TTLJDFL Chapter 66

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For months leading up to the exam, Li Jin had been bathing in cold water to acclimate himself to the harsh conditions of the imperial examination system.

As someone who had transmigrated, he had heard plenty of stories about candidates freezing to death in the examination halls.

The autumn examination was the deadliest—it lasted nine days in total, with three rounds of three-day exams. Candidates had to sleep in their assigned cubicles without blankets or thick clothing. Those with weaker constitutions were at serious risk.

Of course, Li Jin thought, his cold-water training didn’t include Qin Muwen. He could never bear to let his husband suffer through such hardship.

Most candidates understood the cold would be a challenge during the February county examination and had their own ways of coping—some drank herbal concoctions to ward off the chill, while others preconditioned themselves by wearing thin clothing in their studies.

Drinking herbal medicine was easy, so most did it.

However, deliberately exposing oneself to the cold was another matter. Many couldn’t endure it, and their families feared they might fall ill before the exam even began.

Standing in place for a while, Li Jin could feel the warmth from his earlier movement dissipating. His thin cotton-padded jacket did little against the biting wind, which cut straight through him, stealing what little warmth he had left.

Still, he remained calm, gripping his bamboo basket and enduring the cold in silence.

As time passed, the county magistrate began calling names. Ahead of him, Li Jin heard a candidate’s teeth chattering from the cold, yet the man gritted his teeth and endured.

For the sake of the imperial examination and the promise of future success, everyone was willing to suffer.

“Hongyan Village, Li Jin.”

Li Jin stepped forward and approached the north gate as per the protocol.

An officer took his bamboo basket and examined his ink, brushes, and food. Since the exam lasted the entire day, each candidate was allowed to bring two steamed buns for lunch—no other food was permitted.

These rules had been publicly posted a month prior.

His bamboo basket was quickly taken out of sight, and he was asked to remove his padded jacket. Standing with his arms outstretched, he underwent a thorough body search, while another officer checked for hidden cheats inside his clothing.

Just as his inspection was nearing completion, a loud shout rang out nearby.

“Yongle Village, Sun Shan! Contraband discovered in his steamed buns!”

Li Jin froze for a moment as the officer handed back his belongings.

As he put on his jacket, he could still feel its lingering warmth. Meanwhile, the commotion surrounding Sun Shan was quickly resolved—the culprit was dragged away, and his fate remained unknown.

Seeing this unfold, several candidates still waiting for their turn turned pale, their legs trembling. Yet none dared to flee; they had no choice but to face inspection.

As expected, some were found hiding cheats in the padding of their jackets, while others had written crib notes directly on their clothing.

One by one, they were all taken away, despite their desperate pleas.

Li Jin, having passed the inspection without issue, was led into the northern courtyard, where he stood in line behind the county magistrate.

Looking down at his steamed buns, he noticed they had been torn apart during the inspection. He suddenly lost his appetite.

The county office was expected to provide hot soup at midday, so skipping the buns wouldn’t be a problem, he reasoned.

Once all candidates were accounted for, they collectively bowed to the magistrate before proceeding to the main hall to receive their exam papers.

There was originally a “guarantor” verification process, but due to past wars and a shortage of scholars, the emperor had simplified the county exam to recruit more talent. As a result, the number of examinees had surged in recent years.

However, the difficulty of the questions had not decreased. In fact, this year, mathematics had been added to the exam, causing widespread distress among candidates.

Li Jin glanced at the number on his test paper—132.

He found his assigned seat, placed his bamboo basket at his feet, and arranged his ink and brushes on the desk.

By the time everyone was seated, the sky had already brightened from darkness to daylight.

Due to the large number of candidates, the examination hall was packed with desks and chairs of various sizes, some seemingly brought in from nearby private schools.

Fortunately, although Li Jin’s desk and chair were old and worn, the tabletop did not have any large holes that would hinder writing.

Li Jin had been standing outside for a long time, and his hands were cold. However, according to the regulations, no unnecessary movements were allowed inside the examination hall. He could only clench his fists and then slowly release them, repeating the process to regain sensation in his fingers.

A proctor struck a copper gong, announcing the official start of the exam.

After filling in his name, place of origin, and examination number, government officials held up boards displaying the exam questions and walked around the hall to ensure that every candidate could see them.

Li Jin first examined his exam paper, which was made of xuan paper with red-lined horizontal and vertical grids—each page had fourteen lines, with eighteen characters per line.

Additionally, there were two sheets of plain paper for drafting.

He recalled Mr. Song’s instructions: under no circumstances should he mention the reign titles or personal names of deceased or current emperors, as doing so would be considered an offense against the throne.

Steadying his mind, he noticed that the official holding the question board had reached his area. He picked up his brush and began copying the exam questions.

This was the first session of the exam, also called the "formal session." The questions were relatively simple: two essays based on the Four Books, one five-character six-rhyme regulated verse poem, with a total word limit of no more than seven hundred characters.

The essay section required candidates to use the eight-legged essay format, incorporating memorized passages from the Four Books to demonstrate their mastery of classical texts.

Since entering the examination hall, Li Jin had adopted the right mindset, avoiding distractions about success or failure. His serious expression reflected his focus.

After copying the questions, he did not rush to write but instead spent about the time of one incense stick's burning in thought. He copied the core themes of the questions onto his draft paper and then used a brainstorming mind map method from his past life to list relevant passages from the Four Books and the Five Classics.

This approach would help him construct a coherent and well-supported argument in his eight-legged essay.

Although the eight-legged essay had strict requirements regarding tonal patterns and structure, what truly made a piece impressive was the ability to identify and resolve the central issue—essentially, to ensure a logical and self-consistent argument.

Since the formal session was relatively simple, each essay only needed to be about three hundred characters long.

Li Jin first drafted his response, then refined the wording before transcribing it onto the exam paper.

By the time he finished writing the first essay and had drafted half of the second, it was already noon. Government officials carried in bowls of hot soup. Candidates could raise their hands if they wanted some, but they were not allowed to make any noise.

The soup was free of charge, which surprised Li Jin.

After spending the entire morning exerting mental effort and wearing thin clothing, he felt he needed a bowl of hot soup.

When the soup arrived, he was further surprised to find it was bone broth. Though lightly flavored, it was far better than plain water.

This suggested that the country was prosperous and at peace, and that the local government had sufficient funds.

On the other hand, considering that the exam registration fee was two hundred wen, it was likely that the cost of xuan paper, desks, chairs, and the soup was already included in the fee.

Li Jin was extremely hungry. Although he disliked eating the provided steamed buns, he knew that with four days of exams ahead, he couldn’t afford to skip food every day.

So, enduring his aversion, he peeled off the outer layer of the broken bun and soaked the inside in the hot soup.

The once rock-hard bun quickly softened, and after finishing the bowl, Li Jin felt warmth returning to his body.

In the afternoon, hot soup was still available, but this time it cost forty wen per bowl.

Chen Xiran, who was seated diagonally in front of Li Jin, finished his second essay and had only the poem left to write. Li Jin noticed that Chen Xiran raised his hand to order another bowl of soup.

Li Jin wanted to warn him, but since speaking was not allowed, he could only watch as Chen Xiran drank the entire bowl.

Li Jin thought to himself: The county exam sessions only last one day, and restroom breaks are not allowed. Drinking so much soup—won’t he suffer later?

The final task, composing the regulated verse poem, did not pose much difficulty for Li Jin. By now, he had found his own style—straightforward pastoral poetry that reflected rural life.

However, if the chief examiner preferred elaborate and ornate poetry, his style might not stand out. Still, it wouldn’t be considered wrong.

After completing his poem, he carefully reviewed his work for errors, then raised his hand to submit his paper.

Packing up his bamboo basket, he remained seated, waiting for the final "release order" to leave the examination hall with the other candidates.

In county-level exams, the county magistrate served as the chief examiner. However, he could only sit at the front and was not allowed to personally review students' exam papers to prevent bias in favor of candidates he recognized.

Thus, while examinees came from vastly different family backgrounds, the content of the exam and its grading process were strictly impartial.

This was the only way for poor scholars to rise in status.

Chen Xiran and Li Jin left the county office together. Chen Xiran immediately asked Li Jin to wait for him as he clutched his stomach and ran off in search of a latrine.

When he returned, he swore, "I will never waste money on that again!"

For the second exam session, fewer candidates showed up—several dozen had already been eliminated.

Many had arrived before dawn only to be informed that their handwriting in the first session was too poor, and they were not permitted to continue to the second round.

This meant that the county magistrate had spent the night reviewing all candidates' handwriting and answers.

Naturally, he didn’t have time to evaluate content in depth—otherwise, far more people would have been disqualified.

Li Jin observed that most of the eliminated candidates were quite young. They were likely the ones Mr. Song had mentioned—students sent to experience the exam atmosphere in advance.

The second session, known as "Zhaofu" or "Initial Review," was similar to the first, except that the poetry section was replaced with a one-hundred-character dictation of the "Sacred Edict and Amplification."

The strictest requirement was that no mistakes or additions were allowed during transcription.

Since only one answer sheet was provided, candidates couldn’t afford a single slip-up. A mistake would mean immediate disqualification from the next round.

Even someone as composed as Li Jin copied the passage onto draft paper first before carefully transcribing it onto the official sheet.

Because this process took extra time, he finished just as the exam ended. Following the others, he submitted his paper and exited the examination hall.

At this moment, several people turned pale, murmuring to themselves, "It's over, I wrote one line wrong when I was copying from memory..."

Among them, an older man with streaks of silver in his black hair actually burst into tears.

When the candidates entered for the third round of the exam, as expected, Li Jin saw this very same old man among those who were not called.

Initially, Li Jin felt sympathy for these candidates, acknowledging their struggles. However, when he saw the exam questions, he was left speechless with a sense of helplessness.

The first three questions of the third round were still relatively normal—one passage of scripture, one piece of legal writing, and a test poem.

But the final task was to recite from memory the seventh and eleventh sentences from the previous exam’s text, The Expanded Sacred Instructions.

Again, no mistakes were allowed, and no corrections could be made.

As a result, dozens more candidates were eliminated before the fourth round.

Once the fourth round ended and the county magistrate collected the answer sheets, he announced that there would be a fifth round the next day, focusing on mathematics.

This was within Li Jin’s expectations, but most of the candidates looked utterly bewildered.

Mathematics? Though it was a required subject, it hadn't appeared in the county exam for years!

The magistrate obviously had no intention of discussing it with them. After making the announcement, he coldly ordered everyone to disperse.

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