Confucianism under Heaven

Chapter 85: The Imperial Examination Begins!

Chapter Eighty-Five: The Imperial Examination Begins!

With the imperial edict issued, causing a minor commotion in Qingyun County, the day of preparation for the entire nation finally arrived.

The next day, the sky was a clear blue with not a cloud in sight, giving one a refreshing feeling.

Today is a grand event for the entire Yanhuang Kingdom. The annual imperial examination for children will begin today.

After ten years of hard study, these students are finally putting all that they have learned into writing today.

Each student emerged from the schoolhouse with great enthusiasm, eventually swarming towards a certain destination.

The Hall of Four Mirrors and Three Brightnesses!

At this moment, the people of Qingyun County, regardless of whether they were scholars, farmers, artisans, or merchants, all got up very early. Looking at the students carrying their books and walking on the streets, their eyes were filled with longing and respect. All the yamen runners were patrolling the streets, making the place exceptionally strict.

The saying "Of all things, only studying is noble" is most fitting here.

On this special day, Ye Ru also got up early and put all the pens, ink, paper, inkstones and other items for answering the questions into his storage.

With the storage bracelet, he no longer had to carry that bulky book box.

Stretching, Ye Ru noticed that Su Tongyao was sitting in a chair, her hands supporting her chin as she looked at him.

"Tong Yao, why are you up so early?"

Ye Ru said with a smile.

"Because today is the imperial examination, and it's also the day when Young Master Ye Ru will make a name for himself."

Su Tongyao smiled and then pushed the noodles over:

"Young master, eat quickly so you can go take the exam."

"Ah."

After breakfast, Ye Ru headed toward the Four Mirrors and Three Bright Halls.

After the six thousand students from the three private schools—Wenxing Private School, Liufeng Private School, and Peixin Private School—entered the Four Mirrors and Three Bright Halls, they walked together to the front of the County Temple.

The temple and the academy were connected, with the temple at the end of the academy, because one had to worship Confucius before taking the imperial examinations.

Because Confucius is the teacher of all ages, the sage teacher, and the teacher of the world.

At this moment, Martial Minister Chen Tianjian stood tall and straight to the side, while in the middle were the three representatives of the Arbitration Institute of All Saints, the Academy of All Saints, and the Temple of All Saints.

The area is surrounded by houses, with blue bricks and gray tiles, which is quite unique.

Before them stood a bronze stove about half a person's height, from which smoke rose.

Behind him, in the Confucian temple, there is a life-sized statue of Confucius, a statue of a second-class sage, and several statues of semi-sages.

"I bow to the most revered Confucius!"

"Second bow to the Sage Meng!"

"I bow three times to you semi-saints!"

Following the steps taken during the imperial examination gathering, everyone once again paid their respects to the statues of Confucius. Then, the people from the National Academy of Confucius read out the rules of the imperial examination.

These rules are the same as those for the preliminary examinations in the imperial examinations, except that cheating is not allowed, etc.

As everyone prepared for the exam, the examiners from the Academy of Saints exchanged glances, then awkwardly said:

"This imperial examination will exclude the classic text 'The Great Learning' from the examination, so there will still be no questions on the Great Learning in this examination."

Why not take the exam?

Ye Ru whispered to Qian Wei.

"You don't even know?"

Qian Wei looked at Ye Ru with a strange expression, and then said:

“My father told me that five years ago, the topic for the imperial examination for children was the ‘Great Learning’: ‘There is a great way to get rich.’ Students were asked to share their views on getting rich.”

"Then the following year, the topic was from 'The Great Learning,' specifically the passage 'As if cutting and polishing jade, as if carving and grinding it.' Students were asked to discuss how to be a scholar who serves the country and its people."

"The topic for the year after next is the phrase 'leaving no stone unturned' from the Great Learning. Students are required to understand the meaning of this phrase and write an essay on its interpretation."

"And then what happened?"

Ye Ru asked.

"Five years ago, right after the exam, a huge fire broke out in the examination room, and it took three days to put it out."

"After the exam the following year, I became famous again, which also took a lot of effort."

"Last year, there was another fire..."

"Later, the Council of Saints decided that the Great Learning was a jinx to the Yanhuang Kingdom, and for three consecutive years no sentences could be found in the Great Learning."

"Is this okay?"

Ye Ru was speechless, his face full of black lines. What kind of lunatic did this? It was clearly intentional.

After this little incident, the examiner announced the start of the exam, and everyone entered the examination room according to their assigned number.

Ye Ru looked at his exam paper; he ranked fourth in Class A.

"You student, how can you be so indifferent to the imperial examinations? Where is your examination box?"

As Ye Ru was about to take out the documents and hand them to the yamen runner, the latter frowned when he saw that Ye Ru did not carry a book box.

Since Ye Ru was already the focus of everyone's attention, this scene was naturally noticed by everyone.

"You didn't bring it, did you?"

"How could you forget to bring your study bag for something as important as the imperial examination?"

……

"Oh, here it is."

Ye Ru gently shook the storage bracelet, and a book box appeared from it.

This scene undoubtedly surprised the constable, and the expressions on everyone's faces also changed.

"I see. Ye Tongsheng's treatment is indeed different from ours."

"I agree. We have to carry our books around all the time, while Ye Tongsheng can take the imperial examinations with ease."

Countless people said with envy.

The constable, recovering from his shock, also widened his eyes and exclaimed in delight:

"You're Ye Tongsheng?"

"Yes."

Ye Ru raised an eyebrow and said.

"Please ask my mother to convey my regards to you, saying that you are the benefactor of the entire country and that I should learn from you."

The constable spoke with a respectful expression.

"Ah, thank you so much, Auntie. I will definitely work hard."

Ye Ru touched his nose, unaware that he had become a celebrity in Qingyun County.

"Alright, Mr. Ye, you should go in now, the exam is about to start."

Ye Ru nodded, then entered the examination room and found his seat.

A short while later, an examiner came over with the test papers and distributed them to everyone.

Ye Ru placed the exam paper flat on the table, waved his hand, and four precious writing implements appeared on the table, gleaming with light, causing the ordinary writing implements to tremble slightly.

This spectacle astonished the students in the examination room, and all eyes turned to Ye Ru.

This scene was unexpected for Ye Ru, but he didn't think much of it and instead checked the test papers on his desk.

"Three third-grade literary treasures and one second-grade literary treasure. I never expected Ye Ru to possess so many rare treasures."

Chen Tianjian used his Heavenly Eye to examine each examination room. When the light and shadow finally settled on Ye Ru's examination room, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

After a while, the strange scene disappeared, and the discussion gradually subsided, with everyone finally focusing on the exam they were about to face.

Fifteen minutes after the exam papers were distributed, a distant bell suddenly rang throughout the country, instantly putting the tension on the minds of many students!

The lingering sound of music signaled the official start of the imperial examinations!