Chapter 84

Speaking of Wei Shu in the capital…

The provincial examination was very different from the county examination. During the county examination, the examination hall was a temporary open tent, with tables and chairs assembled hastily.

The provincial examination was more formal. They set up a series of small tents and divided them into several examination rooms.

Wei Shu arrived before the scheduled time. He waited for about fifteen minutes to undergo the preliminary inspection. A sergeant came over and asked them to line up and started searching them.

During the provincial examination, examinees were not allowed to bring anything except for their reference materials and simple rations. Even pens, ink, paper, inkstones, and bedding, as well as candles, had to be provided inside. Therefore, the body search was stricter.

Unlike the county examination, where the bailiffs would just search from inside to outside with their hands, here, the soldiers carrying swords stood by, and the examinees were grouped and taken into the tent one by one. Then, they had to undress completely in front of them, even their hair had to be dismantled, and their clothes inspected.

The young man in front of Wei Shu was also a teenager, tall and thin, looking slightly older than him. He wore shoes with slightly thicker soles, which caught the attention of the soldiers, who pulled him aside.

A soldier, with a serious face, directly cut open the soles of his shoes with a knife, while another soldier scrutinized him from head to toe with a sharp and suspicious gaze.

Fortunately, the young man wasn’t really hiding any cheat sheets, so there was no issue after the inspection. He was allowed to pass.

The young man didn’t panic because of this incident. He simply tied up the soles of his shoes with hemp rope and went into the examination venue as usual.

Wei Shu observed the entire process from behind and made a mental note of it. When it was his turn to be searched, he took the initiative to take out the insoles from his shoes and removed the cloth from his forehead. The soles of the young man’s shoes in front were only slightly thicker than usual, but they were treated as a special case and closely monitored.

The two things Shen Cui sewed for him were much more “special” than other people’s shoes.

Because he took them out himself, and there was nothing unusual about his other belongings, he wasn’t pulled aside. After a thorough inspection, the two items were returned to him intact.

After the body search, it wasn’t long before a young lantern bearer came to lead them to their respective examination rooms.

Once everyone was settled, the gong sounded in the examination room, and they began distributing examination papers, stationery, candles, bedding, and matches.

By this time, it was already bright outside, but the lighting inside the examination room wasn’t that good, so candles were needed.

Wei Shu lit a candle and made sure that his matches and candles were not damp. However, he found the candlelight dazzling and decided to extinguish it.

The provincial examination consisted of three parts: classics, essays, and policy discussions. The first two parts lasted one day each, while the third part lasted two days, totaling four days, which provided plenty of time.

He decided to read the questions first, brainstorming in his mind, preparing to start writing once the lighting improved.

However, just as he was about to think about the questions, he suddenly heard someone nearby weakly shout, “Fire!”

This statement startled everyone who heard it.

The tents were connected one after another, each about two and a half feet deep and three feet wide, with very small gaps in between. The density of people was extremely high. Moreover, it was the dry season, so if a fire broke out, it would be just like setting off a chain reaction!

The examination room suddenly became chaotic. Wei Shu was particularly uncomfortable because the person shouting about the fire was nearby, and soon, carried by the wind, he smelled the scent of something burning.

But he didn’t dare to move and only tightly gripped the cloth strip he had dismantled earlier.

After a while, the patrolling soldiers noticed the commotion and shouted “quiet” while dispatching people to fetch water.

They were well-trained, and from their expressions and actions, it was impossible to tell how serious the fire was.

But precisely because they couldn’t tell, it made people feel particularly uneasy.

The smell of burning became stronger and stronger as the soldiers brought water to extinguish the fire. Wei Shu could hear the sound of water pouring down nearby, making him feel as if he were sitting on pins and needles, feeling time passing unusually slowly for the first time.

But in reality, it was only about fifteen minutes before the fire was extinguished.

The soldiers took away a disheveled student, presumably the one who started the fire.

The examination room gradually quieted down again after the incident, but everyone who had smelled the burning odor nearby was somewhat shocked.

Wei Shu was also covered in cold sweat.

At this point, he didn’t dare to start writing immediately. He closed his eyes and rested for a while to steady his mind before immersing himself back into the examination.

Once he was focused, he slowly found himself in the same state as he was in the simulated room, without thinking about anything else.

Four days might seem long or short depending on perspective.

Wei Shu’s body had actually become accustomed to the time dilation in Cuiwei Academy, so he didn’t find it particularly difficult to endure.

Four days later, Wei Shu finished the examination and left the examination room.

Although his physical fitness was much better than average, spending four days confined in a cramped space still left him looking pale and exhausted.

The servants were waiting outside and helped him onto the carriage, heading back to the rented courtyard for rest.

After resting until the day of the results announcement, he had fully recovered.

Since he didn’t have to participate in the second round of examinations, Wei Shu decided to return to the village immediately. He instructed the servants to tidy up the courtyard and only brought one servant with him to check the announcement.

The announcement of the provincial examination was even more bustling than the county examination. When Wei Shu arrived, the place was crowded with people, making it impossible to move.

He waited outside while his servant squeezed into the crowd to check the results.

“Congratulations, young master, you made it!” After a while, the servant came out with a joyful expression. “You ranked twelfth!”

Twelfth place was a decent result for Wei Shu, showing his true ability despite the near-fire incident. He was quite satisfied with it.

Just as he was about to call the servant to leave, the servant said, “The courtyard should still be in a mess, young master. Please wait a bit longer, I’ll go check on that Mr. Song.”

Wei Shu had left Qingzhu Academy before the provincial examination, and naturally, the servants of the Wei family were curious about the reason. While it wasn’t necessary for the master to explain everything, they were concerned and occasionally heard some gossip when they visited Cuiwei Academy. Although they didn’t know the whole story, they were aware that their young master had been slighted by a certain Mr. Song.

Now that their young master had passed the examination, wouldn’t they want to go see that Mr. Song?

Wei Shu chuckled as he watched the servant’s figure disappear into the crowd.

With people constantly squeezing forward, Wei Shu had finished checking the results and was ready to find a place to stand.

Just as he took a few steps, he heard someone weakly calling out from behind, “Young master, your pouch.”

The voice seemed oddly familiar, but Wei Shu couldn’t place it at first. He turned around and saw a tall, thin figure wearing a coarse scholar’s robe following behind him, holding his pouch.

Inside the pouch, there were only a few bits of silver, which Wei Shu didn’t really care about. However, the pouch itself was embroidered by Shen Cui, which caught his attention.

He took the pouch and thanked the young man. Seeing the shabby clothes of the youth, Wei Shu decided to take back the silver and instead poured it into the young man’s hand as a token of gratitude.

“It’s nothing, really,” the young man waved his hand repeatedly. “It was just a small favor.”

“It’s just a small token of my appreciation. Please, take it.”

The young man’s face flushed red with embarrassment. Finally, he said, “Well, if you really want to thank me… could you perhaps treat me to a bowl of noodles?”

Wei Shu tried to give him the silver again, but the young man refused. “Just… just at the nearby noodle stand, please treat me there. I don’t want the silver.”

Although the silver was readily available, and the noodle stand was just a few steps away, the young man insisted on Wei Shu treating him.

It was quite strange.

However, Wei Shu was in a good mood today, and since the young man had helped him out – despite the pouch being ugly, it was unique, a creation of Cuiwei – he decided to treat him.

The servant took some time to arrive, so Wei Shu agreed.

They went to the noodle stand, and Wei Shu ordered a bowl of meat noodles for him.

The tall, thin young man sat across from him, looking somewhat awkward. “I didn’t mean to ask for a favor in return, but I’m really hungry.”

As he spoke, his stomach growled audibly.

Soon, a bowl of meat noodles was brought over – succulent braised pork belly on top of freshly rolled noodles.

The young man stopped being polite and dug into the bowl, finishing half of it in a blink of an eye.

It was evident that he was starving.

Wei Shu ordered another bowl for him. As he returned to his seat, he noticed that the young man’s shoes were oddly familiar – worn-out soles, tied with two ropes.

Suddenly, he recognized him. The ravenous young man sitting in front of him was the same one who was searched before him during the examination!

It seemed like fate had brought them together again. However, the previous incident of the shoe inspection wasn’t a pleasant memory. Also, the young man didn’t seem to be in a good mood back then. Wei Shu guessed he didn’t perform well in the exam, so he didn’t bring it up.

As the tall, thin young man was enjoying his second bowl of noodles, the servant squeezed through the crowd to find him.

With a half-smile on his face, the servant said, “Young master, you ranked around twentieth. And I heard someone nearby complaining, ‘If it weren’t for the fire, would I have scored so poorly?!’ It must have been that guy, Song Yao. Humph, he was so self-righteous. Didn’t our young master also smell the burning? Yet he still performed excellently!”

Wei Shu raised his hand, intending to tap the servant’s head with his folding fan, urging him to stop gloating. However, he was interrupted by a violent cough nearby.

The tall, thin young man apologized, and Wei Shu waved it off, indicating it was fine.

After quickly finishing his second bowl of noodles, the young man got up, bowed to Wei Shu in gratitude, and left in a hurry, his face flushed. As he hurried away, one of his shoe soles fell off, causing him to stumble and fall.

Wei Shu and the servant rushed to help him, but he refused their assistance, scrambling to his feet and leaving in a hurry.

Watching him run off with a face covered in dirt, Wei Shu realized that the young man was indeed familiar – he was the one who caused the fire on the first day of the examination!

It turned out that he wasn’t ashamed because of his rude behavior earlier but because he realized he had affected someone else’s performance.

With a wry smile, Wei Shu shook his head, tapped the servant’s head lightly, and then hurried back to the courtyard to share the good news with his family.