Su Jin looked up and saw Zhen Jingxiu not far in front of him.
"Brother Su, over here."
Seeing Su Jin looking over, Zhen Jingxiu called out again, addressing him as "Brother Su" instead of "Young Master Su." Su Jin felt a warmth in his heart and quickly walked towards him.
"Brother Su, let's go in together in a bit. Maybe we'll get cells that are closer together."
Su Jin craned his neck to look ahead and saw that after the official inspected the scholar's belongings, he casually picked up a number plate from the basket and handed it to the scholar.
Su Jin said, "Jingxiu, look at those officials, they seem to be taking them at will. The rules for assigning cells this year are different from before. Even if we go in at the same time, we might not be close to each other."
"Then it depends on luck."
The conversation between Zhen Jingxiu and Su Jin drew strange looks from those around them.
They all secretly wondered if these two were trying to cheat.
The officials inspected the scholar's blankets very thoroughly, leaving no part unchecked.
Su Jin estimated that it would take another fifteen minutes. He took the food box from Gao Mu's hand and said, "Brother Gao, go back. Sister still has many things to do."
Gao Mu naturally knew how busy the young lady had been lately, going to the clinic and then to the restaurant every day.
He cupped his hands and said, "I will take my leave now. I wish both of you gentlemen success in your endeavors."
Zhen Jingxiu was carrying things in both hands. He smiled at Gao Mu and said, "Thank you for your kind words."
Su Jin nodded and said to Gao Mu, "Okay."
After watching the carriage leave, Su Jin and Zhen Jingxiu moved forward a few more steps.
The officials conducted the inspection in an orderly manner.
Zhen Jingxiu said to Su Jin, "The officials this year seem much more polite. In the past, the search officers were like wolves and tigers, arbitrarily scolding the candidates. Some even hurled insults at them, treating them almost like prisoners."
"With the collapse of rites and music, chaos arose everywhere. It's better to have the new emperor and new policies now. Look, there are so many officials here today. With more officials inspecting, we won't have to wait too long. And the officials' attitudes are different from before."
Su Jin had heard his father say that in the past, when taking the imperial examinations, scholars had to line up in the middle of the night to wait for inspection.
The "calling of names and hearing of the emperor" would begin at dawn, and the gates of the examination hall would be locked before daybreak, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.
Despite the high walls surrounding the examination hall, which were as high as those of a palace, many spoiled young men still made it onto the list every year, demonstrating just how corrupt the examination hall was.
Three days before the imperial examination this year, notices were posted all over the capital, informing scholars to arrive at the examination hall before 7:00 AM.
Before they knew it, it was their turn to go through the inspection.
After the two officials reviewed the examination documents and verified that they were correct, they took the two men's blankets, opened them, and inspected them. Two other officials took the large food boxes from the two men's hands.
Open the lid, there are four layers in total: one layer, two layers, and so on.
The official glanced at the two men and asked, "Are you two family?"
Zhen Jingxiu laughed and said, "My lord has a good eye; you've noticed that."
Su Jin smiled without saying a word. The contents of their food boxes were exactly the same, so it was normal for them to be mistaken for family members.
"We have to open the lid. What's inside?"
The official saw that both food boxes contained identical ceramic jars and reached out to untie the rope sealing the openings.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Su Jin quickly reached out and pressed down.
The official looked up and scanned the two men's faces with a suspicious gaze, as if they were two cheating candidates.
Zhen Jingxiu frowned slightly and looked at Su Jin. "Brother Su, forget it. Let them investigate."
He knew that if the officials didn't investigate carefully, the two of them wouldn't be able to enter the examination hall today.
Su Jin shook her head. "No, my sister said that in this season, it has to be eaten within a day of opening, otherwise it will cause diarrhea."
The official said righteously, "Gentlemen, this is just routine business. If we don't open it, how will we know what's inside this ceramic jar?"
Su Jin had a sudden inspiration and came up with a compromise.
He looked calmly at the official and said, “Sir, there are cooked beef strips inside. In order to ensure that my brother and I have food for the next few days, and so as not to delay your official duties, please keep these ceramic jars for now. You can open one jar each day to check and then return them to us.”
After discussing it, the two officials inspecting the food boxes picked up two number plates and handed them to the two men respectively: "Alright, keep your number plates safe. I'll write them down and have the person in charge of the examination hall deliver them to you every day."
One official put away the ceramic jar, while the other picked up a pen and ink and wrote down the two men's cell numbers.
They had passed this hurdle. Finally, the two went to a room next door, where they stripped down to only their underwear.
The two men were barefoot, and the inspectors shook their underpants at them.
Then he checked each of them one by one to make sure there were no notes or anything, before saying to the two, "That's fine. Take your belongings and go to your cells to wait."
The two got dressed and carried the rumpled blankets inside.
At this moment, a man who came out of the next room muttered to himself, "All that squeezing and kneading, the eggs are almost crushed."
Zhen Jingxiu heard a familiar voice and turned around to look.
"Brother Lin!"
The speaker was none other than Lin Xiangzhi.
Lin Xiangzhi looked up and said, "I thought you had already gone in."
“No, I’m queuing on the right.” Zhen Jingxiu said, looking at Su Jin: “This is Brother Su. He lives across the street from Qingyunzhai, just across the street from my house.”
Su Jin nodded to Lin Xiangzhi, "Greetings, Young Master Lin, my name is Su Jin."
Lin Xiangzhi smiled in response, "Greetings, Young Master Su. I was waiting for inspection on the left and didn't see you two."
Su Jin lowered his gaze to the bamboo basket in Lin Xiangzhi's hand. "Brother Lin, did you bring eggs too? If any break, I brought more, so I can share some with you."
Lin Xiangzhi's lips twitched. "No, it's nothing. No, it's not broken. Thank you for your concern, brother."
Lin Xiangzhi didn't bring any eggs at all. Xiao Jingzhao asked Eunuch Ma to prepare rice, pickled vegetables, and some stinky mandarin fish for him. He also brought a box of exquisite pastries, enough for today's meal. The officials who were inspecting him broke all the pastries into pieces to check them. Lin Xiangzhi was disgusted by the fact that they had been touched, so he threw them away right after the inspection.
Zhen Jingxiu also said, "I also brought eggs. I'll give some to Brother Lin later. We have plenty of food prepared."
Lin Xiangzhi: "..." This misunderstanding is impossible to explain away.
"Jingxiu, what's your cell number?" Lin Xiangzhi quickly changed the subject.
Zhen Jingxiu was completely unaware of his strange expression and said as he walked forward, "I'm in dormitory number seventeen."
Lin Xiangzhi looked at Su Jin, and before he could ask, he said, "I'm in room number twenty-two."
Lin Xiangzhi looked around, his face dejected, and said, "You are all not far apart, so why was I assigned to such a far place?"
"What cell number are you in?" Zhen Jingxiu and Su Jin asked in unison.
"Sixty-six, we're almost at the end."
"Quickly, let's get everything arranged before the invigilator distributes the papers." Su Jin was physically strong, unlike other weak scholars. He took three steps at a time and walked to his cell to put down what he was carrying.
He turned around and took the bamboo basket from Lin Xiangzhi's hand. The food in the basket had been rummaged through by the inspectors and was in a bit of a mess. He took a few eggs from his own food box and put them on top of the rice bag.
Lin Xiangzhi smiled and said, "Brother Su, this... I'm so sorry, but I'll accept your kind offer. I'll thank you for the egg after the exam."
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