Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Hard Road to Shu (Another Extra Chapter—First Subscription Requested)

The moment his family arrived in haste, Brother Chun's illness seemed to improve dramatically.

Moreover, those negative feelings that had tormented him when he was alone—shame, guilt, the dread of slander and ridicule—melted away before his loved ones like snow touched by boiling water, vanishing without a trace.

True family only aches for the wounds you bear after striving; how could they ever blame you for falling short of perfection?

Especially Brother Qiu, whose studies were so demanding, yet had still taken leave to accompany him, trekking two hundred miles through the mountains just to see him, and would need to journey two hundred miles back…

At this thought, how could he allow himself to wallow in weakness? For the sake of these dearest loved ones, Brother Chun had to steel himself!

Seeing that a spark had returned to Su Man’s eyes, his fighting spirit clearly restored, Su Lu found all the words of comfort he had prepared—such as the famous lines, “The world takes failure as shameful; I alone am shamed by feeling ashamed of failure”—were now unnecessary.

With his elder brother cared for by the family, there was no need to worry about his health. So Su Lu prepared to set out for the return journey that very day… Just as his brother had said, the monthly exam was imminent; he had to hurry back and catch up with his studies.

“Rest a day before you go,” his brother, unable to let him leave so soon, said in a quiet voice. “Since you’re here, stay with me for a night.”

“Alright.” Su Lu, always obedient to his older brother, lay down on the shared bedding, stretched his aching, numb legs, and sighed, “So comfortable…”

Before they could exchange more than a few words, he was fast asleep, snoring. After two days and nights of travel, not even youth could withstand such exhaustion…

Ironically, Su Tai, who usually fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow, remained wide-eyed, glancing at Su Man and whispering, “Brother, didn’t you bring our ancestor’s treasure?”

“I did,” Su Man pointed to the blue cloth pillow behind his head. “I’m using it as a pillow right now.”

“Then why didn’t it work? Has it lost its power?” Su Tai pressed, a question that had troubled him for days.

He thought his brother would be skeptical by now, or at least less convinced, but Su Man’s gaze was unwavering. “Don’t talk nonsense. How could our ancestor’s treasure lose its power?”

“Then why, brother…” Su Tai asked, puzzled.

“I think it’s because I didn’t hold it aloft,” Su Man explained, having already come up with an answer that satisfied himself. “Didn’t I tell you? The treasure only works if you lift it up. If you don’t, of course it’s useless.”

With a sigh he added, “But during the exam, I was alone and couldn’t hold it up, so I had to leave it here in this humble cottage. Naturally, it didn’t help…”

“I’ll help you next time!” Su Tai volunteered eagerly. “For as long as you’re in the exam, I’ll hold it up without rest!”

“Alright, we’ll try that next time.” Su Man nodded.

~~

Su Lu only awoke in the middle of the night, compelled by a full bladder. He groped along the wall outside to relieve himself behind a corner.

Just as he was about to sleep again, he saw his elder brother staring at him, eyes open.

“Did I wake you, brother?” Su Lu whispered.

“No, I’ve been lying here since the first night. I can’t sleep anymore,” his brother replied softly. “If you’re not too tired, let’s talk awhile.”

Su Lu was indeed still sleepy, but since his brother asked, he pinched his thigh to stay awake. “Go ahead, brother. I’m listening.”

With a heavy sigh, Su Man finally voiced the frustration that had been festering in his chest. “I can’t accept failing the prefectural exam!”

“I know. I can’t accept it either. Our teacher, Master Zhang, said that, given your performance in the county exam, you should certainly have passed the prefectural.” Su Lu agreed wholeheartedly.

“It seems that there is still some fairness in the county exam,” Su Man said bitterly. “Because candidates are so mixed in ability, if the magistrate were to favor the incompetent and admit those who don’t even understand the classics, not only would he invite public scorn, but it would embarrass the county at the prefectural exam and earn him a reputation for failed instruction.”

“True enough.” Su Lu nodded. If the county magistrate was too unjust, the students would protest, and since counties competed at the prefectural level, poor results would reflect badly.

“But the prefectural exam is a different story,” Su Man went on gloomily. “After the county exam, the unlearned have already been weeded out—no one left is hopelessly ignorant.”

“That leaves room for manipulation,” Su Lu said quietly.

“You already understand this?” Su Man looked at him in surprise. “I only learned it through hard experience.”

“I’ve often heard Uncle talk about the darkness of officialdom—it’s not hard to infer,” Su Lu replied evasively. “So how does it work?”

“To pass the prefectural exam, you must be recommended by the gentry, introduced by those with influence,” Su Man said through gritted teeth. “Even if your writing is decent, without a recommendation, you won’t be admitted!”

“How does one obtain such a recommendation? How do the gentry help spread your name?” Su Lu asked softly.

“By attending various literary and poetry gatherings,” Su Man sighed. “The teachers at the academy had advised me to participate actively once I arrived in Luzhou, but I misunderstood, thinking it was just about learning from others or listening to the wise.”

“So I attended several gatherings, spent quite a bit of money, and gained nothing,” he said with a wry smile. “Eventually, a fellow student took pity on me and told me that merely attending wasn’t enough—I needed to pay my respects to the city’s prominent figures first.”

“Which prominent figures?”

“Those old retirees, and family members of current officials… basically, the households of the scholars. Their doors are incredibly hard to approach directly—you’ll only be turned away. First you must visit their aides and literate guests, asking them to request a calligraphy piece on your behalf.”

“So that’s it. I suppose a piece of calligraphy isn’t cheap?” Su Lu realized. Wasn’t this what they called ‘elegant bribery’?

“Indeed. The fee for a single piece starts at fifty taels!” Su Man said with bitter sarcasm. “Truly, every character is worth its weight in pearls!”

“That’s outrageous.” Su Lu was shocked. “With such a high price, do they at least provide a full service?”

“They do, in fact.” Brother Chun found the term ‘full service’ apt and nodded. “Once the old master writes for you, he’ll call you into a private room at a literary gathering to test your knowledge.”

“The prefect’s aide will also be conveniently present, and the old master will introduce you, praising your calligraphy. Of course, you must then ‘wisely’ request a piece from the aide as well, with an even higher fee, depending on how ‘sensible’ you are.”

“In short, the more you understand the rules, the more likely you are to pass…” Su Man sighed, not for the first time. “And the opposite is just as true.”

“So it takes at least a hundred taels to pass the prefectural exam?” Su Lu felt his scalp crawl. “Where could we possibly get that kind of money?”

He hadn’t expected the corruption to be so bad even in the Hongzhi era. Weren’t these supposed to be enlightened times with good governance?

“Exactly,” Su Man laughed at himself. “I didn’t even have money for the first step. Even if I wanted to play by the rules, I never had the chance. So this outcome was both unexpected and inevitable.”

“Isn’t there some way to report this?” Su Lu asked in a low voice.

“Report?” Su Man was briefly surprised, then understood. “You mean to accuse them? But who would you accuse? The prefect never took your money, and may never have even met you.”

“His aides took bribes on his behalf,” Su Lu protested.

“But they didn’t accept bribes, not in any official sense—you asked them for artwork, and, of course, paid a fee. This is a longstanding custom; everyone knows, and if you tried to expose it, you’d only be blamed for not knowing your place.”

“….” Su Lu fell silent. It seemed, in these times, such practices were perfectly safe. The founding emperor would roll in his grave, seeing the corrupt officials back in power!

After a long pause, he muttered, “Doesn’t that mean the poor will never become scholars?”

“There’s still a chance,” Su Man shook his head. “If you come first in the county exam, you’re guaranteed to pass the prefectural! And if you pass the prefectural, the provincial exam is overseen by the Grand Examiner, where things are much fairer.”

He fixed Su Lu with a determined gaze. “I missed my chance, but you must strive for the top spot in the county exam. For families like ours, only by reaching the very top can we avoid being cut down.”

“I understand!” Su Lu nodded solemnly, and then added, “But you mustn’t lose heart, brother. There are still two years before the next prefectural exam. In that time, we’ll clear every obstacle and fight for a fair chance!”

“Hmm.” Su Man nodded. “Actually, there’s one other way—raise your own reputation. If you become a celebrated scholar in the region, you can pass the prefectural exam without groveling.”

“How does one raise their reputation?” Su Lu perked up.

“By becoming famous for your poetry and essays, or by performing some extraordinary act of sincerity or filial piety, and gaining the recognition of influential people…” As he spoke, Su Man sighed at his own discouragement. “But that’s easier said than done. It’s more reliable to aim for first place in the county exam.”

“True, but there are always more ways than difficulties. We’ll keep thinking,” Su Lu said, but was too tired to continue and drifted off to sleep.

But Su Man lay awake on his arm, staring at the ceiling, unable to rest the entire night.

~~

Before dawn the next day, Su Lu, his father, and Su Tai set out on the road home.

Su Lu had school to attend, Su Tai had work, and Su Yucai had to help at Sweetwater Records. The three of them made good traveling companions.

Uncle held a secure government job, so taking leave cost him no wages. The younger uncle had no occupation at all, so both stayed behind to look after Brother Chun, planning to take a boat directly to Hejiang once he’d recovered.

Luzhou and its three subordinate counties all lay along the Yangtze River, making water transport convenient. The trouble, however, was that the Chishui River was littered with treacherous rapids; during the flood season, taking a boat was courting death…

So the three had to rely on their own feet to return home. Fortunately, all had trained themselves to have “iron soles,” and didn’t find the journey too arduous.

Luzhou city was also nestled among mountains. After spending three coins on a ferry crossing, they walked a few more miles and entered the endless sea of peaks.

Through the dense forest, they could just make out craggy rocks rising like walls, their pale gray cliffs soaring to the clouds. This was the typical karst terrain of the southwest Sichuan-Guizhou region: no gentle slopes, just vertical stone faces, hemming people in like city walls.

Luckily, there was a post road said to have been carved by Lady Shexiang in ages past, allowing people to traverse the mountains and connect with the outside world. But this ancient path, hidden in the forest, had long fallen into disrepair, and as summer approached, much of it was overgrown, making it hard to follow except by the careful.

Knowing Brother Chun was out of danger, Su Yucai and Su Tai were in high spirits on the return journey.

Su Tai strung his hunting bow, nocked an arrow, and kept an eye out for pheasants or rabbits along the way, hoping to bag something for their supper.

Su Lu, however, was weighed down. This journey had shaken him deeply. Walking out of the mountains was not as impossible as he had once imagined.

But his brother’s experience had driven home a harder truth: escaping the physical mountains of Wumeng was one thing, but climbing out from under the mountains of privilege and injustice, and the chasm between rich and poor, was far more difficult than he had thought!

Suddenly, he understood Li Bai’s poem “The Hard Road to Shu”…

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