Chapter 57: Entering the Venue

On the eighth day of the eighth lunar month, the provincial examination was about to begin. Li Jie finished his dinner and retired to his room to rest early. The regulations of the provincial examination stipulated that candidates must undergo inspection and enter the examination hall by the fourth watch. Without adequate rest, it would be impossible to endure the grueling test of the following day.

In the dead of night, Fang Yi came to Li Jie’s door and knocked gently.

"Young Master, it is time to get up and leave for the Examination Hall, or we might be late."

Hearing this, Li Jie opened his eyes. Looking out at the deep, ink-dark night, he could not help but sigh at how truly arduous the imperial examinations were in ancient times. Ever since he had achieved mastery in martial arts, he needed very little sleep—merely two double-hours sufficed. Other candidates were probably still groggy and dizzy as they rushed off to the testing grounds.

Hearing the movement inside, Fang Yi left to prepare the food. She knew that Li Jie always had a hearty appetite, and a meager supply of provisions simply would not do. Since the weather in the eighth month was still somewhat sultry, she had prepared large, sturdy flatbreads made with rich ingredients, easily stored and each the size of a washbasin.

After finishing his meal, Li Jie picked up his examination box and stepped outside. Lin Zhennan had been urging him along continuously from the side, while Madam Wang kept praying to all the deities in the heavens for Li Jie to achieve high honors.

Inside the carriage, Li Jie sat cross-legged with his eyes closed to preserve his energy. Seeing this, Lin Zhennan did not disturb him. Gradually, the surroundings grew livelier, and the sound of horses' hooves on the main road became increasingly dense. After traveling for a distance, the carriage came to a halt, and the young page boy spoke up.

"Master, Young Master, the road ahead is blocked and we can go no further. We will have to walk the rest of the way to the Examination Hall."

Hearing this, Li Jie picked up his examination box and stepped down from the carriage. Amidst the clatter of carriage wheels and the neighing of horses, there were still nearly two li left to the Examination Hall, yet the path was already jammed solid. From time to time, candidates in carriages before and behind stepped out carrying their examination boxes to proceed on foot.

Viewed from above, the lanterns on the ground stretched out like a long, winding dragon, shimmering with starry points of light and as bright as day. The closer they drew, the louder the din became. A dense crowd of people converged in front of the Dragon Gate, bringing together candidates, bailiffs, and soldiers.

Before the gates of the Examination Hall stood silver-haired, elderly Confucian scholars, youthful and high-spirited young literati, and teenage licentiates just like Li Jie. Their eager eyes brimmed with anticipation, each hoping to secure his name on the successful candidate list this time.

To be eligible to participate in the provincial examination, students from local prefectural, sub-prefectural, and county academies had to rank near the top in academy examinations. Specifically, only those who placed in the first, second, or the top five of the third tier (out of six tiers in total) were qualified. Thus, not every ordinary licentiate could take the provincial examination; everyone had to survive a fierce preliminary weeding process, and only the victors earned the right to come to the Examination Hall.

Li Jie first went to the supply officials to collect some charcoal and candles. The candles were for answering questions at night; if three candles burned down completely and a candidate still had not finished, they would be forcibly escorted out. The charcoal was primarily used for warming food, though during the metropolitan examination in February, it would be used for warmth, as the weather in the capital during February was quite frigid.

As a massive, standardized examination, the provincial examinations incurred immense costs—ranging from the grand construction of the Examination Hall buildings down to the unit prices of fruits and vegetables for the Deer-Cry Banquet, and the wages for laborers and porters. Literally every single aspect required money.

Taking the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination during the Wanli era as an example, historical records indicate that the cost for a single session in Shuntian alone exceeded 6,600 taels of silver. Generally speaking, the expenses of the provincial examinations were defrayed by the local prefectures and counties, placing a heavy burden on local finances. Fortunately, Fuzhou Prefecture was still considered a prosperous region, and such expenditures remained within manageable limits.

The Examination Hall consisted of three successive courtyards. The main gate featured five bays opening opposite each other and was called the First Dragon Gate, above which hung three plaques. The eastern plaque bore the inscription "Selecting Scholars through the Classic of Wisdom," the central one grandly hung with "Opening the Astronomical Fortunes," and the western one read "Seeking Worthies for the Country."

The fourth watch had arrived, and the Dragon Gate was now thrown wide open. The inspecting officials and search officers were fully prepared, and the candidates entered the grounds one after another to undergo their inspections. The checks for the provincial examinations were exceptionally rigorous. According to regulations, candidates were only permitted to carry writing brushes, ink sticks, an inkstone, and essential daily necessities; not a single scrap of paper with writing was allowed inside. Once contraband was discovered upon inspection, the candidate would be fitted with a cangue and publicly humiliated.

The candidates' identification tallies bore the records of three previous generations of ancestors along with a general description of the candidate's facial features. If an impostor was discovered, that candidate would be barred from ever taking the examinations again. Furthermore, the inspection officers also checked the examiners entering and leaving the examination hall to prevent them from using their official positions to collude with insiders and outsiders or engage in malpractice. If an inspection officer failed to detect malpractice due to negligence, they would be held criminally liable, which was why the checks were carried out with extraordinary strictness.

The inspection personnel for the provincial examination were quite numerous, and before long, it was Li Jie’s turn.

Although Li Jie had experienced inspections before, he still felt somewhat unaccustomed to the rigorous scrutiny of the provincial examination. The items in his examination box were rummaged through and left in disarray by the inspectors, and according to their demands, he had to strip off his outer garments, leaving only his undergarments on his body. Having endured this thorough examination, he finally passed. The surrounding candidates all heaved sighs of relief; to them, it was truly an insult to their scholarly dignity, but for the sake of earning official rank, they had no choice but to silently endure it.

After tidying himself up slightly, Li Jie stepped into the Examination Hall. The sight that met his eyes was the Second Dragon Gate. Within the gates stood thousands of wooden-lattice structures—these were the examination cells, built specifically for the candidates to answer questions, eat, and sleep within the grounds.

Along the central axis stood a quiet, three-story building: the Mingyuan Tower, named after the passage in the *Great Learning*, "Be cautious at the end and pursue the distant; virtuous character will thus return to depth and thickness." Its ground floor was open with doors on all four sides, while the upper two tiers featured windows on every side. Standing on the tower, one could overlook the entire Examination Hall, serving as the command and control center for the entire testing ground.

Following his assigned tally number, Li Jie found his examination cell in the southern section. Looking around, he saw that the cell contained two wooden boards, each four feet long. During the daytime exam, the two boards were placed on upper and lower supporting slots to form a simple desk and bench, while at night they could be arranged together to form a wooden cot.

Upon entering the cell, the lingering traces of recent repairs were clearly visible, meaning there was no need to worry about leaks when it rained. His cell was located in the middle, quite far from the latrines, so he did not have to fret about a foul stench filling the air.

Once inside his cell, Li Jie first cleaned the space to remove any musty odors. He then took out the items needed for the day from his examination box and placed them neatly on the desk. Seeing that it was still early before the start of the examination, he sat cross-legged to meditate and rest for a while. In the neighboring cells, candidates entered one after another, and from farther away near the walls, he could faintly hear a candidate complaining about being assigned to a "stinking cell."

As time flowed on, Li Jie opened his eyes once more. The sky had grown faintly bright. Without a watch, he had no way of knowing the exact time remaining, and feeling somewhat hungry, he simply took out a small bronze pot, added some water, and set it over the charcoal to cook something to eat.

Shortly after Li Jie finished his meal, a drum sounded from atop the Mingyuan Tower. This drumming signified that all candidates had entered the grounds and everything was in complete readiness; the examination was about to begin immediately.

Li Jie quietly awaited the distribution of the examination papers. The first session of the provincial examination consisted of three "Four Books" essay topics, each requiring no fewer than two hundred characters, and four classical interpretation topics, each requiring no fewer than three hundred characters. The second session required one essay, five legal judgments, and one selected piece from among imperial edicts, proclamations, or memorials, with the essay requiring at least three hundred characters. The third session featured five policy questions on classics, history, and current affairs; while examinees were permitted to reduce the number of policy essays by two, they were still required to write at least three hundred characters per essay. However, scholars who aspired to capture the top honors would certainly write out all five as mandated.