They say a third-place graduate once rode through the imperial avenue on horseback, his bearing extraordinary.
In later generations, folk tales circulated about the romantic affair between the third-place graduate and a young general.
They said the two had been close for more than ten years, but after an imperial decree, the young general gave his life on the battlefield.
The story ended with the third-place graduate holding power over the court, yet never again seeing the person who had once followed him everywhere.
So it turned out that all the love and hatred, all the tangled passions, came down to this: life is best spent growing old over wine, with snow covering Chang'an's roads.
Third-place graduate × young general
