Unconsciously, it was already noon. Although he could write the questions, Zhou Bai still couldn't do it because of the amount of questions he had planned to submit in the morning.
The dull and crisp bell rang, and the deputy examiner Xian Cheng announced that lunch would be distributed, telling the candidates to take a break.
The imperial examination room is under the suppression of the imperial court's official seal and luck. Anyone who takes the exam here is suppressed regardless of luck or destiny.
But this kind of suppression is limited, and the average level is also relative.
Candidates with a family heritage will pay attention to many aspects to prevent being overstressed, and will not do taboo things that will kill their luck.
If you ignore it and continue to consume energy and luck for a long time, this is the simplest small aspect that you can be alert to.
The food in the examination room is not rich, it is just dry food such as steamed buns and shortbread. If necessary, it is also a legitimate request to ask the guard to bring a bowl of fine tea.
This kind of meal is supposed to be very popular among poor candidates, but when Zhou Bai looked around the examination room, he saw that the ones eating cakes and relaxing like him were the county magnates and other family members.
Candidates from small families and farm families are reluctant to take this rest time, and are still answering with all their heart, and their luck and physical condition have not been restored.
Alas, Zhou Bai sighed in his heart, this is a blockade on the intellectual level.
Even though the imperial examination reference books are clearly published, this kind of "trivial" knowledge about luck is only circulated within each family.
Only after the second-generation ancestor of the Zhou family passed the examination did he know that rest should be paid attention to in the examination room, not only to relieve fatigue, but also to relax the luck that had been suppressed.
This news was also regarded as a secret inheritance and was passed down orally among the direct descendants of the Zhou family and was not allowed to be recorded in writing.
Just when Zhou Bai was still feeling sorry for the candidates who answered the questions, another incident happened in the back corner.
An elderly examinee with gray hair was being dragged out of the examination room by heavily armed soldiers. The Taoist priest supervising the examination was also standing beside him.
"No, sir, examiner, please spare me once. I have not been a child for forty years. I am not willing to accept it!" The old examinee asked the examiner in the hall for help hysterically.
However, Ji Hongzhe just shook his head, with complex emotions such as hatred and sympathy in his eyes. He had been studying for a lifetime.
"Extricate them quickly and do not disturb the examination room. Once again, I emphasize to all students that the imperial examination is a national matter and is patrolled by gods. The evil ways are purely self-inflicted!"
"The Lord of my county is the hero who opened the border, and was personally granted the title by Emperor Gaozong. With his great power, huh, you guys can take care of yourself!"
The three examiners in the hall looked quite embarrassed, and they all gave admonitions, and the instructions were even more exasperated.
Looking at the old examinee who was dragged out, everyone felt awe-inspiring, but they were not as sympathetic as the county magistrate.
There are such lucky people every year. If cheating is allowed, how will honest people like them deal with themselves?
As for Zhou Bai, he didn't have too many emotions. The old man just paid the price in his last effort. He looked up and remembered the famous local gods.
In this world, the underworld is invisible. If a mortal wants to have something to rely on after death, there are few ways to go. For example, hiding in the spiritual realm of the family ancestral hall, or seeking shelter from the local gods is the "right way".
Otherwise, if you don't want to harm living beings, you can only survive for seven days, and then you must enter the underworld.
However, the rules in the underworld are unclear, the underworld cannot uphold justice, and there are often people who worship their ancestors but get no response, which means they are completely lost.
If we want to deal with great catastrophes in the future, the gods must also take it into consideration.
…
In the afternoon, the warm spring sun was already setting in the west, and Zhou Bai immediately devoted himself to answering questions in the third subject.
His brows furrowed slightly, was it because he was struggling?
No, it was Zhou Bai who was too sensitive to his luck. The first two subjects did not cut off much luck, but he did not expect that the third subject's luck was lost much faster than before.
As the article was gradually completed, traces of white energy and even red energy were extracted from Zhou Bai's body and blessed the answer sheet.
These separated external luck will form luck marks on the answer sheet for screening and ranking during marking.
In fact, the total amount is not too much. If these external shipments were originally used by Zhou Bai's own resources, it would be restored in a few days.
But after all, Zhou Bai used the luck incense to turn it into temporary borrowed luck. He estimated that within a few days, the good fortune blessed by the luck incense would be dissipated immediately.
It is not difficult to write strategies for the county examination, but this is just for Zhou Bai. As he writes, the literary spirit begins to rise on the paper.
It was colorless at first, and then gradually became red. Finally, when the article was written, the red color became more intense, and there was even a hint of light gold that appeared for a moment under the suppression of the official seal.
Literary Qi and a person's Qi Luck level are roughly the same, but there are some differences in color.
Colorless articles are articles written by most people. They are not very literary and can be circulated among a small range.
In the county examination, it is normal. Examiners generally do not determine grades based on the amount of literary style.
Sometimes your luck is ranked high, and your words and sentences are fluent, which will light up your childishness.
The red text is a part of the article that is outstanding. It can be famous in a county. If the luck is not bad, it will not be a problem to become a scholar.
There are very few further up, namely Jinwen and Qingwen. Jinwen goes out of the county and Qingwen goes out of the state.
As long as they circulate long enough and become famous enough, these articles can serve as the imprint of a dynasty, also known as articles handed down from generation to generation.
Although Zhou Bai was suppressed by the fate of the imperial court, he still wrote articles with crimson literary style, which was enough to shock the entire audience.
The other candidates were immersed in the sea of questions and did not notice it, but Ji Hongzhe and others were shocked, but this surprise was a surprise.
How many talented people can be promoted is one of the most important indicators in assessing county officials.
"I read that right, there was a flash of gold in the red air just now?!" Jiaoyu opened his mouth wide and asked with some suspicion.
"It should be true. If the red color can appear under the suppression of the official seal, it must be the birth of gold inscriptions!" The county magistrate replied decisively.
Ji Hongzhe, on the other hand, had silently walked to Zhou Bai and picked up the article to browse.
When Zhou Bai saw the county magistrate coming, he also walked out of the examination seat and bowed to say hello.
To be honest, he himself didn't expect that he would make great progress in his studies after his death.
This article has deliberately included some omissions, but it still reaches the level of bronze inscriptions.
Ji Hongzhe did not read it carefully, but after a quick glance, he felt that the writing was brilliant. The smile on his face was not concealed at all. He praised: "Zhou Bai? The cypress tree fights against the frost and is proud of the snow. Now it seems that it is really strong, upright, noble and unyielding." "
"Young men with tied hair don't dare to be praised by adults." Zhou Bai bowed and said modestly.
"Okay, okay, but you have to hand in the paper?" Ji Hongzhe liked Zhou Bai more and more.
"With your permission, the common people can hand in their papers."
With such a steady attitude, one's reputation is sure to be stable, and with a few more years of hard work, one can hope to be promoted to a Jinshi.
Even if it's just the inscriptions written on the county examination questions, it means that Zhou Bai has unlimited potential and might as well sell well at this time.
Ji Hongzhe immediately summoned a clerk to seal Zhou Bai's test paper. However, Ji Hongzhe had read Zhou Bai's handwriting, which meant that the procedure was fair. The admission of children was not a merit, and there was no need to transcribe it.
For handing in the paper so early and being praised by the county magistrate, Zhou Bai attracted many jealous looks when he stepped out of the examination room.
