Chapter 1918 - Announcing Good News
After the interview concluded, Yuan Shuzhi and Zeng Juan once again began the endless waiting. This time differed from before. The first round had been the written examination, when they'd had no confidence at all—completely without assurance, they hadn't been overly concerned about whether they would pass. Now they felt positive about their performance, yet this very confidence made them anxious, caught between hope and fear.
These past few days, Yuan Shuzhi had lost even the mood to read novels. Aside from playing with Mingnu briefly, he spent his remaining time either sleeping with his head covered or staring blankly at a book. Zeng Juan was much the same, simply hiding in his room and not emerging.
A week passed. From the distant alley entrance came the faint sounds of drums and horns. The sounds gradually grew louder, and when they reached the vicinity of the Zeng household, deafening firecrackers erupted. The neighbors had already gathered together. Yuan Shuzhi and Zeng Juan's hearts leaped into their throats when they heard someone announce loudly: "Good news! Congratulations to Zeng Juan of the Zeng Residence—the civil servant appointment notice has arrived!"
The Senate originally had no tradition of announcement ceremonies. Those who typically served as announcers were mostly minor clerks from education offices, prefectural schools, or tribute courtyards colluding with vagrants, using the occasion to solicit rewards. As passing the imperial examination was a joyous occasion, those announcing good news naturally wouldn't incur resentment. However, announcements came in first, second, and third waves, each requiring a tip and refreshments to be served. Wealthy households naturally thought nothing of it, but modest households were often severely burdened—though since it was a joyous occasion, one would borrow money from neighbors to purchase wine and meat if necessary.
Since the men from the Guan Di Temple had been disciplined, no one dared engage in announcement schemes anymore. This time the announcements were not the work of professional announcers, but rather authorized by Liu Xiang and carried out by the newly established Guangzhou Postal and Telegraph Bureau. The purpose was simply to create a public spectacle.
At this moment, the entire alley naturally erupted. Neighbors all rushed to congratulate Zeng Juan's parents. A stone lifted from Zeng Juan's heart as well. Tears of joy streamed down his face as he immediately knelt and kowtowed three times toward Lingao and the Senate, shouting: "Long live the Great Song Emperor! Long live the Senate! A thousand years to the Elders!" Then he turned and kowtowed several times more to his own parents in gratitude for raising him.
Only after completing all these rituals did Zeng Juan rise to accept the bright red civil servant appointment notice, admiring it with immense satisfaction. It was merely an ordinary oversized envelope of red kraft paper, with a line of words written in formal regular script in ink at the center, and an official seal stamped across the envelope's flap. Truly it was the plainest of things, yet he held it as though it were a priceless treasure.
Zeng Juan's parents hurried to give the messenger one silver dollar as a reward, but were refused:
"We are staff of the Guangzhou Postal and Telegraph Bureau. This is our duty. We certainly cannot accept money." The "good news team" delivering the notice all wore dark green short jackets with canvas bags slung across their shoulders.
"Then please rest for a moment while we prepare some simple refreshments to serve you."
"We still have other notices to deliver. Please celebrate amongst yourselves." The leader was very polite.
At this moment, no one noticed Yuan Shuzhi standing in the corner. He remained there alone, feeling utterly dejected. Sometimes nothing is harder to bear than witnessing a good friend achieve success while you languish in failure. But he couldn't display his disappointment, and could only stand silently in the shadows. He felt the entire sky had turned gray.
Just as Yuan Shuzhi was approaching despair, the announcing worker asked: "Since this is the Zeng Residence, is there someone surnamed Yuan here?"
Father Zeng was startled, then quickly replied: "Yes! Yes! The accountant Yuan Shuzhi at Wanshenglu is staying at our house..."
Before he could finish speaking, several drummers struck up again. The postal worker pulled out a bright red envelope from his canvas bag and declared loudly: "Good news! Congratulations to Yuan Shuzhi of the Zeng Residence—the civil servant appointment notice has arrived!"
BOOM! The entire alley exploded once more, and even more completely this time. The Zeng family's fengshui proved too favorable—one household producing two Australian Song officials! Incredible! Some neighbors even began scheming about how to borrow some of that fortune...
Yuan Shuzhi accepted the notice with trembling hands. Written clearly on the red paper in black Song-style characters was: Great Song Guangzhou Special Municipality Civil Servant Appointment Notice, stamped with the seal of the Great Song Senate Cadre Office.
Holding this notice, he examined it again and again, feeling an overwhelming mix of sorrow and joy. Though after placing first in the written examination he had known there was a ninety percent chance of passing, at this moment with the notice in hand, it all felt like an elaborate dream. He was speechless. Even when the postal worker called for him to "stamp here," he moved mechanically like a puppet on strings.
"Old Yuan! Congratulations!" Zeng Juan slapped his shoulder hard, immediately bringing Yuan Shuzhi back to his senses.
He couldn't help but laugh toward the sky, saying: "I never thought I, Yuan Shuzhi, would see this day!" With those words, tears were already streaming from the corners of his eyes.
Mother Zeng quickly said: "Old Yuan, today is your good day! Don't be sad..."
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right!" Yuan Shuzhi hurriedly wiped the corners of his eyes, carefully tucked away the appointment notice, and said: "Come, let's attend to the guests."
The Zeng household overflowed with joy. Father Zeng allocated money to send someone to order several tables of banquet dishes to treat neighbors, relatives, and friends that evening. At the same time, he held this simple little notice in his hands, examining it left and right, tears flowing freely.
"Son, you've finally made something of yourself! Our family finally has a chance to rise up!"
"Father, this isn't the formal appointment yet. We still have to undergo training before we can take office." Though Zeng Juan said this, his face was already beaming. These months of hard study had not been in vain. This examination's pass rate was about thirty-five percent. The acceptance ratio proved quite high, but many traditional scholars couldn't shift their thinking, writing their essays as though they were eight-legged essays. There were also those whose essays were completely off-topic—doing nothing but praising the Great Song Emperor's sagacity—and these were naturally screened out in the first wave.
He wanted to say more but was mobbed by endless streams of well-wishers. Most people, including his parents, believed that passing this Guangzhou prefectural examination was at least equivalent to the juren degree, and moreover, this was through the proper civil service route—far superior to someone like Li Ziyu who was merely a policeman. Everyone agreed that the Zeng family was about to prosper!
The family spent the day receiving visitors and sending people to spread the good news to relatives and friends. That evening they held a great banquet to entertain the guests. The joy proved truly beyond words.
Not until the guests had all departed and the dishes were cleared away did Zeng Juan and Yuan Shuzhi open their appointment notices. Inside there were only three pages: one was the appointment notice stating the date to report to the Lingao Cadre Management School, with the location being the Tribute Courtyard. Another was a physical examination notice. The last was a political review form, several pages long, containing content that struck Zeng Juan as quite baffling—so detailed and cumbersome that he developed a headache just looking at it. Some of the terminology was completely incomprehensible, and he dared not rashly put pen to paper, fearing he might write something incorrect.
"Never mind, we'll deal with it when the time comes," he said after studying it a while.
The next day brought an unexpected visitor to congratulate them—it was Wu Ming. He too had passed the interview. After exchanging congratulations, Wu Ming explained his purpose in coming.
"Ajuan, several students from the prefectural school also passed the examination. In a few days, they're planning to visit and pay respects to the chief examiner. I wasn't sure whether I should go, so I came to consult with you."
"Senior, no one in my family has ever been a scholar. What's this about paying respects to the chief examiner?"
"This has been a convention since the Tang dynasty. The chief examiner who selected your paper has a teacher-student relationship with you. If the education commissioner appreciates your talent and acknowledges the teacher-student bond, it becomes a great asset in your official career!" Wu Ming explained.
"But we still have to undergo training before we're given positions..."
"They won't listen to that. They think this is essentially the palace examination, and training is just a formality."
This was not entirely mistaken.
Zeng Juan listened in silence. With zero experience in civil service examinations, he truly couldn't form an opinion on whether they should pay respects to the chief examiner or not.
In the past, one would certainly pay respects to the chief examiner. Not only that, but one would also need to pay respects to the reading examiner. He had heard that these teacher-student bonds and connections among examination classmates formed mighty networks of influence—the greatest support for anyone navigating officialdom.
However, now they operated under the Great Song Senate's rules, which might differ from the Great Ming. After all, the Senate's institutions and systems differed dramatically from the Great Ming.
After some thought, he said: "In my humble opinion, going to pay respects should be acceptable. First, this is a traditional examination convention, and the Senate has no explicit prohibition against it. Second, respecting one's teacher is a great virtue—visiting to pay respects to the chief examiner is reasonable and proper."
"I didn't expect your insight to be so keen." Wu Ming nodded. "This humble one thinks the same way, but..."
"But what?"
"Hmm..." Wu Ming hesitated slightly. "By convention, the chief examiner is the provincial education commissioner, the zuozhu. When a student visits, they must bring gifts, present a calling card identifying themselves as a 'disciple,' address the zuozhu as 'Teacher,' and if there is a prior connection with the zuozhu, they may address them as 'Master!'"
Zeng Juan listened blankly, thinking there was nothing wrong with this. What was the issue?
Seeing he didn't understand, Wu Ming said helplessly: "The chief examiner this time is Elder Zhang!"
Zeng Juan understood now. Elder Zhang was the defense lawyer from the witchcraft case—a girl who appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. Paying respects to her as their chief examiner seemed utterly preposterous. Probably never since the imperial examination system began had there been a female chief examiner, let alone one so young.
"So... those students don't mind?" Zeng Juan asked.
"They said that learning knows no age, and those who have achieved mastery come first. Every Australian Song Elder possesses talents that surpass heaven and earth, more than qualified to be our teachers. Elder Zhang, despite her youth, holds the position of provincial education commissioner—her future is limitless." Wu Ming rolled his eyes as he spoke. "Besides, the Great Song advocates equality between men and women. What's wrong with being a woman? Chief Du said women can hold up half the sky."
Zeng Juan couldn't help laughing: "They learn quickly."
However, kowtowing to a young girl for the sake of fame and fortune, and addressing her as "Teacher"—one's face would need to be as thick as a city wall. Zeng Juan couldn't help but secretly scorn those preparing to visit the chief examiner.
"So this humble one finds it awkward. Going to pay respects—I cannot bring myself to do something so shameless. But if I don't go, and this female Elder takes offense, she might cause trouble during training—wouldn't that be most improper?"
Zeng Juan thought this was indeed a valid concern. Just as he was hesitating, Yuan Shuzhi from the side spoke up: "Brother Wu is being obtuse. Since you've already bent over for five pecks of rice, why worry about such things! I say even if you were willing to go pay respects, she might not be willing to accept your kowtow!"
This single sentence was like awakening someone from a dream.
(End of Chapter)