Top Scholar

Chapter 274 A Different Entrance
Prefect Jia not only reminded Su Lu, but also ordered others to remind all the candidates that this year's provincial examination would be unprecedentedly strict, and that they must abide by the examination rules, answer the questions seriously, and absolutely not take any chances...

Most of the test takers listened, but there were always some who were stubborn and unyielding; it's like trying to persuade a damned ghost with good advice.

Over the next two days, the state worked day and night to renovate the examination venue in accordance with the Grandmaster's requirements, and finally barely met the conditions for holding the exam in the Grandmaster's eyes the day before the exam.

Afterward, the Grandmaster read out the instructions for tomorrow's exam. Although it was all the same old stuff, everyone knew this time it was for real. Then he announced the various appointments—

"Xiao Chong, the Vice Commissioner of Education of Sichuan, was appointed as the chief examiner and supervisor of the provincial examination!" He was responsible for both supervising the examination and grading the papers.

"Jia Xuan, the prefect of Luzhou, is appointed as the supervisor, overseeing all examination affairs!"

"Lu Pin, the Assistant Magistrate of Luzhou, is appointed as the official in charge of opening and closing the gates of the examination hall!"

"Gui Ping, the Tongpan of Luzhou, was appointed as the supply officer, responsible for distributing meals, writing materials, and other necessities to the officials in the examination hall!"

"Wu Weiyong, the patrol inspector of Luzhou, was appointed as a patrol officer, in charge of patrolling the examination hall and reporting any illegal activities!"

In addition, there were two search inspectors responsible for searching the candidates entering the examination hall, and two patrol officers responsible for maintaining order around the examination hall. All of these officers were appointed by the chief official and officials under the provincial education commissioner.

In addition, the state also provides 20 search and rescue militia members, 20 military prison guards, and 8 lookouts.

Once appointed, everyone is forbidden from leaving the academy until the exams begin tomorrow…

The Luzhou garrison also dispatched a centurion to stand guard outside the academy in case of any unforeseen circumstances.

The entire city of Luzhou felt a tense atmosphere completely different from that of the prefectural and county examinations!
~~
At midnight on the 20th, the lights were turned on in the homes of examinees in Luzhou.

Because at the fifth watch of the night, the supervisor would take attendance outside the school gate. Anyone who failed to appear at the last minute would be deducted from the roll.

The fifth watch drum is sounded at three in the morning, so everyone had to gather in front of the academy gate at two in the morning...

The Su family was no exception. In order to prepare for today's tough battle, the three candidates went to bed before dark yesterday. As soon as midnight passed, they got up, quickly washed their faces, brushed their teeth, dressed, ate breakfast, paid respects to their ancestors, and then left with the exam baskets prepared by their family.

Not long after the three left, Su Tai also picked up the mahogany box and followed them out the door...

When they arrived at the entrance of Xuegong Street, it was already packed with families seeing off their children taking the exam. Su Lu and his two companions said goodbye to their families, carrying their exam baskets and lanterns as they squeezed through the crowd.

"Excuse me, excuse me, but watch out for fire!" Su Youcai led the way, and with great difficulty, he and his nephews finally made it to the gate.

Just as the three were about to enter, they were stopped by the soldiers who shouted, "Show your tickets and enter with your tickets!"

In the past, during the state examinations, although there were gates, the officials would just let those carrying examination baskets in, which was not as strict as it is now.

Furthermore, the officers and soldiers would carefully examine the candidates' appearances against the descriptions on the float tickets, and only allow them to pass if their features matched.

No wonder there was such a traffic jam even though there were only 500 people taking the exam...

Some candidates complained that they were being treated like royalty, and that at best they would be executed by soldiers, and at worst they would be dragged aside and flogged with bamboo strips...

Seeing that this time it was for real, the candidates all fell silent, and no one dared to say a word.

The three men quickly took out their tickets and lined up to come to the gate.

The officer in charge of the inspection took Su Youcai's travel document, which read: "Square face, 5 feet 7 inches tall, fair skin, prominent nose, long beard, bright eyes, over thirty years old."

These positive terms are rare. Scribes are known for their harshness and hostility towards scholars, and they usually use derogatory terms, such as "short stature" or "dark skin," to describe the appearance of candidates.

The officer thought to himself, "If even those clerks think he's handsome, what must he look like?" He held up the lantern for a closer look, and sure enough, it wasn't an exaggeration; he certainly had a good-looking face...

No need to compare anymore; handsome middle-aged men like this are a rare sight. The officer handed the ticket back to Su Youcai and said, "Go in."

Next up was Su Lu. The officer took the ballot and glanced at it, then couldn't help but chuckle: "Good heavens. Why are you even using rhetoric?"

The ticket read: 'Fair skin, high nose, bright eyes, delicate eyebrows, tall and straight figure, age sixteen.'

The soldiers nearby also curiously lit lanterns and peered at Su Lu's face. They saw that he looked exactly as described on the float: a handsome young man who was unparalleled in the surrounding area, without any exaggeration...

"Go inside. What kind of father and son are these?" The officer handed the ticket back to Su Lu, shaking his head and sighing. With a face like that, even if he couldn't pass the imperial examinations, he could still live off a woman until he was completely satisfied…

The last one was Su Man. The officer took the float ticket and exclaimed, "Wow, this is even more outrageous. Is he composing a poem?"

He couldn't help but recite: "His face was like jade, his eyebrows were like swords and his eyes were like stars, his nose was like a hanging gall, his lips were like cinnabar, his figure was tall and graceful, and he was twenty years old!"

"Hahaha!" The officers and soldiers couldn't help but burst into laughter. "How much money did they bribe the clerk with? They're exaggerating to the skies!"

But when they shoved the lanterns right in Chun Ge'er's face, they all gasped and couldn't laugh anymore.

"What a fine person he is..." The officer returned the floating vote with both hands, completely convinced. He didn't know who was the most knowledgeable in this round, but he already knew who was the most handsome.

Su Dan and Cheng Wanzhou behind them were also handsome men with delicate features. Although they were not as good-looking as Chun Ge'er, they were enough to make these soldiers feel ashamed and secretly curse these scumbags for being so good-looking. No wonder the girls all liked scholars.

Next was Cheng Wanfan, whose name was written on his ticket: 'buck teeth'. The next one was Li Qiyu, whose name was written: 'slanted eyebrows and droopy eyes'.

The officers and soldiers finally felt less inferior; it turned out that not all educated people were good-looking...

~~
The soldiers at the street corner delayed them, and it wasn't until the fifth watch drum sounded that the candidates finally gathered outside the academy gate.

In addition to the one hundred newly admitted students this year, there are also four hundred predecessors who passed the state examination in previous years but have not yet passed the provincial examination.

Before calling out the names, Prefect Jia, the supervising official, once again earnestly admonished the examiners: "The provincial examination is not like the county examination; the rules are much stricter. Moreover, the Grand Master has repeatedly emphasized that examination discipline must be strictly enforced this time, so do not take any chances. Anyone who has cheat sheets should discard them immediately, and do not attempt to cheat..."

He paused for a moment, then emphasized, "The Grandmaster also strictly ordered that everyone cover their names with their papers. Anyone who reveals their identity on their exam paper will be punished for cheating! No one is allowed to hand in their paper early. The examination hall must be cleared at Shen time, and no candles are allowed to be lit!"

After the candidates acknowledged their names, Prefect Jia began calling the roll. Five candidates, each acting as a guarantor, reported for duty, were identified by their respective guarantors, and then all five went inside for a search.

While waiting for names to be called, Su Lu suddenly heard Li Zongsheng's name and his eyes widened. He whispered to Zhu Zihe beside him, "I remember he didn't pass the prefectural examination."

"Yes." Zhu Zihe nodded and said, "There aren't many students in our academy who haven't passed the prefectural examination, and he is one of them."

"Then why are you taking the entrance exam again?" Su Lu asked, puzzled.

"Oh, he took the exam as a music and dance student." Deng Dengying, who knew the inside story, whispered, "His family saw that he was at the bottom of the academy, so they gave him this identity so that he could directly take the academy exam."

"You can play it like this?" Li Qiyu's eyes widened. Sure enough, the rich people in the city have more tricks up their sleeves.

The term "music and dance students" refers to students who perform the Eight-Row Dance. They can directly participate in the academy examinations to become music and dance students in prefectural and county schools.

"The main requirements for music and dance students are height, appearance, character, and dance skills. The requirements for essays and interpretations of classics can be relaxed, so they have an advantage in the imperial examinations," Deng Dengying added.

"If only I had gotten one too..." Li Qiyu was very envious, as he had no confidence at all in passing the imperial examination.

“You can’t do it,” Deng Dengying said bluntly.

"What? He's surnamed Li and I'm surnamed Li, so why can't I get it? Is it because I'm ugly?" Li Qiyu said with a good sense of self-awareness.

“He’s not as good-looking as you, but he has a great grandfather,” Deng Dengying said, both comforting and teasing him.

“My grandfather is no less impressive; he’s a retired centurion!” Li Qiyu retorted.

“His grandfather is a retired provincial councilor…” Deng Dengying said.

"Okay." Li Qiyu remained silent.

"It's alright," Lei Shengyuan comforted him. "In the future, the provincial examinations won't differentiate between different types of students. At most, he'll just become a Xiucai (a lower-level scholar).

"I just wanted to become a scholar," Li Qiyu said with a wry smile.

"Don't worry, they're just dancers. They don't take up our spots. In the future, they'll only be able to fool ordinary people who don't know the truth," Deng Dengying said.

"That's alright." Li Qiyu breathed a sigh of relief.

~~
After roll call, Su Lu and four classmates stepped forward to undergo a search. Having experienced a strict body search during the state examination, Su Lu adapted well this time.

Moreover, he didn't bring any pastries or the like, lest they be broken apart by the scavenger's dirty hands and become inedible.

After the body search was completed and the examination materials were put back together, Su Lu went to the ceremonial gate to receive the examination paper.

The examination papers for the provincial examinations were also different from those for the prefectural and county examinations. Not only were they changed to long folded pages, but the candidates' personal information and the classics they had studied were already written on the paper, and the papers were numbered in small print at the end.

After receiving the exam paper, candidates need to affix a slip to it on the spot. Then, the examiner will fold a corner to seal it and affix the examiner's seal, with half of it on the paper and half on the slip.

After the names are revealed, candidates can enter the examination room with their exam papers and find their seats according to the seat numbers on the papers.

This time, there was no mention of seating arrangements; everyone sat together. Fortunately, the examination halls for the provincial examinations were in good condition, so there was no need to worry about rain or sun; it didn't matter where you sat.

The candidates also saw that there was a platform at each of the four corners of the examination room, with four lookouts standing on it, watching the room from all angles without any blind spots, so that no small movement could escape their eyes.

After taking their seats, everyone sat upright, keeping their eyes straight ahead, for fear of being spotted by the lookout and becoming the focus of attention.

At dawn, when all the candidates had entered the examination hall, the chief examiner ordered the gates to be sealed.

After the usual worship of the spirits and deities was completed, the Grand Master retreated to the main hall and then posed the questions.

Similar to the county and prefectural examinations, the provincial examinations did not distribute exam questions. Instead, the exam questions were pasted onto several long-handled plaques, which were carried by clerks to various examination booths, allowing candidates to copy them themselves.

However, unlike the previous question, the Grandmaster did not give two questions on the Four Books at the same time. Instead, he gave a small question first and then gave the next question at the hour of Si (9-11 AM).

They went to great lengths to encourage the test takers to be more composed...

P.S. The next chapter will be a little late, as usual. Actually, I still have 100 words left to write (facepalm).
(End of this chapter)