The imperial examination of Chu was mostly held in autumn, and "闱" refers to the examination hall.

  On August 1st, numerous scholars with different emotions in their hearts headed to the Imperial Academy to take part in the examination.

  "Everyone, calm down now, no need to bring anything, just follow me!" Zheng Chengyi said, at this time the sky was still a bit bright, and everyone also politely thanked him and followed him.

  Out of the courtyard, at this time, the streets between each institute had converged into a stream of people, and these streams were all composed of candidates, surging towards the Imperial Examination Institute.

  This grand examination, who dares to slack off? Thus, almost all the examinees arrived in front of the Gongyuan, but the time had not yet come. At this moment, another battalion of soldiers was summoned, making the humble Gongyuan reach a scale of 500 soldiers, which can be compared to the majesty of a royal palace.

  The candidates stood resting, in twos and threes, chatting with each other in a circle. Fang Xin watched them with great interest, but actually everyone was tense at this time, so the laughter and conversation were just forced.

  Especially Zou Lixing, his face was even a bit pale, seeing good friends comforting him, he bitterly smiled and said: "Ashamed, my family is poor and can't afford to support two people reading. Originally, there was another brother in the family who also studied hard, but after passing the imperial examination, he became a ninth-rank official in the Ministry of Rites. This time, his elder brother spent all his money to help him take the exam, every time he thought about it, he felt that if he didn't pass, how could he face his brother?"

  After hearing this, the three of them fell silent. In fact, becoming a scholar-official was not the only choice in the great Chu imperial court.

  There are also the Mingjing and Mingsuan departments to cultivate general officials. After all, taxation arithmetic is also essential for the country, and as long as they are Tongsheng and Xiuciai, they can participate. However, even if one passes this examination, it's hard to get a higher rank than 9th grade, and after years of accumulation, at most, one can only climb up to the level of a prefectural official. Therefore, there is the saying that "other departments cannot exceed the fifth grade" (meaning that almost no one can exceed the fifth grade by this route).

  But if one passes the imperial examination and becomes a jinshi, it's an entirely different story. One can basically live a life of luxury, with unlimited prospects for the future.

  "This is also human nature, Zou Di doesn't need to be too nervous, and the exam is different from before, it's only one day, Zou Xiong still needs to calm down his mood in order to do well!" Zheng Chengyi reminded him at this time.

  Xiucai should test the classics. Juren should test the meaning of ink, and can catch up with the examination of Jinshi. Naturally, everyone is very familiar with the basic skills, so in fact, there are not many questions about basic skills, mainly testing the classics and articles. Of course, the time will not be three days. Lin Lei

  Just then, the moment arrived. Suddenly, the drums sounded, and the gate of the Imperial Academy slowly opened. Two teams of officials came out, arranged by province. Those who were called to their province went forward one by one, holding their own copper plaques as they entered.

  Upon arrival at the inner court, there were large tubs of water, and candidates stripped off their clothes to wash. Then officials inspected their clothing to ensure they were completely clean before allowing them to formally enter the examination hall.

  Once inside the examination hall, the first gate was immediately sealed, followed by the second gate. The soldiers rushed up and sealed it off. At this point, unless there was an imperial edict, even if the prime minister or a prince were present, anyone who dared to enter would be beheaded without exception.

  The Ministry of Rites personally presided over the imperial examination, and all 3,000 candidates were randomly assigned to enter the examination hall. The examination hall was actually a long corridor that stretched in four directions: east, south, west, and north. It was divided into more than ten long corridors, each with several rooms inside. Due to the one-day examination, there was no need for sleeping quarters, so the rooms were very small, barely enough for one person, one desk, and one chair.

  There are no doors in the examination room, and the examiners come and go to patrol, even with armed guards following them to supervise.

  The examination hall has a high platform, and the high platform can overlook the entire examination situation. On the high platform, there are naturally two chief examiners. One is Xiāng Qīng, the Minister of Rites, who is a fourth-rank official. This is also customary, as every imperial examination involves the Ministry of Rites. The other person is Dù Zhāo, the Grand Secretary of the Wényuán Chamber, who was appointed by the Emperor and is also a fourth-rank official.

  The time has arrived, the two men bowed to each other, stood up together, and knelt down in front of a yellow silk package on the table before unrolling it, which contained the test questions.

  This is made of the paper quality of imperial edict, golden yellow scroll.

  The test questions were naturally executed by Xu Xiangqing, who cleared his throat and read out the requirements in a loud voice. This was only possible for the imperial examination, because the questions were actually very simple, each taking a sentence from the classics and requiring an essay to be composed on the spot. There were three questions in total, so it was possible to recite them on the spot. If it were the xiucai or juren examinations, which also tested memory of classical texts, that would be absolutely impossible.

  When the chief examiner read it out in the examination hall, the inspectors each took a small official and recited it to the candidates one by one along the corridor, reading it three times in succession.

  The candidates all listened attentively and recorded the questions on a piece of white paper, which was usually stacked up for use. After finishing the exam, the candidates could carefully review their answers, and if there were any errors, they could rewrite them on new paper.

  This is because it's not easy to pass the imperial examination, and the court doesn't want candidates to fail due to temporary mistakes in writing, so they try to eliminate randomness and only look at the candidate's talent and literary skills.

  He got the exam paper, Fang Xin didn't move his pen at first, he just thought silently. He had read many wonderful articles on the subject in advance, of course, it was impossible to match all the questions, but if he just borrowed from them, it would be more than enough.

  Innumerable ingenious articles, one by one, floated into his mind, and in his mind, Fang Xin had written them out like flowing clouds and water. When all three questions were finished in his mind, the drum sounded, indicating that it was already noon. As it was the imperial examination for scholars, there was only one meal at noon, so the court attached great importance to it. The emperor's special decree used five dishes and one soup as the standard.

  So when the time comes, it is handed over one by one by a special person, and the small officials of each room and the examiners will also conduct further checks.

  Fang Xin was calmly having his meal, but the small official who delivered the dishes discovered that he hadn't written a single word and left. He then went to report this to the examiner in charge of this room.

  The examiner's name was Ding Ren, a seventh-rank official, and he was shocked when he heard it.

  After all, it will be rolled up at the end of Shen and You (at 5 pm), and can be copied again. Why not write in this life? Even if mistakes are made, they can be corrected!

  If it is said that someone has reached the stage of Gongsheng and still cannot write a single character, submitting a blank paper, this is simply impossible. In the Xiucai examination, perhaps some people relied on cheating and could not actually write, but in the Juren examination, there should be no such situation. In the Gongsheng examination, if someone cannot write a single character and submits a blank paper, and it is discovered that their previous honors were obtained through cheating, this would be the biggest scandal of the year. The emperor might immediately become enraged, investigate thoroughly, and execute or exile dozens of related officials.

  Thinking of this, Ding Ren couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, and he personally went up to take a look.

  He swept a glance at the door and found it was Bai Juan. As usual, he wasn't very talkative. Ding Ren could only clear his throat and ask, "Is there something wrong with your pen and ink? If so, I can exchange them for you."

  Maybe there's something wrong with the brush and inkstone too.

  Fang Xing bowed his hands and said: "The students are thinking about it, they will write it later, the pen and ink are idle."

  Fang Xin finished speaking and fell into deep thought again. At this time, Ding Ren couldn't say anything else and could only pace back and forth.

  In his mind, Fang Xin again scrutinized each sentence that had already been written, making revisions one by one. The brilliant articles from past lives had all merged into this one, and before he knew it, time had slipped away, coalescing into a magnificent essay.

  It is known that the articles of the previous dynasty have been thoroughly refined over thousands of years, and among them are works that took decades to complete. Although they may not fully address the topic, each individual section's argument is unparalleled in the world.

  Ding Ren had already walked past his door twice, and in desperation, he thought to himself: "You can at least write something casual, don't turn in a blank paper, what a huge embarrassment!"

  At this time, even the two main examiners on the high platform were shocked and looked at the long corridor in surprise.

  Just thinking about it, he saw Fang Xin inside, who had already started moving, grinding the pen and ink, and suddenly his spirit was shocked. He just hoped that this examinee wouldn't make a blank sheet of paper.

  After a moment, the ink was ground and Fang Xin picked up his brush. His strokes were bold and confident, as if possessed by a spirit. On a sheet of white paper, he wrote hundreds of characters in a single, flowing motion, from top to bottom. The words flowed like pearls and jade, each stroke perfect and full of life. As soon as he finished writing, he immediately switched to another sheet of paper and began writing again. This feeling was like the Milky Way pouring down, producing an unparalleled sense of joy and satisfaction. In total, six sheets were written, and all three topics were completed.

  After finishing, Fang Xin neither checked nor recopied. He had absolute confidence in his self-control, and only waited a little for the ink on the paper to dry completely before ringing the bell and standing up with both hands holding the test paper, bowing his head respectfully, waiting for the examiner to take it down.

  Ding Ren had no choice but to step forward, he couldn't personally take down the test paper, and a specially appointed official had to come forward to announce: "You can withdraw now, rest in the waiting area, and wait for a while before leaving."

  Fang Xin went out at this time, and the exam had already passed two-thirds of the time. It wasn't too sudden, so some candidates just took a casual glance and didn't pay attention to it. Even if they had finished writing, they still carefully reviewed their work, fearing that there would be mistakes in words or handwriting when submitting their papers.

  Fang Xin was relaxed and entered the rest room, where he saw two other examinees who didn't say much, just sipped their tea.