Chapter 188: Chapter 176: Shielding the Exam Paper from the Rain
When the Vice Chief Examiner discovered Song Wei, he was already completely unconscious.
Every year there are examinees who faint for various reasons, so the examination hall is specially equipped with emergency doctors.
The Vice Chief Examiner immediately had Song Wei taken away.
Passing by Xie Zheng’s room, Xie Zheng felt a pang in his heart.
Someone who had smoothly passed the provincial exam last time, now facing such difficulties in the metropolitan exam, he wanted to ask a question but speech is forbidden inside the examination hall, so he could only watch helplessly as Song Wei was taken out.
Lying in the emergency room outside the examination hall, Song Wei had a dream. He dreamt that Wanwan gave him a big chubby baby boy. The little one toddled with short legs, spreading his chubby arms and ran to him, sweetly calling, "Papa, hug."
...
When Song Wei woke up, it was just 5 a.m., already four hours since the examination began at midnight.
The elderly doctor watching over him saw him awaken and quickly asked if he was dizzy or felt uncomfortable anywhere else.
Song Wei glanced around, understood that he was sent out because he fainted, he looked at the elderly doctor and asked, "What hour is it?"
The severe fever made his originally rich and gentle voice become dry and hoarse.
The elderly doctor replied, "It’s exactly 5 a.m."
Song Wei struggled to get off the bed.
The elderly doctor quickly advised, "You were previously delirious due to the fever. Now it’s important to take care of your health, you can’t push yourself to go back to the examination hall, or you won’t be able to bear it."
Song Wei put on his shoes and stood up, a wave of dizziness almost made him lose balance.
The elderly doctor had seen more than one examinee insist on returning to the examination despite being seriously ill. Seeing Song Wei’s determination, he knew he couldn’t stop him, so he went outside to fetch the herbal medicine.
"You need to drink this, otherwise you might faint again in less than an hour."
Song Wei took the medicine bowl, thanked him, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one go. Then he set the bowl down, and with unsteady steps headed towards the examination hall.
The delay after waking up, and another delay during the body search before entering, gradually shortened the remaining examination time.
Song Wei returned to his own examination cell, looked at the exam questions, then began grinding ink and picked up his brush to answer.
His fever hadn’t subsided, his mind still a bit muddled, when he thought too much, he felt dizzy.
The content on the answer sheet, he was conscious that it wasn’t up to his usual standard, but there was nothing he could do. He could only try to barely keep from fainting, achieving normal performance was out of the question, let alone extraordinary performance.
...
After noon, drizzle with a chill began falling from the sky.
It seemed that the heavens thought Song Wei’s luck wasn’t bad enough, so among the thousands of examination cells in the Capital City Examination Hall, only his leaked rain.
The civil service examination has a clear rule: the examination papers cannot be wetted by rain or damaged, otherwise, they are directly considered eliminated during collection.
Past examinees have encountered such situations, because of old and decaying examination cells that leaked rain. To avoid elimination, they used their bodies to shield the paper from rain.
Song Wei looked up at the top of the examination cell, the leak was right above the exam paper.
If he didn’t shield it, the paper would be ruined, if he used his body, given his current condition, he might pass out in less than half an hour.
Clenching the brush in his hand, Song Wei took a deep breath to calm his emotions and ultimately chose to shield the paper with his body.
March in the Capital, the weather hasn’t turned warm yet, the soft rain carried intense chill, falling on someone with a high fever, each raindrop pierced like a needle.
At first, Song Wei could barely think, but as the rain intensified, forget about answering, he couldn’t even pick up the brush, the little rationality in his mind turned into a muddle, and his eyelids were so heavy he could barely keep them open.
There was no choice, he could only fall asleep on the exam paper, letting his back soak with rain.
When he woke up again, the rain had stopped, night had fallen outside, and other examinees had dismantled their wooden boards to lie down as beds.
As soon as dawn broke, the papers had to be submitted and the examination hall exited, Song Wei’s answer sheet had almost no content written on it.
He rubbed his forehead, forcing himself to gather some spirit, reconstructed his thoughts on the answers, picked up the brush, and continued writing.
The lighting was poor after nightfall, the wind flickering the lamp outside, making him uncomfortable.
In a state of confusion, Song Wei finally managed to submit an intact answer sheet at daybreak.
Barely exiting the examination hall, the sudden release after maintaining composure caused his severe illness to make him faint once again.
...
As soon as Xie Zheng left the examination hall, the first thing he did was search for Song Wei.
Upon hearing someone had fainted outside the examination hall, he rushed over quickly. Seeing it was indeed Song Wei, he felt indescribably upset, ignoring the inquire from other examinees’ concerns, he enlisted help to hoist Song Wei onto his back and hurried home.
Song Fang knew something would surely happen with her third brother taking the exam while sick, so she had already invited Doctor Li to the courtyard to wait.
Seeing Xie Zheng carrying the unconscious Song Wei back, Song Fang’s eyes flushed with anxiety, and she immediately asked Doctor Li to examine him.
Doctor Li took Song Wei’s pulse and was shocked, "Did he get caught in the rain again?"
Before entering the examination hall it wasn’t this serious, and within three days, it’s already reached a life-threatening point. If he doesn’t take medicine and acupuncture, he might not survive.
Song Fang looked anxiously at Xie Zheng.
Xie Zheng pressed his lips together and said, "It did rain on the ninth day, but whether Third Cousin got caught in it, I’m not sure."
Song Fang shifted her gaze back to Doctor Li, "Sir, I beg you to save my third brother."
Doctor Li withdrew his hand from Song Wei’s wrist and nodded, "I will do my best."
There are still two exams to go, and with Song Wei’s temperament, he would rather die in the examination hall than miss them. So, Song Fang reluctantly agreed to Doctor Li’s strong acupuncture and potent medicine.
Song Wei woke up during the night, but his spirits weren’t fully recovered.
Yuanbao had been sitting by the bedside all along, and seeing his father open his eyes, his little face immediately lit up with joy, "Dad, are you hungry or thirsty? I’ll ask Auntie to get you something to eat."
Song Wei, holding his heavy head, asked him, "What time is it?"
Seeing that his father was so ill and the first thing he thought about upon waking was the exam, Yuanbao’s nose turned sour, and he pursed his little mouth, "Dad, just rest well. If you can’t take the exam, so be it. You can always try again in three years."
Song Wei weakly lowered his eyelids.
With his fate, not just three years, but even thirty years would be the same.
He had managed to get through the first session; there’s no reason to miss the second and third sessions.
No matter how unlucky things get later, it won’t be as bad as enduring a high fever in the rain while protecting the exam papers and answering questions in the first session.
Yuanbao, unable to persuade him, poured a cup of warm water for him and then went out to ask Auntie to cook some porridge for his dad.
Xie Zheng hadn’t slept yet, and hearing that Song Wei was awake, he quickly came to see him.
Having been classmates for so many years, Xie Zheng knew Song Wei’s character better than anyone.
Seated by Song Wei’s bedside, Xie Zheng didn’t say anything to stop him from pushing himself too hard, only gently said, "Tomorrow you have to enter the exam again. You need to rest well tonight. Doctor Li is still here, staying in the side room. If you feel unwell, just say so, and he’ll come to check your pulse."
Aside from his poor complexion, Song Wei’s expression did not show any signs of defeat, especially his eyes, which shone astonishingly under the candlelight.
This person is naturally unlucky, yet naturally possesses a tenacious spirit that grows stronger with each setback.
Xie Zheng looked at him, recalling the scene where Song Wei fainted in front of the Imperial Examination Hall during the day.
This time, more than a dozen candidates fainted, but none as seriously as him, and no one had his determination and perseverance.
The determination in Song Wei to fight against fate would make anyone feel ashamed.
——
In Ningzhou.
Ever since Song Wei left for Beijing, Wen Wan’s mood had become increasingly depressed. Even when Second Lang’s wife and the two cousins from the Xie family occasionally came to accompany her, she could not cheer up.
Their laughter and playfulness only highlighted her loneliness and anxiety.
On the eighth day of March, her husband entered the examination hall.
Early in the morning, Wen Wan felt a tightness in her chest, as if something was stuck inside, preventing it from coming out, which made her a bit irritable. While drinking water, she accidentally knocked over a teacup and shattered it on the ground. She didn’t feel like bending down to pick it up, as if she was sulking with someone.
Granny Song heard the noise and came to knock on the door.
Wen Wan had to get up to open it.
Seeing her pale face and the broken teacup on the floor, Granny Song asked her, "Third Lang’s wife, what’s wrong with you?"
With only a month left until the due date, now that she was carrying such a big belly, even the slightest sign of something wrong could cause great anxiety for her mother-in-law.
Wen Wan shook her head. It wasn’t that she felt unwell, but she was acutely aware that something must have happened to her husband as the exam approached, yet because they were so far apart, she couldn’t sense it.
The uncertainty of waiting wears on one’s patience the most. If not for considering the child in her belly, Wen Wan would have wanted to head to the Capital right away to help her husband.
Granny Song bent down to clean up the fragments, and as she stood up, she asked, "Did you see something happen to Third Lang?"
Something must have happened to her husband, Wen Wan knew well, but at such a time, it was enough for her to worry alone; there was no need to make her mother-in-law anxious and worried as well.
With this in mind, she shook her head, not letting her unease show on her face.
Granny Song couldn’t get anything out of her, and after throwing out the fragments, she returned to talk to her, "Not long until you give birth now. The weather is warm, and the village roads are wide. You should go out, take a walk, and get some fresh air. Don’t keep yourself cooped up."
Wen Wan nodded in agreement, and after lunch, she supported her waist and went out for a walk on the village road.
Ningzhou’s climate is distinctly seasonal, and the fields and roadsides are currently lush green. The gentle breeze and warm sunlight indeed helped relax her long-held anxiety.