Chapter 39: A Great Accumulation of Virtue

Who says one cannot become famous at a young age?

Zhu An’s peers had already sat for the exams, yet they hadn't even found the threshold of the imperial examination system.

"Even becoming a *Tongsheng* would be enough; I wouldn't dare dream of being a *Xiucai*," Zheng Guangyuan said, maintaining his reason. For an eleven-year-old, attaining the status of a *Tongsheng* was certainly no small feat.

Zhu An spoke with an air of arrogance, "I am a genius, you know. Can you compare yourselves to me? My goal is the *Xiucai* degree!"

A thirteen-year-old *Xiucai*—he didn't even dare to imagine how glorious that would be.

Wang Xuezhou listened without offering an opinion. He was currently transcribing an annotated copy of the *Zuo Zhuan* he had borrowed from Zhu An, a manuscript penned by Zhu An’s own father. He had originally thought he had plenty of time, but he hadn't expected to hear today that Zhu An was returning to his ancestral home. Since he did not know when he might return, it was improper to keep the book for too long.

"Choudan, say something. What do you think?"

The others were deep in lively discussion, but when they turned, they saw Wang Xuezhou scribbling away furiously and couldn't help but gnash their teeth. This fellow was secretly working hard behind their backs again!

"Ah? Anything is fine with me. Let's see how Master Zhou arranges it."

In his previous life, he had studied information engineering—a skill utterly useless in this one. However, he had clearly accumulated great merit in his past life. Relying on the experience and insight gained from those extra years of living, he not only earned enough money to study with peace of mind but also possessed an extraordinary capacity for comprehension.

When Master Zhou taught, Wang Xuezhou understood the meaning after a single explanation. More importantly, he could draw inferences from what he learned and form his own thoughts, unlike his peers who understood the literal words but failed to grasp the deeper underlying meaning. With his comprehension skills in place, learning was naturally less difficult. Aside from rote memorization, the humanities relied heavily on the ability to understand. He only hoped to learn more and more now so that he would have a better chance of success when the exams arrived.

Before the group could reach a conclusion, Master Zhou entered with a book, and they immediately sat straight.

"Zhu An is departing tomorrow to return to his ancestral home for this year’s *Yuan* examination. I have decided to select one of you to go and gain some experience as well."

"Zhao Hang, you will go and test yourself this year."

Master Zhou had carefully considered this. Zhao Hang was the eldest, and his family had supported his studies for years without seeing any return. When the tuition fees were collected this year, their hesitation was evident. If this continued, Zhao Hang’s path to education might be cut short.

Master Zhou felt that Zhao Hang was honest and hardworking. A *Xiucai* degree might be out of reach, but a *Tongsheng* title was worth a try.

As soon as these words were spoken, the others felt a wave of disappointment.

Lü Dasheng raised his hand. "Master, why not let us go? We want to try too."

Master Zhou looked at him calmly. "You want to go?"

Seeing the look on the master’s face, Lü Dasheng felt a flicker of fear. He shrank his neck and whispered, "Well... not *that* much..."

The others remained crestfallen. Zhu An, who did not fear Master Zhou as much as the others, spoke up to persuade him: "Master, instead of studying bitterly in the school, why not let them experience the exam for real? Whether they pass or fail, it is all valuable experience."

Master Zhou’s gaze swept over the group. He saw the yearning in the children's eyes and could not help but recall his own youth, when he, too, had followed his older brother to take the exams out of curiosity...

After a moment of thought, he changed his tone. "Very well. Since you all wish to go, then go! However, you are all still young. You need not demand success; focus on participation and do not force the result. Can you manage that?"

"Yes!!!" Xia Qianli exclaimed excitedly.

The atmosphere in the schoolroom became visibly vibrant. Wang Xuezhou’s hand trembled with excitement, nearly ruining the page he had just finished copying. He took a deep breath, quickly composed himself, and continued writing with steady strokes. Over the past three years, his calligraphy had improved steadily, and it was now quite refined.

After the school day ended, Wang Xuezhou returned the copied book to Zhu An.

Zhu An took the book and said with reluctance, "Choudan, see you at the *Yuan* exam!"

"What if I get weeded out at the county level?"

Zhu An gave him a sidelong glance. "Stop putting on an act! Don't think I don't know you're secretly overjoyed! I have been honing my skills for three years, and this year I shall surely stun everyone with a single feat! Just wait and see!"

Wang Xuezhou laughed heartily. "I am already rubbing my palms together, ready to compete with you!"

...

Once Master Zhou understood the students' intentions, he acted decisively. After making the necessary arrangements, he led them to the county magistrate’s office to register.

Registration required providing a personal guarantee, a mutual guarantee, and a formal guarantee. The personal guarantee required the candidate’s name, age, hometown, family background for three generations, and physical description. The mutual guarantee required five candidates of respectable background to vouch for each other; if one cheated, all five would be held accountable. The formal guarantee required a *Linsheng* (a government-stipended scholar) from the county to certify that the candidate's identity and information were true. If any fraud were discovered, the *Linsheng* would not only lose his status but also risk his own *Xiucai* degree. Consequently, candidates usually only formed mutual guarantees with those they knew well, and *Linsheng* scholars only vouched for those they were familiar with.

They did not need to worry about this, however. Although Master Zhou was not a *Linsheng* of Baishan County and could not provide the formal guarantee himself, he had anticipated this issue and had invited an acquaintance to do so before registration.

That person was Master Lin from the Ruhai Academy, who happened to be a *Linsheng* of the county. After the two men exchanged pleasantries, they quickly got to business.

Six students from the Shangshan Academy were taking the county exam, and the extra student happened to form a mutual guarantee group with four students from Ruhai Academy.

Back at the school after registration, the students were still discussing it excitedly.

"I never expected that the master from the neighboring academy would be the one to vouch for us. I always thought rivals were enemies!"

It wasn't just Lü Dasheng who was surprised; they all were.

Qi Xian, however, was marveling at something else. "It costs two taels of silver to vouch for one person. With six of us, that's twelve taels! Master Lin earned twelve taels in a single day without doing a thing... Being a *Xiucai* is wonderful. I must become a *Xiucai* in the future!"

His eyes were burning with fervor. Education was truly grand! Not only was it a respectable way to make money, but people even rushed to hand the money over to you. He had to be a *Xiucai* no matter what.

Lü Dasheng rolled his eyes. "You're obsessed with money."

Ever since Qi Xian had once scavenged something and tasted the sweetness of success, he would go try his luck every few days, a habit he had maintained without fail for three years. Everyone in the school knew of this.

"You don't know the bitterness of poverty..."

As they talked, they packed their things to head home. The school would be closed for the day, and for the next month, there would be no rest days as they prepared for the exams with all their might.

When Wang Xuezhou returned home and shared the news, the hammer in Old Man Wang's hand dropped to the floor. "What?! You... you... your master registered you for the county exam?"

"Yes, Grandfather. The registration is complete."

Old Liu looked at him in disbelief. "So soon!"

When their eldest son had studied, it took him eight or nine years before he began taking exams. How long had Choudan been studying? Only four years!

Wang Chengzhi was so excited his face flushed red. "Good, good, good! When is the exam? I will take you to the exam hall myself."

Madam Zhang began pacing the room nervously. "What should I prepare? What do you need to bring? How do they test you? The basket... yes! I must prepare that basket!"

She had already begun to speak incoherently.