Do you know: I am Qi Heng

"I felt the courtyard was too monotonous, so when I was visiting the Daxiangguo Temple, I saw this strange beast and bought it to keep in the courtyard," Qi Heng said.

"No pets allowed!"

Princess Pingning shouted, "What if someone gets hurt?"

"Mother, the shopkeeper said that this strange beast is very common in Shu, and it is docile and rarely hurts people!" Qi Heng explained.

"I said no, and that means no!"

Princess Pingning reiterated, "Who can say for sure whether a beast will harm anyone? If it does, it will be too late to regret it! Guards, seize this beast!"

Regardless of whether it would hurt anyone, she didn't want Qi Heng to raise her.

There are plenty of spoiled young men in Bianjing who keep cats and dogs; she doesn't want Qi Heng to become obsessed with trivial things and lose his ambition.

"Mother!"

Qi Heng's tone became more serious as he said, "I have always studied diligently and have never slacked off. I just want to get a pet to relieve my boredom. Do you really have to do this?"

"Are you studying for my sake?"

Princess Pingning retorted angrily, "Studying for the imperial examinations is for your future, for the sake of your family's honor!"

"But if it weren't for my mother's insistence, I wouldn't want to take the imperial examinations!"

Qi Heng said, "I have no great ambitions and no intention of becoming an official. If I had a choice, I would rather travel around, enjoy the scenery, and take care of my parents, and live my life like that."

"you…"

Princess Pingning turned ashen with anger upon hearing Qi Heng's unambitious words.

Although she had been strict with Qi Heng since he was a child, instilling in him the idea of ​​studying hard and taking the imperial examinations.

But Qi Heng had always taken this as his goal, which made her very proud.

Despite being granted the title of Princess, her personality led to much gossip among the officials' wives in Bianjing.

Although no one dared to discuss it to her face, she had heard some rumors.

While her status could be attributed to her father's influence, her upbringing of her children was entirely due to her own efforts.

Those officials' wives who fawned over her often used this incident to flatter her, and some even asked her how she usually taught Qi Heng.

Every time, she would put on airs, saying that she hadn't really taught him much, and that Qi Heng was just self-disciplined.

Then, in a pained tone, she said that she felt sorry for her son every time she saw him working so hard, and advised him to balance work and rest and pay attention to getting enough rest.

No matter how I tried to persuade them, it was no use.

Now Qi Heng is saying that he has no interest in taking the imperial examinations. If this gets out, I wonder what outsiders will say about him!

"Mother!"

Qi Heng lowered his tone and said, "However, those were just my ignorant thoughts when I was young. Now that I'm older, I understand my mother's good intentions and I am very grateful to her."

But the child is no longer a child; can't the mother consider the child's feelings more?

Although Princess Pingning was angry, Qi Heng's submission somewhat calmed her anger, and she said coldly, "Then tell me, what's the use of raising this thing?"

"Mother, reading is a very boring thing. I'm only raising you to relieve your boredom."

Qi Heng said, "I promise I won't let this interfere with my studies. If I fail to do so, Mother, whatever you do, I will have no complaints!"

"good!"

Princess Pingning remained silent for a long time before saying, "If you slack off in the slightest, don't blame me for being heartless as your mother!"

"Thank you, Mother. I will never slack off!" Qi Heng said.

Princess Pingning ignored him and turned to walk out of the courtyard.

She stopped at the courtyard gate and said, "If it hurts anyone, I'll get rid of it anyway!"

Without waiting for Qi Heng to speak, he left the courtyard.

"Your son respectfully sees Mother off!"

Qi Heng bowed respectfully, then stood up with a slight smile.

Once you compromise, you can do it countless times.

"No, go and have someone build a wooden house, make it a little bigger," Qi Heng instructed.

"yes!"

They did not rush off in response.

Qi Heng then instructed Lian Qiao to get some bamboo shoots and told someone to go to the kitchen to deliver 20 catties of bamboo shoots every day.

He knew that giant pandas have a huge appetite, and since the bamboo shoots were still small, he didn't know how many bamboo shoots they could eat each day.

Anyway, these things aren't worth much, so it's good to have a lot on hand.

"Bamboo shoots, come here."

Qi Heng squatted down and called out.

Then the bamboo shoots just listened to the noise, looked around, and then wandered around the small bamboo grove again.

Qi Heng called out several more times, but it had become immune to it and didn't even bother to look anymore.

It wasn't until Lianqiao brought bamboo shoots that Qi Heng used them to lure it out, and it finally wriggled its tail and ran out.

"Seriously, they ignore me when there's no food!"

Qi Heng rubbed its head before giving it the bamboo shoot.

.........

"Brother Zizhan?"

When Qi Heng returned from school, he saw Su Shi lingering at the gate of the mansion as soon as he got off the carriage.

"Yuan Ruo!"

Su Shi greeted him with delight.

"Why are you waiting outside, Brother Zizhan? Is the gatekeeper being negligent?" Qi Heng asked.

He had instructed the gatekeeper that, if Su Shi hadn't left, the gatekeeper should have invited him in and served him tea.

"No, no!"

Su Shi quickly said, "The gatekeeper of your esteemed residence invited me in, but I came empty-handed and was embarrassed to enter. I waited here for Yuanruo to finish her studies."

"I see."

Qi Heng smiled and said, "Brother Zizhan, please come into the mansion first, and let's sit down and chat."

"Yuanruo, I won't go in."

Su Shi looked somewhat embarrassed and said, "Yesterday we agreed that I would bring money to collect the calligraphy, but the money I brought to the capital this time is limited, and my father has other needs, so I really can't come up with that much money."

"It's alright!"

Qi Heng waved his hand and laughed, "I also really like that calligraphy. I was afraid I'd have to part with it, but I didn't expect Brother Zizhan to be so accommodating!"

"Yuan Ruo, I..."

Su Shi felt even more embarrassed upon hearing this, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"Brother Zizhan, is it because of this that you are unwilling to enter?"

Qi Heng feigned displeasure and said, "Although we only met yesterday, I consider Brother Zizhan a close friend. In Brother Zizhan's heart, am I perhaps such a narrow-minded person?"

"no…"

Su Shi wanted to explain, but Qi Heng interrupted him, saying, "Since that's not the case, then come with me into the mansion, have some tea, and we can talk slowly."

As he spoke, Qi Heng took Su Shi's arm and led him inside. Su Shi could not refuse and had no choice but to follow Qi Heng into the mansion.

Qi Heng did not take Su Shi to the main hall, but led him to the hall in his own courtyard.

After the servants brought tea and snacks, he chatted with Su Shi.

The two had only met yesterday, so they didn't have much to talk about.

Qi Heng then inquired about matters related to the imperial examinations from him.

The imperial examinations of the Great Zhou Dynasty were divided into county examinations, provincial examinations, metropolitan examinations, and palace examinations.

Passing the county examination earned one the title of "student" or "scholar," also known as "xiucai."

Passing the provincial examination makes one a Juren (举人), the metropolitan examination makes one a Gongshi (贡士), and the palace examination makes one a Jinshi (进士).

Although the Great Zhou Dynasty somewhat valued literature over military affairs, it was actually not as good as the Ming and Qing Dynasties in its treatment of scholars.

The privileges of a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination included not having to bow to officials and being allowed to attend the prefectural school. If a case arose, no torture was to be used during the trial, and the scholar was exempt from corvée labor.

The treatment of a Juren (举人) was almost the same as that of a Xiucai (秀才), the only difference being that those who ranked higher could enter the Imperial Academy (国子监) to study.

Those who passed the imperial examinations had an additional privilege: their immediate family members were exempt from corvée labor.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, as long as one had a degree in the imperial examinations, one could not only be exempt from all exorbitant taxes and levies, but also from land taxes on one's own land.