Do you know: I am Qi Heng

Qi Heng introduced the identities of Sheng Changbai and the others. Upon learning that the Sheng brothers were the sons of a sixth-rank official and He Hongwen was merely a member of a medical family, Su Zhe held Qi Heng in even higher regard.

In ancient times, birth and social status were always very important factors.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Yuan Shao was able to quickly occupy Hebei mainly because of his family's long line of high-ranking officials.

In his early years, Liu Bei experienced many hardships and wanderings. It was only after he acquired the titles of Imperial Uncle and Left General that some talented individuals came to his aid.

In his early years, Liu Bei had no one to rely on him because of his humble origins.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was not so strict in this regard, but social class distinctions still existed.

Qi Heng came from a noble family, and the difference in status between Sheng Changbai and He Hongwen and Qi Heng was too great.

However, the fact that they could travel together and interact as equals shows that Qi Heng was not as arrogant as other noble sons.

You don't need to get to know a person's character and personality through extensive contact; it can be seen from these seemingly insignificant details.

They parted ways outside the teahouse, and the Su brothers left the Daxiangguo Temple.

Qi Heng and the others went to the dining hall of Daxiangguo Temple for a meal.

It must be said that Daxiangguo Temple has a very good business sense.

As a royal temple, Daxiangguo Temple is open to the public and it is not appropriate to charge admission fees.

But the market attracts a large number of people, and since they've come all this way, they'll definitely go into the temple to worship Buddha, offer incense, and donate some money.

The stall owners who make money at the market of Daxiangguo Temple, without having to pay stall fees, will naturally contribute some incense money.

In addition, the dining hall of Daxiangguo Temple, which is open to the public, is also very profitable.

Qi Heng estimated that the annual income of Daxiangguo Temple could exceed the annual tax revenue of those wealthy prefectures in Jiangnan.

No wonder there were so many persecutions of Buddhism in ancient times; these temples were truly rolling in wealth.

…………

There were many oxcarts in Bianjing city, similar to buses in later times.

These oxcarts had fixed routes specifically for travel within the city.

The Su brothers arrived at the area near the inner city in the south of the city by oxcart, got off the oxcart, paid the fare, and walked along the alley.

Being in Bianjing (Kaifeng) is no easy task.

The Su family was a prominent clan in Meizhou with considerable wealth, but if they wanted to purchase a residence in Bianjing, they would have to sell all their assets in their ancestral home in Meishan.

The imperial examinations would not begin until the spring of next year. Considering that they would be living in Bianjing for more than a year, the father and his two sons rented a two-courtyard house in the south of the city after arriving in the capital.

Upon arriving at his doorstep, Su Shi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Ziyou, you should tell your father later. He trusts you the most."

Su Shi was known for his self-awareness; although he was the elder brother, he was not as composed as his younger brother.

In front of their father, the younger brother's words carried more weight than his own.

"Brother."

Su Zhe sighed, "Even if that copy was truly written by Chu Suiliang in his early years, Father would never agree to it!"

Although what Sheng Changfeng said was somewhat unpleasant to hear, it was indeed the truth.

This thing won't fetch a good price just because Su Shi approves of it.

Moreover, even if it could be proven, given Su Shi's personality, he would never have sold it.

However, the father and his two sons had only a limited amount of money with them on this trip to Beijing. Besides their normal expenses, they also needed to set aside some for bribes and favors.

"I don't understand what Father is thinking. Why do we need to make arrangements? With our talents, passing the imperial examinations is not difficult. Why do we need to do this?" Su Shi muttered.

The father and his two sons set off more than a year in advance, hoping to travel and learn along the way.

In reality, his time studying abroad was not long; he only traveled around Sichuan for a while before heading straight to Bianjing (Kaifeng).

Su Xun arrived in the capital so early so that he could take his two sons to visit some famous scholars in the capital.

Su Shi was very disgusted by this after learning about it, but he dared not disobey his father.

He felt it was completely unnecessary; the money spent on visiting famous figures and giving gifts might be better spent on buying him that copy.

"These brothers should talk to Father. I can't make the decision myself!" Su Zhe shook his head and went into the courtyard.

He was a bit more tactful than Su Shi. His visits to famous scholars were not for cheating in the imperial examinations, but for gaining fame during the examinations.

Making a name for oneself before the imperial examinations means that when one passes with flying colors and is granted an official position, one's starting point will be higher.

Although the appointment of officials through the imperial examination was based on their performance in the examination, there were simply too many officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Apart from the top three scholars in the first-class ranking who receive preferential treatment, the rest are basically the same.

At this point, family background becomes important. If someone has connections, the official position they are granted will be much better than others.

Besides connections, there is another way: to become famous.

Whether something is fair or not often depends not only on the process itself, but also on external factors.

In every imperial examination, the top two scholars (Zhuangyuan and Bangyan) naturally attracted the most attention.

Other people would hardly receive much attention, but those who were already famous before the imperial examinations would attract a lot of attention regarding the court's appointments.

When the Ministry of Personnel was appointing officials, in order to prevent questions about fairness, it was natural to give certain preferential treatment to these students.

While this method has a certain shortcut aspect, those who don't know how to be flexible won't accept it.

But Su Zhe was not a pedantic person. If he wanted to realize his ideals and ambitions, he needed to go to the appropriate position.

If you waste half your life in a low-level official position, what ideals and ambitions can you talk about?

He agreed with his father's approach, a point that Su Shi could not agree with.

That's why he didn't want to explain so much.

Su Shi sighed helplessly when he saw that his younger brother was unwilling to help.

When Su Xun saw the two brothers return, he immediately ordered his servants to bring them food.

"You're finally back. After dinner, go change your clothes."

Su Xun said, "Prefect Ouyang has praised Zizhan's writing highly and has also given much praise to Ziyou's writing. He has taken time out of his busy schedule to meet with you."

Su Shi hesitated upon hearing this, and Su Xun, thinking Su Shi didn't want to go, frowned and said, "Zizhan, Prefect Ouyang is a great scholar of the classics. If you could get a few pointers from him, you would surely benefit immensely!"

"I understand what my father has said."

The reason why Su Shi disagreed with his father's approach but did not refuse to go with him was because the famous scholars his father mentioned were indeed exceptionally talented.

Su Shi had read some of their articles, and they were not just empty shells.

"My son saw a copy of the 'Preface to the Orchid Pavilion' at the Xiangguo Temple today and really liked it. However, he didn't have enough money with him, so he had to buy it with someone else. They agreed that he would go home to get the money and give it to the other person before he could take the calligraphy," Su Shi said.

Su Xun frowned slightly, but he also knew that Su Shi loved studying calligraphy and was very accomplished in it.

Anyone he chooses must be quite good. Therefore, instead of scolding him, she asked, "How much more money are you short?"

"One thousand taels short!" Su Shi said, his voice lowering slightly, sounding somewhat unsure of himself.

"How many?"

Upon hearing this, Su Xun asked in surprise, "Could it be written by some famous contemporary calligrapher?"

If it were a deceased celebrity, it would certainly be worth more than this.

Only copies made by contemporary masters can fetch a price of over a thousand taels of silver.

Although the person is still alive, the scholar is aloof and proud. Generally, the calligraphy of great masters rarely circulates outside the circle; they only give it away to those who appreciate it.

Even if someone buys your calligraphy, it's not easy for them to resell it. This is why the calligraphy of today's great masters is so expensive.

Even so, there are not many in this era whose copying instincts are worth more than a thousand taels of silver.

"It wasn't written by a famous contemporary calligrapher, but rather by Chu Suiliang in his early works," Su Shi said.

"That makes it worth the money, but I only have a limited amount of money with me on this trip to the capital, so I can't use it all to buy a piece of calligraphy," Su Xun said, shaking his head.