BSI Chapter 1: Beauty Lies Within Books
Chapter 1: Beauty Lies Within Books
Spring of the first year of the Zhihe era of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Qingfenglou, the largest restaurant in Qinghe County, was bustling with activity.
County Magistrate Yin Che is hosting a banquet for the scholars who passed the county examination. All the prominent families in Qinghe County have been invited.
"Come on, let's raise a glass together!"
Yin Che picked up his wine glass and stood up, smiling, "First, congratulations to Kang He and all the talented individuals on passing the imperial examinations. And I wish you all the best in passing next year's provincial examinations, bringing glory to Qinghe County!"
"Thank you, Magistrate!"
Everyone stood up, holding their wine cups, and the fifty scholars who had passed the county examination cheered in unison.
"Let us all drink to this cup!"
Yin Che covered his face with his sleeve and drank the wine in his cup. Seeing that everyone else had also drunk theirs, he smiled and said, "Everyone, please feel free to do as you please from now on."
With Yin Che under the table, the banquet officially began.
The heads of the wealthy families in the county town went to toast Yin Che one after another, and chatted with Kang He, the chief scholar, to curry favor.
Ten teenagers, around seventeen or eighteen years old, sat around a table against the wall on the left.
One of the young men in brocade robes sneered at the sight and muttered, "What's so great about that!"
"Brother Hu is right. If he were truly capable, why didn't he stay in Jinling to take the county examination? Why did he make a special trip back to Qinghe?"
"Actually, the most regrettable case is Huai De. He came in second place. If Kang He hadn't suddenly returned, he would definitely have been the top scorer in this county examination!"
Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at one of the boys sitting at the same table.
The boy's name is Zhou An. He is only seventeen years old this year. Although he is dressed in ordinary clothes, he has a unique temperament and gives people a sense of composure far beyond his age.
Zhou An, with a warm smile on his face, ate his food and listened to their discussion, never expecting the topic to be directed at him.
"What are you all looking at me for? Eat!" Zhou An urged.
"Huai De, you've lost the top spot in the case, and you don't even care?"
"What's there to care about?"
Zhou An smiled and shook his head, saying, "The county examination is only the first step in the imperial examination. Even if you get the top score, it won't add points to the subsequent provincial and metropolitan examinations."
"That being said, only by achieving the top score in the examination can one have the chance to pass all three levels of the imperial examination with top honors."
"That's right. I heard that Kang He came back to participate in the county examination because he wanted to achieve the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations."
"Huai De, how about you have a match with him?"
Zhou An smiled without saying a word, completely unmoved by their instigation.
As the saying goes, there is no first place in literature. If it weren't for Kang He, these people would be aiming for him now.
The reason they instigated Zhou An to go, instead of daring to provoke him themselves, was not because they felt they were inferior to Kang He, but because Kang He's father was an official in Jinling.
Although they were only seventh-rank officials, they did not want to directly antagonize Kang He. However, they were resentful that Kang He and an "outsider" had taken the top spot in the examination, so they instigated Zhou An to go.
Seeing that Zhou An was not fooled, many people showed disdain and wanted to provoke him.
But Zhou An remained unmoved and picked up his chopsticks to continue eating.
Excuse me.
At this moment, a middle-aged man walked over with a wine glass in his hand.
"I am Sheng Wei, and I wish you all success in your examinations!"
"Thank you very much, Master Sheng!"
Upon hearing this, everyone stood up and offered their drinks. Although the Sheng family was not located in Qinghe County, they were still well-known wealthy merchants in Qinghe.
If he were just a merchant, these scholars with official titles wouldn't care too much.
However, Sheng Wei had a cousin who was an official in another place, so he still had to give him some face.
Sheng Wei drank the wine in his cup, his gaze lingering on Zhou An. He smiled and said, "I heard that Scholar Zhou is also from Youyang Town?"
"Exactly." Zhou An nodded with a smile.
"Now that Scholar Zhou has passed the imperial examination, shouldn't he go home to share the good news?"
Sheng Wei smiled and said, "I'm going back to Youyang tomorrow morning. If Scholar Zhou wants to go home to share the good news, you can ride with me."
Zhou An cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Master Sheng!"
"No trouble at all. I am honored that Youyang can produce a second-place candidate in the county examination."
"Then I won't bother you any longer."
Sheng Wei and Zhou An agreed to pick him up from the county school the next morning, and then Sheng Wei left.
After he left, a number of people came to toast Zhou An.
A Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations) is nothing special. Qinghe County is just a small county town, and it takes several years for a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations) to emerge from it.
As for the Jinshi degree, only Kang He's father was among the few Jinshi who passed the imperial examination in the last thirty years.
Kanghe's father passed the imperial examination nearly twenty years ago.
But Zhou An was second in the county examination, so it wouldn't hurt to make a good friend of him.
The banquet lasted until late at night, and Zhou An was already somewhat drunk.
Together with his classmates from the county school, he returned to the academy.
……
The next morning, Sheng Wei took a horse-drawn carriage to the Qinghe County School.
When Zhou An came out, he saw Sheng Wei waiting outside. He stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, I had to ask the teacher for leave, which took up some time."
"It's alright, I just arrived too. Please get in the car, Scholar Zhou!" Sheng Wei greeted.
"Please come, Master Sheng!"
Zhou An politely declined and waited for Sheng Wei to get on the carriage before boarding himself.
Once the carriage started moving, Sheng Wei smiled and said, "In recent years, Youyang Town has produced two outstanding scholars: Sun, who passed the county-level imperial examination at the age of twelve, and Zhou, who came in second. It seems we're about to see our first Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in a century!"
Although his cousin Sheng Hong entered officialdom through the imperial examination, he studied in Bianjing from a young age and took the imperial examination there. Strictly speaking, he cannot be considered to have come from Youyang.
"Then I'll take your kind words, Master Sheng." Zhou An smiled.
Sheng Wei asked, "I heard that Scholar Zhou is already seventeen years old. I wonder if his marriage has been arranged yet?"
"I am not yet of age and have been busy with my studies, so I have not yet made a decision."
Zhou An's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Sheng Wei wanted to marry Shulan to him?
"I have a daughter who has just come of age and is currently choosing a husband. My wife and I are reluctant to let our daughter marry far away, and since we see that Scholar Zhou is of suitable age, we would like to betroth our daughter to you. What do you think?" Sheng Wei said with a smile.
Zhou An hesitated for a moment and said, "Marriage is a major event that is decided by parents and arranged by matchmakers. I dare not make the decision on my own and must consult my parents' wishes first."
"That's how it should be."
Sheng Wei nodded, but didn't continue on that topic. Instead, he chatted casually with Zhou An.
While dealing with the situation, Zhou An was pondering the pros and cons of marrying Shulan.
He is a time traveler and doesn't like to consider the pros and cons when it comes to marriage.
However, in ancient times, free love was not a realistic possibility.
Since he cannot freely choose his partner, he can only consider the benefits that marriage can bring him.
Although Zhou An passed the county examination, he wasn't entirely confident about whether he would achieve the highest honors.
Shulan's temperament and personality are impeccable; marrying her would mean living off her.
As for the second branch of the Sheng family, let's not even talk about Sheng Hong; Sheng Changbai eventually became the prime minister.
The benefits of marrying Shulan are self-evident.
But there are downsides too. He could take a gamble and, if he succeeded in the imperial examination, find a more powerful in-law family.
However, after careful consideration, Zhou An decided to agree.
Even if he succeeds in the imperial examinations and finds a more powerful in-law family,
However, the two families are vastly different, so he will inevitably be looked down upon, and it is hard to say what his future wife's temperament and personality will be.
Moreover, he knew that in the near future, a struggle for succession would erupt in Bianjing that would last for several years.
Although the drama doesn't mention it much, the struggle for the crown prince is always dangerous. If his future in-laws are involved, he will also be implicated.