Patriarch, he doesn't want to take the imperial examinations

Chapter 75

After returning home, Meng Qing learned that his father had won the election, and hurriedly said that he would hold a banquet for relatives and friends to celebrate his father.

It happened that Meng Hong and Deng Zhaozhao's wedding was going to be a few days later. After discussing with each other, it was decided that his father Zhongju's banquet would be held on the same day as Meng Hong's wedding.

September [-]th is the day when the Meng and Deng families got married.

It is also the day when Mengzhen held a banquet.

Double happiness is coming, everyone is happy.

In the morning, Meng Hong went to Deng Yuming's house to pick up his relatives, and the guests who came to the banquet came one after another.

The guests who came were mainly relatives and friends of the Meng family, as well as Mengzhen's teachers and classmates.

The teachers and classmates mainly invited students from the county school. In the past, Qingshan Academy only invited Zheng Fuzi, Lin Fuzi, and Xu Jiaxing.

The wedding process is roughly the same.Meng Zhen had watched the whole process of Deng Bowen's wedding before, and Meng Hong's wedding was almost like that.

After returning from receiving relatives from Deng's house, it was not until dusk that Meng Hong and Deng Zhaozhao performed the worship ceremony.

Meng Zhen sat in the high hall and accepted the kneeling of the couple.The inside and outside of the door were full of guests who came to watch the ceremony, and there were many children among them. These children were talking about the wedding candy given by the Meng family, while clapping their hands and shouting, adding some special joy to the wedding atmosphere.

The eldest master of the Meng Mansion won the election, and the second young master got married. It was a double happy event. The Meng family not only gave out wedding candy, but also gave out wedding money.

Early in the morning, the servants of Meng's family carried several baskets of copper coins to the gate, and "squeaked" a few times. Thousands of copper coins were like splashed water, all of a sudden silted up the streets and alleys.

The guests who came to the banquet stepped on the copper coins one after another, sighing at the magnanimity of the Meng Mansion, and bent down to pick up a few. Picking up the money was because the money was a happy event for the Meng Mansion. They picked up a few coins to be happy and hope for good luck in the days to come.

Of course, the money from the Meng Mansion is not distributed to them, and the recipients of the charity are mostly homeless beggars and some poor families.

In the morning, when the Meng family was throwing money, a few beggars happened to pass by. Seeing so much money, the beggars rushed over to pick it up, but there were too many copper coins, where did they pick them up? After their pockets were full, they ran away one after another They drove away, and after a while, they brought more beggars over. They all held broken bowls and basins in their hands, and each of them did their best to stuff the copper coins full and full.

Soon the news of the Meng family throwing money spread all over the streets and alleys, and the nearby poor people came to collect it.Meng Qing asked his servants to throw money every hour, until it was dark, the people who came to pick up the money left one by one.

At this time, the Meng family's wedding banquet officially began.Where there are people, there are endless things to say, especially in occasions like wedding banquets, where everyone talks openly.

"Hey, let me tell you, there are two great joys in life, the bridal chamber festive night, and the gold list title. The father and son of the Meng family happened to have the same share, the son's bridal chamber festivities, and the old man's gold list title. Wouldn't it be complete if you put them together? Say yes?"

The person who was talking was a rich man who was over half a hundred years old. He didn't have much contact with the Meng family on weekdays. It's just that today's double wedding in the Meng family, Meng Qing wanted to make the family more lively and joyful. All the acquaintances were invited.

This table is basically full of people Meng Zhen doesn't know well.The rich master started, and immediately the master continued: "What Master Lu said is true, but it is not entirely true. This son's bridal chamber is not fake, but this father's title on the gold list is a bit out of date. If I guess correctly, the gold list must be After the Jinshi examination, it’s just a success, at most it’s a list of candidates, how can it be regarded as a gold list.”

"Hey, I was just making an analogy. Why is Mr. Liu so serious about this? And Mr. Liu, don't underestimate this candidate. It's not something that ordinary people can pass the exam. Take us for example..." Mr. Lu glanced at the table, "If it were us who took the exam, we might not pass the exam until we die..."

The man who was called Mr. Liu didn't say any more, he picked up the wedding wine in front of him and took a sip.

"Hey, I remember that Mr. Liu's son passed the Juren examination last year. Then, did he pass the Jinshi examination?" At this time, another master next to him asked.

Master Liu shook his head: "Not yet, I will take the exam next year." It turned out that the master Liu who spoke was none other than Liu Chan's father.

Liu Chan passed the provincial examination last year, but accidentally failed the general examination in February this year.

"Hey, Mr. Liu's son has passed the Juren examination at a young age, so he has a bright future. I don't know if your son is married or not." It was still the same old master who asked.

Master Liu still shook his head: "Not yet, there is no rush for this matter. It will not be too late to discuss it after my son is admitted to the Jinshi." The daughter of a high-ranking official's family is his wife, and he has looked down on girls from ordinary people.

"That's right." The old man was a little disappointed. He originally wanted to tell his daughter to the son of Master Liu's family, but judging by Master Liu's attitude, one might look down on others of the same status as him. .

"Hey, I remember that the son of Mr. Liu's family almost married the daughter of Deng Yuming's family before." But at this time, another master interjected, "It's just that old Deng's life is not very good. If he falls, he will fall." They lost their lives, and the family is full of women and girls. Although the sixth child is married, people say that their family is still in a mess. Now the wives are busy finding a husband for the seventh child, and they have been searching for several months. I have been unable to find the right person, but I am very worried for my family."

"Can you not worry?" I don't know which master said, "It's not easy to recruit a son-in-law. Usually, they have nowhere to go. If the family is poor, they can't get rid of the pot, so they will let people go back. Visiting son-in-law. But I heard that the Deng family was worried, not just because of recruiting a son-in-law for the seventh child, but because the sixth child of their family had an unpleasant dispute with several wives a few days before they got married, and the wives were annoyed by it. Beating chickens and scolding dogs at home, pointing at mulberry and scolding pagoda tree.”

This is a rare thing to say, everyone looked at Master Li who said this by coincidence, and someone tried to ask: "Is it because Deng Zhaozhao used all the property that his father gave her as a dowry to accompany him into Meng's house, and the wives died because of this?" Annoyed, that's why the family is so unhappy?"

This Master Li nodded immediately: "Yes, Master He also saw you when the team came back today. The Deng family's daughter's dowry has pulled eight or nine carts, and the entire outer street is full of onlookers. The people, it can be said that they have earned enough eyes, and they are envious of them."

"So, the dowry carts of the girl from the Deng family are all property left to her by Deng Yuming. But this weak girl has no one to rely on, and the wives of her natal family are not in the same heart. The girl's family wants to gain a foothold in her husband's family. , it is understandable to accompany the dowry into the Meng family, what does it mean that the wives of the Deng family are annoyed by this?"

"Master He doesn't understand. Your natal family worked so hard to raise you, but when you got married, you gave all the property you got to your in-laws' family, but your natal family didn't keep half of it. Master He You might as well compare your heart to your heart, if your daughter treats you like this, would you be happy?"

The man who was called Mr. He was dumb for a while, "humph" twice, and said angrily: "What's wrong with my daughter, when my daughter got married, I accompanied her with a full ten carts of dowry. I can't bear to part with my daughter, so what can I say?"

"Huh..." Mr. Li, who was inexplicably stunned, was not to be outdone, and mocked: "I think Mr. He is reluctant to part with those dowries!"

"You..." Seeing that the two masters were about to go to war, Master Liu hurriedly came out to smooth things over, "Hey, the two masters calm down, it's all their Deng family's business, why both of you should be upset about it. Come on, The Meng Family is overjoyed today, even though we are a bit older, we can still swallow a glass of thin wine."

"Master Liu is right, kindness brings harmony, especially for those of us who are getting older, if we quarrel, it is a small thing to lose someone, but it is not worthwhile to hurt our kindness and get sick."

"Yes, yes, yes," these one and two came out to persuade, and the other masters were not far behind, and nodded in agreement: "What the two masters said is that the affairs of their Deng family make their Deng family worry about it, and it has nothing to do with us. Let's have a drink and celebrate the couple."

There were ten masters at this table, it was a happy day, there was no need for everyone to spoil the good atmosphere because of irrelevant people and things, when each of them raised their glasses to celebrate, Meng Hong and Meng Qing walked over.

Several lords raised their glasses to congratulate the groom: "Congratulations to the groom on their wedding. I wish you an early birth and a happy marriage."

Uncles and uncles congratulated Meng Hong, Meng Hong naturally did not dare to neglect, this glass of wedding wine must be filled to the brim.

After a glass of wine passed through the intestines, several masters asked Meng Hong to have another glass. Meng Qing stood in front of him and said with a smile: "Uncles, my younger brother is too strong to drink, so let me do this glass for you. I wish you all a happy smile. Open, the whole family will be happy and live a long life."

All the masters laughed, their hearts were like a mirror, Meng Qing was really a good brother, he was afraid that his younger brother would not be able to enter the bridal chamber if he was drunk, so he directly drank for his younger brother.

Meng Hong also felt the same way, Meng Qing usually disliked all kinds of picky things about him, but when it came to the critical moment, he still turned to him.

The two brothers left Master Liu's table after toasting, and when they were going to the next table, Meng Qing pulled Meng Hong aside and whispered: "Go back to the room, I'm here, I'll take care of it for you on."

But Meng Hong said: "It's not that good, you can block a drink or two for me, and you can do everything."

Meng Qing didn't want to listen to his ramblings, and urged: "If you're told to go, then go, why waste so much talk, some people just deliberately make you drunk, so that you can't enter the bridal chamber. You are so stupid to drink with them, really Stupid..."

He patted Meng Hong on the shoulder, "Hurry up, let me, the big brother, stand in your way for you, go and ecstasy with your wife under the covers."

After saying this, Meng Hong's face burned, and it burned all the way to the back of his ears.Seeing his blushing, Meng Qing teased him: "You are all married, why are you thinner than a girl's? If you become a father in the future, tell the children to laugh at you..."

Meng Hong was originally sorry that his brother blocked him from drinking, but now that Meng Qing teased him so maliciously, he suddenly felt less guilty, put the wine glass into Meng Qing's hand, and said "not serious", Then he walked away quickly.

Meng Qing looked at his back as he went away, smiled contentedly, and told you that you didn't follow him, so he could only coax you away with "unserious" words.

And what he said is right, isn't it necessary to consummate the house on the wedding night? Isn't consummating the house just in the same bed?

Meng Qing returned to the table to toast with the guests, and one of them asked: "Where is the groom officer, this younger brother is getting married, how can I do the toasting for my brother?"

The man asked knowingly.Generally, when a man gets married, in order to prevent the groom from getting drunk and embarrassing, most of the brothers in the family will do it for him.

Meng Qing said with a smile: "My brother was so drunk that he passed out, he was helped by others, and I will drink the rest for him. I wish everyone good health, good luck and happiness in everything."

Everyone in the room knew it well, with two hahas, they drank their drinks and forgot all their troubles and sorrows.

Just now when Meng Hong and Meng Qing whispered quietly, Meng Zhen who was sitting on the table far away had a clear look, and he didn't look back until Meng Hong left.

Meng Zhen sat with instructor Yang and his classmates from the county school, including Deng Bowen, Liu Chan and other people who had a little close relationship with him on weekdays.

Like him, Deng Bowen passed the Juren examination in the Enke Township Examination. He also met Deng Bowen at the Luming Banquet a few days ago.

On the second day after the Luming Banquet, Deng Bowen hosted a banquet for instructors and classmates from the county school.

Today it was Meng Zhen's turn to entertain, Deng Bowen came to the banquet, one as a classmate, and the other as bride Deng Zhaozhao's natal family, he came to see off his cousin.

A few days ago, because of the dowry, the cousin had a bad relationship with the family. The cousin left [-]% of the property left to her by her uncle to the family, and the other [-]% was used as a dowry for herself. Several aunts thought that the cousin left too little. , Scolding her for being a white-eyed wolf, saying that she was not married yet, and her elbows were turned outwards. It really made people raise her for more than ten years.

The daughter's family is thin-skinned, and the cousin can't bear such abuse. She really has no choice but to take another [-]% from the dowry to the family. Just a few aunts like this are not enough.

When I came out of the sedan chair at home this morning, my cousin was still crying. Those who didn't know thought that my cousin loved her family and couldn't bear to have a few mothers.

Sitting at the banquet set up by the Meng family, Deng Bowen drank two cups of wine, thinking, there are many places where there are many women, and there are many right and wrong. It would be great if Zhao Zhao's younger sister married into the Meng family, at least she would not have to suffer from the cold eyes of several aunts .

Apart from Liu Chan and Deng Bowen who were familiar with Meng Zhen at the same table, another person also came.

This person is Chen Qiushi.

Chen Qiushi came with Father Chen.

As relatives of the Meng family, Father Chen and Wang Xiucai sat at the same table, while Chen Qiushi sat with the instructors and classmates from the county school.

After Chen Qiushi's mother died of illness the year before last, Chen Qiushi applied for withdrawal from the school and never came to school again.

During the meeting, Instructor Yang asked about Chen Qiushi's current situation. Chen Qiushi said that he was currently working two jobs, teaching homework to a child from a wealthy family in the morning, moving bricks to a construction site several miles away in the afternoon, and working with kerosene at night. Read and write articles under the lamp.

He only said that life was fulfilling, and he did not mention hard work at all.Instructor Yang praised him and said: "Since you are going to take the scientific examination, you must not forget the books." He also asked him when he would return to the county school to study.

"Next autumn." Chen Qiushi said, if he saves a little more money this year, he will subsidize his family, and he will also spend a lot of money on studying for the imperial examination in the future.

After Chen Qiushi said these words, he found an excuse to go to his father.From the beginning to the end, he only said a few words of blessing to Meng Zhen, nothing else.

There is a moon tonight, and the clear moonlight shines on every table and every guest, like floating water coming from the nine heavens, everyone's faces are full of smiles, but I don't know if it's because the cold dew is heavy in the late autumn night, and the noise There is always such a faint loneliness in the voice.

The next day, early in the morning.

Meng Hong led Deng Zhaozhao to offer tea to Meng Zhen. Meng Zhen took the tea offered by the couple and took the red envelopes prepared in advance from the table and gave them to both of them. Meng Hong and Deng Zhaozhao said in unison, " Thank you" and got up from the ground.

During the gap, Meng Hong helped Deng Zhaozhao, Deng Zhaozhao felt a little ashamed, and his face blushed a little.

Meng Zhen didn't pay attention to this, and said a few more words of blessing, it happened that there was nothing going on here, so he was afraid that the two of them would feel uncomfortable, so he asked them to go shopping elsewhere.

"Father!" Meng Hong smiled, "We are not uncomfortable, we are here to accompany you."

Meng Zhenxin said, you newlyweds must have a lot to say, but what do you do with me as an old man.

"You guys go and go, don't accompany me, I'll go to school." This is not Mengzhen making excuses, he will take the exam in a few months, he has to hurry up to review and prepare for the exam, seize this time Enke has the opportunity to strive to be on the apricot list again.As long as he passed the examination, no matter how high he ranks in the palace examination, he will be admitted, and then he will be able to ascend.

Meng Zhen didn't go to the county school alone, Tong Zisheng went with him.At the banquet yesterday, he mentioned to Instructor Yang that he wanted Tong Zisheng to study in the county school, but Instructor Yang did not object, saying that since he was originally a student from Suzhou Prefecture, and he had won the honor of being a scholar, it would be difficult for him to study in Xianghe County. There is nothing wrong with it.

In this way, Tong Zisheng followed Meng Zhen to study in the county school.Among the students who entered the same batch as Mengzhen, together with last year's Zhengke Township Examination and this year's Enke Township Examination, a total of eight people passed the exam. , And won the Jinshi in the palace examination, and now he is a Shujishi in the Imperial Academy.

The remaining seven who won the exam are currently sitting in the county school to review and prepare for the exam. Together with Tong Zisheng, several people often gather together to discuss articles and guess what kind of exam questions the examiner will ask in the exam next year.

Moreover, those few who have a particularly solid foundation still make bets on questions from time to time, especially betting on policy questions a lot.

In the imperial examination, the test strategies generally involve real-time policy questions related to people's livelihood, such as politics, economy, culture, and official administration.

From the late autumn full of frost, to the cold winter covered with ice and snow, when the trees that have been sleeping for a whole winter sprout new buds, this year's Enke Conference will come quietly.

On the eighth day of February in the 17th year of Zhaoping, Meng Zhen waited outside the Gongyuan early in the morning with all the candidates in the country, waiting for the door of the Gongyuan to open.

Because the exam is in spring, the exam is also called "Chunwei".The general examination is presided over by the Ministry of Rites. All those who passed the provincial examination last year and those who passed the previous exams can take the exam.

There were as many as 5000 candidates participating in this year's Enke Examination. After the time passed, the gate of the Gongyuan opened, and the candidates lined up and entered in an orderly manner under the support of soldiers.

Like the rural examination, the body search of the general examination is also extremely strict. Candidates not only have to remove their hats and socks, but also take off their close-fitting clothes for inspection.

It stands to reason that Juren's status is much higher than that of scholar, and the imperial court can no longer require candidates to strip their clothes and reveal their skin like the rural examination and inspection, but why do they do the opposite.

It turns out that the inspections of the general examinations in the early days of the dynasty were not as strict as they are now. In order to save face, the imperial court did not need to take off their clothes when entering the examination room like the rural examination. Just do it.

But precisely because of the lax inspection, some exams not only did not know how to restrain themselves, but intensified and brought them into the examination room secretly.

The so-called "entrainment" means that cheating candidates sew cheat sheets into their coats, gowns, hats and socks, and sneak them into the examination room, so as to facilitate cheating in the examination room.

Due to the flood of entrainment in the general examination, the imperial court had to conduct inspections on the candidates for "screening off their clothes and stripping their skin" according to the inspections of the rural examinations.

At the same time, entrainment and cheating are written into the law. Once an examinee is found to be entraining into the examination room, the imperial court will punish him severely.

Sure enough, once this law came out, no examinee dared to hide it privately and bring it into the examination room.However, the rules of the examination and inspection are as strict as the inspection of the township examination, and they have never been relaxed.

Because of the strict search and inspection, the time for each candidate to undergo the body search and inspection will be longer.

Mengzhen stood in the queue as long as a dragon and waited for about two hours before it was his turn to be inspected. First, the test basket in his hand contained all the pastries, buns, and other foods that were broken and crushed. It was hats, shoes, hair, hair hanging down, making a mess, and finally the clothes were taken off, and they were searched inside and out.

After this series of body searches and inspections, Mengzhen sat in the number room with disheveled clothes, as if he had been robbed, which was really annoying.

He adjusted his appearance first, then took out a dry cloth, dampened it with water and wiped the two wooden boards in the number room, and then lay down on it for a short rest.

At about [-]:[-] p.m., all candidates were searched and checked. From then on, the door of the Gongyuan was locked. Before the end of the first exam, no matter what happened inside, even if someone was dead, they were not allowed to open it.

After a whole day of body search and inspection, most of the candidates were exhausted. In the number room, they put two boards together, put a quilt on their bodies, and fell asleep curled up.

There is a pot of charcoal fire in each number room. This charcoal fire was originally used by the candidates to heat their meals. However, in the cold spring of February, the number rooms are not sheltered from the wind, and they always feel cold when sleeping at night. At this time, the candidates use it to keep warm. .

Early the next morning, that is, the ninth day of February.

After the examination questions were distributed, the subjects of the general examination were the same as those of the rural examination. In the first examination, there were four essays and three essays, one poem with five characters and eight rhymes, and four essays from five scriptures.

[Believe in studious, stick to the good way of death. ]

[If you don't follow the rules, you can't make a square. ]

[That's why a gentleman acts and the world becomes the way of the world, acts and the world becomes the world's law, and speaks and the world becomes the world's rule. ]

The above are the topics of the four books, which are from "The Analects of Confucius", "Mencius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean".

But it’s also true. It can be said that the exam has been passed step by step to today. The examiners have written the questions neatly according to the four books. There is no need to embarrass them with all kinds of messy interception questions.

The general examination is to select talents for the imperial court. Candidates rely on their real talents and learning, not to guess riddles and play word games.

The four-book essay is the stereotyped essay, and the article must be written according to the stereotyped format, the first thing is to break the topic.

Breaking the topic means pointing out the meaning of the article. If you break the wrong question, it will be useless to write later.

It can be seen the importance of solving the problem.The so-called "one careless move, the whole game is lost" is exactly this principle.

Meng Zhen brewed it first, then started to write on the straw paper, and when he was satisfied with the writing on the straw paper, he wrote it down on the answer sheet one by one.

After writing the three questions and four books, it was just at sunset and dusk, and the sky would not be dark. Mengzhen opened the test basket, took a piece of pancake and gnawed a few mouthfuls, then lit the candle, and wrote the five-character and eight-rhyme test post poem.

It is endowed with the word "late rain, empty forest and fireworks", and the word "late".

This is the title of the test post poem. The title of the poem comes from Wang Wei's "Ji Yu Wang Chuan Zhuang Zuo" "The rain is empty, the forest is late, and the fireworks are late, steaming the quinoa, cooking the millet, and paying for the east".

Fude poems must also follow the stereotyped format, that is, the first couplet of the poem breaks the title, and the second couplet inherits the title.

Meng Zhen thought for a while, then picked up a pen and wrote on the draft paper:

The rain is empty, the mountains are quiet, and the smoke is quiet and the grass is late.

There is deep greenery on the Mo, and the woodcutter returns under the forest.

Now that we have solved the problem and accepted the problem, the next step is to raise shares.Meng Zhen thought for a while before continuing to write on the draft paper.It took him nearly an hour to finish writing a five-character and eight-rhyme test post poem.

It was already dark at that time, but he didn't feel sleepy at all.Three candles were distributed to each candidate in the examination room. There were many questions in the first test, and most candidates did not have enough time to complete the test questions, so they could only write quickly under the lamp.

At this time, the Gong Yuan was brightly lit, and the small compartments were full of flames. Meng Zhen, like most candidates, was writing the remaining five classics questions at his desk.

After finishing one of the Five Classics questions, Meng Zhen put away the test papers first, then blew on the lamp, put the two boards together, and went to sleep.

It was bright on the second day, and after he ate something, he finished the remaining three five scriptures.

In the afternoon, before the application time, some candidates had already started to hand in the test papers. It happened that Meng Zhen had finished writing and checking all the test papers. He pulled the copper bell on the wall, and soon the examiner came over and sealed his test papers Immediately take it away.

When Meng Zhen came out of the examination room, Meng Hong was already waiting for him outside, and the two waited for a while under the corner outside the Gongyuan. After Tong Zisheng came out from inside, the three of them went back to the rented house together.

After resting at home for one night, on the next day, February [-], Meng Zhen and all the candidates were searched by the soldiers, and then sat in the number room again.

It was the same as when entering the examination room on the eighth day of February, after unitary hour, all the examinees were inspected, and the door of the Gongyuan was locked.

After resting in the dormitory for one night, the examinees waited until dawn, and began to take the second exam. There was one trial theory, one edict form, and five verdicts.

Compared with the self-defining questions and test post poems in the first round, the official essay questions in the second round are obviously much more relaxed, and the time is not so tight. Even if the candidates are not in such a rush at night, they all leave the exam room on February [-]th Papers were handed in early today.

Next is the third exam on February [-]th, and the third exam will be about time affairs and policy.

"The sufferings of the people are more difficult than the above news, and the subordinate officials are still more treacherous and stubborn, and the Yan Yan has not been rich. Is it hard to get rid of the accumulated habits? Or is it because the officials are not effective? I want to make the law small and clean, and the people safe and prosperous, and gradually become closer to Chun. Pang Zhizhi, what can we do?"

This is the first question of the policy question. Regarding the administration of officials, write an article of no less than [-] words on the topic of "Great Law and Small Integrity".

In the township examination, policy questions are as important as stereotyped essays, and policy questions are generally topical, that is, examiners write out matters closely related to the current imperial court as policy questions, and ask candidates to answer them countermeasures.

It took Mengzhen half a day to complete the first strategy question, another one in the afternoon, and the third one before going to bed at night, and on August [-]th, only the last two remaining strategy questions were completed. Just do it.

Just after the application time in the afternoon, Meng Zhen handed in the test papers and came out of the test room. So far, all three tests have been completed.

Candidates finally breathed a sigh of relief. The nine-day and six-night exam tortured them to the point where they were neither human nor ghost. I hope that on the day when the results are released, I can get a good result and be on the apricot list.

The candidates here are relaxed, and the hard days of the examiners are coming.The chief examiner of the examination is also called the president, and there are four in total, including one president, three vice presidents, and 18 fellow examiners, also called Shibafang.

After the candidates' test papers are sealed and transcribed, they are first handed over to eighteen fellow examiners for review, and the fellow examiners select excellent test papers from them, and then submit them to the four chief examiners for review.

After all the test papers have been checked and checked, the chief examiner will rank the candidates who have passed the examination, and then hand over the prepared list to the list filling officer to fill in the list.

After filling out the list, the officer asked the yamen servant to post the list on the wall outside the tribute courtyard, which is called releasing the list.

On the eighth day of March, the day when the test will be released.

Early in the morning, Meng Hong and Tong Zisheng got into the carriage and went to the capital to read the list, while Meng Zhen sat in his yard and waited quietly.

After a while, he asked Ah Qing to call Mengze to him.Years ago, he decided the marriage between Mengze and Zhou's girl.

The wedding date is set on March [-]th, and Mengze and Miss Zhou's family will get married in four days.

Mengzhen did this for a reason.At that time, he thought that if he could pass this test, he would be admitted no matter what happened in the next palace test, and then he could ascend to the ascension.

And if he wants to ascend, his soul will definitely leave the original body, and the original body will be nothing more than a dead person.

After the original body died, Meng's family must observe filial piety, he didn't want to delay Mengze's marriage because of this, so he decided to arrange their marriage after the general examination.

Even if he can't pass the exam this time, and Mengze just got married in advance, there is no harm to him.

Meng Zhen closed his eyes and thought about it, and soon Meng Ze came over with Ah Qing.Meng Zhen opened his eyes, pointed to a low stool in front of him and asked him to sit on it.

Monze came and sat down beside his father and asked, "Why did my father ask me to come?"

Meng Zhen stared at him for a while, then his eyes finally fell on his right leg, and said: "If father passes the test this time, after the palace test, father will find a way to heal your leg."

When Monze heard that his father was going to heal his leg, he was in a daze, obviously not believing it.

His leg has been broken for more than ten years, and it can't be cured long ago. His father is not a god, so how can he heal him.

"You don't believe me?" Seeing his hesitant look, Meng Zhen asked back.But it's no wonder that people don't believe him. In the eyes of his sons, he is just an ordinary old man who can no longer be ordinary. How can people believe him.

It is inconvenient for Mengzhen to say something to Mengze right now, so he can only give him a superficial guarantee: "Trust me, as long as I pass the general examination, I will be able to restore your legs to their original state after the imperial examination. I am your father , I will not lie to you, or I will be struck by lightning and fall into hell forever."

Seeing his father making such a poisonous oath, Mengze still couldn't believe it under his surprise.

But he didn't want to touch his father's face, so he had to make do with it and say, "Father, don't swear, I believe you are." But his heart was still wavering, and he couldn't believe it.

The author says:

The questions in this article are the questions of the Palace Examination in the 51st year of Kangxi.