Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 57 The ship sets sail for Jiangzhou!
The morning light was faint, and the river mist had not yet dissipated.

The Jiangyin ferry crossing was shrouded in a hazy mist.

The red-wheeled carriage of the Duke of Xue's mansion arrived at the ferry.

Immediately afterwards, the Han family's black-lacquered carriage and the Cao family's gilded palanquin arrived one after another, their family crests appearing and disappearing in the mist.

Instructor Zheng stood at the dock holding the roll call list, followed by dozens of students in blue robes, some carrying rattan boxes and others carrying bamboo book boxes.

A three-story government vessel, the "Yunhe," was faintly visible in the fog. The five-zhang-tall ship had a deep draft, and the gilded ornaments on its bow were already mottled.

The boatmen chanted work songs as they carried crates, their sweaty backs glistening with oil.

A dull thud came from the second deck of the ship as a wooden crate fell to the ground. The two boatmen hurriedly righted the overturned camphor wood book chest, with seven or eight yellowed volumes of books scattered across the deck.

The magnificent carriage of the Duke of Xue's mansion slowly came to a stop at the ferry crossing, and the jeweled curtains of the carriage were lifted by a slender hand.

"Young Master Jiang!"

Xue Lingqi peeked out with half of her stunningly beautiful face and said, "Come here for a moment, take this package with you!"

Jiang Xingzhou reined in his green horse, dismounted, and his moon-white robes swept across the carriage shaft. As soon as he lifted the curtain, he was led into the carriage by a pair of slender hands.

"This is a deerskin fur coat that I had the maid in the sewing room make last night!"

Xue Lingqi stuffed a package into his arms, gazed at him intently, and suddenly leaned forward.

"Well"

The moment their lips touched, her eyelashes trembled slightly.

She took Jiang Xingzhou's hand and traced the character "思" (si, meaning "thinking") in his palm with her fingertips.

"Jiang Lang, on your journey to Jiangzhou Prefecture, remember me and I will miss you."

"Weigh anchor!"

Suddenly, the shouts of the boatman on the multi-story boat came from the ferry crossing.

After a moment, Jiang Xingzhou reluctantly bid farewell to Xue Lingqi, carrying a package, and got off the carriage of the Duke of Xue's mansion.

Xue Gui rode closer and lowered his voice.

Brother Jiang!

He winked and tugged at Jiang Xingzhou's sleeve, "How far have things progressed between you and my older sister?"

Holding hands? Or making vows of eternal love and pledging their lives to each other?
Don't worry, I won't secretly tell my dad!

Jiang Xingzhou smiled but didn't say a word.

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, Xue Fu swept a palm strike across the back of his head, causing his jade crown to tilt slightly.

"Ouch!
Brother, why did you hit me again?

Xue Gui turned around, bewildered, and covered his head, saying aggrievedly, "I was just asking casually."

Before he could finish speaking, his older brother glared at him, making him shrink back.

"This is an adult matter, not something a child like you should concern yourself with!"

Xue Fu said in an old-fashioned tone.

"You're not much older than me. Later, Brother Jiang will pass the imperial examination with top honors and become famous throughout the world!"
With my brother-in-law as our backer, we brothers can live a life of luxury!

Xue Gui muttered.

Xue Fu glared at him, which startled him so much that he spurred his horse and rode away.

The red-wheeled carriage of the Duke of Xue's mansion slowly drove away from the ferry and rolled over the bluestone road.

Xue Lingqi leaned against the brocade cushions inside the carriage.

"Spring Peach,"

Xue Lingqi turned to Chuntao by the carriage and asked softly, "Tell me, what if one day Jiang Lang passes the imperial examination with flying colors, but is then favored by a princess and abandoned by his wife who has shared his hardships?"

Will my journey from the capital to find my husband cause a sensation throughout the Great Zhou Dynasty?

Chun Tao, who was driving, burst out laughing:
"Miss, where did you find this new storybook? Is it Zhao Wuniang from 'The Story of the Lute' searching for her husband across a thousand miles? Or is it the unfaithful scholar from 'The Story of the Eastern Wing'?"

She glanced back and saw her young mistress biting her lip in a coquettish manner.
"Miss, please don't talk nonsense! Our Duke's Mansion is the first-class founding duke of the Great Zhou Dynasty, second only to the Prince's Mansion in terms of status. The Princess's Mansion is one level lower in terms of status than our Duke's Mansion!"
The stone lion base in front of our house is two feet tall, which is a foot taller than the stone lion base in the ordinary princess's mansion!

You are the beloved daughter of the Duke of Xue, a founding noble family. Even a princess would address you as "elder sister" or "younger sister"!

"Besides, while the title of Imperial Son-in-Law sounds glamorous, it actually comes with too many restrictions; he can't have three wives and four concubines!"

The maidservant counted on her fingers, "It would be much better to marry the daughter of the Duke of Xue, the founder of the dynasty. There are so many more advantages!"

"That's right! It seems this notebook isn't good enough; we need to get a new one!"

Xue Lingqi was somewhat annoyed and tossed the several storybooks from her sleeve aside.

Chun Tao glanced at it and saw that one of the illustrations on the title page of a storybook was "The Top Scholar Escapes from the Princess's Mansion at Night," depicting the scene of the former dynasty's princess slaying the unfaithful top scholar with her sword.

She couldn't help but stick out her tongue.

At the ferry crossing where the morning mist had not yet dissipated, the students boarded the "Yunhe" ship in turn.

Suddenly, a hoarse voice came from a small awning boat beside the ferry. An old fisherman, reeking of alcohol, tilted his head back and finished the last of the wine in his gourd. He then used his bamboo pole to shout, "Guests, be careful! There are green eyes in the whirlpool in the middle of the river, spying on passing merchant ships!"

His cloudy whites were bloodshot, and his withered finger pointed towards the middle of the river.

"Pah! What nonsense is this old drunkard spouting?! It's bad luck!"

County Commandant Zhao Tieshan couldn't help but spit into the river, his sword clashing against the iron armor with a clanging sound.

Behind him, a hundred yamen runners stood in neat rows, the archers' mulberry bowstrings creaking taut, and the swordsmen and shieldmen gleaming in their iron armor.

The three-story ship, with its blue official flag fluttering in the wind, carried more than three hundred students from Jiangyin County, preparing to go to the prefectural capital to participate in the provincial examination. The examination boxes and books alone filled half of the ship's cabin.

To this end, Jiangyin County mobilized swordsmen and archers from the government offices, gathering a total of one hundred yamen runners and city guards to escort them all the way to Jiangzhou Prefecture along the warship.

He wanted to see which blind little demon dared to spy on the examination boats sent to the Jiangyin County examination site.

The ship slowly departed from the shore.

A hundred elite yamen runners and soldiers lined up along the deck of the first floor of the warship. The mulberry wood bows reflected the cold light of the rising sun, and the iron armor scales shimmered with a cold, bluish-gray gleam in the morning mist.

Inside the three-story cabin, the laughter and chatter of the students drifted over the carved railings, and the aroma of morning tea wafted through the air.

Han Yugui leaned against the chair by the window, playing chess with Zhou Guangjin.

The maid Qingfei poured him tea with her delicate hands.

Where the young girl's slender fingers touched, the tea soup seemed to exude a refined elegance.

"Brother Han, you are truly blessed!"

Many students envied Han Yugui for having the enchanting maid Qingfei to serve him.

"Don't be envious, everyone. The talent of these young scholars has been completely drained!"
If he doesn't hurry up and pass the imperial examination to become a scholar, he'll lose all his talent in a few years and become just another ordinary person. At that point, he might not even be able to remember the Analects properly during the prefectural examination.

Li Yunxiao toyed with the unopened folding fan in his hand and sneered.

Raising a fairy maidservant requires a hundred times more talent than raising a literary insect. Only someone as indecisive as Han Yugui could bear to kill this locust tree fairy.

"Brother Li, this is called envy, jealousy, and hatred!"

Han Yugui held a black jade chess piece between two fingers and tapped it on the catalpa wood chessboard, making a clear sound. "Qingfei's spiritual talent is extremely rare! Among the locust tree fairies, it would be difficult to find another like her even if you searched all over Jiangnan."

Besides, with my abilities and talent, while it's certainly difficult to top the list in the imperial examinations, passing the lowest level (xiucai) would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it be easy to pass the lowest level (xiucai)?

On the other side of the chessboard, Zhou Guangjin frowned.

This top student from the upper dormitory, the number one chess master among the senior students of Jiangyin County School, was now being forced to the point of trembling fingertips by Han Yugui, a new student from the outer dormitory.

"Alas, I was one step behind; I am truly ashamed of my inferiority!"

Zhou Guangjin shook his head and sighed, watching the winding "dragon" on the endgame being slaughtered by Han Yugui.

The piece is thrown into the box, and with a crisp "thud," the white piece resigns.

"Is there anyone else willing to come and learn from me?"

Han Yugui flicked his sleeve and chuckled.

His gaze swept over the students in the cabin, finally settling on Jiang Xingzhou, who was sitting quietly by the window.

Jiang Xingzhou was leaning against the window, flipping through "A Study of the Customs and Scenery of Jiangzhou," while white steam rose from the tea stove beside him.

(End of this chapter)