To reach the Hall of Literary Brilliance, one had to pass through the Eastern Splendor Gate. For some reason, commoners called that place the "Ghost Gate."
After crossing the Jade Belt Bridge and heading south, one would come to the Ancient and Modern Collection Repository of the Ming dynasty. Under the Qing, it became the Imperial Procession Guard's warehouse for storing imperial carriages. Even the emperor and empress dowager usually entered through the Eastern Splendor Gate. It was much like the gatehouse of a wealthy household: after getting out of their sedan chairs, they would have the chairs stored in a warehouse.
West of the Imperial Procession Guard's warehouses were the Veritable Records Archive, the Red Memorial Archive, and the Books and Memorials Archive. The graduate usually stayed in that corner. Further west were the duty quarters of the Grand Secretaries—the Cabinet—and between the Cabinet and the Books and Memorials Archive stood the Pavilion of Literary Depth.
Whenever Liang Guozhi wanted to spread out paper and practice copying calligraphy, he would go to the Incense Storehouse opposite the Veritable Records Archive to get incense charcoal for warming his inkstone. One day, he suddenly came to the Books and Memorials Archive as casually as if visiting a neighbor. Once they became familiar, Liang Guozhi told the graduate a secret: how he had earned the title of top scholar.
First, he took a copy of Kangxi's daily records from the Veritable Records Archive and turned to a page describing how the emperor and his ministers graded examination papers. The ministers first looked at the calligraphy, then judged the quality of the essays. At the time, there were two candidates for top scholar, one named Yi Kentang and the other Chen Yuanlong. The latter had better calligraphy, yet the emperor ultimately named Yi