Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 211: Examination at Donghua Building

Xiuniang Incense Shop, Xinchun Street, west of Shenjing City.

"Madam Feng, I have come here several times as well, sincerely wanting to form a partnership with your store. This is a win-win situation for both sides. It doesn't seem good for you to keep me away like this."

The person who spoke was a man in his thirties, tall and thin, wearing a brocade robe with a patterned round flower. His eyes were a little gloomy and he seemed a little angry.

Seeing that Feng was a woman, he lost his restraint in his words and even sounded a little threatening.

There was a young waiter in the store with an angry look on his face. If he wasn't afraid of causing trouble for the boss and the young master, he would have gone up to teach this arrogant guy a lesson.

After hearing what the other party said, Feng's face changed, and she felt a little scared. She mustered up her courage and said, "Our boss has said that the incense shop is an exclusive business and will not be operated by others. Please go back, sir."

When the man left angrily, the servant asked, "Sister Feng, this man doesn't look like a good person. Sister Xiu went to Jinling. Should we tell Master Cong that he would have a plan?"

Feng thought for a moment and said, "Master Cong is taking the provincial examination these days, so don't disturb him. The boss will be returning to the capital in a few days. If that person gives up, the matter will be over."

……

The Donghua Tower in the south courtyard of the Ministry of Rites was named after the name of Donghua, and was the place where the papers were marked for the Yongzhou metropolitan and provincial examinations.

The marking of the Yongzhou Enke County Examination has been going on for three days. There are twenty examiners on the first floor of Donghua Building, who are marking and screening more than 2,000 county examination papers one by one.

During the preliminary review stage, all students' three test papers were evaluated into five grades: elegant, concise, clear, appropriate, and disqualified.

If one is deemed unqualified in the initial review, he or she will naturally fail the exam immediately. The rest of the candidates will be subject to cross-review, third review, and final evaluation, and only then will the ranking of the candidates in the provincial examination be determined.

The chief examiner of the Yongzhou Enke provincial examination was Zheng Yan, Shaoqing of the Taichang Temple. Although his official position was not as high as that of the Minister of Rites Guo Youchang, his reputation among the literati was extremely loud.

The main reason is that he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi twice, which was unique among the scholars in the entire Zhou Dynasty.

Twenty years ago, when the retired emperor was in power, Zheng Yan passed the imperial examination and ranked second in the list of Jinshi.

However, because he had not yet completed his studies, he felt that it was not enough, so he declined the offer and returned to his hometown to study.

Thirteen years ago, with the ambition to be the best in the world, he returned to Beijing to take the exam, and unexpectedly won the top spot in the first year of Jiazhao.

He was highly respected by scholars for his outstanding knowledge and academic achievements. He passed the imperial examinations twice and became a legend among scholars.

This is a scholar who studies not for the purpose of becoming an official. For him, an official position is as easy as taking something out of a bag, but learning has no limits, and that is what he truly desires.

Such a person is not only worthy of the title, but is more than qualified to be the chief examiner of the Yongzhou County Examination.

At this moment, Zheng Yan was sitting in the official residence on the second floor of Donghua Building. During the first few days of marking the papers, he, as the chief examiner, had some free time.

Because in the first two days, the examiners on the first floor had just begun the initial review, the number of papers to be reviewed was limited, and the five-level assessment could not be accurately defined.

By the third day of marking, nearly half of the test papers had been initially marked and the definitions of marking and grading had been clearly defined.

Starting from noon, first and second class test papers that were rated as elegant and concise were sent to Zheng Yan's official residence on the second floor for review.

Each student takes three tests, each with more than one question, and the total number of test papers is several times two thousand.

With such a huge number of test papers, Zheng Yan, as the chief examiner, naturally could not check them one by one. Only the three test papers that were rated as elegant and concise by the examiners on the first floor would be sent to him for review.

The papers that can be sent to him must be the best of the best. As for whether the examiners below will cheat or submit papers that are not good enough, this is completely impossible.

First, before the provincial examination, all the test papers had been re-copied and the names had been covered before being graded, and could only be identified by the serial numbers. The names of the owners of the test papers were not known at all, so it was impossible to cheat.

As for the papers that are rated as elegant and refined, there is no possibility that they are just fillers.

Zheng Yan was a two-time Jinshi champion, a world-renowned scholar with a sharp eye. Who dared to play tricks in front of him? It would be like showing off one's skills in front of an expert. However, Zheng Yan looked at dozens of papers in one breath and couldn't help but frown. Except for a few that caught his eye, most of them were far from the elegant and refined ones he had in mind.

In fact, this situation is not surprising. The normal provincial examination should have been held in August next year.

The special examination here was held in May, but the imperial court only issued an imperial decree two months in advance. Most students were not fully prepared and most of them regarded the special examination as a warm-up for the regular examination.

Therefore, the level of performance is naturally discounted. After all, few people can be like Jia Cong, who, because of Mr. Liu Jing'an's prediction of the opportunity, has studied so hard in the past six months.

Especially in the third test, there was that tricky and sharp policy essay question, which hit the soft spots of many candidates.

As for this essay, some people used empty words, some used gibberish, and a few wrote in a balanced manner, but there was nothing new about it, which made Zheng Yan shake his head.

Just as Zheng Yan put down the test paper in his hand with some disappointment, he suddenly heard a commotion coming from downstairs.

There seemed to be the sound of many people running, as if swept by a violent storm, the noise was getting louder and louder, and excited chanting could be heard.

Zheng Yan felt puzzled, so he walked out of the official residence on the second floor and went downstairs to check what was going on.

As soon as I walked down the stairs, I saw that the marking hall on the first floor was a bit chaotic, with many people gathered around a marking table on the left side of the hall.

One of the examiners was reciting:
There is no substance in words, and no method in use;
They are immersed in discussions of decline and decay, and enjoy talking about them with relish; they have abandoned the method of investigating things and gaining enlightenment, but are unaware of it.

He has spent his whole life studying classics, and regards the suffering of the people as a fire across the river; he has spent his whole life in idle talk and empty poetry, and discards the ambitions of ancient sages to help others and benefit the people as if they were grass or a worn-out shoe...

When Zheng Yan heard these words, his eyes lit up and he secretly applauded in his heart.

The words are sharp and the spirit is lofty. None of the elegant and well-reviewed papers I read upstairs just now were as satisfying as this!

An examiner from the Imperial College saw Zheng Yan coming down the stairs and hurried forward to explain:
"Zheng Shaoqing, I'm at the examination table number 5. I've reviewed a great essay on policy and strategy. It's really extraordinary, so everyone is a little...out of control."

Zheng Yan was also a person immersed in literature, so he certainly understood the excitement and surprise that a good article could bring to people.

He smiled with interest and said, "I have listened to the few sentences just now, and they are quite good, but I have not seen the whole picture. It is really such a magnificent article, which makes you so relaxed."

At this time, Zheng Yan heard the examiner continue to read:

Therefore, observe the laws of heaven and earth, examine the origins of all things, explore the subtleties of scholars' aspirations, and use them to correct them.

We should cultivate our lofty aspirations, establish our mind for the heaven and earth, establish our destiny for the people, carry on the lost knowledge of the ancient sages, and bring peace to the world for all generations!

When Zheng Yan heard the last two sentences, he was stunned, as if he heard the sound of a huge bell or the wonderful music of nature.

He himself is a person who is extremely devoted to academic research, and he takes it as his mission to explore the way of heaven and the ultimate truth.

Otherwise, twenty years ago, he would not have given up on passing the imperial examination and becoming an official, retreated to Shanglin, and studied behind closed doors. After nearly ten years of hard work, he finally gained some insights and returned to the academic world.

Establish a mind for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the living people, carry on the unique teachings of the past saints, and create peace for all generations!

These four words of self-examination shocked and enlightened him more deeply than those of others because of his personal experience.

He sighed with excitement: "Such a magnificent and magnificent article is not easy for students to learn the true method."

"This article was written by that candidate!"

"Your Excellency, this is written by candidate number 215 of C."

"Find all the test papers of this man from the three examinations and send them to my official residence immediately."

(End of this chapter)