vrcanaries Chapter 158 Nonsense! There's no such thing as a women's imperial examination!
Chapter 158 Nonsense! There's no such thing as a women's imperial examination!
The morning mist had not yet dissipated when the crowds in front of the examination hall surged like a tide.
Three thousand scholars in blue robes, carrying examination baskets on their shoulders, lined up in a long queue, waiting for inspection.
The patrolling constables had stern faces as they checked each of the examinees.
Suddenly, a gong rang out, and a stern voice came from the front: "Wang Zongxian, a student from Huizhou, is smuggling!"
Everyone shrank back, only to discover that one of the examinees had hidden a wax ball in his hair, attempting to cheat by concealing it.
The moment the gong rang out, he was forced to kneel on the ground by two bailiffs with his hands tied behind his back.
"My lord, spare my life, my lord, spare your life."
The cheating student turned pale with fright.
But the inspecting bailiffs remained expressionless, directly putting him in shackles and declaring that his family for three generations was prohibited from participating in the imperial examinations.
A wooden yoke was placed over his head, and his hands were also bound.
The examiner punished him by making him parade outside the examination hall until the end of the examination, and then sent him back to his hometown in shackles.
Upon hearing this punishment, many students trembled slightly.
Yu Ningyao, with her sharp eyes, noticed that someone had secretly thrown some things out of the basket.
The group of people who had only meant to see their son off suddenly became tense upon seeing this scene.
Shen Jinzhu only breathed a sigh of relief after Yu Ziheng successfully passed the inspection and entered the examination room.
She clasped her hands together and said, "Heaven help me, please give my son a better cell, and please make sure it's far away from the latrine."
In order to get her son a good position, she went to the temple to burn incense and pray to Buddha yesterday.
Yu Ningyao smiled and comforted her, "Don't worry, Mother. My eldest brother has already been exposed to the atmosphere of the examination room at home, so he can adapt to any situation."
Upon hearing this, Shen Jinzhu laughed and gently flicked the tip of her nose with her finger.
"You little rascal, you're so smart."
In order to ensure that Yu Ziheng could take the exam smoothly.
Yu Kangjing made him take a mock imperial examination every month.
Therefore, when Yu Ziheng actually entered the examination room, he actually relaxed.
He was lucky; he was assigned a spot quite far from the toilet.
He inspected the contents of the box.
His family prepared all of these for him.
I prepared two sets of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, so that I could have replacements if they broke.
In addition, there was hot pot base from my sister, various fried meatballs made by my family, and dried vegetables.
My sister said we could make mala tang (a spicy hot pot dish).
In addition, there are also durable steamed buns, steamed cakes, dried meat, dried dates, almonds, etc., which are wrapped in oil paper to prevent moisture.
Eat the ones that spoil easily first, and save the rest for later.
There are also ginger slices; you can boil them in water to dispel the cold if you catch a chill.
When he entered the examination hall earlier for inspection, he noticed that the officer's lips twitched.
People who don't know him would think he's on a picnic.
There's no way around it; it's all the heavy love from my family.
Besides food, his mother also prepared peppermint and mugwort ointment for him. If he felt sleepy or was bitten by mosquitoes, applying a little would make him feel better.
They brought tinder and oil lamps, everything they needed.
Yu Ziheng carefully checked everything, felt relieved, and waited for the exam to begin.
After all the candidates were seated, the chief examiner read out the imperial edict.
"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"
The purpose of holding imperial examinations is to select truly talented individuals to govern effectively…
After the imperial edict was read aloud, the chief examiner lit three incense sticks, bowed three times to the sky, and then inserted them into the incense burner.
Then eight officials carried out a sandalwood examination question box, and at the announcement of the chief examiner, they opened the box, retrieved the examination papers, and distributed them.
After receiving the test paper, Yu Ziheng focused intently on reading the questions.
He then planned to first draft and write an outline on the scrap paper he had brought, and then copy it onto the exam paper.
The crowd remained silent, with only the sounds of grinding ink and turning over straw paper echoing in the air.
Another day has passed.
Yu Ziheng was busy doing homework at noon and didn't cook the spicy hot pot that his sister had mentioned.
He only ate a few bites of pastry to fill his stomach before finishing the exam in one go.
He had experience with mock exams, so he remained calm and composed.
He was the youngest scholar on the field, yet the most composed.
This prompted Qian Qi, the Hanlin Academy scholar who was in charge of the examination, to take a few more glances at him.
After nightfall, Yu Ziheng stopped writing.
He carefully moved the exam paper aside, lit the charcoal, and prepared to cook spicy hot pot.
The people next to them also took out their dry rations.
At first, no one knew what he was doing, but as he put down the hot pot base, the domineering aroma spread, and everyone felt hungry.
damned!
Whose son is this brat?
This is a serious examination room; how could he possibly tempt them to eat here?
Yu Ziheng was used to the smell and didn't find it particularly strong.
This was particularly tough on the candidates who sat in their cubicles next to the latrines.
The fragrance and the stench were mingling together, and they were on the verge of a breakdown.
Yu Ziheng focused intently on cooking the spicy hot pot according to his sister's instructions.
I put down the meatballs and noodles I had prepared in advance, and waited happily for dinner to be served.
The people around him looked at him with resentment.
Everyone else is eating dry rations, but you're eating so heartily—isn't that just asking for trouble?
Once the spicy hot pot was cooked, Yu Ziheng devoured it with gusto.
This time, even the chief examiner, Qian Qi, couldn't sit still.
He walked up to Yu Ziheng.
"What is this?"
Yu Ziheng hadn't expected to attract the chief examiner as well.
He put down his half-eaten spicy hot pot and replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Your Excellency, this is spicy hot pot. It is a little contraption that my younger sister invented so that students can eat their fill in the examination hall, so that they can have better energy to answer the questions, pass the provincial examination, and serve His Majesty."
There is something right in what you said.
Upon close contact, the fragrance immediately filled my nostrils.
Qian Qi couldn't help but swallow hard.
He said with a stern face, "This dish has too strong a smell and will affect other people's exams. You are not allowed to cook it anymore, or you will be kicked out of the exam room."
"Yes. I know I was wrong." Yu Ziheng immediately nodded in apology, and then handed the unfinished hot pot broth to Qian Qi.
"Is this what you cook it with?" Qian Qi asked, staring at the hot pot base.
“Exactly.” Yu Ziheng nodded.
"Confiscated." Qian Qi took away the remaining hot pot broth.
Yu Ziheng wasn't in a hurry. After eating and drinking his fill and tidying himself up, he began to rest.
He thought that having practiced the exam at home, he was no longer afraid.
But the snoring all around him, and the stench from the other examinee's shoes, kept him awake until midnight.
I finally fell asleep, but was suddenly woken up by a loud crying.
"My test paper! My test paper!"
Yu Ziheng woke up with a start and dared not look around.
Soon, they heard the patrolling officials reminding them to be careful of the oil lamps and tinderboxes.
Earlier, a student fell asleep while writing on the exam paper, and the candle accidentally broke, burning the paper.
After listening, Yu Ziheng secretly reminded himself not to be careless.
……
Even after he entered the examination hall, the Yu family didn't sleep well.
Looking at her anxious mother, Yu Ningyao said helplessly, "Mother, if you look like this, people who don't know you will think you are taking the imperial examination."
"Nonsense, there's no such thing as a women's imperial examination." Shen Jinzhu smiled only after hearing her daughter's voice.
It wasn't just women who participated in scientific expeditions.
There are even women who have served as presidents in modern times.
Yu Ningyao muttered to herself.
But she couldn't say that out loud, so she had to try to distract her mother.