Chapter 5: Prefectural Examination

On the second day of the fourth lunar month, the Prefectural Examination began.

It was early in the morning.

Scholars preparing to take the Prefectural Examination were already crowded in front of the Prefectural Office on East Street.

The location for today's Prefectural Examination was the large courtyard to the right of the Prefectural Office.

Prefect Xu Songwen was serving as the presiding official for this Prefectural Examination.

Luo Zijun had gotten up early.

After finishing breakfast with his elder sister and brother-in-law, he was escorted by the two of them to the Prefectural Office.

Along the way, his sister kept urging him not to be nervous.

"If you don't pass this year, you can take it again next year. You are still young, so don't worry. After all, this is your first time, and you decided to take it in such a rush, without much time to study and prepare..."

Then she went on to talk about some neighbor who had taken the exam for over a decade before finally passing.

Her main intention was to ensure he wouldn't have any psychological burden.

His brother-in-law, Li Zhengshan, also chimed in from the side: "Just treat it as an opportunity to gain some experience, and you might even make a few scholar friends along the way."

The three of them arrived at the Prefectural Office and saw that it was already packed with people.

Besides the examinees, there were friends and family of the examinees, as well as a crowd of onlookers.

Luo Jiaorong suddenly ran into someone she knew.

Wang Shen, who sold fruit on the next street over, had come with her whole family today to accompany her nephew for the Prefectural Examination. Upon seeing Luo Jiaorong, she was very surprised: "Jiaorong, isn't this your younger brother? Is he here to take the Prefectural Examination today too? Didn't I hear he went to the Pharmacy to learn medicine?"

Luo Jiaorong said with a face full of smiles: "He did go to learn medicine, but he also likes to read, so he came to give it a try."

This was meant to be a modest remark, but who would have thought the other party would take it seriously.

Wang Shen looked Luo Zijun up and down, nodded, and said: "Trying is fine, it doesn't matter if he doesn't pass. By mixing with those scholars, he might even pick up a scholar's reputation. It will add to his bargaining power when he looks for a wife in the future."

The smile on Luo Jiaorong's face immediately became difficult to maintain.

Wang Shen then pointed at a youth in front and boasted: "Jiaorong, look, that's my nephew. That child has been clever since he was small, loves to read, and loves to write; the neighbors all say he is the Literary Star descended to earth. Coming to take the Prefectural Examination this time, he could pass with his eyes closed."

Luo Jiaorong looked up and saw that the youth had a thin, small frame with a slightly hunched back. He was lecherously stealing glances at the plump buttocks of a young woman in front of him. In terms of both appearance and temperament, he was a hundred and eight thousand miles behind her own brother.

Wang Shen bragged for a while longer before leaving in high spirits.

"Hmph!"

After she had walked far away, Luo Jiaorong curled her lip: "What is she showing off for! With her nephew's appearance, a Literary Star descended to earth? I think it's more like a rat spirit coming out of its hole!"

Li Zhengshan told her to keep her voice down and not let others hear.

Luo Zijun suppressed a laugh and turned his gaze toward the other examinees.

There were about thirty-some examinees, some in their teens, some in their twenties or thirties, and even two elderly men with white hair and beards.

Some people would never be able to attain the title of Cultivated Talent in their entire lives.

Another half an incense stick of time passed.

A middle-aged man wearing a Confucian robe emerged from the Prefectural Office and announced that they could enter the examination hall.

The examinees lined up in front of the large courtyard on the right, began to undergo body searches one by one, and then entered the courtyard.

"Zijun, don't be nervous at all."

As Luo Zijun went to line up, Luo Jiaorong grabbed his hand; she was so nervous herself that her voice was trembling.

Luo Zijun nodded, said nothing more, and went to line up.

Soon, the body searches were finished.

The thirty-some examinees all entered the large courtyard and found their seats based on their examinee tags.

Prefect Xu Songwen, accompanied by two Examiners, arrived at the front platform of the large courtyard.

He was not wearing his official robes today, but rather a scholar's Confucian robe. He was tall and slender, with a broad, clean-shaven face, and was very well-maintained. He looked to be in his forties, and there was no intimidating official authority about him; instead, he gave people a refined and approachable feeling.

He stood on the platform, briefly explained the rules of the examination, offered a few words of encouragement, and then announced the start of the examination.

The examinees had already ground their ink.

Once the examination papers were distributed, they immediately began to read them carefully.

In the courtyard, apart from the sound of turning pages, it was deathly silent. The crowd outside had already been driven to a distant open space by the bailiffs so as not to disturb the examinees inside.

The Prefectural Examination was divided into two sessions.

Each session had three examination papers: the first was for literacy and sentence recognition, which was the simplest; the second was for basic arithmetic; the third was for reading comprehension and essay writing—it didn't need to be flowery or filled with pearls of wisdom, as long as one could express the meaning, one could pass.

After all, it was only an entry-level examination.

However, even an examination of this level stumped many people.

After all, in this era, it was good if one out of a hundred people could read.

After finishing the papers, several examinees had already begun to answer the questions.

Other examinees were frowning in thought.

Those two white-haired examinees, although they knew the answers, dared not be careless; they read every word and sentence several times before picking up their brushes to dip in ink, answering the questions one word at a time.

They answered with extreme caution and were exceptionally nervous.

After Luo Zijun finished reading the questions, he began to answer them, and the three papers were finished very quickly.

!

Then, he carefully checked them a few more times.

The questions on the papers were still relatively simple for him, with no real difficulty.

Those few arithmetic problems were also very simple.

At this time, two people had already handed in their papers.

The time limit for the two sessions was before the Wei hour in the afternoon; whoever handed in their papers first could proceed directly to the second session of the examination.

After those two handed in their papers, an Examiner came to distribute the papers for the second session to them.

Luo Zijun checked it once more, then also stood up to hand in his paper.

The examination paper was first handed to two Examiners invited from the Academy, and only after those two Examiners had reviewed and graded it was it passed to the Chief Examiner, Xu Songwen.

The three of them graded the papers on the spot, so the results came out very quickly.

After Luo Zijun handed in his examination paper, he was met with the second examination.

It was still three examination papers, and the content on the papers was much the same as the first, consisting of identifying characters and sentences, basic arithmetic, and reading passages to write essays.

However, the character and sentence identification this time was clearly more complex, and it also required explaining their meanings.

Luo Zijun finished answering very quickly.

After three examinees handed in their papers and walked out of the examination hall, he also stood up to hand in his paper and prepare to leave.

At this moment, an Examiner on the right with a long beard under his chin looked at him and said, "Is your name Luo Zijun?"

Luo Zijun glanced at the placard placed in front of him and hurriedly cupped his hands, saying, "That is indeed this student."

This person was named Yang Kai, and he was a teacher at Linfeng Academy.

Usually, only after the Chief Examiner and the other two Examiners had finished reviewing and grading the papers could they tear open the seal to see the names.

In the first examination just now, he had been the third to hand in his paper; this Examiner Yang must have remembered his name after reviewing and grading his paper.

"The last question of your first examination was answered very interestingly."

Yang Kai looked him over and asked again, "Have you ever thought about entering an Academy?"

Usually, after a scholar passed the Prefectural Examination and became a junior Xiucai, they still needed to pass the Academy Examination and reach the level of Xiucai Second Dou before they could enter a good Academy to study.

At that time, not only would their status be greatly elevated, but there would also be many benefits.

Luo Zijun said, "This student has naturally thought about it."

Yang Kai nodded, said nothing more, and waved his hand to let him leave.

As Luo Zijun was leaving, he heard the Prefect Xu Songwen laugh and say, "How about that, Brother Yang, have you taken a liking to this student? Are you preparing to admit him by exception?"

Yang Kai laughed and said, "I just think he answered that question very interestingly; if he is to be admitted, he must wait until he passes the Academy Examination. The two spots for admission by exception at the Academy this year have already been given to others; how could I give one to him?"

Another Examiner said, "I know those two people; they are two talented scholars from Tong County. Your Linfeng Academy has quite the ability, actually snatching them up before Xihu Academy could."

Once Luo Zijun stepped outside, he could no longer hear them.

(End of this chapter)