Call!

Before dawn, Dong Guo Ziyu was escorted by his parents to the gate of the Gongyuan and quietly waited for the test to start.

Even if you wake up early in the morning, you can't get a particularly high position, and many people start queuing a day early.

Although it has no practical effect, it can always get a psychological comfort.

"It's cold!" Among the lifters, there are people who are shivering in single clothes, and their accents are not locals.

Dongguo Ziyu listened to his ears, and the difference between the accents of the north and the south was obvious, and the northern juzi was obviously louder, which also proved the reality that the north was poorer than the south.

In this era, food production was almost the only criterion for determining rich and poor.

Even in later generations, there were still only a few areas that were completely self-sufficient due to the super-high speed created by the concentration of elements.

The candidates waited nervously for the opening of the Gongyuan, and the examiners in the Gongyuan were in different moods.

Hanlin, who participated in the imperial examination as an examiner for the first time, looked at this work in a fresh and strange way, and wanted to maintain the name of the public with a bang.

There are also many times involved in it, and the gray-haired old Hanlin has been able to do this work without waves, and is more about thinking about the court situation, as well as sighing about the uncertain future of his own participation.

As Liu Yan among the two examiners, his identity and last year's experience made him even more uncalm, and he could see the tension of the situation at this time, and he was in the middle of the whirlpool, so he could understand it better.

As for the other fellow examiner, Cao Nai's mood will only be more complicated, in his opinion, this exam is an exam that can determine the direction of Daming.

He is in it, and he exists as one of them, enjoying it in the whirlpool of imperial power and cabinet power.

"Wan Zhong, can we start?" Liu Yan's voice interrupted Cao Nai's thoughts.

He came back to his senses, nodded softly, and with the consent of the chief examiner, the gate of the Tribute Academy slowly opened, and the lifters began to strictly inspect the procedures with their spirits.

"What's your name? How old is it? Three generations of names, origins, and ages are all said once! The unsmiling Yushi finally asked Dongguo Ziyu.

"My name is Dong Guo Sheng, no, no, no, Dong Guo Ziyu, Dong Guo Sheng is my father's house..."

"The Sword Comes"

Although Yushi, who originally looked stern, was still cold on his face, what was revealed in his eyes was a look of encouragement, which made Ziyu slowly regain his confidence and speak more and more organized. "It's okay, let's go and search! It's just an exam, and there are many things to face when you become an official, so being more comfortable will help you. ”

Listening to the advice of the black-faced imperial history, Dong Guo Ziyu nodded gratefully, and he really had more confidence.

Yu Shi looked at Dong Guo Ziyu who was advancing, as if he had returned to the moment when he first entered the field, and his black face was still hard when he turned his head.

By the time Dongguo Ziyu stumbled and passed the inspection, it was already a quarter of an hour later, the examination shed was still shabby, and Zhu Qizhen's reform did not seem to have taken effect.

After waiting quietly for a while, the exam officially began, Dong Guo Ziyu took a deep breath, wrote down the names of the three generations on the test paper, and wrote the study scripture and stamped his own seal before starting to officially answer the questions.

The first test of the "Four Books" is three ways of righteousness and four ways of righteousness.

The four books and five classics all have reference books for the imperial examination, and a total of seven exam questions are simple and simple, and complex and complicated, which is still relatively difficult for Dongguo Ziyu, a newcomer in the field.

After the sun set, it was still not finished, and the army outside the door sent three candles when he saw this, which was also the deadline, and if he couldn't finish writing when the candles burned out, it was over.

As the minutes passed, there were fewer and fewer candles burning in the examination booth.

Dongguo Ziyu's nickname army yawned, probably because he felt that the smell was not good, and his face was disgusting.

glanced at Dong Guo Ziyu again and reminded: "The candle is almost burning, you can take it easy!" ”

Dong Guo Ziyu was excited, glanced at the candle, and almost stained the exam paper with a shake of his hand.

"Don't worry! Make no mistake! The army said kindly.

Dongguo Ziyu glanced at the other party gratefully, and after taking a deep breath, a few thoughts crossed his mind, and the pen turned around, and it ended in two sentences.

The candlelight gradually dimmed, and Dong Guo Ziyu hurriedly handed in the test papers, sighing in his heart and feeling a little more happy.

The first day of the examination ended in tension, and many of the first time they participated in the examination had sleepless nights, thinking about the gains and losses in the article, and Dongguo Ziyu was one of them.

"Alas, if only I could write this sentence on it! The finishing touch is gone! ”

The more I thought about it, the more chaotic it became, and Dong Guo Ziyu didn't fall asleep in the middle of the night.

"No, no, no! Go to bed early! Dong Guo Ziyu closed his eyes vigorously and counted the sheep silently in his heart.

At three o'clock, a guard on duty hit him with drowsiness, and his head dozed off lightly.

Just when people were most sleepy, there was suddenly a black shadow on the roof of the Gongyuan, like a light black cat stepping on the tiles without making a sound.

The distance was not a problem under his feet, and he ran through most of the Gongyuan in a short period of time, and even if he didn't fall asleep, he wouldn't react because of the extra cat on his head.

Finally the "black cat" stopped, as if he was observing something, and set off again after a short time.

This time, however, the action was shorter, with a few take-offs and landings stopping at a low roof.

I saw him gently move the tiles under his feet, and a ray of light was cast on his masked face.

In the room below, a few cooks were dozing off. One by one, they sat here crookedly, leaning there, and the charcoal fire in the stove was still burning quietly.

It didn't take long for the man in black to move again, his fingers shaking rapidly.

If you look from the side, you will see a thread as thin as a hair falling into the kitchen with his movements.

The silk thread hung silently beside the charcoal fire, and the black shadow did not make any further movements, but pricked up its ears as if waiting for someone's signal.

Whew, whew...

A northwest wind blew, and the leaves rattled.

The dark shadow moves! He quickly pulled out a small jar from his bosom and tilted it along the silk thread to pour out the yellowish liquid.

As the water droplets rolled down quickly, they were almost above the charcoal fire in the blink of an eye.

This time there was no pause, and the water droplets, it should not be said that after the oil droplets fell into the charcoal fire, the flames rose rapidly.

The more the oil droplets fell, the bigger the flames became, and at the same time, the kitchen window was blown open under the howling northwest wind, hula, hula, squeak.

The silk thread swayed southeast with oil beads, and the flames drifted to the southeast.

Tables, chairs, benches, and oil in the kitchen are ignited.

The fire took advantage of the wind, and almost in a moment the fire covered the kitchen and burned southeast.

Dong Guo Ziyu frowned and opened his eyes, obviously not waking up, and looked at the chaotic army outside, at this time, if anyone cheats, he will not be discovered.

"Come out! It's on fire! A shout of shouts cut through the night.

After a long night's work, the fire was finally extinguished, fortunately the Gongyuan was in the southeast corner of the city, and the northwest wind only drifted to the direction of the city wall, otherwise the loss of the capital might be great.

But even so, for the imperial court, the deaths and injuries of dozens of people were enough to cause a shock, and the whole world was in an uproar.