Jia Yujing of Red Mansion

Chapter 34
As students with the ability to be named on the gold list, these eight Wansong Academy students can almost be said to be a group of people with the highest literary level in the world.

When Jia Qiong comes back from school every day, she reads the articles they wrote and compares them with her own, and finds that the gap is really big.

He also discovered an interesting thing. These senior brothers didn't seem to be the weak scholars that are mainstream nowadays.

Their bodies are relatively strong, a bit like Han Confucianism.

Especially the youngest Wu Chengxuan, after discovering that Xu Shan and Jia Qiong practiced Kung Fu every day, he asked Xu Shan to give him some guidance.

However, as the examination time approached day by day, even Jia Qiong could clearly feel that the tension among the senior brothers was building up day by day.

After all, this is an exam that affects the future and destiny of everyone. It has become a success, and he has become famous all over the world in one fell swoop.

After losing, you have to start all over again. After three years of hard work, no one can take it easy.

On the second day of February, eight people went out together, brought their relatives, friends, and documents, and went to the Gongyuan to register and receive their test cards.

On the eighth day of February, the day for the exam finally came. There were three exams, each lasting three days, with two days in between.

For many people, this will be the most important twelve days of their lives.

Just after the fourth watch, everyone in the Jia family got up and got ready.

The servants put the burdens that Shen Biyun had prepared for the eight people in advance on the four carriages that had been hired at the door one by one.

It's just February, and the weather in Chang'an is still very cold.

The scholars had to stay in a simple examination shed for three days, so they naturally had to wear warm clothes and bedding to keep out the cold.

There are also small copper stoves, kettles, and iron pots for boiling water for cooking.

Carbon pots for heating by fire, door curtains for keeping out wind and rain, and tarpaulins.

Each person has three big bags of food, charcoal, etc. for these three days.

At five o'clock in the morning, Jia Qiong and Xu Shan came to the second courtyard and knocked on the door one after another to wake up the senior brothers for dinner.

It can be seen that they did not sleep well last night, and almost everyone looked haggard.

Only Tao Dachun and Wei Minzhong, who had already participated in the joint examination once, had some experience and seemed better.

At the dinner table, several people ate a light breakfast and listened to Shen Yan's instructions.

"You are all still young. Except for Dachun and Minzhong, it is the first time for everyone else to take part in the examination.

When you get to the examination room, don't think randomly, just concentrate on answering the questions.

It doesn’t matter if you fail the test this time, you can come back next time.

When I was a teacher, I took the examination for the second time and passed the exam.

......"

Shen Yan talked about some of his exam experiences in detail, and the eight people listened quietly, and their nervousness slowly calmed down.

After dinner, they went out and boarded the carriage.

Jia Qiong and her cousin Xu Shan took them to Gongyuan on horseback. Along the way, they saw sparks of fire and the bumping of carriages and horses.

As more and more candidates have been admitted over the years, the number of candidates taking the examination in Long Qingchao every year is more than 5000.

Thousands of people gathered in the large square in front of the Longmen of Gongyuan. The queue was long and the scene was spectacular.

Jia Qiong and others were blocked by officers and soldiers. Only candidates taking the examination could approach Gongyuan Square.

Amidst everyone's blessings of "named on the gold list", "qualified as a Jinshi", and "top of the list", the eight people gradually disappeared into the crowd carrying heavy baggage.

Jia Qiong felt amazing. Who would have thought that the first time he participated in the imperial examination would be as a test taker. This was a different experience.

In the next few days, the Jia family maintained absolute silence.

Let the eight people who came back from the exam have a good rest without asking a word about the exam situation.

Until February [-]th, all three examinations were finally completed.

The exhausted eight people shared their respective exam situations and then fell asleep for two days.

They were completely relaxed. Regardless of their grades, the exam was over.

Several people went out together for several days and did not come back until the day before the results were released.On February 28th, the examination results will be released.

Everyone in the Jia family did not go to Gongyuan to join in the fun and watch the rankings.

Candidates have already recorded their addresses when registering. Naturally, candidates will come to announce the good news and send golden flower stickers after passing the exam.

The Jia family's courtyard door opened early in the morning. After breakfast, everyone sat in the flower hall chatting and drinking tea.

Although no one said anything about the release of the results, everyone was looking forward to the arrival of the good news.

Shen Biyun secretly prepared two large baskets of copper coins and hundreds of red envelopes.

Tian Li got up early in the morning and led people to sweep the front yard and alley several times.

Shen Yan looked relaxed, but Jia Qiong remembered that he had gone to the toilet three times in the morning, so he must have drank too much tea.

The sun gradually rose, and with the faint sound of three rumbling cannons, everyone was in high spirits.

The dragon gate is open. If someone is on the list, good news will come soon.

Ningrong Street was not far from Gongyuan. They didn't have to wait too long when everyone heard a faint sound of gongs and drums.

Everyone in the hall stopped and listened. The sound of gongs and drums became clearer and clearer from far away.

In Osmanthus Alley, only the Jia family had candidates for the examination. Shen Yan stood up and said with a smile: "Everyone, come with me to welcome the good news."

"Good news for the master of Jinhua County, Zhejiang Province, Chen Taoshouzhen, the high school Bingzi annual meeting has 172 tributes, and the top saint of Jinluan Hall!"

"Good news, Mr. Yu Bajie from Datian County, Hunan Province, 127 tributes from the high school Bingzi annual meeting, the top saint in Jinluan Hall!"

"Good news for the master of Ruyang County, Henan Province, Tong Tao Zhuo Yao, 33 tributes in the high school Bingzi annual examination, the top saint of Jinluan Hall!"

"Good news for the master of Shangrao County in Jiangxi Province, Wei Baoting, the No. 15 tribute scholar in the high school Bingzi annual meeting, the top saint of Jinluan Hall!"

The gongs and drums announcing the good news in Osmanthus Alley were sounded four times in succession, and the red firecracker debris covered the entire alley, attracting the entire Ningrong Street.

Tian Li and Xu Shan scattered the two baskets of copper coins, and Osmanthus Street suddenly became a sea of ​​joy.

Some people are named on the gold list, and some people are missing.

Even if all eight of them were grandpa's favorite disciples, half of them would not be able to jump over the dragon gate.

In this happy atmosphere, the envy and loneliness on their faces still remain fresh in Jia Qiong's memory many years later.

Tao Dachun got drunk at a banquet celebrating the high school of several classmates. He hugged Wei Minzhong and cried bitterly.

He said that if he failed the next test, he would not take the exam again and would return to his hometown to become a teacher.

The imperial examination is cruel, and any accident may affect the final outcome.

Jia Qiong remembered that his grandfather told him privately that among the eight people, he thought Tao Dachun was the one with the most solid knowledge and the greatest chance of success, but he did not expect that he would fail the exam again.

The time for the palace examination is set on March [-]th. The palace examination will not oust candidates, but will only determine the final ranking.

The four people who failed the exam did not wait to see the results of their classmates.

They left Chang'an together three days later, returned to Hangzhou by boat with Shen Yan, and launched another attack on the next meeting.

A total of six students from Wansong Academy were awarded Jinshi this spring, and two internal students were also lucky enough to win.

Among them, two were born in the second-level Jinshi, and four were born in the third-level Jinshi.

Wansong Academy once again set a new record for the number of Jinshi in the academy, and its reputation became even more famous.

The news that four Jinshis were born in the home of Xiao Shixian in Osmanthus Alley also aroused heated discussions in Chang'an City.

Even the residential houses in Osmanthus Alley have experienced a rush of buying.

Many families with students at home wanted to imbibe the literary spirit of the little poet, so the housing prices in Osmanthus Alley have risen a lot in a short period of time.

Some businessmen even came to buy Jia Qiong's house, and the price was 5 taels.

This is a tenfold premium. If Jia Qiong was not short of money, he might actually sell it.

(End of this chapter)