Chapter 58 County Examination
After visiting Gu Jiao's parents' graves, the two set off for home.
The two of them spent quite a bit of time cleaning the grave, and ended up getting all dirty.
Gu Jiao knew he was a clean person, so when they passed by the river, she said to him, "Go wash your hands."
"Hmm." Xiao Liulang responded, and limped towards the riverbank, leaning on his cane.
Gu Jiao observed his walking posture. To be honest, the surgery was very successful, and he had worked hard on rehabilitation these days, but he still couldn't get rid of his crutches.
Is the rehabilitation effort insufficient?
Gu Jiao touched her chin.
"Aren't you going to wash?" Xiao Liulang asked her, turning around.
Gu Jiao chuckled: "Let's wash! Let's wash together!"
It's just washing your hands, why are you so eager? It's not like you're taking a bath, right?
After asking, Xiao Liulang remembered that this was the river where she had fallen in before. Perhaps she was afraid and that's why she didn't come over. He secretly blamed himself for being too talkative and planned to wash up and leave quickly, but Gu Jiao had already squatted down beside him.
The river water was a bit cold, but neither of them were pampered young masters and ladies, so they could bear it and wash.
However, just as the two of them stood up, something suddenly fell out of Gu Jiao's arms and landed in the river with a thud.
"My purse!" Gu Jiao hadn't expected this turn of events. She tried to grab it quickly, but it was too late. The purse was full of loose silver coins and was quite heavy. It sank instantly.
Without thinking, Gu Jiao jumped into the river.
Xiao Liulang's expression changed drastically!
Her diving was even more unexpected than her purse falling into the water; Xiao Liulang didn't even have time to react before she disappeared.
"Gu Jiao!"
Gu Jiao, clutching her purse, floated to the surface: "Found it... I found it..."
Xiao Liulang quickly pulled her ashore.
Gu Jiao knelt on the grass, water dripping from her, panting heavily.
Xiao Liulang frowned as he looked at the purse she was clutching in her hand: "It's just a purse, how much silver is worth risking your life for?"
"It's not silver." Gu Jiao shook her head, opened her purse and emptied out everything inside. She didn't even look at the silver coins, but just grabbed a palm-sized brown paper package sealed with wax.
"Do you have a handkerchief?" she asked Xiao Liulang.
Xiao Liulang took a clean handkerchief from his bosom and gave it to her.
He thought she was going to wipe the water off her face, but instead she carefully wiped the brown paper package with a handkerchief.
After drying the kraft paper package, she gently peeled off the outer layer of wax, then opened the package to reveal a document stamped with an official seal.
Dry and intact.
Gu Jiao breathed a sigh of relief.
This is the examination document that the dean sent to Xiao Liulang. Xiao Liulang didn't want to take the exam, so he turned around and threw it into the waste paper.
Gu Jiao found the documents while tidying up his room. She assumed he had accidentally dropped them, so she carefully kept them safe for him.
Gu Jiao handed him the document: "Take this carefully. I'm all wet, so don't get the document wet."
Xiao Liulang: "You did this for? And I..."
I won't take the exam.
In this kind of weather, it's okay to wash your hands by the river, but if you actually fall into the water, you won't be able to withstand it.
Gu Jiao shivered from the cold wind, her wet eyes wide open, her small hands stretched out in front of him, water dripping from her sleeves, but not a drop of it wet his documents.
Those four words circled in my mouth for a moment, but I didn't say them out loud. Instead, I said, "Anyway, I won't pass the exam, so why bother?"
Gu Jiao said seriously, "How do you know you won't pass if you haven't even taken the exam? Even if you don't pass this time, there's always next time. If you don't pass next time, there's always the time after that. You'll pass eventually!"
Xiao Liulang said, "If you keep failing the exams, you'll never amount to anything..."
“Who says failing an exam means you're a failure? There are countless paths in life, and studying is just one of them. If you don't like it, you can do something else.” Thinking of something, Gu Jiao looked at him cautiously, “You...you don't dislike studying, do you?”
Xiao Liulang looked into those expectant, doe-like eyes, as if he knew that if he said he didn't like it, she would be hurt.
Xiao Liulang sighed softly and accepted the document.
Are you stupid?
His voice was very low and soft.
Gu Jiao tilted her head and looked at him: "Huh? What did you say?"
"It's nothing." Xiao Liulang turned his back, unbuttoned his robe, took it off, turned around, bent down and draped the robe over her shoulders. "Let's go home."
——
Gu Jiao fell ill after falling into the water. She still had a fever on the day of Xiao Liulang's county examination, but she still got up early and made breakfast for Xiao Liulang with a dizzy head, as well as some dry food to take to the examination hall.
The county examination consisted of five sessions, held every other day, with each session lasting the entire day, including eating, drinking, and relieving oneself.
The first exam, called the "main exam," is mandatory. Only those who pass it can proceed to the second exam. Passing all five exams qualifies one to participate in the prefectural exam the following month.
After the prefectural examination, there is the provincial examination. Passing the provincial examination makes one a scholar of the Zhao Kingdom.
Of course, there were different levels of scholars.
The top-performing candidates were called "Linsheng," who received a monthly stipend from the government; the next group, "Zengsheng," received no stipend; and the last group, "Fusheng," were the "Fusheng."
Gu Dashun was a genuine scholar who received a government stipend, a fact that made the Gu family proud for a long time.
Gu Jiao felt that her husband didn't need to pass the imperial examination like Gu Dashun to become a government-subsidized student. Being a student of the Imperial Academy was actually not bad! She didn't have high expectations. As long as he passed the exam, that would be fine. If he really couldn't pass, it didn't matter. She would support him and wouldn't let him take the imperial examination.
Gu Jiao sat on the oxcart, her small body shivering in the cold wind. With tiny bubbles of snot hanging from her nose, she said in a muffled voice, "Don't be nervous. It's just a casual test. Just treat it as a formality. I've already found out; there are five rounds in total. It's okay if you don't do well in the first one; there are four more. I'll come with you every day… Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!"
After Gu Jiao finished speaking, she sneezed three times in a row, making her see stars.
Xiao Liulang gave her a deep look but said nothing.
After entering the examination room, the examiners distributed the test papers to each candidate.
The reason he's sitting here is because someone almost lost their life over an exam paper that he threw away.
But this doesn't mean he will take the exam seriously.
He wants to submit a blank paper.
"Achoo!" A sneeze came from the next exam booth.
Suddenly, an image flashed through Xiao Liulang's mind of someone sneezing wildly on the oxcart. Her little face was flushed from the high fever, her eyes were somewhat glazed and unfocused, and her little body was swaying precariously, yet she refused to go back.
The thought of someone having to wait for him all day on the oxcart with their sickly little body made Xiao Liulang irritable, so he picked up his pen!
Xiao Liulang took the exam once and then stopped going.
The news quickly reached Gu Dashun's ears.
Generally speaking, there are only two situations for those who only take one exam: the first is that they do too well and become the top scorer, thus being recommended for the prefectural examination; the second is that they do too poorly and are not qualified to enter the next four rounds of re-examination.
The first scenario is rare, since even if you perform exceptionally well in the first match, there's no guarantee that no one will catch up in the following four. Not to mention someone like Xiao Liulang, a bottom-ranked student even in Class B; even if he performed at his best, he still wouldn't have a chance of winning first place.
[Quiz with Prizes] Here's a question: How did Liu Lang do on the exam?
A: You did very well on the test.
B: I did very poorly on the test.
(P.S. Only the Xiaoxiang Academy backend can distribute rewards. You can leave a message here at Xiaoxiang.)
(End of this chapter)
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