Chapter 122 [VIP]
The weather was still nice today; the sun was shining brightly in the morning, and it felt warm and cozy on my skin.
Inside the examination hall, the candidates wrote furiously, eager to write down all the knowledge they had learned in their lives on the exam paper and pass with flying colors.
The third exam was a policy question, which originated in the Han Dynasty. Emperor Wen of Han would ask wise and virtuous officials for advice when the country faced major disasters or calamities. This practice gradually evolved into a form of examination.
The questions mainly revolve around major political issues concerning governance, national security, and people's livelihood, and are equivalent to current affairs essays.
By the time of Emperor Wu, the policy questions had basically taken on a fixed format: the question would begin with a description of the problem, followed by an answer, and finally, the author's own insights would be presented.
The policy questions mainly test students' sensitivity to current affairs and their understanding of major world events, which is also the main reason why it is difficult for children from poor families to achieve success.
Leaving aside the county examination, the policy questions were generally quite simple, and could be answered with a little thought.
When it came to the provincial examinations, the questions covered matters of national importance. Without the guidance of a renowned teacher and with limited access to information, one might not even be able to understand the questions.
Today's exam topic is "Strategies for River Defense," which is probably related to the recent floods in Jizhou. The prefectural government specifically prepared this exam paper.
The students had all personally experienced the flood, and some even lost their loved ones as a result. This profound experience made their writing all the more insightful, but many of them went off-topic.
The topic is river defense. Many people write articles that vehemently condemn corrupt officials, but fail to mention how to prevent floods from happening again. Such articles are likely to fail.
Chen Qingyan paused for a moment, then picked up his pen and began to write.
In the spring of the fourth year of the Wuhe era, Chen Qingyan, a student from Jizhou, respectfully inquired of the Emperor about matters concerning river defense:
The Yellow River is the lifeblood of the world. Since King Yu dredged the nine rivers and the Duke of Zhou drew the well-field system, there has never been a situation as severe as the river disasters of our dynasty.
Looking down from Jizhou, the dikes are like scales, yet the turbid currents still breach and break.
...
...
When Su Dongpo governed Xuzhou, he used stone dikes to prevent flooding; when Wang Anshi was in Yinzhou, he used ponds to store water for drought and flood.
The Minister of Agriculture now looks up at the roof, while the River God laughs frequently; do not interpret this as "waiting for the River to run clear."①
Chen Qingyan checked her paper one last time, and after confirming that there were no mistakes, she put down her pen and waited for the papers to be collected.
The gong sounded, and all the examinees put down their pens. The invigilators began collecting the papers, which would be graded the next day. The third session would be held the day after tomorrow, and the seating arrangements would be made according to the rankings.
After collecting the papers, everyone went to the toilet or ate. Fewer people discussed the questions today. After all, policy essays are like raising children; everyone thinks they wrote the best, and arguing about them is pointless for the next round.
After the midday break, the examiners entered the room on time in the afternoon to continue the fourth round of regulated verse. This was Chen Qinghuai's turn, as he was the most talented of the three.
The topic is "Spring Snow," and you are asked to compose a poem or lyric regardless of the format.
The three of them finished the exam quickly, handed in their papers early, and left the exam room together.
After this exam, the rankings are basically fixed; all you need to do is perform normally in the fifth exam.
The fifth session was a combination of questions from the previous sessions, presented as a separate test paper to prevent cheating.
After leaving the examination hall, Wang Ying and Uncle Chen were already waiting for the three of them. Once they got into the carriage, Wang Ying held Chen Qingyan's hand and asked, "How did you do on these two exams?"
Chen Qingyan nodded, "That's a normal performance. As long as nothing unexpected happens, we should be able to win."
He was always calm and reserved, and rarely said such things. If he dared to say such things, then he was basically sure of success. If there weren't other people in the car, Wang Ying would have been so happy that she wanted to hug him and kiss him twice.
*
The following day, six officials in the county government office were grading exam papers.
More than one hundred papers were pasted with names on them and bound into a booklet for six people to grade.
All six of them were Jinshi graduates, so their literary skills were undoubtedly excellent. With so many people reviewing their work, it was more fair and wouldn't overlook talented individuals due to one person's bias.
The first step in screening out the more than one hundred papers that had messy handwriting and corrections was to eliminate those papers from the exam. After screening, there were still more than eighty papers left, which were then carefully graded.
It must be said that papers with beautiful handwriting are indeed favored by examiners. With so many papers submitted for only five places, most examiners won't look at them carefully. On the contrary, only those with neat and beautiful handwriting will be carefully examined by the examiners.
Chen Qingyan's, Chen Qinghuai's, and Chen Qingsong's papers were selected one by one, and the examiners circled them with red ink. A circle meant a pass, and an X meant a fail.
The three papers were simply too beautifully written. Not only was their handwriting beautiful, but their answers to the questions were also excellent. It was as if they were outclassing all the other test takers.
The leading official, Lord Jiang, nodded repeatedly as he looked at Chen Qingyan's exam paper. "His words are substantial and well-written. He would do very well even if he won the provincial examination."
"Yes, it's hard to believe that this was written by a student who had only completed a primary school education."
"This paper is also good. 'The white snow, however, dislikes the lateness of spring, so it adorns the courtyard trees like flying blossoms.'② The wording is so good that it seems like something an ordinary student could write."
Chen Qinghuai's poem won first place and should be the champion.
However, his essay was not as good as Chen Qingyan's. After comparing the two, Chen Qingyan was finally ranked first, Chen Qinghuai second, Zhao Wenzhou from Wuyang Town third, Zhang Wuyou from Longquan County fourth, and Chen Qingsong fifth. After confirming that there were no errors, the exam paper was rewritten and the original was sealed and sent to the prefectural government for archiving.
*
The following day was the last exam.
A few days ago, entry was based on a number called in order, and Chen Qingyan was number twenty-first. Today, entry was based on exam scores.
The students waited anxiously in long lines. Chen Qingyan clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and felt his heart pounding in his ears.
As the first call rang out, "Qingshui Town—Chen Qingyan."
He was taken aback for a moment, then quickly raised his hand and shouted, "Here!" before striding inside.
"Qingshui Town - Chen Qinghuai".
"Here." Chen Qingyan was just as excited as him, his eyes were red.
The sight of two people from the same place, with similar names, sparked discussion among the students queuing in long lines, who speculated about their relationship.
"Are they brothers?"
"I think so, didn't you hear they're all from Qingshui Town?"
"That's amazing! Passing two subjects in one exam!"
"That's right..."
The official in front shouted, "No noise!"
The people in line stopped talking and continued to wait for their names to be called. After the third and fourth names were called, the last spot became the focus of the day.
Everyone knows that if you don't make it into the top five, it won't matter how well you perform in the fifth game.
"Qingshui Town - Chen Qingsong".
Chen Qingsong's eyes widened in surprise. Had they just called his name? He must have heard correctly!
"Chen Qingsong?"
"Hey, the students are here!" He hurriedly ran over with his exam basket, attracting the attention of many people behind him.
"Why is it someone surnamed Chen again?"
"Only five people were selected, and three of them were from Qingshui Town? Could there be something fishy going on here?"
These words were not only whispered among the students in line, but also among the people accompanying them to the exam, all implying that there was something wrong with the three candidates from the Chen family.
Chen Qingyun was furious and wanted to argue, but Wang Ying grabbed her arm and said, "Let them say what they want. After the fifth exam today, the results will be officially released the day after tomorrow. The papers of the top five will be copied and posted. Everyone will know whether they are capable or not at a glance."
The more you explain at times like this, the more they'll think you're hiding something. That's just how people are; even a child who can't distinguish right from wrong is considered a top student by their own parents.
As the candidates entered the examination hall one by one and the gates closed, Wang Ying did not wait outside any longer. Instead, she took Chen Qingyun to a restaurant in the city to order food and celebrate after the exam.
Compared to the previous two days, today's weather is slightly overcast, but there is no wind and it is not too cold.
After the papers were handed out, everyone started writing. Although the questions were mixed, they were all things they had learned, so the three of them did not find it difficult to answer them.
However, the other candidates were so distracted by the rankings that they couldn't concentrate on answering the questions. Some even lay on their desks and burst into tears.
The imperial examinations were difficult; many people studied diligently for years but failed to even pass the lowest level, becoming a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). The effort and money spent on these examinations were enough to bankrupt a family.
However, the examination hall was ruthless, only recognizing academic ability and not human feelings. So the crying candidates not only did not receive sympathy, but were also warned by the proctor that if they cried again, they would be kicked out of the examination hall.
Everyone could only wipe away their tears, compose themselves, and continue answering questions. As the hourglass ticked away, the county examination gradually came to an end.
The gong sounded, and everyone put down their pens. After collecting the exam papers, the county magistrate, as usual, came over to offer a few words of encouragement, and then everyone dispersed to go home and wait for the results to be announced.
As they emerged from the examination hall, the three brothers exchanged glances and smiled for the first time since they began taking the imperial examinations.
The exams are over, and the pressure on me has eased considerably. I no longer have to be so tense.
After returning home by carriage, Chen Rong and the others arrived. Wang Ying had booked two tables of food at a restaurant in advance, and everyone gathered together for a meal to celebrate the successful completion of their county examination trip.
During the meal, Cao Kun brought out a jar of strong liquor transported from the Northwest. He had had this liquor for several years but had never been willing to drink it. Today, he specially opened the jar to celebrate with his three cousins.
Chen Qingyan said, "The results haven't been released yet, isn't it a bit early to celebrate?"
Liang Boqing waved his hand and said, "Knowing your rankings in the last round, I know it's safe. If there are any changes when the results are released the day after tomorrow, I will personally go to the prefectural government to find out."
Li couldn't help but laugh and said, "Wouldn't others say we're abusing our power to bully others?"
Wang Ying said, "You know what, when they called our numbers today, the three of us were called in one after another. The people around us were so envious!"
“Yes, some people even said our family got in through connections,” Chen Qingyun said angrily.
Liang Boqing was not angry after hearing this. Instead, he raised his wine cup and said, "They are like frogs in a well looking at the moon in the sky. They have no idea about the abilities of my disciples. Let them see what they are capable of after the autumn examination."
The three were filled with mixed feelings. Their teacher always scolded them for being stupid, but he never expected that the teacher actually approved of them. It was like a harvest that had been sown for many years, and they were even happier than if they had won the top score in the county examination.
The day after the county examination ended, Old Liang was leaving to stay with his son for a while.
Although everyone was very reluctant to see him go, they still saw him off onto the carriage, saying, "Master, please be careful on your journey."
Liang Boqing waved his hand, "Go inside. With Liang An and Chen Guang here, you don't need to worry about me. But you guys, the county exam is just the beginning. There's the prefectural exam, the provincial exam, and the autumn exam coming up. Prepare well and don't slack off."
"Yes." The three bowed respectfully and watched the carriage leave before returning to their courtyard.
After everyone left, they spontaneously returned to the study, some reading, some practicing calligraphy, without slacking off at all because the teacher was not there.
A day later, the list was finally posted, and all three Chen brothers were on it. In no time, people came to visit and make friends with them.
It can be said that last night, no distinguished guests visited my humble abode, but this morning, many distinguished friends have come to my cottage.
With more and more people coming to visit, naturally some wanted to arrange marriages. Seeing that the Chen family's children were all promising, they thought of bringing them together.
A note from the author:
Note ①: This alludes to the story of Su Dongpo and Wang Anshi's efforts in controlling floods.
Note ②: Han Yu's "Spring Snow"
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