Chapter 13

Ge Xiaomao rushed into the doorway, looking at Fang Yun happily, then bent over and held his knees, panting heavily.

"Sit down and rest," Fang Yun said.

"You, why aren't you at all concerned? That's the top rank for a child scholar! And you're a double-jia! Our Jing Kingdom has never had a double-jia child scholar before. Everyone said our Jing Kingdom was a barren land, but now, everyone at the Academy is saying you've broken the barrenness!"

"Really a double-jia?" Fang Yun was surprised. He had thought that inviting a holy word would only get him a yi.

"Of course! The golden list is written clearly, and without the approval of a half-sage, it wouldn't be announced. By the way, I could have come earlier, but I watched a good show, so I was a bit late," Ge Xiaomao said with a grin.

Yang Yu leaned against the door frame of the main house, listening carefully, unable to resist wanting to know more about Fang Yun. She liked listening.

"What good show?" Fang Yun asked.

"Do you know Fang Zhongyong? Before the announcement, everyone thought he was a sure bet for the top rank. No one expected it to be you. Fang Zhongyong was just unhappy, but his father went wild, questioning the county exam and demanding a recheck, acting like a shrew. Just then, County Magistrate Cai came out and said, 'If there's anything, say it at the literary meeting. If Fang Zhongyong can make a poem that resounds in Mingzhou and all his holy words are correct, then I'll re-ask for a holy judgment.'"

"Then what happened?"

"Then everyone was shocked. Making a poem that resounds in Mingzhou, even jinshis and Hanlins might not be able to do it. How many half-sages' poems can do that? His father was scared. He also knew that without a sage's nod, you wouldn't have gotten a double-jia. Fang Yun, how did you suddenly become so talented?" Ge Xiaomao said, both excited and admiring.

Fang Yun feigned surprise, "Didn't I say before the exam? I met my teacher, and he opened my mind, so I understood many things."

Ge Xiaomao grinned, "Can you tell me who your teacher is? To open your mind, he must be at least a great scholar, right? Is he a half-sage?"

"I don't know," Fang Yun said helplessly.

"By the way, what about Liu Zicheng?"

Yesterday, before the exam, Ge Xiaomao and the others found out that Fang Yun had been beaten, so they came to his house this morning to ask what happened. Fang Yun briefly explained the situation, and these classmates all sympathized with him, but they were helpless.

"Let's not talk about his matter for now. I've passed the child scholar exam, so he won't dare to do anything to me. By the way, how about you guys?"

Ge Xiaomao said happily, "Lu Lin also passed, though he's only nineteenth, not as good as you, but it still makes the other classmates envious. Mr. Sun also went, and he was so happy he couldn't stop smiling. Now, many parents want to send their children to his private school. Sigh, Mr. Sun's tuition will go up again."

"That's good. After I pay respects to the Hall of the Saints tomorrow, I'll go see Mr. Sun," Fang Yun said.

"Too bad for Liang Yuan. He said if he didn't pass this time, he wouldn't take the exam again. He'll run his father's rice shop, which he doesn't want to do, but he has to. But Liang Yuan has a good business mind, so don't worry about him."

Fang Yun nodded and chatted with Ge Xiaomao, also discussing inviting holy words and making poems. Fang Yun shared some of his insights, which made Ge Xiaomao ecstatic and carefully noted down.

Soon, more than ten people carrying things came to the courtyard gate.

"Big nephew, I'm here to congratulate you!" Fang Yun's eldest uncle walked in with an exaggerated expression, holding a large pig's head in his left hand and two thousand copper coins (equivalent to two taels of silver) in his right hand.

Fang Yun didn't expect his eldest uncle to be so generous. Money in the Jing Kingdom wasn't as worthless as on Earth.

Here, three copper coins could buy a large bun. In terms of food, three copper coins were roughly equivalent to more than one yuan in a time of high inflation.

In total, one tael of silver on the Holy Yuan Continent was roughly equivalent to three hundred yuan.

Fang Yun and Yang Yuhuan had been working hard to earn money, and before the child scholar exam, they had only saved thirteen taels of silver. Even if the eldest uncle's family, being butchers, was relatively wealthy, they had at most four or five hundred taels of silver saved.

In Jixian County, four or five hundred taels of silver was enough to buy a nice house in the county town.

"Eldest uncle, aunt, great-aunt..." Fang Yun called out to everyone and invited them to sit in the house.

These relatives all brought gifts and money, and just four families gave nearly four taels of silver.

Before these relatives from Fang Yun's mother's side could sit down, more than ten relatives from his father's side arrived, also bringing gifts and money, several times more than usual.

As Fang Yun's eldest uncle said, even a fool knew that Fang Yun would at least become a juren in the future.

Becoming a juren, with a little effort, one could become an eighth-rank official, and with more effort, even a third-rank official.

Fang Yun received these relatives very politely, without any arrogance of a future juren. The relatives were all reasonable and no one dared to act arrogantly in front of the "first double-jia child scholar" who broke the barrenness of the Jing Kingdom.

Fang Yun wanted to entertain these relatives, but Yang Yuhuan reminded him about the literary meeting at County Magistrate Cai's place. Fang Yun hurriedly apologized to the relatives, who didn't blame him and even urged him to leave quickly, not to miss the child scholar literary meeting.

Fang Yun rushed to the Jixiang Inn. There weren't many people on the street, as many were still gathered at the Academy, and only Fang Yun's relatives knew he had passed the child scholar exam and immediately bought gifts to take to his house.

Passing by the alley from yesterday, Fang Yun stopped, looked around, took a deep breath, and continued toward the Jixiang Inn.

Before Fang Yun could enter, the innkeeper of the Jixiang Inn came out, saw Fang Yun, and his face turned red with anger. He shouted, "Didn't I tell you not to come? Get out now! The county magistrate is upstairs. If you disturb him, you'll be in trouble."

Fang Yun was stunned, then realized and showed a strange expression, asking, "Didn't you go to the county academy to see the announcement?"

The innkeeper said impatiently, "The child scholar literary meeting is always held here. I'm busy as hell. Why would I go to the academy? I said this morning that you're not allowed to enter the Jixiang Inn. If you take one more step, I'll have someone break your legs!"

Fang Yun remembered the innkeeper's words from the morning, his face darkened, and said, "Innkeeper, don't be too overbearing! I, Fang Yun, as a child scholar, am attending the county magistrate's literary meeting and need to enter this inn. You can't stop me!"

"Can't stop you? I... What did you say? You became a child scholar? That's a joke! Are you crazy? I know what you're like. Get out now! Did you hear me?"

Fang Yun had worked at the Jixiang Inn for more than two years. At first, the innkeeper thought Fang Yun might have a future, but as he got to know Fang Yun better, he looked down on him more and more. He even had his child scholar son test Fang Yun, and his son determined that Fang Yun would never pass. So, the innkeeper became more distant and, because he couldn't marry Yang Yuhuan, treated Fang Yun more harshly.

Fang Yun said coldly, "Since you're the owner of the Jixiang Inn and don't let me in, I won't enter. When County Magistrate Cai asks, just tell him you drove me away. Goodbye."

Fang Yun originally wanted to use County Magistrate Cai to teach the innkeeper a lesson, but he had a better idea.

Fang Yun grabbed a handful of copper coins from his money bag and shouted to the passersby, "People from the south and north, see the money in my hand? I'm giving out a riddle. The first one to answer correctly gets the money! Don't miss out, it's free money, and only a fool would pass it up!"

People nearby were immediately attracted and quickly gathered, more than ten people. People from a distance saw the crowd and ran over to see what was happening.

The Jixiang Inn was on the busiest street in the county, and soon a large crowd surrounded it, with people on the second floor also looking down.

Wang Yuanjun was sitting by the window and, seeing Fang Yun, smiled slightly and said, "County Magistrate, it's Fang Yun."

"What's going on?" County Magistrate Cai walked over to look down, and others also came to the window.

Fang Yun stood in the crowd, juggling more than twenty copper coins in his hands.

"Quick, give the riddle! Are you backing out?"

"Say it already."

"Isn't that Fang Yun? He just became a double-jia top rank, why is he playing here?"

The innkeeper, who had been watching coldly, broke out in a cold sweat, stunned, unable to believe that Fang Yun had really become a child scholar and the top rank.

Fang Yun shouted, "I'll make a twisted poem as the riddle. You have to guess an object, something every household has. Listen: Pointed head, thin body, white as silver, not a single grain when weighed, eyes on the buttocks, recognizing clothes but not people. Who knows what this is? The correct answer gets the money!"

County Magistrate Cai, on the second floor, couldn't help but chuckle and asked, "What did the innkeeper do to him? This Fang Yun, his words are sharper than a knife."

"Insulting people so cleverly, no wonder he's a double-jia child scholar," a fifty-year-old, refined old man smiled.

At that moment, someone in the crowd raised his hand and shouted, "I know, it's a needle! A sewing needle! The eye of the needle is on the buttocks, and it only recognizes clothes, not people."

"Correct! The money is yours! The eye on the buttocks, recognizing clothes but not people, is a needle!" Fang Yun said, pointing at the innkeeper.

People who knew the innkeeper burst out laughing.

Someone shouted, "No wonder he's a double-jia top rank, his talent is sky-high, even insulting people in poetry! Innkeeper, why aren't you talking? Turn around and let us see if you have an eye on your buttocks!"

Even those who didn't know the innkeeper understood and joined in the laughter.

At that moment, Duan Hu, who had gone out to buy vegetables, returned and saw Fang Yun, shouting, "Fang Yun, congratulations on becoming the top child scholar! You're from our Jixiang Inn, and the threshold will be worn out. When you become the top scholar, I can say I'm a friend of the top scholar."

The innkeeper had offended many people, and someone said sarcastically, "The top scholar knows the innkeeper, but the innkeeper might not know the top scholar. In the innkeeper's eyes, even a university scholar is nothing."

The innkeeper wiped the sweat from his forehead with a trembling hand, cursing Duan Hu's ancestors for generations. If Duan Hu had come a moment earlier, this wouldn't have happened.

The innkeeper looked at Fang Yun in panic, sighing inwardly that scholars could kill without a knife. This move was too ruthless. The first double-jia child scholar of the Jing Kingdom had composed a poem insulting him "recognizing clothes but not people" in front of his inn, and the Jixiang Inn's reputation was thoroughly ruined.