Prime Minister.

Chapter 74, 073 [Seeing Through the Fog]

"Master!"

Upon seeing the carriage, Ajiu immediately abandoned Xie Jingyun and hurried to the carriage, recounting the scholar's background and purpose.

After listening, Xue Huai got off the carriage and looked up at the other person with a slight look of confusion in his eyes.

The term "submitting a scroll" refers to young scholars compiling their own poems and essays into a scroll and submitting it to renowned scholars or high-ranking officials in the court, seeking their evaluation and recommendation.

In the early days of the Great Yan Dynasty, the government explicitly prohibited candidates from submitting their exam papers before the final examination to prevent cheating. However, as time went on, this prohibition was gradually relaxed and has now become a semi-public practice.

Generally speaking, there are several conventional ways to submit one's examination papers. For example, candidates may attend literary gatherings, deliberately "bump into" renowned scholars at poetry parties and banquets, or submit their papers indirectly through relatives and friends.

They typically chose to submit their papers to high-ranking officials in the cabinet, Hanlin scholars, or literary leaders—key figures who could influence the examiners of the imperial examinations. This was the so-called "intention to use the opinions of famous officials to impress the examiners."

For candidates taking the imperial examinations, submitting their papers was both a rewarding and risky endeavor. For example, more than forty years ago, Cheng Wen, a candidate from Ji'an Prefecture in Jiangxi Province, submitted his paper to Li Mo, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, and was praised for his "clear reasoning and eloquent writing." After the results of the spring examinations were announced, Cheng Wen indeed ranked among the second class.

However, if the poems and essays submitted are mediocre and crude, and are criticized by important officials and scholars, then the candidate will inevitably become a laughing stock and suffer damage to his reputation.

In short, submitting examination papers has become an unspoken gray area in the imperial examination system. Candidates can gain fame in advance through this method, which can also alleviate their anxiety and provide some comfort.

For high-ranking officials and great scholars, accepting examination papers was also a beneficial move. It could expand their influence and cultivate students. After all, if they accepted the papers and praised them, the candidates would naturally be grateful. This relationship was no less than that between teachers and students in the imperial examinations.

Xue Huai's confusion at this moment is easy to understand. Although he has gained some fame, he is too young and in no way can he reach the level of accepting submissions. How could this scholar from Yangzhou Prefecture have come to him?

Xie Jingyun clearly knew that his arrival was rather abrupt, so he stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I am Xie Jingyun, a Juren from Yangzhou Prefecture, and I pay my respects to Xue Shidu."

"No need for such formalities, sir."

Xue Huai scrutinized the man's face. He appeared to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. From his appearance, one could tell that he came from a poor family. However, he had a dignified appearance and a composed demeanor, and was by no means a frivolous or ignorant person.

This deepened Xue Huai's doubts. Poor scholars were common, but poor successful candidates in the provincial examination were rare. Since Xie Jingyun had already passed the provincial examination and become a successful candidate in the provincial examination, he had a certain social status in Yangzhou and would not be short of money. How could he have ended up in such a poor state?

The word "persona" popped into his mind. Could the other party be intentionally portraying him as a poor scholar?

Then he felt that this was illogical. Anyone with a little knowledge would know the value of being a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) and would only laugh at Xie Jingyun for putting on airs, and would certainly not feel any respect for him.

Thinking of this, Xue Huai slowly said, "Brother Xie, what brings you here today?"

The claim of submitting a paper for examination was truly illogical; he simply took it as Xie Jingyun's excuse.

Xie Jingyun looked at the young Hanlin Academy reader in front of him, a secret envy welling up in his heart. He then said sincerely, "I have taken the liberty of coming to your door today to submit my paper. I hope you will be kind enough to give me your guidance."

"I am grateful for your high regard, Brother Xie, but I am not talented enough to accept it with ease."

Xue Huai spoke tactfully, but in reality, he was becoming increasingly puzzled.

Even if he were to praise Xie Jingyun's writing to the skies now, it would hardly have a positive effect on Xie Jingyun. Moreover, if this matter were to fall into the ears of others, they would most likely laugh at the two young people for being absurd and ridiculous, and for not knowing their own limitations.

The student knew he had been presumptuous.

Xie Jingyun bowed respectfully, his voice steady as a rock: "When I was young, I often heard of the virtuous reputation of Lord Xue Wensu, and I greatly admired and respected his integrity and talent. I only regret that I had no chance to receive your instruction. Although you are young, you are already a rising star in the Hanlin Academy, and your talent is known to all. Your poem on plum blossoms caused a paper shortage in the capital, which is quite like Lord Xue's style. Therefore, I only ask for your guidance."

Xue Huai looked at the stubborn scholar in front of him, his gaze sweeping over the faded blue robe and the frayed edges of the cuffs.

His keen senses honed in his past life allowed him to detect something unusual—Xie Jingyun's poverty was too real, not a deliberate display of a poor scholar's spirit.

“Since Brother Xie is so determined to submit his essay,” Xue Huai finally spoke, his clear voice devoid of any emotion, “Ajiu, prepare to receive guests in the hall.”

Ajiu dared not say more and quickly bowed to lead the way. Xie Jingyun was stunned for a moment, then his eyes suddenly lit up and he said earnestly, "Thank you, Your Excellency."

A little later, inside the foyer.

When Xie Jingyun took the document out of his satchel and handed it over, Xue Huai's gaze immediately sharpened. This document was not bound with brocade as scholars usually did, but with neatly cut rough-edged paper, tightly bound with coarse hemp rope, and the pages had been worn smooth and aged.

Having lived two lives, Xue Huai had seen far too many hypocrites and pretenses. Now, he had to admit that even if Xie Jingyun was truly feigning the air of a poor scholar, judging from his almost impeccable manner, he was undoubtedly a meticulous and shrewd person. He took the document but didn't rush to read it. Instead, he placed it on the table and calmly asked, "Brother Xie, where in Yangzhou are you from?"

"The student is from Yizhen County, Yangzhou."

Xie Jingyun sat up straight and said with a touch of reminiscence, "In the summer of the seventh year of Taihe, the Yangtze River flooded, and Yizhen County was severely affected. I clearly remember that one day at the end of July that year, the dikes along the river breached, and the floodwaters inundated the countryside. My family was trapped in the flood, but fortunately, Lord Xue Wensu came with his officials to rescue us."

He paused, looked at Xue Huai, and said, "To be honest, it was from that time that I resolved to emulate Lord Xue and dedicate my life to the people of Great Yan."

Xue Huai felt slightly uncomfortable.

He also discovered another characteristic of this person: he could use all sorts of cheesy words at will, and yet he always looked sincere and spoke with an extremely earnest tone, making people believe that it was all from his heart.

This reminded Xue Huai of his greatest rival in his previous life's official career. This rival was shameless, ruthless, and cunning, and was decisive and unscrupulous in matters of state, having once surpassed Xue Huai.

However, his cleverness backfired. During a crucial transfer, he misjudged the situation and made a disastrous move involving underhanded tactics, which allowed Xue Huai to find a fatal flaw.

Even so, Xue Huai still admitted that the other party's abilities were remarkable, especially his charisma, which could bewitch many people and was somewhat similar to Xie Jingyun in front of him.

Xue Huai composed himself and slowly said, "I also remember what happened back then. My father's trip was indeed very dangerous; he almost perished in the flood."

"An honest official like Xue Wensu, who was wholeheartedly devoted to the people, is truly a role model for us scholars."

Xie Jingyun sighed with emotion, "It's a pity... those who came after him could hardly match even a fraction of what Xue Gong did. They turned a prosperous and wealthy Yangzhou into a chaotic mess."

Xue Huai said seriously, "Brother Xie, please explain in detail."

Xie Jingyun showed no stage fright and began to speak eloquently.

Yangzhou is located at the junction of the Yangtze River and the Grand Canal, and it is also famous for its salt industry. The canal transport and salt administration alone can generate a lot of tax revenue. In addition, with the trade between the north and the south, it has been a prosperous place since ancient times.

In fact, as long as the local officials are not too stupid, they can achieve good results after governing here for a few years. However, money is a powerful motivator, and very few people can ignore the allure of the place.

Almost none of the Yangzhou prefects who succeeded Xue Mingzhang met a good end. Although they were all severely punished by the imperial court, it was the common people who ultimately suffered from the collusion between officials and merchants.

Xie Jingyun's family is one of the millions of victims.

Twelve years ago, the Yangtze River flooded, and the Xie family's house was destroyed by the flood. Their fields turned into mud, and they were on the verge of becoming refugees. Fortunately, Xue Mingzhang, along with all the officials of Yangzhou Prefecture, found a place for these disaster victims to take shelter.

However, the flood severely damaged the Xie family, and they have not recovered to this day. The family has to tighten their belts and do everything they can to support Xie Jingyun's education.

Because Xie Jingyun had shown talent and aptitude for studying since childhood, the Xie family knew that if he could pass the imperial examination, they could turn the tide. This was their only way to improve their situation.

"Last autumn, the student was fortunate enough to rank twenty-seventh in the provincial examination. His family was overjoyed, feeling that the hard times of more than ten years had finally turned around."

At this point, Xie Jingyun blushed slightly and said briefly, "It's just that the imperial examination is just around the corner, and Yangzhou is far from the capital. I was afraid of being delayed on the way, so I couldn't wait to settle things at home and borrowed some travel money to rush to the capital."

This explains his current situation—normally, a scholar who has passed the imperial examination has the right to accept donations from others and already has a certain social status in the local area, so it is rare to see a scholar who has passed the imperial examination in poverty, unless it is during the chaotic period at the end of a dynasty.

If Xie Jingyun hadn't been in a hurry to go to the capital for the imperial examinations, and had waited three years to participate in the spring examinations, he could have changed the Xie family's current situation instead of being so strapped for cash and having hardly any valuables.

Xue Huai remained noncommittal about this. He believed Xie Jingyun's words to be true, but a living person can't be suffocated by holding their urine. Xie Jingyun actually had many ways to solve this problem.

The simplest way was for him to go to his fellow Yangzhou natives in the capital and ask them for money as a newly appointed scholar. Many people were willing to befriend a promising scholar.

Perhaps Xie Jingyun is truly aloof and arrogant, disdaining to stoop to associate with those who reek of money; such a situation does exist.

The question is, if that were the case, why would he come to submit his paper today?
In a short while, Xue Huai had already made a rough judgment on the young scholar in front of him. He said in a gentle tone, "Brother Xie, your journey has indeed not been easy."

Xie Jingyun also sighed, “The road ahead has been difficult, and it is indeed something that ordinary people cannot bear. However, as the ancients said, ‘When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it will first test his mind and strengthen his body.’ I have not gained nothing from this ordeal.”

"Looking back now, these hardships are also extremely valuable assets."

(End of this chapter)