Chapter 35: The Child Scholar Examination

“What a sign of heavenly blessing! This is fitting for my brother-in-law and sister, and should be celebrated as the birth of my nephew.”
The more Cao You spoke, the more outrageous he became, leaving Shen Shi with no choice but to gaze at the sky at a forty-five degree angle.
What else could he do? To use a chamber pot as a congratulatory gift—it was absurd, but somehow Cao You had thought of it.
Fortunately, Cao You was pressed for time. He loaded the chamber pot onto his cart and left, sparing Shen Shi from enduring his presence for too long.
“Master, master, he took away the one you prepared as well!”
The only thing truly unscrupulous was that Cao You had also taken away the chamber pot Shen Shi had prepared.
“Let him go,” Shen Shi said, “We can always make another. After all, it was thanks to his family’s offspring that the special exam was held.”
“His family held the special exam? Isn’t it the government?” the little fox asked, puzzled.
“You’ll understand one day,” Shen Shi replied, patting her head and leaving her with a mystery.
What followed was preparation for the exam, nothing worth mentioning. Since it was an extra exam, time was tight. From the Empress giving birth to the decree announcing the special exam, the span was scarcely enough.
The difference this time was that when Shen Shi set out with his little basket and lantern to sit the exam, he was accompanied by an extra person—the little fox now in human form—two dogs, and Xiao Gulu riding on Big Black.
Entering the county town, the scene was even livelier. Servants, retainers, parents, relatives—so many people sent their children to the exam.
Seeing all this, Shen Shi couldn’t help but think of his own father in this lifetime—he wondered if he had ever sat for such an examination.
“Oh! Isn’t this our Master Shen Shi? You never miss an exam, do you?”
Annoying people always manage to spoil the mood—the Qian brothers appeared once more.
Judging by the fact that they needed attendants to help them walk, it was clear their injuries hadn’t fully healed.
“You’re hardly any different. I attend every exam, and every time I see you both,” Shen Shi replied.
“We’re not like you! We’re already scholars!” Qian Shengwen boasted smugly.
“Examinees, enter the hall!” At that moment, the exam monitor opened the door. All the candidates obediently lined up for inspection, Shen Shi included.
Yet Qian Shengwen kept chattering, “Brother, watching him enter the exam hall every year, then leave crestfallen, is one of life’s greatest pleasures!”
Shen Shi looked back at them in surprise, catching the gleeful expression on Qian Shengwen’s face.
He could only think: Good heavens! You get up so early and come here injured just to watch me take the exam—is this really one of your greatest joys in life? How bleak must your lives be!
Faced with such gloomy people, Shen Shi entered the exam hall in silence.

When queuing, Shen Shi also spotted Gongsun Ce, who seemed a bit nervous, merely nodding without speaking.
Since it was the scholar’s exam, it wasn’t difficult. It tested memory, much like a modern elementary school exam: recite passages, fill in sentences, then explain their meaning.
Moreover, as the Song Dynasty revered Confucianism, with the saying that half the Analects could rule the world, the scholar’s exam was based on the Analects.
It truly wasn’t hard; so long as one wasn’t nervous and performed normally, one should pass.
It was as if to prove Shen Shi’s judgment—the entire exam hall showed no sign of scholarly brilliance.
Shen Shi finished his paper, checked it several times, finding no mistakes, and let it be.
When the time came to submit, he handed it in and left the exam hall. Outside, the crowd had grown even larger. Vendors hawked their goods, and more relatives had arrived.
“Brother, how did it go? Do you think you’ll pass this time?”
Kong Xueli had also come. Seeing Shen Shi emerge, he immediately hurried over.
“Eight or nine times out of ten, I think I’ll pass,” Shen Shi said truthfully.
He considered himself to have a good memory, and since having Xiao Gulu and Fourteenth Lady, he’d read classical texts aloud to them every day. The Analects—he was so familiar with it, it was almost impossible to make mistakes.
The only thing to watch was his brushwork. But he’d practiced diligently these days and should be able to pass.
“Haha, brother, did you hear him say eight or nine times out of ten? Eight or nine times out of ten he won’t pass, more like!”
Hearing Qian Shengwen’s exaggerated voice again, Shen Shi truly felt sorry for them.
Looking at their backsides—unable to sit, too embarrassed to lie down, forced to stand.
Just to mock him for a couple of sentences, they’d crawled out of their warm beds before dawn, watched him enter the exam hall, and stood all morning waiting for him to emerge. These two brothers were really…
“How about another wager?” Shen Shi tested.
“A wager? What do you want to bet?” Qian Shengwen remained defiant. “We’re not afraid of you!”
Though he claimed not to be afraid, Shen Shi noticed their bodies trembling.
“Let’s bet whether I pass this exam,” Shen Shi said.
“Heh…” Qian Shengwen laughed smugly, about to accept, but Qian Shengju asked, “How much do you want to bet?”
“How much do you have?” Shen Shi countered.
“We…”
“Hmph! Who wants to bet with you!”

Qian Shengwen was about to name a sum, but suddenly his expression changed drastically. He flung his sleeves and walked off in a huff.
At this moment, Gongsun Ce also exited the exam hall and asked curiously, “What happened to them?”
“Nothing—they’ve run out of money! I heard those brothers lost several thousand coins, got a thorough beating from their father, and had all their funds cut off,” Kong Xueli explained at once.
This fellow! There’s nothing he doesn’t know.
“By the way, since you’ve finished the exam, shouldn’t we go celebrate?” Kong Xueli suggested.
“Hmph! Lecher!”
Fourteenth Lady, the little fox, scoffed.
As she spent more time among people, she grew ever more insightful about human nature. Take Kong Xueli, for example. She was well aware of this rotund rascal—whenever he visited, he either competed with them for meat or dragged Shen Shi off to the brothel, the truest sort of bad influence.
“Heh,” Shen Shi chuckled at Fourteenth Lady’s remark, smoothing things over. “Brother Kong, aren’t you preparing for the next exam for a higher scholar’s degree?”
He genuinely wished Kong Xueli well. The little fox admired scholars, so he tried to guide Kong Xueli toward scholarship, hoping to change the impression he gave her.
Yet—
“Why bother with the scholar’s exam? I bear the surname Kong. I only take the regular exam, never the special one.”
Well! He had managed to kill the conversation outright.
Shen Shi glanced at Gongsun Ce, whose lips moved as if he were muttering curses.
In the end, Shen Shi and Gongsun Ce, along with the others, went to a restaurant. Sitting the exam wasn’t the main event; the real concern was the announcement of results—whether one passed or not was what mattered.
Even if Shen Shi felt confident, so long as the results weren’t posted, nothing was certain.
The examiners understood the students’ anxiety, so as soon as the papers were collected, they began marking them immediately.
The scholar’s exam differed from others; according to the rules, scores were assigned on the spot, then tallied for ranking, and poor papers were directly marked as failures.
It wasn’t as complicated as other exams, where papers were reviewed, revised, and submitted for approval.
The scholar’s exam represented the greatest authority the examiners possessed.