The day after the results of the rural examination were released, the governor's office held a banquet with deer singing. Wei and Chen each put on their official uniforms and got into carriages to attend the banquet together.
The carriage stopped at the street corner, and the seven people got out of the carriage, but they saw that in front of the governor's office, lanterns and colors, red and green, were already decorated, creating a scene of grand celebration.
There were officers and soldiers setting up checkpoints everywhere at the street entrance. Seeing Wei Chen and others getting off the carriage and walking straight towards the governor's office, the officers and soldiers stepped forward and asked, "Do you have an invitation?"
Yuan An took out the invitation and handed it to the other party lightly. The officers and soldiers took it, glanced at it, and said with a smile, "It turns out to be Xin Ke Xie Yuanlang, disrespectful."
Then he took the initiative to lead the way, leading Wei Chen and others to the gate of Fuyamen. After handing over at the door, officials came out to greet them and took them straight into the first hall of Fuyamen.
The Luming Banquet originated from the rural drinking ceremony of the pre-Qin Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, and continued to this dynasty. This banquet has always been held by the highest local governor on the day after the rural examination to entertain the examiners, invigilators, and candidates for new subjects.
Young deer cringe and eat apples in the wild.
What it means is that when deer find delicious food, they don’t forget to greet their companions. The ancients regarded this as a virtue, so they held a deer singing banquet, which means to support them in the same year.
At this time, the Lu Ming Banquet has not yet started, but most of the new imperial examination candidates have already arrived.
Elegant music was being played in the governor's office hall. The red candles hanging high were as thick as a baby's arms. The mats were all wrapped in red silk. From a distance, the aroma of fine wines could be heard.
Some people in the new imperial examination were talking loudly in the hall, and some went to the back to visit the teacher. Everyone's face was filled with cheerful smiles.
However, as soon as the seven people from Wei Chen came in, the room was instantly silent. Both the examiners and the new examiners all turned their eyes over.
There is no way, Jiangning's seven sons, seven of them passed the examination in the same subject, and there is also a Jinggui and a Jieyuan, it is really difficult to keep a low profile.
It is said that many scholars have heard of the name "Jingxi Society" and are asking how to join it!
In order to avoid becoming the focus of the audience, the seven people had to separate and find their respective room masters according to what was written in the title list, thank them for their recommendation, and perform the master-disciple ceremony.
Wei Chen found his room master and went to visit Walrus Gan. Both of them were very happy and gave Wei Chen some words of encouragement.
Finally, there is Wang Wenqing.
In the past, Wei Chen and Wang Wenqing had various scruples. Although they were masters and disciples, they did not have the title of masters and disciples.
Now that Wei Chen has passed the provincial examination hosted by Wang Wenqing and learned about Yuan Dynasty, Wang Wenqing has naturally become Wei Chen's tutor.
This time they met, the two of them officially settled on their master-disciple status.
After leaving the banquet and still having some free time, Wei Chen found a seat and sat down, watching the musicians gently knocking the chimes, tuning the harp, drums, and harp, enjoying the beautiful scenery at this moment.
"Master Futai is here!"
As the officers and soldiers shouted in unison, Yale paused, and everyone stopped talking and stood with their heads bowed.
In a solemn atmosphere, Jiangnan Governor Liu Xun came slowly with official steps, walked directly to the main seat and sat down. Wang Wenqing and other examiners also took their seats after saluting Liu Xun.
After the banquet, Governor Liu Xun stood up first and delivered a speech: "This dynasty has made customs based on ancient times, and the meaning of the words and the courtesy of guests are taken from those of Yu and Zhou..."
Governor Liu cited scriptures, starting from the history of the imperial examination and talking about the emperor's holy virtues, and then encouraged people in the new imperial examination to keep up their efforts in order to compete for next year's spring examination, which made people sleepy.
It wasn't until the last sentence fell that everyone woke up from their drowsiness and smelled the aroma of delicious food.
The Luming Banquet was of extremely high standard, with luxurious and exquisite ingredients, fifty-eight dishes of hot and cold dishes, plus desserts and soups. It was far from comparable to the banquets that Wei Chen had attended after the experiment, with clear soups and little water.
Looking at the roasted mutton, steamed crabs, dried venison, and all kinds of unseen delicacies on the table, the people in the new imperial examination were slightly energetic, and they were just waiting for Governor Liu's permission to start the banquet.
However, after the governor finished speaking, the examiners continued to speak.
The chief examiner, Wang Wen, stood up solemnly and advised the new imperial examination candidates to "work harder and lead the world"; the deputy examiner told them to "preserve their names and establish their merits";
Before this was over, six fellow examiners and two censors also stood up and each of them spoke a sentence or two.
If it weren't for the charcoal stove under the dishes, the dishes on the table would be completely cold.
After finally waiting for the examiners to finish speaking, and with people looking eagerly at the new imperial examination, Governor Liu finally waved his sleeves and said in a deep voice: "Let's have a banquet!"
After the banquet, the bells and drums rang in front of the court, and the musicians played the tune of Deer Ming Poetry.
Jie Yuan Weichen stood up first and sang: "Young deer roar, eating apples in the wild. I have a guest, playing the harp and the sheng. Playing the sheng, drum and yellow, carrying the basket is the general. People who are kind to me show me how to move around."
After Wei Chen finished singing, everyone responded, and then the Five Classics Leader came in to dance the Kuixing Dance together. As the manager of the Spring and Autumn House, Sheng Changbai naturally wanted to sing and dance.
Imagine what it would be like to have Sheng Changbai singing and dancing at the banquet?
Four words that I couldn’t bear to look at.
After watching for a while, Wei Chen, Chen Jun and others all invariably covered their faces with their hands and ate, trying to relieve their depression with delicious food.
There is a famous dish called "Honey Pickled Squid (Squid Sausage)". It is said that it needs to be prepared a hundred days in advance. It is very popular among all previous candidates. Wei Chen specially came to try it. It was indeed sweet and delicious, with endless aftertaste. He ate it in one sitting. A big bowl.
After three rounds of drinking, when the banquet was in full swing, Wang Wenqing looked at the talented people gathered together and said with a smile: "I am reading various manuscripts in the curtain, and I see many volumes with brilliant thoughts and clear diction. You can all know from the three If you stand out among thousands of scholars, your poems must be as beautiful as your articles, but which talented person can compose a poem that suits the occasion?"
After hearing Wang Wenqing's words, everyone was not surprised, but took it for granted.
The Deer Ming Banquet is a banquet for literati. Eating and drinking are all incidental. Writing and singing are the main topic. It is also customary for everyone to write a poem each.
】
At this moment, everyone looked at Wei Chen. According to the ranking of the candidates, Jie Yuanlang should compose a poem first.
Wei Chen thought about it for a moment and was about to get up when Xu Shizheng, who was sitting at the second seat, said one step ahead of him: "Students get an occasional song, so let's show off first."
Although the order of writing poems is a matter of convention, it does not say who must come first and who comes last. Xu Shizheng thought about the poem first and then read it out first, and it seemed that he could not make any mistakes.
But no matter what, this was to show Wei Chen's face as Jieyuan, and everyone present could see Xu Shizheng's provocation towards Wei Chen.
I only heard Xu Shizheng read to himself: "Then I learned about the economics from the field and looked at the selection of imperial edicts. Talents are loyal and good, and hard work is needed. Life is full of food and clothing, and it is not honorable to live in it. When the tripod comes, the current affairs will worry about the country. After all, Confucianism is not a waste of money. When I come, I will pay my respects directly to the people of Pisi."
After reciting the poem, there was a round of applause in the hall, and everyone praised: "This poem suits the situation and the situation, and it also has the aura of wealth and honor. Ya Yuanlang is really talented!"
Wang Wenqing also stroked his beard and smiled, obviously very satisfied with Xu Shizheng's poem.
Xu Shizheng smiled, bowed, and after sitting down, he deliberately glanced in Wei Chen's direction.
For a moment, everyone looked at Wei Chen with expressions of excitement.
"Ya Yuanlang takes the lead, and Zhuyu is ahead. I wonder how Jie Yuanlang will respond?"
Only Sheng Changbai, Wang Yaochen and others shook their heads and continued to change cups as if nothing had happened, without worrying about Wei Chen at all.
It’s just better than others.
Comparing poetry with Wei Chen?
This Xu Shizheng is really asking for trouble...
