Poor but talented scholar

Chapter 95 The Main Examination Hall

There are only three days left until the college entrance examination begins.

As the official ship of the Yingnan Provincial Education Commissioner docked, the once bustling pier was cleared out.

When the provincial education commissioner entered the city, the entire prefectural city was placed under lockdown.

Soldiers could be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys, patrolling at every intersection.

After nightfall, not only was a curfew imposed, but teahouses and taverns were also ordered to close.

In the inn, the usual grand discussions and lofty pronouncements disappeared.

Lights shone from every room, where thousands of students were reviewing every minute of every day.

Lu Chuan lay on the bed with his hands folded behind his head.

He closed his eyes, his mind filled with the chapters and verses of the Four Books.

"The way of the Great Learning lies in manifesting one's bright virtue..."

"What Heaven ordains is called human nature; to follow this nature is called the Way..."

Every verse was in his mind, and then it transformed into the tormenting "five-character six-line rhyme" or "eight-line rhyme".

He mentally simulated: if a question was asked, which rhyme scheme should be used? How could he use the eight rhymes of a regulated verse to write it with a magnificent and imposing style?

However, what troubled him most, keeping him up at night and unable to eat or sleep, was policy essays.

"The essence lies in the interpretation of the classics, while strategic discussions serve as the application."

He repeatedly went through the scenario in his mind.

If the exam question is about agriculture and sericulture, what should he do?

If it's about reform, what should he do?

Every argument was clashing in my mind, and every word I uttered was carefully chosen.

Faint sobbing could be heard coming from the next room; it was probably a student who couldn't handle the pressure.

Lu Chuan turned over, forcing himself to calm down.

In the darkness before dawn, the long street in front of the Imperial Examination Hall was already illuminated by two rows of red gauze lanterns.

With a loud clang, the two vermilion doors slowly opened.

Lu Chuan, carrying his exam basket, stood in line in the T-shaped queue.

The atmosphere was extremely oppressive; the entire arena was completely silent except for the footsteps of the armored patrolmen.

Lu Chuan placed the examination basket on the stone platform. A military academy officer first took his identification tag, repeatedly examined it against the distinctive number on the roster, and after confirming that it was correct, said, "Remove your clothes and let your hair down."

Lu Chuan opened his arms, letting the two soldiers pat and grope him all over, from his collar to his sleeves and the soles of his socks, examining every part of him meticulously.

Looking at the basketball hoop, it was even more appalling.

The two steamed buns that were prepared were pierced several times with silver needles by the search soldiers to confirm that there were no hidden notes inside.

The piece of cured meat was cut into finger-sized pieces, and even the bottom of the inkstone was turned over and scraped repeatedly.

Even worse, one soldier snatched a student's calligraphy brush and fiddled with it in the gaps between the brush handles.

"past."

With a sharp shout, Lu Chuan quickly dressed, tidied his hair, picked up the exam basket, and strode in.

Lu Chuan found his exam seat according to the number plate; it was located at the end of the corridor.

The room was less than half a meter wide and contained only a detachable wooden board, which served as both a writing desk and a temporary bench for resting.

As dawn broke, the official sedan chair of the provincial education commissioner had already landed at the examination site.

As soon as the chief examiner announced the question, dozens of constables carried large wooden signs with the question written on them and walked around the various examination lanes.

Lu Chuan quickly composed himself, his gaze sharp as a hawk, fixed on the wooden sign.

The first session of the main event consisted of two essays from the Four Books and a five-character, six-line poem for the examination.

Lu Chuan read the question carefully.

The first passage comes from the Analects: "A gentleman wishes to be slow to speak but quick to act."

The second passage comes from Mencius: "The people are the most important, the state is next, and the gentleman regards them with indifference."

The poem used in the examination was titled "On the Spring Breeze Brushing the Ancient Cypress", and it was limited to the eight rhyme schemes of Qi.

Lu Chuan did not rush to put pen to paper.

He first took out a piece of cured meat from the basket, stuffed it into his mouth, and replenished his energy.

His hand paused slightly as he looked at the two familiar titles of the Four Books.

He knew a golden rule in the imperial examinations: the simpler and more straightforward the questions, the more life-or-death the examination room became.

"A gentleman should be slow to speak but quick to act." This saying has been written and quoted countless times by scholars and writers since the beginning of the dynasty.

In this small examination hall, there are probably thousands of candidates writing down the words "words and deeds" at this moment.

If you simply follow the rules and quote classical texts verbatim, you'll only add another grain of sand to the examiner's eye. Aside from being considered average, it will be difficult for you to stand out.

"If I were an academic official, after reading a thousand essays on self-cultivation, I'd probably feel like vomiting by the time I got to the thousand and first one," Lu Chuan muttered to himself. "No, if I were to write about such empty things, I'd be courting death."

He began to ponder: What is silence? Is it being afraid to speak, or disdaining empty talk? What is shrewdness? Is it quickness to take shortcuts, or being down-to-earth?

Lu Chuan opened his eyes, and he had figured out how to write it.

First passage: A gentleman should be slow to speak but quick to act.

The first line Lu Chuan wrote was in dignified and steady handwriting: "The sages encouraged scholars to prioritize personal conduct and be cautious in their speech."

In his article, he wrote: "Words are easy to utter but hard to retract; actions are hard to advance and easy to abandon." He mentioned that the education of a place does not lie in the loud lectures given by officials on the platform, but in whether they can act in difficult times.

When he got to the title of the second essay, his hand stopped in mid-air.

"The people are the most important, the state is next, and the wise man regards them lightly."

This topic is extremely sensitive in the current regime.

He narrowed his focus to a single county.

He wrote: "Governing the world is like controlling water. The people are the water, and the state is the canal. The canal is set up to benefit the water; the ruler's position is to ensure the people's well-being. If the canal is blocked and the water overflows, the state will not survive, let alone the ruler."

Finally, there is the poem "Ode to the Spring Breeze Brushing the Ancient Cypress", which is limited to eight rhymes.

Lu Chuan's strokes moved quickly across the paper; the rules of composition were too easy for him.

Ode to the Spring Breeze Stroking the Ancient Cypress

The eastern suburbs are bathed in the fresh air, with ancient cypress trees reaching for the clouds.

Its bark is tough and has stood the test of time; its dense leaves await the warbling of orioles.

Do not speak of lofty ambitions, but always cherish the memory of being rooted in the soil.

Thunder startled the old trunk, and nature itself reached its highest peak.

As the bells echoed through the examination hall.

As Lu Chuan watched the last bit of ink on the exam paper dry, he checked the number, name, and corresponding information on the name tag at the beginning of the paper one last time.

"Number nineteen, hand in your paper."

As the proctor called out the names, Lu Chuan picked up his exam basket and stood up.

At this stop, a tingling and numb sensation shot through my knees, and I almost lost my balance.

Lu Chuan walked with his head down on the cobblestones.

He saw an elderly man, over fifty years old, staring blankly at his draft, tears dripping onto his inkstone.

He saw a boy on his right who had spilled ink at the last minute and was now slumped on the muddy ground, whimpering.

Stepping out of the examination hall, one is already greeted by a vibrant tapestry of human life.

He glanced at his side out of the corner of his eye.

Just to his left front, two constables were carrying a stretcher past. On the stretcher lay a candidate with gray hair and beard, his face as pale as paper, his eyes closed, and white foam at the corner of his mouth.

"Another one has gone mad..." came a low voice from the side.

Even more extreme, some people collapsed onto the stone steps of the examination hall, tearing at the drafts in their arms while laughing maniacally: "I've solved it! I've cracked it! Haha, sage, save me!"