At noon, Zhan Feiyu met Ming San, who had come from Nanxuan Prefecture, on the official road outside Shangsi County.
"Looking at the pile of books on your desk, the articles you've written, and that stack of test poems, Ming San smiled and said, 'You really should let Qi Heng see your study. This is what a mountain of books and a boundless sea of learning look like.'"
"It's purely out of necessity," Zhan Feiyu said helplessly, looking enviously at the dashing and elegant Ming San. "My life's goal is to eat, drink, and wait for death. Unfortunately, my family is poor, and I have no choice."
"That's why they say strict teachers produce outstanding students!" Ming San laughed along. Scholar Gu was strict, and if his father had been like that back then, he might have continued studying.
Recalling his thoughts, Ming San sat down in a chair. "Are you planning to achieve the 'Little Three Yuans'?"
Zhan Feiyu had been the top scholar in both the county and prefectural examinations. If she were to be the top scholar in the academy examination as well, she would achieve the "Little Three Yuans." Scholar Gu had been the top scholar in the imperial examination back then.
"I heard that Scholar Chen will be coming to Nanxuan Prefecture to preside over the academy examination this time," Zhan Feiyu said, pouring tea for Ming San and tidying up her messy desk. "Although Chai Yi is dead, given the new and old grudges, do you think Scholar Chen will let me achieve the 'Little Three Yuans'?"
Based on Zhan Feiyu's judgment of Scholar Chen, it would be good enough if she could pass the academy examination smoothly. Who knew what traps awaited her?
"I've come for this matter as well," Ming San said, not surprised that Zhan Feiyu knew. He explained in a low voice, "The imperial court usually changes the academic officials every three years, but when Old Master Chen withdrew from the court, it was partly for the First Prince and partly to make way for Scholar Chen."
The Emperor disliked the interference of imperial relatives in politics. The Chen family wisely withdrew from the court, leaving only their eldest grandson, Chen Shuduo, in the capital. He was now a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Personnel.
The Emperor was also grateful for Old Master Chen's concession, so Scholar Chen could hold his position for six years. This meant that when Zhan Feiyu took the provincial examination in three years, Scholar Chen would still be the chief examiner, making him an inescapable presence.
Ming San looked at Zhan Feiyu with sympathy, his schadenfreude undisguised. "Previously, Scholar Chen presided over the academy examinations in Zhongzhou. As for other prefectures in Jiangnan Circuit, Scholar Chen visited the examination venues in stages. He only stayed for one day in Nanxuan Prefecture, and didn't even finish the second part of the previous academy examination."
Academy examinations generally consisted of two parts: the main examination and a re-examination. However, the imperial examinations generally placed more importance on the first session and the first question. If the essay on the Four Books in the first session was outstanding, one would basically be on the list of successful candidates. Even if the answers to the subsequent questions were mediocre, it would not have a significant impact.
Nanxuan Prefecture was not large and was considered a mid-to-lower-tier prefecture in Jiangnan Circuit. Scholar Chen did not pay much attention to the imperial examinations in Nanxuan Prefecture. Whether it was an inspection or presiding over an academy examination, it was basically a formality.
Therefore, Scholar Chen's grand arrival in Nanxuan Prefecture to preside over the examination clearly indicated that his intentions were not solely for the examination itself. Zhan Feiyu, as a mere *tongsheng*, was in danger.
"This is an open scheme," Zhan Feiyu also understood. In the end, it was a matter of adapting to circumstances.
Of course, if Scholar Chen were to cause trouble with "examination fraud," Scholar Gu would not stand by and do nothing. Therefore, it depended on who was the more skillful strategist.
"You still need to be very careful," Ming San said with a more serious expression. Although Scholar Chen was a scholar, he was narrow-minded and vindictive. Qi Heng's abduction in Fengzhou was the best proof of this.
Zhang Changsong and Qiu Dingsi had abducted Qi Heng to curry favor with Commander Liu, but Chai Yi had also been involved, representing the Chen family.
The leading family in Jiangnan Circuit, the maternal family of the First Prince, had resorted to kidnapping another child as a means of revenge against a young girl like Zhan Feiyu. The Chen family's disregard for rules was a disgrace to aristocratic families.
Zhan Feiyu nodded and then discussed the matter of the Artisan Academy with Ming San. The instructors and artisans were in place, and the books were almost ready. In another two months, the academy would be built, and Ming San's leisurely life would be over.
As Zhan Feiyu thought of this, she suddenly felt much better. True happiness was indeed built on the suffering of others. The so-called bosom friends were merely friends who harmed each other.
...
August and September brought cool weather, and wine-loving poets filled the grand hall.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of the August academy examination. Zhan Feiyu went to Nanxuan Prefecture three days in advance and stayed at the Donghu Inn. Before dawn, Zhan Feiyu boarded a carriage and headed straight for the examination grounds.
This year's Nanxuan Prefecture academy examination was also different from previous years. Not only the *tongsheng* from Nanxuan Prefecture and its subordinate counties, but also *tongsheng* from three neighboring prefectures came to Nanxuan Prefecture to participate in the academy examination.
From a distance, the noisy crowd could be heard gathering. Zhan Feiyu was the first to get out of the carriage.
He Nuan checked again that all the items needed for the academy examination were present, and then followed them out of the carriage with the examination basket. He Sheng handed the carriage over to a nearby coachman and walked behind the two of them to prevent any unexpected situations.
"County Magistrate Chen said that there will be nearly a thousand *tongsheng* this time," Zhan Feiyu said, looking at the crowd standing before the Dragon Gate. It was a dense mass of candidates, their families who had come to see them off, and their attendants. There were more people than at the prefectural examination.
"More people mean more trouble," He Nuan frowned. It was easy to guess that Scholar Chen would definitely tamper with things this time. Unfortunately, it was an open scheme, making it impossible to guard against.
Zhan Feiyu retreated to a corner not far from the Dragon Gate and stood there. He Sheng and He Nuan, the brother and sister, stood on either side.
"A'nuan, is that Qi Heng on the front left?" Zhan Feiyu stood on tiptoe and looked forward. Unfortunately, there were too many people, otherwise, they could have entered the Dragon Gate together.
He Sheng had already noticed. "Master Ming is also here. It's probably because there are too many candidates, so he came early."
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, when the time was almost up, the yamen runners loudly reminded everyone. All the candidates lined up and passed through the Dragon Gate one by one to enter the examination hall. Of course, before entering, they had to be searched to prevent any smuggling.
"Miss Zhan," the yamen runner in charge of the inspection immediately became respectful upon seeing Zhan Feiyu. "Miss Zhan, please go to the left. There are matrons responsible for inspecting you."
"Thank you," Zhan Feiyu replied with a smile.
The two matrons waiting nearby quickly stepped forward. Among the nearly a thousand candidates, Zhan Feiyu was the only young lady, truly a splash of color in a sea of green.
The candidates from Nanxuan Prefecture were one thing, as they had already seen Zhan Feiyu during the prefectural examination. However, the candidates from the three neighboring prefectures looked at Zhan Feiyu with curiosity as if they were seeing something novel.
"Is that the top scholar of the Nanxuan Prefecture examination?" the young man speaking said, holding his chin high and looking around with disdain. "The literary style of Nanxuan Prefecture has declined in recent years, allowing a young girl to take the lead."
Behind the young man stood his classmate, who smiled and echoed loudly, "Now that Brother Zhang is participating in the academy examination, Zhan Feiyu's hope for the 'Little Three Yuans' is dashed."
"The Sage says that education is not limited by class! What does it matter if she is a girl? This is Scholar Gu's disciple!" a candidate from Nanxuan Prefecture retorted angrily. They had also been unconvinced before. After ten years of hard study, they were unhappy that Zhan Feiyu had taken the top spot in the academy examination.
However, after reading Zhan Feiyu's essays, they were convinced. Of course, this was limited to the candidates from Nanxuan Prefecture. The candidates from the other three prefectures did not agree at all, and most of them believed that Zhan Feiyu was all talk and no substance.
If it weren't for Scholar Gu as her teacher, Zhan Feiyu, who had been studying for less than three years, would have been lucky to be on the list. As for the top spot? Perhaps only Prefect Zhang knew how Zhan Feiyu had achieved it, likely through flattery and subservience.
"Brother Huang, there's no need to argue. Scholar Chen is presiding over this academy examination, and the examination papers will be anonymized. The seal will only be broken in the second session. We'll see who is better when the results are posted," a candidate from Nanxuan Prefecture said again, appearing magnanimous and unwilling to argue with them.
More candidates listened without arguing, but seeing the proud expressions of the surrounding Nanxuan Prefecture candidates, they made their own judgments. It seemed that Zhan Feiyu indeed had a talent for studying, otherwise, the people of Nanxuan Prefecture would not have followed her lead.
The yamen runners responsible for inspection heard the argument and came over, their faces stern. "Noisy behavior is prohibited in front of the Dragon Gate!"
Originally, Zhan Feiyu could have used her designated seating number for the academy examination, but Scholar Chen had changed the rules. All candidates, including the top ten from the prefectural examination, were assigned to their examination cells according to their numbers. The designated seating numbers were not used in this academy examination.
After all the candidates had been searched and entered their examination cells, the Dragon Gate was locked and closed. The yamen runners retreated to guard the examination grounds outside. The soldiers responsible for patrolling inside the examination hall were temporarily drawn from various prefectures by Scholar Chen.
It was unclear whether this was to prevent the Nanxuan Prefecture yamen runners and candidates from colluding to cheat, or to guard against Zhan Feiyu. However, Scholar Chen's actions were highly praised by the candidates from the other three prefectures, especially those who wanted to suppress Zhan Feiyu's fame. At least, it had blocked one path for Zhan Feiyu to cheat.
In the narrow examination cells, Zhan Feiyu was accustomed to it. At the beginning of August, Zhan Feiyu had spent three days in a makeshift examination cell she had built at home, so the cramped space or the stuffiness did not affect her in any way.
The scribes walked back and forth in the corridors in front of each examination cell, holding up the topic boards. The examination grounds, with over a thousand people, were now quiet. All the candidates, like Zhan Feiyu, quickly picked up their pens and wrote the examination questions on draft paper.
Generally speaking, the content of the academy examination was not much different from the county and prefectural examinations. The only difference was the level of the chief examiner, which determined the difficulty of the questions.
The county examination was conducted by the county magistrate, while the academy examination was conducted by the academic official. The test poems were one thing, but the difficulty and depth of the Four Books questions increased significantly. In fact, the policy questions not only tested the candidates but also tested the level of the chief examiner.
"This question?" Zhan Feiyu's expression twisted slightly. No matter how difficult or obscure the question was, Zhan Feiyu could accept it calmly. However, she did not expect the question to be so despicable!
During the imperial examinations, some chief examiners, to prevent repeated questions, had to rack their brains. Thus, they evolved to combine words from the Four Books and Five Classics, taking complete sentences and cutting off the beginning and end to form questions, or combining unrelated sentences to form questions. These were called "cut-and-paste" questions.
Furthermore, some chief examiners lacked the necessary skills but wanted to show off their talent. They connected places that were not originally connected and broke places that should not have been broken. The questions formulated in this way, while seemingly novel at first glance, were actually obscure, strange, and made no sense. These were called "severed" questions.
The Four Books question in the first session of the academy examination was a "severed" question: "Gu Hong."
Zhan Feiyu was stunned when she saw the question, and then she remembered that the two characters in this question came from "Mencius": Mencius saw King Hui of Liang. The king stood by a pond and looked at the geese and deer, saying, "Do the wise also enjoy this?"
"Gu" was understandable, but the character "Hong" that followed was speechless. This was because in the original sentence, "Hong" was followed by "yan," "mi," and "lu." This was literally taking the first character of a sentence and making it a question. If one looked around, one could see geese, deer, and so on, but why pick out "Hong"?
Zhan Feiyu had expected the first question of the academy examination to be a Four Books question, followed perhaps by a Five Classics question, or a document like a "biaopan" (memorial). She also expected an eight-line poem. Scholar Chen had changed many rules for this academy examination, so it was not surprising if he tested "Mo Yi" (explaining obscure words) or "Tie Jing" (reciting classics from memory).
However, Zhan Feiyu did not expect that the first session would consist of three Four Books questions, the second question being "Gu Yan," and the third Four Books question being "Gu Mi." The last test poem was even more ridiculous: "On the Pond, Geese and Deer."
Not only Zhan Feiyu was going crazy, but all the candidates who had finished copying the questions had twitching eyes. If they could curse, Scholar Chen would definitely be the target of public condemnation. Was this an academy examination? This was simply fooling around!
"Who came up with this question?" Suddenly, an angry voice rang out.
Zhan Feiyu did not look around. Her hearing was good, and she could tell that the candidate speaking was quite old. Even though he was extremely angry, his voice lacked vigor. It was likely that even if he was not a white-haired old *tongsheng*, he was at least fifty years old.
"Noisy behavior is not allowed!"
"Sit down!"
The soldiers in the examination hall quickly ran over, their shouts of anger following. However, it was estimated that knowing that the academy examination was hopeless, the white-haired old *tongsheng* threw his examination basket at the soldiers. "This question is so unbearable, I will not take it anymore!"
"Take him away!" Two soldiers quickly grabbed the old *tongsheng* and roughly dragged him out.
"No looking around, no whispering!" the soldiers shouted angrily, casting warning glances at the candidates in the adjacent examination cells. "Take him away!"
After being dragged a certain distance, the old *tongsheng* suddenly lay down on the ground and shouted with all his might: "Benevolence is not in the heart; turning one's head, one only sees the geese. How can one look in all directions with one eye? Mencius originally said it was difficult to understand."
A poem that mocked the question "Gu Hong" also mocked the chief examiner who set the question. Unfortunately, even if everyone thought it was unfair, what could be done? Unless one wanted to be gagged and dragged out like the old *tongsheng*, one could only accept fate and begin answering the questions.
In the public hall, Prefect Zhang put down his teacup and looked outside. He saw a scribe quickly walk over and quietly report the incident of the old *tongsheng* being dragged out.
Prefect Zhang thought of the Four Books question in the first session, which was also difficult to describe. The imperial examinations were for selecting officials, but how could such strange and obscure questions be used as a standard for selecting officials?
Although the usual "cut-and-paste" questions were difficult and obscure, they at least had some logic. Prefect Zhang waved his hand to dismiss the scribe and frowned in thought. What was Scholar Chen's intention in setting such questions?
On the other side, a young man dressed as a scholar frowned, not knowing whether it was because of the question or something else.