Fang Jie was still somewhat dazed when he walked out of the examination hall. Under the envious or jealous gazes of the other examinees, he struggled to maintain his composure, instead walking out with a slight smile and a slightly raised chin. Once outside the training ground, he couldn't help but rub his face, realizing his smile was a little stiff.
Finding a tree with dense foliage, Fang Jie sat down in its shade and carefully recalled the scene. His Majesty's sudden decree brought him far more than just simple happiness. The thought of his five pseudo-excellent grades gave him a headache. Who knew what trouble this might cause him in the future?
He was the kind of person who worried before he thought of joy. His first reaction wasn't that his entry into the Martial Arts Academy was secure, but rather whether the unnecessary troubles that this empty title might bring would be difficult to deal with. Fang Jie knew he was a person who hated trouble, even though trouble had never stopped since he was born.
After sitting for a while, his mood gradually calmed down, so he simply lay down under the cool shade of a tree and closed his eyes to rest. He could go home today; the martial arts exam was scheduled for tomorrow. However, this morning's killings by His Majesty had delayed him considerably, and it was uncertain whether tomorrow's exam would be postponed. Lying here seemed like a waste of time. But Fang Jie had no intention of leaving; at least he felt it wasn't time for him to go yet.
Lying on the grass, Fang Jie plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth. Looking at the lush green leaves, he couldn't help but smile slightly, forming a rather charming arc.
Before entering the martial arts academy, he never imagined his exam would be like this.
He had imagined countless times what kind of difficult situation he would face today. He even thought most about whether, if he really didn't do well, he should shamelessly beg the chubby Taoist priest Xiang Qingniu for a sugar daddy's help. After all, he seemed to have many rivals, both overt and covert, in Chang'an. If he couldn't enter the Martial Arts Academy, he feared he wouldn't be able to live peacefully for three years. Although he could choose to become a civil official in the Wenyuan Pavilion or Shuhua Pavilion, Fang Jie, with his self-awareness, knew that once he ran out of knowledge, his path would be over.
The key was that he didn't possess much truly useful knowledge.
He could get by for a few days or months with his limited knowledge of pinyin and arithmetic, but that wasn't profound learning at all. Entering the Wenyuan Pavilion or Shuhua Pavilion would expose his crude and unlearned nature within half a month. Moreover, he deeply remembered Zhuo Buyi's words: the covert battles among civil officials were always far more brutal than the battlefield battles among military generals. Because on the battlefield, it was a direct confrontation, but in the officialdom, the opponent's knife would always strike at an unexpected time and in an unexpected place; one careless move and you'd be bloodied and mangled.
Wu Yidao had also said something similar to him.
Having lived two lives, Fang Jie naturally understood that in officialdom, without great wisdom and the ability to be obsequious, survival was difficult. To achieve great success, one needed to learn even more. Relatively speaking, if given a choice, he would rather join the army than enter the imperial court. Based on his understanding of officialdom and his style of dealing with people, he feared he would be easily betrayed and killed.
He lacked experience in this area.
He still needed to grow.
Comparatively, entering the imperial court, where the main job was intrigue and power struggles, with scholarship as a secondary pursuit, or becoming a lowly Taoist priest at the Qing Le Mountain Yi Qi Temple, the latter held far greater appeal for Fang Jie. While the former offered the potential for meteoric rise, it was far too dangerous. How many exceptionally talented individuals from humble backgrounds had entered the court only to be manipulated and reduced to nothing within two or three years by those in power? The latter, though less promising, offered stability and peace.
Those who yearn for stability and peace are often the elderly; young people are often ambitious and driven. Fang Jie wasn't lacking in ambition, but he also longed for a peaceful and happy life. Perhaps many people with similar experiences would share this sentiment. When all the striving seemed impossible, they'd settle for a quiet life as ordinary citizens.
"Congratulations."
Just as he lay on the grass, lost in thought, someone spoke those two words to him from a short distance away. The voice was gentle and soft; Fang Jie had heard it once before.
It was the female professor with the amazing memory and bright, clear white eyes who had been checking candidates' identities by the bridge.
Fang Jie remembered her name was Qiu Yu. It wasn't a very feminine name. At first glance, it sounded more like a man's. Yu… well, it's a word that suggests contentment with modest means, without grand ambitions, just a little surplus is enough—no loss, no lack, no shortage, more than sufficient.
Fang Jie quickly sat up and turned to look to the side.
He then realized that the female professor had been sitting on the other side of the large tree all along. She was hidden behind a cluster of roses, making her difficult to spot without close inspection. She sat on a stone bench reading a book, and Fang Jie could see her profile; it wasn't the kind of beauty that could take your breath away, but it was pleasing to the eye.
She offered a congratulatory greeting without looking at Fang Jie.
"Thank you, sir."
Fang Jie stood up and bowed in greeting.
"Why thank me?"
Qiu Yu put down her book, turned to Fang Jie, and said, "I've already reviewed the phonetic notation method and the arithmetic method you presented to His Majesty. To be honest, His Majesty's decree just now was entirely accurate; he didn't exaggerate your contributions. These two ideas of yours are truly invaluable. It's unimaginable how many children will benefit from them."
She stood up, looked up at the sky, and asked, "Why aren't you going back yet? The literature exams are over today; it won't be until sunset at the earliest."
Fang Jie was silent for a moment before truthfully replying, "I'm waiting. Is someone else looking for me?"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yu couldn't help but glance at Fang Jie, then nodded and turned to leave. As she was about to disappear into the depths of the woods, she suddenly stopped and turned back to ask Fang Jie, "Sometimes thinking too much isn't a good thing; at the very least, it's exhausting."
Fang Jie leaned slightly forward and said, "I'm not at the point where I'm afraid of being tired and wanting comfort, so I always have to think more. Thinking more when my eyes are open is better than wanting nothing at all. When my eyes are closed, I have plenty of time to think of nothing."
"Very good...you're not being pretentious."
Qiu Yu nodded and stepped into the woods.
Fang Jie smiled helplessly, knowing that his previous answer must have displeased the female professor. But he couldn't just leave like that; he lacked many things. For example, opportunity. Who knew if staying a little longer at the Martial Arts Academy would bring some great opportunity? Perhaps the female professor disliked him because she disliked his cunning, which was why she left. Her question was merely out of curiosity.
Fang Jie wasn't afraid of being misunderstood, especially since Qiu Yu hadn't misunderstood him.
His Majesty's decree opened the doors to the Martial Arts Academy for him, and perhaps many more doors as well.
...
...
After Qiu Yu left, Fang Jie suddenly noticed the book she had been reading was left on the stone table not far away. Waiting here, hoping someone would come over, was rather boring for Fang Jie. Since he had a book to pass the time with, he certainly wouldn't waste it. So he walked over, intending to see what book could have kept Qiu Yu so quietly engrossed in reading.
But when Fang Jie got closer and saw the words on the book, he couldn't help but stop in his tracks.
Martial Arts Examination Questions.
These four characters, though small, were exceptionally striking.
Looking at the thin book, an impulse surged within Fang Jie. He almost couldn't resist reaching out to pick it up and flip through it; his fingers twitched several times, as if he were about to reach out at any moment. Standing there stiffly, staring at the book for a while, Fang Jie finally suppressed the impulse, took a deep breath, and told himself that opportunities could come, but what came might not always be an opportunity.
He slowly stepped back a few paces and sat down cross-legged on the grass.
About a hundred meters away, several pairs of eyes were watching Fang Jie through the holes in the flower wall. Seeing Fang Jie sit down cross-legged on the grass, the corners of their mouths couldn't help but curl slightly.
Zong Lianghu, the Vice Minister of War, looked at the young border soldier, smiled, and said softly, "Truly a gentleman."
Huai Qiugong, the Minister of Rites, stroked his snow-white beard, smiled, and nodded without speaking.
Niu Huilun, the Grand Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion, praised softly, "Compared to those who left the examination hall before, this young man is indeed a gentleman. If he had even a trace of impurity in his heart, he wouldn't have made such a choice. In my opinion, if other examinations had entered into this situation… some would have looked at the exam questions, then put them back in their original place, pretending they hadn't seen them. Some would have picked them up and quickly run out to find the female professor to return them, and on the way, they might have secretly glanced at them a few times. Some would have immediately turned around and left…" "I fear that if I linger here too long, people will misunderstand and think I've already read it."
Grand Secretary Zhuang Chuyu of Shuhua Pavilion wholeheartedly agreed: "Those who put it back after reading it are true villains. Those who pick it up and chase after the professor to return the book are hypocrites. Those who turn around and leave, fearing being misunderstood... are cowards; they can't maintain their loyalty and integrity in a crisis, and are most likely traitors in the making."
Minister of War Mou Liangbi pointed to the young man's seat and said, "Gentlemen, did you see him take a few steps back?"
"Seven steps,"
Zong Lianghu replied. Mou Liangbi nodded and said, "Seven steps…this distance is subtle. Not too far, not too close, just enough to place him in an unobstructed position. No matter which direction he comes from, he can be seen at a glance. And this distance will never lead anyone to mistakenly believe he just looked at the exam questions and sat back down. Nor will it make it seem like he was discovered and hurriedly left the stone table. Because if someone discovers him and then leaves the stone table, they definitely can't take seven steps."
Niu Huilun was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but ask, "Does Lord Mou mean that even these few steps back were carefully calculated?"
"Most likely."
Mou Liangbi replied, "He didn't leave because he wanted to guard the exam questions, waiting for the professor to return to retrieve them. He sat in a place where he could be seen from all sides to show that he was upright and honest. If he were merely a gentleman…it wouldn't be worth us secretly watching him here."
Huai Qiugong couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this, turning his head to look at the person who had been sitting silently on a stone to the side.
"Old man, what do you think?"
The old man leaning against a rock, resting with his eyes closed, was none other than Zhou Banchuan, who should have been sitting on the reviewing stand today. He squinted at Huai Qiugong, then curled his lip and said, "His Majesty sent you all to see me, why are you asking me? I'm not here for that young man. Prince Yi said that human nature has greed in its roots, which can be concealed but not eradicated. You all devised this scheme to lure that little brat into it, and you even used my martial arts academy's professors to act it out… I'm too lazy to watch, and I don't want to watch."
"Stingy!"
Huai Qiugong glared at him back, then turned and walked towards the training ground. "I think we can tell His Majesty that Fang Jie is indeed a gentleman, and a very intelligent one at that. Is that alright?"
The crowd nodded and followed Huai Qiugong back.
"A bunch of high-ranking officials of the fourth rank or above, so bored and shameless, coming here to test a nobody. I really don't know if they're just bored out of their minds."
Zhou Banchuan muttered a curse under his breath, then leaned back against the rock and continued to rest with his eyes closed. Thinking of the boy's behavior earlier, a smirk involuntarily crept onto his lips.
A gentleman? If that little brat is a gentleman, then I'm a saint… He clearly wanted to see but was afraid of being discovered, so he deliberately acted righteously. Nine times out of ten, he saw through someone's scheme to see him make a fool of himself, which is why he refrained from reaching for the exam questions. A true villain, a hypocrite, a coward, a gentleman… he didn't belong to any of these four categories.
Thinking this, Zhou Banchuan frowned slightly, asking himself, then, which category did that boy belong to?
He pondered for a long time, but found no answer. Or perhaps he did have an answer, but he was unwilling to accept it.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Fang Jie, sitting cross-legged, also smirked. He heard footsteps approaching from afar, and he knew he had gambled correctly again.
"Fang Jie, deputy commander of the border scouts, is summoned by His Majesty!"
Hearing the eunuch's hoarse voice, Fang Jie's smile deepened.
Not far away, Qiu Yu, standing behind the artificial rockery, slowly let out a sigh of relief, unsure of what he was celebrating. But the feeling was good; he could laugh if he wanted to.