The swallows have not returned and spring is coming late; the apricot blossoms are cold in the mist and rain on the beach.
Although it was still chilly in Beijing in February, spring was already impatient to show its face. The warm sunlight from the rising sun flowed down from the sky, melting the hard ground and warming the ice surface of the moat. The sound of running water gradually became louder day by day, flowing down happily under the force of gravity.
When swallows appeared on the hazy petals of swaying apricot trees, the capital city seemed to be filled with spring scenery overnight.
Today is the last day of the imperial examination. Before daybreak, Zhu Pingan had already gotten up, washed up, put on his mask again, and roasted some dried meat and preserved fruits on the fire, filling his stomach with difficulty. It has been eight days and seven nights. Except for the stewed meat porridge and noodles on the first day, every meal was tasteless. For Zhu Pingan, a foodie, this was almost unbearable torture.
Besides, I haven't washed my hair in all this time, let alone taking a bath. Others are fine, but I am in a stinking cell, which is almost a catastrophe! After such a long time, I seem to be tainted by the smell of the next door, and the two sets of clothes I brought are almost completely covered. I am also exhausted, much more exhausted than when I took the provincial examination.
Fortunately, today is the ninth day, the last day of the imperial examination.
You stinky guy, I will tolerate you for half a day today!
After Zhu Ping'an had packed up, he tidied up the room, placed the wooden board across the wall again, laid out the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone, spread out the test paper and draft, and continued the exam that he had not completed yesterday.
Around 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, Zhu Ping'an had already finished all the questions in the third round and wrote them neatly on the draft paper. By the evening, he had copied the answers to the two questions in the draft on the answer sheet. In other words, as long as he copied the remaining three classics, history and strategy questions step by step on the answer sheet today, this joint examination would be successfully completed.
He closed his eyes and waited until his body and mind were in the best condition. Then he took out the brush, dipped it in ink, and concentrated on copying the answers to the last three questions on classics and history written on the draft onto the answer sheet.
While Zhu Pingan was copying carefully, some students had already finished their test papers. He packed up his things, put away the completed test papers, and finally carefully recalled the place where he had struggled.
The examination had a rule that after submitting the papers, one had to wait until the last day before leaving. The students were divided into three groups: one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. Therefore, those students who submitted their papers early had to wait until the first group in the morning was released.
When Zhu Pingan finished copying the second question, he heard footsteps outside the room and a noisy sound coming from nearby. He looked up and saw many soldiers invigilating the exam walking back and forth outside the room, and there were also some clerks coming and going.
When I was in doubt, I heard several clear sounds of the clapper board, and then a clerk shouted loudly outside the dormitory: "It's time to issue the scalp cards. Candidates who have finished their papers and want to hand them in can raise their hands to indicate that they have handed in their papers. After the signatures are issued, you can leave with tokens."
After hearing this, the first batch of candidates who handed in their papers could not wait to hand in their papers one after another, received their badges, and were led out by the invigilators. The nine days and seven nights of the examination had worn out almost every candidate. Every candidate who came out had experienced an extremely fierce battle and could not wait to go home and rest.
Because Zhu Ping'an still had one question to copy, he had to wait for the second group to hand in their papers.
With plenty of time, Zhu Ping'an copied the last question fairly and accurately, with his handwriting at an almost perfect level, and his brushwork and ink were so delicate that they could be seen through the back of the paper.
When the clerk reminded the second batch to hand in their papers, Zhu Ping'an also raised his hand to indicate that he had handed in his paper. An officer came to collect the papers, checked Zhu Ping'an's paper, and began to seal it. He folded over the place where Zhu Ping'an had filled in his resume (name, age, appearance, place of origin, whether he had committed a crime, test experience, and the names of his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather) at the beginning of the answer sheet, and stamped the "sealing official's seal" on the seam. Then the paper was collected and stamped with a red seal by the supervising officer, and the same red number as Zhu's paper was stamped.
This is also one of the ways to prevent cheating in the imperial examinations.
After collecting the papers, the examiner handed Zhu Ping'an a pass. Zhu Ping'an carried his packed bag and his exam basket. After saying hello to the invigilator who had been with him for nine days, he followed the invigilator and strode out of the exam room.
Rain and snow fell heavily,
Seeing the dusk is called disappearance.
The further he was from his own stinky cell, the more Zhu Ping'an felt that the sun was so bright and the air was so fresh. The examination was long, but it was finally over, and he was in an extremely good mood.
Zhu Ping'an felt so, but the other candidates who were waiting to appear on stage did not think so.
When you leave the stinky horn, you feel the air is better, but have you ever thought about us!
The candidates who were carrying their exam baskets and bags all kept their distance from Zhu Pingan. Although they didn't know each other, the smell coming from Zhu Pingan still made the candidates look at him in a different way.
Some candidates saw Zhu Ping'an coming out of the smelly room and whispered to the people around them, so people stayed away from him even more.
Uh, this person is a bad luck guy. We should stay away from him to avoid the bad luck. You know, since the beginning of history, all the candidates who were in the bad exam have never scored well. More than 90% of them failed. For hundreds of years, there has been no exception. This is the most famous bad luck in the exam room! We should stay away from this person as far as possible to avoid being infected by bad luck. I did well in this exam.
Therefore, the people around him looked at Zhu Ping'an with contempt and stayed away from him.
Zhu Pingan ignored the contempt of the people around him, and waited for the release with his lips slightly curled. Who says a stinky trumpet can't jump over the dragon gate!
Finally, the door opened, and Zhu Ping'an and other second group of people who had handed in their papers came out one after another. Zhu Ping'an followed everyone out of the Imperial Examination Hall.
At this time, there were crowds of people outside the gate, including many candidates and their waiting families. Some candidates who had handed in their papers were waiting outside for their friends who were taking the exam together, and some candidates whose families were waiting for the exam. They were in groups of two or three, discussing the same topic - the examination. They were either exchanging answers, asking how the exam went, or talking about things that happened during the exam. It was very lively.
This situation is similar to that after the college entrance examination, except that the clothes people wear are different, making Zhu Ping'an feel like he has returned to modern times.
As soon as the others came out, someone came up to them, asking about their well-being and how they did on the exam.
However, the family members who were crowded at the door and waiting for the candidates in gorgeous clothes, when they approached Zhu Ping'an, they all pinched their noses, looked down on him, and stayed away.
Among the candidates and their families waiting outside, no one knew that Zhu Ping'an was assigned to the stinky group in the examination. They just thought that Zhu Ping'an had poor personal hygiene habits.
Why does this guy smell so bad! Did he fall into the toilet? Or maybe he was so nervous about the exam that he peed in his pants! Look at his hair. Why is this guy so unkempt and looks so miserable? Just by looking at his smell, it is certain that he will not be favored by Wenquxing. It is obvious that he has no chance of passing the exam.
Oh, why is this guy's hygiene habit so bad? Not to mention that he won't do well in the exam, even finding a wife in the future will be a problem. Even though he is a juren, he can't expect to marry a lady from an elegant family. He can only make do with a village woman or something!
"Son-in-law, we are here..."
When the people nearby were looking at Zhu Ping'an with disdain, a clear and soft voice was heard.
Then, people were stunned to see a gorgeously dressed, very pretty girl, happily running over with her skirt in hand, her target clearly being the boy whom they despised to the point of no return. (To be continued.)