Several more days passed, during which the Cloud Moon Kingdom finally confirmed that the remaining livestock that had not undergone demonization posed no further threat.
It seemed that livestock only transformed into ferocious, violent demon beasts upon their initial contact with the Emperor's Flowing Sap.
Simultaneously, the situation in the deep mountains was roughly investigated by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who determined that the various fierce beasts within would not surge out in large numbers for a considerable time. They appeared to be occupied with re-establishing their territories and competing amongst themselves, thus posing no significant threat to the outside world in the short term.
However, this was a hardship for hunters and idle farmers alike, neither of whom dared to venture into the mountains for hunting anymore. This was due to the beasts becoming more ferocious and powerful, rendering the crude folk bows incapable of inflicting any damage.
At this time, aside from the Cloud Moon Kingdom, other nations on the Azure Continent were unaware of this news. To prevent potential livestock rampages from threatening their populace, they continued to cull their livestock.
Meanwhile, the scholars who were Tong Sheng (students who had passed the preliminary imperial examination) from the counties and villages belonging to the six prefectures of Twin Moon, Solitary Moon, Round Moon, Crescent Moon, Crimson Moon, and Chasing Moon, had arrived at Twin Moon City, the seat of Twin Moon Prefecture, to prepare for the provincial examination.
The influx of a large number of scholars enlivened Twin Moon City, bringing considerable prosperity and stimulating local consumption.
For a time, all the inns in the city were filled with Tong Sheng who had come to take the examination. Scholars in their robes could also be seen walking in pairs on the streets, discussing the content of this newly added imperial examination.
"Brother Chen, this newly added imperial examination is different from the past. It is said to have six subjects, each with a percentage grading system to ascertain the candidates' abilities in each subject. I wonder if Brother Chen is confident of standing out?"
Two scholars, their clothes patched, walked side-by-side on the street.
"Alas, to be honest, I have little confidence. Although textbooks for this new examination are available for purchase, and the prices are reasonable, I am unfortunately too poor. It is already difficult for me to afford my studies, and I cannot spare extra money to buy all six subjects' textbooks."
Scholar Chen's eyes, filled with envy, gazed at the bustling streets of the capital, at the dazzling array of goods, and he replied with a sigh.
"That is true. Apart from the national language, which is related to what we have learned before, and arithmetic, which we have some knowledge of, I have no idea what the other subjects mean."
Scholar Yu also sighed as he spoke. Then, his eyes darted, and he asked with a smile, "Brother Chen, you mentioned earlier that you haven't bought all six subjects' textbooks. Does that mean you bought one or two? Which ones were they?"
"Politics and arithmetic. I have some understanding of these two, so I bought the textbooks to study them further and increase my chances."
Scholar Chen turned his head and smiled, "Brother Yu, are you bringing this up because you want to exchange readings with me?"
"Haha, I won't hide it from you, Brother Chen. I do have that intention, but it's the same as what Brother Chen thought. I also bought textbooks for politics and arithmetic, so there's nothing to exchange."
Scholar Yu chuckled a couple of times and replied with some bitterness.
"Ah, this is awkward. How about we look around later to see if any of our fellow villagers bought textbooks for the other subjects, and then we can exchange readings?"
"Excellent! This is why I dragged Brother Chen out onto the street." Scholar Yu smiled slightly, pointed to two people not far away, and said with a smile, "Look, aren't those our fellow villagers right there?"
"Oh? It's Brother Qian and Brother Meng. Brother Yu, your plan is truly brilliant."
Following the direction indicated, Scholar Chen saw the two fellow villagers and teased them a bit before walking over with Scholar Yu.
This time, the two had a bit more luck. Before buying, they had discussed and purchased different books, and coincidentally, they had two subjects that could be exchanged.
The four were overjoyed. Without further ado, they returned to their respective inns, retrieved their books, and then happily pored over them together in a room.
As for the scholars from wealthy aristocratic families, they naturally had the means to purchase all six subjects' textbooks.
Early on, upon the announcement, they had already begun their in-depth study, gaining a one-month advantage and a comprehensive advantage over the impoverished scholars.
At this time, they did not lack this time for in-depth study. They were calling their friends and acquaintances to luxurious inns to drink and enjoy themselves.
The Political Affairs Hall.
Chu Chen sat at the head seat and asked, looking around, "Lord Le, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, have you made adequate preparations for the provincial examination in Twin Moon Prefecture?"
"Your subordinate has already made thorough preparations, Prime Minister Chu need not worry." Vice Minister Le cupped his hands and replied.
Chu Chen nodded, then inquired about the security work of the Deputy Director of the Five Cities Military and Police Command, the trade work of Lu Youwei, the Minister of Commerce and Taxation, and the water conservancy construction of the Ministry of Works, and so on.
After confirming that all matters were in order, Chu Chen felt at ease.
Watching the backs of everyone as they departed, Chu Chen murmured to himself, "Since I took on this position as Prime Minister, His Majesty has become quite relaxed, entrusting a large amount of work to me. Should I perhaps try to persuade the Empress to implement this cabinet system?"
Three days later, in the Ministry of Rites' Examination Hall.
Nearly twenty thousand Tong Sheng sat before individual desks, with wooden partitions on all sides except the front, blocking their line of sight. Only the front was left open.
In the open front, two soldiers stood on each side, armed with sabers and wearing iron-plated armor, staring intently ahead.
Imperial guards, carrying examination papers, distributed them to the Tong Sheng.
During the distribution, the Chief Examiner, Zhang Chengzhu, shouted, "The rules for this examination are, for the most part, as usual... I will reiterate one last time: anyone attempting to cheat will be permanently disqualified upon discovery!"
"In this examination, each question has a score. The details of the scoring are on the examination paper. The highest scorers will pass the examination!"
After all the candidates had received their examination papers, Zhang Chengzhu stopped his repetitive shouting and finally shouted, "This National Language examination will be timed for one hour! The timer starts now!"
As soon as the words fell, the candidates quickly ground their ink. Simultaneously, they pulled the examination papers towards them and carefully read the content above.
The first question: Dictation; the second question: Interpretation of Classics; the third question: Rhyming Poetry; the fourth question: Essay for the Examination.
Scholar Chen, using the brief moment of grinding ink, had already reviewed the questions. They were generally similar to previous examinations, with no particular difficulty.
This made all the candidates, including Scholar Chen, breathe a sigh of relief, and then they picked up their pens and began to write vigorously.
The dictation involved content from the Four Books and Five Classics, such as "The Master said: To learn and then practice what you have learned..." followed by a blank space.
The Tong Sheng present who dared to participate in the examination were naturally those who considered themselves talented. The first question was not a problem for them, and they answered it within the time it took to brew a cup of tea.
The interpretation of classics involved presenting a passage from the Four Books and Five Classics and then explaining it, which was also extremely simple.
Only the rhyming poetry and the final essay were truly time-consuming.
How to satisfy the chief examiner, how to best approach the meaning of the topic, how to make it brilliant and interesting, and yet also highly distinctive, all these required considerable time for thought and repeated creation.