Chapter 66: Palace Examination

Qin Chi lived in the dormitory of Ziyang Academy.

Like other ordinary candidates, he mostly stayed in the academy with Meng Qingrui and Le Yan, either reading books or communicating with other students. During this period, Qin Mingsong came to visit him once.

The communication between uncle and nephew is unfamiliar.

Even worse than the classmates outside.

Qin Mingsong said a few words awkwardly and told Qin Chi that he could go to him if he had any problems.

Qin Chi naturally responded politely.

Wait for Qin Mingsong to leave.

Le Yan looked at the uncle and nephew and asked Meng Qingrui in a low voice: "Did you find anything strange?"

"What's so strange?" Meng Qingrui was confused.

"They are uncle and nephew. Are they unfamiliar with each other?"

"We haven't seen each other for a year, so it's not strange, right? To be honest, his uncle and Qi'an don't spend as much time together as Qi'an and I."

Meng Qingrui said this as a matter of course.

Le Yan thought about it and realized that it was true.

The two of them had been educated in the same private school since childhood, and then entered the same academy. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Le Yan was unknowingly led astray by Meng Qingrui.

Qin Chi came over and was speechless after hearing their conversation. "Are you two so free? Tomorrow is the prefectural exam, why don't you take advantage of the time to review?"

"The teacher told me to relax before the exam and not to cram at the last minute."

When Meng Qingrui said this, Le Yan agreed very much.

Le Yan added: "Sir, you just want us to perform at our previous level."

The two came to the provincial capital in advance and went for a trip to Huangshan, under the pretext of relaxing before the exam so that they could be in the best condition for the provincial exam. In fact, they knew it in their hearts.

Thousands of troops cross a single-plank bridge.

If you pass, that's great! If you don't, that's OK, you can just take it again next year.

Qin Chi looked the two of them up and down.

Looking at the classmates around them who were holding books and reading tirelessly, they were indeed much more stable than others.

Qin Chi simply put down the book.

The next day, at 3:30 pm.

Qin Chi and others got up and had a breakfast with little soup.

The examinees from Yi County gathered at the Dakou Gate of Ziyang Academy at the beginning of the morning hour, carrying their identity documents and money.

Then they carried lanterns and went together to the examination hall for the provincial examinations in previous years.

There are three examinations in total.

The procedures for the first two rounds are not much different from the county examinations.

One show a day, ending before dark.

The difference is that two students are needed to act as guarantors, but the teachers of these academies have already made an agreement with others, so Qin Chi doesn't need to worry about it. As for the third round, only those who are on the A and B lists in the first two rounds are eligible to participate.

Arrived in front of the examination room.

"There are so many people here. When will it be our turn in Yi County?"

Meng Qingrui stood on tiptoe and looked ahead.

There were crowds of people ahead, jostling each other.

There were relatives and attendants who sent the candidates to the exam, students on government academy courses who acted as guarantors, and yamen runners and government soldiers who maintained order.

The teacher reminded loudly: "Pay attention! Don't squeeze off your hats and shoes. People who are not dressed properly will not be allowed to enter the examination room. Do you hear me?"

“I heard it!”

"I understand, Master."

The candidates from Tachwan Academy responded one after another.

I have to say, with the teacher's reminder, everyone was much more careful when squeezing forward.

The order of admission is based on county.

There are a total of six counties in Huizhou Prefecture. Candidates from whichever county's name is called by the yamen runner will line up to enter the examination hall.

The examination is more rigorous than the county examination.

Candidates were not allowed to bring in anything except identity documents, examination certificates and money. The four treasures of the study were distributed uniformly by the government.

When it was Qin Chi's turn to check.

The soldier in charge checked the examination application, examined it casually, and then called out to the person behind him. Immediately, a yamen runner came up respectfully, bowed, and personally led Qin Chi to the examination room.

The students waiting in line saw this and felt very jealous.

"Why doesn't he need to do any checking? And there's someone leading the way?" the person waiting behind said sourly.

The student standing in front of him looked back at him and said with disdain, "I can tell from the looks of it that you're a rookie here for the first time. Only the top scorers in each county get this kind of special treatment. What's wrong with just checking it out? If someone can get the top score, is there any need to cheat?"

Upon hearing this, the man dared not say a word.

Qin Chi sat in the examination room and looked around.

This center position belongs to the candidates who are the focus of attention.

The case heads of various counties were gathered here. Qin Chi could see the carved table of the chief examiner as long as he looked up. It could be said that he was face to face with the examiners, so it was no wonder that the examiners were so casual.

Want to cheat in this situation? It's basically impossible.

When the time came, the prefect Yang Lingyu brought several examiners of this year into the examination room. They handled their affairs in a businesslike manner. The atmosphere was very serious. He read out the examination rules and then distributed the four treasures of the study.

The examinee began to grind ink.

I waited for a long time, but the test paper did not arrive.

"quiet!"

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

Yang Lingyu sat in front of the examiner's desk and slammed the gavel. "The prefectural exam is different from the county exam. No exam papers will be issued. You can just look at them later. All candidates should prepare paper and ink. The exam will start in a quarter of an hour."

Qin Chi lowered his eyelids.

He ground the ink gently, thinking about something in his mind.

Just now, Yang Lingyu glanced at Qin Chi, and the other examiners also looked at him several times.

This made Qin Chi, who was a thoughtful person, think more.

In fact, Qin Chi was overthinking.

The examiners paid attention to Qin Chi, not because they knew his background, but because Qin Chi was too calm.

Sitting here to take the exam, facing the examiner at such a close distance, the pressure is actually very great, and candidates with poor psychological endurance will collapse.

He and Qin Chi were both candidates who ranked first in the county.

At this time, they would show some restraint and nervousness. For example, the candidate next to Qin Chi had cold sweat on his forehead.

Qin Chi, who was calm and composed, stood out among the candidates.

It's really not surprising that it can attract the examiner's attention.

One examiner even looked through the list to check Qin Chi's name and background.

"Bang!"

"Hurry up, someone has fainted!"

Qin Chi heard a commotion in the examination room behind.

Then someone was carried out of the examination room.

Various situations always occur in the examination hall every year, and the yamen runners are very familiar with handling them.

A quarter of an hour passed.

Several yamen runners came over holding a wooden board.

One of them stood in front of Qin Chi's examination room. There were words written on the wooden board, which were the test questions.

The first test was still on the meaning of the scriptures.

It's just that the test setter is a bit mean. He made it more complicated than the other. It's like the first half of the sentence comes from one book and the second half comes from another book. He asks you to interpret the two and write a 300-word article based on your personal opinion.

This requires a solution and the idea is novel.

If you make a mistake when solving a question, you won’t be able to take the test later!

Qin Chi laid out the white paper and quickly copied down the test questions.

After I have thought through the test questions in my mind and have prepared a good draft, I can then start writing without distraction.

While Qin Chi was concentrating on the exam, Song Jin was also thinking about him in Yi County.

When Mrs. Huang saw Song Jinxiu's things, she pricked her finger for the fifth time.

"Mrs. Dong, you are always absent-minded. Are you thinking about Mr. Qin?"

Mrs. Huang tried several times to take the sewing basket from her hand.

Song Jin nodded shyly, "According to this time, my husband should be in the examination room."

"Mr. Qin is the top candidate in the county, so he will definitely have no problem passing the prefectural examination."

"I'm not worried about that. I'm worried about my husband's health and whether he can bear it." In the past years, some candidates for the imperial examinations walked in and were then carried out.

In addition, Qin Chi went there without anyone accompanying him this time.

Song Jin has been feeling nervous lately.

(End of this chapter)