Jing Xingzhi’s Daily Life in Ancient Times - Chapter 96

Jing Xingzhi said he wanted to hand in the paper, but he was blocked in the room, waiting for a response.

The person who handed in the paper on the first day of the first session of the examination was indeed the first one after all.

Moreover, there had been an information earlier. The examiners knew that someone might leave the examination room half a day early because he was worried about his family affairs, so they all acquiesced to this.

As a result, when he said he was going out on the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, he didn’t catch anyone off guard.

Su Mingyuan immediately called the deputy examiner and fellow examiners who were not on patrol, and a group of people urgently discussed whether to let Jing Xingzhi go.

If Jing Xingzhi was allowed to leave, others would have to go if they wanted to leave later. If these people left early and affected the exam mentality of other students, that was also a result that needed to be taken into consideration.

Not letting Jing Xingzhi leave would be a slap in the face.

Su Mingyuan asked, “Everyone understands the situation; what do you think?”

The middle-aged fellow examiner who had given Jing Xingzhi the official approval looked sulky and was the first to say, “Sir, I think that student was just messing around!”

“How can anyone answer questions so fast? At such a speed, I’m afraid he didn’t think about the details carefully at all. He answered the questions rashly, thinking that he had filled in the exam paper and everything was safe. He was really playing tricks on us!”

This fellow examiner felt that he had good intentions but was being used to build fame by others.

He decided that Jing Xingzhi was just a fame-seeker, and he had done this in order to create a gimmick and attract people’s attention.

Some more traditional examiners also disagreed: “How will the other students handle themselves if someone hand in their papers so early? I don’t think it’s appropriate. I will just let him out tomorrow.”

“There is a convention for leaving the venue on the second day.”

“But everyone was joking about it at the beginning. Letting him out early would give us a reputation for being reasonable!”

There were also some irritable examiners who were not happy and wanted to let the guy out. They already said it was okay to go early, then just let him go!

“If he was willing to hand in the paper, let him hand it in. Anyway, when the time came, there would be a review. Whether he passed or not would depend on the article!”

When there were many people, there were also many different opinions. They were all scholars. Furthermore, if he was right, then he would be right too.

Su Mingyuan listened for a while, then opened his mouth to preside over: “I heard a few words from each of you, and I have a little understanding of everyone’s thoughts. It’s not an option to argue like this; I will just say a few words, everyone listens.”

“First of all, we did not clearly stipulate how many days of examination must be completed before handing in the paper. So, from a rule point of view, these candidates could hand in the paper whenever they wanted.”

“Secondly, you don’t allow candidates to submit papers in advance with reasonable cause. Firstly, you consider that the candidates who submit papers in advance are trying to gain fame and are afraid that we will make wedding clothes for them; secondly, you are afraid of affecting the state of mind of other students. Yes, or no?”

“Old Su is right!”

“That’s it, you can’t make a wedding dress for him! We, the scholars, have our own values as scholars!”

Su Mingyuan listened to those voices of approval, stroking his beard and smiling. “So, I thought it didn’t hurt to let him hand in the paper.”

“How can it be okay?!”

“Didn’t Sir just say that it would affect other students?”

“Listen to what I have to say!”

Su Mingyuan looked serious and raised his voice. “First of all, reputations can be good or bad. If he randomly submitted his papers, the random rankings he received would not give him a good reputation. If he was truly capable and could do better work in one day than others could do in three days, what else was there to say? I am willing to give this outstanding examinee a reputation!”

“Secondly, the affected candidates and students did not perform well because their own psychology was not strong enough. It was normal for some people to leave the exam early. Those who could not bear the slightest storm were not suitable to be officials.”

Su Mingyuan’s words were reasonable and well-founded. He persuaded the examiners and made the final decision—Jing Xingzhi was cleared to leave.

Jing Xingzhi waited for about a quarter of an hour and took two bites of pancakes to satisfy his hunger.

A quarter of an hour later, the guarding soldiers received the order, collected his papers, opened his room, and led him out.

The old scholar’s eyes nearly popped out when he heard the sound of chains shaking next door!

Next door! Was that boy fainting from hunger? Or did he get dizzy while doing the questions?

The old scholar was both worried and curious about the stupid young boy next door. He stuck his head out and took a look.

The old scholar saw that the face of the pretty boy next door had turned a little paler, and he was following the soldier with a test box on his back.

Alas, alas?!?!

He could still walk, so he probably hadn’t fainted.

If he hadn’t fainted, how could he have left the room on the first day of the exam?

Was he going to the toilet?

You shouldn’t bring a test box with you when you went to the toilet!

He took the test box with him and left, clearly looking like he was going out of the examination building!

A terrible thought came to the old man’s mind, and then he shook his head in disbelief.

“I must have seen it wrong! I was dazzled!”

The old scholar rubbed his eyes vigorously, then carefully and slowly opened them.

But…

Why was there still a scene in front of him of a pretty boy carrying a test box and leaving?!

The old scholar was stunned, following Jing Xingzhi’s figure with dull eyes.

The soldier guarding the old scholar noticed that the examinee kept looking outside. Remembering their superior’s instructions before the exam, the soldier picked up the scabbard and hit the thin board of the number room.

The soldier said sternly, “Concentrate on the exam! Don’t look around!”

The old scholar nodded blankly. “Okay, okay.” But it really scared him.