When it was almost Pei Zi Yun's turn, the Elementary Scholar in front of him had stripped down to his undergarments. Under the light of the lantern, there were words written on it. The bailiff came over and took a look. An official then ordered, "Take him away."
Two bailiffs dragged the crying Elementary Scholar away. No one knew where he was being held.
The official then shouted, "Listen up, those who have not entered the examination grounds, throw away your paper. If not, you will be charged with cheating. You will be punished with flogging and your Elementary Scholar status will be stripped!"
After two consecutive cases, some of the Elementary Scholars looked at each other and secretly threw away their paper balls. The officials did not check the paper balls outside the examination grounds.
Pei Zi Yun successfully entered the examination grounds. The examiner verified his identity before a soldier led Pei Zi Yun to the examination grounds. It was a row of thatched huts, built with green bricks. The roof was covered with straw, and it looked very rough.
Pei Zi Yun entered his seat facing the room. There was only a table, a chair and a bed. On the bed, there was a mat. There wasn't even a blanket. However, there was a brazier, charcoal and flint.
Every room was guarded by soldiers. At the end of the row of thatched huts was a toilet. Pei Zi Yun's luck was pretty good, as he was quite far away from it.
The examination would only begin in the afternoon. In the morning, everyone would be arranged to enter the examination grounds. Everyone had to be checked one by one. Although they were separated by residence, it would still take an entire morning.
If they were hungry, there would be soldiers handing out biscuits and water. After Pei Zi Yun entered the examination grounds, he started to work in an orderly manner. First, he cleaned up the cobwebs and dust in the room.
Next, he laid out everything one by one. He placed the blankets on the mat and covered it with layers of blankets. He then thought to himself, 'On such a rainy day, if I didn't bring a blanket, the chances of a tragedy would be much higher. If I slept, I would catch a cold. If I didn't sleep, I wouldn't be able to take the examination. This is my experience.'
There was a brazier, charcoal and flint. However, there weren't many of them, and he couldn't waste them. He could only use them when he was hungry. If he ran out of them, he would have to eat cold food every day.
Since he had just entered the examination grounds, the food he brought was still warm. Hence, Pei Zi Yun took out some salted eggs, biscuits and some meat. This was also a must. The meat could be brought, but it had to be eaten on the first day. If not, it would spoil and he would suffer from diarrhea.
After eating, he closed his eyes to rest. Just after noon, the sound of a cannon could be heard, signaling the start of the State Examination. The examiners handed out the examination papers.
When he received the examination paper, he took a look at it and felt that it was as white as snow. In his previous life, it wouldn't have been considered much. But in this era, it was considered a top grade paper.
"The provincial trial paper is so exquisite. The imperial court must have attached great importance to it!"
After the examination papers were distributed, a scribe distributed brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. There were many brushes on the rack, and they could choose as they pleased. There was also an examiner reading out the examination questions.
Just like the last time, Pei Zi Yun checked the script against the examiner's voice to see if there were any mistakes or omissions.
After confirming that there were no mistakes, he began to look at the examination questions.
In the first volume, there were still the formality of the sutra and ink-style scriptures, but the proportion was very small.
There were seven questions after that. Five of them were classic questions. The first one was' Breaking the rules'. Pei Zi Yun heaved a sigh of relief as he flipped to the next three questions and looked at them.
"Yu Tang is outwardly heavy but inwardly light, while Guan Lu is outwardly light but inwardly heavy.
"Fang Liang does not have the heart of Shen Shang but uses his techniques. Mo Shi Dang uses Shen Shang but uses his name!"
"Li Du requests the Prime Minister to summon all the talents and advisors from all over the world to discuss the matter in a private room!"
"The first question is about Fan Zhen, the second is about the reforms, and the third is about the talents. Hehe, the great Xu Dynasty is beginning to show its determination to govern the world."
"There are seven questions in a row, and each one is a long essay. It takes a total of three days and two nights. This is extremely taxing on one's mental and physical strength."
"In the Regional Examinations, one's stamina and health are essential. Therefore, it is very important to plan accordingly. Most of the bookworms who only know how to study would not be able to last three days and two nights."
It was drizzling outside the door. Other than the footsteps of the patrolling guards, there was only the sound of the brush writing.
"The Grand Scholars entering this examination hall would be like fish in water." Pei Zi Yun took one look and knew what to do. He then picked up the inkstone and started grinding the ink.
Grinding the ink required patience. Grinding the ink gently without adding any force. This way, the ink produced would be exquisite and the words written would be strong. The inkstone provided by the officials in the Regional Examinations was considered to be of average quality. After grinding it carefully, he dipped the brush into the ink and picked up a piece of Xuan paper to write.
Even if he was a Grand Scholar, he would not be so careless as to write directly on the first volume. Instead, he would write on a rough draft. After he finished writing, he looked at the first question, "Not following the rules!"
"This question comes from Mencius. Li Lou 1. Mencius said," Li Lou's brilliance, Gong Shu Zi's cleverness. Without following the rules, one would not be able to achieve success. " Pei Zi Yun had inherited the knowledge of Han Lin Academy. With one look, he could tell, "It means that the ruler should follow the rules and regulations of the Sage King to govern the country."
Pei Zi Yun picked up the brush and dipped it into the ink. After thinking for a while, he picked up the brush and started writing. After he finished the first sentence, he continued writing.
"Not following the rules and regulations, but relying on cleverness and cleverness." This sentence was already the answer to the question.
"Man's rules and regulations, must not be followed. Must not be followed, but why not? Why must one rely on cleverness and cleverness?" This sentence was already the answer to the question.
"I have heard of the ancient noblemen, that there is no need to follow the rules and regulations. There is no need to follow the rules and regulations. There is no need to follow the rules and regulations, but there is no need to follow the rules and regulations. It can only be shown through the rules and regulations, but it cannot be made clear. Gong Shu Zi can only be defeated by the rules and regulations, and cannot be defeated by cleverness. Then the rules and regulations must be followed. Without following the rules and regulations, how can one achieve success? "
The torrential essay was finished in one stroke, but when he stopped, he felt that he had used up a lot of energy.
"Although it was done in one stroke, it was still very tiring."
The ink on the paper needed to be left to dry for a while. In this rainy weather, it would take even longer. Pei Zi Yun placed the manuscript aside and closed his eyes to rest. He drank some sugar water.
He looked at the second question, "Achieving the 'Scholar's Knowledge of Tools', obtaining the word 'Literature'."
This question was very insidious. The first half of the question was hidden. The original sentence should be 'Scholar's knowledge of tools, then literature'. If one did not know the whole sentence, it would be very easy to not understand the question.
'A scholar must first have the knowledge of tools before he can talk about literature and art'. A scholar must have the knowledge of tools before he can talk about literature and art. What he needed to pay attention to here was that he had to write down the keywords used in the topic. This was just a small trick. Pei Zi Yun finished his draft in one stroke as well.
After finishing his draft, he placed it on the mat to dry.
At this point, he finally felt exhausted. Looking around, it was already dusk, and the rain was still falling. The soldiers were wearing straw raincoats, carrying a pole. On one side, there were meat pancakes, and on the other side, there was a bowl of porridge. They were distributing it to the Elementary Scholars.
Pei Zi Yun took the pancakes and porridge. They were still warm in his hands, and he ate them. It was a rainy day today, and the sky was dark. It was getting darker than usual. Some soldiers had lit torches to brighten the sky.
At this point, many of the Elementary Scholars were scratching their heads, racking their brains, trying their best to write. Some Elementary Scholars could not write, and raised their heads to look at the straw covering of their seats. They were in a daze. Some of them were bawling their eyes out, and were scolded, "If you make another sound, you will be disqualified!"
The examination hall was filled with all sorts of emotions.
It was said that in the past few examinations, there were Elementary Scholars who went crazy in the examination hall and were dragged out. Some of the newly promoted Elementary Scholars, who were taking the examination for the first time, did not feel anything. But after sitting for the entire afternoon, when dusk fell, they felt like they were on the verge of collapsing.
"Time to finish the third question in one go!"
Although there were torches outside, it was quite a distance away from the door, and the room was still dark. Hence, a candle was lit. Experienced people knew that the first day was the time to recharge and recharge. Hence, they could write more questions. However, on the second or third day, they might not be able to hold on.
But even so, three questions for today was the limit. If he continued, he would be looking for trouble.
He immediately meditated and started writing the third question. The night gradually deepened, and the examination hall was brightly lit. As night approached, the soldiers changed.
The chief examiners hadn't rested yet. The chief examiner, Hu Yingzhen, was patrolling the examination room with his guards and local government runners. There were also several examiners wearing straw raincoats, following behind them and patrolling around.
"The third question is done." Pei Zi Yun lit the stove in the examination hall and placed it under his feet. As the night grew darker, he placed the manuscript on the table and used a paperweight to keep it from being blown away by the wind and missing the examination.
At this point, the pancake on the stove was hot, and the water was warm. There were candles everywhere in the examination hall. Pei Zi Yun ate slowly. He could have some cold food for lunch, but if he were to eat cold food now, he would be looking for trouble.
He drank a mouthful of warm sugar water and looked at the chief examiner, Hu Yingzhen, with his hands behind his back, walking slowly in front of him with a group of officials.
Pei Zi Yun was too young, and was stared at a few times. Pei Zi Yun remained calm and pretended not to see anything. He continued to eat and thought to himself, "Even though I inherited the Hanlin Academy, I only managed to complete three questions on the first day. There are still four questions to go. It can only be said that I have some spare time."
"Ordinary Elementary Scholars who can complete all the homework are already very nervous."
The examiner patrolled the examination hall once, and Pei Zi Yun finished eating. Seeing that the draft was all dry, he folded it and placed it in the bookcase in the corner of the bed. He blew out the candles and lay on the bed. Fortunately, he had brought a blanket with him. He crawled under the blanket and covered his body with his clothes. Suddenly, he felt warm.
Without any hesitation, he fell asleep.
At night, Hu Yingzhen patrolled the examination hall for the second time. The sound of the wind could be heard, and torches were lit everywhere. Some of the students in the examination hall were already lying on their beds, while others were still busy writing. The atmosphere in the examination hall was still tense. Although most of the students knew that they had to rest for the examination the next day, they were still tossing and turning restlessly, causing their beds to creak.
It was not allowed to speak freely in the examination hall. Hu Yingzhen only laughed, "These students are too young!"
One of the examiners replied in a low voice, "Yes, your excellency, they have no experience!"
The conversation ended there. They passed by another examination hall, and saw that someone was really asleep inside. When they got closer, they saw that there was a paperweight on top of a piece of white paper. There was a young man lying on the bed, with a thin blanket on top of him. There were also some clothes on top of him.
"This young man is well prepared, perhaps he is not bad." This thought flashed past Hu Yingzhen's mind as she continued patrolling the examination hall.
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