"Son, drink the porridge while it's hot."
Jiang-shi placed a bowl of steaming porridge before Song Shi'an, then sat at the edge of the bed, watching him with a beaming smile.
Holding the bowl, Song Shi'an sipped the porridge with a copper spoon while organizing his current situation in his mind.
After that midnight collision on the highway brought him extraordinary luck, he had been sent to this world.
This wasn't any dynasty from Chinese history—the country he now inhabited was called Great Yu.
Before Great Yu, there had been more than a dozen dynasties.
Just like the world he was familiar with, civilization had gradually transitioned from slave society to feudal society.
There had even been a Warring States period during which various schools of thought emerged, eventually being unified by the "Sacred Learning" that better served feudal rule.
Sacred Learning—as the name suggested, the learning of sages.
In truth, the essence was the same: techniques for controlling the people.
Perhaps by coincidence, Song Shi'an's soul had transmigrated into the body of someone who shared his name—a young master from a wealthy family.
His father, Song Jing, was a jinshi of the current dynasty, holding the position of Sheng'an Magistrate, equivalent to a mayor.
Song Jing's family also commanded considerable prestige—the Song clan of Huai Commandery had once produced high officials at the level of the Nine Ministers.
However, this didn't mean his own status was equally distinguished.
Because his birth mother, Jiang-shi, had originally been a maidservant in the Song household—not even a commoner, but someone of lowly registry.
What did being born a bastard son mean in ancient times?
Yuan Shu, the Skeleton King of the Great Han, once made this cutting assessment of his own elder brother: "Yuan Shao? Just a servant of my household!"
So even though Song Jing only had two sons, the family fortune had nothing to do with him—not a single copper coin.
This was the inheritance logic of ancient China.
Not only in the imperial family, but also among aristocratic clans, there was something like "imperial succession."
Because the political and financial resources controlled by aristocratic families were limited, and to maintain the family's prosperity and development without weakening their strength, inheritance could only pass through a single line each generation.
Unlike now, where assets might be divided equally or perhaps in a 70-30 split if there's favoritism, in ancient times it was basically 100-0.
Legitimate sons had it better—bastard sons didn't even need to be mentioned. Emotionally, they ranked below legitimate nephews.
Take Cao Cao, for instance—he had 25 recorded sons.
But those known to the public were only Cao, Ren, Zhen, Shuang...
Ah no, that's Cao Pi, Cao Zhang, Cao Zhi, Cao Xiong, and Cao Ang.
At most, add Cao Chong.
And this Song Shi'an was a fucking idiot wastrel. If he didn't work hard, he'd spend this life stuck in mediocrity, going nowhere.
"Son." As Song Shi'an's expression grew somber while drinking his porridge thoughtfully, Jiang-shi spoke with relief. "Thank goodness you woke up now, so you won't miss tomorrow's provincial examination."
Song Shi'an nodded.
"You must take the exam seriously and try to pass as a juren. Then your father can arrange a clerical position for you in the capital. Don't mind his harsh words—if you really pass the juren exam, he won't refuse to help you." Jiang-shi spoke earnestly.
The imperial examination system was established by the current emperor of Great Yu.
It didn't differ much from the examination system Song Shi'an knew, but it only had three levels.
The children's examination, which conferred the title of xiucai, held annually.
The provincial examination, which conferred the title of juren, held every two years.
The metropolitan examination, which conferred the title of jinshi, held every two years. The top three were the zhuangyuan, bangyan, and tanhua respectively.
Having one fewer level than the palace examination made sense—after all, the population base was what it was.
The famous story "Fan Jin Passes the Provincial Examination" described ancient China's equivalent of the college entrance exam.
Because of this story, people nowadays generally had two misconceptions about juren.
First, that the juren exam was extraordinarily difficult.
Second, that passing the juren exam meant you could become an official.
The juren exam was indeed difficult, but not impossibly so, because after the establishment of the examination system, juren status was the prerequisite for entering the bureaucratic system.
After passing the juren exam, the vast majority could only become clerks.
Only a select few who ranked very high had the opportunity to become reserve officials.
What made Fan Jin's achievement impressive wasn't just passing the exam.
It was that he ranked seventh in the entire province.
Each province had quotas for over a hundred juren.
For someone with an aristocratic or bureaucratic background, starting with vastly superior educational resources, failing to pass the juren exam meant mediocrity.
If Song Shi'an failed again this time, it would be his third consecutive failure.
That really was subpar.
So don't just talk about how Song Shi'an's birth family harmed him.
When Song Shi'an got drunk in a karaoke bar, fell into a river and nearly drowned, wasn't that also a kind of harm to his birth family?
"Mother, I've finished."
After finishing the porridge, Song Shi'an handed the bowl to Jiang-shi.
Seeing him about to stand, Jiang-shi quickly asked, "What do you need to do? You just woke up—you should rest more. Whatever you need, I'll do it for you."
Song Shi'an shook his head, then walked to his desk and slowly sat down. "Mother, I need to study."
Hearing this, Jiang-shi broke into a delighted smile. "My son has real backbone! Tomorrow you'll definitely pass the juren exam and show your father!"
"I will."
Song Shi'an looked at Jiang-shi with a smile and said gently, "Mother, please go attend to your other matters. Unless something comes up, please don't come into the room."
"Yes, yes, I won't disturb you, won't disturb you."
Jiang-shi withdrew from the room with a beaming smile and closed the door behind her.
Song Shi'an looked at the desk full of provincial examination papers, found the model answer from the previous examination, loosened his muscles, and smiled easily.
Even though the exam was tomorrow, he wasn't the least bit worried.
When others said the juren exam wasn't difficult, they might be bragging.
But he truly wasn't.
In 1998, in rural Shandong, a boy was born.
Twenty-seven years later, a targeted recruitment civil servant from Guizhou threw himself into the vast ocean of modernization construction.
Looking back at the path I've traveled—no enemies, just fucking exams the whole way!
So the current objective: get to shore first.
Then become a battle-tested feudal warrior.
...
In the Song Estate, within the antique study.
A refined youth of about fourteen or fifteen sat at a desk, raising his head with complete focus to look at Song Jing standing beside him holding a book, earnestly listening to the lecture.
At that moment, someone outside lightly knocked on the door, then entered carrying tea and refreshments.
Originally thinking it was a maidservant, Song Jing paid no attention until he heard a familiar voice speaking quietly with a smile: "Master, Shi'an has awakened."
Hearing this, Song Ce turned his head and looked over expressionlessly.
Song Jing replied without any emotion, "I see. You may go."
Seeing that Song Jing hadn't erupted in rage, Jiang-shi understood he wasn't that angry anymore, and so she smiled as she placed the tea and refreshments aside.
"Ce-er." Song Jing continued his instruction. "The provincial examination has two subjects. One is lyrical composition, which I'm confident you'll have no problem with. The other subject is policy essays. Generally speaking, the policy essay topics relate to the current state of the nation, so this year's topic will very likely concern the war with the State of Qi in the northern territories..."
Halfway through, he stopped.
Seeing Jiang-shi still standing nearby, he asked impatiently, "Is there something else?"
Lowering her head and forcing a smile, Jiang-shi tentatively said, "Master, Shi'an is also taking the exam tomorrow. Why don't you have him come listen as well..."
Before she could finish, Song Jing immediately thundered, "Get out! Don't let me see that beast!"