Three gongs sounded, and the gate of Gongyuan creaked open, and a team of well-armed guards came out to guard both sides, eyeing the candidates lining up eagerly.
"Except for food, candidates are not allowed to bring anything with them into the venue. Anyone who violates this rule will be disqualified from taking the exam, will be expelled from Gongyuan, and will not be allowed to take the exam for three years."
One after another, students began to enter the Gongyuan gate under the inspection of the guards. They even took off their outer robes and then searched them closely. All the food in the food boxes was broken into two halves to prevent cheat sheets from being included.
The strict inspection is no less scornful than the college entrance examination in later generations, or even more so. Because later generations have various advanced instruments for testing, they will not even take off their outer robes for inspection.
Seeing that he was about to reach the queue, Young Master Liu Liu Song took the food box from a servant and handed it over: "Master, outsiders are not allowed to enter the Gongyuan. The next step is to rely on the young master himself. Xiao Song believes that the young master will definitely pass the examination."
Yes, come on, young master."
Young Master Liu took the food box anxiously. At this moment, he actually felt nervous about taking the college entrance examination: "Xiaosong, Master, I'm going in."
"Master, go in. You have to take the exam well in these three days. Xiaosong will pick you up in three days."
Young Master Liu reluctantly said goodbye to Liu Song, carrying the food box and hurried forward slowly. Finally, after the scholar in front of Young Master Liu entered the Gongyuan, Young Master Liu followed the same example and put the food box on a table.
On the table.
Two guards stepped forward and opened the food box. Inside were stacks of exquisite snacks, as well as a lot of fruits. A roast chicken was well wrapped in oil paper. Compared with the food boxes of Liu Dashao in front of them, it was full of both meat and vegetables.
, the guard glanced at Young Master Liu in surprise. This was the first time he saw that the things he brought to the exam looked like they were on an outing.
After carefully inspecting each snack and not finding any inclusions, the guard closed the food box and said, "Come here, take off your coat."
Young Master Liu stood on a wooden platform. The guard carefully inspected every part of the coat before returning it to Young Master Liu: "No difference."
"go in."
"Thank you."
The guard glanced at Mr. Liu in surprise and smiled softly. It was unprecedented for a scholar to say thank you to such a reckless man as him.
About half an hour later, more than a thousand students taking the exam gathered in the Gongyuan. I didn't notice anything when they were queuing up, but they were a big crowd when they were piled together.
"All candidates are silent and pay homage to Confucius."
The noisy voices began to quiet down, and officials and students led by Qi Run Zhao Fengshou began to bow and salute in front of the statue of Confucius. This is a ritual that must be held every autumn.
Confucius is a saint who is deeply rooted in the hearts of scholars. Worshiping Confucius is not only a form of respect but also a kind of psychological comfort. Asking Confucius for his blessing to be able to go to high school.
After the service, Zhao Fengshou went up to the wooden stage with a piece of silk in his hand: "The affairs of Qiuwei cannot be underestimated. All candidates must follow the rules of the examination room and strictly copy other students' test papers. Once found, they will immediately clear the Gongyuan Academy and are not allowed to take the exam again. Historically,
There have been cases of cheating among candidates in the examination room. I hope all students will take this as a warning and take your seats."
The government officials began to lead the students to the examination room, which was divided into rooms. After all the candidates entered, several examiner officials inspected each other: "When the time is up, seal the courtyard door and trespassers will be dealt with according to the law."
"Master Song, please open the book."
Qi Run nodded, picked up his own key, and opened the lock on the wooden box. Several exam companions took out the test papers inside and distributed them one by one to the candidates.
Every time a test paper was handed out, the two examiners followed closely and watched every move of the government officials. There was no room for carelessness in the autumn period. Not only were candidates strictly prohibited from interfering with the exams, but they also had to prevent the government officials from being bribed. This shows that the imperial court attached great importance to the imperial examinations.
When they arrived at Mr. Liu's place, Liu Mingzhi politely said thank you to the yamen servant. Qi Run, who was standing beside him, walked past as if he had never seen Mr. Liu before, just like he did to all the candidates in front of him.
Young Master Liu knew that it was unexpected that his father-in-law, as a local official, could become one of the chief examiners. He had to avoid suspicion and put himself in the position of assisting Doctor Zhao. There was no point in seeing him ignore him.
, after all, one still has to avoid suspicion.
After everyone left, Mr. Liu started to pick up the test paper and read it. This was the first time in his life that he had seen a scientific examination test paper. It was no different from what he had imagined. The test questions were printed on the test paper, and there were five words next to it.
A piece of paper is used to prevent candidates from being nervous and not using enough paper. I have to say that this is a very comprehensive consideration.
Young Master Liu put down the test paper in his hand and began to rub the ink. After the ink was evenly distributed, he put the pen aside and began to carefully read the questions on the test paper.
The first test is about the meaning of the classics. One hundred questions are selected from the Four Books and Five Classics, and candidates are required to write corresponding questions based on the articles they have read.
Young Master Liu found that the above test questions were not as difficult as he imagined, so he took out a piece of paper and started writing.
Time passed most carelessly during the exam. Mr. Liu wrote out all 60 of the 100 questions without encountering any difficulty. Each question was reflected in his mind.
Putting down his writing brush, Liu Mingzhi stretched and realized that it was already dusk and the exam room was getting dark. He shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Master, I am really fascinated. I, who dislike exams the most, can actually write in the exam paper."
I can't help myself."
Carefully putting the test papers aside, Mr. Liu opened his food box. Most of the day had passed, but he hadn't eaten a single morsel of food. He was already hungry.
Picking up a piece of sweet-scented osmanthus cake and stuffing it into his mouth, the rich fragrance bloomed in his mouth: "Well, this is made by that girl Ying'er, no one else can make this taste."
After eating several pastries in a row to stop feeling so empty in his stomach, Liu Mingzhi tore open the parchment paper wrapping the roasted chicken, pulled off a piece of chicken drumstick and ate it.
The aroma of roasted chicken filled the entire examination room.
"Brother next door, when you eat roasted chicken, can you wrap it up tightly? I'm here to make pancakes. If you eat roasted chicken, the smell is too great. Is this something humans do?"
"Yes, yes, brother, your food is too good. We all eat dry biscuits, but the roast chicken tastes too great when you eat it."
"No talking." A government official came over and looked at Liu Mingzhi and the others seriously: "If you three are discussing in private, I will report it to the examiner."
The other two people hurriedly ate the pancakes in their hands in silence. Mr. Liu also put down the chicken drumsticks in his hands and laughed twice. The yamen servant looked at the fragrant drumsticks in Liu Mingzhi's hands in surprise and swallowed a few mouthfuls of saliva, thinking about him.
I also guessed why the three people here were talking.
"Why are you standing in front of the candidates?" A serious voice came, and the yamen servant was agitated: "Let me tell you, one of the candidates caused trouble by eating chicken drumsticks. The younger one has warned them." The person who came was the official who was patrolling the examination room.
Zhao Fengshou, a member of the ministry.
Zhao Fengshou waved his hand: "Continue to patrol, no contact with candidates, no whispering with candidates."
After the yamen officer walked away, Zhao Fengshou looked at the examination rooms and test papers of the other two candidates and found nothing the same before continuing to walk to Mr. Liu's examination room.
"Huh?" Zhao Fengshou was stunned when he saw Liu Dashao's test paper.