Chapter 59: The Conduct and Concealment of a Sage

When it was Fan Jin's turn, he walked straight forward and stood on the mat, not needing any urging from the guards, and immediately began to undress with a rustling sound.

Two guards stepped forward and straightened his body, one in front and one behind.

The guard in the front followed the standard procedure, starting from his hair and inspecting thoroughly. As his gaze instinctively drifted downward, his expression froze, and he gasped inwardly in shock—this old gentleman was remarkably well-endowed!

A trace of envy flashed in his eyes, but bound by the strict discipline of the search, he kept his face completely silent.

Fan Jin, however, took this in stride. A gentleman is open and honest; coming and going stark naked, a man has nothing to fear in life.

"Spread them!"

It was the command from the guard behind him that nearly caused Fan Jin's facial composure to collapse. He muttered to himself, wondering which senior scholar had tried to smuggle crib notes through the rear gate, causing the inspecting officials and guards to take such extreme precautions...

Hearing this, Fan Jin's face turned alternately pale and flushed. He tried his best to persuade himself, reasoning that scholars should not be constrained by minor details and should always focus on the greater principles.

The guard squatted down with a solemn expression, and just as he was about to check, a surge of air suddenly rose from Fan Jin's abdomen, followed instantly by a loud, echoing fart.

Caught completely off guard, the guard was sprayed right in the face, dark lines instantly crisscrossing his forehead. "You fellow..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly jerked his head back, clutched his neck, and began dry heaving to the side.

Fan Jin turned his head and offered an apologetic, mischievous smile. "Apologies, apologies, I had a few too many chive-filled dumplings for breakfast..."

As he spoke, he even made a move to step forward and support the man with both hands.

Terrified, the guard stumbled backward in a flurry of clumsy steps.

"Alright, get inside already!" Seeing his colleague in such a pathetic state, the front guard felt a loss of face as well and snapped irritably.

Damn it all! In all the times he had conducted random searches, when had they ever failed to bring those high-and-mighty provincial graduates to heel? Who would have thought he would be ambushed today!

Fan Jin remained unconcerned. He rustled as he dressed and smoothed his attire, while the other graduates burst into uproarious laughter, thoroughly enjoying seeing these usually haughty guards get taken down a peg.

With this lesson learned, the guards restrained themselves significantly during the subsequent searches. They merely followed the standard protocol and dared not overly humiliate the graduate lords anymore.

After all, a loud fart was one thing; if any graduate lord couldn't hold it and ended up suffering from severe diarrhea, that sight would be too horrific to even imagine!

Having successfully passed the search and entered the tribute examination hall, Fan Jin followed his examination ticket and smoothly located his designated seat.

Since the examination had not yet begun, Fan Jin took the opportunity to survey his surroundings.

Fortunately, his luck held out, and he was not assigned to the infamous and dreaded "stinky cell."

He noticed that the examination cubicles for the metropolitan examination were largely identical to those of the provincial examination, with the only notable difference being that a heated brick bed—a *kang*—was built into each cubicle.

This *kang* served simultaneously as a seat for writing the examination papers and as a bed for the candidates to rest on during the multi-day examination period.

Fan Jin lay down on it to test it out and found it considerably more comfortable than the cubicles he had stayed in during the Guangdong provincial examination.

Additionally, a long wooden board was provided, which candidates could use as a desk or a dining table.

Beside the edge of the *kang*, a brazier of charcoal fire was provided, along with several candles.

The guard at the entrance had reminded them earlier that if the charcoal and candles ran out, more could be requested, which completely relieved the candidates of any lingering worries.

Fan Jin retrieved some pastries and dry rations from his examination basket, swallowed them down hastily, and before long, heard the rhythmic striking of the cloud-plate. Immediately afterward, the massive gates of the tribute examination hall slammed shut with a resounding rumble.

This meant that for the entire three-day duration of the metropolitan examination, no one would be allowed to enter or leave the hall until the examination concluded.

Fan Jin hurriedly cleared away his dining board, sat upright with great dignity, and waited for the official distribution of the examination papers.

During this interval, the panel of examiners, led by Xu Jie, began patrolling the examination grounds, surrounded by a retinue of officials.

This was standard procedure: first, to deter cheating and enforce strict examination discipline; second, to supervise the invigilation staff.

Every three years, the metropolitan examination concerned the imperial court's selection and employment of talent, and not the slightest carelessness could be tolerated.

When Xu Jie and his entourage arrived in front of Fan Jin's cubicle, the sight that greeted them was an old gentleman with greyish-white hair resembling steel needles, a glowing ruddy complexion, and an exceptionally vigorous spirit.

An image instantly flashed through Xu Jie's mind of Fan Jin dressed in Daoist robes, possessing a celestial air, and bewitching the sovereign. Feeling a surge of displeasure, Xu Jie instinctively furrowed his brows.

In contrast, Yan Maoqing, who was accompanying Xu Jie on his left, stroked his sparse beard with a slight smile, looked toward Fan Jin, and nodded almost imperceptibly. As he turned away, he even covertly winked at Fan Jin behind the backs of the others.

For a moment, Fan Jin's mind drifted into a slight daze, secretly wondering whether this was the result of a deal struck between Zhou Jin and the Yan faction, or if Yan Shifan was simply acting on his own accord?

Without giving him time to dwell on it further, the time for distributing the papers arrived.

Unlike the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination provided each candidate with their own complete set of question papers, eliminating the need for candidates to copy the questions out by hand.

However, the content of the examination remained largely the same. The first session tested the Four Books and Five Classics, and it was also the heaviest and most crucial part of the metropolitan examination.

Fan Jin took a deep breath, unrolled the examination paper, and the questions printed upon it instantly came into view.

The first question was an optional choice. Candidates could select either the passage from the *Analects* where "The Master said of Yan Yuan, 'Use him, and he acts; discard him, and he conceals himself. Only you and I have this.'" or the passage from *Mencius* stating, "Of all the parts of a man's body, there is none more excellent than the pupil of the eye. The pupil cannot hide a man's wickedness. If within the breast all be correct, the pupil is bright. If within the breast all be not correct, the pupil is dim. Listen to his words and look at the pupil of his eye; how can a man conceal his character?"

After pondering for a moment, Fan Jin ultimately chose the former. The general meaning was that when it came to the question of when to step forward and display one's talents and when to remain in deep obscurity, the Saintly Master indicated that he would only slightly reveal his true inner thoughts when he encountered the right person.

Having clarified the beginning and end, Fan Jin began to grind his ink and spread out his paper, attempting to draft an eight-legged essay on the scratch paper.

"The appropriateness of the sage's action and retirement is subtly revealed only when he waits for a person of ability."

This was the very first sentence of Fan Jin's opening, and it also served as the thematic penetration of this eight-legged essay.

Even Fan Jin himself was extremely satisfied with this introductory sentence; in a mere fifteen characters, the core theme of the essay was made entirely clear at a glance.

With the theme established, the next step was the continuation: "Now, the action and retirement of the sage are truly difficult to emulate. Since the days of Yanzi, how few were there with whom he began to speak of these things."

After finishing the continuation section, Fan Jin paused briefly, rested his hands behind his head, and fell into deep contemplation, trying to evoke the "brain overload effect" that came attached after Qi and fortune entered his body.

The very first eight-legged essay of the opening session was particularly important, as it directly determined the success or failure of this metropolitan examination. Naturally, he had to strive for perfection.

After all, this metropolitan examination had gathered examination graduates from the Northern and Southern Metropolitan Areas and thirteen provinces across the Great Ming Empire. To stand out in the metropolitan examination and achieve a high ranking, merely being steady and solid was certainly not enough; one also had to possess a touch of originality.

After a moment of thought, Fan Jin suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them. He immediately picked up his brush, dipped it into the ink, and continued writing:

"Therefore, it is specially said: A lifetime of experiences amounts to merely one or two paths left for people to divide and take, yet those who seek to remain unexhausted amidst them are frequently rare indeed.

Waiting until there is something one can truly be confident in, yet perhaps achieving it alone without anyone to share it with, or dwelling in solitude without anyone to speak to..."