195 The Scholar Entering the Capital for His Imperial Examinations

‘Since I was young, my family was poor. I had a quiet and sincere but slowpersonality. I did not have any friends or family. I ate congee and vegetables,but I never ate meat. I only liked to read, and other than reading, there wasstill more reading. I lived without any serious ambitions, and after going tothe capital, I really only wanted to enter the Heavenly Dao Academy to study.Afterwards, I met Chen’er, and I only wanted to read with her although shedidn’t have any interest in reading at all.’ This was the first part of the opening paragraph in Wang Zhice’s diary. Whilereading this section, all of a sudden a familiar feeling took hold of ChenChangsheng, just like when he had learnt about Gou Hanshi’s experiences beforethe Ivy Festival. Although he knew they were opponents, Chen Changsheng stillcarried a sense of familiarity towards him, as he also only liked reading books. ‘On the way to the capital, I met the Grand Guard at that time, the futureTaizu, in the Tianliang County Palace. Afterwards, I met the Prince of Qi forthe first time and later met him again in Luoyang. There was also ElderBrother, yes, and I also met Chen’er in that alleyway dripping with filth, So,I stayed behind.’ ‘The paper in Luoyang was expensive. Everything was expensive, and even thesesame seed cakes were more expensive than those from other areas. What made iteven worse was the constant fighting day in and day out. After Chen’er used upall of our money, she wanted to return to her previous occupation. However, Ialways felt that killing people wasn’t good, so she asked me how she couldsupport our home. I thought over and over again that I still needed to enterthe capital. Even if I could not enter the Heavenly Dao Academy, I could stillcamp outside the Mausoleum of Books to sell some fake rubbings of inscriptions.I had always believed I was a useless scholar and could only write some nicewords.’ TL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_rubbing<https: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/stone_rubbing=""> ‘She came with me to the capital and was always by my side. Even if she wantedto leave, she couldn’t, as Emperor Taizu’s army had already surrounded thecapital. It was also at that time when I learnt that Elder Brother had neverprepared to come back after originally leaving Luoyang. On the day when thecapital finally fell, Chen’er and I sat on a boat, separated from the Bridge ofLamentation. We saw the smiling Prince of Qi riding in on a white rhinoceros,and we knew that our lives would take a turn for the better.’ ‘As the Emperor ascended the throne in front of the Mausoleum of Books, thegreat Demon army had already arrived. After two years, the Demon race invadedagain. The Prince of Qi would occasionally travel to the inn to search us outfor idle gossip, and I could tell his mood worsened over time. I did not knowwhether it was because his favourite rhinoceros had died at the Fallen WillowPlains or that the Emperor had not decided who was the crown prince. One day,when he drank a little too much wine, he stared into my eyes and said that eversince he came to Luoyang, he had always wanted me to help him. I did not reallyunderstand this, as how could I, a physically weak scholar, help him withanything? Also, when I came to the capital….. all I wanted to do was enter theHeavenly Dao Academy to read.’ ‘After I entered the Heavenly Dao Academy and began studying, I lived the lifeI looked forward to living. Still, Chen’er did not like such a plain life. Itook her to see the green vines of Li Palace and the Banyan Trees inside theOrthodox Academy. She did not like any of that and said that the forest in theGarden of Dawn was too dense and the great banyan trees were too tall. The mostimportant thing was, the River Qu and the lake within the Orthodox Academy weretoo flat. During some nights, I would watch the acrobatics in Luoyang andlaugh, but she would only smile coldly. She said that reading and enjoying thescenery were boring, and only someone like me could withstand such a boringlife. I understood what she wanted to say, but I did not want to follow up. So,I could only stay silent.’ ‘Afterwards, she still ended up leaving the capital. I did not know whethershe went to Xuelao City or to find Elder Brother. However, in short, when sheleft me, I thought seriously for three days and three nights, confirming that Icould not change anything. I continued to read, and while resting in-between, Ibegan thinking of matters related to cultivation. My friends and I alwaysthought that I did not have the potential to cultivate, much less any talent. However, for some unknown reason, I, who had only begun cultivating after theage of forty, did not meet any problems in cultivation as rumored. I used theperiod of a single night to roughly master cultivation. Perhaps, the commotionI caused that night was a tad too marvelous since I scared a lot of people. Asa result, I became a famous person in the capital for some odd reason, and thePrince of Qi took the imperial edict of Emperor Taizu to force me into agovernment position. Many people believed I was proud because of the commotion I caused that night.Yet, the real reason I was pleased with myself was because those small gameswhich I made began to spread throughout the capital and even the wholecontinent. In short, I became famous and began establishing connections withvarious well known people, officials, and several princes including the Princeof Qi. They were on friendly terms with me, and my life seemed to become muchmore cheerful, other than the fact that she never returned.’ ‘Peaceful, happy days do not last forever. I understood this logic, but I justnever thought that this lovely period would actually end so suddenly. On acertain day, late at night, two people came to my house. They were all thePalace of the Prince of Qi’s guests, and they wanted me to do some things.After thinking for a moment, I did not agree, but I did not want to get in thePrince of Qi’s way. I understood his temperament; nobody could prevent him fromtaking a step forwards. On the morning of the second day, horse carts began carrying corpses outsideof the city, and I stood atop the building, looking in the direction towardsthe Hundred Herb Garden. I watched the white smoke slowly rise up and silentlyprayed that not too many people would die, at least those princes whom I knew.Pity, it did not end up as I had wished. Those princes still died in the end,including their wives, sons, and daughters.’ ‘I sat at home in boredom for three days. I did not leave the house, nor did Ilook for any related news. I looked silently at the two guests from the Palaceof the Prince of Qi. Finally, after handling the matters outside, the Prince ofQi came to me personally. In such a nervous hour, he actually took the time,especially, to come and see me. I did not know whether I should have felthonored or suspicious. The Prince of Qi said that he did not mind my silence the past few days, buthe needed me to show my own opinion towards this matter for the capital’spopulace to see. I could only stay silent. He stared into my eyes and askedwhat my feelings about this matter actually were. I thought a little and saidthat I had no opinion. As a result, it was he who had become silent, beforeturning around and leaving. That was the last time he and I spoke to each otheras friends. Since only afterwards, did I learn that he had already formallyascended the throne that morning, becoming the Zhou Dynasty’s emperor.’ ‘My position in the government was not taken away, nor was I put under housearrest, much less being sent to jail. I was just purposefully forgotten by thegovernment and those people I was once familiar with. I was forgotten in thishouse on Grievance Alley. There was also another person who was purposelyforgotten like me, Emperor Taizu. Perhaps, the Prince of Qi…… no, I should saythe emperor……wanted to be a good son to his father as he was worried thatEmperor Taizu might cause some trouble behind closed doors from being toobored, or perhaps he still remembered the friendship between us that I toomight cause trouble at home from boredom. Anyway, he decreed that I would holdthe secretary position and accompany Taizu in the royal palace.’ ‘I must say, this period of time living deep within the palace was actuallyvery interesting. In the short period of a few months, Taizu seemed to growolder by several hundred years and transformed into a real old man. Unlike howhe had been easily angered in the past, he became much kinder and no longercared about the matters of the empire. Of course, he had no way of caring sincenobody allowed him to have any influence. As a result, he began paying attention to the victories while playing gamesand those beautiful female servants. As for the latter, I admonished him manytimes, but he did not really like to listen. Regarding the former, it was veryhard for him to win against me while playing games, and instead it became moreand more interesting. In that tall palace covered in vines and on that tableunderneath the vine canopy, we played many rounds of cards. While we wereleisurely playing, we would always talk. As a result, I heard many stories,which I never forgot.’ While looking at the handwriting in the diary, Chen Changsheng found itdifficult to remain calm. All these were stories of Wang Zhice himself, which included memories of alegend. What he said was very messy, but very concise, and it clearly narratedthe course of his own life. This narration just happened to coincide with thecontinent’s most turbulent times. As a result, this story naturally andstrongly influenced Cheng Changsheng. While reading the words in the diary, it was as if he had seen Wang Zhice inthose days. He was a young scholar who went to the capital for exams and notfor a position in the government. He traveled thousands of miles just to readtens of thousands of books. Who would have ever guessed that on such a journey,the scholar would see an upside down female shadow in the city of Luoyang,causing him to stop in his steps and see a lot more things. The young scholar began walking once again in the end, reaching hisdestination of the capital. He had never forgotten his original purpose allthose years ago, but he could not live by his way of thinking from all thoseyears ago. Many things had changed from his perspective. The upside down femaleshadow had broken apart into nothingness. He became part of the government andfamous in the capital. Afterwards, he was forced into those worlds, which hehad never liked nor ever wanted to enter. After reading up to this point, Chen Changsheng slowly became more nervous. Upuntil now, Wang Zhice’s diary or oral history, was about to enter the mostimportant part and the section Chen Changsheng wanted to know most. In theperiod of time that Taizu was put under house arrest deep within the palace,what exactly did he say to Wang Zhice? Maybe he could discover an explanationfrom a person who had changed fate himself. He continued to read the diary. ‘There were many rumors regarding Emperor Taizu, and the one most well knownwas naturally of him changing fate. Specifically, a rumor always spread aroundthe continent saying, that many years ago, Taizu became friends with the leaderof the Way at that time, who was also the previous Pope of the Li Palace lateron. He used some type of secret technique to successfully change fate by givingofferings to the starry sky. This caused that Emperor’s Star to forever shineon the world from the night sky. As for after the transformation of Hundred Herb Garden, a lot more specificdetails about an offering to the starry skies appeared in the rumors. Everyonewas saying that in order to change fate, Taizu had to be willing to leavebehind only a single son to carry on the bloodline. As for the other sons, theywould all be offered to the starry sky……… however, after Taizu successfullyascended the throne, he did not want to stick to the promise he had made allthose years ago. In actuality, all of his sons were so outstanding, so whocould he allow to die? Who was willing to die?’ ‘I did not know whether the Prince of Qi and the other princes had heard ofthis rumor or not. Even if they had heard it before, nobody would have believedit. However, it didn’t matter if this rumor was true or false. As long as itappeared and as long as they had heard it, the dry branches within their heartswould transform into scary, poisonous snakes, constantly biting at theirhearts. From taking down Luoyang to the capital, Taizu’s outstanding sons couldnever maintain a good relationship, mainly due to who the throne belonged to. Thinking back now, this rumor affected these relationships greatly. I mustadmit, Taizu’s sons were all very outstanding, but His Majesty was thestrongest one. When those princes were still scheming to affect Taizu’s choiceand waiting for fate’s arrangements, His Majesty was the first one to takeaction. Without the slightest hesitation, he slaughtered all of his brothers…..’ </https:>