Chapter 30: Preparing for the Provincial Examination

Zhao Yan smiled upon hearing this. He allowed the eunuch to prop him up with a soft pillow and, looking at the man, said with earnest concern, "Only you, Wang Zhichiu, would dare to speak such hard truths."

This was precisely why he favored Wang Zhichiu; he dared to say anything and everything. He was sincere, fearless, and possessed nothing but a heart of absolute loyalty.

Wang Zhichiu bowed quickly in response. "It is only through your Majesty’s patronage that I have reached this point. If I have spoken out of turn, I beg for your Majesty’s forgiveness."

Years ago, he had been nothing more than a lowly registrar; it was the Emperor who had prevented this pearl from remaining covered in dust.

Indeed, Wang Zhichiu had always considered himself a pearl. He thought so when he was down on his luck, and he thought so now—he had always been a pearl.

Zhao Yan waved a hand. "How have I patronized you? Even now, you are only a seventh-rank official. In truth, I have treated you unfairly."

In reality, Wang Zhichiu drew the salary of a second-rank minister and received the treatment befitting one, even if his official rank had never been elevated.

Wang Zhichiu shook his head. "Your Majesty..."

Before he could finish, Zhao Yan raised a hand to interrupt him. "I will issue an imperial decree in the court to promote you to Right Chancellor. You and Chancellor Fan will assist the Imperial Grandson together, balance the court, and distinguish the loyal from the treacherous. When necessary..."

Wang Zhichiu looked up in disbelief. He had not expected the Emperor to think in such a way.

"Your Majesty? Why... why not simply name the Prince of Lu as the Heir Apparent?"

If the Prince of Lu ascended the throne, would those monsters and demons not all be forced to crawl away?

Zhao Yan closed his eyes in exhaustion. The imperial physicians said that if he were well, he might live another two or three years, but if things went poorly, he might not even survive the year. He wanted to pass his legacy to the eldest son’s child, but he could not allow others to use his bias as an excuse to throw the Zhao family’s empire into chaos.

By the time Li Yu learned that Wang Zhichiu had become the Right Chancellor, summer was nearly upon them. He felt that this promotion was perhaps a bit too rapid. From a seventh-rank official to the first rank—to soar up in a single bound?

"How curious. Our dynasty has never had a Right Chancellor before."

"Indeed. Could the Emperor be trying to keep Chancellor Fan in check?"

These enthusiastic commoners, who couldn't even earn two coins to rub together, could discuss such grand state affairs for a day and a night without eating or sleeping.

"Zi Xuan, doesn't Chancellor Wang think highly of you?" Wu Jingcheng, whose senses were sharp, was not happy; he said with concern, "If the Emperor does this, it is certain that Chancellor Wang and Chancellor Fan will never be on good terms."

"Zi Xuan, you haven't even entered the civil service yet, and you already have one foot in the cruel political struggle. What will you do if Chancellor Wang loses in the future?"

It was just as he thought: being favored by the man in the Emperor's inner circle was not always a good thing. Li Yu was also worried; was he destined to be cannon fodder in the workplace in this life, too?

Li Lian, holding his round head, couldn't help but look at them with disdain. "My beloved brother-in-law and brother, pray tell, what are you two worrying about? Are you even confident you can pass the provincial examinations next year?"

They had only just earned the title of *shengyuan* (government student), yet they were already fretting over such distant matters.

Li Yu and Wu Jingcheng exchanged a look, then both sighed in relief and went back to eating their fish.

That was true. They weren't even *juren* (provincial graduates) yet; what did cruel political struggles have to do with them?

Li Yu lived happily after becoming a *shengyuan*. Between eating and drinking, he would take time off to date his sweetheart in the prefectural capital, and his studies became increasingly effortless.

Before the provincial examinations, the Qian-Yuan Emperor ultimately issued a decree naming the Imperial Grandson, Zhao Bo, as the Heir Apparent. Because of this, Wu Jingcheng pestered him for days, demanding the one-hundred-coin bet they had made.

Li Yu, naturally, ignored him; he had never intended to gamble with him.

"Besides, the Emperor didn't take action against the Prince of Lu. The man has already returned to his fief peacefully. How can you count that as you winning the bet?"

Wu Jingcheng: "..."

Did his future wife know that this kid was such a cheapskate?

Li Yu also took Xiaolu to see several famous doctors in the capital to see if his voice could be cured. The physicians said that a heart-worry requires a heart-remedy, and there was nothing physically wrong with Xiaolu's throat.

Looking at Xiaolu, Li Yu made a major decision.

"Do you want to properly deal with your stepmother?"

Xiaolu nodded repeatedly. He wanted to; he wanted to more than anything; he dreamed of it.

Li Yu found out that his stepmother often met her lover on the mountain behind their home, so he prepared to go with Xiaolu and steal their clothes. He hadn't intended to tell anyone else, but it was overheard by Li Ying, who happened to be back at her maiden home for a meal.

"Doing bad things without me? Do you two have no sense of loyalty?"

Once she knew, it meant Li Lian knew too. So, the four of them formed a group to steal the couple's clothes, leaving the pair shivering and afraid to come down from the mountain. When they heard people approaching, they had to hide in the thorny brush, ending up covered in bloody scratches.

Li Ying took itching powder she had stolen from her in-laws' house and poured it all over the clothes before returning them. Terrified, the pair saw the clothes like saviors and put them on without a second thought. The powder quickly circulated through their wounds from the brush. They could only run home while clawing at their skin, looking absolutely ridiculous.

Xiaolu’s face blossomed with a smile, though he still could not speak.

Li Ying, however, was somewhat dissatisfied. "Just now, I wanted to call people to see these two shameless wretches. Why did you stop me? Such vicious people deserve to be taught a lesson."

They deserved to die; how could they shove a hot iron into a child's mouth?

"That’s enough. You are a scholar's wife, a young lady..." Li Yu left the rest unsaid; it wouldn't be good if word got out that she had seen a man's naked body.

"Then I'll let them off easy this time." Li Ying didn't say anything more. "I heard that for this provincial examination, there are over sixteen hundred *shengyuan* taking the test in our province, but they will only select fifty."

She didn't know if her husband and brother would succeed. If they did, they could become officials. She didn't dare to hold too much hope; after all, the two were only sixteen.

"Your marriage to the Ning family is basically settled. If you pass the provincial examination, it will be much more prestigious to propose, won't it?"

It would prevent those gossiping mouths from laughing and saying her brother was useless. With her brother's background, any minor flaw would be infinitely magnified. She was truly worried about his future.

Li Yu, however, was in high spirits and full of confidence. He even thought that if he passed the provincial exam this year, wouldn't it be even better to pass the metropolitan exam and return to get married next year? That would be the true moment of success on the golden list and the bridal night.

After receiving the official permit to sit for the provincial examinations, Li Yu began to pack.

In truth, one could not simply choose to take the provincial examinations; the district magistrate had to submit one's name, and both the prefectural government and the provincial education commissioner had to approve it.

The imperial court had strict regulations: if a *shengyuan* was recommended for the provincial exam three times and failed to pass, the district magistrate and the educational instructor would be held accountable. The candidate himself would also be stripped of his *shengyuan* status.

The same applied to the metropolitan examinations. If a *juren* took the test three times without becoming a *jinshi* (advanced scholar), then—sorry—that *juren* would be demoted to a minor clerk, and the official who recommended him would be held accountable by their superiors.

Therefore, officials were very cautious about recommending candidates. Some would not dare to recommend a candidate who had failed for six years, or they would wait three years between recommendations. To avoid the risk of being held accountable, *shengyuan* had to rank in the top five of the entire district in the district academy before the magistrate would grant them the opportunity.

Not only was the competition fierce, but the opportunity to test was also exceptionally precious.