Started as a thatched house and ended up as a female figure

The violent storm that lasted all night finally died down before dawn, leaving behind only a devastating mess.

On the morning of the ninth day of August, the sky was gray and the air was filled with dirt, rotten wood, and lingering dampness and coldness.

The Imperial Examination Hall looked as if it had been washed by water and trampled upon roughly. The bluestone road was muddy, the earthen walls of the houses were mottled with water marks, and the eaves were still dripping with raindrops rolling down from the roof.

Cheng Wan opened his eyes on the "bed" made of number plates, moved his body, and immediately felt his limbs stiff and numb.

The rain last night came too suddenly and too hard. Although Cheng Wan reacted quickly and used stones to hold down the oilcloth "door curtain", thus avoiding the fate of the cell being completely soaked, the rain and cold air that seeped in through the gaps still kept Cheng Wan awake almost all night.

Cheng Wan sat up and moved her neck, and then she heard a slight clicking sound from the bones.

"Ugh!"

Cheng Wan sighed and rubbed his face hard, then put away the quilt and rolled up the "door curtain".

Looking around, Cheng Wan did not see Jiang Shidu and the others who were her friends. Instead, she saw the entire Imperial Examination Hall filled with a sickly and dead silence.

In stark contrast to the nervous yet energetic atmosphere yesterday before the exam, at this moment in the Imperial Examination Hall, coughs were heard one after another and the air was so dull that it was almost stagnant.

The sounds of sneezing, blowing noses, and suppressed groans were heard constantly.

Most of the candidates had dark circles under their eyes, their faces were pale or sallow, their expressions were listless, and their eyes were dull.

The cold wind and highly tense emotions throughout the night had a huge negative impact on many candidates.

Cheng Wan took a deep breath of the musty cold air, and his brain became more alert.

Thanks to his unique physical foundation, although Cheng Wan was exhausted, his spirits were much better than most people around him.

As for Jiang Shidu and the others who were not nearby, Cheng Wan could only wish them all the best in his heart.

Before the time for distributing the papers had arrived, Cheng Wan lowered the "door curtain" again, used the plug-in to clean himself briefly, and filled his stomach at the same time.

"Jinjin?"

"Master, don't worry, everything is normal."

Cheng Wan and Jin Jin have developed enough tacit understanding. Without Cheng Wan saying too much, Jin Jin understood that Cheng Wan was asking if anyone was paying special attention to what was happening here.

well.

After taking good care of his body, Cheng Wan began to make final preparations for the exam in an orderly manner...

At the end of the Mao hour, three dull drum beats were heard from deep within the Imperial Examination Hall.

"Hand out the curlers——!"

The patrol officer's sharp voice pierced through the sickly alley like a death horn.

The candidates struggled to sit up straight as if they were whipped.

The officials lined up and distributed the thick test papers, draft papers and answer sheets with questions written on them to the gates of each room in turn with expressionless faces.

When the heavy stack of rolled papers and question paper with a faint scent of ink was handed to Cheng Wan, his spirit suddenly perked up.

At this moment, Cheng Wan forced all the fatigue, coldness, and annoying coughs around him to the bottom of his consciousness.

Cheng Wan solemnly placed the test paper on the clean table and unfolded the question paper.

The first section of the provincial examination was on the interpretation of classics.

A dense array of questions came into view, with sentences extracted from the Four Books and Five Classics, requiring students to explain the meaning and quote from classics.

This is the toughest battle that tests basic skills and accumulation.

Cheng Wan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, there was only calmness and concentration in his eyes.

She picked up the brush, dipped it in Hui ink, licked the brush repeatedly on the slightly damp inkstone, and then put pen to paper.

The tip of the pen slid across the paper, making a rustling sound, which seemed particularly clear and firm against the background sound dominated by coughing.

Time flows at the tip of the pen, and the sun rises higher and higher, but it cannot dispel the cold and dampness deep in the Gongyuan.

The coughing sounds in the alley did not subside, but instead became more intense and anxious due to the candidates' fatigue and anxiety.

Cheng Wan, who was fully concentrating on answering the questions, was unaware that some candidates had already been escorted out of the examination room by the officials due to health reasons and could not hold on any longer.

I am under a lot of pressure due to exams and I don’t have the time or energy to cook for myself.

When you are hungry, eat a few bites of hard biscuits; when you are thirsty, drink a sip of cold water.

Cheng Wan tore open a bag of ginger soup prepared by Wang and chewed the ginger slices inside. The spicy taste rushed straight into his nose, and the effect of refreshing the mind was first-class.

As the sun sets and the moon rises, the flickering candlelight in the cell lights up again.

The light illuminated Cheng Wan's quiet profile, as well as the figures of the examinees in other rooms, some with frowns on their faces, some scratching their heads, or some working furiously at their desks.

The night was even colder than last night, but the determined fire of victory in Cheng Wan's heart kept her going through this long second night.

On August 10, when the sound of the gong "Dang! Dang! Dang!" announcing the end of the first exam resounded throughout the Imperial Examination Hall, many candidates almost collapsed on their stools, as if they had lost all the strength to stand up.

Cheng Wan put down his pen and let out a long sigh.

This breath seemed to have accumulated all the fatigue of three days and two nights, with a strong sense of weariness.

Cheng Wan rubbed his neck, which was sore and stiff from looking down for too long, and moved his almost frozen fingers while looking down at his paper.

The ink has dried and the handwriting is neat and clear.

Cheng Wan pursed his lips tightly.

She had tried her best.

Be worthy of yourself.

He is worthy of the title of "Master" Gu Yan.

Cheng Wan, like many other examinees who had persisted here, quietly waited for his examination paper to be sealed and put away by the official, until the inspector shouted: "The first examination is over, leave the Imperial College!"

Only then did Cheng Wan patiently and carefully pack up his pens and ink, and put the remaining food, hand warmers, and water bags back into the examination basket one by one.

Cheng Wan carried the examination basket, which did not change much in weight, and slowly moved with the crowd, walking out of the narrow alley.

While walking, I saw that almost all the candidates were in the same state.

His face looked haggard, his eye sockets were sunken, and his steps were unsteady, as if he had just experienced a serious illness.

After passing through many courtyards, the heavy vermilion lacquered gate finally appeared before our eyes again.

The moment the door opened, light from the outside world poured in, making it difficult for people to open their eyes.

Cheng Wan subconsciously raised his hand to cover his eyes, but his eyes eagerly looked in one direction over the crowd of people.

Gu Yan's figure stood out in the crowd, his eyes penetrated the crowd and locked onto her accurately.

Old Mrs. Lin, Mrs. Wang... familiar figures were all there.

Cheng Wan clearly saw that when Old Lady Lin and the others saw her, there was a look of relief on their faces.

Cheng Wan quickened his pace, squeezed out of the crowd, and walked towards where Gu Yan and others were.

The nerves that had been tense for three days suddenly relaxed, and a huge feeling of fatigue swept over the body like a tide.

Cheng Wan just wanted to walk over to them quickly, sit down, and then have a sip of hot soup.

After three days and two nights, she had survived the first and most difficult stage.