Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 208: The Emperor's Birthday
The thirteenth year of Jiazhao, the eighth day of the fifth month.

For the thousands of students taking the imperial examinations in the Great Zhou, this year is a rare year of grace and reward.

To celebrate the 65th birthday of the Emperor in May, His Majesty not only issued an edict to celebrate the Emperor's birthday, but also held a special examination in May this year.

For example, the provincial examination of the Da Zhou Dynasty was held every three years. According to the normal schedule, it would not be held until August of the next year. If someone failed, he would have to wait three years before he could take the exam again, which would waste six years.

And there are only a few six years in a person's life. The provincial examination is the middle of the imperial examination. Only those who pass the examination are eligible to be selected as officials and truly enter the official class. It is not an easy task.

Many scholars failed repeatedly and had to take several provincial examinations before they could pass. More than ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

Therefore, this May's special examination is great news to the scholars who are waiting for the autumn examination.

This is because, if they fail the special examination this time, they can still take part in the regular provincial examination in August next year, which will save half the time than normal and the probability of passing will be greatly increased.

However, due to the sudden nature of the Encyclopedia of Science and Technology and the inability to predict it much in advance, students who take part in it may not be well prepared, and it mostly serves as a warm-up for the regular subjects.

Even so, for a student, it is a great fortune to encounter an imperial examination with special honors.

……

Jia Cong's mentor Liu Jing'an served as the Grand Master of Rites for more than ten years. He had experienced ups and downs in his official career and was wise. He also presided over many provincial and imperial examinations in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

His understanding and judgment of the relationship between court changes and the imperial examinations was far higher than that of ordinary people.

Last year, the Emperor settled the dispute over the etiquette for the life and death of the Empress Dowager, and built a temple to rest the body of his biological mother, the Empress Dowager Xianxiao.

Although it was a move to demonstrate imperial power and to weigh the world, it still caused some impact on the retired emperor and Empress Dowager Yizhang who were living in Chonghua Palace.

The dignity of the imperial system should be maintained, and the way to balance power and intrigue should be to take into account one thing without losing too much of another. After the consecration of the Da Ci'en Temple, Emperor Jiazhao celebrated the 65th birthday of the retired emperor, and this was his original intention.

The two ways to show the emperor's grace and honor to the world were amnesty and special examinations.

Compared with amnesty, the special examination can win the hearts of scholars all over the world and at the same time give the emperor enough honor and filial piety.

Last year, there were some minor flaws in etiquette due to the incident involving my biological mother, the Empress Dowager, but these were eliminated thanks to the Emperor's good fortune and longevity, who granted me special privileges.

Even Emperor Jiazhao admired Liu Jing'an's intelligence and wisdom. How could he not deduce and guess what the emperor could think of?

Many people are only wise after the event, or can only figure out the reason after the event.

However, Liu Jing'an started building the Da Ci'en Temple last year. When news of the retired emperor's 65th birthday spread from the palace, he vaguely guessed the subsequent connections.

This is also the reason why he took the time to give Jia Cong intensive lessons and sort out the key points of the provincial examination before he went to Jinling.

He also listed a detailed list of books and asked him to take them to Jinling, and reminded him not to slack off in his studies while in Jinling. This was because he anticipated the possibility that the emperor would hold an imperial examination next year.

After Jia Cong returned from Jinling, Liu Jing'an set him a meticulous course of study. Writing essays and policy papers became Jia Cong's daily homework, which could be described as a hellish pre-exam preparation.

It is Jia Cong's great fortune to have such a famous teacher.

By the last month, Jia Cong discovered that the topics and trends of the essays proposed by Liu Jing'an were increasingly in line with the current situation and the emperor's will, and he gradually realized the risks involved.

This gentleman of mine served as the Grand Master of Rites for many years. He had been the chief examiner of many provincial and metropolitan examinations, participated in the review of imperial examination questions many times, and was himself the top scorer in the imperial examination.

His deep immersion in academic studies is beyond the reach of ordinary people, otherwise how could he be known as the master of studies.

That day, Liu Xiaoping asked Jia Cong to read Cheng Wen's essays reviewed by Liu Jing'an. Jia Cong had more thoughts on this and gave him some ordinary practice works written a few months earlier.

As for the last month's essays written by Liu Jing'an, he did not submit any of them. It was not because he was afraid that Liu Xiaoping and others would read Liu Jing'an's annotations and surpass him in the examination.

But three people make a tiger, and too many mouths make a lot of noise. If Liu Xiaoping gains unexpected profits from these comments on Cheng Wen's essays and wins the Mid-Autumn Examination because of them, and rumors spread unintentionally, it will cause disaster.

The topic of the essay that Liu Jing'an was pondering in the last month was just a discussion and commentary with one of his disciples, which was a harmless thing.

But if the information spreads and becomes known to everyone, and the final question is unexpectedly similar to the one in the exam, then it will be hard to explain.

The imperial examination is a national ceremony for selecting talents. The past dynasties have strictly controlled the abuses, and would rather kill the wrong person than let him go. There are countless cases of talented people being innocently implicated. So at this juncture, even though he is a close friend, Jia Cong is very cautious and does not take any chances.

……

Early in the morning, before daybreak, Daiyu had already gotten up.

Zijuan hurriedly got up to serve, and while she was helping Daiyu comb her hair and put it into a bun, she said, "I heard that the young lady tossed and turned last night and refused to go to sleep. Today you got up so early and didn't take good care of yourself."

"Today is the first day of the provincial examination for my third brother. I hurried to see him off early. I was afraid of missing him, so I didn't sleep well. I will just catch up on some sleep when I get back. It's not worth it."

Qingzhizhai was also busy early in the morning. Wu'er was preparing breakfast, Zhishao was helping Jia Cong to wash and dress, and Qingwen and Yinglian were putting away their things for the exam.

Daiyu brought Zijuan over and looked through the writing brushes, inkstones, and various dry food in Jia Cong's examination box to see if anything was missing. She also looked at the padded jacket and quilt he brought with him.

The provincial examination was divided into three sessions, each lasting three days, and the examinee had to spend two nights in the examination hall.

It is still May now. Beijing is located in the north, and the temperature at night is much lower than during the day, so padded jackets and quilts are indispensable.

Daiyu was worried that the partitions in the examination room were too hard and Jia Cong would not be able to sleep well, so she asked Qingwen to add a quilt and put a few more white candles in the examination box in case there was not enough candlelight when he was answering the papers at night.

Jia Cong saw that Daiyu was doing these details in an orderly manner, contrary to her usual behavior as a rich lady. He watched her busying around with interest.

At this time, Yingchun and Tanchun also came to see her off. Seeing Daiyu's look, Yingchun smiled and said, "Sister Lin is still the most attentive."

Daiyu blushed when she heard this.

She said, "I have heard all these things about the examination hall from my father since I was a child. Unfortunately, I am a girl and I have no chance to win the first prize. Today, I will use all of them on my third brother."

……

In Lixiangyuan, the lights were turned on early in the morning.

Aunt Xue was old and used to going to bed early and getting up early. She saw the maids and old women in the house were already walking around in the corridor outside at this time.

He hurried out of his room and found that the light in his daughter's room was on. When he went in, he saw that his daughter was dressed neatly and was about to go out.

"It's still dark, where are you going so early in the morning?"

"Mom, today is the first day of the provincial examination for Brother Cong. I will go with my sisters in the garden to see him off and wish him good luck."

Aunt Xue was somewhat worldly-wise after all, and did know some things. She asked, "Aren't the provincial examinations usually held in the fall?"

"Mom, this year is the 65th birthday of the Emperor, and the court is holding an imperial examination in May. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Brother Cong might pass it this time."

These days, when the sisters are together, the topic always revolves around Jia Cong's provincial examination. Among them, Daiyu is most familiar with the rules of the imperial examination because her father was a third place winner.

But the Xue family had not produced a scholar for two generations, and Baochai was somewhat unfamiliar with the imperial examination. During this period, she heard her sisters talk about it a lot, paid special attention to it, and became familiar with it.

When Aunt Xue saw the joy on her daughter's face, she couldn't help but frown slightly. Fortunately, she was not the only one going to see her off, as there were also the sisters from the Jia family, so it was okay.

……

When Baochai came, she brought a box of ginseng and poria cocos cake, which was still steaming hot. The food for the three days in the examination room had to be prepared by oneself, and this thing could not only satisfy hunger but also boost energy, and was just right for use in the examination room.

Baoyu would naturally not show up in such an occasion. He wouldn't even have the time to hide, so how could he come to vomit at his house?

The group of sisters accompanied them all the way to the second gate of the garden, where Jia Zheng had already prepared a carriage and horses, and had also sent two smart servants to follow them.

Daiyu and other sisters watched Jia Cong get on the carriage. The morning breeze blew his scholar's scarf and robe, making it seem as if he was walking on the wind.

The darkness gradually faded away in the early morning of May, and the first rays of sunshine bloomed in the distant sky.

(End of this chapter)