Chapter 106 Let's go to the prefectural capital to take the imperial examination
Under the watchful eyes of his family, Guo Baiwen and Chen Baoyue boarded a horse-drawn carriage rented from a carriage shop in the county town.
Their store is a branch from the prefectural capital. Once they arrive in the prefectural capital, they can show the rental slip to the head office and have their carriage stored there for free.
It's not too late to take the carriage back when we return from the prefectural capital.
It's much better than other carriage companies that need to constantly take care of the carriages, since not everyone can look after horses that aren't commonly seen.
To save money, Guo Baiwen had previously considered asking carpenter Hu to make a custom-made canopy for his donkey cart.
Zuo You Mao Mao doesn't pull the millstone very often at home, since she's just idling around anyway.
But considering that it was their first time traveling to the prefectural capital, they were not only unfamiliar with the route, but their driving skills were also not very good.
As Grandma Guo said, some money should be spent where it's necessary.
So in addition to the carriage, they also hired a driver who knew the route to the prefectural capital to help them make two round trips, which would be cheaper.
Knowing that they were going to the prefectural capital for an exam, the coachman specially tied a red cloth around the horse's head for good luck.
There weren't many students from Xiuning County who went to the prefectural capital to take the imperial examinations this year; there were only about a dozen of them.
Once outside the city, you'll encounter many travelers on the road. Some, like Guo Baiwen, drive horse-drawn carriages, others ride donkey carts, and still others squeeze together in oxcarts.
When they stopped for a short rest at a tea stall by the roadside halfway through their journey, Guo Baiwen saw more than one old man on his way to take the imperial examination.
It seems that from the time of a student to the level of a scholar, many people are still struggling at this level even after taking the exam many times.
I was a little nervous.
After buying enough tea and dry food from the tea stall and inquiring about the inns and guesthouses they could stay at, they boarded the carriage and continued their journey.
Although it was already springtime, it still got dark early. In less than three hours, it was getting dark. Most people were night-blind at this time, so they made the best of it to travel in the darkness.
Chen Baoyue silently set up two lanterns in front of the carriage. She had specially bought these two lanterns before leaving home, specifically for the carriage to use on the road.
Even on bumpy roads, there's no worry about the lamp oil spilling out.
"No rush," the coachman, who was used to this route, explained, "At our current speed, we'll definitely find a place to rest today."
"Alright, then I'll trouble you, Master."
After thanking him, Chen Baoyue climbed back into the carriage. Seeing that Guo Baiwen was still reading, she couldn't help but say a few words of advice.
"The carriage is swaying; keep your eyes peeled."
"Just wait until I finish reading this part." Guo Baiwen nodded in response.
After finishing the page, I made sure to slip a bookmark inside before carefully putting away the book and then closing my eyes to give myself a set of eye exercises.
At that time, there were no glasses available for nearsightedness. People often said that their eyes were ruined from overworking, which actually meant they had become nearsighted.
He should take better care of his eyes.
Although we were traveling on the official road, the carriage was still swaying and rocking. After sitting for a while, I felt extremely dizzy, whether it was due to poor air circulation or something else.
Fortunately, they are now in a location that will soon reach the nearest county, Luxian.
Once we enter the city, we can find an inn to look after the carriage and stay overnight. We can continue our journey when it gets light the next day.
The sun slowly set, and the evening breeze blew through the lifted carriage curtain, bringing a touch of coolness. Just moments ago, running under the blazing sun had felt hot, but now I realized that my clothes were a bit too thin.
Fortunately, the carriage was about to enter the county town.
Upon entering Luxian County, although the county town was not as large as Xiuning County, it was in high demand because it was closer to the prefectural capital.
Guo Baiwen asked around at several places before finally booking a room at a slightly more expensive inn.
Fortunately, the inn is expensive for a reason. Not only does it have a backyard for parking horse-drawn carriages, but the rooms are also larger.
The room was named "Human" (人), and Guo Baiwen had booked the "Human" (人) room. After looking around the room, not only Guo Baiwen but also Chen Baoyue were satisfied with their accommodation for the day.
So I packed my things, ordered dinner and hot water from the innkeeper, and finally I was able to get some rest.
Traveling by carriage wasn't too tiring, but because we had to save time, we spent most of the day huddled inside the carriage, and our shoulders and legs started to ache.
After we finished using the hot water provided by the inn, the delicious dinner we had ordered was served.
On the small round table were two dishes and a soup: stir-fried cabbage, steamed fish, and a soup of salted pork, bamboo shoots, and tofu. The staple food was buckwheat pancakes.
Guo Baiwen tasted the buckwheat pancake; it wasn't as good as Grandma Guo's, but he was tired from the journey, so he and Chen Baoyue shared it together with a soup of salted pork and dried bamboo shoots and stir-fried cabbage.
I ate five or six palm-sized pancakes.
Since it was only a temporary stop, and they were worried they wouldn't have time to pack by tomorrow morning, they didn't bring out many of their belongings.
After a quick wash, the two went to bed early that night.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, the carriage at the door was already harnessed.
We're rushing a bit now, but once we reach the prefecture, there will be more inns and hostels to choose from, and we'll have more time to rest and adjust along the way.
Chen Baoyue still remembered that Guo Baiwen was reading in the carriage yesterday. When she saw him get into the carriage today and open the book he hadn't finished reading yesterday, she didn't say anything.
They simply lit a few more lamps quietly.
Traveling day and night, a journey that would normally take three days was completed by horse-drawn carriage, arriving near the city gate of the prefecture by the evening of the second day.
There was a long line of horse-drawn carriages, donkey carts, and oxcarts at the city gate. When asked, they were all candidates who had come to take the exam.
After entering the city, Guo Baiwen first went to check out the Jidi Inn, the closest inn to the examination hall, but all the rooms were already booked. So they had no choice but to check into another inn, Jinbang Inn, which was a little further away.
Fortunately, this place still had vacant upper-class rooms, and the area around the inn was relatively quiet.
The exam will last for two days, and when the results come out, I'll definitely need to rest and recuperate some more.
After thinking it over, Guo Baiwen simply booked a room for seven days in one go.
Fortunately, he arrived early. By noon the next day, the rooms in the nearby inns were already full of examinees. It was said that those who arrived later would have to stay in the woodsheds that the inns had cleaned for them.
Many others didn't even have a woodshed to stay in and had to ask if there were any houses nearby that could temporarily accommodate guests.
This shows how many people took the exam.
When Guo Baiwen came downstairs for dinner in the evening, he saw that the hall was full of scholars dressed in long gowns. Some of them were newly appointed students who had passed the imperial examinations this year, while others were students who had failed the county-level examinations in previous years but had come again this year.
When we were in Xiuning County, there weren't many students who could pass the imperial examinations, but now that we're in the prefecture, candidates from the surrounding counties and cities have all come.
Guo Baiwen only overheard it briefly during his meal; there were top scholars here and there, and talented and capable people were as numerous as fish crossing a river.
Many people who checked into the inn, after overhearing the polite conversations among these people, began to feel nervous even before the exam.
Chen Baoyue looked at him with some concern, but he waved his hand to reassure her.
He knew perfectly well that it was difficult to become a scholar, and he was content with just passing the exam, even if it was just a minor one.
If I don't pass the exam, I can always try again next time.
The provincial examination is held twice every three years; if you take it again, you'll eventually pass.
Instead of worrying about whether he can pass the exam before even entering the examination hall, he might as well spend more time reading books and also try to guess what kind of questions the academy exam will have, and how he will write his policy essays based on those questions.
When they finished their meal and were about to return to their room, they ran into Lin Zhongbin, who had just come downstairs to have his meal.
Unexpectedly, the two stayed at the same inn again.
Lin Zhongbin couldn't help but light up and came over to greet her, "Yizhang, hello sister-in-law."
Seeing that the two still had something to say, Chen Baoyue said, "I haven't discussed tomorrow's meals with the manager yet. You two talk first, I'll be right back."
"What will be our meal tomorrow?"
Guo Baiwen watched Chen Baoyue leave, and after hearing the question, he turned around and explained, "I was having dinner in the lobby just now and found it crowded and noisy. Rather than coming down to the lobby every day and squeezing into the crowd, it's better to have some food delivered upstairs and eat in my room."
"Quietness makes it easier to study."
Upon hearing this, Lin Zhongbin nodded, "Indeed, I'll go and tell the manager later."
After discussing the food, the two chatted for a while about their journey to the prefecture.
After saying all this, Lin Zhongbin couldn't help but sigh again.
Guo Baiwen looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I heard there are over 1,800 candidates taking the entrance exam this time," Lin Zhongbin said, sounding somewhat worried. "Only 200 will be selected from over 1,800."
"I think I'm going to fail the exam."
Guo Baiwen knew that passing the imperial examination to become a Xiucai was difficult, but he didn't expect it to be this difficult.
But seeing Lin Zhongbin's self-deprecating expression, he still said, "You haven't even entered the examination room yet, whether you pass or not is another matter, but don't get discouraged before you even start."
That makes sense, but he was already at the very bottom of the class when he took the imperial examination last time.
Seeing so many test takers now, it's hard not to overthink things.
"Yes, at least we're still young. If we can't do it this year, we can try again the year after."
"Just relax," Guo Baiwen patted him on the shoulder, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Even if things are going to fall apart, it should happen after the exams are over.
The two didn't talk for long. Seeing that there were more and more people below, they exchanged a few words and then went their separate ways.
When they returned to the room they had booked, Chen Baoyue was already unpacking the luggage she had brought with her carriage.
Besides a change of clothes, there were also Guo Baiwen's writing brushes, inkstones, paper, inkstones, and various books inside.
She's packing the clothes she'll be taking into the exam room.
The weather is so unpredictable, sometimes hot and sometimes cold. I'm worried that I won't bring enough warm clothes when I go into the exam room and I'll catch a cold and get sick.
"I'll go out for a walk tomorrow and see if there's any dry food around here that I can bring into the exam room for you."
"Alright, then I'll trouble you to take care of it." Guo Baiwen thought for a moment and then mentioned the random inspection during the exam in the prefectural city last time.
Food that looks like it's easy to smuggle in isn't suitable to bring along; it'll be torn to shreds by the inspectors at the entrance before you even get into the exam room.
This was the first time Chen Baoyue had heard of this matter, so she kept it in mind. "Don't worry, I understand."
However, that's for tomorrow. The exam starts the day after tomorrow, so there's not much time left for the candidates to study.
Guo Baiwen didn't bring many books with him. Besides "The Great Learning" and "The Doctrine of the Mean", he only brought "The Book of Rites" and "The Book of Rites", which were frequently tested in the provincial examination.
When Guo Baiwen was reviewing past years' examination questions and the list of excellent candidates, he found that the content of these books accounted for about 60% of the questions on the interpretation of the classics.
However, scientific expeditions are not ordinary exams; you can't just pass them.
So in addition to these books, he also brought "Wang Zhi", "Li Yun" and "Xue Ji", which together could cover about 90% of the questions on the classics.
As for the rest, he flipped through the notes he had made with Master Zhang, practiced a few more large characters to calm his mind, and didn't stay up late that day, turning off the lights and resting early.
Even last-minute preparation can be effective.
However, if you stay up all night to study and lose your focus, then it's not worth it.
The next day, Chen Baoyue went out to buy things, but he still carefully reviewed the book in the same order as yesterday.
I don't expect to be able to find all the missing information in every book, but at least I should be able to read through and memorize all the key points given by the Master.
I went to bed early again that evening.
The examination hall isn't far from the inn, but there are more candidates for this year's provincial examination than for the previous prefectural examination. I reckon the queue will be quite long tomorrow, so I need to make sure I'm well-rested.
The next day, Guo Baiwen checked his examination basket, counted the documents, writing brushes, ink, paper, and other items he needed to bring, and then headed to the examination hall with the prepared dry rations.
The entrance exam will last for two days, so you can't go without eating.
Upon arriving at the gate, the yamen runners who were already waiting there were in charge of searching the area for the exam, observing the large number of candidates waiting outside.
The clerk in charge of maintaining order stepped forward and called out, "Elders first."
Soon, the elderly scholars with white hair stepped out from the crowd and, with unsteady steps, went to be searched first.
There were no age restrictions for the imperial examinations; some young people passed and became Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), while others, with white hair, failed. The stark contrast between these achievements caused even the onlookers to sigh with pity.
stand up.
I don't even know how many times I've come to take the exam.
The search procedure was similar to that of the previous prefectural examination. Guo Baiwen was first searched, and then patiently waited for the yamen runners to search his examination basket.
Once everything is confirmed to be correct, it can be released.
Having finally obtained his examination card, he entered the examination hall and looked for his assigned examination room.
As long as it's not a bad account, as long as it's not a bad account, as long as it's not a bad account.
Guo Baiwen silently recited the numbers to himself while carefully checking them against the numbers on his test card.
Number C (地字丙号).
I found my seat by looking at the exam card and discovered that my room number was in the first row, near the front, while the toilet was at the far end of the back row, neither too close nor too far.
This position is good; it aligns well with Guo Baiwen's moderate thinking.
Once inside the examination room, he sat down and stretched his arms and legs. It was alright; it felt a bit bigger than the room he had in the last provincial examination.
After all the candidates were seated, another drumbeat sounded.
As the room fell silent, the chairs placed at the front were given a new owner.
The provincial examination was administered by the prefect of the prefecture, who was already a fourth-rank official. Even if one were lucky enough to enter officialdom in the future, it was uncertain whether one would ever encounter such a high-ranking official again.
Guo Baiwen glanced at the crowd from a distance and realized that his eyesight seemed to be somewhat astigmatic.
He didn't know if it was because he had been reading a lot lately, but the figures had an inexplicable double image, making it difficult for him to clearly see what the people looked like.
Even so, one could still clearly see the red official robe the other person was wearing.
Many people around me unconsciously gasped, as if they were intimidated by the examiners who took their seats on the stage.
Unable to see clearly, Guo Baiwen was unsure whether to sigh or breathe a sigh of relief.
If he couldn't see it clearly, he would let it go and instead focused on listening to the requirements of the exam.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
