Dream of the Red Chamber: Daiyu and I swapped clothes

Chapter 76 Beyond Saving!

study,

Mr. Xing Bingcheng, despite being ill, came to give Lin Daiyu her last lesson before the imperial examination.

"Tomorrow is the county examination. Today we will not discuss the classics, but only the rules of the examination."

Xing Bingcheng coughed twice. "Young Master, this is your first time taking the exam. These rules are more important than the written test. You must memorize them."

Lin Daiyu nodded, picked up her brush, dipped it in ink, and intended to record a few things.

"The county examination was held in the Southwest Examination Hall. The examination hall had three courtyards, with the ceremonial gate in the front and the examination hall in the middle. They faced each other on the east and west sides, with ten rows on each side. Each row had fifty-five examination booths, and each examination session had more than a thousand people."

"The examination room was set up with two open boards, one above the other, with a desk on top and a stool below. Before taking the exam, candidates had to verify their identity, receive a form from the examination hall, and write down their name, place of origin, and guarantor."

Xing Bingcheng explained in great detail, “At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the gong is sounded and the ceremonial gate is opened. After the search officers have searched the area, the students are then assigned to their assigned rooms according to the numbers in the ‘Thousand Character Classic’ and take their seats accordingly.”

"The county examination results are not anonymous. When the results are announced for the first round, they will be indicated by the number of the examination room. Young master, you must remember this carefully."

"Once inside the cell, if you need to relieve yourself, you must find a patrolling constable to accompany you and receive a 'Respectful Arrival After Retirement' plaque."

At this point, Xing Bingcheng lowered his voice further and said, "According to what my fellow students said, this Magistrate Zhou is a Hanlin Academy probationary official appointed by His Majesty. He has not yet attached himself to any faction in the court. However, he often attends the Third Prince's literary gatherings, so he must be a person who loves elegance."

"For such people, one must have eloquent writing and a melodious voice to catch their eye. The final exam will most likely be a test of poetry."

Lin Daiyu's eyes brightened slightly.

This may not be good news for ordinary people. With such a rich and complex dictionary, it is not an easy task to write an article that rhymes at the same time.

But for her, if the theme is not profound enough and it merely becomes flowery language, she is not so worried.

The final exam, in particular, which tested her knowledge of poetry and prose, further boosted her confidence in achieving the top score in the county-level examination.

"Thank you, sir. I will remember this."

Seeing Lin Daiyu's eager expression, Xing Bingcheng nodded with satisfaction.

"With the young master's talent, there is indeed no need to worry..."

……

The next day,

Before the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) had arrived and the roosters had crowed, the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence was already brightly lit.

Xiangling, who was so nervous that she couldn't sleep all night, stared intently with bloodshot eyes as she carefully checked the book box again, counting each item one by one: "Two pens, one inkstone, one inkstone, plain paper, a water bottle, oil paper, and a calligraphy knife, all prepared."

She counted them more carefully than she counted coins.

Madam Zou also came to wait in the corridor, tidying up Lin Daiyu's clothes again, and said earnestly, "You're not allowed to bring food to eat during the whole day of the exam. If you don't like the food in the kitchen, just bear with it for now. When you come back, your mother will prepare some for you."

Lin Daiyu smiled helplessly, "I know, Mother, I will do my best in the exam."

Madam Zou waved her hand, "Let's not talk about that. I'm just happy to see you going to take the exam. Go on, go on, the carriages and horses are all ready outside."

Xiangling waved goodbye to Zou Shi under the corridor, while Lin Daiyu carried her book box and went out of the mansion alone.

Several of my wife's brothers arrived at the house early yesterday and stayed overnight. They are already waiting in the car.

Lin Daiyu was not familiar with them and did not like talking to strangers, so she lit a lamp in the carriage and began reading Cheng Mo.

The four looked at each other, thinking that their notorious cousins ​​would lead them in some fun, so none of them dared to open the book.

But now that things are like this, they all take out their books to read.

Before dawn, the closer it got to the examination venue, the more crowded the city became.

Those accompanying the examinees, along with the examinees themselves, had completely surrounded the examination hall.

After all, it is a county in the capital, with thousands of people participating in the scientific expeditions every year, and the number of people admitted is also more than that of ordinary small counties, reaching 120.

Outside the crowd, the carriages of high-ranking officials and nobles were crammed together with the donkey carts of ordinary students, creating a noisy and bustling scene.

"Look at these spoiled brats, coming to join the fun too." "The sons of nobles aren't in the military camp, but they're here to steal our way out."

After getting off the bus, whispers broke out, and several cousins ​​lowered their heads, their faces flushed.

Lin Daiyu, however, seemed not to hear, and only curiously observed this rare and magnificent scene.

It turns out that the imperial examination hall described in the book as a place where "a thousand sails compete" was actually like this.

If she were a woman, confined to her chambers, wouldn't she never have seen such a world in her entire life?

No matter how intelligent she is, her vision is limited to that small area.

Therefore, Lin Daiyu felt somewhat fortunate about this inexplicable body swap.

Perhaps, with the advantage of being a man, she will be able to see more things she has never seen before, which is much more interesting than watching Jia Baoyu grin in the boudoir.

The large group of test-takers slowly moved toward the entrance of the examination hall, with candidates ranging from sixty years old to ten-year-old children.

The yamen runners were already waiting at the gate, waiting for the gong to sound so that the gates would be opened and the students could enter.

At this moment, the surrounding conversations were at their most intense.

"Brother Chen, I've been looking for you everywhere!"

Xue Pan squeezed through the crowd and came to Lin Daiyu, yawning as he greeted her.

"Brother Xue?"

Lin Daiyu looked at him with suspicion, wondering what he wanted to do so early in the morning.

"Brother, I'm here to support you! Don't worry, everything outside has been arranged. We're just waiting for you to pass the exam, and then I'll throw you a celebration banquet!"

Those around them sized up the two, and upon hearing the announcement of "on the list," they scoffed. How could such a spoiled brat be on the list? What a joke.

Seeing this, the cousins ​​couldn't help but quietly take a half step back.

Lin Daiyu felt helpless. Even if she didn't mind, it didn't warrant attracting so much attention for her.

Just as Fang was about to persuade Xue Pan to leave, he heard another person approaching from not far away, calling out repeatedly, "Li Chen! Don't go! I have something to ask you!"

Xue Pan looked closely and saw that it was Baoyu. His face immediately fell with displeasure.

"Why is that prisoner here too? What a small world!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu was completely confused.

Shouldn't Xue Pan and Jia Baoyu have a good relationship?
Could it be that Li Chen is now on better terms with Xue Pan?
She really couldn't understand friendship between men.

The next moment, Jia Baoyu was already in front of her, glaring at her and saying, "It's just right that Brother Xue is here as a witness, so I will make things clear to you today."

"Sister Xiangling is such a wonderful person, and you actually took her back. How can I just sit idly by? Today, let's wager on the county examination. If you are not as good as me, then you shall send Sister Xiangling back to the Rongguo Mansion!"

“Fair and just, don’t say I’m using my Duke’s mansion to bully you.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu couldn't help but frown.

It turns out that Jia Baoyu's diligent study was all for the sake of making a bet with Li Chen.

For a moment, Lin Daiyu genuinely believed that he had changed his ways.

Putting everything else aside, if you're betting on Xiangling, can you even consider her a human being?
With such a spoiled and dissolute nature, what makes you so high and mighty?
"What? You're scared now? Where's the confidence you had when you were yelling in the restaurant the other day?"

Just then, the examination hall gates swung open, and the officials sounded gongs and shouted, "Candidates, enter!"

Unable to bear it any longer, Lin Daiyu suddenly raised her hand. Jia Baoyu hurriedly stepped back, and the slap just grazed the tip of his nose, which he managed to avoid.

"You're beyond help! You really should go and have the imperial physician examine your brain first!"

Lin Daiyu spat out a curse and stormed off.

(End of this chapter)