Chapter 8

Ying Qing glanced out the window and quickly withdrew his head, not wanting to make any acquaintance.

For him, he had to consider the possibility of Asheng's return, so the fewer people who recognized him on this trip, the better. Ideally, everyone would ignore him.

It didn't matter if the fake "Asheng" was seen, as long as no one remembered him. In a few years, no one would remember clearly.

So Ying Qing knew that this trip would be lonely, and he had to act low-key.

After a while of silence, footsteps sounded outside the door, and someone muttered, "Asheng?" with a tone of doubt, then the footsteps faded away.

In the following days, more and more candidates arrived. Ying Qing realized that his room might indeed be a good location, as too many people came to check if anyone was staying there. He regretted choosing this room.

Later, he didn't even want to go out.

Other candidates had servants to handle chores like cleaning and running errands, and even to fetch meals from the Fragrant Sandalwood Hall. He did everything himself, feeling a bit conspicuous.

Some other candidates didn't have servants, but they were more at ease, while he felt a bit guilty.

This was one of the most difficult periods in his life.

On the fourteenth day, a group of footsteps and voices came from outside the room.

"Asheng? Does anyone know him?"

"Definitely not in the top thirty of the provincial exam."

"I heard that only 175 candidates passed this year's provincial exam and came to the capital, and 143 from previous years are retaking it, making a total of 318 candidates. I wonder if this one is from a previous year."

"Who doesn't have a copy of the provincial exam list? Let's take a look."

What the hell? Ying Qing, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly sat up, not knowing what was happening outside.

"Found it, look, Asheng, 106th place."

"Ha, over 100th place, why even bother to come? Better to study more."

A low, mocking laugh followed.

The mockery had its reasons. In the forty-one states of Jin, each provincial exam had over ten thousand participants, and after the metropolitan exam, only two to three hundred were selected as jinshi. Of course, it depended on the quality of the candidates. If there were many high-quality candidates, the number of selections could reach four to five hundred, but if the quality was low, it could be as few as a dozen.

In other words, candidates who ranked over 100th in the provincial exam had little hope of becoming jinshi.

While not absolute, it was rare for someone who performed poorly in the provincial exam to excel in the metropolitan exam.

Ying Qing raised his hand to comb his ponytail but found it empty, realizing he now had his hair tied up. He crossed his arms and snorted, wondering what these scholars were thinking. They acted as if they were already important just because they had some achievements, not knowing what they had really learned from their books.

Someone hissed, "Gentlemen, let's move on."

The mocking laughter stopped, and then there was a knock on the door.

Knock, knock, knock, the knocking continued.

Ying Qing didn't want to pay attention, but remembering he was now Asheng, he went to open the door.

Several scholars crowded at the door, all looking spirited. Upon seeing Ying Qing, they all bowed, "Brother Asheng, I am Su Yingtao, Fang Wenxian, Zhang Manqu, and Pan Wenqing."

These few had relatively high rankings in the provincial exam, expecting their names to elicit admiration from Ying Qing.

But the expected admiration did not come.

Ying Qing didn't know who they were and had no interest in knowing. He didn't even bother to remember their names. After bowing in return, he calmly asked, "Do you have something?"

The imagined admiration, flattery, and conversation did not happen, and the four men's expressions stiffened, making it hard to speak.

They wanted Ying Qing to give up this well-located room, and if he admired them, it would be natural. Now, how to say it?

Seeing they weren't speaking, Ying Qing said, "I need to study. If there's nothing, I won't see you out."

The four men didn't know how to start. Should they say, "Your ranking is lower than ours, so you don't deserve this room"?

The academy allowed candidates to choose rooms on a first-come, first-served basis to avoid favoritism. They knew that those who did poorly in the provincial exam might do well in the metropolitan exam, so it wasn't worth causing trouble.

The four men had a hard time speaking, but they couldn't say it.

Seeing they still didn't speak, Ying Qing ignored them and closed the door.

Finally, Su Yingtao, with a clear look of dissatisfaction, pushed the door open and said, "We want to ask Brother Asheng for a favor."

Ying Qing didn't want to get involved in anything and just said, "I have limited ability and may not be able to help."

"For Brother Asheng, it's just a small favor," Su Yingtao said politely, waving for the others to step aside. He pointed downstairs to a gentle scholar surrounded by a group of students, "That is this year's top provincial candidate, Zhan Muchun. Brother Zhan just arrived and hasn't found a room yet. Some officials from the state will surely come to visit. You can imagine, if we stay here, the officials won't ignore us. If Brother Zhan stays far away, it would be inappropriate for the officials to wait or for Brother Zhan to travel far. As fellow candidates, shouldn't we help each other?"

This reason was good, and the other three nodded in agreement.

Fang Wenxian said, "Brother Su is right."

Zhang Manqu said, "Yes, that's the reason."

Pan Wenqing said, "Brother Asheng, as fellow students, we should understand and help each other."

What nonsense? Ying Qing wasn't stupid. These guys clearly wanted to flatter the top candidate but were using a bunch of fancy reasons to cover it up. Indeed, there were many hypocrites among scholars. Ying Qing wanted to kick them down the stairs but nodded on the surface, "Alright."

Without further ado, he turned to pack his belongings, just a bag and a sword, and left, removing the nameplate from the door.

Su Yingtao and the others were pleased by Ying Qing's cooperation but were a bit surprised when they entered the room, seeing that he hadn't even taken his bedding. His belongings were too few and too convenient.

How poor! Because of this, they looked down on Ying Qing even more.

"I'll see Brother Asheng off, you clean up the room," Su Yingtao said, and the others quickly responded, hurrying out the door.

There wasn't much to clean, just rearranging some items. Fang Wenxian picked up a paperweight from the desk and laughed, "Brother Asheng was easy to talk to, he agreed right away. If we had met someone stubborn, it would have been awkward."

Pan Wenqing scoffed, "Do you really think he's easy to talk to? That's called self-awareness. Try with someone who ranked even lower, and they might not be so easy."

Zhang Manqu said, "After ranking over 100th, he has no confidence facing us. He probably realizes he's just here to try his luck. After failing, he'll give up and understand that it's better to find a position in the state."

Outside on the stairs, Su Yingtao caught up with Ying Qing and said, "Brother Asheng, let me help you find a suitable room."

Ying Qing could tell his heart wasn't in it and politely declined, "No need to trouble you, go about your business."

Su Yingtao saw that he was a loner and knew he wouldn't let him accompany him, so he quickly agreed, "Alright, as you wish. See you later. When you find a room, you can come find us."

He hurried down the stairs, quickly bowing and leaving.

He rushed to a group of people, breaking through to the center, and said to the top provincial candidate, "Brother Zhan, I've found a good room for you, the best in the garden. Why don't you check it out?"

"Brother Su is too kind, I'll go see it," Zhan Muchun bowed, polite and refined, but with a face full of pride, clearly accepting his status as the top candidate.

The group laughed and surrounded the top candidate, heading to the room. They were all people in high spirits.

Ying Qing, walking deeper into the garden, also looked back at the top candidate a few times.

He had occasionally gone out and heard stories of candidates on their way to the capital meeting beautiful young women, with promises of lifelong commitment, undying love, and grand vows to return as a top scholar to marry them.

He was interested in this, but Asheng laughed it off.

After Asheng explained, he understood that those who passed the provincial exam were already half-officials. It was impossible for a half-official to travel alone or stay in inns, as it was too dangerous.

Those going to the capital were already in the selection process, and the court would not let them easily encounter danger. Each state sent escorts to bring the candidates to the capital, and the top provincial candidate was called "Jieyuan." Therefore, the chances of such romantic encounters were almost zero.

Where to stay?

Kicked out of his room by a group of moralists, Ying Qing had to walk around the garden again to find another room.

By this time, most candidates had arrived, and the good rooms were already taken.

Fortunately, there were only a few hundred candidates, and there were many empty rooms. As long as he wasn't afraid of the trouble, he still had many options.