The Spring Examination of the Song Dynasty is usually held in February, but this year it was postponed due to two heavy snowfalls before and after the festival. After all, the Song Dynasty is now located in the southeastern corner, and there are actually very few heavy snowfalls in the south. Many remote places are still the first

Encountering such heavy snow for the first time, the officials could not reach the capital on time.

After the heavy snowfall at the beginning of the first lunar month, local officials proposed to postpone the Spring Examination so that candidates from remote areas could have enough time to arrive in the capital. The court agreed to do this after deliberation. Because according to the original plan

It was planned that the Spring Festival would start on the ninth day of February, but the heavy snow caught many people off guard and would definitely delay their arrival in Beijing. So the Spring Festival was postponed for one month and was scheduled to start on the ninth day of March.

Starting from mid-February, candidates from all over the country have arrived in Lin'an City one after another. The candidates from remote areas such as Bashu, Yunnan, Guizhou and Qiongzhou traveled thousands of miles across mountains and rivers to arrive at Lin'an. You can imagine the hardships they endured on the way. So in the capital,

People with disheveled hair and shabby clothes can often be seen walking on the streets of Lin'an with surprise in their eyes. If they hadn't been wearing scarves and carrying book boxes, they would have been mistaken for refugees.

Although the Song Dynasty lost half of its country, the land area was still vast, the south was a densely populated area, and the reading atmosphere in the Song Dynasty was very strong, so the number of candidates was not large. Jinke Chunwei, Sixteenth Road of the Song Dynasty,

There are more than 700 counties under the jurisdiction of the thirty-six prefectures, one hundred and twenty-five prefectures, the thirty-sixth army, and the two prisons. There are more than 18,000 people who have passed the examination and obtained the qualifications for the spring palace. This set a record for the imperial court to move south.

A new record later. So many students poured into the capital after the new year, which was enough to quickly focus the attention of the people on this year's Spring Examination.

In addition, this is also a huge business opportunity for merchants in the capital. Not to mention other things, the inns in the capital are already full, and it is difficult to find a room. The scenic spots and historic sites in Lin'an City are also overcrowded. The West Lake operates boats and boats.

The boatmen who carry tourists on the black-topped boats for sightseeing business are also very busy every day, with customers coming one after another. In previous years, February is actually the off-season. After all, the spring is cold and the willows are not green. After all, it is not the best time for the scenery of the West Lake. However,

The descendants have come from afar, regardless of the season, and have admired the fame for a long time. When they arrived in the capital today, how could they not visit the West Lake, the Sugong Embankment built by their idol Su Dongpo, and other places. After all, it’s an ugly thing to say.

, Unless you can pass the imperial examination, who knows if you will have the opportunity to visit La'an in this life.

In addition to these places, the business of brothels in Lin'an City is also very good. Lin'an is the leading place in the flower world, so how can anyone who has some financial resources and pretends to be a romantic not to go shopping. And many brothel girls have been looking forward to this moment, but unfortunately

It's not about making a lot of money from these students, but they hope to find a potential stock that can help them get out of the sea of ​​misery in the future. This is the best opportunity to find someone to rely on in the future. At the moment, it seems that they are just a group of nothing.

They were young men, but as soon as spring passed, some of them soared into the sky and became masters. For this reason, many brothel girls did not hesitate to spend money and use their hard-earned savings to please those

They felt that the promising candidates in high school had taken a lot of advantage over those who showed off their appearance and were smooth-talking.

Of course, apart from strolling around the West Lake and visiting the city's scenic spots, most students can only stay in the inn and study. Because as the day of the Spring Examination approaches, everyone is becoming more and more stressed.

The bigger the exam. This time the college entrance examination cannot be compared with Qiu Wei. It’s not that Qiu Wei is not important, but the students who take the exam in Qiu Wei are mixed, and there are also many places admitted.

, Relatively speaking, the pressure is not too great. But the Spring Examination is completely different. Once you pass the exam, you will rise to great heights. Regardless of whether you are awarded an official or not, you will be a member of the imperial court. If you win, you will have no worries.

, the future is promising. If you fail, you will fall back to your original form, and it will be nothing. Secondly, the pressure is that the participants of the Spring Examination are all strong players. They are all people who stand out from the examination. Basically, they all have real talents and practical knowledge.

People. The solution test is like a big net. After filtering out 70,000 to 80,000 stinky fish and rotten shrimps, now all the big fish in the net are jumping out of the net. But those who can truly achieve positive results in cultivation

After all, people are in the minority. Only 793 people were selected from the 18,000 imperial examinations. The number seems to be a lot, but in fact, the ratio is less than 1 in 20. The fierce competition can be seen.

It doesn't matter that the children of well-off families are well-educated. After all, there is still a way out. Those poor children who have studied hard for more than ten years and now have no other options except the imperial examination are well aware of the importance of Chunwei to them. How dare they

Take it a little bit lightly.

Fang Zian also hugged Buddha's feet fiercely more than ten days before the Spring Examination. He was actually quite stressed. Although he seemed confident and joking, Fang Zian knew in his heart from the time of Qiu that the Imperial Examination was a difficult task.

Things are actually not within his control, and what he can do is actually very limited. Fang Zian knows that his advantages and disadvantages are equally great, so this time Chunwei can only do his best and leave the rest to God.

Fang Zian even had the thought in his heart: Since God arranged for him to travel through time, he wouldn't be denied an official position. But Fang Zian soon felt ashamed of his absurd and childish thoughts.

He has never thought of giving up on himself, and his life dictionary does not give up on this.

On the seventh day of March, Fang Zian still went to the Ministry of Etiquette to get his number plate according to the procedure. Fang Zian was already familiar with these things. After that, he came back and started to make preparations. This time, the Spring Examination was still a three-day test, from the ninth day of March to the twelfth day of March.

After three nights, the dust settled. This time Fang Zian learned his lesson. Thinking of the situation in the Gongyuan dormitory, Fang Zian's scalp went numb. This time he brought more to make the three days comfortable.

For example, he asked Chunni to prepare incense tablets. The first thing he did when entering was to light the incense tablets inside. He didn't want to endure three days of suffering in a humid and musty dormitory.

On the morning of the eighth day of March, Fang Zian, Qian Kang, and Zhao Changlin, who came to the capital to live in Qian Kang's house at the beginning of the month, had a sumptuous lunch. After that, they wished each other good luck and dispersed to prepare for going to Gongyuan to enter the dormitory in the afternoon. Rest.

After a while, Fang Zian got up to take a shower and change clothes. When he was getting ready, Lao Huang came to report that there was a young girl in front of the door asking to see him.

Fang Zian was a little confused, which woman came to see him at this time? It must not be Qin Xiqing, Qin Xiqing did not need to report. Seeing Chunni staring at him suspiciously, Fang Zian immediately waved his hand and said: "Go tell that person, I am not free now

See someone and send her away."

Old Huang said: "She said her surname was Shi."

Fang Zian was stunned and knew who was coming. Chunni said softly: "Is it Miss Shi Jia?"

Fang Zian said: "Do you know her?"

Chun Ni said: "Didn't they give you expensive gifts when we got married? How could I not know? Is this the lady from Mr. Shi's family? You should go and see her. Maybe there's something going on."

Fang Zian smiled and said, "She and I have nothing to do with each other, so don't think too much about it."

Chuni smiled and said: "I didn't say anything. Are you just asking yourself? It's up to you. If you want to see me, you can see me. If you don't want to, then don't see me.

, should I stop talking?"

Fang Zian thought for a moment and said, "It's better to meet him. You have to be polite. You pack the package and ask someone to move it to the car. I'll come and meet you."

Chuni nodded in agreement and went about her business while Fang Zian straightened his clothes and hurried to the front hall. When he arrived at the door, he saw Shi Ningyue standing at the door accompanied by a maid. The first time he saw her, Fang Zian

Zian's heart skipped a beat, because Shi Ningyue's appearance had changed drastically. She hadn't seen her for several months, and she had lost a lot of weight. Her already thin body looked even more frail.

"Miss Ningyue, why are you here? Come in and sit down." Fang Zian hurriedly bowed his hands and said.

After seeing Fang Zian, Shi Ningyue's eyes sparkled, and she hurriedly returned the courtesy: "After meeting Mr. Fang, Ningyue will not go in. You should go to Gongyuan to prepare for the Spring Festival. In fact, I came at the wrong time.

I won’t waste your time. I just know that you are about to take the big exam, and I happened to pass by here when I went out today, so I wanted to come and see you and cheer you up. Nothing else. We haven’t seen each other for a long time."

Fang Zian cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, miss. By the way, thank you for the generous gift. Chunni likes it very much. But your gift is too expensive. I am really in a hurry. When my exam is over, I will go to my house to say thank you."

Indeed, it has been a long time since I went to see Mr. Shi. As soon as the Spring Festival is over, I will go to see him. Please tell me, sir, that I will first accuse you."

Shi Ningyue smiled and said: "Okay, but my father is one of the examiners of this imperial examination. He may not be able to go home after the Spring Festival is over. He may have to wait until the results are released. Ten days ago, my father went to the tribute courtyard and locked it up.

Never went home again.”

Fang Zian was surprised and said: "It turns out that Mr. Shi is the examiner this time. Yes, he is a doctor from the Imperial College, so he is indeed the most qualified. Well, I will just pay him a visit when he is free."

Shi Ningyue nodded, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. Fang Zian said: "Miss Ningyue, is there anything else you want to say?"

Shi Ningyue smiled and said: "It's nothing, just... sister Ruomei... sent me a letter."

Fang Zian was shocked and said: "Ruomei wrote you a letter? How is she? Is she safe? What did the letter say?"

Shi Ningyue said softly: "When you pass the exam, come to my house and read the letter. The things in the letter can't be explained in just a few words."

Fang Zian thought for a while and nodded: "That's fine. If Ruomei wrote to you, why didn't you write to me? It's really strange."

Shi Ningyue smiled and said: "Maybe the letter to you is on the way. Nothing else, I'm leaving. I wish you a good name on the gold medal list and a top scorer in the exam. I'm waiting to drink your wedding wine."

Fang Zian bowed and said, "Thank you very much."

Shi Ningyue nodded slightly, turned around and walked to the carriage. The maid lifted the curtain and helped her get into the carriage. Fang Zian saw that her hands holding the window were slender and thin, and her skin was so white that you could see the veins on her hands, and she felt a little sad.

Worry.

"Miss Ningyue!" Fang Zian called.

"What?" Shi Ningyue turned her head and asked with a smile.

Fang Zian breathed a sigh of relief and said softly: "It's nothing. Take care of yourself and eat more. I see that you don't look very good."

Shi Ningyue tilted her head and looked at Fang Zian, her eyes were a little red, but she held back tears and nodded: "Okay, thank you very much, I'm leaving."

Shi Ningyue got into the car and left. Fang Zian stood at the door and watched the carriage leave. He felt panicked for some reason. He stood quietly for a while before turning back to the house and loudly ordered: "Are you all ready? We have to go.
Chapter completed!