Moments before dawn, the sky falls back into darkness.
Instead, the inn was brightly lit, with schoolchildren and scholars getting up to wash and pack for the crucial battle of their lives.
“Brother Zhu, has brother Zhu washed up yet, go go go go ……” Fatty Xue Chi before anyone arrived, that loud voice came from far away.
Fatty Xuechi huffed and puffed as he walked to the door of Zhu Pingan’s room, and just as he raised his hand and was about to knock, the door opened.
“Go.” Zhu Pingan said as he pushed open the door.
Zhu Pingan walked in front, Fatty Xuechi followed closely behind, gasping for breath, people are fat and can’t walk fast. Both of them were empty-handed and did not bring a single thing with them, the fat man did not even bring his golden lock and two trigger fingers. The court test and the government test is similar to the things used in the examination, one should be provided by the examination room, serious discipline, to prevent cheating.
The road from time to time encountered peer to Jiangnan Gongyuan test students, three or two feel all full of serious, less relaxed and cheerful.
“Cough cough cough, swine child wait for us.” A call came from the distance.
Zhu Pingan paused in his steps and looked at the sound, only to see several breathless scholars coming on the bridge connecting the two sides of the Qin Huai River. All of them were acquaintances, among them, the one who called out to Zhu Pingan was none other than Zhu Pingan’s eldest uncle, Zhu Shouren, and the ones with him were all of Zhu Pingan’s townspeople, including that fat friend of the eldest uncle.
Zhu Pingan looked at the eldest uncle and other people from the opposite side of the bridge to cross, simply do not know what to say, this is going to be the examination, but also do not forget the day to day!
Because of the time constraints, Zhu Pingan didn’t want to introduce Fatty Xuechi and the others to each other, so they walked together towards the Jiangnan Tribute Academy.
To the Jiangnan Tribute Academy door, the eastern sky has revealed a slight protein, a few clouds converge in the sky, as if soaked in blood, showing a faint red, seems to indicate that today for the students of the scholars is an exceptionally bloody battle.
Jiangnan Tribute Academy entrance there are nearly a hundred serious expression of government officials in maintaining order, on both sides there are dozens of armour in the body of the sergeant across the sword and stand, very serious. Candidates lined up separately according to the prefectures they came from, and the candidates from each prefecture were divided into two teams under the command of the government officials.
At the entrance, there were several cases, and behind each case there were two officials dressed in Yamen uniforms screening the candidates from each province against the roll-call sheet.
In the roll-call book under each person’s name details of place of origin, age, appearance, three generations of biographical data, are in advance through the recognition of the government grants stamps, or must be signed in person, which is more careful than the government, the county exams, in order to prevent fraudulent exams, substitutes, and other frauds.
The officer sitting on the chair in the middle of the main door, two rows of standing are all the candidates of the government officials.
Officials to the roll-call book roll-call candidates, candidates to come forward to answer, said loudly who is who who as a guarantee, this time the candidate’s should be guaranteed GGP will come forward to screen, if found not their own should be guaranteed, should be put forward on the spot, the school officials will as a false examination on the spot punishment, the consequences are very serious; should be guaranteed GGP found that is indeed their own should be guaranteed, to say loudly GGP so-and-so so-and-so guaranteed, so that only counted as a roll-call is complete, the candidates can enter.
“Zhu Pingan, a native of the village of Xihe, is guaranteed by the Grange Students Sun Hongzhi, Liu Chuanwen, and Zhang Fangweng.”
When it was Zhu Pingan’s turn, Zhu Pingan stepped forward and bowed, singing the bail loudly.
Soon enough, he could hear his mentor, Old Master Sun, and several of his mentor’s friends responding to the bail, “Grange student Sun Hongzhi bails,” “Grange student Liu Chuanwen bails.” “G.G.S. Zhang Fuangweng.”
After the completion of the bail, the official nodded his head to indicate that Zhu Pingan entered the field, at this time Zhu Pingan Fang had time to have a realisation of communication with his teacher Sun Laozi and others.
This time the eyes of Old Master Sun were quite commendable.
After Zhu Pingan and Sun Laofuzi had finished staring at each other, he hurriedly swept a glance at the school mentioning officer, who was a man in his fifties with a lot of official authority, very imposing, with a square face and a long beard, and looked quite impartial.
After only one glance, Zhu Pingan was urged forward by the leading minor official.
Jiangnan Tribute Academy’s gate is a three-queen regulator gate, wooden structure, the centre passes through the pedestrian, and the two sides are closed. The main door is five rooms in size, in the middle of the door for the plaque “Jiangnan Tribute Academy”. The left side of the door, “the door”, the right side of the door, “Yu Jun”. There is a pair of one-metre-high stone lions at the main gate, on both sides of a plaque on each side, the book says: “Mingjing to get a scholar”, “for the country to seek wisdom”.
Zhu Pingan has a small official led into the Jiangnan Tribute Academy gate, into the gate and then walk forward less than two metres to see two monument pavilion, one of the stone engraved with red characters “neat”, the other monument is engraved with “serious” two words.
The small official led Zhu Pingan to walk a short distance further, Zhu Pingan was shocked by a magnificent building, this is a square three-storey building, the door is hung with a banner “Mingyuan Building” three gold characters, the ground floor of the four sides of the wall, each opening a round archway, the four gables and columns from the ground floor to the top of the building, the beams and columns are intertwined, all four sides are windows. Standing on the upper floor can certainly have a panoramic view of the Tribute Academy, until the end of the roll-call, the school officials and supervisors should be in this upper floor, order and command the whole examination room.
This is worthy of being used as a countryside test examination room ah, really not that broken shed county test government test can be compared.
“Don’t look, quickly follow me to the number house, there are still people behind.” Lead the way small official has been used to the first time to the examination candidates to the Tribute Palace of surprise, but the habit of habit, the urge or have to urge, they do not dare to delay the examination schedule.
“Oh.” Only then did Zhu Pingan come back to his senses, along with the leading minor official towards the numbered houses.
The so-called number house was the examination room for the students’ examination. Zhu Pingan followed the lead official around the Mingyuan Building to the west, of course, there were also numbered houses in the east, but the numbered house where Zhu Pingan was located was in the west.
Nima
When Zhu Pingan saw the number house, he only had these two words in his mind, the number house was about one metre eight high, one metre two deep, one metre wide, the outer wall was more than two metres, and there was no door. A font size has nearly a hundred houses, are facing south, two houses separated by a brick wall. Each number of alley lintel wall on the lintel of the large book “word” number, the number to “thousand words” to determine the order of the text.
“What are you looking at, quickly go in.” The lead official led Zhu Pingan to a numbered house and urged Zhu Pingan to hurry in.
Zhu Pingan in the small official urged to go in, survey the number of houses, two brick walls in one or two feet from the ground between the upper and lower two brick buttresses, in order to place the upper and lower planks, two layers of planks before and after the staggered, above the planks in front, below the planks behind, below the planks are benches, above the planks are tables and cases, simple and very simple.
“Your court examination is okay, each only one day, if it is the township examination will have to test for several days, to the evening on the top of the board out and to the bottom of the board is the bed.” Lead the way small official simple to give Zhu Pingan said down then left.
Sitting in the house, Zhu Pingan felt only two words, one is suffocating, one is fair.
Said stifled because this number house is too narrow, if it is the countryside test sleep can not stretch their legs, and the number house is in disrepair, dark, damp and shabby; said fair because, regardless of the candidate’s family economic status of the social status of how to come in are this treatment, fully embodies the fairness.
Speaking of stifling, can not help but think of fat Xue Chi, oh, that goods in the house to stay a day will be peeled off layer of skin.
Soon someone will be exam supplies in a basket and sent over, Zhu Pingan received a thank you, will begin to set up and pack up, soon pen, ink, paper and inkstones are one by one ready to go.
Everything is ready, just waiting for the east wind!
