County Exam One (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

County Examination I (Please Keep Reading)

Instance World.

Early February, the twenty-fourth year of the Guangxu era.

It was time for Jingyang County's annual county examination.

The county examination was not held inside the county yamen, but at a marketplace in front of it. After New Year's Day, examination sheds had begun to be built there, and they were not finally completed until five days before the exam.

The examination sheds faced south, with cheval-de-frise barricades set up around them to prevent anyone from charging into the grounds. To the south of the examination grounds stood east and west gatehouses enclosed by wooden fencing, forming a large courtyard. At the courtyard's north was the main gate, commonly known as the Dragon Gate.

The gate carried the meaning of a carp leaping over the Dragon Gate.

"Take him away."

"This man hid cheat sheets in his anus..."

While Xu Xing and the other students of Taste Classics Academy waited before the examination sheds, two yamen runners carrying water-and-fire staves and wearing sabers at their waists escorted a destitute scholar out of the examination grounds. A wooden cangue was locked around his neck.

The poor scholar's queue had come undone behind him, his long gown was in disarray, and he muttered to himself as though he had lost his soul, repeatedly whispering, "A disgrace to the learned."

The examinees waiting before the sheds consciously made way for the yamen runners to pass.

One runner carried a tray bearing a booklet two or three inches wide. The writing on it was as tiny as mosquitoes and flies.

"Brother Xu, did you see that..." Chen Jian'an patted Xu Xing on the shoulder, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "That examinee was shabbily dressed, with at least seven or eight patches on his clothes. People like that are the main targets of the searchers."

"Whether they're carrying contraband or not, once they enter the examination grounds, being stripped naked... is embarrassing enough."

"But that fellow just now was also trying to be too clever. He hid his cheat sheet in his anus."

"That writing was probably done with a mouse-hair brush..."

At this point, Chen Jian'an's eyes filled with contempt.

The "searchers" in the examination sheds were yamen runners assigned specifically to inspect examinees for concealed materials.

As for mouse-hair brushes, also called mouse-whisker brushes, they were writing brushes made from old rats' whiskers. The characters written with them were as tiny as mosquitoes and flies, minuscule beyond belief, and were specifically used for cheating.

Once the Collected Commentaries on the Four Books had been copied out in full—hundreds of thousands of characters—it would end up no larger than a palm.

What Chen Jian'an despised was not that this examinee had cheated, but that he had tried to be clever by hiding the mouse-hair-written notes in his anus. That was practically one of the places the searchers were certain to inspect.

Xu Xing nodded after hearing this.

The searchers' inspections of examinees put even later generations' college entrance exam checks to shame.

Upon entering the examination sheds, they were first searched, their queues undone, their clothes removed, leaving them stark naked...

Even any food carried on their persons would be carefully cut apart with knives, all to prevent cheating.

But nothing was absolute.

The wealthy would always have a few privileges.

For examinees whose names had been mentioned in advance, the yamen runners would be far more lenient.

"But they wouldn't dare make things difficult for students of Taste Classics Academy." Chen Jian'an smiled with considerable pride.

Taste Classics Academy was one of Guanzhong's four great academies, renowned far and wide.

Every person who lectured to their students was either a great Confucian scholar or a high-ranking official.

Even the academy's instructors were all juren degree holders.

It was commonplace for clerks in the county yamen to serve dishes according to the guest, and the yamen runners acting as searchers were all seasoned hands. Any examinee who could enter Taste Classics Academy and take the examination in this county came from a wealthy family.

Giving face was only natural.

"The exam is about to begin. You should go." Chen Jian'an glanced at the queue stretching like a long dragon and urged Xu Xing on.

He was from Hu County, so he would take the county examination there. The county examination dates varied from county to county; Hu County's was held in late February, nearly a month apart from Jingyang County's examination.

"All right..." Xu Xing gathered his thoughts and strode directly toward the gatehouse.

Outside the examination sheds just now, there had been a vast throng of relatives and friends seeing examinees off—two or three thousand people—so he had not had much chance to observe the other examinees. But as he queued at the gatehouse, confidence immediately welled up in his heart.

There were not many young men like himself, only a little over three hundred, most of them richly dressed sons of wealthy households.

The remaining middle-aged and older examinees numbered roughly five or six hundred. Most appeared impoverished, carrying an air of shabby hardship; patch after patch covered their clothes, and the two characters for desolation seemed written across their faces.

Though the imperial examinations did not stress "sailing against the current—if you do not advance, you retreat," the path of study had always required talent, memory, and comprehension, none of which could be lacking. Without memory, one could not memorize the Confucian classics and the sages' great principles. Without comprehension, one's eight-legged essays would be rigid and lifeless, devoid of any spark of spirit.

These middle-aged and elderly examinees had taken the examinations for so many years without ever making the list. They were basically fated to be nothing more than accompanying candidates.

Thus, Xu Xing's true competitors were only these three hundred-odd young men.

The county examination admitted fifty candidates.

It was roughly one chosen from every six.

Besides, with the education he had received at Taste Classics Academy, coupled with talents like [Vast Knowledge and Strong Memory]...

This county examination was basically in the bag.

Things turned out exactly as Chen Jian'an had said.

After the examination hall searchers checked Xu Xing's credentials and verified that he was a student of Taste Classics Academy, they were indeed far more courteous to him. They gave him only a cursory search before opening the gate and letting him through.

Before Xu Xing could even react, the search was already over.

"Why?"

"He's a candidate, and so are we!"

The few candidates ahead of him who had just passed inspection were practically bursting with rage, grumbling indignantly.

At the Examination Gate, the yamen runners had practically wanted to count every hair on their asses. Yet when it came to Xu Xing, they merely searched him casually, without the slightest seriousness.

People do not fear having little; they fear being treated unfairly.

"What are you yelling for?"

"He's a student of Taste Classics Academy. Does he even need to cheat?"

The yamen runner frowned and roared.

The candidates' faces immediately flushed crimson. They trembled with anger, but could say nothing.

Graduates of Taste Classics Academy were like graduates of a prestigious university—they could take up office directly without even an interview. Their own qualifications fell short, so they had to endure these trials and hardships. It was simply their lot.

After stamping their feet and snorting a few times, they flicked their sleeves and headed for the examination hall's main chamber.

With the examination at hand, they did not dare make trouble with the yamen runners.

Otherwise, once they offended these petty men, forget this year's examination—even the examinations of the coming years would likely not go smoothly.

The clerks of the county yamen were basically hereditary.

Xu Xing followed close on the heels of those men and entered the main chamber as well.

Seated in the examination hall's main chamber were not only the Jingyang County magistrate, but also the various stipend students serving as guarantors for the candidates. The candidates stepped forward one by one to salute the magistrate and ask their guarantor stipend students to confirm their guarantee.

"This student, Qin Huaigu, guarantees Xu Xing."

A short while later, Scholar Qin rose to his feet, bowed to Magistrate Wu, and declared in a clear voice.

Scholar Qin was also a student of Taste Classics Academy.

He was on quite good terms with Xu Xing.

At Serene Residence, he spent all day drinking and making merry with Xu Xing and their fellow students.

After the guarantee was confirmed, a minor clerk waiting at the entrance to the main chamber led Xu Xing to his examination cubicle.

It seemed there were tricks to the county yamen's assignment of examination cubicles as well.

The cubicle assigned to Xu Xing was not only quiet and secluded, sheltered from the cold wind, but also far from the foul cubicles.

Most importantly, there were two braziers inside to keep warm.

It was still somewhat cold in February.

"This is customary."

"Magistrate Wu is friends with your academy head, so he specifically instructed us to do this."

The minor clerk seemed to have noticed Xu Xing's confusion and smiled.