Ji Mingzhu said proudly, “That depends on me. My husband reserved the place a year in advance. He paid a five-tael silver deposit at the time, and on holidays he even had the clerks deliver gifts. At the beginning of the year, when the family’s daughter got married, our steward went over with a wedding gift as well. Just wait—housing the few of us will be more than enough!”
Wu Pingzhi: “?”
“So much effort?”
Sheng Daxian shot him a sidelong glance. “How come I never heard about this?”
Xie Yan pricked up his ears, thinking this was something worth learning and telling Lu Yang about when he got home.
As Ji Mingzhu led them to the place, he explained, “I talked with him before about lodging during the examination period. It is always scarce and overcrowded. We live in the prefectural city, and during exam season he specifically went to take a look. He saw how difficult it really was and took it to heart. He made a special trip to the provincial capital, looked around everywhere, and chose an especially spacious residence—just in case any of my classmates needed to stay. See? You are all benefiting from it.”
The matter pleased him immensely. In the past, it had always been Xie Yan showing off his husband. He had listened until his ears practically grew calluses. At last, it was his turn.
Xie Yan asked, “Wasn’t he ignoring you?”
Sheng Daxian burst out laughing.
Ji Mingzhu glared. “That was a long time ago! He has been paying attention to me these past two months!”
The house Ji Mingzhu rented was midway down an alley, very close to the examination compound. Step out of the alley, walk two streets, and you would arrive.
It truly was spacious—a large courtyard and large rooms. The landlord’s family of five lived there, three generations under one roof: the elderly couple, the young couple, and a little granddaughter. When Ji Mingzhu came to the door, everything had already been tidied up. They said they had begun preparing in the seventh month, just waiting for him to arrive.
After receiving a year’s worth of kindness, if they did not let him stay, their conscience would not be at ease.
Many people had come asking recently, but they had refused to rent it out, saying it had already been taken.
There were still five empty rooms. Besides them, they could accommodate one more person.
If someone was willing to make do and share a heated brick bed, the number could even double.
Back at the prefectural academy, Ji Mingzhu had become close with a few classmates and had no intention of inviting just anyone.
He went inside to check the size and found it satisfactory. On the spot, he took out twenty taels of silver and paid the remaining rent in full.
Once outside, he immediately held out his hand for money.
“Five taels each. Hurry.”
Xie Yan reluctantly fished out his silver and muttered, “Could you not inexplicably treat me to a few days’ lodging?”
Clearly, he could not.
After viewing the house, the group strolled along the street. On the road, they heard many hawkers shouting.
There were cries about the examiners’ preferences, about calligraphy by great scholars, about model examination essays and predicted topics to aid candidates. More than that, seeing they were dressed like scholars and had come from near the examination compound, a shifty-eyed man squeezed under their umbrella and, in a very covert tone, asked whether they wanted “honey,” “snake slough,” or “fly characters.”
Xie Yan had no idea what that meant and casually asked. The man, as though he had caught the scent of blood, immediately darted from beneath Wu Pingzhi’s umbrella to Xie Yan’s and shot him meaningful looks, glancing toward the others.
Xie Yan said, “It is fine. The few of us are not very learned, but we have money. Tell us everything.”
Wu Pingzhi lifted his head to look at the sky, seeing nothing but ink-wash patterns on the umbrella.
Sheng Daxian glanced sideways at the street, met another pair of rodent-like eyes, and quickly turned back to face forward.
Ji Mingzhu pushed the two of them aside, his face full of curiosity.
“Tell us. What exactly are these things?”
Seeing how genuinely curious he was, Xie Yan asked, “You are not actually going to buy it, are you? If so, I will not ask.”
Ji Mingzhu truly intended to buy something—but only to show his husband.
Hearing that, Xie Yan wanted to buy as well.
The two of them asked together, “Is there anything cheaper?”
Wu Pingzhi muttered quietly to Sheng Daxian, “Look at that. Married men are all like this.”
Sheng Daxian gave a dry cough and smiled. “Brother Wu, to be frank, my child already knows how to call me Father.”
Wu Pingzhi, the only older and unmarried man present: “…”
The peddler under the umbrella: “…”
These were not serious customers.
He hesitated, clearly wanting to go elsewhere to hook bigger fish.
Ji Mingzhu said, “How many people truly dare to buy? You might as well properly introduce things to the two of us. Our intentions are upright. If we say we are buying, we mean it.”
Near noon, they found a nearby restaurant and brought the cheat-sheet peddler along. They ordered a private room and had him explain in detail.
So-called “fly characters” were cheat sheets—characters even smaller than flies, copied densely in tiny script.
There were many varieties for sale. The lowest grade were handwritten copies of the Four Books and Five Classics. Even in minuscule script, they amounted to a thick stack of paper.
Custom versions could also be made: the buyer provided an essay, and the seller turned it into a miniature cheat sheet.
The peddler said, “You can also buy our prepared cheat sheets. They cost more—two taels of silver per essay.”
He then went on to explain the prices for examiners’ preferences and for calligraphy by great scholars.
As for the examiners’ preferences, Wu Pingzhi and Sheng Daxian were both tempted; their brows revealed interest. Xie Yan spoke up to stop them.
“You must absolutely not buy that!”
He remembered Uncle Cui saying it was a scam.
During the examination period, those selling information outside did not necessarily possess real information. More often, they sought to disrupt a candidate’s literary composure. The slightest influence could drag down hundreds of people.
Not only must such information not be bought—once heard, it must not be taken to heart. The moment they remembered it, once inside the examination hall and putting brush to paper, they would hesitate. They would unconsciously try to cater to the examiners’ supposed preferences. The tone and central meaning of their essays would change.
Wu Pingzhi and Sheng Daxian both cupped their hands in thanks and truly refrained from asking further.
The peddler then looked to Xie Yan and asked whether he wanted calligraphy.
Xie Yan shook his head. “My handwriting is quite good too. Would you like to take it out and sell it?”
Next came “predicted topics to aid the exam,” which had a more discreet insider term: “predicted topics with prepared compositions.” A group of talented individuals would gather together to speculate on likely exam questions.
They would even write full essays based on the predicted topics for others to memorize. These too fell within the range of cheat sheets. Buy the sheet, memorize it if you wished, or carry it in if you dared.
Xie Yan was astonished. “If you gather like this to predict topics, does the court not arrest you?”
The peddler chuckled. “It is the scholars who carry them in who should be arrested. We are merely doing a little business. Who are we harming? And besides, memorizing topics and essays is the safest way. No one can tell whether you memorized it or thought of it yourself.”
Xie Yan shook his head. “No. If someone buys the same cheat sheet and memorizes the same content, and two identical papers are presented before the examiner, that is an imperial examination fraud case!”
The peddler could no longer sit still. “So are you buying or not?”
Xie Yan intended to buy. “I want one of the Four Books and Five Classics in fly characters. Also, tell me more about honey and snake slough.”
The peddler said, “I do not sell those two. Give me the money, and I will fetch your fly characters. Once this deal is done, I will tell you a little more.”
Xie Yan asked the price. A single such volume cost five taels of silver.
His earlier bravado vanished. Lacking confidence, he said, “Can I just buy one?”
The peddler said yes.
Xie Yan asked again, “Can you make it cheaper?”
The peddler looked at Ji Mingzhu. “Are you buying?”
Ji Mingzhu had originally wanted to buy a full set, to take home as a memento. On second thought, such things were souvenirs of examination fraud—hardly auspicious. The price was also high, so he bought only one.
Xie Yan chose Mencius; Ji Mingzhu bought Spring and Autumn Annals.
The peddler would not lower the price, but he did offer them a warning.
“When entering the grounds, you line up by county placard for roll call. You know that, do you not? After roll call comes the search. That means those from the same county are searched together. During the search, do not focus only on modesty. Keep your eyes open. It is not just classmates you do not get along with—even a close friend pressing against you—you must be cautious. In cases of fraud, they only seize what is found on your person. They do not care where it came from. There have been cases before where someone deliberately bought such things to frame a fellow candidate.”
The value of that information was worth more than gold. Everyone at the table sat up straight and raised a cup of wine in respect.
