"Sir, it's cold and cold at this time. Do you have to take off your clothes and carry them on your hands?"

Chen Yichen asked again. Although it was his first time to take the imperial examination, he had already made sufficient understanding and preparation before going to the examination.

The examination is a body search process, but I have never heard of the saying that you need to take off all your clothes and put them on your hands, unless something abnormal or a key suspect in fraud is found.

As the Jie Yuan of Shuntian Prefecture’s provincial examination, I theoretically want to give some face preferential treatment, and the requirements of the supervisor are really unreasonable.

"Shen Jieyuan, there is a key investigation by the superiors, so don't make it difficult for me."

The inspector replied seriously, which could be regarded as telling Chen Yichen the reason behind it. This was not because he wanted to make things difficult for Chen Yichen, Jie Yuan, but because someone above ordered that he had to do so.

After hearing this, Chen Yichen's heart was as bright as a mirror. The power of the imperial examination was nothing more than three parties: the tribute officer, the chief examiner of the inner curtain, and the invigilator of the outer curtain.

The invigilator of the Examination Examination was appointed by the Thirteen Inspectors. In the Ming Dynasty, the censor of the Kedao was like a flat-headed brother. He would bit anyone if he didn't accept it. But as long as he didn't mess with them, he would basically be in peace, and it would be difficult for the senior officials to manipulate it.

The examiner of the inner curtain is not very likely. Ma Yu’s cabinet minister has no grudge against him, so there is no need to target him. Qian Xili will not be able to do so. After all, Zhu Yong, Duke Cheng, has visited him in person, and he has to look at the Buddha’s face if he doesn’t look at the monk’s face.

After one round of elimination, only the only one who can issue such an order is the magistrate.

The so-called tribute officials can be understood in a popular way as the nominal organizer and boss of the examination, and are generally held by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Rites.

This is why the subject was called "Li Jie", and today Hu Yi and Wang Ying were present to host the event.

Wang Ying didn't need to say much. He wished Chen Yichen was favored by preferential treatment. In this way, if he retired in the future, some people in the court could speak well, so that they would not leave and tea would be cold.

Then the answer is obvious. The difficulties made by the supervisor came from Hu Yi's instructions.

Since Da Zongbo personally ordered that although it was unreasonable to take off his clothes and check it, it was in line with the rules, Chen Yichen had nothing to say.

Remove clothes, lift shoes and socks on your hands, and then dump all the items in the exam basket on the table for the military service to carefully check.

The exam takes three or nine days. In addition, the day you enter the venue early today, you actually have to stay in the tribute court for ten days, so it is naturally impossible to lose any items you bring.

Pen, ink, paper and ink, etc., as well as regular examination supplies, as well as food, cold-proof clothes, bedding, waterproof oil cloth, and even coal, braziers and other items for cooking and heating, are at least several times more than in the provincial examination.

Once there were too many things, the inspection time would naturally take longer. After just over ten minutes, Chen Yichen was already trembling all over and his face turned pale.

Seeing Chen Yichen's appearance, the inspector dared not continue to struggle. After all, the instructions he received were a bit difficult, which affected Chen Yichen's mentality in the imperial examination, not a fatal death!

If Chen Yichen was really frozen, something unexpected aroused the anger of the Duke, the Minister of Rites could not save himself. Then he ordered Chen Yichen to put on all his clothes and other things, and to prompt the inspection of the military service to speed up.

But this action seemed very unusual in the eyes of the literary figure waiting for the search.

"I have to take into account the face of the students. I can only go through a formality. Why did Chen Jieyuan take off all his clothes?"

"Has Jie Yuanlang offended the inspector? He has participated in three sessions and has never seen such a strict investigation method."

"Maybe there is a suspicion of fraud. I have heard of the fraud incident in the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion."

"Farting, Chen Jieyuan is very talented, and I have read the articles in the lower grades countless times. How can I cheat?"

Along with the waiting students, Chen Yichen finally completed the search and was led into the examination room by a military officer.

Chen Yichen experienced the entry process once, and he could be said to be familiar with it. However, this route was different from the provincial examination. He did not bring it into the newly built brick and tile structure number house area, but to an old and dilapidated number house.

What’s even more outrageous is that next to Chen Yichen’s house is a stove for hot meals for the students, which means that he chose the legendary Fire!

The stove is a perfect match with this dilapidated house. If it rains, it is afraid of water leakage, and if it doesn’t rain, it is afraid of fire. The only thing that makes Chen Yichen feel lucky is that the "stinky snatch" that is not arranged next to the toilet, otherwise it will be attacked by "toxic gas".

But then again, the stove is close to the aisle at the front end of the house, and can place a water tank to extinguish the fire at any time. However, the toilet is at the end of a row of houses, so it is impossible to achieve the "best of both worlds".

The toilet has a much lighter smell when the temperature is low, and if you are more determined, the impact may not be greatly affected.

The stove is different and will not change according to the will of the candidates. If you are not lucky, you should catch fire and pray to the gods and Buddhas, it is useless to ask Gods and worship Buddhas. This arrangement is more "reasonable".

"Hey, I really know how to be mentally..."

Chen Yichen laughed at himself, and then walked into the house with great calmness, making the military officers who led the way impressed him.

You should know that many scholars usually complain about the poor number houses after being assigned to poor number houses, and even make noises and ask for change of number houses.

The room Chen Yichen assigned was already one of the worst houses in Shuntian Gongyuan, but he could still laugh. He was really worthy of being Jie Yuanlang, and his realm was indeed unique.

On the Mingyuan Building of the Gongyuan, two examiners were looking at the first candidates who entered the court. They knew in their hearts that if nothing unexpected happened, the first person to enter the Gongyuan would be Shuntian Jieyuan Chen Yichen.

When the number house was assigned before the exam, Qian Xili specially greeted the official at the outer curtain to take care of Chen Yichen and allocated the best new number house for bricks and tiles.

In addition to selling the Duke to save face, Qian Xili's appreciation for Chen Yichen himself is more important.

That day, he visited Zhu Yong. When he left, Chen Yichen's modest and respectful manner made Qian Xili feel very helpful and said intimate words that he could come to the house at any time.

Later, Chen Yichen also beat the snake and rod on the stick. He really took time to visit him several times, especially on the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. He also spent time looking for some specialties from Qian Xili's hometown, which satisfies his thoughts of missing his family more during the festival.

In addition to the recent incident of the Imperial College priest, Chen Yichen stepped forward and led all the scholars to complain about the wrongs. He did not fear Wang Zhen's power and finally returned to the innocence of the Grand Secretary.

With various factors added up, it can be said that Chen Yichen is extremely fond of Qian Xili in terms of interpersonal communication and character, and it is difficult to win favors without winning.

Just as he looked, Qian Xili found something was wrong. Chen Yichen did not go to the newly built brick and tile house area, but instead went to the old house and arranged it to "fire" next to the head stove.

It shouldn't be. Even if I didn't give it a special instruction, I would be treated preferentially according to Chen Yichen Shuntian's provincial examination, and at least I had to arrange a central house.

"Hey, why is Chen Yichen's account in this position? Did the referee make a mistake?"

Before Qian Xili could speak out, the cabinet minister next to him was the first to question it.

As the first entry, Jie Yuan attracted the attention of everyone and could not be placed in such a house. In this case, either the referee made a mistake or was said hello.

In theory, with Chen Yichen's current fame and the background of the Duke Cheng's mansion, no one would deliberately deal with him, right?

"Maybe I've made a mistake."

Qian Xili thought about it and said that the possibility of making a mistake was high. After all, he was the examiner and said hello, how many people could overstep their authority?

"Then I wonder if Chen Yichen can still maintain his mentality and ensure that the article can be performed under such an environment."

The civil servants of the Ming Dynasty all took the exam all the way, so they naturally understood what the difference between equal signs means. Under the pressure of imperial examinations, it is a great test for the psychological quality of candidates.

"It should be okay. This boy is old, calm and talented to achieve great things."

"It seems that Brother Xili knows Chen Yichen very well."

Ma Yu tentatively said that his son Ma Zheng also participated in this session, and Chen Yichen was one of his strong enemies.

Before the Zhengtong period, the Ming Dynasty did not clearly order the examiner's relatives to avoid the evasion policy. When encountering his own nephews and students, he relied on consciously abide by the examiner's morality and should not commit favoritism and fraud.

During the Jiajing period, an official named Wu Qing served as the chief examiner. He secretly took over his relatives and fellow villagers, which made the matter a big deal. From then on, the order was clearly stipulated that the chief examiner of the provincial examination must not be a local official, nor must he have his own direct relatives reference.

However, in the examination, this regulation has basically not been well implemented. When you encounter your relatives taking the examination, what should you do or what should you do?

Even in the Qing Dynasty, where imperial power was at its peak, there were many cases, such as Liu Yong, the protagonist of the famous TV series "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo", the chief examiner of his examination was his own father Liu Tongxun.

"Now this son is famous in the capital, how could he not understand?"

Qian Xili did not explicitly state his connection with Chen Yichen. After all, he had to keep a little bit of his words and affairs in the capital.

"Indeed, this guy is in the limelight now."

Ma Yu smiled and continued to follow Qian Xili's words, and the two of them were tacitly aware of it.

...

On the other hand, after Chen Yichen entered the account house, the first thing he did was to use oil cloth to set up the ceiling and to make a curtain to block the wind and rain. At this time, it was already early spring, and it was just in the season of continuous spring rain. During the nine days of the exam, there was a high possibility of rain and snow.

You should know that there are very strict regulations for the examination. The test paper must not be wet or damaged by rain, otherwise it will be regarded as a violation of the examination paper and will be selected by the examiner.

This type of test paper will be written in a blue pen and published after the exam, which means failure, and is also called "a blue list".

After preparing for rain protection, Chen Yichen began to lay the bedding. Each house has three feet wide and four feet long. Each foot is about 31 cm in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the conversion, the indoor area of ​​the house is only more than one square meter, which is extremely narrow.

The so-called bed in the number house is actually the bench where the candidates sit. When they want to sleep at night, they feel that it is not wide enough, so they will also remove the "table" written. In this way, the two wooden boards are combined into one, and a simple bed can be built, which can be curled up and made up for one night.

The rain protection and the big thing about sleeping at night were settled. Chen Yichen next ignites the charcoal fire in the brazier to keep warm. He just entered the venue for inspection but froze him very much. He is urgently in need of a cup of hot tea to warm up his body.

After some operation, while other candidates were still entering the examination room one after another, Chen Yichen was already curled up in the quilt, and there was a cup of steaming spring tea next to it, siping happily.

The only thing to pay attention to is the fire in the brazier. The oil cloth is essentially a cotton cloth soaked in cooked tung oil, which is very easy to be ignited by Mars. If you are so proud of yourself, then Chen Yichen's happiness at this moment will probably turn into joy and sadness...

The leader of the army guarding outside the house looked at Chen Yichen's slow and happy style, and was even more admirable in his heart. He was afraid that he would witness the birth of a Wenqu star.

In the afternoon, as thousands of students who took the exam entered the tribute school, a drum sounded, indicating that the gantry gate was about to be locked.

After locking, the tribute courtyard is equivalent to forming an independent small space, and no entry and exit are allowed.

Some of the students who came in were repeating Chen Yichen's steps, some were assigned to the number room to curse, and some were used to being served by servants and had no intention of doing it themselves.

It was not until night fell, and with the warning from the soldiers, the Gongyuan finally became quiet.

There was nothing to say all night. The next morning, Chen Yichen woke up from his sleep, rubbed his fluffy eyes, and then took off one of the "bed boards" he was sleeping, put them back into the card slot of the number chamber, and converted them into a table board.

Immediately I took out willow branches and green salt, brushed my lower teeth to remove the odor. As for washing my face, I omitted it. It is not easy to use water in the number house.

After making these, I added some charcoal fire to the brazier that had not yet been extinguished last night and cooked a pot of tea. I took out the dried fruit, jerky meat, pancakes and other dry food that I had prepared, and I dealt with it for two bites, but I didn't dare to eat too much.

Because in order to prevent candidates from cheating, the examiner will not allow candidates to walk around freely during the exam unless there is really no way.

If candidates need to urinate, there is a toilet in each bin, which can be solved by itself. After use, the cover is tightly closed to prevent the odor from spreading out and affecting others.

As for defecation, you have to go to the cottage at the end of the yard, but the steps are extremely cumbersome. You have to report to the invigilator first, and then a dedicated person will take care of the test papers. In addition, you have to ask someone to accompany the candidates to the bathroom.

Do you think this is the end? Things are not that simple. The invigilator will also put a black mark on the candidate's test paper, which was called "shit poke" in ancient times.

If this test paper with black seal is in the hands of the examiner, it is treated as a lower-level test paper by default, and basically it will not be read too much, and they will feel unlucky. Unless the first sentence of your test paper is shocking, it is equivalent to failing the exam.

So if you want to go to the cottage, you can only go between the interval after submitting the papers in two exams, which means you have to endure for three days and two nights.
To be continued...