Chapter 456 - 175: Prefectural School (6)
Chapter 456: Chapter 175: Prefectural School (6)
In the Professor Bureau, all the instructors and proctors were gathered around Yin Xichen. Meanwhile, in Yueli Hall, a crowd of this year’s new students surrounded Chen De’an and Zhao Jing.
Having been at the academy for only two days, De’an, with his open and cheerful disposition, had already hit it off with everyone.
And while Zhao Jing was a bit colder in temperament, in an academy that revered academic merit, his fame for his scholastic achievements worked like a charm, prompting many students to proactively befriend him.
When the two of them entered Yueli Hall, the other students swarmed them.
"So? How did it go?"
"Were the questions difficult? De’an looks like he’s been through the wringer."
"Mr. Yin has plenty of ways to discipline students. He’s put quite a few of the more rebellious ones in their place. But you two are the first to get on his bad side right after enrolling."
"What’s the point of saying that now? The damage is done. He was the one who was wrong first, so you can’t blame De’an and Zhao Jing. It’s just a shame his scholarship is considered among the best in the academy, and on top of that, he has his reputation as the third-place graduate. They can’t just kick him out over his personality..."
The comments varied, but the general consensus was that Zhao Jing and De’an had gotten a truly raw deal.
All because Zhao Jing retorted, Mr. Yin immediately began retaliating. ’The man is so petty,’ they thought. ’He’s really not a good person.’
Out in the real world, if anyone dared to judge them by their looks, they’d beat the guy until he was searching for his teeth on the ground.
But here at the academy... well, it was better left unsaid.
De’an slumped onto his desk, completely dejected, looking like a wilted vegetable.
"Don’t even talk about it," De’an groaned. "Those questions were so difficult, I’d never even heard of stuff like that. I feel like my brain is fried."
"What were the questions, exactly? Tell us so we can hear."
De’an could see they were all enjoying the drama a little too much. But since he was looking for a way to vent his frustrations anyway, he pulled himself together to tell them the exam questions, hoping to rally them to his cause.
"There were two questions in total, both policy essays, with a time limit of three hours. The first question was: ’The ways of the civil and the martial—how can they be jointly implemented to bring order to the world?’"
The students gathered around all sucked in a sharp breath, and every one of them took a step back.
Even the three young women standing on the edge of the crowd looked shocked.
"Isn’t that using a sledgehammer to crack a nut? Why would he do that?"
De’an looked at them, surprised by their reaction. ’Ah, so there’s a story here.’
Forgetting his own misery for a moment, he quickly grabbed one of them. "What do you mean by that?"
"Haha, well... that was the question Mr. Yin gave the students of Xiaocheng Hall for their last monthly exam."
Fearing they didn’t understand the significance of Xiaocheng Hall, one of the students explained, "There are only twenty students in there. Ninety percent of them will become esteemed scholars in three years."
"And even those who don’t become scholars are guaranteed to pass the provincial examinations and enter the Imperial College. You could say every single one of them has a boundless future."
"So to use a question meant for future esteemed scholars to test two brand-new students... wouldn’t you call that using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?"
De’an was incensed. "He’s doing this on purpose to make us fail! And he calls himself a teacher, an educator! A scholar who supposedly rose through ten years of arduous study! To torment us like this... he’s a disgrace to his profession, a disgrace to all scholars!"
De’an cried out, "We’re all students of the same academy! Why be so eager to tear each other down?"
The onlookers were amused by De’an’s theatrics. After a round of laughter, they urged him on. "And the second question? Come on, tell us."
De’an didn’t keep them in suspense. He composed himself and stated the second question.
"The second question was: ’With the prevalence of Buddhism and Daoism encroaching upon the teachings of our Confucian school, how can we support orthodox learning and quell heterodox doctrines?’ Just listen to that! Where did he even pull that from? The autumn examinations are about the Four Books and Five Classics, about the people’s livelihood, the economy, and practical policy responses. Those are the things that matter most! But he’s testing us on ideological purification... I’m not saying it’s not a valid topic, but with all the internal and external crises we face, isn’t focusing on ideological purity getting your priorities completely backward? What’s more, I’m just a minor scholar from the countryside! I’ve barely spent two days properly worshipping a Buddha, and he wants me to write a treatise on how to ’support orthodox learning and quell heterodox doctrines’? Do I look that capable to you? This is a massive issue that even the most powerful ministers in the court can’t resolve. Asking me about it is nothing but a deliberate attempt to make me fail! What else could it be?"
As De’an fumed, the other students chimed in with agreement. "Yes, that’s going way too far."
"Spoken like the third-place graduate notorious for being tricky and difficult," one student commented. "He’s deliberately trying to trip you up, so if your scores are terrible, it’s completely understandable. Don’t worry. The other instructors are watching all of this. They won’t just stand by and let him expel you."
With the gossip over and their curiosity satisfied, the students didn’t linger. They each gave De’an a symbolic pat on the shoulder and offered a "My condolences," before heading off together toward the dining hall to appease their growling stomachs.