Adult emotions come and go quickly, life goes on, and as the New Year atmosphere gradually dissipates, Ye Zhenzhen's little homesickness quickly dissipates without a trace.
The most important thing now is Cui Weizhen's spring.
The Spring Examination, also known as the National Examination, lasts for nine days, with three sessions on February 9th, 12th, and 15th, one every three days. On the day after the examination, candidates are allowed to leave the examination room and go home to rest. There are more rules than the provincial examination.
A bit more humane.
The reason for this rule is that in February, when the spring is cold and the weather is very cold, it is very difficult for candidates to stay in small and cold rooms.
Even so, every year, many scholars catch cold and fall ill in the dormitory, and cannot even survive the exam. Although Cui Weizhen's physical fitness is good, it cannot be ignored, and he must be fully prepared.
All preparations for the provincial examination are essential. Due to the weather, a bottle of jujube wine is also needed, mainly to keep out the cold and warm up.
Once again, Cui Weizhen was sent to the examination room. Everyone in the Cui family was very skillful. Aunt Cui and Ye Zhenzhen went to worship Wenquxing as usual and got a sign, which indicated good luck in the examination.
However, the weather was not cooperative at all. The gray weather seemed to be snowing. The icy cold wind poured in from the thick coat. It was biting and biting. Ye Zhenzhen was a little more worried - according to previous years
According to my experience, candidates are required to take off all their clothes before entering the venue for inspection.
You go through so much trouble on a cold day, why don't you make someone sick?
The Gongyuan had not yet opened, and the candidates crowded at the door and talked about what had happened. Not long after, a eunuch from the palace came to announce the decree. It turned out that His Majesty got up in the morning to go to court and was infected by the cold wind.
He was thinking about the candidates who were taking the exam today and was afraid that they would be sick, so he did not need to take off their clothes for examination.
After the imperial edict was issued, all the candidates cried with gratitude and knelt down to kowtow to the emperor. Ye Zhenzhen also knelt down and kowtowed sincerely. As expected, benevolent government still needs to empathize with others.
There was no need to take off clothes for inspection, and the entry screening process was much faster. Candidates drew their numbers one day in advance and entered according to their numbers. Cui Weizhen's number was at the front and he entered the venue quickly. Only then did Ye Zhenzhen and Aunt Cui go home.
After waiting anxiously for two days, at noon on the third day, Ye Zhenzhen couldn't wait to pick her up at the gate of Gongyuan.
She also met Chu Ningyan at the door. Zhou Xunting also died this year. In addition to his acquaintance, Cui Weizhen's younger brother Wang Yuxuan, Wang Xuezheng's son, also took the exam this year. Ye Zhenzhen saw the Wang family's car and went to say hello out of courtesy.
The ones who came to pick her up were Mrs. Wang and Wang Yu'an. The latter saw her expression was very cold and ignored her after saying hello. Mrs. Wang glared at her daughter with warning eyes and exchanged greetings with Ye Zhenzhen, "Your mother-in-law today.
Why don’t you come to pick up Brother Zhen?”
Ye Zhenzhen had a worried look on her face, "Mother accidentally caught the cold. She has been feeling bad for the past two days, so it's not convenient for her to pick me up."
Mrs. Wang expressed some concern. Ye Zhenzhen saw that she was absent-minded. Knowing that everyone was not in a good mood at the moment, she left knowingly and went back to chat with Chu Ningyan while waiting anxiously.
Attracting people.
After more than an hour, the gate of Gongyuan finally opened, and a group of pale-faced candidates walked out.
They were all in poor condition, with sloppy steps and tired looks. Some of them were even in poor health. When they saw their family members, they couldn't control themselves and fell down. This frightened a group of people so much that they had to carry them to medical treatment in a hurry.
There are quite a few people infected with the cold. The physical fitness of this group of frail scholars is not very good to begin with. They will definitely not be able to bear staying in a cold and freezing dormitory for three or even nine days.
Ye Zhenzhen and Chu Ningyan were both extremely worried and stared at the entrance of Gongyuan with longing eyes. After another half an hour, almost all the candidates came out before they were seen.
They seemed to be in good spirits. Although they looked a little tired, they were not as weak as other candidates who were knocked down by the wind.
Ye Zhenzhen came forward excitedly, said hello to Chu Ningyan curtly, and then led Cui Weizhen to the carriage. She touched his palms and probed his forehead to make sure he didn't have any fever.
Then he breathed a long sigh of relief.
She poured the ginger soup that was warm on the small red clay stove into a bowl, handed it to Cui Weizhen, and said, "Drink it quickly to drive away the cold."
In addition to red date wine, Ye Zhenzhen also prepared ginger candy, which is a paste made from fresh ginger and sugar. You only need to dissolve it with a spoon and drink it with hot water. It has the effect of repelling cold and warming the body.
Cui Weizhen drank it for three days and frowned when he smelled the taste, but in order not to worry Ye Zhenzhen, he still drank it obediently.
Ye Zhenzhen's face became lighter, she wiped his face with a hot towel and said, "You must be tired of eating instant noodles for three days, right? I made peppercorns and pork belly soup for you at home, go back and drink some
The bowl will warm your stomach, and then you can have a good sleep so that you can continue going to the examination room tomorrow."
It was time for exams again, and instant noodles were back in the market. Ye Zhenzhen made a lot of them this time, because it was winter and she was not afraid of spoilage. She also specially made seasoning oil cubes. Cui Weizhen personally verified that the taste was indeed much more delicious than before.
But no matter how delicious they are, they are all instant noodles, and you will get tired of them if you eat too much. When Cui Weizhen heard that he was being treated with delicious food, his eyes clearly lit up.
But when he returned home, he didn't see Aunt Cui. Cui Weizhen finally noticed something was wrong, raised his eyebrows and asked, "Where is mother?"
Ye Zhenzhen avoided mentioning Aunt Cui all the way, but now she couldn't hide it anymore, so she had to bite the bullet and said, "Mom is infected with the cold, and I don't want to pass on the illness to you, so she is lying in the room."
As expected, Cui Weizhen became nervous and immediately walked to the main room. As he walked, he asked Aunt Cui about her condition, "Is your illness serious? Have you called a doctor?"
"It's not serious. I just had a hoarse voice and sneezed a few times. The doctor prescribed medicine and told me to take a good rest. It's nothing serious."
Cui Weizhen obviously breathed a sigh of relief and entered the lobby of the main room. Before he could knock on the door to say hello, Aunt Cui's voice came out, "Mom is fine. Brother Zhen, go have a meal and rest. You don't have to come to see me. Don't worry."
The illness will affect your exam tomorrow."
Aunt Cui was very stubborn. Cui Weizhen tried hard to persuade her but refused to open the door. Cui Weizhen had no choice but to leave. Seeing that he was still worried, Ye Zhenzhen quickly showed him the doctor's prescription.
Because Aunt Cui had been ill for a long time, Cui Weizhen also dabbled in medical books. From the prescriptions, he saw that the condition was not very serious, so he finally felt relieved. After dinner with Ye Zhenzhen, he went to say hello to Aunt Cui. After bathing and changing clothes,
Just went back to the room to rest.
There was no howling wind and no biting chill. The bedroom was filled with fragrance and warmth. Cui Weizhen had a good night's sleep and his fatigue was gone. The next day, he returned to Gongyuan again to continue fighting.