Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 837: Examination Questions

Scholar Shang was very pleased to hear this, helped Gu Jin’an up, and said, "As your teacher, I believe in you. You will not waste the years of hard study."

The Jiang Family was very concerned about Gu Jin’an’s participation in the county exam and came to see him off.

Jiang Dahu found it unbearable to see Scholar Shang and Gu Jin’an thanking each other like this, and said, "Stop thanking each other. Quickly take out the guarantee certificate, bid farewell to your parents, and hurry to line up at the Dragon Gate."

The exam venue for the county exam was called the Ritual Room, and the gate of the Ritual Room was called the Dragon Gate, which symbolizes the students jumping over the Dragon Gate like carp.

After hearing this, Gu Jin’an and the others quickly took out the guarantee certificate, deeply bowed to their parents who came to see them off, and expressed gratitude for their upbringing and nurturing.

Gu Dashan, Qi Panzi, Gu Dafu and Brother Gu Damu were very emotional and kept urging them to rise.

Gu Dafu even cried. His parents, wife, and daughter had all passed away, leaving only his son Gu Dexing, and he dreamed of his son’s success. Now, seeing Gu Dexing also taking the exam, he cried uncontrollably.

Gu Dexing’s eyes were also red, and he said, "Father, don’t cry. I will do my best in the exam."

Mrs. Chen was sitting in the mule cart with Gu Jinli, Luo Huiniang, and several other women who came to see off candidates. Seeing Gu Dafu crying, she quickly said, "Big Brother, why are you crying? It’s such a joyful occasion, and you’re crying. That’s not auspicious!"

What if you scare away Old Master Wenquxing? Then Brother Xing might not pass the exam.

Gu Dagui also advised his older brother: "Big Brother, stop crying. Be happy. Let Brother Xing take the exam with peace of mind."

Only then did Gu Dafu hold back his tears.

Qin San Lang saw them from a distance, but to avoid suspicion, he didn’t come over. Instead, he sent Section Leader Zhang over to tell them, "Brother An, the Dragon Gate is about to open. You need to hurry and queue up."

After saying this, he didn’t linger and left immediately.

Gu Jin’an, hearing this, bowed to Gu Jinli in the mule cart. Although Xiao Yu was his younger sister, she deserved this gesture from him. If it weren’t for her, he wouldn’t have had the chance to study, and he might not have even survived.

Gu Jinli smiled at him and urged, "Brother, go in quickly. We’ll wait for you to come out, and we’ll go back together."

The county exam consisted of three consecutive sessions, each lasting one day. The Dragon Gate opened at the hour of the dragon for entry, and they left at night. There was no need to stay overnight in the exam hall.

Gu Jin’an nodded with a smile and went to line up with Scholar Shang.

Many students came to take the county exam, numbering in the hundreds. Gu Jin’an and his group queued for over an hour before it was their turn to enter.

Before entering, they had to submit their guarantee certificate for the clerks at the county government to check. After verifying their appearance and being introduced to the recommending scholars, they were issued identification tags to enter the Dragon Gate.

Scholar Shang was familiar with the people at the county government. The clerk knew him and also recognized Gu Jin’an, so after the check, they quickly let them pass.

Gu Jin’an and the others took their identification tags and followed the county soldiers from the Military Office to a room.

Inside were the clerks from the county government who, upon seeing the candidates enter, shouted, "Undress and loosen your hair!"

To prevent candidates from cheating by bringing in hidden papers, all candidates had to undress and loosen their hair for inspection. Some students who were unaware of this requirement were bewildered, but Gu Jin’an and his group knew about it.

Scholar Shang had specifically told them not to be afraid or embarrassed and to let the soldiers conduct inspections; just grit their teeth and get through it.

Gu Jin’an and his group were mentally prepared, so they quickly took off their clothes and loosened their hair.

The soldiers, under the supervision of the clerks, inspected the candidates, and after checking their clothes as well, told the clerks, "Clear."

The clerks took the candidates’ tags, wrote the word "clear" on them, and instructed the candidates, "All paper and ink supplies are over there. Each person takes one set and follows the county soldiers into the exam hall."

During the previous dynasty, noble families monopolized court positions and preferred the recommendation system, strongly opposed to the imperial examination system. They set many rules to prevent cheating, one of which was that candidates were not allowed to bring their own writing materials or food and water.

Great Chu continued these rules. However, these writing materials and water cost money, so truly poor families couldn’t afford to participate in the exams.

Gu Jin’an and his group arrived at the exam basket area. Before picking up the baskets, they first checked them. Scholar Shang had told them that some candidates found their baskets tampered with, containing hidden notes, resulting in a cheating accusation and being expelled by guards during the exam.

Therefore, they had to inspect the items carefully before taking them to ensure that the baskets, brushes, and inkstones hadn’t been tampered with.

After checking each item, Gu Jin’an and his group finally picked up the exam baskets and followed the county soldiers out.

The six clerks responsible for the checks were pleased to see this and nodded with satisfaction. This Brother Gu Jia’an was indeed clever and knew to check the government-supplied items.

They looked at the other candidates present and saw some who were reluctant to undress and angrily said, "If you want to enter the exam hall, hurry up and undress. We won’t wait."

With so many people participating in the county exam, they didn’t have time to wait for candidates who hesitated.

The candidates all wanted to leap over the Dragon Gate, and after overcoming their shyness, they quickly undressed, loosened their hair, and underwent inspection.

Gu Jin’an and his group followed the county soldiers to the exam hall and, based on the numbers on their tags, entered their respective rooms.

They were fortunate not to get a foulness number, but the room was quite small, less than half a zhang in size. Sitting inside felt oppressive and uncomfortable.

Gu Jin’an and his peers, having been confined by Master Ouyang in his self-made rooms for a few days, were now comfortable in the exam room. They sat upright on their seats, waiting for the exam papers to be distributed.

Half an hour later, the loud sound of a drum in the Ritual Room signaled the start. After an exciting drumbeat, Lord County Magistrate led a group of officials into the exam hall to distribute the papers.

With so many people, it took half an hour just to distribute the papers.

After the papers were handed out, County Magistrate Zheng stood in the passage of the exam hall and addressed the candidates, "The exam is a significant event, and cheating is strictly prohibited. Offenders will have their exam qualifications revoked for life. Please take this seriously."

After speaking, he left and County Magistrate Fang proceeded to explain the exam rules to the candidates.

"Papers must be submitted before dark. If you need to use the restroom, you must register and be accompanied by two county soldiers. Each candidate may only use the restroom twice."

Therefore, eat and drink less.

The food provided by the county government was also very simple, consisting of two hard cakes and a bowl of water, which were difficult to chew.

Gu Jin’an, having experienced great hardships himself, did not mind this. What he cared about were the exam questions.

The county exam was actually quite simple, mainly testing familiarity with the Four Books and Five Classics, as well as poetry, prose, and essays.

The most challenging part was the essay section. The first session’s topic was about agriculture.

This question was very much in line with County Magistrate Zheng’s personality. He cared about agriculture and hoped candidates took a practical approach, hence the agriculture essay topic.

Gu Jin’an had written numerous essays about agriculture, so this question was right up his alley. He quickly started writing and composed an essay on agriculture.

Qi Kangming and Gu Dexing, alongside Gu Jin’an, had also written many essays about agriculture. Seeing the question, they breathed a sigh of relief and promptly began their essays.

Gu Qingtian and Gu Qingliang’s academic skills were not very strong. This time, Gu Dalin wanted them to take the exam without any expectation of passing. They did not rush to write the essays and instead began writing in an orderly manner from the Four Books.