Chapter 134

The exam seating for the county exam couldn’t even be called rooms—they were temporary structures erected outdoors, with a large tent covering the area, and smaller partitions within.

The separated areas were indeed small and offered little protection from the wind. They served mainly to block the examinees’ line of sight and prevent cheating.

It’s no wonder Wei Shu was the first to debut earlier, and he had advised them that it was really cramped and cold inside.

Their legs couldn’t even stretch out properly, and the ink they ground was semi-solidified

At this moment, Mu Er Pang’s short stature and legs proved advantageous.

He sat perfectly inside, and indeed, he didn’t feel much discomfort.

However, since they were well aware of the inconveniences inside, Shen Cui naturally thought of solutions.

Firstly, Mu Er Pang wore several extra layers of clothing compared to usual. Although he could only wear single-layer clothes and not those with linings, each additional layer added a bit more warmth.

Moreover, the cuffs, collars, and hems of the outermost garments, both the coat and trousers, were sewn with an extra layer of buttoned fabric.

Normally left unbuttoned, the buttons gave the appearance of the wide-sleeved style commonly worn by scholars of the time. Once seated, he buttoned up all the buttons, preventing the cold wind from entering the collar and cuffs, and also making it easier to write later.

With the buttons secured, Mu Er Pang received his examination paper.

Instead of immediately looking at the questions, he first counted the sheets and examined the handwriting to ensure that his paper was clear and error-free before starting to read the questions.

For the classical Chinese examination, Mu Er Pang was quite confident.

Almost as soon as he saw the questions, he already knew how to answer them.

After reading through once, he could already hear the sound of other examinees grinding ink and starting to write in the same room.

These movements were very subtle, but in the pin-drop quiet examination room, they sounded magnified several times over.

Mu Er Pang remained calm and composed, going through his paper once again.

By the time the sun had fully risen, Mu Er Pang felt his hands and feet were completely warm.

Only then did he start grinding ink and writing—after carefully reading through the questions three times, every word was already engraved in his mind, and there was no possibility of misunderstanding the questions.

So once he began, his writing speed was lightning-fast.

For Mu Er Pang, who had been diligent for the past few years, writing more than ten papers continuously was no different from his usual practice sessions.

As he wrote, he even started to relax, forgetting that he was taking the county exam and feeling as if he were just writing questions in his own academy.

By the time he finished writing all the papers, it was only noon.

Mu Er Pang double-checked to ensure that he hadn’t made any mistakes.

In fact, he could have handed in his papers already, but he remained calm and waited for a while.

As the time passed into the afternoon and he saw several others submitting their papers, he followed suit.

Outside, there was a large crowd of parents waiting to pick up their children, with some more anxious ones even bringing their entire families.

Knowing his mother well, Mu Er Pang expected her to be treated the same as the other parents, who usually received the same waiting treatment whenever they brought their children for exams.

However, this time, his mother didn’t come by carriage, which made her harder to spot among the crowd due to her small stature and Mu Er Pang’s short height. Nevertheless, Mu Er Pang was confident that his mother, who was patient and composed, would likely be waiting outside the crowd, probably at a place with a tea stall.

What he didn’t anticipate was that there was still an hour left until the submission deadline, and not many examinees had come out of the examination room yet.

Some anxious parents, upon seeing someone come out first, approached to inquire about the exam content and its difficulty level.

Since most examinees were teenagers or young adults, the adults usually refrained from being too aggressive.

Mu Er Pang, being a half-grown child with an innocent face, became the target of endless questioning.

Fortunately, not long after, He Qing and He Yan also emerged from the examination room.

As they had formed a bond and could converse easily, the brothers immediately “rescued” him from the crowd.

Hearing that he was looking for his family, the two sturdy brothers escorted him through the crowd like parting the Red Sea.

Once they were out of the crowd, He Qing and He Yan quickly found their clan uncle—a burly man who stood out in the crowd.

Together, they managed to break through the crowd and finally spotted Shen Cui waiting nearby.

Seeing that the three young men’s hair was slightly disheveled and their faces were sweaty, Shen Cui guessed that they had helped her son out.

Grateful for their assistance, Shen Cui invited them to have tea at a nearby tea stall.

Uncle He was a straightforward man and quickly said, “It’s just a small matter, madam, no need to be polite.”

“You’re the one who shouldn’t be polite. It’s just a bowl of tea. It’s perfect for me to chat with the two brothers,” Shen Cui replied.

He Qing and He Yan also enjoyed spending time with Mu Er Pang, so they glanced at Uncle He with hopeful expressions.

Finally, Uncle He nodded, allowing Shen Cui to invite them all to have tea.

The tea stall primarily sold tea, but it also offered simple snacks like steamed buns and pancakes.

Knowing that the children probably hadn’t eaten well in the examination room, especially considering that He Qing and He Yan had to return to the village afterward, Shen Cui ordered some additional food.

As more and more examinees emerged from the Longmen Gate, the tea stall became livelier.

Later, Huang Junping and Zhang Zian were also brought over by their families.

Since it was somewhat of a face-saving gesture, when their families asked if they could share a table, Shen Cui nodded in agreement.

The stall owner served each of them a bowl of hot tea before bringing out the steamed buns and pancakes.

Mu Er Pang wasn’t particularly hungry since he had finished writing during lunchtime and had already eaten the fried rice that Shen Cui had prepared earlier. However, to avoid making He Qing and He Yan feel awkward about eating alone, he took a portion for himself, then pushed the plate toward the He family.

He Qing, He Yan, and Uncle He all expressed their thanks before taking some steamed buns to eat.

Huang Junping and Zhang Zian’s families arrived later, so their food hadn’t arrived yet.

Huang Junping was quite talkative and suddenly said, “The first question of the classical text exam today…”

Before he could finish his sentence, both He Qing, who was eating steamed buns, and Zhang Junping, who had just started drinking tea, visibly tensed up and stopped their movements simultaneously.

Mu Er Pang spoke up, “Brother Huang, we’ve just finished the first session. There’s no need to rush to discuss it. If we find out now that we didn’t perform well in the previous session, it won’t change anything and will only affect our performance in the next session.”

Huang Junping glanced over, “Since it’s a chance to exchange ideas, it’s naturally beneficial. Why bother about timing? Or is it because you, Mu Brother, didn’t perform well, so…”

He paused deliberately at this point, raising his lips in a smug manner, seeming even more arrogant and self-satisfied, as if he had already determined that Mu Er Pang, who had only studied for three years, wouldn’t achieve good results.

The adults accompanying Huang Junping remained silent, smiling along, as if proud that their child was capable.

Since the young men were arguing, the adults couldn’t directly intervene.

Shen Cui spoke up, “This place is getting crowded. We’ve rested enough, finished our tea, and the food is easy to take away. Why don’t we just take it and eat while walking? It will also free up this resting spot for others.”

Uncle He and He Qing and He Yan all nodded in agreement.

Shen Cui went to the stall owner and asked for some oil paper, then packed up the remaining pancakes and steamed buns.

As they were getting up to leave, Zhang Zian whispered to his family, who then apologized to the stall owner and left the tea stall.

Shen Cui and the others hadn’t walked far when Zhang Zian caught up with them.

Mu Er Pang was about to bid farewell to He Qing and He Yan when he saw Zhang Zian approaching.

He smiled and said, “Don’t dwell on the questions when you get home. As my mother says, once the exam is over, it’s over. Let’s forget about it for now. If you can’t forget, try not to dwell on it too much and focus on preparing for the next session. Let’s have a proper discussion after we’ve finished all the exams.”

He Qing, He Yan, and Zhang Zian’s expressions returned to normal.

They agreed to meet at yesterday’s spot before the exam tomorrow and then each went home.

Back at the Shen family’s home, Shen Cui had already returned once in the morning, forcing Old Man Shen and Mrs. Zheng to eat breakfast before lying down on the kang.

After all, they weren’t young anymore, and after staying up most of the night without sleep, they fell asleep shortly after lying down.

They had just woken up now, feeling much better. They asked Mu Er Pang about his well-being, but didn’t dare to mention the exam.

Mu Er Pang saw their cautiousness and took the initiative to speak up, “I did pretty well in the first session.”

Only then did the two old folks relax. Mrs. Zheng busied herself with preparing dinner.

Before each session of the county exam, a list of scores would be posted. Based on the rankings, the seats and examination numbers would be assigned.

Since the list only showed the examination numbers without names, people could only see their own results.

Therefore, by the second session, before entering the examination hall, Huang Junping proudly informed the other four that he had performed very well in the first session and had been ranked highly.

In reality, everyone at this juncture was focused on their own future prospects and didn’t have the mind to worry about others.

Since Huang Junping had specifically mentioned it, Zhang Zian, as his classmate, would naturally offer his congratulations.

Although He Qing and He Yan didn’t like Huang Junping, they reluctantly echoed his sentiments.

Huang Junping’s words weren’t actually intended for the three of them. After saying them, he fixed his gaze on Mu Er Pang.

Mu Er Pang, still standing in the same spot, appeared unusually calm among the crowd, despite his short stature.

He simply gave Huang Junping a pat on the back of the head, pretending not to have heard his words or noticed his stare.

Huang Junping smirked. Rumor had it that Mu Erpang had been extremely stupid for the past ten years, but thanks to his formidable mother, he was able to attend Cuiwei Academy and only studied for three years.

He was indeed a fool.

Unable to even offer congratulations, it was probably a mixture of panic and jealousy in his heart, right?

After a series of rituals including singing guarantees, recognizing guarantees, calling names, and searching, the five of them entered the examination hall one after another.

Despite Huang Junping still laughing, he suddenly realized that Mu Er Pang’s examination number had also been raised, and it was even ahead of his?

However, Huang Junping didn’t know exactly how much ahead Mu Er Pang was—there was still a gap between their seats!

In the second session, the subject was ink interpretation, which was still Mu Er Pang’s strong suit.

However, this time he couldn’t immerse himself completely, because he was seated directly below the chief examiner—the county magistrate.

As Wei Shu had mentioned earlier, some couldn’t withstand the magistrate’s authority and made major mistakes in a panic.

Mu Er Pang’s exceptional psychological resilience allowed him to handle the pressure, but he became more cautious and wrote a bit slower.

He finished writing only after noon this time, and no one had handed in their papers yet.

After drying the ink and checking his paper, he still didn’t have the courage to crunch loudly on fried rice in front of the magistrate.

Seeing him writing for so long, the magistrate smiled softly and whispered to him to submit his paper when he was done, there was no need to endure it here.

Mu Er Pang then handed in his paper.

This time, he was experienced when leaving the examination hall.

He ran out of the crowd without giving anyone a chance to talk to him.

Shen Cui was still waiting for him at the tea stall, but because he came out early today, neither mother nor son waited for He Qing and He Yan and went home after a brief wait.

In the third session, Mu Er Pang still took the exam on classical texts in his old spot.

In the fourth session, he again took the comprehensive exam on classical texts, ink interpretation, and classical texts in the old spot.

Because he had been taking multiple exams in front of the magistrate’s eyes in a row, he was gradually able to relax and enter a state of immersion more easily.

When it was time for lunch, he started eating fried rice.

Only the last session remained, which was the essay poetry, the subject Mu Er Pang was least good at.

This time, when entering the examination hall, Mu Er Pang appeared much more solemn than before.