I'm in the Red Mansion

Chapter 221 Trial
The Four Books and Five Classics and the Eight-Legged Essay were all elevated to a state of perfection, which made Jia Cong, in a trance, have many more insights.

He picked up the eight-part essay he had written before and looked through it again. He saw the shortcomings at a glance.

After reading a few articles, Jia Cong suddenly felt that it was unbearable to read.

It turns out that the articles I wrote before were so terrible?

The advancement of the Four Books and Five Classics and Eight-legged Essay also gave Jia Cong more confidence and he felt that he would definitely pass this subject.

It was already February. The imperial examination was hosted by the Ministry of Rites and held in the Imperial Examination Hall. It was divided into three sessions, one every three days.

The first game is on the ninth day of the lunar month, the second game is on the twelfth day, and the third game is on the 15th day. The first game is entered on the first day and the last day is played out.

The three examination items, including essays from the Four Books, five-character eight-rhyme poems, five classics and policy questions, are the same as those for the provincial examination.

One day, Prime Minister Kou summoned Jia Cong to his residence.

When Jia Cong entered the study, Prime Minister Kou said, "There are two examiners for this examination. One is the Left Censor-in-Chief Liu Hongwen."

"This old man is well-read and knowledgeable, his writing style is sophisticated, and he particularly likes the ancient and profound articles of the Tang and Song dynasties."

"The other examiner is Mei Renyi, a reader at the Imperial Academy. He likes magnificent and extraordinary articles."

"I have two collections of their writings here. You can take them back and study them carefully."

Jia Cong took the two collections from Prime Minister Kou, bowed deeply and said, "Thank you very much, teacher!"

After returning to Ningguo Mansion, Jia Cong carefully studied the collected works of the two examiners.

The so-called gold juren and silver jinshi.

This means that the difficulty of taking the Juren exam is much more difficult than that of taking the Jinshi exam.

Because the admission rate for Juren is about thirty to one, while the admission rate for Jinshi is about ten to one.

However, all the candidates who were able to take part in the imperial examination had to go through many trials and tribulations before breaking through the siege.

No one inside should be underestimated.

The judging of poetry and articles is actually a relatively subjective process.

If you cater to the examiner's preferences, you may be selected and even rank among the top.

And if the essay is disliked by the examiner, I am afraid I will fail.

Therefore, it is very important for candidates to figure out the examiner's preferences before the exam.

Jia Cong spent a day carefully reading through the collected works of the two examiners.

Then, he gave himself a topic and wrote an essay to cater to the preferences of the two examiners.

During the writing process, Jia Cong felt that his ideas were flowing like a spring, and he felt like he was a god when he tried to pick up the pen to write poetry.

After finishing it, Jia Cong picked it up and read it himself, and was quite satisfied.

In the next few days, Jia Cong continued to hone his writing skills.

Soon, it was the eighth day of February. Because the metropolitan examination was the same as the provincial examination, one had to enter the examination hall one day in advance.

Therefore, Jia Cong was about to enter the examination room that day.

In Ningguo Mansion, Madam Mei and others escorted Jia Cong out of the mansion as usual.

Then go to the Imperial Examination Hall, wait for a body search, and enter the examination room.

All these procedures are the same as those for the provincial examination, so there is no need to remember them in detail.

After another night's rest, the first exam questions were distributed the next day.

When Jia Cong saw the first question, he was stunned.

It turned out that this first question was exactly the same as the one he had given himself before.

This made Jia Cong couldn't help but laugh.

Unexpectedly, I guessed the answer to one question correctly.

Jia Cong carefully recalled the article he had written at that time. There was nothing wrong with it and it was written very well.

Therefore, Jia Cong did not think much about it and directly memorized the article he wrote that day on the draft paper.

On the 9th, 12th and 15th, I finished the three exams in a flash.

Jia Cong did not find these three exams difficult at all. For Jia Cong, who had already reached the perfect state of eight-part essay writing, writing these articles was as easy as a fish in water.

After the exam, Jia Cong felt relieved.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will definitely pass this subject.

After returning to Ningguo Mansion, Jia Cong took a nice bath and had a delicious meal.

Naturally, Aunt Mei called her over again.

Aunt Mei couldn't help asking in a clichéd way, "Brother Cong, how did you do in the exam this time?"

Just after he finished asking, without waiting for Jia Cong to answer, he smiled and said, "You will definitely say that I have already answered all the questions. I really don't know whether I can pass the exam. I am asking you this question unnecessarily."

Several girls laughed when they heard this.

Jia Cong also smiled and said, "Mother, since you already know everything, why are you still asking your son? However, this time, your son is actually somewhat confident!"

Hearing Jia Cong say this, Aunt Mei was inexplicably surprised.

In the past, Brother Cong said he didn’t know if he could pass the exam, but he always got first place.

And this time, he actually said how confident he was?
Doesn’t that mean that this time it’s a sure win?
But, how can it be so easy to pass the imperial examination?
Could it be Brother Cong’s illusion?

What if Brother Cong fails the exam?
For a moment, Aunt Mei became a little worried.

Jia Cong also found it somewhat amusing.

After finishing the exam, Jia Cong felt inexplicably relaxed.

If I can pass this time, then the imperial examination will only have the last stage, the palace examination.

The palace examination was set by the emperor himself, and usually consisted of one to three policy essays and current affairs questions.

For these topics, there is no need to delve into the Four Books and Five Classics.

Therefore, he did not need to study very hard during these two months.

Jia Cong has been studying hard in the past few years. He felt a little uncomfortable when he suddenly had some free time.

Next, Kou Xiang and Lin Ruhai called Jia Cong over one after another and asked him about his answers to the exam.

Jia Cong wrote down all the test questions for the three exams.

When Kou Xiang and Lin Ruhai saw it, they were both amazed. They thought that Cong Ge'er would definitely pass this subject.

It is even possible that he will be able to take the top spot again.

Now that he had some free time, Jia Cong would just read a few pages of books every day.

Next, I focused my main energy on martial arts.

Of course, in his spare time, he would tease the little girl, which was quite interesting.

Before I knew it, a month had passed.

This day, the results announcement day finally arrived.

As usual, Mrs. Mei had the entire house cleaned three days in advance.

Early in the morning on the day the results were announced, he ordered people to prepare the reward money.

Early in the morning, Mrs. Mei began to wait anxiously.

Jia Cong was still reading in the study.

But at this moment, it was difficult for him to see into it.

What he was reading at this moment was not the Four Books and Five Classics, but a book on military strategy.

The Four Books and Five Classics were merely stepping stones to the imperial examinations.

It’s not that he really likes reading the Four Books and Five Classics.

Now that the imperial examination is over, he no longer needs to continue gaining experience.

Therefore, Jia Cong has started reading military books recently.

In addition, his military book progress was also added to the proficiency panel.

(End of this chapter)