"Passing the Presented Scholar Examination still left us without official status. We had to pass the Ministry of Personnel's selection process before receiving an appointment. Yuan Xu stood out among all the successful candidates in talent, reputation, character, and looks, and was immediately appointed a Collator in the Secretariat Library. Though low in rank, the post had demanding requirements and offered rapid promotion, making it an ideal starting point for future eminent ministers and worthy chancellors. I fell far short of him and entered the Ministry of Works, an idle department.
As for Chen Shigu, he failed the selection process several times. In the end, he simply did not belong to that circle. Proud and stubborn, he never offered a pleasant word or expression even when dealing with the powerful. The court would never employ someone so aloof and unwilling to fit in. It would have to wear him down for eight or ten years, grinding away every proud bone in his body, before considering him.
Chen Shigu did not care at all about failing to become an official. He relaxed completely, spending his days wandering Chang'an City and drinking to his heart's content. He called himself 'Yan's study companion,' styling himself as Yuan Xu's bookboy. Having accompanied him through the examinations, he considered his purpose fulfilled. He had no desire to sharpen his head to squeeze his way in, watching other people's faces just to earn that salary.
He looked very poor, often wearing a hemp headcloth and a plain cloth robe and drinking wine on credit. Strangely, however, he always had rare antiquities from previous dynasties to toy with. He was famous in our circle of Bronze Script and antique enthusiasts. When asked where he had obtained them, he said he had bought them at Chang'an's Ghost Market.