Chapter 135: Prefecture Origin

Aside from studying and researching essays, Zhang Yue occasionally practiced pitch-pot and archery.

There was no other way; he simply had too much free time on his hands, leaving him with enough leisure to learn a multitude of skills.

The daily routine in the Imperial Academy went like this: shortly after the fifth night watch drum sounded, most students would rise, washing and dressing in their dormitory rooms. When the second drum sounded, they would head to the kitchen to fetch their meals and then eat individually in their rooms.

Because Zhang Yue had a habit of napping during the day, he generally waited until the second drum before getting up. When he washed, a dormitory companion would routinely bring his meal back for him.

After breakfast, if there were private examinations or lectures, everyone would head to the Chonghua Hall; otherwise, they studied independently in the stove pavilion.

The long-standing tradition of the Imperial Academy was that after every public or private examination, Hu Yuan and the ritual masters would gather the students inside the Chonghua Hall, playing ensemble music and singing until nightfall before dispersing.

This was a long-standing rule of the academy, serving as extracurricular relaxation and a proper balance between work and rest.

In the afternoon, Zhang Yue would take his daytime nap without fail. His dormitory mates watched this with awe; anyone else doing so would have drawn harsh reprimands from the instructors. Moreover, Zhang Yue did not just take a light snooze; his naps lasted anywhere from one to two hours at a time.

In the evenings, unless the academy's small kitchen was serving an extra meal, Zhang Yue usually dined in his dormitory.

It had to be said that life in the Imperial Academy was indeed austere, yet Zhang Yue managed to endure it.

However, many of the students were the sons of high-ranking officials or came from wealthy backgrounds; how could they possibly bear such hardship?

Consequently, they would always seek excuses to slip out at night. Yet the academy strictly forbade unauthorized overnight absences. Aside from appointing a supervisory scholar to inspect the dormitories every night, the lecture hall also designated another lecturer on duty to register everyone entering and leaving the academy.

After Hu Yuan departed, however, discipline in the academy slackened somewhat. Whenever the students wanted to request leave to stay out overnight, they repeatedly signed the register with the words "catching a chill."

Later on, a certain student from the academy entered the Hanlin Academy, which also had a tradition of rotational night duty for academic officials.

According to the regulations, one academic official from the Three Institutes and the Secret Pavilion was required to be on night duty every night. If someone had a reason not to stay, the night would be left vacant, which was known as an "exempted night." By convention, exempted nights could not exceed four days; by the fifth day, the official had to return to the academy to stay on duty. This loophole gave many officials an opportunity to exploit the system. Whenever they requested an exempted night, the Hanlin officials habitually wrote the words "abdominal discomfort, night exempted" beneath the name of the person on duty in the logbook. Thus, contemporaries jokingly referred to the academy's night-duty logbook as the "stomachache chronicle."

This official, who had once been a student at the Imperial Academy, also frequently signed for exempted nights. Perhaps reminded of his past experiences signing out with the excuse of "catching a chill" during his student days, he combined the two concepts, jokingly comparing the "stomachache chronicle" to the "chill-catching ledger."

This was a classic joke from their academy days that people often brought up.

For instance, after Huang Haoyi entered the Imperial Academy, his "health seemed perpetually poor," making him a frequent visitor of the "chill-catching" excuse. This left the duty lecturer from the Directorate of Education quite perplexed as to why this young man was always so frail.

One day during a holiday, Huang Haoyi brought Yulian, disguised in men's clothing, into the Imperial Academy.

The academy's rules forbade students from receiving visitors on ordinary days, though guests were permitted in the dormitories during holidays. Yet Huang Haoyi had brazenly brought a courtesan inside. If reported, it would result in expulsion from the academy, and even Zhang Yue would be implicated.

Zhang Yue scolded Huang Haoyi severely and chased them both out of the dormitory.

Fortunately, Huang Haoyi had not lost his senses entirely. Hearing Zhang Yue's rebuke, he immediately took Yulian and left the academy grounds.

Aside from Huang Haoyi, quite a few students in the dormitory signed the "chill-catching" register. Some had families in Bianjing and could not bear the monotonous life of the academy.

Others were frequent patrons of the pleasure quarters.

It was a well-known fact that students were popular among courtesans, and the Great Song's largest red-light district happened to be right next to the Imperial Academy.

For officials to openly consort with courtesans was considered a romantic affair, let alone for these young students.

There was a well-known anecdote circulating in the academy.

A certain student lingered in the brothels day and night. One day, when he returned home with aching legs, his mother massaged his limbs and remarked, "My son studies so bitterly, often reading late into the night. The academy lacks firewood, so you must have frozen your legs."

Hearing this, the student was overwhelmed with shame and instantly resolved never to visit the pleasure quarters again.

Such tales were often used by senior students to admonish those addicted to the brothels, urging them to turn over a new leaf.

As for Zhang Yue, he had nowhere else to go. Occasionally, when tired of studying, he would wander around at night, sometimes visiting the Zhouqiao night market. On one occasion, he even managed to unearth several fine pieces of Shoushan stone there.

Finding them inexpensive at the time, Zhang Yue had bought quite a lot.

Whenever he grew weary of his daily studies, he would carve a few seals.

In any case, Zhang Yue had an abundance of time; after his naps, he still had six double-hours at his disposal to spend as he wished.

He learned a bit of everything. Aside from essays and calligraphy, archery, pitch-pot, and seal carving all fell within the scope of his studies.

Since he had so many hours every day, and merely reading books was exhausting enough, having a few extracurricular hobbies was quite pleasant. As for learning other skills, he simply maxed out all his proficiency points.

"Third Young Master, carving seals again?"

Zhang Yue looked up to see the dormitory head, Liu Ji, and stood up to say, "Indeed. Does the dormitory head have some important business?"

Every two or three days, Zhang Yue would carve a seal, and now, without realizing it, he had accumulated over a dozen of them. As the dormitory head, Liu Ji was naturally aware of Zhang Yue's hobby.

Liu Ji smiled and said, "Third Young Master, your seal carving is exceptionally fine."

"I dare not accept such praise, dormitory head."

Liu Ji shook his head. "I speak no falsehood. The seals carved in the market shops are fine, but they carry a stiff artisan's air; every horizontal and vertical stroke is entirely wooden. On the other hand, Third Young Master, not only is your seal script superb, but you also seamlessly integrate calligraphy into your carving."

"If the dormitory head has something to say, please speak plainly..." Zhang Yue smiled.

Liu Ji chuckled. "I truly cannot deceive Third Young Master. It is like this: Lecturer Yang of the Calligraphy School knows of your work, and he is quite fond of your seals..."

"Lecturer Yang?"

Zhang Yue naturally knew who he was. His full name was Yang Nanzhong, and he currently taught calligraphy at the Directorate of Education.

It was said that among the masters of small seal script in the present day, the realm recognized only Shao Buyi, Yang Nanzhong, and Zhang Youzhi.

Emperor Renzong had originally commissioned Zhang Youzhi, Yang Nanzhong, and a few others to carve the Two-Body Stone Classics, which showed that both men were of top-tier talent in contemporary calligraphy. These very stone classics were currently housed within the Imperial Academy.

Logically speaking, Zhang Youzhi and Yang Nanzhong ought to have been on good terms. Yet, despite having followed Zhang Youzhi for years, Zhang Yue had never once heard him utter Yang Nanzhong's name.

Seeing Zhang Yue hesitate, Liu Ji asked, "Is there some difficulty?"

Zhang Yue thought for a moment and said, "It is not a difficulty. If Lecturer Yang wishes to have a seal carved, I happen to have one right here. I will present it to the dormitory head. You may do with it as you please, but please do not mention to Lecturer Yang that I gave it to you."

Liu Ji pondered briefly before catching his meaning. "Rest assured, Third Young Master, I will certainly not tell anyone you gave it."

Zhang Yue retrieved a seal and handed it to Liu Ji.

"Third Young Master, you are truly a loyal friend."

Zhang Yue smiled. His daytime napping, failure to rise at the drumbeat, and other minor infractions were all covered up by Liu Ji. A couple of carved seals took some effort, true, but they cost next to nothing.

Liu Ji produced a pouch of coins and said, "Third Young Master, please accept this small token of my appreciation."

Zhang Yue waved his hand in refusal. "Why speak of such things among fellow students? I cannot accept this."

Seeing Zhang Yue's firm refusal, Liu Ji pressed the matter no further.

The next day, Liu Ji returned to the dormitory, presented Zhang Yue with a brand-new robe, and smiled. "Third Young Master, this robe is a bit too short for me, and I am too lazy to have it altered. Seeing that your garments are getting old, I thought it would be fitting to give it to you."

Noticing Liu Ji's genuine sincerity, Zhang Yue first asked, "Regarding yesterday's seal, what did Lecturer Yang think of it?"

Liu Ji laughed heartily. "Lecturer Yang was extremely fond of it. He remarked that such an exquisite piece is truly a rarity."

Zhang Yue smiled. "Glad to hear it. Should Lecturer Yang commission another, just let me know, dormitory head, and I can carve one in three or five days."

Liu Ji beamed. "Then I must thank you warmly, Third Young Master."

Only then did Zhang Yue accept the robe, saying, "I dare not accept such a gift. The Directorate of Education examinations are fast approaching, so let me offer my premature congratulations to the dormitory head."

Hearing this, Liu Ji laughed aloud, saying with absolute confidence, "I gladly accept your auspicious words."

A few days later, the Directorate of Education examinations and the Kaifeng Prefecture examinations commenced concurrently.

The reigning emperor was exceptionally generous in bestowing favors.

Fan Zhongyan's reforms had constantly warned of the ills of "redundant officials," yet the emperor had done the opposite in recent years, widely opening the floodgates to official appointments.

Not only were hereditary privileges granted extensively, but the imperial examinations were also held once every two years. This particular session increased the quota of successful Jinshi candidates from over three hundred and ninety to more than five hundred.

Never mind the burden on the imperial court; scholars were certainly overjoyed.

As expected, after changing his name, Liu Ji placed second in the Directorate of Education examinations.

Zhang Yue remained calm about this, but the news that followed left him utterly unsettled.

The top candidate in the Kaifeng Prefecture examinations turned out to be none other than... Zhang Dun.

The Prefecture Top Scholar!

One must understand that the top scorer in regional examinations was called the *Jieyuan*, but the top scorer in the Kaifeng Prefecture examination alone was specifically honored as the *Fuyuan*.

What did it mean to be the Kaifeng Prefecture *Fuyuan*?

The allocation of Jinshi quotas for the following year was set as follows: two hundred and ten from Kaifeng Prefecture, one hundred from the Directorate of Education, and two hundred from the Ministry of Rites.

Never had it been heard that a Kaifeng Prefecture *Fuyuan* failed the metropolitan examinations; moreover, the *Fuyuan* was a frequent fixture at the very top of the Jinshi ranking.

When Zhang Yue heard that Zhang Dun had won the top spot in Kaifeng Prefecture, a whirlwind of complicated emotions washed over him.

Since entering the Imperial Academy, he had almost forgotten this older brother. Even his fellow students had momentarily stopped mentioning Zhang Dun or Zhang Heng in his presence.

Yet, with Zhang Dun's triumph as the Kaifeng Prefecture *Fuyuan*, everyone once again turned their thoughts to Zhang Yue.

"Third Young Master, your Zhang clan is truly remarkable! Last year's top imperial scholar was Zhang Ziping, and this year's Kaifeng Prefecture *Fuyuan* is Zhang Dun. Your family seems to capture all the glory year after year."

"Zhang Dun is truly extraordinary. When he abandoned the examination roll last year, I even scoffed at him once or twice. Now it seems my vision was short-sighted; for a man like him, passing the Jinshi examination is as easy as reaching into a pocket to take something out."

"Third Young Master, do you actually know Ziping and Dun? At least introduce us sometime."

*Clearly, he is the one who won the Prefecture Top Scholar,* Zhang Yue thought to himself, *so why are you all coming to congratulate me?*

Zhang Yue merely smiled it off without making any deep remarks, carefully avoiding any mention of his relationship with the two men. The others soon dropped the subject and moved on.

On this day, Wu Anchi also approached him and said, "Congratulations, Third Young Master. Your Zhang clan is about to add another Jinshi to its name."

Zhang Yue smiled. "Thank you, Second Young Master. To be honest, this outcome caught even me by surprise."

Wu Anchi chuckled. "Surprise or not, my Wu family is hosting a gathering the day after tomorrow, and my elder brother has invited Ziping and Dun to attend. Everyone can sit down and have a proper chat then."

Wu Anchi had previously treated him with polite courtesy, but upon hearing that Zhang Dun had passed the examinations as a top scholar, his warmth had visibly increased.

Zhang Yue kept a smile on his face, but inwardly he wondered: *Should I actually go to the Wu residence the day after tomorrow, or simply play hooky?*