Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 81 Let's work hard with blessings!
The day before the county examination, the county school gave all students a holiday.

Those with homes in Hejiang County can go home, while those without can go out to relax or do their final review in the school.

"Speech delay?"

Looking at the shadows outside the window, Lu Beigu raised his neck to relieve the strain on his cervical spine and shouted.

"Why don't you come in?"

Lu Yuchi squeezed her head through the crack in the door, tilting her head to stare at him.

"Uncle, Mom said she has an important exam tomorrow and won't let me into your room to disturb you!"

"So you don't count as entering the door like this?" Lu Beigu said, both amused and exasperated.

"Ok?"

Lu Yuchi shrank her head back even further, as if that would mean she wasn't really inside, but then she thought that if she did that she wouldn't be able to see Lu Beigu anymore.

"Come in, tell me what you need to say."

Lu Beigu stood up from his desk and opened the door, but Lu Yuchi still kept her hands behind her back and refused to come in.

"It's nothing serious~"

Lu Yuchi suddenly reached out from behind and picked a crabapple blossom from somewhere.

Sichuan is one of the places of origin of crabapple, with Jiaozhou being the most famous. Luzhou is also widely planted. In the Song Dynasty, this flower was known as the "fairy among flowers", and literary gatherings often used crabapple as a theme.

"I heard from the old monks in the temple that if a scholar does well in the exam, he can meet the emperor. The emperor will then choose the most handsome one to parade through the streets with flowers in his hair. I think my uncle is the most handsome one! And I'm sure my uncle will pass the exam, so I'm giving him a flower to wear in his hair!"

The custom of "wearing flowers in the streets" originated in the early Tang Dynasty. According to Li Nao's "Qinzhong Suishi Ji" (Records of Seasonal Customs in Qinzhong) from the Tang Dynasty, after the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) passed the examinations, a "Xingyuan Banquet" would be held in Qujiang. Two young and handsome Jinshi would be selected as "Tanhua Shi" (Flower-Picking Envoys), whose duty was to ride horses to tour famous gardens in Chang'an and pick fresh flowers to add to the festive atmosphere of the banquet.

As for "Tanhua" specifically referring to the third place in the palace examination, that was something that happened at the turn of the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties. Starting with Emperor Huizong of Song, it gradually became a fixed system in the Southern Song Dynasty. Tanhua, Zhuangyuan, and Bangyan were collectively known as the "Three Top Scholars".

In the Song Dynasty today, the "third-place scholar" was still chosen based on his handsome appearance, regardless of his ranking in the imperial examination.

Looking at Lu Yuchi's serious expression, Lu Beigu couldn't help but laugh out loud. He reached out and ruffled her hair, saying, "Alright, then I'll accept this flower. I hope Yuchi will grant me good wishes."

When Lu Yuchi saw him accept the flowers, her eyes lit up, and she waved to the side.

When Lu Yanxi, who was hiding around the corner, saw his sister calling him, he quickly ran over and mysteriously pulled out something wrapped in oil paper from his pocket: "And this!"

"What is this?"

Lu Beigu took it, opened it, and found it was a sesame candy cake, still warm.

"We bought it secretly! Because Mom said that Uncle needs sweets so his brain works faster!"

Lu Yanxi solemnly repeated her mother's words, adding, "But I was afraid it would get cold, so I kept it warm in my bosom."

Lu Beigu felt a warmth in his heart. He took a bite of the sugar cake in front of them, and the sweet aroma melted in his mouth.

Lu Yanxi was very satisfied to see that he had eaten.

But Lu Yanxi seemed to be craving the taste of the sweet cakes, secretly licking her lips, still standing at the door and refusing to come in, just looking at him expectantly: "Uncle, you'll definitely do well on the test tomorrow, right?"

Lu Beigu paused, put down the sugar cake, and said earnestly, "I will do my best." "Then can we go to the county school to wait for Uncle tomorrow?" Lu Yuchi asked expectantly.

Lu Beigu wanted to refuse, but seeing the hope in the eyes of the two children, he couldn't bear it and nodded, saying, "Okay, but you have to stay with your mother and not run around."

"it is good!"

Lu Yanxi jumped up happily, then seemed to remember something and lowered her voice, "Uncle, I heard that the county exam takes a whole day. Will you be hungry? I'll secretly bring you some food."

Lu Beigu chuckled: "No food is allowed in the examination room. If you are caught, you will be disqualified."

The reason for this rule is not to prevent people from eating noisily and disturbing other test takers, but to prevent the smuggling of cheat sheets.
Although the county examination was not a formal imperial examination in nature, but rather a selection examination within the county school to select people to enter the prefectural school for further study, it was actually the first major test for the vast majority of scholars as they embarked on the path of the imperial examination.

Therefore, the county examination was different from the regular county school tests on classical texts, calligraphy, policy essays, and poetry.

The county-level examination adopted a strict single-person, single-room examination booth system, prohibiting any communication between candidates and eliminating all possibilities of cheating.

Before entering, a thorough body search was conducted. The writing brushes, ink, paper, and lunch used for the exam were all provided by the county school.

If you need to relieve yourself, there is a toilet under the seat in the single examination room. Many people cannot accept sitting on it to answer questions, so they generally choose to fast and abstain from water before the exam, only eating sweets and dried meat, and at most a few bites of steamed buns or sesame cakes at noon, and thus get through the whole day.

As for anonymizing and transcribing, it goes without saying that the process was exactly the same as the imperial examination. No matter who it was, when the exam paper appeared in front of the examiners, there was no special treatment.

This rule is an insurmountable barrier for county schools.

Generally speaking, no one would cheat or bribe the examiners in the county examination.

The reason is simple: the county examination is held once a year, and people can take it every year. Generally speaking, four or five people from Hejiang County School pass the provincial examination every year. Even if they pass the county examination and pass the provincial examination, they usually need to spend seven or eight years to develop the ability to take the provincial examination.

So for county school students who have a chance to get into state schools, if they don't get in this year, they can try again next year. The time cost isn't that high, and even if they get into state schools, they'll probably still have to endure it anyway, so there's not much difference between getting in a year earlier or a year later.

If someone is caught engaging in underhanded tactics, the consequence is expulsion from the county school, which is not just a matter of one year, but a matter of a lifetime.

The risks and rewards are completely disproportionate. Unless it's worth taking the risk, nobody usually does it; everyone just takes the exam honestly.

"Huh?" Lu Yanxi frowned, looking worried. "What should we do? Should I secretly throw it in?"

"Don't be silly!" Lu Beigu said, both amused and exasperated, and pinched his cheek. "Don't worry, I won't go hungry. Just wait patiently."

Lu Yanxi nodded, and her sister pulled her away reluctantly.

Before leaving, Lu Yuchi turned back and called out, "Uncle, remember to wear flowers!"

Lu Beigu smiled and nodded, closed the door, and sat back down at his desk.

He looked down at the pink and white crabapple blossoms in his hand.

"Let's work hard with blessings in mind!" he thought to himself.

Afterwards, Lu Beigu gently tucked the flower between the pages of the book, then took a deep breath, picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and continued preparing for the possible exam questions for tomorrow.

Outside the window, the sun gradually set, and the streets of Hejiang County gradually quieted down, with only the occasional sound of the night watchman's clapper.

Tomorrow is the county examination.

(End of this chapter)