According to the requirements of Li's letter, Chen Xi had to return to Ninghua County as soon as possible to prepare for the exam. In the middle of the first lunar month, Chen Xi had just celebrated the Spring Festival with his family, so he had to set off with Shen Mingjun to return to Ninghua.

This year, the lanterns were set off during the Lantern Festival, and all the young and old inside and outside the pharmacy wrote their wishes as hope that Chenxi could take the provincial examination for high school.

Chen Xi knew that this was what my mother and Hui Niang "forced" her family to do. The women and children in the family could write less, but they asked Chen Xi to do it for their own sake. In front of Zhou and Hui Niang, they dared to say that they hoped to find a good husband to marry next year?

In the past, Hui Niang always talked about the marriages of the five maids around her, but now she is busy with internal and external affairs in the pharmacy shop and she can't take care of them. Even though Xiu'er and the others are seventeen or eighteen years old or even twenty years old, she still has not married them as promised.

Xiaoyu and Xiu'er can still endure loneliness. Lu'er and Hong'er don't feel anything, but Ning'er, with a sense of unwillingness from the bottom of her heart, always looking for opportunities to fly up the branch and turn into a phoenix.

Chen Xi took the three families' eager expectations and embarked on the journey back to Ninghua. Chen Xi walked this road several times and was already very familiar with it. The Song Xiaocheng and his wife and several brothers from the carriage and horse gang were also returning home.

Xu Lian had just given birth to a son. Song Xiaocheng rarely had a busy carriage and boat trip at the beginning of the year, so he took his wife and son back to his hometown to visit relatives. It can be regarded as a return home with wealth and "returning his hometown with honor."

When he returned to Ninghua County, Chen Xi immediately became the focus of attention of the whole family.

In the first year, Chen Xi returned as a Tongsheng. In just one year, Chen Xi became a scholar. Chen Xi was only twelve years old after the New Year. Even Shen Mingwen, the pillar of the Shen family, was not qualified to take the county exam at the age of twelve. Now Shen Xi not only passed the county exam, but also passed the county, government and college exam three times, Tingzhou Prefecture and the court exam second.

No matter who thinks, Chen Xi’s future future is not inferior to Shen Mingwen.

"Qilang, you must study hard after you come back. This year's trial seems easy. But you should not slack off. It is best to add more students in one go. After that year, you can get a student in the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the

Even when she was a scholar in Chenxi, she was not as proud as she is today. It was the old lady who had always been looking forward to being able to bring her baby grandson back to show off in front of her neighbors.

This made Shen Mingwen's wife Wang very upset: "Mom, look at what you said. Maybe Qilang wants to add a student to the rank of the rank of the juren in the autumn exam?"

This sounds good, but in Wang's sarcastic tone, everyone knows that she feels uncomfortable after hearing it. She has had a husband in the past two years but is a widow, and she is already very resentful. Now the old lady likes this baby grandson more than his husband. How could she be angry? She thought to herself: "My man has taken the provincial examination several times, and now the student in the escort is stable. How can you, a little kid who just passed the scholarship exam?"

But I felt uncomfortable when I thought of Chen Xi taking the exam with her husband.

Li said with a stern face: "Speak well. It is naturally the best for Qilang to be a juren in one go. If he can't win, he will have a chance in the future. What kind of tongue do women chew?"

Wang knew the truth and quickly saluted: "Mom, I was wrong."

Li did not know anything about it, and continued to say to Chen Xi: "Your elder brother is married, your father and mother are back, but you are busy with your studies and have no time to take care of them. Now when you come back, you will be in there and see your elder brother and sister-in-law."

Chen Xi then remembered that there was actually a woman in the family. She was the wife who had just married less than a year, and the former Miss Lu family.

Chen Xi went to the east wing of the middle courtyard to meet this "sister-in-law". If you want to say that her appearance is actually the case, her face is round and her nose is not high. Fortunately, her skin is fair, so she is considered a beauty according to the current aesthetic standards.

Now Shen Yongzhuo is twenty years old, but after passing the county examination, his family still has great hopes for him. After all, compared with his father, Shen Yongzhuo is not inferior. He is just pale in comparison to Chen Xi, but no one is a prodigy, right?

"After coming back, study with your elder brother, come out and walk around less, and in two days, let your uncle come out to teach you about your knowledge."

Li is very proud. The two scholars of the Shen family don’t have to rely on Shen Mingwen to pass the imperial examination in the future. The Shen family’s hopes of reviving will increase greatly, but she will eventually spoil her for her eldest son.

After all, the eldest son was cultivated by Li, and although she wanted to remember the contribution of the youngest grandson, she felt a little guilty. If Shen Mingjun and his wife had not taken Chen Xi to school on her back, Chen Xi might have been working in a wealthy family like his brother.

Not enough. In Li's opinion, even if Chen Xi became a scholar, it would only be appreciated by the examiner. He would definitely be far behind Shen Mingwen, who had been studying for many years, and it was just right for Shen Mingwen to come out to teach Chen Xi's knowledge.

...

...

When Chen Xi returned to Ninghua, the person he wanted to meet was actually Wang Lingzhi, but after he came back, he was locked in the yard and studied hard behind closed doors and never found a chance to sneak out.

At the end of last year, Wang Lingzhi, who was about to turn 14, wrote a letter to Chenxi. In addition to asking him for "martial arts secrets", he also told him to prepare to participate in this year's martial arts examination.

Chen Xi knew that this kid was determined to follow the martial arts, and Chen Xi was still very supportive of this. Chen Xi wrote down what he knew about "The Art of War", "Sun Bin's Art of War", "Wu Zi", "Six Strategies", "Wei Liaozi", "Sima Fa", "Taibai Yin Jing", and "Tiger Seal Sutra" and other military books in accordance with the martial arts secrets, and asked someone to give them to Wang Lingzhi to prepare for the exam.

Chen Xi hopes that if he enters the court in the future, he will have a good brother like Wang Lingzhi, both literary and military, and complement each other.

At the end of the first lunar month, the annual exam time is officially announced.

The annual examination in Ninghua County is scheduled for the fourth and fifth day of the second lunar month. Although the examination period is two days, it can actually end in one day, and the case time is the sixth day of the second lunar month.

Time seems very tight, which is why Fujian Su Kui is busy going to various prefectures and counties for the annual exams, and also going back to prepare for the autumn provincial examination as soon as possible. Usually, the provincial examinations will be simple and simple.

On the thirty year of the first lunar month, Chen Xi finally met his uncle Shen Mingwen, whom he hadn't seen in more than two years.

Chen Xi thought that Shen Mingwen would be thin and haggard in the backyard after two years, but when he saw Shen Mingwen walking towards him like a fat stolen official, he couldn't recognize him. This was the uncle who was determined to have a stumble with his family and pursued his happy life.

The Shen family's family has improved, and Li has not made much improvement in diet. The main reason is that the old lady insists on "success comes from diligence and thrift, failure comes from extravagance", and even if she has spare money, she must keep her food and clothing simple. However, she has a completely different attitude towards Shen Mingwen, her baby son. She provides Shen Mingwen with delicious food and drink, and even buys the best pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and has a good life in the mother and son in the big room. It is in sharp contrast with the other rooms.

In this way, Shen Mingwen, who was not active even though he was eating well, was raised by the old lady to become a fat man. Li was very satisfied with this and believed that Shen Mingwen was a "wealthy appearance" and her future was limitless.

Even Wang said in private: "Look at the little boy, he has no wealth and honor, but his sharp-mouthed monkey cheeks." The other way, it means that her husband is "rich and honorable".

In the past two years, Shen Mingwen has only been able to get out of the room in the course of the exam and the year-end exam. In the past, he was able to breathe more fresh air outside for a few days from the countryside to the county town, and with the journey, he could breathe more fresh air outside. But now the Shen family moved to the county town and had to be locked up and returned to his room to study as soon as he finished the exam.

However, the door will not be locked for a few days before and after the exam. If the old lady is kind, she will also reunite Shen Mingwen and his wife, but they must be in the room and must not go beyond the line.

Shen Mingwen and Wang are like Cowherd and Weaver Girls. They can only be reunited on a specific day. Chen Xi thought of a chubby Cowherd and a merciless Weaver Girls "meeting on the magpie bridge" in a dark room. The strong sense of picture made Chen Xi feel chilled.

"...This year's test is to take the Four Books and Five Classics, do you know?"

Shen Mingwen followed the old lady's will to tutor Chen Xi, but no matter what he said, it seemed that Chen Xi was an ignorant child.

Chen Xi nodded honestly: "I understand."

Shen Mingwen said "Oh", as if wondering why Chen Xi knew such a major secret. He thought for a while and asked again: "What is your sutra?"

"Spring and Autumn Annals." Chen Xi replied again.

Shen Mingwen was a little impatient when he heard this: "What do you do when you learn "Spring and Autumn"? There are too many books you need to learn, such as "Zuo Zhuan" and "Gongyang Zhuan"... Have you read all these?"

Chen Xixin said this is not nonsense? All the students who passed the exam have come back. If you haven’t even read these basic books, you will be the result of the strong wind when you think my scholar’s ​​fame? But he still nodded seriously: “Yes.”

"Oh, Xiaoxiao learned a lot. This is a matter of using eight-legged essays... have you learned it too?"

Chen Xi nodded again.

Shen Mingwen frowned: "Since you have learned it, you can review your own books, I'll go for a walk in the yard..."

Shen Mingwen seemed very perfunctory. Chen Xi glanced into the yard and probably knew what was going on. It turned out that Wang took advantage of the old lady's inattention and came to deliver food to Shen Mingwen. The two of them entered the next room together, and then some disharmonious sounds came.

It's over, it's over... The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl secretly met while the Queen Mother was not careful...

Even Shen Yongzhuo, who was studying with Chen Xi, was a little blushed when he heard this.

Fortunately, not long after, Shen Mingwen returned to the room in a mess, and Wang hurriedly packed his clothes and left the yard. Chen Xi couldn't help but be amazed: So fast!

When Shen Mingwen came back, he sat upright and drank a cup of tea, he was like an official visiting the inspection: "Xiaoqi, I heard that your college entrance examination is good. I published an article. How about you and Dalang doing it together?"

Chenxidao: "Please give me a title."

Shen Mingwen pondered: "I think about it, just let me know this question, 'Isn't it a good idea to learn and practice it from time to time'? Have you read the sentences in "The Analects of Confucius"?"

Seeing Chen Xi nodding, he glanced at his son again, "Where are you, Dalang?"

Chen Xi really didn't know why Shen Mingwen was so pedantic and dull. He had memorized such simple sentences in "The Analects of Confucius" by children who had been in the open for a few days. Shen Yongzhuo had passed the county examination, how could he not know? Moreover, this question was not very nutritious when he thought about it. Thinking about the question "Learn and practice it from time to time, there are no gentlemen" in the first place. It was only a difference of four words, and the difficulty of the question increased by several times?

Chen Xi and Shen Yongzhuo are both familiar with this question. After all, they did this question at the same time in the palace examination, so they began to answer the questions.

Shen Mingwen sat there, looking a little tired, and actually fell asleep against the back of the chair.

Chen Xi was writing, and Shen Yongzhuo had some confusion about solving the problem and inheriting the questions, so he couldn't help but look at Chen Xi's answer. Chen Xi didn't hide it. It took half an hour before Shen Mingwen woke up. At this time, Chen Xi and Shen Yongzhuo's articles were written.

"Oh? The writing style is good, uh... let's make do." Shen Mingwen first read Chen Xi's article and left a simple comment. After reading Shen Yongzhuo's article, he praised it very much: "Dalang, your article is very good, very good."

Chen Xi couldn't help but look at it, and couldn't help but sigh. Shen Yongzhuo's sentence was copied by him. If Shen Mingwen became a school official, it must be "selecting the wise but not avoiding relatives"!

***************

ps: The third update!
Chapter completed!