After registering, I returned home and continued studying. Unknowingly, another month passed and it was two days before the county examination, which was August 21st.
On this day, Fang Yingwu left Huaxi and headed for the county seat. He had to stay in the county seat in advance, firstly so that he could arrive at the examination room in time for inspection on the morning of the exam day, and secondly, to arrive at the county seat in advance so that if there were any changes, he could be informed in time.
Accompanying Fang Yingwu are the school director Fang Fengshi and social studies teacher Mr. Wang. As Fang Yingwu's guarantor, these two must be present during the inspection at the entrance of the examination room.
On the way, Fang Yingwu was carrying a basket, which is commonly known as the examination basket. It contained writing, ink, paper, inkstones and some food, which were all necessary items in the examination room. It was not easy for the poor to take the imperial examination, so in order to purchase this inkstone
, but I have lent out all Mr. Wang’s housekeeping stuff, and there are still expenses for staying in the county town for two days.
The last time he went to the county seat to register, Fang Yingwu made some preparations in advance and booked two guest rooms in the West Temple outside the west gate of the county seat just for these few days. The first few times he visited the county seat, they were all here.
To stay.
But it was said that the three of them walked the mountain road for an hour and arrived at the West Temple. Fang Yingwu found the temple's blessing under the statue of Master He Qi, "At the end of last month, I made a reservation for two guest rooms exclusively for the examination period. Please take them.
I'll go to the guest room to settle in."
Zhu, whose surname was Song, said with confusion on his face: "I don't remember this happening."
Fang Yingwu reminded: "Fang Yingwu from Xiahuaxi went to the county to register for the exam last month. I discussed with you at your temple in the afternoon and chose two houses in the west courtyard and agreed to live there for a few days."
Song Miaozhu still refused to remember. At this time, a handsome young man of thirteen or fourteen years old came in from the outside. He shouted to Song Miaozhu as if no one else was watching: "Song Laoer! My master told you to buy some things first."
Send the food and wine to the West Courtyard." Following his words, he threw a piece of silver to the Song Temple to bless him.
When he heard the boy yelling about the West Courtyard, Fang Yingwu understood that Song Miaozhu was definitely pretending to be ignorant, coveting other people's money, and renting out the house to others.
Song Miaozhu agreed and was about to go out. Fang Yingwu stretched out his hand to hold Song Miaozhu's shoulder and said dissatisfied: "You are a dishonest person who gave up all the houses in the west courtyard that I promised to others. If you go back on your promise, don't you fear the punishment from the gods?"
!”
Before Song Miaozhu could say anything, the young man who came in from behind shouted: "Where are you from, mountain villagers? Is this also a place for you to run wild! Leave quickly and don't disturb the purity of my master!"
Fang Fengshi and Master Wang didn't know how to deal with it, so they looked at Fang Yingwu.
Fang Yingwu frowned and looked at the young boy's clothes. The material was better than what he was wearing. He also sounded like he was a young boy in a wealthy family. His master was living in the West Temple at this time, so he probably was.
Came here to take the county examination.
Looking at the domineering and rude face of this little book boy, Fang Yingwu had the desire to slap him. But then he thought about it, it was the critical moment before the county examination, there was no benefit in provoking a powerful enemy by causing trouble, and it might not be possible because of a small boy.
Big loss.
But if we don't fight with these people, where else can we find a place to live after leaving this temple? Chun'an County is very small. During the county examination in the past two days, schoolchildren from all villages in the county will live in the county.
I'm afraid it's not easy to find a place to live.
Holding back his anger, Fang Yingwu turned around and grabbed Song Miaozhu, sneered and said, "Okay, I'm going to visit the county magistrate, so you can go to the Yamen with me to see the official! Let the county magistrate cut off what's going on here.
Right and wrong.”
After saying that, he pulled Song Miao Zhu out and walked out. Fang Feng gave him a push from behind and pushed Song Miao Zhu out of the palace door.
Fang Yingwu came to the county three times before, twice for lawsuits, and stayed in the temple each time. Of course Song Miaozhu knew that Fang Yingwu was a good litigator. Seeing this, he was frightened and quickly shouted: "Don't be so busy."
Busy! Such a trivial matter is not worth seeing an official!"
Fang Yingwu scolded: "If we don't see the official, how will today's matter end?"
Zhu Miao of Song Dynasty said helplessly: "There is a room in the backyard, which used to be used as a firewood shed. Let the temple firemen clean it and it can be moved in."
It was better than nothing, so Fang Yingwu no longer struggled and had no choice but to agree. At the door of the shabby woodshed in the backyard, Fang Yingwu asked the fireman: "Who is living in the west courtyard? The ostentation is too big."
The fireman replied: "That's a young man from the Wu family in Yunfeng who also came to take part in the county examination. I heard that he didn't want to share the courtyard with others, so he gave the temple owner money and booked the entire west courtyard."
Fang Yingwu had heard of the Yunfeng Wu family, which was known as the best family in the county for imperial examinations. No wonder even the temple minister fawned over them, and no wonder the book boy looked down on others with his nostrils turned upward.
After the fireman finished cleaning, he left. Fang Yingwu looked at the room that was worse than his own home and sighed. He still had to work hard to get ahead, otherwise he would suffer the humiliation of being driven to the woodshed like today!
When Master Wang saw Fang Yingwu sighing, he thought that Fang Yingwu was intimidated by the name of the Wu family, and was worried that he would perform abnormally because of this, so he quickly persuaded him: "I have been taking the imperial examinations for twenty years. Although I have achieved nothing, I have heard some things.
Allusion. The Wu family has the most famous reputation, but now it is considered a powerful one."
"How do you say this?" The word "externally strong but internally capable" aroused Fang Yingwu's interest and he asked quickly.
"The Wu family is known as the first family in the imperial examination and has produced the most Jinshi, but most of them were from the Song Dynasty. In the past ten or twenty years, there has been no Jinshi, especially in the last three subjects in a row, not even a rookie has passed. Regardless.
For some reason, many people say that the Wu family is now in vain."
Fang Yingwu knew that in the imperial examination family, fame was not hereditary. He had not produced corresponding results for more than ten years, especially in the last three subjects, not even a scholar. Although there may be factors of bad luck, he still had to be
It is considered to be in decline, so it is understandable that the Wu family is criticized by outsiders. However, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and its background is not comparable to that of a poor man from other places.
Thinking of his own experience, he replied angrily: "Look at the behavior of that young master, and then look at the behavior of the book boy. Because I have seen big things at a young age, I know why the Wu family is in trouble!"
After a night of silence, Fang Yingwu first went to the county government office the next day to see if there were any new notices about the county examination. Then he went to the examination room in the county school to find out the route and environment. After everything was prepared, he felt at ease.
Waiting for the exam tomorrow.
The county examination is the first small step in the long road to the imperial examination. It is also the step with the loosest and least standardized examination atmosphere. The conditions vary from place to place.
Chun'an County is a county with a small population. There are not many people taking the county examination in Jinke. There are only more than 100 people. This is different from places like Jiangnan and Jiangxi where thousands of people apply for the county examination. But the academic quality of this group of people is definitely not inferior.
In any county in the world, it is definitely a group of death that is truly worthy of the name.
The examination room was located at the county school, and Fang Yingwu arrived outside the gate early to wait for the examination. At this time, hundreds of people gathered here, and it was crowded. There were candidates, people taking the examination, and guarantors in the crowd.
Magistrate Wang was sitting high on a makeshift stage behind the gate, and someone else was responsible for roll call and inspection. Candidates whose names were called came forward to be searched and verified, and the guarantor also came forward to provide on-site guarantee and confirmation.
Fang Yingwu stood in the crowd with a basket and waited, chatting with the two guarantors from time to time. Suddenly he heard someone say from behind: "Young Master must be the head of the case this time."
Fang Yingwu sounded familiar, so he turned around and saw that the person speaking was the book boy he met in the West Temple yesterday. Next to him was a young man in rich clothes. He was only seventeen or eighteen years old. He should be the owner of this book boy, Wu
Young Master.
The book boy said that his master would definitely be the head of the case. This was not surprising. Who didn’t want to get a good compliment? But Mr. Wu did not show any humility and instead accepted it calmly. This made Fang Yingwu who noticed them strange.
Yes. It stands to reason that Mr. Wu should pretend to reprimand him with a few words, "Don't talk nonsense" or something like that.
Fang Yingwu had already regarded the head of the case as a treasure in his pocket, and was particularly sensitive about this. He said with confusion, half sarcasm, and half testing: "You brag about winning the head of the case before you even enter the venue. It's so funny!"
The book boy and Mr. Wu looked over at the same time. The book boy recognized Fang Yingwu and whispered a few words to his master. Mr. Wu cupped Fang Yingwu's hand and said, "No Cai Yunfeng Wu Chuo, where are you from?"
Fang Yingwu replied: "Huaxi Fang Yingwu!"
"Huaxi? Fang family?" Mr. Wu thought for a while and replied truthfully: "I haven't heard of it."
Then he waved his hand impatiently and said proudly: "You mud-legged people who came out of nowhere in the mountains, the biggest problem is that you have a lot of sourness. I am too lazy to share the same views with you. There is no need to start a lawsuit here, anyway, when you arrive,
In the end, my ranking will definitely be higher than yours. It’s useless to say more now. You’ll know after the rankings are released.”
Fang Yingwu was furious with this noble coldness that hit his face. He was already a bit aloof and looked down on the times, but he didn't expect to be frequently venomed by the master and servant.
You are all just dust from history! Fang Yingwu was about to retort when he heard his name being called from the front, it was time for him to enter. He had no choice but to hold back his anger and rush forward to be searched, and no longer continued with Mr. Wu and his entourage.
Entangled.
Half a quarter of an hour later, Fang Yingwu successfully passed the door inspection and entered the examination room through the gantry. At a glance, he saw that the seats in the examination room were temporarily placed on both sides of the corridor and were set up in the open air. It is the time of autumn and the weather is neither cold nor hot.
Therefore, taking exams in the open air is not uncomfortable, and it saves money compared to building an exam booth.
There was an examination number on the test paper he received earlier, and Fang Yingwu followed the examination number and found his seat, in the middle of the eighth row on the east side of the corridor.
Putting down the examination basket, putting down the test papers and the pen and inkstone, although Fang Yingwu was a "prepared" candidate, his heartbeat still couldn't help but speed up a few minutes in the examination room where his life destiny was decided.
Modern people in the 21st century will never know the feeling of going from heaven to hell step by step unless they have experienced this in person. Although there is also a college entrance examination, the college entrance examination after the 1990s can only be regarded as childish compared to the cruelty of the imperial examination.
The hothouse flowers who followed the middle school textbooks would probably only have a mean smile and regard Fan Jin's madness after passing the exam as a joke, but it is difficult to understand the hardship and glory behind the joke.
In the morning, you will be a farmer, and in the evening, you will ascend to the emperor's hall. If you are on the academic list, one step forward will make you a superior person, and a step back will make you a subordinate. You can use all kinds of tricks, fish will find their way, shrimp will find their way, enter the venue
No regrets, this is fairness in the imperial examination society.
Fang Yingwu took a deep breath, closed his eyes and began to rest quietly. He had developed this habit in his previous life.
The sound of the three-way drum sounded, and Fang Yingwu woke up from his trance and opened his eyes. A county official was walking back and forth in the examination room holding a sign. On the sign were the questions for this county examination.
When the little official came closer, Fang Yingwu took a closer look. There was white paper stuck on the wooden sign, with ink writing "I am fifteen and am determined to learn and wait for a chapter" and "Confucius climbed the East Mountain and Xiaolu, climbed the
"Mountain Tai and Small World".
Done! Fang Yingwu was overjoyed and completely relieved! He did not understand what the wrong county magistrate meant, and it turned out that he had fully prepared for these two questions!
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There is a power outage, so I will make up for the update as soon as I get the call. Also: the original book club group has been cancelled, and a new group 128681449 has been created. Loyal book friends can join the group if they are willing to come. It is only for those who urge for updates. Those who do not read books will not join.