Chapter 152: Palace Examination

"Excuse me, I'll go and relieve myself for a while." Geng Weishou bowed to Jiang Chunbao.

"Brother Geng, please come back soon." Jiang Chunbao even stood up and helped Geng Weishou.

"Brother Jiang, please eat first. I'll be back soon." Geng Weishou walked a little unsteadily. He asked the waiter about the location of the toilet and went to the backyard.

Jiang Chunbao continued to eat.

While Geng Weishou was away, Jiang Chunbao picked out all the meat from the dishes, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it in big mouthfuls, then took a big gulp of wine.

Eating meat and drinking wine with big mouthfuls was really enjoyable! Jiang Chunbao was very happy and felt that he was really lucky.

I had a good dinner. I will go live with Geng Weishou later. I can save a lot of money during this period of time. I can spend one or two hundred coins to buy an old item and say it is a family heirloom. I will give it to Geng Weishou as a token of gratitude and the deal will be done.

The night deepens.

After eating and drinking their fill, the guests in Zuixianlou dispersed.

Jiang Chunbao was eating and drinking leisurely at first, but gradually he became restless.

Geng Weishou has been gone for nearly half an hour, which is a bit too long.

Worried that something might have happened to Geng Weishou, Jiang Chunbao asked the waiter about the location of the toilet, intending to look for it, but when he got there, it was empty.

"Where is the person who was having dinner with me just now?" Jiang Chunbao was a little panicked and hurriedly grabbed the waiter to ask.

"Who is it?" The waiter was a little confused by the question.

"He was having dinner with me just now..." Jiang Chunbao was a little incoherent, "The guy, short, fat, dark, he even moved the dishes to my table to eat. He just said he was going to the toilet, why is he gone now?"

"You mean that guy?" The waiter suddenly realized, "He just left through the back door, saying he had something urgent to do. When he left, he also packed up two chickens and a pot of wine."

"Sir, are you leaving now? Let's settle the bill. I just did a rough calculation. The total cost of the wine and food on your table is three taels and six cents of silver."

What? Jiang Chunbao was stunned for a moment, and then he collapsed to the ground powerlessly. ——The days passed in a flash, and in the blink of an eye it was time for the provincial examination.

The county examination consists of four sessions, each lasting one day with a few days' interval in between. The prefectural examination consists of three sessions: copying scriptures, essays, and policy essays. The first two last one day each, and the third takes two days, making a total of four days.

You are not allowed to leave the examination room during these four days. Daily rest and meals are all done in the "pigeon cage". If you need to go to the toilet, there will be a special person to guide you.

It can be said that the provincial examination not only tests knowledge, but also physical strength.

At 1 a.m., the examination hall opens and a simple search is conducted at the entrance. Candidates are then led by children to the various examination halls, where a more detailed body search is conducted at the entrance.

After two consecutive examinations, Song Jingyun arrived at his own examination room, No. 46.

The room is fully equipped with everything needed. It is surrounded by walls on three sides, and two sturdy wooden boards are built on the walls, one is a table and the other is a stool. Both boards are movable. At night, the two boards are laid together to form a bed, where you can sleep at night.

At this time, there was a quilt on the stool, and pen, ink, paper and inkstone, all the things needed to answer questions, were placed on the table.

Song Jingyun entered the cell, sat down, and checked his belongings.

Seeing that everything could be used normally, I sat down with peace of mind.

When the test papers were distributed, Song Jingyun felt relieved. He just dipped his pen in ink and answered the questions carefully on the answer sheet.

The atmosphere in the entire examination room was solemn and serious, yet very quiet.

It was so quiet that you could hear other people's breathing, the rustling of papers when answering questions, and the gurgling sound of some people swallowing because of nervousness.

Song Jingyun was focused and answered the questions seriously.

After sending Song Jingyun to the examination room, Jiang Mixia strolled around the street, had breakfast, and returned to the inn to rest.

If Song Jingyun wants to take the exam for four days, then she will have to stay in the inn for four full days.

Be alone.

Since arriving here, she has been accompanied by her young son-in-law every day, eating and sleeping together. Now she is suddenly left alone, and she is really not used to it.

Jiang Mixia tossed and turned in bed for a long time before she finally took a nap in a daze.

Jiang Mixia slept until noon and felt hungry, so she went out to look for food.

The food in the inn was actually quite good, but it was hard to taste good if you ate it every day. Jiang Mixia also found it boring, so she went out to look for something else.

The food in the restaurants on the main street tasted mostly the same, so she went for a walk in the side streets and alleys to see if there were any rare local delicacies.

There are many small shops and stalls in the alley. At noon, there are many people coming and going.

Amid the noise, there was a strong fragrance.

Jiang Mixia walked around and looked everywhere, and finally found a stall selling red oil wonton.

In Jiang Mixia’s impression, red oil wonton is a delicacy from Sichuan and Chongqing. It’s amazing that she can see such food here in the north.

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Jiang Mixia was curious and wanted to taste it.

The woman selling red oil dumplings was a woman only a few years older than her, and she was accompanied by a child of four or five years old, a girl who was a little thin and had yellowish hair, but had a pair of big, watery eyes that were very likable.

Seeing Jiang Mixia standing beside the stall, the girl hurriedly brought over the chopstick bucket.

He looked at Jiang Mixia eagerly, obviously expecting her to sit down.

"Give me a bowl of red oil wonton." Jiang Mixia sat down with a smile.

The girl breathed a sigh of relief and took some firewood from the pile to add to the stove.

The woman skillfully put the food into the pot, scooped it out into a bowl after it was cooked, poured red oil and other seasonings on it, and brought it to Jiang Mixia, "Enjoy it slowly."

It was greasy, red, and exuding a faint fragrance. Jiang Mixia took a bite.

The fragrant flavor spreads in your mouth.

"It's delicious." Jiang Mixia exclaimed.

"Then please come often in the future, sir." The woman smiled a little stiffly.

"Yeah." Jiang Mixia nodded.

Such delicious red oil wontons, I have to come here more often to eat them.

Besides, the little son-in-law is the most greedy. After he finishes the exam, I must bring him here to have a taste.

Jiang Mixia thought so and continued to scoop the red oil wonton in the bowl and eat it deliciously.

The stall is not big, with only about six or seven people sitting in it. It is lunchtime now, so it is basically full.

A burly man walked over quickly.

Jiang Mixia glanced at the man and saw that he was sitting next to her, so she subconsciously moved slightly to the side to make more space.

But the big man did not sit down to eat the red oil wonton, but instead stretched out his hand to the woman.

In order to advance the plot, the system and knowledge about the imperial examinations are mostly based on the historical materials of the imperial examination system in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The author has made some modifications, and there will be some differences from history. Don't be too picky. 　　 　 (End of this chapter)