Chapter 290: Prefectural Examination

The four of them first went to a bookstore to buy a full set of past exam questions, all from the period when Su Qingyao was the chief examiner.

It was a common practice for candidates to study the preferences of the chief examiner in advance, and bookstores naturally printed and sold them in large quantities to make money.

After returning to the county hostel, Du Ruo sent Bian Dou Dou away.

Then she entered the room where Jiang Zhan and Jiang Fuzi were staying, spread out the exam papers, and studied them carefully.

The first question was like this.

"Now there are pheasants and rabbits in the same cage. There are three heads above and ninety-four feet below. How many pheasants and rabbits are there?"

Pfft, Du Ruo laughed. She knew she couldn't escape the pheasant-rabbit-in-a-cage problem.

This type of question wasn't difficult; just solve the equation and that was it.

She looked further down.

"A towering ancient temple in the mountains, don't know how many monks are inside. Three hundred and sixty-four bowls, just enough to be used up without dispute. Three people share one bowl of rice, four people share one bowl of soup. May I ask the teacher who can calculate, how many monks are in the temple?"

Which meant, 3 monks share a bowl of rice, 4 monks share a bowl of soup, and a total of 364 bowls were used. How many monks are in the temple?

This question was harder than the one above, but it was still okay.

She continued to look down.

"The lake surface is as flat as a mirror, red lotuses emerge 3 feet high. Standing gracefully in the lake, suddenly a strong wind blows to one side. It leaves the original spot 6 feet away, the flower sticks to the lake surface like a water lily. How many feet deep is the lake water here?"

A geometry problem, not bad. It was even harder.

It needed to be solved by combining equations and the Pythagorean theorem.

After reading through the series of exam questions, Du Ruo had a rough idea. The difficulty was a bit higher than she had imagined. It seemed that the Prefect Lord Su really had some skills in mathematics.

However, Du Ruo was a top student in her past life, so these junior high school-level math problems really weren't much to her.

"Second brother, do you know how to do these questions?" Du Ruo asked.

"I know most of them, but..." Jiang Zhan paused. "Even if I know them all, it's not very useful. It is said that Lord Su is obsessed with mathematics and has a strange temperament. Every year, there are one or two questions that are unexpected and stump many people."

Is that so?

Du Ruo touched her chin, her heart stirred.

She went through those question types from beginning to end again carefully and soon reached a conclusion. "Actually, the knowledge points are just those few, repeated over and over, just phrased differently. All changes stem from the same source. As long as we understand the examiner's intent, we can solve the problems easily."

Jiang Zhan said 'oh', seeming to understand but not quite.

Du Ruo told him to get paper and pen ready. "How about this: these few days, I will teach you all the knowledge points first. You memorize them well, and then no matter how the questions change, you won't have to be afraid."

Jiang Zhan's eyes brightened. He wanted to ask how she knew these things, but the words stopped at his lips.

Some things didn't need to be asked so clearly. Anyway, his sister-in-law would never harm him.

Du Ruo turned to Jiang Fuzi again. "Third uncle, you listen too."

Jiang Fuzi looked at her, his eyes complex.

Good cooking, knowing medicine, knowing how to make money—these were fine, after all, some people were born smart. But now, she could even teach herself such difficult math exam questions?

This was really... a bit eerie.

With stormy waves in his heart, he didn't show it on his face at all, just nodded, concise and to the point.

"Good."

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day of the Prefectural Examination.

Before the hour of Mao, Master Yan woke all the candidates up. The county hostel was expensive, but the service was indeed good and very experienced; they had prepared delicious food early.

After the meal, the candidates began to check themselves.

The process of the Prefectural Examination was basically the same as the County Examination, but they only had to take three sessions. The first two sessions were one day each, entering in the morning and leaving in the evening, without staying overnight.

The last session was two consecutive days, and they had to stay inside for one night.

And the rules were stricter than the County Examination. Except for the exam permit—that is, the admission ticket—nothing else was allowed to be brought in.

Du Ruo, like a housekeeper, first confirmed that the uncle and nephew had their respective exam permits tucked away, and then handed them each a small blue cookie.

"This is called 'Are You Hungry'. Don't look at its small size; it has a lot of energy. One piece can last for twelve hours, so you won't need to buy extra food at noon."

Not to mention that the food in the exam hall was expensive, it also didn't taste good. It was probably either fatty meat radish soup or cabbage boiled with tofu.

Most importantly, there was no guarantee of hygiene.

If they got a stomachache, that would be terrible. They couldn't just do it in their pants, right? They would definitely have to run to the toilet, and then the chief examiner would stamp a 'poop mark' on their paper.

With this poop mark, did they still want to pass the exam?

Don't dream about it; just pack up and go home.

The two took the cookies, and Jiang Zhan ate it all without hesitation.

Jiang Fuzi held it in his palm, looking at the eerie blue color, then looked at his nephew who was calm on the side. The corners of his mouth twitched imperceptibly, but in the end, he stuffed it into his mouth.

Du Ruo nodded with satisfaction and took out two green pills.

"This is a Refreshing Pill. After eating it, your mind will be clear and your thoughts sharp. It's a must-have medicine for exams."

Jiang Zhan didn't say a word and threw it straight down his throat.

Jiang Fuzi raised an eyebrow.

This nephew-in-law was not ordinary. She really had a lot of strange medicines, and every one of them was unheard of.

He also followed Jiang Zhan's example and swallowed it obediently.

Du Ruo took out two white pills again.

Jiang Fuzi, "..."

"What treasure is this again?" He couldn't help but ask.

Du Ruo smiled. "Has third uncle forgotten? You ate this during the county exam last time."

Jiang Fuzi suddenly realized. No wonder it looked familiar. "Taste-Loss Pill?"

Du Ruo nodded. "Yes, that's it."

The Taste-Loss Pill could block foul odors. In case they were unlucky enough to draw a 'stinky stall', it would come in handy.

"Just give this to Erlang. I don't need it." Jiang Fuzi took out a white pill from his personal sachet, exactly the same as the one in Du Ruo's hand. "I bought one from you before, but I didn't use it, so I brought it this time."

As someone who had drawn a stinky stall, how could he forget such an important thing?

Since Jiang Fuzi already had one, Du Ruo put one away and gave the other to Jiang Zhan.

Although the possibility of Jiang Zhan drawing a stinky stall was not high, it was always good to be prepared.

Anyway, there were no side effects.

Jiang Zhan still swallowed it obediently.

Everything that needed to be prepared was prepared. Du Ruo checked them off one by one on her fingers, and after confirming there were no omissions, she waved her small hand. "Go, let's go!"

Walking out of the room, they saw Lao Tietou leaning against the wall, napping in boredom.

"Let's go, Uncle Lao Tie." Du Ruo called out.

Lao Tietou rubbed his sleepy eyes and hurried to follow.

A large group of people had already gathered downstairs, besides the candidates from Xiushan Academy, there were others from other academies, as well as some free individuals like Jiang Fuzi who didn't belong to any academy.

There were about ten in total, plus their respective accompanying personnel, adding up to over a hundred people.

Admission to the Prefectural Examination was lined up by county. For example, if Wutou Xian was called, all candidates from Wutou Xian had to line up together to enter. If you missed the time and they called another county, then even if you rolled on the ground or kowtowed at the entrance of the exam hall, it would be useless. Not only would they not let you in, but they might also give you a few sticks to help you remember the lesson.

So everyone agreed to go together to avoid falling behind.

Soon, the assembly was completed, and the large group marched toward the Prefectural School.

It was not yet dawn, and it was gray; you could barely see people's faces a few steps away. Fortunately, the few leading teachers were experienced and had long ago asked people to prepare lanterns to lead the way.

After walking for nearly two quarters of an hour, they finally arrived.

They arrived, but seeing the scene before them, everyone except Master Yan and others who had seen the world was stunned.

The entrance to the Prefectural School, which was originally quite spacious, was now a sea of people, like dumplings in a soup pot, squeezed together, bumping into each other.

"Brother, please make way! Make way!"

"Oh my, my shoe! Who stepped on my shoe!"

"Don't squeeze, don't squeeze! Help, I can't get out..."

The scene was like dumplings boiling, and the water was boiling too.

Shouting, arguing, and even furious cursing were endless, composing a beautiful 'Dumpling March'.

Looking at this scene, Du Ruo and the others on the periphery couldn't help but swallow their saliva.

To enter or not to enter, that was the question.

If you enter, you have to become one of the dumplings.

If you don't enter... what are you thinking? Naturally, you have to enter! Let alone dumplings, even if you were squeezed into a pancake, you had to charge forward without hesitation!

"Everyone listen to me, if we get separated later, meet under the third locust tree by the wall. Don't run around, do you all remember?" Master Yan reminded loudly.

Everyone responded in unison.

Next was the charging moment.

Those without companions held their exam permits tightly in their palms and squeezed in with their heads down.

Those with companions, especially those whose companions were tall and big, had their companions clear the way and protect them as they moved forward.

The last ones to enter were Du Ruo, Jiang Zhan, and the others, as well as Xiao Liangchen.

Xiao Liangchen looked at Du Ruo, wanting to say something but stopping.

In the end, he didn't say anything and walked toward the crowd.

Du Ruo had a headache.

It looked like there were thousands of people here, densely packed with heads, and ninety-nine percent of them were grown men. As a girl, was it really appropriate for her to squeeze into a pile of men?

Jiang Zhan obviously realized this too and said, "Sister-in-law, why don't you not go in? We're already here, nothing will happen. Third uncle and I can go in ourselves."

Jiang Fuzi also nodded in agreement.

Du Ruo was still worried.

According to the system's prophecy, Jiang Zhan was very likely to be involved in a cheating case in the imperial examination. What if someone took advantage of the chaos to play dirty tricks on him? For example, stuffing cheat sheets into his clothes?

She couldn't help but be on guard...

Just as she was struggling, Lao Tietou suddenly coughed twice. "Well, this old man has a way to send you over."

Three faces turned to him, the light in their eyes startlingly bright.

"What way?" Du Ruo asked hurriedly.

"It's very simple." Lao Tietou laughed. "I know light-body techniques."

Light-body techniques?

Du Ruo felt a joy in her heart. "How light? Can you fly over eaves and walk on walls?"

Lao Tietou thought for a while. "It's possible, but it also depends on how heavy the person being carried is. If it's a big fat person, then it probably won't be able to fly."

Du Ruo, "..."

She looked down at her figure. It was a bit plump, but she shouldn't be considered fat.

The system had measured her before; was she one meter...?

Never mind, let's try.

Du Ruo let Lao Tietou send Jiang Zhan over first.

Lao Tietou had already spotted the route, took Jiang Zhan to the corner of the wall, and threw him up.

Jiang Zhan's soul almost flew away in fright; he barely managed to avoid falling down after missing a step.

Lao Tietou jumped onto the wall, grabbed him with one hand, and his feet were like wind. By the time Jiang Zhan reacted, he had already been thrown under the big locust tree.

A man who had fallen from the sky and was closing his eyes to rest against the tree was startled.

"Brother, where did you pop out from?"

Jiang Zhan finally steadied his mind. "I, I flew over..."

The man laughed loudly. "Brother, you're too cute, you really know how to joke."

Jiang Zhan also laughed along, then silently moved a few steps to the side, clearing some space for his sister-in-law and the others.

Not long after, Du Ruo and Jiang Fuzi were also thrown under the tree by Lao Tietou in the same way.

The man was already used to it.

He thought they had run over from the tree next door and didn't pay any attention.

It was already dark, and everyone's attention was on grabbing a spot, only focusing on their own feet; no one noticed the sky at all.

But even if they did, it didn't matter. Knowing light-body techniques wasn't against the law; everyone had their own magical powers.

The sky finally brightened.

Master Yan and the others finally squeezed in, but they were in a sorry state, their clothes wrinkled and their foreheads full of sweat.

Seeing that Jiang Zhan was already standing under the tree, Master Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Zhan was the treasure of their Xiushan Academy; he couldn't have any problems...

After taking roll call and confirming everyone was there, Master Yan let them rest on the spot.

Half an hour later, the sound of gongs rang out.

"Prepare to enter!" the bailiffs shouted.

The crowd became excited.

All the candidates looked forward, pricking up their ears to listen to when it would be their turn.

The first to enter was Jianfeng County.

Then Fentao County...

It wasn't until the fourth one that Wutou Xian was called.

Master Yan hurriedly led everyone forward. Fortunately, many people had already entered, so it wasn't as crowded as before.

"Candidates from Wutou Xian have arrived." Several scholars hurriedly went forward first to present their identity proofs.

Besides searching, there were also school officials supervising and checking at the entrance, which was very strict.

The school official nodded, and the scholars beckoned to the back, and the candidates began to line up to enter the hall.

Jiang Zhan lined up in the middle.

Other counties whose names hadn't been called were waiting on the side.

Just at this moment, a young man who looked like a servant suddenly ran over, looking around while calling: "Young Master, Young Master, where are you? Young Master!"

I don't know if he was blind or what, but he suddenly bumped into Jiang Zhan.

The incident happened suddenly, and Jiang Zhan couldn't dodge in time. The ink in the man's hand overturned and splashed all over Jiang Zhan.

Jiang Zhan's handsome face changed.

According to the rules of the exam hall, those who were not neatly dressed were not allowed to enter.

The man also seemed to be frightened and apologized repeatedly. "Sorry, sorry, I, I didn't mean it. I was looking for my young master... Wait a moment, I'll go buy a new one to compensate you right away!"

After saying this, he turned and ran away in a flash.

Du Ruo's face was as cold as frost. She gave Lao Tietou a look, and Lao Tietou understood and immediately chased after him.

Didn't mean it?

Heh, bullshit! ===== CHAPTER 291 =====