Great Zhou Wensheng

Chapter 18 The Literati
Examination Room No. 1, Class A.

The pine planks exuded the dampness accumulated from last night's rain and snow.

Li Yunxiao was furious, his knuckles were clenched so tightly that he almost broke the pen in his hand.

He didn't sleep a wink last night, spending the entire night poring over the books in the Li family's study, quoting classical texts to answer the questions, doing everything he could.

He believed he had done his best, pouring everything he could write and answer onto the exam paper.

However, the result of the first exam was like a heavy hammer blow to his face—he actually lost to Jiang Xingzhou!

Angry!
Li Yunxiao's chest heaved violently, his eyes burning with resentment and anger.

He couldn't accept this fact, let alone that Jiang Xingzhou had actually achieved the top grade in the assessment.

"Could it be that Jiang Xingzhou's talent in literature far surpasses mine?"

He gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, then shook his head violently, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! He was just lucky!"

Li Yunxiao's face turned ashen, his heart filled with resentment and doubt.

He was well-versed in literature from a young age, possessed exceptional talent, and was one of the most outstanding scions of prominent families in Jiangyin County.

The future glory of the Li family of Jiangyin depended entirely on him.

How could he possibly lose to a poor scholar, let alone Jiang Xingzhou, who usually keeps a low profile!

Just then, a steady footstep sound came from outside the examination room, and the sound of black boots rolling over the floor tiles could be clearly heard.

"Young Master Li? The exam has begun!"

The figure of Zheng Shuqian, the invigilator, appeared at the entrance of the examination hall. He suddenly struck the fence of the examination hall with his ruler, his gaze cold and stern as he swept over Li Sanlang, whose face was ashen inside the examination hall.

If a candidate loses their composure, it can easily affect their subsequent exam performance.

He lost his composure!

Li Yunxiao suddenly woke up and realized that he had lost control of his emotions because of Jiang Xingzhou.

He glanced gratefully at Instructor Zheng Shuqian, took a deep breath, quickly suppressed the anger on his face, and lowered his head to organize the exam papers.

calm down!

"We absolutely cannot let Jiang Xingzhou take first place again!"

The image of Jiang Xingzhou's usual indifferent face flashed through Li Yunxiao's mind, and a strong sense of crisis surged in his heart.

If Jiang Xingzhou wins first place again in the second exam, then it will be almost certain that he will lose the top spot in the preliminary examination.

We must use our best skills.

Li Yunxiao glanced outside the examination room; the instructor, Zheng Shuqian, had already gone far away. He then took out a wolf-hair brush holder from the examination box and carefully removed the cap.

The moment the cap was unscrewed, a sweet, amber scent mixed with the aroma of paper worms wafted out—this was a specially made pen holder he used to raise paper worms with aged honey.

A fat, swollen bookworm was poured out of the tube.

"puff!"

The plump cricket fell onto the gold-flecked paper, its eight pairs of wing membranes still stained with a little amber-colored honey.

The insect was pure white, like jade, with compound eyes that gleamed with a pale golden light. It was lazily kicking its hind legs, with half a half-chewed page of the Book of Songs still stuck to its mouth.

The examination rules of the Great Zhou Dynasty only stated that cheat sheets were not allowed, but they did not say that paper insects were not allowed.

Even if the officials find out, they can just say it's a woodworm that naturally grows inside the penholder, and it won't cause any harm.

He's skirting the line.

The bookworm was fast asleep when it was suddenly awakened by its master. It blinked its eight pairs of transparent wings in a daze, raising tiny golden dust.

Li Yunxiao couldn't help but smile smugly.

【Literary Insects and Bookworms】

Name: Bookworm.

Appearance: The whole body is as white as jade, the hundred legs are like miniature seal carving knives, there are eight pairs of transparent wing membranes on the back, and the compound eyes are in the shape of seal script.

Origin: A bookworm that had been rotting in the Li family library for ten years, inspired by the talent of its annotations on classic texts, became a spirit insect.

talent:

"Three times the leather bindings break"—each time the same classic text is consumed three times, the host can automatically master the state of "reciting it backwards and forwards fluently." "Transformation of Literary Essence"—devouring bamboo slips allows one to extract the "essence of literature." "Gnawing on Xuan paper" allows one to condense "the essence of talent and spirit."

Note: One must drink three drops of undiluted pine soot ink and half a page of a book daily. Upon encountering annotations in cinnabar by a great scholar, one will fall into a state of frenzied obsession, completely absorbed and unable to extricate oneself.

He went to great lengths to raise this little creature.

It requires one's own talent, and even some precious antiques, bamboo slips, and scrolls to feed it, which is quite expensive.

Only the Li family is so rich and powerful!
Ordinary poor families cannot afford to raise children like this.

"Du'er, take some of your Wenjing! Give it to me now!"

Li Yunxiao said in a low voice.

The bookworm, with its bewildered compound eyes, lazily crawled on the table, pretending to be stupid and staring blankly out of the examination room, as if it hadn't heard its master's words.

Li Yunxiao was immediately enraged and flicked its rear end with his finger.

The bookworm, wincing in pain, finally bent over with a pained expression and an extremely reluctant posture.

"laugh!"

A tiny crystal, the size of a bean, leaked out.

The crystal landed on the table, its entire body shimmering with an amber glow in the sunlight, its interior seemingly containing thousands of miniature golden seal characters that swirled like swimming fish.

Its round belly immediately shrank.

This is a grain of literary essence that it has nurtured after months of tireless work, turning pages and books.

This is equivalent to its literary and moral cultivation!
It was forcibly taken away by its owner.

In an instant, Wenjing released a fragrance that wafted over!

Li Yunxiao took a deep breath, picked up the crystal, and swallowed it with water. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed the warm crystal.

The moment the crystal entered her throat, the exotic fragrance of beeswax mixed with pine soot ink exploded on her tongue, and the scent of paper bark from flipping through ancient books even wafted between her teeth.

He could even hear the rustling sound of bookworms gnawing on the bamboo slips.

On the desk,

The listless bookworm looked utterly aggrieved.

At this moment, Li Yunxiao felt more refreshed than ever before!
Over the past few months, the bookworm has been able to recite all the classic texts he has read by heart.

Articles flowed through my mind in unison.

His thoughts flowed like a spring, displaying remarkable talent!
Start answering the questions and write a short story about a demon!

"Write about a wolf demon!"
Such low-level demons are very common in Jiangyin County!
Merchants, travelers, and scholars often encounter wolf demons in the desolate mountains and wilderness of Jiangyin County. No one can say I'm making this up!

Li Yunxiao dared not delay. While the effects of Wen Jing were still present, he quickly wrote a short essay of a hundred words.

【The Chapter of Lord Langshan Eating the Moon】
"In the eighth year of Tian Shou, a wolf demon occupied Huangshan Mountain in Jiangyin, spitting out cinnabar and eating the moon. Its howl could shatter the Wen Palace."

The scholar Zhou Wenhuan encountered the enemy at night and summoned the rattan armor guards with the "[every bush and tree looks like an enemy]" spell, leading to a bloody battle that lasted day and night.

When the wolf's corpse was burned, fragments of chainmail were found, inscribed with "Chainmail made in Fanyang in the fourteenth year of Tianbao," suggesting that it was a demon soldier in human form who stole the armor.

Alas! A scholar's three-foot sword, not only for securing the nation, but also for suppressing evil spirits.

"Section A, collect your papers!"

The dull thud of the black boots of the yamen runners from the neighboring examination hall treading on the blue bricks grew closer.

From the adjacent examination rooms on both sides, rustling sounds could be heard, indicating that people were handing in their papers.

"Exceptional performance!"

"It's even better than the short, eerie piece I wrote last night!"

Li Yunxiao wrote a short essay with effortless fluency, then gently flicked his pen and sealed it into the examination bag, feeling immediately satisfied.

"This time, I'm sure I can suppress Jiang Xingzhou's article!"

A sneer appeared on his lips.

(End of this chapter)