The Street Outside the Examination Compound.
The moment Li Ke let the question, “Which essay did you write for the examination?” slip from his lips, it rang clearly in the ears of everyone present.
The tens of thousands gathered along the street had been restless with anticipation over the posting of the results, but now the entire avenue fell into a brief silence once more.
Li Ke stood three paces away from Zheng Xiuyuan. He bent respectfully at the waist and cupped his hands.
Hearing the brazen challenge, Liu Wenyuan immediately let out a cold laugh.
Turning his head, he whispered mockingly to the sons of prominent families beside him.
“This pauper is about to meet his end, yet he still doesn’t know it. Brother Zheng’s learning was nourished by generations of great scholars from the Xingyang Zheng clan, buried in their stacks of books!” Liu Wenyuan cast a sidelong glance at Li Ke, his tone dripping with contempt. “He simply refuses to give up until he sees the coffin. Brother Zheng need only recite half a sentence of his opening, and it will shame these ignorant fools who have never seen the wider world into retreating. They won’t even dare cross the threshold of the examination compound!”
Several scions of aristocratic families nodded in agreement, whispering among themselves as they waited to see the impoverished scholar make a fool of himself.
Before the posted list, Zheng Xiuyuan lowered the hands he had just raised in greeting to Xu Zijin.
He slowly turned around and faced Li Ke directly.
Yet there was not the slightest trace of anger on Zheng Xiuyuan’s face after being so rudely confronted. He seemed about to speak, and his lips parted first.
“Heavenly principle is naturally complete; it is not diminished by human desires. The Way of the sages stands supreme; how could it bend even slightly before worldly sentiment?”
The moment Zheng Xiuyuan spoke, his voice carried the measured gravity of a revered Confucian scholar lecturing from a dais.
Li Ke’s eyelids twitched sharply.
It was genuine. Just as he had expected.
Zheng Xiuyuan continued reciting the exposition that followed the opening.
“Therefore, the gentleman fears the Mandate of Heaven, fears great men, and fears the words of the sages. The transformation and movement of Heaven follow their own laws. The people are endowed with the five constant virtues; only by acting in accordance with principle can they accord with the Great Way. To use worldly sentiment to rashly speculate upon the foundation of creation is to abandon the root for the branch, losing one’s heart and nature.
“Thus, as the sages of former dynasties once said: principle must be found in the Classics, and the Way must be found in history.
“Only by immersing oneself in the subtle words and profound meanings of the sages can one rectify the heart and make one’s intentions sincere, cultivate oneself and regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the realm…”
Long passages of classical doctrine and philosophical reasoning poured from Zheng Xiuyuan’s mouth.
The prose was balanced and harmonious, seamless in every respect.
Every word and phrase adhered tightly to the orthodox teachings imparted at the Imperial Academy, leaving not the slightest opening for criticism.
At one corner of the street, the portly shopkeeper of Shulin Study was stretching onto his tiptoes, straining desperately to hear.
When he reached the third sentence, he slapped the account clerk beside him on the head with his thick palm and urged him frantically, “Write it down! Hurry up and write it down! Don’t just stand there like an idiot! This is the original essay written by the new Provincial Laureate in the examination hall!” The fat shopkeeper stamped his feet anxiously, waving both hands in the air. “Take it back and have the typesetters work through the night to print it. On the cover, write: ‘The Xingyang Zheng Clan’s Imperial Selection—The Laureate’s Model Essay.’ We can sell it to those provincial candidates who have just come to the capital for the examinations. We can charge at least five qian of silver per copy! That’s pure profit!”
The clerk staggered from the blow and nearly fell.
He hurriedly regained his balance, then pulled a piece of charcoal and several sheets of rough paper from the gray cloth satchel at his waist.
After glancing around, he threw himself onto a long bench beside a noodle stall.
With his backside sticking up in the air, the clerk’s hand flew across the page, copying every word Zheng Xiuyuan recited exactly as he heard it.
Amid the worldly bustle of the crowded street, the merchants’ hunger for profit and the sanctity of examination learning mingled together without disturbing one another.
Zheng Xiuyuan’s recitation did not take long, and his pace remained steady from beginning to end.
When the final syllable fell, several thousand scholars in the crowd held their breaths, carefully savoring the meaning of the essay they had just heard.
“Excellent! What a line—‘Heavenly principle is naturally complete’!”
In the silence, Liu Wenyuan strode forward.
He clapped hard, his face glowing with excitement, and loudly mocked several of the scholars around him.
“Did you understand it? This is the orthodox learning of Great Qian! The structure is rigorous, the intent lofty and boundless! The entire essay draws upon the Classics, every word a pearl!”
Liu Wenyuan pointed emphatically into the air, his tone arrogant.
“You spend your days clutching those worthless books that dare to question the moral order and prattle about trivial household affairs, congratulating yourselves on your own cleverness. Yet you fail to realize that before Brother Zheng’s splendid essay, they are nothing but waste paper unfit for the eyes! How could you possibly compare yourselves with the learning inherited by a great family over a century?”
The dozen or so scions standing behind Liu Wenyuan applauded as well. They praised one another openly, unable to conceal the smugness and superiority on their faces.
On the other side, the dozen or so lower-ranked students of the Imperial Academy standing behind Li Ke had originally been filled with indignation. But after hearing the entire exposition, they all lowered their heads in unison.
An older scholar from a poor family closed his eyes and sighed repeatedly.
He turned to whisper to a fellow student, “Young Master Zheng’s mastery of the Classics is truly beyond anything we can match. Did you hear that line of his—‘Principle must be found in the Classics’? With it, he raised his argument directly to the level of the sages. If such an essay reaches the chief examiner, then even if he is unwilling ten thousand times over, he will still have no choice but to assign it an exceptionally high rank.”
“As for the top position, there is truly nothing to criticize.”
Several other impoverished scholars nodded in agreement, their faces fallen.
They might not be able to afford costly rare editions, but years of diligent study had sharpened their judgment.
Whether in its use of classical references or the precision with which each point led into the next, the essay’s structure and method were extraordinarily strict.
That kind of refined style could not be produced without several generations immersed day and night in vast libraries, guided and polished by renowned scholars and great Confucian masters.
The gap was simply too wide.
It was a chasm that could never be bridged by burning the midnight oil for a few days…
Li Ke, too, was honest enough to acknowledge reason.
He was naturally inclined to question things, and the only reason he had dared to challenge the Grand Academician in class at the Imperial Academy was his pursuit of the truth of Heaven and Earth.
Now that his opponent had openly displayed flawless scholarship and used solid literary skill to seal off every objection he could raise, much of the hostility in his heart faded away.
Li Ke stepped back half a pace, clearing the space before him, and then bowed solemnly.
“Honored Provincial Laureate, your learning is profound, and the Zheng clan’s tradition is indeed formidable. This essay’s conception is grand, and every word strikes at the heart of the examination system.” Li Ke remained bent at the waist, his expression open and sincere. “The top position is yours by right. This student’s learning is shallow, and I am completely convinced.”
There was no resentment in Li Ke’s words. He fully admitted that he was inferior when it came to formal examination essays.
Seeing this, Liu Wenyuan straightened his back, lifted his chin high, and nearly pointed his nose at the sky.
Pointing at the back of Li Ke’s head, he burst into loud laughter.
“Hahahaha! Now you know to admit defeat, do you? Where did that arrogance of yours go?” Liu Wenyuan grew more animated as he spoke. He stepped forward and continued berating him. “You possess such paltry learning, yet you dared challenge the Honored Provincial Laureate in the middle of the street. You’ve utterly disgraced the entire scholarly class! It is only because Brother Zheng is magnanimous and possesses such excellent self-restraint that he refuses to quarrel with ignorant children like you. Hurry up and move aside. Don’t obstruct the Honored Provincial Laureate!”
The surrounding scions of aristocratic families also cheered and celebrated his taking the top spot. Even the idlers by the roadside pointed and murmured among themselves, praising the Provincial Laureate’s bearing.
“Brother Liu, that will be enough,” Zheng Xiuyuan said, cutting him off.
But on Zheng Xiuyuan’s face, there was not the slightest trace of joy at having placed first.
His brows furrowed, and a bitter, barely concealed struggle appeared on his face.
Zheng Xiuyuan had a balance in his heart…
Zheng Xiuyuan turned his head and looked toward Xu Zijin, who had remained silent from beginning to end.
Xu Zijin stood there quietly, her expression as calm as ever, without the slightest ripple—as though she were merely an outsider watching it all unfold.
Zheng Xiuyuan stared at her for a moment, then let out a long, heavy breath.
Just as everyone thought the confrontation had come to an end—with the scholars of humble birth yielding and the great families claiming victory—
Li Ke took another step forward, narrowing the distance between himself and Zheng Xiuyuan.
“Honored Provincial Laureate, your essay is truly unparalleled. This student is thoroughly convinced.” Doubt colored Li Ke’s voice, and his face was filled with confusion. “But there is still one matter I do not understand! If I do not get an answer today, I shall never rest—even in death!”
The clamor along the main street abruptly vanished.
Li Ke continued:
“Honored Provincial Laureate, this student wishes to ask: The ‘Treatise on the Void as Qi,’ which discusses the principles governing the transformation of Heaven and Earth and whose origins remain unknown—who, exactly, wrote it?”
