Chapter 444: Once a mistake is made, the whole game is lost
Feng took it and touched it, and shook her head.
"Purple butt is good."
"Look, it's all made of coarse linen. It's good enough if it doesn't rub the fourth child's butt. What good is it?" Feng didn't dare to put it in the bag.
Li Qiqiao also let him take the things away, and said with a smile, "I know you are kind, but this kind of delicate work is enough for me and mother. I have already prepared red cloud yarn pants for the fourth child, which is enough to bring good luck."
Jiang Fenghu was relieved when he heard it.
"That's fine, I have thick skin and flesh, so I'll keep this coarse linen material for myself, and it won't be wasted."
As soon as he left, the eldest son's wife came excitedly with two bags of snacks.
"Mother, these are the peach cakes and cloud cakes I bought at Baodianzhai yesterday. Give them to our fourth son. Keep them for when he gets hungry during the exam."
Feng didn't even need to look at them. She waved her hand and said, "It's not necessary. There's plenty of food in the Gongyuan."
"If we bring them at home, the examiner will have to break them into pieces to check if you have cheat sheets or something. By then, they will be crushed into pieces, and our fourth son won't be able to eat."
The rules of the imperial examinations in the Southern Dynasty were very strict.
The most important of them was that cheating by cheating was prohibited.
The food and clothes brought by the candidates would be checked several times before entering the Gongyuan, and there could not be any mistakes.
Clothes, pants, and quilts must not have any layers, only single ones.
There could be no words engraved on the pen holder, only plain ones.
Snacks and cakes had to be broken into several pieces to make sure there was nothing hidden inside before they could be allowed in.
Even with this, the supervisors still couldn't rest assured.
After the exam started, if a candidate tilted his head a few times or rubbed his trousers a few times, they would immediately go up to see if there was anything wrong.
Sun Chunxue had no idea about this and was surprised. "Why are they so strict? I was thinking about giving the Wenchang Talisman that I got from the temple the other day to the fourth child, but now it seems that it's not allowed?"
Li Qiqiao turned around and said, "Wenchang Talisman? There's paper with spells written on it, so it's absolutely not allowed."
"I heard from Lord Ali that during the imperial examination two years ago, there was a student from another place who sewed a note left by his father inside his clothes. It was only eight words and used it to motivate himself. Who knew that when he took off his clothes, he was discovered by the examiner and was directly considered cheating. Not only was he expelled from the Imperial Academy, but he was also not allowed to take the exam again for five years." Li Qiqiao shook her head as she spoke.
Sun Chunxue was shocked by the rules.
"Students have worked so hard for so many years, but because of a momentary omission, they have to give up all their previous efforts. This is too harsh."
Feng said seriously, "What do you mean by a momentary omission? The imperial examination is a major event related to one's future and destiny. It has been repeatedly warned that no written items are allowed to be brought in, but the candidate even forgot this. It can be seen that he is not serious about his future. It is not the fault of others."
Both daughters-in-law were taught and nodded.
Yes, the imperial examination is like a thousand troops crossing a single-plank bridge. If you don't put in your best effort, you will naturally be squeezed out.
Finally, everyone checked the examination bags again and again, and after confirming that there was no problem, breakfast was served at this time.
Li Qiqiao specially prepared a table of the lightest dishes, which was good for Feng Jing's stomach and convenient for him to go to the examination room lightly.
Each person had a big bowl of green vegetable porridge with a fried egg to fill their stomachs.
Seeing that the time was almost up, the whole family immediately came together to escort Feng Jing to the tribute courtyard.
Feng Jing said it was okay, but his breathing became rapid, and it was obvious that he was still nervous.
Xiao Nuobao was dressed in bright red, holding her fourth brother's hand all the way, and soothing him, "Don't worry, Si Guoguo, just go for the exam, and good luck will naturally stand by your side~"
The sister's childish voice was like a shot of cardiotonic, calming Feng Jing's troubled mood.
He nodded vigorously, "Fourth brother will do well in the exam, and I have to win a piece of the gold cake for you."
Little Nuobao's eyes rolled around, and he was already thinking about whether the gold cake should be strung with pearls and worn on the chest as a necklace.
Or hung around the waist as a golden forbidden step.
In this way, everyone sent Feng Jing all the way to the gate of the tribute courtyard.
At this time, the surroundings were already full of elementary school students, and their young faces were full of tension and expectation.
When the gong sounded in the tribute courtyard, the candidates heard the call, said goodbye to their families in a hurry, and ran over to line up to enter the courtyard.
The small imperial examination lasted for three days.
Although everyone was fully prepared, there were still unexpected things.
This year, new rules were adopted. Students did not enter the big examination hall, but adopted the examination shed system.
The so-called examination shed is an extremely small shed, with shelters on three sides and no door on the other side.
Each person was assigned one, which only had a half-person-long wooden couch, a table, and a night pot.
For three days and two nights, whether it was eating, drinking, defecating or urinating, the examinees had to solve all the problems in their own sheds. Once they went out, the exam was over.
This was the best way to prevent favoritism and cheating.
But the summer was hot and the examination shed was too narrow. When lying down at night, you couldn't even stretch your legs. It was like being in prison.
Primary school students are not like adults, and their endurance is poor.
Moreover, many of them are descendants of high-ranking officials and nobles. They are less than ten years old, so how can they endure such hardships?
So on the first day, the grandson of Pei Lao, the Minister of Rites, was the first to be unable to bear it, saying that there were too many mosquitoes here and that he had to go out no matter what. Then,
one after another, several other sons of noble families either suffered from heatstroke or cried loudly, and had to end the exam early.
Among them, the youngest son of the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War was the most exaggerated.
Halfway through the exam, he angrily scolded the child in the examination room next to him for having a smelly night pot, and insisted that the examiner light some incense.
The examiner was too lazy to pay attention, so the child could only pinch his nose and dared not breathe, and finally suffocated himself to death... When
the Jiang family heard about this, they thought it was outrageous, but they were also worried about Feng Jing.
Fortunately, Feng Jing had a stable temperament. Several students around him could not bear it, but he did not even raise his eyelids and was not affected at all.
After three days, Feng Jing returned home, his face was obviously thinner.
"It is said that the bitter summer is hard to endure, but in my opinion, the bitter summer in the examination hall is the hardest to endure. Look how tired the fourth brother is." Feng felt very distressed and kept touching Feng Jing's head.
Feng Jing smiled and coaxed Feng, "It's okay, mother. This is the first time that the examination hall system is used, and we have caught up. I don't know how many scholars are jealous. I can be said to have realized my dream early."
Xiao Nuobao squinted his smiling eyes and jumped around his fourth brother.
Entering the Gongyuan examination hall is nothing.
Waiting for my brother to pass the list, that will be a real dream come true.
The small imperial examination involves many students, and the examination papers are also slowly graded.
After ten days, the day of the announcement of the results finally arrived! After
breakfast, Xiao Nuobao didn't wait for the adults to get busy, and pulled Feng Miao first, and couldn't wait to go to the street to see the list!
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