Through the Five Elements, Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and the four seasons, establishing a unified theory capable of explaining the mysteries of heaven and earth, the reincarnation, birth, and death of all things had always been the Agrarian School's ultimate goal.
This proposition was far too grand and profound. No one could truly answer it, not even a Grand Agriculture Official of the first rank.
Yet precisely because of this, anyone could earn points on the final question.
Clerks only needed to answer according to current theories, writing down what they had memorized by rote. Out of twenty points, they could at least get two or three.
If they could make even a slight connection between the Five Elements, Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and four seasons, they could earn half the points.
To score higher, they had to come up with something original.
But they could not stray too far from established ideas. They still had to build upon existing theories, or it would be dismissed as "fabrication." Even experienced Agriculture Officials might not be able to manage it.
Since it was so difficult to offer anything new, why insist on including this question?
Because the Five Elements and Four Seasons Theory was extremely important. Whenever Agriculture Officials refined the Solar Terms Decree, they referred to the Five Elements and Four Seasons Theory when casting spells.
If the four seasons did not manifest, then one had to establish them. How? They had to be determined in conjunction with the Five Elements.
If the four seasons fell into disorder, then one had to alter them. How? The power of the Five Elements still had to be used.
Thus, this question would essentially never become outdated.
"Clerks can answer freely and write down their own views and conjectures, but their answers still need to cater to the examiner's preferences."
"If the examiner belongs to the Celestial Timing Faction, then the answer must approach the question through the theories in Great Five Elements of Celestial Timing. If the examiner belongs to the Earthly Advantage Faction, then Earth Reigns in Late Summer Theory is most appropriate."
"If it's the True Self Faction? Then it would be the Yin Yang Five Elements True Self Scripture. But the True Self Faction is weak, and its ideas are not popular. They do not align with mainstream theories, so using them to answer this question would be forcing it," Zhao Xing thought.
The True Self Faction believed that every living being possessed its own internal cycle of celestial timing. Put simply, it was a "biological clock." They matched the five viscera with the Five Elements, and other bodily organs with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.
This theory was called the Lesser Five Elements and Four Seasons Theory, also known as the Inner Five Elements and Four Seasons Theory. Its name alone showed that it was not accepted by the mainstream. It was relatively obscure and niche.
But once the Revival Version arrived, the True Self Faction rose to prominence, and this theory became widely practiced, crushing all other schools.
Because "Pure Origin Soil could be opened up within the body," "Original Seeds could be cultivated in the dantian," and one could even observe heaven and earth within oneself, becoming a world unto oneself.
But if he wrote that now, even members of the True Self Faction would think he was insane. At present, the most they could achieve was "opening up Pure Origin Soil." Becoming a world unto oneself within the body? Are you crazy?
So Zhao Xing immediately ruled it out.
"The earliest Five Elements Treatise matched Jia with wood, Bing with fire, Wu with earth, Geng with metal, and Ren with water. But the connections were too weak, with no consideration at all for coordination among the four seasons."
"Later, each season was divided into three months: Meng, Zhong, and Ji."
"The three spring months—Early Spring, Mid-Spring, and Late Spring—lay in the east, belonged to wood among the Five Elements, and matched Jia and Yi."
"The first two summer months—Early Summer and Mid-Summer—lay in the south, belonged to fire among the Five Elements, and matched Bing and Ding."
"The third month of summer, 'Late Summer,' lay in the center, belonged to earth among the Five Elements, and matched Wu and Ji."
"The three autumn months—Early Autumn, Mid-Autumn, and Late Autumn—lay in the west, belonged to metal among the Five Elements, and matched Geng and Xin."
"The three winter months—Early Winter, Mid-Winter, and Late Winter—lay in the north, belonged to water among the Five Elements, and matched Ren and Gui."
This was the mainstream Earth Reigns in Late Summer Theory.
Zhao Xing had not intended to give an outstanding answer. He would basically not lose points on the earlier questions, which was already enough to make him stand out in this assessment. So he simply copied down the mainstream theory word for word.
That way, he could earn at least thirty percent of the points no matter what.
"If this question appeared in an official Temple Examination, I could add a few improvements. The current allocation of the Five Elements to the months is unbalanced. Fire and earth are too weak; together, they are assigned only two months."
Should I add just a little of my own view first?
Zhao Xing pondered for half a shichen, his brush raised but unmoving.
In the end, he decided to write two more sentences.
"Among the Five Elements, none is more precious than earth. Regarding the four seasons, there is nothing it does not command, yet it does not contend with fire for merit and fame."
"Let wood, fire, metal, and water each govern one season; let earth reside in the center, holding the cord and controlling the four directions."
After writing those two lines, Zhao Xing did not answer any further. This merely made a slight improvement to the imbalance in assigning the Five Elements to the months; it was not too great a change.
In truth, he had excluded earth from "governing the four seasons" and merely given it the empty title of "controlling the four directions."
But that was enough. For a minor clerk to write something like this already showed that he had ideas.
In truth, this was the embryonic form of the later Earth Reigns in Four Seasons Theory. However, Zhao Xing had no intention of revealing the later, improved Earth Reigns in Four Seasons Theory just yet. If one's virtue did not match one's position, speaking too much would inevitably bring disaster.
After answering the final question, Zhao Xing discovered that dawn had already arrived. It was the next day.
"The examination began in the afternoon, and now it's the next morning. I actually spent this long answering? Looks like I spent too much time considering the last question."
A true top student had to consider how to control their score. During the last assessment, Zhao Xing had not only controlled his own score, but everyone else's as well.
This time, he had to consider the actual impact, so he had thought about it for longer.
"I'm starving. I didn't even eat, and the food they brought has gone cold."
After striking it rich at the Lao River, Zhao Xing could no longer stand this cold "staff meal."
He was planning to turn in early anyway. Once he left the examination hall, he would go eat at a restaurant.
Zhao Xing sorted out his answer sheets, making sure none were missing, then carried them toward the proctors' hall.
The sky was not fully bright so early in the morning, but the patrols and proctors were not the least bit lax. If this were an official Temple Examination, even Yin spirits would come supervise, to prevent ghosts from helping people cheat!
"Hm? Turning in so early?" Xue Wenzhong sat in the hall. Seeing Zhao Xing enter alongside a guard, he could not help frowning.
He felt Zhao Xing was being too arrogant. The examination was not even halfway over, and he had already finished?
Xue Wenzhong had set the questions himself, so naturally he knew their difficulty. To select talented people for recommendation to the prefecture, each later examination had been harder than the last.
Zhao Xing's aptitude for spells was not bad, but theory was another matter. A muscular brute might not necessarily be able to write a splendid essay.
"Did earning Grade A twice make him arrogant?"
Zhao Xing handed over his answer sheets, then bowed. "My lords, I have come to turn in my papers."
Gao Linong, Tang Wanchun, and Pang Yuan were quite surprised. Their thoughts were much the same as Xue Wenzhong's. He had finished in so little time?
But they immediately composed their expressions, neither pleased nor displeased, while the same thought arose in each of their hearts:
Good, good, good. We're not afraid of this brat being arrogant; we're only afraid he isn't arrogant enough. He's the first to turn in his papers, so we must review them carefully. We absolutely cannot go easy on him!
Chen Shijie saw things differently. His confidence in Zhao Xing far surpassed that of the others, born from the natural trust he had in a kindred spirit.
"Good. You're the first to turn in your papers. I knew I had not misjudged you. Wait here for a moment; we will soon finish reviewing your results."
Before you continue