On the first day of August, before the start of the autumn exam.

At the entrance of the Gongyuan, it was crowded with candidates preparing for the entrance exam.

The autumn of the Liang Dynasty is held once every two years, and it coincides with these two years, and Royal Najigarnko can also play this year. There are three three-day trials in the fall. Not to mention learning, it is also a big test for physical strength.

In front of the carriage, Mrs. Dong held Dong Lin's hand, looked him up and down, and said, "Are your clothes a little thinner?" I heard that it was very cold in the house, and I didn't even have a charcoal stove, and the autumn cold hit people, what should I do if I catch a cold? ”

Dong Lin has been pampered since he was a child, and he was unexpectedly going to the house to stay for nine days and seven nights, and Mrs. Dong was always very worried.

"Mother, my son is fine." Dong Lin felt a little uncomfortable. There were so many candidates coming and going at the gate of the Gongyuan, and he had a carriage and a large group of slaves in his house, which seemed particularly out of place.

"I'm not worried about you, once you enter the Tribute Academy, you have to wait until the exam is over, what if you are hungry and cold inside. Shengquan," Mrs. Dong beckoned to the guards beside her, "You can take a look at the examination basket for the young master, but what is missing?" ”

"Yes."

At this time, a Confucian student walked by, and he saw the picture of their mother-son deep love in his eyes, and he was a little distracted for a while.

Wu Youcai stood in place in a daze.

In the past few years, every time he left the scene, his mother also sent him to the gate of the Gongyuan like this, and instructed him. She never worries about whether his articles are well written, whether he can be an official, what she says the most, and what she worries about the most is nothing more than whether it is cold in the house, whether the clothes are enough to wear, and whether he will not be able to eat enough.

At the end, he smiled at him again and said, "My mother is waiting for you to finish the exam at home!" ”

And now, there is no one waiting for him to return home, and there will be no more mother's advice in front of the Gongyuan.

Someone on his side patted him on the shoulder: "Talented!" ”

Wu Youcai looked back and saw that he was an old man dressed as a Confucian student, wearing a green cloth shirt with open seams, a square scarf on his head, a gray beard, a yellow face and thin muscles, and a shabby examination basket in his hand. He was stunned: "Daddy Xun? ”

This person he knows, is an old gentleman who lives at the mouth of the temple, this year is past the old, since he became an adult, he has been taking the exam for decades, and he has not been hit once, Wu Youcai heard that he has become more and more bad in recent years, and it is difficult to walk, but he did not expect that this autumn will still come.

"I've seen you from afar," Father Xun's white beard curled up and his wrinkled face grinned, "I just saw your number in the name book, adjacent to me." It's a good omen, maybe both of us will be able to win this time. ”

Wu Youcai looked at his trembling steps and didn't speak.

Father Xun didn't notice that his expression was different, he just looked at the young candidates who came and went around him, and there was a hint of longing and envy in his eyes.

When the time came, the examiner began to urge, and all the candidates entered the gate of the Gongyuan together, and the examiner checked the pen and ink in the examination basket and entered the number room in turn.

The number house is lined up in the south direction, a total of sixty-six rooms, and the number room that Wu Youcai was assigned to is located in the middle, and the candidate in the adjacent number room happens to be Xun Daddy. Approaching the door, Father Xun said mysteriously to him: "Write well, I had a sign in my dream the day before yesterday, and you and I will definitely be on the same list this year!" ”

Wu Youcai only smiled and carried the test basket into the number room.

In the distance, the gate of the Gongyuan was closed.

The house is like a behemoth hidden in Shengjing, quietly engulfing tens of millions of readers.

There are three performances in the autumn season, each of which lasts for three days, the first is the Four Books and Five Classics, the second is the examination of the strategy, and the third is the poetry. During the end of the session, the candidates are not allowed to go out of the house after eating, drinking, and Lazar.

Wu Youcai sat in the number room, looking at the exam papers spread out in front of him, he looked at them one by one, as he had done in the past twelve years, picked up the pen, and knelt down in front of the case to answer.

Time passed slowly, and the sky of the Gongyuan turned from white to black, and from black to white.

There were two changes in the middle, and when the last change was made after the test, it was drizzling outside.

It was the third watch, Wu Youcai, with the candidates, waiting for the main exam to call the number of the change room.

The sky is cloudy, and it is impossible to tell who is who in the thick ink-like night, there is a class room next to the number room, and there are miscellaneous trees in front of the class room, and there are faint figures shaking in it. Xu is Wu Youcai is still in good spirits this day, but for some reason his vision is surprisingly good in this cold and rainy day, so he can see clearly, someone has changed his outfit in it, and he is waiting in the black forest in front of the class room.

It wasn't until the same examination came out that the named person did not speak, but secretly retreated into the shadow of the bush, and then another person came out, took the top hat and shirt of the named person, and walked out again, becoming the person who was named.

The person who was named was originally obese, but the person who came forward was a short and thin man.

So in an instant, Wu Youcai knew it.

He opened his mouth and wanted to shout, but Lu Tong's words came to his mind.

"You are soft-spoken, and the dog officials are complicit, maybe they will find a reason to arrest you, and when you are released after the autumn, there will be no evidence."

He fell silent suddenly.

Shouted, spoken, so what?

There are two people who preside over the main examination of Qiuqiu, four people who take the same examination, one person who is promoted, and several people who patrol the examination. With so many people, didn't you find out that someone was taking the exam for you?

The gate of the Gongyuan has long been closed, and it is not allowed to be opened again before the exam, if there is no permission from someone before, how did these substitutes get in? Even if he calls out now, the examiner will find an excuse to catch him, even though his words may cause suspicion among the candidates, but the autumn exam is not over yet, and no one will give up their future for this doubt.

He couldn't continue to take the test.

The dripping autumn rain drenched the corners of his robe, and Wu Youcai stood in place, a bitter smile floating on the corner of his mouth.

He looked into the distance, and in the shed, the two examiners in brocade clothes sat peacefully, crossed their legs, and comfortably sipped the tea in their mouths.

In the darkness, there seemed to be a woman in a white silk sitting in the distance, smiling at him and speaking.

"If it's me ......"

"Of course, kill him."

Kill him.

The sharp corners of the paper bag in his sleeve touched his fingers, and Wu Youcai suddenly came back to his senses and slowly clenched the small bag in his palm.

The autumn rain continues, dropping on people, as if it is going to be bitter to people's hearts. The roll call was over, and Wu Youcai walked into the new black house with the insect-like team of candidates, like walking into a tomb that had already been cast for him.

In the last one, the test is word endowment.

This should be what Wu Youcai is best at, but he never picked up a pen, just sat in front of the desk, staring blankly at the copper lamp in the small room.

It was raining a little bit, and my clothes were a little wet. Wu Youcai didn't care, this dress was sewn for him by his mother for the first time before he left the field twelve years ago, and in order to get a fortune, he deliberately used vermilion coarse silk fabric. Twelve years later, the collar and sleeves of the robe had been worn out by time, but he was reluctant to reopen and sew them again, because there were traces of old threads that his mother had sewn on them.

He sat quietly in the hall for a long, long time, until the sky was white in the east, and there was a faint rooster crowing from the distant downtown A few stars, then he slowly picked up his pen and began to write on the examination paper in front of him.

He writes very slowly, with great care in every stroke, and his expression can even be called pious, but when he looks closely, there is a kind of dullness when everything is done.

After the last stroke fell, Wu Youcai withdrew his hand and put the pen aside.

He lifted the scroll of paper, looked at it closely, and then put it down again, looking up into the distance.

Outside the window of the house, the sky is white, this autumn is almost over, and it will not be long before the examiner takes away the examination papers, and the future of the people in these sixty-six rooms is settled.

Wu Youcai took out the small paper bag from his sleeve.

He smiled calmly, and then, opening the paper bag in his hand.

……

In the adjacent building, Daddy Xun put down his pen and rubbed his trembling hands.

He is already very old, and he may not be able to survive the next end, but Qiu Yu has persisted for many years, and it seems to have become an obsession in his heart. He has no children, no daughters, has never been married, and his father and mother have passed away a long time ago, as if he came to the world to gain fame.

There are countless scholars like him in this world.

However, if the lowly people want to ascend to the sky in one step, this is the most direct and seemingly promising way.

A satisfied smile appeared on Daddy Xun's tree-like old face.

It was about the dream he had a few days ago that really worked, and he felt that the three games this year were all very well written, perhaps it really responded to the sentence in the book, "Those who have been in the bush for a long time, fly high", he has been busy for so many years, maybe he can really taste the taste of the title of the gold list before entering the ground.

Daddy Xun put aside the written exam papers and took out a few pieces of dry food from the exam basket.

Before changing venues, candidates will receive dry food to be eaten in the next two days at the same examination office. There are some baked cakes, sweet cakes and the like, the taste is okay, Daddy Xun is afraid that there will not be enough time to answer the questionnaire, so he is not busy eating. At this time, I was almost finished, just waiting for the examiner to collect the exam papers, so my heart relaxed, and then I felt hungry in my stomach.

I picked up a piece of baked cake and took a bite, and suddenly heard a terrible shout from nearby: "Poison! Someone poisoned! Help—"

This sound came suddenly, like a loud thunder in the silent Gongyuan, which made Daddy Xun's hand unstable, and the baked cake "Gollum" fell to the ground.

He didn't have time to pick it up, so he pushed the window of the house out, and raised himself to try to see the scene outside.

The number houses in the Gong Yuan are not exempt from the candidates' fraudulent trips, every number room is locked, and even the windows are locked with iron bolts, which can only be opened halfway.

From the half-opened window, it can be seen clearly, it is early in the morning, in the empty courtyard of the Gongyuan, a figure in vermilion clothes rolled out of it, just rolling in the middle of the compound, this person appeared suddenly, the same examination and the main examination have not yet reacted, Xun Daddy is still thinking, this person must have smashed the door of the house and ran out - but once the door is broken, this year's autumn results will be countless, isn't it a year in vain?

The next moment, the man's mournful shout came again.

"In the same year, someone poisoned dry food, and dry food was poisonous—"

Dry food is toxic?

As if to confirm his statement, the figure rolling on the ground gradually slowed down, its limbs spasmed, and black blood erupted from his mouth, creating a shocking shadow on the ground.

Father Xun was stunned for a moment, subconsciously looked at the baked cakes rolling on the ground, and a chill suddenly passed through his heart.

The dry food in the Gongyuan was uniformly distributed, and in the early years, the candidates brought their own dry food, but due to the dampness of the dormitory, the food brought by some candidates quickly deteriorated. Later, the Ministry of Rites arranged for the Gongyuan to provide dry food for the candidates during the autumn festival.

This man said that dry food was poisonous, so what is in front of him......

Father Xun withdrew his hand violently and shook off the exam basket like a snake and scorpion.

The cakes in the basket were scattered all over the ground.

There was almost a sudden noise of shouting in the surrounding buildings - at this time, most of the exams had been completed, and the candidates could not help but be terrified when they saw this miserable scene.

Daddy Xun held down his heart, at this moment his heart was beating fast, only to feel that he was panting urgently, but at this time, there was a trace of strangeness in his mind at an inopportune time, how could the shouting sound sound a little familiar? Looks like I've heard it somewhere.

Thinking so, he trembled and pushed open the window of the number room, and boldly glanced at the man who had fallen to the ground.

The man fell to the ground, his head tilted, and the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth was a mess under him.

His eyes were wide open, a painful expression was fixed on his face, his skin seemed to be blue, like a dead ghost, and his lifeless eyes happened to collide with Daddy Xun.

Daddy Xun breathed heavily.

A moment later, he cried out against his chest.

"Yes, talented—"

……

When the Renxin Medical Center opened, it was past the end of the day.

After the beginning of autumn, the days become shorter, the nights become longer, and except for those who sell breakfast, the shops of the vendors on West Street open much later.

Yinzheng was wiping the jar of medicinal tea on the counter, and the young man in the tailor shop opposite hurriedly ran from outside, saying loudly as he ran: "Something's wrong, there's an accident in Gongyuan!" ”

Tailor Sun held the bowl and rinsed his mouth, and when he heard this, he turned his head and asked, "What's wrong?" ”

"Just now, the people on the other side of the class room said that they heard that a scholar died in the Gongyuan, saying that someone was poisoning in the house, and there was a mess at this time!"

Yinzheng shook his hand, and a jar of medicinal tea accidentally fell off and rolled to the ground.

"Oh my God," Sister-in-law Song in the silk shoe shop heard the movement and walked out, "Aren't all the students in the Gongyuan Academy?" Who poisons students? ”

"I don't know." The young man scratched his head, "It's spread outside the Tribute Courtyard, but I won't let you in until the time comes, I don't know what the situation is." ”

Yinzheng's face changed, and he didn't care about anything else, opened the felt curtain and entered the small courtyard. It was still early at the moment, Du Changqing and Ah Cheng had not arrived, and Xia Rongrong's master and servant did not come out of the house.

In the courtyard, Lu Tong was putting the dried fresh medicinal herbs into a wooden plaque.

Yin Zheng walked up to Lu Tong in three or two steps, and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Girl, it's not good, it's rumored outside, a candidate has died in the Tribute Academy!"

Lu Tong's movements suddenly stopped.

"You said the test taker died?" Her expression suddenly changed, "Oh no! ”

Seeing this, Yinzheng became even more nervous: "How did it turn out that the examinee had an accident?" Could it be that Wu Xiucai poisoned the wrong person......"

"No, it won't." Lu Tong put down the wooden plaque, and the expression in his eyes changed several times, "He took the poison himself." ”

Wu Youcai will not kill the examiner, and he will definitely not kill others, the only possibility is to use the medicine on himself.

She provoked Wu Youcai to kill the examiner, which was nothing more than borrowing the resentment and anger in Wu Youcai's heart. However, Wu Youcai was in a desperate situation, and he would rather take poison himself.

In an instant, Lu Tong understood the intention of this Confucian student.

At this moment, the last game is almost over, there are already candidates' families waiting outside the Tribute Academy, and the minds of the people in the house are also fluctuating.

For Wu Youcai, the goal seems to have been achieved. As long as you stir up trouble and attract people, you may have the opportunity to find out about the fraud in the examination room.

However, the death of an unknown scholar and the death of an examiner can make different waves in Shengjing. If the gate of the Gongyuan is not opened, no one will know the truth inside, and the autumn festival is not over, and in this little time, there is enough time to calm the waves of this matter.

Wu Youcai still thought too simply.

Yinzheng panicked: "Girl, what should I do now?" ”

Lu Tong comforted her: "Don't panic. He thought for a moment: "You go to Dong's house immediately." ”

"Dong family?"

Lu Tong nodded, whispered a few words in Yinzheng's ear, and at the end, Yinzheng looked at Lu Tong, a little hesitant: "Can this work?" ”

The sun in the early morning was dazzling, and Lu Tong's eyes were a little blurry.

She looked up, looked into the void in the distance, and muttered.

"Who knows, try it."

Overhead Oh, the autumn system has been adjusted~