”。 Mouth, mouth, mouth. Mouth. Mouth. Mouth...... Yizhou heard Brother Yuan Zhu mention the teacher, Ru Mo hid his face and cried: "I was born by nature, the earth carries me, and the king governs me." Raise me, teach me. I should have been sick and brainy, in order to repay the accident, but this evil seed of mine violated the law of the imperial court, betrayed my ancestors, and was sorry for the teacher who had great kindness, and I was disgusted with it! Heinous! What face do I have to say goodbye to the teacher? "Hey, how can such a smart person get into the horns?" Brother Yuan Yu sighed and actually laughed.

Ru Moxin said, "I'm so miserable. You are still laughing," he held back his tears, and said to his Yuan Zhu brother with a look of indignation: "What is there to be happy about." Let's hear it. ”

"That's a lot to say." Brother Yuan Zhu smiled: "It's still about you, do you want to listen to it?" ”

"What good news can I have?" Ru Mo said quietly: "I'm so miserable, you better make fun of others."

"What do you mean to have fun with you? Brother Yuan Zhu patted him on the back and said, "Ru Mo, do you know? The teacher has already helped you correct your name. No one can question you on character anymore."

"What? Ru Mo glared at him and said, "Who told you that?" ”

"Who else is told?" Brother Yuan Zhu said: "It was the day before yesterday when the teacher feasted everyone

"Nonsense, I was there that day." Ru Mo wilted and said.

Brother Yuan Zhu pulled him up and said, "You said that you were unwell, so you quit halfway, but you didn't see what happened later." He said with a smile: "When the banquet was about to end, the teacher toasted to all of us, saying that everything you did was from his instructions, and it was the teacher who asked you to get close to that Tang Song." In order to find out if there is really someone in the joint,"

"Really?" Ru Mo said in disbelief: "Why haven't I heard any wind?" ”

"You huddle in your room all day without eating or drinking, you can't see anyone, and you can't hear even the guns outside." Brother Yuan Zhu said with a smile.

"Then why didn't you tell me? Thou mer still did not believe.

"It's the teacher who won't let you tell you" Brother Yuan Zhu smiled: "The teacher said that you, if you are hit by a little blow, you will be depressed, how can this be successful, so don't let me tell you, let you reflect on yourself first." ”

"So," Ru Mo said excitedly, "So, is it true?" ”

"When did I lie to you, and when did the teacher lie to you?" Brother Yuan Zhu smiled.

"Hey," Ru Mo suddenly regained his life, jumped up from the bed and said, "Thank you, Brother Yuanzhu." With that, he put on his shoes and ran out.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Brother Yuan Yu asked in the back.

"Go to the teacher's house and report to his old man," Ru Mo said, "I really understand that poem!" ”

"Don't be in a hurry," Brother Yuan Zhu grabbed his arm and said, "Let's go and see the list first." ”

"If you don't read it, if you don't read it, it doesn't matter if you are in it or not" Ru Mo said with a relieved smile: "This time, the harvest is already more than that of the Zhongjin Shi" said with a smile: "Moreover, I didn't use that joint word, and the article was not written well, how can I catch up with it?" ”

"Alas" Brother Yuan Zhu sighed and said: "Yes, you can't compete with real skills, it's really boring." ”

The two of them were talking in the house, when they suddenly heard a lot of people shouting in the courtyard outside, "Come on! Come on! Then there was the crackling sound of firecrackers.

Hearing this voice, Brother Yuanzhu, who had always behaved very calmly, also became nervous all of a sudden, and wanted to go out to see but didn't dare, and his forehead was sweaty.

But Ru Mo had already seen it and said, "Let's go." Let's go out and see the excitement. With that, he opened the door and went out.

"Sure enough, it's selling dried shrimp on the back, no one should laugh at anyone." Brother Yuan Zhu smiled self-deprecatingly, and also walked in.

By the time he went out, the courtyard was already full of people. I couldn't plug in at all, so I had to stand on the steps with Ru Mo and watch. I saw a fellow villager standing in the courtyard with a slight dizziness, and the scribe who was reporting the news was wearing red and hanging colors, and the people on the side naturally brought out a plate of silver to reward. Suzhou is rich in the world, and the scribes like to come to them to report the good news.

After a while, another newspaper came over with gongs and drums, and as soon as he entered the courtyard, he shouted: "Good news Su Qi Mansion Taicang Prefecture Master Qian Zhou." The 262nd tribute of the high school ceremony, the saint above the Jinjian Palace! Before the words fell, a fellow villager with a happy face raised his hand and squeezed out: "It's me, I'm Qian Zhou!" The newspapers came forward to kowtow, put red on the nouveau riche, and after getting a thick profit, they ran away with a smoke. There is a shortage of manpower, so it has to be rotated continuously. In this way, you can get as many red envelopes as possible......

A team of annunciation has at least seven or eight people, and if you pay ten taels or eight taels, you can't see it at all. Many people can't afford this reward, and there are also many people who don't want to pay this money, so they listen to the advice of their predecessors to go out early to go to the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites, and you can know the result immediately with a list, and you can also avoid the debt collectors who report the good news, killing two birds with one stone, so many scholars do not stay in the post house, and they are crowded with Dongjiang Rice Lane.

Seeing a team of officials who reported the good news, they rushed out of the yamen on horseback, but their hearts were blazing and they saw that the ten sons of Zhang Bang couldn't bear it anymore. They all went to the yamen to inquire. The notice is not announced. But the result was a great disappointment to them, and a director of the Ministry of Rites came out and told them that the reform would be implemented this year, and that the newspapers would first report the success, and then publish the list the next day.

"What kind of bullshit reform, it's just to ask for more money from the two of us, and the scholars who have been waiting for a long time are indignant: "Money, money, money!" Only admit the money and go! It's a shame that the country's talent ceremony has become a way for them to make money! ”

There were many complaints for a while, and there was also scolding in the restaurant on the south of the street, and some people got up angrily, ready to go back and suffer the gentle knife.

But more people didn't move, most of them lived in the guild hall, and they had already informed the people inside. If there is good news, just send it away quietly, and then come here to report the news, although you also have to give a reward, but it is the difference between one and eight.

Sure enough, after a while, there was a young man in Tsing Yi, sweating profusely, and those scholars were looking at the door, and when they saw that the person who came was from the post house of this province, those Shandong lifters happily beckoned: "Here and here, we are here." ”

The little guy hurriedly ran over, knelt down for one of them, and said with a happy face: "Congratulations to Master Yang." You are the one hundred and fifty-first in high school".

"Wow, it's not two hundred and five." The old man Yang was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth, took out the key silver from his arms, and said generously: "Thank you." The little guy thanked him for his kindness, and his fellow villagers also toasted and congratulated loudly, which attracted the attention of everyone in the hall.

After a while, another little guy ran in and went to the table in Henan to report the good news, and the Henan lifters also toasted happily, unwilling to be left behind.

The next wave of good news came one after another, and the plum blossoms and bamboos generally came, "First, the acceptance rate of the examination is as high as one out of four, and secondly, I don't consciously almost be able to win, and no one will come here to show my eyes."

While being concerned about their own future, the scholars of various provinces are also secretly more energetic, ranking higher than which province and admitting more than which province.

By noon, there were more than 250 people in the three-story restaurant, and 72 people had already been hit.

Among them, Xijiang ranks first, reaching as many as ten people. It is followed by Shandong and Nanzhili, with eight people each. Then there are seven people from Huguang, six people from Beizhi and Sichuan, five people from Guangdong and Shanxi, and unexpectedly, Jiangxi Province, which has always had excellent results. It turned out to be the same as Shaanxi and Henan, and only four of them were hit! Then Fujian three. , Yunnan, Guizhou each one, here Guangxi Juzi only one table, for the time being.

This result can be described as both expected and unexpected. Because most of the provinces play normally, and there is no dispute about ranking each other; But for Jiangxi and Fujian provinces, it is a great tragedy that the number of admissions in Jiangxi in previous years has always ranked in the top three, and Fujian is also comparable to Beizhi Sichuan, and it will never fall to this extent!

The faces of the scholars of these two provinces turned green, although they comforted each other: "Didn't you just report sixty?" Maybe we're all in high school. Yes, yes, the fellow villagers who stayed in the hall should have won a lot," but everyone's hearts. All shrouded in foreboding.

Only Zheng Tang was still full of confidence, no matter how anxious others were, he only drank a little wine there contentedly, waiting for his own glorious moment.

He is a native of Fuzhou, has a deep background and identity, and has a lot to do with the maritime merchants of Fujian and Xi and the Yan Party, "and even was entrusted by some people to go out of the mountains to assist his family, but in the end he failed." Later, he went to Beijing to join the Yan family, but just in time to catch up with Yan Ge, the old man had no intention of seeing things, and Yan Shifan, who was in power on behalf of his father, had no eyes and no beads, and actually regarded him as an ordinary scribe. He was only allowed to do some copying and writing. He had also thought about showing himself in front of Xiao Ge Lao. Helplessly, Yan Shifan, the extremely arrogant and extremely smart guy, has long been accustomed to making his own decisions about everything, and he doesn't take his two eyes at all, but fortunately, he was sneering and sneering, making him disgraced and speechless.

But it also made him finally know that it is better to rely on no one than on himself, so he decided to participate in this big competition, just in time for Yan Shifan to prepare to use the word joint. At that time, Yan Shifan instructed him not to tell others, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble. But in Zheng Tang's opinion, he was afraid that others would rob him

Forehead.

But Zheng Tang also had his own ideas, and on the day he got the word, he passed it on to his fellow villagers who knew each other well, knowing that he wanted to take advantage of the east wind of Xiaoge Lao to establish his own power; He believes that Sister Yuan will be obedient, and those fellow villagers who use the word "will definitely be able to go to high school" are not still sixty, maybe all of them are ours.

As for his own ranking, Zheng Tang is even more confident, and he believes that no matter how picky the examiner is. will also be conquered by their own articles, so the later you report, the higher your ranking, which is a good thing!

It's just that as time goes by, the frequency of reporting is getting lower and lower, and the ranking of Chinese-style people is getting higher and higher, and they all report to the top ten in a blink of an eye, Zheng Tang knew that something was wrong, and said secretly: "Could it be that Yan Shifan deliberately cheated me?" Gave a fake joint word?. His fellow villagers also focused their eyes on him, but there was no respect anymore, but it made people angrily question and resent, we trust you so much, how can you cheat us so much?

The spirit of unity of the Fujian people is indeed superb, and if it were other provinces, I am afraid that there would have been infighting long ago. There was even infighting.

But Zheng Tang knew that if the six sons and the others really messed up, they would have to leave their hometowns. Find a sacrifice. It withered, so he forced himself to calm down and said: "Is it" The guys of our guild hall forgot your instructions. Or stumbling over something? ”

"I hope so," said the crowd, "then go back and see." Immediately, three of the young men got up and volunteered to go back.

At this time, the atmosphere in the restaurant was almost stagnant, and the previous relaxation and competition were gone, leaving only the breathless nervous people who were really nervous, and now there were still the last ten. The quota is up, if there is no more news, ninety percent of it means that this time it will be Sun Shan's name. Three years of hard work have come to naught, and it will take three years of torture to come back, who can be relaxed?

And those who have already won, although their hearts are happy, but when they see others looking nervous, they have to accompany the horn...

The sound of footsteps sounded, and everyone in the hall held their breath and saw that the person who came was a small guy from the Suzhou Guild Hall.

This kid has been running for eight days today, enough to go around the outer city of Beijing, and at the moment he is so tired that his legs are trembling, pointing at Wang Shiwei and saying: "You, you, Master Wang, you are tenth!" ”

Wang Shiwei laughed with relief, hugged him and said, "Sit down and rest." "I rewarded the little guy with a gold ingot, worth at least fifty taels of silver.

The little guy took the silver and thanked him for his kindness, and listened to Wang Shizhi say: "What is the situation in the hall, how many people have won the Tonggong?" ”

The little guy put the silver into his arms and said with a smile: "It's amazing, counting all the masters here, there are thirteen of us in Suzhou" After a pause, he said: "And the top nine are so small that I don't know yet." After saying a few words, he felt his strength regain somewhat. Then he said: "I'll go back quickly and strive to earn it again" Oh no. Again! After saying that, he staggered out, and no one laughed at him, "People die for money, birds die for food" because everyone is too nervous, how can there be irony

Person?

After a while, another Jiangxi guy came in. In front of everyone's eyes, he said to Yang Shiqiao: "Congratulations to Master Sun, congratulations to Master Sun for the eighth place in High School!" ”

Sun Yingyuan breathed a sigh of relief here, and another from the Jiangxi Hall came in to report the good news: "Congratulations to Master Sun." Sixth place in high school! When Sun Yingyuan heard this, he grinned and said, "I have to pee quickly, I'm about to burst the urine bubble." The crowd burst into laughter.

On the front and back feet, another Shandong guy came in and said, "Master Li, you are fifth in high school!" "Master Li, Li Han, is the one who represented Shandong that day. Li Han grinned when he heard this: "Brother, I'll invite you here!" "Of course, it's his own table, if the whole building invites him, he will have to sell himself to pay off his debts.

Over there, Xijiang Juzi was a little impatient. Although they have the largest number of Chinese-style people, if there is not a single one in the top ten, wouldn't it be a big loss?

When he was worried, the Xijiang Hall finally came, and kowtowed to Yu Youding: "Congratulations to Master Yu, you won the third place!" ”

Yu Youding didn't get excited immediately when he heard this, and he didn't care about being happy, but praised repeatedly: "Mr. Wenchang's vision is really accurate. ”

"What's not just you?" Li Han on the side said in a loud voice: "The five of us who entered the top ten, weren't they all expected by the seniors of the Qionglin Society?" ”

"Yes" This resonated with more people, and said: "They predicted that day, and almost all of them were successful, which shows that my imperial examination is still very fair." "Predictions can only be ......so accurate if the subjectivity is reduced to a fairly low level,,

There are the last two, and everyone looks at Zheng Tang, saying that one of them is none other than him. Zheng Tang also became nervous, and said in his heart, come on, come on, even if I am in second place, I will admit it.

After a long time, as if a year was as long, footsteps finally sounded outside the door again, but this time it was not a small house, but a Fujian man who went back to the hall to check the situation

Finish.

As soon as he came in, he immediately attracted the attention of all the Fujian scholars, and everyone asked one after another, "How is it, have we been hit?" Others asked, "Are there any of us in the first two?" ”

The scholar's gaze swept over everyone, and finally he lowered his head and said softly, "There are some, but there are very few, and they do not include everyone here. ”

At this time, Zheng Tang couldn't take care of others. Grabbing the scholar's chest, he asked urgently; "Who are the top two?"

"First place Wang Xijue, second place Xu Shixing." The scholar glanced at him dissatisfied, and said quietly: "You are really planted this time, and we also poured blood mold with you." ”

Zheng Tang was stunned on the spot,

The prototype of this Zheng Tang in my book is Zheng Tang, who was a friend of Yan Song's Mansion during the Jiajing period; It's not the Zheng Tang in the Zhengde period, if it hurts the feelings of some friends because of this, I want to say deeply, I'm sorry, I really don't know that this gentleman is a character like Ajiti in the legend.

Alas, although I am nicknamed an erudite monk, there are always those who do not know and do not understand, atoning for their sins."