Chapter 216: Juren Examinations

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

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Liu Xu’er stood up and headed into the side room. The room’s two large cupboards and a large chest were all wide open. She had noticed them after she got married, but she had no idea what was in them. Now that they were open, she had a shock! One of the cupboards was all filled with all sorts of new clothes, while the other held over a dozen bolts of cloth. 

The large chest on the table was actually an eight treasure box. When closed, it looked like a chest, but when it was opened, there were actually three layers, filled with all sorts of jewellery. The first layer held gold and silver pieces, the second had jade, while the third was filled with pearl, ivory pieces and the like. 

Shi Cheng smiled and said, “What do you think? This is all for you!”

Liu Xu’er was still rather stunned. She stammered, “What, how… did you collect so much? There are so many items here; how long would it take me to even wear each item once?”

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Liu Xu’er actually didn’t want to go. Shi Cheng and Senzi’s examinations were like the earlier round. Once they entered the examination hall, they would stay there for quite a few days. She couldn’t do anything even if she went anyway.

While Shi Cheng was gone, she headed back to her maiden home to stay. 

In the two months she had been married, there had been quite a few changes to her maiden home. Liu Tao had moved out, while Xiuxiu had long ago returned home. But Old Man Liu and Liu Gao shi had moved in with them. They were eagerly awaiting their first great grandchild’s arrival. 

He shi brought Liu Xu’er over to Liu Tao’s new place to have a look. Liu Tao’s new residence was quite decent, but it seemed a bit large for just a single person. He was still trying to think of ways to persuade his father and stepmother to move in with him. 

Liu Xu’er heard her mother say that nainai had already started to discuss Liu Tao’s marriage with Liu Changqi. Liu Xu’er didn’t say much when she heard. If Liu Tao really liked Xiuxiu, then he needed to step up now. She was just an onlooker. If Xiuxiu still didn’t understand, and if Liu Tao is unable to verbalise his own wishes, she couldn’t say or do anything. She had already done all she could when she hinted to Xiuxiu about the issue. 

He shi was the one who was most concerned about Senzi’s exam results, but she knew that everyone wasn’t willing to put any pressure on him. Senzi was just 12, so she could only keep her concerns to herself. She kept herself busy everyday, preparing food for everyone. 

Since Liu Xu’er was also in the midst of reorganising her own kitchen, the both of them spent a lot of time in the kitchen, discussing what to eat, how to eat well as well as how to eat exquisitely. 

Song Yao was from a prestigious household, so she was roped in to help them, while Shao Rong was responsible for taste testing. 

The examinations at Hanzhong city were broken into three rounds. Each round of exams took three days, after which, they would rest for half a day to a day before the next round began. It would take around 10 or so days to complete. After counting the days, He shi realised that the exams should be about done. Her thoughts started to wander. Every so often, she would head out to see if Senzi had returned. Then she asked Liu Xu’er, if he passed, what should they do? If he hadn’t passed, shouldn’t he be back by now?”

15 days after the examinations started, Shi Cheng and Senzi came home. 

The both of them had left the examination ground the day before and had rested at the Shi residence for a day before returning. It would take between three to seven days before their results would be posted. Both of them had decided against waiting there. In any case, Shi Qian was at Hanzhong city and could help them keep an eye on the situation. If they passed, the official news might even get to them faster than their personal messengers!

“In any case, I’ve already thought it through. If I pass, I won’t continue to take the next round of examinations… If I don’t, I can try again in three years.” Liu Sen sat on the kang and said with a pout. 

Everyone was there. They had already had their meal, and everyone had their own cup of tea in their hands. They were just discussing their examinations, and inevitably, the topic had turned to Senzi’s plans. 

Senzi had probably already known that if he did indeed pass, his mother would hope for him to continue with the next round, so he preemptively shared his own thoughts and plans. 

He shi’s mouth moved, but she resisted the urge to say anything. She looked at Liu Changgeng. 

Shi Cheng smiled and said, “I think the same way… Actually, doing business suits me better; there’s more freedom in doing business.”

Liu Xu’er quickly followed that up, “You don’t want to become an official? If you pass the next round, an official position should be yours. Rumor has it that if you pass, the big officials in the capital would all rush to try and recruit you to be their disciples and give you an official position!”

Shi Cheng naturally understood what she was doing with this. He smiled and said, “That’s right, that’s true. If I really pass the next round, I would be given an official position. I could be a county magistrate for three years, then possibly get promoted again. If my teacher does well in court, I would get promoted very quickly, and if he doesn’t, my promotion prospects are slower. My teacher would help me arrange everything. Of course, I would then be in the same camp as my teacher. No matter what he supports in court, I would have to support the same. And whomever he disagrees with, I would have to similarly disagree… In any case, after I become their disciple, I would have to be involved with all the court’s different struggles.” 

He shi was stunned. 

Liu Shu nodded his head and said, “That’s right. There aren’t many officials who go it alone. Even if you are thrown to a far flung area to be their magistrate, everyone in court, even the emperor, would be clear which camp the person belongs to ….”

Liu Shu turned to look at He shi. Actually, Shi Cheng and Liu Xu’er’s intentions were very clear, but Liu Shu was the first to put it bluntly, “Mum, Senzi is only 12. If he passes the exams next year, he will be 13. Do you really want him to try and swim with all those slippery, cunning old officials? How can he win against them? The court is not like the rest of the world. If you’re not careful, you could lose your life!”

He shi didn’t really need Liu Sen to become an official. The reason she was so keen for Liu Sen to continue to take the exams was because it was well known that being a scholar was a lofty and noble pursuit. Everyone knew that scholars were the highest quality people around! She hadn’t thought in detail about the rest of it. So now that they put this all in words, she was thunderstruck. 

Liu Changgeng actually shared the same view as his children. He wasn’t willing for Liu Sen to become an official. Going so far away at such a young age, and if he made even the slightest misstep, if someone else accused him of something, he might be exiled, or even worse, beheaded. Although he knew that there were officials who had smooth sailing careers, like his second daughter-in-law’s grandfather – didn’t he peacefully come home to retire? – he still didn’t wish for his son to become an official. It would be best if he could live his entire life peacefully. 

Liu Changgeng looked at Liu Lin, “Shu has given his opinion. Lin, what do you think?”

Liu Lin quickly nodded his head, “I think the same as dage. Although we might get exploited by officials while doing business, although at times, I am envious of how majestic an official is, the truth is that being an official can be quite risky. You need to be really alert and sharp to move in court… Although Senzi is smart, he is still a villager by birth, and doesn’t have any support in court. He can only climb up step by step…. With Senzi’s temperament, it’s fine if he can enjoy life. He definitely cannot stomach climbing up step by step slowly. Furthermore, what’s wrong with doing business and enjoying your life? Why must he go into court to brave all these dangers?”

Liu Sen very quickly nodded his head in agreement! That’s exactly what he thought!

Liu Xu’er stood at the side smiling. 

He shi herself hadn’t actually thought this through clearly. Now that her sons had spoken, she gave up the idea. 

As everyone spoke, they noticed that their mother hadn’t said a word. They knew that that meant she had changed her mind, so everyone finally left that topic alone. 

The family slowly sipped tea and enjoyed the rest of the summer afternoon together. 

Liu Xu’er went to pack up her things. Now that Shi Cheng was back, she naturally needed to return to her own home. After packing everything, she saw that it was still early. There was enough time for them to join the family for the evening meal before heading back. Just as she was about to enter the room, Liu Sen emerged. Seeing her, he smiled, “Jie.”

“En…. What’s up? Why are you smiling?” Liu Xu’er asked. 

Liu Sen smiled and said, “Thank you and jiefu!”

Liu Xu’er smiled and patted him, “Why are you being so courteous with your jie?” She thought for a moment before asking, “Senzi, have you thought it through? You are still quite young. Perhaps after a few years, you might change your mind and think that life is short. It’s best to live life brilliantly!”

Liu Sen’s face became solemn. He looked at her and said, “Jie, do you know who I envy the most?”

Liu Xu’er shook her head, “No.”

“The person I envy is my teacher… Bet you’d never have guessed that? Everyone feels that he is not ambitious, and not serious about teaching people. All day, he lounges about, how is he fit to be a teacher? But I just feel that his life is so free —- He picks flowers at his eastern fence, gazing at the mountains. Everyday, he has a pot of tea, a book – isn’t that wonderful? Why should I try and stick my head into officialdom? It’s really not long, life is only a few tens of years. Precisely because of that, I want to live my life leisurely!”

Liu Xu’er was stunned. She had never imagined that Liu Sen could so clearly elucidate these principles! After a long time, she smiled and said, “You are so young, and yet you don’t have an ounce of ambition in you!” She smiled and rubbed his head, “But I agree with your philosophy on life!”

Liu Sen smiled