Chapter 519 - 195: Rivals (3)
Chapter 519: Chapter 195: Rivals (3)
The day passed without incident.
When he returned home, Mrs. Zhao told him that Wang Chengde had stopped by looking for Zhao Jing. After learning that he had accepted a friend’s invitation to see an opera, Wang Chengde hadn’t stayed long before leaving.
He had come and gone in a hurry, his brow deeply furrowed. It didn’t seem like a major crisis, but even Mrs. Zhao found it hard to believe it was nothing.
Mrs. Zhao suggested that Zhao Jing find Wang Chengde at his tavern the next day and see what was the matter.
Of course, this was what Wang Chengde had intended as well.
Chen Wanqing and Zhao Jing exchanged a look, both of them immediately thinking of the two pieces of news Wang Jun had shared that day.
No man walks this earth without leaving a trace.
Wang Jun had his sources to get that information, but there were countless other well-connected people in the world.
It was hard to say whether something considered a secret by some was truly a secret at all.
After rising the next day, Zhao Jing went straight to the tavern where Wang Chengde was staying.
He arrived early, but Wang Chengde and the other Scholars from Qingshui County were already awake.
They had traveled to Xinghuai Prefecture as a group, so it was only natural that they lodged and ate together for mutual support.
Zhao Jing recognized several of them.
The last time they’d met, their encounter had been memorable. They were leaving the Prefecture to return to Qingshui County after a disastrous performance in the examinations, just as Zhao Jing was about to move to Xinghuai Prefecture. They had a chance meeting at a posthouse, and the memory was still vivid.
Back then, they were students who had failed the examination, while Zhao Jing hadn’t even set foot in the examination hall for the Provincial Examination. They had arrogantly assumed they were a cut above him.
But after some probing and conversation, they realized they had completely misjudged the situation.
Sometimes, a person doesn’t participate not because they lack the ability, but because their ambitions are far greater. What they care about isn’t merely the title of scholar.
Upon this realization, the group couldn’t help but feel disheartened.
But if someone is slightly better than you, you feel jealousy and resentment. If they are far superior, you can only look up in awe.
Zhao Jing was the one they had to look up to.
While they were still agonizing over whether they could even pass the examination, he was already being lauded by the professors and tutors of the prefectural academy as a hopeful for first place.
Perhaps the great differences in life are determined by such small increments.
When Wang Chengde saw Zhao Jing arrive, he led him upstairs to a private room. Once they were seated, Wang Chengde shared the news he had gathered.
As expected, Wang Chengde also spoke of Chen Yan Nian and Gu Lin.
In addition, Wang Chengde mentioned another person named Tao Yanxun. This man was from the Capital City; his ancestral home wasn’t in Xinghuai Prefecture, but in Heyuan Province.
Initially, inquiries about him turned up nothing, as if he were a nobody. But anyone who had spent some time in the Capital City would surely know of his ancestors.
His grandfather had been a fifth-rank court official who was posted to an outlying prefecture, where he died during a disaster relief mission. As a result, the court granted Tao Yanxun’s father a position through imperial grace. That father of his proved quite capable, rising from a nominal seventh-rank post to become a fifth-rank Lang in the Ministry of Personnel.
A fifth-rank Lang in the Ministry of Personnel was a position with real authority, overseeing the selection, evaluation, and appointment of officials. It would be no exaggeration to say he wielded significant power.
Zhao Jing already knew about Chen Yan Nian and Gu Lin, but he had been completely in the dark about Tao Yanxun.
Not only was he unaware, but even Wang Jun hadn’t known, which just showed how tightly the matter had been concealed.
’Why keep it such a secret?’
After all, by this point, the background and capabilities of every candidate in the Prefecture had been thoroughly investigated, with the news spreading far and wide.
Yet information about Tao Yanxun was only coming to light now. What did that imply?
Why be so secretive for no apparent reason? That in itself was the biggest question.
Zhao Jing understood the implication behind Wang Chengde’s words. He cupped his hands in thanks. "I understand, Uncle. Thank you for letting me know."
Wang Chengde looked as if he wanted to say more, but after a long pause, he just sighed. "This is only a special supplementary examination, not as prestigious as a regular one. And yet, for some reason, it’s teeming with talent—a true battle of dragons and tigers, even more intense than the last. Jing, I have high hopes for you, but sometimes, a man can’t fight his fate... There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Don’t worry about a temporary gain or loss. Success is a matter of luck; failure, a matter of fate. We can measure ourselves against each other again at the Imperial Examination. Life is a long road. Until the very end, who knows who the true winner will be?"
As Zhao Jing went downstairs and walked home, he could occasionally overhear men dressed in the long robes and square caps of scholars, gathered together and sighing in dismay.
"Who could have expected this?"
"A battle of dragons and tigers... The rankings will be hard to predict this time."
"I wonder if the examiners will come to blows in the examination hall."
"They’ll be publishing a collection of the best essays afterward anyway. If someone is forced into the rankings but lacks the ability to win over the public, we can just go to the Capital City and file a petition with the emperor."
"Petition, my ass! What does any of this have to do with us? We should be worried about whether we can even pass the Provincial Examination ourselves."