Chapter 135: Chapter 134: Examination Procedures

Liu Ji arrived home at 7:15 PM.

He was in luck today, finding a cart heading to Lower River Village after school at the academy, adding five cents to have it drop him off at the entrance of Liu Family Village, allowing him to get home before the sun completely set.

The family had already finished dinner, and every dish included meat slices, making the stir-fried dishes oily, causing Qin Yao to eat an extra bowl of rice. For the first time, she ate until she was full and lay on the bamboo chair in the courtyard, not wanting to move.

When Liu Ji stepped in, he didn’t receive the warm welcome he had imagined.

The four children in the family sat properly at the desk, practicing calligraphy, with two oil lamps lit, making the room bright.

Hearing sounds at the door, they turned to look at him, called out “Father” in unison, and then turned back to continue studying.

The past few days had been busy with the autumn harvest, and Qin Yao was also occupied with matters at the factory, leaving their studies unattended for several days. Now that there was time, they naturally had to catch up.

Studying is like that, one can’t stop; once you stop, it’s very hard to pick it up again.

Qin Yao raised her finger to her lips, made a gesture for silence, reminding Liu Ji to keep quiet and not disturb the children studying inside.

Liu Ji instantly felt uneasy; whose home was this anymore? It was nearly becoming Qin Yao’s home, and he felt like a guest.

No, not even like a guest!

Suppressing the frustration in his heart, Liu Ji went into his own room to put his things down, handed Qin Yao what she wanted under her scrutiny, and turned to the kitchen to heat his meal.

He uncovered the lid on the stove pot, finding a bowl of meat and vegetables left by Da Lang and a bowl of rice packed tightly. The stove’s wood was burned through, but the food inside was perfectly warm.

Liu Ji’s wounded heart was instantly consoled, as he took out the food and ate it heartily.

The food at the academy wasn’t great, let alone the thought of eating meat, he was craving so badly he once treated himself to two meat buns.

But he didn’t have any extra money, and the meat buns weren’t enough to satisfy him compared to the large slices of meat in his bowl.

With a full stomach from the family’s cooking, Liu Ji’s mood, sour from his cold reception at home, was restored, feeling rejuvenated on the spot.

Having eaten and drunk his fill, he moved behind Qin Yao. Seeing the darkening sky, he tentatively asked:

“It’s so dark, can you see clearly, my dear?”

Qin Yao glared at him, “And you still don’t know to light a lamp?”

Liu Ji turned around sullenly to light the oil lamp in the main room and brought it over, thinking, wouldn’t it be better to read inside than in this dark yard?

In a month’s time, Liu Ji only managed to collect the exams from the last two years of the New Dynasty, two from the county exam and one from the prefectural exam.

It totaled six sets of exam questions.

The examination system in Sheng Country was similar to what Qin Yao knew from the Song and Ming period, where one could choose a subject from several options to be examined in.

However, the content didn’t depart from the Four Books and Five Classics, with specific requirements on wording, with prescribed character counts of seven hundred, a thousand, respectively.

Liu Ji had his notes in disarray, only marking the year and a reference to an exam session. Qin Yao would have to sort it out herself.

There weren’t many answer references, she got only four pieces.

The content was extensive, and Liu Ji’s handwriting was ugly, making it hard for Qin Yao to read, so she planned to examine it thoroughly in the morning.

Overall, Liu Ji only managed to complete seventy percent of the task, falling short of Qin Yao’s expectations.

But considering the class and social differences involved, obtaining four reference answers from the county exams was already pretty good.

All scholar candidates emerging from the garden exams, even those who failed, were experienced scholars. Liu Ji, at the academy, didn’t have any contact with them.

“My dear, you said you’d reward me when I finish the task. Do you think this exam paper submission satisfies you?”

Seeing Qin Yao put away the book he brought back, Liu Ji asked expectantly.

Qin Yao patted the book with a smile, “You won’t miss out on the benefits, once I sort it out, the first practice exam book for the next two years will be yours!”

Liu Ji furrowed his brow, not sounding like something he wanted.

Getting up, Qin Yao said, “Time to sleep, remember to close the door, and make breakfast in the morning.”

After the reminders, she went inside, shut the door, and went to sleep.

Liu Ji was tired too and didn’t want to think much, washed his face with water, rinsed his feet, and returned to his small room to rest.

Earlier, he didn’t think much of this small room, not realizing how much he would miss it now.

No foot odor, no snoring, no teeth grinding; it was quiet, with only the sounds of insects and birds, and the air was incomparably fresh.

A good night’s sleep, he woke up as the dawn barely peeked from the horizon.

Liu Ji got up to prepare breakfast, thinking he was the earliest, but turned around to see the light on in the master bedroom.

Qin Yao had already cut the paper to the width used for exams, made answer cards, and was writing county exam questions on them.

The county exam was commonly called the child’s exam here.

Only after passing the county exam could one qualify for the imperial exams.

There was also a prefectural exam in May or June, passing it would make one a Scholar.

Both examinations were held once a year, and those following it were every three years.

With the ascent of the new emperor and the grace examination, they were all once a year.

Qin Yao was making mock papers and practice books of real questions.

Thanks to the month before at Ding Mansion as a bodyguard, she learned a lot about the exam from Miss Ding and Housekeeper Yu and had a general idea of the exam process.

With the basic process information, and by following this process to make the corresponding exam questions, one could simulate the exam at home.

The initial county exam began every February, comprising five exams, with candidates called in before dawn and required to submit on the same day.

The exam format was: fourteen lines per page, eighteen characters per line, with more than ten pages total and some extra blank sheets.

The exam content included two essays from the Four Books, a test poem, and specified a corresponding answer format without exceeding seven hundred words.

The remaining four exams were retests.

Re-examinations, as part of the examination system, were to prevent unfair selection, offering a second set of questions to those who passed the initial exam for another round of testing.

Retest timing was usually after the announcement of results, not fixed, and not always conducted unless someone accused the list of being unfair.

Qin Yao knew these well, while Liu Ji was oblivious, unaware of what the academy teachers taught as they hadn’t even briefed the candidates about such exam processes.

Perhaps it was because Liu Ji had just enrolled, and the teacher felt it wasn’t necessary to mention as he hadn’t even passed the basic courses.

After all, more than half of his classmates were children.

“Hiss~” With this thought, Qin Yao felt it necessary to have the teacher transfer Liu Ji to a different class.

He was preparing for the imperial exams, not just learning to read and write at the academy; they were entirely different concepts.

At breakfast, Qin Yao mentioned this; Liu Ji sheepishly scratched his head, “Uh…I at least need to have memorized the Four Books before the teacher would let me switch.”

“You haven’t finished memorizing such a few characters?” Qin Yao was shocked, starting to doubt if Liu Ji’s mind was functioning properly.

Liu Ji mumbled aggrievedly, “How could I have time to memorize courses? All of it was spent writing those exam questions and reference answers you gave me…”

This time it was Qin Yao’s turn to scratch her head, feeling worried that the exam in February was soon, leaving only six months.

With limited time and heavy tasks, starting from today, they needed to study intensely!

Qin Yao’s piercing gaze swept over, giving Liu Ji, who was eating a bun, an ominous foreboding.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep