After traveling for two days, Mo Qian and her group arrived at the examination site for the upcoming provincial examination!
Because they arrived early, and there were still half a month before the provincial examination officially began, Mo Qian and the others did not stay at the inn, but rented a small courtyard instead.
Because the neighbors around the courtyard are all scholars and literati, it is much quieter than the noisy inn!
In the time leading up to the exam, Mo Qian secluded herself and studied diligently!
Some of the candidates wanted to come to Mo Qian's house and drag her along to poetry gatherings, banquets, and other events, but Mo Qian refused them all!
After all, Mo Qian had never heard anyone mention the phenomenon of highly knowledgeable people being eliminated before even entering the examination hall every year, though she knew a little about it from the novels she had read before!
Or perhaps it was a case of jealousy among companions leading to the poisoning of another!
Or perhaps it's a wealthy family who, in order to gain the upper hand, first eliminates their rivals!
Or perhaps, someone, out of amusement, wanted to see them make a fool of themselves and harbored malicious thoughts!
...
Therefore, in order to avoid any accidents, Mo Qian directly refused to accept customers!
During his arduous studies, he also heard from Mo Yu that as the provincial examination approached, candidates were flocking from other places.
During this period, there was an incident where a popular candidate for the top spot was dragged off his bed at the brothel the next day! And everyone outside saw it!
Because he hadn't paid, the madam detained him! He finally managed to pay after borrowing money from other test-takers, but this series of events left him disoriented!
Some test takers inexplicably got food poisoning and couldn't get out of bed for several days!
Some were lured into gambling dens, where they initially had good luck and won some money, but later accumulated more and more debt and became uneasy!
...
On the day of the provincial examination,
Mo Qian and the others arrived at the entrance of the provincial examination hall early in the morning.
Upon arrival, there were already quite a few candidates lining up in front!
As time passed, the yamen runners were in place, and the doors to the examination hall were opened!
The candidates ahead of them were also gradually moving in.
After receiving the prepared exam basket from Mo Yu, Mo Qian headed towards the exam hall.
Since it had already been explained before, Mo Qian didn't say anything more, only briefly telling Mo Yu.
Mo Qian stood in line at the back, and it wasn't long before it was her turn.
After the yamen runners checked her, Mo Qian followed the other candidates to the examination area.
After finding her exam number, Mo Qian tidied herself up briefly and waited for the exam papers to be handed out.
After the test papers were handed out, Mo Qian, as before, first glanced through them to get a general idea of what to expect!
Because the exam was more difficult this time, Mo Qian did not rest first as she had done before.
Instead, I first jot down my thoughts on a draft and give a simple answer!
When I felt my thoughts were blocked, I stopped writing and didn't force myself too much.
After that, I rested in bed to recharge!
If new ideas come to mind after waking up, compare them with previous viewpoints, extract the best parts, and make a draft on a piece of paper!
Only after checking that everything was correct did I move it onto the exam paper!
And so, Mo Qian stayed in the examination hall for nine days!
On the last day, after the gongs and drums sounded, Mo Qian went out with the other candidates!
Among the candidates walking among them, some looked tired, some pale, and some looked unwell...
"Young Master!" Mo Yu's voice came from the side as soon as Mo Qian came out of the main gate.
Following behind Mo Yu were two other servants who had come along.
Before Mo Qian could walk over, the three of them approached her from a distance.
"Young Master, you must be exhausted these past few days. Quick, take the exam basket for me, don't tire him out any further." As he approached, Mo Yu took the exam basket from Mo Qian's hands, his face full of concern.
Then, he made a gesture as if he wanted to help Mo Qian up.
Mo Qian waved her hand, refusing Mo Yu's offer of help.
"I'm fine. I haven't been feeling well these past few days. My clothes have gone bad. I need to go back and wash up quickly!" Mo Qian said, her face showing signs of fatigue.
Although my appearance is much better than others, I am still a bit tired compared to how easy the previous exams were!
"Yes, young master, let's hurry back!" Mo Yu replied hastily after seeing the weariness on Mo Qian's face.
Afterwards, Mo Qian and her group left.
After returning home, Mo Qian took two large tubs of hot water and then ate some nourishing porridge before lying down to sleep.
I didn't wake up until the afternoon of the second day!
Upon waking up, the energy that had been lost was replenished.
Afterwards, in order to find out the results of the provincial examination as soon as possible, Mo Qian did not choose to go back, but continued to stay here.
The main reason is that since she's come all this way, Mo Qian doesn't want to go back too soon!
I want to explore this place and experience the local customs and culture!
While waiting for the results, Mo Qian took the others to explore the city and bought some local specialties to take back with them!
After the exams, there were naturally many invitations to poetry gatherings and banquets. Since the provincial exams were over, Mo Qian did not refuse any of the invitations that came to her door!
Of course, I had to experience it myself!
While Mo Qian and the others were having so much fun that they forgot about home, the results of the provincial examination came out!
Just as Mo Qian was sitting in the teahouse drinking tea and watching the noisy scene across the street, Mo Yu's voice came from downstairs!
"Young Master! Young Master! You've won!"
"Young Master, you're number one!" Mo Yu shouted as he ran, his face beaming with joy and his voice filled with delight.
Those who were originally sitting in the teahouse, after hearing Mo Yu's words, some of the people downstairs looked on with curiosity, as if they wanted to know what kind of demeanor this top scholar was!
Some impatient people rushed upstairs.
The people upstairs looked at Mo Qian with surprise, seemingly not expecting that the top scorer in this provincial examination would be sitting right next to them!
Of course, some of these were also students who had participated in the provincial examination. Upon hearing this, some showed respect, some were anxious and worried about their own results, and some even looked embarrassed and envious...
Regardless of what those people were thinking, on the surface they all seemed happy for Mo Qian's outstanding achievement, and they all congratulated her.
"Congratulations, sir, on taking first place!"
Congratulations! You're really amazing!
"If you can achieve first place in the provincial examination, you will surely succeed in the metropolitan examination as well! Congratulations in advance!"
...
Congratulations rang out all around me!
After hearing the congratulations, Mo Qian first stood up to return the greetings, then expressed her gratitude for their congratulations, while explaining that she had only gotten lucky.
After learning her results, Mo Qian didn't linger in the teahouse for long, as it would be too conspicuous!
Upon returning, they happened to meet the yamen runners who had come to deliver the good news behind the gate. After hearing the good news, they gave them some silver.
In the following days, after quickly packing up the items they needed to take back, Mo Qian and the others headed home!
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