Chapter 52: Is Zhang Jie the Illegitimate Son of Some Official?

“Solution Scholar, the Chief Examiner Li and the Prefectural Office have requested your presence.”

After the crowd gradually dispersed, a yamen runner came to inform Zhang Jie.

Zhang Jie understood: after the provincial examination results were posted, the prefectural office would inevitably host a banquet to celebrate the newly elevated juren.

Banquets held to celebrate passing the imperial examinations are called the “Four Examination Banquets”—the Lu Ming Banquet, the Qiong Lin Banquet, the Ying Yang Banquet, and the Hui Wu Banquet.

The Lu Ming Banquet in the Great Song is divided into two types: one for newly elevated jinshi,

and another for newly elevated juren.

Though both are called Lu Ming Banquets, the jinshi version carries far greater status and importance than the juren version.

The juren’s Lu Ming Banquet is attended by the provincial examination examiners and local officials of the prefecture.

The jinshi’s Lu Ming Banquet, however, is attended by central government ministers, imperial relatives, and even the Emperor himself.

After delivering the message, the yamen runner lingered without leaving.

Pan Jinlian, who had little experience with the yamen, grew puzzled.

But Wu Song, who had once injured a county clerk in Qinghe County, understood clearly:

This runner was seeking a “lucky gift”—a bribe.

Just as he was about to dig into his own pocket to pay for Zhang Jie, whose purse was already empty,

he realized his own purse was empty too.

Zhang Jie, equally aware of the runner’s intent, felt his smile stiffen.

By custom, giving a small gift to those who bring good news is an unwritten rule.

And how could you possibly offer no token when the runner stands there smiling at you?

But his purse? Even a mouse entering it would have to write a “Ode to a Humble Abode” overnight to escape!

As Zhang Jie pondered whether to simply brazen it out,

Wang Lao, the owner of Hao Ke Lai, stepped forward,

pulled five taels of silver from his sleeve, and handed it to the runner:

“The weather is quite hot; this is Solution Scholar Zhang’s gift to the brothers for tea to cool off.”

“Thank you, Solution Scholar.”

The runner weighed the silver in his hand and thanked him with satisfaction.

Five taels of silver equaled three or four months of his salary.

Even if he split it with his comrades, it was still a substantial windfall.

“Wang Lao, you’ve done me a tremendous favor!

I’ll repay you the silver as soon as I return.”

After watching the runner depart, Zhang Jie turned to Wang Lao, whose round face always wore a smile, like a benevolent Maitreya Buddha.

“Nonsense, nonsense—Solution Scholar staying at our humble shop brings us great honor!

How could we let Solution Scholar spend his own money?”

Wang Lao waved his hands repeatedly in refusal.

“No.”

Zhang Jie did not wish to owe Wang Lao a favor.

A favor is a meal hard to swallow.

“Then please, Solution Scholar, leave us a few lines of your calligraphy, so I may admire them in the future.”

Seeing Zhang Jie’s firm stance, Wang Lao’s eyes darted once, then he spoke.

Seeing Zhang Jie’s firm attitude, Boss Wang’s eyes darted around before he spoke.

Zhang Jie nodded and accepted at once.

A few pieces of calligraphy and paintings would easily settle this debt—highly worthwhile.

“Hehe! I’ve hit the jackpot!”

Upon receiving Zhang Jie’s promise, Wang Lao’s eyes narrowed into slits.

He never imagined that this provincial examination would bring his ancestral tomb smoke rising!

Not only had one juren emerged, but a solution scholar too.

If he cleaned and decorated the room where Zhang Jie had stayed, and hung a few of Zhang Jie’s calligraphies on the walls,

wouldn’t the silver come pouring in like water during the next provincial examination?

So many scholar candidates visit Confucius Temple to worship Confucius—how could Confucius possibly bless them all?

Better to stay in the room at Hao Ke Lai, steeped in the scholarly aura of a solution scholar.

Isn’t it reasonable to charge fifty or even a hundred taels per night for a room once occupied by a solution scholar?

Wang Lao: “Scholar, you don’t want to fail the juren exam, do you?

Come stay here—I’ll let the solution scholar’s room bless you;

don’t come—I’ll let the solution scholar’s room bless your rivals instead~”

The more Wang Lao thought about it, the happier he became—his slits of eyes closed entirely.

If Zhang Jie knew Wang Lao’s thoughts, he’d surely raise a thumb and say:

“Hey! You’re a real talent!”

Arriving outside the prefectural office in Jinan, where the Lu Ming Banquet was held,

Zhang Jie told Pan Jinlian and Wu Song to return home, while he went to the banquet with Chen Wenyun.

Zhang Jie told Pan Jinlian and Wu Song to return first, while he took Chen Wen to the banquet.

As soon as Zhang Jie entered the banquet hall, newly elevated juren greeted him one after another.

Though Zhang Jie’s age was youthful compared to the average juren, who were mostly over thirty,

by convention, as solution scholar, Zhang Jie was their leader.

Though some arrogant juren looked down on this “barely grown” youth,

since Zhang Jie stood here, it meant he possessed the ability to stand equal to—or even tower over—them.

Almost no one who passed the juren exam was foolish; they merely cursed Zhang Jie silently:

“A bright child does not always become a great man.”

Naturally, no one dared openly insult or mock Zhang Jie.

This left Zhang Jie, who had never had a chance to show off and humiliate his rivals, somewhat disappointed:

Where were those idiots and brain-dead side characters born solely to be humiliated by the protagonist?

“Renjie, you’ve arrived—come sit here.”

As Zhang Jie entered the banquet hall, the chief examiner seated at the main seat called out to him.

“Thank you, Master.”

Zhang Jie bowed in thanks, then sat confidently to the left below the chief examiner.

Unlike Ming and Qing dynasties, which honored the right, the Northern Song honored the left.

For example, in the official hierarchy, Left Chancellor and Left Puye held higher rank than Right Chancellor and Right Puye.

The Left Puye of the Ministry of State Affairs was the chief minister; the Right Puye was deputy—left officials outranked right ones.

Similarly, the Left Vice Minister in each of the Six Ministries outranked the Right Vice Minister.

This left-superior-right-inferior system became the dominant custom from the Eastern Han through the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties.

As solution scholar, Zhang Jie naturally took the most honored seat among the juren.

Zhang Jie’s address of the chief examiner as “Master” was also an unwritten rule.

Compared to Han and Tang aristocratic clans bound by blood ties,

the Song dynasty systematically replaced the aristocratic system with the imperial examination system.

Unlike other traits, intelligence cannot be reliably inherited across generations.

In “Li Xunhuan’s Flying Dagger,” besides Li Xunhuan’s instantly lethal flying dagger,

the most talked-about detail was Li family’s seven jinshi across generations, with three father-son pairs of third-place laureates.

This meant exam officials on court had no possibility of forming clans based on blood ties.

Where there are people, there is a jianghu; where there are people, there is factional conflict.

To resist pressure from other power groups, officials had to band together.

To form alliances, they needed common ground—shared interests, favors.

Thus arose relationships among examination peers, “Master,” and “Room Master.”

Juren addressed their chief examiner as “Master,” “Chief Master,” or “Benefactor”; the examiner called them “Disciples.”

After the provincial examination results were posted, new juren had to pay respects to the chief examiner,

by submitting a “Master-Apprentice Letter” and performing a kowtow, formally establishing the teacher-student bond.

This teacher-student relationship often evolved into political cliques within the bureaucracy,

with “Master-Disciple” pairs mutually promoting each other, influencing promotions and careers.

Simultaneously, this bond became a crucial factor in forming bureaucratic factions.

At the same time, this relationship became a key factor in the formation of official factional groups.

“Renjie, do you plan to take the spring palace examination next year?”

Before the banquet officially began, the chief examiner began chatting with Zhang Jie.

The banquet had not yet officially begun, so the chief examiner began chatting casually with Zhang Jie.

"I was just thinking the same thing."

Zhang Jie gave a definite answer.

Before the Shared Space arrived, he naturally intended to cultivate for a few years,

but now that the Shared Space had arrived, his already formidable memory

had grown even stronger, so he must press the advantage.

And by completing the imperial examination sooner,

he could throw himself into larger plans sooner—like overthrowing the Great Song.

The chief examiner, unaware of the terrifying plans Zhang Jie was drafting in his mind, stroked his beard and smiled:

"Good! Young men should have this kind of drive!"

"After I finish the provincial examination, I’ll return to Dongjingcheng. You may come find me next spring for the metropolitan examination."

The chief examiner continued.

He greatly admired Zhang Jie and had no objection to helping him further.

"I understand," Zhang Jie nodded.

Zhang Jie conversed merrily with the chief examiner; a narrow-minded candidate could no longer bear it:

"Could this man be the illegitimate son of some minister in the court?

If not, why would Chief Examiner Li show him such favor?"

"Watch your tongue!"

The candidate’s newly made friend hurried to stop him.

It’s not the rumor that frightens us—it’s the possibility that it’s true!

We’re all here to pass the imperial examination, enter the Hanlin Academy, and become high officials.

If we offend some minister, won’t our careers be cut short?