Chapter 47 Cheat Sheet
Getting closer and closer.
A group of scholars saw the soldiers and yamen runners patrolling with swords from afar, and they were all so excited that tears filled their eyes.
The truth is that they never thought that the way to the examination center would be so difficult!
In a distance of less than a thousand meters, a group of people walked out with a thrilling feeling.
Now a tile falls, now a stone trips, and then there are big potholes on the flat street. What's even more outrageous is that it was dark and someone was pouring cold water down from a shop on the second floor of the street... All kinds of messy situations will be encountered, just like Tang Monk's journey to the West to obtain the scriptures. It is impossible to obtain the true scriptures without encountering 81 difficulties.
What made them feel fortunate was that although every level was difficult, they finally passed them all and they finally saw the examination center!
"Although there is only this little bit of road left, we still can't let our guard down." The group of people were so tormented by the unexpected events along the way that they were scared to death at the slightest movement.
Gu Mingda felt a little guilty. He always felt that these accidents were caused by him.
Ever since he started preparing for the imperial examination, he always felt as if there was an inexplicable force that seemed to be preventing him from going higher.
The group finally walked outside the examination room and were about to separate. Gu Mingda suddenly spoke up and said to the scholars, "Everyone, our journey today seems to be particularly difficult."
The scholars all nodded and said, "Yes, who knows why? There will be a small accident in a while. They are worried that we will not get hurt and delay the exam."
Gu Mingda coughed lightly and said, "But we finally got here unscathed. What does this mean? It means that the hardships along the way were all tests from God, and we passed this test! We will definitely be able to overcome all the difficulties in the next college entrance examination. When the results are announced, our names will be on the list!"
These words were spoken in a very respectful manner. The scholars were filled with passion as they listened to them. They all felt that they would soon be able to turn bad times into good times after overcoming a few obstacles. Some of them even stretched out their hands and waved their fists vigorously when they heard the exciting parts.
After the excitement, everyone dispersed to look for Jie Bao’s companions.
In order to participate in the academy examination, in addition to providing a guarantee letter signed by a student on government stipend, one must also form a group of five students and guarantee each other to ensure that there will be no cheating.
Guaranteeing is a very serious matter. If one person commits a crime, five others will be held responsible. Therefore, most of the five people who guarantee are familiar with each other's character to ensure that they will not do foolish things such as fraud.
Gu Mingda had already agreed with them on a meeting place, so it was easy for him to find them.
Seeing that everyone was waiting for him, Gu Mingda said apologetically, "Sorry, I encountered some setbacks on the way and I am late."
Everyone else was very easy to talk to and no one blamed him.
Gu Mingda walked forward with them and glanced upward while queuing. There was a plaque hanging high above the gate of the Examination Institute, which read: Dongfu Gongyuan.
It has been nearly twenty years since he first took the imperial examination at the age of fourteen. He could hardly count how many times he had come to this examination hall. While others had to familiarize themselves with the environment in advance before taking the exam, he had already become so familiar with it as if it were his home.
"Brother Gu, it's our turn." The companion reminded softly.
The key point of the initial examination is to check whether the candidates have any cheat sheets in their clothes and examination baskets. Every time, they have to take off all their clothes for the officers to check, which is quite humiliating.
Gu Mingda took a deep breath and was about to step forward to undergo the initial examination when he suddenly saw Zhang Guangzong, who was only two steps away from him.
His obnoxious brother-in-law, who was in the next line, happened to glance back at him.
Gu Mingda felt that there was something wrong with Zhang Guangzong's expression. His eyes were flickering, as if he had just done something bad.
He never hesitated to speculate about his brother-in-law with the greatest malice. After thinking for a while, Gu Mingda took two steps back with his companions and said to the other companions: "Let's wait a while before going in, and let others go in first."
Although his companions didn't understand why, out of trust in Gu Mingda, they still followed him and stepped back several steps, allowing the people waiting in line behind them to get a big advantage.
A quarter of an hour of waiting was wasted, but the four companions did not complain. It was obvious that they trusted Gu Mingda very much and felt that he would not do such a thing for no reason.
In a very short time, Gu Mingda figured out what Zhang Guangzong could do if he wanted to do something bad.
Gu Mingda lied with his eyes open: "I just seemed to see someone throwing something into someone else's exam basket. I didn't see it clearly, but I'm afraid we were also fooled."
His companions all turned pale when they heard this. They were standing in the queue for the initial examination. If someone threw cheat sheets into their examination baskets, then according to the rule of collective responsibility, the other four people would not be able to continue to take the exam.
The person who smuggles cheat sheets into the exam will lose his status as a student and will never be able to take the imperial examinations in his lifetime. If he meets a strict examiner, he may even be sentenced to a crime such as exile.
Five people rummaged through their examination baskets together.
Zheng Qi suddenly let out a cry of surprise, and facing everyone's gaze, he trembled slightly and took out a small ball of paper from the corner of the examination basket.
The paper ball was unfolded, revealing a passage from The Analects of Confucius.
"I didn't bring this thing! I didn't plan to cheat!" Zheng Qi explained eagerly, fearing that his companions would think he was the kind of scholar who liked to take shortcuts.
Before anyone else could speak, Gu Mingda had already taken the paper and said, "I believe you."
Zheng Qi was so moved by Gu Mingda's recognition that she almost cried.
Gu Mingda patted him on the shoulder and said to the others, "It's a pleasure to have friends coming from afar. We can recite these words backwards, so why take the risk of cheating?"
The others also looked at the paper and confirmed that the content was extremely simple, and that everyone had memorized it. Only then did they completely dispel their doubts about Zheng Qi and realize that he was not the kind of idiot who wanted to drag everyone down with him.
Gu Mingda added: "Check them all carefully, including inside their clothes. If there are people who know they won't pass the exam but are jealous of others, they will use these cunning tricks to harm others."
After what happened to Zheng Qi, no one else dared to be careless.
Someone actually found a small piece of paper in the exam basket with a line of Three Character Classic written on it.
"Three Character Classic" was not even part of the imperial examination.
However, the examination checking is extremely strict. Once any cheat sheets are found, no matter what is written on them, it will be directly judged as cheating.
Gu Mingda had a layer of cold sweat on his back at this time. He had indeed been staring at his examination basket the whole time to make sure that no dirty things were mixed into it, but the other person directly attacked his companions.
The handwriting on the paper ball and the small note was very simple, and looked like it was written by a beginner. The handwriting on the two was even different.
Gu Mingda guessed that they were all written with the left hand, and it is even possible that they were written by two people.
He didn't know who did it, and it was not a good idea to keep these two pieces of evidence.
Gu Mingda thought about his enemies, and it seemed that there were only Zhang Guangzong and Wang Yaozu. From the perspective of their character, it seemed that these two people were capable of doing such a vicious thing.
Of course, it is not ruled out that there are still some scums in the crowded group of candidates waiting for the exam who are willing to indiscriminately drag others into trouble.
His companions were unaware of Gu Mingda's guess, and they were all grateful to him: "Brother Gu, this time it was thanks to your alertness, otherwise we would have suffered a great loss."
Gu Mingda said, "I hope you don't blame me for wasting time. Let's continue to line up. Everyone should be more alert this time and not let anyone interfere."
The four of them nodded one after another, holding the examination baskets in their arms and staring closely, fearing that they would be tricked again.
We lined up again and spent a long time waiting for the line to move forward.
When there were still seven or eight people left in line, there was a sudden commotion at the front of the line, followed by a man's heart-wrenching voice.
"Impossible! I didn't cheat. I didn't bring this cheat sheet in. Someone framed me!"
(End of this chapter)
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