After Fan Xian left the Tongfu Inn, the four scholars in the room looked at each other, as if they couldn't imagine that such a big baked cake would fall on his head.

"How is this good?" Yang Wanli sat on the bed a little stupidly. After Cheng Jialin and Shi Yanli congratulated him, they said with a smile: "From now on, Brother Yang is tantamount to climbing to Xiangye and Hubu Shangshu, and I am afraid that this career will be smooth sailing." ”

Yang Wanli's honest face revealed a sense of bitterness: "I have always admired Xiao Fan's talents, and this time I am also thanks to the adult's accommodation, and I want to come behind the scenes to read the papers, this Xiao Fan has also made a lot of efforts, but it is just ...... I wish Lord Fan hadn't made such a trip today. ”

Cheng Shi and the others were speechless, knowing that Yang Wanli felt that Fan Xian seemed to have a sense of gratitude.

Hou Jichang, who has always been hidden as the leader of everyone, shook his head with a smile and said: "If Lord Xiao Fan is the city's favor, you don't have to come here in person, you have been worried about it, I have decided that from now on, I will think of Lord Xiao Fan in the court, and I will definitely make a career." ”

Shi Xianli was stunned, thinking to himself why Brother Hou, who had always prided himself on being high, suddenly turned around?

Yang Wanli shook his head and said: "I also know that for every exam, it is a common practice for students to be a teacher, but Brother Hou knows that I have always respected Xiao Fan's talents, and because of the entrainment on my body, I like Xiao Fan very much, so I always hope that Xiao Fan and these court officials can be a little different." ”

"Perfection, perfection. Cheng Jialin reproached: "Although Lord Xiao Fan has the immortal material in the poem, after all, he is also an official of the DPRK and China, the son of a powerful person, and it is not easy to come here in person." Does Brother Wanli want Lord Xiao Fan to be a true immortal who doesn't eat fireworks? Not to mention that a true immortal is not necessarily better than a capable official who is scheming in this poor mortal world. ”

Shi Yanli clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Although Brother Jialin has few words, he has said this thoroughly. He turned to Yang Wanli and said: "If you talk about worship, you are definitely not as good as me, I often read the poems in my hand, and the more than 100 poems in it can be memorized backwards, but now I see Lord Xiao Fan, I am not disappointed at all." Why? It's all because of the poet's heart, this little Fan is indeed a free and easy person from my generation, and how can he talk about it together with such corrupt officials as the DPRK and China. ”

He smiled, and then said: "When I came here with roast chicken, there were not many people with umbrellas in the alley, and I loved to play around, and I looked at the young man under an umbrella with a beautiful face, a fresh and pleasant breath, and some novel and terrifying comments. So recklessly got under his umbrella and walked all the way, if I were an ordinary powerful official, how could I be so rude? The inn knew that he was Fan Xian, to be honest, the foolish brother was really a little surprised, Fan Xian Fan Xian, sure enough, did not disappoint me. ”

At this time, everyone knew that there was such a thing before, no wonder Fan Xian just said that he had a half-umbrella relationship with Shi Xianli, and when he thought of it, he couldn't help but smile. Yang Wanli touched his head a little embarrassed: "Maybe...... I always feel that Xiao Fan should be the kind of noble person who lies on the grape trellis, wakes up to write thousands of poems, and ignores the dirty affairs of the DPRK and China. ”

Hou Jichang shook his head disapprovingly, and said coldly: "That kind of character seems to be clean and dusty, but it is really useless to the country and useless to the people. ”

"Not necessarily, not necessarily. Yang Wanli sighed.

Hou Jichang smiled faintly and said: "Speaking of which, I am not afraid of your jokes, how can a scholar serve the country, there is only one way to enter the court as an official, and the difficulties of the government are deep and terrifying, how can outsiders like you and me understand? ”

He paused, and then said: "Although I am a little arrogant, but I am not a sour person who does not know how to advance and retreat, since we have this opportunity, of course we must seize it, if we must follow a certain figure in the court, then I think that Master Fan should be the best object, and if you want to come to the officialdom to act, it will not conflict with our ideal in peace." ”

Everyone said in unison: "Why?" Everyone was already a little surprised by Hou Jichang's resolute attitude, but at this time, listening to him emphasize again, they were even more curious.

Hou Jichang picked up the teacup from the table, looked at the leftover tea that Fan Xian drank next to him, and was a little distracted, and only said after a while: "A popular person who travels on a rainy day will actually pay attention to the stagnant water on his umbrella when it falls, don't drip into the pot of the roadside hawker who is sheltering from the rain, and would rather be wet on his body, and go to the outside side." Such a careful and benevolent character, if not the great jiān great evil, is the great sage and sage. ”

He smiled and said, "A seventeen-year-old young man can't hide it so well anytime and anywhere, so I think that Lord Xiao Fan is a great sage, and my judgment is so simple, because I was moved by the scene in the rain." ”

There was silence in the room, and after a long time, there was a sigh.

――――――――――――――――――――――――― second rì, on the vermilion wall on the left side of the examination hall, the yellow paper that the candidates had been looking forward to was finally posted. The rules of Qingguo chūn are not complicated, after the township test, there is a general examination, and after the examination, the top three candidates will be taken out, but the ranking is not determined, and they are arranged on the emperor's list according to their strokes.

The number of top three varies over the years. Because there was an additional Enke in the third year of Qingli, the number of scholars in the last two years was a little small. There are only one hundred and eight names on this year's list. It is precisely because of the small number of takes, whether it is the students of Taixue in Beijing, or the tribute students from all counties who come to Beijing to take the exam, they are a little nervous.

There is a bridge to the west of the examination institute, if you want to go to the vermilion wall to see the list, you have to cross the bridge, at this time the vermilion wall is already surrounded by students wearing long robes, crowded, nervously looking for their names on the big yellow paper.

And at the other end of the bridge, Hou Jichang, who had already taken a reassuring pill in his heart, walked slowly with Yang Wanli, there were still rain stains left by yesterday on the bridge deck, and the moss between the stone bricks looked particularly slippery. Cheng Jialin laughed at himself, although his and Shi Yanli's steps were as slow as those of their two friends, they were inevitably nervous in their hearts.

Coming to the bottom of the Zhu Wall, the four of them finally squeezed into the crowd, starting from the left-hand side, I don't know how long they watched, and suddenly heard Shi Yanli shout with joy: "Brother Hou, Brother Hou!

The other three listened to the voice and rushed to Shi Xianli's side, and sure enough, they saw Hou Jichang's name written in the third row above their heads, and couldn't help but be excited, Yang Wanli gently punched Hou Jichang in the shoulder, with a smile on his face.

Hou Jichang smiled slightly, wanting to show a hint of self-restraint, but what a big deal this is! Although he claimed to be high, he thought of the suffering of ten years of cold windows, the ardent expectations of his parents at home, and the envious eyes of many scholars beside him, and he couldn't help but be a little fluttering, and his lips couldn't help but grin, revealing a very happy smile.

At this time, the names written by the three gold powders of "Hou Jichang" on the imperial list seem to be shining in the sun, looking extremely expensive and with an unlimited future.

............ The four of them were no longer separated now, they simply looked carefully to the right, and they didn't know how long it took, and finally succeeded in finding Yang Wanli's name in the imperial list, and only then did they really believe the words of Lord Xiao Fan yesterday. Yang Wanli was very excited when he saw that his name was indeed on the emperor's list, his eyes were a little red, and he said to himself: "It's really hit, it's really hit." ”

With a strange scream, he rushed out of the crowd, ran to the edge of the bridge, and roared loudly at the water below the bridge, the sound echoing through the hole in the bridge, making a buzzing sound.

The three friends looked at him with a smile and knew why he was so excited - Yang Wanli lost his mother at the age of eight, grew up alone in Quanzhou since he was a child, and it was thanks to his father who endured hunger and cold to buy him a lot of books, and urged him to join the clan to study with white eyes, and passed the township examination with great difficulty, and then came to Kyoto.

But in Kyoto January, Yang Wanli found that his talent should be there, and his own reasoning was more practical than that of the scholars next to him, but he had no choice but to be remote in Hejiashan and poor in ethnography, and he always did not learn the prosperous rhetoric of the students in Beijing.

So even close friends such as Hou Jichang and Shi Xianli thought that it was impossible for him to win, and Yang Wanli himself didn't have any hope, so he spent the last money to buy the most popular jacket among students, and sandwiched Shi Yanli's article in it, wanting to gamble.

At that time, Yang Wanli was heartbroken, thinking that he had wasted his light in the past ten years, but he didn't expect this little Fan to give him a second chance.

After the examination and discharge, he didn't dare to use the cheat sheet in the jacket, and the natural strategy and poetry he made were not glorious, so he also gave up all the thoughts in the record, just drinking and having fun, and only when he heard that Guo Shangshu was arrested and imprisoned did he have a little more joy. Unexpectedly, Lord Xiao Fan came to Tongfu Inn to see him in person yesterday, and secretly pointed out that he might enter the top three.

After sorrow is joy, after despair is hope, the impact of this kind of love has continued to this daytime, after Yang Wanli crossed the bridge, standing under the Zhu Wall, more and more felt that yesterday's visit by Lord Xiao Fan was a dream, and it was impossible for him to get in.

...... But, I really hit it!

Yang Wanli looked at his somewhat distorted face in the slightly dangling river, calmed down a little, and naturally understood why he was able to achieve such cultivation in just a few days, and he was grateful to that young adult in his heart.