County Examination

County Yamen, late February, light rain

On the day of the County Examination, a fine drizzle slanted down with the wind over Linhua County, bringing a bone-chilling cold that was hard to resist even when wrapping oneself tightly in clothes, and every scholar participating in the county examination secretly cursed their bad luck.

Though it was in southern territory where snow was rarely seen, such light rain still turned the complexions of locals—who ought to have been accustomed to it—pale and hurried, even worse than on snowy days.

Su Ziji, holding an oiled paper umbrella as he hurried along, passed a butcher's shop. The boss sitting at the counter caught sight of him the moment he raised his head, and could not help advising him again, "Little Brother Su, I haven't seen you in a few days. Why have you lost weight again? Don't push yourself so hard with your studying."

"Indeed, with your frail constitution, you mustn't wear yourself out over studying," said a passing neighborhood aunt. Su Ziji enjoyed decent popularity among the nearby residents—though of course, much of that was due to the residual goodwill of his deceased father. Faced with the good intentions of these neighbors, Su Ziji could not help feeling deeply moved, and with glowing eyes, he bowed to express his gratitude.

Just at that moment, two people coming from the opposite direction were both wearing coir rain capes, and both were acquaintances: one was the wild Daoist, and the other was the direct creditor Cao Jincai.

Upon seeing Su Ziji, Cao Jincai could not help sneering, "Yo, isn't this our great scholar Su? What, out strolling for leisure again? It seems you are quite confident about the County Examination?"

As he spoke, he audibly looked Su Ziji up and down, letting his gaze sweep over Su Ziji's old, soaked cloth shoes with disdain and contempt that he could not even be bothered to conceal, and remarked, "That's right. If you fail to pass this time, I'm afraid you'll soon freeze or starve to death, and that truly would be a disgrace to refinement, ha ha."

"There is no need for you to trouble yourself over that," Su Ziji said coldly.

Cao Jincai's face immediately darkened as he warned, "Su Ziji, remember, you have five days left. Debts must be paid back with money, and if it is not repaid when due, I will haul you before the magistrate."

With that, he spat, "I actually thought your dead father had left you some personal standing to hold things together, but it turns out they are all empty facades. Well, that figures; scholars are supposed to be lofty and aloof!"

"Rest assured, there will be an accounting by then." Su Ziji gave a dry chuckle, and as his gaze swept across the equally familiar wild Daoist, the corners of his mouth twitched, and with a cold expression, he brushed past them.

"With death at your door, you're still this arrogant!"

Cao Jincai held back, but ultimately failed to restrain himself, and gritted his teeth as he said to the wild Daoist, "Second Brother Yan has always been swift and efficient in his affairs. Why hasn't he returned by now?"

"With the County Examination right upon us, you said yourself that he is currently shrouded in bad luck and definitely won't pass. When that happens, the burial land can be reclaimed, right?"

If the other party placed on the examination roll, it would be necessary to exercise many cautions before attempting to move against him.

The wild Daoist gazed at Su Ziji's retreating back, taking a long time to withdraw his gaze. He stood in a daze without speaking, merely frowning.

Second Brother Yan had not returned for two days, causing a bit of unease at Mount Tong Temple. Boss Zhang had already gone to look for him, and he himself had come over to observe the situation; as a result, there indeed were changes.

Su Ziji's physiognomy and aura had originally been unremarkable. Judging by his physiognomy, it was merely the fortune of a minor span, with a touch of damage and fragmentation—meaning at most he would pass as a Cultivated Talent, and his landed property would be meager anyway. Therefore, when Mount Tong Temple brought it up, he had agreed.

Yet at this moment, his physiognomy had undergone some alteration, the damaged parts were repairing themselves, and a faint red vapor was brewing within him, showing that this person's future prospects had changed somewhat.

He suffered a blow and his ancestral graves were ruined; why has his destiny-qi surged so greatly that it could pierce through his bad luck?

Could this be the final flash of light before a dying ember goes out?

Thinking of this, the wild Daoist felt even more perplexed. The so-called final flash of light does occur during a fierce counterattack at the moment of exhaustion, but it must be backed by a foundation. If one lacks even a foundation, having completely run out of oil and lamp-withered, of what use is a final flash of light?

Since he has such a final flash of light, the Su family may not be quite so simple. No wonder Mount Tong Temple was willing to spend money to target him; I have been dragged into this mess.

This won't do. I must go and check the Su family's ancestral tombs again to avoid being screwed over by Mount Tong Temple.

Disregarding the wild Daoist's state of mind, Su Ziji arrived at the gates of the County Yamen on time. The County Examination was the first barrier of the Child Scholar Examination; it was not as particular as taking the Provincial Graduate or Presented Scholar examinations, but the necessary inspections were still there. Su Ziji raised his arms to let a bailiff search him thoroughly, then carried his inspected basket inside.

The basket contained the Four Treasures of the Study. Since he only needed to take a single session's test, there was no need to carry food.

For this County Examination, the Linhua County Yamen had deliberately cleared out a space to erect a makeshift examination shed.

Because they emulated the imperial examination system of the previous dynasty while adding and subtracting from it, a county like Linhua County did not have many scholars, so they did not set up overly complex formalities. They simply arranged some simple multiple rows of seats inside the shed for the examinees to write at.

Upon entering the yamen, Su Ziji was first led into a large courtyard. This courtyard gate was the northern gate; ordinarily it was nothing special, merely an ordinary door, but on the day of the County Examination, this northern gate was called the "Dragon Gate", taking naturally the meaning of a good omen—scholars passing through it would leap over the Dragon Gate like fish.

Behind the Dragon Gate was a courtyard. According to regulations, the examinees coming in must wait here for the roll call.

When Su Ziji walked here, wisps of rain were still dripping from his oiled paper umbrella. Drip-drop rainwaters flowed down along the eaves, the bluestone-paved ground was soaked through, and the air was filled with a damp and chilly breath that felt bone-chilling with a single breath.

He was neither the first to arrive nor the last, but even until this courtyard was filled with people, it remained relatively quiet. Those able to come here for the examinations were not people ignorant of etiquette; even if they were oblivious, displaying a vulgar side in such a place would cost them more than it was worth, so everyone strove to present their better side.

Paper-pasted lantern boards stood in the courtyard. Although it was continuous light rain weather, making it darker than usual, it was already dawn, and standing where Su Ziji was, he could see things relatively clearly.

Having caught this kind of weather for the County Examination, I wonder if we will be assigned to a warm examination hall. Although he knew such a possibility was not high, Su Ziji could not help fantasizing about it.

At that moment, a minor commotion arose. Su Ziji stood in the crowd and looked forward, seeing a middle-aged man wearing official robes walk out from the hall—it was none other than Magistrate Zhang.

For Zhang Magistrate to personally call the roll was quite an honor. Without needing to look, Su Ziji knew that most of the surrounding scholars wore excited expressions; this was also the "benefit" that the imperial examinations brought to scholars. Through studying and the imperial examinations, one could leap over the Dragon Gate, achieve a class transformation, and change the standing of one's household.

"Su Ziji."

"This student is present."

"Enter the venue."

"Yes."

When the roll call reached Su Ziji, the bailiff chanted in a loud voice according to regulations that the Stipend Student Zeng Lingchu stood as guarantor. Zeng Lingchu, who stood as guarantor for Su Ziji, glanced at Su Ziji and, finding it was indeed him, acknowledged the guarantee aloud.

After entering the venue, the examination did not begin immediately. Amidst a rather solemn atmosphere, Su Ziji gradually immersed himself in it, feeling that the chanting had quite a lyrical rhythm, until the examination paper was handed to him, at which point he snapped out of it, bowed to the proctor, walked into the examination shed, matched his seat number to the one on the paper, and sat down at his place.

Once seated, the cold wind blowing from all directions made Su Ziji involuntarily rub his hands together.

This weather really is bad luck.

However, if not for this lingering rain and snow lately, perhaps even this crude shed wouldn't exist, and we'd probably be sitting out in the open?

Scholars of this era truly have it hard.

Su Ziji became even more determined in his thought to exercise and build up his body; left entirely on his own, if he fell ill, things would truly become troublesome.