In the days that followed, when Zhao Jing and his friends grew tired of studying, they would occasionally head out into the streets.
They might inquire more carefully about the Lord Prefect's literary tastes, or buy a few of the "exam prediction papers" being hawked on the street. At other times, they would simply listen to the other candidates' lengthy debates or discuss the most astounding essays from the various counties' selected works.
It was said that after these selected works were published, the Lord Prefect reviewed the caliber of this year's students from Qingshui County and decided to grant them one extra spot for a Scholar.
Meanwhile, in other counties, such as Guyuan County, the candidates' academic standards were generally low. The top-ranked student, in particular, had written such a terrible essay that the enraged Lord Prefect repeatedly called it "utter nonsense" and "convoluted gibberish."
