Chapter 4: The Legend of the White-Robed Maiden, Beautiful Woman Tan Tai Ji
University Central Plaza.
Thousands of candidates flocked to the examination hall, but at this time, there were no examination tables, pens, ink, paper and inkstones on the square. Instead, various musical instruments such as guqin, pipa, guzheng, dizi, erhu, war drums... were placed on the stage in the north of the square.
There were dozens of relatively common musical instruments on display.
The second test of the Academy is a "music" test, and what is being tested is your musical skills.
The candidates were divided into twenty-two groups according to their examination cards and sat cross-legged on the White Jade Square.
Almost at the stroke of noon, three examiners walked onto the stage: a handsome young man in white clothes, a middle-aged man with a national character face in blue clothes, and an elegant old man in gray robes.
"Wow, it's actually Mr. Gong Yang as the examiner, and Ji sister is your idol."
The young girl Xiao Wei saw the white-clothed youth walk onto the stage and immediately whispered excitedly to the girl beside her, full of surprise.
It was originally a closed-eye meditation, but the long eyelashes couldn't help but move slightly, and then opened those eyes as clear as a chrysanthemum in autumn, looking at the handsome and extraordinary young man in white clothes.
"He is the famous Koto player from Tanba Province, unparalleled in his art. It's said that he has the highest chance of becoming a peerless national treasure before the age of thirty."
"Gong Yangzhuan is not only famous in Tanxiang County, but also renowned in the imperial capital, and is one of the most outstanding young talents of the dynasty."
"It's said that he once used a single piece 'Guangling San' to defeat several outstanding young qin masters from other counties, making a big splash at the qin gathering."
"He had once guided Miss Ji's piano skills."
Some candidates who knew Gong Yang's transmission began to discuss in a low voice on the square, with frenzy in their eyes.
Gong Yang was a famous person from Tanxiang County and an object of admiration for many young scholars, especially his story of defeating several young qin masters from other counties with one piece, "Guangling San", which spread widely.
A young man in white clothes, Gong Yangzhuan, stepped forward and said to the crowd: "Today is the second test of the Academy, the 'Music' test, which I, Gong Yangzhuan, will be presiding over. All examinees can freely choose a musical instrument from the stage and play their most skilled piece. Of course, if you don't understand music, you can also dance with swords, or jump and dance, or recite poetry."
"The exam will be conducted on this stage, starting with Student A1, then Student A2, and so on, one after another, got it?"
"The exam is now starting."
The young man in white finished speaking and sat down with two other deputy examiners at the chief examiner's position.
"First, line up on the platform for examination."
The proctor in charge of Group A held a name list and looked at it before shouting loudly.
Young Chen walked up onto the stage, chose a long sword, and then slightly bowed to the three examiners, saying: "I choose to dance with swords."
"It can begin now."
The young man in white nodded slightly.
He grasped the long sword tightly, took a deep breath, and then the sword in his hand began to dance, moving sometimes fast, sometimes slow. When it was fast, the sword's shadow filled the sky, its cold light flashing everywhere...
At the same time, he sang loudly in his mouth: "Why doesn't a man wear a Wu hook and take fifty states of Guanzhong? Please ask you to temporarily go up to the Lingyan Pavilion, what kind of book boy is a million households marquis?"
Under the poetic rendering, the stage is instantly filled with a majestic atmosphere, surging and heroic, as if they were soldiers rushing to the battlefield to defend their homes and country, fighting against enemies and achieving great deeds.
The heroic and majestic display stirred the blood of many examinees on the scene, who wished they could rush to the battlefield immediately, kill enemies, achieve merits, and become a marquis with a fief of ten thousand households.
A poem ended with a loud song, and the sword dance also came to an end. Chen Lie put away his long sword and stood in the center, waiting for evaluation.
"May be admitted as second-class goods."
The young man in white clothes thought for a while and said, The other two vice examiners also nodded in agreement with this evaluation.
"What? Only a second-rate product? The Chen Lie Wu really isn't bad, is this score a bit too low? Chen Lie's products in the county college evaluation can even reach first-rate."
"Hum, you think Tanxiang Academy is your county college, where you can fly high with just a first-class degree? The academy's evaluation standards are very strict, and being able to get a second-class degree is already quite good."
"The school's evaluation is too strict."
Some candidates on the square began to discuss it.
The academic performance of students can be evaluated into four grades and twelve ranks, namely the four grades of A, B, C, and D, each grade is further divided into three levels: high, medium, and low.
Chen made a bow to the examiner and then walked down from the stage.
"Jia Er, Fang Ming is going up on stage for the exam."
A young man walked onto the stage and also chose to dance with a sword...
"May enter the superior grade of Ding etc."
……
"May be included in the third grade of superior articles."
"May enter Dīng etc. middle goods."
………
One after another, twenty people came down, but only Chen Lie's evaluation reached the second grade. Suddenly, the other examinees also became somewhat nervous, and the pressure in their hearts increased. The school's evaluation was indeed too strict.
Group A has almost assessed half of the people, but only one person reached level B.
This score is difficult for many candidates to accept.
One by one, the examinees went on stage, and after a group had finished their assessment, only two of them reached the second-class level. The young man in white couldn't help but frown at this result, which he was also dissatisfied with.
Seeing the examiner's frown, the candidates became even more tense, with increasing pressure in their hearts.
"Yi Yi, Ning Zhen is going on stage for the exam."
A young man in white clothes with a calm expression walked onto the stage with steady steps, instantly attracting the attention of many candidates below, including Xiao Wei, Wu Qi and even Dongtai Ji.
Ning truly was a talented young man from Tanxiang City, with a deep understanding of martial arts, rumored to have already reached the realm of hidden strength, cultivating his five organs and six viscera.
Ning Zhen stepped onto the stage and, as everyone had expected, chose to dance with a sword.
Suddenly, cold light flashed on the stage, with sword and knife shadows dancing around.
The young lady in white clothes floats gently, opening her mouth to sing a high-pitched song.
"Zhaoke men Hu Wei, Wu Gou Shuang Xue Ming. Yin Jian Zhao Bai Ma, Sa Duo Ru Liu Xing. Shi Bu Sha Yi Ren, Qian Li Bu Liu Xing. Shi Le Tan Yi Qu, Shen Cang Shen Yu Ming..."
Translation:
"With a guest's kerchief and a barbarian's boots, Wu's hook shines brightly in the frosty snow. A silver saddle shines on a white horse, swift as a shooting star. Ten steps kill one man, a thousand miles without leaving a trail. The deed done, he wipes his clothes and goes, deeply hiding his body and name..."
"He's singing this poem while dancing with a sword, doesn't it seem somewhat improper?" Little Wei said in puzzlement.
Dantai furrowed his brow, but didn't say anything.
"Haha, Ning Zhen, you actually dared to loudly sing that 'Journey of the Knight' in the examination hall of the Academy! I, Wu Qi, truly admire you, but don't you know what kind of place the Academy is? You actually dare to scorn the great scholar who wrote the 'Tao Te Ching', you're really asking for death!"
Wu Qi's eyes were filled with amusement, and he looked at Ning Zhen with some disdain for his ignorance.
The three judges on the platform furrowed their brows at the same time, gazing calmly at Ning Zhen who had completely entered his own realm.
The last line of "Journey of the Knight-Errant" - "Who can inscribe under the pavilion, the white-haired 'Tai Xuan Jing'", is a poet's scornful and ruthless contempt for Yang Xiong and his contemporaries who proofread the draft of "Tai Xuan Jing" in the Tianlu Pavilion.
"After passing by the Xiling wine shop, I drew my sword and laid it across my knees. I was about to roast a suckling pig for Zhu He, when I held up my cup to urge Hou Ying to drink. After three cups, I promised to do so; after five mountains, they became light..."
The examinees on the square also became suspicious, and Ning Zhen actually sang this "Journey of a Knight-Errant" in the imperial examination, which seemed somewhat inappropriate. What was he thinking?
"After dizziness and fever, the spirit of Su Nu was born. Rescuing Zhao with a golden hammer, Handan was shocked first. Two heroes for thousands of years, brilliant in the great city of Liang. Even if the bones of the heroic death are fragrant, they will not shame the world's heroes."
A "Knight Errant's Song" was sung all the way through, and Ning Zhen also put away his long sword, but he didn't sing out that last line of poetry.
No one had expected that Ning Zhen would actually fail to sing out the last sentence, and some were shocked.
The square seemed to have fallen into a silent illusion, everyone quietly watched the chief examiner Gong Yang transmit, waiting for evaluation.
"May be admitted as second-class goods."
A middle-aged man with a national character face in Qingyi suddenly spoke out, this was his first time speaking up, the old man in gray robe nodded slightly to show his agreement.
Gong Yang nodded silently for a moment and also nodded, although Ning Zhen's sword dance could enter the middle grade of Yi class, the other two examiners had already given their evaluation and did not raise any objections.
"If Ning Zhen didn't sing this poem, he might have been able to get a second-class middle-grade evaluation, who knows."
Some candidates under the stage thought so.
"Ni Zhen, Ni Zhen, why didn't you finish singing? If you had finished, that third-rate guy would have run away." Young Wu Qi was slightly disappointed.
One by one, the candidates walked onto the stage and then walked off...
Li Tu's eyes were closed and he sat quietly, listening intently to everything on stage.
After an unknown period of time, the sound of the guqin suddenly rang out and fell into Li Tu's heart, causing him to startle violently.
The sound of the qin begins with a glimpse of the mountain peak, shrouded in mist and cloud, drifting aimlessly; then it's like a cold current from a secluded valley, a gentle trickle from the roots of a pine tree. At first, it rises and falls precipitously, then flows continuously, rushing and swirling, making a sound like boiling water, with the appearance of a dragon roaring in anger. As I calm my mind and listen intently, I seem to be sitting in a precarious boat passing through Wu Gorge, my eyes spinning, my spirit moved, my heart startled, almost as if this body were already amidst the mountains, rushing along with the torrential currents.
Lofty indeed are the aspirations in high mountains, vast indeed are the aspirations in flowing rivers.
This tune is precisely the famous "High Mountain and Flowing Water".
"I don't know who this person is? His piano skills are already at a master level."
Li Tu listened quietly with a calm mind, secretly evaluating in his heart.
