Imperial Examination

Chapter 4:

As the sun rose, the sunlight shone slightly through Eun Won's room. Turning around, she snuggles closer into her bed duvet cover. Her stomach rumbled with hunger.

"Darling, get up, you're going to be late for the imperial examination!" says her mother from the kitchen, almost done preparing breakfast. 

Lifting her head, looking confused. "Imperial examination", she thought, and suddenly she sprang up, almost falling over her own feet. Oh! No I'm going to be late, she says, running to the kitchen. 

"Morning dear how have you slept?" asked her mother. "I have slept well mother "says Eun Won. "What time is the examination?" she asked. 

"It is nine o'clock," says her mother. Stuffing her mouth full of her mother's delicious food almost chocking. "Slow down dear" says her mother. 

She rushes to her room. Her mother hot on her trail. Her mother helped her get dressed up in a light green servant dress and her hair in a side braid. 

The air is thick with nervousness as all the servants gather around in the servants' court to be examined by the palace court officials.

Each servant was given an area where they would be examined. The first exam was to cook food. Kang Eun Won was cutting and preparing everything perfectly. She was preparing foxtail and broomcorn millet.

The palace court officials taste each dish. Eun Won was nervous when it came to her dish. 

"Servant Kang Eun Won you past the first exam. Your dish is extraordinary," says one of the officials. 

The second exam was to wash clothes. Eun Won started by washing the clothes by hand in warm water. Then she hung it up to let the wind blow it dry. 

"Servant Kang Eun Won you past the second exam" says an official. 

The third exam was to wash dishes. Eun Won decided to go with the hardest task. She uses sand and ash to scrub the dishes clean. The coarse texture of the sand and ash would help to remove tough stains and grime while also helping to sanitize the dishes.

Servant Kang Eun Won you past the third exam" says an official. 

The fourth exam is poetry. Eun Won decides to write down "Peach Blossoms", a sign of beauty and love. Though life gets hard, peach blossoms live long."

Servant Kang Eun Won you past the fourth exam." Congratulations, you're now an Emperor's servant. 

Eun Won was excite because she was going to see Yu-Jun again and she was nervous because she didn't know how to explain to him about Kang Mi-Ri scheme.

Out of nowhere "You actually passed all the tests" says Kang Mi-Ri in a sarcastic voice and a smile. Kang Eun Won was vividly shocked by her appearance and almost let out a loud yell. 

 "What do you want, Kang Mi-Ri?", asked Eun Won. "Did you cheat?" "You couldn't possibly have passed all the exams." asked Kang Mi-Ri in shock. She couldn't believe it. 

No, why would I do it?" "I'm not like you who take someone else's identity and get what she wants", says Kan Eun Won and walked away. She just wanted to go home. 

She walks into her kitchen where her mother is preparing dinner. She took a seat at the table waiting to eat. 

"How was the examination, my dear? " "Did you pass?" asked her mother in a worried tone. "Yes, I passed the imperial examination." "I'm going to be a personal servant for Emperor Yu-Jun" she replied as her mother put down the food on the small table. 

"Why are you so unhappy? " Did something happen?" asked her mother." No, nothing happened, I'm just tired" says Eun Won. She couldn't tell her mother about Kang Mi-Ri scheme. She just couldn't tell. After dinner, she helped her mother clean up and went straight to her room, closing her door. Sitting on her bed, she couldn't stop thinking about what had happened so far. 

First she was happy when she met Yu-Jun. She couldn't believe that she had met such a extraordinary person. He seemed to understand her completely. She felt that he was exactly the person she was looking for. Everything about him excited her, and she wanted to learn more about him. She wanted to get to know him. Secondly, she was excited about seeing him again. She was nervous because she didn't want him to be angry at her if he found out about Kang Mi-Ri scheme. She was sad because she couldn't believe that she had fallen for Kang Mi-Ri's trap. She was angry because she let herself down. She was disappointed because she thought that he would recognize her and see through Kang Mi-Ri scheme. How could she let this happen? These thoughts keep repeating over and over in her mind. 

On the other hand, Kang Eun Won's mother knew something was wrong with her daughter. She could feel it in her gut. Something tells her that her daughter is overwhelmed by fear, anxiety and nervousness. She didn't want to push her daughter to tell her. 

In Kang Eun Won's room, she lay under her duvet covers lying in a daze looking at the moon. Turning around every few minutes. She just couldn't fall asleep. Finally, as morning comes near, she falls asleep. 

Early in the morning, Eun Won decided to take a walk around the servants' courtyard. She plucked a few flowers for her house so that it could have a bit more colour, especially when she is not going to be at home much. 

Two flowerbush later, she started walking back home. Walking inside, she saw her mother making food for the emperor. She decided to help her mother. Cutting, washing and decorating the dish were finally done. 

"When are you going to the palace?" asked her mother. "I'm going after I get dressed and eat something," says Eun Won. "Okay then why don't you take this to the emperor, then." says her mother. 

Arrivaing at the palace, she took the food to the Emperor's personal room.