Before and after the provincial examination, Zhu Ping'an's life was no different. He got up early to practice calligraphy and read in the morning, reviewed and studied eight-part essays during the day, and studied by lamplight at night. He watched other students' romantic life, poetry, wine and tea after the exam... ...
The vixen in the room was just like she always was, smiling all day long and never quiet.
When the sun rose for the third time, Zhu Ping'an returned from morning reading and was once again surrounded by his uncle and enthusiastic fellow villagers to watch the results of the prefectural examination. This time it was the final list of the prefectural examination. The last exam combined the results of the previous two exams and issued a "long case". All the admitted candidates were ranked horizontally according to their ranks and issued a case with their names, which was called a "long case". The first place was called the prefectural case leader. The first list included 30 people, and the top ten people had a common honorary title "prefectural exam top ten". The second list recorded 70 people, which means that the number of people who finally passed the prefectural examination was exactly 100. More than 900 people came to participate in the prefectural examination, and 100 people finally passed, with a pass rate of about 10%.
Regardless of whether it is List A or List B, anyone on the list can obtain the title of "Tongsheng". In the future, they will no longer need to take part in the county examination or the prefectural examination for the imperial examination, but only need to take part in the academy examination.
In the crowded crowd, students gathered in groups of three or four, some nervous, some confident, and some desperate, talking about their experience of the prefectural examination. After everyone waited for a while with mixed emotions, they heard bursts of firecrackers, and two rows of red-clothed yamen runners came with gongs and drums. The noise of the gongs and drums attracted a large number of onlookers, and it was very lively.
I don’t know if it was an illusion or what, but there was a fleeting figure in the crowd that Zhu Pingan was watching. It seemed familiar, but when he looked again, he couldn’t find it anymore.
"Zhi'er, look, the results are about to be announced." Uncle Zhu Shouren seemed to be more excited than Zhu Ping'an. He grabbed Zhu Ping'an's shoulders and shook them to attract his attention.
The other two fellow villagers and my uncle's fat friend also stood on tiptoe, following the official carrying the list with their eyes.
This time, I will be the only one taking the exam in Kaoshan Town.
Zhu Ping'an stood in the crowd, quietly watching the excited people. His inexplicable calmness at this moment formed a sharp contrast with the excitement of his uncle and others.
There was no suspense this time. After the official in charge of announcing the list said some words of congratulations and encouragement, he began to post the list with the assistance of the yamen runners. A long list full of names was posted on the wall. No matter whether it was the top candidate or the A and B lists, they were all on this list.
The top candidate is in the first place, and the first thirty are the A list, which are marked with a red pen at the back to separate them from the rest. This is the A list; the next seventy are naturally the B list.
The students who were looking at the list were more excited than ever before. The students on the list were almost ecstatic. This was the first step in the long journey of the imperial examination. Of course, the candidates who failed the exam were even more disappointed. Many of them burst into tears. They had been on the list in the past, but not this time. However, their situation was completely different. Failing the exam meant that they would have to take the county exam and the prefectural exam again in the future. There were seven or eight small exams in total, and there were many uncertainties. Seeing the happy faces of the people around them who were on the list, they couldn't help but feel extremely sad.
Ever since the list was posted, there has been a constant stream of exclamations from my uncle and others, like a drake with its throat strangled, which sounds harmful to the ears.
Uncle and others looked at the list, then looked at Zhu Ping'an, as if they didn't know him.
Zhu Pingan was also a little surprised, but after a moment, a silly smile appeared on his lips. The ancients said: God rewards hard work, and it is true.
Crowds, laughter, pain... ... In front of the crowd of people of all kinds is the final list of the provincial examination.
First place: Zhu Pingan; Second place: Wang Jin; Third place: Zheng Wei; Fourth place: Xia Luoming... ... Tenth place: Feng Shanshui... ...
This time, the first place in the case was a genuine first place in the prefectural case. The surprise of the uncle and others was understandable. The quality of the first place in the prefectural case was much higher than that of the first place in the county case. This was a competition among the students of the six counties of Anqing Prefecture. Although these students were not even scholars, they dared not even think about it. Uncle Zhu Shouren and several villagers also took the exam for more than ten years before they were lucky enough to pass the prefectural exam. However, Zhu Ping'an was only thirteen years old. He took the first place in the prefectural case in his first time to participate in the boy's exam. It was almost a fantasy. Moreover, what made them envious and jealous the most was that generally speaking, the first place in the prefectural case passed the college exam and became a scholar. This was almost an unspoken rule. It was the same for many years. As long as Zhu Ping'an did not do anything out of the ordinary, he would be a scholar.
Zhu Ping'an was also somewhat surprised at this provincial exam, much happier than when he won first place in the last exam. First of all, this provincial exam can be said to be achieved with his true level, without copying the Qing Dynasty champion papers in his mind; secondly, although the provincial exam is only a qualifying exam for the basic exams in the imperial examination, it is still difficult. Although other students and scholars have looked down on him several times, it is undeniable that their attainments in the eight-part essay, the four books and the five classics are still very high.
Of course, Zhu Ping'an was not overwhelmed by joy. He was lucky to win the first place in the prefectural examination. For example, the 15-guan question, or his chance encounter with an old man fishing, or his calligraphy making a qualitative leap by chance... Maybe the examiner just appreciated his writing style, etc. In addition, this was just a prefectural examination, which was only a competition among students in one prefecture. There was also the academy examination. Even if you passed the academy examination, it was only a qualification examination for the imperial examination. There would be provincial examinations, metropolitan examinations, etc. in the future.
This is just the first insignificant step in the Long March.
Zhu Ping'an won the first place in the prefectural case. The most surprised people were not only his uncle and others, but also the county leaders such as Tongcheng Xia Luoming and Susong Feng Shanshui.
The only one who remained calm was the King of Taihu. After looking at the list, his expression remained the same, as if the first, second, and third places had nothing to do with him.
But this is not the case for Xia Luoming of Tongcheng, Feng Shanshui of Susong and others. They have been trying their best to win the first place, just like a group of lions, all evenly matched and unwilling to submit to each other. They compete secretly with each other and all want to be the first place. But in the blink of an eye, a greedy fat pig has already reached the finish line, howling.
It felt like a punch on cotton.
"Ahem, Brother Zhu, congratulations." Feng Shanshui of Susong could still barely maintain his composure.
Xia Luoming and others from Tongcheng were somewhat indignant, but they just bowed and left.
"Zhi'er, you are the top candidate in the case?" Uncle Zhu Shouren still couldn't believe it and pinched Zhu Ping'an.
Nima
pain
Zhu Ping'an grimaced in dismay at the sudden pinch from his uncle.
Seeing Zhu Ping'an's grinning face, the uncle finally believed that he was not dreaming. His thirteen-year-old nephew not only passed the examination for the first time, but also ranked first.
So, it was a big blow.
"The young are to be feared..."
The other two villagers also sighed and helped their uncle leave. They took the same route to the old restaurant and it looked like they would not return home all night.
Since no one is celebrating, I can only celebrate for myself. Well, maybe I am the only one who can celebrate.
On the way back to the inn, Zhu Ping'an bought some wine, meat and food and took them back to the inn.
Pushing open the door of the inn, he found that the wine, meat and food in his hands were still there. He looked around and found that the room was clean and tidy, his bedding was folded, and only the faint fragrance of the witch remained in the room.
"Well, he left as expected."
Zhu Ping'an didn't seem surprised at all by the departure of the witch, and calmly put the food on the table. In fact, Zhu Ping'an had known about the departure of the witch for a long time, but he just didn't know when she left.
It's only early spring, but there are cuckoo calls at night. This is a bird that only appears in late spring and early summer. I don't know that I came from a mountain village.
Better go home
Better go home
It was just a signal from her accomplices to call the witch back to the team, otherwise why would she toss and turn... ... In fact, I hesitated several times when buying food because of this. I didn't know when the witch would leave, and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish all the food I brought.
When Zhu Ping'an put the food on the table, he found a piece of letter and a fifty-liang silver note under the wine jar on the corner of the table.
This vixen is quite interesting, Zhu Ping'an curled the corners of his mouth.