The daily routine of the ancient imperial examination

In the early morning of the next day, Lu Xiuyuan changed into the coarse sackcloth specially prepared for him by Dr. Xu, and 200 taels of banknotes were sewn on the inside of the clothes. Although the clothes looked shabby, but they were fancy and inconspicuous, so that they would be safer on the way to the exam. .

Originally, he didn't intend to bring so much money, not to mention that 200 taels was too much. Even though the other party was his master, he still felt uneasy about accepting so much money for no reason.

Dr. Xu was helping him pack other things, when he heard Lu Xiuyuan's nagging, he gave him a glare.

"You can take it if I give it to you! You are my apprentice, and now you are traveling far away to catch up for the exam. How can I, as a master, stand by and watch?"

"But this is a bit too much..." He lifted the inside of his clothes and looked at the two banknotes with emotion.

"A lot?" Dr. Xu asked him back, "You have to know that during the rural examination, it is hard to find a room in the inn around the examination room, and the price does not know how many times it has been sold. You should bring more money now, and then find a quiet environment. I live in a room at one o'clock, so I can prepare in advance."

After hearing this, Lu Xiuyuan felt that what the other party said was right. Although he hadn't taken the exam in a big provincial city, he also knew that there were more candidates, and the price of accommodation in the surrounding area would inevitably increase.

So he stopped being polite to the other party, thanked him and packed his luggage, Dr. Xu went to the front hall for a visit, while he went to Shifu with a package of dry food.

Now that the days are long and the nights are short, the hawkers in the small town are extremely lively in the early morning. Everyone rushes out of their stalls while the sun is not too hot, and the vegetable buyers also rush to buy food while the weather is still cool in the early morning.

Lu Xiuyuan crossed the street and came to Shifu, walked through the second gate and entered the inner courtyard.

Shi Yunchen also got up early, and was explaining something to the four guards in the inner courtyard, when the other party heard footsteps, turned around and saw him coming, and quickly waved to Lu Xiuyuan.

"Lu Erlang, how about you come and see the four guards I picked for you?"

He walked over with the package on his back, and found that the four guards standing in front of him were all tall and strong men with fleshy faces.

"It looks quite safe..." He said what was in his heart.

Hearing this comment, Shi Yunchen frowned, pointed to these four people and introduced: "They are the army guards assigned by the second brother when they came back from the border. no problem……"

Lu Xiuyuan thought for a while, and felt that something was inappropriate: "Would this be a bit condescending?"

One of the four people heard this and quickly stood up.

"It's an honor for us brothers to escort Lu Xiucai to the exam, so don't refuse!"

"That's right, Lu Xiucai, it was thanks to you that we managed to defend Longmen Pass before, and now it's our brother's turn to escort you."

……

Several people expressed their opinions one after another, and Lu Xiuyuan was a little embarrassed to hear it. He was a little embarrassed to praise these old things.

"Okay, okay." Lu Xiuyuan quickly saluted the brothers, "The provincial capital is far away, so I will trouble these brothers."

Seeing this, the guards began to salute him again.

"Our brothers are all rough people. There may be places where we don't take good care of them on the road. I hope Lu Xiu can take more care of them."

"No, no, just take care of each other." Lu Xiuyuan quickly added.

When Shi Yunchen saw that they were going on endlessly, he hurriedly dragged him to look at the carriage he helped to prepare.

Lu Xiuyuan followed the other party's footsteps to the outer courtyard. There was a carriage parked beside the pillar. Although it looked old on the outside, when the curtain inside was lifted, one could see that the interior of the carriage had been reinforced. The drawers can store books, and the cushion has been thickened a lot, so you can lie on it and rest directly at night.

Seeing such details that a carriage can be prepared, it took a lot of thought to think about it. He turned around and thanked Shi Yunchen: "Thank you for your hard work."

"Why are you thanking me?" The other party bumped him lightly with the shoulder, "Be careful on the road."

"Yeah." Lu Xiuyuan nodded, and assured the other party: "I will be more careful."

When the two were in love, Shi Yunchen seemed to think of something suddenly, and dragged him back to the previous living room, then took out a package and stuffed it into Lu Xiuyuan's arms.

"After you left yesterday, I thought about the things I might use on the road and prepared them for you. Do you see what else is missing?"

"Huh?" He put the bulging package on the table and opened it, and found that there were a lot of good things inside.

There are sliced ​​ginseng lozenges, and several boxes of hard candy and snacks. When you remove the food on top, you can see two folded satin robes underneath. Zhuang ticket.

"This, this is a bit too much..." Lu Xiuyuan couldn't help expressing emotion.

"Where are there too many?" Shi Yunchen pointed to those things and introduced them.

"The ginseng lozenges can refresh you and keep you in good shape. The sweets and snacks are for fear that the outside situation will be unfavorable on the way and it will be inconvenient to eat. With these things, you can at least replenish your energy."

"Then you don't need the brocade clothes? It seems a bit eye-catching to wear on the walk..."

Hearing this, the young master said angrily: "You idiot, who told you to wear it on the road? Isn't it because if you are admitted to Juren, you won't be able to dress decently when you attend the Lu Ming Banquet?"

Well, Lu Xiuyuan was convinced when he heard it. He didn't expect the other party to even consider this. Thinking of the 500 taels of banknotes, he was about to speak, but the other party's words blocked his mouth.

"That Zhuang ticket is not for you to spend indiscriminately. It is for you to get in touch with the same period after you pass the exam. After the list of the township examination comes out, you can choose a few good conduct in the same period to communicate more, and you can also take care of each other in the future. .”

Hearing the other party's explanation, he couldn't help heaving a long sigh, staring at the eyes of the young master who was serious about his plans, and couldn't hold back his hand to pull the other party into his arms.

"Thank you for your trouble."

Lying in Lu Xiuyuan's arms, Shi Yunchen's ears turned red and he said, "When the rural exam is over, don't forget your original promise."

He rested his chin on the top of the opponent's head, smelling the fragrance from the opponent's body, and said in a tone full of nostalgia, "Of course I won't forget."

Hearing this promise, the young master couldn't help but raised the corners of his lips, found a suitable position in Lu Xiuyuan's arms, closed his eyes and rubbed against each other, both of them were enjoying this rare embrace.

The happy time is always so short, the two of them leaned against each other for a while, and Nan Xing came over to urge that the carriage and guards were ready.

The other party left Lu Xiuyuan's embrace with a disappointed face. Seeing the young master's unhappy appearance, he also felt a sense of loss in his heart, but thinking of the purpose of this trip, he made up his mind to say goodbye.

"Then I'll go first, and you should take good care of yourself at home."

Shi Yunchen nodded impossibly, and followed him to the outer courtyard.

Originally, Lu Xiuyuan thought that his family members would not come, but he didn't expect to see Mrs. Zhang and his elder brother walking in with two big packages on their backs as soon as they came to the outer courtyard.

"Mother, why are you here?" He hastily went up to greet him, "Didn't you send a message yesterday that you don't want to deliver it?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? You are going to catch up with the exam, can you not come and see your mother off?!" Mrs. Zhang thumped him lightly, "Didn't you say that you live in Ping An Hall? My mother and your elder brother went to Dr. Xu's place just now. , I thought you were leaving, but thanks to the guy named Quartz who said you might be here, we rushed over."

Lu Xiuyuan touched his nose with some guilt, glanced at the two big bags hanging on his elder brother, and tentatively said: "Mom, these are all for me, right?"

Seeing this, his elder brother hung the package in his arms on him: "These two packages are prepared for you by your mother, the indigo is for clothes, and there is also a package for this exam, and the other package is for some food. , Erlang, you take them with you."

This……

Lu Xiuyuan thought that the three of them had prepared so much food and clothes for him, and he couldn't wear them?

But seeing Zhang's worried face, he couldn't bear to give in any longer, so he could only flip the package and adjust the position so that the shoulders would be more comfortable.

Several people exchanged pleasantries, and Lu Xiuyuan placed the package brought by Mrs. Zhang in the carriage, and he was also ready to set off.

The scene of parting is always so sad, he walked up to give Mrs. Zhang a hug, told her to take care of herself at home, and then got into the carriage.

The wheels of the car squeaked and squeaked, and Lu Xiuyuan officially set off for the provincial capital.

When they left Ping'an Town, the sky began to drizzle immediately.

Lu Xiuyuan wanted to call the guards to get into the carriage to hide from the rain, but they refused. The other party put on the coir raincoat and continued to walk slowly around the carriage.

He lifted the curtain of the car and took a look outside. They were still on the official road, they just couldn't stop and rest.

Thinking of this, Lu Xiuyuan took out the map that Shi Yunchen had prepared for him, and began to plan the route.

The continuous rain at this time is the most likely to cause floods. It is safest for them to stay away from the Grand Canal and follow the official road on land.

Looking at the distance between Ping'an Town and the provincial capital on the map, I roughly estimated that it would take about half a month to reach the provincial capital.

If there is another accident during the rush, maybe there may be a delay of one month?

Considering that it is already mid-June, the remaining time is not optimistic.

Lifting the curtain in front of the car, Lu Xiuyuan shared his thoughts with the leader of the guard driving the car.

"Brother Tian, ​​it's not safe to be raining outside now. Why don't we stay away from the Grand Canal and take another road to the Fucheng to settle down first, and then go to the provincial capital, what do you think?"

The sound of wind and rain outside was a bit loud, Tian Si didn't hear clearly, turned his head and asked: "Lu Xiucai, what did you just say?"

Lu Xiuyuan raised his voice and said it again loudly.

This time Tian Si finally heard clearly, and the other party nodded: "Everything is arranged by Lu Xiucai."

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