Chapter 795: Caught at Night

While Zheng Yiming was engrossed in reading, the little beggar he met outside the Gongyuan before was waiting anxiously outside a noodle stall.

The little beggar obviously listened to Zheng Yiming's words. When he was asked to find a place to eat something hot, he would actually look for it, and when he was asked to find noodles, he would actually eat noodles. Of course, this was also because Zheng Yiming lived in poverty and knew that five cents was enough to make money. If you want to have a delicious meal, it's probably some noodles.

The little beggar had eaten some broken cakes and drank water before, and he had gained some strength. Although he was still shivering, he was able to find food by himself. He searched many places in the city and finally found a noodle stall that was willing to make a meal. Give him a bowl of noodles.

There was no one else in the stall at this moment, but the little beggar didn’t dare to sit on the table. He just kept staring at the steaming pot on the cabinet cart over there.

The stall owner's idea was simple. He only had the condiments for a bowl of noodles. After finishing this order, he would close the stall and go home, and he didn't care whether he was a beggar or not.

"Oh, the noodles are good!"

The stall owner took out the noodles and was about to put them in a bowl when the little beggar spoke quickly.

"etc!"

"Um?"

The stall owner was a middle-aged man. He looked at the little beggar suspiciously. He paid for making noodles for a beggar first, so he was not worried about freeloading. I wonder what the little beggar was calling?

But at this moment, the little beggar stood up holding on to the wall on the street. As soon as he stood up, his eyesight felt slightly dark, but he still hurried over and handed over his broken bowl.

"Tanjiatou, put it in this bowl. Don't dirty your bowl."

The stall owner hesitated for a moment and looked at the bowl. The bowl was not small, but the mouth of the bowl was broken in several places, but the bowl was polished very brightly.

"OK!"

After that, the stall owner put the noodles into the little beggar's broken bowl, then put the appropriate condiments on it, sprinkled some chopped green onion, and finally poured two tablespoons of soup on it.

During this process, the little beggar's eyes were full of longing. He took out a pair of slightly crooked chopsticks from his arms and wiped them repeatedly with dirty clothes.

"Okay, it's time to eat!"

"Hey hey hey!"

Before the stall owner could say anything else, the little beggar had already picked up the bowl and hurriedly squatted in the corner again. His hands were trembling slightly as he picked up the noodles. After blowing on them for a few times, he couldn't wait to stuff them into his mouth.

Even though an ordinary person's appetite should be greatly reduced when he is sick, as a little beggar who has been unable to eat a full meal for a long time, this kind of carefully made pasta is a rare luxury, and the pain cannot affect his desire at this moment.

After one mouthful of noodles, the little beggar shed tears. He forgot how long it had been since he had such a mouthful of hot noodles.

"Hiss, sizzle, sizzle."

The little beggar squatted there and ate deliciously. Even if the noodles were still very hot, he could always put them into his mouth as quickly as possible.

The stall owner wiped his hands behind the cabinet cart, looked over and said something else.

“Let’s eat at the table”

"Oh, this, cough, that's enough."

The little beggar spoke with noodles in his mouth, and then started to eat again. The bowl of noodles, which was quite heavy, was completely eaten in a while. Ordinary adult men would not be able to match his speed even if they were very hungry.

Seeing the little beggar drinking the last bit of noodle soup and chopped green onion into his stomach and still licking the bowl, the stall owner finally couldn't help but speak again.

"Here, there's no more noodles. Do you want some more noodle soup?"

The little beggar raised his head.

"I, I only need five cents."

"Oh, I don't need any money, just give me the bowl!"

The stall owner took the bowl directly from the beggar, put it on the cabinet cart, added some seasonings, a spoonful of soy sauce and a little extra lard, sprinkled with chopped green onion and poured a bowl of noodle soup.

But this time the stall owner put the bowl on the table aside, and then looked at the little beggar who was looking at the bowl eagerly.

"Come, sit down and drink, I won't chase you away!"

"Um"

The little beggar sat down hesitantly, enjoying the rare taste while blowing the steam of the noodle soup. At the same time, he looked up at the stall and wrote down the "李记" on the sign.

After finishing the meal, the noodle stall owner closed the stall, and the little beggar helped push the cart for a while. However, when the shopkeeper came home and called the little beggar later, he ran away with the broken bowl.

——

At nightfall, the little beggar returned to the Gongyuan area. Mainly because after dark, he had a way to crawl into the Gongyuan and find a candidate compartment to sleep.

No matter how strict the management of Gongyuan is during exams, no one will wander in at night on weekdays.

When the little beggar came back tonight, he found that there were officials guarding the buildings around the Gongyuan. However, his physical condition today was better than usual, so it was not a problem for him.

Those government officials didn't pay too much attention to the guard. The little beggar ducked and ducked, and then entered the Gongyuan as he wished. He found a compartment near the inner end and curled up to sleep inside.

Today, he had a bowl of noodles and an extra bowl of soup. The little beggar felt much better, his body was no longer so cold, and his sleep was much sweeter than before.

And just a small alley away from the little beggar's wall is the internal government office in the Gongyuan area. There is usually no one there. During the imperial examination, officials sent by the imperial court and local officials all work here.

Although it was already dark at this time, the officials in charge of the imperial examination were far from going to bed and were busy marking the papers.

Just like the Gongsheng Examination, the examination papers for officials are also divided into multiple places. One table per official in the outer hall of the government office is divided into seven or eight tables, but there are no walls to separate them. In the inner hall, there is only one chief official of the court sitting there. Inside, theoretically he can also grade papers, but most of the officials below will be able to do the work.

In terms of marking, the imperial examination in Guiguo is relatively backward, but in terms of marking, the marking officials have great autonomy.

If there is one thing that is ahead, it is the speed of marking.

Most of the articles of the tribute students were just glanced at by the marking officials and put aside. The efficiency is much faster than many candidates imagine.

An official was looking at the article of the tribute student. He glanced at the paper in front of him and frowned slightly because of the not-so-outstanding handwriting. He looked at it again and only read the first half of the paper. The article was shit.

If it were Dayong, the marking officials would have to endure a lot of torture to finish reading such a paper, and they would have to pass it to many people. There was no such thing here. The official directly tore the paper aside and was too lazy to take another look.

The next paper was just average. The official shook his head and pulled it aside after reading it.

The next one.

Seeing the handwriting on the paper, the official's eyes lit up slightly. The handwriting was neat and there was also a sense of agility. He couldn't help but pay more attention to the article.

After reading it, the officials also showed joy on their faces.

"My lords, come and take a look at this article!"

As long as the officials around were not busy, they all stood up and walked over. In this case, it was probably a good article.

When everyone gathered to take a look, there were many exclamations.

"Not bad, not bad, the handwriting is beautiful!" "The writing is smooth and the quotations from the classics are just right!"

"What is rare is that you can understand it freely, not just follow what the book says!"

"It's really wonderful! I haven't seen such a wonderful article tonight!"

"Indeed, I have no comparison!" "I think so too!"

The officials outside praised, and then the first official who had just read the article stood up and went to the inner hall.

The officials in the inner hall were drinking tea and reading books. When they heard the knock on the door, they asked someone to come in. When they looked up, they saw someone walking over with a paper.

"Sir! This article has beautiful handwriting and outstanding content. It is the best I have read today. Please take a look!"

"Oh?"

The official put down his teacup and book, took the article and read it. The handwriting was really eye-catching, and the article was indeed extraordinary.

Pingzhou is not a place of great learning. The level of candidates' articles has always been ranked in the middle and lower reaches of Guiguo, and the level of this article in front of him is obviously a bit outstanding in Pingzhou.

"Who is this person?"

The chief officer looked at the end of the paper and saw the candidate's signature.

"Xiahe County, Zheng Yiming?"

The voice was not small but not loud, but it actually woke up the little beggar in the compartment of the Imperial Academy.

Although he was a poor beggar, the little beggar had attended a private school and knew some words. He had memorized the three words "Zheng Yiming" on the note in the book during the day.

Obviously, there were two walls and a small alley between them, so the sound of normal conversations should not be transmitted to the Imperial Examination Hall, but the three words "Zheng Yiming" were so bright to the little beggar that he woke up from his sleep.

But after waking up, he couldn't hear anything, but the little beggar couldn't sleep at this time, so he got up and groped his way out of the Imperial Examination Hall, and groped to the alley behind, close to the back wall of the official office where the lights were faintly shining from the eaves above.

Now the little beggar could vaguely hear the voices inside.

And now there were not only the chief officer and the official just now, but two more people.

"Is this Zheng Yiming the son of an official family?"

The official next to him thought about it and shook his head.

"The surname Zheng should not be." "Yes, just an ordinary scholar, who participated in the provincial examination once before, but did not make the list."

The chief officer nodded.

"The article is okay, but the candidates for Jieyuan, Yayuan, Jingkui and Yakui have all been decided, which is difficult to deal with."

"Uh, then he will be ranked seventh?"

The chief officer frowned and shook his head again.

"There are only 35 candidates for the Pingzhou Gongsheng. There is no place this year. I think if he can do well in the next provincial examination, he will be ranked in the top!"

"Ah? But sir, didn't you just decide the top 15? Although some people have been decided in the back, there is no requirement for ranking. How can this be..."

An official wanted to speak, but was stopped by the chief officer who shook his head.

"It's not appropriate to rank him at the bottom of such an article. I also love talents. If Zheng Yiming is really talented, he may be ranked among the top next time!"

Isn't this love for talent, but love for money?

The officials knew it well, but they didn't say anything. After all, everyone gets a share of the benefits. It's just a pity for this wonderful article!

After a while, all the other officials left, leaving only the chief officer and a local official. The chief officer spoke more freely.

"According to the rules of my Dagui, the essays of the top candidates should be submitted to the capital. The Wang family wants to show their face in the Ministry of Rites. Let them show some sincerity. This essay is a natural masterpiece, which is rare in other states. Maybe the emperor will also take a look!"

The chief officer glanced at Zheng Yiming's paper again.

"Take the paper with you. If it is OK, let the young master of the Wang family copy a copy himself. His handwriting is much worse than this."

"I understand!"

The official picked up the paper on the table, folded it, and then retreated.

Outside the wall of the Gongyuan official office, the little beggar heard and clenched the corner of his clothes, but he did not dare to make any noise. He sneaked out of the Gongyuan again and waited in the corner of the street. He waited until a carriage left the Gongyuan before following it.