Chapter 053: Laughing or crying
Zhou Shun was not kidnapped, but his mood at the moment was almost the same as if he had been kidnapped.
The reason why my face turned dark was that I marked the papers too late last night and got up early today, so I basically didn't get any sleep.
On the other hand, he was tossing and turning in his heart, wondering why he was so brave to actually pick Shen Yichen as the top of the list. How would he survive in his career if he offended Lord Xu?
So when I saw Shen Yichen coming in today, I felt extremely complicated. I couldn’t say I was sad, but I couldn’t be happy either. I was very conflicted...
"Student Shen Yichen pays respect to the parents."
Regardless of County Magistrate Zhou's attitude, Shen Yichen still had to follow the proper etiquette. He first bowed to the other party.
"Well, I have chosen you as the top candidate in the county case. I hope you can continue to improve and become a pillar of society in the future."
"Students must live up to the high expectations of their parents!"
After hearing Shen Yichen's answer, Zhou Shun finally showed a relieved smile on his face. As the chief examiner selecting talents for the country, isn't this the kind of scene he wants to see?
Young talents should be at the top of the list!
After leaving the main hall, Shen Yichen came to the examination room he had been in yesterday. After another long wait, he saw the soldiers holding wooden signs with the exam questions and starting to move between the examination rooms.
Today's exam is called the first re-examination, which means the first re-examination. It is equivalent to providing another chance to re-examination for candidates who were not admitted in the main examination.
Of course, there are more than one make-up exam opportunity, and there are three more. Theoretically, if it is stimulating enough, some candidates can get admitted after retaking the fifth exam, and experience the ups and downs of life.
The content of the preliminary examination is slightly simpler than that of the main examination. The number of essays from the Four Books and Eight-part Essays is halved, and only one essay is required. In addition, the test poem is no longer required, and a theory or filial piety essay is replaced. Finally, the student has to write the "Instructions to the Lying Scholars" with more than 100 words.
Shen Yichen had already been selected as the first candidate, so naturally the pressure was not as great as yesterday. Today's answers were written casually, and he did not think about handing in the paper early to talk to County Magistrate Zhou. Everything was done according to the standards of ordinary candidates.
After finishing the exam and returning to the inn, Shen Yichen was dragged by Li Da and others to a restaurant for a drink, saying that it was to celebrate his being chosen as the top candidate.
In fact, to be honest, the top scorer in the county is not worthy of being the real top scorer. Only the top scorer in the academy who gets the final academy exam will be recognized and looked up to.
But for Li Da and others, celebration was just an excuse to eat and drink.
On the third day, the Xiajiang examination hall was still bustling with people . The overall passing rate of the county examinations in the Ming Dynasty was about 3 or 4 percent, and the proportion of those who could eventually obtain the title of scholar was only 1 or 2 percent.
In other words, among the thousands of candidates taking the Jiangning County examination, although it may seem like a huge crowd, in fact, the number of people who will laugh at the end will not exceed a hundred.
With this passing rate, it is easy to imagine how difficult it is for Li Da and others to pass, so the names of Zhao Hongjie and Li Da and his group are still not on the list on the bulletin board today.
Zhao Hongjie and his friends were already used to this kind of situation, and they still laughed and didn't take it seriously. If they failed the exam again, the worst that could happen was that they would give up literature and join the military, relying on their parents' connections to serve in the army.
After all, the military officers during the Zhengtong period were not as bad as they were in the late Ming Dynasty, so it could still be considered a way out.
The third exam is a review, and the difficulty has been reduced to the point where there are no rigid requirements for the Four Books and Eight-Legged Essays. It will be fine as long as the candidates can write one essay based on the Four Books and Five Classics.
In addition, they were required to write a regulated fu, a trial poem, and to copy the same 100-word inscription on the "Monument to the Lying Scholar".
When it comes to the fourth and fifth rounds, there are no restrictions at all. You can choose whatever you want, including contemporary essays, poetry, economics, and parallel prose.
This is why there was controversy when County Magistrate Zhou and other examiners selected the top candidates.
Selecting the top essay in advance may indeed cause some unfairness to the good essays that come later. But at the same time, the questions in the later part of the county exam are simpler, so candidates can better choose the type they are good at. In a sense, it is also unfair to the candidates in the first exam.
In this way, the five-day county examination ended. When Shen Yichen walked out of the "dragon gate" of the Xiajiang examination room, he felt that the sky was much bluer.
I have been getting up early and working late these days, and from time to time I am "forced" by Li Da to go out for a good meal. I am indeed a little tired.
No wonder many people in ancient times called the imperial examination a physical job. If you are physically weak, you may not be able to withstand it.
After waiting at the door for a while, Li Da and his group came out. Without saying a word, they prepared to take Shen Yichen to Zuixianlou for another meal, under the pretext of celebrating the end of the county exam.
The problem is that none of you have even passed the county entrance examination for the imperial examination, so what are you celebrating for?
Now Shen Yichen understood why many children of noble families in ancient times became uneducated and unskilled. Under the temptation of eating, drinking and having fun every day, the willpower of ordinary people could not resist.
Of course, Shen Yichen is not an ordinary person. This time he righteously rejected Li Da’s invitation and chose to go home early.
The reason was simple. His mother, Shen, must have been worried about whether he could pass the exam. He wanted to tell his mother the news of his success as soon as possible, saying that her son had finally made it.
Returning to her own courtyard on the corner of the street, she gently pushed open the door. Shen was kneeling in front of the Buddhist shrine, praying that Shen Yichen could pass the county exam. She didn't even notice that her son was standing behind her.
Shen Yichen listened silently to his mother's words of blessing and prayer. For some reason, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat. Even when he was named the first on the list of cases, his emotions were not as intense as they were at this moment.
For mother Shen, this expectation has been around for almost ten years, and each time it ended in disappointment. Today, it finally changed.
After standing there for a long time, Shen Yichen called out softly, "Mom, I'm back."
Hearing her son's voice, Shen was stunned for a moment, then she got up from the ground with joy. She came to Shen Yichen, stroked his cheek distressedly and said, "Chen'er, you must have worked hard on the exams these days. You have lost a lot of weight."
Shen Yichen was quite touched at first, but the words "he lost weight" made him want to laugh. Theoretically, he should have gained a lot of weight by eating and drinking with Li Da these days...
"Mom, don't worry, I've been doing well these past few days and haven't lost any weight at all."
Shen was not sure about it and looked at Shen Yichen carefully. He seemed to be in good spirits, which was very different from the way he had returned home after taking the county exam in previous years.
"Hey, Chen'er, how did you do in this county exam?"
Shen finally asked this question with some trepidation. Perhaps she had experienced too many disappointments and was afraid that she would not get the answer she wanted. She was also worried that the emotions she revealed would cause a greater blow to her son.
"First in the county exam."
"What's wrong with the first place in the county exam? Chen'er, I was asking how you did in the exam, not who was the first place in the county exam."
Shen had no idea what her son's sudden claim to be the top scorer in the county examination meant. She thought Shen Yichen had misunderstood her and thought she was asking who the top scorer was.
Because compared to the outside world, the Shen family may know less about Shen Yichen's knowledge.
For example, two famous poems, or the champion of the Winter Solstice Poetry Festival, and the disciple of the top scholar Lin Zhen. Shen, a housewife, didn't know any of these things.
In her impression, her son was still the poor student who failed to pass the county exam, but in the past six months he had turned over a new leaf and become much more diligent.
"I was selected by the chief examiner as the top candidate in the county case."
"What, Chen'er, you are the first in the case?"
Shen's expression changed from surprise at first to fear in the end, and he even began to pat .
Shen Yichen was also frightened when he saw this scene. His mother probably didn't have any heart disease. What if something unexpected happened due to the excessive surprise? The Ming Dynasty didn't have modern medical equipment.
"Mom, take a deep breath and don't get excited. You're just the top of a county case. You don't deserve any important title."
After Shen Yichen said this, Shen was even more shocked. Her son now even looked down on the case leader. How arrogant he must be!
After taking a deep breath for a long time, Shen finally calmed down and asked again in a tone of disbelief: "Chen'er, don't lie to me. Tell me the truth. How did you do in the county exam?"
"Mom, I really got the first place in the exam."
Now it was Shen Yichen's turn to laugh and cry. He was selected as the first in the first round, and none of the other candidates had such doubts. In the end, it was his own mother who didn't believe he could pass the exam, which was really a bit outrageous.
"The ancestors of the Zhu family have blessed me. My son has finally made it. He has not lost face for me and has won first place in the exam!"
Shen was so happy that she burst into tears. She had never expected that Shen Yichen had failed in the previous county examinations, but this time he not only passed, but also ranked first. It was really thanks to the blessing of his ancestors!
But when Shen Yichen heard this, he felt complicated, because his surname was Shen, not Zhu, and he had little relationship with the Zhu ancestors.
He could understand his mother's desire for him to return to his ancestral home, but the more he came into contact with Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong, the more Shen Yichen could feel the ruthlessness of the imperial family.
Even if he could be included in the family tree and his surname changed to Zhu, how much would it have to do with Duke Chengguo's reputation? It was nothing more than showing enough value to add bricks and tiles to the mansion's luxurious gate.
Of course, at this moment Shen Yichen would not say these things to spoil his mother's mood, but smiled faintly and chose to agree.
After her emotions gradually calmed down, Shen immediately went to the Buddhist shrine to burn incense and fulfill her wish, and also lit a firecracker to celebrate Shen Yichen's success in high school.
Even when the neighbors were attracted by the sound of firecrackers, Shen was still busy telling them that her son had won the first place in the county examination, and her pride was beyond words.
In fact, Shen Shi was not completely unaware of the fact that her son was looked down upon by the outside world over the years. It was just that as a weak woman, she was powerless even if she knew and could not do anything for Shen Yichen.
Today, I can finally hold my head high!
