Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 11 Rushing to the Examination Hall
Maochu.

The waning moon had not yet set when the east was already bright.

The bamboo blinds of Langhuan Pavilion were tinged with a hazy gray-glossy light. Jiang Xingzhou had already put on his long robe and was sitting upright by the east window, preparing ink.

On the desk lay half a piece of ink, a worn-out wolf-hair brush, and a few slightly old stationery items, which looked particularly cold and desolate in the dim morning light.

Jiang Xingzhou put the lid on the inkstone and inkstone that he had prepared in advance.

In addition, there are three [Hundred Threads Pills] that can quickly restore talent.

He carried a [Bow Shadow Cup] artifact with him, which already contained fifty strands of talent energy. In this way, he, Meng Sheng, would have one hundred and fifty strands of talent energy at his disposal.

He then placed various stationery items into the examination basket, preparing to take them to the Jiangyin County Academy of Literature for the examination.

"Brother Jiang!"

A short while later, the sound of footsteps came from outside the door, and the Xue brothers arrived together.

Xue Fu entered the study, gently waving his folding fan, and chatted casually with Jiang Xingzhou. The two brothers were still young, so they decided to try their luck this year. If they succeeded, great; if not, it wouldn't matter.

Unlike the young Jiang Xingzhou standing before the desk, whose back was as straight as a pine tree and whose expression was solemn.

"Greetings, Young Master Jiang! Greetings, both young masters!"

Suddenly the curtain was lifted, and Chun Tao laboriously carried a gilded rosewood examination box as she stepped inside.

The copper-clad corners of the box gleamed coldly; it weighed several tens of kilograms. When it landed heavily on the table, it caused the ink in the inkstone to ripple slightly.

Unlock the gilded clasp, and you'll find a dazzling array of treasures inside:
A whole stack of "Chengxintang" paper, gleaming with a moon-white halo, made by the imperial court, its color like solidified frost, smooth and thin—this was a tribute bestowed upon the Duke of Xue's mansion by the Empress last year.

A blue [Qilin brush] gleams with a cold, jade-like light, and the delicate seal of "Xue Lingqi" is engraved between the reverse scale patterns. The sable tail and wolf hair seem to be covered with frost and snow from the far north.

A [Black Dragon Spitting Pearl Inkstone], with a deep inkwell, carved with a dragon's head holding a pearl, and faint blood-red stains. The inkstone is the size of a palm, yet it weighs surprisingly several tens of kilograms.

A brand new [pine soot ink stick], wrapped in a lightly scented silk, with wisps of sandalwood fragrance emanating from the brocade box.

On the top layer lay a gilded name card for a student going to take the imperial examination. The ink on the gold-flecked paper, which read "Jiangyin County, Jiangxingzhou," was still wet, and the peony pattern was dotted with vermilion.

Chun Tao pointed to a lacquered gold food box, looked towards Jiang Xingzhou, and said with a smile, "Young master, all of this is for you. The young lady specifically instructed that this crab roe pastry should be eaten while it's still warm."

Xue Fu leaned over and glanced at the sandalwood examination box that Chun Tao had brought. His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Isn't this the Qilin pen that my eldest sister loves the most!"

"And that Black Dragon Spitting Pearl Inkstone in Dad's study... my sister actually dared to take it out and use it?!"

"Chuntao, why doesn't my sister prepare a set of such exquisite and luxurious literary treasures for us too?"

Xue Gui wanted to touch the black dragon spitting pearl inkstone.

But his elder brother slapped his hand with his folding fan and scolded him, "Don't touch it! Last year when I asked for this Xuanjiao inkstone to practice calligraphy, Father said that if I broke the inkstone, he would cut off my monthly allowance!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Gui's face showed fear, and he immediately withdrew his hand.

If he accidentally breaks the Xuanjiao Spitting Pearl Inkstone, he will probably be forced to kneel in the ancestral hall until his legs swell up like lotus roots.

"Aren't the two young masters' examination boxes prepared by their respective servants? As for the literary treasures in the master's study, you may take them if you wish!"

Chuntao joked.

"I wouldn't dare!"

When Xue Gui thought of his father's imposing presence, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and shook like rattles.

If Dad knew he dared to go into the study and rummage through Wenbao, he'd give him a good spanking.

Apart from the eldest sister Xue Lingqi, who in the Xue family dares to touch anything in the old man's study!

"Spring Peach."

Jiang Xingzhou felt that this set of examination tools was too valuable and was about to decline.

"The young lady said that for this county examination, the young masters of the Cao, Lu, and Li families of Jiangyin County will be taking the exam, and the examiners will be famous scholars from Jiangyin."

Young Master Jiang was studying at the Xue residence, and the paint on his wolf-hair brush had peeled off.

"Once he enters the county academy, who knows what people will say behind his back about our Duke Xue's mansion, how they mistreat our young master!"

Chun Tao pouted and said, "Does the young master know that the storytellers in the teahouses in the east of the city love to create stories about how noble families mistreat poor scholars!"

Jiang Xingzhou immediately stopped at the mountain pass and said no more.

The head of the Xue family and his mother are in Jiangzhou Prefecture. Now, the eldest daughter of the Xue family in Jiangyin is in charge and takes good care of him.

If he were to refuse again, it would damage the reputation of the Xue family and make him appear insensible.

The lingering fog had not yet dissipated.

On the street, the Xue family's carriage crunched over the thin ice as it arrived at the county academy.

Two bronze cranes, each holding a sundial, guard the left and right sides of the Dragon Gate of the County Academy.

Jiang Xingzhou lifted the curtain and saw, through the cold mist, a crowd of people had already gathered in front of the jade steps of the county academy's Dragon Gate—the jade steps were now splattered with ink by the dark mass of Meng Sheng.

Even the corners of the courtyard walls were filled with relatives who had come to see the examinees off, their clothes piled one after another, creating a very lively scene.

"Make way! The carriages of the Duke of Xue's mansion don't know what's good for them!"

Xue Gui leaned half his body out of the carriage window, shouting loudly, and the jade pendant jingled against the carriage wall.

The crowded people suddenly parted like a tide cleaved by a silver spear, revealing the rising smoke from the sacrificial offerings on the altar before the jade steps.

Suddenly, a green horse belonging to someone neighed in alarm, kicking over the inkstone that a page was holding. The ink spilled onto the snow, staining the ground, and was instantly trampled into mud by countless satin boots.

The pageboy, clutching the broken inkstone to his chest, cried out in terror, amidst a cacophony of shouts and curses. Amidst the commotion...

Jiang Xingzhou and the Xue brothers got off the carriage carrying gilded examination boxes.

Beside the stone steps where the Xue family's carriage was parked, some young students sat, holding the "Thousand Character Classic" and reciting it aloud, cramming for the exam.

"May Heaven and Earth, and the Sage, protect us!"

Before the altar, an elderly man with white hair, wearing a faded crimson robe, lit yellow incense and ordered people to place the sacrificial offerings of three kinds of animals on the altar.

The cold pig's head on the offering plate had a bluish-white tinge, while the carp was now floating on its pale white belly.

The old man, his hands calloused, held three incense sticks and prayed to the plaque above the county academy that read "Selection of Scholars through Classical Learning."

He had taken the imperial examinations for fifty years without success. With clouded eyes, he could only plead and hope that this year he could guess the questions set by the examiners.

The incense smoke, mingled with the crispness of the morning dew, billowed into wisps of smoke, filling the air with the pungent scent of agarwood.

The agarwood, mixed with the fishy smell of cold pork, pierced Jiang Xingzhou's throat, causing him to cover his sleeve and cough.

"If that stubborn old Zhang can pass the exam, it must be incredibly lucky!"

Chun Tao held the examination box containing Jiang Xingzhou's accumulated incense, brushed her sleeve to block the smell of incense, and looked on with disdain.

"Do you recognize this old man?"

Jiang Xingzhou said in astonishment.

The crowd before me stretched endlessly, numbering well over a thousand!
“Young master, I am very familiar with the customs and ways of the people in Jiangyin County! I can name most of the thousands of Meng students in front of me.”

Chun Tao's eyes burned with gossip, and she lowered her voice to say, "This old man is the father of Chef Zhang from the south of the city, and he is over seventy-two years old."

The year he first took the imperial examination, the sycamore tree in front of the county academy was only about the thickness of a bowl. Now it's wider than a waist, and he's a notorious holdout in the Jiangyin County imperial examinations!

Every time Butcher Zhang comes to the Xue family to deliver pig offal, he complains about his father.

Last year, at the eldest daughter's coming-of-age banquet, this old man wanted to study at the Xue family's private school and become a disciple of Master Pei. He insisted on stuffing his copy of "Exhortation to Learning" into our Xue family's congratulatory gift, but it was thrown into the stove by the kitchen staff as if it were oiled paper for wrapping meat. He doesn't even know his own family background, yet he dares to dream of entering the Xue family's private school!

Jiang Xingzhou looked up again at the old man's hunched figure burning incense and felt extremely sorry for him.

Amidst the clamor of the Mongolian crowd,
Suddenly, a gust of wind swept up locust blossoms.

"The county examination is just around the corner, and you're still reciting poems and books, burning incense and praying for enlightenment, trying to find a way to succeed at the last minute. What's the use?!"

Cao An chuckled softly, his head held high and chest puffed out, a jade belt gleaming at his waist. He walked through the fragrant snow, crushing the fallen locust petals in his cloud-patterned boots.

"Cao An! The Cao family's ancestral art of 'Zhegui Wenshu' (literary arts of passing the imperial examinations) has ensured that generations of descendants have passed the examinations with ease. The legacy of five generations of successors is something we, from humble backgrounds, can never match!"

"Fifty years of sitting idly before the incense table are not as valuable as half a copy of Cao's 'Plucking the Laurel' that brings good fortune!"

The surrounding students parted to make way for them, their expressions filled with envy.

Born into the prestigious Cao family, he possessed an illustrious background. He was exceptionally handsome and a genius in both literature and martial arts.

How can one not be envious!
"Hoo~!"

Suddenly, another sound of snow waves crashing through the air fell from the clouds, startling everyone who turned around.

Suddenly, Lu Ming, the heir of the Lu family, dressed in a plain white robe with wide sleeves and carrying the scent of ink, stood with his hands behind his back in mid-air, stepping on a square cloud of plain white, and flew to the examination hall of the county academy.

"Brother Lu has arrived! This is a 'Poetic Cloud' formed by the art of poetry! It's far superior to the simple character 'cloud'!"

Immediately, all the students were filled with envy.

at this time,

The palanquin carrying Li Sanlang, Li Yunxiao, the son of the county magistrate, rolled over the mess on the ground and arrived at the examination hall. Seeing Cao An and Lu Ming, who were riding high, a cold smile appeared on his lips, and his eyes were filled with coldness.

These two were his formidable rivals in the competition for the top spot in the imperial examination, so he naturally disliked them.

Amidst the crowd, at the outer corner of the county academy's wall.

Gu Zhimian shook the snowflakes off his shoulders, revealing a few ink stains on the cuffs of his bamboo-patterned robe—ink marks left from copying articles last night.

He clutched the oil-paper packet in his palm, its sweet osmanthus sugar seeping out, and wolfed it down. He stood beneath the swastika-patterned window in the veranda, looking around.

Suddenly, laughter erupted from the corridor not far away. Several纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy families who are spoiled and dissolute) scholars were using jeweled daggers to shave off specially made "状元糕" (a type of cake for top scholars), hoping for a good omen.

Three zhang away, Jiang Xingzhou and the Xue brothers were standing under the "Zai Ming Ming De" plaque of the county academy, waiting for the academy to open its doors.

Brother Jiang!

Gu Zhimian saw Jiang Xingzhou and quickly walked over, smiling as he pressed the examination box on his back against the carved peony pillar and said in a low voice.

In Xuefu Private School, a top-tier academy filled with sons of noble families, Jiang Xingzhou and a handful of others were fellow scholars from humble backgrounds.

"Brother Gu has arrived. How are your preparations going?"

Jiang Xingzhou turned around and saw that it was Gu Zhimian, and couldn't help but smile.

"good!
It's not difficult to rank among the top thirty candidates in this county examination; the real challenge is to secure a place in the top five!

"Brother Jiang, have you seen the essays of the chief examiner, Cai Xuezheng?"

"That's not true!"

Last night, I studied Cai Xuezheng's essays from when he took the imperial examinations for the positions of Tongsheng, Xiucai, and Juren, and spent the whole night trying to predict the exam questions.
Cai Gong was extremely skilled in agricultural knowledge!

If, by some stroke of luck, I manage to guess correctly, I might have a 70-80% chance of passing the imperial examination and becoming one of the top ten candidates!

Gu Zhimian's eyes were still bloodshot from staying up all night, but he was filled with excitement.

(End of this chapter)