Chapter 112: Imperial Academy Steamed Buns

Just as Zhang Yue and Huang Haoyi were walking into the Imperial Academy holding their family background dossiers, which they had each purchased for two thousand coins, they saw a student in his early twenties approaching them.

The young man had a striking appearance, which made Zhang Yue take a second look. The stranger, who was walking along, noticed Zhang Yue’s gaze and returned the look, his eyes then shifting to Huang Haoyi beside him.

As the three were about to pass each other, the man suddenly stopped, turned around, and asked, "Might I ask if you two gentlemen are from the Min region?"

Zhang Yue and Huang Haoyi turned back. Zhang Yue replied, "Indeed, we are. I am Zhang Yue from Pucheng, and this is Huang Haoyi from Jianyang."

The man laughed aloud and said, "Then I am not mistaken."

Zhang Yue and Huang Haoyi were left completely bewildered. The stranger walked up to Huang Haoyi and said, "Your elder brother is Huang Jidao, isn't he?"

Huang Haoyi smiled. "That is correct. Could it be that you are acquainted with my brother?"

"Of course," the man replied with a grin. "Did your brother not tell you to seek out a man named Cai Chizheng once you reached the Imperial Academy?"

Huang Haoyi was pleasantly surprised. "That is exactly what he said! Could you be him?"

The man nodded with a smile. "Indeed. If you and Brother Jidao did not share such a striking resemblance, I might have nearly missed you."

After Huang Haoyi spent a few moments in excited conversation with the man, he introduced him to Zhang Yue, "Sanlang, let me introduce you to my brother's fellow townsman, Cai Que, courtesy name Chizheng."

"Cai Que? Which 'Que'?" Zhang Yue asked, looking incredulous.

"The 'Que' in 'truly capable of the task' (quehu neng qi shi)."

Hearing this, Zhang Yue was nearly stunned. His shock was even greater than when he had first learned that his own second brother was Zhang Dun.

Who was the man standing before him? He was at the very top of the list of treacherous ministers in the *History of Song*! In terms of "treacherous minister" rankings, he even surpassed his own second brother and Cai Jing. But how on earth did Huang Haoyi's brother come to know him?

"Why did you two not come to find me first? Do you think I, Cai, am not worthy of your brother's (Huang Haoqian's) trust?" Cai Que asked, looking genuinely displeased.

Huang Haoyi quickly replied, "I intended to pay a visit to Brother Chizheng after submitting our applications."

"Oh? Applications? Where did you process them?" Cai Que asked upon hearing this.

Huang Haoyi pointed toward the gate of the Imperial Academy. "Right there at the Jiu Family Bookstore. They even made us buy these family dossiers, charging two thousand coins per person."

Cai Que shook his head. "You two! You are strangers in the capital of Bianjing, yet you don't know how to seek help from fellow townsmen or schoolmates. Zhang Sanlang is one thing, but you, having been instructed by your brother, should not have been so naive. Give me the dossiers and follow me."

Zhang Yue and Huang Haoyi handed their dossiers to Cai Que. With his wide sleeves billowing, Cai Que walked ahead to the bookstore and said, "Wait for me outside." With that, he entered the shop alone.

Zhang Yue hurriedly asked Huang Haoyi, "How does your brother know this Brother Cai?"

Huang Haoyi explained, "My brother has been studying in Chenzhou, and this Cai Chizheng was also drifting through Chenzhou."

"Drifting through Chenzhou?"

"Exactly. Brother Chizheng’s father was from our Min region in Quanzhou. He once served as a military advisor in Chenzhou but was dismissed after offending Chancellor Chen (Chen Zhizhong). Without the funds to return home, the family was left destitute in Chenzhou, often going without their next meal."

Zhang Yue sighed, "How tragic."

Huang Haoyi continued, "Indeed. My brother met Cai Chizheng while studying there. Because they were both from the Min region and stranded in a foreign land, my brother often helped him out. This Cai Que is truly a man of high talent; his writing and scholarship are exceptional. Several physiognomists even said his appearance resembled that of the famous Tang Dynasty chancellor Li Deyu, and predicted that once he rose to prominence, he would surely help my brother in return."

"Last spring, my brother passed the imperial examinations, but Chizheng failed. Fortunately, however, he was admitted to the Imperial Academy. Once we enter the academy, we will have to rely on his care."

*Dammit,* Zhang Yue thought to himself, *why is it that I am always getting tangled up with treacherous ministers?*

Before they had even finished a cup of tea, Cai Que strode out and tossed a thousand coins to both Zhang Yue and Huang Haoyi, reprimanding them, "Do not squander your money in the future! What kind of place do you think Bianjing is? Living in the capital is no easy task. Even a mountain of gold could be spent in a single night. There is no reason for you to be throwing money around like that."

Zhang Yue and Huang Haoyi could only nod and accept the lesson. Zhang Yue realized he had been thinking too naively; he had been stuck in the mindset that it was better to use money to solve problems than to rely on personal favors. That might have worked in the modern world, but in ancient times, the system of relatives, fellow townsmen, and clansmen existed precisely to foster these kinds of mutual obligations.

"I will lead you to submit your applications first, then we shall head to the Imperial Academy," Cai Que said.

Returning to the Imperial Academy, Zhang Yue chatted with Cai Que about the attitude of the bookstore clerk. Cai Que laughed and said, "That is only to be expected. I tell you, the world is driven by profit; people come and go for the sake of gain. The clerk’s poor attitude was simply because there was no profit to be made from you."

"You think the biggest profit for a bookstore is writing dossiers or verifying background credentials? You are wrong. The real profit lies in helping scholars forge their registrations, smuggle in forbidden texts, or hire ghostwriters."

Zhang Yue and Huang Haoyi were both shocked to hear this. Indeed, in the Song Dynasty, there were two types of bookstores: those that sold books, and those that operated in this unscrupulous manner.

Zhang Yue couldn't help but ask, "If they forge registrations so openly, do the authorities not investigate?"

Cai Que replied, "Those who run these bookstores are not only well-versed in corruption, but behind every one of them is either a wealthy family or an influential household. How would the authorities dare to investigate? Take the issue of forged registrations: in the past, whenever the exams approached, students would try to gain entry into the Guangwen Hall or the Imperial Academy as guest students."

"Many who wish to gamble on their future go to the capital to purchase fake credentials, change their names, and take the exams, or they forge their household registration from the capital region to improve their chances. Do you think there are few such people?"

Zhang Yue understood. The examinations held at the Imperial Academy and in the Kaifeng Prefecture not only had higher quotas for passing, but the imperial court also allocated more slots for the *Jinshi* degree to those channels. Thus, many scholars would either pose as students of the Imperial Academy or forge household registrations from Kaifeng to qualify.

The responsibility for verifying these qualifications did not rest with the government, but with the bookstores. Why? Because the government did not trust its own verification process, so it left it to private businesses.

Bookstores had not started as notary institutions; they began as simple copying shops that helped commoners draft documents in the required official formats. Over time, their authority expanded until they were essentially endorsing the authenticity of candidates for the provincial and imperial examinations, acting as a buffer for the government. If a fake registration were discovered later, the government could simply shift the blame onto the bookstore. Consequently, these shops began openly posting prices for forged registrations, and for enough money, they would even provide proxy test-takers.

"How much does it cost to forge a registration?" Zhang Yue couldn't help but inquire.

"It used to be six or seven thousand coins; now it costs ten thousand!"

Zhang Yue pondered this. "That is not expensive! But then again, those from aristocratic families have no need to forge registrations; only those from humble backgrounds would resort to such deceitful methods."

Cai Que glanced at Zhang Yue sideways, then smiled. "Exactly. Sanlang, you are quick to grasp the situation. Since you are legitimate candidates, the bookstore had no profit to extract from you, which is why they were so indifferent."

"Ha!" Zhang Yue laughed heartily. "Truly, a few words from Brother Chizheng are worth more than ten years of reading."

Cai Que said, "You are too kind. Sanlang, you carry the air of a scholar from a distinguished family. Are you acquainted with this year’s *Zhuangyuan*, Zhang Ziping?"

Zhang Yue replied, "We are only passing acquaintances."

Cai Que smiled slightly. Beside him, Huang Haoyi could no longer hold back. "Brother Chizheng, his second brother is Zhang Zihou."

"Oh? It is Zihou? No wonder, no wonder."

Zhang Yue feigned embarrassment, but in his heart, he thought, *No wonder what? No wonder two future great treacherous ministers of the New Policies faction are already showing such mutual admiration?*

Zhang Yue realized that with Huang Haoyi, the loudmouth, in the mix, he wouldn't be able to keep his arrival in the capital a secret for long.

The three met with the official scribe. Seeing the stamp from the bookstore, the scribe didn't even bother to check the documents; he immediately stamped them, finalized the paperwork for Tang Jiu and Ma Wu, and informed them to return in ten days for the entrance examination to see if they would be admitted to the Imperial Academy.

Seeing how easily everything had been handled with Cai Que's help, Zhang Yue and Huang Haoyi were both delighted.

Zhang Yue said, "If not for Brother Chizheng, I truly would not have known how much trouble this would have been. Why don't I host you and Brother Silang for some wine and tea?"

Cai Que smiled noncommittally. "Let us first take a tour of the Imperial Academy!"

Cai Que led Zhang Yue and Huang Haoyi on a tour of the academy. The university originally consisted only of the Xiqing Hall, but as Fan Zhongyan's reforms deepened, it was continuously expanded, incorporating the residence of the Commander of the Horse Army and the Wucheng Wang Temple. Even the Western Corridor of the Assembly Hall, which was used to receive officials returning from the provinces, had been converted into the Law School.

Currently, the Imperial Academy had thirty study halls, each housing thirty students, totaling nine hundred imperial scholars.

After the tour, Zhang Yue once again suggested going out for drinks.

Cai Que smiled and said, "Such a small favor is not worth mentioning. Sanlang, I tell you, when you are away from home and living in the capital, it is not easy. Keep your money; you will find plenty of uses for it later."

"Today, let me play the host and treat you both to the Imperial Academy's *mantou*."

Zhang Yue had almost forgotten about the famous Imperial Academy *mantou*. During the reforms of Wang Anshi, the Emperor Shenzong of Song had once visited the academy to see what the students were eating and picked up a *mantou* to try. After eating it, the Emperor was very pleased and remarked to his attendants, "To nurture scholars with this, one can have no regrets!"

Since even the Emperor had given his seal of approval, the taste must have been first-class. From then on, the Imperial Academy *mantou* became a famous delicacy in Bianjing.

Cai Que went to the dining hall and brought back six freshly steamed buns, and the three of them sat under a pavilion to share them. In the Song Dynasty, *mantou* were actually steamed buns filled with meat. Zhang Yue took a bite—oh, they were packed with rich, savory meat filling, not a single bit of quality was spared. They were fragrant, juicy, and left his mouth coated with delicious grease.

It must be said, even without the endorsement of Emperor Shenzong, they were truly excellent. The reputation of the Imperial Academy buns was well-deserved, and Zhang Yue had tasted them on his very first day in Bianjing.

In this moment, Zhang Yue felt a bit like a modern-day tourist checking an item off a food bucket list.

Zhang Yue silently made up his mind: just for these buns, he would have to make an effort to be admitted to the Imperial Academy.