June 28th, arrived in Tokyo

  Thousands of families are like a Go board, twelve streets are like vegetable fields.

  There are eleven major streets running north-south and fourteen major streets running east-west, crisscrossing to divide the city into 120 wards. Among them, three north-south and three east-west main streets that pass through the city gates form the main traffic arteries within Chang'an City. Each ward has a layout in the shape of the character "井", with various shops and stores facing the street.

  Li Rui, Zheng Chengyi, Zhu Mingyi and Zou Lixing, the four of them, entered the city and were deeply shocked by this magnificent scene.

  "Zheng brother, we have arrived at this city, what should we do first?"

  "First of all, we need to report to the Ministry of Rites and then we can stay at the Imperial Inn." Zheng Chengyi, who had been there before, replied without hesitation. As he spoke, he led the way into a carriage and headed towards the Ministry of Rites.

  This vehicle is also called a carriage, and it's almost the same as a taxi, but it's pulled by a mule. All four of us are on the carriage, looking around in all directions, passing through the commoner district, and we see many large mansions.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a grand mansion where only those of fifth rank or above are allowed to reside."

  Everyone looked and saw that the mansion had a deep gate, each with high walls, beams and rafters intersecting, brackets extending from the eaves, the atmosphere was indeed different, and before they could catch their breath, they arrived at the Ministry of Rites' Contribution Institute.

  As soon as I arrived in this area, I saw many candidates. In fact, it is also a matter of course. Candidates for the imperial examination come early to cultivate their bodies and minds after long journeys, relax their emotions, and refine their studies. Especially here, where there are many candidates, exchanging ideas and discussing literature can be beneficial.

  Of course. Some people can also prepare the road first, but this one is very difficult.

  The Imperial City is actually divided into three parts: "Forbidden City", "Inner City" and "Outer City".

  The imperial palace goes without saying, the inner city is where the central government offices are located. The outer city is where official and civilian residences and markets are located, and this time we went to Gongfang - considering the special nature of the scholars, there are not many ordinary people in this alley, most of which are occupied by post houses, shops, wine houses, and the Ministry of Rites' tribute student institutes.

  The three divisions of the postal station are located in the east, south and west. The north division is the Imperial Academy of the Ministry of Rites. Each division has a postal officer who is an eighth-rank official under the Ministry of Rites, with a special force of 250 people. Led by the Proclamation Envoy, they provide protection for imperial examination candidates, are stationed in all directions and also supervise the examinations.

  Zheng Chengyi led the way, followed by three others, into Gongfang and then to the Reporting Office of the Ministry of Rites' Imperial Academy. The place was bustling with people, dozens of lower officials from the Ministry of Rites were busy rushing about, but the candidates did not dare to speak much. Lin Lei lined up in a queue, waiting for verification, if they made too much noise, it would give a bad impression to the people inside, and that would be a few points off.

  However, the candidate was not a common vegetable, and there were not many of them, so after half an hour, it was Fang Xin's turn to go in.

  At this time, Fang Xin was already familiar with the official system, so he knew at a glance that it was a seventh-grade official inside, looking around 40 years old, sitting in front of the desk. And there were some clerks around who listened to orders.

  Fang Xin hastily bowed deeply and said: "I am a student of Jiangfu's jinshi Li Rui. I have seen the great man!"

  According to the imperial court's etiquette, in fact, if it is not a direct superior-subordinate relationship, generally within the second rank can be saluted with hands clasped, exceeding the second rank must kneel and pay respects. The scholar-officials are slightly special, generally speaking, when meeting an official of the sixth rank or below, one does not need to kneel, but rather performs the student's salute.

  "From Jiangfu, the imperial scholar Li Rui!" As soon as he heard this, the official's eyes lit up, although his expression changed in an instant and was gone, but Fang Xin had already sensed it, and his heart skipped a beat.

  However, afterwards, there was nothing special about it. The official just followed the normal procedure, asked a few questions, and then naturally handed it over to the clerk for processing.

  First, Fang Xin submitted the documents with four seals: Jiangfu Prefecture Governor's seal, Provincial Academy Chancellor's seal, Anhui Province Governor's seal, and Provincial Education Commissioner's seal. Then, he registered as a candidate for this year's examination, had his appearance recorded, and received a copper plate with the name of Anhui Province and Jiangfu Prefecture, along with his personal serial number (甲乙丙丁). With this copper plate, he could enter and exit certain locations in the capital during the examination period, and it also served as proof for entering the Imperial Academy to take the exam.

  Fang Xin made his bow and then withdrew, allowing the next candidate to come in.

  After a while, the four of them finished their procedures. The inn was divided into three sections, actually also divided by province into "courtyards". Since they came from An Province, they naturally had to go to the An Province courtyard. However, once inside, they could choose their rooms.

  These houses, each one is allocated to one person, although not big, after bowing to the postal officer, he will lead the way in, then you can check-in inside, and after confirming that it's okay, you must also register on file.

  However, the rooms were very clean and the mats and bedding were new. The imperial court was naturally afraid of outbreaks of disease and attached great importance to this matter. If a candidate fell ill, the postal officer would be held responsible. If there were large-scale illnesses, not only would the postal officer be dismissed and punished, but even the chief examiners who presided over the examination would come to grief.

  Having chosen the room, all four of them were delighted. After putting away their luggage, they thanked the postal officer and Fang Xin presented ten taels of silver: "We four students are staying in this inn, please take good care of us."

  Ten taels of silver, that's enough. The postal officer smiled and accepted it, saying: "Well said, you are all scholars, and in the future when you become tribute scholars or advanced scholars, I will be able to benefit from your good fortune."

  These officials are basically from other departments or small clerks who have climbed up through qualifications, and their future prospects are limited. Although they are now also eighth-grade officials, after passing the imperial examination, it doesn't take a few years to trample these officials underfoot, so in fact many scholars look down on them.

  Zhu Mingyi didn't react in time, seeing Fang Xin's handsome appearance, she smiled. After he left, she said: "Well, since we've already checked in, why not go to the wine tower and have a drink to wash away the dust? I suppose at this time, those who can stay here are all outstanding talents from various provinces and prefectures. It's really worth making some connections."

  Nowadays, it's uncertain who will be the top scorer in the future, and maybe they'll even become sworn brothers. Pulling some strings is also a must. Fang Xin glanced at him and smiled.

  As they came out, they saw a 17 or 18-year-old scholar emerging from the courtyard. This person had a face as white as jade, wearing a blue shirt with a flowing appearance, and had a kind of elegant demeanor. Seeing the four people coming out, he smiled warmly, already showing the style of a young master from a large family.

  Zhu Ming Yi's eyes lit up as she stepped forward and asked, "This young man is from Jiang Fu, Zhu Ming Yi. Is this person also from Jiang Fu? But I don't often see him."

  "This young man cupped his hands in greeting and said: 'I am Pei Xuhao, my father is from Congjiang Prefecture, so I also registered here. However, my father is currently serving as an official elsewhere, that's why you don't often see him!'"

  "Oh, it's Brother Pei, nice to meet you." Zhu Mingyi's eyes lit up even more, and the other three people also came forward to pay their respects, saying a few words before taking their leave.

  Among the four of them, Zheng Chengyi was the oldest and had the most generous temperament. He smiled and said, "Who is this person?"

  "Zheng, this is the son of Pei Shuanglin, who was appointed as the Provincial Governor of Zhongming Province. From a young age, he was well-read and had exceptional literary talent. He wrote 'The East Water Pavilion Record' when he was just a child. At 12 years old, he became a Xiucai in Zhongming Province. When he was 15 years old, during the Imperial Examination, he took the exam in the capital and topped the list of successful candidates from Lin'en Prefecture. He is truly a young hero." said Zhu Mingyi.

  Fang Xin, however, remained silent and expressionless. He gazed at the child with his spiritual eyes and felt that this young one had a thread of purple energy condensed upon his head, like a flower blooming on top. This was truly an auspicious sign of great nobility, indicating that in the future, he would have the demeanor of a high-ranking official or general. If fate were to bring about the right opportunities, there might even be a chance for him to undergo a transformation akin to turning snakes into dragons.

  Of course, the transformation of snakes and dragons must be when the world is in chaos. Shallow water cannot raise dragons and snakes, this is no longer a personal fate, but the evolution of the entire situation.

  However, for now, this child is the first in potential. But then he heard Zou Li Xing curiously ask: "He fell to Jiangfu, can he also take the exam elsewhere?"

  Zheng Chengyi explained: "Generally, family members follow officials to go, and Tongsheng Xiucai can take the exam locally. However, Juren must go to the imperial capital or their hometown to take the exam. This time, he took the Gongsheng exam, and he is still a native of Anhui Province. There are 28 provincial courtyards in this relay station, with 120 rooms in each courtyard. But I suppose this son won't be staying at the relay station; they must have another residence in Beijing. Now that they've arrived, it's just to respond to the situation."

  After finishing speaking, the four of them went to a wine house to drink a cup, thus opening their life in the capital.

  However, the majority of scholars, although they also drink and have fun, spend most of their time studying poetry classics or exchanging ideas with each other. The imperial examination is extremely strict, especially the tribute test, where even the chief examiner does not know the questions until the day of the exam, when they are announced by imperial decree. As for the exam papers, all names are obscured and only registered anonymously.

  Since the founding of the country, even if the imperial court's politics gradually became corrupt, the imperial examination system was a clean land, although it couldn't be extremely clean, but compared to other political affairs, it was much better.

  In the hundred years since the founding of the country, once cheating was discovered in the imperial examination, the examiners showed no mercy and beheaded more than twenty people. Their families were exiled, while the examinees themselves received twenty lashes, had their honors revoked, and were never employed again.

  So, even if there was cheating, it wasn't something that ordinary candidates could participate in. After all, risking one's life and future for a few hundred or thousand taels of silver, and even implicating their families, just wasn't worth it. If you wanted money, you could become a county magistrate or prefectural governor, and in three years you'd have ten million taels of silver, with hardly any risk at all - so why bother?

  So the candidates, that is to say, from the beginning of their stay, got acquainted with each other through wine parties, and afterwards most of them devoted themselves to hard study, pondering over the classics, sometimes also taking a break, going out for wine parties and discussions on literature, talking and laughing, praising or criticizing current politics - this was indeed the privilege of candidates.

  Unconsciously, time has brought us to August 1st, and the moment that will decide the fate of the three thousand candidates who have come to Beijing has arrived.