Chapter 5: The Prefectural Examination
At the end of March, Old Master Kuan of the Wangzi room sent over one tael of Silver through Mr. Gao.
Including Li Xiaonan, the five Li siblings, faced with those ten small silver coins, tried every method of verification they had heard of.
This was the first time they had ever seen Silver.
Li Xiaonan bit the silver coin, utterly bewildered, wondering why the Silver here was so beautiful, so noble, so radiant.
Before, she had thrown away a large pile of pure Silver, several nines, like trash; those silver bracelets and silver locks had looked like a pile of junk.
Truly, times have changed!
The Prefectural Examination was to begin on the twelfth of April.
The number of candidates in the entire Pingjiang Prefecture was much larger. They had to be tested county by county. The day for Kunshan County would only be posted the day before the examination. This round trip would take at least five or six days, and if it took longer, it might be nearly ten days.
However, April was the time for plowing and sowing, the peak of the farming season.
Li Jinzhu and Li Yuzhu walked around the field ridges twice, then carefully calculated again. They decided that Li Jinzhu would accompany Li Xuedong and Li Xiaonan to the examination, while Li Yuzhu and Li Yin Zhu would stay home. They would take out two more silver coins, rent a bull and a strong laborer from the next village to plow and harrow the fields. This way, Li Yuzhu and Li Yin Zhu could manage the subsequent sowing and seedling cultivation.
Early on the morning of the ninth, Li Jinzhu, along with Li Xuedong and Li Xiaonan, quietly left Xiao Li Village and, with a group of traveling merchants that Mr. Gao had helped find, headed for Pingjiang Prefecture.
The afternoon of the next day, the three siblings alighted from the carriage in Guo Lane Town, outside Pingjiang City. After thanking the shopkeeper repeatedly, they headed for Pingjiang City.
It was the first time for all three siblings to leave Kunshan County.
From Guo Lane to Pingjiang City, shops, inns, and merchant houses lined the road one after another. The prosperity and liveliness they witnessed left the Li siblings wide-eyed.
Li Xiaonan looked here, then there, dazzled, and for several times, she forgot to watch where she was walking.
Alas, this was a very prosperous and highly developed place; only her village and her home were poor!
“A Nan, let’s not get distracted for now. Let’s focus on the exam first,” Li Jinzhu said, pulling Li Xiaonan, who was staring and unable to walk, from time to time, and earnestly instructed her.
“Mhm, I know, I know,” Li Xiaonan said, staring at a pastry shop, nodding as she mumbled her studies.
She was determined to do well in the exam!
Only by passing the exam could the five siblings escape the clutches of their Third Uncle, survive, and leave that small village. Only then could she feel at peace to accomplish something in this world, such as earning some small coin.
A Xiucai Scholar indeed held considerable status. The prominent Hong Family of Kunshan County only became prominent after Second Young Master Hong’s second Weng Weng passed the Xiucai examination.
As night fell, the three entered Pingjiang City and found a cheap tavern a few streets away from the Prefectural School to stay.
The next morning, Li Xuedong put on his examination clothes and, together with Li Jinzhu, went to the Prefectural Yamen to register.
For the Prefectural Examination, only the main examination on the first day was mandatory; the other sessions were optional.
The dates for the main examination for each county had already been posted. Pingjiang City, with the most candidates, had its own session. The other five counties were divided into three sessions. Kunshan County and Changshu County were combined into one session, held on the third day.
The rules for the main examination were similar to the County Examination, with candidates entering before dawn and the examination starting at dawn.
Li Xiaonan, wearing Li Xuedong’s examination clothes and carrying the long-eared examination basket given by Mr. Gao, kept track of the time and, with Li Jinzhu, hurried towards the Prefectural School.
After passing two streets, the road became crowded with people carrying lanterns, rushing to enter.
Li Jinzhu instinctively moved to shield Li Xiaonan slightly in front and to her side. Li Xiaonan lowered her head slightly, staying close to Li Jinzhu.
Upon reaching the entrance of the Prefectural School, Li Xiaonan and Li Jinzhu chose a spot in the shade to stand.
After about fifteen minutes, the main gate of the Prefectural School opened from the inside. Two constables, with stern faces, brought out two scarecrows dressed in red and green, one on each side.
“You…”
“Eldest Sister, don’t worry, I’m going in,” Li Xiaonan interrupted Li Jinzhu, carrying her examination basket, and walked towards the main gate of the Prefectural School.
“Li Xuedong! Over here, over here!” Second Young Master Hong Zhenye, the County Top Scholar of Kunshan County, waved his arm and called out.
Under the enthusiastic arrangement of Hong Zhenye, the top five of them were grouped together, and then guaranteed by Hong Zhenye’s second Weng Weng, Old Scholar Hong.
Li Xiaonan, with her heart in her mouth, walked towards Hong Zhenye and the other three.
“Everyone’s here, let’s go in!” Hong Zhenye led the way towards the main gate of the Prefectural School.
After passing the screen wall, Hong Zhenye stood on tiptoe, stretched his neck, and waved towards the inside, calling out, “Second Weng Weng! Second Weng Weng!”
The clerk verifying names quickly let Hong Zhenye and the other four pass.
Hong Zhenye rushed to his second Weng Weng and said, “Second Weng Weng, we’re here. This is Zhao Mohua, this is Qian Xingbang, this is Sun Qingbai, and this is Li Xuedong! I am Hong Zhenye!”
Hong Zhenye introduced them all in one breath to the clerk verifying names.
The clerk looked at the roster and checked the four people other than Hong Zhenye one by one, then turned to look at Hong Zhenye’s second Weng Weng.
Old Scholar Hong was whispering something to the assistant magistrate, not even glancing their way, and with some impatience, waved his hand.
“You may enter,” the clerk said, also waving his hand.
“Hurry up!” Hong Zhenye took the lead, rushing in to find his seat.
Li Xiaonan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
The most difficult hurdle had been passed.
The process of the Prefectural Examination was the same as the County Examination. Li Xiaonan, facing the Investigation of Things test paper, did not dare to leave it entirely blank as she had in the County Examination. After careful consideration, she completed about seventy to eighty percent of the calculation problems and wrote only two or three sentences for the other two questions, not daring to write more.
Li Xiaonan paid attention to the movements around her and submitted her paper in the middle of the group.
Li Jinzhu dared not stay far away, yet dared not get too close. She craned her neck, looking with longing.
As soon as Li Xiaonan stepped over the threshold, Li Jinzhu saw her and rushed towards her. Seeing her Eldest Sister, Li Xiaonan immediately stumbled and threw herself into Li Jinzhu’s arms.
“My brother is exhausted!” Li Jinzhu exclaimed, and quickly carried Li Xiaonan away on her back.
After the last main examination session concluded, the results were posted on the roster the next morning. Li Xuedong ranked eighteenth.
Li Xiaonan broke out in a cold sweat.
This year, Pingjiang Prefecture only had twenty spots to send to the Courtyard Examination. She had almost failed!
Of the twenty people from Kunshan County who took the exam, besides Li Xuedong, only Hong Family’s Second Young Master Hong Zhenye passed the Prefectural Examination, ranking tenth.
Li Jinzhu was so happy she couldn’t contain herself.
Li Xuedong peeked at Li Xiaonan and winked at her.
Li Xiaonan exhaled the breath she had been holding and also smiled.
“Are we going back?” Li Jinzhu looked at Li Xiaonan.
“Yes!” Li Xiaonan nodded.
“Let’s go quickly! I saw Second Young Master Hong, he looks like he’s looking for someone,” Li Xuedong said, a hint of alarm on his face.
He was very afraid of that Second Young Master Hong’s fervent enthusiasm.
“Then let’s go quickly!” Li Xiaonan pulled Li Jinzhu, and the three siblings turned and ran.
There were no merchant caravans to hitch a ride with on the way back to Kunshan County, so the three siblings walked all the way home on their own two feet.
At noon on the fourth day, the three siblings ate a meal in Kunshan County Town. They passed by Gao Village Market and dropped Li Xuedong off at the Gao Family School. Li Xiaonan and Li Jinzhu hurried home.
Explanation:
The scarecrows on either side during the imperial examinations represented good and evil. Sometimes they would also beat gongs and shout: “Repay kindness with kindness! Avenge wrongs with vengeance!”
Many ancient scholars’ notes record instances of scholars who had done wrong deeds being retaliated against during the imperial examinations, such as having their oil lamps knocked over to stain their papers, or being pestered until they were dizzy. There were also stories of repaid kindness, such as covering up a scholar’s mistake written in nervousness.
Many officials overseeing the examinations disliked this practice of repaying kindness and seeking vengeance, so they prohibited the use of scarecrows and even publicly burned them.
The customs and stories surrounding the imperial examinations are numerous.
