Ze Tian Ji Chapter 182

Chapter 182 – Before Thousands in the Space of a Single Night

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

“The day after tomorrow? Because that’s the day when the rankings are announced? I don’t think it’s that important. Who’s going to take away your first rank of the first banner?” Tang Thirty-Six teased.

Suddenly, he fell silent as he considered what he had just said. He looked at Chen Changsheng and said, “That’s right, you’re already first rank on the first banner… I confess that at the very beginning, I really couldn’t view you with any optimism. Even when you walked together with Gou Hanshi into the Hall of Washing Away Dust, I still did not believe that you could become the Grand Examination’s first rank of the first banner. I didn’t expect that you would really pull it off in the end.”

He placed his right hand on Chen Changsheng’s shoulder and said, “Outstanding.” All was quiet in the library. Xuanyuan Po said nothing, but the expression in his eyes as he looked at Chen Changsheng communicated the same message.

“I’ve troubled you.”

Chen Changsheng earnestly said to Tang Thirty-Six, then he turned to Xuanyuan Po and said, “I’ve troubled everyone.”

‘Everyone’ here included Xuanyuan Po, Jin Yulu, and naturally Luoluo as well. Without these people, even if he put in all his effort, how would he have been able to create such a miracle?

……

……

After leaving the library, he returned to his house; Tang Thirty-Six and Xuanyuan Po were probably drinking rice wine. Chen Changsheng lay in the wooden cask, enjoying the heat of the water while thinking of the cheerful time those two were having.

After Luoluo and her people moved out of the Hundred Herb Garden, the door installed between the two places had not been opened for a very long time, so he had moved the cask he used for bathing back to its original position.

Whether it was in early spring or the cold winter, taking a bath outdoors was a very beautiful experience, and also a habit he had developed after bathing in the hot springs near Xining Village’s old temple.

He rested his hands on the rim of the cask, his gaze looking above the roof of the house and upon the night sky. As he looked at the vast sea of stars and sensed that distant red star, he felt extremely happy and at peace.

The heavens above contained countless stars, and he knew one of them was completely, calmly, silently, and definitively his, had a connection with him alone. To him, this was a very fine feeling.

He had silently forged forward through the abyss of despair with no companions or crutch or sunlight to be seen, but he had never once stopped. Finally, he emerged from the dense fog and saw hope. This was an even finer feeling.

Under the starlight, a genuine smile appeared on Chen Changsheng’s still-childish face.

Also under the starlight, on the other side of the Orthodox Academy’s wall, between the branches of trees, in the depths of the Imperial City, was a lonely and distant pavilion, seemingly existing apart from the world. It was the Lingyan Pavilion.

As he looked at the distant Lingyan Pavilion, the smile on Chen Changsheng’s face gradually faded. He became calm once more, silently thinking, I’m about to meet you, and I hope our meeting can be happy.

At this point, the meaning of those bouts of autumn rain in the Hall of Washing Away Dust, the conflict between the new and conservative factions of the Orthodoxy and its relation to the Orthodox Academy, and what exactly the elderly archbishop desired had all become extremely unimportant matters. He no longer seriously pondered these matters, or even thought about them.

Everything besides life and death was an ordinary or trivial concern.

On the morning of the second day, Chen Changsheng still promptly woke up at five, taking five breaths according to the routine he had set out. After rising, he ignored Tang Thirty-Six’s hung-over moans and Xuanyuan Po’s thunderous snores, and dragged the two from their beds to the table. He ladled out two bowls of porridge and pickled vegetables, and placed them on the table.

Tang Thirty-Six and Xuanyuan Po had spent the night in drunken merriment and were currently unbearably fatigued, but when they smelled the fragrance of the pickled vegetables and saw the yellow rice porridge, their hunger suddenly returned. They buried their heads and ate.

After a while, Jin Yulu walked in.

The three youths were all rather shocked. After all, in the past few months, Guardian Jin had always dined sumptuously in the gatehouse, very rarely dining with them.

“Don’t misunderstand. I still have no interest in meals without meat.”

Jin Yulu gave a hearty laugh. Xuanyuan Po nodded repeatedly at these words. As a fellow demi-human, he had a great deal of sympathy towards the Guardian’s words, but though he dared to be angry at Chen Changsheng, he did not dare voice it.

Chen Changsheng rose and ladled out a bowl of porridge. Bringing it up to Jin Yulu, he asked, “Has something happened?”

Jin Yulu passed him a stack of papers, gulped down the bowl of porridge in one go, and then said, “It began at daybreak and hasn’t stopped. See for yourself how to handle it.”

After saying this, he turned and made his way back to the gate.

Chen Changsheng flipped through the papers. As he saw the handwriting and names on the papers, his expression grew increasingly grave, then confused.

This thick stack of papers consisted completely of name cards and lists of presents. There was a list of presents from Prince Chen Liu, presents from the cardinals of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education, and even Priest Xin had privately sent a very extravagant gift. Several ministers of the court had sent their name cards, Xue Xingchuan among them, and when Chen Changsheng reached the bottom of the stack, he even saw that other Sacred Halls besides the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education had sent gifts!

Just what was going on here? Chen Changsheng was deeply puzzled and even Tang Thirty-Six was in disbelief after looking through those calling cards and lists of presents. The three walked to the academy gate, intending to consult Jin Yulu, but they were met with artisans bustling about in a hive of activity. In a short night, an academy gate made of jade was already taking shape, rendering the youths rather speechless.

Chen Changsheng’s taking first rank of the first banner was far from enough to cause these changes. In a single night, the capital had taken on a completely different attitude towards the Orthodox Academy. There was assuredly something fishy going on.

Since they couldn’t understand it, they decided to stop thinking about it. The three youths decided not to leave the Orthodox Academy, and spent the day reading and cultivating in the library as usual, discussing and reviewing the particulars of the Grand Examination.

They especially discussed the final battle with Gou Hanshi.

How did one undergo Ethereal Opening? Chen Changsheng did not know, but he still relayed his experience to Tang Thirty-Six and Xuanyuan Po, hoping that it could assist them when they broke through Ethereal Opening in the future.

Besides this, nothing special happened on this day. Chen Changsheng would occasionally look to the academy gate or the quiet wall near the lake, believing that Zhexiu might appear, but he never did.

A day passed, and then a night, and then it was time for the rankings of the Grand Examination to be formally announced.

The formal announcement was not at the Li Palace, but in the plaza in front of the Palace of Great Brilliance. There was a clear sky today, devoid of any clouds. Sunlight spilled over the world, driving away all the chill of early spring, and the weather became as warm as the mood in the air.

The peddlers selling stools, melon seeds, and tea on the outskirts were naturally still the busiest; the soldiers and bailiffs in charge of keeping order were still the most troubled; and the people of the capital that cracked melon seeds and chatted with a few soldiers they were acquainted with were the most blessed. To view a spectacle with nothing to worry about was naturally a happy affair.

A vast sea of people was gathered in front of the Palace of Great Brilliance. Thousands upon thousands of people from the capital and tourists from the provinces formed a dense crowd, their faces covered in excitement.

An official from the Ministry of Rites dressed in cinnabar-red robes stood on the steps to the north of the plaza. Silk book in hand, he loudly announced the rankings of the Grand Examination’s three banners.

Around him were sixteen strong men dressed in black, whips in hand. Every time the Rites official announced a name, the sixteen men would crack their whips in unison, this resounding sound echoing through the plaza and suppressing the chatter of the crowd. Availing themselves of this moment of silence, the court musicians in the veranda atop the stone steps would play a tune to celebrate.

It was a very simple, even monotonous sequence, but because of the Grand Examination’s special status, the atmosphere was still particularly lively. After the announcement of a name was the crack of a whip, and then the sound of music, but what ultimately resounded through the plaza in front of the Palace of Great Brilliance was still the thunderous cheering of the crowd.

After the announcement of each name from the Rites official, cheers would soar to the sky. Then the examinee waiting in the palace would tidy their clothes and walk with all due etiquette to the front of the palace to receive the congratulations of the people and the awards from the Great Zhou Imperial Court.

The Grand Examination selected forty-three people in total. Those examinees would proceed towards the front of the hall according to their rank, each with a different expression. Most examinees were unable to contain their joy while some examinees were proud, their faces expressing that this was only proper. Some examinees were calm while other examinees were nervous. There were even some examinees wearing rather dejected expressions, dissatisfied at their own ranking.

Although Su Moyu had been eliminated early on in the matches by Zhexiu, he had scored very well in the literary test. Ultimately, he barely managed to make the three banners, fortuitously ranked in the last rank of the third banner. He felt rather sorrowful at this, but he did not show it, very calmly accepting it all.

Examinees like him who were already famous had for the most part entered the three banners with few surprises. Zhexiu, however, did not make the three banners, as he had no grade on the literary test. As the red-robed Rites official continued to announce names, the crowd heard the names of three scholars of Scholartree Manor, three people from Star Seizer Academy, two people from Holy Maiden Peak, one person from the Heavenly Dao Academy, two people from the Temple Seminary, and naturally the three young experts from the Mount Li Sword Sect.

The people counted as they listened and realized that this year was the same as the last few, with the southerners still taking the advantage. The cheers gradually became rather lifeless. However, perhaps because the crowd was anticipating the announcement of the first banner or perhaps because Tang Thirty-Six was much too loved by the girls of the capital, when the Rites official announced his name, the cheers in front of the Palace of Great Brilliance reached their loudest level.

It was finally time for the first banner of the Grand Examination to be proclaimed. Although the ranks had long been decided, the crowd still raised their heads in expectation. They seemed particularly excited, the chatter gradually increasing in volume.

The third rank on this year’s first banner was Scholar Zhong Hui of Scholartree Manor. Zhong Hui was a renowned young genius, ranked ninth on the Proclamation of Azure Sky, but it logically should have been very difficult for him to make the first banner. However, in this Grand Examination, Luoluo’s grade had not counted, Tianhai Shengxue had withdrawn early, Liang Banhu had lost to his own junior brother Qi Jian, Qi Jian and Guan Feibai had lost one after the other to Zhexiu, and Zhuang Huanyu had unexpectedly lost. After adding his score on the literary test, he ended up in the first banner by sheer fluke.

Zhong Hui himself was well aware that he had been able to get into the first banner primarily through luck, so his face was devoid of joy. However, when he received the ruyi1 inlaid with gold, he did not dare act uncaring. This was because the one announcing the names on the first banner was not an official from the Ministry of Rites, but a truly important figure: the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou, Yu Wenjing.

Soon after, Gou Hanshi walked from the side of the palace to the front. His still teenage self was dressed in simple attire, his expression calm and easygoing. He allowed the Prime Minister to tie a jade belt around his waist, courteously thanked him, then retreated to the side, only smiling when the people of the capital burst into a generous round of cheers and applause.

Soon after, the plaza in front of the Palace of Great Brilliance grew abnormally silent. Even the breathing of the whip-wielding men and the chafing of clothes in the crowd sounded grating to the ear.

A youth walked the stone steps to the front of the palace.

Countless gazes followed him.

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A ruyi, literally meaning ‘as you like it’, is a sort of scepter symbolizing power and good fortune.