203, Provincial Examination
203, Provincial Examination
The provincial examination in August was still held as scheduled.
On the second day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Lu Mingfei arrived at the Imperial Examination Hall accompanied by his father and brother.
After getting off the carriage, Lu Youtian raised his hand and patted his eldest son's shoulder. He stared at his eldest son's face and said, "Take the exam well and don't be nervous."
"If you can pass the exam, then take it. If you can't, then that's fine..."
Having said this, Lu Youtian paused, and he found that what he said seemed to be wrong.
Lu Mingfei could see that his father was even more nervous than he, who was about to enter the examination room. He even comforted his father, "I'm not nervous, and you don't have to be too nervous either. It's just an exam, not a big deal."
Lu Youtian chuckled dryly and was not comforted by his eldest son's words.
On the other hand, Lu Mingrui, the younger brother, was not nervous at all for his brother, because he believed that his brother must be the most powerful person in the world!
"Brother, after you finish the exam, Dad and I will come to take you home." Lu Mingrui tilted his head and looked at his brother, his eyes full of admiration for his brother.
"You and your second brother should study hard in the private school. You don't need to pick me up." Lu Mingfei touched his brother's head and said a few words to his father.
Seeing that Zhang Lingxuan, Ye Zhuoran and others were waiting for him up ahead, he asked his father to take his brother back first, asked Zhang Qi to help him carry the quilt, and he carried two baskets to the front to meet up with everyone.
The previous times they took part in the county, prefectural and academy examinations, they went to the examination hall at the Fengtian Prefecture Yamen. This time, the provincial examination was moved to the Imperial Examination Hall.
Moreover, in previous examinations, they could leave the examination hall on the same day after finishing their examination papers. However, this time, the provincial examination would last for three days, meaning that all the candidates had to stay in the Imperial Examination Hall for three days and two nights, and could only leave after they had finished their examination papers and submitted their examination papers.
So this time when you take the exam, you need to bring more things.
The procedure for entering the examination hall this time was similar to the previous times, but the inspection before entering was more stringent. Almost even the hair had to be checked to make sure that the candidates did not carry anything they should not have.
After a rigorous inspection, Lu Mingfei took his exam number and carried his belongings into the examination room. He found his exam room according to the number on his exam number.
The place provided for them to take the exam in the Imperial Examination Hall was a very small space with an exam table and a small bed at the back that was only big enough for people to lie down and sleep. There was no extra space in there.
During this period, all candidates are not allowed to leave this small space except to go to the toilet.
Although he had been mentally prepared, Lu Mingfei was still a little dumbfounded when he saw the small bird cage. However, when he saw that there were small bird cages like this all around him, he could only accept this fact.
The only thing he was thankful for was that the exam was far from the toilet, so he didn't have to smell everyone's feces and urine while taking the exam. Otherwise, living next to the toilet, he didn't know how he would have survived the next three days and two nights.
They all had to stay here for three days and two nights, which meant they all had to eat, drink, defecate, and urinate in such a small space. Imagine a group of people defecating in one place for three days...
So, it’s a bit miserable for those who live near the toilet.
However, it is more important to take care of your own affairs at this time.
After entering his exam room, Lu Mingfei placed the two small baskets he was carrying on the table, and the bundled quilt and pillow on the small bed. Then, he took out a wet rag to wipe the table.
No one has been in this place for three years, and a thick layer of dust has accumulated here.
This table was where he would answer his exam papers. If the paper got dirty with dust, it would affect the examiner's impression of the paper. He had painstakingly prepared for three years, and he didn't want to be rejected because of such a small matter.
Fortunately, he entered the market early and had plenty of time.
While it was still early, Lu Mingfei packed the birdcage in which he would stay for three days and two nights, and also made his bed.
August in Kyoto was already autumn, with night temperatures dropping below ten degrees Celsius. If you didn't cover yourself with a thick blanket at night, the soldiers in the examination hall would carry you out the next morning.
He didn't dare take the risk.
Fortunately, his mother prepared a very thick quilt for him, and he himself was wearing a sweater and a down coat, which could also be used as a thick quilt.
But when we checked in just now, his quilt and coat were cut with scissors.
Fortunately, he knew this situation would happen in advance and brought his own needle and thread.
After making the bed, Lu Mingfei took out needle and thread and sewed back the holes in the quilt and coat.
There is also a small ash stove in the corner, which is used to keep the candidates warm and boil water and cook.
However, most people who come to take the exam will bring in dry food, so no one should take the time to cook here at this time.
However, charcoal costs money.
Before coming to the exam, Ye Zhuoran had already inquired about the rules of the exam room and told them back. So Lu Mingfei also knew the rules here. After packing up his things, he spent money to buy a small bucket of charcoal and asked for a pot of water.
He brought the pot himself, which can be used to boil water or cook rice.
The weather is getting colder now, and drinking cold water can easily cause gastrointestinal problems. If you vomit and have diarrhea in the middle of an exam, that would be troublesome.
This time he brought two small baskets, one filled with stationery and the other filled with food.
There were sesame cakes baked specially for him by his adoptive father, steamed buns made by his mother, dried meat and meat sauce made in their workshop, and a jar of pickles. These were enough for him to eat for three days. He also brought a small bowl of rice, so if he wanted to eat rice, he could make a pot of it.
After he cleaned up the room, lit the charcoal in the small stove and boiled water, there was still some time before the exam.
If Lu Mingfei hadn't thought it was inappropriate to lie down at this time, he would have wanted to lie down and take a nap before getting up to answer the questions. He had actually gotten up at midnight to take the exam, and had taken the family carriage to the exam hall. It would be a lie to say he wasn't tired.
When he came in, there were still many empty cells around him. Later, more people came in, and many of the cells around him were full.
Since he couldn't lie down to rest, Lu Mingfei could only sit and close his eyes to rest.
Compared with the previous exams, he seemed not as nervous this time. He was able to think about many things after sitting down.
"Dong-dong-dong-dong"
Until the drum sounded in the examination room, someone came down to distribute answer sheets and rough papers.
Lu Mingfei finally opened his eyes and calmly took out the tools he would need for the exam from the small basket. He didn't rush to grind the ink, because this time he brought not only the brush but also a homemade pencil.
Pencils are easier to write with, and they produce smaller characters, so you don't need to use as much scratch paper. It's not too late to start grinding ink when you're actually writing.
The test paper is blank and will be used to answer questions later.
In the middle of the aisle of the examination room, someone was walking back and forth holding a sign with the test questions written on it.
While the person holding the sign walked in front of him, Lu Mingfei quickly wrote the test questions on the draft paper with a pencil, and then began to think about how to answer the questions.
The water in the stove had just boiled, so he poured himself a cup of hot water, took out a pancake and started eating while thinking about the answers to the questions.
The light is not very good at this time in the morning, so it is not very suitable for answering questions.
When they entered, each of them was given three candles to use when answering questions. Seeing that someone in the room opposite had already lit a candle and was answering questions, Lu Mingfei didn't want to light a candle so soon.
If you use up all three candles, there will be no candles when you need them at night, so you should use candles sparingly.
Just as he was chewing on a sesame bun and thinking about how to answer the questions, the examiner who was passing by glanced at him.
"..." Lu Mingfei exchanged glances with the examiner, then looked away and continued to calmly eat his pancake and think about the problem.
You can watch it if you want, I didn't cheat anyway.
Perhaps it was his calm and unfazed look that left the examiner speechless. He just stayed in the aisle in front of him for three seconds before walking away.
Knowing that it was not convenient to go to the toilet here, Lu Mingfei did not dare to drink too much water. He only drank two sips of water to moisten his throat while eating the sesame cake.
After he had eaten his fill and the light in the examination room had become a little brighter, he began to draft on the draft paper with a pen.
He spent the morning making drafts and did not write anything formally on the paper.
Near noon, while the people around him had not started eating or going to the toilet yet, he packed up his draft and pen and ink, and then started eating.
After eating, I asked to go to the toilet and then stretched my legs on the small bed.
There's no other way. After sitting for a long time, my butt and legs are numb.
If he didn't move, Lu Mingfei was afraid that he wouldn't be able to survive the next three days and two nights... To be precise, there were still two and a half days left, because they had been here for half a day.
Hearing rustling sounds around him, he knew that many people were already packing up their papers and having lunch, so he lay down on the bed and closed his eyes to rest for a while.
He didn't know if it was because he woke up too early and finished a whole morning's test, but he was really tired. He wanted to close his eyes and rest for a while, but he didn't expect that he fell asleep soon after closing his eyes.
This sleep was quite deep.
“…” When he opened his eyes again and saw the unfamiliar environment, Lu Mingfei remembered that he was already taking the exam in the examination room.
It’s okay, just take a nap!
It’s a good thing to be able to fall asleep!
After getting up from the small bed and folding the quilt back, Lu Mingfei tidied his clothes and hair, then sat down at the examination seat. He took out the basket from the bed, put the inkstone and ink stick on the table, and began to grind the ink.
After grinding the ink, he picked up the brush and wrote his name and hometown on the paper first, and then copied the pickaxe he had written in the morning onto the official answer sheet.
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