Top Scholar

Chapter 456 Trial
After eating and drinking his fill, Su Lu tidied up the table, lifted the number board, stood up, stomped his feet, and stretched his stiff legs.

The sun was still warm at midday, and my feet weren't frozen, but due to sitting for a long time, blood circulation was poor, which can be described as numbness in both feet.

He simply slung his exam paper bag over his shoulder, lifted the curtain, and went out of his examination cell to relieve himself at the end of the examination alley. This was also an experience passed down by Zhu Zhishan—he said that once, while a candidate was out using the restroom, someone stole his exam paper, and when he reported it, no one cared, and he could only accept his bad luck.

In the spirit of "better safe than sorry," Su Lu decided to take his exam papers with him even when he went to the outhouse.

In the outhouse, he discovered the third benefit of the February imperial examination—as soon as the weather turned cold, the foul air in the examination cells seemed to be frozen, and there were no mosquitoes or flies to bother him, making it much more refreshing than in the summer and autumn.

For that unlucky guy who got a seat number and a stinky number at the outhouse entrance, it was a stroke of good luck amidst misfortune.

~~
After emptying his bladder and stretching his muscles, Su Lu regained his energy and began writing drafts for two more Four Books questions in one go in the afternoon!
The second question is, "To wait for a sage for a hundred generations without being confused is to know people." This sentence comes from the chapter "Duke Ai Asks About Governance" in the Doctrine of the Mean. The preceding text closely relates to the "Nine Classics" on how a virtuous person governs the world, so it cannot be interpreted in isolation.

He then used his well-tested essay writing method to first break down the core concepts: "Awaiting a sage for a hundred generations" refers to the enduring nature of governance; "not being confused" refers to the solidity of the reasoning; and "knowing people" is the key point.

The Doctrine of the Mean originates from the Book of Rites. Su Lu, having studied the classics for many years, had transcended the level of simply seeing a mountain as a mountain. He knew that "knowing people" was not merely about recognizing talent and ability, but about understanding the essence of human nature and the common sense of the world. The core of social governance lies in conforming to human nature and aligning with the principles of Heaven; this is the foundation of the text's meaning!

Once the principles are understood, the article gains its soul. A master writer like Su Lu can use the soul of his article to guide his writing.

The so-called "coming up and doing it on its own," uh... it's more like "a masterpiece is born of nature, and a skillful hand occasionally obtains it."

Then, in one go, we moved on to the last question from the Four Books: "The Xia dynasty paid tribute at fifty mu, the Yin dynasty at seventy mu, and the Zhou dynasty at one hundred mu; in reality, all of them paid one-tenth."

This sentence comes from "Mencius: Teng Wen Gong, Part 1". The context is Mencius's response to Teng Wen Gong's question about "governing the state", and the core of the discussion is the taxation system.

Su Luxian clearly defines the context—this is an exploration of the evolution and essence of the ancient taxation system.

Then, the concepts were broken down: "fifty mu as tribute" was the fixed amount of tribute in the Xia Dynasty; "seventy mu as assistance" was the labor rent under the well-field system in the Shang Dynasty; and "one hundred mu as a complete tax" was the in-kind rent calculated by flexibility in the Zhou Dynasty.

The three are very different in form, but in fact they are all "one-tenth". Although the forms are different, the essence is the same: a light tax of "one-tenth". Behind it is the benevolent idea of ​​"collecting light taxes to nourish the people" - this is the core proposition of Mencius.

This question was somewhat similar to a major question on the Five Classics, which was incredibly easy for Su Lu, a "rites scholar" who had undergone rigorous training in the *Book of Rites*. He then focused his thinking on the differences in form and the unity of essence, consistently anchoring his approach to Mencius's core principle of benevolent governance, avoiding irrelevant institutional analysis…

As expected of a question set by a master of the eight-legged essay, as long as you grasp the key points and understand the underlying principles, writing it will be a natural process.

Su Lu quickly entered a state of flow, and his thoughts flowed freely as he wrote. He felt that every word was appropriate and every sentence was suitable, and he was completely immersed in the seamless integration of words and meaning.

~~
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye, and both drafts were completed!
When Su Lu came back to his senses from his intense concentration, he realized that his fingertips, nose, and cheeks were numb from the cold, and his ears were stinging.

On the contrary, the lower body remained warm... After all, it was leather pants over cotton pants, paired with thick boots, which completely kept out the chill of February.

Su Lu looked up and saw that the sun was setting outside the cell; it was already late afternoon.

The heat from the sun had long since dissipated, and the temperature inside the examination cells was plummeting. But the order to light a fire hadn't been given yet, so the examinees could only endure the heat.

Su Lu was about to take down the overcoat from the wall when he suddenly remembered that he still had the onesie bear-shaped garment given to him by the young princess under his buttocks. Putting everything else aside, the sable fur, specially made for the imperial palace, was both light and warm, unlike the sable fur his father bought in Dashilan that could be easily faked.

He immediately put on the bear-patterned coat, put on the hood, pulled the collar up high, and finally tucked his hands into his sleeves, leaving only his eyes showing.

The cold air was instantly shut out, and warmth gradually enveloped my whole body—it was so comfortable!

He hunched over like a bear, hands tucked in, only glancing at the manuscript, never reaching out unless revisions were needed.

By the time he finished checking each word, it was too dark in the cell to read the words.

At that moment, the hoarse shouts of the soldiers guarding the shed finally rang out in the alley: "Start a fire!"

The candidates felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and they all took out various stoves such as charcoal braziers, stoves, and fire pots, stuffed them with charcoal and ignition materials, and clattered their flints, steel hooks, and fire strikers.

Having experienced the provincial examinations, the candidates had all mastered the skill of starting a fire, and there were no longer any useless pieces of wood that couldn't be lit after half a day.

Before long, warm flames flickered in the cells, illuminating the faces that were red and blue from the cold. The candidates, nearly frozen, longed to hug the stoves, greedily absorbing the precious warmth. At this moment, no one cared about cooking; warming their icy bodies was the priority…

~~
Thanks to the bear-themed onesie given to him by the young princess, Su Lu remained warm and cozy.

He simply didn't take it off, and wearing the bear-patterned clothes, he took out the wood-burning stove that he had designed himself and that his second brother had made from the examination box.

This stove has three major advantages: first, it is made of copper sheet, making it very lightweight, weighing less than ten pounds; second, it is detachable and does not take up much space, making it easy to carry; and third, it has a section of chimney that can be assembled, which can both vent the coal smoke to prevent poisoning and make the fire burn more vigorously.

Moreover, the chimney itself can release heat, so the cells heat up faster and the heat is not wasted.

Another advantage was that you didn't have to bring your own charcoal. Actually, the examination hall provided official charcoal for free. But just by looking at these dilapidated examination cells, you could tell it was definitely the cheapest kind, producing an excessive amount of smoke.

The test takers didn't want to choke to death, so they all brought enough charcoal for two nights, at least ten pounds. Moreover, charcoal is lightweight and takes up a lot of space; ten pounds is a huge bag.

But Su Lu didn't have this worry anymore with the wood-burning stove. The smoke could be vented directly out, so he wasn't bothered by the smog from the charcoal. The extra space he saved was perfect for stuffing a bundle of thick felt cloth into the stove. This stuff had so many uses—if the cell was still drafty tonight, he could nail another layer of felt around it until it was airtight!

He lit the wood-burning stove with practiced ease, and the orange-red flames licked the stove walls, quickly filling the small cell with warmth.

Su Lu was afraid the heat would escape, so she hung up a cotton curtain, but it wasn't long before she became too hot to bear and had to lift it halfway to let in some air before she felt a little better.

After tending the stove, he took the copper kettle and went out to fetch water. His bear-colored clothes were so terrifying in the night that they almost scared the other scholars traveling with him out of their wits. Later, when they became grandfathers, they would tell their grandchildren the story of "bears appearing at the examination hall," but no one except the children believed it.

After fetching water, Su Lu began washing the rice and cooking.

Although glutinous rice and red date cake is filling, I dare not eat too much of it, otherwise it will cause bloating and intestinal discomfort. Freshly steamed rice is still the best.

Cooking rice couldn't be simpler: just fill the water about an inch above the rice and let it simmer on the stove.

He then pulled out a gilded food box from the bottom of the examination box. Inside were the signature dishes prepared by the imperial chefs of the Leopard Chamber, but they had been frozen into meat jelly and were no longer recognizable.

Su Lu poured a large lump of brown meat jelly into a copper basin and placed it next to the chimney to thaw slowly.

Before long, a rich aroma wafted out. Su Lu sniffed for a while but couldn't identify what it was. After looking at it and tasting it, she realized it was braised deer tendon with shiitake mushrooms and fish maw. The deer tendon and fish maw were soft, chewy, and springy, and the sauce was bright red and thick, no less delicious than Chef Hu's cooking.

Once the rice was cooked, he poured it directly into a bowl, mixed in the sauce, and started munching away with his chopsticks!
A mouthful of hot rice soaked in sauce, a bite of flavorful deer tendon and fish maw, made him feel completely comfortable, and he kept burping... This person really needs to eat hot soup and hot food to have any meaning in life!

After finishing his meal, he brewed a pot of hot tea and sipped it slowly. Su Lu gazed at the flickering fire in the stove, the aroma of the food still lingering in his nostrils. A warm feeling welled up inside him… The last time he felt this happy was last year when he got married.

Human happiness is indeed relative, not absolute. In this cold cell on a cold night, a warm fire and a hot meal are enough to surpass all worldly riches and honors.

~~
Having eaten and drunk his fill, Su Lu, feeling quite comfortable, sat by the stove, adding charcoal as he reread his three articles. The more he read, the more he felt there was room for improvement, so he picked up his pen and made some minor revisions.

He suddenly realized that those fellow villagers were talking nonsense. The stove was more comfortable than during the day. Apart from not being able to copy because of the light, it didn't affect anything else at all!

By the time the final draft was completed, the sound of snoring could be heard all over the examination hall... The candidates had entered the examination hall early in the morning, and after a whole day of fussing, they were all so tired that they went to bed early.

Su Lu also packed up his writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, carefully put the draft into the scroll bag, and put the two number boards together to make a simple bed. He then set up the wide wooden stool he had specially prepared at his feet... This was a lesson learned from the last provincial examination. Without a footstool, he had to sleep curled up for two whole nights, and his back ached so much that he almost couldn't get up.

He then laid a thick felt cloth on the board as a mattress, spread out a thick quilt, put on a spare overcoat, rinsed a hot water bottle and stuffed it into the quilt, and hung up the cotton curtain again to collect heat.

Su Lu went to the outhouse before bed as usual. It was freezing cold outside, with the north wind howling. His little brother was almost frozen off in no time.

He had to seriously consider whether he should relieve himself in the cell from now on...

When he returned after relieving himself, the cell was already warm and cozy, a completely different world from the outside.
Su Lu added more charcoal, sealed the stove door, and crawled into the thick quilt, soon falling into a deep sleep...

P.S. I'll revise it later, but it's still finished. This dedicated bald guy is begging for monthly votes!!!

Thank you, Mr. Fox, this chapter is dedicated to you!
(End of this chapter)