The daily routine of the ancient imperial examination

As the saying goes, the first month is a new year, even after the Lantern Festival, the towns and villages are still as lively as before.

Lu Xiuyuan resumed his previous routine, and continued to get up early in the morning to exercise his body and practice calligraphy. When he finished writing in the clear water in the bowl, Mrs. Zhang had almost prepared breakfast.

Seeing him revising so earnestly, his family returned to the stage where they dared not speak out loud.

Mrs. Zhang looked at the back of Lu Xiuyuan packing his brush. She knew more information than others. Erlang studied not only for the imperial examination, but also for the purpose of marrying his future daughter-in-law after becoming famous.

She feels a lot of pressure for Lu Xiuyuan in her heart, and others can't help with reading, and success or failure can only be determined by herself. What she can do now is to cook for him in different ways to replenish enough physical strength.

Lu Xiuyuan sat in front of the table, took a twist in his hand, took a sip of the chicken soup made specially for him by Mrs. Zhang, and saw that the girl who was the most active in eating before was not there on the other side of the table, so he couldn't help asking curiously: "Brother, where is Xiao Lian?" ?”

His elder brother rubbed his head in a daze, "It seems like you're still in bed, right? Your sister-in-law called over."

Lu Xiuyuan couldn't help sighing, "I guess I played crazy last night, and I won't be able to get up in the morning."

The two brothers continued to eat, and when Lu Xiuyuan finished eating the mahua in his hands, he ate two steamed buns before seeing his sister-in-law who had been belatedly arriving.

Lu Xiuyuan glanced behind him, but he didn't see Xiao Lian, so he was a little puzzled.

His sister-in-law came over with a sad face and said a few words to Mrs. Zhang, and the two got up and went out for a while.

When they came back, Mrs. Zhang confessed to Lu Xiuyuan, "Erlang, Xiao Lian accidentally caught a cold yesterday, and she didn't have any appetite for food. I'll let you go to the town, grab some medicine, and buy some hawthorn cakes for Shunzi to bring back." .”

I didn't see the little girl during the meal, it turned out that the other party was not feeling well.

After hearing this, Lu Xiuyuan no longer hesitated, put down the bowl, packed his things and set off with his bags on his back.

When he arrived at the entrance of the village, Lu Xiuyuan got into the bullock cart and heard Li Shun brag about how he could hook up his future wife on the Lantern Festival, saying that when he arrives next month and chooses a suitable date, he will ask the matchmaker to go to the other party's house to propose marriage.

Lu Xiuyuan smiled and said congratulations.

The two chatted for a while, and when they reached the town, Lu Xiuyuan quickly jumped out of the car.

He looked around, except for the removed lanterns, the others were still as lively as before. Thinking of Xiaolian at home, he didn't dare to waste time, so he went directly to the Ping'an Hall.

Crossing the streets and alleys, I bought hawthorn cakes for the little girl by the way.

When Lu Xiuyuan came to Ping'an Hall, the scene in front of him made him a little confused.

The pharmacy was clearly open, but there was a closed sign on the door.

Lu Xiuyuan walked into the pharmacy curiously, and found that Dr. Xu was instructing Shishi to pack medicinal materials there, and there were several big bags beside them, which seemed to be filled with medicinal materials, but he didn't know what the other party meant?

He couldn't help asking curiously: "Doctor Xu, who are you?"

Doctor Xu was directing. Hearing the voice behind him, he turned around and saw that it was Lu Xiuyuan, "So it's Lu Xiucai."

Seeing his puzzled expression, the other party explained, "Ping An Hall will not be open tomorrow, and the old man will take all these herbs away."

"Where is Dr. Xu going?" Lu Xiuyuan couldn't help asking.

Dr. Xu looked at the small vendors who set up stalls outside, heaved a long sigh, and his expression was very heavy, "Yesterday, an old friend sent a message that the border plague is raging, and the old man is going to check the situation over there."

Lu Xiuyuan was a little shocked when he heard this.

"It's still freezing cold now, and the border will only get colder. As long as the corpses that were frozen to death in the previous snowstorm can be dealt with before they rot, they won't be so serious, right?"

Lu Xiuyuan was a little surprised. The list he had given to Shi Yunzhang earlier had highlighted the need to bury the corpse. If it was handled properly, there should be no plague.

Dr. Xu shook his head and explained: "There will be a shadow of the plague at the border during the winter solstice, and my old friend also has a little bit of Qihuang skills. Under his guidance, I managed to control it."

It seemed that he had come across something he couldn't figure out, and Dr. Xu also looked puzzled, "It's just that for some reason, after the snowstorm some time ago, it suddenly broke out again, making the situation over there very urgent now."

It turns out that there was a plague on the border so long ago, and it has been so long. It stands to reason that the news should have been reported to the capital long ago. Why didn't the above take any action?

"What about the officers and soldiers stationed at the border? Since there was a plague before, if they had reported earlier, the support has almost arrived now?"

Dr. Xu looked at Lu Xiuyuan with a naive expression on his face, "The winter solstice is the New Year, do you think those officials dare to use this kind of thing to offend the boss? It will take some time to report the news to each floor card, and it will be delayed until now." This look."

Lu Xiuyuan also couldn't help sighing, it seems that he overestimated those officials.

Now that the imperial court can't count on it, it can only rely on the power of the people, "Doctor Xu, can you bring Lu Mou with you on this trip? It was recorded in the medical book I got by chance before, how to deal with this kind of plague, Lu Mou also I want to try my best."

Dr. Xu was surprised when he heard this, "Lu Xiucai, are you serious? You must know that the living conditions on the border are poor now. In addition to the plague, the barbarians outside the defensive wall will attack at any time. This snow disaster will cause even more losses on the other side. Great, under the crisis of survival, those barbarians are more aggressive."

Seeing that Lu Xiuyuan had no fear on his face, Dr. Xu continued, "Follow along. In addition to facing the plague that everyone is afraid of, you also have to be careful of the barbarians outside the border. If the border is lost, the barbarians are in danger of dying."

"Others are afraid of the plague, but Mr. Lu is not! What Dr. Xu said can't scare me." Lu Xiuyuan said with a righteous face, "If the plague can be controlled as soon as possible, why not worry about the border defense?"

Lu Xiuyuan studied history before, and he had heard that there was a very difficult period in the ancient history of our country, the Earth's Little Ice Age. At that time, snowstorms, droughts, locust disasters, floods and plagues occurred frequently, and people's lives were miserable.

The ancients said that after a catastrophe, there must be a catastrophe. Like the plague on the frontier, the cause is probably the people and animals that were frozen to death before. Their corpses rotted and became the source of infection of viruses and bacteria. People may eat or drink contaminated food. Food or water, which leads to the transmission of various diseases.

He is fortunate to know some knowledge about the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases that people don't know in this era, so he naturally wants to contribute to help the people tide over the difficulties.

That was tens of millions of human lives, and it was the border defense line, and there were barbarians staring at it outside. Although the imperial court has been whitewashing the peace, this kind of thing cannot be deceived.

Lu Xiuyuan felt that the importance of such a top priority surpassed the imperial examination.

Once the ancient plague got out of control, would ordinary people still have a way out?But now that the officials don't do anything, they can only rely on the spontaneous organization of the people. Now that he knows about this, there is no reason to sit idly by, so he decided to go to the border with Dr. Xu.

Dr. Xu didn't expect Lu Xiuyuan to say such words. He stroked his beard in amazement, and said with emotion: "You have a good heart. If you follow me to practice medicine in the future, I will pass on all my life's experience to you, and you will inherit the mantle. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a story about a peerless genius doctor?"

Lu Xiuyuan saw that the other party hadn't given up on asking him to be a teacher, so he didn't speak to him.

What he said was ignored, and Dr. Xu's enthusiasm did not change. The other party continued: "I advise you to give up the imperial examination quickly. Haven't you seen that the current imperial court is rotten? Are you going to be that official and continue to fish for the people?" ?”

"To be an official is to be a good official. These are two different things and should not be confused."

Dr. Xu shook his head and smiled triumphantly, "When you go out with the old man, you want to practice medicine instead of taking the imperial examination."

Lu Xiuyuan remained silent, not wanting to hit the opponent.

"Ahem," Dr. Xu cleared his throat, "Since you've decided to go, then go back and say goodbye to your family, bring your clothes here tomorrow, and we'll set off."

Leaving tomorrow morning, the time is quite tight.

Lu Xiuyuan didn't hesitate anymore, and quickly asked Dr. Xu to help Xiao Lian get the medicine. He went to the town to pack the medicine for Li Shun, and asked him to bring it to Zhang Shi when he returned.

Lu Xiuyuan watched Li Shun go further and further, and he walked back to the book shop in silence.

Sitting at the desk, opening the book, looking at the words in the book, but I can't see a word in my heart.

His life here has just started to get on the right track, he has a comprehensive study plan, and life goals, such as taking the exams, Jinshi exams, and becoming an official.

There is a happy family, and a future partner who is developing a relationship.

However, the situation at the border is urgent, and it is very dangerous there. For this trip, one must have the awareness of death.

The ancient environment was backward, and he might be infected. Maybe the border disaster was serious, and the soldiers were also infected. The defense fell, and the city gate was broken by barbarians.

Anyway, it's safer to stay here.

However, his character does not allow him to back down. The instinct of a doctor makes him want to help those in need. He cannot see thousands of people dying in front of him.

If you have the ability to change, why not do it?

Just thinking of Mrs. Zhang at home, his current family, he felt sorry for them, and he was a little embarrassed to speak up.

When it was time to eat at noon, Shi Yunchen came in with a food box, saw Lu Xiuyuan holding the book with a serious expression, and patted him on the shoulder, "Don't read the book, let's eat first!"

Feeling the touch of his shoulder, Lu Xiuyuan noticed that Shi Yunchen had come over. He looked at Shi Yunchen's face with a serious and thoughtful expression.

Shi Yunchen saw the pair of shining eyes of the other party, who was looking at himself carefully, his heart tightened, and his eyes couldn't help wandering from side to side, "What kind of eyes are you, why are you looking at me like that?"

At that time, Yun Chen accidentally glanced at the book in Lu Xiuyuan's hand, and he said in surprise, "Did you turn the book upside down and didn't you see it?"

Lu Xiuyuan lowered his head, and only then realized that he had read the book in the morning, and he had turned it upside down.

He put down the book and smiled wryly, "I was so engrossed in thinking about things that I didn't notice."

Shi Yunchen was still laughing and joking, and teased him, "What can make us Lu Xiucai think so engrossed?"

Lu Xiuyuan thought of Shi Yunchen's second brother who was a soldier stationed at the border, and that his elder brother brought a large amount of supplies to support some time ago.

He looked at Shi Yunchen, the other party still looked naive and ignorant. It is estimated that his elder brother did not tell him the matter in order to protect him, so the other party still does not know that the plague is raging at the border, and the barbarians outside are more aggressive. Things that can fall at any time.

Looking at the young master's carefree smiling face, he could imagine that the other's family kept it secret just to protect such a smiling face.

Shi Yunchen was frightened by Lu Xiuyuan's serious expression, and was a little nervous, "What's the matter? Why do you have such an expression."

Lu Xiuyuan thought for a moment, and finally decided to say, "The plague broke out on the border. Tomorrow, I will follow Dr. Xu to practice medicine. Do you want to get up?"

"What, what?" The other party's smile froze on his face, "Is there a plague on the border?"

Lu Xiuyuan nodded seriously, "Yes, it seems to be getting worse now."

Shi Yunchen couldn't believe it, but Lu Xiuyuan usually didn't lie, so what he said about the border plague was probably true.

He felt that the soles of his feet were weak, and quickly sat down with the chair next to him, "Since it's all so serious, why did you send a letter two days ago to say that everything is normal, don't worry about it? Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Shi Yunchen Look hurt.

Lu Xiuyuan reached out and patted the other person's shoulder, "Your elder brother is probably worried about you and afraid that you will take risks, so he didn't dare to tell you."

Shi Yunchen is now at a loss, and his two elder brothers who love him the most are both at the border, facing many dangers.

And what can he do now?Do you continue to follow what your brothers want, continue to pretend not to know, or...

He looked at Lu Xiuyuan who was sitting next to him, and asked curiously, "What about you? Why did you tell me? Why didn't you hide it from me like they did?"

Lu Xiuyuan felt that the other party seemed to need comfort, so he reached out and touched the other party's head, and comforted him: "You are an independent person, you have the right to know the truth, you can make your own decisions, I will not make decisions for you, no matter what Whatever decision you make, I support you."

After hearing this, Shi Yunchen slapped someone's hand off his head, and looked at the other person with complicated eyes.

He didn't expect that this man, who has always been incomprehensible, would have such delicate moments.