A peaceful life is always good, and the good is like a dream that teaches people not to want to wake up.

But when you wake up from a dream, your peaceful life will always return to busyness.

After the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Ning Xiu returned to the Huguang Hall and began to prepare for the exam.

After all, he hasn't married Ling'er yet, and it's not a matter of living in Qi's mansion all the time.

The examination is also divided into three sessions, which will be held on February 9, February 12 and February 15.

As the exam date approached, Ning Xiu couldn't do a large-scale review, so he quickly checked and filled in the gaps in the summary of the four books and scriptures.

This method proved to work. Many details that Ning Xiu usually overlooked were re-examined.

If these knowledge points are presented in the examination room, there must be problems.

In the end, Ning Xiu greeted the test with a full attitude.

The Jingshi is under the jurisdiction of the Shuntianfu, but the management of the examination room is not very well intervened, and at most some soaps are sent to fight.

The examination affairs are all undertaken by the Ministry of Rites, and the chief examiner of this examination is Zhang Siwei, who is known as the elder of Xiao Zhang Ge.

It's not that Zhang Juzheng doesn't want to be the examiner of the examination, but there are custom rules.

In the Ming generation, the chief examiner of the examination is usually served by the cabinet deputy assistant, and it is naturally not good for Zhang Juzheng to steal the limelight with Zhang Siwei.

Moreover, Zhang Juzheng has a bunch of major military affairs to deal with and decide, and he really can't get out of the way.

Ning Xiu is not unavoidable in this regard. The only regret is that Zhang Siwei will become his nominal teacher.

On the ninth day of the second lunar month, everyone gathered outside the Jingshi Gong Courtyard to wait for the exam.

At the beginning of February, it was very cold in Beijing, and when the wind blew, it hurt to blow like a blade.

Although this time was not the Xiaoice River period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was also very cold, far from being comparable to February (March of the solar calendar) in later generations.

Ning Xiu wore a thick fat jacket, and his whole body looked bloated.

Although he was dressed like a penguin, he couldn't help it. There are three exams, so you must do a good job of keeping warm, and you must not get sick, otherwise what will you do in the next two sessions?

Like the township examination, the first session of the general examination is also the examination of the four books and the scriptures, which is the most important of the three.

Ning Xiu and Liu Weining looked forward to it, hoping that the official of the Ministry of Rites who was in charge of the chores in the examination room could order the soldiers to open the door and enlarge the group to enter.

Standing on the street on such a cold day, sooner or later you will have to freeze out of the problem.

I don't know if their prayers played a role, the solemn expression of the sculpture-like official of the Ministry of Rites gently hooked the corner of his mouth and announced the entrance of the candidates.

Since the people who took the reference test were all masters and half-officials, the officers and soldiers in charge of the search did not dare to be too presumptuous, and their movements were much softer. Ning Xiu recalled the scene when he was ordered to take off his robe and wear a bun during the township test, and he was full of emotion.

Relatively speaking, the conditions of the Gongyuan in Jingshi are better than those in Huguang, after all, it is at the feet of the Son of Heaven. But that's only relative.

As a super-large premises capable of accommodating thousands of people taking exams at the same time, internal flaws are certainly inevitable.

Ning Xiu had already been mentally prepared for this, so his mood did not fluctuate much when he really entered the dormitory.

Exams test a mentality. As long as the mentality remains peaceful, it is not difficult to play or even exert strength at a super level.

Ning Xiu had adapted to the process mode of the imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty, and after entering the house, he took out the food box and pen and ink inkstone for preparation.

With the chanting of the little officials, the first test of the meeting officially began.

This test is the four books and the scriptures, according to the rule, the four books are tested first and then the scriptures.

The moment Ning Xiu saw the questions of the Four Books test, his mood fluctuated slightly, but he immediately regained his calm.

There was a topic he wasn't too familiar with, but it wasn't much.

In exams, there will always be blind spots in knowledge that cannot be reviewed.

In this case, you must not panic, but try to recall the knowledge points as much as possible and find the direction to solve the problem.

With Ning Xiu's current strength, even if an article is slightly flawed, it doesn't hurt.

The time for the exam is sufficient, Ning Xiu tries to give himself enough time to conceive, and wait until he has the draft before starting to write.

This has the advantage that the article is written in one go and there will be no jamming.

Of course, it is inevitable that there will be a drop in the level of proficiency in the examination.

It is not difficult to look at those Jinshi anthologies and find that the articles written by their township are often better than those written by the Hui Examination, and the articles that can be tried are better than those written by the Imperial Palace.

Probably because of the increasing pressure. It is said that if lifting weights is light, how many people can really do it?

After Ning Xiu finished the questions of the four books, he suddenly thought that Zhang Maoxiu was also taking this exam in the Gongyuan, I wonder if Zhang Sangongzi will shine in this big competition like in the original history?

Or is it because Ning Xiu came to Daming, and the little butterfly vibrated its wings and triggered a series of reactions?

Either way, it's not something you need to think about right now.

What Ning Xiu needs to do now is to do a good job of himself.

Soon he began to write and continued to write the articles of this scripture.

Ning Xiu entered a state of selflessness, and the article was naturally written extremely quickly.

Although he tried his best to press the rhythm, after actually finishing the article, he found that he was still a lot ahead of the rest of the candidates.

Ning Xiu was helpless, so he had to check it over and over again.

This kind of big exam must be low-key and low-key, and this kind of stupid thing is absolutely impossible to do in advance.

Fortunately, after half an hour, the official of the Ministry of Rites who was in charge of the examination announced that the time for the examination had arrived, and ordered a clerk to start collecting the papers.

Ning Xiu sat calmly in his position, waiting for the clerk to collect the scroll.

He was still satisfied with this exam, although it can't be called perfect, but he also played his best.

After handing in the papers, Ning Xiu began to leave the venue like the other candidates.

The next exam will be on February 12, which is three days later.

Before that, the temple will be closed and no one will be allowed to approach it.

After leaving the Tribute Courtyard, Ning Xiu returned directly to the Huguang Guild Hall.

After casually using some wine and food, Liu Weining was late.

Looking at Liu Weining's complexion, Ning Xiu knew that this guy did well in the exam.

After the first game of the township test, Liu Wei would rather have a pig's liver color and a depressed appearance.

If it weren't for Ning Xiu's repeated persuasion and encouragement, I am afraid that he would have given up the township test.

"Brother Liu seems to have done well in the exam."

Ning Xiu smiled faintly.

"Each other, each other."

Liu Weining spread his hands and said: "The questions of this exam are really square, and Xiao Zhang Ge is really seeking stability." ”

Ning Xiu bowed slightly in agreement.

The imperial examination is a highly subjective examination, and the examination questions have a strong tendency.

The examiner's preferences can greatly influence the exam questions.

The chief examiner of this examination is the second assistant Zhang Siwei. And this person's character is not to seek merit, but to seek no fault, and the topic is naturally very peaceful. This is exactly what Liu Weining wants to see.

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