Chapter 41 The Examination Begins

Wang Xuezhou was genuinely grateful to Master Zhou.

Over the years, although the master had never formally taken him as a disciple, he had taught him everything he knew without reservation. Because Wang Xuezhou lived at the academy, his learning pace eventually surpassed that of Zhao Xing and Qi Xian. Consequently, the master often held private tutoring sessions for him after regular classes, and even assigned him more homework than the others.

Though it had been exhausting over the years, his progress had advanced by leaps and bounds.

During the past month, the group of young men had studied with redoubled effort. Wang Xuezhou had read that collection of poetry several times, reaping immense benefits.

The day before the examinations soon arrived.

Wang Chengzhi brought Wang Xuewen into the city to rendezvous with Wang Xuezhou, and the three of them checked into an inn closest to the tribute examination hall.

Eight hundred copper coins a night!

This price made Wang Chengzhi practically bite through his back molars. Originally, he had intended to rent two rooms so that the two young men could rest properly, but in the end, he only rented one.

There was simply no help for it!

With the examinations drawing near, none of the surrounding inns were cheap. Moreover, the innkeeper had smiled and said, "The young master is a man of vast talent, and eight is a wonderfully auspicious number."

After saying that, the man simply looked at Wang Chengzhi with a faint smile. Wang Chengzhi felt that if he didn't fork over this money, his conscience would prick him, so he cheerfully paid the innkeeper.

Although the room was rather expensive, it was indeed clean and tidy, and even equipped with a large desk.

Watching the two boys put down their luggage, Wang Chengzhi instructed them, "Get some good rest here. I'm going out to inquire if anything else needs to be prepared; the things prepared at home might not be entirely sufficient."

Wang Xuezhou nodded, "Alright."

Wang Xuewen looked around eagerly, a hint of excitement on his face, "Chundan, this is my first time staying in the city! After the exams are over, how about we play here for a day before going home?"

"···The exams start tomorrow, First Brother, and you're still in the mood to play?"

"What's wrong with that? If I don't pass this time, I'll just come back and try again next time!" Wang Xuewen said carelessly, not taking it to heart at all.

"You're turning fifteen this year, First Brother. If you fail the exams, do you suppose the family will urge you to get married, or continue waiting for you to pass?"

Wang Xuezhou's words stirred Wang Xuewen into a panic, "That won't do! Who wants some young wife? I am going to bring honor to my ancestors!"

Seeing him quiet down, Wang Xuezhou smiled and went back to reading his annotated *Zuo Zhuan*.

Wang Chengzhi was gone for quite a while before returning, having not only purchased two examination baskets but also a considerable number of items needed for the test.

That night, Wang Xuezhou and Wang Xuewen slept on the bed, while Wang Chengzhi made a makeshift pallet on the floor. The two boys went to sleep early and were promptly woken up by Wang Chengzhi at two o'clock in the morning.

After hastily washing up and straightening their clothes, the two of them hurried along with Wang Chengzhi toward the examination grounds.

Upon stepping outside, they realized the weather was uncooperative today. A biting cold wind was howling through the air, and the sky was as gloomy as if it were about to rain.

When they reached the examination venue, long queues had already formed at the gates.

The moment Wang Xuezhou arrived, he spotted Master Zhou and the others waiting there. He called out and hurried over.

"The timing is just right, get in line to enter!"

As soon as everyone was assembled, the candidates immediately began lining up to enter the grounds.

Wang Chengzhi sent Wang Xuewen off to join the queue, then anxiously ran back to buy two oiled paper umbrellas for the two of them to take along.

Because Lü Dasheng was the extra person, he lined up with the students from Ruhai Academy. The group stood not far apart from one another, and their voices carried clearly.

Scarcely had the queue started moving when a student from Ruhai Academy sneered to his fellow classmate nearby, "Really, any stray cat or dog can come take the exams these days. Who knows if they've even grown all their hair yet."

This remark caused the group from Shanshan Academy to look over. The speaker not only showed no trace of guilt upon being caught, but instead spoke with even greater indignation, "What are you looking at! I'm talking about you lot!"

His companion awkwardly tugged at his sleeve, but he shook the hand off with a yank, "If your own people couldn't muster enough numbers, you shouldn't have bothered coming. What's the meaning of squeezing in here with us?"

Lü Dasheng was no pushover either, and instantly realized this person was directing his grievances at him, "I'm pleased to be here, and my master is pleased too. Is that any business of yours?"

"People like you coming here is just making up numbers! You..."

"Silence! Anyone else making a commotion will be sent straight home!"

A yamen runner maintaining order stepped over and directly cut off whatever else the student was going to say.

The boy shut his mouth resentfully, but cast extremely unkind glances at the group from Shanshan Academy.

Xia Qianli frowned deeply as he watched, "What kind of person is this!"

"Pay him no mind, we're about to enter."

Wang Xuezhou pointed his chin ahead; there were only two people left in front of him.

The examinations had strict regulations regarding clothing. Hats, shirts, robes, and socks all had to be single-layered, and even the shoe soles could only be thin.

Secondly, the bags holding the examination tools could not have linings, inkstones could not be too thick, writing brush shafts had to be hollow, and water containers had to be ceramic—and so on. Even the charcoal for warming and the candle stands were subject to strict rules.

Watching the fellow ahead of him standing there stripped bare and shivering with chattering teeth while the yamen runners inspected him, Wang Xuezhou mentally prepared himself before stepping forward.

He nimbly peeled off the eight layers of single-layered garments he wore. The mere act of undressing took up a considerable amount of time, causing the inspecting yamen runners to twitch the corners of their mouths.

They felt him all over from head to toe, and only after confirming there were no issues did they let him get dressed. While he was putting his clothes back on, the items he had brought were thoroughly rummaged through.

Fortunately, he had already torn his steamed pancakes into dice-sized pieces beforehand. Otherwise, the thought of these yamen runners—whose hands had goodness knows how many times touched who-knows-whose buttocks—tearing apart his food would have made it rather unpalatable...

He stood aside and waited for a short while before hearing someone call out the guarantor: "Lin Youtong, Licentiate of Baishan County, guarantees Zhao Xing, Qi Xian, Wang Xuezhou, Zheng Guangyuan, and Xia Qianli—these five men!"

Master Lin stepped forward and responded, "I guarantee Zhao Xing..."

Once Master Lin finished speaking, the five of them stepped forward once again to have their identities verified by the yamen runners.

After the guarantor roll call concluded, they entered the examination cubicles one by one to wait.

All the examination cubicles faced the same direction. The space inside was narrow and cramped, preventing one from seeing the people in front, behind, or to the sides while seated within.

It felt somewhat oppressive, but it also helped candidates concentrate fully on answering the questions.

His luck was fairly decent; the cubicle assigned to him was relatively near the front and quite far from the latrine, though a musty odor greeted him the moment he stepped inside.

After placing his two wooden boards in position and checking that they were stable, he tidied up briefly, arranged his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and waited for the first imperial examination of his life.

Just as the sky grew bright at dawn, the sound of drums reverberated.

Guards marched past carrying placards. Since Wang Xuezhou's cubicle was close to the front, he could see the questions clearly at a glance.

The first session was the primary test, and the topics posed were not difficult.

Two essays in the stereotyped eight-legged style, and one five-character poem with six rhymes following prescribed test formats.