The Cao residence was a grand mansion with beautiful gardens.
While the two were talking they arrived at the small courtyard where Xu Fei lived. Chong’er ran in first to announce them. Soon Xu Fei and Zhan Muchun appeared, but Su Yingtao and the other three were not seen.
“Brother Shihuang.” Xu Fei came down the steps to greet him. His smile looked a little unnatural. He had probably guessed Yu Qing’s purpose.
“Brother Shihuang.” Zhan Muchun also stepped down to greet him.
He had a rather deep impression of this person. Among all the candidates who came to the capital, Yu Qing was almost the only one who did not treat him as the top provincial examinee.
Young people liked the feeling of being surrounded by admirers, and he was no exception. But truthfully he held Yu Qing in a separate respect.
Yu Qing put on a smiling face straight away. “Brother Xu. Oh, Brother Zhan, why are you here too? Nice to meet you, nice to meet you.”
Xu Fei looked at him with some surprise.
Zhan Muchun replied, “We arranged this half a month ago to meet after the exam and ask each other how it went. We only just arrived.”
Yu Qing understood. These fellows had already gathered before the exam. Poor him who could not even leave the house. They were all freer than him. Who told him to carry the black pot of doing badly in the provincial exam? He accepted it.
Before he could say more, Xu Fei gestured for Yu Qing to speak with him aside.
Zhan Muchun sensibly withdrew and went back inside first.
Yu Qing followed Xu Fei to one side and listened attentively.
Xu Fei spoke in a low voice, “Brother Shihuang, do not mention the money matter in front of others. My uncle has already agreed. I will go to the accounts office later and withdraw it for you first.”
Yu Qing nodded in understanding. This person did not want him to talk about owing money in front of the guests. He replied politely, “No problem. With our friendship that is closer than life itself, there is no rush about the money. But I have brought the IOU with me and will give it to you later.”
Xu Fei gave a bitter smile, then invited him inside.
Yu Qing thanked him cheerfully and went in with him. As soon as he entered the living room he saw that not only Zhan Muchun but also Su Yingtao and the other three were present.
He had thought the four of them disliked him and were avoiding him. It turned out they were simply too lazy to go out and greet him.
Su Yingtao and the other three all wore expressions that showed displeasure on their faces and were deliberately giving Yu Qing ugly looks.
Xu Fei smiled bitterly again. He did not know why Su Yingtao and the others found Yu Qing so disagreeable. He had tried to persuade them but it was useless. Since that was the case he said nothing more. When he invited Yu Qing to sit on the floor with them he suddenly noticed a strange profound look flash in Yu Qing’s eyes as he glanced at Su Yingtao and the others. His heart skipped a beat.
He subconsciously looked at Su Yingtao and the others once more but then told himself he was probably overthinking it.
Chong’er quietly poured tea and water on the side without saying a word.
Su Yingtao did not look directly at the newly seated person, or rather he disdained to. He continued the previous topic. “Brother Zhan, how did you approach the topic of that fu essay?”
Zhan Muchun thought briefly and replied, “Simply put, it asks why a pillar of the state can become a pillar of the state. Is it because of the emperor’s favour, the mandate of heaven, or his own efforts?”
Everyone except Yu Qing and Chong’er nodded slightly.
Su Yingtao asked further, “Which did Brother Zhan choose?”
Zhan Muchun said slowly, “All three are present.”
Clap! Fang Wenxian clapped his hands and sighed, “Great minds think alike.”
Su Yingtao, Zhang Manqu and Pan Wenqing all nodded in agreement. Clearly their approaches to breaking the topic and answering matched. As for whether the fu essay would stand out, that depended on each person’s writing skill.
The group felt this was worth a toast. They raised their tea cups as wine but noticed Xu Fei had not raised his and seemed deep in thought.
They sensed something. Zhang Manqu asked, “Does Brother Xu have a different opinion?”
“I chose only one, the emperor.” Xu Fei spoke while watching their reactions. He felt a little uneasy inside. He had not expected that even though he obtained the question in advance he would still differ greatly from everyone.
Pan Wenqing immediately waved his hand. “There is no absolute in writing. Brother Xu, your choice is not bad. Praising the sovereign will never be wrong. As long as the wording is proper no examiner can deny it. At least they will grade it as good.”
“Exactly.”
“Matters of the court only look upward and not downward. It cannot be called a mistake. Perhaps that is how it is.”
The others chimed in one after another.
Yu Qing slowly drank his tea on the side and felt secretly amused. Although he did not understand these things well he got the general idea. He discovered that these literary types liked to play tricks with words and create ambiguous arguments where both sides could claim reason.
But after hearing them he felt even more reassured. He remembered that Mr Ming’s answer was completely different from theirs.
In his view Xu Fei had the answer in advance, Zhan Muchun was the top examinee from Lie Prefecture, and Su Yingtao and the others had decent provincial results. Yet Mr Ming’s answer differed sharply from all of them. The result was obvious.
After another toast with tea to moisten their throats, Xu Fei put down his cup and glanced sideways. He unintentionally noticed the faint smile at the corner of Yu Qing’s mouth. His heart stirred and he immediately asked, “Brother Shihuang, how did you answer that fu essay?”
As soon as these words came out Chong’er pricked up his ears. Zhan Muchun also looked over curiously. The other three almost in unison gave sidelong glances full of disdain.
Yu Qing, who was sipping tea slowly, paused for a moment then waved his hand. “I will not embarrass myself by showing the little ink I have in my belly. It is enough to listen to all your brilliant insights.”
Zhan Muchun smiled. “Brother Shihuang, who dares say they will definitely make the list? We are all showing our shortcomings. We are just exchanging and appreciating together.”
Yu Qing had no desire to speak and be laughed at, especially with those four grandsons present. He waved his hand again. “I am ashamed, truly ashamed. I really cannot do it.”
Chong’er could not help glancing at him a few more times. He found that Young Master Shihuang was still as low key as ever.
He knew Yu Qing had obtained the answers in advance, so he naturally thought this way.
Unexpectedly Xu Fei who spoke next felt roughly the same. “Brother Shihuang, I am afraid that may not be the case. You have always been low key, yet I have been wrong about you several times.”
Yu Qing chuckled. “In this area I really cannot compare with you all. I have nothing to act low key about.”
Xu Fei said meaningfully, “For example, always pretending to be poor in front of us.”
As soon as these words came out Su Yingtao and the other three, who had not been looking directly at Yu Qing, all froze. They subconsciously turned to examine him closely and only then realised Yu Qing was wearing fine silk and satin.
Yu Qing spread both hands. “I am originally a poor man. What is there to pretend?”
Xu Fei teased, “From what I know, the place you are living now is not poor at all. It seems to be the home of a wealthy merchant family.”
He had suspected this earlier after seeing Yu Qing’s cultivation. As a martial practitioner himself he understood some of the requirements. He knew that reaching the upper martial realm at Yu Qing’s age required considerable resources, and resources required money. He had suspected then that Yu Qing was not short of money.
Later because of the debt his uncle Cao Xinggong had investigated Yu Qing’s background and discovered he was staying at the Zhong residence. Cao Xinggong then instructed Xu Fei that if Yu Qing asked for money again he should withdraw it from the accounts office to settle the debt.
There was no other reason. With the Zhong family backing him there was no fear of Yu Qing causing trouble.
Cao Xinggong had even found out the names of “A Shihuang’s” parents. Fortunately when A Jiezhan was in power Cao Xinggong had not yet risen, so there was no connection. He had no deep impression of the name A Jiezhan, otherwise he might have been shocked.
Xu Fei only learned this after his uncle mentioned it and realised it was true.
Yu Qing glanced at Chong’er. From Chong’er’s reaction he saw that nothing had been said, so he felt amused. He mistakenly thought Xu Fei had looked into his background again. Just as he was about to brush it off casually he noticed the change in Su Yingtao and the others’ attitudes. His heart stirred and he changed what he was about to say. “Alas, it is not really pretending. That is also my uncle’s family. My uncle is merely the richest man in the capital. The Jin Kingdom is so vast it really does not count for much. We are scholars. Talking about money is vulgar.”
Xu Fei had not yet recovered from the first half of his words before he was choked by the last sentence.
The richest man in the capital?
This time not only Su Yingtao and the other three but even Zhan Muchun felt shocked. They had thought Xu Fei’s uncle’s family was already very wealthy, yet there was someone even more impressive.
Of course Su Yingtao and the other three reacted most dramatically. They very much wanted to ask Yu Qing whether the richest man in the capital also counted as “merely”. Though the Jin Kingdom was large, how many people at the level of the richest man in the capital could there be?
The four were more shocked inside. They realised they had been badly mistaken. Apart from money the richest man in the capital probably had extraordinary connections in the capital.
In an instant the disdain and arrogance they had shown Yu Qing quietly disappeared from their faces. Their gazes towards him became very complicated.
Chong’er looked somewhat confused. Was the Zhong family the richest in the capital?
He had been there but he did not know and could not figure it out.
Xu Fei was also muttering inside. Was the Zhong family the richest in the capital?
His uncle had not told him the exact status of the Zhong family, only that they were wealthy merchants. He planned to find another chance later to ask his uncle.
Seeing that one sentence had stunned everyone, Yu Qing began to speak actively. He did not talk about those refined literary things and could not anyway. “I wonder what all of you plan to do after the metropolitan examination. Will you return directly to Lie Prefecture?”
Su Yingtao and the other three became more reserved in attitude. They did not know whether they should answer. In any case the atmosphere in the room had improved greatly.
Zhan Muchun spoke first. “It depends on the situation.”
Pan Wenqing continued quite naturally, “Brother Zhan’s future is not hard to guess. With Brother Zhan’s talent he will naturally pass the metropolitan examination.”
Zhan Muchun hurriedly waved his hand. “I dare not say that. We cannot speak like this.”
Pan Wenqing continued, “If Brother Zhan ranks in the second class or above in the palace examination he will naturally stay in the capital. If he only gets the third class joint jinshi then trying to stay in the capital would have little meaning. It would be better to return to Lie Prefecture as the top provincial examinee. There will naturally be a good position arranged for him.”
Zhang Manqu also nodded. “That is natural. Brother Zhan is a model for the scholars of Lie Prefecture. If even the top examinee of Lie Prefecture has no good placement, what is the use of studying? Would it not disturb the literary spirit of Lie Prefecture? I am afraid the prefectural governor would also be dissatisfied.” He then looked at his three companions and continued, “Unlike us…”
Not wanting to reply directly to someone, Su Yingtao immediately took up his own side’s words. “The four of us have discussed it. If we pass the list then fine. If not we will stay in the capital first to continue studying. Our families will make arrangements in Lie Prefecture. If we can get a suitable vacancy in Lie Prefecture we will return. If there is no suitable vacancy we will wait in the capital for the metropolitan examination three years later.”
Yu Qing gave an understanding sound and asked the four, “So, Brother Su, no matter whether the four of you pass or not you will all stay in the capital for the time being?”
Xu Fei heard this and suddenly felt secretly strange. This fellow seemed a bit abnormal today.
Usually this guy was completely unwilling to meet these people. Today he was sitting openly with them and even taking the initiative to chat. It felt rather suspicious.