The atmosphere during the drinking games was excellent. Glasses clinked and cups were exchanged, and everyone stayed late into the night before the banquet finally ended. They then boarded carriages rented by the Yang Family and checked into an inn located in Huai De Square, west of the West Market.
Yang Yu had clearly taken to heart what Li Ang had said during the day. The inn he chose was a complex of courtyards, situated on higher ground and away from any canals. Furthermore, the Yang Family had already sent someone to retrieve the luggage everyone had left at the hostel outside the city and had it neatly arranged.
Such meticulous planning and decisive action earned Yang Yu even more respect from the group. According to a servant at the inn, the Yang Family of Chonghua Square ran a large-scale silk business in Chang’an City.
Yang Yu was the fourth direct-line son of the Yang Family. His late great-grandfather had once been an Academic Palace Disciple and an Honorary Doctor, which had led to the family’s prosperity. However, in recent decades, no one from the Yang Family had become an Academic Palace Disciple. They had only managed to marry their daughters to men from the Academic Palace. If Yang Yu’s generation failed to produce another disciple, the power within the family might slip to another branch.
The woes of the wealthy elite. Li Ang muttered under his breath as he picked up a towel to wipe his face.
From the study, Chai Cuiqiao’s voice came, "Young Master, what did you say?"
"Nothing. Is the ink ready?" Li Ang wrung out the towel, hung it up, then left the bedroom and entered the study.
Chai Cuiqiao had already ground the ink, laid out the Xuan paper, and arranged the brush holder, Paperweight, and stacks of books neatly on the desk.
Feasting and entertainment were merely temporary diversions; the true goal was to pass the Academic Palace’s entrance examination.
First, Li Ang practiced his calligraphy. Once he felt calm and focused, he had Chai Cuiqiao randomly select a few thick books, flip to arbitrary pages, and read out passages. He would then write down the context surrounding those passages from memory, along with their various annotations.
Rote memorization isn’t a panacea, but it’s absolutely indispensable.
Li Ang rubbed his aching temples and complained, "Tsk, can’t the Academic Palace exams be like the old imperial examinations? At least those had some room for... maneuvering."
Chai Cuiqiao blinked. "Eh? What do you mean? Aren’t the imperial examinations quite fair?"
"You wouldn’t understand." Li Ang glanced at his young maidservant and said casually, "The imperial examinations in Chang’an used to have many ways to game the system. Back then, exam papers weren’t anonymous. Candidates could leverage the reputations of officials or Great Scholars to influence the chief examiners’ decisions, thereby increasing their chances of passing. For example, candidates would compile their regular poems and essays into scrolls and present them to officials, nobles, and renowned scholars to seek recommendations. This practice was called ’submitting scrolls.’
"Furthermore, influential figures in politics and literature would publicly recommend candidates to the examiners before the results were released, aiming to sway the final list of successful examinees. These methods were called ’public recommendation’ and ’influencing the acceptance list.’"
"Oh, I know about ’submitting scrolls’!" Chai Cuiqiao nodded. "Li Taibai, Han Tuizhi, and Bai Letian all did it."
"Mm. ’Grass on the ancient plain, Withers and flourishes anew each year. Wildfires cannot burn it all away; The spring breeze blows, and it lives again.’ Bai Letian’s poem ’Farewell Ancient Grass’ was written for Gu Buweng as such a presentation scroll."
Li Ang continued casually, "Back in Yu Chu’s era, ’submitting scrolls’ was quite fashionable. Aspiring scholars seeking audiences or presenting their writings were as numerous as trees in a forest or clouds in the sky. However, the Academic Palace later began to anonymize exam papers, and the ordinary imperial examinations followed suit, making such favoritism and cheating much more difficult."
"It’s better to be strict then," Chai Cuiqiao said after a moment’s thought. "Young Master, you study so diligently. With a fair examination, you’re certain to pass."
"Ha." Li Ang put down his brush and, with a wry smile, ruffled Chai Cuiqiao’s hair. "Every candidate who comes to Chang’an for the Academic Palace examination is a genius in their own right; every one of them has endured years of arduous study. Yet, ultimately, not even one in ten succeeds. ’Unknown to the courts of nobles, standing in the spring shadows of the main streets...’"
Deep green trees cast dense shade in the long summer days, their tower pavilions reflected in the pond.
「Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.」
Finally, the day of the Academic Palace’s preliminary examination arrived.
The first rays of morning sunlight illuminated Chang’an as the doors of residences in the various wards and markets began to open. Vendors set up their roadside stalls, and pedestrians silently ate their breakfast; hardly anyone spoke loudly.
Accompanied by the six bells marking the Mao zheng hour resounding through Chang’an, twelve long convoys of carriages bearing the insignia of the Ministry of Rites arrived from the twelve city gates located in the east, south, west, and north.
Under the direction of government officials, all the carriage convoys passed through the streets of the wards, now swept clean and relatively empty. At designated street corners, they met the students, who waited in line holding their credentials.
Students from the various State Schools presented their credentials and boarded the carriages in an orderly fashion. Li Ang, blending into the crowd with Chai Cuiqiao, boarded a carriage, lifted the window curtain, and breathed in the fresh morning air, fragrant with the scent of earth.
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous. Years of arduous study were about to be tested, and his entire life’s trajectory could change on this very day.
"Young Master..." Chai Cuiqiao carefully took out a workbook from her bundle and asked softly, "Do you want to review a little more?"
"No need. What needs to be remembered, I already have." Li Ang took a deep breath, listening to the rhythmic clatter of the carriage wheels on the stone-paved road, his somewhat agitated mood gradually calming.
The carriage convoy did not head north towards the Imperial City, where the Ministry of Rites’ Imperial Examination Hall for the standard imperial examinations was located. The Academic Palace’s preliminary examination was held at the foot of Xia Mountain, southwest of Chang’an.
The Ministry of Rites’ carriages passed over bridges, through streets, and out city gates. Outside Chang’an, they merged into a long column heading southwest. Following them was an even larger, more disorganized convoy of carriages hired by the candidates’ families.
The weather was fair, with grass growing lushly and orioles taking flight. The long convoy, escorted by soldiers from the Garrison accompanied by their fine dogs, wound its way along the forested mountain path.