Chapter 28: The Martial Artist's Integrity Earns a Good Reputation (Part 1)
Xiao Chengyan actually didn't know about this matter, but suddenly hearing it now, she couldn't help but sink into thought.
With a faint smile, Yuandai suddenly said: "If sister is interested, I'd be happy to accompany sister in singing a good play!"
Xiao Chengxian heard the words "singing opera" and couldn't help but smile, hastily asking: "I don't know what kind of good opera this singing is?"
After a moment of contemplation, Yuandai finally smiled and said: "As for the name of this play... why don't we temporarily decide on 'The Martial Arts Scholar Guards His Integrity and Gets a Good Reward, One Morning He Climbs to the Top of the Golden Gate'? What do you think, sister?"
Obviously looking at Yuandai, Xiao Cheng said with a smile: "It seems that sister is willing to help him out?"
Yan Dai waved her hand and smiled: "Sister is wrong! I'm just a participant in this matter, the one who should be responsible is sister. After all, he bumped into sister, so it's sister's responsibility to compensate for that dress. Actually, it has nothing to do with me!"
"Enough! There's no need to discuss the silver matter in detail. But I think that even if I help him with some silver, he may not necessarily pass. At that time, don't blame me if he can't get through the Dragon Gate and ends up becoming a slave in my household to pay off his debt!"
Yan Dai smiled lightly and said, "Sister Zhi's clothes are also worth over a hundred taels of silver. If he can't get into the Dragon Gate, it won't take him three to five years to pay her back. Since that's the case, why doesn't sister help him out again? Maybe it'll even turn into a good show!"
This would be said by Ziyu Duan as if it were a literary person, or Xiao Chengyan would also understand the intention of Yuandai's true mind.
In the Great Zhou dynasty, although there were troubles from the northern Di tribes, the capital and its surrounding areas had been at peace for many years. Under such circumstances, the military and civil service examinations of the Great Zhou, which were held every three years, did not receive equal attention. Even compared to the civil jinshi, the military jinshi had an easier time advancing in their careers. Although the official ranks of military jinshi were often several grades higher than those of civil jinshi from the same department, they were still not revered.
In the eyes of scholars and intellectuals of the Great Zhou, a military officer is just a military officer. The rough and unrefined aspects cannot be concealed by the title of a Wu Jinshi or even a Wu Zhuangyuan. In official circles, it is not uncommon for a second-grade military officer to respectfully address a fourth-grade civil officer as "sir".
Although the meaning of Yuanye's words was already very clear, Xiao Chengxian still didn't take it to heart. With her birth and appearance, even if she had intended to choose a husband, she would never have thought that she would actually choose someone from a martial arts background.
With a faint smile, Xiao Cheng asked: "Then according to your opinion, what should we do?"
……?……
The Dazhong examination is held once every three years, presided over by the Ministry of Rites. It is also known as the "Rites Examination", and its location is in the Gongyuan of the Ministry of Rites in Pingjing. Since the examination takes place on the 9th, 12th and 15th days of the second month of spring, it is also called the "Spring Examination".
Because the territory of Dazhou is vast, people near the capital naturally do not rush to come to Pingjing for the exam. After spending the first month at home, they slowly came. It's also timely. But there are those who are close by, and naturally, there are also those who are far away. These candidates have traveled thousands of miles to come to Pingjing, and the problems they consider are many more.
Firstly, after a long journey, it is inevitable to feel mentally exhausted, and if one does not take a good rest for a period of time, it may affect their performance in the examination hall. Secondly, there is also the possibility of being unaccustomed to the local water and soil. Therefore, many new candidates who have just passed the autumn examination would pack up their luggage and set off on the journey to Beijing. After arriving in Beijing, those from wealthy families would either find a quiet room in a mountain temple or rent a house from relatives to live and study. Those of slightly lower status would look for an inn to stay in, and while studying, they could also exchange ideas and discuss literature with fellow candidates who had come to take the examination, in order to make further progress in their studies before the spring examination.
Those who rushed to take the imperial examination included not only those from wealthy families but also those from poor ones. After arriving in Beijing, these scholars usually rented a house in a nearby village or town and lived a simple life, cooking their own meals and living frugally.
In the westernmost part of this small town, there was a thatched cottage. In the thatched cottage lived over ten scholars. It was noon, when the aroma of food wafted from other thatched cottages, but suddenly, a series of coughs came from one of them. The person who coughed was over twenty years old, with a pale face devoid of any blood color, and was so thin that he almost lost his shape.
With this string of coughs, the tightly closed door was suddenly pushed open, and a young man in a green short jacket hurriedly stepped inside, holding a large ceramic bowl in his hand, with thick brown liquid inside, emitting a strong medicinal fragrance.
"Big brother..." The man called out, quickly walking over and placing the bowl in front of the frail man.
The thin man looked up silently and smiled bitterly: "I told you not to go pick herbs again! Why did you still go!"
The young man smiled and said: "Now that the medicine has been fetched, if you don't drink it, big brother, it will be wasted!"
The frail man's smile grew increasingly bitter, but he still took the medicine and drank it all in one gulp.
The young man saw that he had taken the medicine, but was even more delighted than if he had eaten mountain delicacies and seafood. He took over the empty bowl and said: "Big brother must be hungry! I've already cooked porridge!" As he spoke, he hastily turned around and went out, and in a moment, he brought the bowl back in, only this time, the bowl was filled with a full bowl of white porridge: "Big brother, come and drink some porridge quickly!"
He looked at him deeply, and the thin man pushed away the bowl of porridge with his hand, but suddenly asked: "Have you made up your mind?"
The young man was taken aback by this sudden question and smiled awkwardly after a while, saying: "Big brother, what are you talking about? I don't understand!"
A frail young man shook his head gently and said calmly, "Qidong, you and I have grown up together since childhood. How can you hide your thoughts from me? Now I only ask you, do you really plan to give up this great future and go to that wealthy family to sell yourself as a slave?" When he said the four words "sell oneself as a slave", his voice suddenly rose sharply, and an unhealthy flush also appeared on his pale face.
The young man who called out to Dong was silent for a moment, before speaking softly: "I understand what you mean, big brother. But I not only damaged someone's clothes, how can I not compensate? And having agreed to sell myself into slavery, how can I not keep my promise..."
He had just said this, and the thin man was already in a hurry: "You... have you forgotten your aunt? She is now leaning on the door, waiting for us to bring glory to our ancestors. If... you sell yourself as a slave, how can I explain it to her in the future..." This speech was spoken in a stuttering manner, and just after finishing speaking, he coughed so hard that he almost couldn't catch his breath.
Her lips were pressed tightly together, suppressing the urge to rush forward and support the frail man. She said in a low, husky voice: "Even if I sell myself into slavery, I still have my elder brother! When he passes the imperial examination and secures a good position, he will be able to raise enough money to ransom me back. Surely that family would not dare offend a newly appointed scholar-official. And if I were to worry about so-called dignity and reputation now, it would be disloyal and unrighteous; secondly... we are now at the end of our resources, and if I let my brother die in Beijing, how could I face my uncle and aunt back home?"
The frail young man suddenly heard this, and was taken aback. After a long while, he spoke in a low voice: "If you become a slave, all your honors will be stripped away. Think carefully, once these honors are gone..."
He had only spoken halfway when Dong Yi shook his head without hesitation: "This achievement of mine is just a martial arts degree, it's not worth much. The future of a warrior, whether it's through the imperial examination or joining the army, doesn't make much difference. At worst, I'll leave my slave status behind and join the military. With big brother looking out for me in the court, I won't suffer much in the army!"
The frail young man couldn't help but smile wryly. It didn't make much difference, whether one was from a scholarly or military background. According to the usual practice of the Zhou Dynasty, those who were martial arts champions would be appointed as First-Class Imperial Guards in front of the emperor, while the second and third place winners would be appointed as Second-Class Imperial Guards. The top ten graduates from the second class would be appointed as Third-Class Imperial Guards. As for the rest, they would be appointed to the position of Fifth-Rank Defender. However, those who rose through the ranks from a military background had to fight with swords and guns on the battlefield, where no one knew whether you could survive to become a prominent figure.
After gritting his teeth, he suddenly spoke up: "Forget it! Since you've made up your mind, I won't stop you. However... I want to go with you to the Wenxuan Hall and take a look at those two people myself!"
After some thought, Qi Dong felt that this request was not excessive and nodded: "Big brother accompanies me to go, it's naturally good! However, your body is originally weak, if you catch a cold again..."
He was about to say more, but the thin man cut him off with a single word: "Are you going or not?"
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and said: "If you really want to go, wait for me to ask Brother Ding next door to borrow a quilted gown!" When the two of them went out, they naturally had winter clothes ready, but because the thin and weak man had been ill for a long time, not only had he spent all the silver coins he had brought with him, but also all his luggage, quilted clothes, and even the books he carried with him had been sold.
A neighbor, Mr. Ding, was quite close to the two men and although he himself was not well off, he still did his best to help them out. One day, they went east to ask him for a loan of a padded jacket, and naturally, he didn't refuse. He took off the half-new blue cotton-padded jacket he was wearing and handed it over.
He took the quilt with body temperature back to his own house, and forced the thin man to drink half a bowl of hot porridge. Only then did he put the quilt on him, and supported him as they walked slowly. From their residence to the Wenxuan Hall, it was not actually far, but because the thin man's body was really too weak, although Qidong was supporting him, he still stopped from time to time to cough, and his pace was extremely slow.
He saw him like this, and he wanted to turn back, but he also knew that his temperament was stubborn and would not agree. He sighed and said softly: "Those two people, in my opinion, are not harsh people. If I ask them to let my brother live with me, they may not refuse. At present, there are still three months before the exam, which is enough for my brother to recover from his illness and review again!"
The frail young man was taken aback for a moment, and couldn't help but glance at his brother with a hint of surprise. After a while, he let out a bitter laugh and said: "I always thought you were rough and careless, but I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful!"
The more you are like this, the more I cannot bear to let you sell yourself into slavery. After a while, seeing those two people, I couldn't help but put aside my pride and kneel down to beg them to change their minds, temporarily writing off this debt, waiting for the day when I can repay it a hundredfold.