Chapter Eighty-Seven: Eleven Matches in Three Days

He submitted his paper half an hour early again.

"So San-lang has turned in already."

"Sure enough, the Book of Changes is too hard. I am not the only one."

"Spare me that. Do you think San-lang is the same as you?"

"Back when San-lang took the county academy qualifying exam, he was the first to submit then as well. He finished every question."

"So that is how it was."

Under everyone's gaze, Zhang Yue was once again the first to hand in his paper. It was not for show, but to save time and prepare for the next session.

The proctor from the county academy glanced at Zhang Yue's paper and could not help saying, "San-lang truly is remarkable. He has written so much. The whole sheet is full."

Zhang Yue gave an awkward laugh. Well, that was a rather novel sort of praise, but he really had written a great deal.

"Thank you for your praise, sir."

The other smiled. "Do your best, San-lang."

Leaving the dining hall, he went to the kitchen stove to collect his meal tray and did not return to the dormitory. There was still one more examination that night, on the Rites of Zhou. The kitchen staff had already cooked the rice in advance, placing the meal trays in first, second, and third classes beneath the trees outside the dining hall. Many of the students taking the Rites of Zhou had already arrived; as soon as they came, they collected their trays and stood or crouched outside the hall to eat in the wind.

Zhang Yue was about to stand outside with the rest and eat his meal in the open when someone said, "San-lang, someone from home is here, waiting for you in the front corridor!"

Zhang Yue carried his tray to the front corridor and saw that it was Zhang Shi, waiting there with a food carrier.

"Third brother! Third brother!" After speaking, Zhang Shi turned to the gatekeeper beside him and said, "See? I told you he was my brother, didn't I? Now do you believe me?"

The gatekeeper hurriedly said, "I beg your pardon, Master Zhang. It was my poor eyesight."

Zhang Shi laughed heartily. "No matter, no matter."

Zhang Yue went up to his elder brother and said to the gatekeeper, "He is my brother."

The gatekeeper withdrew with an apologetic smile, and Zhang Yue asked, "Why have you come, brother?"

"Did I not know you had your public examination today? I hurried over to bring you food. If the shop had not been so busy at noon, I would have brought it earlier. Come, eat while it is still hot. It was taken from the stove straight away and brought right to you."

"All right. Brother, you should eat some too."

As Zhang Shi lifted the lid of the food carrier, he said, "I have already eaten. Xi-er had wanted to come see you too, but I stopped him. And your sister-in-law says the weather is about to turn, so she brought you an extra winter robe. You'll put it on later. Right, let me serve you a bowl of chicken soup first. That old hen has been stewing since afternoon; the fire was just right, and the top of the broth is slick with oil. Have a taste. In winter, to be able to drink a bowl of hot soup like this—if the emperor gave me his seat, I'd still be unwilling to trade!"

Listening to Zhang Shi speak thus, Zhang Yue watched him take out a covered cup of chicken soup, wrapped all around in cloth. When the lid was lifted, steam was indeed still rising in thin wisps.

Zhang Shi filled a large bowl for Zhang Yue. Zhang Yue could hardly wait and first took a bite of chicken; it was indeed tender beyond measure. Then he swallowed the chicken soup in great gulps, thick with floating beads of oil, and instantly warmth spread through his whole body.

In his former world, that layer of oil would often have been skimmed away. Now it had become the finest part of the broth.

Soon after, Zhang Shi brought out a bowl of dumplings without broth and said, "Third brother, soak these in the chicken soup when you eat them."

The two brothers sat together in the front corridor and ate from the food carrier.

By the end, even Zhang Yue, with all his formidable appetite, let out a long burp. "Brother, I can't eat another bite. Take the rest back with you."

Zhang Shi laughed. "Very well. Tell me what you want tomorrow, and I'll have someone from the shop bring it to you."

He then pressed upon Zhang Yue quite a few preserved fruits, nuts, and seven or eight boiled eggs. Zhang Yue's arms were full.

"Save the eggs for when you're hungry. Give the preserved fruits and nuts to your schoolmates. Don't think only of yourself and keep everything. When you're out and about, be more on good terms with your classmates."

Zhang Yue could not refuse and nodded. "I understand, brother. You should head back."

"Good! Third brother, shall we have dumplings again tomorrow?" Only after receiving his promise did Zhang Shi finally pick up the food carrier and depart, glancing back over his shoulder every few steps.

Following his brother's instructions, Zhang Yue distributed the preserved sweets and nuts among his schoolmates. All of them thanked him with smiles, while envying him such an elder brother.

He did not rest for even a moment. Most of the students who had taken the Book of Changes were already done, and the next session was about to begin. As for the classmates who had passed by copying Zhang Yue's paper, they repeatedly thanked him as soon as they stepped out.

For the Rites of Zhou session, Guo Lin was also taking the exam.

The two of them entered the dining hall early and found seats.

"How are you, junior brother? Are you holding up all right?" Guo Lin asked from the side.

"More or less. Senior brother, don't worry about me."

"Good. Don't tire yourself out. If you really cannot manage, just leave the main argument section blank. There are only ten questions; even if you leave them all unanswered, if you get the rest right, you'll still pass nine."

"All right."

After Zhang Yue answered, several classmates seated beside him saw him and immediately cried out in delight, "San-lang, I shall be relying on your help again in a moment!"

"San-lang, I had been worrying that I might fare poorly in this subject, but now that I see you, I feel reassured."

"Everyone knows San-lang is loyal and righteous. Let me thank you in advance."

Zhang Yue smiled. By then, some had already taken candles from their book boxes and were walking toward the kitchen stove.

In winter the days are short and the nights long. Before the hour of Shen was even over, the dining hall had grown much darker.

Seeing this, Zhang Yue and Guo Lin each took out candles from their exam boxes. Several of them went first to the kitchen stove to borrow a flame and light their candles; the rest borrowed fire and lit their own wicks.

There were no candle stands, so Zhang Yue let the wax drip onto the meal table and fixed the candle in the half-melted pool.

The proctor distributed the papers one by one. Zhang Yue dipped his brush and began writing on the scratch paper he had brought, matching his answers to the questions on the examination sheet.

A meal of hot soup and rice had restored some of his strength, but after writing through the whole day, Zhang Yue was still somewhat drained. His hands and shoulders were sore as well. After writing for a while, he had no choice but to set down the brush and rub his shoulders, shaking out his arms.

The night turned suddenly cold. To sit eleven sessions in a row truly was the severest test of spirit and stamina.

A few candidates who had failed to add more clothing were already sniffling from the cold.

With the winter robe on his back and that bowl of hot, greasy chicken-soup dumplings settling his stomach, Zhang Yue found himself much strengthened.

In any case, this was the final subject; there was no need to rush. He could simply write each answer in turn.

He slowed considerably in this session as well. By the time nearly two hours had passed and he had almost finished the paper, the other candidates were about the same.

After answering the final major argument question, Zhang Yue finally felt a great release of burden. He rose to hand in his paper, then turned and walked out beneath the hall. In the black dining hall, the oil lamps were arranged in row after row, from near to far. Their flames trembled drowsily, with faint crackles from time to time.

Beneath dozens of candles were youthful faces, each candidate bent in utter concentration over the page before him, the scratch of brush on paper like the sound of silkworms devouring mulberry leaves.

And just now, he too must have worn the same grave expression.

When he pushed open the door and stepped outside, Zhang Yue lifted his head to find the crescent moon already hanging at the edge of the sky, while a river of stars stretched overhead. Compared with him, the starry river still seemed impossibly distant, yet on closer sight it also appeared a little nearer.

Suddenly, an overwhelming weariness surged through his body. Zhang Yue let out a long yawn, and at that moment he wished nothing more than for the ground before him to split open and produce a bed. He was now the kind of person who could lie down and fall asleep instantly.

The first day was done, three sessions completed.

The second day: five sessions.

They were the Classic of Filial Piety, the Book of Documents, the Gongyang Commentary, the Guliang Commentary, and the Book of Songs.

Aside from the mandatory Classic of Filial Piety, there were three minor classics and one major classic.

For Zhang Yue, this schedule was utterly unscientific.

The texts he knew best were the Classic of Filial Piety and the Book of Songs, while the Book of Documents, Gongyang, and Guliang came next.

The Book of Documents had always been difficult for him to handle. The last county academy qualifying exam had only been luck, when everything happened to be correct. As for Gongyang and Guliang, he had studied them only recently.

Fortunately, the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Book of Rites were on the second day.

As soon as he received the paper, Zhang Yue took up his brush and began writing. What mattered most now was not whether he knew the answers, but whether he could finish them.

To him, these five sessions were like one examination paper after another. Meals were swallowed in haste, and there was no time even to steal a brief nap. Zhang Yue did not dare drink too much water either, for that would only mean going to relieve himself and wasting time. Thus he got through the whole ordeal on dry rations.

For him, this was the hardest hurdle, but he still held on. And he filled in every answer. Whether they were right or wrong was beside the point; at the very least, he had finished.

By the end of the fifth session, Zhang Yue could scarcely walk straight. He was practically supported back to the dormitory by Guo Lin.

The next day he would have to rise early again for three more sessions.

But compared with the crushing burden of the second day’s five sessions, the first and third days were nothing more than a piece of cake.

Eleven sessions and the Nine Classics were done.

Unknowingly, Zhang Yue had accomplished something unprecedented among all the students in the county academy's classical examinations, and this feat would long remain a favorite topic of discussion among later generations of county academy students.

After the second day of testing, the sky finally cleared and a bright sun emerged.

Sunlight filtered through the pines and tree crowns to fall upon Zhang Yue.

Yet he wandered toward the dining hall in a daze. If not for unwillingness to miss that second-class meal, he would have preferred to lie in bed and sleep through the day until afternoon.

Along the way, countless people spoke to him, called out greetings, and even students from the graduate dormitory, who had previously looked down on the classical studies dormitory, were meeting him properly for the first time.

When he entered the dining hall, the noisy place fell silent at once, and then everyone greeted him with looks of reverence.

"San-lang!"

"San-lang is here!"

"Greetings, San-lang!"

Faced with such enthusiasm, Zhang Yue could not help wondering in his heart, Had the results not even been posted yet? Why are they all like this? Could it be that I have grown handsomer again? But even if that were true, it would not be to this extent!

Then a student from the graduate dormitory came up to him and said, "No matter how San-lang fares in this exam, we are all sincerely convinced."

Another said, "San-lang, when you first registered for the eleven sessions, I doubted you. I hope you will not take offense."

"San-lang, how I wish we could know your result right now."

Sunlight slanted through the window and across Zhang Yue.

Bathed in sunlight and praise, Zhang Yue finally understood. No matter how the exam had gone, he was the first in the county academy to complete the nine classics in eleven sessions.

Yes, I have finally done it! No matter the result, I have at last accomplished something that no one in the county academy has ever done before.

Looking at the way his fellow students rejoiced for him without a trace of jealousy, he felt more deeply moved than he would have been by congratulations after the results were posted.

Zhang Yue smiled and said, "You praise me too highly, gentlemen. I did not act from vanity. I only wished to follow the words: 'When one has exerted all one's effort yet cannot reach the goal, one may have no regrets. Who then could mock him?' These are the words of Governor Wang Jiefu. I would share them with all of you, so that we may encourage one another and not waste the bloom of our youth nor the learning we have gained!"

The students on both sides of the hall immediately said, "So that is how it is."

"Let us encourage one another with Zhang-gong! Let us not waste the bloom of our youth nor the learning we have gained!"

A fresh wave of laughter rose again in the dining hall.

And a few days later, the county academy public examination results were posted.