The three men then left, and when they got to the junction, they went their separate ways, and soon disappeared into the crowd. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Shen Zhu withdrew his gaze and sat down on the chair near the window.

As soon as he sat down, Shen Zhu heard footsteps coming towards him and hurriedly stood up.

The prince walked in, accompanied by five guards.

Shen Zhu hurriedly took a few steps forward to salute the prince.

I haven't seen him for more than half a year, and Shen Zhu feels that the prince seems to have lost a lot of weight, but his expression is more calm.

The prince motioned for him to get up, sit down on the throne, and then asked how he was doing.

Shen Zhu replied one by one.

After hearing this, the prince said: "This palace knows that you are now in a nervous review, so I won't delay your time much, there are some food and clothes here, you can take it back." ”

A guard on the side immediately handed over a basket of food and a cloth bag of clothes to Shen Zhu.

Shen Zhu suddenly felt that he had met his hometown and knew his hometown, and he was busy thanking the prince.

The prince waved his hand and asked, "How is the review?" ”

Shen Zhu replied cautiously: "As long as you play normally, you should be able to pass the exam." ”

"Okay, then you can review it in the next few days, and if you need Bengong's help, write to Bengong." The prince stood up as he spoke.

Obviously meant to go.

Shen Zhu hurriedly said, "Okay, thank you, Your Highness." ”

The prince also said: "Before the exam, you must eat and sleep well, and maintain your mental and physical strength. ”

"Yes."

"Then the palace is back, you should also go back and review it quickly."

"Yes, the villain sends off His Highness."

The prince smiled and strode downstairs.

Immediately, a shopkeeper came up and said, "Guest officer, someone has already settled the bill." ”

Shen Zhu looked at the dishes on the table.

Just now, he and the prince were just talking, and those dishes hadn't been touched yet.

Shen Zhu couldn't bear to waste them, so he packed them all back.

When Shen Zhu got into the carriage, he opened the food basket and saw that there were roast chicken, roast duck, Sichuan-style bacon, beef jerky, dried persimmons, raisins, walnuts, fried cashew nuts, fried chestnuts, fried peanuts, radish cakes, red date cakes, sesame cakes, osmanthus cakes, red bean cakes, glutinous rice cakes, sorghum wine and plum blossom wine.

Now I even saved the money to buy chicken legs for Li Yuan, Shen Zhu said with a smile.

Then Shen Zhu opened the cloth bag and saw that there were two cotton-filled robes and a few thick coats neatly placed inside.

Shen Zhu touched it, and the fabrics were excellent.

He and Li Yuan are preparing to make two sets of clothes before the exam, and this time is even saved.

Shen Zhu's heart was warm.

When he returned home, Shen Zhu immediately took out the food from the food basket and said to Li Yuan: "Come on, come on, eat while it's hot." ”

Shen Zhu opened the cloth bag again, handed a cotton robe and two thick coats to Li Yuandao: "We will also divide the clothes equally." ”

Li Yuantou didn't raise his head and said: "Thank you Brother Shen, it's just that it's useless, Brother Shen should keep it for himself." ”

"There are difficulties together, blessings are shared, don't be too polite." After that, Shen Zhu directly handed over a chicken leg.

Li Yuan still said with a calm face: "I'm not hungry, Brother Shen can eat by himself." ”

"Don't you usually like to eat chicken thighs?" Shen Zhu asked puzzled.

"I'm too full for dinner tonight, so I don't have an appetite to eat."

Shen Zhu was no longer reluctant, so he put the chicken leg into his mouth, and said while eating: "Although Your Highness grew up in brocade clothes and jade food, he is not exaggerated at all, everything is on the matter, and he focuses on the key points, I like to make friends with such people." ”

Seeing that Li Yuan didn't react at all, Shen Zhu sighed and sat back in his seat to read.

Before going to bed, Shen Zhu remembered something again, so he said to Li Yuan: "I also saw Guo Mao, the secretary of the military department, today. ”

Li Yuan hurriedly asked, "He came with the prince?" ”

"No, I saw him when I looked across the building from the window of our box." Shen Zhu explained. Seeing that Li Yuan looked a little nervous, he asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Li Yuan once heard his father talk about Guo Mao, the secretary of the military department, and his father said that Guo Mao was very deep in the city and cunning, so when he heard Shen Zhu talk about this person, he was inevitably a little wary in his heart.

"I've heard my cousin talk about this person, and I don't think this person is easy to mess with."

"For example?"

"Specifically, my cousin didn't say it, in short, if we can really be officials in the capital in the future, we must pay more attention to this person."

Shen Zhu let out an 'oh' and lay down to sleep with some disappointment.

The ninth day of the second month is here in a blink of an eye.

On this day, Shen Zhu and Li Yuan came to the Gongyuan (1) located in the east of the capital city early.

At this time, although the sky is not yet bright, the gate of the Gongyuan is already brightly lit and crowded.

Shen Zhu said to Li Yuan: "I just roughly counted, and there are more than 500 people in this square alone. ”

Not far away, there are many more.

It's really not easy to stand out from so many people.

Li Yuan was not nervous at this time, and said in a firm tone: "Don't think about anything at this time, just focus on taking the exam." ”

Shen Zhu nodded.

Before entering the examination room, the candidates were searched by the examiner one by one, and then walked to the designated private room with three candles issued by the examiner.

When you enter a private room, someone outside immediately locks the door.

The test papers have been placed in the room, and the candidates can start answering the questions.

Their first test was the Analects, Mencius, the University, and the Mean, collectively known as the Four Books. The second is a five-verse poem, and the third is a five-verse poem and a question.

Each session takes three days.

During these three exams, they ate and drank in their own private rooms, and they also stayed in them at night.

When the first exam was over, Shen Zhu felt that he had done well.

Li Yuan also feels good. Strictly speaking, Li Yuan played better than Shen Zhu in the first game.

However, they no longer dwell on this, but devote themselves wholeheartedly to the next exam.

After three sessions, many candidates fell ill directly in the single room.

Shen Zhu and Li Yuan became more and more energetic in the exam, until the teacher came to collect the papers, and they were still writing freely.

After leaving the private room, the two immediately went to the big tree at the entrance of the Gongyuan. That's where they agreed to meet.

Shen Zhu saw Li Yuan's expression and knew that Li Yuan had done well in the exam, and he was immediately happier than he had done well in the exam.

Li Yuan patted Shen Zhu's shoulder and asked with concern, "How did Brother Shen do in the exam?" ”

"Not bad, I played the best in the end." Shen Zhu said with a smile.

"Then congratulations to Brother Shen."

The two ordered food at a tavern less than three miles away from the Tribute Courtyard to celebrate.

Since the results of the examination would not be released until a few days later, they went straight back to their rented accommodation after lunch.

Ten days later, the results came out - Li Yuan won the first place in the examination, and Shen Zhu was second.

For a while, the whole capital was a sensation, and people inquired about their background and appearance.

When they learned that Li Yuan was a person with a scar on his face, he couldn't help but be a little disappointed, after all, the broken face was still unsightly, so people shifted their attention to Shen Zhu.

…………

Note (1): The Gongyuan is an ancient imperial examination room, which is very large, and can accept tens of thousands of candidates at the same time. Examinations are usually held here. There are the ruins of Jiangnan Gongyuan, Beijing Gongyuan, Dingzhou Gongyuan and North Sichuan Gongyuan in China. (To be continued.) )