Chapter 218 [VIP]
Besides paying respects to our ancestors, another important event on this trip back was Yuanbao's participation in the county examination.
This was the first child among the younger generation to take the imperial examination, and the elders took it very seriously. Along the way, Chen Jing, Chen Qingyan, Chen Qinghuai, and Chen Qingsong took turns tutoring Yuanbao before the exam.
To have four successful candidates in the imperial examinations as tutors is a dream come true for most people, let alone the fact that one of them is a top scholar in the imperial examinations.
However, Yuanbao is a promising child. He inherited his father's intelligence and ability to read. In the past few years in Shanzhou, he has been well cared for and has memorized all the Four Books and Five Classics by himself.
Not only that, he also read all the books required for the imperial examinations, such as "The True Classics of Confucianism," "The Imperial Academy Reader," "Records of the Grand Historian," and "Book of Han."
Before leaving, the teacher said that with his current knowledge, he would definitely have no problem passing the preliminary examination and becoming a scholar; with some effort, he might even be able to pass the county-level examination.
As for becoming a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations), that's not enough. But he's still young, so he can study for another ten or eight years and take the exams again without any problem.
However, although the county examination was simple, it was quite different from the regular school exams. Mental state was a major hurdle, and who knows how many scholars failed because of it?
Chen Jing recounted what happened when he participated in the imperial examination: "Back then, there were six candidates from our town who went to take the county examination with me. One of them was about the same level of knowledge as me, and he would sometimes even outperform me when the teacher tested him."
I thought we'd both pass the county exam, but after it was over, only I passed; he didn't even see his name. I was quite surprised, so I went to ask him why. He said he was too nervous and forgot to write his name on the exam paper.
Chen Qingyan and the other two sighed, "What a pity! What happened afterward? Did you continue to take the exam?"
Chen Jing nodded, "Of course I had to keep taking the exam, but after waiting a year, I took the county exam again and still failed."
Yuanbao asked in confusion, "Why this time?"
"I was too nervous during the second county exam. My hand wouldn't obey me and I couldn't even write properly. I smudged the paper and my score was canceled."
Chen Qingsong said, "I know that. In my year, there was a candidate who spilled ink on the paper while copying it. He was so worried that he couldn't finish answering the questions and had to leave in a hurry."
Several people turned their gazes to Yuanbao, "Ze'er isn't that nervous, is he?"
Yuanbao shook his head. Being young has its advantages; he doesn't even know what nervousness feels like yet.
Chen Qingyan said, "If only Old Master Liang were here, we would have been fine. Before Qinghuai and I took the county exam, the old man gave us several tests and even predicted the questions correctly. He trained us so well that we didn't feel much during the county exam."
Qinghuai chimed in, "Yes, yes, why don't we give Yuanbao a pre-exam test when we get to Longquan County?"
The group started discussing what questions to come up with.
*
Sitting in the next carriage were Wang Ying, Lin Qiu, Lin Sui, and Bai Shi. The children were all cared for by their childhood names and the old women, and a separate carriage was arranged for them.
Compared to the lively atmosphere in the car in front, the atmosphere in this car seemed a bit awkward.
Lin Qiu and Lin Sui had only met Bai Shi once and were not familiar with her. Bai Shi had a characteristic of being very cold to people she didn't know well and couldn't pretend to be enthusiastic at all.
Wang Ying was more familiar with her, as the two had spent a long time together in Kyoto, so Bai only talked to him, ignoring her two cousins beside her.
Wang Ying knew her temperament. Actually, Bai Shi wasn't a bad person; she was just spoiled and lacked social skills—in modern terms, she had low emotional intelligence. But they were all family; they would get to know each other better over time.
After a long and arduous journey, we finally arrived in Longquan County on the sixth day of the second lunar month.
Chen Jing went to the county government office with his nephews and grandnephews. Their sudden visit greatly surprised the county magistrate, who knew that any one of these people was a higher-ranking official than him, let alone Chen Jing, a fourth-rank official.
"Your humble servant Zhao Changming greets you esteemed officials. I was unaware of your arrival and have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me!"
"Please rise, Lord Zhao. We have come back to our hometown to pay respects to our ancestors, and also because my grand-nephew has reached the age to take the county examination."
"I see. The Chen family is full of talented people. It seems that another scholar will be added to the family soon!"
Chen Jing waved his hand with a smile, "It's not that easy. The child is still young. Let's talk about passing the county exam first."
"Gentlemen, please come inside and have a cup of hot tea to rest your feet. I will give you my name right away!"
The group sat down in the adjacent hall, where servants brought them brewed tea. Chen Qingyan looked around and saw that the county government office hadn't changed much in all the years he hadn't been back.
Back then, he topped the county's list of successful candidates, and the magistrate of Longquan County even invited him to a meal. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye. I heard that the old magistrate has passed away, and the current magistrate, Zhao, was transferred here a few years ago.
The county magistrate quickly arranged Yuanbao's examination slots. Since the examination was scheduled for February 12th, it was difficult to find five fellow villagers to act as guarantors at the last minute. However, with the county magistrate in charge, it was no problem. He immediately sent someone to contact the five scholars.
It took less than two hours to complete. If it were someone else, it would probably take three to five days, and might even delay the exam.
As they left the county government office, the county magistrate escorted them to their carriage until they were out of sight before turning back.
The county magistrate following behind asked in a low voice, "Who are these people?" He had only been in office for the past two years, so he didn't know much about the Chen family.
Magistrate Zhao shook his head and sighed, hands behind his back, "Four scholars from one family, all from the Chen family in Qingshui Town, don't you know who they are?"
The county magistrate's eyes widened. "This...this is the family of that top scholar from a few years ago?"
"That's right, it's the son of the top scholar who's going to take the county-level exam."
"Oh dear, this is terrible!"
Zhao Changming sighed, "How did they grow their heads? They have to take the county exam at such a young age."
He has four sons. The eldest is seventeen and just passed the preliminary examination two years ago. He still has to go to Jizhou to take the prefectural examination this year, which is probably going to be difficult. Not to mention the others, the second son has been studying for four years and still hasn't finished reading the Four Books and Five Classics, and the third son has only just started to learn to read.
As the old saying goes, comparing people is a recipe for disaster, and comparing goods is a recipe for disaster.
*
The Chen family settled down at the inn, and would return to Qingshui County together after Yuanbao finished the county examination.
Cao Kun originally planned to go back and clean the house so that everyone could move back to their own homes. However, when he went back and looked around, he found that because no one had lived there for a long time, there was a thick layer of snow inside, and a section of the roof had collapsed.
Once the repairs are done, it's about time to set off. There's really no need to repair this dilapidated house and courtyard, so we'll just entrust it to a former broker. We won't charge rent; we just need someone to live there so it doesn't collapse.
I waited until February 12th for the county examination.
Coincidentally, today is also Yuanbao's birthday, and he will turn twelve years old after his birthday.
Early in the morning, the elders in the family all got up early. Wang Ying specially boiled some eggs for Yuanbao and woke him up to roll them on her body. This is called "rolling away misfortune," and his maternal grandmother used to do this for him when he was little.
We can't waste it after rolling it; let's crack it open and eat it right away.
Yuanbao ate his eggs while getting dressed, and Wang Ying helped him tie his hair. After getting ready, he came out of the bedroom, where his grandmother, aunt, and maternal aunt had been waiting for a long time.
Several people surrounded Yuanbao, looking him up and down, touching his head and adjusting his collar and belt, as if afraid that something was wrong with the child.
"Aren't you dressed too lightly? I heard you have to take the exam outside all day. I hope you don't catch a cold."
Wang Ying said, "There are quite a few. He was wearing a cashmere undershirt underneath, which was very warm."
Still not reassured, Li squatted down and pressed down on Yuanbao's boots.
"The boots are lined with sheepskin, so your feet won't get cold."
Chen Jing arrived shortly after, reached out and patted his shoulder, saying, "Good boy, don't be nervous. Just perform as you normally would, based on what you've learned."
"Um!"
Chen Qingsong said, "Study hard on the exam. If you pass, your uncle will take you to Zhenghe Street to see the monkey show."
Chen Qingyan tapped her younger brother, "You're such a grown man, and you still don't behave properly."
Wang Ying laughed and said, "Alright, everyone stop crowding around. Let's see what's missing in the exam basket: a pen, ink stick, inkstone, a hand warmer, and a bag of dried meat."
The county-level test is short, lasting only three days, with one test per day, and you can leave the test room as soon as the test is over.
However, the weather is cold, making these three events very difficult to endure. This year the weather is relatively good, not as cold as in previous years. If it were snowing heavily and the weather were freezing, many people would not be able to persevere.
After making all the preparations, the family took Yuanbao to the examination hall. The inn where they were staying was not far from the examination hall; it would only take about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn to get there.
When they arrived, there was already a long queue. Chen Qingyan patted his son on the shoulder, signaling him to join the queue.
Yuanbao, carrying his exam basket, looked back at the large group of elders watching him from behind. He felt an indescribable warmth in his heart and secretly vowed to do well on the exam so as not to disappoint everyone!
*
In such cold weather, the three-day county examination was difficult to endure, and many people gave up halfway through.
Yuanbao wasn't having an easy time either. At the coldest time, he felt like his hands were frozen numb. But when he thought about how his father and uncles had gone through the same thing, he felt a strong determination not to give up. He was also a son of the Chen family, and there was no way he would give up.
Finally, after the third exam, Yuanbao walked out of the exam room and saw his family waiting outside. He ran over happily.
Chen Qingyan took his test basket and asked, "How did the test go?"
"Not bad, you answered them all correctly."
What was the last essay question?
Seeing that her grandson's lips had turned a different color from the cold, Li felt extremely distressed and quickly interrupted her son, saying, "Stop asking so many questions and hurry back to eat your hot soup noodles."
Everyone chimed in, "Yes, yes, let's talk about it when we get back!"
The whole family returned to the inn in a grand procession. Yuanbao memorized all the test questions from the past few days, while the adults pondered the questions.
Yuanbao then discussed the prefectural examination with his uncle Chen Qinglan.
Two years ago, Qinglan passed the county examination and is now a student of the lowest rank. After the county examination, the two of them can go to Jizhou together to participate in the prefectural examination. Although he is a generation older than Yuanbao, he is only two years older than Yuanbao, so the two are more like brothers than uncle and nephew.
As yet another generation of the Chen family embarked on the path of the imperial examinations, they had already become a family of scholars.
The results of the county examination would take more than half a month to come out. During this time, they went back to their hometown of Qingshui Town to pay respects to their ancestors and also to register the new children in the family genealogy.
On the way back, Wang Ying discovered that the once dilapidated and deserted village had now been rebuilt with new houses, and the traces left by the flood seemed to have been completely erased.
It was only after inquiring at the post station that I learned that the border had been unstable in recent years, and many people from the Northwest had fled here and settled down.
That's how ordinary people are; they're like wild grass seeds, impossible to burn out by wildfires, and they spring back to life with the spring breeze.
A note from the author:
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