On the first day of the eighth month, before the autumn examination began.

At the entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall, crowds of candidates preparing to enter for the examination packed the area.

The Liang Dynasty’s autumn examination was held every two years, and coincidentally, with the imperial family’s auspicious addition of special examinations these past two years, this year also allowed candidates to participate. The autumn examination consisted of three sessions, each lasting three days. Setting aside academic knowledge, it was also no small test of physical endurance.

Before the carriage, Madam Dong held Dong Lin’s hand, looking him up and down while saying: “Are these clothes too thin? I heard the examination cells are terribly cold, without even a charcoal brazier to light. With autumn’s chill pressing in, what if you catch cold?”

Dong Lin had been pampered since childhood, and now suddenly having to stay in an examination cell for nine days and seven nights left Madam Dong deeply worried.

“Mother, your son is fine.” Dong Lin felt somewhat uncomfortable. Among the many candidates coming and going at the examination hall entrance, he was the only one whose family had brought a carriage and a large group of servants, making him stand out awkwardly.

“How can mother not worry about you? Once you enter the examination hall, you can’t come out until the exam is finished. What if you get hungry or cold inside? Sheng Quan,” Madam Dong called to the guard beside her, “check young master’s examination basket again—have we forgotten anything?”

“Yes, madam.”

Just then, a scholar passed by and witnessed this touching scene of mother and son, momentarily lost in thought.

Wu Youcai stood frozen in place.

In all those past years, every time he took an examination, his mother would send him to the examination hall entrance just like this, chattering with instructions. She never worried about whether he wrote his essays well or whether he could become an official. What she talked about most, what concerned her most, was simply whether the examination cell was cold, whether he had enough clothes, whether he would have enough to eat.

At the end, she would smile and say to him: “Mother will wait at home for you to finish the exam!”

But now, there was no one at home waiting for his return, and at the examination hall entrance, there would be no more loving mother’s instructions.

Someone patted his shoulder: “Youcai!”

Wu Youcai turned around to see an elderly man dressed as a scholar, wearing patched blue cloth robes and a square cap, with graying whiskers, a sallow face, and thin build, carrying an old examination basket. He paused: “Old Uncle Xun?”

He recognized this person—an old gentleman who lived near the temple entrance. Already past seventy this year, he had been taking examinations for decades since reaching adulthood, never passing once. Wu Youcai had heard his health had been declining in recent years, with difficulty even walking, yet surprisingly he had still come for this year’s autumn examination.

“I spotted you from far away,” Old Uncle Xun’s graying whiskers twitched as his wrinkled face broke into a smile. “I just saw your examination cell number on the roster—it’s next to mine. Perfect, that’s a good omen. Perhaps we’ll both pass this time.”

Wu Youcai watched his trembling steps but said nothing.

Old Uncle Xun didn’t notice anything unusual in his expression, only gazed at the young candidates coming and going around them, his eyes revealing a trace of wistful envy.

Time was up, and the examination officials began urging them forward. All candidates entered the examination hall gates together, had their examination baskets inspected by officials, and entered their assigned cells in order.

The examination cells faced south in rows, sixty-six in total. Wu Youcai was assigned to a cell in the middle, with Old Uncle Xun in the adjacent cell. Before the entrance, Old Uncle Xun mysteriously told him: “Write well! I had an auspicious dream a few days ago—this year you and I will surely both make the honor roll!”

Wu Youcai just smiled and carried his examination basket into the cell.

In the distance, the examination hall gates closed shut.

The examination hall was like a massive beast lurking in Shengjing, silently swallowing thousands of scholars in its coiled repose.

The autumn examination consisted of three sessions, each lasting three days. The first tested the Four Books and Five Classics, the second examined policy questions, and the third was poetry and rhyming prose. During the examination period, candidates ate, drank, and relieved themselves all within their cells, forbidden to leave.

Wu Youcai sat in his examination cell, looking at the examination paper spread before him. He carefully read through it all, and as in the past twelve years, picked up his brush and bent over his desk to begin answering.

Time slowly passed, and the examination hall’s sky turned from white to black, then black to white again.

There were two session changes in between. When changing for the final session after completing the policy questions, a gentle drizzle began falling outside.

It was the third watch of the night. Wu Youcai waited with the other candidates for the chief examiner to call for the session change.

The sky was overcast, and in the inky black night it was impossible to distinguish who was who. There was a duty room beside the examination cells, with dense miscellaneous trees in front of it where shadowy figures could faintly be seen moving. Perhaps because Wu Youcai still had energy that day, for some unknown reason his vision was exceptionally sharp in this cold rainy weather, so he could see clearly that someone was changing clothes inside, hiding in the dark grove in front of the duty room waiting.

When the co-examiners came out for roll call, the person called didn’t respond, quietly retreating into the shadows of those bushes. Then another person emerged, took the called person’s hat and outer garment, and walked out again, becoming that called person.

The originally called person had been fat and stocky, while the one who stepped forward was short and thin.

In that instant, Wu Youcai understood completely.

He opened his mouth wanting to shout, but suddenly Lu Tong’s words floated through his mind.

“You have no influence or voice. The corrupt officials are in cahoots—they might find an excuse to arrest you. After the autumn examination ends and you’re released, the evidence will be gone too.”

He suddenly fell silent.

What would happen if he shouted and spoke out?

There were two chief examiners presiding over the autumn examination, four co-examiners, one supervisor, and several inspectors. With so many people, could they really not have noticed the impersonation?

The examination hall gates had long been sealed and wouldn’t reopen until the exam finished. Without prior permission, how had these imposters gotten in? Even if he cried out now, the chief examiner could easily find an excuse to arrest him. Though his words might arouse suspicion among candidates, with the autumn examination still unfinished, no one would abandon their own prospects for such doubts.

He couldn’t continue with the examination either.

The pattering autumn rain dampened the hem of his robe. Wu Youcai stood in place, a bitter smile floating at the corners of his mouth.

He looked into the distance where, in the pavilion, two chief examiners in fine brocade robes sat comfortably, legs crossed, leisurely sipping tea.

In the darkness, a woman in white silk seemed to sit in the distance, smiling at him as she spoke.

“If it were me…”

“Of course, I would kill him.”

Kill him.

The sharp folded corner of the paper package in his sleeve hurt his fingers. Wu Youcai suddenly came to his senses, slowly clenching the small package tighter in his palm.

The autumn rain continued, drops spattering on people’s bodies as if trying to reach into their hearts with bitterness. Roll call had ended. Wu Youcai followed the snake-like line of candidates into his newly assigned dark examination cell, like walking into a tomb already cast for him.

The final session tested poetry and rhyming prose.

This should have been Wu Youcai’s strongest subject, yet he never picked up his brush, only sitting at his desk staring blankly at the bronze lamp in the narrow cell.

He had gotten caught in some rain earlier, leaving his clothes slightly damp. Wu Youcai paid no attention—these clothes had been sewn by his mother twelve years ago before his first examination. For good luck, she had specially used red coarse silk fabric. Twelve years had passed, and the silk robe’s collar and cuffs had been worn through by time, yet he couldn’t bear to take it apart and re-sew it because it bore the marks of his mother’s old mending thread.

He sat quietly in the examination cell for a very long time, until the eastern sky grew white and faint cock crows drifted from the distant marketplace. Only then did he slowly pick up his brush and begin writing on the examination paper before him.

He wrote very slowly, each stroke and character extremely careful, his expression even appearing devout, yet looking closely, there was also a kind of desolate finality of all affairs concluded.

When the last stroke was completed, Wu Youcai withdrew his hand and set the brush aside.

He lifted the paper scroll, brought it close to read through it carefully once, then put it down again and looked up into the distance.

Outside the examination cell window, the sky had grown white. This autumn examination was nearly over. Before long, the examiners would collect the papers, and the future prospects of the people in these sixty-six cells would be decided.

Wu Youcai took out that small paper package from his sleeve.

He smiled peacefully, then opened the package in his hand.

…

In the nearby adjacent examination cell, Old Uncle Xun set down his brush and rubbed his trembling hands.

He was already very old and might not survive to the next examination session, yet this autumn examination had become an obsession in his heart after years of persistence. He had no sons or daughters, had never married, and his parents had long passed away. It seemed he had come to this world for the sole purpose of achieving scholarly honors.

Scholars like him were countless in this world.

Yet for humble commoners wanting to ascend to heaven in one step, this was the most direct and seemingly most hopeful method.

A satisfied smile appeared on Old Uncle Xun’s withered tree-like face.

Perhaps that dream he’d had a few days ago was truly auspicious—he felt he had written exceptionally well in all three sessions this year. Maybe the saying “those who lie low long will surely fly high” was coming true. After all these busy years, perhaps he could truly taste the flavor of having his name on the golden honor roll before entering the earth.

Old Uncle Xun set aside his completed examination paper and took out some dry provisions from his examination basket.

Before the session change, candidates had received provisions for the last two days from the co-examiners. There were some sesame cakes, sweet pastries and such—the taste was acceptable. Old Uncle Xun had feared there wouldn’t be enough time for answering, so he hadn’t bothered eating. Now that he’d written almost everything and was just waiting for the chief examiner to collect papers, he relaxed and finally felt the hunger gnawing at his stomach.

He had just picked up a sesame cake and taken a bite when suddenly he heard a piercing scream from nearby: “Poison! Someone’s been poisoned! Help—”

This voice came so suddenly, like a thunderclap in the silent examination hall, startling Old Uncle Xun so that his hands shook and the sesame cake rolled to the ground.

He had no time to pick it up, pushing the examination cell window outward and raising himself to try to see what was happening outside.

To prevent cheating, every examination cell in the hall was locked, and even the windows had iron bolts outside, only opening halfway.

Through the half-opened window he could see clearly—it was early morning, and in the examination hall’s empty courtyard, a figure in red clothing had rolled out, landing right in the middle of the great courtyard. This person’s appearance was so sudden that the co-examiners and chief examiners hadn’t yet reacted. Old Uncle Xun was wondering if this person had broken through his cell door to escape—but once the door was broken, this year’s autumn examination results would be invalid. Wouldn’t that mean enduring hardship for a whole year in vain?

The next moment, the man’s piercing shouts came again.

“Fellow candidates, someone has poisoned the provisions—there’s poison in the food!”

The provisions are poisoned?

As if to confirm his claim, the figure rolling on the ground gradually slowed his movements, his limbs constantly convulsing as he vomited mouthfuls of dark blood, spreading a shocking dark stain on the ground.

Old Uncle Xun was stunned, instinctively looking at the sesame cake that had fallen to the ground, a sudden chill passing through his heart.

The provisions in the examination hall were all distributed uniformly. In earlier years, candidates brought their own food, but because the cells were damp, some candidates’ food would quickly spoil. Later the Ministry of Rites arranged for the examination hall to provide provisions during the autumn examination.

This person said the provisions were poisoned, so these in front of him…

Old Uncle Xun jerked back his hand, flinging away the examination basket as if avoiding a venomous snake.

The cakes and pastries in the basket scattered all over the floor with a crash.

Almost immediately, chaotic shouting erupted from the surrounding examination cells—at this time, most had probably finished their exams. Seeing such a tragic scene, the candidates inevitably felt panicked and alarmed.

Old Uncle Xun pressed his hand to his chest. His heart was beating rapidly now, and he felt short of breath. At this inappropriate moment, his mind incongruously produced a strange thought—why did that shouting voice sound somewhat familiar? As if he’d heard it somewhere before.

Thinking this, he tremblingly pushed open the examination cell window again and boldly glanced at the person collapsed on the ground.

Red clothing and square cap, small build—that person lay on the ground with his head tilted to one side, blood from the corner of his mouth forming a clot beneath his body.

His eyes were wide open, with an expression of pain frozen on his face. His skin seemed to have turned blue-green, like a stiff dead ghost. His lifeless eyeballs happened to meet Old Uncle Xun’s gaze directly.

Old Uncle Xun’s breathing caught.

A moment later, he pressed his chest and cried out.

“You… Youcai—”

…

When the Renxin Medical Hall opened, it was already past the hour of Si.

After the Beginning of Autumn, days grew shorter and nights longer. Except for those selling breakfast, the shop owners on West Street opened much later.

Yin Zheng was wiping the medicinal tea jars on the counter when the young apprentice from the tailor shop across the street came running hurriedly from outside, shouting as he ran: “Something’s happened! Something’s happened at the examination hall!”

Tailor Sun was holding a bowl and rinsing his mouth. Hearing this, he turned and asked: “What happened?”

“The people from the duty room just said they heard someone died in the examination hall—a scholar! They said someone poisoned the examination cells, and it’s chaos in there right now!”

Yin Zheng’s hand shook, and a jar of medicinal tea accidentally slipped and rolled to the ground.

“Oh heavens,” Sister Song from the silk shoe shop heard the commotion and came out. “Aren’t all the people in the examination hall students taking the exam? Who would poison students?”

“I don’t know about that.” The young apprentice scratched his head. “Word’s spreading outside the examination hall, but they won’t let anyone in until the time comes, so nobody knows the real situation.”

Yin Zheng’s expression changed. No longer caring about anything else, she lifted the felt curtain and entered the small courtyard. It was still early—Du Changqing and A’Cheng hadn’t arrived yet, and the master and servant Xia Rongrong were inside and hadn’t come out.

In the courtyard, Lu Tong was collecting dried fresh medicinal herbs into wooden trays.

Yin Zheng walked up to Lu Tong in a few quick steps, her voice trembling as she spoke.

“Miss, this is terrible! Word outside is that a candidate died in the examination hall!”

Lu Tong’s movements suddenly stopped.

“You said a candidate died?” Her expression changed abruptly. “This is bad!”

Seeing this, Yin Zheng became even more nervous: “How did it become a candidate who had the accident? Could that Scholar Wu have poisoned the wrong person…”

“No.” Lu Tong set down the wooden tray, her eyes shifting through several expressions. “He took the poison himself.”

Wu Youcai wouldn’t kill the chief examiner, nor would he definitely kill anyone else. The only possibility was that he used the medicine on himself.

She had instigated Wu Youcai to kill the chief examiner, simply borrowing the resentment and anger in Wu Youcai’s heart. Yet when Wu Youcai reached desperate straits, he actually chose to poison himself instead.

In an instant, Lu Tong understood this scholar’s intention.

At this moment the final session was nearly finished, with candidates’ families already waiting outside the examination hall, and the minds of those in the cells were restless. That this news could spread from within the examination hall clearly indicated it had caused quite a disturbance.

For Wu Youcai, his purpose seemed to have been achieved. As long as he caused a disturbance and drew people to investigate, there might be a chance to uncover the examination fraud.

But the waves that could be stirred in Shengjing by the death of an unknown scholar versus the death of a chief examiner were different. With the examination hall gates unopened, no one knew the truth inside, and with the autumn examination still unfinished, there was enough time in this brief period to smooth over the incident.

Wu Youcai had still thought too simply.

Yin Zheng was in a panic: “Miss, what should we do now?”

Lu Tong comforted her: “Don’t panic.” After thinking for a moment: “Go to the Dong family immediately.”

“The Dong family?”

Lu Tong nodded, leaning close to whisper a few words in Yin Zheng’s ear. Finally, Yin Zheng looked at Lu Tong with some doubt: “Will this work?”

The morning sun was dazzling, making Lu Tong’s eyes somewhat blurry.

She looked up, gazing at the distant void, murmuring softly.

“Who knows? Let’s try.”

Author’s note: This is alternate history—I’ve adjusted the autumn examination system slightly~