Chapter 118

However, the condiment bottles used for storing salt at the back were emptied and inspected one by one by the staff; the fruits prepared by Yu Shu for her were also cut into cubes by the staff to ensure there was no hidden contraband, only then was Yan Jin allowed to enter the examination hall.

Yan Jin could understand the staff’s actions. After all, she had heard Yan Zi say before that some cheaters would even hide things in their “grain passage”.

It was just a pity that the fruits Ruan Ruan prepared for her were ruined beyond recognition.

Without much thought, Yan Jin picked up the only remaining intact fruit and quickly ate it under the bewildered gaze of the staff.

Anyway, it was only cut on the plate, not dropped on the ground or covered in dust, so it was quite clean and harmless to eat.

[Yan Jin is too greedy, can’t she eat inside? Why must she eat now?] [What she’s eating is not just fruit, but Yu Shu’s thoughtfulness, okay?] [Although the fruit looks a bit ugly, it’s still relatively clean. But I admire Yan Jin for being able to eat it all without changing her expression.]

After wiping her mouth, Yan Jin noticed the staff’s subtle gaze and nonchalantly said, “My husband will ask me how the fruits taste. If he finds out I didn’t even have a taste, he’ll make a fuss with me.”

The staff was convinced. “In all these years, I’ve never seen an examinee who had the mood to eat during the inspection.”

“I read the rules.” Yan Jin said, “There’s no rule stating that examinees can’t eat during the inspection.”

Indeed, there was no such rule, but no one had ever done it before.

The staff and Yan Jin stared at each other, and finally the staff waved their hand, letting her go in.

Since the inspection showed no contraband, and the fruits were almost mashed into small pieces, if she wanted to eat them, so be it.

The county magistrate, who was patrolling the area, heard the commotion and helplessly held his forehead.

The county examination consisted of four sessions. The first session was the main exam, the second session was the initial review, the third session was the re-review, and the fourth session was the final review.

Each session lasted one day, and the papers were submitted on the same day after the exam. ①

After placing her examination basket down in her assigned examination cell, Yan Jin couldn’t help but sigh and began to comfort herself, “Although it’s a bit small, at least it’s very clean and not assigned to a smelly number.”

The smelly numbers were the examination cells near the toilets.

Even though Yan Jin considered herself to have a strong willpower and no mysophobia, if she were assigned to a smelly number, it would inevitably distract her when answering questions.

[Although I’ve seen the examination cells from the imperial examination era during my travels, I still want to exclaim, this cell is way too small.] [I checked, the examination cells in our country’s ancient times were 93 cm wide, 124.4 cm deep, and 248.8 cm high, which should be similar to the dimensions of Yan Jin’s cell.] [I remember Yan Jin is 1.7 meters tall, so this cell is really narrow and small for her.]

Before the exam papers were distributed, Yan Jin cleaned the examination cell a little and then closed her eyes to rest, silently reciting the organized knowledge points in her mind.

After the exam papers were distributed, Yan Jin glanced at them and felt relieved.

Fortunately, she knew how to answer all the questions.

It was indeed as Mr. Wang said, the first session of the county examination was relatively simple, and the questions were all covered in the lectures.

Some classmates had said before the exam that as long as the writing was smooth, one could pass the first session of the county examination.

But Yan Jin was aiming for the top, so even if the questions were easy, she didn’t take them lightly.

Yan Jin had a habit of preferring to do things in one go, and this county examination was no exception.

Although there was plenty of time, Yan Jin stretched her wrists, didn’t even take a sip of water, and started writing as soon as she picked up the brush. Until the surrounding examinees had all eaten their fill, only then did Yan Jin put down her brush.

Perhaps it was because after finishing the paper, her spirit also relaxed, and Yan Jin’s stomach began to sing the empty city strategy.

Yan Jin properly stored the exam paper and started to cook noodles.

Fearing that Yan Jin would be too busy to drink water during the exam, Yu Shu specifically instructed her to boil some water for herself to drink as soon as she finished tidying up the examination cell to avoid being thirsty without water during the exam.

Yu Shu’s plan was good, but Yan Jin didn’t listen.

It was only when Yan Jin, who had finished writing her answers and was about to cook noodles, remembered Yu Shu’s instructions before the exam.

Yan Jin glanced at the examination basket with a bit of guilt, fearing that she would be hungry, Yu Shu had specifically prepared an extra serving of noodle cakes.