101 A Test

It was still night when Tang Yuqin began to queue for the checks leading into the capital's examination hall. Clouds streaked over the dark sky like the fine lines of a brushstroke and in front of him loomed the tall lofty arch he'd dreamt about stepping past into ever since he'd successfully topped the first round of the prefecture examinations and had officially been granted the title of 'xiucai' or 'scholar'. 

The other candidates around him were just as excited and the air was thrumming with an undercurrent of nervous energy but no one dared to converse under the stern watch of the administrators from the Department of Rites, whose arduous task was to keep the flow of the day smooth. His Majesty would be watching today, seated at the head of the hall and might be the only time that Tang Yuqin, as a mere commoner, would be able to be this close to the imperial presence.