Jiayu Village of Red Mansions

Chapter 13

This room hadn't been used for three years, and a thick layer of dust had accumulated on the wooden boards. Yucun had no choice but to take out a rag from the basket and wipe it, sighing inwardly that the nanny Shui Zhan had found to take care of exam candidates was thoughtful.

After a while, the number room was full of candidates, and hearing the sound of Mu Duo, the examination began.

No.13 times

In the first session of the general examination, there are four scriptures and three points, and the classics and righteousness are tested.Soon the army went to collect the test questions for Yucun. Youyucun cut open the seal with a paper knife, and there were seven sentences printed on it, which belonged to the Four Books and Five Classics.

The first question: "The way of great learning lies in Ming Mingde, being close to the people, and stopping at perfection." It is the first sentence in "Great Learning", and it is a programmatic sentence in "Great Learning". There is nothing I do not know, but it is the most difficult to write. After thinking for a while, I wrote on the examination paper in Yucun: "The Bible talks about the learning of adults..."

It was the first round of seven questions, and Yucun did not do it fast. It was not until noon on the third day that he finished the last one. After drying the ink on the examination paper, Yucun poured some water to clean his hands. The well water distributed uniformly, the weather in early February was quite icy cold, Yucun didn’t have much charcoal fire, they were all used for heating at night, and it was a hot day, so there was no need to waste too much, besides, the room in Yucun was in a good location, It is facing south, the sun shines in, it is warm and pleasant, and it is also very enjoyable.

Looking at the candidate in the opposite room, he is five or sixty years old, with gray hair and weak firepower. There is no sun all day long, and there are often cold winds. I can't hold a pen, and I don't know if he has finished the topic.But caring is caring, and the rules in the Tribute Court are strict, so it would be bad to be suspected of cheating.Thinking of this, Yucun took an egg out of the food basket and peeled it off, leaning against the wall in the number room and chewing slowly, there was no way, the water in the day was like an ice skate at the beginning, and for a while After that, it was completely cooled from the inside to the outside, and I couldn't help but choke, so I had to eat slowly.

Not long after, I heard an "ahhh-" next to me, but the old man on the opposite side had his hands and feet frozen and couldn't hold the pen, so the pen fell on the paper. It was a pity for the old Juren, he shook his head and sighed, he had spent his whole life in the Jinshi examination, because of this sum, he might miss the gold list again, I just hope this old Juren can see it.

The next day, the second session of the test will be held. When the test papers are sent out, there are five countermeasures. The title of the first article is a sentence from "Zhou Rituals" "No animals, no animals, no fields, no prosperity, no silkworms, no silk, "Not weaving and not fading" means "people who do not raise livestock cannot use animals in sacrifices; those who do not cultivate cannot use grains in sacrifices; You can’t wear hemp filial piety clothes at funerals.” What was being considered was financial considerations. (Chinese Culture Popular Series "Translation and Commentary on Imperial Examination Papers of Celebrities in Tang Dynasty", Chong Chong et al./edited)

Yucun reviewed the topic, and the words in "Zhou Li" are a means of persuading those who are not productive and idle, hoping that people can have something to eat and clothes to wear. However, the way of governance should not be so rigid. It is important to make the people work hard to produce, but we should not blame them for what they cannot do, just like "oranges growing in Huainan become oranges, and oranges growing in Huaibei become oranges", a truth.After thinking clearly, Yucun drew up a draft, and wrote stroke by stroke in Guange style:

"Taking advantage of life is the foundation of teaching; following the custom is the essence of politics..."

However, it was easier than the stereotyped essays. By the time the horned army held the lights, Yucun had already finished five essays. Because he had been so focused on the test questions and hadn't eaten all day, Yucun was already hungry and thirsty.

Avoiding the wooden partition, Yucun carefully lit the brazier, put the cold white rice dumpling and sauced beef into a bowl together with the iron kettle, and put it on the side of the brazier to simmer for a while, with a little heat , It's easy to eat, it's better than cold.

While waiting for the meal to heat up, Yucun raised his eyes to look at the old Juren on the opposite side, and saw that he was sitting blankly, looking at the test questions brought by the army, opening and closing his mouth, not knowing what to say.Suddenly, the old Juren stood up from his seat, picked up the test question, and shouted: "What a good article, what a good article!"

After finishing speaking, he held the roll of paper and pushed away the chopping board in front of him, and ran out, shouting: "Okay! Alright! I've won! I've won! Haha!"

Seeing this, the soldiers patrolling back and forth surrounded the old man and tied up the old man. The rolled paper fell to the ground. The old man struggled when he saw it, and cried frantically: "My article ! My article! You idiots, wait for me to kill you! Kill you..."

The old Juren was taken away by the soldiers, and the cries became farther and farther away until they disappeared. The soldier guarding Yucun sighed and said, "Hey, another crazy one!"

Yucun looked at the chopping board that had been knocked down in the number room in front, the ink was spilled all over the floor, a little absorbed, and as if he had made up his mind, he pulled up his sleeves, covered it with a handkerchief, and picked up the rice bowl from the brazier, It was warm, and the rice on the side of the bowl was roasted with a layer of burnt yellow. It looked very appetizing, and it was crazy. How much is left in the examination room!

The exams in the next few days went quite smoothly. On the last day, Yucun put down the pen in his hand, handed in the papers by the hour, and came out of the gate of the Gongyuan. Yucun finally saw the sun again, and turned his head to take a last look at the majestic and majestic Gongyuan. , I hope I will never enter this door again in this life!

Yucun was about to step back to the courtyard when Xi Shun'er's voice came from beside him: "My lord! You are here!"

Snatching the basket from Yucun's hand, Xi Shun'er said, "The imperial examinations are the most tormenting. During the nine days I've been here, my son has lost a lot of weight. When I go back, I must take a bath with grapefruit leaves to get rid of my bad luck!"

Yucun smiled when he heard the words, but Xi Shun'er was right about one thing. He just wanted to go home and take a good bath. He lived in that square-inch hut for nine days, and his whole body almost stinks. !

Later in the small courtyard, the servants at home had already boiled the water, almost impatiently, Yucun jumped into the bathtub, the slightly hot grapefruit leaf water scalded Yucun's porcelain-like skin red, sighed, Yucun closed his eyes and leaned on it. Slowly fell asleep on the tub...

In his sleep, Yucun dreamed that someone was rubbing his skin with sandpaper, the pain was rough, and he frowned, Yucun wanted to push away the sandpaper that was grinding his body so painfully, the tentacles were hot, and he suddenly woke up, Ruyan is the pair of eyes that are engraved in his heart and will never be forgotten.

After a while, the sandpaper that had abraded his skin moved again, and Yucun realized that it was Shui Zhan who was wiping his body with a cotton towel, but the force was too great.

Wait... wait, wipe your body!Yucun pulled the quilt violently to wrap himself up, fled to the foot of the bed, calmed down after a long time, and said: "My lord, I can just come by myself, please avoid it for a while."

Shui Zhan stared closely at the person at the foot of the bed who had rolled himself into a ball for a long time, and said, "The clothes are on the shelf, come out when you're done wearing them, the quilts are all wet, ask the servants to replace them with new ones."

After finishing speaking, Shui Zhan didn't stay any longer, turned around and went out the door.

Yucun slowly loosened the quilt wrapped around him, his body was naked with only his underwear on, but the underwear was already soaked, and they were tightly attached to his body, wearing them would be better than not wearing them, I really can't figure it out, Prince Shui Zhan, how could he come to wipe his body with his own hands.Do you think of yourself as a sycophant?But sycophant.Do you need to do these things yourself?Shui Zhan's attitude made Yucun more and more confused. He never thought about these issues, so Yucun thought for a long time and ended up not thinking about him.

I don't know how long it has been since I was lifted out of the bucket for half a day, and I got another breath between the quilts. My body was already dry, and I crawled out of the quilts. Yucun took the clothes and put them on one by one.

Shui Zhan didn't expect Yucun to come out so soon. He thought that Yucun would be awkward in the room for a long time after something like this happened.

Shui Zhan raised his eyes and looked at Jia Yucun who walked in with a very natural expression. He was wearing the new clothes that he specially prepared for him in the color of sky blue after the rain.

Without mentioning the examination room, Shui Zhan ordered people to watch the seats, and said: "It will take a long time before the list is published, and you have been holding back at home for the past few months. The red plum blossoms in Tianqi Temple are blooming these days, you have a good time tonight." Rest, I will send someone to pick you up tomorrow."

This was clearly in Yucun's courtyard, but Shui Zhan acted more like his master than Yucun's master.But it's not this house, are these servants all from Shui Zhan?Yucun couldn't help but feel uncomfortable living under the fence.But in front of Shui Zhan, Yucun never refused the slightest bit, and nodded slightly. After a long while, Yucun suddenly realized that he was treating Prince Shui Zhan so slowly, and quickly promised.

Seeing Yucun's reaction, Shui Zhan said, "You and I are together in private, so Yucun doesn't have to be so cautious anymore."

Shui Zhan said so, but how could Yucun dare to do this?Then he said: "The prince is the son of a dragon, and he ranks high as the prince. There is a difference between the superior and the inferior, as it should be."

"You have good knowledge, I will take care of it for you, no one dares to make a move, on the gold list, you should have your name, don't worry too much, just live a few days easy, I think there will be no such opportunity in the future! Shui Zhan reassured that he didn't entangle Yucun more on this issue.

"Yes." Yucun lowered his eyebrows and said.

"Bang—bang!"

"Are you going to talk to me like this!" Shui Zhan finally couldn't restrain the anger in his heart.

Looking at the overturned table and broken porcelain in front of him, Yucun didn't understand what happened just now.