Instance World.
In the 24th year of Guangxu, early February, it was time for the annual County Exam in Jingyang County. The examination site was not located within the county government office but in a marketplace in front of it. Construction of the examination halls in this market began after New Year's Day and was only completed five days before the exam.
The examination hall faced south. Wooden fences and roadblocks surrounded its perimeter to prevent anyone from rushing into the exam site. To the south of the examination hall were the east and west side gates, encircled by a wooden fence. There was a large courtyard here, and to its north lay the main entrance, commonly known as the Dragon Gate. This gate symbolized a carp jumping over the Dragon Gate.
"Take him away."
"This person hid cheat sheets in his rectum…"
While Xu Xing and other students from Weijing Academy were waiting in front of the examination hall, two government runners, armed with water-and-fire cudgels and with knives at their waists, escorted a poor scholar wearing a wooden cangue out of the examination site. The scholar's braid was undone, and his long gown was disheveled. He muttered to himself, seemingly having lost his wits, constantly whispering, "What a disgrace."
The examinees waiting in front of the examination hall instinctively made way for the government runners to pass. One government runner held a tray on which lay a booklet about two or three inches in size. The characters in the booklet were as fine as fly specks.
"Brother Xu, did you see that?" Chen Jian'an patted Xu Xing's shoulder and whispered in his ear. "That examinee was dressed shabbily, with at least seven or eight patches on his clothes. People like him are prime targets for the searchers. Regardless of whether they have cheat sheets or not, being stripped naked is an embarrassing ordeal. But that guy just now was too clever for his own good, hiding the cheat sheet in his rectum. I guess the characters were written with mouse hair..." As he said this, Chen Jian'an's eyes showed disdain.
The "searchers" in the examination hall were government runners specifically tasked with checking if examinees carried any concealed notes. As for mouse hair (also called rat whiskers), it referred to writing brushes made by some from rat whiskers. Characters written with mouse hair brushes were as fine as mosquito legs, incredibly small, and used specifically for cheating. An entire volume of *The Four Books Chapter and Note Collection*, containing hundreds of thousands of characters, could be condensed into a booklet only palm-sized. Chen Jian'an's disdain wasn't for the examinee cheating, but for his foolishness in hiding the "mouse hair" in his rectum. That was a place the searchers would almost certainly inspect.
Xu Xing nodded in agreement. The searches examinees underwent were even more rigorous and comprehensive than those of later college entrance examinations. Once inside the examination hall, examinees were first searched: their braids undone, their clothes removed, leaving them completely naked. Additionally, any food they carried would be finely chopped with a knife to prevent any possibility of cheating.
But nothing was absolute. Wealthy people always had some privileges. Examinees who had connections would be treated much more leniently by the government runners.
"But they wouldn't dare to give us students from Weijing Academy a hard time," Chen Jian'an said with a proud smile. Weijing Academy was one of the Four Great Academies of Guanzhong, possessing a prestigious reputation. The teachers who lectured these students were all great scholars or high-ranking officials. Even the assistant teachers at the academy were all Juren. It was common for the county government office's bailiffs to act according to circumstances, and the government runners serving as searchers were old hands at this. They knew that examinees who could enter Weijing Academy and take the county exam here were invariably from wealthy families, so granting them favors was a common occurrence.
"The exam is about to start. You should go," Chen Jian'an said, glancing at the long queue and urging Xu Xing. He was from Hu County and would take his County Exam there. The exam schedules varied by county; Hu County's exam was in late February, nearly a month after Jingyang County's.
"Alright…" Xu Xing refocused and walked straight towards the side gates.
Just moments before, in the outer area of the examination hall, a large crowd of two or three thousand family members and friends had gathered to see off the examinees. Xu Xing hadn't had much chance to observe the other examinees in his session then. However, while queuing at the side gates, he suddenly felt a surge of confidence.
There weren't many young men like him, only about three hundred, most of them richly dressed sons of wealthy families. The remaining five or six hundred examinees were middle-aged and elderly men. Most looked impoverished, exuding an air of destitution with patches riddling their clothes and despair etched on their faces. Although the Imperial Examination didn't strictly adhere to the saying 'to sail against the current, one must forge ahead or be swept back,' studying always emphasized talent. Memory and comprehension were indispensable. Without a good memory, one couldn't master the Confucian classics and the profound wisdom of the sages. Without comprehension, the Eight-legged essays produced would be stiff, rigid, and devoid of any spark. These middle-aged and elderly examinees, having failed the exam for so many years, were destined to merely make up the numbers. Therefore, his real competitors were only these three hundred or so young men. The County Exam would select fifty people—basically, one out of every six. Besides, with the education he'd received at Weijing Academy, coupled with his Broad Knowledge and Strong Memory talent and so on... This County Exam was practically a sure thing.
Things happened just as Chen Jian'an had predicted. After inspecting Xu Xing's letter and examination certificate, the searcher at the examination hall became noticeably more courteous upon discovering he was a Weijing Academy student. He searched Xu Xing only superficially before letting him pass. Xu Xing hadn't even had time to react before the search was over.
"On what grounds?"
"He's an examinee, and so are we!"
A few examinees who had just been searched were practically bursting with anger, grumbling their discontent. When they were searched, the government runners had seemed intent on counting every hair on their backsides. But when it was Xu Xing's turn, the search was merely cursory and not at all thorough. It wasn't scarcity that bred discontent, but inequality.
"What are you yelling about?" the government runner frowned and roared. "He's a student from Weijing Academy! Does he need to cheat?"
The few examinees immediately flushed red, trembling with anger. Students from Weijing Academy were like graduates from prestigious universities; they could often secure positions without an interview. These other examinees, lacking such qualifications, had to endure these harsh treatments. It was their fate. They stomped their feet, snorted a few times, then flicked their sleeves and headed towards the Public Hall of the examination site. With the exam imminent, they didn't dare vent their anger on the government runners. Otherwise, if they offended these petty officials, not only would this year's exam be at risk, but their chances in subsequent years could also be jeopardized. The clerks in the county government office were mostly from hereditary families.
Xu Xing followed these few examinees into the Public Hall. Inside, not only was the County Lord of Jingyang County present, but also a group of students with government financial aid who acted as guarantors for the examinees. Each examinee paid their respects to the County Lord and requested their guarantor to vouch for them.
"Student Qin Huaigu vouches for Xu Xing," a short while later, Qin Scholar stood up, bowed to County Lord Wu, and announced loudly. Qin Scholar was also a student of Weijing Academy and had a good relationship with Xu Xing. At Anran Residence, he often spent his days carousing with Xu Xing and other classmates.
After the vouching was complete, a junior clerk waiting at the entrance of the Public Hall led Xu Xing to his examination room. It seemed there was also some favoritism in the county government office's assignment of examination rooms. The examination room assigned to Xu Xing was not only in a quiet location, sheltered from the cold wind, but also far from the outhouse. Most importantly, there were two fire basins in the room for warmth. It was still quite chilly in February.
"This is customary." The junior clerk, seeming to notice Xu Xing's doubts, smiled and added, "County Lord Wu and your Mountain Leader are good friends. He specifically instructed us to do this."