Top Scholar

Chapter 356 Provincial Examination
Su Lu and his group thought they were well prepared, but the seniors who lived in the same office and had taken the exam several times before said that their belongings were far from enough after seeing them.

"That examination room hasn't been used for three years. You expect someone else to clean your cell? So you have to bring your own broom and rag to clean it yourself, and you also need to bring insect repellent. The mosquitoes are especially vicious during the Ghost Festival (July 15th of the lunar calendar) and the Mid-Autumn Festival (August 15th of the lunar calendar), so you can't be without mosquito coils."

"That makes sense, write it down quickly." Su Lu nodded hurriedly and humbly asked, "Please continue, elder brother."

"The cells have been in disrepair for years. How do you know if your cell will leak? So you have to bring a tarpaulin cover for the cell. Outside the cell, the proctors, the charcoal carriers, the cooks, and the people going to the toilet are constantly walking around. What if they see your paper? So you also have to bring a cell curtain. When you arrive, you can hang it up. It can also protect you from the sun during the day and the wind at night."

"Yes, the canopy and the curtain." Su Lu nodded again and asked, "Then how should we hang them?"

“You can’t hang it by hand, can you? So you need to bring a hammer and nails. That way you can also nail on a hanging bag, just in case.” The older man enjoyed Xiao Sanyuan’s humble request for advice.

"Well, we also need to bring a hammer and nails. Are we going to be carpenters?" The newbies were both amused and exasperated.

"You'll also need to bring a small stool, so you can sit down while waiting for the exam and while cooking. It'll also help you rest your legs during the exam; otherwise, sitting for three days straight will make your feet so swollen you can't wear shoes." The experienced senior colleague, full of wisdom, added:

"No matter how well prepared you are, the exam room is still tough. In nine days, you might get a headache, fever, or stomach upset, so you'll need to bring some emergency medications like 'travesty powder.' I highly recommend Guizhou's 'stinky asafoetida,' it aids digestion, relieves pain, kills parasites, and calms the nerves—you'll know how good it is once you try it..."

~~
Under the guidance of their seniors, Su Lu and the others prepared a lot more necessities for the exam. However, this meant that their original exam baskets were no longer big enough, so each of them had to buy a large rope net and carry the heavy basket of ingredients on their backs...

Good heavens, they're practically refugees.

“My biggest worry right now is,” Bai Yunshan said anxiously, trying on his luggage, “whether I can carry all this stuff into the exam hall. Will it break me…?”

But there was nothing anyone could do to help them; from the moment they stepped into the examination area, they had to be completely separated.

“You always slack off when your senior brother asks you to exercise,” Lei Jun sighed.

"How could I have imagined that this would come in handy?" Bai Yunshan said with a bitter face, "Senior Brother, please think of a way."

“We can’t ask our eldest brother about this; we have to ask his older brother.” Su Lu said, then asked Su Tai, “Second brother, do you have a solution?”

"Yes," Su Tai nodded. "It's just a matter of adding a few wheels."

So he spent the whole afternoon making a tinkering and banging, and made a hand-pushed flatbed cart for each of the few weaklings on Baiyun Mountain, so they could put their things on it and push it around.

Su Lu and the others took one look and found that this thing was really good; it not only saved effort but was also much more elegant.

So the next day, a carpenter was hired to make a handcart for each person according to the Sutai style, and a frame was added to prevent items from falling off.

Now I can bring back the things I'd previously simplified to reduce my burden, such as toothbrush, tooth powder, thin blankets, and spare clothes, so I'll be more comfortable during the exam.

Everything was ready by the evening of the eighth day of the lunar month.

After enjoying a sumptuous meal prepared by Chef Hu, and digesting their food a little, everyone went to bed early.

The next day, at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), Steward You went from room to room to wake everyone up, while Steward Tian prepared the gentlemen's toiletries.

After washing their faces, brushing their teeth, and getting dressed, the three Su brothers did not immediately leave the house.

The eldest brother took out a red wooden box wrapped in red silk from the cabinet and placed it neatly on the kang (a heated brick bed). The three brothers then knelt down and worshipped it devoutly.

Even Su Lu was much more serious this time, praying that his ancestors would be on his best side.

After kneeling and standing up, all three felt a surge of strength within them.

Su Tai stood to the side the whole time. Su Man patted him on the shoulder and said softly, "Your task is very difficult."

“Yes, three days.” Su Tai said, “But don’t worry, brother, I will definitely see it through.”

“You can rest at night,” Su Man said.

“I know…” Su Tai nodded.

Su Man then said in a deep voice, "Let's go!"

~~
After breakfast, the group left the government office and headed towards Gongyuan Street.

The entire association turned out; everyone went to see him off, mainly to help carry his luggage.

Su Lu and his companions saved a lot of effort with their wheelbarrow, but it made a loud rumbling noise, waking up the people along the way...

In fact, people elsewhere were also having trouble sleeping. Firecrackers were going off everywhere in Chengdu to send off the examinees; today was the most important day for the test-takers.

~~
In the Shu Prince's Mansion, the young princess, draped in a peacock-feathered fur coat, stood on the high palace wall, gazing at the right street of the mansion outside the moat—the only way from the Luzhou government office to the examination hall.

"Your Highness, what can we possibly see so early?" the palace maid said, speechless.

"Just because we can't see Young Master Su, does that mean we shouldn't see him off?" The young princess said earnestly, "The sentiment is what matters most."

"Besides, it's not just about the sentiment..." she added with a hint of pride.

~~
The candidates from Luzhou arrived in a great thud on Wangfu Right Street, where they saw eunuchs waiting ahead with lanterns.

"Where did you scholars come from?" the eunuch asked.

"Oh my, isn't this Eunuch Song? We're from Luzhou," the head steward, Mr. Tian, ​​hurriedly replied.

"Oh, I recognize him." Eunuch Song nodded and asked, "Are they all here?"

"They're all here," Steward Tian nodded.

The eunuch then said in a drawn-out tone, "By imperial decree, each examinee shall be bestowed with a tribute pen, wishing you all brilliant writing and early success in the imperial examinations!" "Thank you, Your Majesty!" The examinees were overjoyed. The Prince of Shu's residence was truly thoughtful and cared deeply for them, these humble scholars.

So everyone stepped forward, accepted the pencil case with both hands, and were extremely grateful.

The eunuch Song carried a lantern and shone it on everyone's face. When it was Su Lu's turn, he poked the small torch that was igniting the brush with the handle of his whisk.

The little fire-wielder then discreetly pulled a pencil case of a different color from his sleeve and presented it to Su Lu with both hands.

Su Lu accepted the gift with both hands and thanked him.

"Do your best on the exam, and don't let my lady down," Eunuch Song said gently.

"Yes, sir." Su Lu replied and quickly followed the group.

~~
The group was still quite a distance from Gongyuan Street when they saw that the street was already completely blocked by carriages and horses.

Fortunately, they had anticipated this and had come on foot, so they followed the crowd and struggled towards Gongyuan Street.

A fence was set up at the entrance of Gongyuan Street, stopping those who came to see the examinees off. However, many people lingered by the fence for a long time, completely blocking the entrance.

Fortunately, Su Tai was there. He muttered, "Excuse me, excuse me," while pushing aside the people blocking the way, and in the blink of an eye, he cleared a path for Su Lu and the others.

Su Lu and the others took the cart, ran to the gate, and entered Gongyuan Street with their tickets.

The space suddenly opened up before them, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh my god, I'm so crowded..."

"Where's my hat?" Bai Yunshan scratched his head.

"You're still giving me your hat? My shoes are all crushed off!" Deng Dengying said dejectedly. "Luckily, I brought a spare pair."

After a quick tidying up, the group pushed their carts and rumbled towards the entrance of the examination hall.

The scholars along the way carried loads on their shoulders and in their hands, with sacks of grain hanging around their necks, and they were all grimacing from exhaustion.

Seeing how effortlessly Su Lu and his group worked, they couldn't help but watch with envy.

The members of Yangjiang Society immediately felt that they had become the most dazzling people on the entire Gongyuan Street.

After passing countless candidates, the group arrived at the entrance of the examination hall.

Unlike the provincial examination, the provincial examination did not have officials escorting candidates; candidates had to enter the examination hall on their own.

The Sichuan Imperial Examination Hall was about 100 zhang from east to west and 150 zhang from north to south. It was surrounded by city walls and had a thorny enclosure inside, making it look similar to a prison.

The candidates entered through the Gongyuan Gate in the southwest corner. The main gate was located to the north, and outside the main gate were the roll call hall and the search hall.

These two halls are connected, one inside and one outside. Candidates first enter the roll call hall for roll call, and then enter the adjacent search hall through a small door inside the hall to be searched.

This is more humane than the provincial examination; at least you don't have to expose your breasts in broad daylight. After all, those taking the exam are scholars, so some basic dignity should be given.

An official in the roll call room warned, "Before you go in to search, check yourselves one more time. If we find even a single scrap of paper, your lives will be ruined!"

The candidates dared not be careless and quickly checked themselves again, not even missing the tribute pens bestowed by the Empress... In addition to checking whether there were any words on the pencil case and the pens, they also had to check whether the pen barrels were hollow.

This is called "always being wary of others"...

While Su Lu was checking, he suddenly let out a soft exclamation of surprise.

"What's wrong?" Zhu Zihe asked softly from behind.

"It's nothing." Su Lu shook his head and put the pen back in his pencil case.

~~
The search process was similar to that of the college entrance examination and the departmental examination, except that it was more rigorous.

Thanks to the meticulous Xiao Tixue, Su Lu and the others had already gained ample experience in dealing with the situation. All the items were specially made; the examination baskets were woven from rattan, and the netting was made of thread, with holes large enough to see directly inside, so there was no need to worry about any hidden compartments.

All the clothes were single-layered without lining, the shoes had no insoles, the copper candlesticks were hollow and bottomless, and even the pastries had been cut open in advance for inspection.

So everyone passed the search smoothly, dressed themselves properly, packed their things, and continued forward along the central axis to the examination hall in front of the Dragon Gate.

Candidates received their exam papers by presenting their tickets, put them in their exam paper bags, and then went to the Dragon Gate.

On either side of the Dragon Gate, there is a couplet that reads:

"A leap over the dragon gate opens up a bright future; three chapters of strategic discourse determine the fate of the nation."

All the classmates looked at Su Lu, who gave them an encouraging smile and strode into the Dragon Gate.

Inside the Longmen Gate, a straight passageway leads directly to the towering Mingyuan Tower. On both sides of the passageway are rows of densely packed cells, resembling a honeycomb, totaling as many as four thousand cells!
The examination cells were numbered according to the "Thousand Character Classic". Su Lu and others had seat numbers on their examination papers, so they could find their seats by looking at them.

Seeing that his scroll had "Saint No. 2" written on it, Su Lu followed the passageway all the way past Mingyuan Tower before finding the row of characters with "Saint" written on the outer wall.

P.S. I wasn't feeling well this afternoon, so Chapter 3 will be late. Please read it tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)