Chapter 793 God’s Help

On August 22, the autumn examination candidates were preparing to enter the examination hall.

Yi Shuyuan set up a book stall on the street outside the examination hall, selling both the sage books and some so-called "miscellaneous books".

He did not change much, except that his gray hair turned black again, and he had a beard on his lips and chin. He also wore a bun like the local scholars, and it seemed that his appearance had changed drastically.

There were many Confucian scholars visiting Yi Shuyuan's book stall these two days, and he sold quite a few books.

However, there were not many people at the book stall at this time, and few people from nearby were walking on the street, because many people went to the examination hall to watch the excitement.

That's right, it was to watch the excitement. Every time the candidates were searched and checked before entering the examination hall, there was excitement to watch. Some who wanted to cheat but had no background would suffer if they were caught.

Beside the book stall, Yi Shuyuan was flipping through a book by himself. While reading, he would occasionally pick up the teapot to refill the teacup on the small table.

Hui Mian will turn into a black and white cow cat, lying on the table and licking his paws from time to time.

"Sir, selling books seems to be quite profitable. This book stall has been open for a while, and there are so many people buying books!"

"That's because there are many books on my stall that they can't see. Besides, there are many scholars coming to Pingzhou City for the recent provincial examination. Can you take a look later?"

As he said this, Yi Shuyuan turned his head to look at Hui Mian.

"But you, you don't even want to watch the fun?"

Hui Mian yawned with his cat mouth open, and the cat's tail swung behind him a few times.

"It hasn't started yet. I'll go over after you finish this cup of tea."

Yi Shuyuan smiled and shook his head, flipping through the book while drinking tea. When the teacup in his hand was shallow, he looked to the side and the cat on the table had disappeared.

Guiguo, recorded as "the land of jade gui" in Dayong historical materials and old maps, is generally considered to be a place with a high level of etiquette and a simple style, or it can be said to be relatively conservative.

The imperial examination in Dayong has undergone several reforms, including some drastic reforms by Emperor Mingzong. It is based on the combination of local and central courts, with local and foreign officials conducting random joint inspections, and a separate direct remonstration post system for imperial examination candidates, which is nominally supervised by the emperor. In the year of the imperial examination, it is possible to randomly send inspectors.

The relationship is complicated, and the supervision systems of various parties are not subordinate to each other. As long as the emperor is not too incompetent, it is really necessary to have a keen eye to cheat.

The imperial examination system of Guiguo today is actually similar to that of the previous dynasties before Dayong was established. In name, it is presided over by the chief examiner appointed by the emperor, and local officials cooperate. As for the specific situation, it depends on luck and character.

At this time, outside the Pingzhou Gongyuan, in addition to some calm officials, there are also many officials who maintain order, and candidates from all over the place line up on both sides.

"Hurry up, hurry up, line up, one by one!" "People outside, stand further away, or you will be beaten back by sticks--"

"Okay, okay, candidates, get ready to step forward!"

An official shouted loudly, and the surrounding streets were crowded with people talking and creating a commotion.

On a rooftop outside, Yu Xinmei landed here with a gust of wind and spotted Zheng Yiming in the middle of the tribute student team.

"Meow~"

A slight cat cry sounded from beside her. Yu Xinmei subconsciously looked for the sound, but saw a black and white cat sitting on the eaves of the roof not far away. The cat was in an elegant posture, and seemed to notice someone looking at it, and turned its head to look.

Yu Xinmei smiled at the cat.

"Let's look together?"

"Meow~~"

In front of the tribute hall below, candidates stepped forward one by one, two at a time, and were mainly searched by four officials, one in front and one in the back. After searching once, two officials searched again after turning around.

The luggage and other things carried with them had to be spread out, and the four treasures of the study and the paper were checked. Even the cakes and other foods carried were poked and cut open with chopsticks to see if there was anything stuffed inside. It seemed very strict.

Another examinee was found to have made a cavity under the inkstone, and the folded book was found. He was immediately dragged out and beaten with sticks, and then dragged back to the county government office. At this time, the people watching the excitement were also excited.

Of course, most of the time no one was found to cheat, but the officials could ask some examinees to tear open their clothes, and even ask them to untie their belts if they didn't like them.

At this time, there were also tribute students who angrily scolded the officials for insulting the civility, and most of them were beaten, which was enough to make some people with good intentions laugh.

After the search was completed, the examinees went forward and needed to draw lots to decide where their compartments were.

Yu Xinmei had already done something early to prevent the compartment paper slips she had tampered with from being touched by ordinary people until she met Zheng Yiming.

After a long wait, it was finally the turn of the trembling Zheng Yiming to step forward and hand over the documents with both hands.

The official who presided over the scene sat behind the table, took the documents handed over by the clerk, opened them and looked at them, and nodded.

"Search!"

The official in front of Zheng Yiming looked serious. Seeing Zheng Yiming's timid look, he immediately showed disdain. These so-called scholars were not considered men, and the one in front of him was even more inexplicably uncomfortable.

"Raise your hands! Untie your belt!" "Turn around!"

Zheng Yiming did everything he asked. The official hit him with a wooden stick, then smashed all the cakes in his bag, opened the kettle to take a look, and shook it so that the tea splashed out.

"Okay, okay."

The official on the other hand urged, this was obviously a long time, and the official snorted coldly.

"Let's go and draw lots!"

"Yes, thank you very much!"

Zheng Yiming tied up his clothes, looked at the packed luggage on one side, and stepped forward to grab a note from what looked like a larger bamboo Go box.

On the roof over there, Yu Xinmei gritted her teeth slightly. She was so angry that she almost made a move several times, but she finally held it back. At this moment, she finally stretched out her hand, which was exactly the moment Zheng Yiming grabbed the note.

"Meow~~"

The cat turned around and meowed, as if it had noticed that the woman next to her was tampering with her. Yu Xinmei smiled at the cat and put her hand in front of her lips.

"Shh~~"

Zheng Yiming over there took out the note and opened it on the spot. The official read it and reported it.

"C number 12!"

After shouting, there was a clerk next to him who wrote Zheng Yiming's name on the note to prevent him from being replaced.

"Enter!"

Zheng Yiming took the note and cupped his hands to both sides, walked in with his luggage, and at the same time wiped the sweat on his forehead with his sleeves. Even though he had done this once, he was still very nervous the second time.

There were also officials in the Gongyuan, but they didn't care about the candidates who came in. Zheng Yiming found the exact location by himself, then spread the note on the corner of the seat. He was relieved when he actually sat in.

Not long after, that is, two quarters of an hour later, all the candidates had arrived.

Zheng Yiming sat in his seat, anxiously waiting for the exam questions to be announced. The official who had just made things difficult for him walked by outside and checked the notes on the seats one by one. Zheng Yiming lowered his head slightly and did not dare to look at him.

"snort!"

The official snorted coldly, read the note and left.

Finally, the most difficult moment passed, and the test questions were finally revealed. They were unexpected and reasonable questions. They had basic skills in writing classics, but they also needed to be combined with the theme and quoted from classics to write political commentaries.

Zheng Yiming was a little unable to calm down at first. He just spread out the paper and meditated hard. Then a vague fragrance floated in, which calmed him down unconsciously. Gradually, he became more thoughtful, had a theme in his mind, and started writing steadily. When I got up, even my handwriting was much more beautiful than before.

Time continued to pass. Zheng Yiming ate the mashed cakes and drank the already cold tea. The pen in his hand almost never stopped. All the things he learned in the past were used today. When he wrote down his feelings, he felt confident. The corners of his mouth could not help but raise slightly.

After finishing the article and checking it several times, Zheng Yiming realized that it was still early and the examiner had not even urged him during the break, which meant that less than an hour and a half had passed.

Of course, Zheng Yiming did not dare to hand in his papers and leave the exam early, so he had to pretend. It was not until the sun set in the afternoon and the Gongyuan gong sounded that he handed in his papers and left like other candidates.

Yu Xinmei had been waiting outside for as long as the Gongyuan examination. When she saw the relaxed look on Zheng Yiming's face among the Gongyuan students who came out, she felt relieved and subconsciously looked around, but the cat had already left. .

Zheng Yiming was indeed very relaxed and happy. He felt that he would do well this time and might have a chance to rank high. He was also calm and confident when greeting other candidates.

True to that sentence, strength is the foundation of confidence.

However, Zheng Yiming was short of money and refused the invitation of some Confucian scholars to go drinking and having fun together. He was walking back to the inn alone. When he passed the corner of the street, his attention was attracted by something.

At the corner of Gongyuan Street, a ragged little beggar huddled in the corner and shivered.

Although it is autumn now, it is not cold yet, and it is even a bit hot today. Maybe I am sick.

People were coming and going on the street, but apparently no one paid attention to a little beggar, including the two big beggars next to him.

Zheng Yiming couldn't help but stopped. He approached the little beggar. The broken bowl was empty. After thinking for a moment, he took out two copper plates from his body and put them in. One of them was a five-cent copper coin, which was not a small thing for Zheng Yiming. The number is up.

"Ding bell~" The copper plate went into the bowl. Before the little beggar could react, a big beggar rushed out from beside him and grabbed the copper coins.

"Alas! Why are you like this? I gave this to him!"

"Hey, sir, don't waste it on him. He is seriously ill. He can't eat, drink or live. Hehehehe."

"Then give me the money back!"

After hearing what the scholar said, the beggar stood up and left without any intention of paying back the money. The other beggar also stood up and left, as if he was afraid of being used.

Zheng Yiming frowned, hesitated and took out the dried lotus leaves from his luggage. Inside were the leftover cake crumbs he had eaten. He poured the cakes inside the dried lotus leaves into the broken bowl.

"I'm also short of money. You can take this cake and eat it."

The little beggar seemed to have some reaction at this moment. His head was very messy and long, covering half of his body. When he looked up, Zheng Yiming realized that he was really naked and skinny.

"Thank you, thank you."

The little beggar said this, curled up to get the broken pancakes, stuffed them into his mouth bit by bit, and then grabbed a handful and stuffed them into his mouth.

"Slow down, slow down, there is still water."

Zheng Yiming took out the kettle and poured water into the broken bowl. The little beggar grabbed the bowl and drank. After finishing the drink, he looked at Zheng Yiming, and he had no choice but to pour more water.

After all the water was poured out, the little beggar just huddled there and shivered. It seemed that the only thing that could keep him warm was his hair.

Zheng Yiming looked around and saw why the people in Pingzhou were so indifferent. If he were in Xiahe County, it seemed that no one would lend a helping hand to a beggar.

But Zheng Yiming used to be the kind of person who was helped by others. He couldn't bear it at this moment, so he untied his bag again, opened a book and took out a copper coin, which was still a five-yuan copper coin, and stuffed it into the little beggar's hand.

"Don't let others see it! Take it and finish your hot noodles!"

When the little beggar took the copper coin, he stared blankly at the open book, on which there was a note that read "Ci Zi 12 Zheng Yiming".

Zheng Yiming looked at the little beggar's eyes and looked down at the book in confusion. Could it be that this little beggar could read?

"Thank you, thank you, benefactor."

"What benefactor, ah!"

Zheng Yiming threw the absurd thoughts in his mind behind him, sighed, and finally left.