On the second day of the first month of June, just after beating the fourth watch drum, the shopkeeper knocked on the door according to Zeng Yu's advice last night: "Zeng Gongzi, Zeng Gongzi, it's time to get up, I want to go to the exam." ”

The light in the guest room came through the door, and Zeng Yu said, "I've gotten up, thank you for reminding." ”

A moment later, Zeng Yu and Sixi's master and servant walked out of the inn gate, Sixi carried a long-eared examination basket, Zeng Yu carried the fish lantern, the lantern rotated, and four ink paintings of mandarin fish, trout, bream, and carp appeared in turn-

There is no star and no moon, the sky and the earth are black, a little lantern light breaks through the darkness and moves forward tenaciously, when approaching the north gate, the light of the lanterns is more, all of them are going to the examination shed of the literary children and their families, there are many people surrounding a literary child who goes to the examination, while walking and saying words of encouragement and blessing, all the way to meet the acquaintances of the candidates are to make a greeting, laughter, lively and lively, and Zeng Yu a master and a servant walk in the night of the hometown, it can't help but seem a little bleak.

Fuxue Palace and the examination shed are in the north gate, the large square in front of the examination shed is crowded with people at this time, all kinds of tall lanterns are reflected in all directions as bright as day, the hawkers are selling like boiling, in midsummer June, although it is the coolest time of the day at the end of the fourth and fifth watches, but it can not stand the crowd of people, the lights are loud and the sound is mixed, and many people are already sweating on their foreheads.

Zeng Yu stood in the remote place in the southwest corner of the square, took the test basket carried by Sixi, handed over the fish lantern and said: "You go back to the inn and stay, don't walk around, don't come here to pick me up in the evening, I will go back." ”

Sixi said: "I'll wait for the young master to enter the dragon gate and go back." ”

Zeng Yu said: "Go back now, when the dragon gate is closed and the square is scattered, it will definitely be crowded, you are a little Mo and you are hit by someone, we outsiders, be careful everywhere." ”

Sixi had no choice but to say: "Then the young master himself is careful everywhere, the young master must be in high school this time - young master, I will go back to the inn." ”

Xiao Xi Sixi took two steps with the lantern and looked back at the young master, looking reluctant, Zeng Yu scolded with a smile: "It's not life and death, let's go, let's go." ”

Sixi "hee" smiled, walked away quickly, and then looked back, the figure of the young master Zeng Yu had been submerged in the crowd of people in the square, and could no longer be found, this little Xi suddenly wanted to cry, in April in the Guangxin Mansion exam, the young master had Young Master Zheng to laugh together, he and Laifu two have to wait until their young master entered the examination shed after the dragon gate closed before returning to the inn, now in this unfamiliar place, Sixi felt very helpless, on the way back to the inn alone, he recited words to ask the young master to bless the young master this make-up exam, The experience of Boshan Temple last time made Sixi feel that asking for the Garan Bodhisattva must be useful to the young master......

At this time, Zeng Yu has walked to the left side close to the dragon gate, according to the convention, the candidates in the county where the government is located will arrange the first batch of candidates, otherwise how to reflect the superiority of the home field, the candidates in each county are also lined up from left to right, Pingxiang is a big county, in the past, they were all ranked after Yichun, and this time it should not be an exception.

After waiting for about a moment, I only heard three cannons in the examination shed, and then the dragon gate "rolled" opened, and a piece of light sign was raised, there were ten light signs in each county, and each light board was written with the names of about fifty candidates.

Pingxiang's lantern sign followed Yichun and held it out, Zeng Yu tiptoed nervously looking for his name, and finally saw his name at the end of the tenth lantern - "Zeng Yu", the heart that had been carrying it finally let go, and immediately carried the examination basket to the back of the Pingxiang candidates who were gathering, and after hundreds of candidates in Yichun searched and collected the papers, the Pingxiang candidates also began to enter.

Zeng Yu was at the back of the queue, no one knew him, he didn't know anyone else, carried the test basket into the examination shed dragon gate, walked through a passage of wooden fences on both sides, came to the hall through the hall, only to see the hall brightly lit, Jiangxi Xuedao Huang Guoqing was in the middle, the prefect of Yuanzhou and the four counties under his jurisdiction sat on both sides, and there were seven or eight teachings and teachings standing in the hall, Huang Guoqing stood next to a middle-aged Confucian student, five short figures, big ears, holding a roster on behalf of Huang Tixue roll call, with a very loud voice.

Zeng Yu has an impression of this middle-aged Confucian student, and the last Guangxin Mansion Examination was also named by Huang Tixue of this Confucian generation, presumably because Huang Tixue was old, sick, weak, and lacking in qi, and his voice was not loud-

Every time a middle-aged Confucian student arrives at the name of a person, there are candidates who come up to the hall to salute Huang Tixue, and two more Bao Bao come forward to draw and stamp the seal, and the candidates submit the final ticket of the college examination paper, which is verified by the county's teaching, and then go to the paper office to get the test paper and scratch paper, and then go to the search office——

"Zeng Yu."

The middle-aged Confucian voice was like a bell, Zeng Yu delayed for a moment, and only hurriedly went to the hall to meet Huang Tixue when the middle-aged Confucian called the second call.

Huang Tixue had been closing his eyes before, and when he heard the two calls "Zeng Yu", he sat up straight with his eyes open, looked at Zeng Yu Shili, and signaled to Pingxiang Confucianism: "It's him." ”

The priest bowed to Huang Tixue, looked at Zeng Yu twice, and said, "Go get the test paper and scratch paper." ”

Huang Tixue looked at Zeng Yu and said: "Good student to answer the question." Waving his hand to let Zeng Yu go quickly, Zeng Yu was the last candidate in Pingxiang, and the candidates in front of him were all in a hurry, so no one was surprised that he could take the exam without a guarantee.

Zeng Yu bowed and said, "Yes." Carrying the examination basket to the scribe who distributed the test papers, he heard Huang Tixue say to the officials in the hall: "This is the son, the old man pities his poor family and is studious, and allows him to take the test again, and when he submits the papers, everyone can test him, how dare the old man show favoritism." ”

An official said: "The boss cherishes his talents, which is the blessing of this son and the luck of Jiangxi scholars." ”

“……”

When he came to the examination paper, Zeng Yu paid attention to it, but he didn't see the guy with a flat nose, and he saw that the seat number on his head was "Xinchou Seat", I don't know if this seat is exposed to the wind and sun?

Zeng Yu didn't know what to say, just when he turned around and walked towards the search office, a person stood up in the corner of the test paper room, it was the flat nose, this flat nose saw Zeng Yu coming, so he avoided the light shadow and didn't let Zeng Yu see it, and then walked out to look at Zeng Yu's back, and said to the clerk who distributed the test papers: "The day before yesterday, I was entertained by this kid, and I was also blind, and I had a long time with a poor sour - Brother Liao, is there a way to damage him?" ”

The scribe said: "Don't be troublesome, make a fortune in a muffled voice, stare at the point, the candidates are here, aren't there two people who are willing to spend money." ”

……

When I arrived at the search office, I had to undress and distribute like a thief and was searched by a bad person, and the things in the examination basket were also turned into a mess, these poor people were all majestic at this time, and scolded the candidates, really thinking that they were thieves and prisoners, and the candidates passed the search, their clothes were not neat, and some even ran away barefoot with the examination basket without having time to wear shoes, which was ridiculous and embarrassing-

Zeng Yu is more experienced, relatively calm, into the examination room, find the west of the hall examination shed Xin Chou seat, the sky is not yet dawn, four counties about 2,000 candidates have to enter the venue for more than an hour, at this time there is still a period of time before the start of the exam, Zeng Yu sat with his eyes closed, the text of the four books and five classics is like flowing water in the mind looping back and forth, today these two eight-strand essays must be written wonderfully, otherwise it is difficult to convince the public, although Yuanzhou is not as good as Fuzhou, Ji'an, but it is also a strong county in the scientific examination, and there is no lack of eight good writers among the children.

The sky is getting brighter, the candidates of the four counties have entered, the dragon gate is closed after the cannon is fired three times, Huang Tixue and the county magistrate returned to the lobby of the examination shed center, Huang Tixue asked questions on the spot, a question of four books and a question of each of the five classics, the four book questions are the first art, which is made by all candidates, and the five scriptures of poetry, Yi, book, ceremony, and Spring and Autumn are one of the five scriptures that the candidates choose according to their own scriptures-

Zeng Yu at this time grinding a thick inkstone, spread out the draft paper, listen to the scribe who passed the question read out the exam questions loudly, the four book questions are "Lixian no way", the Book of Changes question is "a yin and a yang is the Tao", Zeng Yu's scripture is "Zhou Yi", Uncle Shao Long has been training him as a feng shui master since he was a child, although the Sanliao Feng Shui school pays the most attention to the situation of mountains and rivers, but as long as you talk about feng shui geography, you must be proficient in the number of "Yi", these two questions are not difficult, the common topics need more effort, otherwise how to stand out!

After the scribe read the exam questions aloud, there were also messengers who carried signs with exam questions written on them, so that the candidates who were short-sighted and deaf could take care of them.

Zeng Yu first wrote the title of the four books, "There is no way to establish a virtuous person" from "Mencius? Lilou", is to praise Cheng Tang Xuan Xian enabled, eclectic, so Shang 70 miles and eventually have the world, Zeng Yu felt that this question was Huang Tixue intentionally, Huang Tixue gave him the opportunity to make up for the exam, is not also a kind of virtuous and unruly, of course, he wants to show his "virtuous" to come, can not live up to Huang Tixue's grace.

Two eight-strand essays, each of 400 to 600 words, must be written before the evening of today's dusk palm lamp to write a clear transcript, for Zeng Yu is enough, two hours in the morning, he put the "Lixian no way" and "one yin and one yang is the Tao" two eight-strand essays have been drafted, not busy checking the transcription, first take out two lotus leaf wrapped mung bean rice balls from the examination basket, eat a half-full, drink a few sips of herbal tea from the gourd, and then contain two pieces of ginger slices at the bottom of the tongue to remove filth and refresh, and then move his fingers, look around to see the answers of other candidates——

It was noon, the sun was shining, the examination shed was getting hotter and hotter, there was a row of candidates with cracks on the examination shed above their heads, the sun was shining down, the sun in front of them was white and white, not to mention, but sweating, confiding in the officials on the patrol, the officials ignored it, and shouted "just answer the questions", and the officials who were good at talking would add a sentence "The sun has feet, and it will be removed soon." "Candidates have to answer the questions with oil and sweat, and they have to worry about sweat wetting the exam papers, which is really bitter.

Zeng Yu's seat is on the west side of the examination shed, in the morning, noon can not be sun, but when the sun is west, it will be bitter, at that time is the time to transcribe the exam paper, a careless sweat smudged the ink on the exam paper, then it will be invalidated, the previous work is abandoned, so Zeng Yu can not be idle, a little rest, began to use the positive transcription, two eight-strand text more than 1,000 words, after writing, the bottom of the palm elbow began to sweat, from time to time to wipe the sweat, so as not to soak the test paper paper, the transcription took almost an hour, When the sun burned the left side of his face in the west, he finally finished transcribing, first put away the test papers, then put away the pen and inkstone, drank a few sips of water, got up with the examination basket and handed in the papers, and a scribe greeted him and said, "Give me the answer sheet." ”

Zeng Yu said: "It's still early, I have to go to the lobby to hand in the papers and ask the grandmaster for an interview." ”

The scribe said: "How can the grandmaster have a lot of energy to interview, you just hand over the test paper to me." ”

Zeng Yu was willing to hand over the test papers to unstable people, and said with a smile: "Don't dare to work, I'd better hand in the papers myself." He left the scribe and walked briskly down the lobby.

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