On the day of the exam, Cuiwei also sent the examinees along as usual. There was also at least one adult from each of the other families.
With the help of candlelight, several families quickly gathered together.
In the solemn atmosphere, no one spoke.
When the soldiers arrived, the family members had to leave, leaving only the five people who were about to enter and Mei Ruochu and Wei Xi who acted as guarantors for them.
Even though these candidates have just passed the county examination and are now taking the provincial examination, and it is not the first time for a young lady to get into a sedan chair, many of them are still nervous.
He Qing, who had not been very nervous during the county exam, was already trembling with fear before he even went through the body search.
This pressure came from both outside the venue - after all, they had come to a completely unfamiliar place, and the soldiers from the capital looked more majestic than the runners from the county town; and from within - the people present were all elite students from various counties, and there were at least two hundred of them. Each of them looks gentle and refined, with extraordinary bearing. And out of these two hundred or so, only forty or fifty people will be selected.
He Qing, who had taken four years of exams to finally pass the county exam, felt lost in confidence before he even entered the exam room.
No one else can give him this kind of confidence, so Mu Erpang and the others can only step forward and let him enter the venue at the end.
After a series of procedures were completed, the candidates were allowed to enter the examination room. A few of them looked at each other from a distance, not knowing whether the other party could accept their encouragement, and then followed the sergeant to find their own examination seats.
Before the exam started, Wei Xi told Mu Erpang that the top candidates from each county would be seated together, facing the prefect and several other invigilators.
The first person in the case always receives special treatment, and it is also convenient for the prefect to check whether the officials under him have committed fraud.
Mu Erpang has taken so many examinations under the supervision of the county magistrate. Now he is just being watched by the prefect instead of the county magistrate. He knew about it in advance, so he accepted it well.
The examination seats for the prefectural examination were still cramped small examination tents, but they were better than the open-air examination halls for the county examinations. At least they could block the wind and rain. However, there were no tables and chairs inside, but two wooden boards, one high and one low.
When they arrived outside the examination hall, they could not go in and had to wait for the prefect to come.
While waiting, the people standing in a row were all watching each other's hearts.
Mu Erpang suddenly realized that someone was looking at him, and he followed the other person's line of sight and looked over - it was the candidate standing in the examination room next to him who was looking at him. He was also a teenager, only slightly older than him, probably about fifteen or sixteen years old.
The other county champions who were ranked alongside them were all young men in their twenties, and there were even some middle-aged and elderly people.
So it’s no wonder that the other party looks at me. Mu Erpang smiled at him friendly.
However, the other party did not respond, so he put away his smile.
The candidates at the back all stood still one after another. The prefect walked over slowly and struck the gong, and they were finally able to enter the examination room.
After sitting in, Mu Erpang pulled out a piece of lining cloth from his clothes and wiped both wooden boards.
That was specially sewed for him by Shen Cui, and was used as a rag.
Before dawn, test papers, candles, thin blankets, pens, ink, paper, and inkstone were distributed in the examination room.
Mu Erpang first lit a candle to try it out. While testing the candle, he also looked over the test paper to confirm that it was correct.
Later he blew out the candle - his brothers were right, the candles outside were really not as good as those in the academy, they were so dazzling that they hurt people's eyes.
Having had experience in the county examination, Mu Erpang gathered his sleeves and closed his eyes calmly, pretending to be asleep, while his mind was already thinking about the sutra question on the test paper.
Strangely enough, when he took the county exam last time, he had to read the questions three times before he could remember them completely and then think about the answers in his mind.
Now, he only needs to read it carefully once, and the questions will be imprinted in his mind, without missing a word.
When it was bright, Mu Erpang ground the ink while looking over the questions and thinking about the answers.
He made sure that what he saw and thought were the same both times, and only then did he start writing with confidence.
Posting scriptures was his strong point, and this time his mind was freer. He had finished writing before noon.
After checking it a few more times, Mu Erpang closed the paper - because sometimes when you look at the same words over and over again, it seems like you suddenly don't recognize them. Posting the sutra is just the first part. If you confuse your mind, it will affect the next two parts.
At noon, meals began to be provided in the examination room.
The imperial examination itself is free, but the meals involved do cost money.
However, in order to prevent local officials from making money from it, the meals provided were not divided into any levels. There was only one kind, steamed buns, water and a small dish, and each candidate was charged ten cents.
There is a high possibility that the test paper will be dirty while eating. In order to ensure that there are no omissions in the content on the test paper, Mu Erpang handed in the test paper before eating.
There were many who had the same idea as him, especially the top candidates from other counties who were in the same examination room with him. For them, copying scriptures was the simplest and most basic thing, and they had finished it long ago. It was the same for them.
After handing in the paper, Mu Erpang, who had gotten up early, was hungry. Just as he was about to start eating, he heard vomiting sounds coming from nearby. The sounds gradually died down until the sergeant came over to inspect.
Is it really that unpalatable? Mu Erpang recalled carefully and it seemed that his brothers did not remind him of the precautions regarding meals.
While thinking, Mu Erpang took a sip of water first. Well, at least the water was clean and sweet.
It would only be four days, and he felt that with his physical condition, it wouldn't be a big problem even if he only drank water for four days.
Then he picked up the steamed bun. It was dry and hard, and he didn't know how long it had been there. It tasted like sand in his mouth.
The side dish was also not fresh, and because the weather in April was already getting hot, the side dish seemed to have been packed very early, so it had a slight sour smell.
No wonder some people feel nauseous after eating it, it really doesn’t taste very good.
But Mu Erpang was thinking that it was no wonder that his brothers didn’t mention this. Compared with the dishes cooked by his own mother, this was no problem at all!
He only finished the steamed bun and didn't touch the smelly side dish. He finished his lunch quickly. The sergeant came over and took away the tray, leaving only the bamboo tube filled with water. This is the only water the candidates can drink throughout the day.
Because the papers have been submitted, and the second round will start tomorrow, which means the papers will be distributed tomorrow. Mu Erpang had nothing to do in the afternoon.
He put the two pieces of wood together, and while he casually recalled a book in his mind, he wondered what his mother was doing now.
Of course, Shen Cui was looking at his Q-version figurine on the screen.
When she saw other young men in the academy in front of her perform, she only took a general look at what was happening. If she looked too closely, it would easily infringe on other people's privacy. Pay more attention to their numerical changes.
This time it was her own son who suffered, so she had fewer concerns. Moreover, the mother and son had not been separated for such a long time since he became conscious. She was indeed worried that her fat son would not be able to get used to it.
She spent most of the day watching him write papers, watching him chew steamed buns, and watching him hunched over in the examination room with his knees and legs bent. That posture was particularly uncomfortable to watch. Later, when night fell, Chen Cui looked at him curled up in the thin quilt and sleeping, and she felt really uncomfortable.
The second part of the provincial examination tested essays, which was the same as the previous one, and also lasted only one day.
Essays are more than one level more difficult than sutras, and because this actually tests students' calligraphy skills, Mu Erpang was particularly serious and wrote from morning to afternoon. In order to prevent his thoughts from being interrupted, he even skipped lunch and just drank a few sips of water.
He handed in the paper before nightfall, ate his steamed bun and fell asleep. After a good sleep, prepare for the last game.
The last exam is policy essay, which is the most difficult of the three and lasts for two days. You can submit your paper at any time within two days.
The so-called policy essay, "策" means "policy question", which means asking questions to the candidates in the tone of a superior, and asking them to answer their views on certain current political laws or official administration. 'Essay' is a type of writing that allows candidates to express their own views. Of course, we cannot express ourselves randomly; we must quote from classics and make our words meaningful.
The students who took part in the prefectural examination had only completed a county examination and had no official title, so the policy essay questions at this time were generally not very difficult and there were only two or three questions.
There are only two questions in this policy essay paper.
The first question is about a certain law of this dynasty.
Mu Erpang first wrote down the law in the law book from memory, and then pointed out that this law was newly revised in this dynasty and did not exist in the previous dynasty. The relevant laws in the previous dynasty were missing and incomplete. Then he expressed his attitude - it must be praising the current dynasty. He was a rookie who had just passed the county examination and had not yet obtained the title of Tongsheng. He could not question the laws of this dynasty. Moreover, this law was made by the founding emperor, so of course he has to be praised.
He finished this question very smoothly, and then he saw the second question, which was 'What is the name of the sutra of five, six, seven and nine?'
Fang means beginning.
This question can be translated as the Five Classics, Six Classics, Seven Classics, and Nine Classics. When did they start? How is it divided?
This question is indeed not easy, because the examination books for the imperial examination nowadays are the Four Books and Five Classics.
Most people have never heard of the other sutras, or have not deliberately memorized them.
Even Mu Erpang, who usually reads a lot - he has read Lao Buyu's collection of books and the books sent to the academy by the Wei and Cui families - was stuck when he saw this question.
But now his memory is very strong, and he began to recall all the relevant things he had seen and heard in the past few years.
There are two ways of saying the Nine Classics. One way is "Zhou Li", "Yili", "Book of Rites", "Zuo Zhuan", "Gongyang Zhuan", "Guliang Zhuan", "Book of Songs", "Book of History" and "Book of Changes". The other way is "Book of Changes", "Book of Songs", "Book of History", "Book of Rites", "Spring and Autumn Annals", "Book of Filial Piety", "Analects of Confucius", "Mencius" and "Zhou Li".
The former statement was stipulated in the official schools of the Tang Dynasty, while the latter statement was stipulated in the official schools of the Song Dynasty.
As for the Seven Classics, there has been no unified interpretation throughout history. The Seven Classics written on the "One-Character Stone Classics" of the Eastern Han Dynasty are "The Book of Changes", "The Book of Songs", "The Book of History", "The Book of Rites", "The Spring and Autumn Annals", "Gongyang Commentary" and "The Analects of Confucius". The "Book of the Later Han" states that the seven classics are "Book of Songs", "Book of Documents", "Book of Rites", "Book of Music", "Book of Changes", "Spring and Autumn Annals", and "Analects of Confucius". During the Song Dynasty, they were "Book of Documents", "Book of Songs", "Book of Zhou Rites", "Book of Rites", "Book of Rites", "Gongyang Commentary", and "Analects of Confucius"...
After racking his brains, Mu Erpang finally recalled the relevant contents of the Seven Classics and the Nine Classics. Only the Six Classics remain.
He suddenly thought of something -
It was three years ago before the Academy Competition. Lao Buyu listened to Wei Xi playing the zither and sighed, "Xiao Xi is really good at playing the zither. It's a pity that the Music of the Pre-Qin period, also known as the Book of Music, was not written down. After the Han Dynasty, it was gradually lost, and the Six Classics became the Five Classics today. Otherwise, if that book had been passed down, Xiao Xi's attainments in it would definitely be quite high."
So Mu Erpang wrote down that before the Han Dynasty, there were the "Six Classics" in the pre-Qin period, namely "Book of Songs", "Book of History", "Book of Rites", "Book of Changes", "Book of Music" and "Spring and Autumn Annals". "Book of Music" was a book of music and was gradually lost, so the Six Classics became the Five Classics.
Just for this one question, he spent a whole day and night writing while recalling and organizing his words.
At noon on the last day of the provincial examination, Mu Erpang finally finished answering the paper.
After the check, he let out a long breath, as if the huge stone pressing on his heart was relieved. He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head and a chill on his back. He was afraid that he would faint in the examination room, so he didn't bother to hide his edge and quickly handed in the paper.
Outside the examination room, Shen Cui was also very anxious and waited outside early. Because Mu Erpang's physical condition had obviously deteriorated in the last exam, his state had become one of excessive worry.
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