On the first day of the first lunar month, Ji Ning got up very late, he didn't have any relatives in the capital, he didn't plan to visit relatives and friends to visit the New Year, nor did he plan to meet any dignitaries, let alone go to worship the Temple of Literature on the first day of the first month, so he simply got up late, waited for three o'clock in the day before getting up, had a simple breakfast, and started another day of reading.

Before noon, I casually flipped through the contents of a few books of the Four Books and Five Classics, and before I could pick up the books in the afternoon, Tang Xie and Han Yu came to visit and came to him to pay New Year's greetings.

As soon as he sat down, Tang Xie complained: "Yongning is too, the capital is also lively today, various literary meetings are held, and many students gather, you may be able to meet more friends in the past." ”

"It's better to be quiet." Ji Ning smiled and said, "It's actually quite good to read at home on the first day of the Lunar New Year. ”

"Yongning's idea is really weird, have you heard that there was a meeting two days ago? I heard that His Majesty summoned the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs in the palace hall, and the specific matters of this examination have been handed over to the Ministry of Rites to draw up at its discretion, and it seems that the candidate for the chief examiner is about to be announced, and now everyone is speculating who will come out to preside over the examination, and many people tend to be presided over by the two attendants of the Ministry of Rites, but it is also possible to find officials from the three provinces in the court, after all, the opinions of southern students on the appointment of northerners by the chief examiner are too high! Tang Xie said with some emotion.

Ji Ning said: "I haven't heard about the court meeting in Xia, but I heard about it for the first time from Ziqian. ”

Han Yu said beside him: "Yongning is not listening to things outside the window, now the southern scholars in the city are preparing to jointly write to the imperial court, the focus is to state the pros and cons of appointing the southern chief examiner or the northern chief examiner, Yongning is a Jiangnan scholar, should we also go to the joint name?" ”

Han Yu invited him warmly, but Ji Ning didn't take it very seriously, he didn't think it was a wise thing to write to the court, Ji Ning himself was a southerner, but he had no regional prejudices, and he thought that the world's scholars, whether they were southern scholars or northern scholars, as long as they were talented and learned, they could afford the reputation of the scholars in the court, as for the dispute between the north and the south, in fact, it was more that the students from the south and the north were fighting for a breath.

Those examiners in the south or north generally don't do much on the issues of the north and south papers.

"Still not, right?" Ji Ning didn't know the attitude of Han Yu and Tang Xie and the others, so he just said something tentatively.

Han Yu sighed: "Yongning doesn't want to co-name, that's not reluctant, in fact, this matter is a private discussion in some literary meetings, and it has not yet been approved, and the latest situation will be notified later!" ”

After that, the three of them said something about preparing for the exam, Han Yu and Tang Xie wanted to invite Ji Ning to meet a few Hanlin officials and go to pay New Year's greetings, but Ji Ning thought that the homes of those dignitaries and dignitaries must be overcrowded during the Spring Festival, so they thought that it was better to stay at home and study, so they refused. Tang Xie and Han Yu were not reluctant, and let Ji Ning stay, just saying that there would be an invitation to the banquet in a few days, so that Ji Ning must come over.

……

……

In the past few days at the beginning of the year, Ji Ning stayed in the mansion and never stepped out of the house, and he himself was a person who could endure loneliness.

Only Han Yu and others came a few times halfway, talking about the affairs of the cultural meeting, although Ji Ning received them, but did not promise to participate in any cultural meeting, he himself still wanted to rest more and prepare for the examination in early February.

It is said that it will not be completely drawn up until the second to the third day of the first month of February, but many people in the court seem to know that the two waiters of the Ministry of Rites are likely to be the chief examiners of the examination.

“…… In recent years, there are more and more people who tend to be inflammatory, thinking that the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Academy, although they are noble officials, but more often than not, they are only Qingshui Yamen, and now it is just a test, and the city is full of storms, and everyone runs to give gifts and ask for help, as if they can get the exam questions of this session by sending gifts to themselves, or they can be admitted by the examiner's final appreciation! ”

When Han Yu said this, his tone was also a little disdainful.

Ji Ning smiled: "Maybe the students bought it with peace of mind." ”

"That's right, someone else sent it, but I didn't send it, I always felt that I would be treated badly by the examiner, and the candidate for the examiner had not yet been formulated. When Han Yu said this, he revealed a problem, and Ji Ning heard that even Han Yu himself had gone to give gifts.

Ji Ning nodded, noncommittal.

Han Yu said again: "The proposed candidates of the chief examiner here should be given gifts, and the gifts of the house officials over there should also be given, and the candidates for the chief examiner are good to say, only these three respected academic officials, but the house officials are involved in many Hanlin, if every family sends them, will not let people lose their money?" ”

"What then?" Ji Ning asked.

"This can only be a few people to put together a gift, of course, every family is still not less, but the number of Hanlin in the court is as many as dozens of people, and the status of these people in the court is not very high, many of them are unknown, so they should be considered to contribute to entering the court in the future to contact colleagues!" Han Yu seemed to be very thoughtful and said.

Ji Ning shook his head helplessly, he had heard a lot of this kind of thinking logic, so he was not surprised.

Han Yu asked, "Yongning is not going to give gifts?" ”

"Still not." Ji Ning sighed, "I took the exam for the first time, and I didn't understand the process of the exam very well, the first time I was to accompany the prince to study, first to experience the environment, and then to be more formal when the second time I came." ”

Han Yutou nodded and said: "What Yongning said is not unreasonable, in fact, the examination will be examined, and the test is a momentum, only when the momentum comes up, will he be promoted to the Jinshi, and even ranked among the top high schools." Yongning, I won't bother you first, I still have two cultural meetings to participate here, there are too many people who have gone to participate in the cultural meetings with Ziqian and them in the past few days, I can't even remember who is who, Yongning has time to come over to participate in a few, and sometimes he has seen a lot! ”

Ji Ning smiled and agreed, and then sent Han Yu out of the door, where Han Yu had just left the door, and saw a small sedan chair parked at the door.

"Yo, is this someone visiting?" Han Yu had a deep smile on his face, what he meant was, Ji Ning, you have bad intentions, and you actually have a relationship with a certain woman.

The small sedan chair is clearly what the woman takes when she goes out on weekdays.

Ji Ning himself didn't know who it was, so he could only wait at the door, there was no reason for him to let a man go to greet the woman's sedan chair, after all, he was also a person of the Great Yong Dynasty and had a lofty status.