CHAPTER 170: CHAPTER 4 COUNTY EXAMINATION (2)

By the time daylight fully broke, the test paper and draft sheets were distributed.

Gu Chengyu first carefully examined the exam paper, noticing that it was lined with red lines vertically and horizontally. Two plain sheets of paper were given for drafting, requiring the title and main text to be filled in block letters. Candidates must not write answers outside the sealed lines, and any violation would result in a score of zero.

The entire exam paper was a pasted script exercise. A page from the Four Books was chosen, two sheets of paper covered the text on either side, leaving a line in the middle, with separate paper pasted over to cover the digits, requiring the examinees to fill in the blanks.

Gu Chengyu scanned the questions. One of them was the last paragraph of Chapter Eleven of "University," "There is a great way to generate wealth, and many who generate it..." This was a fill-in-the-gap question, as it would be called in modern times.

Gu Chengyu had memorized the Four Books thoroughly by heart. Upon seeing the question, he didn’t even need to think and could instantly write the answer. However, since the draft paper also had to be submitted to verify handwriting, after scanning the questions, Gu Chengyu had an overall plan in mind.

Pouring cold water into the inkstone, Gu Chengyu began to grind the ink seriously. Grinding the ink is like sharpening a blade; the ink must be ground adequately for the writing to flow smoothly. One cannot write poorly, or the examiner wouldn’t even look at the content before forming a negative impression of the candidate. The most important thing was not to cross out words, as that would be considered cheating. As such, candidates were exceedingly cautious during exams, fearful of making a mistake and losing their qualification.

The examinee across the table saw Gu Chengyu leisurely grinding his ink and sneered. A child is just a child; does he think this is playtime?

First, write your name, place of origin, and the names of your great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents on the test paper, and finally write your seat number. These details would have been filled out when registering at the registration office, where a record of the status of three generations of ancestors and their spouses is required. If adopted, you must also record your biological parents’ three-generation history.

During the initial application, the candidate had to ensure not to impersonate, hide bereavement, substitute, or falsify identities, guaranteeing a clean registry free from criminal records or disqualification. Only then would they be permitted to take the exam, with the list of names kept at the county office. Thus, county examinations were very strict, and the difficulty of impersonation was very high. Also, candidates with a recent death in the immediate family could not sit the exam and would have to wait another three years.

Write the topic and answer on the draft paper first, then copy everything onto the test paper. These questions posed no difficulty. Although Gu Chengyu was quick at writing, he did not dare to be careless. This time, he wrote especially slowly to ensure as few corrections on the draft paper as possible. If the handwriting was messy and indistinct during handwriting comparison, how could it be matched?

By the time Gu Chengyu finished writing on the draft paper, it was already 9:45 AM. Due to the high focus required, he felt somewhat tired and decided to rest for a while, eating a biscuit before continuing. It should be quicker to transcribe onto the test paper later since the questions would not need to be copied.

He carefully pressed the draft paper with a paperweight to prevent it from being blown away by the wind. After taking out his food, he placed the test paper in the exam basket, fearing that during a sip of water, he might accidentally spill it, wasting all his previous efforts.

Gu Chengyu chomped on the cold, hard biscuit, washing it down with the water from his pouch. The biscuit was from the previous day, not only cold but also hard, making it truly difficult to swallow.

He glanced slightly at the row of examinees opposite him, noticing they were still writing furiously, with no one pausing to rest. Gu Chengyu didn’t dare look more as glancing around the examination hall was prohibited, lest it be considered cheating. Moreover, constables patrolled frequently, and it wouldn’t be good to be misunderstood.

An elderly man opposite glanced up and saw that Gu Chengyu was eating. He suddenly felt his stomach rumble with hunger. However, he was only halfway through his draft paper and dared not waste time eating to catch up.

Gu Chengyu finished his biscuit, poured some water from the pouch, and washed his hands; he didn’t want to leave crumbs on the test paper.

Then he shook the small bell beside him, indicating he needed to use the restroom, and a constable led him to the lavatory. Since few people used it in the morning, it wasn’t very dirty, but Gu Chengyu was thankful he wasn’t seated beside it. Although few people used it, it did carry an odor. During relief, a constable would not leave, making Gu Chengyu a bit awkward. He quickly finished and returned to his seat.

After his hands were dry, Gu Chengyu took out the test paper from the exam basket. After composing himself, he began writing.

County Magistrate Lu observed the candidates below, stroking his beard. There were particularly many candidates this year, surprisingly over three hundred. Only a little over a hundred would be selected in the first exam, so it seemed many candidates would be disappointed again this year.

He suddenly recalled that during the roll call earlier, there was an eight-year-old child who came for the exam. Though young candidates were not unheard of historically, they were uncommon. County Magistrate Lu decided to go inspect the young candidate’s writing. Although passing the county examination might be challenging, encouraging him to get through the first few rounds would already be commendable.

County Magistrate Lu first stood by the first candidate, but that candidate grew nervous upon seeing the chief examiner in front of him, so County Magistrate Lu moved on. He hadn’t walked far before reaching Gu Chengyu. At this moment, Gu Chengyu was already aware of his presence, and County Magistrate Lu was watching his handwriting closely! Gu Chengyu, however, didn’t look up and continued writing.

County Magistrate Lu initially intended to take just a casual look, but upon seeing, the little child wrote beautifully. The script on the test paper was orderly, neat, bold, and of consistent size — written in strict accordance with examination style — but exceptionally, it also possessed its own elegance.

County Magistrate Lu was a bit surprised. Such a young person wrote quite well. Giving a glance at a few answers above, which were all correct, he nodded to himself. This child seemed quite clever.

County Magistrate Lu noticed that the child was concentrating on answering and hadn’t noticed his presence, so he refrained from disturbing him. As the chief examiner, he couldn’t linger too long at any one candidate, nor could he look closely at their answers, as that was a major taboo in the exam hall.

The time flew by, and when Gu Chengyu put down his pen, it was already 1:30 PM.

After waiting for a while and seeing that the ink on the exam paper had dried, he checked it from top to bottom. In truth, checking at this point was useless; you couldn’t change it even if you knew there were mistakes. This act of checking was just a habit Gu Chengyu had from his previous life — he felt assured only after reviewing it.

Once the ink thoroughly dried, Gu Chengyu rang the bell, waiting for the instructor to collect the paper. Gu Chengyu was the first to ring, so the instructor arrived promptly. The instructor sealed the exam paper in Gu Chengyu’s presence.

After the instructor was done and left, Gu Chengyu followed the constable to the hall to rest, waiting for the "release of ranks." The Mr. Wen and 禀生 originally in the hall had long gone back. Gu Chengyu’s exit time was, in fact, not early; it should be close to the time for the first batch’s "release of ranks." He only had to wait a little while for other candidates to submit their papers so he could leave with them.