The bailiff explained, "There are ten Presented Scholars in a group, and three groups are accepted each year. There is only one group of Talented Scholars accepted each year, with five students in each group. Both Talented Scholars and Presented Scholars can study for three years, but must leave after that. The state academy holds the Imperial Scholar exam once a year, and those who rank in the top five will be sent to the Jing Kingdom's imperial academy in the capital city. There, not only are there Imperial Scholars and Presented Scholars from our own nation, but also those from other countries who come to study, as well as the children of prominent families."
As Fang Yun listened to the bailiff's introduction, he looked around the state academy. He had only been to government offices before, so this was his first time in the academic area.
It was like a garden here, with small bridges over flowing water, pavilions and corridors, and fragrant flowers and lush trees. It felt like a peaceful escape from the noisy world, returning to nature.
Fang Yun nodded in agreement, this was the place to study.
The two of them walked along the cobblestone path, passed a rockery, and saw a round archway with the words "Ink Fragrance" written on it.
"This is the Ink Fragrance House, where the Talented Scholars study."
The Ink Fragrance House was a courtyard with a red-roofed pavilion in the middle, surrounded by lush greenery. Ahead was a very ordinary house with black tiles and white walls. The door was open, revealing tables, chairs, and students inside.
As they walked closer, Fang Yun could hear the students inside talking.
"Teacher, is Fang Yun really coming to our class? I love his poem 'End of the Year,' which directly criticizes the court officials and is very satisfying."
"I love 'Inscription of a Shabby Room,' it's already hanging in my study. I recite it every morning and night, and even my wife has memorized it."
Fang Yun was surprised, but then he remembered that people got married early in ancient times, so he let it go.
"From now on, Fang Yun will be your classmate. His talent has spread across ten nations, so you five can't look down on him just because he's a Child Scholar."
"Teacher, do you think we're all bookworms? We don't have any grudges with Liu Zicheng, so we haven't had a chance to make friends with Fang Yun, how could we look down on him?"
"Bookworms are the ones who respect him the most, right, Wen Dai?"
"Fang Yun's talent surpasses mine by a hundredfold, so of course I respect him."
Fang Yun didn't expect to be discussed before even entering the room. As he walked to the door, he cleared his throat.
The door opened and he saw a middle-aged man and five young men looking at him.
The bailiff slightly bowed and said, "Teacher Jiang, Talented Scholars, this is Fang Yun."
"Fang Yun greets everyone." Fang Yun didn't know how to address these six people who ranged in age from their teens to thirties.
Two of the five Talented Scholars stood up from their chairs and walked over with a smile.
Both young men were wearing dark blue Talented Scholar robes, with bamboo leaves embroidered on the collar and cuffs, which was noticeably different from the willow leaves on Fang Yun's clothes.
"Fang Shuangjia, you finally came! Your 'End of the Year' is written too well, it's the model for us scholars! My name is Lu Yu, I'm the same age as you, sixteen." Lu Yu had a pretty face and a cheerful smile.
The other Talented Scholar said, "My name is Ning Zhiyuan, I'm seventeen this year, and I love your 'Inscription of a Shabby Room' the most."
"Brother Lu, Brother Ning." Fang Yun politely bowed in greeting.The teacher behind the lectern kindly said, "I am the lecturer of the state academy. You can call me Mr. Wang from now on. Li Yuncong, why don't you three introduce yourselves? From today on, you are classmates."
A young man with thick eyebrows stood up. He was not one to smile often and greeted Fang Yun with a fist, "Li Yuncong from Dayuan Prefecture. I have heard of your name. If Liu Zicheng causes you any trouble, count me in."
"Thank you, Brother Li."
The other two also introduced themselves one by one. One was named Du Shudai, a bit old-fashioned, but he did not hide his admiration for Fang Yun in his words. The other was Tang Shanyue, a very ordinary person who smiled kindly.
These five were the top five in last year's prefectural examination, with Li Yuncong being the top scholar, known as a talented scholar in the Holy Origin Continent.
Fang Yun remembered their names and felt that they were all good people. None of them were dissatisfied or questioned him because of his literary fame. This was the most normal thing for literati in the Ten Kingdoms.
Li Yuncong and Mr. Wang did not speak, but they were very interested in Fang Yun's affairs. They listened with relish and did not look like they were in class.
After they got a little familiar, Ning Zhiyuan asked with anticipation, "We have all heard the Thunderous Holy Sound and heard the Half-Sage say that you have great talent. You passed the Saint Selection, but we don't know what happened. Can you tell us?"
Fang Yun looked helplessly at Mr. Wang, who said, "Don't look at me. Continue speaking. I want to hear it too."
Everyone laughed.
A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.
Fang Yun realized that this class was completely different from an ordinary school. The atmosphere was very relaxed. After all, the chances of the top five scholars in the prefectural examination passing the imperial examination were very high. In the future, they would be on the same level as Mr. Wang, so he would not always put on a teacher's attitude.
Fang Yun slowly recounted his experience of being invited to the Saint Selection.
When he mentioned the request of the Duke of Wei to the Half-Sage to test Fang Yun's knowledge of the Path of the Saints, all six of them were angry. When he talked about Li Wenying killing the Duke of Wei, everyone said it was good, including Mr. Wang.
After Fang Yun finished speaking, Li Yuncong snorted and said, "Fang Yun, you must be careful. The noble families of Dayuan Prefecture all know about Liu Zicheng's evil reputation. You have the attention of the Half-Sage and a mysterious teacher, so he won't harm you. But if you make any mistake, he will definitely take action. Fortunately, you offended Liu Zicheng, and not Liu Zhi. Otherwise, you would be dead already. The Liu family's elders and young are all ruthless."
"Thank you for reminding me, Brother Li," Fang Yun said.
Liu Yu said, "Although his elder brother Liu Zhi is decisive and ruthless, he has almost no bad reputation and will not do anything despicable. But Liu Zicheng is different. He can do anything despicable."
Fang Yun nodded.
Fang Yun spoke for over an hour. Mr. Wang let everyone take a break and then came back to continue the class.Fang Yun initially thought that he would have different teachers like in the clan school, but upon careful consideration, this Mr. Wang was an Imperial Scholar, and only three or fourty were produced in Jiangzhou each year. There wouldn't be too many Imperial Scholars willing to teach students.
Mr. Wang was going to teach the classics in this class, and fearing that Fang Yun wouldn't understand, he asked Fang Yun some questions about the classics.
Fang Yun had almost read all the textbooks on the classics, and his theory was as solid as all the Talented Scholars present, and even not weaker than the Imperial Scholars. He answered the questions with ease.
Mr. Wang started with the basics, but in the end, he asked some questions that even the Talented Scholars found difficult to answer, but Fang Yun could answer them.
The five Talented Scholars looked at Fang Yun like he was a monster. They had all gone from Child Scholars to Talented Scholars step by step, and knew best the hardships involved.
Lu Yu whispered, "His grasp of the classics is not worse than ours, which means he can at least become a Talented Scholar now. Even ranking in the top ten in the Prefecture Exam wouldn't be a problem."
"The County Exam ended less than a month ago, and he has learned so much. Is this what they call being born with knowledge?"
Mr. Wang was getting happier the more he asked, and laughed, "Good! Sit down. Your comprehension of the classics is the best among Child Scholars, and your poetry is also the best among Child Scholars. Even if you get a C grade in the classics, you can still become a Talented Scholar. Moreover, your comprehension of the classics can at least get a B grade. I don't need to change the curriculum for you specifically. As for the strategy part I will teach later, you don't have to listen to it. You can use it to study the classics yourself and learn the strategy after becoming a Talented Scholar."
Next, Mr. Wang used a classic question from last year's state exam, "Self-restraint and self-sacrifice for the sake of the king," as an example to teach the students how to write classics.
Fang Yun knew that the sentence "Self-restraint and self-sacrifice for the sake of the king" came from the "Book of Documents." It meant that everyone should make contributions to the king. The chapter "Wei Zi" was about King Zhou of Shang's eldest brother Wei Zi seeking advice from his father and teacher on what to do when the Shang Dynasty was about to collapse. In the end, Wei Zi chose to flee. After the Shang Dynasty fell, Wei Zi was pardoned by King Wu of Zhou and became the first monarch of the Song Nation.
Fang Yun listened carefully to Mr. Wang's explanation and found that Mr. Wang was not as good as the people who wrote the classics guidebooks in theory, but he was better in examples and details. After all, a book had its limits, but Mr. Wang could say whatever he wanted.
After analyzing the classic question, Mr. Wang asked the six people to solve the problem in their own way, and finally handed in the test papers. Mr. Wang commented on each person's test paper one by one.
Fang Yun had been practicing solving problems for the past few days and had gained some insights.
After commenting on the first five people's test papers, Mr. Wang read Fang Yun's test paper out loud, "A gentleman's life is not for fame or to avoid trouble, but to serve the nation. Therefore, the dead are not seeking fame, and the living are not avoiding disaster, but are seeking to leave...."
After reading a few hundred words of the test paper, Mr. Wang looked at Fang Yun for a long time without saying anything.
The Talented Scholars beside him were all surprised.
Finally, Li Yuncong, who had always been silent, couldn't help but ask, "Fang Yun, are you really a Child Scholar? Not an Imperial Scholar?"
"Isn't that a bit much?" Fang Yun didn't expect these people to react so strongly.Mr. Wang sighed and said, "It seems that some people are indeed born with knowledge. Regardless of other aspects, just considering the ability to break the topic, it is the talent of a top-notch scholar, and the talent of a State Scholar."
Fang Yun said, "Mr. Wang, you are too kind. I have been studying the classics these days, and I have also received guidance from the respected Cai Da Ren of our county for several days. Therefore, I had a flash of inspiration and came up with this essay. If I were asked to break four or five topics in a row, I would definitely be confused."
"That's true. But now I am relieved, as the classics are vast, and breaking the topic is the most important skill. Even if you have come up with a good essay by chance, it has already proven that you not only have talent in poetry, but also in the classics. Thinking of what you said earlier about convicting Wei Yuan Jun, your policy discussion must be extraordinary. With this, I am relieved that within five years, you will become an Imperial Scholar!"
The other Talented Scholars nodded their heads repeatedly, as they were truly amazed by Fang Yun's ability to break the topic.
Fang Yun, however, did not feel proud, but only sighed that these days of sleeping only two hours a day had not been wasted. Since Mr. Wang said so, it meant that he had officially entered the door in the field of classics. From now on, he would need to constantly practice and no longer worry about his insufficient abilities.
Fang Yun said, "Perhaps it is because of the Thundering Holy Sound."
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There will be some censored words on the starting point, some replaced by asterisks, some directly erased. I can only use homophones or punctuation to separate them after modification, which is really a helpless move. Due to the system's relationship, some modifications will not be updated, and I apologize to all readers for this. At the same time, I would like to thank those who pointed out the errors in the text, and I will correct them one by one.
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