May. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

In Kyoto in May, summer is now complete, and huge stoves are hanging high in the sky, as if they have taken stimulants, and they are constantly emitting light and heat.

Pedestrians on the street, holding a paper fan in their hands, kept inciting, but helplessly, only hot air appeared when the fan moved, and there was no coolness at all.

looked enviously at the woman with a flower umbrella on the side of the road, and at this time, in this era of male superiority and inferiority, it was the first time that a man had the idea of envying a woman.

As soon as noon passed, the weather was the hottest time of the day, and even the beggars who lived by begging did not appear on the side of the road, and did not know where to take refuge in the heat.

But even in this weather, there are still many pedestrians in a hurry on the market.

The imperial examination is coming, and now in mid-May, the imperial examination, which is important to all candidates in the world, has finally arrived at a slow pace.

And because there are too many candidates, the Ministry of Rites also began to prepare for the imperial examination in advance.

Verifying the identity of the examinee and issuing the examinee with something similar to the admission ticket at the same time, these two simple jobs, the officials of the Ministry of Rites were actually busy from morning to night, from early May to mid-May.

The candidates who participated in the Kyoto imperial examination all day have almost arrived, and every morning, as soon as the sky is bright, a large number of candidates are already crowded in front of the Ministry of Rites.

The candidates consciously lined up, although they also wanted to complete the preparation work as soon as possible and then go back to review as soon as possible, but as for what to cut the queue, they still couldn't do it.

Consciously waiting in line, quietly waiting in place, and then waiting for the ceremony to open.

Zhang Hua is also in the team now, and he is in front of the team at this time, although it is very difficult for Zhang Hua to get up early.

However, thanks to Luliu's dedication to this matter, and he woke up before dawn today, Zhang Hua is now at the front of the line.

Today's Zhang Hua looks sleepy, yawning constantly. Obviously, this is a sign of not waking up.

At this time, after turning around and seeing that the team was getting bigger and bigger, like a long snake, Zhang Hua was shocked in his heart.

This year, there are more candidates than before, this is something that Zhang Hua has already known, in order not to wait in line and delay too long, Zhang Hua did not come to the Ministry of Rites until today.

However, now that fifteen days have passed, and there is still no end in sight to the team behind, Zhang Hua realized that he was still wrong.

In the team, most of them are similar in age, but there are also some older candidates, and even Zhang Hua saw a candidate in his forties.

Zhang Hua couldn't help frowning, although he knew the importance of the imperial examination in the hearts of scholars, but when he saw a middle-aged, even forty-year-old person who was not confused, he couldn't help but think about what the imperial examination meant in their hearts.

Is it the path of glorifying the ancestors, or the way to prove the value of one's existence?

For the sake of the imperial examination, even if he went bankrupt and crossed the single-plank bridge that 10,000 people could cross again, he was unwilling to bend down and create with his own hands. The wealth that can be seen and touched.

Indeed, as long as it is lifted, then from then on it will be a carp leaping into the dragon gate and entering another stage of life, which is more brilliant and dazzling.

But helplessly, this road is too difficult, not only is it as simple as the body cantilever cone and stabbing the strands, but more torture is in the heart.

The pressure in my heart cannot be seen or touched, but it is real, and the pressure must accumulate to a certain extent, and it will cause the person to collapse and become a different look. It can even make people do some radical behavior

So far, Zhang Hua has not heard a person, similar to the crazy person who went crazy in the reading exam, so I have to admire the strength of their hearts, and at the same time, I can't help but sigh that the ancient feudal and decadent concepts will poison them too deeply.

At this time, the door of the Ministry of Rites opened widely, and an official came out, and after the official came out and saw the situation, he was already numb, because he had been like this for the past half a month.

And after seeing the exhaustion on the face of the first candidate, the official also had a trace of nostalgia and sympathy on his face, because after all, he was also like this at the beginning.

"Verify the identity of the candidate, turn left into the first room after entering the door, enter ten people at a time, and after all ten people have withdrawn, the second person can enter.

At the same time, remember that you are not allowed to make any noise after entering, and the Ministry of Rites is one of the six departments, and the daily work is busy, so you must not disturb the work of other officials.

Except for the official who verifies the examinee to ask, otherwise you are not allowed to speak, and after verifying the identity of the examinee, you will receive the voucher document for the entrance of the imperial examination.

On the document, there is information about the examination room for you to participate in the June imperial examination, the time of your seat, etc. Remember! This voucher must not be lost, once lost, the Ministry of Rites will send you a second one!

Every year, it is not uncommon for candidates to be lost, I hope you can be cautious, and at the same time, I hope you can be responsible for your hard work for many years! ”

"Do you understand?" After the official finished speaking, he asked with a straight face, and the candidates who had been queuing up also immediately saluted and said, "The kid understands." ”

"Okay, let's go inside."

As he spoke, the official stepped aside, and the top ten candidates in front also quietly entered, while the eleventh candidate moved forward at this time, and the people behind also moved forward in this way.

However, because the queue is too long, there is no change in the number of queues now.

Soon after, about the time of a pillar of incense, the first ten candidates came out one by one, their faces were nervous, and they covered their chests with their right hands.

In the chest, in the mezzanine of the clothes, there is a certificate issued by the Ministry of Etiquette to enter the examination room, looking at them nervously, as if the voucher, the thin paper is like their own life, and they can't tolerate the slightest sloppiness.

Zhang Hua was still in the line, and after half an hour, he finally entered the Ministry of Rites.

Following the moving team, Zhang Hua silently bowed his head and glanced at the occasional officials who appeared in it, Zhang Hua couldn't help but fantasize, will he become one of them in the future?

Then the people in front of him began to leave one by one, and then Zhang Hua came to the official who verified his identity, and he also took out something from his chest.

The same document stamped with the official seal of the Shicheng government to prove his identity is not only an official seal, but also a painted portrait on it.

I have to say that Nanqing's imperial examination system is indeed perfect, in order to prevent others from taking the exam on their behalf, not only did they even get the admission ticket, but they also drew their avatars on it.

Zhang Hua quietly handed it to the official, and the official took it and looked at it carefully, and then opened the text on the side, and after finding the rubbing with the official seal of Shicheng on it, he also compared it carefully at the moment.

Soon, the official finished checking and confirmed that the official seal of the Shicheng government on the document was authentic, and then according to the portrait and Zhang Hua himself, he nodded, and the official said that there was no problem.

But this is not over, and then he turned to another text, on which it was recorded that the list of officials who passed the township examination in various places was crossed one by one, and now he is also looking for the name of the painting.

Cumbersome and serious, Zhang Hua didn't know how to describe the current situation, and at this time, he also had the mood when he was admitted to the college entrance examination.

A little anxious, but after seeing the official finally nod and indicate that he could receive a voucher to enter the examination room, Zhang Hua sighed silently.

But at this time, the accident happened again.

"Wait, you're Shicheng Zhanghua?" The official, who seemed to think of something, looked at Zhang Hua curiously at this time, Zhang Hua was stunned, he didn't know why the official asked such a question.

"The kid is Shicheng Zhanghua."

Zhang Hua said respectfully, after the official heard this, he glanced at the text record he had just read, and after confirming it repeatedly, he said: "After receiving the examination room voucher, don't leave, turn right and walk backwards, until you go to the backyard." ”

"Dare to ask my lord, what are you letting the kid backyard for?" Zhang Hua asked curiously, there was no impatient expression on the official's face, and he said softly: "Don't ask so much, just go and know." ”

Zhang Hua was curious, but because of his identity, he didn't ask much, bent down and saluted, and after receiving the voucher from another official, he left here, did not walk out of the gate of the Ministry of Rites, and walked alone like the backyard of the official's mouth.

The Ministry of Rites is very large, the office is almost the size of a football field, and the bungalows and three-story buildings are also intricate.

Zhang Hua according to the official's opening, he turned right and walked backwards, during which he met a lot of other officials passing by, Zhang Hua saluted one by one, and after seeing them without any questions, in their curious eyes, Zhang Hua came to the backyard of the Ministry of Rites.

The backyard of the Ministry of Rites is a place similar to a garden square, in which flowers are blooming, pavilions, and rockeries are also readily available.

The scenery is very beautiful, and it can be seen that a lot of thought has been put into this place, and as for its usefulness, Zhang Hua also guessed in his heart that this is a place for officials of the Ministry of Rites to rest and relax.

At the moment, there is no one in the garden, and the sparrows that appear in it from time to time are chirping non-stop, which is a little annoying, but it has a different kind of beautiful feeling.

After Zhang Hua saw that there was no one, he guessed that the person who wanted to see him had not yet arrived, and when he came to a gazebo, Zhang Hua sat down and stayed bored.

The sun slowly rose, and the heat in the air slowly emerged, and it was also a pleasure to be alone here.

But because someone wanted to see him, and he didn't show up for a long time, this made Zhang Hua feel a little irritable.

For a whole hour, Zhang Hua spent time guessing, and at this moment, there seemed to be a figure at the entrance of the garden, Zhang Hua immediately became alert and quickly stood up.

But after seeing a man wearing a hat and holding a large pair of scissors in his right hand, similar to a flower farmer, Zhang Hua couldn't help frowning......