Imperial Exam Daily

May 21, the day of the triennial palace examination.

The 99 candidates for this general examination entered in order from the gate of the Forbidden City. Only the owner of the Forbidden City, the emperor and the empress, can enter and exit the gate. This custom has been followed down.

Not to mention that being able to enter the Forbidden City from the main entrance is a matter of pride, many candidates from remote places can enter the Forbidden City is already enough to brag about for most of their lives.

For this glorious day, the Gongsheng students all dressed up very brightly and decently on the basis of the clothes of the scholars. Even Wen Han, who has always been frugal, bought a good outfit, but Yang Ye never worried about the clothes. Axi was there, so he didn't need to worry about it at all.

Yang Ye and Wen Han and Li Cheng went out together, but first, there was a distance of nearly 100 people between him and the two of them. The square for queuing up for the exam is based on the order of the exam, not just the order of entering the exam room, Even the seats are arranged like this.

Only now did he understand why the Song family's attitude towards him changed drastically when he knew that he would fail the exam. There were hundreds of candidates in the examination room, and the emperor usually stood at the front. It was not easy for the candidates in the last row to get the emperor's attention.

Today's weather is fine, Zhugong students are not afraid of being rained during the exam in the square, and it is much more spacious and comfortable, not as oppressive as in the hall, Yang Ye is very happy.

There were six chief examiners in the examination room, including the emperor, a total of seven people. Except for Yang Ye, none of the candidates present had seen the face of the emperor yet.

In the inner courtyard of the emperor and the royal palace, everyone was in awe, and the emperor remained silent. Although he was young, he showed his royal demeanor. After the procedure of saluting, he caught a glimpse of the legs of the candidate next to him trembling slightly, like sifting chaff.

Many candidates in the past also had this behavior, and some candidates kept wiping sweat. Although it was a bit hot in May, it was not enough to keep wiping sweat early in the morning. Now it is still windy.

This is shocked by the majesty and grandeur of the emperor's palace.

Yang Ye understood this, how could he not be excited when he saw the master of the world, and in this era, the initiative of the world is to kill and punish the nine clans, who would not be afraid.Even on the day of his face-to-face interview, he was in a state of panic, but fortunately, he had to face the face-to-face in advance, otherwise he would really be distracted by the palace exam.

Before, he thought that Wen Han and Li Cheng were very dignified as they walked in the front and took the lead, but now he sympathized with the two of them who had to face the emperor to answer the paper.

After some procedures were over, the examinees were seated, and the test papers were handed out from the examiners one after another. Yang Ye found that two of the examiners were acquaintances. Also participated in proctoring.

He shrunk his neck silently, hoping that Song Tingyou would not come to him during the exam later, he would respond.

Looking at the test paper, this test only examines the essay, and there are two questions in total. The question is very long, with two to three hundred words. It tells a scene of an event, and you need to extract the main content yourself.All the way from the children's examination to the general examination, I participated in a lot of examinations from childhood to adulthood, and there are only those questions that can be tested, and there are only those headaches in the world, and I can't play any tricks.

After he saw the topic, he started to answer it on the draft paper. He was so mesmerized that he didn't know that there was someone standing beside him. When Song Tingyou was standing beside him, he raised his head and met Song Tingyou's sneering expression.

It was a joke that his draft could not catch his eyes, and Yang Ye didn't bother to talk to him, anyway, he didn't read the draft when grading the test papers, so it was enough for him to understand the draft.

But Song Tingyou glanced at him and clearly seemed to be having trouble with him, and kept standing behind his buttocks, Yang Ye was very annoyed, he knew that Song Tingyou wanted to give him a sense of majesty and distract him from doing good papers, his little prestige It's nothing to look at in the Forbidden City, let alone the emperor, and his immediate boss, Mr. Fu.

However, when he heard that the chief examiner was going to correct the test paper, Song Tingyou could not help but see what he had answered. When the time came to correct the test paper, he would hurt him. He originally planned to copy the question on the test paper first, but now he had to give up and write in more cursive words. Draft for the second question.

He was so obsessed with answering the question that he didn't pay attention to the movement around him, when he suddenly heard a slightly sunny voice: "Are you drawing a talisman?"

Yang Ye looked sideways, wondering who would dare to speak, and then realized that Song Tingyou had withdrawn to one side at some point, and the person standing next to him was actually the emperor. His heart skipped a beat. What are you doing down here!

Look at the examinee's answer sheet with his tail hanging, is it interesting?No matter how low the voice is, everyone can still hear it in this noisy examination room, let alone scolding words.

When Yang Ye secretly thought it was unlucky, he heard the emperor say: "It's quite unruly."

Yang Ye: ... Well, it really is the unfathomable Sacred Heart.

After the draft was finished, he began to copy the papers. The imperial examination required that the handwriting should be neat and tidy. He liked calligraphy very much. When he came to take the examination, Axi mentioned the popular handwriting in the capital. Although he hadn’t been in the capital for many years, this set Fonts have been handed down for a long time. I practiced them at home for a long time, and now they finally come in handy.

Copying the draft does not need to be as laborious as answering the questions. You just need to follow the steps on the draft and polish the details a little. It was noon, the sun came out, and it was hanging over his head, making people feel dizzy. He copied it slowly. After finishing the answer to the first question, I saw the emperor's dragon robe, but I haven't left yet!

Yang Ye held his pen and did not answer any more. He glanced at the test papers of the surrounding candidates. Although he couldn't see the content of the test paper, he could still get a rough idea of ​​the position of the test paper. A draft of a question!

The emperor stood beside him and didn't frighten him very much, but rather frightened the examinees next to him.

He can also see that the palace examination is not about how tricky the questions are. It is clearly a psychological warfare. The emperor is testing these students from humble backgrounds. with his own demeanor.

That's right, if you can't pass the test of calmness and composure in front of the emperor, how can you do things in front of the emperor in the future, and how can you get along with each other every day in the court.

The sun was getting really big, and the emperor didn't intend to move his footsteps. Yang Ye tilted his head, and the emperor happened to be staring at him. Their eyes met, and they looked at each other carefully.

Yang Ye moved his lips, but without making a sound, he said with his mouth: Isn't the emperor hot?

After a while, the emperor didn't answer, and his red and phoenix eyes couldn't seem to appease his anger. Just when Yang Ye thought he was a bit bold, he saw the emperor also moved his mouth, and he didn't make a sound either: answer the question quickly, or pull it out. cut!

Yang Ye: ......

The palace examination was only for one day, and Yang Ye finished writing the paper quickly and methodically under the coercion of the emperor. The moment he put down the pen, the emperor happened to leave. It was estimated that there was still half an hour before the end of the examination, so Yang Ye had no choice but to be bored. Seeing that the chief eunuch who met that day gave the emperor an umbrella and went to the front row.

He saw Wen Han and Li Cheng in the first row still answering the questions from a distance, and he didn't know how well they answered, so he didn't ask for anything else, he just hoped that the three of them could be among the top three this time.

After finishing the question, the emperor left again. He was very relaxed in his seat, but he was not at ease for a quarter of an hour, and Master Shao Fu came again!

His eyes signaled him to open the paper, and he did so. After estimating half a quarter of an hour, Mr. Shao Fu left without showing any signs of expression. He reckoned that he should have finished reading the paper, so he quickly closed it again.

At this moment Song Tingyou came over again, and wanted to read his papers, he pretended to be dead and looked ahead, ignoring Song Tingyou.

It was fine for the emperor and Master Shaofu to look at it. If all the examiners came to look at his papers, wouldn't they know who he was even if they were correcting the papers? How could it be fair to correct the papers like that.

At You in the afternoon, the palace examination was over, and the examinees left the Forbidden City through the side door.

After leaving the Forbidden City, where one must be cautious everywhere, Wen Han and Li Cheng waited for Yang Ye in front. The three of them heaved a long sigh of relief after successfully joining forces. As a scholar, I was overwhelmed on the day I participated in the Tongsheng Examination.

No matter what the result is, the three of them are scholars who have completely participated in the scientific examination. They have participated in every round of the imperial examination, which is also a rare honor.

Yang Ye said: "Although the imperial examination is only for one day, it is so exhausting that you can't move when you sit on the bench. If you are tired of writing the provincial examination, you can go to the wooden bed and lie down for a while."

Wen Han echoed: "That's right! Not only that, but the chief examiner would come to watch and answer the questions from time to time, I was really a little scared."

"You sit first, and the examiner will naturally look at you."

Li Cheng smiled and said, "Just be content with Wen Han, it's better than the emperor standing beside Yang Ye all the time!"

Wen Han was surprised: "The emperor has been staring at Brother Yang?"

Yang Ye shook his head: "I'm sweating all over my back."

Then he pointed at Li Cheng and shook his finger: "You are not serious about the exam, you dare to look behind you!"

"It's not that I want to watch it, it's that the candidates around are secretly watching. I'm just following everyone to watch the fun, and only Wen Han is serious about answering the questions, and doesn't know what's going on at all."

Wen Han worried: "Brother Yang, will you be disturbed by this? Even Song Tingyou came to invigilate the exam today."

"Of course there will be some interference, but it's okay if you get used to it. It's better than being cold and hot."

Hearing that both of them felt relieved, now they just have to wait for the announcement of the rankings, and they still have to wait for three or four days, so they can relax in these few days.

On the first day, the three of them went to the restaurant for a few drinks. After the imperial examination was over, there were candidates scattered all over the capital, either dispatched or celebrating. The restaurant was very lively.

The next day, Yang Ye took Axi to the suburbs of Beijing.

Originally, I promised Ah Xi to take him to the suburbs of Beijing to see the peach blossoms, but I was busy with the exams, and Ah Xi was pregnant again, so I never took anyone out. Now that I am free, the peach blossoms are all in bloom. And when Axi came to the capital and never went out, it was really pitiful to be bored in the small courtyard all day, so Yang Ye prepared a soft sedan chair, took people to burn incense in a temple outside the city, prayed for the child in his belly, and took away relax.

Li Cheng and Wen Han didn't bother the couple, and chose another place to have fun.

Ah Xi lifted the curtain of the sedan chair and looked at the busy Beijing street. In a trance, he didn't know whether he was seven or eight years old or seventeen or eighteen years old. After waking up, the capital city is still prosperous, but he is no longer the kid of the past.

In the old days, he saw a pair of talented men and beautiful women in the capital from the sedan chair. He fantasized that one day he could also travel in the capital with his wishful husband. The wish has come true.

Yang Ye tilted his head and saw that the person was in a trance, he leaned over and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Thinking that the world is unpredictable, one day I can return to the capital from the countryside."

"If we can get a small official in the palace examination by chance, we can buy a house in the capital, and then we can live in the capital again." Yang Ye said: "At that time, my husband will earn more money, even if the official position is slightly embarrassing, It also needs to be financially unassailable."

Axi leaned on Yang Ye's chest: "Husband, I don't want you to be too tired for me."

"Not only for you and me, but also for our children." Yang Ye held Axi's hand and touched his belly, both of them had gentle smiles on their faces.

There is a large temple in the outskirts of Beijing, and the emperor occasionally went there when he prayed for blessings, so the incense in the temple was very strong.

It took half an hour for the sedan chair to reach the temple slowly, Yang Ye took Axi down from the sedan chair, and saw that the temple was very spacious, there were many people coming and going to burn incense and worship Buddha, and there were actually many young men and women pilgrims.

Axi said: "When I was young, I also came here to offer incense. There is an old tree inside, and many red threads of sachets are hung on it. It is said that it is very spiritual to seek marriage here. If you hang your token on the old tree, you will be happy." All wishes come true."

Yang Ye rubbed his chin: "Then did you hang up when you were young?"

Axi pushed Yang Ye a bit: "How could I know this when I was a child, I know nonsense!"

After saying that, he threw away Yang Yexin and walked into the temple. Yang Ye hurriedly chased after him. An old monk came to receive him. He donated a lot of incense money. The monk was very enthusiastic. After the two worshiped the Buddha, the old monk presented a The consecrated lucky bag was given to Axi.

The old monk said: "My husband has an extraordinary face, he is the face of great wealth and great honor, so there must be a noble son in his belly."

Ah Xi was very happy when he heard the words. Although he thought sons, daughters or younger brothers were all good, he still hoped that the first child would be a son. A while ago, Yang Ye told him about the Song family, which made him worried. If he had a son , not only can stop Youyou's mouth, but he can also be more confident, and can frankly refuse those who have bad intentions.

"A Ye, let's draw another lottery."

Seeing that Ah Xi was in a good mood, Yang Ye let him in. He asked the old monk to prepare a lottery box, and he held it upside down to draw out the lottery. Ah Xi held his arm, looking forward to the contents of the lottery.

The old monk took a look at the lottery and said, "It's a lottery sign. It says that the benefactor endures the humiliation and bears the burden and will surely come to the end of all hardships."

Yang Ye smiled but said nothing, only felt that the money was a lot, and the words were nice, no wonder the incense was good, he didn't poke it, and said to Axi: "The incense is on, let's go to the one you mentioned. Take a look at the ancient marriage tree."

Hearing this, the old monk offered to take the two of them to watch before Yang Ye could open his mouth.

The ancient tree is placed in the Zen courtyard, but it is indeed an ancient tree. The tree is as thick as the waist of an adult man. The branches spread out put half of the Zen courtyard in the shade. Red line wait, a piece of red.

The old monk said: "The love between the two benefactors is admirable, why not hang up a token for a hundred years of goodwill?"

Ah Xi touched his body and said regretfully: "It's a pity that I didn't bring any tokens with me."

"No problem, there is a sympathetic knot in the temple that has been consecrated and prayed for blessings, which can be hung by those who are destined."

But in the blink of an eye, under the instruction of the old monk, the young monk brought two concentric knots, the weaving was very delicate, one was small, slightly bigger than a thumb.

Ah Xi cast a longing glance at Yang Ye, and then left with five taels of silver.

Yang Ye was born tall, but he tied the concentric knots on the taller side, those positions were sparse, and when the two concentric knots were tied together, when the wind blew, the threads would become entangled, which was really a good omen.

After this trip, Axi had a great time playing, and when he was happy, Yang Ye was also very happy.

On the way back, Axi said, "The things in the temple are really expensive."

He spent a lot of money on his trip to the capital. When he came, his eldest brother stuffed him with 50 taels of banknotes. He was afraid that Yang Ye would not have enough money in the capital, so he asked him to prepare it just in case.

Who knew that Yang Ye didn't need bank notes when he came to the capital, he just let him carry them with him, but he didn't go out during the day, and he didn't have a place to spend money, and he didn't have to pay for it when he went out with Yang Ye. Most of the money is spent by himself. Like today, he has ten taels of silver in a hasty calculation. He feels that he will be more able to spend money after he has a child.

Feeling sorry, he handed the banknote to Yang Ye again.

"Why did I take out the money again? Didn't I tell you to use it? I brought enough money. After doing business for the past few years, I won't be empty when I go to the capital. Big brother will give you a lunch box. Give it to my little nephew."

A Xi said: "But I spent so much money, you paid for it."

Yang Ye said helplessly: "You are my husband, isn't it only right and proper to spend my money, and besides, isn't the purpose of doing business to make money is to spend it for you?"

Axi felt warm in his heart, and remained silent without speaking.

"Well, if you really want to pay back the money yourself, then go to eat when you get to the city, and you pay, okay?"

Ah Xi pursed her lips: "Okay."

At noon, I had a fast meal in the temple. I avoided the hottest period, and it was indeed not too early to return to the city.

There are many delicacies in the capital, so Axi took Yang Ye to a restaurant he used to go to when he was a child. It is a time-honored restaurant, the store is not very big, but the business is pretty good, and there are not many seats left.

The two asked for a small private room and ordered some dishes.

The restaurant focuses on health-preserving dishes, such as stewed chicken with ginseng. Yang Ye heard from Xiaoer that the chicken is a free-range black-bone chicken in the countryside. The taste is much stronger than ordinary chicken, which is good for nourishment. He ordered a pot, and saw that there was a wild vegetable soup on the menu, which was actually a signature dish. Xiao Er said that there were many customers ordering it, so he also ordered it with a smile.

When the vegetables came out, the wild vegetables were really wild vegetables. They were vegetables that could only be picked in the mountains in the countryside, not like the vegetables grown in the villagers' land: "The people in the capital are so lucky."

Axi added a bowl of chicken soup to Yang Ye, and said, "There are dignitaries, dignitaries and powerful people everywhere in the capital, so they are naturally tired of eating ordinary food, so I always want to pick something unusual to eat."

Yang Ye took the chicken soup bowl: "Then you said that opening our shop in the capital might make money?"

"It's definitely possible, but the cost is much higher than in Wenyang City."

"The price is naturally not as cheap as our Wenyang City."

Axi smiled and said: "It's hot nowadays, cold skewers must be better than winter, so I'm craving some more this morning."

Yang Ye said: "I'll just do it for you when I go back, and Li Cheng was also nagging me two days ago."

"What I want to eat most is the boneless chicken feet that Ah Ye made in the provincial capital during the township test last year."

"Then let me see if I can buy sour fruit in the capital, and if I can, I'll make it for you to eat."

When I came out of the restaurant, the sky was already dark, and lanterns were shining brightly everywhere. The capital city is a city that never sleeps. During the day, I work hard, and at night, it is a good time to relax and indulge.

The two of them were not in a hurry to get into the sedan chair, and walked down the street for a while to digest food.

Yang Ye took Axi to the stalls in the night market and bought some gadgets. Axi saw a cute puppet tiger and wanted to buy it.

"Why are you still playing with these when you are so old?"

"Who said I want to play!"

Yang Ye suddenly realized, and said with a smile, "You, he's been worrying about everything since he was so young."

After buying the little tiger, Yang Ye helped him onto the sedan chair. He was not in a hurry to get into the sedan chair. He turned around and was about to buy a wooden comb, but the one in the house was broken when he suddenly heard an urgent cry.

"Zixiang!"

Yang Ye suddenly turned his head and saw Song Yiyu walking over at some point, and the visitor seemed to have no idea that it was him standing here, with a look of surprise on his face.

"What a coincidence, Mr. Song."

Smelling the faint smell of alcohol, Yang Ye guessed that Song Yiyu ran out from the opposite restaurant. He might have accidentally seen them downstairs while drinking on the second floor.

Song Yiyu frowned and said, "Who was with you just now?"

"Why did Mr. Song ask about my husband?"

Song Yiyu took a step forward: "Your husband?"

Yang Ye asked back: "Exactly."

Song Yiyu was silent for a long time, and said without giving up: "I heard from Li Cheng that Yang Gongsheng is married. Since Husband is here today, why don't we meet and talk about it?"

"Then you have to disobey Mr. Song's kindness. Fulang is introverted and afraid of strangers, so it is inconvenient to meet you." Yang Ye said: "The weather is cold and dew heavy. Fulang is weak, so I will take my leave first."

Yang Ye turned to go to the sedan chair, Song Yiyu said loudly, "He's Xue Zixiang!"

Yang Ye turned around and said to Song Yiyu in a cold voice: "Young Master Song, don't use alcohol to harass you. You think that your father is so powerful that you can bully scholars at will. That's not Xue Zixiang, that's my husband!"

Ah Xixin, who caught a glimpse of the debate outside on the sedan chair, raised her throat.

Yang Ye told him that it was a matter of time before someone bumped into him, and it was impossible to avoid affecting his life for the rest of his life, but he never thought that he would run into Song Yiyu the first time he went out.

When he was hesitating whether he should go out or not, he caught a glimpse of Yang Ye touching his waist in a gesture.

The two had a good understanding, and he quickly touched the token that Yang Ye asked him to keep on his body. With his heart stabilized, he quickly opened a corner of the side car curtain, and after whispering a few words with the driver, he handed the token to him.