Volume One: From Peasant Boy to Official Chapter 43: Good News

The two messengers from the magistrate’s office had been waiting for Chu Liu. As soon as they saw him return, they promptly produced the congratulatory notice, beaming as they said, “Congratulations, Young Master Xie, for achieving the top rank in the county examination! May your career soar, your official path be smooth, your prospects brilliant, and your blessings long-lasting…”

“You two have endured hardship, delivering good news from afar. On behalf of my family, I thank you,” Chu Liu replied with sincere warmth. “I wish you both prosperity, wealth throughout the four seasons, children and grandchildren in abundance, and health and peace…”

He respectfully accepted the congratulatory notice, handed it to his grandfather, then brought out two taels of silver wrapped in red paper and offered it with both hands.

“The journey is long and tiring, you have worked hard. Please accept this small token as tea money, and do not disdain it…”

“Thank you very much, Young Master!”

The two messengers exchanged a smile, happily accepted the red packet, and repeatedly expressed their gratitude. Their eyes were full of approval for Chu Liu’s humility and courtesy.

“I saw Young Master Xie during the county examination. I thought then that he was handsome and surely destined for the top rank—and indeed, I was right…”

“With your talent, this is only the beginning. In the future, you’ll surely become a scholar and ride a grand horse…”

They took turns showering Chu Liu with compliments that cost nothing—praising his brilliance, virtue, limitless future, and prophesying high office and noble achievements.

They said everything pleasant there was to say. After a while, the two slowly rose, cupped their hands, and said, “The magistrate’s office has many affairs; we must take our leave.”

“How can you say such a thing?” Chu Liu’s tone was earnest and warm. “You have traveled far and worked tirelessly. If I do not fulfill my duty as host, wouldn’t outsiders laugh at our Xie family for lacking hospitality and being stingy?”

“Moreover, the county examination’s success depended entirely on your efforts to maintain order and peace inside and outside the exam hall. Without your constant vigilance, how could so many candidates have tested in peace? By all reason, you are honored guests of our family and should not depart so easily.”

These words were so pleasing that the two messengers seemed genuinely moved by Chu Liu’s sincerity. Grinning, they said, “Then we won’t stand on ceremony and will gladly partake of your good fortune as county’s top scholar…”

With that, the two sat down again.

The messengers were thoroughly satisfied, thinking that although this year’s top county scholar was just a child, he conducted himself better than any adult.

They resolved to spread his good reputation upon their return.

The village chief chimed in, “Well said, let’s all share in the joy of the top scholar, so our children may prosper as well…”

The crowd grew larger and larger. In farming households, it was rare to have the means to send a child to study.

Hearing that the Xie family, without making a fuss, had produced the county’s top scholar, everyone was curious.

No one really knew what being the top scholar meant.

At that moment, Chen Danian approached, and they seized him to ask, “Old Chen, what’s a county’s top scholar?”

Chen Danian’s son, Chen Xiaonian, had attended private school for a few years and later worked as a clerk in town.

A family with someone earning a living in the city should know the answer.

“You don’t even know that? The county’s top scholar… is just the top scorer in the county exam…” Chen Danian, accustomed to boasting, quickly smoothed things over. “Anyway, it means he won’t have to work the fields to eat—he’s just a bit higher than my son…”

“If the county’s top scholar is above a clerk, does that make him a steward?” someone pressed for details. Chen Danian, afraid of being exposed, feigned impatience, “Your son isn’t scholar material, so why ask? It’s a bother!”

Just then, Doumiao drove by with a donkey cart and overheard. He hadn’t intended to show off in front of the villagers, but hearing Chen Danian say Chu Liu was only slightly above his son irked him. He stopped and explained, “The county’s top scholar is the first place in the county exam—he’ll definitely become a proper scholar in the future…”

“Wow!”

The crowd erupted.

The Xie family produced a scholar?

A golden phoenix had flown out of the chicken coop.

Everyone gazed at Doumiao, eager to hear more.

Doumiao only knew what Wen Lancang had told him; he had no further insight and drove off with his donkey.

At that moment, the village chief’s son hurried over, carrying a large rooster in his left hand and a bundle of cooked meat in his right, followed by someone bearing two jars of wine.

Chu Liu was sure to be a scholar, so their family needed to cultivate ties early and share in his good fortune.

“Doumiao, we’ve got the chicken and wine. Go buy the other things.”

“How could I accept? I’ll bring money over later,” Doumiao replied, aware that this was thanks to his son. Otherwise, why would the village chief send him wine and chicken?

Everything had turned upside down.

The chief’s son waved his hand, “We’re all from the same village, why be so polite? If you bring the money, I won’t recognize you as my elder brother anymore…”

“Alright, I’ll be busy now but will come back to drink with you!”

With that, Doumiao drove off.

The chief’s son ignored the villagers at the door, brought the wine and cooked meat inside for his father and the messengers to enjoy, then personally slaughtered the chicken, cleaned and chopped it himself.

In the midst of busy preparations, a sumptuous meal was served.

After eating and drinking their fill, the messengers offered more auspicious words to Chu Liu’s family before departing.

The news of Chu Liu being the county’s top scholar spread like wings.

Soon, people near and far were saying that Xie family from Qingshi Village had produced a scholar.

Villagers questioned each other about where Chu Liu had studied, how much money was required for schooling—every detail was investigated.

Their eyes were not blind: the chief and his son were the local bullies. Now, they were trailing after the Xie family, eager to curry favor.

If studying brought no benefits, would they be so eager to help?

For several days, everyone in the village was intensely interested in Chu Liu’s achievement, continuously asking about the particulars.

Learning that the top scholar would surely become a scholar, and that scholars enjoyed privileges—not only exempt from corvée labor, but also spared from kneeling to the magistrate, and those with high marks received monthly stipends of grain and silver from the government.

Some became tempted to send their own children to study.

But when they learned that Chu Liu’s education cost over a hundred taels of silver, thoughts of sending their children to school vanished.

What’s the point of studying? One scholar’s education would starve the whole family.

The devilish training resumed.

The prefectural exam had three sessions: classical texts, miscellaneous essays, and policy argumentation.

Wen Lancang drilled the two boys on key passages from the Four Books and Five Classics. Although they had little trouble with such topics, he meticulously checked their recitations.

He focused his instruction on miscellaneous essays and policy arguments.

Especially in the essay section, there were notorious “hybrid questions” designed to wreck students’ nerves.

These questions combined phrases by taking fragments from different passages of the Four Books and Five Classics—sometimes cutting across chapters with ruthless disregard.

If the candidate couldn’t identify the source, he couldn’t write the theme of the essay.

The prefectural exam was more challenging, not only in content but also because it brought together the best from every county.

Thus, Chu Liu and Su Biao’s hard study was truly bitter.

Every day brought recitations, essay writing, policy arguments—an endless stream of assignments.