I feel so good after dressing up as a peasant girl - Chapter 372: Going to Beijing for the Imperial Examination

They have already mastered book knowledge through diligent study over the past ten years or so. What they lack now is an understanding of current affairs and unique insights into current politics.

It is worth mentioning that not only Bai Jingzhou and others, but Mu Jingzhi will also continue to participate in the imperial examination next year.

Unlike Bai Jingzhou, Gu Wenhai and other successful candidates who never made it to the imperial examination, Mu Jingzhi, Jiang Yuheng, Tao Chang and Su Yunzhan had already participated in the imperial examination once before. Unfortunately, they all failed that time.

After that, they took more time to make up for their shortcomings and wait for the next examination to arrive as scheduled.

There will be three examinations, which will be held on February 9th, 12th and 15th, and each lasts three days.

The contents of the three examinations were the same as those of the provincial examinations, and the number of Jinshi admitted in each examination was between two and three hundred.

After the Joint Examination is the Palace Examination, which is the last level of examination in the imperial examination system. It is held one month after the Joint Examination, around March 15th.

The content of the palace examination was closely related to the government affairs. Several test questions were prepared in advance by the cabinet ministers and then temporarily presented to the emperor for selection.

According to their rankings in the palace examination, scholars will be divided into three levels: the top three, namely the top scholar, the second place scholar and the third place scholar, are listed as the first class, also known as the Jinshi Jidi; a number of people including the fourth place scholar are listed as the second class, also known as the Jinshi Chuanchuan; a number of people outside the first and second classes are listed as the third class, also known as the Tong Jinshi Chuanchuan.

It should be mentioned here that there is a chain of contempt between "Jinshi" and "Tong Jinshi". In private, some people even compare "Tong Jinshi" with "Ru Furen".

Why? Because "同晋士" can be understood as: not actually a jinshi, but treated as one.

This is like the status of a concubine in the family. In fact, she is not a lady, but in order to appease the concubines, they are called "like a lady", which means they are treated as ladies.

From the perspective of official rank:

There are three people in the first class. The first place is the top scholar, who is awarded the title of Jinshi Jidi and is granted an official position of the sixth rank. The second place is the second place, who is the second place, who is the third place, who is the third place, who is the third place, who is the third place, who is the third place, who is the third place, who is the third place, who is the third place, who is the third place, who is the third place,

A number of candidates in the second class were granted the status of Jinshi and appointed as officials of the seventh rank.

A number of candidates in the third class were granted the same status as Jinshi and appointed as officials of the eighth rank.

The first-class candidates are usually granted important posts such as Hanlin editors, and have a bright future with a great chance of being appointed as prime ministers. The rest of the Jinshi often have to take a library selection or a court examination, and then are granted official posts based on their ranking in the palace examination. The best ones can also enter the Hanlin Academy.

In all the previous selections for the academy or the imperial examinations, those who passed were basically those who ranked at the top of the second class, and those who did not pass would find it easier to get a real vacancy after being rejected.

The third class is a little worse, because they are not real Jinshi, but are treated as Jinshi by origin. Their starting point is far behind the first and second class, and their future is naturally worse.

It is for this reason that this chain of contempt was formed: those who were Jinshi looked down on those who were fellow Jinshi, and even those who were fellow Jinshi would mostly feel resentful about their own origins.

There was no way. Their team had too many people and carriages. The two-story house he bought near the Imperial College was simply not enough for them, including Tao Chang and Jiang Yuheng.

The three-courtyard mansion bestowed by the emperor was different. Bai Jingzhou's family and the maids they brought lived in the third courtyard, the guests and the Fang brothers lived in the second courtyard, and the male servants brought by Bai Jingzhou lived in the first courtyard. They were responsible for taking care of the carriages and horses, guarding the main gate, running errands and delivering messages, and other miscellaneous tasks.

There are enough houses, stables, and ample space for storing vehicles. In short, everything is satisfactory.

If there was any disadvantage - as soon as they moved in, the officials and their families living nearby came to inquire about their whereabouts, which was a bit of a hassle.

More people means faster work, especially since most of them come from poor backgrounds, so they don't need to hire a carpenter to do this kind of small-scale manual work.

Everyone worked together and quickly cleaned up the house.

Gu Wenxuan, who had already ordered food at the restaurant, helped sisters Wu Erniang and Chunni'er put the food on the table, while signaling everyone to simply wash their heads, faces and hands with the prepared warm water.

Today was their first day living in this house. As the owner of the house, Bai Jingzhou had to eat with everyone else, so Gu Wenxuan ate alone with Xiaoxiao in her room.

It was the same when they were traveling before. It wasn't that Bai Jingzhou and others looked down on the Fang brothers for not being scholars. It was that every time the Fang brothers ate with others, they felt uncomfortable and restrained, for fear that they would accidentally eat too much.

They had big appetites, and if they ate too much they were afraid that others would not have enough to eat, and they were also afraid that others would look at them strangely. But they deliberately controlled their food intake and did not eat enough at every meal. They went hungry every day, but Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou could not help but feel a slight pang of conscience.

So, Gu Wenxuan simply let them eat separately from the others.

She knew the approximate appetite of several people, and would always prepare enough food for them to ensure that they could eat enough and eat well.

Gu Wenxuan, the servant of each family, also ordered ready-made dishes such as stir-fried pork belly with green onions, pickled cabbage with vinegar, bone and radish soup, and white flour steamed buns for them. Although the variety was small, the portions were sufficient.

After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they returned to their respective rooms to wash, change clothes, and go to bed early.

The next day, Gu Wenxuan took people out to buy, and met with two brokers that Bai Jingzhou had dealt with before, asking them to help find houses, shops and farms with good locations and suitable prices.

Bai Jingzhou and other students began to frequent bookstores, teahouses, restaurants, inns, private gardens, and scenic spots in the capital. On the one hand, this was to collect recently published books, collections of essays, and official bulletins; on the other hand, it was to make friends with students from all over the country by participating in tea parties, poetry gatherings, literary gatherings, etc.