examination ends?"

Zhang Jie thought, his heart couldn't help but ripple.

This love between men and women is a great desire of people, and he is naturally no exception.

And in these days when his body is getting stronger and stronger, if he hadn't let go repeatedly,

Pan Jinlian alone would not have been his opponent long ago.

"Hmm, why don't I let *Heaven-Dependent* go to Mount Emei?"

Zhang Jie thought about this matter concerning the happiness of the second half of his life.

If Pan Jinlian could learn Wu Gong like the Mount Emei Nine Yang Skill,

then she shouldn't be defeated every time, right?

"Brother Zhang, what are you saying?

If it weren't for Brother Zhang's kind shelter, I might not have found a place to stay now!"

The scholar Chen thanked Zhang Jie with a bow. Because he was delayed for several days on the way,

when he arrived in Jinan, the inns and homestays in Jinan were all full,

and he searched hard but couldn't find a place to stay.

Zhang Jie helped the scholar Chen up and sized up his green shirt, which had no patches

but had become gray and white due to repeated washing, and understood in his heart.

The reason why the scholar Chen couldn't find a place to stay was partly because he arrived late,

and the bigger reason was that he didn't have enough money!

Just like when hotels and homestays went crazy with price hikes when taking the civil service exam in the 21st century,

the inns in Jinan were also raising prices insanely during this period.

Staying in a slightly well-known inn for one night was measured in silver.

One must know that in the Great Song Dynasty, the annual expenses of an ordinary farming household were only a few dozen taels.

Like Zhang Jie's teacher Li Xiucheng, the scholar Li,

the scholar Chen, who opened a private school in his hometown Yuncheng County, didn't have much savings,

and could only barely guarantee the travel expenses for the entire provincial examination,

food, drink, and waste; he couldn't afford the sky-high price inns at all.

If Zhang Jie hadn't seen that the scholar Chen looked kind and extended a helping hand,

I fear the scholar Chen would only have to stay in a monk's temple outside the city.

"Sigh! I don't know if I can pass the exam this time!"

Looking at Zhang Jie's young, even somewhat green face, the scholar Chen sighed secretly.

Compared to Zhang Jie, who was participating in the provincial examination for the first time, he was already an old hand who had taken it many times.

He passed the scholar exam at twenty-five, and now it was his seventh provincial examination.

From youth to middle age, from green hair to white hair, he still couldn't get his wish.

"Young Master, we can set off."

After a while, Wu Song, who had prepared carriages and other transportation, came to report.

"Good."

Zhang Jie then took Pan Jinlian and the others toward the provincial examination venue.

Of course, Zhang Jie also brought along the scholar Chen, who was shy in his pocket.

……

"I wonder if the exam questions for this provincial examination are difficult?"

"I hope they don't test *Mencius*, I haven't fully memorized it yet."

"Confucius bless me, let me pass the exam this time!"

"God of Literature bless me!"

As soon as they arrived outside the Tribute Hall where the provincial examination was held, all kinds of noisy sounds poured into Zhang Jie's ears.

The square outside the Tribute Hall was densely packed with scholars who had come to take the exam.

There were rich young masters dressed in silk and satin, with bookboys and servants carrying exam baskets and other items,

and there were also poor scholars who were alone and dressed in shabby clothes.

There were old men over fifty with white hair and beards, and child prodigies whose childishness had not yet faded.

Outside the entire Tribute Hall was a rolling red dust that interpreted the various states of the world.

"The chief examiner is here~"

Following a loud shout from the yamen runner specifically responsible for chanting, the chief examiner for this provincial examination arrived.

The noisy atmosphere at the scene instantly cleared, and the scholars tried their best to speak softly even if they were talking.

The chief examiner of the provincial examination was the official responsible for presiding over the exam, setting questions, grading papers, and admitting candidates.

That is to say, the fate of the scholars present,

at least the fate of this provincial examination, was held in the hands of this chief examiner.

The scholars didn't dare to speak loudly, for fear of leaving a bad impression on this chief examiner.

Zhang Jie didn't care much about this, but he was happy to be quiet.

"Everyone, follow me to worship Confucius."

The chief examiner strode to the stone statue of Confucius in the center of the Tribute Hall square.

The yamen runners, who had been prepared long ago, quickly and neatly offered ritual vessels such as deng, xing, fu, and gui containing sacrificial offerings such as white cakes,

black cakes, dates, chestnuts, water caltrops, and euryale.

"Worship Confucius!"

The chief examiner personally lit the incense and led the way to bow deeply to the stone statue of Confucius.

"Worship Confucius!"

The assistant examiners and others behind the chief examiner also bowed together.

"Worship Confucius!"

The scholars didn't dare to be negligent and bowed devoutly one after another.

Zhang Jie also bowed along with the crowd.

While bowing, he sighed at the terrifying status of Confucius in ancient dynasties.

Under the constant blessing of emperors and scholars, Confucius had changed from a

thinker of the Spring and Autumn period into a sage of whom it was said, "If heaven had not produced Confucius, the ages would be like a long night."

He didn't have any kowtowing worship for Confucius, nor did he have any extreme disgust.

In fact, Zhang Jie felt that Confucius and the Confucianism that followed him should be viewed separately.

Later Confucianism, because it had been "transformed" by Dong Zhongshu and others, adding feudal thoughts such as the "Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues,"

had become a class ruling tool in feudal society; as for whether it was easy to use or not, that had to be discussed separately.

And Confucius's advocacy of "restoring the Zhou rites" in the Spring and Autumn period was not reversing the times,

but he saw that the world was collapsing, countries were in chaos, kings all wanted to dominate, and the people were living in misery.

He personally tended toward the yearning for and restoration of order.

Zhang Jie felt that the later saying "Overthrow the Confucius shop, save Confucius" was very correct.

Confucius was a thinker, an educator; we cannot overly elevate him,

after all, he was not a god or sage who truly knew five thousand years before and five thousand years after.

We also cannot overly belittle him, after all, he had been dead for thousands of years,

and his thoughts were still progressive in the Spring and Autumn era.

As for Confucius's greatest stain, those iron-boned Duke Yanshengs who advised others to be loyal while they themselves repaired surrender tables?

It can only be said that no one can guarantee that their descendants are all good people.

A great man inevitably has an unvirtuous wife and an unfilial son.

And it is not necessarily that Confucius's descendants repaired the surrender tables, but that those who repaired the surrender tables were called Confucius's descendants.

……

The activity of worshipping Confucius proceeded in an orderly manner.

"Bow again!"

"Third bow!"

"Ceremony complete!"

"Confucius bless me! Confucius bless me!"

Even after the ceremony was complete, there were still scholars muttering to the statue of Confucius.

Zhang Jie was already used to this.

The Confucius Temple in Jinan was always full of incense before the provincial examination,

and the candidates all brought their pens, inks, papers, and inkstones to be "consecrated."

Some people even felt that it was not safe to consecrate the pens, inks, papers, and inkstones,

and they simply had to roll on the steps of the Confucius Temple themselves,

to ensure that their whole body was covered with the literary aura of Confucius.

In addition to worshipping the "God of Exams," eating some auspicious food to get a good start was also very necessary.

Many foods with "auspicious" meanings were passed down in Shandong,

such as the famous specialty top scholar cake, named for its shape resembling the hat worn by the new top scholar in ancient times.

"Candidates enter the venue!"

After worshipping Confucius, this provincial examination officially began, and now the candidate entry session began.

The scholars present spontaneously came to the outside of the passage to line up.

Before long, several long dragons formed by the scholars had already formed.