Chapter 37: Do you know that I can compose a poem in three steps?
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One cannon blast aimed straight at Zhou Heng!
That was Cheng An’s true purpose.
It was not that the petty clerk was unwilling to yield.
Even if he had obediently admitted defeat, Cheng An would not have let him off so easily.
“Ha…”
“Hahahaha!”
At his words, the students burst into laughter.
Then the laughter grew louder and louder!
Every mocking jeer was like a tiny slap across the clerk’s face, striking him until he nearly spat blood.
An inexplicable unease surged within him…
He had a feeling.
He was finished!
“Very well!”
“If one poem is not enough, then I shall write another. I will win eventually…”
Cheng An took three steps forward.
The crowd stared in astonishment and instinctively fell silent.
But who could have guessed that he would suddenly raise his head, look at the clerk, and grin?
“Do you know that I can compose a poem in three steps?”
“…”
What an arrogant little brat!
The crowd was so choked by his words that they could only stare wide-eyed.
The boy truly had some talent.
But he was undeniably arrogant as well!
Could this be what a prodigy was like?
Those with talent were often proud of it!
And Cheng An looked exactly like that at this moment, with an expression that was almost asking to be beaten.
His smile faded.
Then he began:
“The bright moon startles magpies perched among the branches;
A gentle breeze stirs cicadas in the midnight air.
Amid the fragrance of rice flowers, we speak of a harvest year,
Listening to the chorus of frogs resounding everywhere!
Seven or eight stars glimmer beyond the heavens;
Two or three drops of rain fall before the hills.
By the old thatched inn beside the village shrine’s forest,
The road turns past the stream bridge—and suddenly, there it is!”
After reciting the poem, Cheng An paused for a moment.
He could not help recalling his student days, when he had buried himself in books…
At that instant, he wanted nothing more than to shout at the top of his lungs:
Nine years of compulsory education were truly wonderful!
He had studied hard for twenty years. How could the poems stored in his mind number only three hundred?
It was merely that he was too young now to reveal many of those dazzling verses that had endured through the ages. Otherwise, he would certainly show these people…
What it meant to be a bald liberal arts student!
And at that moment, the entrance to the county examination hall had fallen utterly still.
No one spoke.
Countless pairs of eyes were fixed upon Cheng An’s face, as though they could pierce straight through him.
Du Xiu was among them.
He stared blankly at Cheng An.
One thought repeated itself endlessly in his mind…
This is my student?
This is the student I taught?
People had always said, “A master may lead you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual.”
Du Xiu, however, had always believed that whether a student could amount to anything depended on whether the teacher had devoted enough care.
But now, he believed it!
Just these two poems alone—
Even if he taught books for the rest of his life, he could never produce anything like them!
In a single word:
A true genius needed no teacher!
Yet Cheng An himself remained remarkably calm.
“Is that still not enough?”
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He glanced at the dazed clerk.
“No matter…”
“Then I shall write one more!”
Before the clerk could recover, Cheng An began again:
“In spring, a single grain of millet is sown;
In autumn, ten thousand seeds are reaped!
Across the four seas, no field lies unused…”
At this point, Cheng An deliberately paused.
His gaze swept across the face of every person present. Then, one word at a time, he said:
“And yet the farmer still starves to death!”
The words struck like thunder.
In that strange, invisible moment, everyone felt their cheeks burn.
It was as though someone had slapped them hard across the face.
“He…”
Someone opened his mouth awkwardly.
“Was that a veiled accusation?”
“Is he mocking those who occupy official posts without doing their duty?”
This was a cannon blast aimed at everyone!
Once this poem was spoken, how many officials throughout the realm would be coughing blood?
That included the scholars who had only just stepped into the world of letters…
Why did they study?
To exploit others?
“Very well…”
After waiting for a moment, Cheng An broke the silence with a sigh.
“It seems there are indeed capable people in the Pinggu County government office! Let us say that my own learning is insufficient. As for this examination… I may as well not take it.”
“Let us go, sir.”
Du Xiu turned around mechanically.
Still somewhat slow to react, he asked, “Go… where?”
“Home, of course!”
Cheng An smiled brightly.
He knew that no matter how many more poems he composed today, he probably had no chance of taking the academy examination.
The clerk would never admit defeat.
And as for Cheng An…
The imperial examinations were not his only path.
If one possessed true ability, where could one not shine?
Compared with preserving his dignity—
What did the imperial examinations matter?
Then…
He smiled freely.
“Since Pinggu County has no place for a student like me, there is no need to force the matter! We study in order to understand reason. If studying means losing one’s conscience, then it would be better to remain an ordinary person.”
Slap!
Another slap.
Every student present was burning with shame and indignation.
They had studied by lamplight through countless bitter years. Was it all so that one day they could stand alongside men like that clerk?
Of course not!
Even if that was indeed the case…
They could never admit it.
So they could only cover their faces and pretend that the slap had not landed on them.
“But…”
Du Xiu’s expression shifted.
The imperial examinations!
They were the foundation of a lifetime’s future.
He was simply giving them up?
…
The academy examination continued.
An official examination would not change merely because one person withdrew.
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Yet from that moment onward, the name Cheng An took root in the hearts of everyone present. Even the examination that followed became lifeless and listless.
On the road, one tall figure and one small figure walked side by side.
Du Xiu tried several times to speak.
In the end, he could only sigh.
“Fried cakes!”
“Hot, fragrant fried cakes!”
A hawker’s cry broke through his thoughts.
Du Xiu came back to himself.
He led Cheng An to the stall and took out two coins.
“Two of the large ones!”
“Coming right up.”
After receiving the paper wrapping, Du Xiu placed the fried cakes in Cheng An’s hands.
With a gentle smile, he said, “Eat. Even if you are no longer taking the imperial examinations, you must fill your stomach first. As long as I am alive, I will never let you go hungry!”
Holding a fried cake larger than his face, Cheng An gave a wry smile.
“It is too big. I cannot finish it.”
“Then carry it with you…”
Du Xiu patted the top of his head.
Warmth filled his features.
“I used to think that most scholars were lacking in feeling and loyalty. But you are different! You were willing to ruin your future for my sake. How could I possibly fail to protect you?”
Sincerity was the most devastating weapon.
At that moment, Du Xiu was not merely ashamed—he was deeply moved.
An eight-year-old child had been willing to confront the county magistrate for him, even staking his entire future, simply to vent his anger on his behalf.
What teacher could remain unmoved by such a student, so full of affection and loyalty?
Cheng An did not act coy. He held the fried cake in both hands and took great bites.
Then he suddenly sighed.
“Whether I take the imperial examinations is not important. It is only a pity that I have disappointed Senior Sister’s hopes. If she finds out, she will surely be saddened, won’t she?”
“Qingqing?”
Du Xiu stopped in his tracks.
He turned back and looked at Cheng An with a frown, testing him.
“She is your senior sister, but she is also your family. You did the right thing. Qingqing will naturally not blame you.”
“Eh?”
“Sir, look…”
It was unclear whether Cheng An had understood him.
He suddenly pointed toward a cosmetics shop ahead and changed the subject with a smile.
“Let us buy some gifts for your wife and Senior Sister Qingqing before we go home!”
“How old is your senior sister?”
“She has no use for those things, and she does not like them…”
Du Xiu grew serious again.
His gaze toward Cheng An gradually became more complicated.
“How could she not like them?” Cheng An insisted. “A woman adorns herself for the man who delights her. Women everywhere cherish their appearance, and your senior sister is an exceptionally beautiful woman. She deserves to be cared for all the more.”
Du Xiu froze for a moment.
What a line—“A woman adorns herself for the man who delights her”!
Before he could react, Cheng An had already run into the cosmetics shop.
When he emerged, he was clutching a very ordinary peach-wood hairpin.
“What a waste of money.” Du Xiu scolded him mildly, though with faint displeasure.
Then he added irritably, “How much pocket money can a little boy like you possibly have? If something was to be bought, I, as your father, should have paid for it… How much did it cost? I will give you the money.”
“No need.”
“This is my gift to Senior Sister…”
Cheng An carefully tucked the wooden hairpin into his robe.
Then he revealed an innocent smile.
“The sincerity behind it is mine, too!”
“…”