After Cheng Shi left, Li Hao said to Li Jian and Wei: "Now it seems that you might as well move to the city. In the future, just hold on to the recipe and let the Cheng family do other things." You don’t have to work so hard. And the An family’s temperament cannot be too restless after all. It will inevitably be inconvenient in the village, so it’s better to feel relieved in the city.”
Li Jian and Wei Shi discussed this and decided to do the same. Wei Shi said, "In that case, my father and I will come and choose a house. It's hard to bring the other servants here, so we have to arrange a way for them."
Li Hao said: "Yes, after all, I don't know if they are reliable now, and bringing them here will only cause trouble. But since the soap workshop is about to open, let them all go into the workshop to work, and let the Cheng family arrange it. I think so The head of the Cheng family will not treat them harshly. Just buy some more here, the main thing is to use them with confidence."
After that, Li Jian and Wei stayed in the city and began to work on buying a house and moving. Li Hao and Yan Jing continued to return to their hard-working days. Of course, Yan Jing was the main one. After all, it was already August, and the exam was less than ten days away from home.
Later, Master Qin began to provide individual tutoring to Yan Jing, and Li Hao and Yan Jingwen arranged to study by themselves.
Yan Jingwen has a hard-working temperament. He is constantly thinking about things in the morning and dusk at all times, and he is never in short supply.
As for Li Hao, he took advantage of his free time to accompany Mrs. Wei and quickly settled on a house. After looking at several houses, he chose a Sanjin house not far from the academy. It was very spacious and unique, and the courtyard was also arty. Some plum blossoms. It was originally the house of a salt merchant. Because he was eager to sell, he spent 900 taels of silver to buy it. The Wei family went to buy six more servants, a nanny in charge, three male and female servants responsible for cleaning, and a coachman. In addition, Li Hao was found a book boy named Fu Deng, who was about the same age as Li Hao. Even though they look silly, I don’t know who is taking care of whom.
Things were busy here, and Li Hao originally wanted to see if the An family would make any move, but it turned out that no matter whether the Li family moved or the soap workshop opened, there was no movement from the An family, which made Li Hao strange.
Of course, what Li Hao didn't know was that on the day he finished talking to Master Qin, Master Qin went to the magistrate of Yangzhou and asked the magistrate to write a letter to the magistrate of Hongzhou who had settled in the An family's big house. As a result, the eldest brother sent a letter and severely reprimanded this party, so naturally he did not dare to cause any trouble.
Time passed and came to the day of the provincial examination. The senior brother's elder brother also took the provincial examination this year, but he was taking the scientific examination in Yingtianfu, Songzhou, so the senior brother's parents went there. Here were Li Hao and Yan Jingwen to see Yan Fu off to the examination room. .
When they arrived, they saw a sea of people outside the Gongyuan. Scholars participating in the scientific examination, relatives and friends, maids, and servants who were sent to take the examination were all lined up, and they could not leave even though they were traveling all the way across the carriage.
The three of them had no choice but to dismount, carry their food and mats and walk forward slowly. As they approached the gate of Gongyuan, it became even more crowded. Li Hao and Yan Jingwen had no choice but to protect Yan Fu to the fence of the gate. Get your number plate and wait in line.
When they saw Yan Fu entering the examination room, the two returned to the academy, and then came to take Yan Fu home on the third day.
There were three rural examinations. They came out on the third day of each session and went in again the next day, so Li Hao and Yan Jingwen had to go back three times in a row. However, they were okay, but Yan Fu was tired from the tossing and went back directly. have a good rest. However, this reminded Li Hao that he had to stay in there for a long time every time he took the imperial examination. In the past, there were stories of scholars fainting in their cells and being carried out after the exam was over. Just in case, it seems that physical exercise has to be put on the agenda. And who hasn't dreamed of martial arts? Maybe he will be gifted if he wears it.
After waiting for two days, Yan Fu finally recovered and came to the academy to visit his master. Li Hao saw it and asked: "Brother, are you nervous now? The results will be released in a few days."
Yan Fu said: "The exams have all been completed. Now I am lucky to have gained it and lost my life. There is nothing to be anxious about."
Yan Jingwen also said: "Senior brother is very talented. If you want to pass this provincial examination, you will have no problem. There is really no need to worry."
After hearing this, Li Hao said: "Second senior brother is too serious. I trust senior senior brother. Just kidding. When the rankings are released, we will go and watch them together and congratulate senior senior brother on the spot."
On the day when the results were released, in order to avoid crowding, Li Hao specially called the two of them in advance, sat down in a restaurant next to the Gongyuan, and then asked Cheng Dong to guard them. After waiting for a while, Cheng Dong rushed over with a happy face, and everyone knew that he had passed the exam.
Sure enough, when Chengdong arrived, he said: "Congratulations, sir, you are ranked twelfth. You have won the first place in one fell swoop. Next year, you will pass the exam and win the title of Toad Palace." After hearing this, Li Hao smiled and said, "Chengdong's words sound auspicious. You You’re rewarded.”
Yan Fu said with a smile: "That's natural. Your young master will add you to your monthly schedule and give it to you when he comes back."
Then Li Hao and Yan Jingwen also congratulated together, and then the three of them went to report the good news to the master.
After announcing the good news, Yan Fu happily took the two of them away to have a drink. While eating wine, Li Hao asked: "Sir, when are you going to Beijing?"
Yan Fu said: "The specific date has not been determined. If nothing unexpected happens, it will probably be at the end of October. Then I will make an appointment with a few scholars to go to Beijing together."
After hearing this, Yan Jingwen said: "It's good to have more time, and I can also participate in the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival. This is something not to be missed."
After hearing this, Li Hao became really curious about the Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival. He kept listening to everyone saying that it didn't feel like an ordinary poetry gathering, but rather like a literary event.
Li Hao then planned to ask: "Is there any difference in this poem? It feels unusual to see you like this."
I thought it would be Yan Fu who spoke, but this time it was Yan Jingwen who was even more excited and said: "The poetry meeting is still a poetry meeting, but the person hosting it is different. Mr. Yongshu is hosting this himself."
Li Hao asked: "Mr. Yongshu, he seems to be the current magistrate of Yangzhou. Is there anything special about him?"
Yan Jingwen said: "Mr. Yongshu, the literati Qingliu created another generation of writing style. He also presided over the Qingli New Deal with Mr. Xiwen, inspired innovation, and governed the country. He should be a role model for our generation. A few days ago, he wrote The Drunkard Pavilion, The style of writing is unique and idiosyncratic, describing emotions and scenes throughout the text, purely using lining brushes, and then goes straight to "The Joy of the Prefect", whose musical phrases are knotted. At that time, the people of the Qing Dynasty were harmonious, and the scenes of enjoying themselves with the people overflowed beyond the pen and ink. How could you not know?"
After hearing this, Li Hao was stunned and said: "The drunkard's interest is not in wine, but in the mountains and rivers. Mr. Yongshu is Ouyang Xiu."
Yan Jingwen said: "Yes, Mr. Yongshu's surname is Ouyang, and his single name has a modified character, Yongshu. Don't you know?"
Li Hao said: "I am ignorant, I am ignorant, it's my fault, then can I attend this poetry meeting?" Li Hao thought to himself, this is the first celebrity I have met in ancient times. Back then, the Drunkard's Pavilion had to be recited in full.
Yan Jingwen said: "Our teacher met Mr. Yongshu back then, and he will definitely go to the poetry meeting. We will go with the teacher then."
Then the three of them agreed in unison. As a result, just before the poetry meeting, Yan Fu received a letter sent by his father. It turned out that Yan Fu's brother had also passed the provincial examination. The letter this time was to ask Yan Fu to rush to Bianjing to meet them. He said that he had invited an old scholar to teach the two brothers in Bianjing. At the same time, he also asked the master to explain reason. Because time was running out, Yan Fu had no choice but to bid farewell to Master Qin and leave.
So on the day of the poetry meeting, only Yan Jingwen and Li Hao followed Master Qin to Pingshan Hall to participate. To say that Pingshan Hall can be called: the building is high and open among the ancient temples, and all the good views are included in the carved railings. The mountains are floating on the sea and the green snails are far away. The sky turns to the south of the Yangtze River and the jasper is wide. The quiet flowers bloom on the rain sill, and the wind blows and the wine rises slightly. If tourists think about the beauty of climbing, they must take the first view of Huaidong.
However, Li Hao and Yan Jingwen had no time to watch the scenery. Yan Jingwen was nervous about meeting his idol, while Li Hao was excited about meeting a celebrity, but he found Master Qin curious. Just because both of them are calm and objective people, such a state is rare.
When they reached the top of the mountain, they asked the master to go socialize with friends. Li Hao and Yan Jingwen wandered on the mountain, waiting for the poetry meeting to start. However, after wandering for a while, they met an annoying old acquaintance again.
