Do you know: I am Xu Jiazi

Chapter 748 Two Days' Observations, Hmm, Observations [Thank you! Thank you again! 34k words owed]

royal palace,

Inside the hall, by candlelight.

The eunuch Huai Bao stood before the emperor, holding a tray in both hands.

The emperor, with his hands behind his back, withdrew his gaze from the arrows on the tray and looked at the chief eunuch beside him, asking softly, "Has the matter been investigated thoroughly? Is what this man said true?"

The chief eunuch bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, the investigation has been completed! It is true; it happened six years ago during a heavy snowfall."

“A group of thieves hiding in a Buddhist temple came out to rob during a heavy snowfall and happened to run into Xu Wulang, who was visiting relatives.”

"According to the investigation by Kaifeng Prefecture, among the thieves killed by Wu Lang and Xu family guards, there were several who were notorious bandits who had been wanted for many years and had bounties on their heads."

Looking up at the emperor, the chief eunuch continued, "Afterwards, Xu Wulang did not pursue the matter further, and most of the credit was given to the Kaifeng constables."

The emperor smiled.

Seeing this, the chief eunuch breathed a sigh of relief.

The emperor took two steps with his hands behind his back, nodded slightly, and said, "So, this pawn is also grateful for kindness."

"Your Majesty is wise," the chief eunuch said, bowing.

The emperor continued, "However, shouting and cursing loudly at the entrance of the examination hall is truly an eyesore. Let's punish him by deducting his salary."

"Yes."

The next day was the first day of the imperial examination.

The first quarter of Mao Shi (5:00 AM)
Xu Zaijing woke up as usual.

When I opened my eyes, what I saw was not the bed curtains of my home, but the dark ceiling of the examination shed.

Xu Zaijing blinked, only then realizing that he was in the examination hall for the imperial examination.

He was covered by a thick, moisture-proof wolf-skin cotton quilt, and also by a mink-skin blanket. His feet were covered by the cloak he had just worn in.

Except for a slightly cool feeling on my cheeks and ears, the rest of my body felt warm.

"call--"

Xu Zaijing let out a long breath, and in the dim light of the examination hall, he could vaguely see white steam rising from his face.

After enjoying three more breaths of warmth in the bed, Xu Zaijing sat up and started getting dressed in the dark.

"hiss!"

The clothes, already frozen through, sent a chill down my spine when I put them on.

Fortunately, this chill was not quite like wearing icy armor on a winter morning, so Xu Zaijing only gasped for breath.

Dressed neatly in black, Xu Zaijing stretched inside the examination hall.

At this time,

Footsteps were heard.

Xu Zaijing hurriedly opened the door of the examination hall, bowed and said, "Please light the candles."

The words just fell,

Two patrolling soldiers carrying lanterns arrived in front of Xu Zaijing's examination tent.

Seeing the soldiers remove the lantern covers, Xu Zaijing quickly took down the candles from the table and lit them on the lantern candles.

Xu Zaijing then retreated to the examination hall and closed the door.

By candlelight,
Through the blur, I could see that the examination shed was quite simple, with nothing but a bed, a table, and a chair.

But at this moment, the examination shed was neatly organized with all sorts of items placed in different categories.

After arranging the quilts and mattresses, Xu Zaijing took the small porcelain pot and put it into the wooden bucket filled with water that he had brought.

When Xu Zaijing was about to scoop water, he discovered that there was a thin layer of ice in the wooden bucket.

Xu Zaijing placed the small porcelain pot of water on the ground, got up, and took out several pieces of fruitwood charcoal from a dark cloth bag.

"Sniff."

Xu Zaijing twitched his nose. Although it was a chilly morning, he could still smell a faint scent of pine resin.

Xu Zaijing placed a small piece of ignited fruitwood charcoal into the small porcelain stove, then placed a few more pieces of charcoal beside it, and finally put the small porcelain pot on top.

After washing his hands, Xu Zaijing put the cured meat, pickled vegetables, and shredded fried dough into the porcelain pot.

By the time Xu Zaijing finished his training, the charcoal in the porcelain stove was almost turned to ash, while the porcelain pot was slowly releasing steam.

After taking the porcelain pot off the stove, Xu Zaijing threw two pieces of pear wood charcoal into the porcelain burner.

With a ceramic pot, you don't even need a bowl.

After finishing a hot breakfast, it was still dark outside.

As Xu Zaijing washed the porcelain pot clean, sat on a warm chair covered with a cloak behind the table, and calmly adjusted his mindset with a ginseng slice in his mouth,

"when!"

A gong sounded.
The examiners began announcing today's questions.

Xu Zaijing looked at the wide-open door in front of the table and took a deep breath.

In the examination hall,
There was neither a warm floor nor a stove for heating.

The only thing that was slightly warm was the small porcelain stove next to it, which was still warming the inkstone and making it easier to grind ink.

Cold winds occasionally blew in from the wide-open entrance of the examination hall.

It wasn't that Xu Zaijing didn't want to close the door, but it was simply not allowed to be closed in the examination hall.

Only in this way could the examiners and soldiers who patrolled by from time to time spot the candidates answering their questions in the examination hall at a glance.

Xu Zaijing sat in the chair, and although he was dressed very warmly, he still felt cold.

At that moment, he felt that his act of turning off the floor heating in his own study was somewhat ridiculous.

The reason is,

The examination shed had only one layer of rammed earth flooring.

There was nothing in the study that insulated against the cold like the floor.
at this time,

Xu Zaijing felt wisps of cold air from the ground spreading up his body from his feet.

Fortunately, he twisted his ankle slightly, and a warmth spread from his knees and calves to the soles of his feet.

These are the knee pads that Xu Zaijing is wearing on his knees and calves, which provide excellent warmth.

After writing a few words, Xu Zaijing dipped his brush in the inkstone, took a deep breath of the winter air, and continued writing furiously.

Even so,

Xu Zaijing still had to stand up from time to time to move his hands and feet and keep his body active so that his fingers and wrists wouldn't get stiff from the cold.

I looked up and glanced outside the examination hall.
Xu Zaijing had never longed for the sun to rise as soon as possible.

unfortunately,

Things didn't go as planned.

The sun still hadn't risen until Xu Zaijing had copied all his answers onto the exam paper.

The examination halls of Gu Tingye, Changbai, and Zaizhang are omitted from the discussion.

In Changfeng's examination hall,
"Do do do do."

Changfeng, whose upper and lower teeth were chattering from the cold, exhaled a breath of cold air.

"Good heavens, why is it so cold today!"

"Dodo."

After muttering to himself, Changfeng was about to dip his brush in ink.

But after dipping the brush tip into the inkstone several times, I discovered that the ink inside had frozen.

"Heavens!" Changfeng sighed helplessly and could only lower his head, chuckling.

After exhaling a few breaths, Changfeng felt even colder.

"Mother, sister, neither of you knew. Duoduo advised me to wear knee pads."

After writing a few strokes, Changfeng stood up and stomped his feet in the examination hall.

Looking around the examination hall, and seeing the bedding placed on the single bed, Changfeng walked over, grabbed the blanket, and wrapped it around himself.

Sit back in your chair.

After writing for a while longer, Changfeng felt as if his feet were about to freeze off.

"Why hasn't the sun come out yet?"

Qi Heng Examination Hall

Qi Heng sat in a chair behind the table.

After writing a few words, Qi Heng looked at the porcelain stove that he had brought with him.

He warmed his hands by bringing them close to the porcelain stove.

Qi Heng looked at the charcoal in the porcelain stove that was about to go out and was emitting a weak red glow. After thinking for a moment, he stood up, took a piece of straw paper to cover it, and grabbed a few more pieces of charcoal.

The charcoal was placed into the porcelain stove, and the charcoal, which was dipped in pine resin, quickly burned.

Feeling the warmth of the flames, Qi Heng smiled and continued to warm his hands.

When Qi Heng handed in his answer sheet and prepared to heat up the food he had brought, he discovered that the bag containing charcoal only had a little over half left.

"I need to be more careful with money tomorrow," Qi Heng muttered to himself.

the other side,
In the cold examination shed,
After submitting his answer sheet, Xu Zaijing waited quietly for the soldiers to come on patrol.

Upon hearing footsteps, Xu Zaijing said loudly, "Thank you both, I need to change my clothes."

The patrolling soldiers stopped, glanced at the number plate hanging outside the examination hall, and said, "Wait!"

"Thank you!"

After about 35 minutes,
The patrolling soldiers then approached and said, "This examinee, please."

Xu Zaijing emerged from the examination hall and followed the patrolling soldiers toward the nearest changing area. Back in the examination hall,

Xu Zaijing endured the cold, tilted the fire-resistant bucket with one hand, and washed his other hand.

After doing this twice, he finally wiped his hands.

Xu Zaijing then sat behind the table, waiting for the gong to announce the end of today's exam.

Just as he was waiting, more footsteps approached, along with voices saying, "Gentlemen, please hurry! Hurry up!"

"Silence!" the soldier shouted.

"Yes Yes!"

Listening to the reply, Xu Zaijing could vaguely sense that there was some unbearable pain in the tone of the voice.

A few breaths,

A group of three passed by Xu Zaijing. In the middle was a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar, with his brows furrowed. He kept saying "hurry up," but he took very small steps.

It looks like he's trying his best to endure something.

Without the sun,

It got dark very quickly.

Judging from the faint sound of the time announcement, it is probably the beginning of the Xu hour (after 7 pm).

Looking at the tightly closed examination room door from his bed, with a piece of candy and a slice of ginger in his mouth, Zai Jing burrowed deeper into the covers.

Just as Xu Zaijing closed his eyes to fall asleep, he opened them again.

Sure enough, after four or five breaths...

"Squeak—"

As the door opened and closed, the cold night wind rushed in.

Xu Zaijing turned his head and saw patrolling soldiers carrying lanterns.

After looking around the examination hall, one of them said, "Don't leave any fires at night! Leaving fires will result in disqualification from the exam."

"I know, don't worry."

"Ah."

As he spoke, the patrolling soldiers walked outside, closing the door behind them for Xu Zaijing.

Just when Xu Zaijing thought the first day was over.

In the middle of the night,

I can't tell what time it is.

"Sir! Sir! Please give me a chance!"

"It's so cold today! I can't stand it without a stove!"

"Sir! I've studied diligently for over a decade!"

A pleading voice came from the scholar.

Another rough voice rang out: "Let go! Do you know how many people died when the exam hall caught fire? Now you're begging for mercy!"

"If a fire really breaks out, the gates of the Examination Hall and the Examination Yuan will not be opened. We can only wait here to die!"

"take away!"

"Give this villain a chance, I really didn't mean it."

Listening to the sounds outside with his eyes closed, Xu Zaijing exhaled a breath of white air and turned his body to the side.

On the second day of the imperial examination,
morning,

Xu Zaijing still didn't dare to drink much water, and only ate some reheated dry food and cured meat.

Just like the first day,
6:00 AM (卯时正刻)

Xu Zaijing sat behind the table, calming himself down for a while.

A gong sounded.
The examiners and patrolling soldiers began announcing the exam questions for the next day.

Although when the current emperor was young, a minister had reformed the imperial examination system, reducing the importance of poetry and prose in the provincial examination.

However, the test on the first day was still on 'poetry and prose'.

Today's test is on the 'meaning of the scriptures'.

Around 7:00 AM (Chen Shi),
The sun rose from the east, and even just a ray of sunlight made Xu Zaijing feel much warmer.

The first quarter of the Si hour (after 9 a.m.)

Xu Zaijing was intently writing his answer on scrap paper.

suddenly.

"do not move!"

Shouts could be heard coming from near the yellow examination booth across the street, separated by a row of examination tents.

"Don't let him eat it!"

After the commotion, there was no more noise near the examination hall.

Xu Zaijing looked up in that direction, then shook his head and continued answering.

Without asking, just by listening to the noise, Xu Zaijing knew that someone had probably smuggled in cheat sheets or something similar.

They were spotted by patrolling examiners or soldiers.

Doing so would certainly result in the cancellation of one's degree as a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations).

Putting the thoughts aside, Xu Zaijing scribbled over a word he had written incorrectly on the scrap paper.

The sun is getting higher.

Late noon (1 p.m.)
Xu Zaijing copied two-thirds of the answers from the draft paper to the exam paper.

With half a day remaining, few candidates in the surrounding examination sheds had submitted their papers.

Feeling that the ink on the answer sheet was running low, Xu Zaijing was about to dip his brush in ink when his brows suddenly furrowed.

There is no other reason,

The cold wind blowing in from the entrance of the examination hall had somehow acquired a foul odor of excrement.

Xu Zaijing paused for a moment in the inkstone with the brush he was dipping in, then continued dipping it.

Holding his breath, Xu Zaijing continued copying.

He wrote only a few words.
From outside came shouts from a nearby examinee: "Where are the patrolling soldiers?! Who urinated or defecated in the examination tent? The smell is unbearable!"

"Yes!"

"What's going on! I can't write anymore!"

"What did that fellow eat?!"

"Silence!" the patrolling soldiers shouted.

The other candidates around him fell silent.

A moment later, the soldier shouted again, "Find it!"

In less than a dozen breaths.

Someone shouted, "Let me finish writing! Let me finish writing! Just a dozen or so words left!"

The patrolling soldier said coldly, "Stop arguing! Even if you've finished writing, we're accompanying the examiner to collect the papers. If we smell this, you'll be taken away too!"

"Don't argue, you might still have a chance in three years! If you keep arguing, hmph!"

After the soldier finished speaking, the man fell silent.

Subsequently,

The stench in the air suddenly became much stronger.

A faint sobbing sound could be heard: "If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to go hungry than eat that half-warm pastry."

"Ugh!"

In the examination hall next to Xu Zaijing's, a candidate sighed softly. His once-every-three-years chance to leap over the dragon gate had been ruined by an upset stomach.

The surroundings became quiet again, and the stench in the air quickly dissipated.

Qi Heng Examination Hall

Qi Heng moved his stiff fingers and turned to look to the side.

there,

The bag that held the charcoal was completely shrunken and empty.

"I remember there was a piece of charcoal inside."

Qi Heng reached out to himself, and after finding the bag truly empty, tossed it aside, saying, "What am I going to do tomorrow?"

Saying,

After turning over something else, Qi Heng picked up a slice of ginger and put it in his mouth.

After chewing a couple of times and savoring the taste in his mouth, Qi Heng's eyebrows furrowed together, but thankfully, it dispelled some of the chill.

Xu Zaijing handed in his paper in the afternoon.

When reheating the meal in the evening, Xu Zaijing made sure to heat it up for a little longer.

When sleeping at night,
The patrolling soldiers continued to check each examination tent, reminding the candidates not to leave any fire sources at night.

Whether it was because nothing happened that night, or because the person who was caught was too far away from Xu Zaijing, Xu Zaijing did not hear any noise that night.

Wake up again,

It was already the third day of the imperial examination.

Xu Zaijing still felt a bit cold on his cheeks.

Thinking about the most important policy essay exam he had to take today, Xu Zaijing muttered to himself, "How about I eat all the ginseng slices today?"

(End of this chapter)