After everyone dispersed from Fengming Residence, they returned to their respective residences. Two days later it was the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, which was the time when Taiyuan University announced the contents of the preliminary examination.
Early in the morning, Qin Jingqing brought Ye Changshan and four others to Taiyuan University. When they arrived at Taiyuan University, the door was already surrounded by students. These people were all waiting for Taiyuan College to announce the content of the preliminary examination, so many people gathered together in groups to express their opinions.
Ying Ping looked at the vast crowd of people whispering to each other, raising their heads and raising their eyes. He also had a feeling of complacency in his heart that a big exam was about to take place, and he sighed unconsciously——
"This preliminary examination results are highly anticipated. Although it is not a real examination, I am actually a little excited and nervous because of the atmosphere."
Qin Jingqing changed from the calm and calm demeanor of the past few days. Instead, she banged the folding fan in her hand and looked a little restless. He said: "Yeah, the closer the preliminary exam is, the more nervous the atmosphere becomes. Although everyone has guessed which subject one of the subjects in this preliminary exam is, the other subject has not been announced, so I still feel very unsure."
After hearing what Qin Jingqing said, a student in white clothes next to him stepped forward, bowed his head, and said, "May I ask what subject the young master mentioned as 'guessing'?"
Qin Jingqing saw that the student in white was smiling and seemed to be asking questions sincerely, so he responded with a bow and said: "In my humble opinion, in the previous five cold tests, five skills have appeared in the 'six arts', so this is the last skill." Nine times out of ten, the math department will appear this time."
The white-robed student agreed with Qin Jingqing's guess, so he agreed: "Well, I have the same opinion as the young master, so I have read "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" several times."
"The art of numerology is really profound and profound. We are very talented and have little knowledge. We can only take a rough look at it, but cannot understand its true meaning. I am ashamed, ashamed!"
"Brother, you are so humble!"
While Qin Jingqing was chatting with the student in white, a student wearing a top hat next to him snorted heavily, as if he had a lot of dissatisfaction in his heart.
Qin Jingqing and Qin Jingqing looked at the top student in confusion, and then looked at each other in confusion, completely unaware of how they had offended him. The two of them didn't want to pay attention to this top student, but they heard him talking to himself——
"Today, the situation in the Central Plains is about to break out. I think the imperial court should focus on the 'imperial' department, the 'archery' department, the 'book' department, and even the 'medicine' department. As for the 'numerology' department, it is just a small trick and a heresy. How can it be worth wasting the last time?" A great opportunity for the cold exam. Huh! How ridiculous! In my opinion, it is impossible to take the 'mathematics' subject in this cold exam."
The student in white seemed to have a good temper. In a non-commercial manner, he said, "Just now we only said 'nine times out of ten', not 'certainly'."
"snort--"
Qin Jingqing frowned and wanted to argue with the top student, but the white-clothed student next to him had already opened his mouth to avoid him, so he couldn't say much. So, he continued to say to the student in white: "Brother, I have the same idea as me. Not only did I study "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic", I also studied "Shu Shu", but there are several inconsistencies in it. I know you too well, why don’t you find a quiet place later and ask your brother for advice!”
"Oh my! Brother, I admire you for your erudition! I don't dare to ask for advice. Let's discuss and discuss together..."
The top-hat student seemed to want to challenge everything he said, so he muttered to himself at the side: "Ha! Even if you take the math subject, it's not the test of the school's "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" and "Zhu Shu" "The contents of "Five Classics Arithmetic" and "Sun Tzu Arithmetic Classic" have probably not been read, right?"
Seeing that Qin Jingqing was possessing him, the student in white smiled dumbly at Qin Jingqing. But Qin Jingqing couldn't stand this arrogance. He looked at the top student with playful eyes and said in a sinister tone -
"In the last cold examination, Taiyuan College actually took the music subject. This music has nothing to do with the country's political affairs and military affairs, right? I think this court must not stand tall and see far as some people do, so I don't take the exam." Subjects such as imperial examination and calligraphy are really 'ridiculous'!"
"you--"
The top-hat student didn't know how to refute for a moment, so he could only stare at Qin Jingqing with eyes as bulging as toads.
Qin Jingqing continued: "I heard that the mathematics department is a trivial matter? Is it a heretical theory? The person who said this probably does not understand the tax system and farming of the Tang Dynasty, right? I will correct the name of the mathematics department for once. How dare you? Do you need to use the "numerical" department to pay taxes? Do you need to use the "numerical" department to measure the land? Do you need to use the "numerical" department to pay the official salary? Not to mention the imperial court, is it the livelihood of all people? Don’t you need a math subject? Merchants need to use this math subject to settle transactions, and workers need to use this math subject to make farm tools and equipment. If the person who said this didn’t just read the books of sages at home, he would not be able to deal with this business. Turn a blind eye to counting? The ancestors defined the "ancestral rate" and unified the weights and measures of the Central Plains. In addition, the ancestors also observed the celestial phenomena at night, calculated the time and date of the "node moon", and solved the doubts of all people. These achievements will be made in the future. You call this a 'little trick'?"
"you you--"
The top-hat student was speechless and his face turned blue and white.
Qin Jingqing spoke louder and louder, and a string of righteous words attracted the attention of the surrounding students. After hearing Qin Jingqing's words, the surrounding students nodded in agreement.
"I have no common sense but here I am giving advice. It is really ridiculous and sad."
Qin Jingqing's last words made everyone burst into laughter. The top-hat student couldn't stay still any longer, and he slipped into the crowd and disappeared without a trace.
Qin Jingqing snorted disdainfully. Seeing that the top student was nowhere to be seen, he did not intend to continue to pay attention to such boring people. and
At this moment, the door of Taiyuan Academy suddenly opened. There was a commotion in the crowd, and Master Chen walked out, holding a piece of yellow paper in his hand, and shouted "Quiet" twice, and the noise of the crowd gradually died down.
"Dear students! The subjects of this winter exam have been decided after discussion, and they are mathematics and archery! The examination time for 'numerology' is at the sixth hour of the lunar month, and the location is in the Taixue Palace next to Taiyue College. 'Array' The Science Examination School will be held at midnight on the sixth day of the sixth lunar month and will be held at the shooting range outside the west gate. All candidates, please come on time tomorrow and don’t miss the entrance time!”
After that, he walked towards the notice board at the entrance of Taiyue College, and all students voluntarily gave up an aisle wherever they passed. Master Chen ordered the two young doctors to post the notice with written words on the notice board, and then walked back to Taiyuan University.
Sure enough, the first test subject was mathematics!
At this time, all the living beings crowded forward. The students standing at the front simply read the words on the list aloud. Some students standing in the back row took out pens and ink from nowhere and wrote down what they heard on their palms.
Qin Jingqing squeezed to the front and browsed through the contents of the list, and then squeezed out like a loach. When he returned to everyone, he said: "Except for the school test, this preliminary test is no different from the previous ones. The literary and martial arts tests are all entered at least a quarter of an hour in advance. No inclusion or substitution is allowed. If found, It is considered cheating! The literary test lasts for one and a half hours. The martial arts test is an 'archery' subject, and the duration should not exceed the time of one stick of incense. For other matters, we and other reference personnel should not violate the order of the examination room. There is nothing special about it." .
After knowing the exam instructions, the two groups said goodbye and went back to their residences to prepare for the preliminary exam the next day.
…
At night, Ye Changshan lay on the bed and tossed and turned for a long time, unable to fall asleep. At this moment, his inner world has undergone tremendous changes. He is glad that he came to Chang'an and that he chose to participate in the cold examination. It is a good thing to have this memory in the long road of life. In the past few days, he had been deeply affected by the atmosphere in Chang'an City. He felt curious at first, then interesting, then excited, then in awe, and finally, on the eve of the exam, he felt extremely nervous. Soon, at this time, all the previous emotions about the cold test were combined together, and an indescribable thought lingered in my heart, making me toss and turn and unable to sleep.
Just when Ye Changshan was so excited that he couldn't sleep, suddenly, Yingping's soft words came from the black room -
"Hey! Changsha, you can't sleep either?"
"Yeah, even though I'm just participating, I still can't sleep a little bit."
"Hey, I can't sleep either!" Yingping saw that Ye Changshan was still awake, so he simply stopped whispering.
"You've already been attracted by your husband, so why are you still so nervous?"
"In the past few days, I have seen students from all over the world gather in Chang'an. There are many people who are knowledgeable about the past and the present and have outstanding skills. I suddenly feel like I am unwilling to be left behind. Even if I am chosen by my teacher, I still want to compete with the heroes from all walks of life, so I will take the first test tomorrow. , I will definitely try my best!”
"Well, that's right! I've had the same feeling these past few days. Today at the gate of Taiyuan University, I heard a student say, 'Don't let your future down' The future!”
"Yes, that's exactly what I feel, so I'm even more worried that with my level, I won't even be able to pass the first test."
"Don't think too much, sir has already chosen you, so he won't embarrass you."
"That's what I said, but I've been thinking about it these past few days. These brothers and sisters are all the best among people, and I am just a well-connected person... If this spreads out one day, I am afraid of being embarrassed. ..Disgrace yourself, disgrace the poor family...disgrace Mr. Wen..."
Ye Changshan was a little surprised when he heard this. He didn't expect that Yingping could be so heartless and thoughtful at times, so he comforted him: "Don't think blindly. Who can guess the thoughts of the gentleman? If the gentleman is like the secular people, Ordinary people will accept you as a direct disciple simply based on your life experience. Is this sir still a sir? The sir must have seen some unknown shining points in you before agreeing to accept you as a disciple."
"Well...what you said seems to make sense."
"Moreover, how talented is Sir? You are just an ignorant child. Under Sir's influence, you will definitely become a learned and talented person within a few years."
"That's true."
"Since your husband has chosen you, you must redouble your efforts to repay him in the future, and don't let him down."
Under Ye Changshan's comfort, Yingping gradually calmed down. After a moment of silence, he asked again: "Changshan, what do you think this cold exam means to these students?"
"Hmm... I don't know."
"Then...what about you?"
Ye Changshan thought for a moment and said: "It can be considered an experience! Through what I have seen and heard in the past few days, I have discovered that for millions of students, the cold examination may be a whetstone or a touchstone. But for those who are obsessed with the cold exam, it may be another stumbling block..."
For a long time, the room fell into silence again, and I don't know if the two brothers were each thinking or had fallen asleep.
…
I don't know how long it took, but the first ray of sunlight in the morning penetrated the mountains to the east and entered the city of Chang'an. Gradually, the sun climbed up into the sky. After a while, the whole city of Chang'an was filled with sunlight.
