Zhao Baozhu had no idea the capital could be this big.
He stood in line waiting to enter the city, hearing the faint bustle from within the walls. Through the gaps between the inspecting soldiers at the gate, he could see the crowds moving back and forth inside.
There were so many people that their legs seemed to blend into one continuous mass. Among them, he could occasionally see horse hooves and carriage wheels passing through. In just the short moment Zhao Baozhu stared, he saw five carriages go by.
Zhao Baozhu was dumbfounded.
In his hometown, only the county magistrate owned a carriage, and occasionally there were horses in merchant caravans that stayed briefly in the county. Ordinary families had barely even seen a horse; having an old ox that could pull a cart already made one a wealthy household! Yet here in the capital there were so many carriages, with delicate tassel curtains hanging from their frames. As they moved, the beads shimmered in the sunlight like the tiny sparkling stones in the stream by Zhao Baozhu’s home.
Listening to the noisy calls of vendors drifting through the city walls, Zhao Baozhu felt dizzy.
On his journey from home to the capital, he had faced countless hardships, even nearly losing his luggage of books to robbers, yet he had never retreated. But now, he felt a trace of fear.
He stared at the towering city walls that seemed to block out the sky. The prosperity within looked like a beast ready to break free of its cage.
“Hey, young lad.”
Someone behind him tapped his shoulder.
Zhao Baozhu startled and turned around, seeing an old man squinting at him and gesturing toward the front.
Only then did Zhao Baozhu realize a large gap had opened between him and the person ahead. He snapped back to his senses and heard people in the line behind him already muttering complaints.
“Thank you, uncle.”
Zhao Baozhu quickly thanked him and hurried to catch up with the line.
The old man was momentarily stunned, then followed after him half a beat later.
This young lad sure had a sweet tongue. Maybe he was from the south, he’d heard people there liked to use reduplicated words.
While Zhao Baozhu had been distracted, only one person remained ahead of him. As he stepped forward, he saw that person bowing and scraping while presenting a pass before leaving. The soldier at the gate turned to him: “Next.”
Zhao Baozhu quickly stepped forward, carefully taking the previous man’s place, and looked up at the soldier.
The soldier was tall, wearing silver armor with a sword at his waist. Zhao Baozhu’s gaze lingered on the sword, and he marveled inwardly, it was his first time seeing a real blade.
So cool, Zhao Baozhu thought.
The soldier’s voice, tinged with the capital’s accent, came from above: “What are you here for?”
Zhao Baozhu came back to himself and smiled somewhat ingratiatingly. “M-my lord. This commoner has come to take the exam.”
The soldier heard this and paused. “…What exam?”
Zhao Baozhu blinked, thinking what else could it be: “Naturally, the metropolitan exam.”
At these words, everyone was shocked.
People behind him began murmuring, and the soldier’s brows nearly shot up to his temples. His voice rose several degrees: “Y-you’re saying you’re a juren*?”
* successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination
Zhao Baozhu didn’t understand why the officer was so surprised and nodded inexplicably. “Yes.”
The soldier looked at the small, ragged boy who only reached his chest. It wasn’t strange that he assumed Zhao Baozhu was a beggar, the boy’s clothes were tattered, his cloth shoes patched multiple times, clearly worn through again and again. His hair was messy, his face covered in dirt, his whole person dusty and grimy, only his round, dark eyes hinted that he might look decent.
After a moment of silence, the soldier rested his hand on his sword and lowered his voice deliberately: “Impudent!” he barked. “All scholars are selected by His Majesty. Do you know that falsely claiming scholarly status is a crime of deceiving the emperor?”
Zhao Baozhu was startled by the sudden anger, his lips parting in shock. Seeing this, the soldier leaned slightly forward and softened his tone: “You mustn’t lie about such things. You’d better tell the truth. Right now, the Fifth Prince has set up congee stalls in the West Market. I won’t bar you from entering just because you’re a refugee.”
Strictly speaking, he shouldn’t have said this so clearly. But seeing how young the boy was, he assumed someone had misled him into this foolish scheme and felt a bit of pity.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Baozhu grew anxious. “No! My lord, I, I’m not lying!” His eyes widened as he hurriedly pulled his ragged bundle to his chest and began rummaging through it.
Seeing him persist stubbornly, the soldier frowned, looking at the worn bundle and thinking: could this little thing be about to pull out some Four Books and Five Classics to fool him?
Who would have thought, Zhao Baozhu suddenly swish pulled out a calling card and handed it to him: “Lord, please take a look.”
The soldier took it, opened it, and saw written on it: “Zhao Baozhu, selected as a juren in the thirty-fifth year of Yuanzhi at the provincial examination.” Below that was the place of origin: “Native of Qingxi Village, Chang County, Shannan Prefecture, Yizhou.” Beside it were the seals of the Yizhou Education Commissioner, the Prefect, and the chief examiner from the Hanlin Academy, none of which could be faked.
The soldier’s hands trembled slightly as he read the card from beginning to end three times: “…You are Zhao Baozhu?”
Zhao Baozhu nodded: “This commoner, indeed.”
Hearing this, the soldier closed the card and carefully returned it to Zhao Baozhu. Then he actually cupped his hands and said, “Juren Zhao.” Zhao Baozhu widened his eyes, seeing the soldier’s attitude suddenly become respectful: “Please forgive me for not knowing you possessed scholarly status and for making presumptuous assumptions.”
Seeing such a tall soldier bow and apologize to him, Zhao Baozhu hurriedly stepped back two paces and returned the bow: “Not at all, not at all. It was my own failure to explain clearly. Lord need not be so courteous.”
At the sight of their exchange, the queue behind them suddenly erupted into an uproar.
“Really… really a juren master?”
“No way… how old is that boy?”
“Show some respect! That’s a juren… a future official!”
Everyone looked at Zhao Baozhu at the front of the line with disbelief and astonishment, unable to believe that this youth dressed like a beggar was actually a juren! One only needed to pass the provincial examination to become a juren, that meant a future official. They themselves were refugees who had fled to the capital because of flooding; before the disaster, even one juren from an entire county was already remarkable.
They looked at Zhao Baozhu with envy and confusion. This juren master appeared not yet of age, such a heaven-blessed talent, how had he fallen to the point of lining up together with refugees like them?
Here, the soldier straightened and said to Zhao Baozhu, “Juren Zhao, I will escort you into the city.” After saying this, he gestured to a colleague and turned back: “This way, please.”
Under his respectful manner, Zhao Baozhu felt a bit embarrassed and smiled, dimples appearing at the corners of his mouth: “Then I’ll trouble you, sir.”
Seeing this, the soldier smiled: “You are too polite, Juren Zhao.” As he led him through the city gate, he added, “As far as I know, each prefectural office should issue travel funds to successful candidates.”
The travel funds were provided by the court specifically for those who had passed the provincial exam, to cover expenses for going to the capital. For Zhao Baozhu, a dignified juren, to end up in such a sorry state made the soldier curious.
Tilting his head slightly, his sharp brows raised: “Juren Zhao, could it be… someone at the yamen deliberately withheld your funds?”
Zhao Baozhu quickly shook his head: “It has nothing to do with the yamen.” He said somewhat bashfully, “It’s… it’s just that the journey from Yizhou to the capital is too winding. On the road there was a landslide; I had to follow merchant caravans to get out of the mountains. Later we encountered bandits, and that’s how I ended up like this.”
The soldier nodded and sighed: “I’ve heard the roads in Yizhou are treacherous, especially difficult to traverse. Juren Zhao has suffered.”
Zhao Baozhu’s cheeks flushed pink, though the dirt on his face hid it. He thought people in the capital really spoke pleasantly, this soldier’s manner of speech was no worse than that of a scholar. He lowered his head and cupped his hands: “Not at all. This commoner has been blessed by heaven to arrive safely in the capital; that is already very fortunate.”
Seeing him repeatedly refer to himself as “this commoner,” so humble and without the annoying arrogance of scholars, the soldier’s lips curved slightly. Lowering his gaze, he said: “Juren Zhao must also be tired now, so I will not disturb you further.” He pointed toward the west side of the road: “Follow this road south and you’ll find several inns. Juren Zhao may find one to stay in for the time being.”
Zhao Baozhu had been worried about not finding a place; hearing this, he was overjoyed: “Thank you, sir!”
The soldier smiled: “I am only a guard; I do not deserve to be called ‘sir’ by Juren Zhao.” He paused, then added, “If Juren Zhao encounters trouble in the future, you may come to the Lan residence to find me.”
With that, he cupped his hands, turned, and headed back toward the city gate.
Zhao Baozhu watched his back, thinking he still didn’t know the man’s name. But since he mentioned the Lan residence, this kind soldier was probably surnamed Lan. He cupped his hands toward the retreating figure:
“Sir Lan! This commoner is deeply grateful.”
The soldier waved at him, his figure disappearing beyond the city gate.
Zhao Baozhu curved his lips, wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, and felt a warmth rise in his heart. Though his journey to the capital had been full of hardships, the moment he arrived he met a kind person! It seemed his bad luck should be coming to an end.
Zhao Baozhu chuckled smugly twice, then turned around, but the next moment, the smile froze on his lips.
…Which direction had that soldier just pointed again?
The sense of direction Zhao Baozhu had honed in the mountains was completely useless in the capital.
He stood before the bustling market; just within his line of sight there were five or six branching roads. Zhao Baozhu stood helplessly among the hawkers, nearly having his foot run over by a vendor pushing a cart. The man, blocked by him, immediately raised his brows: “What are you doing? Don’t you watch where you’re going?!”
Zhao Baozhu was startled by the shout, stepped back two paces, and quickly cupped his hands in apology: “Sorry, sorry.” He then asked, “May I ask which direction the inns are?”
Hearing this, the vendor looked him up and down critically, then grinned maliciously: “Inns?” He turned and pointed toward the very center: “Go that way, they’re all there.”
Zhao Baozhu quickly thanked him: “Thank you for the directions.” He glanced at the goods on the vendor’s cart and saw skewered glutinous rice rolls that looked quite appetizing. Zhao Baozhu hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for nearly two days; if he had spare money, he would definitely buy one as thanks. But he only had two taels of silver in total, which had to last at least until after the spring examinations, he truly had no extra.
Zhao Baozhu cupped his hands again in thanks before turning toward the direction indicated.
The vendor watched his back and snorted, smiling with ill intent. He thought, what strange times! Even beggars dare go to inns? Probably thinks a few coins are enough to eat in the capital!
He had deliberately pointed him toward the most expensive area in the capital, there would be a good show soon!
