The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 522: Examination (Part )

The process of the joint examination is similar to that of the provincial examination. There are three examinations, each lasting three days. Candidates must bring their own candles and food. During these three days, they must eat, drink, defecate, urinate and sleep in the examination room. After Jia Huan queued up to enter the examination room, he went through a series of anti-cheating measures such as roll call, guarantee, search, etc., and finally received his number plate and took a seat, quietly waiting for the examination to begin.

The chief examiner of this joint examination was Zhao Mingcheng, a Hanlin scholar and a member of the Southern Study. Zhao Mingcheng, courtesy name Dehui, was now a popular new noble in the court, a close minister to the emperor, and the leader of the Donglin faction.

It is worth mentioning here that the Donglin faction first overthrew Prince Yi Zhong by virtue of the Yangzhou private salt case, and then the Minister of War Wang Ziteng was also dismissed for exceeding the regulations in renovating the ancestral tomb. At this point, the retired Emperor Kangping lost his left arm and right hand.

Soon after, the Donglin faction used the "Yangzhou Salt Contraband" case to uncover the "Salt Permit Reselling" case, manipulated public opinion, and pursued the old noble group of the retired emperor, and finally seized control of the cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue.

Therefore, the current situation in the court has been completely reversed. Emperor Qiansheng controlled the cabinet, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Revenue. In addition, the Censorate, the Supreme Court, the Honglu Temple, the Tongzheng Department, the Six Departments of the Imperial Secretariat, etc. were also mostly controlled by the Donglin faction. At this point, Emperor Qiansheng, who had reigned for eight years, finally got rid of the influence of Emperor Kangping, the retired emperor, and truly ruled the world. At the same time, the Donglin faction also took advantage of this to form a dominant position, and people at that time called it the Donglin Party.

Let's get back to the topic. When it was completely light, the chief examiner Zhao Mingcheng, together with his 18 fellow examiners, proudly inspected the examination room and then ordered the test papers to be distributed.

After getting the test paper, Jia Huan was not in a hurry to look at the questions. He first filled in his name, native place, test number and other personal information. After checking that they were correct, he closed his eyes and rested until the board to start the test sounded. Then he opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and officially started to do the questions.

The first round is the main round and also the most important one. If you pass it, it means you have passed the examination, so you must be extremely cautious. Jia Huan is determined to pass it, and he does not want to take the exam again two years later.

Like the provincial examination, the first round consists of three questions from the Four Books and four questions from the Five Classics. In other words, seven eight-part essays must be completed within three days. Among them, the first question from the Four Books is undoubtedly the most important, because the result of the first essay will determine whether you can catch the eyes of the examiners.

Jia Huan concentrated and calmed himself, quickly getting into the state of mind. He saw that the topic of the first question on the Four Books on the test paper was clearly written: If the people are satisfied, how can the king be dissatisfied?

Jia Huan couldn't help but tremble again and again, he really couldn't believe his eyes, tut tut, this luck is here, it's really unstoppable, isn't this Lao Wang's "college entrance examination" full score composition? It's even selected as a high school text.

It turns out that this sentence comes from the Analects of Confucius, Yan Hui, where Duke Ai asked Youruo, "There is famine this year, and there is not enough food. What should I do?"

Youruo asked, "How about it?"

He said, "Two, I am still not enough, how can I complete it?"

He said: "If the people are satisfied, how can the ruler be dissatisfied? If the people are dissatisfied, how can the ruler be satisfied?"

The general meaning of this sentence is: Duke Ai of Lu asked Youruo (name): "My dear, the harvest this year is not good and the treasury is short of money. What should I do?"

Youruo replied, "Why not implement (10 percent) Cherui?"

Duke Ai was unhappy and said, "I don't even have enough money to pay the 20% tax. How can I implement a 10% tax?"

Youruo replied, "If the people have enough, how can you be short of money? If the people have insufficient money, how can you be full?"

The same question was asked in the imperial examination in the 11th year of Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty. At that time, there was a famous candidate named Wang Ao, who wrote a perfect essay and won the first place in the examination with this essay. Wang's essay was so well written, with brilliant literary talent, clear logic, and powerful words. It was a great essay of the time and was even selected into the high school Chinese textbooks of later generations. Jia Huan knew it by heart.

Wang Ao lived during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty. However, there is no Ming Dynasty in this world of Red Mansions, and naturally there is no such character as Old Wang. Therefore, Student Jia picked up his pen with peace of mind and started the topic: Since the people are rich below, the king will naturally be rich above.

Then he continued the topic: "The wealth of the ruler is hidden in the people; since the people are rich, how can the ruler be poor alone?" It is as if he was telling Duke Ai that the ruler and the people are one.

Student Jia finished the essay in one stroke. In less than an incense stick of time, an eight-part essay with full marks appeared on the paper. Wow, he was so embarrassed by the result. Then he "embarrassedly" carefully copied the essay onto the test paper, and then "embarrassedly" started to do the second question.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. On February 11, the first round of the imperial examination ended and the candidates handed in their papers and left. Jia Huan had actually finished answering the paper half a day in advance, but in order to avoid being too high-profile, he waited until the evening when the exam was officially over before handing in his paper and leaving.

When Jia Huan walked out of the Dragon Gate, he unexpectedly met Zhang Pu, Zhang Tingshu, Wu Changshi, Wu Weiye and others. Zhang Pu and Wu Weiye were both in high spirits, with happy brows, and obviously they did well in the exam. However, Zhang Tingshu, who ranked second in the provincial examination, had a serious expression, and Wu Changshi, who had the worst temper, looked dejected, and most likely he failed the exam.

"How did Jia Jieyuan do in the exam?" Wu Weiye asked with some anticipation, but unfortunately Jia Huan just calmly uttered two words "OK", and it was impossible to tell whether he was doing well or not.

Zhang Pu's eyes sparkled, and he said with a smile: "Congratulations, classmate Jia, I believe you will be the first place again this time. You are one step closer to the top three. Congratulations."

Wu Changshi failed the test and was in a bad mood. He sneered and said, "That may not be the case. As the saying goes: A single flower does not make a spring, but a hundred flowers in full bloom make a garden full of spring. Our Great Jin is full of talented people. If Jia Ziming really wins the top three prizes, it will be a tragedy for our generation of scholars and not a blessing for the country!"

Jia Huan smiled calmly and said, "Mr. Wu is right, but Jia Huan is not very talented and well-educated. I am lucky to pass the imperial examination, so how dare I dream of getting the first place." After saying that, he walked away, and the difference in demeanor was immediately apparent. Wu Changshi snorted coldly and said, "Hypocrisy, I don't believe this kid doesn't want to get the membership."

Jia Huan walked out of the Dragon Gate and found that the head of the mountain, Sun Chengzong, was already waiting there. Among the thirteen people who took the exam, nine had already come out. Most of them looked solemn, and it was estimated that they did not do well in the exam.

"Jia Ziming is out. How did he do in the exam?" Before Jia Huan could greet Sun Chengzong, the impatient Li Baidu rushed forward and asked.

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Not bad, I should be able to get the middle score."

Sun Chengzong stroked his beard and smiled when he heard this: "That's good. With Ziming's talent, it's a sure thing."

All the classmates congratulated him, but Li Baidu sighed and said, "Congratulations, classmate Jia. Anyway, I'm done for. I misremembered the origin of '里仁为美'. I'm definitely going to fail this time."

Jia Huan was speechless. "Liren is beautiful" was the second question on the test paper. How could you "speak for the saint" when you couldn't even remember the source of this sentence? Go to bed. When we were taking tutoring classes together before the New Year, I saw that you studied very hard, but you failed at the critical moment.

Everyone waited for a while, and Liu Yi, Lu Xiangsheng and Huang Cong came out one after another. Liu Yi looked calm, Lu Xiangsheng looked nervous, and Huang Cong looked annoyed. It seemed that he would have to continue to be a "test tyrant" in two years. Including this time, this guy had been in the palace for the fifth time, and was definitely a "nail household" in the imperial examination.

"Is Shouzheng sure this time?" Sun Chengzong asked.

Liu Yi nodded and said, "It feels okay."

Sun Chengzong stroked his beard and said, "When God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make him suffer in mind and body. Your experience in the past few years is a kind of practice. Life experience and understanding are precious wealth. From your usual articles, I can see that you have indeed made a lot of progress."

Huang Cong said with a bitter face, "Students have taken the exam five times. Isn't it hard enough?"

"Old Huang, if you fail this time, it proves that you have no talent in this area. You can consider returning to your hometown to farm and enjoy your grandchildren." Sun Chengzong said humorously.

Everyone laughed.

Sun Chengzong finally looked at Lu Xiangsheng, stroked his beard and said, "The one I am most confident in is Lu Jiandou, because if he fails the imperial examination, he can take the military examination instead."

Lu Xiangsheng laughed at himself and said, "It doesn't matter. Senior Brother Huang has taken the exam five times. If he fails this time, I can just take it a few more times. If he really fails, I can join the army. It's better than farming, Senior Brother Huang."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh again, and they all felt their spirits were lifted. Huang Cong waved his fist and said, "Although the first test was average, if you perform well in the second and third tests, you still have a chance!"

Sun Chengzong nodded and said, "That's right, everyone go home and have a good rest and prepare for the second game tomorrow."

So, everyone went their separate ways and went back to their respective places to rest and recuperate. Jia Huan returned to Yueweiju, quickly filled his stomach, took a bath, and then fell asleep. During this time, Xue Lin and the other girls came to visit him one after another. Seeing that Jia Huan was resting, they all sat for a while and then left.

The second day was February 12, which was Lin Daiyu's birthday. As Jia's grandmother's condition had improved, she had instructed Wang Xifeng to hold a birthday banquet for Lin Daiyu a few days ago.

So Lin Daiyu got up early in the morning and dressed up, but she always felt that something was missing in her heart and she couldn't muster up the energy. Unfortunately, Jia Baoyu was tactless and came to bother her early in the morning, acting servile and saying sweet words to her, which was really annoying.

"Sister Lin, this rouge was made by me myself, and I added royal osmanthus dew. Just try it. I'll help you put it on. It's guaranteed to look good!" Jia Baoyu tried to persuade Lin Daiyu to put on his homemade rouge by coaxing and persuading her like he was offering a treasure.

If it were in the original novel, this trick of Big Face Treasure would definitely work, but now Lin Daiyu's heart is already tied to Jia Huan, so how could she accept such an excessive behavior of Big Face Treasure?

However, Baoyu was either tactless or thick-skinned. He kept pestering her even after being rejected. Even Zijuan couldn't stand it anymore. Lin Daiyu was about to get angry when the maid outside reported, "Qingwen is here to give the young lady flowers!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Qingwen came in gracefully holding a vase with a few newly blossomed peach blossoms in it, which looked very pretty. She smiled and said, "The peach trees in Yuewei Residence have just blossomed, and it is Miss Lin's birthday. Before the Third Master left for the exam today, he specially cut a few branches by hand, put them in a vase with clean water, and asked me to bring it to Miss."

Lin Daiyu's eyebrows relaxed immediately, and she seemed even more charming and beautiful than the peach blossoms. She felt sweet in her heart and nodded, "Brother Huan is so thoughtful. Thank you, Third Master, for me. Zijuan, bring the reward money!"

(End of this chapter)