Chapter 114 Three Years Later
But having already made the decision to continue taking the exam, Guo Baiwen naturally wanted to give it his all.
The teacher assigned different lessons every day, and the content to be reviewed each day was also different. In order to keep up with the progress of his classmates, Guo Baiwen had to add a lot more study material to his studies every day.
When you're completely absorbed in something, time seems to fly by.
It seems like only yesterday that I passed the imperial examination and came to the prefectural school to study, but in the blink of an eye, more than two years have passed.
The plum blossoms in the courtyard have unknowingly been covered with snow; it's the end of the twelfth lunar month again.
After the New Year, Guo Baiwen will be almost twenty-four.
The day before New Year's Eve, the classmates gathered together for a poetry recital to celebrate the upcoming New Year. In the midst of the excitement, they also drank Tusu wine together.
This year is a year of grand examinations. The imperial court holds a special examination, and the prefectural examinations for selecting scholars will begin in late February or early March in various prefectures. In September, the results of the provincial examinations will be announced.
If I pass the provincial examination this year, I will be able to go to the capital to participate in the spring imperial examination next February.
According to what Guo Baiwen heard from others, at least four or five teachers from the prefectural school are planning to take the imperial examination together next year.
Whether it's for taking the exam or for the exam itself, the next year or so will be the busiest time for scholars across the country.
With the prefectural school on holiday, Guo Baiwen and Chen Baoyue returned to Xiuning County with their belongings after a long absence.
Another Spring Festival has arrived.
When they returned to the Guo family home, it was already completely dark. Lanterns were hanging in front of every house, illuminating the short road brightly.
After a long time, everyone sat down together for a reunion dinner. As they toasted each other, it felt like everyone had changed a lot.
Guo Xiaohua has grown taller in the past few years and has now graduated from Lin Niangzi's apprenticeship. Guo Xiuniang's name has gradually begun to spread throughout Xiuning County.
Although Grandma Guo's gray hair hasn't decreased, she's lived in the county town for the past few years and is quite content, so she looks better than she did two years ago.
Guo Baiwen's biggest worry was his grandmother's health.
Seeing Grandma's strong and energetic voice now, my worries about not seeing her for so long have lessened somewhat.
On his return trip, he specially asked someone in the prefectural city to buy some donkey-hide gelatin to bring back. After giving some to the Chen family, he must make sure to keep a close eye on Grandma's daily use of the rest.
Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, and we need to stay up all night to welcome the new year.
After dinner, Guo Baiwen, as usual, took a couple of walks to aid digestion before studying in the backyard. Just as he was concentrating, he suddenly smelled a fragrant aroma. Looking up, he saw Guo Xiaohua exclaiming in surprise as she used fire tongs to lift the ashes from the stove and pulled out a piping hot sweet potato. She happily said, "The sweet potato is ready to eat!"
As he spoke, he started peeling the sweet potato skins with his hands, making "ah-zh-zh" sounds.
At the same time, she turned back to call out to him and Chen Baoyue, "Brother, sister-in-law, want some roasted sweet potatoes?! Uncle Shi brought them over a while ago, they're red-fleshed! They're so sweet!"
They're at their best when they're sizzling and dripping with oil.
So Guo Baiwen began reciting his lessons under the bright light, taking the time to check if his roasted sweet potato had cooled down.
To be fair, the red ones are indeed sweeter.
While I was eating sweet potatoes, someone suddenly shouted, "It's snowing!"
Everyone rushed out to watch the heavy snow falling from the sky.
It's a new year again.
The next day, the first day of the Lunar New Year, he went to the Chen family to pay his respects. He was fine when he went there, but when he returned, Guo Baiwen noticed that Chen Baoyue's expression seemed a little off.
Now that they were in his room, he reached out and took her hand, asking with some confusion, "What's wrong?"
It would have been better if she hadn't asked, because as soon as she did, Chen Baoyue's face suddenly turned red.
After a long while, he murmured a few words.
Her voice was so soft that Guo Baiwen had to lean closer to barely hear what she was saying.
It would have been better if he hadn't listened, because once he did, Guo Baiwen's ears turned red.
He never imagined it was about two people—the next generation.
Chen Baoyue's cheeks flushed, seemingly surprised that her mother would secretly ask her about this, and she looked somewhat embarrassed. "Actually, if you think about it, it hasn't been that long since we got married..."
But to this day, she still hasn't been able to see her child. Even if her family doesn't say anything, people outside might start gossiping.
Chen Zhonghua asked the question in a very subtle way, because whether it was the man's or the woman's problem, they should find a good doctor to take a good look at it.
She explained things in detail, and Chen Baoyue remembered them clearly.
Now that Guo Baiwen had to ask her that question, she blushed even more.
Upon hearing this, Guo Baiwen could only laugh and cry at the same time. "If anyone asks about it in the future, just say that I am engrossed in studying and taking exams and have no plans to have children for the time being."
Chen Baoyue could only blush and nod in agreement.
After passing the county-level examination, the subsequent provincial and metropolitan examinations became increasingly difficult. Those who made it to the end not only needed sufficient knowledge and talent, but also excellent physical fitness and mental fortitude.
The provincial examination was held on the ninth day of the eighth lunar month. There were three sessions in total, one on the ninth, twelfth, and fifteenth of the month, and each session lasted a whole day.
Because the exams are mostly held in August during the autumn, they are also called the Autumn Examinations.
As the exam date approaches, many candidates preparing for the upcoming test inevitably feel anxious and irritable. In addition, the weather remains hot in late summer and early autumn, causing many to experience severe internal heat.
Therefore, Grandma Guo would boil mung bean water at home every day, let it cool in the well in the yard, and then watch over Guo Baiwen to make sure he drank a bowl of it every day.
Since the provincial examination was not held in Xiuning County, Guo Baiwen planned to depart two days earlier this time so that he wouldn't be like the candidates who couldn't find an inn to stay in during the previous provincial examination.
Guo Baiwen had packed almost everything he needed for the imperial examination, and on the fourth day of the eighth lunar month, he planned to go alone.
But remembering how Guo Baiwen staggered out of the examination hall last time, Chen Baoyue insisted on going with him.
This time, just in case, the preparations were even more thorough than last time. Grandma Guo even specially asked carpenter Hu to make a small stove that could be taken into the cell to boil water.
With hot water, even if you soak the dry food you brought in, it will still be warm when you eat it.
For ease of inspection, it is designed to be detachable, so there is no need to worry about damaging the furnace during inspection.
For this exam, Guo Xiaohua specially made a new blue robe for her brother, and used newly learned needlework techniques on the shoes and outer garment.
Firstly, it was to bring good luck to the prince's exam; secondly, in case someone took a liking to the clothes and shoes the prince was wearing, it would also be a way to attract customers for her craftsmanship.
Before leaving, Grandma Guo pulled him along to kowtow and offer incense to the ancestors. She didn't ask Guo Baiwen to pass the imperial examination this time; she only hoped that he would have a safe and smooth journey.
When Guo Baiwen went to the prefectural capital to take the provincial examination, the shopkeeper who had previously rented him the carriage didn't even charge him the rent this time, saying that if he passed the exam smoothly, it would be a great benefit for their carriage company.
Regardless of what the shopkeeper said, Guo Baiwen insisted on paying the rent for the trip.
Nowadays, carriages and horses are not cheap, and sometimes, favors given without expecting money are more troublesome than monetary ones.
Let's not try to take advantage of this.
After settling his luggage and boarding the carriage, he looked back at his grandmother, Uncle Shitou, and his parents-in-law who had come to see him off, waved, and said, "Go back now."
The journey was almost nonstop, following the same official road as last time. This time, however, they had deliberately arrived many days early, hoping to be lucky enough to stay at an inn closer to the examination hall, just like last time.
Three years have passed, and the prefectural capital is still as bustling as it was back then—no, it's more accurate to say that it's even more bustling this time.
Along the way, he saw many different kinds of oxcarts, donkey carts, and horse-drawn carriages. Guo Baiwen did not linger at the city gate. As soon as he entered the city, he went straight to the inn where he had stayed. As soon as he entered, he saw the innkeeper waving his hand to a scholar in front of him and saying, "The three types of rooms, namely Heaven, Earth, and Human, are all sold out. However, the Yellow Class lower-class rooms and the large and small dormitory rooms are still available. Which room would you like to stay in, sir?"
Nowadays, houses are all made of wood. The characters for "Heaven," "Earth," "Human," and "Yellow" are based on different floors. The "Heaven" character room is naturally on the third floor, the "Earth" and "Human" characters room is on the second floor, and the "Yellow" character room is on the first floor.
The guest rooms on the first floor are close to the lobby where people eat and drink tea. Not only is the soundproofing poor, but it also easily attracts snakes, insects, rats, and other such creatures.
Needless to say, there were also shared dormitories of varying sizes.
One is a 12-person room, and the other is an 8-person room.
In order to be in good condition for the exam, it is very important to get a good night's rest. Unless they are really short of money, no candidate would choose to stay in a dormitory.
Having no other choice, he turned to Chen Baoyue and said, "Let's go check out other places."
More than 3,000 people came to the prefecture to take the provincial examination. I thought it was hard to find a room in an inn during the provincial examination, but now I realize just how difficult it is to find a room in a good location during the examination season.
I asked two or three inns in a row and got the same answer. There was nothing I could do. Since there were no inns near the examination hall, I could only look further away.
After a long journey, the two finally found an inn that still had rooms available. It was about three streets away from the examination hall, and it would take about fifteen minutes to walk there.
It wasn't too far, but the room rate was cheaper than the other places they had inquired about before. After the two of them went upstairs and looked at the room they were going to stay in with the waiter, they quickly made a reservation.
Learning from his previous experience of having to extend his stay midway, Guo Baiwen booked a room for half a month straight this time.
After settling in, Guo Baiwen would go for a walk every evening to get some fresh air, and he even ate his meals in his room.
Compared to the previous provincial examination, I heard that more than 3,000 scholars took the provincial examination this time, but only about 50 were selected in the end.
The difficulty has increased significantly, and Guo Baiwen can only try his best to maintain a good mindset.
Every day, besides studying and practicing calligraphy, I try to keep all other thoughts out of my mind and just do my best.
They studied like this until the day before the exam. Chen Baoyue seemed more nervous than him, but she was afraid of putting pressure on Guo Baiwen, so she could only secretly sigh to herself in a corner.
She was even afraid that turning over at night would disturb Guo Baiwen's rest, so she hugged her pillow, turned around and went to sleep on the couch on the other side of the room.
Guo Baiwen tried to persuade him a few times but to no avail. Fortunately, the weather wasn't cold, and after moving the tea table off the tatami mat, it was quite comfortable to sleep.
The next morning, Chen Baoyue got up even earlier than Guo Baiwen. After learning how strict the inspection was last time, she specially had the dry food she prepared chopped into small pieces. In addition to the staple food, she also packed a bowl of shredded chicken.
"Eating meat is more nutritious." It's coated in seasoning beforehand, so it's suitable to eat on its own or with fried rice.
"Thank you for your trouble."
"Why are you talking about whether it's troublesome or not between us?"
Worried about not being able to go to the toilet during the exam, they ate a simple bowl of soup noodles for breakfast. When the two of them arrived at the exam hall with their exam baskets after breakfast, a long queue had already formed outside.
They even arrived early, so judging by this, they'll probably have to wait at least half an hour.
The search team stood at the entrance of the examination hall, and the search was much stricter than last time. Guo Baiwen was at the back of the line and saw that the person in front of him had his hair bun removed and searched.
Not to mention, they also check the soles of shoes, the linings of inner garments, and the fingernails and toenails.
With such rigorous investigations, there are bound to be results.
As they watched as three or five students were caught cheating in the inspection line, everyone, even those still in line, couldn't help but turn their heads in disbelief.
Anyone found to have brought in contraband will be disqualified from the exam, regardless of whether it was used or not.
If the investigation reveals that there was also suspected cheating in obtaining the academic titles he had previously acquired, then those titles might be revoked as well.
They've already passed the exams to become students—why bother?
When it was Guo Baiwen's turn, the custom-made stove was inspected many times, but fortunately it was eventually approved.
Just before entering the examination room, Guo Baiwen waved to Chen Baoyue, who was watching him from outside the door.
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