I recommend a good book, "The Fierce Monk", which is a light-hearted and heart-warming urban novel. Friends who like Chinese martial arts can read it.
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On the ninth day of March, Xu Qian rushed to Baoen Temple with his book box on his back.
The exams would start in a few days, and it would take an hour for the Xu family to travel back and forth from the Fu School, so they simply stayed at an inn near the Fu School like most candidates.
The inns near Baoen Temple are now overcrowded, and the shrewd shopkeepers have racked their brains to come up with many auspicious names, such as Gaoshenglou, Dengke Academy, and so on.
The inn where Xu Qian stayed was the Academy of Science and Technology. In any era, students' money is the easiest to cheat, and Xu Qian was inevitably hit by this. The "Yijia" upper room he stayed in required more than 80 yuan to stay for one night.
It's a lot of money. If it were exchanged elsewhere, even half price would be too much.
The Dengke Academy is a relatively high-end inn near Baoen Temple and Fuxue. It occupies a large area and has dozens or hundreds of rooms. But now, it is full of candidates. When the exam is approaching, some people study behind closed doors day and night, while others seem to
I am much more free and easy, and I just take this opportunity to make friends everywhere.
Xu Qian lived in Shangfang, and soon he was stared at by some scholars who did not appear to be from a very good family. Others said that scholars were thin-skinned, but in fact Xu Qian knew that it was the scholars who were looking for boudoir ladies and flirting with each other.
People who write articles boasting about flattering horses are also scholars. Most of the people who go to the brothel, tie up their belts and go around bragging about their romantic past are also scholars.
Thin-skinned? Thin-skinned scholars have long since disappeared in the Jiajing Dynasty.
Those children from poor families were jealous of Xu Qian and wanted to make friends with him. One of them, Zhang Sheng, hurriedly came to ask Xu Qian how old he was.
Xu Qian's record in the official school was that he was seven years old, so he replied: "The student age is only seven years old."
Zhang Sheng asked him again: "Where are you from?"
Xu Qian said: "People from Qiantang."
Zhang Sheng said in surprise: "I am eight years older than you, which is already five out of ten years. You are from Qiantang, but I am from Renhe County. The two counties are adjacent to each other, and there is no distinction between them. You and I cannot be said to be from the same hometown."
Fooling...
Xu Qian sneered in his heart. This student was obviously a young man in his twenties, and he was still very shameless. Xu Qian seemed to have forgotten that he was very confident when he was only seven years old.
"Since Zhang Sheng is the elder, there is no way I should call him brother."
Zhang Sheng laughed and began to talk endlessly about interesting things about Shilin in Renhe County. He stayed up until dinner time and then stopped talking, looking at Xu Qian without saying a word.
At this point, Xu Qian was dumbfounded. Fortunately, he had money now, so he was not afraid. He invited Zhang Sheng to have a meal at noon, and Zhang Sheng immediately became more enthusiastic about Xu Qian.
After drinking and eating, Zhang Sheng said to Xu Qian: "There is a party in this inn in the afternoon. We are all scholars, gathering together to ask each other for advice. Zirong might as well go and join in the fun."
Xu Qian didn't want to have much to do with Mr. Zhang at all, but when he heard that there was a party, he couldn't help but think: "It's a good idea to go and have a look, just to see who are the famous people in Hangzhou Prefecture and whether there are any competitors.
"So he looked very interested and said: "Then I will be disrespectful."
The so-called party is nothing more than everyone getting together to chat. There are quite a few participants. In addition to the more than 20 people from this inn, there are also 30 or 40 people from other places. Everyone gathers together, but not everyone is there.
When there was an opportunity to speak, the speakers were usually minor celebrities from various counties, or the young masters of various gentry families.
Xu Qian did not attract much attention, and sat in a corner with Zhang Sheng to listen.
Not long after the chat, a young man suddenly said: "Have you ever heard that there was a cheating case in the county examination in Qiantang County? The county magistrate and the imperial edict conspired to select an ignorant idiot to rank first in the county examination.
1. This matter is widely circulated. It is said that it is not only spread in Qiantang County, but also in Renhe, Yuyao and other counties."
"Is there such a thing? The most taboo thing in the selection of national candidates is to abandon private affairs for public service. So aren't the magistrates and edicts of Su County in Qiantang afraid of the king's law?"
"But you don't know this. This is called reciprocating love. It is said that the cheater donated two hundred taels of silver to the county government to repair the county school, which naturally made the county magistrate happy. Furthermore, the county examination is not strict to begin with.
Shangxian paid very little attention to it, so these people naturally took advantage of it."
Xu Qian was listening and couldn't help being shocked. Suddenly such news spread like crazy. Someone was clearly trying to trick him. Regardless of whether there is evidence for cheating, as long as the rumor spreads too much,
The impact on Xu Qian's reputation is not small. When the county examination results were released, there were many people who cried out for injustice, but this time the noise was too much. If no one was behind it, Xu Qian would not believe it even if he were killed.
But who is the person behind it? Xu Qian thought for a moment and immediately thought of the Zhang family. The Zhang family suffered a big loss this time. At this time, he won the first place in the county examination and was about to get the fame. How could they
Can they sit still? After all, they are gentry and have many connections. As long as they release the news, they will immediately cause a sensation.
The discussion over there continues: "Since it is fraud, why don't you file a complaint immediately?"
"You don't know this again. Although everyone knows the inside story, it's just that there is no evidence. How can you appeal without evidence? Besides, the Qiantang County Magistrate is a county parent after all. If you really want to appeal, it is inevitable that there will be officials to protect you, but it will harm you.
The person who complained."
Many people nodded their heads and said yes.
Someone sneered: "After the county examination, there is the government examination. This person can bribe the Qiantang County Magistrate and get the first place in the county examination. But once the government examination is disgraced, isn't this evidence coming? To tell you the truth, many gentry families
I can't stand it anymore, so when the results of the government examination come out, I will immediately file a lawsuit and ask the magistrate to punish him."
Xu Qian's face was calm, but he had a premonition of the crisis in his heart. He was certainly aware of the power of rumors. From this point of view, the Zhang family and even some gentry families who did not get the first place in the county examination were planning to kill themselves.
Everyone cursed, and gradually some people turned the topic to this exam. Some people couldn't help but said: "I heard that there are articles written by the prefect on the market, and some people are even buying the handwriting of the prefect at a high price, and an article by the prefect who won the Jinshi.
Now it has been sold for four taels of silver, and as for the handwriting, it is even more valuable."
When the people present heard this, some looked confident. I am afraid these people have already purchased the article. Some people looked pale and seemed a little overwhelmed. They must have not made a purchase yet, but who knows that the price is
A rising tide lifts all boats.
If the prefect is in charge of the examination, if everyone can get his articles or handwriting, they can figure out some preferences. The so-called guessing is not the patent of officials. In fact, these scholars who have not yet become officials have already mastered this method.
Playing with great proficiency.
Then someone said: "The copied article is not bad, but... But this handwriting cannot be obtained for ten taels of silver. I have been looking for scribes in the prefect's Yamen recently, but there has been no news."
"It's a shame, it's a shame. The day before yesterday, someone was trying to sell me his handwriting. It only cost three taels of silver that day. I was confused and thought it was too expensive." Someone beat his chest and fell down.
"Brother Qingmu, this is wrong. Although the government examination is a small competition, it is very important to you and me. How can we be so careless? Where can I go to seek fame if I can't even part with three taels of silver?"
Everyone was talking about it, but at this moment Xu Qian suddenly realized that his opportunity had come.
"You bunch of bastards, don't you want to hack me? Don't you want me, Xu Qian, to be doomed? In that case, let me open your eyes."
Xu Qian thought about it, then suddenly stood up and laughed loudly.
Everyone looked over following the laughter and saw Xu Qian's face was strange. Someone pulled a face and said, "Why are you laughing?"
Xu Qian said sternly: "He's just a ridiculous person!"