provincial capital
The sky is still dark and the sky is full of stars. Normally, it would be far away from opening time, but today, many stores are open, especially the hotel, which is very lively. The lights are lit up and down, and the kitchen is even brighter. The boss and the waiters Bring basins of hot water and towels to the guest room, and cook wonton dumplings for the scholars.
The guests were used to this busy and chaotic situation. They didn't think it was an intrusion. Instead, they all smiled: "It's another provincial examination. How many masters will be selected?"
"Maybe there is a Wenquxing in our store!"
In a dark corner, Yan Yu and Tan Youshan met again. They only ordered a plate of spiced peanuts, but the wine was good.
"Brother Yan!" After three glasses of wine, Tan Youshan looked calm. Seeing that Yan Yu was feeling uneasy, he poured the wine and smiled: "I'm not even afraid. What are you afraid of when you cry like a fool?"
Yan Yu listened, let out a long sigh, and wiped away tears: "Brother Tan, you are now a husband, do you really want to beat the drum? You know, the court rules, once the drum is beaten, the prefect must take over the case, but first I have to fight twenty times, and it will be even more difficult to be held accountable in the future..."
"Moreover, Ding Ruili is the son of Tongzhi, and has great connections and energy. Su Ziji seems to be from a poor family, but after asking around a little bit, some brothers were scolded and warned. The water here is very deep!"
When he said this, even his voice trembled. The closer he was to his husband, the more powerful he became.
"Brother Yan, I know the rules of the public family. Everyone is afraid of death, but I am an old man with no children and no parents. What should I be afraid of?"
"Based on the clues from my brothers, I have a general understanding of the matter."
"Ding Ruili plotted against Su Ziji. My son was a failure. He got involved and was killed instead."
"A murderer or an instigator cannot escape the relationship."
"They are all noble people, and I usually can't afford to offend them. If I file a complaint in advance, maybe I can clear up the relationship. Today is the provincial exam. I beat the Dengwen drum, and at least I can prevent the two of them from going to the examination room."
"No matter whether the lawsuit is won or lost, neither of them will be able to take the exam this time - this is the method Ding Ruili taught me." Tan Youshan laughed, but he still didn't say some words. Since his son is dead, he will naturally use whatever means. Gongyuan is here During the exam, of course, the security is tight, but not necessarily before the exam.
Tan Youshan had sneaked in in advance and had secretly tampered with every compartment in the examination room. Now he was not only suing Su Ziji for murder, but also suing Su Ziji for fraud. In this way, even if there was insufficient evidence of murder, just cheating could ruin Su Ziji's future. .
This smile made Yan Yu's scalp shiver, and she wondered if she should stop him.
"Brother Yan, don't worry, I am my husband, I will not get the source of the clues on you." Tan Youshan has experienced countless cases, and the more he faces the battle, the calmer he becomes. He stares at Yan Yu: "This time, I will go too. I am not prepared to come back alive, but if I really want to show my love, brothers, just give me and my son a thin coffin to bury us in afterward."
"That's why I chose Magistrate Liao instead of the Governor because he is an upright official. My old man has served Shangguan respectfully all his life, and today I am going to bully Shangguan, who is an upright person."
As he spoke, Tan Youshan laughed loudly, drank the wine in one gulp, got up and left the hotel, disappearing into the night.
In the back, Capt. Yan was stunned, as motionless as a puppet.
Qiu Wei
Yangningfu and the provincial capital are not far apart, only 200 miles. If you take a boat with a favorable wind, you can start in the morning and arrive in the afternoon.
Su Ziji arrived at the provincial capital two days in advance. On the eighth day of the lunar month, he got up before dawn and arrived outside the camp gate. He arrived quite late. Thousands of candidates from the eight prefectures in the province had basically arrived. They all brought examination baskets, which contained Dry food for three days.
The scale of the Provincial Gongyuan is much larger than that of the prefecture. If you want to look at it, the stars are shining brilliantly. There are palace lanterns hanging on the gate. The guards are wearing iron armor. Their footsteps are stacked. The dim light is flashing in the night. From time to time, the foreman of the ninth grade military attaché can be seen. Inspection.
"It's even more strict."
Not long after Su Ziji arrived at the gate, he saw Yu Lu. Yu Lu seemed to have just finished inquiring, and came back and said secretly: "Today is the eighth day of the lunar month, and the exam will be held for three days. We are not allowed to leave the hospital until the eleventh day."
"Actually, on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the inner curtain officer has already entered the inner palace, and is not allowed to do anything else except reviewing the test papers. The examiner is responsible for sealing the door so that there is no contact between the inside and outside. He is also responsible for patrolling the area and providing herbal tea - you smell the smell of medicine. Is it done?”
Scientific expeditions have always been held in the Spring and Autumn Period, as "Confucius was inspired by the Spring and Autumn Period", and the climate is neither cold nor hot, but spring and summer are the most likely times for epidemics to spread. To prevent epidemics, officials set up pots, boiled soups, and provided rabbits for free.
Yu Lu asked again: "Food is very important for three days. What did you bring?"
The meals for the imperial examination were provided by the imperial court. Since the streamlined imperial examination lasted only one day, the imperial court provided them uniformly to reduce trouble.
But when it comes to the provincial examination, it takes three days. Although the imperial court can't afford the money, it still takes a long time and the candidates have different physical qualities and family backgrounds. Forcing a unified standard seems inconsiderate. Therefore, the dry food for the provincial examination is the candidates' own. Bring water. Water is provided in the examination room. Candidates only need to bring drinking vessels.
"I brought it with me. It's meaty and easy to spoil, so I only brought three meat pies from the first day. The rest are sugar-filled pies and solid pies. The portions are plenty!"
This is the experience of an experienced Taoist. Yu Lu nodded and praised it. Some people who don’t understand it have mixed it up and ended up having diarrhea. Naturally, the exam will be over.
Rather vegetarian than meat, rather sweet than miscellaneous, just to replenish energy without causing diarrhea.
The two of them exchanged a few words and stopped talking. Even though Su Ziji had experienced the county and government examinations, standing here, his heartbeat was still very fast.
Being a scholar can also be said to be a matter of merit, and being a scholar is a matter of official status. Whether you can succeed or not depends on this test.
After a while, Su Ziji's sharp eyes saw Ding Ruili's figure. He said a few words to the book boy and then walked towards here. As a result, he saw Su Ziji halfway there, his expression froze, and he turned away. go.
Su Ziji's expression was gloomy, he glanced at the back of the figure who was hurriedly walking away, and then looked away.
Yu Lu also saw Ding Rui standing up and asked in confusion: "Isn't that Brother Ding? Why did he have a conflict with you?"
"This matter is a bit complicated. I will explain it to you in detail when I have time." Su Ziji said calmly.
There was something wrong at first glance. The imperial examination was about to take place right now. It was hard for Yu Lu to ask further questions, so he could only comfort him: "Don't worry about irrelevant people affecting your mood. The exam is important."
"Don't worry, I know." Su Ziji smiled.
At this time, the sound of gongs came from the front and officials shouted. Su Ziji and Yu Lu looked at each other and followed the candidates towards the gate.
The entrance rules are actually not much different from those for the imperial examination. I watched the guards in front carefully check whether the candidates were included, and also checked the certificates. There was no problem with Su Zi's status. Although he was in mourning for his father-in-law, he was not a parent, so he did not have to be barred from the imperial examination for three years. , now that the mourning period has passed, everything is fine, but there is a sudden irritation in my heart.
"Am I also a little nervous? But according to my analysis of articles on the Four Books and Five Classics in the 12th-level examinations, I can pass if I have a 10th-level exam, and a 12th-level exam can eliminate most of the uncertainties."
After successfully passing the exam and rushing to the dormitory with the exam number, Su Ziji's feeling was still there.
