A few days after Wei Chen arrived in Beijing, he received a total of six sets of examination stationery from Hanmo Hall, a time-honored brand in Bianjing, eight pairs of lightweight gloves lined with satin velvet, twelve deerskin ear protectors, and nine pairs of short-haired soft boots. Everything was included. Priceless fine goods.
These gifts were sent by the oiran leaders of Fan Lou. If they were not afraid of affecting Wei Chen's preparation for the exam, these beautiful ladies would come one after another to send sweet blessings to Wei Chen in person.
This time Sheng Changbai did not try hard to persuade Wei Chen not to fall into the gentle land of female goblins, because not only Wei Chen had these gifts, but Sheng Changbai himself also received many.
In fact, this kind of treatment is given to Jieyuan and other talents who are popular for winning the championship in all provinces, but it is more or less.
As for Wei Chen, he is young and handsome, and has a reputation for talent. He is excellent in poetry and poetry. The deeds of Qinhuai and Qinhuai have also spread to Bianjing. The pink beauties in Fanlou refused to let their counterparts in Jiangning be more beautiful, so they He is particularly fond of it.
Of course, Wei Chen doesn't care no matter how good the gifts from these oirans are.
What he cares about is the pair of waist protectors sent by Rulan, the pair of knee protectors sent by Minglan, and the loving snacks made by the sisters together.
Come and try it quickly. 】
Well, the two little girls' cooking skills were getting better and better, and Wei Chen ate most of the snacks that afternoon.
When Wei Chen brought some snacks to share with Sheng Changbai, his eyes looked a little strange, as if he was angry and a little sour, which made Wei Chen confused.
Later, Sheng Changfeng, who was still responsible for running errands on both sides, secretly told Wei Chen the truth.
Sheng Changbai and Wei Chen each had a share of knee pads and waist pads, but Sheng Changbai's share was made by his two sisters by asking the maids around them to work overnight. As for Wei Chen's share, they had been busy for more than a month, just choosing pictures. I chose it for several days...
As for the love snacks, Minglan and Rulan only prepared one portion from beginning to end. Before coming, they specifically asked Sheng Changfeng to give it to Wei Chen quietly and not to let their second brother see it.
In other words, before Wei Chen took out the snacks, Sheng Changbai had no idea that there was such a thing.
After Sheng Changfeng's explanation, Wei Chen finally understood.
That's all for Minglan, Rulan is Sheng Changbai's sister, and she actually plays the trick of favoring one over the other, and the one who is "favourable" is her own brother.
What's even worse is that Wei Chen accidentally exposed all of this to Sheng Changbai...
No wonder Sheng Changbai has such a face that has been frozen for thousands of years. When Wei Chen said who made the dim sum, the corners of his mouth could not help but twitch.
Although Wei Chen comforted him several times later, the effect was still very limited, and even had the opposite effect.
That night, Sheng Changbai, who was feeling cold and dejected, packed up his clothes and moved to another Zen room.
Wei Chen was not worried at all about the quarrel between Sheng Changbai and himself. The brotherhood between him and Sheng Changbai that they had slept together for so many years was not Zhihu. How could it collapse so easily?
After a few days, Sheng Changbai calmed down, Wei Chen lowered his eyebrows and apologized in person, and the matter was over.
However, there was another thing that puzzled Wei Chen. The gifts given to Wei Chen by the oiran leaders were all packed up and taken away by Sheng Changbai.
Before leaving, Sheng Changbai gritted his teeth and warned Wei Chen again that he would never have anything to do with these prostitutes in the future.
Wei Chen vaguely felt that there might be some connection between the two things, but he couldn't tell what it was.
It's a pity that he has no time to think about it anymore, because the day of the test is approaching day by day.
…
A few days before the examination, Sheng Changbai had not yet reconciled with Wei Chen, but he still took Wei Chen and the Juren from Youyang in Jingxi Society back home to visit his father Sheng Hong.
It's not for anything else, just because if you want to take part in the examination, you need to get a seal from the official from your hometown to vouch for you.
Sheng Hong was very enthusiastic about this matter. He not only vouched for the candidates from Youyang, but also encouraged them and told them the secret of the test for a long time.
Of course, what Sheng Hong values the most is Wei Chen. At this moment, he is a little more enthusiastic than when he first met Wei Chen in Yangzhou.
If Wei Chen was just a civil servant, it would certainly not be worthy of Sheng Hong's doing this. However, Wei Chen was not only Jieyuan, but also the most valuable Jieyuan in Jiangnan Province. The probability of passing the Jinshi examination was almost 10 to 10.
Faced with a future Jinshi with a strong background, Sheng Hong had to be cautious. Not only did he not show off the airs of a Beijing official, he also led Wei Chen to chat about family matters, and he did not hesitate to praise him in his words.
"My nephew's talents are astonishing. If the right time, place and people are right, it is not an extravagant hope to win even six yuan!"
Sheng Hong's words were obviously flattering, but hearing them in Wei Chen's ears still moved his heart.
Throughout the thousand-year history of the imperial examination, there has been only one person who has passed the Six Elements in a row, and since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, there has been no one.
Although winning six yuan in a row is as difficult as climbing to the sky, Wei Chen is the most promising in everyone's eyes. Counting the Jie Yuan in the provincial examination, he has already won four Yuan in a row.
If Wei Chen can really hit six yuan in a row as Sheng Hong said, it will probably really shock the government and the public. This alone is enough to leave a name in history.
However, Wei Chen has always been calm about this kind of thing and will not put so much pressure on himself. His first goal is to pass the Jinshi examination. Of course, on this basis, the higher the ranking, the better.
As for winning six yuan in a row, it all depends on luck, and it is useless to think about it at this time.
After leaving the Sheng Mansion, Wei Chen and others took the road guide and official documents and went to the Ministry of Rites to get a seal, which is the so-called "seal volume".
Fortunately for new imperial examination candidates like Wei Chen, candidates who passed the examination in previous years were required to bring their articles from the provincial examination and fill in detailed information on the examination paper so that the Ministry of Rites could arrange examination rooms and seats.
After returning from the Ministry of Etiquette, Wei Chen focused all his energy on the examination. He stayed behind closed doors all day long, even those who came to visit from the Sheng family, just to concentrate on preparing for the exam.
On the ninth day of February, at the fourth watch, Wei Chen was awakened by the rustling sounds outside. It was the monks in the temple banging on the doors and windows of the monasteries to wake up the candidates.
Wei Chen's school boy Yuan An was also outside patting the window: "Master, it's the fourth watch, it's time to get up."
"knew."
Wei Chen responded, immediately got out of bed, put on his clothes and shoes, and put on handmade waist and knee pads. He felt warm all over his body.
Yuan An, who had just brought a basin of hot water and came in, saw Wei Chen who was neatly dressed and couldn't help but praise: "Young Master is so energetic!"
Wei Chen smiled, moistened a towel and wiped his face. He felt his fatigue disappear, then he put on his hat and smock and walked out.
The night had not yet dissipated from the sky, and a cold wind blew in, blowing his face like a knife. Wei Chen subconsciously touched the waist and knee pads under his clothes, thinking: It would be better if he had another scarf.
At this time, the rental area in Dabaoen Temple was already bustling with people. The doors of each Zen monastery were opened, and the sound of luggage being moved could still be heard.
Yuan An was behind with the test box on his back, and Wei Chen was in front with a lantern. He walked to the lobby and saw that most of the more than 20 Jingxi Club members, including Sheng Changbai and Wang Yaochen, were already sitting here, eating breakfast.
Wei Chen also sat down, chatting and laughing with everyone while eating breakfast.
When they were almost finished eating, the muffled sound of a carriage running over bluestones suddenly came from outside. The chatter and laughter in the hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone had solemn looks on their faces.
