Chapter 1908 - Civil Service Examination (Part One)

He Xi raised the spirit tablet high, staring directly into Mo Rongxin's dead-fish-like eyes, and said through gritted teeth: "Go down to the eighteenth level of hell!"

At that very moment, the trapdoor opened and Mo Rongxin's body dropped down. The venue immediately erupted in thunderous cheers. Even Zeng Juan, who had no connection to Mo Rongxin, couldn't help but join in the cheering.

So Zeng Juan told Yuan Shuzhi: "Old Yuan, since that's the case, let's study together. Just make sure we register for different positions so we don't end up competing against each other. Since you have no fixed abode, why not work here at the teahouse? That way we can see each other morning and evening and discuss our studies together. Plus you can earn a few coins for expenses, have a livelihood..."

Yuan Shuzhi shook his head: "I still have some money left. I'm already grateful enough that you're not charging me tuition. Helping out at your family's teahouse is the least I can do as a student."

"Very well then," said Zeng Juan. "In that case, stop calling things 'Great Ming' or 'kun people.' The bogus Ming is the bogus Ming, and Australian Chiefs are Australian Chiefs. If you want to be an official of the Great Song, you need to change how you speak first. I hear they've added interviews this year. If you slip up out of habit and violate protocol, your life might be in danger!" Yuan Shuzhi quickly responded: "Brother Zeng teaches wisely. I shall certainly remember—I'll test for an Australian... no! A Great Song jinshi degree!"

So Yuan Shuzhi used the money left over from his medical treatment to pay the Zeng family for rent and board, and moved into the back of the Wanshengliu Teahouse—actually, this wasn't the Zeng family home, but the residence of Zeng Juan's former brother-in-law Cao Xueguang. After Huang Ping was arrested and his brother-in-law passed away, his mother had moved in under the pretext of "looking after her grandchildren." His father, busy making and selling candles, still lived at their original home. Though the Cao family had some distant relatives in the clan, they were intimidated by Zeng Juan's connection to Li Ziyu and no one dared make trouble.

The Cao residence was much grander than the Zeng home, with many more rooms. They rented out a side room to Yuan Shuzhi.

During the day, Yuan Shuzhi kept accounts and wrote menu boards for the teahouse. In the evenings, he studied with Zeng Juan. Following the study materials, they wrote practice shenlun essays, memorized general knowledge, and worked on mathematics. From the moment Yuan Shuzhi moved into the Zeng household, he became a recluse—never going out, forgetting to eat and sleep as he prepared for the civil service examination.

The Australian-Song civil service examination content was extremely diverse, but patterns could be found. The verbal comprehension, logical reasoning, quantitative relationships, and data analysis sections all followed discernible rules. As for the separate shenlun section, it was somewhat similar to the old policy essays—reviewing mainly required using more of the allusions and viewpoints that the Australians favored.

When he first flipped through the Australian shenlun study materials, his head spun. The exam completely ignored the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucian classics. It was all miscellaneous learning. At first glance, it seemed somewhat like Mohism—for instance, the logical reasoning followed methods derived from the Mohist concepts of "names, propositions, and explanations." As for economics, science, and such, these were also Mohist ideas. Of course, there was more than just Mohism—there were quite a few Legalist perspectives too. This "Mengdesi" from among the Australian sages who said "Freedom is not unlimited freedom; freedom is the power to do anything the law permits"—this was clearly Legalist thinking. There was even some content from the School of Diplomacy and the Agriculturalist School. Only Confucian learning was barely touched upon. It seemed the Australians had quite a few issues with Confucius!

Thinking of this, Yuan Shuzhi established his first principle for the Australian "civil service exam": "Anti-Confucian and skeptical of antiquity."

Yuan Shuzhi hadn't felt this alive in a very long time. Having a goal had seemingly brought him back to life. The power of belief was truly not to be underestimated. At his desk, Yuan Shuzhi hung two lines he had written himself for encouragement: "Those with determination will ultimately succeed; break the cauldrons and sink the boats—the hundred and three passes of Qin shall belong to Chu. Heaven does not disappoint those who try; sleep on brushwood and taste gall—three thousand Yue soldiers can swallow Wu." Zeng Juan was also infected by this old scholar's enthusiasm and secretly began competing with Yuan Shuzhi. Zeng Juan's mother was pleased to see such an atmosphere in the house. Every day she prepared meals on time and brought them to their rooms. When she came to collect the bowls, she often found the food untouched and long cold—when absorbed in reading, one truly became lost in it!

Their only leisure activity besides studying was playing with Mingnu. After Mingnu was rescued, the court had arrested her stepmother and exiled her to Jeju Island. Her guardianship was transferred from Cao Xueguang to Zeng Juan's parents—with Cao Xueguang paying monthly living expenses. Cao Xueguang had been clamoring to sue, but when the plague arrived, he died. Now even his house and shop had been taken over by the Zeng family. The Zeng family's circumstances had naturally improved considerably.

The elder Zengs and Zeng Juan's uncle naturally doted on the three grandchildren as much as they could. Li Ziyu and Zhang Yu also spoiled them terribly, always buying them clothes or treats, raising the three children plump and adorable.

Yuan Shuzhi had always loved playing with children. Whenever he took a break in the courtyard, he would inevitably play with Mingnu and the boys Huazi and Chengzi. Despite his age, Yuan Shuzhi was quite a child at heart himself, playing all sorts of little games with Mingnu. Mingnu called Yuan Shuzhi "Grandpa." From a distance, they looked like a picture of grandparent-grandchild joy. Once, Mingnu said: "Grandpa, let me ride you like a horse..." Yuan Shuzhi got on all fours and crawled around the courtyard with Mingnu on his back. When Mingnu's grandmother saw this, she was furious and came over to spank Mingnu. Yuan Shuzhi quickly shielded Mingnu behind him, panting: "Not her fault, not her fault—I was teasing her. Don't blame the child." Sometimes Yuan Shuzhi would also teach Mingnu to read. He said, "Little girl, now that you've studied, I'll test you. The character 'hui' in 'fennel beans'—how do you write it?" Mingnu racked her brains thinking. After waiting a long time, Yuan Shuzhi said earnestly, "Can't write it?... I'll teach you. Remember! These characters should be remembered—when you become someone's wife and keep household accounts, you'll need them." Finally Mingnu thought of it and said happily, "Is it the grass radical on top with the character for 'return' underneath?" Yuan Shuzhi looked extremely pleased, tapping the table with his long-nailed fingers and nodding: "That's right, that's right!... Actually, the character 'hui' has four different ways to write it. Did you know that..."

One day, the Yangcheng Express published a special civil service examination issue. Since taking over the Wanshengliu Teahouse, Zeng Juan had subscribed to the Yangcheng Express—partly so customers could read it while he served as "commentator" (an important means of attracting patrons), and partly to stay current on Australian policy developments. People like Zeng Juan had already begun to realize the importance of information.

Getting this special issue, Zeng Juan treated it like a treasure. It not only listed in detail all the recruiting departments, positions, and requirements, but also provided detailed explanations. For those taking the civil service exam, it was nothing less than an "examination guide."