Chapter 16 County Examination (Second Update)

The first year of Wenhe, the tenth day of the second month.

It was humid in the south of the Yangtze River, and the rain had never stopped for days. Many candidates were troubled by this, worried that it would rain on the day of the county exam and affect their performance.

County Magistrate Xu Pingzhi sat in the county government office, but he liked this rainy season very much.

First, when it rains, there are usually no lawsuits, so he can have some free time. Second, spring rain moisturizes everything. It can rain continuously in this warm and cold season. I think the harvest of farmers this year will not be bad.

The performance evaluation of the county magistrate during his tenure is very important. Xu Pingzhi's exam period is still one year away. As long as he doesn't encounter a major disaster this year, he should be able to get the desired result.

Xu Pingzhi was a juren in the fifth year of Wuding. He was appreciated by the prefect of Yangzhou for his outstanding ability and was promoted to the magistrate of Taixing County. He did not pass the imperial examination, although he was not talented enough. But Xu Pingzhi was familiar with practical matters and was good at personnel matters. He was more capable than some pedantic jinshi in handling things.

Taixing County has not had any troubles in recent years, and he has indeed contributed to it.

Today, since he has some free time, he sits in the county government office and can't help but care about the upcoming county exam.

The current emperor changed the reign title to Wenhe, and the intention is self-evident. Xu Pingzhi secretly guessed in his heart that the emperor has now firmly sat on the throne, and the princes and nobles in the court have been appeased. At this critical juncture, changing the reign title to Wenhe is a signal to make great use of scholars.

He has a delicate mind that can figure out the emperor's intentions, and he also wants to continue to play a role in the officialdom, so he will naturally be more attentive to this county exam. He has nothing to do, so he asked someone to call Shaoxing's lawyer to discuss everything again.

Opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared.

But there are more people with this vision than County Magistrate Xu.

Li Gongming also got some wind from somewhere, in order to cooperate with the prefect to rebuild Yangzhou Academy and promote culture and education. I heard that the salt merchants in Yangzhou Prefecture prepared a sum of silver to be given to the top scorers in each county and their teachers before the prefectural examination.

I heard that there was at least one hundred taels. It would be fine if he didn't know about this, but now that Li Gongming knew about it, he would never allow himself to miss this windfall.

The questions in the county examinations in previous years were very simple. Although Li Gongming was busy preparing for the provincial examinations on weekdays, he didn't spend too much time on his students. But he felt that he was much better than those teachers in the mountains, so how could he miss this honor this time.

What Li Gongming really cared about was the reconstruction of Yangzhou Academy and the salt merchants' flattering behavior. Did it indicate that the court was going to make a big move?

Thinking of this, Li Gongming suddenly felt hot in his heart. He called the students who were going to take the exam to his side to supervise them in recent days, hoping to pull out these seedlings again.

Just as Li Gongming was giving instructions, the housekeeper came forward and whispered to him.

"What? You said Wang Xianming only brought a child here?" Li Gongming frowned and asked in surprise, "Isn't his disciple who has read the Four Books and Five Classics going to enter the exam this time?"

It's useless to ask the servants about this kind of thing.

"Well, don't worry about him." Li Gongming waved his hand. He must be strong to make iron. Even if Wang Xianming has no intention of taking the county exam, he will have many opponents.

Now, let's focus on our students.

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As the exam date approaches, the atmosphere in the inn becomes more and more solemn. Chen Qi, who was originally calm and composed, walked around the inn these days and saw all the scholars who were too nervous.

They either read books again and again, or went to the City God Temple in the rain to ask for divination.

After seeing this situation too many times, even Chen Qi, the elder who accompanied the exam, couldn't help but get nervous.

But every time he returned to his room and saw Chen Heng, who was calm and composed, he didn't know what to say. He was afraid that once he opened his mouth, he would pass on his nervousness to his son. He was also afraid that his son would not be well prepared and would regret it if he got a bad ranking.

He kept going in and out of the room, and Chen Heng, who was concentrating on practicing calligraphy, noticed something was wrong.

Chen Heng put down his pen and smiled at Chen Qi, "Dad, I'm the one taking the exam, why are you so nervous?"

"Hey." Chen Qi didn't know what to say, so he had to say, "Don't you read more books?"

Chen Heng couldn't help but feel surprised, blinked, and said, "I read every morning when I get up."

Seeing that his son's stupid head was still not awake, Chen Qi gritted his teeth and gave his own advice: "Let's take a look at it again, just in case it happens to be useful in the exam room."

Chen Heng smiled and shook his head, knowing that his father was suffering from pre-exam syndrome, it was no big deal, and his father would be cured after he finished the exam.

"You only regret not having enough books when you need them. That's an excuse for lazy people. Dad, your son's books..." Chen Heng pointed to his little head, "They are all here."

"Okay, okay, whatever you say."

Since it was his son who was going to take the exam, Chen Qi saw that he couldn't argue with Chen Heng, so he stopped talking. Just as the two were silent, the waiter's voice came from outside the door.

"Sir, your family is looking for you in the lobby. There are many scholars preparing for the exam in our inn, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you two to go down."

Chen Heng and Chen Qi looked at each other. I'm afraid that only Chen Huaijin could come at this time, so the father and son went downstairs together.

When they arrived at the lobby, they saw their second uncle Chen Huaijin sitting on a wooden bench with a food box in front of him. His face was flushed, and it seemed that he had drunk a lot of wine.

When he saw Chen Heng and Chen Qi, Chen Huaijin got up from the wooden bench excitedly, and saw that his body was trembling a little. Chen Heng quickly quickened his pace and went forward to support him.

"Brother, you are so cruel."

Chen Huaijin was really drunk, and his tone was louder than usual.

Chen Heng helped him sit down and looked at the clothes on his second uncle's body. They still had signs of being wet. He must have come in the rain.

"What's wrong with me?" Chen Qi rubbed his head, unable to understand what this drunkard was talking about.

"Heng'er came to take the county examination, and you didn't even inform me of such a big thing." Chen Huaijin's tone was very sad and angry.

No way, Chen Heng opened his mouth and looked at his father. My second uncle has been a bit confused in the past two years, and it doesn't make sense to talk about such things.

Chen Qi also felt that he was wronged and muttered: "I thought you knew. Didn't dad and mom tell you?"

"That's bullshit." Chen Huaijin cursed, "I was having a drink with the shopkeeper in a restaurant earlier, and I met the youngest son of the Zhang family. He stopped by and told me, and that's when I found out."

Chen Qi smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to say for a moment, he had really forgotten.

Chen Huaijin didn't bother much about this matter. He just grabbed Chen Heng who was about to bring tea. "Our shopkeeper heard that my nephew was only seven years old and came to take the county examination. He asked me to call you Come and meet. Hehehe..."

Chen Heng frowned when he heard this.

"...How could I agree to him?" Chen Huaijin hiccupped and continued, "How can I feel at ease when I see Heng'er at this time? But he is so beautiful! I dismissed him with a few words and then came to look for him. you."

As if he was proud of his wit, Chen Huaijin shook his head and pointed at the food box in front of him, "Heng'er, guess what your second uncle brought you?" After saying that, he stood up without waiting for Chen Heng to reply. Open the food box and take it out one by one.

Half a steamed duck, a plate of rice cakes, a few dried fruits, and a piece of maltose at the bottom. Chen Huaijin said drunkenly: "Look, it's all your favorite food. When you were a child, you often gave things to your two sisters. Today, you are alone. You can eat freely. My second uncle earns a lot now. Do you want to eat this candy?" No matter how much, my second uncle will buy it for you."

Seeing Chen Huaijin talking more and more, the more he talked, the more drunk he became. Chen Qi had no choice but to get up and carry him back upstairs.

Chen Heng was left sitting alone in the lobby, sighing at the food brought by his second uncle in the rain.

He was worried about his second uncle's confusion, and was also moved by his caring at the moment. Chen Heng couldn't help but think of any way to make his second uncle quit his pawnshop business.

Chen Heng stared blankly at the willow tree outside the door, which was used to tie horses to guests. The willow trees swayed in the wind and rain, looking like a person's uncertain destiny.

But when Chen Heng took a closer look, he could find a few buds on the willow branches, which were the clarion call before spring came.

That night, Chen Huaijin also slept in the inn, but he and Chen Qi made a bed on the floor. The only bed is now exclusive to Chen Heng. The county examination is coming soon, and there is no way to talk about the etiquette of father, father and son.

When Chen Heng woke up the next day, Chen Huaijin was gone. Neither father nor son knew when he left, nor did they try to find out. They continued to prepare for the exam with peace of mind.

But after that day, the food the two of them had in the inn was much better.

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In a blink of an eye, it was the day when the county examination was held. The rain that had been falling for many days finally stopped, and the bright disk-like moon was still hanging in the sky. The watchmen on the street would also shout a few more words at this time: the county examination is coming soon, don't be late. I hope to wake up the candidates who are still sleeping and prevent them from missing the exam.

Chen Heng, who got up early, ate a few simple breakfasts, and then set off towards the county government office under the escort of Chen Qi, along with the scholars who had secured the guarantee.

When I walked out of the inn, there were only scholars taking exams one after another on the street. Chen Heng smelled it with his nose and could smell a faint fragrance. He looked up and saw that the willow tree outside the inn had a few more buds.

I don’t know if this counts as the faint fragrance floating at moon dusk? Chen Heng smiled, lowered his head and concentrated on his way.

When we arrived at the county government office, there was already a queue at the door, but fortunately it was not long. Chen Heng checked his examination materials one last time before standing at the end of the queue.

When it was his turn, a scholar first took the paperwork and started to register. When he saw Chen Heng's age, he couldn't help but sigh, "Young people are scary." Chen Heng just smiled and didn't answer.

Because Chen Heng was the youngest, the five of them put him at the front. When Chen Heng finished and his replacement came up, the officer behind the scholar had already pulled Chen Heng and started to search him.

When all five of them finished their work and crossed the county government gate side by side, the government officials shouted in unison: "Zhang Shan, Liu Yan, Chen Heng... the five of them have signed bail, and the search is correct. Let's enter."

As Chen Heng walked into the county government office, there was a row of Taixing County junior students standing behind the gate. One of the old men also stood up at this time. After carefully looking at the appearance of the five people several times, he responded: "College student Huang Tingxue, Save."

This is the legendary "Ching Bao". After passing this level, you will enter the examination room.

Chen Heng's county examination is about to begin.

Come on, come on, the third update is at ten o'clock