Chapter 42 The Peony Soul Test Completed
Shao Yanzhe looked Leng Yanshan up and down, raising an eyebrow with a hint of schadenfreude in his eyes.
Leng Yanshan looked rather disheveled. Although his hair was neatly combed and his long robe was new and tidy, he appeared anxious and haggard, with heavy dark circles under his eyes, which contrasted sharply with the worried but spirited scholars around him.
He looked like he hadn't rested well, yawning every now and then, as if he hadn't woken up properly.
He wasn't fully awake!
Leng Yanshan felt extremely tired, his eyelids drooping constantly. If he hadn't tried to keep his eyes open, he would have closed them and fallen asleep at any moment.
His good days are over ever since someone threw a coffin at his front door yesterday.
First, he experienced the strange phenomenon of being unable to throw away or open a coffin. Then, at night, he would occasionally hear the sound of a woman crying. Even when he was asleep, he would often dream of a woman in red chasing and killing him.
Every time he had just fallen asleep, he would be terrified awake by the image of the woman in red dismembering him in his dream.
His current wife, annoyed by his disturbing sleep, kicked him out of the room and made him sleep in the study.
He wanted to find that master, but he was always unable to leave the mansion due to one accident or another. Once, he almost hit his head on a sharp axe blade and his head was almost cut open horizontally.
He no longer had the idea of asking for help, and so, although accidents of varying degrees occurred, none of them were fatal.
From this, Leng Yanshan understood what the person in the coffin was thinking, and he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
Reflecting on everything that had happened in the past two days, he felt incredibly aggrieved. Fortunately, that person hadn't stopped him from going out to take the provincial examination; otherwise, he really would have rushed out regardless of the consequences, even if it meant crawling.
Thinking this, a hint of madness flashed in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.
Leng Yanshan closed his eyes and met the strange look in the poor scholar's eyes again, feeling incredibly annoyed.
Was he mocking himself?
Is he mocking himself for not passing the imperial examination after all these years?
Or should we mock him for being afraid of his wife?
Or are they mocking him for not having a son?
Or are we just going to laugh at his pathetic state these past two days?
A flood of negative emotions overwhelmed Leng Yanshan, causing his chest to heave violently and his vision to blur.
"Your turn! Hurry up and go in for the inspection!" At this moment, the voice of the search soldier drew Leng Yanshan's attention back.
Leng Yanshan glared fiercely at the poor scholar, but turned around and immediately composed himself, smiling amicably at the searching soldiers. He then bent down slightly, picked up his belongings, and walked into the examination hall to be searched.
Shao Yanzhe scratched his head, puzzled by the inexplicable glare he received. He hadn't done anything to Leng Yanshan, so why was he being glared at?
That's insane!
He rolled his eyes at Leng Yanshan's retreating figure, and feeling a bit bored, he asked Zhou Jiming about the chief examiner for this year's provincial examination.
“Let me think…” Zhou Jiming said, “It seems the chief examiner this time is the Provincial Education Commissioner, who is very fond of poetry.” He then looked at Shao and said, “Brother Shao’s poetry skills have improved by leaps and bounds. I think you should be able to get a good result this time!”
Shao Yanzhe smiled and said, "What? Brother Zhou, do you feel that your skills haven't improved by leaps and bounds?"
Seeing his expression, Zhou Jiming couldn't help but feel a toothache. He recalled how he had studied late into the night with the same expression on his face. It was safe to say that he had never studied so hard when he was studying in Kyoto.
He nodded quickly: "Of course!"
Immediately, he dared not make any more jokes.
He doesn't need to take the imperial examinations; he only needs to know the Four Books and Five Classics. In the future, he will inherit his father's marquisate.
He watched Shao Yanzhe and his group of five enter the examination hall before getting into his carriage and leaving.
Shao Yanzhe arrived at his assigned cell with difficulty, carrying his belongings. This time he was lucky; he wasn't assigned to a bad cell.
He put his things away and glanced around, his eyes immediately meeting the unfriendly gaze of the examinee in the opposite cell.
He was immediately delighted, never expecting that the person opposite him was Leng Yanshan!
What a small world!
Shao Yanzhe glanced at Leng Yanshan before starting to tidy up the cell, cleaning it thoroughly before making the bed.
After everything was arranged, I sat down at the table and waited for the test papers to be distributed.
The provincial examination consisted of three sessions, each lasting three days and two nights, for a total of nine days and six nights.
The first exam consisted of three essays from the Four Books and four essays from the Five Classics, requiring candidates to write essays in the eight-legged essay style.
The second part consisted of writing a policy essay, interpreting an imperial edict, and composing a test poem.
The judgment was made using the Da Yong Law, while the imperial edict was a simulated official document, drafted on behalf of the court.
The final round consisted of five questions on classics, history, practical affairs, policy essays, and arithmetic.
Time passed quickly, and after the examination hall was locked, the examiner distributed the examination papers to the examinees.
Shao Yanzhe unfolded the test paper and carefully read it from beginning to end. The questions were not difficult for him, and he had a general idea of the answers in his mind.
Having a clear understanding of the situation, he then began with the first question.
The first question on the Four Books was very simple. He quickly wrote down the answer and checked it from beginning to end to make sure there were no mistakes or omissions before he felt relieved.
After finishing a question, Shao Yanzhe put down his pen, looked up outside, and intended to relax his eyes.
But then I noticed that Leng Yanshan across from me was holding a calligraphy brush in his right hand, nodding his head. He looked like he was asleep!
Shao Yanzhe's expression turned strange. After observing him carefully and confirming that he was indeed asleep, he chuckled. It seemed that he had been thoroughly tormented by Madam Yin, as he could even fall asleep during such an important provincial examination.
Hmph, go to sleep, go to sleep!
He wouldn't be kind enough to make a noise to remind him, so he lowered his voice so that Leng Yanshan could sleep better.
The first exam was very simple, and Shao Yanzhe picked up his pen and began writing the answers on the draft paper.
Although the questions were simple, the amount of writing required was not small. It took until noon to finish two questions.
He didn't light a fire to cook, but instead continued writing while munching on a steamed bun. By the time he finished the three questions on the Four Books and the two questions on the Five Classics, it was already late afternoon.
He carefully checked the completed article to make sure there were no typos or omissions before carefully putting it away, planning to do the remaining questions tomorrow.
Only then did Shao Yanzhe realize that he was starving.
He rubbed his stomach, got up and took out the flatbread, seasonings, dried meat and vegetables he had made himself from his luggage. After putting these things into a slightly larger bowl, he started boiling water.
After the water boiled, I ladled some out into the kettle, and then poured the contents of the bowl into the remaining boiling water.
Shao Yanzhe then sat down and slowly waited for the dough to boil.
As the water boiled again, the heat spread out of the cell, and when blown by the wind, the heat, mixed with the unique smell of instant noodles, blew towards the opposite side.
In his half-asleep state, Leng Yanshan smelled an enticing fragrance he had never smelled before and instinctively inhaled the air into his nostrils.
Suddenly, the smell became even stronger.
His previously hazy consciousness cleared up a bit, and he opened his eyes, momentarily losing track of what year it was.
Once the scene before him became completely clear, his expression changed drastically. He then realized that he was currently conducting a scientific expedition in the examination cell.
He glanced at the blank exam paper, then looked up at the sky. It was almost late afternoon, and his expression grew increasingly grim.
He actually slept for such a long time!
Ignoring everything else, Leng Yanshan picked up his pen and began writing on the scrap paper. Due to his anxiety, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he didn't even have time to wipe it off.
His hunger awakened along with him, and what annoyed him even more was the tempting smells that kept wafting over from the opposite side, making his stomach rumble.
This made his face turn red, and he could only take out the broken steamed buns he had searched earlier and stuff them into his mouth to fill his stomach a little.
Leng Yanshan glared fiercely at the poor scholar opposite him, but there was nothing he could do, so he could only suppress his anger.
Shao Yanzhe noticed the gaze directed at him from the other side. He looked up and saw that Leng Yanshan was actually writing an exam paper, which made him feel slightly disappointed.
He glanced at the noodles that were cooking, and when they were almost done, he poured the noodles and broth into a bowl, then placed it on the table and leisurely enjoyed his dinner.
On the other side, Leng Yanshan fought on an empty stomach until midnight.
Shao Yanzhe lay on the bed covered with a thin blanket and slept soundly.
When he woke up early the next morning, he saw Leng Yanshan across from him already writing furiously.
He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. He had to admit that it felt pretty good to be relaxed while watching others work hard.
After having a quick breakfast, he continued working on the remaining questions, finishing them around noon. He didn't finish until the third day, when he finally got up and started copying them onto the exam paper.
After checking the paper three times to make sure the ink on it was completely dry, Shao Yanzhe rolled it up and hung it in a safe place in the cell.
Then he continued to fuss over his instant noodles, leisurely enjoying the delicious food while watching Leng Yanshan frantically work on his test questions, neglecting to eat.
Leng Yanshan, who was opposite him, noticed the gaze directed at him, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.
This poor scholar is simply insane!
Was he here to take the imperial examination or to have a meal?
These days tormented him for nine days. Finally, after finishing the last exam, Leng Yanshan grabbed his things and headed out of the examination hall, not wanting to stay there any longer.
Shao Yanzhe walked slowly among the examinees, not because he didn't want to walk faster, but because he was really tired.
The cell was no place for a human being. He couldn't sleep or eat properly. It felt like he had been locked up for nine days, and he felt uncomfortable all over.
He had just stepped out of the examination hall when he saw Zhou Jiming waiting outside.
Zhou Jiming also saw him immediately and quickly had his servant take the things from him, while he personally helped the man walk towards the carriage.
"Brother Shao, go back and get some rest first. We'll talk about the rest tomorrow."
"Alright, thank you for your trouble, Brother Zhou!"
Shao Yanzhe glanced at Zhou Jiming gratefully. Although Zhou Jiming had some ulterior motives towards him before, after spending time with him, he found that the other party had no ill intentions towards him.
He helped him a lot when he took the provincial examination, for which he was very grateful and began to slowly accept him as a friend.
Soon, Liu Mingyuan and his three companions also emerged from the examination hall. They were all somewhat disheveled, and Chen Jingzhou, who was the weakest, had to be helped out by Chen Yunhe.
Upon seeing this, Zhou Jiming quickly found someone to help them into the carriage, and the four of them thanked him gratefully.
The group returned to their lodgings, washed up, ate something lightly, and went to rest. They didn't wake up until late the next morning.
"What are your plans next? Are you going to wait here for the results or go back to the academy to wait for news?" Liu Mingyuan asked.
Shen Jingzhou: "Of course, we'll wait for the results to be released."
Wen Yanqing, Chen Yunhe, Liu Mingyuan, and Shao Yanzhe, who were standing to the side, all nodded in agreement.
Shao Yanzhe did indeed intend to do so, and he casually stroked Xuan Yao's soft fur.
The original owner's parents had already passed away, and because of Shao Ran, he had a falling out with the village head, so he couldn't go back to Qingshan Village. Therefore, he decided to stay in Jiangzhou for a while.
However, he needs to resolve the issue of money first.
As for Chen Yunhe's promise to give him money if he helped him unravel the mystery of Fushitan, he did intend to do so, but he did not accept it.
Just as he was thinking about whether to find another bookstore to copy books, he heard a commotion outside.
The group exchanged glances, then opened the door and went outside, only to find an unexpected person standing outside.
It was Leng Zhijie's father, Leng Yanshan. Judging from his expression, he clearly had ill intentions.
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