Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 117 Dormitory Assignment Exam
The rumbling sound from my stomach was clearly audible.

Hunger gripped his stomach like an invisible hand, while a deeper weariness spread through his limbs, reminding him that he needed to replenish his energy quickly.

That’s it for now, let’s eat first.

Lu Beigu determined the direction and headed straight for the lower dormitory dining hall.

The dining hall was filled with the familiar, bland smell of food, and a few early risers were hunched over their porridge and pancakes.

Lu Beigu received his meal; this morning it was mung bean and rice porridge and sesame cakes.

Although he was very hungry, he tried his best to restrain himself and ate slowly.

After a short while, more and more people began to arrive.

"Brother Lu?"

Lu Guangyu, with his sharp eyes, spotted Lu Beigu and exclaimed in surprise.

His shout drew the attention of Huang Jingji and Zhu Zhen, who were standing behind him.

"Whoa!" Huang Jingji teased when he saw Lu Beigu's appearance. "Brother Lu, did you just escape from being captured by the mountain demon?"

The man before him, Lu Beigu, had deep-set eyes and a messy stubble on his chin, making him look several years older than his actual age. His clothes were wrinkled and wrapped around his noticeably thinner figure. He exuded a strong "scholarly air" mixed with the scent of ink, sweat, and the smell of staying up all night—or rather, the tired air of the "King of Books."

"Brother Lu, you...you really stayed in the library for three days without coming out?" Zhu Zhen's tone was full of disbelief and a hint of respect.

Lu Beigu forced a weak smile, his voice hoarse from staying up all night: "Yes, thirty-six hours."

The three of them walked to his table, pulled out chairs, and sat down, their movements somewhat cautious.

"Oh my God."

Lu Guangyu leaned closer and examined him carefully: "Are you alright? It's just an exam, it's not like you'd risk your life!"

His tone was exaggerated, but his concern was genuine.

Zhu Nanxing arrived at this moment. He hesitated for a moment, then pushed his bowl of porridge over: "Hurry up and have a warm drink."

Lu Beigu didn't take it, but said, "This is enough to eat. Eating too much is not good. How have you been feeling these past few days, Brother Zhu? Is the food still to your liking?"

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because the moment it was brought up, Zhu Nanxing immediately reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his previous worry instantly replaced by grief and indignation: "What the hell! This is torture for my stomach! Brother Lu, you don't know, these past two days I've been dreaming about goose legs because of the smell of roast goose wafting from the middle dormitory!"

"If I can get into the middle dormitory, the first thing I'll do is rush to the dining hall and chew up the roast goose, bones and all, and swallow it!"

His craving-driven, teeth-gritting vows softened the somber feeling brought about by Lu Beigu's ascetic retreat, even making the usually taciturn Zhu Zhen laugh.

Lu Beigu smiled and glanced at his friends: "So, are you all ready for tomorrow's dormitory assignment exam?"

When the topic turned to business, everyone's expressions became serious.

"Do your best and obey fate."

Lu Guangyu sighed. His foundation was relatively weak, and his admission to the state school was a matter of luck, so he was under the most pressure.

"I've seen everything I needed to see," Huang Jingji said indifferently.

Zhu Zhen didn't say anything either; they had already prepared to spend two years settling down in their lower abode.

Zhu Nanxing clenched his fists, his eyes burning with fury: "For roast goose! For a hot bath! I'll fight!"

Looking at them, Lu Beigu felt the simplest and most genuine fighting spirit that belonged to his classmates and young scholars, and he truly rediscovered the feeling of studying as a young man.

"Since you're all eating, I'll go back to the dorm to wash up and change my clothes while no one's around."

He was starting to feel unbearably sticky and smelly all over. But he dared not go to the public bathhouse; he was afraid of having heart problems if he took a cold shower after staying up all night.

"Brother Lu, can you still hold on?" Lu Guangyu looked at him with some concern, afraid that he would collapse on the road.

"It's alright." Lu Beigu waved his hand.

Back at the school dormitory, Lu Beigu quickly took off his clothes, which were almost marinated in salt and odor. He picked up a dry cloth, dipped it in the cool water in the wooden basin, and vigorously wiped his skin. The icy feeling instantly cleared his drowsy mind.

He then changed into clean clothes and tied his hair up. Although Lu Beigu in the mirror could not hide his haggard appearance, the light in his eyes was sharper than ever before.

Lu Beigu slacked off in class this morning, which was unusual for him. He barely listened and just organized his thoughts from the past three days.

After lunch, Lu Beigu returned to his dormitory and went straight to sleep.

When he woke up, it was already the next morning; Lu Guangyu had specifically woken him up.

"I'm fine, let's go."

Lu Beigu quickly washed up and spoke to his roommates who were waiting at the door.

After the meal, the group went together to the main hall of the state school, which was where important ceremonies or examinations were held. The dormitory entrance examination was held here.

The students from other states I encountered on the way were either in a hurry, muttering to themselves, looking tense, or displaying a kind of resolute determination.

The main hall doors were open, and the instructors stood solemnly at the entrance, responsible for checking student IDs and guiding students in.

They still took the exam as lower-class students in the lower-class students' exam room, but the exam papers were the same for all exam rooms. After the exam, the state school would reassign students to dormitories according to the new overall ranking.

“Study permit.” An instructor held out his hand expressionlessly.

Lu Beigu handed over his student ID card, and the academic officer carefully examined it, his gaze lingering on him for a moment.

The academic officer had, of course, heard the name of the first freshman in this year's welcoming gathering, but he didn't say much, only waving for him to go in.

Inside the grand main hall, rows of examination papers were already neatly arranged.

The exam papers were spaced far apart, and each paper had a note with the candidate's name and student ID number pasted on it.

The proctors, dressed in their official uniforms, stood on a slightly higher step in front, their sharp eyes scanning the area below.

The entire examination hall was completely silent, except for the faint sounds made by the candidates as they found their seats and arranged their writing implements on their desks.

Lu Beigu quickly found his seat and sat down quietly.

"clang--!"

A clear and melodious gong suddenly rang out, breaking the deathly silence of the examination hall and announcing the official start of the dormitory assignment exam!
The proctor's booming voice echoed throughout the main hall: "Students, be quiet! This examination for each dormitory will test four subjects: calligraphy, poetry, and policy essays. During the examination, no talking, whispering, or looking around is permitted! Violators will be treated as having cheated and expelled from the prefectural school! Open the books!"

The exam papers were distributed one by one and placed on the exam desk.

There's not much to say about the exam. Although it's challenging and includes some challenging questions, it's not as difficult as the state exam, so it's unlikely that a top student would make a mistake.

As for Mo Yi, when Lu Beigu's gaze swept over a question about the Spring and Autumn Annals, his pupils contracted almost imperceptibly!
The core of that question clearly points to the profound debate surrounding the subtle meaning of the word "克" (ke, meaning to overcome) in the phrase "郑伯克段于鄢" (Zheng Bo Ke Duan Yu Yan).

This almost perfectly matches the key breakthrough point that he repeatedly pondered and tried to get infinitely close to on the fourth floor of the library!
Three days and three nights of tireless hard work, countless practice questions, imitation of top-tier answer sheets, and careful study of examiners' comments—all of this transformed into an incredibly clear approach to answering questions and surging confidence!

Lu Beigu did not hesitate at all; a faint smile, the only one he could understand, even curved his lips.

He steadily picked up his pen, the tip landing on the pristine white exam paper without the slightest hesitation, carrying a certainty of breaking through the fog and getting straight to the heart of the matter.

"'Ke' does not mean victory by force alone, but rather the destruction of the heart. Duan relied on favor and became arrogant, his evil accumulated due to Duke Zhuang's tacit indulgence; Duke Zhuang endured and waited for the right time, his sharp edge hidden in the admonition of 'committing many unrighteous acts.' Zuo Zhuan recorded his actions, Guliang Zhuan condemned his heart. The word 'ke' truly contains the depth of strategic planning and the cruelty of fratricide!"

This is precisely the core of his integration of the narrative of Zuo Zhuan and the theory of "being able to kill" in Guliang Zhuan, directly pointing to the fact that Duke Zhuang of Zheng had deliberately cultivated evil before killing him!
With each stroke of the pen, a sentence is formed, revealing its brilliance!
(End of this chapter)