Chapter 275: Chapter 275: First Entry into the Academy
275 Entering Official School
Not to be outdone, Qiao Muchen declared, "Alright, come on! Let’s take off our clothes and compare!"
Zhao Yue dragged Zhao Zhitong over. "Tongtong, you be our judge. Tell us, who between the two of us is stronger?"
Called upon to judge them, Zhao Zhitong pushed the two apart. She casually picked up a wooden stick from the ground, about the thickness of two fingers, and with a SNAP, it broke. She then looked at them and said, "I think I’m the strongest."
Zhao Yue glanced at the broken stick and swallowed hard. She’s not a girl!
Qiao Muchen thought, Better not provoke her. Better not.
After successfully intimidating the two, Zhao Zhitong finally got to the point. "What I mean is, you two have to report to the academy tomorrow. From then on, we won’t be able to meet as often. Let’s call Wei Shulan and give you two a farewell gathering!"
Both of them agreed.
"Great, great! We haven’t played together in ages!"
The three of them then headed to Country Gentry Wei’s family together.
「Zhao Family study room.」
The four friends gathered around a table for Qiao Muchen and Zhao Yue’s farewell, and the meal was filled with their laughter.
Zhao Yue boasted, "The first exam question was ’looking at the remaining snow on Waifang Mountain,’ requiring us to compose a poem. As luck would have it, that’s my specialty! I aced it as soon as I picked up my brush, and I was the first one in the hall to hand in my paper!"
Looking at the smug Zhao Yue, Wei Shulan said with disdain, "Look at you, so smug. Can’t you learn from Qiao Muchen? He came in first and didn’t say a word. Can’t you be a little more modest?"
Zhao Yue protested unhappily, pointing at Qiao Muchen, "Don’t be fooled by his appearance! If he’s modest, then no one in this world is modest. He’s high-profile in such a subtle way, and that’s the most lethal part! You don’t know how much he provoked me on the way back from the exam hall."
Qiao Muchen said innocently, "Did I? Didn’t I just recite a few poems I’d written for you on the way back?"
Zhao Yue said angrily, "And what did you say at the end? Go on, tell them."
Qiao Muchen replied innocently, "I just said the exam time was too long, so I wrote a few extra poems in my boredom. I wanted you to hear them. What’s wrong with that?"
Zhao Zhitong forced a laugh. "Heh... No, nothing at all."
Wei Shulan added, "...Yes, that’s just splendid."
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, and Sun Mei entered carrying snacks.
The four friends drank tea instead of wine, chatted about their future, and stayed together late into the night before finally parting ways.
The next day, March twenty-eighth, Qiao Muchen and Zhao Yue packed their bags and stepped into Taiyi Academy, a renowned institution of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Taiyi Academy was built on Taishi Mountain, the main peak of Waifang Mountain, and was located north of Anyang County. The scenic location boasted fragrant flowers in spring, vibrant maple forests in autumn, proud snow-covered plum blossoms in winter, and lush bamboo groves in summer.
Every year, countless scholars visited the Academy to appreciate the scenery and compose poetry.
As dawn broke and the sun began to rise, the slope leading to the academy was already bustling with pedestrians and horse carriages.
Countless scholars were reporting to Taiyi Academy today, all of them in high spirits, their conversations filled with laughter.
Amidst the sea of young men, a young girl stood out. She carried a bamboo basket covered with a cloth. From a gap in the cloth, one could glimpse what appeared to be wild fruits and green vegetables.
Walking and chatting with the young girl were two young lads. Although they wore ordinary clothes, they were both exceptionally handsome.
They were none other than Qiao Muchen, Zhao Yue, and Zhao Zhitong.
Zhao Yue looked at the basket in Zhao Zhitong’s hand and asked doubtfully, "Zhao Zhitong, do you really think a few wild fruits and some green vegetable leaves will be enough?"
Zhao Yue had no idea about the secret of Zhao Zhitong’s family’s vegetables.
Apparently, Qiao Muchen didn’t know either. He asked, "Tongtong, could it be that you found out the academy’s dean likes fruits and vegetables?"
Zhao Zhitong wasn’t worried at all. She said casually, "I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. If the dean doesn’t like them, I’ll just find another way to ask him to let me come visit you at the academy often."
Qiao Muchen and Zhao Yue weren’t overly concerned. When Zhao Zhitong had first appeared with a basket of vegetables, saying she wanted to accompany them to the famous academy to broaden her horizons and also to, as she put it, ’bribe’ the dean, they initially thought she was just joking.
The three of them laughed as they headed up the mountain.
Just then, a horse carriage approached rapidly, so the three of them stepped to the side of the road.
Then, a luxurious horse carriage drew near.
It was draped in silk on all sides, with windows inlaid with gold and gems, veiled by a blue curtain.
As the carriage passed them, it suddenly slowed down and gradually came to a stop beside them.
Then, the curtain was lifted, revealing first a folding fan, and then the head of a boy about fifteen or sixteen years old.
Upon seeing Qiao Muchen, he exclaimed, "Well, if it isn’t the top scorer of our entrance exam! We meet again!"
His gaze then fell on Zhao Zhitong, and he clicked his tongue. "And you even brought a servant girl with you? Let me see, what’s she carrying? Wild fruits from the mountains? Green vegetables?"
He burst into laughter. "This is hilarious, Qiao Muchen! Is this your gift for the Teachers? Even if your family is poor, you don’t have to be so pathetic. I’m embarrassed for you!"
The commotion instantly attracted the attention of the other scholars on the road, who all gathered around to watch the spectacle.
Hearing the words of the boy in the carriage, they all began to cover their mouths and snicker.
"Look, it really seems to be wild fruits and vegetables. If they don’t have money, they don’t have to give a gift. The Teachers won’t blame them. Aren’t most of us at the academy poor scholars? No one will laugh."
"That’s right, who could say otherwise?"
Looking at the boy’s vile manner, Zhao Zhitong was furious and yelled at him, "I’m not a servant girl! Besides, food is paramount to the people! It’s the treasure that sustains life for everyone! Don’t you think saying such things in public is unbecoming of a scholar’s dignity?"
"Hmph, you’re a sharp-tongued little girl, but this young master doesn’t have time to waste on you lot. I’ll be on my way!"
After saying that, he dropped the curtain. They heard a voice say, "Qiao Muchen, see you at the academy." Then, the horse carriage sped off, leaving a trail of dust.
Zhao Zhitong looked at the retreating horse carriage and asked curiously, "Hey, didn’t you say Taiyi Academy rules forbid riding a horse carriage to the academy? Who is that person, ignoring the rules like that?"
Seeing his young master being bullied, Xiao Shitou grumbled, "Hmph, just some rich person. Look at that horse carriage. They have power and money. They can do whatever they please."
"Hey, I know, I know!" At that moment, a youth from the side of the road approached them with a laugh, saying, "He’s Li Liangcai, the only son of the Governor of Xuzhou. We can’t afford to offend him. When we see him at the academy in the future, it’s best to take a detour."
Zhao Zhitong and her friends immediately turned their gaze towards him.
Seeing their attention, the young man scratched his head, then cupped his fist with a friendly smile and said, "Hello, my name is Lv Wenhao. I’m a scholar of the same cohort as you."