The Day of the Prefectural Examination, Chen Xinghe's Ambition [Bonus chapter for Most Innocent]

Xu Qingxiao had not forgotten the handsome man.

Had so much not happened, he would probably have gone to find the handsome man as soon as he left Bailu Academy.

The Heaven and Earth Literary Palace.

When Xu Qingxiao appeared, the handsome man inside the Literary Palace once again assumed human form.

Whenever Xu Qingxiao left, the handsome man would turn back into a statue and stand within the Literary Palace, searching through his memories.

"Brother Qingxiao, have you found any clues?"

The handsome man asked. These days, he spent every waking moment pondering his origins.

Xu Qingxiao did not beat around the bush. A smile appeared on his face.

"Senior, I have indeed found some clues."

"This Literary Palace was built by the Great Sage, who had seven disciples."

"There are indeed seven statues in the main hall, but I could not uncover everything about those seven people. Too much time has passed, after all, leaving no way to verify the details."

"Still, I found some information. The Great Sage's first disciple was named Zhaoge, a man of unrivaled talent and peerless beauty."

"At his birth, the stars trembled, celestial music rang through the heavens, and purple qi came from the east. He composed poems at three, exquisite lyrics at five, and became renowned throughout the world at ten. At twenty, he established his guiding purpose. At twenty-five, he became a Grand Confucian, took the Great Sage as his master, and attained the exalted rank of Half-Saint."

"Sadly, he was born in the Age of Utter Darkness. As humanity's living flame, he burned himself to illuminate the world, sealing away a Peerless Demon and perishing in the process."

"Senior, does any of this stir your memories?"

Xu Qingxiao did not dare conclude outright that this Zhaoge was the handsome man before him, but the similarities were striking. The likelihood was high.

At these words, the man froze. His gaze grew hazy, as though he were recalling something.

"The Sage's first disciple."

"Unrivaled talent."

"Peerless beauty."

"Composing poems at three."

"Exquisite lyrics at five."

"A Grand Confucian and Half-Saint."

"Sacrificed himself for the world."

"Yes."

"Yes."

"That's exactly right! That's me, that's me! I'm Zhaoge! That's right, Brother Qingxiao, I'm Zhaoge!"

The handsome man spoke with tremendous excitement, unable to contain his delight as he declared himself Zhaoge.

"Have you remembered, Senior?"

Xu Qingxiao also looked delighted as he asked.

"No, but it's an instinct. I must be Zhaoge."

"Brother Qingxiao, I will remember this great kindness until my dying breath. Unfortunately, my memories have yet to recover fully, but I feel that what you've told me can help restore some of them."

The handsome man's answer left Xu Qingxiao stunned.

He really had no idea how to respond.

He had thought the man remembered something. Who knew it was only instinct?

Uh. Well...

But on reflection, the similarities really were overwhelming.

Whatever the truth, anyone who could remain within the Heaven and Earth Literary Palace and have a statue erected here must have an extraordinary background.

Even if he was not the Sage's first disciple, he could not be far below that. Xu Qingxiao simply said,

"In that case, this junior, Xu Qingxiao, pays his respects to Half-Saint Zhaoge."

Xu Qingxiao performed the grand bow reserved for a Sage.

Half-Saints held an exceedingly high position in the Confucian Dao, second only to Sages, and the gap was not particularly large. Exactly where that difference lay, Xu Qingxiao did not know.

One thing was certain: the man was millions of times more formidable than he was.

If I don't cling to this powerful backer now, when will I?

"You're too courteous, Brother Qingxiao."

"I, Zhaoge, may once have been a Half-Saint, but now I'm merely a remnant soul. Since we have established my identity, let us continue addressing each other as equals. Say no more about it. I mean this."

Zhaoge spoke with a thoroughly earnest attitude.

With him putting it that way, Xu Qingxiao did not insist. Excessive humility was indeed no good.

"My respects, Brother Zhaoge."

Xu Qingxiao bowed again.

The other man returned his bow.

Then Zhaoge continued, "Brother Qingxiao, I feel some memories returning. Let me ponder them for a while. If I can find a way to resolve your trouble with the unorthodox art, I will tell you immediately."

Zhaoge had not forgotten Xu Qingxiao's current predicament.

Hearing this, Xu Qingxiao felt touched. As expected of a Half-Saint-what admirable character.

"Then I won't disturb you, Brother Zhaoge. Your humble younger brother will take his leave."

Xu Qingxiao nodded. In truth, he was eager for Zhaoge to recover his memories. Even if he could not find a solution to the unorthodox art, remembering anything else would still be a good thing.

He could offer Xu Qingxiao some guidance.

"Thank you, Brother Qingxiao."

Zhaoge thanked Xu Qingxiao once more. Xu Qingxiao did not disturb him any further and withdrew from the Heaven and Earth Literary Palace. Zhaoge instantly became a statue again, standing inside the Literary Palace as he recalled his origins.

April ninth.

As a ray of golden sunlight pierced the darkness, Southern Yu Prefecture stirred to life again. With the Prefectural Examination taking place tomorrow, however, it was considerably quieter than before. At least the streets were far less noisy.

The areas around the various inns had also been cleared considerably.

Tomorrow was the Prefectural Examination.

Like the other Confucian scholars, Xu Qingxiao stayed inside the inn.

Apart from the waiter bringing him some food, no one disturbed him.

The Prefectural Examination was imminent.

Xu Qingxiao remained quite calm. After all, placing among the top candidates was impossible. Simply making the cut would be enough to thank heaven and earth.

His education in his previous life had merely acquainted him with some poetry and verse.

As for essays, Xu Qingxiao had never really read any. He had only learned how to write them while staying at Zhou Ling's home.

But those lessons had covered only structure: how to begin, how to develop the middle, how to conclude, and which expressions to use.

When it came to actually writing one, Xu Qingxiao did not believe he could produce a peerless essay.

Still, being unable to write one did not mean he could neglect his studies.

Rather than studying essay-writing methods, Xu Qingxiao slowly wrote four characters on a blank sheet.

[Secure the Nation]

[Prosper the Nation]

These were his teacher's predictions for the topic. The Prefectural Lord had also predicted Secure the Nation.

Xu Qingxiao's gaze, however, settled on Prosper the Nation.

Secure the Nation and Prosper the Nation actually shared common ground at their core. Recalling the points everyone had raised at the banquet a few days earlier, Xu Qingxiao began to form some ideas.

If the topic was Secure the Nation...

Most people would indeed focus on the northern barbarians or the borders.

Without slaying the barbarians, how could the nation be secured?

Without stabilizing the borders, how could there be national security?

But if that were all, there would be no need to make this year's Prefectural Examination so grand.

During his days reading at Bailu Academy, Xu Qingxiao had spent most of his time on history books, especially recent history.

To make a good life for himself in this world, understanding its history was paramount, especially since he was a scholar.

He would inevitably enter officialdom in the future, as either a civil or a military official.

Given the choice, Xu Qingxiao would certainly prefer to become a military official. He could practice martial arts when he had nothing to do and beat up anyone who annoyed him. Win the fight and pay compensation; lose the fight and buy a house. Life would surely be delightful.

But whether he became a civil or military official, enjoying a peaceful life required a deep understanding of court struggles.

Examined closely, those struggles involved forming factions, conflict between civil and military officials, power, economics, and all manner of other factors.

Broadly speaking, however, it was really the emperor's game.

An enlightened ruler reasoned with you; a tyrant flipped the table.

Fortunately, the current sovereign was someone who listened to reason.

The sovereign played by the rules. Thus, from recent history, Xu Qingxiao had learned one thing.

Great Wei was poor.

In fact, it was desperately poor.

After seven Northern Expeditions, it would have been a miracle if it weren't.

Since the nation was poor, anyone still clamoring, "I want to launch a Northern Expedition! I want to lead everyone in trampling the northern barbarians flat! Choose me as your boss-I'll fight my way to the moon!" would certainly find no favor with the emperor.

That was why Xu Qingxiao did not want to write his essay around the Northern Expedition.

Instead, he would approach it through economics.

Xu Qingxiao could not guarantee that his ideas would accord with the emperor's wishes.

But at least there was a fine saying: beautiful faces were all alike, while an interesting soul was one in ten thousand.

If everyone wrote about the Northern Expedition, how dull would that be? An essay on economics could at least make someone's eyes light up.

Perhaps the emperor would like it and offer a word or two of praise. Even if Xu Qingxiao failed the Prefectural Examination, he would still have left a decent impression.

With that thought, Xu Qingxiao continued pondering.

And so, he filled sheet after sheet with writing.

However, the characters on those sheets were all simplified, and the contents were a jumble of unrelated things.

"No gifts accepted this holiday season," "Nothing in the world beats black stockings"-all sorts of peculiar nonsense.

This continued until the hour of the tiger the following morning.

Dawn had yet to break.

A knock at the door jolted Xu Qingxiao out of his thoughts.

"Qingxiao."

It was his senior brother Chen Xinghe's voice.

Xu Qingxiao immediately rose and opened the door, finding Chen Xinghe standing before him with a cool expression.

"Your junior brother Qingxiao greets you, Senior Brother."

He had not seen his senior brother for several days. Now that they met again, his senior brother's bearing seemed even more extraordinary.

"The Prefectural Examination begins in another four hours. Come with me to the Prefectural Examination Hall, lest a delay ruin this important occasion."

Chen Xinghe was the same as always, unchanged.

"Thank you for reminding me, Senior Brother."

Xu Qingxiao nodded. Without packing anything, he followed Chen Xinghe straight out.

The two went downstairs, where Wang Ru and several scholars traveling together were already waiting. Upon seeing Chen Xinghe, they smiled calmly.

But when they saw Xu Qingxiao, excitement lit up every pair of eyes.

Watching this, Chen Xinghe felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

It also inexplicably reminded him of what had happened at the banquet a few days earlier.

Soon, however, Chen Xinghe regained his composure.

Since that humiliating banquet, he had not stepped outside his room even once. There was only one reason: he had been studying essays for the Prefectural Examination.

Chen Xinghe certainly did not blame Xu Qingxiao for anything. He had merely embarrassed himself.

Still, his competitive spirit remained. When his junior brother composed lyrics worthy of enduring through the ages, his first reaction had been happiness.

But that was only composing lyrics.

Essays were a Confucian scholar's foremost priority.

Chen Xinghe did not look down on Xu Qingxiao. He simply felt that Xu Qingxiao had only been studying for a month. Talented though he truly was, he could not possibly master everything overnight.

In this prefectural capital's examination, he, Chen Xinghe, would make certain Xu Qingxiao understood that a senior brother was still a senior brother.

He would also make certain the scholars of Southern Yu Prefecture knew that he, Chen Xinghe, brimmed with talent.

Of course, one thing deeply troubled Chen Xinghe: Xu Qingxiao's attainment of a rank.

His teacher had actually failed to tell him that Xu Qingxiao had already attained a rank, causing him to say so many embarrassing things in front of Xu Qingxiao.

Now, looking back...

Humiliation!

Humiliation!

Utter humiliation!

Phew.

Exhaling without betraying anything, Chen Xinghe restored his inner calm.

The examination in the prefectural capital.

This was the examination in which he would prove himself.

Junior Brother Qingxiao.

Let your senior brother show you what talent truly means.

With that thought, Chen Xinghe walked out of the inn, while the others followed alongside him.

No one spoke along the way.

But all their gazes rested on the Prefectural Examination Hall.

A quarter of an hour later.

Xu Qingxiao arrived at the Southern Yu Prefectural Examination Hall.

By now, the area outside the examination hall was already packed beyond capacity.

--

A quick announcement: July plans to delete the standalone post from a few days ago. Thank you to Most Innocent for the Silver Alliance donation, which boosted this book's results considerably. Thanks as well to Alliance Leader Black 21 for the donation, and to every dear reader supporting July. So I'm deleting that standalone post. Now that the book is doing well, I can focus on writing it properly.

Thank you, everyone!