Chapter 93: Three Days
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
This was cheating! And it was cheating very openly! The evidence was sufficient, and if such acts were condoned, could this venue still be an imperial examination venue?
The invigilator's expression grew cold. Just as he prepared to reach his hands out to confiscate the examination paper, he realised Fang Zhengzhi had already started writing.
King Wu asked the T'ai Kung, "In general, what are the great essentials in the art of employing the army?"
The T'ai Kung replied: "The ancients who excelled at warfare were not able to wage war above Heaven, nor could they wage war below Earth. Their success and defeat in all cases proceeded from the spiritual employment of strategic power. Those who attained it flourished; those who lost it perished.
Now when our two armies, opposing each other, have deployed their armoured soldiers and established their battle arrays, releasing some of your troops to create chaos in the ranks is the means by which to fabricate deceptive changes.
Deep grass and dense growth are the means by which to effect a concealed escape."
Fang Zhengzhi wrote very quickly, and didn't pause at all, just as if there was a Law of Dao placed right in front of him. Wherever his pen landed, words flowed. In an instant, the twenty seventh chapter of the Six Secret Teachings - "The Unorthodox Army" - was completely copied out from memory.
The invigilator's hand that was reaching towards Fang Zhengzhi's examination paper stopped forcefully in mid-air. His lips moved, as if he had just swallowed a fly, and forcefully swallowed back the words that were already in his mouth.
How was this possible?
He had initially almost confirmed that Fang Zhengzhi acted on purpose just now. But, why would things be like this? Writing out the entire text from memory just based on a random irrelevant sentence?
No matter how he thought, it was something that couldn't possibly happen…
"Then what was wrong?" The invigilator looked at the twenty-seventh chapter that Fang Zhengzhi wrote out from memory, and confirmed that not a single word was wrong.
Furthermore, Fang Zhengzhi had written out everything right in front of him, hence naturally couldn't be suspected of copying. Then, where did the problem lie?
The invigilator frowned deeply, but still couldn't understand.
"Invigilator, do you still have anything for me?"
Fang Zhengzhi had already finished writing. The feeling of completing the entire paper was very satisfying. Raising his head to see the invigilator still standing in front of him, the edges of his mouth curved into a smile.
"No… nothing!" The invigilator really wanted to say something, but in the end, shook his head helplessly and left.
Fang Zhengzhi glanced at the leaving invigilator, then glanced at the surrounding examinees and smiled faintly. Actually, cheating was an art.
…
"Boom!" The gong signifying the end of the theory examination finally sounded.
Countless scholars began to cover their faces and break out in tears once the gong sounded. This time, the capital examination paper was too hard, and many people had left more than half their paper blank.
This represented that they were bound to miss the roll in this capital examination.
As he left the examination venue, Fang Zhengzhi didn't encounter Li Zhuangshi again, and instead saw Yan Xiu at the gate, his expression cold as ice.
Fang Zhengzhi couldn't be blamed. After all, Yan Xiu's position in the crowd was really too eye-catching.
A huge wave of scholars swarmed out of the venue, but, very mysteriously detoured around Yan Xiu, causing a strange void to appear in a two-meter radius around him.
Yan Xiu stood just like that among the crowd, like a crane within a flock of birds.
"How was it?" Yan Xiu asked.
"Not bad." Fang Zhengzhi replied.
"How about the I Ching?" Yan Xiu continued to ask.
"Not a problem." Fang Zhengzhi was confident.
Yan Xiu was silent, then looked up into the sky, as if thinking about something. A moment later, he retracted his gaze and looked at Fang Zhengzhi again.
"The combat examination, I will be roll champion!" Yan Xiu's tone at this moment was filled with confidence.
"I think I will be." Fang Zhengzhi was just as confident.
Yan Xiu's lips quivered, as if he wanted to continue arguing, by in the end, he didn't speak further. Instead, he flicked open the Golden Bone Silver Thread Fan in his hand with a "whoosh!".
Revealing a vast mountain river illustration. An indistinct ray of light flashed. It was unclear whether that was due to the reflection of the sunlight, or the glow of the paper fan…
Fang Zhengzhi's gaze was fixated on that mountain river illustration, and a strange feeling welled up inside him. This illustration seemed too realistic.
"Is there a name for this fan?" Fang Zhengzhi was rather curious.
"Yes, it's called the Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth Fan!" Yan Xiu lightly shook the Golden Bone paper fan.
"Mountain and River, Heaven and Earth?" Fang Zhengzhi nodded and didn't speak further.
…
The biggest advantage of walking with Yan Xiu was that Yan Xiu's body had a natural repulsion force. Anybody and anything that went past would divert their paths to skid around them.
This saved Fang Zhengzhi a lot of trouble.
For example, that fatty who took the examination with him. Even though he followed closely behind Fang Zhengzhi all the way, but didn't come up to greet him.
The two walked slowly, under the gaze of the passers-by all the way into the room of the Serene Ink Pond.
The number of participants in this capital examination was much larger than before, hence the day of the release of results was set to three days later.
…
Within the capital office, the invigilators were marking the scripts in an orderly manner.
Every name was sealed onto the script. After being checked through by the invigilators, the scripts would be passed to a long table.
Wearing a black official robe, Imperial Messenger Qin sat in the middle of the long table, and around him, there were a few other messengers with the word "Imperial" sewn onto their robes marking the scripts.
After the long table, was a rosewood chief table.
An elderly man with a few tufts of silver hair, around the age of fifty sat in the middle. His eyes were half closed and seemed to be extremely pink with health. Similarly, he wore an official robe on his body, but what was different from the other messengers was…
His official robe was white in colour.
On the white official robe, an extremely lifelike picture of a bird was sown in silver thread.
"Beautiful, beautiful!" A messenger dressed in a black official robe gazed at the script in his hands. Seeming extremely excited, he quickly made his way to the elderly man.
"Elder Han, this examination paper is beautifully written, and imbued with deep meaning!" The messenger opened the examination paper and passed it in front of the elderly in the white official robe respectfully.
The elderly referred to as Elder Han wearing the white official robe at this moment also opened his eyes. A faint glint of light flashed in his eyes, and which vanished in an instant.
Then, Elder Han received the examination paper and swept his gaze across it. Then, he lightly placed it down in front of the messenger.
When the messenger saw this, he instantly took up the examination paper again, turned around, and returned to the long table without speaking further. He wrote "Roll Ready" beside the examination paper.
The other messengers looked at the messenger at the long table and nodded lightly, then, began to conscientiously review the scripts once again.
Not too long later, Imperial Messenger Qin also stood up.
Holding an examination paper in his hand, he gradually made his way towards Elder Han.
"Elder Han, please read!"
Elder Han opened his eyes once again, and received the examination paper from Imperial Messenger Qin's hands. Sweeping his gaze across it, his initially semi-closed eyes widened, and his lips twitched, opening and closing slightly as if softly reciting the answers written on it.
After exactly fifteen minutes, Elder Han placed down the examination paper lightly.
Then, smearing his hand across it, the name sealed onto the script was erased, revealing a list of examinee particulars.
The next moment, Elder Han's brows threaded together in a frown, a very tight frown…
…
There were three days to wait, hence the scholars in the River of Trust Capital naturally wouldn't wait lonelily, and instead, as if already agreed upon, appeared at the river side of the River of Trust.
Because, here was a person who enchanted and captivated their souls.
Beside the River of Trust, that flowed through the River of Trust Capital, Yun Qingwu's pleasure boat stopped silently at the shore. It blended into the surrounding scenery, and in addition to the green willows that draped down, it was as beautiful as a fairyland.
Countless scholars surrounded the pleasure boat and waited, craning their necks and looking around, just to be able to see Yun Qingwu's figure once. Some scholars even took out their precious collection of jewellery as well as renowned poetry and pictorial art, wishing to admire them together with Yun Qingwu.
But, Yun Qingwu never came out once, as if Yun Qingwu simply wasn't inside the pleasure boat…
These three days, Fang Zhengzhi's life was more or less similar to Yun Qingwu, and also didn't appear in the streets of the River of Trust Capital. Instead, he stayed in the room and leisurely read his books, or drank tea and ate snacks with Yan Xiu.
Three days later.
In front of the capital office door of the River of Trust Capital, numerous scholars were already waiting in front of the roll stone. Each of their faces was filled with anxiety and nervousness. After all, this capital examination only had one round of theory examination.
Passing it meant life, failing it meant death!