Chapter 451 - 173: Prefectural Academy (4)
Chapter 451: Chapter 173: Prefectural Academy (4)
De’an was reluctant. He still wanted some kind of compensation.
But Zhao Jing pulled him back. "Forget it."
He was, after all, an instructor at the Xinghuai Prefecture School.
Since taking office, Mr. Sheng had taken a strict approach to the education at the Xinghuai Prefecture School.
The school had previously employed scholars to teach, but after his reforms, all of them were either dismissed or transferred to logistical positions.
Now, the instructors were exclusively Advanced Scholars.
It was a good thing the head professor in charge of the Xinghuai Prefecture School was a former Champion Scholar who had also served as the Assistant Minister of Rites. Otherwise, it would have been truly difficult to keep such a group of brilliant men in check.
But even in the talent-filled Xinghuai Prefecture School, Mr. Yin was a man who truly stood out.
There was a simple reason for this: his examination ranking was second only to Mr. Min’s. He had placed in the top three during the palace examination, making him a bona fide third-place scholar.
As for why a third-place scholar ended up in this poor, remote place, that was another story entirely.
After receiving their identification plaques and two sets of autumn student uniforms, the three of them started walking back.
On the way, Wang Jun began telling the other two in detail about this Yin Xichen.
Yin Xichen was famous for having been the third-place scholar. At the Xinghuai Prefecture School, however, he was famous for his fondness for good looks.
Every handsome Scholar had been subjected to a bit of his teasing.
It was only ever teasing, though. His orientation was perfectly normal—he loved fair maidens, not men. Therefore, although his words and actions were a bit out of line, after a while, everyone came to know his roguish ways and no one bothered to hold it against him.
Wang Jun then elaborated on Yin Xichen’s life.
"He was an orphan. His father died right after he was born, and his mother remarried..."
"Then how could he become the third-place scholar? His clan must have been powerful and given him their full support, right?"
Wang Jun patted De’an. "Hold on, don’t interrupt. Let me tell you the whole story. The truth is completely different from what you imagine."
The story goes that after losing his father and his mother’s departure, Yin Xichen didn’t fall into self-pity. Instead, he searched everywhere for a path forward.
He’d worked as a waiter and a peddler. One day, he passed by a private school and heard the students chanting their lessons and the teacher reciting words of wisdom. It was like a sudden awakening. He became convinced that if a real man didn’t pursue a career as an official, he would have lived his life for nothing.
And so, he went home, locked himself away to study, and his brush never ceased to move.
"But studying isn’t as simple as just saying the words. Where did he get the money for it?"
"I told you, don’t be so impatient. Let me explain. No money? You think having no money could stop Yin Xichen?"
Yin Xichen was devastatingly handsome, with a pair of alluring eyes that gave him a naturally flirtatious air. He was so silver-tongued he could talk a dead man back to life, and he was even skilled enough to coax the most popular courtesans into giving him all the silver they earned.
"Tricking a courtesan out of the money she earned selling herself... that’s just shameless."
"One was a willing giver, and the other a willing taker. It’s their business, so don’t you worry about it."
And there’s more to that story.
Yin Xichen promised the woman that if he one day passed the examination to become an Advanced Scholar, he would come to marry her in a grand eight-bearer sedan chair.
The result was predictable.
Yin Xichen got lucky and became the third-place scholar, taking a position at the Hanlin Academy. His superior learned that he was unmarried and went to great lengths to arrange a good match for him.
His wife turned out to be quite shrewd. She sent people back to his hometown to dig into his past, and as expected, the story of the courtesan was exposed.
At his wife’s demand, Yin Xichen wrote a letter back to the courtesan.
The letter said, "Your crimson lips have been tasted by a thousand men; how could you be worthy of me, the third-place scholar?"
"He really did that? That’s burning the bridge after crossing it! Utterly heartless!"
"I told you not to get worked up. Just keep listening."
With Yin Xichen’s wife watching him, he didn’t dare pull any tricks and could only let the servant send the letter.
But as soon as he turned around, Yin Xichen wrote another letter and had someone rush it to the brothel.
That letter continued the first, adding the second half: "But what of it? In the next life, when I am no longer a scholar, I will never forget you. My superiors’ command is hard to defy; in our next life, I will return with you to our home. Do not hate this faithless man. If we meet again in the next life, your crimson lips will be mine alone to taste."
With a letter like this, how could the courtesan possibly hate him?
She just concluded that they were not fated to be together and spent her days clutching the letter, hoping for the next life.
De’an slammed his hand on the table in admiration. "This guy... his emotional intelligence, his methods... I couldn’t hold a candle to him."
"What’s ’emotional intelligence’?"
"That’s not important. Is there more? You still haven’t said how Mr. Yin ended up at the Xinghuai Prefecture School."
"Oh, that... Everything I’ve heard is just secondhand gossip. I don’t know if it’s true or not."
"Whether it’s true or not, just tell me."
"Alright, I’ll tell you. But I’m only telling you two. Don’t you dare spread it any further."
"How many people have you said that to?"
"Not important. None of that is important."
Yin Xichen got married, and his life got back on track. But he was a country boy, excessively smooth, and his looks were a bit too frivolous. While some people liked that, others were naturally repulsed by it.