Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The metropolitan examination was more challenging than the provincial one. Competing against *juren* from across the nation made its difficulty truly exceptional.

To be honest, Yun Changxie himself wasn't entirely confident. This time, upon entering the examination hall, he felt an unusual and rare sense of nervousness.

The first session of the metropolitan examination primarily tested *moy*i (Classical Explanations), policy questions, legal codes, and poetry.

The *moyi* section didn't have many questions, but the topics were rather obscure. If a candidate's foundational knowledge was weak, they could easily fail to answer these questions.

Yun Changxie's foundation was quite solid, so he didn't find the questions particularly difficult.

After completing the *moyi* questions, his pace for the subsequent sections slowed considerably.

The Great Zhou dynasty seemed to place high importance on legal knowledge, as evidenced by the significant number of law-related questions in recent examinations.

Recognizing the Great Zhou imperial examination's emphasis, Yun Changxie prioritized the legal questions, dedicating ample time to them.

This time, he entered the examination hall with minimal belongings.

His food, drinks, and other necessities were all purchased within the venue.

Water was available for purchase, both hot and cold.

Bedding and charcoal were also sold.

Charcoal came in various grades, with the finest being the most expensive.

Yun Changxie, now financially comfortable, opted for the highest-quality gold-thread charcoal, reasoning that the metropolitan examination would only last a few days.

Using the best charcoal in the small cubicle meant he didn't have to worry about being bothered by smoke.

At night, he burned extra charcoal to ensure he wouldn't catch a cold.

While some candidates, like Yun Changxie, were well-off, others were impoverished.

Many poor examinees couldn't bear to spend money on charcoal and simply endured the cold.

Under such conditions, even if they possessed talent, their performance in the examination would be significantly hampered.

Was it just bad luck for their cohort, or something else?

February was already cold, and on the final day of the first session, it even drizzled.

Yun Changxie clearly felt that even with charcoal burning, the cubicle was still exceptionally cold.

He kept stomping his feet, desperate to get up and move around. However, it was the last day of the first session.

He still had a poem to write, and after that, he needed to review his examination paper. There truly wasn't any time for physical activity.

This was Yun Changxie's situation *with* charcoal. Those candidates who hadn't bought charcoal had fingers so frozen they could barely write, their conditions undoubtedly worse than his.

At this thought, Yun Changxie sighed.

For those of humble origins, climbing the social ladder was truly difficult.

If he could become an official in the future, he vowed to find ways to first ensure the prosperity of the people under his governance.

After the first session concluded, Yun Changxie left the examination hall with the other candidates.

The metropolitan examination consisted of three sessions, with grading only commencing after all three were completed.

In other words, results were not released session by session.

Admissions would be determined only after all three sessions were over, based on the overall performance across all three.

This year, over five thousand *juren* participated. Of these, only two hundred would be admitted to the principal list (*gongshi*).

An additional one hundred would be placed on the supplementary list, totaling three hundred successful candidates.

The two hundred *gongshi* on the principal list would proceed to the palace examination one month after the metropolitan examination.

Yun Changyu encouraged Yun Changxie to give it his best shot; if Yun Changxie could become a *gongshi* this time, he would be guaranteed to become a *jinshi*.

This was because the palace examination did not eliminate candidates; it merely re-ranked the *gongshi*.

After the palace examination, candidates would be grouped into three ranks.

The first rank consisted of three individuals: the *zhuangyuan* (top scorer), *bangyan* (second place), and *tanhua* (third place).

The second rank, comprising about forty individuals, were also *jinshi*.

The third rank were also *jinshi*, but commonly referred to as *tongjinshi* (equivalent *jinshi*), numbering over fifty.

The ranking in the palace examination depended not only on a candidate's academic merit but also on their appearance.

Yes, in ancient times, looks mattered for officialdom.

Among the court officials, apart from those from distinguished families, many were exceptionally good-looking. This was because they represented the court's image. With so many talented individuals in the realm, the court naturally chose those who were aesthetically pleasing, making court assemblies more delightful to behold.

The current emperor of Great Zhou was particularly fond of good looks.

Yun Changyu, being familiar with the emperor, knew his preference for handsome individuals. He thought that if Yun Changxie participated in the palace examination, the emperor might be so pleased by his beautiful face that he would personally select him as *tanhua*.

Although *tanhua* was not as prestigious as *zhuangyuan*, it was still a first-rank honor, bringing glory to the Yun family.

Of course, this was merely Yun Changyu's personal thought.

He himself was a great scholar, and passing the metropolitan examination was quite simple for him.

Unfortunately, Yun Changxie had started studying relatively late, and even though he was adept at learning, his foundation wasn't as solid.

Yun Changxie himself lacked much confidence.

After the first session ended, Yun Changxie was picked up by his servant and returned home.

Yun Changmu, Yun Changyao, and Yun Changyou had all gone to the main family residence.

Yun Changxie didn't meet them and wasn't aware of how they had performed.

Upon returning home, his first priority was to lie down and rest thoroughly.

Once he had recovered, he went to see the child.

The child was in Madam Liu's room at the time.

The little one was even-tempered; he only threw tantrums when unwell and usually wouldn't cry even when hungry.

He wasn't very familiar with Yun Changxie, and every time Yun Changxie tried to hold him, he seemed to show a slight resistance.

Seeing Yun Changxie holding the child again, and the child weakly pushing Yun Changxie's face with his tiny hands, Madam Liu couldn't help but secretly smile.

Madam Liu asked, "Have you thought of a name for the child yet?"

The nickname had long been decided—"Nuomantuan" (Sticky Rice Dumpling).

As for the formal name?

Since this was his first child, Yun Changxie hadn't settled on one yet. He always felt that no matter what he chose, it wouldn't be worthy of his baby.

"Not yet. After I finish the metropolitan examination, I'll take two days to properly think of one."

Madam Liu sighed helplessly, "If you really can't come up with anything, take him to your elder uncle and ask him to suggest a good one."

The child was already several months old. If he didn't get a proper name soon, how could he be entered into the family genealogy?

Yun Changxie didn't agree but skillfully dodged the question.

He still wanted to choose the name himself; after all, it was his own child, and only he could pick a name that truly felt right.

After resting at home for a day, Yun Changxie continued to participate in the metropolitan examination on the second day.

It was only then that he learned Yun Changyao had contracted a cold and might not be able to attend the second session.

Yun Changyao was usually in good health and not prone to illness, so no one could figure out how he had managed to get sick.

Once Yun Changxie entered the examination hall, he stopped letting his mind wander and focused entirely on the test.

While he was diligently taking the exam, Yun Changyao, still ill, was kneeling before Vice Minister Yun, receiving a stern lecture.

Yun Changyao was indeed robust, having been raised very sturdily by his mother.

He shouldn't have fallen ill, but unfortunately, he was rather careless. At such a crucial time, coming to the capital for the examination, he had gone to a brothel with others just two days before the metropolitan examination.

Yes, Vice Minister Yun hadn't known about this initially.

It was only after Yun Changyao suddenly fell ill and he questioned the household servants that he found out.

Yun Changyao had caught his cold at the brothel.

At the time, the situation wasn't serious; he just had a slight sneeze, so he didn't pay it any mind.

Later, when it rained during the examination, his cold worsened.

Upon learning this, Vice Minister Yun was furious. He wanted to severely beat Yun Changyao for daring to visit a brothel at such a critical moment.

What a shameless fool!

However, the boy was currently sick, and not even his biological son, so in the end, he could only restrain himself.

Vice Minister Yun thoroughly reprimanded Yun Changyao, then began writing a letter to his third brother in Qiuping County, detailing everything his "good" son had done.

Madam Xu was narrow-minded. If he didn't explain clearly to his third brother, the latter might assume that the main family had been negligent in their care, leading to Yun Changyao's cold.

The weather remained very cold during the second session.

Perhaps due to the high pressure of the examination combined with the severe cold, many people fell ill during the second session.

While Yun Changxie was working on his questions, he constantly heard people coughing into their hands.

If the coughing became too loud, the examination proctors would ask the person to leave.

This was because they couldn't determine whether the person coughing was genuinely ill or intentionally trying to disturb others.

At this time, the situation was quite harsh; the examination hall would not sacrifice the interests of the vast majority for the sake of a few individuals.

Some candidates felt they could still persevere and tried to cover their mouths as much as possible when coughing.

However, the candidates seated nearby couldn't tolerate it and would call for the bailiffs to investigate the situation.

As a result, many candidates who had contracted colds, even if their conditions weren't severe, were successively escorted out of the examination hall.

Yun Changxie had not caught a cold. He had been carefully monitoring his own condition and had been extremely cautious these past few days.

After completing the second session without incident, Yun Changxie had just returned home when the main family sent over a considerable amount of tonics.

The servant delivering the items said to Yun Changxie, "The Old Matriarch said the weather has been cold lately, so Young Master Changxie must take care of his health."

Yun Changxie thanked him, saw him out the door, and then returned home to rest.

Although the Old Matriarch had sent many good things, Yun Changxie had no intention of using them.

He wasn't sick, and there was still one more session to take.

Even good medicine has some toxicity; it was better not to randomly consume tonics at this time.