The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror-Chapter 23 - 19 County Exam

Upon arriving on the main street of the County School, the crowd was lively, and a line of lime had been laid out as a warning line, allowing only candidates holding exam tablets to enter.

Behind them, friends and family watched the candidates off, giving Xu Qing a nostalgic feeling reminiscent of taking the college entrance exam in a past life.

The aspiration of parents to see their children succeed remains the same through the ages.

In front of the County School, there were people of all ages, but now they all shared one identity, that of the candidates.

"Scholar" was just a title; it didn't carry any special privileges nor did it qualify one as a true scholar.

Xu Qing had arrived not long before County Magistrate Wu appeared in court dress, spouting bureaucratic niceties. After going through the motions, the county examination officially began.

The number of examination sessions was roughly four or five, the specific count decided by the County Magistrate.

This time, County Magistrate Wu planned to hold four sessions.

It seemed he too wished to conclude the county examination as soon as possible.

The first session was called the formal session, followed by "Preliminary Review," "Secondary Review," and the fourth session, "Interview Review."

In reality, after passing the formal session, there was no need to participate in the next two sessions; one could directly proceed to the fourth session, "Interview Review."

There were over a thousand candidates this time, and verifying every candidate's identity took quite a while. However, as Xu Qing was the nephew of Historian Li, his identity confirmation was expedited by the clerks, allowing him early access to the examination hall.

Entering the examination hall early had the advantage of picking a good spot.

In the county examination, exam papers didn't need to be anonymously copied, so essentially, the chief examiner's inclination largely determined the results of the county examination.

Once the formal exam commenced, Xu Qing started wielding his writing brush to answer the questions.

The exam topic was "To take benevolence as one's duty."

It was precisely the latter part of the phrase County Magistrate Wu had mentioned to Historian Li: "A scholar cannot but be grand and persevering for the journey is far-reaching."

Xu Qing had guessed earlier that the exam topic would be either the preceding or the succeeding line.

It turned out just as expected.

He had deeply delved into the few potential topics, preparing thoroughly.

Upon setting his pen to paper, he quickly entered the state of "Absolute Focus."

Having already practiced the topic, and being in a state of "Absolute Focus," Xu Qing fused the best pieces he had previously written with similar excerpts from renowned stereotypical essays seen in his past life to form a powerful piece.

The Great Yu Dynasty was not closed off; from top to bottom, they favored prodigies exceedingly.

The better Xu Qing's paper, combined with his youthful advantage, the more likely he was to gain fame.

Gaining fame was not a bad thing, it could even serve as a talisman.

Moreover, Xu Qing was curious to know if greater renown could uniquely enhance his "Qi Fortune."

After completing his paper, Xu Qing habitually reviewed it all over, and casually composed a poem for the trial post.

After ensuring everything was in order, he was surprised to discover that there was another candidate who had also finished, but was somewhat behind him in time and still reviewing.

Xu Qing simply decided not to wait and was the first to submit his paper.

His standing up naturally startled the other candidate who had finished later and was still reviewing.

The candidate was slightly anxious but, having not finished reviewing, had no choice but to continue.

County Magistrate Wu, recognizing the name on the cover as Li Dianshi's nephew, Xu Qing, didn't look any further. He only picked up the paper to read after Xu Qing had left the examination hall.

Although he had decided to place Xu Qing at the top, County Magistrate Wu didn't have high expectations for his essay.

But a slightly above-average paper would suffice to silence criticisms.

"This..."

Because he hadn't expected much, the impressiveness of Xu Qing's essay far exceeded his expectations. He knew very well that even if he had leaked the topic, allowing preparation a couple of months in advance, the current essay was still too excellent. Even he, a Third Class Scholar, couldn't have written such an excellent piece.

"Excellent!" Caught at the climax, County Magistrate Wu slapped the table with force.

County Magistrate Wu truly understood the ancient custom of mixing reading with wine; seeing such a splendid essay now, he fancied a pot of wine to express his excitement.

Like him, many classics had been read by Xu Qing, and reading a new, thrilling piece of writing was similar to Xu Qing's past life experience as a seasoned bookworm finding a particularly enthralling novel.

Indescribable!

After a long while, County Magistrate Wu reluctantly closed the paper, then realized another candidate had appeared before him.

County Magistrate Wu managed his expression and said indifferently, "Leave your paper here."

"Sir, please take a look at my paper too."

"Of course, I will."

The candidate hesitated, then gritting his teeth said, "Seeing how engrossed you were with the first paper, I want to know how mine compares, and suspect that the top place in this county examination lies between him and me."

County Magistrate Wu glanced at the candidate's name and said, "Yan Shan, a native of Dongting in this county. What relation is Dongting Lord to you?"

"He is my great-grandfather."

Dongting Lord, the distinguished official Yan Jie, had been a second-ranked governor. However, in the past thirty years, no one from the Yan Family had achieved the rank of Scholar or higher, leading to their family's decline.

This was one of the reasons why, since the rise of the Imperial Examination, it had become difficult for gentry to counterbalance the Imperial Power as in the Middle Ages.

Once no family member passed the Imperial Examination to continue serving in court, their social status would rapidly fall.

By the generation of the candidate surnamed Yan, not even his father had achieved the rank of Scholar.

Of course, the Yan Family was a prominent clan. Although the candidate's great-grandfather had been a high-ranking official, theirs was not the main branch of the family. Over three generations, other than keeping the Yan surname, they had barely benefited from the remnants of their great-grandfather's legacy.

However, given their background, accessing various collections for reading was relatively easy.

Moreover, for the sake of the Imperial Examination, Yan Shan had spent a significant amount of family wealth to study at the renowned Juye Academy in South Zhili, where all the teachers had achieved the rank of Scholar.

Having achieved academic success, Yan Shan returned to participate in the county examination, determined to win the top spot.

County Magistrate Wu, regarding the descendants of distinguished officials, was inclined to offer some deference. After all, everyone faces retirement, and if you show no respect for the elderly predecessors, how can you expect to be respected after retiring?

Respect is a mutual courtesy in social interactions.

Thereupon, County Magistrate Wu inspected his paper in front of Yan Shan.

It was indeed of high quality.

County Magistrate Wu questioned himself; if he were to solve this question, he'd probably perform at this level. In terms of literary style, he might even be slightly inferior to Yan Shan.

It seemed Yan Shan had been taught by a renowned teacher who specialized in preparing students for the Imperial Examination.

Unfortunately, unfortunate.

Had not Xu Qing written such a superb essay, he might have been swayed.

"Not bad, you've passed the formal session."

Yan Shan's face fell in disappointment. He understood the subtext of County Magistrate Wu's words, but Yan Shan wanted a clearer explanation and said, "Sir, could you let me take a look at his answer?"

He looked earnestly hopeful.

County Magistrate Wu felt some pity for this talent and, considering Yan Shan's current level and probable success in future examinations, thought it a good idea to foster goodwill. He said, "Take a look."

Yan Shan then deeply bowed and cautiously started reading Xu Qing's paper. After only getting through half of it, he couldn't help but exclaim aloud: "If such a paper does not take the top spot, it would defy all justice."

This shout startled everyone inside and outside the examination hall.

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