After leaving the government office, the sky was getting dark, so the first thing to do was to quickly find a place to stay.
Li Xiaotian visited five or six inns, and all of them were expensive.
Of course, this house price is an ordinary price for ordinary people, but for Li Xiaotian, it is considered a high price.
You know, Li Xiaotian grew up in the mountains since childhood and had little experience in the world. When he heard that the cost of staying for one night was equivalent to half a month's work of his parents, he felt very reluctant to give up. How could he live there with peace of mind?
Suddenly he remembered that there was an abandoned temple on the outskirts when he entered the city, so Li Xiaotian decided to go there to spend the night.
After entering the ruined temple, Li Xiaotian organized a temporary sleeping place.
It was late spring, and the chill was still there, so Li Xiaotian lit a fire in the rust stove in the temple. In an instant, the whole temple was illuminated by the dim red fire, and it was full of warmth.
Li Xiaotian lay on his back on the hay, looking at the spider webs hanging on the wooden beams, looking at the roof of the temple like a sieve, countless white colors pouring in, with shadows and shapes, staring blankly at the stars, feeling like a wandering game
The desolation of a foreign country.
Strangely enough, Li Xiaotian didn't feel much sadness at this time, but he missed his parents' hometown a little. At this moment, his heart was filled with tranquility, just like the lake in the mountains, with ripples but no waves.
As a scholar, facing this situation, Li Xiaotian couldn't help but said loudly: "Use the earth as your bed, the sky as your quilt, and the stars and moon as your lamp, how happy!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Xiaotian suddenly screamed in pain and felt a strong numbness in his ankle. He sat up and took a closer look. He saw two canine holes in his ankle, which were oozing blood and had become black and swollen.
The poisonous snake that had successfully committed the crime had already swung away towards the door, leaving only a long black and white shadow.
As a native of the mountains, Li Xiaotian naturally recognizes the snake. He has seen it a lot in the village since he was a child. The snake is called the Baibu Snake, which is the head of the venomous snakes. It is said that if he is bitten by this snake, no professional will be killed within a hundred steps.
Treatment by a snake doctor will result in death.
As this abandoned temple was located in the wilderness, Li Xiaotian was unfamiliar with the place and it was impossible to find a medical center in a short period of time, which meant that his life was not long.
Li Xiaotian felt desperate when he thought that he was going to die in such a useless way. He had still obtained the honors and returned to his hometown in fine clothes. He had not yet honored his parents, had not taken them out of the mountains, and had not traveled to the outside world together. He was still so young and still so
With so much to do and so much scenery to enjoy, how could he just leave? But what could he do?
Thinking of this, Li Xiaotian was struck by the snake poison and fell unconscious.
At noon the next day, the sun rose three poles.
Li Xiaotian was lying motionless in the ruined temple. Judging from the regular rise and fall of his chest, it could be concluded that he was not dead.
Not long after, Li Xiaotian slowly opened his eyes. In a daze, he felt the warm light and heat of the sun. He couldn't say it was comfortable. Suddenly, Li Xiaotian remembered being bitten by a hundred-step snake last night. He sat up suddenly and looked at the scene.
Looking at my ankle, I was surprised to find that there was no swelling, let alone erosion, and the two fang holes had scabbed over. It seemed that I was really fine?
But how could he escape from this poisonous mouth?
Li Xiaotian racked his brains and was puzzled, so he could only remain in doubt for the time being.
Who cares how it survived the disaster?
After Li Xiaotian finished cleaning up and walked out of the temple, an even weirder scene appeared. A hundred-step snake was lying at the door. Its body was already stinking. Many flies were flying around it. Judging from its size, it was very similar to the hundred-step snake that attacked him last night.
Snake, but how did this guy die?
Li Xiaotian was bitten by a highly venomous snake. Not only was he unscathed, but the snake that bit him was killed?
Li Xiaotian thought hard and couldn't think of a reason, so he could only continue to make doubts.
Once the poison is dead, no one cares how it died. If you carry out multiple sneak attacks, you will definitely die. Anyway, you deserve to die.
Wenzhou government office.
The yamen guards are still the same two yamen guards from yesterday.
Li Xiaotian still held up his hands and said in salute: "I would like to ask the two eldest brothers to inform you that the young student is here to receive the general examination certificate. This is a letter of recommendation."
Although the two yamen guards were unhappy that Li Xiaotian did not change his title of uncle, they thought that the poor scholar was not familiar with the world, but they were not as angry as they were yesterday, so they magnanimously did not care.
The yamen guard looked at Li Xiaotian thoughtfully just like yesterday. Li Xiaotian didn't know why, so the three of them stared at each other, making the atmosphere awkward for a while.
The yamen guard thought that it was time to give this poor boy who had just arrived a good life lesson, so he said: "The city lord hasn't come to the yamen yet, so come back another day."
It's a long way to go to Kyoto, so you shouldn't waste too much time getting the certificate.
Li Xiaotian hurriedly asked: "When will the city lord go to the Yamen?"
The Yamen Guard joked and said: "This is not necessarily true. Sometimes it is an hour a day, and sometimes it is not common for three or five days. Sometimes there is a precedent for it being up in the middle of the night. In short, it depends on your mood."
He goes to office casually, shows no discipline, and seriously neglects his duties. He is simply a corpse. I really don’t know how such a person became the lord of a city.
Li Xiaotian felt indignant and cursed for a while, then walked to the big tree opposite the Yamen and sat cross-legged, reading and reviewing, waiting for the rabbit.
The Yamen Guards saw this and mocked with pride.
Not long after, a young man in his early twenties came to the yamen gate. Li Xiaotian could tell at a glance that this young man was here to receive the general examination certificate like him, because he was carrying a book bag specially designed for scholars.
Li Xiaotian originally thought that the young man would be as frustrated as himself. After a few words, he did not expect that he was led directly into the yamen by the yamen guards. This confused Li Xiaotian. Could it be that this young man was not a scholar and was not here to receive the general examination certificate?
Li Xiaotian planned to wait for the young man to come out and ask for explanation.
Before half the tea was served, the young man came out.
The young man looked depressed. When he passed by Li Xiaotian, Li Xiaotian quickly stood up and stopped him, saying politely: "Brother, please stay. I would like to ask, are you also coming to the Yamen to collect the general examination certificate?"
The young man looked at Li Xiaotian and confirmed that he was also a scholar. He sighed: "Oh, yes."
Li Xiaotian continued to ask: "Seeing that Xiongtai looks disappointed, could it be that he didn't get the general examination certificate?"
The young man replied: "I got it."
Li Xiaotian wondered: "Hey, that's strange. I just went to ask the government guards to report it, and they said that the city lord did not go to the government office."
The young man asked back: "Did you pay the reporting fee for the two of them?"
Li Xiaotian replied suspiciously: "Notification fee?"
The young man explained: "The so-called notification fee is simply the cost of their errands."
No wonder the two government guards beat him up again and again. Li Xiaotian suddenly realized, "This is asking for bribes in disguise, and it has violated the law."
The young man said helplessly: "What can you do? If you don't pay the reporting fee, they won't report it. You won't get the general examination certificate and you won't be able to take the national examination. All you can do is spend money."
Li Xiaotian asked: "Didn't you report the illegal behavior of these two government guards to the city lord?"
The young man shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Report? The upper beam is not straight and the lower beam is crooked. Without the acquiescence of the person inside, how could they dare to ask for bribes so openly? To tell you the truth, the person inside is the real vampire, and the two yamen guards outside are
I only spent two silver coins on the notification fee, but that one cost me six silver coins. Alas, I have to spend the rest of the money to get to Kyoto, which is quite a waste."
After speaking, the young man left with a sad face.
Li Xiaotian looked in disbelief, and then laughed at himself, saying that a person who neglects his duties and neglects his duties has long forgotten about laws and morals, so how can he be expected to have any noble integrity.
As a scholar who has read many books about saints and sages, Li Xiaotian is a noble person at heart and has a righteous heart. He is extremely angry at officials asking for bribes in disguise, but now he is forced to take the initiative to pay bribes, which makes him feel ashamed. To be honest, he
He was quite conflicted in his heart. After a lot of inner struggle, Li Xiaotian finally figured it out. He could only take the initiative to bribe. The other party was the lord of the city, had power and was greedy for money. What could be done to him?
Of course, unless Li Xiaotian abandons the exam, but if he abandons the exam, not to mention that more than ten years of hard work will be wasted, how will he explain it to his parents, teachers and fellow villagers? More importantly, this evil act of asking for bribes in disguise will continue to exist in the future.
I don’t know how many candidates will suffer. If I take the national examination, pass the exam, and enter an official career, I can rectify this kind of trend and fundamentally solve this problem. Isn’t this the original intention of studying for the country and the people?
Thinking about it this way, after weighing the pros and cons, I had no choice but to pay bribes against my will. That's what it means to say that you can't help yourself.
Helpless, Li Xiaotian could only bite the bullet and came to the Yamen again, handed a small money bag to the two Yamen guards respectively, and said directly: "Please let me know."