Wu Weiye greatly admired Wu Changshi's meticulousness, but he secretly felt embarrassed, he hadn't seen him for many years, and he didn't know if Mr.'s appearance was still the same as before? Otherwise, it depends on your own creation. He walked all the way, prayed all the way, and when he arrived at the Jiangxi Guild Hall, he quietly searched all over the place, but found nothing. Is it a step too late to go? Wu Weiye left the hall depressedly, but remembered that he had not done the small thing of the fly camp dog, and the name was not defaced at all, and his heart was a little relaxed. He followed the prestige, saw a set of large courtyards, three frontage of the street, the door to the south of the hole, the house is not very high, there is no signboard on the door, turn around and want to go, through the door hole glimpse the courtyard of the shadow wall wall there are brick carved signboards, the green bricks are engraved with "Longshengxuan" three beautiful Zhao body white characters, the doors and windows of each room in the courtyard are of different sizes, it is a time-honored tavern, and there is an alley across the Jiangsu hall. Wu Weiye couldn't help but hesitate, tossing for most of the day, working in vain, he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed, and it was considered his best to delay for a while. So he stepped into the courtyard, Xiao Er saw him dressed in Confucian clothes, knew that he was rushing to take the exam, and led him to a secluded small room with a smile, and asked, "What kind of wine and food does the uncle want?" ”

"What kind of food are you good at, just come up! If you want to drink, just come to a pound of flowers. ”

"Uncle, stir-fried steamed fish with waist flowers, Sichuan spicy fish powder, steamed scallops...... No less than a dozen names. Yo---- Uncle is alone, if all these dishes come up, it will be too much. ”

"Don't worry, I've got money." Wu Weiye reached out and took out a large silver ingot, gently placed it on the table, and pushed it to Xiao Er.

Xiao Er hurriedly said: "How dare the villain think that the uncle has little silver?" I'm afraid that the uncle won't be able to eat it alone, it's a pity. ”

"Don't worry, he can't finish eating, someone will help him eat." I don't know when there was a Xiangshi standing outside the door holding a thousand-character card, short as a child of more than ten years, but his body was thicker, his face beard was sparse, but it was more than half a foot long, and he kept looking in. Wu Weiye was annoyed that he was abrupt and had the intention to scold, but seeing his strange appearance, thinking that Li Mingrui didn't know where he was, it was better to ask him to ask. So he beckoned with his hand: "Sir, please sit down and teach, if the calculation is accurate, you can eat wine and food, and you will not spare any money." ”

The dwarf man put the white flag against the wall, and arched his hand: "Disturb." As he spoke, he sat down opposite him and asked, "Uncle, do you want to ask about Jinke's luck?" ”

"What do I think sir?"

"The entrance Hugh asked about the glory and withering, but when he saw the face, he knew about it. The mountain people see that you are anxious, you must have encountered extremely difficult things, Lingqi and Liuren are too complicated to calculate, I am afraid that you can't wait. Let's take a test! Please ask the uncle to work. The dwarf man opened the big burden on his body, and there were all kinds of pen, ink, paper, inkstone, incense, burner, book, poster, paper and scroll, so he had to prepare paper and pen, Wu Weiye said: "No need." He dipped his index finger in the tea and wrote the word "shi" on the table.

The dwarf man looked at it for a moment and said, "I'm afraid that the uncle's heart is difficult to achieve. ”

"Please advise."

"The word 'shi' plus 'person' is 'shi', and the uncle must be looking for someone. The word 'shi' written by the uncle is similar to the word 'zhi', this person is afraid that he has already left, and it is not easy to find him. ”

Wu Weiye looked at the word "Shi" on the table, because the table was smooth, the tea kept flowing away, and it really looked like a "Zhi" word, listened to the words of the short minister, frowned and said: "I have an old friend, I haven't seen him for many years, he has been in Beijing in recent years, but I don't know where it is, I am anxious to see him." ”

"Don't worry, don't worry. There is no obstacle when this person sees it, the uncle is so anxious to find this person, presumably he wants him to help him enter the office, although the person can't find it, he will still help. ”

Wu Weiye said disdainfully: "You will be happy to find someone!" I can't find anyone, how can I help? ”

"Uncle, please look, the word is auspicious, you don't need to ask, he will speak for you." The short-faced man stroked his slender beard with his thick palm, and laughed a few times, his expression was extremely funny.

Wu Weiye sneered: "What's so strange about this? Even a boy who has just entered school will use this method of adding words. I've seen a lot of books on word measurement, but it's just dismantling and dismantling, how much mystery can it have? ”

The dwarf man didn't care, and arched his hand and said, "That's what the uncle said." The method of measuring characters has a long history, and there are many strange people and strange people in the past dynasties, and there are many engravings in the bookstores, so it is not difficult to find them. This kind of book is not conducive to fame and fame, naturally it is not elegant, there are not many people in the world who read it, and it is not easy for the uncle to flip through these idle books regardless of his identity. But when it comes to this kind of book, I dare not say that it was written by a sage looking up at astronomy and looking down on geography like the Six Classics, but it is not made up nonsense. Let's just say that this word splitting method, subdivided, there are quite a lot of names, there are head, foot, heart, cage, crack, add pen, reduce the pen, off, pick the word nine methods, at first glance do not dismantle, increase, subtract, change, borrow, in fact, under the use, but also look at the individual's talent endowment, talent endowment is different, even if the same word, the interpretation will be different, just like the uncles do eight strands of text, the same subject is also divided into high and low. Uncle can't take it lightly at will. ”

Wu Weiye saw him speak eloquently, a few words were exquisite, impeccable, but to the point, saving face for his family, he knew that he was reckless, took out a tael of silver and put it on the table, and said with a smile: "Mr. Xie's auspicious words." How do you guess about this section? ”

"Please write a few more words, uncle." The dwarf man took out a small sand table from the big burden and put it in front of Wu Weiye's eyes.

Wu Weiye saw a few strings of red and bright dried chili peppers hanging on the locust tree in the courtyard, and wrote the words "huai" and "string" on the sand table. At this time, Xiao Er had already set up the wine and food, respectfully poured the wine, and carefully withdrew. The dwarf man smelled the aroma of vegetables and wine in the room, reached out and took the wine glass, sniffed it, narrowed his eyes, squeaked and drank his stomach, and praised: "It's really good wine!" It has been in the cellar for no less than ten years. Oh! You're trying to ask about Kinko's luck, huh! These two words are auspicious, the word 'Huai' is the top of the list, and the word 'string' is the word two 'in', congratulations to the uncle for connecting the two lists. But if you want to be the top student in high school, I'm afraid you can't do it, there are already people. ”

Wu Weiye was very surprised, and asked rhetorically: "The general examination has not yet started, let alone the palace examination?" How could anyone win the champion, who allowed him? ”

The dwarf man smiled mysteriously, "The secret of heaven must not be revealed. ”

"It can't be out of nowhere, there is no trace!"

"Yesterday, the mountain people were in a guild hall, and the uncle didn't have to ask which one it was, in that guild hall, the mountain people helped to invite immortals, and it was already a promise on behalf of heaven. What the immortal pointed out was not an ordinary quatrain, but eight ancient poems......" The dwarf man looked at Wu Weiye and sneered, knowing that he didn't believe it, he closed his eyes and chanted: "The six scriptures are contained in the chest for a long time, and a sword is sharpened in the hand for ten years." The apricot blossom has a horizontal branch on its head, and it is afraid that it will leak its mouth. A little tired is as big as a fight, but half of the makeup is nothing. After the name is waiting to be crowned, do you know the original face? ”

"Is this the champion promised?" Wu Weiye carefully memorized the eight lines of the poem, but he didn't know what it meant, and his heart was sad for a while.

"The secret of heaven must not be revealed, you can taste it yourself!" Saying that, he got up and wanted to retreat, Wu Weiye took another tael of silver, put it together with the silver on the table, and said with both hands: "Thank you for your advice, a little Weiyi is not enough." Dare to ask Mr. up and down? ”

"Don't dare. Mountain people travel all over the world, without a name for many years, they have to forget their own family, the uncle is called the mountain man Song Shorty! Every time the mountain people come to Beijing, they meet nobles, and time is like a flowing arrow, and five years have passed in a blink of an eye. Five years ago, the sorghum river was ...... Alas! The clouds and smoke are gone, and they are all a thing of the past, why do you mention it? Song Xiaozi took the silver and walked away with the flag, his steps were a little staggering, not as steady as when he came.

"Song Shorty? When did such a strange person come out of the rivers and lakes? Wu Weiye saw him out of the door, thinking about the eight lines of poetry he chanted, he had no intention of eating, and hurried back to the hall.

The night was dark, and the red candle had a high fever. Wu Weiye entered the house, saw Zhang Pu, Wu Changshi, and Chen Zilong eating tea around the fireplace, thinking that they were waiting for his news, but when they heard that Li Mingrui was not found, Chen Zilong shouted pity. Wu Changshi's city was extremely deep, silent, and there was no joy or anger on his face. Zhang Pu didn't complain, but comforted: "Providence is like this, don't be strong." Wu Weiye secretly screamed ashamed, remembered today's adventure, and briefly said it. The four of them pondered for a long time, and Zhang Pu clapped his hands and said, "I know the meaning of this poem." This is a Tibetan head split word poem, can be cracked with the clutch increase and loss method, the first two sentences of 'six', 'one', 'ten' together 'Xin' word, three or four sentences of 'apricot' word to 'mouth' plus a horizontal for the word 'not', five or six sentences of 'half makeup' plus 'a little big' for the word 'shape', seven sentences of 'end' word to the head for the word 'yuan', together is the word 'Xin Wei champion' four words. To whom should this poem be? ”

The minister was silent.

"The warlock said some auspicious words, but he was just begging for food, and he didn't count anything, so why bother with him?" Chen Zilong disagreed. Zhang Pu said with a gloomy face: "It's better to believe that it is there, than to believe that it is not." In the dark, there may be days. When he saw Wu Chang, he kept his head silent and asked, "Come, what do you think?" ”

"Me? I always feel that things are a little strange, and if it really works, I'm afraid it will be a big deal. It seems that many people have put in a lot of work outside the book, and they can't be careless. Wu Changshi's heart was heavy, and a hint of disappointment appeared on his face.

Zhang Pu patted the case and said: "Doing your best to obey the destiny of heaven may not be hopeless!" ”

On the sixth day of the first month of February, He Ruzhong and Xu Guangqi led Li Mingrui, Xue Guoguan, Ni Yuanlu and other curtain officials to enter the Shuntian Mansion Tribute Courtyard three days in advance. After noon on February 7, he invited Qian Xiangkun to the first assistant duty room, and talked secretly for half an hour before returning to the house to prepare for admission. On the ninth day of the second month, it is the day when the entrance examination is set according to the rules, the first test today, the second test three days later, and the third test on the third day. Just after the fourth watch, Zhou Yanru took the court clothes and sat in a green mantle sedan chair and rushed to the Gongyuan.

Shuntianfu Gongyuan is located in the southeast corner of the capital Chongwen Gate in the northwest of the stargazing platform, Yongle thirteen years in the Yuan Dynasty in the former site of the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites rebuilt into, since then has been the important place of the imperial court to pick up talents, after many repairs and expansions, continuous into a piece, the scale is magnificent and magnificent. The Tribute Courtyard sits in the north and faces south, surrounded by high walls, the door has five wings, the big book "Tribute Courtyard" above the gate, and the big gold plaque of "Tiankai Wenyun" is hung high in the middle. The door is divided into three layers, and the outermost door is called the head door. The second weighing door, there is a large wall of coiled dragons in front, and the back is the place where the gold list is pasted. The third way is the dragon gate known in the world, and non-candidates are not allowed to enter, and the people who send the test stop here. Behind it is the Mingyuan Building, the Zhigong Hall, the Inner Dragon Gate, the Jukui Hall, the Huijing Hall, the Twenty Rooms, etc., as well as the four rooms of supervision, promotion, invigilation, and examination, and the four rooms of sealing, transcription, reading, and supply. Outside the gate, the east and west sides are built up with "Ming Jing to take scholars", "seek talents for the country" two stone archways, there are east and west gates outside, the big mid-spring has just passed, the night is long and the day is short, nearly five watches, the sky is still dark. Zhou Yanru's green mantle sedan chair has not yet reached the gate of the Gongyuan, and from a distance he saw the Gongyuan East Street, the Gongyuan West Street, the Gongyuan Headlines, the Gongyuan Er, the Gongyuan Three, as well as the carp alley, the pen tube alley, the donkey hoof alley, the lights are bright, the people are noisy, like a soup boiling, selling food and drink, selling the four treasures of the study...... On the side of the street and at the mouth of the alley, it was full of shouts and talks. The three and three people didn't care about the cold of spring, and came early with the exam basket. Zhou Yanru ordered the sedan chair to be dropped, sent the sedan chair home, changed into official clothes, brought only a long entourage, and squeezed into the crowd at night.

The sky was full of cold stars, the bucket handle was turned upside down, through the carp alley across the south street of the road, and came to Gongyuan East Street, where a young man seemed to be bargaining with a vendor: "Just such a small painting, and it is printed by woodblock printing, it costs a penny of silver?" How many pieces of paper can you buy with a penny? ”

"Don't talk like this, the villain only buys and sells for a few days a year, this cold day, get up early and touch the dark, if there is no money, why not guard his wife on the hot kang head, and suffer here? A penny of silver to ask for a mouthful, a picture of auspiciousness, is also worth it. If Xianggong is in high school, the money is still missing? There are thousands of taels or tens of thousands of taels. The hawker chattered endlessly, a mouthful of Beijing accent and Beijing rhyme, the dense water of words could not be splashed, the move could not be inserted for a while, and when the hawker stopped, he asked: "You draw a blue-faced ghost on the painting, holding ink in one hand and pen in the other, what is the point?" ”

"Oops! My lord, can you understand this? But the villain didn't believe it! Oh! Yes, the uncle wanted to ask for a lip service, and the villain said to listen to the uncle. This painting has a name, called 'Kui Xing Kicking Bucket Picture', you see a blue-faced ghost on it, holding ink in one hand, holding a pen in the other, standing on the head of the head with one foot, kicking up with the other foot, holding up a 'bucket' character. Even the ghost with 'fight', what kind of word is it? Uncle learns to be rich and five cars, only eight buckets high, and naturally knows that this is a grass 'Kui' word, Uncle Xiangrui, Kui Xing kicks the bucket, dominates, and is overjoyed. ”

The man took out the silver and handed it to the hawker, respectfully picked up the Kuixing kicking bucket diagram, turned around and wanted to leave, but the hawker stepped forward and grabbed it, and said angrily: "I lack your silver? Said that it was a penny. ”

"Uncle misunderstood. The villain is not asking for silver, this please Kuixing has another to say. The peddler laughed.

"What do you say? It's so wordy! If you delay your admission, I won't be nice to you. ”

"Uncle is angry. This Kui Xing was originally the god who dominated the scientific expedition, and you can see the pen in his hand, focusing on the names of celebrities on the gold list. Uncle Kuixing, you have to say your name in person, pray and pray secretly, bring the picture into the examination room, paste it in the number room, and wrap your high school. ”

"Really?"

"Sincerity is spirit! Confucius said: Sacrifice is like being, sacrifice to God is like God, sincerity, gold and stone are open, and it doesn't cost much of the uncle's silver. ”

"How many days have you read too? Good! And I believe you once. My ancestral home is Taicang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, Nanzhili, and my surname is Wu's name......"

Before he finished speaking, he saw a person shouting and rushing over and saying, "Jun Gong, what are you hiding here?" Teach people to find it so hard! "It's also dressed up, and it's a little taller. Zhou Yanru's heart moved, and he secretly thought: Taicang Wu family, when I was a teenager and did a study tour for all students, I met Taicang Wu Kun at first sight, and I had a deep friendship, I don't know if this person has anything to do with Wu Kun?

The man, who claimed to be surnamed Wu, hurriedly hid the picture in his hand into his arms and replied, "Brother Wozi, the younger brother is also looking for you." ”

"Hurry up, hurry up! The man you spoke of a few days ago also came. As he spoke, he picked up the painting and left, saying as he walked: "You said that the man was also bold, and he actually wrote these few lines of poetry on the lantern, thinking that he was deceiving people and didn't know, go!" Let's expose him. Zhou Yanru saw that the two of them looked a little mysterious, and followed them to the outer gate of the Tribute Courtyard.

In front of the gate of the Tribute Temple, countless people had already gathered, waiting to enter in turn. A squad of soldiers with bright swords and guns maintained their patrols. Zhou Yanru saw them squeezing towards a crowd of people, and some of them gathered in one place, pointing and pointing, chattering, and talking about each other, not knowing what they were doing. The entourage knew that he didn't want to squeeze into the crowd, so he hurriedly bent down and bowed his back, Zhou Yanru stepped on it carefully, and saw that the crowd was surrounded by a mule cart, and he didn't know what was unusual. Listening attentively and listening to them talk about lanterns and poems, I saw a huge white paper lantern hanging outside the trunk, and eight lines of poetry about the dragon flying and the phoenix dancing were written. I didn't know what was going on, but I saw a short and fat man arching his hand at a person and said, "Mr. Tianru is also there!" I haven't seen him for many days, but Mr. is still the same. What is the meaning of the poem on this lantern, please advise. ”

"This person is Zhang Pu?" Zhou Yanru was shocked, seeing that this person was thin and not outstanding, he was actually the leader of the Restoration Society who was revered by everyone, raised his arms, and responded from the north and south, what skills did he have to become famous? In the first year of Chongzhen, he was elected to Taixue with grace and formed the Yantai Society. In the second year, the sixteen cultural societies such as several societies, Wen Society, Nanshe and Ying Society were combined into one, named Fushe, and the conference Yin Shan, the momentum of the government and the opposition, and the world was side-eyed. In three years, the conference was held in Jinling, and more than 3,000 celebrities and scholars joined the company, covering more than a dozen provinces. He's just a new middle school lifter, how can he have such mana? There is nothing surprising about the revival of retro learning, but it is surprising that 3,000 scribes were willing to listen to his dispersion! In his electric light, he remembered many rumors about Zhang Pu and looked at Zhang Pu with interest.

Zhang Pu thought about it for half the night yesterday, and he couldn't guess what kind of character was the champion, and his tone was so big. At the time of the third watch today, he and Wu Changshi, Chen Zilong, and Wu Weiye prepared for the examination, stationery, candles, food, and all the utensils needed in the house, from maces to small white clay stoves, all of which were available, with a total of no less than 50 pieces. Unexpectedly, Wu Weiye lost the group, he went to look for it separately with Wu Changshi and Chen Zilong, and agreed to meet in front of the Gongyuan Gate, but no one found it, but he saw the lantern with the eight lines of poetry written on it, so he looked at it quietly in the crowd. Seeing that he was recognized, he didn't dare to reveal it, so he said politely: "Brother Tai praises falsely, and the younger brother is ignorant and doesn't know what he means." ”

"Sir's learning is in and out of the scriptures and history, integrating the ancient and modern, if you don't know, who else can teach me?"

"I don't know. The younger brother is now focused on the scientific examination, and he has no time to take care of the rest. The hour is approaching, and it's time to enter. Zhang Pu saw Wu Weiye and Chen Zilong coming to the lantern to take a closer look, afraid that they would say the mystery on a whim and provoke what was wrong, so he hurriedly arched his hand, pulled it and left, and whispered to them not to do much.

"Old, sir, the hour has passed, it's time to enter the field." Zhou Yanru looked at Zhang Pu and the others, and the elders under his feet struggled to support him, and reminded him with difficulty.

He saw that it was getting dark, and withdrew from the crowd, but was grabbed by someone, and the man called out to his watch: "Brother Jade Rope, why are you still here?" ”

Zhou Yanru heard that it was Chen Yutai, who was his son's in-law, and said in a low voice: "Big, there are many people, and it is not appropriate to see each other at this time." ”