Top Scholar

Chapter 454 It’s all here
The Dragon Gate is the last main gate on the central axis of the Imperial Examination Hall. It is named after the story of "carp leaping over the Dragon Gate", which means that candidates can "transform from fish into dragons" through this gate.

As the sun rose, the five-bay gate gleamed with golden light. Above the gate hung a plaque inscribed "Heaven Opens the Way for Literature," flanked by plaques reading "Selection of Scholars Through Classical Learning" and "Seeking Talented Individuals for the Nation." Below the plaques were carved dragons on the gateposts, and a couplet read:

"The holy dynasty calls upon talented individuals to lead this nation, and see how patriots rise up in celebration."

The name of Chengdu originates from this place; we rejoice that talented individuals embark on their journeys here!

When entering the Dragon Gate, many candidates lifted both feet off the ground and leaped in, clearly hoping for good luck.

They were all wearing heavy coats and cotton-padded trousers over leather trousers, and when they jumped up they looked like bears that had been stung by bees, which was quite comical.

Su Lu looked at his elder brother, Su Man shook his head slightly, signaling him not to embarrass himself, and the two brothers walked steadily into the Dragon Gate.

Once inside the Dragon Gate, the layout is exactly the same as the Sichuan Provincial Examination Hall. The Mingyuan Tower stands tall along the wide and straight passageway, and behind it is the core building of the outer curtain, the Zhigong Hall.

The passageway was lined with densely packed, honeycomb-like cells. If it weren't for the thin layer of snow covering the tops of the cells, Su Luzhen would have thought he had traveled back to Chengdu.

Unlike the provincial examinations where seat numbers were determined on-site, the metropolitan examinations required examiners to draw lots after the examination hall was locked. The lots were then recorded in a register on one side and written on the paper in regular script on the other.

Therefore, the exam papers received by the exam distribution center are marked with the candidates' seat numbers. After entering the exam room, candidates need to take their seats immediately according to their seat numbers and wait for the questions to be released.

Once seated, soldiers would check each candidate's name and number; if any discrepancies were found, the candidate would be immediately removed from the examination hall. Patrol officers would also conduct surprise checks during the examination period. If any candidate was found to have colluded or concealed any wrongdoing, the candidate would be removed from the examination hall, and the soldiers on duty would investigate and punish them.

~~
After entering the examination room, Su Lu pulled out a corner of the exam paper from the bag and glanced at the seat number on it—'Ninth in the 'Wang' series'.

“I am Yu Zi, number three.” Su Man also looked at her seat number.

“I am number one in the Fire rank,” Yang Shen also said.

"I'm number thirteen from the Cao class," Zhu Zhishan said with a grin, appearing out of nowhere.

"No whispering allowed!" the patrolling soldier shouted.

The group then clasped their hands in greeting, wishing each other good luck in the exam, and went to find their respective exam lanes according to the order of the Thousand Character Classic.

~~
Su Lu walked along the passageway and finally found the character "王" (Wang) in the phrase "遐迩一体，率宾归王" (Xia Er Yi Yi, Shuai Bin Gui Wang) far away from Mingyuan Tower.

I thought to myself, with such an imposing name, the account must be pretty good. Even if it's not an old account, it can't be a low-end or bad account, right?

To everyone's surprise, upon entering the examination alley, they heard a chorus of sighs and lamentations; the candidates who had arrived earlier were already feeling dejected.

Su Lu took a look and realized it wasn't a low-ranking or stinky number, but damn it, it was a really unlucky seat number!

What is a straw mat cell? It's a temporary cell made of straw mats...

Provincial-level examination halls were all made of brick and tile, and the highest-level Shuntian Examination Hall was no exception.

The reason is simple: every three years, 1,145 people are selected for the imperial examinations nationwide, but only about 300 actually pass. After accounting for those who drop out due to old age, illness, or discouragement, there are several hundred more candidates for each subject.

As the number of examinees increased year by year, the original examination cells were no longer sufficient. Although the imperial court would allocate funds to build a new batch of examination cells when the shortage reached a certain level, before the new examination cells were built, there would naturally be a group of unlucky people who would not have a proper examination cell and would have to answer questions in temporary examination cells set up in Shuntian Prefecture.

This time, Su Lu was one of the unlucky ones, so the blue bricks were replaced with adobe bricks, and the black tiles were replaced with straw mats. Large stones were also placed on the straw mats, obviously to prevent the wind from blowing the roof off.

Aren't you afraid that the rocks will fall and hit someone?
What's the difference between this and sleeping under the open sky? Even if you light a fire at night, it won't keep warm at all.

If it happens to be cloudy and rainy, then we might as well not take the exam at all...

Su Lu grew increasingly angry, mentally cursing the officials of the Ministry of Rites and Shuntian Prefecture. How much could building new brick-and-tile examination booths cost? For Shuntian Prefecture, the capital of the empire, it was a drop in the ocean. But this expense should have been borne by the Ministry of Rites; Shuntian Prefecture wouldn't advance a single tael of silver, preferring to make do with a makeshift thatched hut—after all, they weren't the ones taking the exam…

But since we're already here, we can't just skip the exam. Besides, we won't be able to leave before dark the day after tomorrow.

After venting his emotions, he took off his hand warmer, took off his coat, took out a copper basin from his examination box, went to the entrance of the examination alley, broke the thin ice on the water vat, and brought back a basin of water.

He pulled out a broom and rag, put on a mask, and began cleaning amidst the flying dust. The assigned cubicles were much harder to clean than the brick-and-tile ones. However, he discovered one advantage of taking exams in winter: he didn't need to repel mosquitoes…

It took Su Lu the time it takes to eat a whole meal to clean the cell.

But the work was far from over. He then took out the pylon from the examination box, which was used to repair leaks in the pylon. He had brought it with him during the provincial examination, but he was lucky that time the newly built brick and tile roof did not leak at all, so he did not need to use it.

But this time, it's truly a lifesaver.

He climbed up the low mud-brick wall using a stool, first moving the large stone that was pressing down on the straw mat, and then unfolding the cell cover... It was a rectangular tarpaulin slightly larger than the cell, with ropes at all four corners.

Su Lu spread it out and covered the straw mat on top of the horn, then began to reinforce it, otherwise a gust of wind could blow it away.

The two front corners are easy to handle; we can just wedge a couple of nails in and they'll be secured. The two back corners are more troublesome, though, because entering other exam alleys will be considered cheating, so we can't go around to the back to secure them. Su Lu had no choice but to carefully lie on the adobe wall, lean down, and wedge nails into the back wall headfirst.

Then he discovered that the next row of Mingzihao Kaoxiang was actually a brick and tile Kaoxiang.

So you're just trying to scam me, huh?

What's even more infuriating is that the examinees in the opposite cell had already finished getting ready and were sitting there watching him with schadenfreude, as if he were a monkey.

Su Lu initially wanted to spit at him, but then she thought, what if the wind picked up one night and the other party sabotaged her by pulling out the nail? Then she'd be completely finished...

He then decisively followed his heart, giving the other person a helpless, bitter smile. The scholar smiled back at him sheepishly and stopped looking at him.

~~
After securing the four ropes firmly to the nails, Su Luyou was still not at ease, so he moved the large stone back to weigh down the four corners of the tarpaulin. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and climb down, covered in sweat and dust.

The previously leaky and drafty turret roof was now much more secure after being covered with oilcloth. Su Lu then took out a roll of thick felt cloth, retrieved a ruler and scissors from the examination box, measured the dimensions, cut out a piece, and nailed it to the turret roof from the inside; this was for insulation.

Next, the drafty adobe walls were dealt with. First, strips of cloth were used to seal any cracks large enough to fit a finger. Then, thick felt was cut to the appropriate size and tightly wrapped around the outside of the adobe wall, secured with nails. A custom-made enclosure, precisely measured and cut on-site, was thus completed.

Finally, nail two more nails to the two walls and hang the horn curtain up.

The writing curtain was made of white cotton cloth and had a wooden support at the bottom to prevent it from being blown up by the wind. It could block the wind but also let in light, so it wouldn't interfere with writing during the day.

Su Lu also prepared thick cotton curtains to hang up at night for warmth. Some might ask, why not hang them up during the day? Well, if they were hung up, it would be dark inside, you know?

The project was basically completed. Su Lu rubbed his frozen hands repeatedly and examined his renovated "little nest". At least it looked much better, but the actual effect still needed to be tested.

At that moment, the bell finally rang from Mingyuan Tower to signal the start of the exam.

However, the examiners need time to distribute the questions, and the "Wang" grade is very late in the list, so it will take at least half an hour to distribute them.

Therefore, Su Lu did not sit up straight in a hurry, but instead opened the gift that Princess Yibin had carefully prepared for the examination.

He had naturally checked it before the search; it was a sable bodysuit. But at the time, his attention was focused on whether there were any contraband items, so he didn't examine it closely.

He took it out of the bundle and gently unfolded it by the collar with one hand. The sable fur was smooth and dense to the touch, thin yet crisp.

The one-piece design fits the entire body perfectly, even covering the feet completely.

Su Lu tried it on out of curiosity, and it actually fit her surprisingly well. She could sit and lie down comfortably, and it didn't even hinder her from stretching her arms to write. The foot covers were especially thick, probably made of bearskin, and completely insulated her from the cold when she stepped on the ground. After wearing it for a while, her feet actually started to sweat.

But just thinking about the bitter cold of the night makes you realize how precious this warmth is.

It even has a hood, so if it's too cold during the day, or if you put it on your head to sleep at night, it won't help no matter how cold it is.

The materials and design are truly top-notch; you can completely feel the maker's dedication!

Su Lu was enjoying himself when the curtain was suddenly lifted, and an official came to hand him the examination papers.

"Ah!" The official was startled by his appearance and almost fell to the ground.

Su Lu hurriedly and awkwardly pulled down his hood, stood up, and bowed apologetically: "I'm sorry, sir, I was presumptuous."

"Oh, so it's a person." The official, who had a rather good temper, composed himself and chuckled. "I thought there was a bear sitting inside."

“Student, take it off now.” Su Lu thought to himself that this was sable, which was more expensive than bear fur.

"No need, no need. When taking the exam in your assigned cell, you can stay warm as much as you want." After saying this, the examiner handed him the exam paper and added, "Take the exam well," before going to the next cell to distribute the questions.

However, Su Lu quickly took off his clothes, not because he felt ashamed. Once the curtain was hung up, no one would care if he was naked inside.

The main problem is that the daytime temperature has risen, and with this outfit, it's easy to get heat rash.

Su Lu then laid the bodysuit on the lower board as a cushion. After wiping his hands clean and taking a deep breath, he tore open the seal on the exam paper and looked at the questions.

Similar to the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination consists of three questions on the Four Books and twenty questions on the Five Classics, but only the four questions on the Five Classics need to be answered.

So the first three days... actually a little over two days, and we had to write a total of seven articles!
It's already noon, and the exam is due at dusk on the third day...

P.S. The imperial examination is coming up, and this is almost the last essay in this book in the traditional eight-legged essay style, so I feel I should write it well. However, firstly, my skill level is limited, and secondly, I haven't written in so long that I've lost my inspiration. But I don't want to just rush through it, so the next chapter will be a little later…

(End of this chapter)