Chapter 512 - 193: Provincial Examination (Part 2)
Chapter 512: Chapter 193: Provincial Examination (Part 2)
He answered the questions with complete focus, entirely undisturbed by his surroundings.
When the second session ended, everyone leaving the examination hall was in worse shape than they had been after the first—perhaps from the shock, perhaps from sheer exhaustion.
Chen Wanqing picked up Zhao Jing and De’an and took them home. Not daring to ask if they had performed poorly, she only asked with concern, "Are you feeling unwell? What would you like to eat? We have chicken soup simmering at home, and I’ve also had braised pork ribs and Four-Joy Meatballs prepared—they’re all your favorites. Is there anything else you’re particularly craving? I can have the cook make it right away."
De’an shook his head. "I don’t feel like eating anything. I’m just mentally exhausted. All I want to do right now is lie down and sleep."
"You can sleep after you’ve eaten."
And that was what they did—they went home, slept, and then, in the early hours of the morning, rose and returned to the examination hall.
This was the final session, and also the most difficult.
Perhaps the heavens decided the trial wasn’t difficult enough, for they upped the ante—the weather turned.
When Zhao Jing and the others entered the examination hall, the weather was still as hot as a summer’s day. Many of the heavier-set scholars had to constantly wipe away sweat, and some had even stripped to the waist.
But by late afternoon, the sun had gradually disappeared behind dark clouds, and the sky grew heavy and oppressive.
A fierce wind arose, whipping up sand and stone. The weather seemed to leap directly from the height of summer to the depths of late autumn.
It was so cold.
The candidates who had brought thick clothes stopped writing, quickly secured their exam papers, and rummaged through their bundles for extra layers. They also took the opportunity to stoke their braziers for more heat.
Once they had finished, they took out their papers to resume writing, only to see that the thick clouds now seemed to be pressing down on the rooftops. A heavy rain was about to begin.
In such conditions, who would dare leave their exam paper on the desk?
Even if the wind didn’t carry the papers away, the rain was sure to soak them.
The thought of rain had barely crossed their minds when a fierce PATTERING began. At first, it sounded like falling hail, but it was actually just enormous raindrops striking with such force that it created the illusion.
Soon, the scattered drops became a torrential downpour. It was as if a hole had been torn in the sky, and the rain came GUSHING down.
The exam papers of the many candidates who had clung to a sliver of hope and failed to put them away in time were completely soaked.
For a moment, the sound of the storm was mixed with the anguished wails of the candidates, creating a deeply unsettling cacophony for all who heard it.
But at a critical moment like this, when they could barely fend for themselves, who had the luxury of worrying about others?
Many stared out at the white, hazy curtain of rain, worrying, ’When will this ever stop?’
In summer, a downpour like this would last a few hours at most. But this wasn’t summer. It was autumn, and this was the first rain of the season.
Autumn rains were known to be persistent, sometimes lasting for half a month.
’If it really rains for ten days to half a month, how are we supposed to finish the exam? How could we possibly write anything?’
The candidates were worried, and so was Zhao Jing.
But after estimating his progress and the time he needed for the remaining questions, he decided to take a gamble and hold off on writing for now.
He dismantled the outer wooden board and brought it further into his cell.
He also shifted the stove further inside. Forgetting everything else, he decided to cook first.
After he finished his belated lunch, the rain was still falling.
Constables paced back and forth, their presence only making the candidates more agitated and anxious.
The rain fell and fell, continuing late into the night without any sign of stopping.
Zhao Jing pushed aside the fox-fur cloak covering him, rose from the wooden board that served as his bed, and stretched his limbs. He decided he could wait no longer.
He still had three policy essays left to write.
Even though he had already composed the essays in his head, transcribing them perfectly onto the paper was no simple task.
If he waited for the rain to stop, he feared he would run out of time.
Ready to act, Zhao Jing pulled the fox-fur cloak tighter around his shoulders, rubbed his hands together for warmth, and sat down on his book trunk—
That’s right, Zhao Jing had a new book trunk. He had been using it since the second session of the examination.
Chen Wanqing had given it to him. In fact, she had gotten one for De’an, too.
Chen Wanqing hadn’t known it was possible to bring a book trunk into the examination hall. A country bumpkin like her had only known about examination baskets.
The first time she had accompanied Zhao Jing to the examination hall, she had been stunned to see so many other candidates carrying exquisitely crafted book trunks.
Afterward, she had found the time to go out with Xu Su Ying and buy two different book trunks: one for Zhao Jing and one for De’an.
The trunks were of excellent quality, crafted from top-grade huanghuali wood. The two small trunks weren’t inlaid with gems or adorned with gold leaf, but were simply carved with cranes amidst clouds. They were named Yunji, a name that carried the auspicious meaning of a meteoric rise. For that reason, Chen Wanqing had willingly paid the exorbitant price to buy them.
Now, the Yunji was proving its worth.
It became Zhao Jing’s seat, providing him support as he leaned over the bed board to write and sparing him a great deal of physical strain.
At some point, the rain outside the cell had lessened, but it never stopped completely.
In the other cells, some candidates who had initially shared Zhao Jing’s plan to wait for the rain to stop now realized they were running out of time. Gritting their teeth, they had no choice but to take out their papers and begin writing, hunched over their own bed boards.
Outside, the wind HOWLED and the rain PELTED down relentlessly, chilling everyone to the bone.
Inside the cells, candidates who had candles to spare lit them. Those who had none could only strain their eyes in the gloom, slowly and carefully transcribing the drafts from their minds onto their exam papers.