First Place in the Prefectural Examination—A Step Toward the “Lesser Triple Crown”
The prefectural examination was scheduled for around the fifteenth day of the fourth month. After receiving a steady stream of relatives and friends who came to offer congratulations, Lin Fangxu and the others scarcely had a few quiet days with their books before the beginning of the fourth month arrived.
Wuyi County was not far from Jinhua Prefecture, yet to avoid any unforeseen mishaps, on the eighth day of the fourth month Fangxu and four companions set out early, riding in two carriages provided by Great-Granduncle and Sixth Granduncle.
This time, besides Lin Fangqin escorting them to the examination, Lin Fangwu—the fourteen-year-old younger brother of their cousin Lin Fangshao—came along to run errands.
As soon as the county examination results had been announced, Sixth Granduncle had already written to Jinhua, asking Lin Chenggui to arrange food and lodging for the boys.
When Fangxu and the others arrived in Jinhua on the afternoon of the ninth, their elder cousin Lin Fangmao was waiting for them and took them directly to the family residence.
Chenggui’s household occupied a three-courtyard estate. The moment they entered, their aunt caught hold of the youngest, Fangxu, her voice full of concern. “Ah! You’ve finally arrived. The road is never easy—poor child, you must be exhausted. I’ve had the kitchen prepare a
welcoming feast.”
Uncle Chenggui smiled and clapped Fangqin on the shoulder. After the younger generation had exchanged formal greetings, he ushered the brothers to the banquet table. The aunt led the women and children behind a screen to dine separately. Once the meal was over, Cousin Fangmao guided the guests to the outer courtyard to rest.
Though they had not traveled at breakneck speed, the journey had wearied them all. After a perfunctory wash, they fell asleep almost at once.
When Fangmao returned to his own chamber, his wife, Madam An, had already settled their
child and was waiting. Smiling, she asked, “They’ve all retired? I hear Xu-ge’er took first place in the county examination. Our younger brother is about his age, is he not? When the news
arrived, Mother even said he should have sat the exam as well.”
Fangmao remained silent. It was true that their mother favored the studious younger son and placed high hopes upon him—but as a son and elder brother, he could hardly voice complaint.
Seeing her husband’s silence, Madam An felt a surge of resentment. Her mother-in-law’s natal family had produced only two juren, yet she carried herself as though from a grand scholarly clan and looked down upon her merchant-born daughter-in-law at every turn.
The younger brother had shown talent early and was sent to study at Chongwen Academy in Hangzhou. Their mother poured all her attention into him, forbidding him even to touch the family’s business, as though he alone were destined to carry the household’s name.
However unwilling she felt, Madam An could do little. With parents-in-law above her and a husband who neither fought nor contended, she could only fret in silence.
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The next morning, after breakfast, Lin Chenggui instructed the boys to remain indoors—whether studying or resting—and to avoid unnecessary outings. If they must go out, his eldest son was to accompany them with household guards.
With so many candidates crowding into the city, unrest was common. Should any mishap delay the examination, his old father would surely come all the way from Linjia Village to thrash him.
Jinhua would still be there after the exams; there was no need to sightsee now. Fangxu and the others were not reckless children.
They obediently stayed indoors for several days. Whatever they required, Fangqin and Fangwu went out to procure.
On the fifteenth of the fourth month, Fangqin roused them before dawn, and they set off for the prefectural academy grounds.
Jinhua Prefecture governed eight counties—Jinhua, Lanxi, Dongyang, Yiwu, Yongkang, Wuyi, Pujiang, and Tangxi—hence its old name, “Ba Wu,” the Eight Wu.
This year’s candidates from the eight counties numbered about a thousand. Adding those from previous years who had passed the county level but not the prefectural, there were over four thousand more. The roll call could not possibly be done individually; names were called county by county, and each candidate first had to locate his own county’s instructor.
When Fangxu’s group arrived, the area before the examination compound teemed with people. In the dim pre-dawn light, they spotted two lanterns hung high, bearing the characters “Wuyi.” Knowing their county instructor would be there, they pressed through the crowd.
At first light, the roll call began. Wuyi was listed toward the rear. Once inside, Fangxu found his assigned seat according to the number on his examination slip. Having been awake and bustling about since before dawn, his stomach was already rumbling.
He ate the breakfast their aunt had thoughtfully prepared before all candidates were seated and the great gates of the compound slowly swung shut.
A bailiff called out in a loud voice, “The Prefect has arrived!”
Candidates still holding flatbread or steamed buns hurried to their feet and bowed. “This student greets Your Excellency, the Prefect.”
“At ease. Be seated,” came the steady reply.
Fangxu glanced up. Prefect Su wore a black gauze hat trimmed with pale gold and a crimson official robe. His beard was flecked with white, his features stern.
After surveying the hall with an impassive expression, Prefect Su ordered the papers distributed and took his seat in a high-backed chair.
Fangxu looked down at the questions: one major essay and two minor ones. The principal question required a policy essay; the smaller ones tested textual explication and miscellaneous prose.
The themes reflected Prefect Su’s habitual moderation. Yet from what Fangxu remembered of
his previous life, if one truly wrote in bland adherence to the “middle way,” one might pass—but likely with an unremarkable rank.
Ever since he had taken first place in the county examination, Fangxu had set his sights on the “Lesser Triple Crown”—first place at county, prefectural, and academy levels. Merely passing would not suffice.
He recalled hearing that Prefect Su had grown up in poverty, begun his studies late, and after earning the jinshi degree had suffered setbacks for excessive bluntness. In time he learned caution, avoiding offense—but at heart he remained a man who could not abide a grain of sand in his eye.
With that in mind, Fangxu formed his argument and set brush to draft paper.
By the time he finished the policy essay, it was nearly noon. Only the two shorter questions remained. He rolled up his paper to eat first.
The topics seemed overly simple to many; most candidates, like him, had already taken out their provisions and water flasks.
After wiping his desk clean of crumbs and moisture, Fangxu answered the two minor questions. They were indeed straightforward; he completed them swiftly.
Before noon, nearly everyone had finished and was simply waiting.
At the sound of the noon watch drum, candidates rose and submitted their papers in order. Once the gates closed again, fewer than five hundred remained still writing out of more than five thousand examinees.
All five Lin cousins handed in their papers and returned by carriage to Uncle Chenggui’s residence to await the results in two days’ time.
Lin Fangming, too, felt the questions had not been difficult and believed he had done well; he rode back in high spirits.
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Ai Xiaoya, meanwhile, had not been so at ease.
After the county examination she had chosen not to return to Linjia Village. When her elder sister-in-law left, she had given Ai Xiaoya some living expenses, and so she remained alone in the county town.
Since Fangxu departed for the prefectural city, she had busied herself with the matter of the storybook. She first took the manuscript to a bookshop, imagining things would unfold like in the transmigration tales—where a proprietor would pay handsomely for her work and purchase the rights outright.
Reality proved otherwise.
In Great Wei, the mainstream remained the Four Books and Five Classics, the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. The bestsellers were model examination essays and reading notes of renowned scholars.
If one wished to sell a storybook, one first had to find artisans to print it at one’s own expense. The shop would then charge a consignment fee—how much depended on one’s familiarity with the proprietor.
Ai Xiaoya, of course, was no acquaintance. She had not even found a printer before the shopkeeper declared he would take at least half the profits to allow it on his shelves.
Such extortion she could not accept.
As she floundered for a solution, Prefect Su’s trusted aide found himself in difficulty as well.
After the examination, Prefect Su would personally grade the papers. Though cheating was strictly forbidden, in literature there was no absolute first—rankings could always be adjusted.
The Jinhua county first-place candidate, Shen Jing, hailed from the influential Shen clan of Jinhua—an official family aligned with Grand Secretary Dong. Before the examination, a message had been discreetly conveyed: Shen Jing must be named first.
The aide knew his superior’s temperament and dared not provoke displeasure. He reasoned that if Shen Jing had earned county first place, his talent must be genuine—perhaps he would secure the top rank on merit.
Who could have foreseen the emergence of Lin Fangxu? Not only was his scholarship
outstanding, but every line of his essay struck precisely where Prefect Su’s heart inclined. Su slapped the desk in admiration as he read.
When the rankings were finalized—Fangxu first, Shen Jing second—the aide, mindful of Grand Secretary Dong’s formidable influence, cautiously relayed the earlier message.
Prefect Su gave a cold laugh. “Hmph! Even if he were Dong Xi’s own grandson, I shall name whom I deem worthy. Let alone a Shen who merely married a Dong family concubine.”
The aide wiped cold sweat from his brow. “But Jiangzhe is Grand Secretary Dong’s ancestral region, and Your Excellency serves here in Jinhua… It would be best to avoid offense if possible.”
Prefect Su waved him off. “Do you know that Lin Fangxu descends from Lin Boli, the Censor Lin? The late Emperor once declared Lin Boli a model for all scholars.”
Seeing the aide still hesitant, he added meaningfully, “Earlier this year Guan Zizhong entered the Grand Secretariat. He is neither of Dong’s faction nor of Kong’s. Why did His Majesty appoint him? The Xu family of Suzhou, you know, has long-standing ties with Grand Secretary Guan.”
The aide’s eyes widened. “Lin Fangxu’s teacher… his surname is Xu, is it not?”
Prefect Su had not chosen Fangxu for that reason. But seeing the aide nod as though enlightened, he let the matter drop.
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On the seventeenth of the fourth month, the results were posted.
Before the yamen gates even opened, Lin Chenggui had already dispatched two literate servants to await the list. Fangxu and the others stayed home, awaiting word.
From dawn, Lin Fangqi paced the main hall restlessly, regretting he had not insisted on going himself. Perhaps, jostling in the crowd, he would feel less anxious.
Just as he seemed about to wear grooves into the floor tiles, Servant Jia burst in, shouting, “Passed! Passed! Young Master Xu has taken first place!”
Fangxu himself scarcely reacted. Beside him, however, the usually stern Fangqin sprang to his feet. For once at a loss to express his joy, he drew a deep breath and clapped his brother’s
shoulder. “Xu-ge’er, congratulations.”
The others hurriedly asked about their own results.
Servant Jia, shrewd as ever, had hurried back the moment he saw Fangxu’s name at the top, eager to deliver the good news and collect a reward. As for the rest, he had not stayed to check.
Half an hour later, Servant Yi returned. Having read the list twice, he reported, “The crowd was immense; I could only see roughly. About two hundred were selected in total. Young Master Xu is first. Young Master Qi ranks thirty-second. Young Master Shao is forty-eighth. I did not see the names of Young Masters Ming or Wei.”
Cousin Fangmao distributed rewards and dismissed them. Later he would promote Servant Yi to a closer post—but that is another story.
Even Fangqi, thick-skinned though he was, could see the dejection on Fangming and Fangwei’s faces. He joined the others in offering comfort. “Perhaps the servant overlooked it. Let’s go ourselves this evening when the crowd thins.”
Alas, when they went in person that afternoon, their names were indeed absent.
Prefect Su and Magistrate Li were opposites in temperament, yet shared one striking trait: neither hosted banquets for successful candidates.
Thus, the day after the list was posted, Fangqin bade farewell to Uncle Chenggui and returned with his brothers to Wuyi County.
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