Chapter 8: The Fated Success (Part 1)

"That's not right, there shouldn't be this problem, right?" Young Master Zhang felt a surge of anxiety, but the urgent situation left no room for further contemplation. He had no choice but to brace himself and say, "After I become an official, I want to accomplish a few things." As he spoke, Young Master Zhang frantically rummaged through his meager historical knowledge in his mind, searching for a strategy to cope with the situation.

"Oh, then who is the most respected lord in the court?" Wei Zhongxian asked curiously. Young Master Zhang, undeterred, first respectfully clasped his hands towards the sky, then said with utmost seriousness: "This great and holy person, of course, is the first loyal minister, the first capable official, the first just man of the Ming Dynasty, the one who saves the people from fire and water, the Director of the Ceremonial Office, who holds the pen, aged 9,999 years—Lord Wei, whose given name is Zhongxian—Lord Wei!"

Upon hearing this sound, more than a dozen Jinyiwei seemed to have been equipped with remote controls, halting their movements. The leader of the Jinyiwei was momentarily taken aback, and then shouted at Young Master Zhang: "Follow me, Jiuchuansui has something to ask you." Young Master Zhang felt a slight relief as the tension in his throat eased, yet he did not dare to show even a hint of relief on his face. Instead, he continued to maintain an air of inscrutable arrogance, riding slowly to the front of the extraordinarily luxurious sedan chair, and called out in a loud and imposing voice: "Are you Jiuchuansui? What do you want with me?"

Young Master Zhang, it would have been fine if it were not for the repetition. Under the circumstances of repetition, a hundred households of the Jinyiwei, pointing a knife at Young Master Zhang, immediately came to their senses and shouted angrily: "Bold rogue, seize him!" The other Jinyiwei responded in unison, rushing forward to pull Young Master Zhang down from his horse. However, at that moment, a soft voice emerged from the luxurious eight-litter sedan chair, saying, "Hold on, bring him over; I have something to ask him."

"Assassin? This is bad!" Young Master Zhang was so nervous that he even forgot to sweat—what kind of joke is this? Being mistaken for an assassin attempting to kill Wei Zhongxian, would he still have his life? In a moment of panic, Young Master Zhang couldn't think much and shouted, "What I want to do is none of your business, get out of my way, I have urgent matters to attend to!"

I came from Shandong to take the exam here" Young Master Zhang was trying hard to recall the story of Zhang Haogu, who had been promoted three levels in a row, and said nonchalantly: "If I arrive late and cannot enter the examination hall, wouldn't that delay my chances of being among the top three?

"What do you want to do?" Wei Zhongxian did not give Young Master Zhang any time to think and quickly pressed on. Young Master Zhang, feeling helpless, had no choice but to boldly extend two fingers and said with his head held high: "Two things. The first thing is that I have heard that some unscrupulous individuals in the court are wantonly slandering and framing the person I respect the most. I want to go to the court to rectify the situation and clear the injustice for my most respected lord.

"Shouldn't you take the business card and send me to the examination hall?" Young Master Zhang felt a shiver in his heart—according to the story of Zhang Haogu, who had risen three ranks in a row, it was expected that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Wei Zhongxian would present the business card to send Young Master Zhang into the examination hall. However, it was unclear whether the plot of Zhang Haogu's story had deviated or if history had changed, as Wei Zhongxian unexpectedly asked, "You little monkey, you can even think of smashing the examination hall door; do you really want to be among the top three? Why don't you tell us what you plan to do after you become an official by placing in the top three?"

Just like in historical legends, Master Zhang's brazen words indeed intimidated Wei Zhongxian. Unable to contain his laughter, Wei Zhongxian said: "You are late; there have already been three rounds of examinations, and today is the last round, with only half a day's time left—our family does not believe that you can complete the questions for all three rounds of exams in the remaining half day. Moreover, even if you go to the examination hall now, you won't be able to enter, right?"

"The little monkey is from Shandong? Looking so handsome, we almost mistook you for someone from Jiangnan." Wei Zhongxian, in a good mood, asked with a smile from the sedan chair, "Do you really think you can place in the top three? Do you have that kind of knowledge? That kind of confidence?"

"Smashing the door of the examination hall?" Wei Zhongxian, who also came from a background of thuggery, was momentarily taken aback. He thought to himself, this kid is quite bold. Back when I was not yet a eunuch, the most I did was smash doors at gambling houses and widows' homes, but I had never smashed a door at an examination hall. What a character!

Nine thousand years? No way! Young Master Zhang, whose somewhat handsome little face turned ashen, knew who this Nine Thousand Years was, even with his shallow historical knowledge! In a moment of tension, Young Master Zhang did not know where a surge of divine strength came from, gripping the reins tightly and pulling the horse's head sharply. That damned plague horse finally came to a halt, while the tips of more than a dozen gleaming steel knives were less than one centimeter away from Young Master Zhang's nose and chest!

It is still the same statement: the imperial examination during the Ming Dynasty was not held at midnight as depicted in crosstalk, nor did it require candidates to stay in the examination hall for three consecutive sessions as in the Qing Dynasty. Instead, it was conducted on the 9th, 12th, and 15th of the second month, allowing candidates to submit their papers early. After dark, three candles were provided, which served both as lighting and a time limit; once the three candles were burned out, candidates had to submit their papers and leave the hall. Today is the 15th of the second month, and there is still half a day plus the time of three candles remaining until the examination concludes. However, our young master Zhang is aware of this but does not dare to point it out, and can only boldly say: "It doesn't matter, if the examination hall doesn't let me in, I will break down the door."

Damn it, it's all the same if it's a dead end, let's take a gamble! Young Master Zhang knows that begging for mercy is futile at this point, so he boldly bets everything on the story of Zhang Haogu's promotion by three ranks, adopting an extremely arrogant demeanor, and loudly repeats: "You all step aside quickly, don't delay my important business."

"Of course," Young Master Zhang raised his head proudly and said, "If I weren't confident, why would I travel hundreds of miles from Linqing?"

"Little monkey, quite bold, aren't you, to speak to our rabbit like that? In the capital, you are the first to do so." A soft, mocking laughter came from the sedan chair, asking, "Now, tell me, what urgent matter brings you to collide with our sedan?"

There are approximately two hundred knights protecting the Nine Thousand Years, all dressed in flying fish attire, with wide belts known as Luan belts tied around their waists, and each holding a similarly narrow and slightly curved embroidered spring knife. One of the knights, resembling a leader, pointed his knife at Young Master Zhang and shouted: "You brat, daring to bump into the sedan chair of Nine Thousand Years, what do you intend to do?"

As soon as Young Master Zhang spoke, everyone, including the knights, was stunned—one must understand that the Flying Fish Suit, the Phoenix Belt, and the Embroidered Spring Sabre are the exclusive symbols of the notorious East Factory Jinyiwei, feared by all in the Ming Dynasty, even causing officials of the first and second ranks to tremble in fear! In the entire Ming Dynasty, apart from the emperor and the various directors and commanders of the East Factory, Young Master Zhang can undoubtedly be considered the foremost figure daring to shout at these living Yama of the East Factory Jinyiwei! Thus, for a moment, even those Jinyiwei were momentarily at a loss, unsure of how to deal with Young Master Zhang.

Suddenly, the horse ridden by Young Master Zhang went out of control, charging straight towards the grand sedan chair surrounded by a large group of knights. The previously arrogant knights were thrown into chaos, with the sound of swords being drawn ringing out continuously. Some rushed forward to block Young Master Zhang's path, while others brandished their swords, forming a protective barrier around the sedan chair, displaying a tense demeanor as if facing a formidable enemy. Of course, nearly all the knights began to shout, "There is an assassin! Protect the Nine Thousand Years! Protect the Nine Thousand Years!"