The examination room was very quiet. Apart from the sounds of grinding ink, writing, and turning pages, there was only the occasional soft footsteps of the invigilators.
It was only the second day, and everyone was in good spirits.
Needless to say, Meng Yunzheng, after a night's rest, answered the questions with ease and wrote at lightning speed.
However, unexpectedly, the weather suddenly turned gloomy after noon.
Before long, the rain began to fall gently.
The examination room was instantly filled with sounds of frantic activity, such as, "Why did it start raining?"
"Oh no, my test paper is wet."
The proctor's voice rang out quickly, "Quiet down."
No one dared to complain anymore, and some of the clever ones had already started thinking of ways to keep out the rain.
The examination booths were arranged in rows, with the eaves extending forward. If the rain fell directly down, it would be fine, but if the roof tilted slightly, the examination desks would definitely get soaked, making it impossible to write.
As darkness fell, Meng Yunzheng looked up at the sky, then took out a thin bamboo pole from the corner, stood up, and placed the pole under the roof tiles on both sides of the eaves.
There was also a thin oilcloth like a curtain on the bamboo pole, which could be pulled down to completely cover the area in front of the examination shed.
The tarpaulin was prepared for him by Shu Yu. After learning about the structure of the examination hall from Meng Yunzheng, she felt something was amiss.
The exam hall is so cramped that you can't even stretch your legs, and if it gets windy or rainy, it'll be a disaster.
She took the oilcloth with him, just in case. Even though it was rare to see rain in the capital at this time of year, wouldn't it at least keep him from getting cold at night?
Unexpectedly, it actually rained on the second day of the exam.
Meng Yunzheng looked at the oilcloth and smiled. The rain couldn't get in, but with the cloth covering the area, the sky became even darker.
He simply lit the oil lamp and continued taking the exam while listening to the rain.
In the evening, take out the instant noodles, put them on the small stove provided by the examination hall, light the charcoal, and cook the noodles.
Other candidates in the examination halls had also prepared for the rain in advance, and after the initial chaos, they began to answer the questions in an orderly manner.
But some people hadn't prepared anything and could only hang their clothes outside or hold up umbrellas. In short, they used every tool they could find, a real hodgepodge.
But not long after, they smelled a rich aroma, making their stomachs rumble with hunger.
Some were so irritable that I simply stopped writing and planned to continue after the rain stopped. At worst, I would stay up all night and answer questions by the light of an oil lamp.
However, the rain lasted until midnight.
Fortunately, the rain wasn't too heavy, otherwise the exam would have been impossible to take.
On the third day of the imperial examination, the weather was sunny and the temperature warmed up a bit.
Meng Yunzheng pulled the curtain back and continued answering the questions. The others, greatly affected by yesterday's rain, were all writing furiously.
In comparison, Meng Yunzheng seemed much more relaxed.
Before noon, he had checked all the papers twice.
After lunch, he sat down to rest in the examination shed.
When the patrolling soldiers came over to him, they saw that his desk was empty, everything was tidied up, and he was sitting against the wall with his eyes closed, resting. They couldn't help but take a few more glances, then frowned, shook their heads, and left.
He probably thought that yesterday's rain made it impossible for this person to continue the exam, so he simply gave up.
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