When Pan Jinhua arrived, only Liu Yun, Qi Wan, and Li Xushi were waiting outside the door. The children from the family were also there, and Yan Min brought Wang Jiao along.
Li Xuming and Li Xuchang were out doing errands, and Qi Qingpeng wasn't there. She was too young and they were afraid she would be frightened, so her wet nurse was taking her to play in her room.
Li Qingruo's screams came from inside, so loud that it was unbearable to listen.
The servants changed the water in the basins several times, and finally, a loud cry of a newborn baby reached everyone's ears.
"It's born! It's born!"
Everyone outside was overjoyed.
"Congratulations, Miss! You've given birth to a boy weighing 6.3 pounds. Listen to that voice, it's so loud!"
The midwife's fatigue vanished, replaced by a joyful smile.
"Mother, look at him, is he healthy?"
Li Qingruo was in tears, not knowing whether it was from pain or from simply being unable to hold back her emotions upon hearing the child's voice.
"Healthy! Very good, your little hands and feet are strong!"
Mo Qiaoniang was also wiping away tears. The midwife carefully handed the child to the two maids, wiped him down, and dressed him.
Outside, there was a lively cheer. Pan Jinhua quickly asked the doctor who was guarding the place to take her pulse, because postpartum hemorrhage was a life-threatening situation.
Fortunately, Li Qingruo took good care of herself during her pregnancy, exercised properly, and used her strength correctly during childbirth, resulting in a smooth delivery and the safety of both mother and child.
August arrived in the blink of an eye.
During this period, Li Qingyao and Gao Chuan would occasionally go out to participate in literary gatherings organized by their fellow villagers to cultivate their minds.
As the provincial examination drew closer, the atmosphere in the entire prefectural city grew increasingly tense, and the two of them stopped going out altogether.
At this time, various regulations regarding the examination were also released.
There are clear regulations regarding where to enter the examination room, when to enter, and when to leave.
The provincial examination consisted of three sessions, each lasting three days, for a total of nine days. However, the candidates did not have to stay in the examination hall for all nine consecutive days.
After each exam, candidates can go home to rest for one night and return to the exam room the next day to continue the exam.
I'm very tired, but at least I can catch my breath.
The first exam was on the Four Books, which was the highlight of the provincial examination. Because the scope of the questions was fixed and the exam was repeated, the examiners came up with increasingly creative and unconventional questions.
The dreaded "intercepting" question also tormented the two of them during this preparation period.
Li Qingyao was doing well. He had spent a year traveling and studying, visiting many talented people and learning a great deal. In Master Liu's words, he was completely transformed.
In addition to the Four Books, I also need to write a five-character, eight-line poem for the examination.
The second exam will consist of questions on the Five Classics, as well as case study questions, mainly testing official documents and judgments.
Official documents, mainly edicts, proclamations, and memorials, are relatively simple, while judgments are more difficult. The question type typically presents an example, and the candidate must make a judgment based on that example.
After all, the provincial examination was for selecting scholars; it would be unacceptable for an official to be unable to even adjudicate cases.
This examination not only tests the candidates' familiarity with laws and regulations, but also their ability to handle government affairs.
The third round of the exam tested policy questions.
This is the final and extremely important session of the provincial examination. Only after passing these three sessions can one be considered to have survived the provincial examination.
If you miss any exam, you'll have to wait another three years.
Previously, during the county and prefectural examinations, Li Qingyao had to find students from the Imperial Academy to act as guarantors. Now, since the candidates are all scholars who have passed the county-level examinations, this step of having guarantors is no longer necessary; only five people need to form a mutual agreement.
Li Qingyao formed a sworn brotherhood with Gao Chuan and three other members of the Gao family.
They knew each other well, because if one person cheated and was caught, all five of them would be implicated: they were all either from the same clan or relatives. Only someone who had lost their mind would do something that would harm their family.
The two memorized the information repeatedly, while outside, there were many conflicting rumors about the examiners.
This was a necessary step for every provincial examination, and people always have their preferences. Some writers prefer practicality in their writing; others prefer elaborate and ornate styles.
If you know who the examiner is, you can find his past articles to read and get a glimpse into his writing style and preferences.
Li Qingyao and Gao Chuan, like many others, read through the articles of several rumored potential examiners. However, one's tastes can change, and with their current resources, they could only find older articles by these individuals.
Besides the news from the examiners, the practice books for the provincial examination were also selling very well.
There are many versions, and they are expensive, starting at five taels of silver. However, many people buy them, and Gao Chuan also bought two of the more popular ones.
It was only after Li Qingyao persuaded Gao Chuan that he stopped buying it.
"I just can't calm my mind even for a moment."
Among the Li family, Yan Min and Mo Qiaoniang were the most nervous. Yan Min was so anxious that she developed a large blister on the corner of her mouth.
Even drinking several pots of cooling tea a day doesn't seem to help reduce internal heat.
Li Qingruo is in her postpartum confinement period, and the sweltering heat is making it very difficult for her.
Mo Qiaoniang was in high spirits, taking care of her daughter and grandson while praying for Gaochuan every day, and she showed no signs of fatigue.
Gao Chuan was far away in Suyang Prefecture, and he missed Li Qingruo very much.
A few days ago, Gao Chuan received a letter from home that he had become a father!
This gave him a huge boost of confidence, making him even more ambitious and determined to pass the provincial examination as a gift for his wife and children.
That day, they also gave Aunt Qian an extra amount of money as a token of their good fortune. Aunt Qian was overjoyed and kept saying that the two of them would definitely pass the imperial examination with flying colors.
The provincial examination lasted three days, and participants had to prepare their own food. In the beginning, there was a kitchen, but once you reached this stage, passing it meant a bright future, so many people took the risk of bribing the kitchen staff to cheat.
Having learned from past mistakes, the kitchen was dismantled.
Li Qingyao instructed Aunt Qian to prepare a lot of fried rice and some dried meat. Water would be provided at the examination site, so eating these would be convenient and prevent any mistakes.
On the day of the exam, Li Qingyao and Gao Chuan left home with their exam baskets.
The basket contained only food and vacancy tickets. Writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were provided by the Examination Yuan.
It's still the same inspection process.
After checking the ticket, they would inspect the examination basket and search the person. Even if you were a scholar or a wealthy man, you had no human rights whatsoever.
Clothes had to be taken off, and food was thoroughly inspected. Li Qingyao noticed that the person in front of him was carrying flatbread, which had been broken into small pieces by the officials, with even the eggs being smashed.
Fortunately, Aunt Qian had cut his dried meat into small pieces, and after a few stirs of the fried rice, seeing that there was nothing in it, she let him pass.
After a search, the two finally entered the examination room.
Each person followed the officials to their respective examination booth. The good news was that they were not assigned to a "bad number".
On his way to the examination hall, Li Qingyao kept thinking about this. The experience of taking the exam last time was just too unpleasant, leaving him with a lot of psychological trauma.
Seeing his examination booth, Li Qingyao finally felt relieved.
As the candidates entered the examination hall one after another, a thunderous drumbeat soon followed.
The provincial examination has officially begun!
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