139, the college examination begins

139, the college examination begins

After May 1st and just a few days into June, it was time for the college entrance examination.

On the morning of the college entrance examination, before daybreak, his father insisted on sending him to the examination hall in their donkey cart. After the previous two exams, this was Lu Mingfei's third visit to the place, and he was already very familiar with it.

However, the number of candidates taking the exam on this day was obviously much less than the previous two times, and the roads they came on were not as congested as the previous two times.

After getting off the donkey cart, Lu Mingfei saw Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan waiting for him in front. He said to the father who brought him there, "Dad, you go back. Zhuoran and I will just go to the front and line up."

"Just do whatever you want to do. There's no need to wait here for me to go out. You don't have to come pick me up later. I'll go back with Zhuoran and the others in their carriage."

They had all set out together and arrived here at the same time. When they got off the donkey cart, Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan's carriage had already stopped in front of them, and they had all gotten off and were waiting for him.

Lu Mingfei didn't want his entire family to get nervous just because he was taking an exam. His father still sent him here and picked him up every day, but he didn't think it was necessary. If he was taking an exam out of town and needed a parent to accompany him, it would be easier to just send him there. But now he was taking the exam locally, and the distance from his home to the exam center was only halfway across Kyoto Prefecture, still in the city, so he didn't think it was necessary for a parent to accompany him.

Lu Youtian also knew his children's personalities, so he had no choice but to respond: "Okay, Dad will watch you go to the front before we go."

"Then I'm leaving, Dad. Be careful on your way back." Time was tight today, so Lu Mingfei didn't bother to talk to his father. After the father and son exchanged a few words, he carried the exam basket and a few folding stools and went to the front to wait for his classmates.

After walking over here, he turned around and saw his father looking at him from behind, so he made a gesture to his old father behind him.

Lu Youtian understood and couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. He didn't know whether it was a good thing or a bad thing for the child to be so independent. Since his eldest son didn't want him to wait here with him, he had no choice but to lead the donkey and go back the way he came.

"Let's go." Lu Mingfei greeted Zhang Lingxuan, Ye Zhuoran and others, and they went to the front to line up.

Although they arrived early, there were people who arrived earlier than them, so when they got here, the line in front of them was still very long.

They stood at the back of the line. Lu Mingfei took out the folding stool he had prepared in advance and asked the students who were taking the exam together, "Do you want a stool?"

"Bench?" Ye Zhuoran took the strange object and looked at Lu Mingfei as if asking: Are you kidding me? Tell me, is this a bench?

"You can sit on it with your legs spread out." Lu Mingfei opened a bench and showed it to the other four friends.

This time, they came together to take the exam, and it was the same five people who came last time. They were lucky, as all five of them passed the previous exam and got the admission to this one.

The person who guaranteed them was their master.

When they arrived here, their master chef was already waiting for them in front.

Lu Mingfei spread out the stools and sat down, looking up at the four companions who were watching him: "What do you think? Do you want to continue standing? Or sit down and wait like me?" After two experiences of taking exams, he learned his lesson this time and prepared small stools in advance, otherwise they would have to stand here for a long time before they could wait for the door in front to open and go in.

"Who would stand when there are stools to sit on?" Ye Zhuoran was the second one to spread out the stool and sit down.

After Zhang Lingxuan figured out how to open this thing, he also opened the stool and sat down.

Fu Boming and Feng Muchun looked at each other, smiled, spread out the stools Lu Mingfei had given them, and sat down.

Everyone around them was standing, only the five of them were sitting, so the line was recessed when it reached them. The five of them sitting there also formed a strange landscape in the middle of the line.

Ye Zhuoran was a carefree person. He didn't care what others thought of him as long as he was comfortable. He even said to Lu Mingfei, who was sitting behind him, "This stool is really nice and stable to sit on. Mingfei, why did you think of bringing a stool?"

"You've stood there twice before, and each time for such a long time. Haven't you learned your lesson?" Lu Mingfei asked back.

"That's true." Ye Zhuoran nodded seriously, with an expression that said, "I've learned something."

Lu Mingfei and Zhang Lingxuan are people who don't care much about other people's eyes, so they don't care much about how others see them.

Knowing it was still early, the front door wasn't open, and their line hadn't moved forward yet. After speaking a few words to Ye Zhuoran, Lu Mingfei signaled Ye Zhuoran not to disturb him. He then closed his eyes and began to rest, reviewing the knowledge related to the exam in his mind.

When Fu Boming and Feng Muchun saw someone looking at them, they felt a little strange.

Just when Feng Muchun was about to stand up, he heard someone behind them asking where the stool came from.

"We'll bring it ourselves." Ye Zhuoran replied.

The man wanted to ask if anyone had extra so he could give him one, but he saw that no one else had any, so he stopped asking.

Seeing others looking at the stools below them with envy, Fu Boming and Feng Muchun's embarrassment was finally alleviated a little. But the truth was, having a stool to sit on was definitely more comfortable than standing and waiting for such a long time.

After the first two exams, which eliminated quite a few people, the third round of the academy exam had a much smaller number of candidates than the second round; and the number of candidates in the second round was already much smaller than the number of candidates in the first round.

This means that after each exam, most of the people will be eliminated, and only a small number of people can enter the next exam.

It can be said that both ability and luck are indispensable for candidates to pass every exam.

Lu Mingfei knew full well that the imperial examinations would become increasingly difficult as the exams progressed. It could be said that the first three small exams were just a battle between these rookies entering the examination hall, but after the provincial exam, every exam was like a battle between gods.

The provincial examinations were conducted by scholars from each province gathered at the provincial imperial examination halls, while the metropolitan and palace examinations were conducted by candidates from each province gathered in Kyoto. Each examination was more challenging, and it would be no exaggeration to say that among thousands of people, only one person could cross the narrow bridge.

But now he didn't think that far ahead. He just wanted to pass the exam in front of him so that he would have the opportunity to enter the next exam and compete with others for a higher ranking.

***

While they were waiting, the door to the examination room opened.

After the candidates in front began to check in and enter, their line moved forward.

The five people then stood up, picked up the stools they were sitting on, and handed them to Ye Zhuoran and Zhang Lingxuan's two servants to take back when they left.

However, they still had to wait in line for more than half an hour before they arrived at the entrance of the examination room.

Before entering the examination room, they had to take off their clothes, shoes, and even their hair, and undergo a detailed inspection to make sure that they did not have any notes on their bodies. Only after passing the inspection could they put on their clothes, tidy up their clothes, and enter the examination room.

"Come in."

"Thanks."

Lu Mingfei bowed to the soldier who was checking him, put on his clothes and tidied his hair, then carried the examination basket and went down to the next step.

The five candidates who were guaranteeing each other waited here for a while before entering the examination room together.

There is another check at the gate, where the examiner verifies their personal information.

When the five of them came in, they saw their husband standing aside, verifying their information with the examiner.

At this point, their husbands have to verify their information with the examiner to confirm that they are taking the exam in person. They also have to sign and point their names on a piece of paper before they can get the badge and enter the exam room.

Therefore, it was very difficult to impersonate someone in the ancient imperial examinations. Only the guarantor would dare to help someone impersonate someone else to take the exam, unless he or she was willing to sacrifice both his or her fame and life.

For scholars, reputation is a very important thing, and it is not easy to obtain an imperial examination, so basically no one with an imperial examination would be willing to help others cheat in the imperial examination.

"Student Lu Mingfei."

"Student Ye Zhuoran."

"Student Zhang Lingxuan."

"Student Fu Boming."

"Student Feng Muchun."

When they arrived in front of the examiner, the five of them took turns stating their names, then bowed to the examiner sitting in front of them, performing a student's salute and saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency."

Mr. Fu signed and pointed on a piece of paper to confirm that the information of the five candidates and himself was correct.

"No need to be polite." The examiner, sitting in the upper seat, glanced at the candidate in front of him when he heard Lu Mingfei's name. After confirming that it was the candidate himself, he asked someone standing nearby to hand out the seat numbers.

After getting the badge, the five of them went into the examination room together.

At this time, Mr. Fu was not able to leave immediately because there were other candidates behind him for whom he was acting as guarantor. He had to stand here and wait until the five candidates behind him came over. He could only leave after he had acted as a guarantor for the five candidates.

At this time, Lu Mingfei, Zhang Lingxuan and the other four people had already taken their seat numbers and entered the examination room.

Although the five of them received their seat numbers at the same time and entered the venue together, the seat numbers were given to them in a random order, so the five people's seat numbers were not in the same place, and naturally their seats were not in the same place.

Lu Mingfei took his seat number, found his exam seat, and sat down. There was still some time before the exam started, so he placed the exam basket in the middle of the table and didn't open it immediately.

This was his third time here, so he was not unfamiliar with this examination room.

But he knew that some people here had already been here countless times. If they didn't pass this time, many would come back to retake the exam two years later. However, he hoped that he could pass it on his first try and take the exam at a different location next time, rather than being stuck on the first two tests.

Come on! He encouraged himself in his heart, telling himself that he must pass it in one go!

At the same time, Zhang Lingxuan, Ye Zhuoran, Fu Boming, and Feng Muchun also found their respective seats and sat down to wait for the exam to begin.