The Wordless Paper

Dawn had only just broken, and the mist had yet to disperse.

A horse-drawn carriage ambled along the ancient road beside the city.

Seeing that the "driver" was busy drinking alone, the horse felt no urgency to hurry and instead dragged the carriage along at a leisurely pace.

The "driver" reclined halfway across the driver's seat, drinking from a wine flask.

As the carriage rolled slowly along the stone road, it was hard to tell whether the man was traveling through the scenery or the scenery was drifting past the carriage.

Suddenly inspired, the "driver" took a deep gulp of wine and began reciting poetry.

"In Peach Blossom Hollow stands Peach Blossom Hermitage,

Beneath Peach Blossom Hermitage lives the Peach Blossom Immortal;

The Peach Blossom Immortal plants peach trees,

Then picks their blossoms to trade for wine money..."

The "driver" was reciting with gusto when the carriage curtain suddenly lifted, and a little head poked out.

The little girl stuck her head out, pouting at the "driver" as she complained, "Young master, you're going to take the examination today... why are you still drinking?"

The "driver" was none other than Su Mo, on his way to the examination. Setting out early that morning, he had borrowed a horse from his Third Senior Sister, Gu Yu. The little girl had wanted to come along and have a look, so he had borrowed a carriage as well.

Originally, Su Mo had refused to let the little girl come. She couldn't enter the examination grounds, so what was the point?

But the little girl said she wanted to go to the Riverboat Pavilion herself to play with Luo Yin, so Su Mo hadn't refused.

Apparently, while he had been unconscious, the little girl had become familiar with Luo Yin and the others... Su Mo thought to himself, Looks like I'll have to ask the girl to take me along whenever I want to hear music at the Riverboat Pavilion!

"I'm getting myself into the right frame of mind. A little wine clears my head! Back in his day, Li Bai always produced fine poetry after drinking. I'm following the example of the ancients." Su Mo explained with a smile.

"Who's Li Bai?" the little girl asked.

"Uh..." Su Mo thought for a long while, unsure where to begin.

The little girl climbed out of the carriage and settled into Su Mo's lap. Tilting her head up, she stopped questioning him and advised him instead, "You've had enough anyway. Any more and you'll get drunk."

"All right, all right, no more drinking!" At her words, Su Mo reluctantly put down the flask and gathered the little girl into his arms...

The little girl blinked her large eyes at Su Mo. "And then?"

"Then what?" Su Mo asked, bewildered.

"The poem you were reciting, young master. You hadn't finished it!" After hearing what Su Mo had recited, the little girl felt there ought to be more.

Su Mo tilted his head. "Let me think..."

Seeing that Su Mo had stopped drinking, the horse feared he would discover it had been slacking off, so it quickened its steps.

Clop-clop... clop-clop...

"When sober, I sit before the flowers,

When drunk, I return to sleep beneath them;

Half sober, half drunk, day after day,

Flowers fall and flowers bloom, year after year.

Let me grow old and die amid flowers and wine,

Rather than bow before carriages and horses.

Carriage dust and horses' hooves delight the rich,

Wine cups and flowering branches are the poor man's lot.

If wealth and rank are measured against poverty,

One lies on level ground, the other in the heavens;

If poverty is measured against carriages and horses,

They must rush about, while I enjoy my leisure.

The world laughs at me for being too mad,

I laugh at others for failing to see through it all;

Have you not seen the tombs of heroes at the Five Mausoleums,

With neither flowers nor wine, now plowed into fields...

"Fine poetry... truly fine poetry..."

A passerby by the roadside, dressed like a scholar, heard Su Mo reciting and couldn't help voicing his admiration.

Su Mo tugged on the reins, bringing the carriage to a stop.

Seeing Su Mo halt the carriage, the scholar who had spoken cupped his hands and asked amiably, "Brother, are you taking the Spring Examination?"

Su Mo nodded and asked curiously, "Indeed. Are you as well?"

"Unless something unexpected happens, I believe we share the same destination." The young man wore plain clothing and didn't appear to come from a wealthy household.

Su Mo, meanwhile, had already changed out of his Academy clothes into the elegant white robes Gu Yu had given him, making him look like the scion of a scholarly family.

Only the topknot the girl had tied for him still looked rather delicate.

"My name is Su Mo, courtesy name Jing Yan. How should I address you, brother?"

The young man immediately felt that the name sounded familiar. After a moment's thought, he exclaimed, "Could you be the Su Mo who displayed paintings on the street that day, then composed that masterpiece, 'Silk-Covered'?"

Su Mo froze... Word had already spread?

"I did compose it, though I wouldn't call it a masterpiece. It was merely something I happened to write!" Su Mo shamelessly claimed the credit, though his words remained modest.

"Brother Su, you're far too modest..."

Seeing Su Mo's luxurious clothing and horse-drawn carriage, the young man assumed he was the son of a wealthy household. Yet he was approachable, modest, and unassuming in conversation, which greatly increased the young man's favorable impression of him.

"My name is Jiang Yu, a native of Jiangxi. I have yet to take a courtesy name."

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "I was quite confident of taking first place in the Spring Examination, but I never expected to encounter you, Brother Su. That lyric the other day and this poem today both leave me gladly bowing to your superiority."

"Truly, beyond every great man stands another, and beyond every heaven lies another heaven."

Su Mo immediately felt embarrassed... There was no helping it; his foundation was hollow. All these poems and lyrics had been copied...

"Brother, why belittle yourself? All I can do is dabble in poetry, calligraphy, and painting. Practical affairs and governance are my weaknesses. Surely a few poems aren't enough to take first place in the Spring Examination?"

Jiang Yu shook his head and asked in surprise, "Brother Su, don't you know?"

"Know what?" Su Mo blinked.

"This Spring Examination will consist of only one session."

"Only one session?" Su Mo genuinely hadn't heard about this.

Jiang Yu nodded. "His Majesty has decreed that this Spring Examination will consist of only one session, combining the Four Books and Five Classics, policy questions, and the eight-legged essay into a single paper, with no restrictions on literary form. We simply don't know what question His Majesty will set to bring all these elements together."

Su Mo was speechless. That man certainly had nerve, changing the contents of the imperial examinations on a whim. In his previous life, reforming the imperial examinations had been a major undertaking.

After thinking it over, he remembered that this was a different world, and let it go.

"So..." Jiang Yu smiled. "I suspect using poetry as the vehicle for one's answer will offer an advantage."

Su Mo cupped his hands in thanks. "Thank you for enlightening me, Brother Jiang."

Jiang Yu hurriedly waved his hands.

Su Mo said, "I've enjoyed speaking with you, Brother Jiang, and we're headed the same way. Why not climb aboard? We can go to the examination grounds together."

Jiang Yu was immediately tempted.

Just then, however, the horse in front turned its head and shot Jiang Yu a cold glance, almost human in its manner. Its hoof scraped lightly against the ground, carrying a distinctly threatening air.

Seeing the horse's behavior, Jiang Yu immediately grew uneasy and waved his hands repeatedly. "No need, no need... it's still early, and I have something to attend to before heading to the examination grounds. Please go ahead, Brother Su."

Su Mo hadn't seen what the horse had done. Assuming Jiang Yu really had something to attend to, he felt it would be inappropriate to pry and didn't insist.

"Then I'll see you at the examination grounds." Su Mo waved and drove the horse onward.

Watching Su Mo's carriage disappear into the distance, Jiang Yu wiped away a cold sweat and thought, Brother Su really must be a scion of an aristocratic clan. Even his horse is so arrogant.

Su Mo held the little girl as he drove the carriage along. By the time they reached the entrance to the examination grounds, the examination was about to begin.

It wasn't because the horse had been slow, but because Su Mo had first taken the little girl out for breakfast before leisurely making his way to the examination site.

Life in his previous world had instilled an excellent habit in Su Mo-arriving at the last possible moment!

Su Mo turned back to instruct the little girl sitting in the carriage. "Be careful on your way to Fairy Luo Yin's Riverboat Pavilion. If anything happens, don't handle it yourself. Ask Fairy Luo Yin or Third Senior Sister to deal with it, or wait for me to come out."

"Mm-hmm!" The little girl nodded obediently.

"Young master... just do your best. Even if you don't get a good result, it doesn't matter. We can still return to Jiangnan."

Smiling, Su Mo ruffled the girl's little head, then turned toward the horse pulling the carriage and asked dubiously, "Do you know the way to the Riverboat Pavilion?"

The horse raised its proud head and snorted noisily, as though retorting to Su Mo's doubts.

Su Mo chuckled, patted the horse's head, and turned to enter the examination grounds.

Once Su Mo had left, the horse glanced back at the little girl to make sure she was seated securely. Then, with a "clop-clop... clop-clop..." of its hooves, it ambled toward the Riverboat Pavilion.

After presenting his travel permit and other credentials, Su Mo was led into an examination cubicle, where he quietly waited for the examination to begin.

Suddenly, a familiar scent stirred in Su Mo's mind.

It was the aura of the Blood Pill from beneath West City that night...

Clang... clang... clang...

The bell rang, and the Spring Examination began.

An examination paper was delivered to Su Mo's cubicle.

Su Mo unfolded it. There wasn't a single word on the paper...