Chapter 62 Wanshan Academy (2)
Guiyuan Mountain is steep and difficult to traverse. Steps have been built at the foot of the mountain, but carriages can only stop there. Meng Guanqi asked Zhao Jian to find an inn at the foot of the mountain to stay overnight and wait for his return, while he took Li Xiaoxiao and Asheng to climb the mountain.
It took more than two hours to climb from the foot of the mountain to the gate of Wanshan Academy. Meng Guanqi was too exhausted for the last short stretch and had to rely on Li Xiaoxiao for support. Apart from her looking normal, he and Asheng were both so tired that they could hardly breathe.
Li Xiaoxiao now dresses as a servant when she goes out. As she helps Meng Guanqi walk, she says, "Young master, your stamina is too poor. If you really want to go to school here in the future, you'll have to climb the mountain several times a day."
Exhausted, Meng Guanqi disregarded the traditional boundaries between men and women, leaning against Li Xiaoxiao and panting heavily: "I... I now suspect that Headmaster Gu deliberately built the academy here, and also requires students to climb mountains to build up their physical strength—"
Li smiled and said, "That's great! You can climb it every day from now on. In less than three months, your physical fitness will definitely improve. We're here." She looked up and saw the dilapidated gate of the academy more than ten meters away.
Surprisingly, the gate of Wanshan Academy was extremely simple, just a bamboo gate that was more than two people tall, with the four large, flamboyant characters "Wanshan Academy" written on it in black characters. It had just snowed heavily, and a pile of snowflakes had accumulated on top of the bamboo gate. It looked less like an academy and more like the lintel of a poor family's house.
But no one dared to underestimate this academy, which had produced dozens of successful candidates in the imperial examinations and seven or eight successful candidates in the metropolitan examinations in just seven or eight years.
Behind the bamboo gate was a small wooden hut. Inside sat a drowsy old servant. There was a charcoal fire burning in the hut, and the old servant was dozing in front of the fire with his hands in his sleeves.
Meng Guanqi straightened his clothes, took the bundle from Asheng's hand, took out Magistrate Meng's visiting card, and knocked on the door of the small wooden house.
Upon learning that it was a fellow student of Headmaster Gu who had come to see him, the old servant accepted the visiting card and said, "Please wait a moment, this old servant will go and inform Headmaster Gu right away."
He went in with the visiting card, and came out after burning an incense stick: "This way, young master. The headmaster has just finished class and is waiting in the quiet room."
Meng Guanqi felt a little nervous. He straightened his clothes and followed the old servant to the quiet room of Wannian Academy.
Along the way, we passed by rows of small wooden houses, all low-rise buildings of one or two stories. The interiors were spacious, and occasionally we could see students wearing light blue long gowns moving around inside. There were quite a few people here.
The old servant led the three of them to a wooden house with the word "Quiet Room" written on it.
This wooden house is no different in architectural style from the other houses. Through the open door, you can see a middle-aged man sitting inside wearing a dark blue long coat, with a turban on his head and a few strands of long beard under his chin. He is writing with a brush, and his fingers are red from the cold, but he doesn't seem to care.
Li Xiaoxiao checked the temperature here; it was too cold.
It was colder than outside the mountain gate, and there was a damp feeling, so there must be a water source nearby.
This Headmaster Gu is ruthless enough. It's so cold inside, yet the windows and doors are still open. There's not even a stove lit, and he's still writing even though his fingers are swollen like radishes.
Li Xiaoxiao thought that Meng Guanqi would probably suffer a bit if he enrolled here.
She greatly admired her husband for setting an example by enduring hardship without complaint.
It's much colder up in the mountains than on the plains. The students she glimpsed earlier were all dressed in thin clothes, most of them wearing long cotton-padded coats with only a single layer of clothing underneath, but the temperature was already around minus six or seven degrees Celsius...
The old servant knocked on the door: "Master, the guest has arrived."
Headmaster Gu looked up from the pile of books: "Come in."
Meng Guanqi told Li Xiaoxiao and Asheng to wait outside the door, then patted off imaginary dust from his clothes and respectfully went in to bow: "Student Meng Guanqi, at the request of my father Meng Ying, has come to pay his respects to Headmaster Gu."
Headmaster Gu's attitude was very gentle, with a smile on his lips, as he looked Meng Guanqi up and down: "Ji Li's son is so grown up now, is he fifteen years old this year?"
Ji Li is Meng Ying's courtesy name. Meng Guanqi blushed slightly and said, "Looking back at Headmaster, I am fourteen years old this year, and the fifteenth of the new year has passed."
Gu Shanchang stroked his beard and sighed, "He's almost fifteen already. Time flies! I heard at the beginning of the year that Ji Li took up a post in Biyang County. Is everything alright now?"
Meng Guanqi said, "Everything is fine. Thank you for your concern, Headmaster Gu."
Headmaster Gu asked, "Did Ji Li send you here for some reason?"
Meng Guanqi then handed over the first burden that Magistrate Meng had given him to Headmaster Gu.
Headmaster Gu took the bundle, opened it, and saw that the box inside contained several paintings. He was slightly taken aback, then took out a letter, opened it, and began to read it.
After a long while, he sighed softly, folded the letter and put it back, then opened a small drawer in the bookcase and put it inside: "I know about your father's request, but although we have a past, the admission rules of Wanshan Academy are extremely strict. I heard that you passed the county-level examination at the age of thirteen, and Ji Lixin also highly praised your scholarship. Are you willing to accept my assessment?"
Meng Guanqi respectfully replied, "I would be honored to accept your offer."
Headmaster Gu glanced at the sky: "It's getting late. Your assessment will begin tomorrow and last for three days. The exam will be conducted according to the standards of the provincial examination, in Minghua." He called out, and an old servant came in from outside the door, bowing and saying, "Master."
Headmaster Gu said, "Prepare a recent exam paper for Class A2 for him, in exam room number 2 of the Dingzi building."
The old servant seemed very familiar with this procedure: "Yes, sir."
Headmaster Gu smiled at Meng Guanqi: "Is there no problem?"
Meng Guanqi was slightly surprised, followed by undisguised excitement. He thought the assessment would be nothing more than testing the most important eight-legged essay, but he didn't expect that Headmaster Gu would test him according to the standards of the provincial examination, and for three days in a row?!
He was naturally eager to experience the provincial examination in advance, and cupped his hands, saying, "Yes, student has no objection."
Headmaster Gu nodded: "Okay, you go with Minghua and get some rest. It's freezing cold, and the next three days won't be easy. If anything changes, you can call off the exam at any time."
Even so, Meng Guanqi knew that if he stopped the exam, what difference would it make from giving up the provincial exam? He bowed to Headmaster Gu and followed the old servant to rest.
Early the next morning, Meng Guanqi was led by the old servant to a house on the west side of the academy. The door was marked with the words "Small Examination Hall". Upon entering, he found that the layout was exactly the same as the real examination hall. The examination rooms were arranged in a neat and dense manner, with two examination rooms forming a small room, separated by a brick wall. Each examination room was about five feet deep and more than three feet wide. Meng Guanqi would take a three-day mock provincial examination here.
The old servant said, "The provincial examination consists of three sessions. The first session is on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, the second session is on the twelfth day of the ninth lunar month, and the third session is on the fifteenth day of the ninth lunar month. Each session will last one day, after which you can leave the examination hall. Since this is a mock exam, although you will be taking three sessions in a row, you do not need to stay here overnight. You can go back to your room to sleep."
Meng Guanqi had a sudden thought: "If the candidates in the academy are taking the exam, wouldn't they have to sleep here?"
The old servant said, "The candidates will participate in the mock exam. Everything will be conducted according to the procedures of the metropolitan exam. Not only will they have to sleep here overnight, but a chamber pot will also be placed in the corner of the examination cell, in an effort to make it exactly the same as the metropolitan exam."
They also had to place chamber pots there, and the next-door cells were the most dreaded stinky cells for students. Historically, almost no candidate sitting next to a stinky cell could finish the exam. Even if they managed to finish, they were destined to fail and could only lament their bad luck.
Meng Guanqi said, "Sleeping here on such a cold day, what if you catch a cold?"
The old servant smiled and said, "The headmaster said that if the candidates cannot even withstand the cold, how can they withstand the bloodshed in the officialdom in the future? Wanshan Academy is located deep in the mountains. The rice, food and firewood in the academy are all purchased at the foot of the mountain and then carried back by the students. This way, they can make at least three round trips a month, which can not only meet the needs of the academy, but also improve the students' physical fitness. It is a win-win solution."
Meng Guanqi suddenly realized that this was how it was done. Headmaster Gu was using this method to train students' resilience. By holding several exams, the students would become familiar with the examination process. When they actually took the exam, the environment and atmosphere would be no different from when they were at the academy, and their psychological pressure would be much less.
Meng Guanqi took a deep breath, suppressing his eager excitement.
If before coming to Wanshan Academy he was simply obeying his father's arrangements without any particular thoughts, now he felt a growing longing and a refusal to admit defeat.
He also wanted to study here.
The old servant led him inside and stopped in front of the No. 2 examination shed: "Your examination room is here. The academy will provide the necessary supplies for this exam, such as writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, food, water, and candles. If there is an opportunity to take the exam again, you will have to prepare them yourself."
Meng Guanqi bowed and said, "Yes."
After three days of continuous testing, when the time was up, Meng Guanqi emerged from inside, his face pale. The old servant slowly went in and collected the papers: "Young master, please return to your guest room to rest. This old servant will now hand the papers over to the headmaster for review."
Li Xiaoxiao and Asheng helped Meng Guanqi to the guest room, one on each side. Seeing his pale face and unsteady steps, they were both quite frightened. Asheng even grabbed Meng Guanqi's hand and rubbed it for a while: "Is the young master sick? His hands are so cold." They're swollen like radishes.
Li Xiaoxiao exclaimed in surprise, "This is only because she comes back to sleep every night. If she sleeps in there for several days during the imperial examination, wouldn't she have to be carried out?"
Taking an exam must have been incredibly exhausting! People in ancient times must have been so stressed! Just how difficult were those questions?
Meng Guanqi went back to his room, drank a bowl of hot tea, and ate a few pastries. His face was finally not so pale, but his brows were full of worry, and he was not in a good mood.
He had never done such a difficult test before.
This was even more difficult, detailed, and comprehensive than the exam papers Mao could buy from Beijing. There were many parts that he didn't fully understand, only knowing a vague outline.
He had never experienced such a rigorous examination before. Even having obtained the Imperial Academy's year-end exam papers, answering questions in his own study was completely different from answering them in the examination cell. The cramped space, the cold weather, the damp and musty smell, and the tension all affected his performance. His fingertips were so cold they ached and trembled. Every word he wrote was obscure and difficult. His once lively thoughts seemed frozen by the snow on the mountain, leaving him disoriented. He had to waste a lot of time adjusting his state of mind, resulting in him barely having enough time to finish the last few questions, and the quality of his writing was unsatisfactory.
He was very disappointed with this exam; it didn't reflect his true abilities.
But you could also say that this is his true level; the results he achieved without any preparation represent his true self.
His beliefs wavered.
He thought that although he was young, his father had high hopes for him in the autumn imperial examination next year. Even if his ranking was not high, he would at least be shortlisted. But after finishing this exam, he was no longer sure.
His father was so convinced that he could pass the imperial examination with flying colors; he might have to disappoint him.
Is this the difference between the top-ranked candidate in the second class and other ordinary Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examination)? After finishing the exam paper given by Gu Shanzhang, he felt that he definitely would not pass this examination.
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