Rebirth: From being expelled from the imperial court to becoming a high-ranking official

Qin Yunhe did not stand up after hearing the teacher's words, but kept bowing and continued: "Since I became your disciple, I have been taught by you. Qin Wen has always been grateful to you. But I have never been able to achieve success in my studies. I feel ashamed to face you, so I have never dared to come to visit you."

"I just recently realized that the more ashamed I am to see my teacher, the more I feel ashamed of my teacher's teaching. It is only now that I understand this truth, and I am ashamed. Qin Wen is ashamed that I have not come to visit my teacher for a long time."

Mr. Gu looked down at his favorite little disciple and recalled the day when he first became his disciple.

Even though Qin Yunhe acts like a spoiled brat in front of his parents, he is actually very well-behaved and obedient in front of his teacher. He listens to whatever the teacher says. Which teacher doesn't like well-behaved and obedient students?

It is impossible to say that one does not seek fame of having many students all over the world when accepting disciples. Once one accepts disciples, one definitely hopes to teach a few decent students, which would also make one feel proud.

A thirteen-year-old scholar, just imagine if under your guidance he can pass the imperial examination before the age of fifteen, how proud would your teacher be to tell others about it?

Therefore, Mr. Gu has always been very concerned about Qin Yunhe.

But soon, Mr. Gu discovered many of Qin Yunhe's little faults: playful, careless, opportunistic, and unsteady.

Whenever he encountered homework like memorizing, Qin Yunhe always liked to be lazy or cut corners. He always crammed for the exam. He had a good memory, and after reading it twice, he could basically answer the teacher's questions. But this temporary skill was not profound.

As for many rules, taboos, and precautions that were repeated many times, Qin Yunhe always just listened but didn't take them seriously. His attitude wasn't perfunctory, but he couldn't remember them every time.

Qin Yunhe prefers practicing calligraphy and writing poetry.

In the imperial examinations, good handwriting and poetry skills are naturally also important.

In fact, Mr. Gu recognized Qin Yunhe's calligraphy. At such a young age, he was already quite proficient in Wu style calligraphy, and had his own style and understanding.

It’s just that Qin Yunhe seemed to like others praising his calligraphy more, which made Mr. Gu frown.

As for poetry, Qin Yunhe was very good at taking shortcuts. His poems were good but always seemed empty. If he wrote too deeply, it would be easier to show his shortcomings of not being familiar with the allusions.

Mr. Gu observed it for a long time and thought that he probably liked it more convenient for students to show off their elegance when they got together.

These little thoughts are not a big deal. It is harmless for young people to show off a little.

Mr. Gu felt that Qin Yunhe was still young and his mind was unstable, so he just needed to teach him well and give him more advice. However, he didn't expect that he would get into trouble in the science test the following year.

Before the exam, he had specifically reminded Qin Yunhe to remember to avoid taboos, not to mix slang, and other things to pay attention to, but he didn't expect Qin Yunhe to still make the same mistakes.

Not only that, he was also stripped of his title of scholar and stopped from taking the imperial examinations for two terms.

Mr. Gu was very disappointed with Qin Yunhe, so he was much stricter with him during that period, and even used a ruler in anger.

Later, Qin Yunhe returned home because of his father's death and came here once or twice a month instead.

As a teacher, he was most concerned about his students' studies, so every time his students came to visit him, Mr. Gu would personally check their homework and give them some guidance.

Perhaps it was because the other students were older and did not cause Mr. Gu much worry. Even though they were not around every day, their performance in the exams would not be too bad.

However, Qin Yunhe's studies became increasingly neglected, so his teacher would naturally scold him every now and then.

As the number of visits increased, Qin Yunhe came less and less often, and later only came during the New Year. In the past two years, he no longer came, and every time he asked his senior brother to bring holiday gifts.

Mr. Gu sometimes wondered if he was too impatient and too strict, after all, he was still young.

But even so, he still felt sad when he thought that the student he cared about the most was hiding from him.

In fact, Mr. Gu had only a little bit of dissatisfaction in his heart. Now that he heard his disciple's sincere confession, this little bit of grudge had long since disappeared.

Mr. Gu sighed silently and softened his tone, "Okay, get up."

When Qin Yunhe heard the teacher's tone, he knew that the teacher did not blame him. He felt relieved and quickly stood up.

Mr. Gu had also stood up. He looked at Qin Yunhe again and said in surprise, "Why do you feel taller?"

Qin Yunhe thought the teacher was having an illusion but didn't say it out loud. He just smiled foolishly with embarrassment.

Bisong said jokingly, "Qin Xiaolang is already so old, he probably won't grow any taller. But he has grown a lot taller than when he first came. I remember that Qin Xiaolang was not even up to my shoulders back then, but now he is taller than me."

Several people laughed again, and Mr. Gu patted Qin Yunhe's arm and motioned him to sit down.

This time when he sat down, Qin Yunhe finally felt less restrained, as if he had returned to the time when he first became a disciple.

The teacher and student chatted about family matters and recent events for a while, and as usual, Mr. Gu asked about Qin Yunhe's schoolwork.

Qin Yunhe has been working very hard recently and has been very effective. After testing him on several questions, Mr. Gu was very satisfied and Qin Yunhe also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not bad, not bad. It seems you haven't neglected it. You have really grown up and learned to study hard."

Qin Yunhe felt a little embarrassed: It has been a long time since I was praised by the teacher.

"Master feels that with your current level, you can give it another try. Do you have any plans?"

"Yes, the student plans to take the entrance exam next year."

Mr. Gu twirled his beard and nodded: "Well, not bad. Judging from your current knowledge, you should have no problem passing the college entrance examination. But you still need to continue to study hard before the exam and don't slack off."

Qin Yunhe quickly said yes.

The teacher and student hadn't seen each other for a long time and talked a lot.

Qin Yunhe saw that it was almost noon, so he stood up and prepared to leave, but was stopped by the teacher: "We haven't seen each other for a long time, why are you in such a hurry? Are you afraid that the teacher will test you again? Don't leave at noon, stay and have lunch before going back."

Qin Yunhe was naturally happy about it.

After the teacher and student finished their lunch, Qin Yunhe remembered that the teacher had the habit of taking a nap, so he said goodbye and left without staying any longer.

When Qin Yunhe returned home, it was already past noon.

"You're back. Several people came today to ask you if you would write Spring Festival couplets this year." Seeing Qin Yunhe coming back, Qin's mother came out and asked him.

In the past, Qin Yunhe's father liked to help the neighbors write Spring Festival couplets during the Chinese New Year. It became a habit among the neighbors, and every Chinese New Year would come to ask for two pairs of Spring Festival couplets to take home and post.

Later, Qin's father passed away. Although Qin Yunhe was not as keen on writing Spring Festival couplets as his father, he would still write them if someone asked.

Today I solved another knot in my heart, and I was in a good mood. I hurriedly said, "Write it. I didn't have time before and forgot about it. I'll clean up and prepare the pen and ink and I'll write. Mom, go and call them."

PS. There are indeed many things to be careful of in ancient imperial examinations, such as improper writing style, inappropriate wording, disrespect for tradition, mixing slang, not knowing how to avoid taboos, and even illegible handwriting. I found that a candidate was stripped of his title of candidate because of inappropriate wording. Here, it was applied to Qin Yunhe, who was stripped of his title of scholar.