Di Ming

Chapter 172 Two Women Sever Ties
On August 19th, the long-running autumn imperial examination finally came to an end.

Gongyuan Street, which had been closed for ten days, has been reopened.

Thousands of family members and spectators arrived early at the Gongyuan Square to wait for the candidates to come out.

Ning Caiwei and Ning Qingchen's carriages also arrived. As expected, Zhuang Shu and Tang Rong also came to join in the fun.

The examination hall and officialdom were packed with people.

That afternoon at Shenshi (3-5 PM), several cannon shots rang out from the examination hall, and the long-closed gates suddenly swung open. As soon as the gates opened, a dense, dark mass of examinees stood silently in the distance.

"Ah—" The waiting crowd erupted in cheers, many of them extremely excited, waving and calling out to the examinees.

Floats decorated with osmanthus and chrysanthemums and adorned with firecrackers were set off with a crackling sound.

The floats were prominently decorated with advertisements for businesses such as "Ruyi Silk Shop", "Tonghui Money Shop" and "Deyatang Bookstore".

Even the waiters in hotels, the back scrubbers in bathhouses, the pimps in brothels, and all sorts of other people from all walks of life were waiting early, ready to attract customers.

Several thousand test takers have been inside for so many days, and today they've finally finished their exams. Shouldn't they have a good feast, relax, and vent their frustrations?

The candidates filed out, like prisoners released from jail seeing the light of day again. Each one looked haggard and pale. Some seemed relieved, some looked grief-stricken, and some appeared dazed.

The anxieties of gain and loss are like a dream.

The myriad aspects of human life, from triumphs to setbacks, are clearly visible even before the results are released.

After these three exams, everyone knows how they actually did.

People who think they did well on the exam may not be admitted. But people who think they did poorly on the exam will almost certainly not be admitted.

Therefore, candidates who feel bad after the exam already know that they have failed.

Family members searched for their loved ones in the crowd, knowing how well they had done on the exam just by looking at their expressions.

Suddenly, some were overjoyed while others were saddened.

Some people even burst into tears as soon as they left the examination hall.

This cry stirred up countless hearts, and cries of grief rose one after another. Soon, hundreds of people wept bitterly, their tears falling like rain, their mournful cries shaking the heavens.

The instructors didn't stop the students from crying; they were used to it and didn't find it strange.

After each autumn imperial examination, everyone who left the examination hall cried; the only difference was how many people cried.

Many people don't just study for ten years, they study for decades.

Decades of hard study, through scorching summers and freezing winters, a lifetime of wasted time, the prime of life squandered, defeat once again in the triennial competition, and another three years to endure.

With such a wasted life, how many more three-year periods does he have left? Will he even be qualified to take the next exam?

Zhu Yin, who emerged from the crowd, was noticeably thinner, and even his once bright eyes had dimmed somewhat.

It was him; any other child would have found it difficult to persevere. This shows that Yang Tinghe, who passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve, and Zhao Changqi, who passed it at the age of ten, were both physically exceptional.

These past few days have been incredibly tiring. Nine days of exams, with over ten hours of answering questions each day. To the uninitiated, it might seem like there was plenty of time, but only those who have experienced it know how tight the schedule actually is!
The margin for error is very low; basically, if you make a mistake once or twice, you won't have another chance.

In these three examination sessions, he wrote a total of seven essays in the eight-legged style, three policy essays, three historical essays, three judgments, two regulated poems, five legal documents, as well as several official documents such as memorials, edicts, proclamations, and decrees.

With limited time and a lot of exam content, this is inherently a way to screen and eliminate candidates.

After the exam, the examiner handed the papers to the sealing official, who, under supervision, sealed them with the papers' names and assigned them corresponding numbers.

Then it was sent to the copying office. The scribes at the copying office copied it with red ink, and the copied examination papers were called "red scrolls".

The scribes, of course, could not correct mistakes or errors in the exam; they had to write it exactly as it was. If an error or taboo was found, it was submitted to the examiner for review. After comparing it with the text, if the examiner found it to be indeed an error or taboo, it would be rejected.

What remains are the red scrolls that are free of errors and taboos.

However, to prevent the scribes from being careless in copying, a proofreading and comparison process was also necessary. The officials in charge of proofreading would read each copy carefully to check for any errors.

The entire process was overseen by the Imperial Inspector. Therefore, the Imperial Inspector was essentially the examination supervisor.

Then, the examination papers were handed over to the supervising official, and under the supervision of the imperial censor, they were presented to the examiners behind the curtain, which is known as the "examination papers entering the curtain."

The examiners then began reviewing the exam papers. They wouldn't even finish reading most of them, eliminating candidates based solely on the first essay in the traditional eight-legged essay format.

The first one wasn't good, so I skipped it. I won't read the rest.

The second and third essays, written in the traditional eight-legged essay style, also saw a large majority eliminated. The process of grading and rejecting papers continued in this manner, with most of the rejected papers not even being read to the end.

Of course, the examiners must write comments.

While grading the papers, they wrote comments. Finally, they recommended the papers that were acceptable to the examiners; this was called recommending papers.

Whether or not you are admitted ultimately depends on the decision of the chief and deputy examiners.

Of the 5,000 candidates from Southern Zhili this year, only 135 were admitted, a success rate of less than 2.7%.

This shows how difficult it was to pass the imperial examination.

Zhu Yin felt he did quite well and performed very well. However, he wasn't sure if he would pass the exam.

At this point, it becomes metaphysics.

The stage of relying on strength is over; now it's all about luck.

Zhu Yin turned back to look at the magnificent examination hall, his eyes like those of a tiger.

This examination hall, where carp leap over the dragon gate, is my prison. Once I pass the exam and become a scholar, I'll be like a young tiger released from its cage!
I know the exam questions for the provincial and palace examinations. As long as you pass the provincial examination, you can become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

Although Zhu Yin felt very good about the exam, he still pretended to be dejected, like a defeated general, and walked out of the examination hall with a sigh.

Those who greeted Zhu Yin included not only Ning Caiwei and others, but also many members of the Xuan Society who had not taken the exam, as well as Tang Rong and Zhuang Shu.

When Mo Shao and the other members of the Propaganda Society saw Zhu Yin's dejected expression, their hearts sank.

Did the head of the small community fail the exam?
That's true, they're still young. What a pity.

Ning Caiwei almost laughed when she saw Zhu Yin's expression.

What a pretentious act.

She knew Zhu Yin's personality all too well. Even if Little Tiger really failed the exam, he wouldn't have this expression.

So this expression was obviously an act for Zhuang Shu and Tang Rong, and also for everyone else.

Sure enough, when Zhuang Shu and Tang Rong saw Zhu Yin's dejected appearance, their smiles slowly disappeared.

What happened? It seems Zhihu didn't do well on the test.

Although the two women felt a little sorry for each other, they were still inexplicably disappointed.

There was a certain amount of resentment towards their lack of ambition.

Ning Caiwei went to greet him, and seeing Zhu Yin's haggard appearance, she felt a pang of heartache, but outwardly she cooperated and said:
"Little Tiger, how did your exam go?"

Zhu Yin sighed, shook his head, and said with a wry smile, "It's not easy at all. I guessed the wrong Four Books, and I'm not even satisfied with the essay I wrote. This tension... sigh."

Ning Caiwei continued, "So that means... the chances of passing the exam are very slim?"

Zhu Yin stared blankly, seemingly a little dazed, and said dejectedly, "It's difficult. I'm not satisfied with myself, I should... sigh."

Mo Shao quickly reassured him, "It's normal! Brother Zhihu, you're only eleven after all. It's perfectly normal to fail the exam. You'll get through this once, and you'll definitely pass next time!"

He Bi and the others also comforted and encouraged them, saying that even if they didn't succeed this time, they would definitely succeed next time.

"Forget it, let's go back." Ning Caiwei took his luggage and patted the dust off his clothes. "It's not that easy to become a scholar. Don't be sad."

Zhu Yin nodded dejectedly, looked at the crowd around him, and recited:

Life has its ups and downs.
The entire nine-day examination period lasted all at the examination hall.

Frosty leaves flutter lightly, a sigh for the cold trees.

The autumn cicadas chirp, their song a source of amusement.

The imperial examinations thus became a sea of ​​suffering.
Where is my hometown, no matter where you are in the world?

If the prodigy of Nanyong is not worth mentioning,
How could Sun Lang be allowed to fall behind today?

After reciting this impromptu poem, Zhu Yin surprisingly appeared somewhat desolate, which seemed out of place for his age, and he appeared to be a little depressed.

Ning Qingchen couldn't help but laugh.

She's only two years old and has very poor emotional control. Seeing the two of them acting so well together, she couldn't hold back at all.

"Kids just don't know any better!" Ning Caiwei glared at Ning Qingchen. "Little Tiger has lost so much weight, he looks so haggard, and he still hasn't done well on his exams, and you're still happy! He's heartless!"

"Hehe..." Ning Qingchen laughed even more heartily.

Zhuang Shu and Tang Rong glared at Ning Qingchen, feeling even more disappointed.

Judging from this poem, it seems the student really bombed the exam. Not only did they fail, but their confidence has also been shaken. This is a major taboo in the exam room!

Many child prodigies throughout history have achieved fame at a young age, but once they encounter setbacks, they become discouraged and never recover, ending up as ordinary people.

Those who feel they did well on the exam may not necessarily pass. However, those who feel they did poorly almost always fail.

Both women felt bitter. They had finally found a young man they liked, but he seemed to be unlucky.

Zhuang Shu hesitated for a moment, then finally stepped forward and forced a smile, saying, "Didn't do well on the exam? Zhihu, don't be sad or upset. This is nothing. Just study hard from now on, and you'll make something of yourself one day."

Zhu Yin shook his head. "I don't want to take the exam anymore. This one thing alone makes me feel really disheartened. Anyway, my family isn't short of food, and I'm still young, so I'll take the exam again in ten years. Sigh, these days, the mosquitoes almost ate me up, and I have nightmares every night."

Hearing this, Zhuang Shu felt extremely angry and bitter. She stamped her foot and said, "How can you be so discouraged after just one failure? You...you..."

Tang Rong forced a smile and said lazily, "Yes, little tiger, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. How can a gentleman give up so easily?" As she spoke, she handed a bundle to Zhu Yin, "These are shoes I made for you myself. Please accept them."

"Go back and get some rest; it would be good for you to relax."

"I'm leaving now. Take care."

After Tang Rong finished speaking, she gave Zhu Yin a deep look, bowed respectfully, and then turned to leave.

Only after leaving the crowd and boarding the carriage did the maidservant finally ask, "Since you are disappointed in Young Master Zhihu, why did you still send him the shoes you made yourself?"

Tang Rong's aura was somewhat cold, and she sighed softly:

"These shoes were made for him, after all. Giving them to him is a way of remembering him."

The maid said, "Young Master Zhihu is only eleven years old. Even if he doesn't succeed this time, he will have many more opportunities in the future. Why do you give up so soon, Madam?"

Tang Rong gently shook her head, "Because his mind is in turmoil and his spirits are low, which is a major taboo in the imperial examinations. After this setback, I'm afraid he will have little chance of achieving anything."

"Alas, passing the imperial examination is all about fate. I hope he can pull himself together in the future. Our fate with him has come to an end."

"Next, I have to follow the marriage arranged by my family. It's a marriage decided by my parents and a matchmaker, so I didn't have a choice. I can't keep waiting for that little tiger."

"The family has already arranged several marriages, all of them wealthy and respectable. Mao Wenlong from Hangzhou is said to be quite good. Although the Mao family is not particularly well-educated, they are extremely wealthy, with warehouses full of gold and silver."

"That Mao Wenlong is fourteen years old this year. It is said that he is both literate and martial, and is a young hero. His maternal uncle's family, the Shen family, is the richest family in Hangzhou, and his uncle has already passed the imperial examination."

...

Outside the examination hall, Zhuang Shu saw her cousin leave and knew exactly what Tang Rong was thinking.
At this moment, she herself was also in a state of utter confusion.

Seeing Zhu Yin's dejected expression, she felt a pang of sadness.

"Child Tiger, don't be discouraged. You can always try again in three years. Learn from this experience, study hard for three years, and it's not too late to take the exam again."

Zhu Yin said, "Fourth Miss, I failed this time, and I don't know when I'll be able to take the exam again. If it's not meant to be, don't force it."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Shu was too lazy to offer any more advice.

She had to make a decision. Otherwise, it would be too late. Because once the results were announced, many powerful families would be vying to arrange marriages for the successful unmarried young men.

She's almost thirteen and still not engaged; she can't wait another three years.

We must catch one of them this time; it will be too late if we delay.

Her aunt had previously told her about a young man from a prominent family named Feng Menglong, who was only fifteen years old but was also taking the exam.

The fifteen-year-old candidate, though older than Zhu Yin, was still considered young.

Moreover, my aunt said that Feng Menglong was also a child prodigy; he could compose poems and essays at the age of ten and passed the county-level imperial examination at thirteen. He might have a chance in this provincial-level examination.

Or, why don't we go to Auntie's first and ask Feng Menglong how his exam went?

Zhihu has definitely failed this time. Judging from his condition, it will be difficult for him to pass the exam in the future. If Feng Sheng does well, his chances of passing the exam will be much greater than Zhu Yin's.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Shu took a bundle from the maid and stuffed it into Zhu Yin's hand, saying:
"Chih-hu, this is a jacket I made. It's not very good, so please don't mind it."

"I'll be leaving now. Go back and take good care of yourself. Take care."

After saying that, he looked at Ning Caiwei, his gaze no longer hostile as before, and said, "Caiwei, take good care of him when you get back."

Ning Caiwei sneered, "Of course, why do you need to say it? I won't see you off, Fourth Miss."

Zhuang Shu nodded and turned to leave.

The moment she boarded the carriage, she couldn't help but shed tears.

"Child Tiger, I've had my heart set on you for a whole year! How could you be so disappointing? You!"

After crying for a while, Zhuang Shu suddenly smiled again.

Hey, why am I crying?
Zhuang Shu, you're so useless.

"Let's go to Aunt's house!" Zhuang Shu said to the driver.

Half an hour later, Zhuang Shu met her aunt. Before she could speak, her aunt said with a mischievous smile, "Fourth Aunt! Do you still remember Feng Menglong, whom I mentioned before?"

Zhuang Shu's heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained calm as she asked without any ripples, "I vaguely remember something, what do you mean?"

"Oh my!" Aunt laughed heartily. "Let me tell you, someone just said that Feng Sheng came out of the examination hall today, looking radiant and full of vigor."

"When his family asked him how the exam went, he said he did very well, and he even guessed the Four Books correctly. He was very confident."

"Fourth Sister, he's a child prodigy, and his appearance is impeccable. He has a very good chance of passing this imperial examination. Moreover, the Feng family is a prominent family in Suzhou... You previously favored that Zhu Yin, but he's orphaned and has no family background. What's so good about him? He's unreliable."

Zhuang Shu lowered her head, "I will leave everything to Aunt's decision."

Aunt smiled and said, "Good! That's right."

……

Just as Zhuang Shu went to her aunt's house, Zhu Yin from Gongyuan Street ran into Hao Yunlai.

Hao Yunlai stood tall and straight, looking pale and thin, though his expression was haggard, he was full of energy.

It's obvious that he did very well on the exam.

"Husband!" A slender, one-eyed woman squeezed out from the crowd and waved to Hao Yunlai.

Although she was blind in one eye, it was still possible to tell that she had been a beautiful woman before.

"My lady, you've kept me waiting!" Hao Yunlai said with a smile, taking the bundle from the one-eyed woman's hands. "I'm perfectly fine, my lady, don't worry, let's go home!"

The one-eyed woman's remaining eye was filled with tears, clearly showing her heartache for her husband.

Just as Hao Yunlai was about to leave with his wife, he saw Zhu Yin.

"Zhu Zhihu!" Hao Yunlai chuckled. "How did you do on the exam? As the head of the Xuan Society and a child prodigy from Nanyong, you should be able to pass with flying colors this time, right?"

Zhu Yin shook his head: "Who dares to say that? I'm not that confident. You, on the other hand, seem like you could pass the high school entrance exam."

Hao Yunlai was extremely confident this time. For some reason, he seemed to have divine assistance during the exam.

He knew very well that he had at least an 80% chance of winning this time!

Hao Yunlai looked up at the sky and said, "Zhu Zhihu, if there is any justice in the heavens, I should have won this time. Unless, He is blind..."

When the word "blind" was mentioned, he suddenly stopped, as if the word was taboo to him.

"Husband, who is this young master...?" The one-eyed woman quickly tried to smooth things over when she saw that the two were not getting along.

Hao Yunlai was very patient with his wife and said gently, "This is Zhu Yin, also known as Zhu Zhihu, my junior from Nanyong. He's a child prodigy, haha."

The tone was extremely sarcastic.

Madam Hao bowed respectfully and said, "This humble servant greets Uncle, may you have many blessings."

Zhu Yin cupped his hands and said, "I greet you, sister-in-law."

According to custom, a senior's wife should call her husband's junior "uncle".

Hao Yunlai chuckled, "Zhu Zhihu, the 28th of this month happens to be my birthday. I would like to invite you to have a drink with me on that day. Would you be willing to do me the honor?"

He invited Zhu Yin, of course, so that Zhu Yin could personally see the good news about his high school graduation and deliver it to his Hao family.

This would make Zhu Yin regret rejecting her in the first place. Rejecting her was such a huge mistake.

Zhu Yin smiled and said, "Fine. We're free that day anyway, let's go have a drink."

After Hao Yunlai left, Mo Shao and the others couldn't help but sneer, "What a petty person who becomes arrogant when he gets ahead. The results haven't even been released yet, and look how smug he is."

However, they could also see that Hao Yunlai was full of momentum and seemed to be very confident.

Zhu Yin took out the beautiful snake Ah Jin from his sleeve, stroking it as he laughed, "He was able to hit her; that's his skill."

When Ning Qingchen saw the snake, her eyes widened instantly, and she exclaimed in her childish voice, "Little tiger! Give it to me!"

.........

The news spread quickly.

Zhu Yin is a child prodigy from Nanjing University, and he has received a lot of attention.

After all, if he passed the imperial examination, he would be the youngest scholar to pass the provincial examination since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

His results have attracted the attention of many people.

Soon, rumors spread like wildfire that Zhu Yin was in low spirits after the exam and had not done well.

Everyone says Zhu Yin lacks confidence.

Sure enough, he failed the exam!
That's right.

That's more like it!

Otherwise, if an eleven-year-old were to become a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, many people would be utterly humiliated.

Many people will be unhappy about this.

Upon hearing this news, Zhuang Tingjian sighed softly, his heart heavy.

Tian Yi was also in a bad mood when he heard this.

Madam Ning, the wife of Tian, ​​even went to the Buddhist hall to chant Buddhist prayers, hoping that Zhu Yin would pass the examination.

For a time, apart from members of the Propaganda Society and a few others, the general public opinion in Nanjing was pessimistic about Zhu Yin!
P.S.: Goodnight, thank you. Regarding Mao Wenlong and Feng Menglong, some will definitely say it's too much of a coincidence. But this is just a novel, and the two dragons are just a plot device. Don't take it too seriously, just think of it as the butterfly effect, haha… Please vote and leave a review!
(End of this chapter)