The fifth year of Xuanhe in the Great Song Dynasty is the beginning of spring, today is the end of the first month, and the atmosphere of the festival has been depressed a lot, but this annoying drizzle seems to have no end, which makes people a little more annoying.

After the Keju warm-up game, Shen Ao finally made up his mind and opened Chen Ji's manuscript to read, he was a person who knew the goods, and he only skimmed it for half an hour before he understood the preciousness of this manuscript.

In layman's terms, the manuscript is almost a fool's version of how to make a scripture article, the manuscript is easy to understand, but it implies Chen Ji's experience in the scriptures, many truths, seemingly simple, but when Shen Ao read it, it was like thunder, which made him suddenly have a little understanding.

The so-called scriptures are actually the same as painting, painting must be laid out first, and scripture needs to be set up first, that is, to solve the problem. After that, it's a matter of filling in the layout and drawing. And the same is true of the scriptures, to set a position, the whole text only needs to be filled in with rhetoric according to the format of the scriptures.

Shen Ao couldn't help but think that if Mr. Chen's manuscript was published in the future, the title of the book should be "Teach You to Make Jingyi by Hand", he thought about it, laughed, everyone in the world regards doing Jingyi as a sacred thing, it's really funny.

Shen Ao read the manuscript for a few days, and then re-read it, but found that the first time and the second time I read it were different, obviously it was the same text, but I felt that the core of the book had changed.

Shen Ao was secretly surprised in his heart, when he read it for the first time, the book was full of some methods and examples of how to fill in the flowery rhetoric, but when he read it for the second time, he found that these so-called rhetoric and cases were empty, and he only needed to remember some details, and the flowery rhetoric was not a problem.

He smiled, this is like a primary school student learning words, young children learning words, naturally there is no opportunistic way, only to read and recite one by one to understand its meaning. However, if a scholar is asked to reread these texts, he learns to apply them by memorizing only a few marginalities, or memorizing phrases, and arranging these words into various shapes, so as to read a variety of sentences.

The first time, Shen Ao was still thinking that if I memorized all these words, I would be able to pile them up in the future. But it wasn't until the second time that I realized that I didn't need to be so rigid, I remembered some cores, and piled up rhetoric.

He pondered it repeatedly for an hour, and finally understood this truth, his mind suddenly became empty, and he couldn't help laughing: "Any scripture and righteousness articles in the future, I'm afraid it won't be difficult for my son." ”

This realization made his whole body feel comfortable, like a beggar entering a treasure, and suddenly found that the treasures he had dreamed of were now within easy reach.

Finally stayed up until the early morning at the end of the month, and news came from Mrs. that it was Mrs. who turned over the calendar, and today it is the Zodiac auspicious, if there is no mistake, the list of art examinations will be issued today.

Shen Ao changed into a clean blue clothes and clothes, got up early, the Zhou Mansion was already busy, a few small servants hung lanterns at the gate, the middle door also opened its hole, and a celebration utensils were prepared, that is, Liu Wen, also hurriedly pasted the red envelopes that sealed the happy money, this busy, but it seemed that Shen Ao had become an outsider, and couldn't help touching his nose and smiling bitterly: "Hey, hey, hey...... Am I the master, okay? ”

Zhou Heng also got up early on this day, a few days ago he hid out to take refuge, and finally didn't touch Zhou Zheng's moldy head, he came back from the adventure last night, and heard about the release of the list, so he came to look for Shen Ao excitedly, and said with jealousy: "Shen Ao, you were my scholar at that time, I was your young master, and later you became my cousin, and I became your cousin." Now that I'm still a young master, you're about to enter Hanlin as an official. Hey, everyone in Bianjing City knows that there is a Young Master Shen, so I almost forgot about my Young Master this week. ”

Shen Ao made Zhou Heng laugh amusedly, Zhou Heng also turned his worries into joy, and said excitedly: "But you are my cousin, although I feel a little uncomfortable, but I am still happy for you." ”

Shen Ao hurriedly said, "Cousin, I have something for you." He found Chen Ji's manuscript, but the manuscript was a transcript, which he had copied down for the convenience of memory when he read it a few days ago.

If it were someone else, Shen Ao naturally knew the preciousness of this manuscript, and would never show it easily; But in Shen Ao's heart, Zhou Heng is not an outsider, no matter whether this manuscript is useful to Zhou Heng or not, he must always give it a try.

"Hey, cousin, don't you want to return my Wu Meiniang's Zhenlie biography?" Seeing Shen Ao take out a manuscript, Zhou Heng smiled, opened it and took a look, but it was full of dense small characters, and there were a lot of them: "Cousin, what is this?" ”

Shen Ao said: "This is a good thing, you take it back and take a look, if you are really willing to work hard, maybe there is still hope for the imperial examination." ”

Zhou Heng pursed his lips and returned the manuscript disdainfully: "If I am really willing to read, is it still Zhou Heng?" Cousin, don't push me. ”

Shen Ao had no choice but to smile bitterly and take back the manuscript, everyone has their own ambitions, and he can't be reluctant.

At this time, Mrs. had already called someone to call, Shen Ao and Zhou Heng went to the Buddha Hall together, Mrs. smiled at Shen Ao: "Today, I always feel that my eyelids are always jumping, and I don't know whether it is good news or bad news. ”

Shen Ao nodded, sitting upright, a little nervous in his heart, although he knew that his performance in the palace examination was not bad, but the taste of waiting was quite uncomfortable.

When Madame saw him like this, she teased: "I usually see you careless about everything, but now you are afraid?" ”

Shen Ao smiled and said, "It's not that I'm afraid, it's that I have too much expectations." He said it easily, but he was smiling bitterly in his heart, he used to have nothing to worry about, laughing and scolding, he didn't take any exams seriously at all, his behavior was frivolous and his behavior was casual, but now he understands that the reason why he was like this at that time was only because he was alone and had no worries. And now it's different, just like this exam, it's no longer his business alone, not only the prince and his wife are anxious, but Chun'er, Zhen Zhen, cousin, Tang Mo'er, why aren't they worried about themselves? There are also Chen Ji, Master Tang, Dr. Guozijian, classmates, relatives and friends, and many people, if Shen Ao doesn't care at all, and he is still free and easy at this time, it would be really unconscionable.

Shen Ao pursed his lips and smiled, showing a bit of maturity, his eyes turned, but the clever and cunning color did not decrease in the slightest; Jiangshan is easy to change his original surname and difficult to change, although it is a little more responsible, but the cunning temperament is still undiminished.

After sitting for a long time, Zhou Ruoxing came in a hurry, she was wearing a hat, under the brim of the hat was a red melon seed face, the tender yellow embroidered Confucian dress was still elegant, and she walked in with full footsteps, and asked happily: "Cousin, is the person who reported the good news here?"

After only saying one sentence, he felt that the sentence was not appropriate, and secretly glanced at his wife, not knowing what to say anymore, his face was slightly red, showing a little shame.

Shen Ao said generously: "It shouldn't have come so soon, the auspicious time has not yet arrived, and the list has not yet been posted." ”

Zhou Ruo sat down and said to his wife with a little tiredness: "Mother, my cousin looks good in this official uniform." ”

Mrs. saw that Zhou Ruo's expression was different, and was falling into deep thought, at this time, after Zhou Ruoyi said, she glanced at Shen Ao up and down, and saw that he was wearing long hair, wearing a scarf, wearing a blue dress, with a red ribbon wrapped around his waist, his figure was slender and straight, his face was as warm as jade, and under the sword eyebrows was a pair of bright eyes, the bridge of his nose was straight, his thin lips were pursed, and he was both chic and cunning, especially those thick eyes, which were deep and a little cynical, and couldn't help but say: "He is a little similar to your father when he was young......

This sentence came out involuntarily, and the lady who came back to her senses couldn't help but frown in annoyance: "Look at what I'm talking nonsense." Then he laughed; But in his heart, he was thinking: "Fang Cai Ruo'er looks at him a little differently, could it be ......" Mrs. pursed her lips, and panicked for a while, Shen Ao's dress, coupled with his talent, if the young daughter is not tempted, it is fake, but Ruo'er really likes this cousin, what should she do? Her mind was in turmoil, and she had no idea for a while.

Zhou Ruo heard Mrs. compare Shen Ao to his father, and he covered his mouth and snickered for a while, and couldn't help thinking: "This is called Xi Shi in the eyes of the lover, and it is replaced by the mother, that is, Song Yu is out of the eyes of the lover, in the eyes of the mother, the father is naturally the most suave and suave, comparing Shen Ao with his father, isn't that a praise for Shen Ao?" ”

It's just that the next moment she found that Madame looked back and forth between her and Shen Ao with a deep meaning, and then fell into deep thought, she couldn't help but chuckle in her heart, pursed her lips, and lowered her head with some shame and some chagrin.

After a while, someone came to report that the prince was coming.

After a while, the energetic Zhou Zheng rolled the blinds in, looked left and right, and said with a smile: "Everyone is there? This is great, I just got news from the palace, saying that His Majesty's Zhu Pi has come down, that Bangwen has just come out of the palace, and now he is going to the Holy Oracle Pavilion, and after a while, there will be news. He paced in and sat down next to Shen Ao, but when he saw Zhou Heng, he glared at him, Zhou Heng was suddenly frightened, and lowered his head to drink tea.

Zhou Zheng said indifferently: "Heng'er, I found an errand for you in the front of the palace, if you really don't want to study, go to the front of the palace in a few days; Everyone has their own ambitions, and I won't force you anymore. ”

The front division of the palace is one of the three most prominent divisions in the forbidden army, responsible for the garrison of the inner city and the imperial city, especially the garrison of the imperial city, which has a great responsibility. The forbidden army of the three divisions is a gathering place in the middle of the powerful and wealthy families, and if you can't take the road of a civil official, then you can only go from the martial arts, and enter the forbidden army, as long as the background is hard enough, you can be promoted in a few years.

Just like the Gao Yu who won the favor of the saint, although Zhao Ji loved him very much, but he had no fame, and it was impossible for him to enter the officialdom, so he first entered the forbidden army, and then carried it step by step, and finally sat on the throne of the commander of the Guard's Pro-Army Ma Military Division, and later was crowned as a Tai Lieutenant, although the Tai Lieutenant is only an honorary official title, but in the eyes of many people, Gao Yu's status has surpassed the two yamen of the front division of the palace and the infantry division of the guard.

However, the Great Song Dynasty admired literature and suppressed martial arts, and as the prince of the country, entering the forbidden army was also a last resort, and Zhou Zheng made this decision, which was unexpected.

Into the Forbidden Army? Zhou Heng was stunned for a moment, and then showed joy, which meant that his father would no longer ask him about his homework, and he would no longer have to go to Guozijian to study.

Shen Ao secretly twisted Zhou Heng, and he was happy for Zhou Heng in his heart. He seems to have a lot of friends, and he can move around a lot in the future.

Shen Ao snickered in his heart, who would dare to bully him in the future, he could point to his chest openly, and proudly said: "Brother's cousin commands the envoy to work in front of the palace and use force?" Come on, come on, you wait, buddy go call someone. ”

Mrs. smiled happily: "In the past, I persuaded Grandpa to let Heng'er join the forbidden army, Grandpa still has some influence in Sanya, our Zhou family started in Sanyali, and the protégés and old officials are all over there, but Grandpa just bit his mouth and disagreed, how can he figure it out now?" ”

Zhou Zheng smiled: "There are some things that Mrs. still doesn't know. He sighed, the ancestor of the Zhou family, but also the first general to raise troops with Emperor Taizu, after several generations, and several ancestors have made great achievements, so he got the title of the duke of this country, but Zhou Zheng's father is no longer engaged in martial arts, after all, this martial arts has always been despised in the Great Song Dynasty, so he turned to the text, Zhou Zheng originally wanted to create a scholarly family, who knew that Zhou Heng's generation, but he wanted to be martial arts, and his heart's desire was frustrated, and his heart was unspeakably uncomfortable.

Thinking of this, Zhou Zheng couldn't help but glance at Shen Ao, and couldn't help thinking: "It's that Shen Ao, a relative, has such a creation, he is proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and he is willing to work hard in reading. ”

He was even thinking that in the future, Zhou Heng gave birth to a grandson for him, and this grandson must be sent to Shen Ao's house to be cultivated, and he could no longer learn from Zhou Heng, an unfilial son.

I felt a lot of emotion in my heart, squeezed out a little smile, and said to Shen Ao: "Shen Ao, I have prepared the invitation, the Manchu Dynasty civil and military, the prince and the prince, and the big families in Bianjing have extended half of the invitations, whether they can be decent or not, it depends on what kind of good news the person who reports the good news." ”

Shen Ao nodded, he took four exams in a row, he didn't believe that he didn't even have a champion; This time, Zhou Zheng invited so many people, but I was afraid that he would have to get acquainted with some of the old elements of the Zhou family.

Anxiously waiting, everyone had no words to say, time passed slowly, Mrs. asked the time several times, and when the auspicious time passed, Mrs. said: "I'm afraid it's coming, Liu Wen, has the middle door opened?" ”

Liu Wen waited outside and said, "It's already open." ”

Madame nodded, and said in her heart: "If you add more money, you can't disappoint people." ”

Liu Wen replied and went to work again.

Liu Wen had just left on his front feet, but he hurriedly ran back and hissed: "Grandpa, Mrs., here, here, the person who announces the good news is here...... I heard a gong ringing outside, and there was nothing wrong with that. ”

At this time, the lady became reserved, and sat down: "What are you panicking, you go and ask, and then come back again." ”

Liu Wen said that, and went quickly, Shen Ao's heart tightened, if he didn't even earn back the champion, this face would be a bit big, but at this moment he was surprisingly calm, and his mind was clear.

After a while, Liu Wen came back, this time no longer in a hurry, but opened the curtain and came in steadily, saluted everyone expressionlessly, and said, "Grandpa, Mrs. ......"

The people in the Buddhist hall chuckled in their hearts, Liu Wen's expression was too strange, didn't he report a champion?

The expectations of Shen Ao present are very high, even if Shen Ao gives a point to Tanhua, they are also disdainful, what they want is the first in the world, the reason why this is so is that the prince of the country came back from the palace test, seeing Shen Ao's wonderful performance, he already thinks that the champion is nine out of ten, these words came from the mouth of the grandfather who has always been steady, and everyone is looking forward to it; What's more, four consecutive palace exams, even if you shake the dice to bet on the idea, you should also win.

Liu Wen said slowly: "The person who reported the good news has already passed the word, saying that it is the champion of the young master who has won four games in a row......"

"Four?"

"Liu Wen, is this news accurate? Quickly teach people to go to the Holy Oracle Pavilion to have a look, maybe someone is wrong. ”

As soon as Liu Wen's words fell, the Buddhist hall was silent at first, and when everyone came back to their senses, many people didn't believe it again, even Shen Ao, and it was a little unbelievable.

Liu Wenzheng said: "There is no mistake, when the villain arrived at the gate of the mansion, there were several groups of people who reported the good news, and all of them were conclusive, and they were indeed the top names of the four fields, all of which were personally approved by the officials." ”

After all, Zhou Heng knew a lot of methods in the market, and couldn't help but say, "Could it be that someone deliberately came to cheat money?" He said this time, Mrs. is also a little hesitant, both happy and worried, there is really this kind of fake good news in the market, some splashes wait until the list is released, and do not go to see, so they go to the inns to find those candidates, and when they meet people, they say that he is already in high school, those candidates do not know what to do, and they are ecstatic to reward money everywhere, so that these splashes go all the way over, and they can earn a few times of happy money in one trip, and if they meet some large families, there are more than a dozen times.

Zhou Zheng took a deep breath and said, "Liu Wen, you go to the Holy Oracle Pavilion to see it in person, you don't see it with your own eyes, and you are always at ease." ”

Liu Wen responded and went immediately.

"Four in a row? Grandpa, is there such a precedent in this Great Song Dynasty? The lady could no longer sit down, so she got up and paced back and forth in the temple.

Zhou Zheng said with a wry smile: "Don't say that there are four games, even if there are two games, although the art examination is not as good as the imperial examination, but to get the first place in one is already a great thing." ”

"Scared, if Shen Ao really won four games, what an official should this court seal him." Madame clutched her chest, anxious, surprised and delighted, afraid that she had been deceived, but also felt that this was not groundless.

Zhou Ruo on the side smiled and said, "Mother, even if you have passed a hundred exams, this official is also unchanged, can you be a master after four exams?" ”

Mrs. said angrily: "What do you know about this kid...... She walked back and forth, and was a little careful, if she really won four games in a row, don't say that Shen Ao's future is promising, that is, she will be with those ladies in the future, and with such a nephew, she will have a lot of face.

Zhou Zheng was calm, his face still couldn't help but glow with a hint of red, glanced at Shen Ao, and saw that he was sitting upright, but he had a bit of the temperament of Mount Tai collapsing in front of him and not changing his color, and couldn't help but praise in his heart: "It's strange to have such a bearing at a young age." ”

Thinking about it, Zhou Zheng smiled, this Shen Ao, calm and like a deep middle-aged man who has gone through vicissitudes, but he is like a naughty boy when he plays, completely reckless, I really don't know which face is his true surname.

Shen Ao saw that his wife was in a hurry, but he went to comfort her, poured a cup of tea in person, and sent it to his wife, and said: "Auntie, sometimes there must be in life, I don't know if the Buddha or which monk said it, you have a good rest, drink tea and calm down." ”

Madame smiled, glanced at Shen Ao deeply, and remembered Zhou Ruo's strange appearance towards Shen Ao, and her mood became even more complicated, and said, "You are a good boy, don't worry about me, I like this." Although he said this, he finally sat down with the tea in his hand, asked the time, and muttered: "Why hasn't Liu Wen come back yet?" ”

Zhou Heng said: "Mother, Liu Wen just left, how can he come back so soon." ”

"Oh, really?" Mrs. cross-examined, bowed her head to drink tea, and suddenly frowned and wept: "This child is really festive and scared, my parents went early, and the people of my mother's family looked at each other coldly, and my grandfather took pity on me, but I have not been worried about this lady, and the wives of other people's families are all emperors, county lords, and young ladies from large families, only I can't talk to them, I'm afraid that they can't look down on me, who has no mother's family. ”

Zhou Zheng blew his beard and glared: "What are you doing in front of the children, it's not a joke." ”

Shen Ao hurriedly said on the side: "Auntie, don't worry, with me here, no one dares to despise you." He suddenly smiled and continued: "If your uncle dares to bully you, won't I still be the master for you?" ”

When this sentence was spoken, Zhou Heng laughed, Zhou Ruo glanced at Shen Ao, and couldn't help laughing, Zhou Zheng was slightly stunned at first, and then he said, but Mrs. said very seriously: "Yes, yes, Shen Ao is still reliable." ”

As he was talking, Liu Wen's scream came from outside: "Coming, coming, Yang Gonggong is here, Yang Gonggong is here, Yang Gonggong is coming to report the good news......"