As soon as he got up early in the morning, there were still two hours left in the jade exam, but he was not in a hurry at all, Shen Ao went to find Chen Ji first, Chen Ji, as a teacher, although he lived in a simple place, but he was also extremely concerned about Shen Ao's news.

When Shen Ao took the recently written article to Chen Ji's residence, Chen Ji was quite satisfied with Shen Ao's breakthrough in the Jingyi exam, and praised: "You can solve the strange problem, and use words to convey the meaning, it can be seen that your talent is extremely agile, with this, the Jingyi article is superior to others, and in the future, you should be careful when using words and columns, you must know that a good article, a good problem is important, but to please people, the beauty of the article also needs to be sharpened." ”

Shen Ao nodded and said, "That's a student's whim, inspiration, and the problem came up with, if the student takes the test again, it may not be able to come up with it." ”

Chen Ji shook his head: "You don't have to be arrogant, your biggest advantage is that you have a quick mind, a broad vision, and the ability to think what others have never thought, which is the first step to do a good job in Jingyi." However, you should not be complacent in a scripture examination, you must know that the real imperial examination, the strong are like the carp crossing the river, and there are countless scriptures and meanings full of flowers. Don't waste your studies because of the art exam. ”

Shen Ao hurriedly said yes.

Chen Ji raised his eyes, but he glanced at Shen Ao indifferently: "It is said that the main examiner of this book exam is Cai Jing?" ”

Shen Ao nodded.

Chen Ji sighed: "If you are wise and foolish, Cai Jing is the most intelligent person I have seen in the old man's life, do you know why he knows the relationship between you and me, but still pushes you to be the first in the book test?" ”

Shen Ao said: "Sell your reputation to show your mind." ”

Chen Ji smiled: "This is just one of them, in the final analysis, it is your reputation that protects you too much." Your talent is too famous, that is, he wants to hide your brilliance, but who can he hide? Even today, I have also read your calligraphy, and the official family is immersed in silver calligraphy and painting, how can it not even distinguish between you and Cai Lun's calligraphy. Now that it is rumored that Cai Jing is about to rise again, at this time, how can he deliberately embarrass you because of a momentary mood. ”

Chen Ji said with a smile: "Don't say that your book is much more clever than Cai Lun, but it is not as good as Cai Lun, and with Cai Jing's current situation, it will only rank you behind Cai Lun." I'm afraid that this time in the book test, Cai Lun deliberately hid a little clumsy, from the beginning, he didn't think of competing with you in the book test. ”

Shen Ao suddenly realized that although he was smart, this kind of intrigue between politics was not as far-reaching as Chen Ji's, and he couldn't help but think in his heart: "Yes, even if he is a ghost drawingman, if you want not to criticize him Cai Jing will repay him, Cai Jing will definitely hold himself high in the book exam." So from the beginning, the book test was just a passing scene, the real good show should be in the palace test, and then the emperor personally selected talents, then Cai Lun first showed weakness to cooperate with Cai Jinggu's reputation, and then showed all his strength in the palace test, most likely he wanted to suppress himself in the palace test. ”

Shen Ao secretly felt a pang in his heart, and thought, this Cai Lun, could it be that he has made great progress? His calligraphy has actually broken through the bottleneck before, although the standard is very high, but because he always copies Cai Jing's lines, he has no own characteristics. For calligraphers, this bottleneck is almost insurmountable, and some people have stopped moving at this point throughout their lives. Could it be that Cai Lun only broke through the bottleneck in just a few months, and actually integrated Cai Ti and integrated his own style?

If this is the case, this guy is a terrible opponent, not only is he scheming, he shows weakness to himself first, and his level is not bad, if he is negligent for a while, maybe he will really miss the front foot.

At that time, who would say that Cai Jing would be retribution, only that he was broad-minded, but if Cai Lun defeated himself in the palace examination, at that time, he was only afraid that he would be laughed at by the world. can not only fight, but also sell fame and reputation, this twisting and turning mind is really deep.

Shen Ao Zhengse said: "If the student is prepared, he will definitely not lose to Cai Lun, even if Cai Lun has Cai Jing's level, the student will have the strength to fight." ”

Chen Ji nodded: "You can be vigilant, it's very good, remember, when you get to the palace test, you must use thunder means, play your best, and defeat Cai Lun in one fell swoop." It's not about revenge for the old man, it's for yourself. ”

Shen Ao said: "What is the reason for this? ”

Chen Ji said with a smile: "Only in this way can the whole world know that you are the top student in the book examination on Cai Lun's shoulder, and everyone in the world knows that Cai Jing will not give up, people are terrible, how can Cai Jing not know?" Therefore, the more you embarrass Cai Lun, the more you can make Cai Jing throw a mouse, and he won't do it to you easily. ”

Shen Ao understood, and said with a slight smile: "Mr. Xie advises." He drew inferences from one case to another, and understood in his heart that Cai Jing's current situation was very delicate, on the one hand, the emperor not only wanted to reply to him, but also was afraid that someone would criticize him, and Cai Jing, at this juncture, must not let people find a handle to attack. The more you touch the tiger's butt, at least for the time being, it is the safest for yourself. Anyway, he has offended the Cai family, no matter how he shows weakness, Cai Jing will never let himself go, and when his position is consolidated, he will make trouble, so he doesn't need to be polite.

Shen Ao said with a smile: "If it is said that stepping on Cai Lun to death is the student's favorite thing to do, sir, listen to the good news of the student!" ”

This conversation is the most open and honest between the master and apprentice, Chen Ji and Shen Ao did not pretend, let alone any dumb riddles, Shen Ao said goodbye, sighing in his heart, this teacher closed himself in the small courtyard all the time, but he really had the taste of showing talent and knowing the world without going out, and everything related to himself in the outside world did not hide from his ears.

It can be seen that Chen Ji is quite concerned about himself, and Shen Ao's heart is warm, even if he turns against Cai Jing's old thief, it is worth worshipping this master.

Hurriedly went to the examination room, today is the jade test, the way of the examination is different from the previous times, it is a round examination method, each candidate enters the examination booth, only between the two pillars of incense, to distinguish the authenticity of the antique, the age and so on. If you can distinguish the authenticity, it is qualified, the age is determined, the comment is acceptable, and if you can also determine other details, it is excellent.

The two pillars of incense are broken in time, and the time is very rushed, which tests the knowledge accumulation of candidates to a great extent. Fortunately, there are not many people who can participate in the jade exam, counting and counting, there are only more than thirty, after all, this jade exam has to test the scriptures first, and a large number of people have already been dropped, therefore, Shen Ao and these people are sitting in the Taixue Jingyi Pavilion for a while, and each of them is distributed a number.

Shen Ao looked at the many people in this Jingyi Pavilion, but he was thinking in his heart, who was the eldest prince?

He looked at it quietly, among the people present, everyone was contemplating and sitting still, the people who broke the jade were different from the people who wrote and painted, these people often had a deeper surname and were not good at words, but it made Shen Ao panic for a while, and he was quite depressed.

In fact, when it comes to the ability to meditate, Shen Ao is not bad, when he wanted to forge a work of art, he once sat still for a day and a night, holding a small carving knife in his hand and carving in the room all night.

It's just that he has nothing to do, but it is difficult for him to sit with a dangerous look.

Idle and bored, Shen Ao arched his hand towards the person sitting next to him and said, "Dare to ask Brother Taigao's name?" ”

This person has a mediocre appearance, his eyes are as light as water, he is wearing an ordinary Confucian shirt, he is only about thirty years old, Shen Ao At first, he guessed that this person was very likely to be the eldest prince, because although this person looked a little down, but his hands were very fair, and he must have been pampered at ordinary times. However, Shen Ao finally dispelled this idea, you must know that he is also a person who has entered the palace and seen the world, has seen the third son of the emperor, and has also seen two princesses, these are all excellent characters, the prince is suave and graceful, the princess is fresh and refined, and the royal genes are extraordinary. Look at this person again, not only is his appearance mediocre, but he can even be described as slightly ugly, if he is the eldest prince, it must be that this guy was kicked down by God when he was born, and his face hit the ground first.

This person raised his head slightly and glanced at Shen Ao: "In the lower king." ”

He looked indifferent when he spoke, obviously not wanting to talk to Shen Ao. Shen Ao smiled: "My name is Shen Ao, haha, this jade exam is really dull, and the wait is worrying." ”

When Wang Fang heard Shen Ao report his name, a hint of strange color flashed in his eyes, but he said, "Oh, I've heard of you." And he spoke no more.

Shen Ao saw that he ignored him, but he was no longer interested in speaking, and after a while, finally a Xu official called Shen Ao's examination number, Shen Ao was overjoyed, glad that he was finally out of this sea of suffering, and entered the examination room happily.

The so-called examination room is a wing room, there are no extra utensils in the wing room, six or seven officials sit on both sides, and Shen Ao's position is surrounded by officials, Shen Ao sits down generously, and an official who holds a pen to write raises his eyes: "Is it Shen Ao?" ”

Shen Ao's jaw: "It's the student." ”

The official immediately wrote Shen Ao's name and said, "Light incense." "The room was filled with smoke, and the three-foot-long incense was lit all the time, emitting a refreshing smell.

An official took out a jade bib, placed it in front of Shen Ao, and said, "Please make a clear decision." ”

Shen Ao bowed his head and picked up this big jade to look at his size and color, this jade jade is more mixed, flat on both sides, and nearly round. The two sides are decorated with symmetrical yin line coil dragon pattern, the head and tail are connected, and the tail is contained in the mouth. It is bent in the shape of the word "Chen", the corners of the front eyes are hooked downward, the big ears are large, the long horns are draped back, the claws are bent, and the body is decorated with scales and moire.

Just look at the texture and style, you can see that it should be an antiquity of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, the jade body has a lot of impurities, and it is also in line with the characteristics of Zhou jade, because in the Zhou period, due to the lag of the production process, although it is finely carved, but the jade quality is still not flawless enough for later generations.

In fact, the older the antiquities, the more difficult it is to distinguish the authenticity, because the age is old, the less the record, can only rely on the intuition of the jade to determine the authenticity, Shen Ao carefully looked at the subtle seams of this jade, put the jade down, and said: "This jade is Panlong jade, it is the Eastern Zhou Dynasty sacrificial burial vessel, mostly used for nobles above the duke, and the jade is made of ink jade, the origin should be in the Jingzhou generation today, if the student guessed correctly, this jade should be the Eastern Zhou Jingchu area of the princes buried in the vessel." ”

He immediately smiled: "The largest vassal state in the Jingchu area is the Chu State, but the characteristics of Chu Yu are different from this jade, so it should not be Chu Yu." ”

Several examiners listened to Shen Ao's analysis, and they all nodded with a smile, and one of them said: "Since it is not Chu Yu, then it should be the burial vessel of which vassal state?" ”

Shen Ao said with a smile: "After King Wu of Zhou destroyed Shang, King Wen of Zhou's two younger brothers were respectively named the monarch of the Kingdom of Qiu, Yu Zhong was named Dongyu, and Uncle Yu was named Xiyu, and the two Yu played the role of a barrier between the east and west sides of the Zhou royal family. In the early years of King Xuan of Zhou in the year of the Western Weekend, Xiyu moved eastward, and even the Jingchu area, so it was called the Nanyu Kingdom by the world. ”

"This jade has obvious characteristics of the Central Plains process, that is, although this jade is made of Jingchu material, but the process is obviously more delicate than Jingchu, the only possibility is that this jade is cast by the people of the Kingdom of Qiu after moving eastward, and they have inherited the skills of the Central Plains in the mountains and stones opened in Jingchu, so that such a jade can be cast."

Several examiners nodded one after another, secretly admiring in their hearts, this Shen Ao is really extraordinary, the history of ancient times is actually very familiar, and the Kingdom of Yu is actually only a few words in the history, most people will automatically ignore it, especially after the eastward migration, the Kingdom of Qiu is even weaker, and it was annexed by Wu Chu soon after, and no one is interested in it, but Shen Ao said it eloquently, and explained the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Qiu.

"So, this piece of jade is real?" One of the examiners asked with interest.

Shen Ao smiled, but he shook his hand, and said very depressedly: "The jade bi is imitated by the coiling dragon jade of the Kingdom of Qiu, but the student did not say that it is genuine, this jade is fake." ”

"Fake?" All the examiners looked at Shen Ao, fascinated, Shen Ao's eloquence is excellent, the tasting is eloquent, the analysis is extremely exciting, it is an interesting thing to watch him appreciate the treasure.

Shen Ao smiled and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, please see, between the cracks of this jade, there is not the slightest mineral intake, since it is a spiritual weapon, it should be buried deep underground, why is there no trace at all?" Beautiful jade is the most susceptible to color erosion, not only the color will change, even the small seams, but also can see the clues, no matter how to coil the jade, cleaning, it is impossible to be so flawless, yes, the student concluded, this jade is a fake, but a more clever fake. ”

The examiner at the top frowned and said: "Since you say that it is a fake, why is its jade quality so simple, obviously it is a thing that has lasted for thousands of years, is it also a fake?" ”

Shen Ao smiled slightly, looked at the eager eyes cast by everyone, and knew that he had guessed correctly, and was about to uncover the mystery slowly.