Chapter 58 Making Plans in Advance

Madam Zhu was startled by his sudden movement. Pressing her hand against her chest, she reproached with a hint of annoyance, "What is the master doing?"

"Do you know that this farm boy is Zhou Cunzhen’s student? He earned the top rank in the prefectural examination at the age of nine! Barring any unforeseen circumstances, he is bound to pass the upcoming provincial院试 (yuan examination) this year! Do you have any idea what a nine-year-old scholar means?"

Madam Zhu looked displeased, "If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you shouting?"

Seeing that she completely missed the point, Magistrate Zhu’s voice grew even louder in exasperation. He angrily slammed his fist on the table, shouting, "It means this boy has plenty of time to spare for the imperial examinations, and his starting point is already a cut above everyone else's. Even if he fails the provincial examination once or twice, with Zhou Cunzhen’s guidance, he is destined to become at least a juren in the future!"

"Setting aside his future prospects for a moment, just the fact that Baishan County has produced a nine-year-old scholar will be credited to my record of civil administration! My second term in Baishan County is about to expire, and because of this, I might even get promoted and transferred. Yet you went and offended him like this—are you deliberately looking for trouble just because you find life too comfortable?"

"Besides, An'ge used to have a very good relationship with him. How do you expect the two of them to get along now after what you've done? Huh?!"

The table clattered noisily under his strikes, showing just how furious Magistrate Zhu was.

He had just rewarded the boy with ten taels of silver as a token of encouragement, only to turn around and find his own wife undermining him.

Seeing that Magistrate Zhu was genuinely enraged, Madam Zhu immediately burst into pitiful tears, "Who do you think I sold his manuscript for? Wasn't it all for your sake?!"

"You are worried about not being able to secure a promotion, and how could I not worry? I pulled strings everywhere for this very matter, but every single gift sent to the Prefect's wife was returned! I made inquiries for a long time before finding out that the Prefect wife's maternal brother runs a bookstore in the prefecture city! That was why I sold the manuscript to them at such a steep discount!"

"You know just how profitable this storytelling script is. Under normal circumstances, I would have insisted on a profit-sharing arrangement with anyone else. How could I possibly have sold it outright for a mere five hundred taels per piece? You fail to appreciate my painstaking efforts and instead sit here yelling at me, wuwuwu..."

Magistrate Zhu angrily retorted, "Don't try to shift the blame onto me! Since you took the boy's work in exchange for favors, why didn't you put in a good word for him? Why didn't you follow the profit-sharing agreement you two had originally settled on? For an official's wife, your vision is shockingly shortsighted!"

Madam Zhu's face flushed crimson with anger, "You are so pure and upright, practicing clean governance—you just need to play the part of the devoted local official! When holidays come around, do you need to grease the palms of your superiors? Do you need to send holiday gifts to your fellow classmates and old friends? Do you need to maintain connections back in the capital? Whenever you speak of your hometown, you are at least an official now—when something happens within the clan, are you expected to contribute financially?"

"The food, clothing, and daily expenses of our children, your social obligations, the domestic servants we keep—which of these doesn't cost money?!"

"I've followed you since I was sixteen years old, sparing you from all domestic worries. You only had to say the word and I would have everything arranged properly. Do you think money falls out of the sky?! And now you have the nerve to complain that my vision is shortsighted? Zhu Ziqing! Do you have any conscience at all?!"

At first, Madam Zhu had merely felt wronged, but by the end, her anger flared to new heights, and she reached out to claw at Magistrate Zhu.

"You shrew!" Magistrate Zhu waved his hands to dodge, though the fire in his heart was largely extinguished by her tirade.

"The deed is done, so I won't lecture you anymore. What we need to figure out now is how to smoothly smooth this matter over..."

***

Wang Xuezhou was naturally unaware of the couple's argument. After handing the manuscript over to Shopkeeper Qiu, a weight was lifted off his mind.

As he reached the alley leading to the school, he ran straight into Cao Zewen, who was walking out. The moment Cao Zewen saw him, his eyes widened instantly. "What is there to be smug about? I looked at your examination papers for the top rank; you only won over the others because of the legal questions! Just wait for the provincial examination, and I will definitely surpass you!"

...What a lunatic!

Seeing that Wang Xuezhou didn't even spare him a single glance, Cao Zewen grew furious and stepped forward to block his path. "What do you mean by that? Look down on me?"

Fatty's gaze shifted sharply, and with a cold tone, he reached out and shoved Cao Zewen, sending him staggering back. "Step aside!"

Cao Zewen’s face turned beet red. Regaining his footing, he clenched his fists and lunged forward. "A gentleman would rather die than be humiliated!"

"You've been humiliated, so what are you going to do about it?" Fatty showed not the slightest bit of fear.

When it came to fighting, he had never been afraid of anyone!

Back when he had to fight dogs for scraps of food and even bit each other, why would he ever be afraid of a scholar?

"Enough!"

Wang Xuezhou stood in the middle, extending a hand to stop the two of them. He looked at Cao Zewen speechlessly and said, "I thought that after our last fight, the two of us were strangers—we wouldn't bother with each other when we met. Why do you keep coming looking for trouble?"

Cao Zewen flew into a rage. "Who do you think you are, some kind of prized delicacy that everyone is dying to cozy up to?!"

"Good. From now on, whenever we see each other on the street, let's just pretend the other is air." Wang Xuezhou then turned to Fatty and said, "Why waste your energy on thin air? Let's go."

"Oh."

Fatty instantly withdrew his stance and left with Wang Xuezhou, leaving Cao Zewen standing there alone, breathing heavily with rage.

When they reached the entrance of the school, Wu Huai's expression softened the moment he saw Wang Xuezhou. "The Master has been waiting for you."

Wang Xuezhou was somewhat surprised and asked with concern, "Is something the matter?"

Wu Huai shook his head; he didn't know either.

***

Telling Fatty to go rest in his study room first, Wang Xuezhou made his way to Teacher Zhou's study.

"Teacher."

Seeing him arrive, a look of gratification appeared on Zhou Mingli's face. "Sit down."

"Brother Wu Huai told me you were waiting for me?"

Wang Xuezhou was already very familiar with this study. Even though the teacher told him to sit, he did not take a seat immediately. Instead, as he usually did, he picked up a cleaning cloth and began to tidy up.

Having not visited for some time, a thick layer of dust had surprisingly accumulated in the study.

What was Wu Huai doing? Why hadn't he cleaned up?

Just as Wang Xuezhou was wondering, he heard Teacher Zhou say, "I guessed that you would come to the school today, so I asked Wu Huai to keep watch at the entrance and let me know the moment you arrived."

"During the few days you were resting, I contacted an old classmate of mine and received word from him that practical governance strategy, legal studies, and mathematics are likely to become frequent subjects in future examinations. Take these two books and study them together with Zhao Xing and Qi Xian. During the period leading up to the yuan examination, you must not neglect these alongside the Four Books and Five Classics."

Wang Xuezhou glanced at the books: *The Great Qian Penal Code* and *Annotations on the Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art*.

"The reigning Emperor has reached the age of knowing heaven's mandate, and over the past two years, he has gradually begun delegating authority to the Crown Prince. Now, our Crown Prince is rather pragmatic, and this prefectural examination was a clear signal. Since the Crown Prince has started intervening in the imperial examinations, from now on, you can no longer solely focus on the Four Books and Five Classics. You must also delve into other fields just in case."

"You must also plan ahead. Once you pass the scholar examination with a respectable ranking, will you attend the county academy, the prefectural school, or the metropolitan academy?"

This question caught Wang Xuezhou completely off guard. It was something he had never even considered.

"Can I not continue my studies under Teacher?"

Although Teacher was only a scholar himself, from his daily lectures down to his ordinary speech and mannerisms, Wang Xuezhou always felt that Teacher Zhou's erudition went far beyond that.

Thus, he had never imagined that he would so soon have to face the dilemma of choosing a school all over again.