After Magistrate Wu left, a few Xiucai from Mishan County in the class, seeing that the magistrate's attention was on Xu Huaiqian again, couldn't help but turn green with envy: "Some people just have tricks. Their knowledge isn't great, but their skill at currying favor is first-class."
"Being able to curry favor is also a kind of blessing, isn't it? Some people want to but can't." For such sour remarks, Xu Huaiqian always fired back; he wouldn't indulge their bad habits.
" Crooked ways are never proper. Real ability is what matters. You cling to the magistrate like this without any real skill—do you think he can make you pass the Juren exam in one go?"
" That's not necessarily true. Maybe I'll pass relying on crooked ways?" In arguments, you could lose anything but not your momentum. They stabbed at Xu Huaiqian's heart, so he stabbed back: "And who says I have no ability? Isn't my calligraphy the best in the class?"
If nothing else, since Xu Huaiqian started in Class B, every teacher and magistrate had praised his handwriting over and over.
Magistrate Wu even specially asked him to write an essay, took it back, hung it up, and studied it daily.
Hearing this, the other Xiucai in the class were even more jealous. This Xu Huaiqian's knowledge wasn't as solid or thorough as theirs, but with just his good handwriting, he attracted everyone's attention.
They gnashed their teeth: "What's the use of good handwriting? You still have to pass the exams to get attention from the officials. You haven't even passed yet, and you delusionally use your writing to seek opportunities? Naive!"
In their small prefecture of Yong'an, who could he curry favor with besides teachers and magistrates with his writing?
Magistrates needed them, the Xiucai, to pass the Juren exam to add to their achievements; teachers were even less important—, besides appreciation and a few praises, what other tangible benefits could he get?
They didn't know how surprised Jiang Hehai, Lord Jiang, far away a thousand miles away, was when he received the stele inscription sent by Song Yunfan.
Originally, he had no particular feeling about this junior who was also from the Hanlin Academy. Besides knowing his name, he had almost no impression of him.
Receiving the stele inscription from him just before his retirement, he thought it was just like other Hanlin colleagues currying favor and didn't take it seriously.
But when he returned home from his office and received the transcription sent by his servant to the capital, he became quite unable to stay calm.
" It's really well written." Jiang Hehai held the paper, reading the eulogy on it over and over again, his lips curling up.
Other eulogies would exaggerate personal achievements beyond recognition, writing about things that never happened as if they were flowers, making it awkward to read.
But this eulogy was not like that. It was all solid achievements, not exaggerated, just slightly described from the side his deeds of teaching students at the Hanlin Academy and authoring books to benefit the world.
These were all true stories. The book he wrote wasn't very famous and didn't make much impact when published, but what did that matter? With this stele erected in his hometown, several publishers had already written to him asking if they could reprint it.
Add, add, add, of course they should add more! Why would he turn down such a chance for fame and recognition?
"!!Good! Excellent!" In high spirits, Jiang Hehai looked at the inscription again and again. Not only was the text good, the calligraphy was also excellent—neither too rigid nor too soft, virtuous and cultivated, done in one go. Between the lines, there was a sense of joyful excitement and sincerity in carving the characters for him, making anyone who saw it feel content and light-hearted.
Paired with this excellent eulogy, it was perfectly natural, couldn't be better.
He had no idea that Xu Huaiqian wrote this the day after his wedding. At that time, his eyes had healed, and he was riding high on success—his brushwork was smooth as flowing clouds, done in one sweep.
When he wrote it, Meng Fangxun and the others immediately pounded the table in admiration.
The more he looked, the more he delighted, comfortable, and happy he felt. He truly wished he could resign immediately and go home to see the place where this stele was erected.
If the rubbing alone made him so pleased, he couldn't imagine how satisfying the actual stele must be.
Delighted and overjoyed, Lord Jiang naturally turned his attention to the little-known junior, Song Yunfan.
Hearing that he had been "exiled" to a remote place like Changnan for three years without promotion, and thinking of his student Sheng Zhiyuan also stranded in Changnan for many years, he couldn't help but feel sympathy.
On the day he formally retired before the Emperor, he deliberately put in a good word for these two: "What Your Majesty worries about is nothing more than having too many civil officials in court but too few capable ministers. Why not rotate officials between the capital and the regions to prevent them from staying in one place too long, growing weary, and becoming negligent and lazy in governance?"
Jiang Hehai had observed the court's shifting winds. Since he was retiring anyway, there was no need to provoke the Emperor's displeasure. Instead, he might as well go with the flow, pleasing the Emperor while achieving his own goals.
The Emperor thought it over and found Jiang Hehai's words reasonable. The capital's civil officials had been in the city for too long; they had long forgotten what the outside world was like. They should be sent out to see and experience it, to wash away their mouths full of pedantic phrases.
The Emperor raised an eyebrow: "What suggestions does Minister Jiang have?"
"I am merely a Reader-in-waiting, no match for the great ministers of the court. I have no brilliant suggestions," Jiang Hehai shook his head. "Just some clumsy views. Your Majesty may take them as mere amusement."
Jiang Hehai walked with the Emperor through the imperial garden: "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, shouldn't officials in places like Changnan also be rotated? They have long been stationed in poor, cold regions like Changnan and have never witnessed the development of prosperous prefectures. Even if they have ambitions, they lack the opportunity to display their talents. Moreover, when a chief examiner stays in one place too long, candidates will bend to please and cater to his preferences for their futures, whether they want to or not. Why not rotate chief examiners to different locations annually?"
Mentioning both Changnan and chief examiners, how could the Emperor not understand his intentions?
Since Jiang Hehai was retiring anyway, and his suggestion was quite to his liking, the Emperor's mind turned and he directly asked: "Does Minister Jiang have any talents in mind?"
"Changnan's Education Intendant Song Yunfan is from Suzhou Prefecture. Although somewhat pedantic, he is fairly impartial and upright. If Your Majesty wants capable ministers, why not recall such examiners who only have eyes for essays to compile and edit books, and appoint new examiners to oversee the exams?"
Jiang Hehai's words were quite shrewd—they touched on the Emperor's concerns, promoted the people he wanted to advance, and did not cause annoyance.
Compilation and editing were only slightly better than proofreading—hardly a high promotion.
Besides, there were indeed too many examiners from Suzhou Prefecture scattered across the regions. Candidates were busy catering to Suzhou examiners; who remembered that studying was to understand reason and distinguish right from wrong?
"Minister Jiang's words are reasonable." The Emperor pondered briefly and felt the method was acceptable. But he was not one to be led by the nose; he could listen to suggestions, but how to implement them was for him to decide. He replied ambiguously and said no more.
Clearly, Jiang Hehai also understood this principle— too much talk leads to mistakes; it was best to stop at the right point.
That day, Jiang Hehai was promoted to Hanlin Academician, rank 3b, and formally retired to his hometown.
When news of Jiang Hehai's glorious return to his hometown reached Changnan, Song Yunfan initially received no news about himself. He thought he had flattered the wrong person and failed to attract Lord Jiang's attention, feeling disappointed for quite a while.
The writing and calligraphy of Meng Fangxun and Xu Huaiqian were excellent. When his servant brought them back, he had glanced at them and been delighted.
With his years of experience as a proofreader in the Hanlin Academy, he knew that the academicians, tired of flowery essays, preferred this kind of simple and unadorned yet sincere eulogy.
He thought sending it would at least earn Lord Jiang's favor, but it turned out to be like a stone sinking into the sea—no word at all.
He could only set aside his thoughts and peacefully be an inconspicuous education intendant in Changnan.
Unexpectedly, a turnaround suddenly appeared in June.