Chapter 5
It seemed that he sensed the gaze upon him; Zheng Fa turned his head, looking at Huang Yu with curiosity.
Huang Yu cleared his throat and sat up straight.
He caught a glimpse of Zheng Fa smiling at him, and an inexplicable mix of embarrassment and anger stirred within him.
...
The ox cart rumbled down the street, heading towards the West City.
"There's a saying in Jingzhou City: 'East is rich, West is noble; South is commercial, North is poor.' Our Zhao family resides in the most prestigious West City," the old driver said proudly.
Indeed, the further west they traveled, the fewer pedestrians they encountered.
Yet this place was far from desolate.
Instead, it was filled with sprawling, grand residences, their gates imposing, making it clear that ordinary folk dared not linger here.
Huang Yu, who had felt a bit excited earlier, now wore a look of apprehension.
After a while, they arrived at a courtyard.
What was called a courtyard was, in fact, an endless expanse of magnificent buildings.
From the street, they couldn't even see where the white walls of the courtyard ended.
Having passed many grand households, Huang Yu had already been awestruck, but upon seeing this one, he felt as if those other mansions were nothing in comparison.
At the entrance of the courtyard stood two towering stone lions, their watchful eyes gazing down at the passersby.
The plaque at the entrance bore the words "Zhao Fu," which filled Huang Yu with a sense of dread, yet also a strange pride.
The ox cart did not stop at the main gate but instead circled around, finally coming to a halt at an inconspicuous back door.
"You're here?"
A middle-aged man, looking like a servant, was already waiting at the door. As soon as the old driver arrived, he urged, "Hurry up! The steward is waiting! Just waiting for you two!"
"Aren't they the ones living the farthest away?" the old man replied.
The servant waved his hand, signaling Zheng Fa and Huang Yu to follow. "I say, those two are just here to make up the numbers."
The old man didn’t argue, merely grunted, "The lady said everyone of this age must come. Are you going to leave anyone out?"
"Ah, I thought so!"
Neither of them bothered to hide their conversation from Huang Yu and Zheng Fa.
Huang Yu found their words grating.
He wanted to retort, but as he looked up at the towering courtyard walls, a thought crossed his mind: perhaps they weren't entirely wrong.
With that thought, he felt even more uncomfortable, as if he couldn't even lift his feet to walk.
He turned to Zheng Fa beside him, only to find that the latter seemed oblivious to their words, leisurely surveying the surroundings with a curious expression.
What a show! Huang Yu silently cursed.
Am I really any worse than him?
With that thought, he straightened his back.
Zheng Fa noticed the changing expressions on Huang Yu's face and guessed a bit of what the boy was thinking.
Whether it was Jingzhou City or the Zhao family courtyard, it was all new to him. Deep down, he felt a twinge of excitement.
But compared to when he first arrived in the modern world, this thrill felt a bit muted.
Moreover, he had seen tall buildings with his own eyes.
He had also seen such grand residences on television.
Now stepping into this courtyard, his feelings were more about novelty than inferiority.
It felt like visiting a tourist attraction.
In contrast to Huang Yu, he appeared more composed.
...
The servant led them to a picturesque lotus pond, at the end of which stood a pavilion by the water.
"This is the second study of the residence. You two can go in," he pointed to the main entrance of the pavilion and then turned to leave.
Huang Yu followed Zheng Fa along the walkway over the pond to the pavilion's entrance.
He discovered that dozens of boys around their age were already standing there.
Upon seeing them, the boys first scrutinized Huang Yu and Zheng Fa from head to toe.
Then, they collectively ignored the two, gathering in small groups, hardly reacting at all.
Huang Yu gritted his teeth in frustration.
He realized that this group consisted of competitors for the position of a book boy.
At that moment, if they had greeted him with disdain or even hostility, it would have been more satisfying than this blatant disregard.
But upon closer inspection of these boys, Huang Yu had to admit that he and Zheng Fa truly posed no threat.
Just look at their clothing.
Zheng Fa wore an old, coarse cloth garment.
Huang Yu was slightly better off, dressed in clothes made from new fabric by his mother, but the material was still rough and stiff.
Many of the boys here wore silk garments, and even those not in silk were neatly dressed in scholar's robes.
This was something his family could never afford.
Yet, this was not enough to make him abandon all hope; after all, the position of a book boy wasn't solely determined by family background.
However, the three boys at the entrance, wearing their scholar caps, made it impossible for him to entertain any thoughts of competition.
After a few years of primary education, he knew that only those who had achieved the status of a "tongsheng" (童生, a title for students who passed certain examinations) could wear such caps openly.
The attire of these three clearly indicated that they were already recognized scholars...
Understanding this, Huang Yu felt a deep sense of despair, finally grasping the meaning behind the old man's words:
What good is a few years of primary education?
His primary school teacher was merely an old "tongsheng" himself...
At this moment, the breath of confidence he had built up since getting on the ox cart seemed to leak away like air from a punctured balloon.
He glanced at Zheng Fa, who still wore that calm expression, and surprisingly, he no longer felt annoyed.
In fact, he felt a hint of camaraderie.
If he was suffering so much, Zheng Fa, dressed even worse and with even less education, must be feeling it more acutely, right?
Zheng Fa sensed the kindness in Huang Yu's gaze and felt a bit puzzled: he hadn’t said a word, so why did Huang Yu look at him so warmly?
As for suffering...
To be honest, Zheng Fa had no idea what the fuss about scholar caps was.
It seemed they had been waiting specifically for him and Zheng Fa; as soon as they arrived, the tightly shut door in front of the boys swung open, and a male servant stepped out, addressing the crowd, "Line up, one at a time!"
Inside, dozens of desks were arranged in several rows, each equipped with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
Zheng Fa took a deep breath, feeling as if he had returned to the time of the monthly exams, a familiar sense of reassurance washing over him.
---
**Chapter 6: This Kid Has Something**
The crowd filed into the pavilion.
At the front stood two middle-aged men. One had a clean-shaven face, dressed in a blue robe, his slender frame standing upright.
The other had a meticulously groomed mustache, dressed in satin, resembling a somewhat portly gentleman.
As they entered, the mustached man spoke first: "Find a spot for yourselves."
Everyone scattered to find a desk, and Zheng Fa chose a vacant corner, kneeling at the desk.
Zheng Fa had always felt that the moments before the exam were the most nerve-wracking.
Like now, the pavilion was so quiet that only the sound of slightly heavy breathing could be heard.
"I am the internal steward under the lady, my surname is Wu. This is Mr. Shen, the teacher of the Seventh Young Master," he gestured to the man in the blue robe. "Today's chief examiner is Mr. Shen."
Mr. Shen nodded slightly, his expression unreadable. He didn’t say anything else, directly stating, "Today, we are selecting a book boy for the Seventh Young Master. Your family backgrounds are quite different."
He glanced at Zheng Fa's short shirt and then surveyed the boys in satin clothing.
"Your knowledge is also varied."
His gaze lingered on the scholar caps atop the three "tongsheng."
"Therefore, to ensure fairness, we will not test anything else today." He pointed to the desk in front of Zheng Fa and the others. "On this desk is a book called 'Qingjing Jing' (清静经, 'The Classic of Purity and Tranquility'). I will recite some chapters, and you will need to write down the passages you can remember."
With that, he didn’t wait for the boys' reactions, nor did he pick up a book, and began reciting from memory.
The boys scrambled to open their copies of the 'Qingjing Jing,' struggling to keep up with Mr. Shen's pace.
"The Great Way is shapeless, giving birth to heaven and earth; the Great Way is unfeeling, operating the sun and moon; the Great Way is nameless, nurturing all things; I do not know its name, I forcefully name it 'Dao.' The Dao has clarity and turbidity, movement and stillness; heaven is clear, earth is turbid, heaven moves, earth is still. Male is clear, female is turbid, male moves, female is still. Lowering the roots and flowing the branches, all things are born. Clarity is the source of turbidity, movement is the foundation of stillness. If a person can remain constantly clear and tranquil, heaven and earth will all return..."
After reciting four chapters, he abruptly stopped and said:
"Alright, hand in your books and begin writing."
The sudden end caught everyone off guard.
The boys sighed in unison, but seeing Mr. Shen's unsmiling face, they dared not complain, obediently placing their unfinished books in front of him.
...
The pavilion fell silent again, with only the sounds of ink grinding and the rustle of paper.
Mr. Shen and Steward Wu stood side by side at the front, watching the ten or so boys bent over their desks. Their lips moved slightly, and their conversation was only audible to each other, clearly indicating they possessed remarkable martial skills.
"Mr. Shen has quite the temper," Steward Wu remarked.
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