Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

When seeing the exam questions that seemed familiar, Di Qing was much more frightened than Lu Ci who was just surprised at the time.

Could it be that the grandfather did it on purpose?

Di Qing couldn't help guessing like this, and it took a lot of self-control to resist the urge to look behind the curtain and look for the figure of the grandfather.

...No, it's impossible.

Despite the ups and downs in his heart and the turbulent waves, he managed to hold the expression on his face, and did not show the slightest abnormality.

After he calmed down a little and was able to think calmly again, he dispelled that absurd idea by himself.

Gongzu has always been an upright, upright, and upright gentleman, and in the past when he talked with Gongzu about preparing for the exam, the other party was full of confidence in him between the lines.

How could such a good grandfather, in order to ensure his success in the examination, destroy his reputation and not hesitate to play tricks?

Must be just a coincidence.

After thinking it through, Di Qing couldn't help lowering his head a little more, only to feel his ears burning slowly.

As a lover, even if he doesn't know the other person's existence the most in this world, he should at least be in the top three. How could he suspect Gongzu because of this coincidence?

Thanks to the fact that everyone around him was concentrating on solving the problem, no one saw his face gradually turning red with shame.

Di Qing tried his best to calm down, then picked up his pen again, and began to write vigorously.

——If you can't even grasp the advantage that comes to your door, you will be shameless in the face of the father-in-law who has worked so hard to help him prepare for the exam, and you should drown in the Jinming Pond.

Although there is only one court examination, six poems are required to be examined, and each essay is limited to more than [-] words.

After a day of solid exams, leaving aside the difficulties of being exhausted and falling into a predicament, the physical exertion of just picking up a pen and writing is no small matter.

Di Qing and others with a solid foundation in martial arts and extraordinary physical fitness can still talk and laugh happily after the exam, and stroll in the courtyard. Those who are weaker in physique have already had arm cramps and collapsed.

Lu Ci had expected that a similar situation would arise, so he specially arranged for more officials to guard at this time, which came in handy at this moment, helping those scholars who had difficulty standing due to sitting for a long time, and who were blushing from embarrassment Then send it out.

After the system examination, the examinees don't have to be like those who have to take the exam for three consecutive days and have to stay in the Gongyuan temporarily. They can go home on their own and wait for the news at home anxiously.

When the door of the secret pavilion is locked again, it will be the busiest time for the examiners.

After all the examination papers were collected and counted one by one according to the family status, it was still not Lu Ci's turn to take part in the battle, but had to wait for the transcribers to stay up all night to finish copying the papers.

There are 320 applicants this time, and it is conceivable that the project is huge.

Those ugly and illegible test papers, or the dirty test papers pasted with ink blobs, of course, would not get much good treatment from the busy transcription officer who was blinded by his eyes—the names and surnames were sealed anyway, and I don’t know where they came from. All yamen are treated as vacancies.

In addition to these complaints about sloppy writing or poor fonts, after the emergence of the transcription system, it still attracted a lot of praise-it put an end to Lu Ci's beautiful handwriting that attracted the eyes of the examiners. , I couldn't help but look at the situation differently, and it also made the examiners who marked the test papers feel a lot more comfortable.

Although Di Qing's handwriting has also been practiced hard, but because of the lack of spirituality in this aspect, in the end it can barely be called the word "correct", and in any case it has nothing to do with "brilliant".

Once the transcription came out, he took advantage of it: the clear and legible handwriting did not affect the judgment of the examiner, but it was enough to make the transcription officer who had seen many ghosts and ghosts feel good, at least he was willing to copy it carefully for him.

Under the auspices of Lu Ci, the inspection of the test papers in the Secret Pavilion proceeded in an orderly manner.

And the Lu residence outside the secret pavilion is also very lively at the moment.

Both Gao Jixuan and Yang Wenguang's family members are in Bianjing, and now they can justifiably return to Beijing for a while because of their participation in the imperial examination. Just to deal with relatives and friends who miss them, it can be said that they have no skills at all.

Finally, they took advantage of the fact that they had just finished the exam and wanted to get together with their friends, so neither of them dared to wander casually in the street, so when they made up their minds, they went to look for Di Qing.

When the two of them waited for Di Qing at the door, when he heard that the other party lived in Lu Ci's house again, Gao Jixuan was envious on the spot, lowered his voice and said: "Brother Di, I didn't say that, you are so lucky!"

Although he used to envy Lu Ci for treating Di Qing as a brother, but since he was a child, he was also a demon king who was spoiled and raised by his family, so he wasn't too powerful.

But after hearing the news, that kind of envy reached its peak in an instant—as a student who was going to take the exam, he was able to live in the house of the chief examiner, that was simply a stroke of luck from heaven!

Di Qing frowned slightly, and was about to speak, but Yang Wenguang frowned and stopped him from talking nonsense: "Don't talk nonsense. Lu Jiedu is an upright official, and he is definitely not a person who favors personal interests."

Gao Jixuan was at a loss at first, and then suddenly realized, he quickly defended: "You guys misunderstood my words. How could I think of the question? I just thought that before the big exam, I could live with Wenquxing, get a little bit of talent, and be a man in the world. It's a dream come true."

Hearing the words 'talented' like a joke, and seeing Gao Jixuan speaking seriously, with genuine envy, Yang Wenguang's expression suddenly turned helpless.

What no one noticed was that a subtle color quickly flashed across Di Qing's eyes.

…After Gao Jixuan reminded him, he could not restrain himself from remembering the half-truth and half-false anger of the grandfather when he first tasted that light kiss, and he also used similar words.

Taking advantage of his distraction, Gao Jixuan cunningly made a plan to visit Di Qing in Lu's residence and have dinner, so that he and Yang Wenguang could share their talent.

Di Qing was unwilling: "I'm just a borrower, how can I be so cheeky to treat guests? Let's go to Fan Lou."

Because of his repeated achievements in military exploits, although it is inconvenient for him to be promoted in the official rank for the time being due to his lack of fame, the little emperor's generosity and love for talents, the rewards for him are not short after all.

Besides, Di Qing stayed in the camp for food and lodging, and his mind was all on Lu Ci. Except for sending some to his home like other soldiers, he didn't take the rest to drink flowers and wine, but saved it solidly.

Compared with the poor and white people who were dazed and restless many years ago, chasing their father-in-law to Beijing with only that inexperienced love, Di Qing at this moment can be called rich.

Of course, he can easily afford the expenses of eating and drinking in Fan Louhu, and he is willing to "spend money and eliminate disasters" and get rid of the pestering Gao Jixuan.

"Then how can Brother Di spend money?"

Gao Jixuan was not so easy to deal with - as a Gao Ya Nei who once ran rampant in Beijing, he had eaten countless delicacies from mountains and seas, so why did he really care about a mere dinner?

What he valued was obviously the auspiciousness of trying to "be talented"!

He keenly saw through Di Qing's intentions. Wherever he was willing to give up, he was given a very shameless soft and hard foam on the spot.

Yang Wenguang was forced to watch from the sidelines, with a look of unbearable displeasure, regretting that while his colleagues had come, he almost wanted to sneak away.

In the end, Di Qing couldn't match his thick skin, so he had to reluctantly agree.

"Brother Di is still loyal enough!"

Gao Jixuan's goal was successfully achieved, and he was naturally satisfied.

With a wave of his hand, he generously said that the dinner will be delivered from Fan Lou, and all the expenses will be paid by him who took advantage of it.

The corners of Di Qing's mouth twitched slightly, and he exchanged a glance with Yang Wenguang, but did not answer.

Even though he agreed to Gao Jixuan's request, Di Qing was still unwilling.

Thinking that there is still a good-spoken and jealous Liu Qi at home, he can't help sending some hope to her.

"Young brother finished the exam?"

Liu Qi didn't know that she had been given a lot of hope by the taciturn Di Qing, and when she heard the footsteps, she hurried out to greet her. When she saw three people, she was taken aback for a moment, and then she gave a strange 'yo' and sighed. Said: "It's the first time I've seen you bring someone back!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he greeted the two of them with a smile on his face.

Di Qing closed his eyes in despair.

——Looks like Brother Liu can't help anymore.

To Di Qing's headache, Brother Liu not only couldn't help him as he hoped, but even helped a lot.

It's not unreasonable for Gao Jixuan to be mischievous at home since he was a child, but he can still get along like a duck to water.

At least [-]% of the reasons are due to his ability to observe words and expressions, and then to match what he likes.

In addition, it was rare for Liu Qi to see a young man with a 'solitary and introverted' personality bringing friends back. Apart from being full of curiosity, it can be said that he showed great enthusiasm to entertain him.This party is affectionate, and the other party has intentions, and they hit it off with Gao Jixuan, who wanted to please him.

The two of them, one civil and one military, chatted until it was dark, and unknowingly put Yang Wenguang and Di Qing, who were also quiet, aside.

Hearing that Gao Jixuan came here to gain talent, Liu Qi was amused, and immediately agreed readily: "If you talk about the place with the most talent, it must be the study room of my younger brother. After dinner, I will take you there One lap?"

Gao Jixuan cheered for a while, and said familiarly: "Thank you, brother Liu!"

After hearing this, Di Qing couldn't keep silent anymore, and finally found an opportunity, so he pulled Liu Qi and said privately: "Brother Liu, I don't know how many important documents are in the grandfather's study, I'm afraid it's not easy to take them there. .”

"Young brother, don't worry too much," Liu Qi said with a smile, "Did you forget that Yu Yu has two study rooms inside and outside? His important documents are all put in the inside room, and people come in and out in the outside room, take them there It doesn't matter if you look at it, don't you still fear that Yu Yu's talent will be ruined by them?"

Di Qing wanted to say more, but was blocked by Liu Qi's earnest tone: "I don't need to say more about how much Yu Guan treats you. You should be more clear. Wouldn't it hurt Yu Yu's heart to be too far-fetched? This servant also knows this well, and usually treats you like a young master, so why would you not be allowed to entertain guests in the Lu residence?"

Di Qing couldn't laugh or cry, looking at Brother Liu who knew nothing about the truth but worried about them, he couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

He bowed his head slightly, earnestly said: "...I understand."

"As long as you know."

It was impossible for Liu Qi to imagine in her wildest dreams that the serious and honest Lu Sanyuan in front of her was a wolf cub in sheep's clothing who was as serious and honest as Zhu Di.

Seeing that the too polite Di Qing understood, he nodded in satisfaction, and went upstairs calmly.

The author has something to say: Notes: (both from the General History of the Chinese Imperial Examination System-Song Dynasty Volume Chapter 14-Song Dynasty Military Examination System and Chapter 15 Song Dynasty System Judgment and Ci Section)

1. Wujie test is divided into martial arts and Chengwen. At first, Chengwen only tried tactics. During the Shenzong period, the "Seven Books of Wujing" was added.

Martial arts is also divided into two rounds - the first round is a test of infantry shooting, and the second round is a test of horse shooting, which is in charge of Ma Junsi.

The content of the provincial examination is the same as that of the solution examination, except that there is a system of transcription and sealing.

2. Exam location: In the seventh year of Renzong Tiansheng, it was stipulated that both the martial arts examination and the system test will be held in the secret pavilion, so it is also called the secret pavilion examination.The bow and horse test is held in the armory.

3. The martial arts of the Song Dynasty emphasized movement norms and strength. For example, it was required to pull a bow with a specified strength, and it required standard archery movements, but did not pay much attention to accuracy.

4. Broken body: If it does not meet the action requirements of archery, for example, head down = lowering the head, it is broken body.

5. Court Examination: The examination before the emperor's personal examination is the "Government Examination", which is generally inferior to the Hanlin Bachelor, and the two provincial officials take the examination at the Secret Pavilion.

6. One court examination, on six poems, each of which is limited to more than [-] characters (the old system of the pavilion examination, from "Song Huiyao Collection-Election" [-]-[-]-[-]) The examiners and referees, Usually four people.In addition, the court examination is usually supervised by the official Yushitai, so I will change it here a little bit.