coobybook Chapter 343: Unfavorable Weather
Chapter 343: Unfavorable Weather
Gu Wenxuan mentioned Su Yunzhan's personal situation in front of Bai Jingxin with some deep meaning, but it was just a few words.
Bai Jingxin was a girl who was as smart as Bai Jingzhou. After Gu Wenxuan mentioned it briefly, she understood that Su Yunzhan was another candidate for husband chosen for her by her brother.
Although the girl lacks some experience, she has become very independent-minded under the subtle influence of Bai Jingzhou and Gu Wenxuan over the years.
In addition, Bai Jingzhou and Gu Wenxuan had both told her that she didn't need to compromise, and that if she was willing, she should say yes, and if she wasn't willing, she should say no. The girl was not like most women of that era who blindly followed their family's arrangements regarding her marriage.
She would listen carefully to the opinions of Bai Jingzhou and Gu Wenxuan, and judge based on her feelings whether she wanted to marry this person. She was quite involved in her own marriage.
About half a month before the autumn examination, the Education Department posted the list of successful candidates for that year. To the surprise of Gu Wenxuan and the others, Bai Jingshan, Gu Wenhai, Gu Wenche, Ning Qirui, and Bai Yue, the youngest son of the Bai family elder, all passed the examination and became successful candidates.
Gu Wenxuan was very happy after reading the list. She waved her hand and asked the cook to prepare a small banquet to celebrate. The banquet was rich in food, but there was no wine. The only guests invited were Su Yunzhan, Tao Chang and others, as well as Peng Xuan'an and Mu Jingzhi who had just arrived in Daming Mansion not long ago.
These two people also wanted to take part in this year's autumn examination. Both of their families had houses in Daming Prefecture, so they didn't need to come in advance to reserve accommodation. They had already been scholars for a long time, so they didn't come as early as Gu Wenxuan and the others.
In addition, the two were surrounded by servants and guards responsible for protecting them, as well as a dedicated doctor hired by their family who was on call at any time. It could be said that the scene was quite grand.
After meeting Bai Jingzhou, the two of them gave Bai Jingzhou a copy of the exam preparation materials their families had prepared for them. Bai Jingzhou thanked them and took out the copied versions of various exam preparation materials that the Lin father and son had asked someone to bring to him and shared them with them.
From then until the beginning of the provincial examination, everyone was studying hard, while Gu Wenxuan and other examinees were conscientiously handling all the trivial matters for them.
The provincial examination, also known as the great examination or the autumn examination, is held every three years.
The provincial examination consists of three sessions, on the 9th, 12th and 15th of August, each lasting three days. It is a large-scale examination with an extremely long duration that tests the physical strength and energy of the examinees.
The number of candidates admitted to the provincial examinations was issued by the imperial court, and the number of candidates for each prefecture ranged from dozens to hundreds according to the population. The total number of candidates admitted nationwide was between one thousand and two hundred and thirteen hundred.
Since passing the provincial examination means becoming an official, the provincial examination can be said to be the most important and difficult stage in the imperial examination, and it is extremely difficult to pass.
Therefore, Bai Jingzhou and others did not come here for the purpose of passing the imperial examination. Many of them actually came here to feel the atmosphere and gain experience.
On the ninth day of August, the first examination officially began. Candidates entered the examination room in an orderly manner carrying their examination baskets, while those who sent them to the examination returned home with worries, waiting for the three days to pass.
Gu Wenxuan and others were also among those who were worried, not only because the people they cared about were also in the examination room and they felt the same nervousness, but also because the weather today was really bad. The candidates had been in the examination room for less than fifteen minutes when the originally cloudy weather suddenly became overcast and it started to rain.
With the rain, I don’t know how many candidates will not be able to perform at their best level due to the weather.
After finally making it to the afternoon of the third day, everyone went to the examination room early to pick up people.
Fortunately, they arrived early enough and lined up high enough. Bai Lizheng's eldest grandson, Bai Yaoheng, was one of the unlucky people who had to sit in the exam room that was leaking heavily.
The oil paper he brought with him saved his test paper, but he himself was soaked and soon began to feel unwell.
He persisted in finishing the first exam, and fainted at the entrance of the examination room after coming out. It was Fang Youfu who was quick to support him, so that he did not kiss the ground with his face.
Like him, Su Yunzhan and Tao Chang were also caught in the rain, but the condition of their examination rooms was slightly better than Bai Yaoheng's. Although both of them were also feeling unwell, they did not lose consciousness as soon as they left the examination room.
The two of them insisted on finishing the first exam and walked out on their own, but were discovered by their servants with strange looks on their faces.
Although Bai Jingzhou treated the three of them immediately after coming out of the examination room, he was able to control their condition but could not allow them to be fully energetic to take part in the next two examinations immediately.
In other words, their provincial examination ended here.
Bai Yue, the youngest son of the Bai family's eldest son, was also unlucky. He had to take a stinky exam room. Although it was not as bad as the leaky exam room that could make people sick directly, the ubiquitous stench also affected his performance.
Compared with them, Bai Jingzhou, Bai Jingshan, Mu Jingzhi, Peng Xuan, Hua Zhihe, Jiang Yuheng and others were luckier. They were assigned to examination rooms that did not leak and did not have any odor.
After properly settling the three people who had been caught in the rain and fell ill, Bai Jingzhou made some ginger and sugar water for himself and the others to ward off the cold, and let everyone drink a full bowl of it.
In addition, he also had some pills prepared in advance. Although he couldn't bring them into the examination room intact, it was still okay to take them in advance as a preventive measure.
After watching the three people drink the medicine, Bai Jingzhou, who had to take an exam later, went to rest. He left the job of taking care of them to Yang Wandong and the three patients' respective servants.
The weather was good for the next two exams, and no one fell ill due to the weather. After Bai Jingzhou and his companions finished their last exam, they were picked up in a carriage by Gu Wenxuan and others who accompanied them. Each of them had a look of fatigue on their faces.
Gu Wenxuan had people prepare hot water, meals, pastries, etc., and everyone quickly washed up and changed into clean clothes in their respective rooms.
The meals were the same as what they had eaten during their preparation for the exams; nutritionally balanced and with a wide variety, but never too greasy to put everyone at risk of getting stomach upset.
The group of people had a delicious meal, and then went back to their respective rooms to catch up on their sleep.
Bai Jingzhou was no exception. Although his physical fitness was better than that of ordinary scholars, it was very physically and mentally exhausting for him to persevere in an exam that was so long and in such poor conditions.
The scholars who had just finished their exams and the three people who had not yet recovered from illness all went to sleep. Gu Wenxuan and other logistics personnel also washed up and went to rest early after finishing the aftermath. The house became quiet early.
This silence lasted until the sunrise of the next day. As the people in the house got up one after another and ran to the big kitchen to find breakfast, the house became lively again.