[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m":3,"chapter-simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-52":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Simultaneously Transmigrated: My Cheat Skill Is Myself",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2315307,4528,"Chapter 52: Is Zhang Jie the Illegitimate Son of Some Official?","simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-52",52,"\u003Cp>“Solution Scholar, the Chief Examiner Li and the Prefectural Office have requested your presence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the crowd gradually dispersed, a yamen runner came to inform Zhang Jie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie understood: after the provincial examination results were posted, the prefectural office would inevitably host a banquet to celebrate the newly elevated juren.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>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.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Lu Ming Banquet in the Great Song is divided into two types: one for newly elevated jinshi,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>and another for newly elevated juren.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though both are called Lu Ming Banquets, the jinshi version carries far greater status and importance than the juren version.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The juren’s Lu Ming Banquet is attended by the provincial examination examiners and local officials of the prefecture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The jinshi’s Lu Ming Banquet, however, is attended by central government ministers, imperial relatives, and even the Emperor himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After delivering the message, the yamen runner lingered without leaving.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pan Jinlian, who had little experience with the yamen, grew puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Wu Song, who had once injured a county clerk in Qinghe County, understood clearly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This runner was seeking a “lucky gift”—a bribe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as he was about to dig into his own pocket to pay for Zhang Jie, whose purse was already empty,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he realized his own purse was empty too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie, equally aware of the runner’s intent, felt his smile stiffen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By custom, giving a small gift to those who bring good news is an unwritten rule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And how could you possibly offer no token when the runner stands there smiling at you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his purse? Even a mouse entering it would have to write a “Ode to a Humble Abode” overnight to escape!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Zhang Jie pondered whether to simply brazen it out,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Lao, the owner of Hao Ke Lai, stepped forward,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>pulled five taels of silver from his sleeve, and handed it to the runner:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The weather is quite hot; this is Solution Scholar Zhang’s gift to the brothers for tea to cool off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Solution Scholar.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The runner weighed the silver in his hand and thanked him with satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five taels of silver equaled three or four months of his salary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if he split it with his comrades, it was still a substantial windfall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wang Lao, you’ve done me a tremendous favor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ll repay you the silver as soon as I return.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After watching the runner depart, Zhang Jie turned to Wang Lao, whose round face always wore a smile, like a benevolent Maitreya Buddha.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nonsense, nonsense—Solution Scholar staying at our humble shop brings us great honor!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could we let Solution Scholar spend his own money?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Lao waved his hands repeatedly in refusal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie did not wish to owe Wang Lao a favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A favor is a meal hard to swallow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then please, Solution Scholar, leave us a few lines of your calligraphy, so I may admire them in the future.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Zhang Jie’s firm stance, Wang Lao’s eyes darted once, then he spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Zhang Jie’s firm attitude, Boss Wang’s eyes darted around before he spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie nodded and accepted at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few pieces of calligraphy and paintings would easily settle this debt—highly worthwhile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hehe! I’ve hit the jackpot!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon receiving Zhang Jie’s promise, Wang Lao’s eyes narrowed into slits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He never imagined that this provincial examination would bring his ancestral tomb smoke rising!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only had one juren emerged, but a solution scholar too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he cleaned and decorated the room where Zhang Jie had stayed, and hung a few of Zhang Jie’s calligraphies on the walls,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>wouldn’t the silver come pouring in like water during the next provincial examination?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So many scholar candidates visit Confucius Temple to worship Confucius—how could Confucius possibly bless them all?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Better to stay in the room at Hao Ke Lai, steeped in the scholarly aura of a solution scholar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Isn’t it reasonable to charge fifty or even a hundred taels per night for a room once occupied by a solution scholar?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Lao: “Scholar, you don’t want to fail the juren exam, do you?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Come stay here—I’ll let the solution scholar’s room bless you;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>don’t come—I’ll let the solution scholar’s room bless your rivals instead~”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more Wang Lao thought about it, the happier he became—his slits of eyes closed entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Zhang Jie knew Wang Lao’s thoughts, he’d surely raise a thumb and say:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hey! You’re a real talent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arriving outside the prefectural office in Jinan, where the Lu Ming Banquet was held,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie told Pan Jinlian and Wu Song to return home, while he went to the banquet with Chen Wenyun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie told Pan Jinlian and Wu Song to return first, while he took Chen Wen to the banquet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Zhang Jie entered the banquet hall, newly elevated juren greeted him one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Zhang Jie’s age was youthful compared to the average juren, who were mostly over thirty,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>by convention, as solution scholar, Zhang Jie was their leader.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though some arrogant juren looked down on this “barely grown” youth,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>since Zhang Jie stood here, it meant he possessed the ability to stand equal to—or even tower over—them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost no one who passed the juren exam was foolish; they merely cursed Zhang Jie silently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A bright child does not always become a great man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Naturally, no one dared openly insult or mock Zhang Jie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This left Zhang Jie, who had never had a chance to show off and humiliate his rivals, somewhat disappointed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where were those idiots and brain-dead side characters born solely to be humiliated by the protagonist?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Renjie, you’ve arrived—come sit here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Zhang Jie entered the banquet hall, the chief examiner seated at the main seat called out to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you, Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie bowed in thanks, then sat confidently to the left below the chief examiner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Ming and Qing dynasties, which honored the right, the Northern Song honored the left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, in the official hierarchy, Left Chancellor and Left Puye held higher rank than Right Chancellor and Right Puye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Left Puye of the Ministry of State Affairs was the chief minister; the Right Puye was deputy—left officials outranked right ones.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Similarly, the Left Vice Minister in each of the Six Ministries outranked the Right Vice Minister.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This left-superior-right-inferior system became the dominant custom from the Eastern Han through the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As solution scholar, Zhang Jie naturally took the most honored seat among the juren.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie’s address of the chief examiner as “Master” was also an unwritten rule.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compared to Han and Tang aristocratic clans bound by blood ties,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the Song dynasty systematically replaced the aristocratic system with the imperial examination system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike other traits, intelligence cannot be reliably inherited across generations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In “Li Xunhuan’s Flying Dagger,” besides Li Xunhuan’s instantly lethal flying dagger,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>the most talked-about detail was Li family’s seven jinshi across generations, with three father-son pairs of third-place laureates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This meant exam officials on court had no possibility of forming clans based on blood ties.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where there are people, there is a jianghu; where there are people, there is factional conflict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To resist pressure from other power groups, officials had to band together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To form alliances, they needed common ground—shared interests, favors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus arose relationships among examination peers, “Master,” and “Room Master.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Juren addressed their chief examiner as “Master,” “Chief Master,” or “Benefactor”; the examiner called them “Disciples.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the provincial examination results were posted, new juren had to pay respects to the chief examiner,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>by submitting a “Master-Apprentice Letter” and performing a kowtow, formally establishing the teacher-student bond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This teacher-student relationship often evolved into political cliques within the bureaucracy,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>with “Master-Disciple” pairs mutually promoting each other, influencing promotions and careers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, this bond became a crucial factor in forming bureaucratic factions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, this relationship became a key factor in the formation of official factional groups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Renjie, do you plan to take the spring palace examination next year?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the banquet officially began, the chief examiner began chatting with Zhang Jie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The banquet had not yet officially begun, so the chief examiner began chatting casually with Zhang Jie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I was just thinking the same thing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie gave a definite answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the Shared Space arrived, he naturally intended to cultivate for a few years,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>but now that the Shared Space had arrived, his already formidable memory\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>had grown even stronger, so he must press the advantage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And by completing the imperial examination sooner,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>he could throw himself into larger plans sooner—like overthrowing the Great Song.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chief examiner, unaware of the terrifying plans Zhang Jie was drafting in his mind, stroked his beard and smiled:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Good! Young men should have this kind of drive!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After I finish the provincial examination, I’ll return to Dongjingcheng. You may come find me next spring for the metropolitan examination.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chief examiner continued.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He greatly admired Zhang Jie and had no objection to helping him further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I understand,\" Zhang Jie nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Jie conversed merrily with the chief examiner; a narrow-minded candidate could no longer bear it:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Could this man be the illegitimate son of some minister in the court?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not, why would Chief Examiner Li show him such favor?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Watch your tongue!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The candidate’s newly made friend hurried to stop him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s not the rumor that frightens us—it’s the possibility that it’s true!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’re all here to pass the imperial examination, enter the Hanlin Academy, and become high officials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we offend some minister, won’t our careers be cut short?\u003C\u002Fp>",1610,"2026-06-20T14:22:35.989Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c74256a04180f5c79dcce734db31ed16489f7ad1441acf541916a1cff21a1c79","simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-53","simultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-chapter-51",601,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsimultaneously-transmigrated-my-cheat-skill-is-m-cover.jpg"]