The leader was Yuan Ji, who had also brought up the topic of filial piety and character yesterday.
Xie Yan couldn’t swallow his pride and was thinking about how to get even with someone. Yuan Ji brought people with him, which suited Xie Yan just fine.
He first bowed to the instructors and returned the silver.
There were three instructors who had helped cover the costs yesterday, and they pooled their silver together to help Xie Yan refund the guarantee fee.
Xie Yan looked at him: “I came here today to repay the money. If you have eyes, you should have seen that. They say that seeing a person’s writing is like seeing the person themselves. I have read all your past essays, and they are incoherent, confusing the main points, lacking structure, and incomprehensible. People are like this, so it’s normal for them to write confusing essays.”
The person behind the scholar stepped forward and said, “How well do you write?”
Xie Yan shifted his gaze to this person and said calmly, “I am not talented, but I write better than you. A master is a teacher, so let me tell you, you only know how to analyze words and solve problems, but you don’t know how to organize your writing into layers. Your writing is a mess, with the beginning and end conflicting with each other, and it makes no sense at all.”
“What nonsense are you talking about! We’re all scholars; don’t look down on anyone!”
Oh, the previous person was a scholar.
Xie Yan turned to another person and scolded, “I’m the top scholar; there’s a rank difference between us. I look down on him, and I look down on you too. If you’re not satisfied, then let me tell you something. You don’t understand the question, yet you charge ahead recklessly. When asked to write an essay, you pick up a knife. Such reckless brutality—you should abandon your pen and become a butcher instead.”
Xie Yan looked back at their rankings: “Don’t get upset. You’re the opposite. Your problem-solving is like a ghost hitting a wall, going back and forth, fixating on the words. A donkey grinding grain can produce fine flour, but you can only write messy characters with a pen.”
Yuan Ji saw Xie Yan change his nature, unleashing a string of insults that swayed everyone, then forcefully shifted the topic back to Xie Yan.
“What kind of person are you? A dishonest, untrustworthy debtor! You…”
Xie Yan slammed the table and stood up: “County Magistrate Zhang has already overturned my case. If you continue to slander me, we will take this to court!”
He remained true to his principles and criticized Yuan Ji’s writing: “As for you, your mind is restless, your words are sharp and aggressive, and you only care about being cruel without considering the solution. The master said, ‘Without cultivating one’s literary heart, one cannot write; without cultivating one’s moral character, one cannot become talented.’ You should withdraw from school!”
…
A commotion broke out in the study.
This was the lesson Xie Yan had devised.
He couldn’t reason with the villagers, and he couldn’t debate with the scholars.
After being caught off guard yesterday, he reflected on it all night and realized that to attack someone, one must attack their heart. These people wanted to pass the imperial examinations, so they had to write good essays. Criticizing essays was more damaging than criticizing people.
Coincidentally, Xie Yan couldn’t criticize people, but he could criticize essays.
As the top-ranked scholar, he could criticize others’ essays with reason and evidence. If others wanted to criticize him, they would first have to outperform him in the exams.
When it comes to studying and writing, the most challenging aspect is recognizing problems but not knowing how to improve.
The essays Xie Yan had analyzed were not entirely without merit according to conventional teaching standards; they should be preserved and improved upon. He criticized them all at once, leaving nothing to be improved, and at least for the time being, they won’t be able to write good essays.
The instructors tried to mediate, but Xie Yan said, “Sir, it’s not that the students don’t want to stop, it’s that they’re not convinced. Since they’re not convinced, let me talk about two essays, and everyone can listen.”
The articles he referred to were the essays they had written.
Xie Yan said he had read them, and he had indeed read them.
He recited them word for word, criticizing them word for word, so that everyone would know he wasn’t just making things up.
The authors themselves might not even remember the details of these articles.
When they were reviewed in class, the teachers wouldn’t use such harsh words to criticize them so severely.
Lu Yang admired the champion scholar’s heroic demeanor from outside and whispered to the doorman, “Does this scene have a technical name, like ‘verbal battle with the scholars’?”
The doorman was also watching with great interest.
“Yes, that’s it. Xie Xiucai is really formidable.”
Lu Yang stopped him from watching: “Is there a security guard here? Call him to break up the fight. If they keep arguing, they’ll start fighting.”
The doorman reluctantly ran off to call the guards. Lu Yang stood outside the door, hesitated for a moment, and decided not to leave. He would praise his son, the top scholar, in person later.
Scholars should stay among scholars.
His top scholar is a formidable figure.
The security guards arrived, and the verbal sparring ceased.
Yuan Ji and his group pointed at Xie Yan and Wu Pingzhi and shouted, “Get them out of here!”
The guards didn’t listen but looked at the instructors instead.
Xie Yan rarely spoke so much, and he spoke so loudly that his voice was hoarse, his chest heaving, and his breathing heavy.
The instructors did not keep him there. With so many people present, there was no time for polite conversation, so they simply told him to return first.
“Study hard; the true test will be on the examination field.”
Xie Yan bowed again in the student’s manner.
Wu Pingzhi, who looked unkempt and had never attended county school, also bowed in the student’s manner.
As they stepped out, they saw Lu Yang.
Wu Pingzhi was fine, just raising his eyebrows.
Xie Yan was terrified, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
Impressive.
This word made Xie Yan stand tall and proud.
He had once used this word to praise Lu Yang, and now Lu Yang was using it to praise him.
The impressive Lu Yang and the impressive Xie Yan were a perfect match.
Lu Yang had also heard the instructors’ voices and seen their attitudes; this was truly favoritism.
They favored his family’s top scholar, and it was okay for him to show his respect.
He didn’t take the buns back with him. Lu Yang went into the house to deliver them, thanked them for taking care of Xie Yan, and then left the duty room under the instructors’ disapproving glances, leaving the county school with Xie Yan and Wu Pingzhi.
The morning commotion had delayed the morning classes.
Wu Pingzhi checked the time and saw it wasn’t mealtime yet, so he suggested, “Let’s find a teahouse to sit in?”
Lu Yang agreed.
Xie Yan followed his husband’s lead.
They found a nearby teahouse.
Wu Pingzhi ordered a pot of good tea and had four plates of tea snacks served. There were jujube cakes, chestnut cakes, pastries, and small sesame twists.
These could be taken away if not finished, to snack on when hungry, which was quite economical.
He was the oldest of the three. After the waiter served the tea, he heated the cups and poured the tea, saying, “In April and May of this year, Xie Yan will take the imperial examination to qualify for the provincial examination. After the exam, based on his results, he will be selected as a scholar. It’s only a few months away, but I don’t know what they’re fussing about.”
Xie Yan knew, “They think I’ll back down.”
He wouldn’t back down. He couldn’t win the argument at the moment, but he went back the next day.
If he lost again today, he would go back tomorrow. He could lose, but he couldn’t back down.
Xie Yan told Lu Yang, “I will definitely pass the examination and achieve official rank.”
Lu Yang smiled and gave him some pastries to eat.
He could make jujube cakes and chestnut cakes at home.
First, he tasted the pastry, then ate some twisted dough sticks.
Twisted dough sticks were deep-fried, and ordinary families couldn’t afford to make them, so Lu Yang let Xie Yan eat a few more.
Lu Yang said, “Official rank is too far away. When your exam results come out, you’ll be able to celebrate.”
Wu Pingzhi took a sip of tea and said to the two of them, “That’s too far away. Printing books is the most urgent matter.”
The teahouse wasn’t very lively in the morning. The storyteller hadn’t arrived yet, and there were only a few tables of people on the upper and lower floors.
