The Entrance Examination

After dinner, the group returned to the inn. Shen Jingchuan went back to his small courtyard where he lived alone. It was late at night, and the only sounds in the courtyard were the chirping of insects.

He sat alone in the carriage, and with a thought, he was back in his bedroom at the modern West Mountain Separate Garden.

He pulled out his phone; all of the hundred-plus mechanical pocket watches showed as delivered, but there wasn't even a single cardboard box at the gate. He dialed the gatekeeper's number, and the security guard laughed and said:

"Mr. Shen, the packages are all stored in the parcel storage room next to your underground garage. Each building has one, and the outer door faces the park road, so we can just drop them off there without having to come and bother you."

Shen Jingchuan went down to the underground parking garage with his phone in his pocket. The inner door of the storage room at the corner had a combination lock. He entered the code and pushed the door open. Four or five cardboard boxes were neatly stacked inside. The door on the other side, facing outwards, opened easily from the inside and led directly to the park's walkway.

He understood perfectly that this design was the most appropriate—security guards could leave packages outside without entering the courtyard, and residents could pick up their packages inside without showing their faces, making it convenient for both sides and ensuring good privacy.

Without lingering, he quickly put all the cardboard boxes into his spatial storage, locked the storage room door, and went upstairs to his bedroom. He took a shower and changed into clean clothes before strolling into the study and sitting down.

He took out his phone and glanced at it, but there were no messages from Meng Ke. He had told her earlier that he was going to a remote mountain forest to find ginseng, and the signal was unstable. Now that it was late at night, he decided not to bother her.

He opened a webpage and began browsing through information on jade identification and medicinal herb recognition, carefully examining each page. He didn't stop until midnight had passed.

With a thought, he took out several cardboard boxes from his spatial storage. Opening the boxes, he found half watches and half pocket watches, each packaged in a different style of gift box, made of various materials including leather and brocade. The watch faces were engraved with the twelve-hour scale, and all were purely mechanical movements driven by a mainspring.

He had intended to pick up a watch for himself, but stopped just as his fingertips touched the box lid—his daily life involved a lot of shooting, horseback riding, and jostling, and a wristwatch would be too easily damaged if it were close to his wrist; a pocket watch was the safest option.

He picked out the pocket watch that suited his taste best and put it in his pocket. Then he picked out three more boxes, one women's watch and two men's watches, just enough to give one to each of Lin Qingyao, Lin Shan and Lin Yue. They were also pocket watches, so they could keep them in their pockets without interfering with their fight.

He placed the three boxes of pocket watches separately in a corner of the space, and then put the rest of the watches into the space.

With a slight thought, Shen Jingchuan returned to the carriage in the otherworldly courtyard. The carriage was furnished with soft bedding, and he lay down and soon fell asleep.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, he heard Yue'er's soft voice calling from outside the carriage. He got up, put on his coat, and opened the carriage door. Yue'er was already waiting beside him with a copper basin and a towel, helping him wash up.

After getting ready, the two entered the main hall of the inn's backyard one after the other. Lin Qingyao, Lin Shan, and Lin Yue were already seated, with porridge, side dishes, and several kinds of pastries on the table. They all stood up to greet him when he came in.

During the meal, the topic of poetry gathering came up again. Lin Qingyao took a sip of porridge, looked up at Shen Jingchuan, and spoke with a hint of apology:

"The Jade Autumn Garden Poetry Gathering has high entry requirements. My brother and I have neither official titles nor recommendation letters, so we can't even get in ourselves. We can't let you in to broaden your horizons either; you can only join in the fun from the outside."

Shen Jingchuan paused upon hearing this. He remembered that Lin Qingyao had mentioned at the banquet last night that there was Poetry Appreciation Terrace at the entrance of the garden, and those who could compose a poem on the spot and pass the evaluation could enter the garden.

He suddenly realized—this was another world, and the famous works that had been passed down through the ages in Huaxia had never existed in this world.

Although he wouldn't dare say he could recite them perfectly, he still had a few classics in his mind; if all else failed, he could go back to the modern world at night, find them, memorize them, and that would be more than enough to pass an exam.

He looked up and asked:

"I remember saying yesterday that we could compose a poem on the spot at the park entrance as part of an assessment, and if we passed, we could enter the park?"

Lin Shan shook his head first:

"Brother Shen, you have no idea how difficult it is; it's even harder than passing the imperial examination for the lowest degree."

"The three resident scholars are all renowned learned men from the provincial capital. They are very selective; it's good if one or two out of ten people pass their test."

Lin Yue patted the knife at his waist:

"When it comes to wielding swords and spears, my brother and I are not afraid at all; but taking a poetry and prose exam? That's like forcing a duck onto a shelf. My younger sister has read more books, but even she's not confident she can pass."

As he spoke, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he leaned forward:

"Oh, Young Master Shen, is it because you are skilled in poetry and prose? Or do you have a degree from the imperial examination system? If you have official documents from your hometown, they will be recognized here."

Shen Jingchuan picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of a side dish, and spoke calmly yet confidently:

"I don't have the academic degree of a scholar, but I can manage to write a few short poems to suit the occasion."

The three people at the table paused and looked up at him. Having spent time with Shen Jingchuan, they knew he never boasted, and when he said "it's passable," he was usually confident.

Lin Shan's eyes lit up first. "Brother Shen, you actually have this skill?"

Lin Qingyao reacted the fastest, immediately putting down her chopsticks and saying:

"In that case, let's go today! The Poetry Appreciation Terrace starts verifying candidates three days in advance. If we wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival, it will be crowded and we'll have to wait in line for half a day, which will be a waste of time. Let's get the evaluation done today, and we can get our admission tickets directly to the garden tomorrow. That will save us a lot of trouble."

Shen Jingchuan nodded slightly. "Alright, we have nothing else to do today anyway."

After the meal, everyone went back to their rooms to pack up. Liu Hu had already hitched up the four-wheeled carriage and was waiting at the back door of the inn, with Yue'er following beside him. The group was all dressed in casual clothes, except that each of them wore a waist knife at their waist. Lin Qingyao had a short sword at her waist, which she carried with ease and grace.

Just as they were about to set off, the Big Black horse squeezed out of the stable and came over, nuzzling Shen Jingchuan's arm and neighing softly, clearly wanting to come along.

Shen Jingchuan initially thought the city streets were too crowded and that it would be troublesome to bring a horse, but he couldn't resist its clinginess, and he also felt uneasy leaving it alone in the courtyard, so he tied it to the back of the carriage and followed it.

The carriage slowly made its way onto the main street, moving at a leisurely pace.

With its four wheels moving smoothly and its novel and eye-catching design, the carriage attracted the attention of passersby who stopped to look back and whisper among themselves, all wondering which powerful family's carriage it was, as they had never seen one like it before.

After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at the main gate of Jade Autumn Garden. Sure enough, there was a long queue at the gate, which looked to be more than a hundred people, most of whom were scholars in blue robes, shaking folding fans and pondering poetry in hushed tones.

There were also a few people dressed as martial artists standing on the side of the group, who looked like the accompanying guards.

Shen Jingchuan had originally told the Lin Household brothers to rest in the car, but the two said they had nothing better to do, so they got out and joined him at the end of the queue, chatting as they waited.

At this moment, a handsome young man in a blue robe approached from behind. He was tall and had a long sword at his waist, followed by a young page carrying a book box. He stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, sir. I am Su Yan from Chu. May I ask your esteemed name?"