Chapter 87

Chapter 87: A Timeless List of Old Faces

Stepping into the examination hall of the Ministry of Rites.

Ming, carrying his identification plaque along with inkstone, brushes, and paper, made his way to his assigned Number Shed.

The shed was tiny—five feet long, four feet wide, and eight feet high. Inside, there was merely a desk, a bed, a lamp, and a chamber pot.

All eating, drinking, relieving oneself, and sleeping had to be done within this confined space.

The one redeeming feature? The chamber pot had a lid that sealed tightly, and it was regularly cleaned by designated personnel.

As the bell rang, the Assembly Examination officially commenced.

Examination papers were distributed in sequence to each candidate, and collection followed a reverse order from back to front.

To put it bluntly,

Inside his Number Shed, candidate Ming got up, started practicing martial arts, while most others were still asleep.

On the first day, the majority of candidates felt they had plenty of time, proceeding calmly.

Ming felt as if he’d returned to the end of his previous life’s college entrance exam.

“Dong”

The top ten exam scripts, any one of which, placed in Wu Kingdom’s past 250 years of Assembly Examinations, would have likely secured the title of Top Scholar. Several essays were exceptionally well-written.

On the second day, most candidates entered their focused state.

Approximately ten days were required for this period.

During these ten days, examiners graded the papers, and inspectors visited each Number Shed to prevent cheating.

At meal times, the examination hall provided food to each candidate.

Most candidates, after releasing their tension, slept soundly on their beds.

This Assembly Examination saw an unprecedented 6,000 participants since Wu Kingdom’s founding, yet only 400 were planned to be admitted.

In the rear courtyard of the Ministry of Rites, as the last examiner finished grading the final script, he collapsed onto his chair from exhaustion.

Another bell rang, signaling candidates could open their exam papers and begin answering.

“Dong”

What pleased Ming was the decent taste of the food provided by the examination hall, balanced with meat and vegetables for good nutrition.

These meals were all inspected using spiritual energy by the chief examiner and deputy examiner to ensure no tampering.

“Master, there are 6,251 candidates, with a total of 25,004 exam papers. We’ve finished grading them all. Here are the top 600 highest-scoring papers across the four subjects; please review.”

“Dong”

That morning, as examiners announced each name, every named person became a tribute scholar.

However, the Assembly Examination was different.

In the morning, Mochi glanced at a certain Number Shed and couldn’t help but chuckle: “This kid still has so much energy?”

After the college entrance exam, you could tear up books, fold paper airplanes, throw them off buildings, have old friends come over to compare answers, eat a good meal at home, and play to your heart’s content.

Within these four days, not only did you need to answer questions perfectly, but you also had to transcribe your answers word-for-word, striving for zero errors, maintaining a clean test paper.

All exams were scored, and in cases of dispute, Ke made the final decision.

“Yes”

By the fourth day, some candidates were sweating nervously, while others took leisurely afternoon naps. In the evenings, those who had finished waited for the next morning’s collection, while others frantically transcribed their unfinished work overnight.

With the sound of the bell, everyone experienced a sense of relief, regardless of how they performed.

Initially, examiners might have been patient, grading slowly, but as they progressed, some grew increasingly irritable.

Mochi reviewed from the six-hundredth rank upwards, his eyes brightening with each script.

“Hmm, hard work,” Mochi picked up and flipped through one exam paper after another.

This was an immense workload for the examiners.

Not to mention, if you passed as a tribute scholar, your script would be presented to the Emperor.

As night fell, each candidate lit their lamps one by one.

Every evening, Mochi stood on a tall building overlooking everything, just in case of fire.

Upon seeing the top ten scripts, Mochi read them repeatedly, unable to put them down, growing more fond of them.

After all, the neatness of an exam paper significantly impacts the examiner’s first impression.

Now, all these exceptional individuals were gathered together.

Four days passed, and with another bell ringing, all candidates stopped writing.

“A timeless list of old faces, what perfect timing.” Mochi set down the last exam paper, taking a deep breath, “No issues, let the candidates know the results.”

It might be quite tragic.

On the ninth day, the candidates hadn’t bathed for thirteen days, flies buzzing around the Number Sheds.

The deputy examiner pushed a cart, organizing each candidate’s paper, now unsealed.

The Number Sheds resembled pigpens.

Except that four hundred pigs could soar to greatness.

Thus, the Assembly Examination wasn’t just a mental task but a physical one too.

Unless it involved leaking exam questions—a crime punishable by the extermination of three generations—small notes from ancient texts had minimal impact on the exam.

However, things were different.

Of course, many candidates couldn’t sleep, knowing results would be announced in ten days. Those who failed would have to wait four years, but how many fours are there in a lifetime?

In the rear courtyard of the Ministry of Rites, guarded by Blood Floating Pagodas, led by Mochi, a total of 101 officials were grading papers, twenty-five for each subject of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Each candidate’s paper required grading by three people.

It just didn’t taste as good as Blood Floating Pagoda.

So if your handwriting is terrible…

A total of four hundred tribute scholars were taken to bathe and change clothes, directly entering the Imperial Palace to participate in the Hall Examination.

Some laughed triumphantly to the heavens, others wept in disappointment.

Ming continued practicing martial arts, maintaining discipline.

Since all questions were essay-based.

There were four subjects: scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, each with twenty questions, examined over four days.

On a high tower in the examination hall, Mochi stood with hands behind his back, overseeing everything.

After the Assembly Examination ended, all candidates had to remain in their Number Sheds, unable to leave.

On the third day, some candidates realized they were running out of time and hurried to catch up.

Of course, for someone like Ming, a martial artist, this kind of physical labor was nothing.

Three days later, as all tribute scholars emerged from the Imperial Palace, Blood Floating Pagodas appeared before the royal city, with officials holding golden lists before them.

[This chapter makes up for yesterday’s, and there will be another large chapter of 4000 words.]