The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 961 - 940: Too Arrogant (Extra for the reward from book friend "Bookworm")

Chapter 961: Chapter 940: Too Arrogant (Extra for the reward from book friend "Bookworm")

"This pen is more expensive than a good book," Bai Shan said, selecting the most expensive of the three pens, which cost eight taels of silver. He paid the money without even blinking an eye.

The shopkeeper brought over a box and carefully packed the pens they had chosen, as well as the ink sticks, then cheerfully took another box from an assistant, opened it, and smiled as he asked, "Would the young masters and miss like to take a look at an inkstone? This is the finest in our store, crafted by a master artisan."

The three of them glanced at it and shook their heads together. The inkstone looked very expensive, and being so young, they still couldn’t grasp why adults liked to collect inkstones.

Seeing their brisk refusal, the shopkeeper was slightly disappointed but still sent them on their way with a smile.

Having spent a lot of money in the bookstore, everything else on the street—whether exquisite, pretty, or ingeniously made—now seemed cheap.

The three of them could barely suppress their burning desire to shop and were about to set foot down the street when Daji, putting away the box, turned around and said, "Young master, Master Bai Er, Miss Man, it’s time to go home for dinner."

The three of them stopped in their tracks and, after climbing into the carriage, still lingered by the windows, gazing out at the stalls lining the streets.

Manbao touched her small heart and said, "I really don’t want to leave."

Bai Shan didn’t want to leave either, but by now he had regained his senses. "There’s so much stuff that we won’t need immediately. We can think about getting it to display and play with after we buy our own residence."

Bai Erlang listened with longing, "Could I also buy a residence in the capital?"

After calculating his money, Manbao said, "We can’t afford a large one, but a smaller residence is within reach. However, since we’re not certain if we’ll be staying long-term in the capital, there’s no need to spend money on that now."

"Exactly, in case the Prince of Yizhou comes to the capital and decides to wipe us out, we’d need to escape," Bai Shan said. "We can take our money with us, but we can’t take a house."

Now sitting in the carriage among those privy to their situation, with Daji driving outside, Bai Erlang openly expressed his worries. "Does the Prince of Yizhou really not know about us?"

"Most likely not," Bai Shan replied. "Look, didn’t we smoothly take the exams and are about to enter the Imperial Academy? If there was a chance he knew, Lord Tang would have written to warn us."

Bai Erlang then asked in a lowered voice, "Are you guys really going to beat the Drum of Grievance in the future?"

Bai Erlang looked at their small figures and said, "Could you withstand such a beating?"

Manbao replied, "We’re not stupid; we would never beat the Drum of Grievance."

Even if they were to seek justice for their parents, they could not risk their lives foolishly; it would be utterly unworthy.

Bai Shan also nodded, "There are many ways to file a complaint. Beating the Drum of Grievance is the worst strategy. Unless someone assures me that I won’t have to undergo corporal punishment, there’s no way I’ll do it."

Bai Erlang let out a sigh of relief. "I was thinking if you were going to beat the Drum of Grievance, I’d have to find a doctor to wait on the side for you."

"Thanks for that, but I am a doctor myself," Manbao said.

Bai Shan was concerned about something else, "I wonder when the Prince of Yizhou will enter the capital."

This matter was also of interest to the other court ministers, for in less than a month, the emperor had mentioned twice about calling the Prince of Yizhou to the capital, and each time the ministers had opposed it.

It had been postponed from June to July, and as July was considered the Ghost Month, the Empress Dowager believed it was very unlucky to travel then. Thus, she was quite angry and had summoned several ministers’ family members to the palace for two consecutive days to have them sit on the cold bench.

Those ministers were precisely the ones most opposed to the Prince of Yizhou’s early arrival in the capital.

It was thought they might relent, but instead, they became even more defiant in opposition. These days, the emperor did not even bring up the matter because every time he tried to mention it, the ministers would drown him in spittle with their objections.

Strangely, though, Lord Wei Zhi was not among them.

Although he had expressed opposition to the Prince of Yizhou entering the capital at the court meeting, his opposition was not the fiercest. As a result, his wife escaped being summoned into the palace and, for now, was not held in the Empress Dowager’s memory.

The results of the Imperial Academy examination would not be announced until the next morning, but actually, the scores had already been determined.

After all, there were only forty-eight students in the examination, each session lasted half a day, and with half a day left, the examiners would quickly review the papers and the scores would be ready.

So just two hours after the poetry portion concluded yesterday afternoon, all the scores were out.

Today was mainly about ranking.

The Imperial Academy first internally ranked the spots, then submitted what they considered the ten best papers to the emperor for him to select the three best.

After all, the top three would enter the scholarly ranks of the Imperial Academy.

Of course, the emperor did not make all the decisions. The opinion of the libationer of the Imperial Academy was also important, as he represented all the officials of the Imperial Academy.

The emperor reviewed each of the ten candidates’ policy discussions and poems. There was controversy mainly over these two papers: the classics and ink meanings were more or less fixed answers and left little room for debate.

The top three papers were deemed the best by the Imperial Academy.

The emperor spread them out, picking up the one in the middle to inspect—it was Bai Shan’s paper.

Libationer Kong saw this and said, "Bai Shan, aged fourteen. Though young, his compositions are full of spirit. Most commendable is that he integrates ancient and modern knowledge, substantiated in his writing, indicative not just of extensive reading but also of exposure to the world outside."

The emperor smiled and asked, "Then, Courtier Kong, why did you only rank him second? I find his policy discussion better than Peng Zhiru’s."

Libationer Kong replied, "But this boy is too proud. His flamboyance lacks smoothness; thus, he still needs some tempering."

"Oh?" The emperor closed their papers and asked with curiosity, "But how come I have never heard his name? On the contrary, I hear Peng Zhiru’s name quite often; obviously, he’s very low-key."

Libationer Kong shook his head, "Your Majesty, one can discern the person from their writing, and their character can be discerned from their text. There’s a proud air in his every line, and precisely because we’ve scarcely heard of him, it just proves his arrogance even more."

"Who comes to the capital for the examination without trying to curry fame? Even if not through self-promotion, one would seek other methods to circulate their reputation for talent. That’s how others recognize a prodigy," Libationer Kong remarked. "Peng Zhiru arrived in the capital just two days earlier than him. After arriving, he made a name for himself at Primus Pavilion, and they both submitted poetry and essays to our offices. Yet, he came without a whisper, focused solely on the exams. He obviously has too much confidence in himself, believing he is certain to be admitted to the Imperial Academy, too disdainful to seek fame otherwise."

The emperor was silent...

Libationer Kong stroked his beard and shook his head, saying, "He’s only fourteen years old; in fact, he’s not even quite fourteen. With such pride at his age, he risks becoming conceited and difficult in the future, which is undesirable—most undesirable indeed."