Madam, protect me!

The first round of the spring exam has ended.

By the afternoon of the second day, the examination papers of each examination hall had been marked.

On the morning of the third day, the list of candidates who passed the book exam was posted on the wall outside the examination hall.

There were no names on the red paper, only the exam numbers.

Learning the six arts from a young age requires a lot of money, and even the registration fee for the spring exam is one hundred taels of silver.

Those who can take this exam must be rich or noble.

And many wealthy families belong to several big surnames, such as Li, Cui, Wang, Pei, Zheng, etc. There is a high possibility that candidates have the same name, but each candidate's exam number is unique and will never be wrong.

Li Nuo was assigned to the seventh examination hall for the spring exam.

The spring exam is based on the examination hall. After the six subjects are completed, the scores of candidates from all examination halls will be summarized.

There are two thousand candidates in the seventh examination hall, and more than half of them were eliminated in the first book exam.

Whether it is the spring exam or the imperial examination, each subject has a passing line, and even those gods of war who are biased in one subject cannot be too biased.

If the literature subject is not passed, no matter how strong the other subjects are, there is no chance to show it.

Li Nuo found his examination number on the last red paper posted outside the examination hall.

Of course, he is not ranked last, but his examination number is at the end.

After each subject is taken, only the list of candidates is announced, without specific ranking.

Only after all six subjects are taken and all the scores are summarized, can the final result be known.

Under the wall of the examination hall, the students who found their examination numbers are proud and ecstatic.

Those who failed the exam are disappointed and can only wait to fight again next year.

Li Anning stood beside him and asked impatiently: "Have you found it?"

Li Nuo nodded.

Compared with the nervous Li Anning, the lady on the other side is much calmer.

Only those who passed the literature subject are eligible to take the exam the next day.

There are two subjects to take on this day, namely mathematics and etiquette.

The test papers of both subjects will be distributed in the morning.

Candidates have one day to answer the questions and can arrange the order of answering the questions themselves.

The questions in the spring exam were simpler than the imperial examinations, and were about the same difficulty as the middle school entrance exam and the college entrance exam. The twenty questions in the math section were all in the "nine numbers" category, and the difficulty was average, so Li Nuo finished answering them quickly.

The ritual section was not as in-depth as the imperial examinations, and they were all some basic ritual system questions. For such text-based questions, Li Nuo didn't even need to think, he just needed to copy and transcribe them.

After answering the two exam papers, it was not yet noon.

There was no point in continuing to sit there, so Li Nuo handed in the exam paper and left the examination hall.

Because the exam would last a whole day, his wife and Mu'er would not come until the afternoon.

Li Anning and Wu Guanjia were waiting by the carriage. Seeing him come out so early, their faces changed. They immediately ran forward and asked, "Why did you come out when no one else came out? Is it because the questions are difficult and you don't know how to answer them?"

She said with some annoyance, "Even if you don't know how to answer them, you should wait until the time is up before coming out. What if you figure it out?"

Li Nuo said speechlessly, "The questions are very simple. I have answered them all. Can you have some confidence in me?"

Li Anning was relieved, and then said, "Even if you have answered them, you still have to check them. If you make a mistake, you can still correct it..."

Li Nuo was too lazy to explain to her.

She thought it was a test for Ning'er and Mu'er. If you made a mistake, cross it out and write it again. On the imperial examination paper, even if there is a stain that shouldn't be there, the whole subject will be downgraded by one grade.

After the selection of the book subject, the number of people in the ritual and mathematics subjects was reduced by half compared to before.

There were fewer papers, and the marking was faster.

The examiners marked the papers all night, and the list of candidates who passed was posted at noon the next day.

More than 1,000 candidates were eliminated in the literature exam alone, but less than 200 candidates were eliminated in the ritual exam and mathematics exam combined.

This is not surprising, as those who were eliminated in the literature exam were just trying their luck.

Those who can pass the literature exam must have prepared well for the imperial examination and studied all six arts.

The questions in the ritual exam and mathematics exam in the spring exam were not difficult. According to the news from the examination hall, many candidates answered these two exams perfectly and received excellent evaluations.

The next three exams were music, charioteering, and archery in order.

The music exam was still held in the examination hall. Candidates were required to pick one of the six musics to play, and the instrument was limited to the zither.

There were about 600 candidates in the 2,000 candidates in the seventh examination hall who had reached the music exam.

The music exam was the least worrying for Li Nuo.

Although he could not turn the zither sound into an attack like Liu Shang, in terms of skills, even if Liu Shang stood in front of him, he could not say that he would definitely win him. It still depended on his performance on the spot.

The music exam was slower.

In one hour, about 20 people can be examined.

The Seventh Examination Hall is further divided into 10 small examination rooms, each of which is in charge of three examiners.

Even if each examination room is assigned to 60 people, plus the time for the examiners to discuss, it will take more than four hours to examine all the candidates.

After three hours, most of the examiners are exhausted.

In a certain examination room.

A young examiner threw the red pen in his hand on the table and said angrily: "What the hell is this, C grade!"

The examiner on the left smiled helplessly and said: "Master Liu, calm down, these young students still have a lot of room for improvement in the future. You can't use your standards to require them. This section is at least at the level of B grade..."

Although this is a spring exam, it also concerns the future of the candidates.

If someone has lived in poverty for ten years, you cannot ruin their future just because they have listened too much and become irritable.

If the other party hadn't been Taichang Si Cheng, he would have reported it to the Ministry of Personnel.

Mr. Liu was promoted from Tai Leling to Taichang Temple Prime Minister some time ago. From the seventh rank to the fifth rank, he was promoted to three levels in a row. There is no doubt that he is a rising star in the Great Xia court with a bright future. , he didn’t dare to provoke her.

Liu Shang was indeed tired of hearing this. It was an insult to his ears to let him listen to this rubbish.

However, he also knew that he could not have too high demands on these spring exam candidates. He simply leaned on his chair and said: "The remaining candidates, you two adults will decide. How you judge them, I will judge them... "

The two examiners discussed it and decided to give the evaluation of candidate B just now.

Although his music score is indeed not very good, he can be ranked B or B, but if he is B, he will not be able to pass the spring exam. In this case, they will usually be merciful.

The next moment, one of the examiners said: "Next."

Li Nuo walked into the room.

The first thing that catches the eye is a large screen.

Behind the screen, the three examiners can be faintly seen.

Leco does not have a written test. In order to avoid examiner favoritism, candidates and examiners are separated by a screen so that they cannot see each other.

After checking Li Nuo's test guide, an examiner pointed to a wooden box at the door of the room and said, "Please take your test questions out of this box."

Li Nuo put his hand into the wooden box and took out a wooden sign with the words 'Cloud Gate·Chapter Six' written on it.

The time for the exam is limited, and it is impossible for the candidates to play all the six musics. Usually, a section is selected from them. However, the candidates have no choice but to master the six musics proficiently. If they cannot play the six musics, they have to wait for the next four musics. years.

The man said: "Please ask the candidates to play Chapter 6 of Cloud Gate."

Li Nuo sat in front of the piano, tried the tone first, and made some fine adjustments to a few strings.

This is the first step of the Leco exam. Many candidates tend to forget this step because they are too nervous, causing their scores to drop by one notch, and they may miss the next exam.

After tuning the piano correctly, he slowly plucked the strings.

behind the screen.

Liu Shang, who was lazily leaning on the chair and concentrating with his eyes closed, slowly sat up straight.

He did not open his closed eyes, quietly listening to the music coming from in front of the screen.

After a while, the song ended.

Liu Shang slowly opened his eyes.

The playing of this section is simply impeccable.

Let alone the Spring Examination, it is difficult for anyone to play at this level even if they are above the imperial examination.

This is the level of Leco's top pick.

Even if Liu Shang was asked to play this section by himself, it would be impossible for him to play it better than him.

This is the result of several months of diligent practice.

A few months ago, he was not as good as this candidate.

Liu Shang stood up subconsciously, wanting to see who was behind the screen, but the examiner next to him grabbed his wrist.

The examiner looked at him and said in shock: "Mr. Liu, what are you going to do? Examiners cannot see candidates privately, otherwise their results will be judged as unqualified, and you will also be punished..."

Liu Shang stopped abruptly and sat down again.

Even if it feels like a hundred claws scratching his heart, he still has to abide by the rules for the exam.

The two examiners couldn't help but admire him.

"On the Spring Examination, there is such a talented person in the music field. Could it be the music talent in Jinzhou?"

"It's impossible. He has passed the Jinzhou Spring Examination a long time ago and can directly take the imperial examination. It is impossible for him to show up in the Spring Examination."

"It seems that this year's competition for the top spot in Leco will be particularly fierce..."

An examiner asked tentatively: "Above the top?"

The other person nodded and said, "I think so too."

Among Leco, A Shang has the highest rating.

Most of the top scorers in music subjects were only A or below A in music subjects that year.

At this time, a voice came from beside them.

Liu Shang had an angry look on his face: "What's wrong with this performance? If you can't find any problems with it, it's not considered excellent. What counts as excellent? Do you know how to play music?"

The two of them looked embarrassed.

If someone else had said this, the two of them would have fallen out with each other long ago.

But the other party was Taichang Temple Cheng, the number one scholar in the last music department, and the first person to enter Taoism through music in Daxia.

No one knows music better than him.

They looked at each other and could only say: "Master Liu said it is excellent, then it must be excellent..."

The score of the candidate just now was rated as excellent. Behind the screen, Liu Shang was a little restless.

He really wanted to see what the music genius looked like.

But the spring exam is very strict. The examiners are only responsible for judging. Not only do they not know their names, they don't even know their exam numbers. After they determine the results, there are special personnel to record them.

We can only wait until the spring exam is over before asking about it.

…

Li Nuo walked out of the examination hall. Li Anning didn't know how long she had been waiting at the door. The first thing she asked was: "How was it?"

Li Nuo gave her a gesture of control.

Leco's results are actually released on the spot, but the candidates will not be told.

In the official imperial examination, the number one winner in each subject will only be announced at the last moment of the imperial examination.

Early the next morning, the list of candidates who passed Leke was posted on the wall outside the examination hall.

In this subject, more than two hundred people were eliminated.

The ordinary champion of the music exam is only an A or below. Although the requirements for the spring exam are low, if you want to get a B evaluation, you also need to have some talent in music. Without talent, it is difficult to achieve it by practicing.

After the music exam, there are less than 400 candidates in the Seventh Examination Hall.

The venues for the imperial exam and the archery exam are also in the examination hall.

The difficulty of these two subjects is simpler than the imperial examination.

Li Nuo discovered during the exam that the venue for the spring imperial exam is wider, the road surface is less bumpy, and the distance of the archery target is about one-third closer than that of the formal imperial examination, so the difficulty is naturally much less.

There are 2,000 people taking the first exam in the Seventh Examination Hall.

After the six exams, there are less than 100 people left.

The results of all candidates in the examination hall will be sent to the Ministry of Personnel, which will make the final ranking.

Among them, the top 100 can enter the four major academies.

Those who passed the spring exam but were not selected by the four major academies can also choose to study in those small academies. The fees are just a little more expensive, but they are also eligible to participate in the imperial examination.

The clerks of the Ministry of Personnel are still making the final ranking of the scores sent by each examination hall.

As a doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, Song Zhe can of course check the list of admissions for the spring exam first.

He walked into a government office, where more than a dozen personnel from the Ministry of Personnel were busy.

"Sir Song!"

Seeing Song Zhe come in, everyone immediately stood up and saluted.

Song Zhe waved his hand, motioning them to continue, and then asked someone at the door: "Have you sorted out the list of the top 100?"

The scores sent by each examination hall have been arranged according to each subject, and it is easy to summarize the top 100.

The official respectfully handed over a list and said, "My lord, it has been sorted out."

Song Zhe looked up and subconsciously started to look from the back.

Even though he was Li Xuanjing's son, he had only been preparing for the imperial examination for half a year. Even if Song Zhe felt that he should be able to enter the top 100, it was unlikely that he would be among the top 100.

There is no one in the last ten.

There is no one in the last twenty.

There is no one in the last fifty.

Song Zhe is almost seeing the top ten in the spring exam, but Li Nuo's name is still not there.

Could it be that he didn't make it into the top 100?

After all, he had very little time to prepare, so it was normal that he didn't make it into the top 100. However, there were only 20 days left before the imperial examination. If he couldn't make it into the top 100 in the spring exam, he would most likely be eliminated in the first exam.

He glanced at it casually, and his expression was slightly stunned.

The first name on the list was the name he had been searching for for a long time.

Li Nuo.

This represents the first place in the spring exam.

After a moment of hesitation, Song Zhe said to an official: "Give me the list of scores in each subject."

The list sent by each examination hall will have the specific scores of the candidates in each subject.

The Ministry of Personnel will also summarize and sort the scores of each subject.

A moment later, Song Zhe held a few pieces of paper in his hand.

Li Nuo's name was easy to find, because he was ranked first on every piece of paper.

Book subject, calligraphy is excellent, painting is first-class, law is excellent, essay is above-class, comprehensive evaluation is above-class, book subject is first.

Mathematics is excellent, mathematics is first.

Etiquette is excellent, etiquette is first.

There are many people who have obtained excellent in these two subjects, but Li Nuo's name is ahead of everyone else.

The order of the candidates' scores is not random. With the same scores, his name is ranked in front, either because his paper is neater, or his handwriting is better, and his problem-solving process is more exquisite. In short, he can be ranked first, which must be the result of comparing the test papers.

Song Zhe continued to read.

Music is excellent, first in music.

Imperial examination is excellent, first in imperial examination.

Archery is excellent, first in archery.

Six subjects are first.

Spring examination is first.

Song Zhe stared at the familiar name on the paper blankly.

At this moment, time seemed to flow back to twenty years ago.

He seemed to feel the fear of being dominated by Li Xuanjing again...