Chapter 211: Chapter 211

Gu Chengyu endured the musty smell of the blanket, forcing himself to sleep.

Opposite him, a candidate lit a candle and began writing the third question under the dim candlelight. The second question took too long; he decided to write more at night. Both questions only had a rough framework and needed further refinement.

He looked at the candidate opposite him; it was a young child, who was now lying on the wooden bed sleeping. He shook his head; such a young candidate writing strategies, hoping to stand out was difficult! No wonder that candidate was eating and sleeping as if planning to give up?

He glanced to the side, seeing everyone else fighting through the night by candlelight, withdrew his gaze, and moved the test paper and candle closer. Although there were lanterns above the test stall, the view was still a bit blurry.

Finally, Gu Chengyu counted sheep and drifted into a dream. He didn’t know how long he slept until he was suddenly awakened by a shout next to him!

"Fire! Fire!" A burst of noise followed.

Gu Chengyu immediately leapt from the bed. He first looked at the test stall across, seeing the candidate holding a test paper alit, that person used a sleeve to extinguish the flames. The fire was small; after a few pats, the flames on the paper were put out.

However, the candidate started to howl, seeing the paper half destroyed. The sound had already alarmed the constables, who approached.

"What’s all this yelling? No noise in the examination hall!" one constable shouted loudly.

Then, two constables lifted the candidate and dragged them out. Although Gu Chengyu felt sorry for the candidate, he was relieved. If a fire broke out in the examination hall, the consequences would be unimaginable.

At this time, the gates of the examination hall were completely sealed; regardless of main examiners and candidates, all had to stay inside. The gates outside were locked, only opening outside at the submission time tomorrow.

A row of candidates shrunk back, and everyone shook their heads, whether lamenting the candidate’s bad luck or thinking the candidate was simply too careless!

Gu Chengyu glanced at the opposite side, seeing the candle burnt to the end, seemingly near the paper; tonight was slightly windy, perhaps that’s how it caught fire.

Since awake, he decided not to sleep again, glancing at the space clock, finding it was already half-past four in the morning. Gu Chengyu dampened a handkerchief and wiped his face; here, he couldn’t brush his teeth, so he had to endure temporarily. Then, he patted his cheeks to wake himself up.

He laid out the draft paper, preparing to revise yesterday’s last strategy essay!

When the constables delivered breakfast, Gu Chengyu had already opened his test paper and begun to copy!

Early in the morning, Prefect Jiang came, hearing of a candidate who fell asleep while writing the test paper, and the paper caught fire. Fortunately, it was discovered early. Historical fires in examination halls were not unheard of, a large fire could swallow them whole here. Seems like tonight, two additional constables needed to patrol.

Today’s locks outside would be unlocked in the afternoon, so candidates submitting papers had to wait until then. Given ample time, Gu Chengyu wrote slower.

Prefect Jiang paced, glancing at the candidates’ test papers, roughly scanning; some wrote fast already on the third question, others slow, only half through the second.

He halted, walked towards Gu Chengyu, glanced, and was a bit surprised; he didn’t expect Gu Chengyu to progress this quickly, already copying answers. Looking at Gu Chengyu’s focused face, he recalled the bandits’ issue and hoped for a promotion next year.

The bandits were a headache for Fengding Prefecture’s magistrate. This time he sent people swiftly to Fengding Prefecture, intending to cooperate with the magistrate there to wipe out the remaining bandits, a political achievement indeed.

Thinking of this, he cheered up, stroking his beard, he walked towards other test stalls.

When 1:00 PM arrived, Gu Chengyu rang the little bell. Having already finished writing, staying at the stall meant sitting idle, not willing to sleep again, he longed for the hour to depart, wishing to return to the inn for a good rest! Besides, Yu Tuanzi likely already returned.

Gu Chengyu exited the examination hall, didn’t wait outside the gate, instead returned directly to the inn, instructed the returning Ming Mo to wait outside the examination hall.

When he returned to the inn, Yu Tuanzi already arrived, reporting that the First-class House in the Prefecture was arranged well, only lacking two cooks. Once they arrived, Gu Chengyu had to teach them some pastry recipes.

After all, it’s the Prefecture, fewer pastries wouldn’t be right, many wealthy families dwell here. Gu Chengyu planned to make cakes; days back, he instructed Ming Mo to order an oven, hoping it’s not too different from modern ones.

With an oven, even other desserts could be made; believed it must be first here in the Prefecture.

He suddenly thought of something, "Wan Qian! In the next couple of days, keep an eye on Hua; anything unusual, report back to me."

Gu Chengyu pondered, still uneasy about Gu Wanhua; Gu Wanhua’s temperament was inconsistent and easily tempted. He planned to send Gu Wanhua back post-exams; he had to stay another day in the Prefecture until First-class House inaugurated before leaving.

"Hey!" Gu Wanqian, though puzzled, knew not to inquire much, only needed to sincerely accomplish what Gu Chengyu instructed.

Several brass lamps illuminated the room brightly. Prefect Jiang rubbed his temples, feeling his eyes dry. He picked up the teacup, sipped, and rested briefly. Every provincial exam was the busiest time, though he didn’t single-handedly review all test papers; hundreds of papers distributed, still left a fair share per person.

He felt weary, yet hadn’t seen a standout strategy essay; most were empty rhetoric, focused on ornate terms lacking practical strategy. How could such papers be considered strategy essays?

Moments later, he opened his eyes, resumed reading the next test paper, glanced at the first essay, and burned with anger.

"What is this nonsense? Still every year increasing agricultural tax? Even if such a person became an official, they’d only exploit the people. Hmph! Utter nonsense!"

He knew the test question required practical strategies, challenging given their historical roots, but writing clean, straightforward could pass, yet even now, proposals of increased tax burden on people, wasn’t it driving people towards desolation?

He didn’t even glance at the second paper, tossing it into the failed pile; failing the first question meant the rest may as well be unread!

These candidates daily cooped indoors reading Holy Books, unfamiliar with farms, unable to differentiate seedlings from weeds, thus incapable of devising good proposals? Sigh!