The poetry gathering is still two days away. After taking the Cyan Bamboo Token, Su Mu turned and left.
"Zhou Qing was originally a scholar in his youth, but he repeatedly failed the county exam, unable to even obtain the qualifications of a pupil... feeling disheartened, he gave up literature for martial arts, yet still regarded himself as a scholar and loved composing poetry... He always dressed in a scholar's blue robe and was keen to participate in poetry gatherings of all sizes…"
The contents of a secret letter that was to be burned after reading floated in Su Mu's mind.
He couldn't help but think of two historical figures who left their marks on the imperial examination, Fan Jin and Huang Chao, yet it was clear that Zhou Qing could not compare to them.
Fan Jin became a scholar at the age of fifty-four, passed the provincial exam a few months later, and was eventually appointed a third-grade minister of the Ministry of Communication, rising steadily through ranks.
