Novel Full Chapter 1390: Side Story: Fan Zijin (7)
Chapter 1390: Side Story: Fan Zijin (7)
Editor: Atlas Studios
Fan Siwen was naturally happy that his son had become a tongsheng at such a young age. Although he still had a straight face, he gave his son a set of precious four treasures and the only copy extant in one go.
Fan Zijin was no longer the ignorant person he used to be. Over the past few years, his father’s bias had made her a little disheartened, but he was still happy to receive a gift from him. He even wondered if he was more outstanding, would his father be less biased?
At this moment, he no longer hoped that his father would be biased towards him. He just needed him to be fairer towards his sons.
Most importantly, Fan Zijin already understood that with his current relationship with his father, there were very few things he could rely on his father for in the future. He could only rely on himself in the future. Confident of his intelligence and talent, he was unwilling to stay at home for the rest of his life to watch his parents argue and fight with his half-brother for that pitiful bit of fatherly love.
He wanted to go out and make a name for himself.
In the future, he would go further and stand taller than his father. He would look down on him from a high place and give protection to the people he cared about, such as his mother and Qi Haoran.
With such a dream in mind, Fan Zijin was smug for a while before he threw himself into the sea of books with greater determination. Seeing that he was working hard, his teachers nodded in satisfaction and felt that Fan Zijin’s future was limitless.
He was indeed brilliant. When he participated in the court exam at the age of 12, he obtained fourth place. Although he only obtained fourth place, it was enough to make the teachers of the academy ecstatic.
There were many scholars in Jiangnan, and Lin’an Prefecture being the capital naturally gathered many talents. Generally, the Great Zhou Imperial Examination saw the most intense competition in Jiangnan and Shandong.
Meanwhile, Shandong had long been occupied by Great Jin. After the Imperial Court fled south, most of the scholars were gathered in Jiangnan. From this, it could be seen how competitive the Imperial Examination was.
Based on how Fan Zijin was able to enter the top four at the tender age of 12, one could foresee how bright a future he had ahead of him. As long as he was not too pedantic, making a name for himself was just a matter of time.
Hence, the teachers in the academy were 100% satisfied with Fan Zijin. The academy head even specially looked for him to express his intention of taking him in as his disciple.
Although Fan Zijin was also very pleased with himself, he was very respectful to the academy head. With a smile, he said, “I still have to ask Father and Mother before making a decision on this matter. However, Cousin Haoran and I are already used to our current academy, so we have no intention of changing academies.”
The academy head’s face stiffened. Only then did he remember the mischievous things that Fan Zijin and Qi Haoran had done in the past. He seemed to have discussed with the teachers to think of a way to separate these two brats next year.
After all, Fan Zijin had already read all four books and five scriptures, while Qi Haoran was still struggling with “Higher Education”. Thus, it was only right for the two of them to be divided into different classes.
This was a warning to the academy head in advance: If they were forcefully separated, Fan Zijin would switch to another academy. If they were not separated, he would continue his studies here.
The academy head glared at Fan Zijin and said, “If you want to stay together, then be obedient. Did you mix the salt and sugar in the canteen last time? You caused everyone in the canteen to eat a meal that’s seasoned with sugar instead of salt…”
Fan Zijin said with a cheeky smile, “Sir, you can’t blame us. Someone forced us to make a bet and said…”
“Alright, alright.” The academy head waved his hand and interrupted him. “No matter what the reason is, if you cause trouble again, I won’t call your father and mother over. Instead, I’ll call Qi Haoran’s father over.”
If Qi Feng came to the academy, he would most likely bring Qi Haoran home and not even send him to school.
After all, didn’t Qi Feng treat Qi Xiuyuan like this? If not for the fact that the Zhu family still remembered Eldest Cousin, he would probably have been raised to be illiterate by the Qi family.
Fan Zijin promised solemnly, “Don’t worry, Sir. Cousin Haoran and I will definitely be obedient and study hard.”
The academy head was only half-convinced of his promise, but he still waved his hand and let him go. “Now that the rankings have been released, go back and celebrate with your family. Come back to school after five days of rest.”
Fan Zijin agreed happily and turned around to look for Qi Haoran. However, he saw his dark expression and could not help but ask, “What’s wrong?”
Qi Haoran replied with a dark expression, “I accidentally overheard the servants of the Qi Residence say that Father intends to arrange a marriage for Big Brother.”
As Qi Haoran practiced martial arts, he had sharp hearing, so he could always overhear some gossip when he returned to the Qi Residence for a short stay.
He knew that this was his advantage, so he never told anyone but Fan Zijin.
Frowning, Fan Zijin said, “Eldest Cousin is far away at the border and can’t be physically present for the meeting. How can they arrange a marriage for him without him around?”
“When it comes to marriage, the decision is up to the parents. They said that when the marriage is finalized, Big Brother has to acknowledge it no matter what.”
However, Fan Zijin was not worried at all. With a smile, he said, “Don’t you know Eldest Cousin’s personality? It’s useless even if they finalize it. What can Uncle do to him if he refuses to come back to get married? As a man, he can stall for time. Meanwhile, a woman can’t afford to wait.”
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, men typically married when they were 14 or 15 years old. However, some married later at 21 or 22 years old and that’s also perfectly normal, especially the sons of officials who could slowly choose a marriage partner. In any case, they could always just take in a few handmaidens first.
Although Fan Zijin was only 12 years old, he knew these things very well.
When Qi Haoran heard this, he was no longer worried. He began to discuss happily with Fan Zijin. “…How about we go to the suburbs to ride horses and bring along a grill to barbecue?”
Fan Zijin tilted his head slightly and smiled. “Alright, but we’ll have to see what my mother thinks. If there’s a celebratory banquet at home, there won’t be enough time.”
Since Fan Zijin becoming a xiucai was a big deal and a joyous occasion, Xia Tong wanted to hold a banquet to celebrate. So when Fan Siwen returned, she happily walked behind him. “Master, it’s rare for our family to have a happy occasion. Why don’t we invite a few families to gather?”
Xia Tong thought that Fan Siwen wouldn’t agree because he was a very low-key person. Unexpectedly, he thought for a moment and nodded. “Okay, choose a good day to set up a few tables.”
Xia Tong was stunned for a moment before saying happily, “I’ll go look at the calendar now.” She left like a gust of wind.
Xia Tong thought that her son’s hard work had finally made Fan Siwen acknowledge him. Even Fan Zijin thought that his father had changed his usual low profile manner and wanted to celebrate his passing the xiucai examination because he had made him proud.
For a moment, Fan Zijin was smug and relaxed. Even Qi Haoran gritted his teeth when he saw this, let alone Fan Zixiao, who had always been at odds with him.
Fan Zixiao, who was 15 years old this year, was still relentlessly participating in the county examination. Unfortunately, he still failed to achieve any breakthrough and had failed once again.
Originally, this was nothing, because 15-year-olds were considered young in the tongsheng examination. Among the participants, there was even an old man with white hair and beard who participated in the tongsheng examination.
Not to mention that he was only 15 years old this year, even if he was 51 years old, no one would laugh at him.
But who asked him to have a younger brother who became a tongsheng at nine years old and a xiucai at 12 years old?
With this comparison, Fan Zixiao felt that everyone was looking at him mockingly, as if they were mocking him for overestimating himself.
Now, seeing that even his father had given up on keeping a low profile and was happy for Fan Zijin, Fan Zixiao became even more dejected.
None of this escaped Fan Siwen’s eyes and he became even more resolute regarding his decision. On the eve of the banquet, Fan Siwen called Fan Zijin into the study and praised him. Then, he said, “Zijin, seeing as you’re even more brilliant than Father, it appears that there’s nothing much I can help you with. Unlike your big brother who hasn’t achieved anything yet.”
Fan Zijin’s eyebrows twitched, and his intuition told him that nothing good was going to happen. Seeing that his father wanted to continue talking at length, he quickly cut him off and asked, “Father, if you have anything to say, just say it. I am already well aware that Big Brother isn’t cut out for studying, so you don’t have to reiterate this.”
Fan Siwen’s expression darkened. Although he said that, he did not actually think that his eldest son wasn’t cut out for studying. After all, very few people were as smart as Zijin.
It seemed that the relationship between Zijin and Zixiao was indeed not harmonious. Fan Siwen looked at him helplessly and said, “Since you’re already a xiucai and have good teachers to guide you, it shouldn’t be difficult for you to get a good ranking in the imperial examination and become a jinshi. Therefore, I wish to give my hereditary privilege to your big brother. What do you think?”