Chapter 42 Chapter 42 Autumn Examination Passed the List
When the meal is ready, Brother Wang will deliver it to your door at the designated time. After you finish eating, he will come over and take the food box away.
On the fifth day of August, the Imperial Examination Hall was locked. This was a method that had been used in the previous dynasties. In addition, there was also a method of copying the candidates' names under the covers, which is still continued to this day. The government regards the selection of talents as the top priority, and even if the examiners want to make a name for themselves, they can do nothing.
Because of the exam, there were fewer people in Bianjing. As the exam approached, Baozhu changed the mint and cucumber drink in her top scholar meal into a warm drink.
The meals prepared by my eldest brother were often sent to my second brother and my cousin from the Dong family. Before an exam, I had to be extremely careful about what I ate and drank. I wasn't trying to nourish myself, but rather to eat familiar home-cooked dishes. Abalone, sea cucumber, shark's fin, and bird's nest were rare. If I tried to nourish myself by overdoing it, I'd probably end up hurting myself. I had to be careful not to skimp on the big picture.
Looking back, I got a stomachache. After more than ten years of hard work, something went wrong. All the hard work over the years was in vain. Three years passed in a flash, but in reality, I don’t know how much hardship it took.
Before his execution, the second brother came back to ask for clothes, shoes and socks. Madam Xu checked the things he was going to use over and over again. In order not to put pressure on the second brother, Madam Xu was the only one who sent him outside the Imperial Examination Hall, while the others waited at home.
Back when he was studying at home, the teacher at the academy often praised my second brother as a young genius with a photographic memory. He said he could apply what he learned to other situations after just one instance. Back then, my second brother studied diligently, but not as devotedly as he does now. In his spare time, he enjoyed playing cuju, archery, and strolling through the gardens in springtime with his classmates. Since arriving in Bianjing, I rarely see my second brother having fun. When he's tired of studying, he'd rather chop two loads of firewood.
Candidates taking the examination in the Imperial Academy only had a small space, and the examination was held one day for three consecutive days.
It's such a cramped environment, and you have to eat, drink, defecate and urinate inside, and you have to stay there for three days. Fortunately, it's getting cooler today. If the heat hasn't dissipated, let alone taking the exam, I'm afraid everyone in there would be stuffy and faint.
The whole family was on high alert as my second brother was taking an exam. We didn't even have time to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. We just made some mooncakes and distributed them to people we knew. I tasted a few bites of them with little interest and felt that they tasted bland.
These three days were extremely long. Madam Xu took a break from her work, and Baozhu and her elder brother had no intention of setting up their stalls. They went home earlier and earlier every day, feeling restless.
Grandma Zhen simply invited Wenquxing to her home and burned incense and worshipped him every day, hoping that her second brother would pass the exam.
After the exam, the whole family gathered at the entrance to the Imperial Academy to greet the students, who were surrounded by relatives waiting for them to emerge. The Zhen children were all quite tall, and they were easily recognizable at first glance. The second eldest brother, however, had a dark, unshaven beard, a stark contrast to his previous fair and handsome appearance.
Baozhu and Zhurong handed the second brother a meat pancake and a hot milk and peanut drink respectively. Seeing his family, the second brother perked up and ate the pancake with milk in just a few bites. After returning home to clean up, the family went to Qingfeng Tower for a good meal.
This year, because my second brother took the imperial examination, the Mid-Autumn Festival was not celebrated. It was just a reunion dinner. The family made a lot of mooncakes. In addition to giving some to others, some were left for my second brother. He loves to eat homemade mooncakes.
Even after the exam, my second brother did not dare to relax at all. Uncle Dong invited the Zhen family to a gathering. My second brother only relaxed with his family for two days, and then he continued to study hard with his books.
In addition to reading, he would sit in the yard and chop firewood in his spare time. Baorong took him to the tile shop to watch various operas and listen to storytelling. The second brother went with him twice, but was not very interested. However, when he helped his eldest brother to watch the stall, he often stared at the people coming and going on the dock.
After seeing this, I studied the river channel, and after studying the river channel, I read books on water conservancy. This year, the weather has been good, and there has been no news of drought or flood disasters in the south.
During the days of waiting for the results to be announced, most of the students taking the exam still lived in Bian Jing. After the autumn examination, many scholars became a little lax. Although they held their books every day, they were worried about the results being announced.
When the rich fragrance of osmanthus filled Bian Jing and the news of the results spread throughout the streets and alleys, Baozhu didn't care about her stall and hurriedly asked Aunt Cui to help watch the stall. Her eldest brother got the news even faster than her. When Baozhu hurried home to tell her second brother, she found that her eldest brother had already come home.
Soon, Xu came back from outside.
"I heard the results are out!"
The whole family rushed out without even bothering to rent a car. Grandma Zhen wanted to follow, but Baozhu stopped her. "Don't squeeze in with so many people. I'll come back and tell you when I see the rankings!"
The walls of the Imperial Examination Hall were crowded with scholars and common people who were looking at the list. Those closer to the inside were calling out the names one by one. The Zhen family members could not squeeze in, so they had to prick up their ears and listen. Now the list was calling out the B grade, and the Zhen family members in front of them did not hear it.
The man called out more than fifty names but still didn't hear Erlang's name. Xu was afraid that he would be sad, so she patted Erlang's shoulder and said, "There are countless people taking the exam, but there are only more than seventy people on the list. Even if you don't pass, mother has the money to continue your studies."
I did hear the name of my cousin Yuanlin's husband, ranked 61st in Class B.
Dalang couldn't wait any longer, so he squeezed in with his hard flesh. He was tall and didn't need to squeeze to the very end. When he saw the list clearly, his eyes widened and his voice trembled.
"One... One A! The... The sixth person! Hit it, hit it!"
As soon as he said this, a group of people surrounded him, "Sixth?"
The aunt was also worried about not being able to squeeze in, but when she heard Dalang's voice, she immediately reunited with the Zhen family. They didn't care that Dalang was being stared at by a group of people, and just asked him to take another look at the ranking of his cousin from the Dong family.
"Dong's cousin B, number 46!"
The crowd squeezed him so hard that he couldn't breathe. The wealthy businessmen in Bian Jing loved to find a son-in-law from the list, thinking that he had passed the imperial examination. They rolled up their sleeves and their eyes were green as if they wanted to tear him apart and devour him.
Upon hearing the rankings, the Zhen and Dong families breathed a sigh of relief. Baozhu Zhurong casually pointed at one party and shouted, "This guy is actually second in the first class!"
A group of people rushed to the place she pointed, and the eldest brother squeezed out in the chaos. Madam Xu and Aunt Zhen took advantage of the crowd to lead the second brother and cousin Dong away first.
The Song family only sent a servant to check the list; even if they hadn't invited anyone else to check it, Song Pingshi would have gotten the news before them. He learned that the young master of the Dong family had passed the imperial examination and sent someone to announce the good news. He also learned from the Zhen family's aunt that the second son of the Zhen family had actually ranked sixth in the first class. The errand boy reported the news to Song Pingshi, who was filled with emotion.
Originally, he thought that the Zhen family was a poor family. Last time, when Mrs. Song was having her full moon banquet, she wanted to invite the Zhen family to dinner and ask the old lady to have a good meal. After all, the two families were relatives in some way, and the younger generations of the Dong and Zhen families were promising, so he also wanted to make friends with them.
Although the young man of the Song family passed the imperial examination, his ranking was still a little behind. Song Pingshi had already planned a way out for him. If he failed the spring examination, he would ask someone to recommend him to be a minor official in another place first, and then find an opportunity to transfer back to the capital after he performed well in the examination.
When Madam Xu and her companions returned home, the courtyard was filled with people, all of whom had heard that the second son of the Zhen family had passed the imperial examination. Some came in red and green to announce the good news, some from the neighborhood came to offer congratulations, and some even brought their children and grandchildren to bask in the literary atmosphere.
Madam Xu smiled and gave out the wedding money. She also said that she would prepare a banquet in a few days and invited everyone to come and enjoy it.
She had been so excited when she saw the list just now, but now she was a little sad. She could see how hard her second brother worked. The second son of the Zhen family hadn't said a word all the way. When he returned, he asked Baozhu in a daze, "Brother, were you dazzled just now? Could there be another scholar with the same name as me, Zhen Congyan?"
Baozhu was afraid her second brother would go crazy, so she poured cold water on his face. "Brother, I've already checked and it's your name. Your birth date and place of origin are both yours, and your parents' names are also yours. How could it be wrong? And look at those boys who came to congratulate you, and the neighbors. If it were wrong, they wouldn't come."
As they were talking, they heard the sound of gongs outside. Someone from some government office came, with a red cloth hanging around his waist. He spoke loudly to the Zhen family about Erlang's success in the imperial examination and what his rank was.
He came knocking on the door as he walked, followed by many people who had just heard the news. Xu took out a box of copper coins and distributed them to those whose children and grandchildren were taking exams. She grabbed some and planned to string them with red strings to hang them up to look more elegant.
Only then did the second brother feel completely relieved, and the Zhen family members rested for three consecutive days.
In the past few days, waves of people have come to offer their congratulations. When the owner of Fanlou learned that the second son of the Zhen family had passed the imperial examination, he immediately granted him half a week's leave. When Madam Xu suggested hosting a buffet, Zhen's father took charge of the cooking at home, donating all the chicken, duck, fish, and meat, and even bringing in a cart of vegetables. He even managed to create a feast of various kinds. Even northern dishes, which he had previously struggled with, have become easy to cook after a long period of study.
The banquet lasted three days, during which time many wealthy merchants presented gifts of gold, silver, and jewelry. The Zhen family naturally refused to accept them, so they had to politely send them away. Some merchants also wanted to marry into the Zhen family, but Madam Xu dared not mention any marriage at this time. Someone else suggested inviting Zhen Erlang to the banquet, but Madam Xu had to use the excuse that Erlang needed to study for the next spring imperial examination and dismissed him.
The Song family hosted the banquet. Even though Zhen Erlang knew that Song Pingshi only came to befriend him because he had passed the imperial examination, he still went. Firstly, Dong's aunt's father had invited him personally. Second, the three of them had passed the imperial examination together and were classmates. Moreover, the official of the Song family was the husband of Yuanlin's cousin, and he had taken care of the two of them in school. If they were lucky enough to enter the officialdom in the future, they might support each other.
A lone man cannot survive for long no matter how capable he is.
From then on, apart from the banquets hosted by government officials for the candidates, and some invitations from his classmates, Erlang rejected all the others. He knew in his heart that if he failed to pass the imperial examination next spring, he would still be mediocre.
If he could not get the emperor's attention during the palace examination, an ordinary person like him would have difficulty in having an official career even if he was a Jinshi.
This year, the first snow in Bianjing fell earlier than in previous years. As the weather got colder, the enthusiasm for the autumn examination gradually subsided. Now, my second brother not only concentrates on his studies, but also often goes out for a walk.
Since the results were announced, more and more candidates rushed to Bian Jing to wait for the next spring examination.
The Spring Examination was presided over by the Ministry of Rites. All candidates were candidates from various prefectures and cities. These were the best of the best, chosen from among thousands, and were put together for another round of screening. Those who could pass this stage would enter the palace and become disciples of the emperor, promising a bright future.
The Zhen family's life was getting better and better. All the children were doing well. At the beginning of the year, many neighbors came to propose marriage to them, and the first one to come was Zhen's eldest son.
He will be twenty-two in a new year. Although men can get married at the age of eighteen and women at the age of sixteen in this dynasty, most people, whether boys or girls, arrange marriages early, but few are in a hurry to get married when they reach the age.
The whole family had long noticed that the eldest brother was interested in A Xiu, and Mrs. Xu had declined all the people who came to propose reconciliation. She wanted to find an opportunity to ask A Xiu. If it worked out, it would be a double happiness for the family.
Baozhu has now saved up 700 taels of silver. Her eldest brother can contribute 200 taels. She plans to rent a small shop in a good location during the new year. If the shop is opened, her eldest brother will take a share as a chef, and the two of them will share 70% and 30% respectively.
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