To The Land of Nevernight

After the Imperial College finished school, Tang Shen took the test post poems he had written today and came to the Minister's Mansion to look for Wang Qin.

Wang Qin, as Minister of the Household Department, was busy with errands every day. Tang Shen came ten times, but six times he was not there.Usually, he would hand over the homework that he had written to the steward, and when Wang Qin read it well, he would review it for him, and he would find time to wait for him to come to the house the next day.But today Tang Shen thought over and over again, and said to the housekeeper, "Can I bring senior brother Zifeng back from my residence?"

The butler was taken aback, and said, "If Young Master Tang is free, of course he can."

The butler welcomed Tang Shen into the door and received him respectfully.

When the moon was on the branches and the sky was full of stars, Wang Qin came back from outside wearing a brand new official red robe.The housekeeper told him that Tang Shen was still waiting at the mansion, he paused slightly, and said in a low voice, "Is that so?" Then there was no trace of surprise, as if he knew that Tang Shen would be waiting for him today.

Tang Shen was drinking tea in the flower hall, he turned around when he heard footsteps, and saw Wang Qin coming to him in official uniform.In the reflection of the candlelight and the moonlight, Wang Zifeng's handsome face looked very gentle and approachable. He smiled elegantly and said, "Little brother, have you been waiting for a long time?"

Tang Shen: "It's only half an hour."

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Brother, don't dare to eat."

Wang Qin turned around and said to the housekeeper, "Little Junior Brother has been here for so long, and you didn't entertain him for dinner, but you're negligent."

The butler repeatedly apologized to Tang Shen.

Wang Qin said: "Then have dinner with me."

The two came to the main hall, Tang Shen sat at the dining table and waited for a while, Wang Qin changed into a brocade white robe and came out from the back room.When he is not wearing official robes, he is like a handsome and elegant scholar, and he really deserves the phrase "the number one scholar is unparalleled".Tang Shen thought to himself, even though he was wearing an official uniform, his senior brother was really different from other high officials, outstanding and outstanding.

The maid served the dishes, and on the table was a stewed sturgeon slice, a stewed ham with yellow sprouts, four seasonal dishes, and a Jiang Yaozhu soup.

Both Tang Shen and Wang Qin are from Jiangnan, they have similar tastes, and most of the dishes they serve are Jiangnan flavors.

As the saying goes, "Don't talk when eating, don't talk when sleeping", the two of them went to the flower hall to drink tea after eating.Wang Qin took the test post poem written by Tang Shen and read it several times.This time he didn't comment on how the poem was written, but said: "How long has it been copying "Famen Temple Stele"?"

Tang Shen didn't understand why he would ask this: "It's been almost two months."

"Little brother practiced calligraphy very quickly."

"Senior brother, you are too proud." Tang Shen looked calm, and there was no hint of pride in his tone.

When he was in Gusu Mansion, he practiced fifty big characters every day.When he arrived in Shengjing, he had already copied the "Famen Temple Stele" a thousand times.He didn't want to waste any time, in the autumn of August, he was sure to get a good ranking.At least in the top ten.In this way, until next year's spring, he will not be too far behind other Juren.

Wang Qin took Tang Shen's handwriting and gently read the poem written on it: "The moon shines brightly in the sky, and the stars hang down on the sea tower..." After reading, Wang Qin paused for a moment and sighed regretfully: "Little brother The stereotyped art of writing is novel in conception and rigorous in structure. As long as you don’t deviate from the topic, you can’t make mistakes after all. It’s just that your test post poems can only be said to be so-so.”

Tang Shen also knew that his test post poems were very average.

If the stereotyped art test is mainly about the candidates' logical thinking and discussion structure, then the test post poetry is more about a person's talent and learning.Even if Tang Shen has a vivid memory and can memorize it fluently, he can't just turn from a science and engineering student into a great talent for no reason.Poetry is written not only by skill, but by a flash of inspiration, by true genius.

Wang Qin: "If the younger brother's test post poems can improve, this time the Guozijian's library class should be able to enter the top three."

Suddenly mentioning the lectures at the Imperial College, Tang Shen's eyes flashed, and he looked up at Wang Qin.

Tang Shen deliberately waited for Wang Qin to come back at the mansion today, not because he wanted to see Wang Qin, but because—the emperor Linyong!He wanted to know why the emperor suddenly went to Piyonggong to give lectures, and whether there would be any problems in this lecture.

After thinking for a moment, Tang Shen said: "In the monthly lectures at the Imperial Academy, because my test post poems are so-so, most of them get grade B, and I never get grade A."

Wang Qin said with a smile: "It's okay to be ordinary, if the emperor can get the top three when he comes to Yong, it will be of great benefit."

Tang Shen was startled, looked at Wang Qin fixedly, and said in surprise, "Senior brother?!"

Tang Shen rarely had such an astonished look, his eyes were wide open.Wang Qin became interested, he gently lifted Tang Shen's chin with a white fan, and said with a soft voice, "Little Junior Brother, can you get the top three?"

Ten days later, on the first day of June, the Imperial College's library exams began.

Hundreds of students sat in the lecture hall and opened the exam questions of this library class, their expressions and demeanors were more serious than every previous library class.Tang Shen sat in the middle seat of the Zhengyi Hall, and he opened the topic of stereotyped art, which was written "The sky is high".

"Mencius Li Lou": "The sky is high, the stars are far away, if you ask for it, the day of a thousand years will come, you can sit and go!" It means that although the sky is high and the earth is vast, the stars are boundless, but as long as you can calculate them Even the festival after a thousand years can be calculated according to the law.

Tang Shen frowned.

This question seems simple. It says that everything has its own laws. As long as you find the rules and do things according to the rules of things, you will be successful.This is a common philosophical sentence in "Mencius".Taking "The Highness of Heaven" as the topic, we can approach the topic from the perspective of "everything is complex", or we can get to the bottom of it and enter the topic from the essential "law of all things".The former will be safer, while the latter is too big, and it is easy to write biased or even wrong.

However...he must win the top three this time!

Tang Shen was heartbroken, and picked up a pen to write: "If you want to make a great fortune, you must make the best of ethics. All gossips are extreme, and all things must be born one..."

It took an entire hour to write an article on Zhiyi. After Tang Shen checked that there were no typos, he copied it neatly into the examination paper.Then he opened the title of the test post poem.

There are only two questions in the monthly library class of Guozijian, one is about art making, and the other is about poetry.

The title of this test post poem is "The Stars Are Clear".The original sentence of this sentence is "The stars are clearly by your side", which is a poem written by a poet in the previous dynasty for mountaineering and stargazing.

Mountain climbing, stargazing...

Tang Shen frowned and pondered, and after half an hour, he wrote the first poem on the draft paper: "The wind blows up the mountains, and the shadows fall into the stars and the moon."

This poem is actually an inverted sentence, talking about the wind blowing in the continuous mountains, blowing the leaves on the mountains.The shadows of the stars and the moon disappeared into the reflection of the mountains, and disappeared.However, just after finishing writing, Tang Shen looked at the poem quietly and remained silent.

There are 560 students in Guozijian, including two over 40 years old and 30 over 76 years old.These people have gone through many years of scientific research, and everyone has written excellent stereotyped art.There are two well-known figures in the Guozijian, one is Liu Fang, 32 years old this year, and his stereotyped art was once rated as the best among his classmates by Lin Jijiu; the other is Tang Shen's good friend Mei Shengze, whose The test post poems are written to the peak and are full of talent.

These two are almost certain to win the top three places in the library class, so there is only one place left.

Guozijian is the place where the talents of the entire Song Dynasty gather. Since Wang Qin revealed to him that the top three will get benefits, it must be a huge benefit.Because this is the benefit that even Wang Qin can see, and specially opened the back door to Tang Shen to remind him.

Tang Shen silently looked at the two lines of poems he had written, sighed, and said in his heart: "Qinglian Poet Immortal, I have offended you so much, I'm sorry."

Then, he splashed ink on the paper and wrote a poem smoothly.

At the end of the library class, the lecturers collected the students' test papers.

Guozijian's library courses are not scientific examinations, so there is no vague name.This time, even Lin Jijiu was very important in the library class. He personally came to the lecture hall where the papers were graded, and said, "Find out the exam papers of Liu Fang and Mei Shengze, and I'll take a look."

The lecture quickly found the papers of the two of them.

Lin Jijiu looked at Liu Fang's examination paper first, and the more he looked at it, the brighter his eyes became, and he said, "Okay! It's hard to know good fortune, but there is an easy way to know it, so you don't have to dig it out. Zhiyi is wonderfully written, but Although this test post poem is written fairly, it has only ingenuity and no inspiration." After speaking, he picked up Mei Shengze's paper again.

Lin Jijiu: "To solve the problem with the complexity of the myriad phenomena, it's a trick, and there is no new idea, but the structure of the article is rigorous, and the reasoning is sufficient. It is also a good work. This poem is wonderfully written! What a sentence 'Xingyongshanyueming'! That's it. It seems that among the top three in this library class, Liu Fang must be the first, and Mei Shengze is the second."

Lin Jijiu said solemnly: "Colleagues, to tell the truth, the top three in this library class will be tested after the Emperor Linyong, and His Majesty will test their knowledge in person."

There was an uproar in the hall.

Lin Jijiu: "I only found out about this matter from Ji Gonggong this afternoon. So everyone, this time the library class marking must be rigorous and meticulous, and there must be no mistakes. Otherwise..." With a cold snort, Lin Jijiu said coldly : "Otherwise, there will be heavy penalties! If you are fine, you will be fined and your salary will be reduced, and if you are serious, you will be dismissed!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a surprised voice coming from the center of the examination paper review.

Lin Jijiu looked at the man: "What's the noise?"

I saw a bearded lecturer holding a paper, his eyes widened in horror, and he didn't even pay attention to the sound he made just now.Hearing Lin Jijiu's accusation, the lecturer hastily apologized: "Master Jijiu, please forgive me. I saw an excellent stereotyped art, so I accidentally saw God, and didn't hear what Master Jijiu said. However, when the official turned to the test post poem written by this student, I couldn't help but marvel."

Lin Jijiu came over: "What kind of stereotyped art, what kind of test post poetry?" He picked up the paper and read it.

"If you want to make a great fortune, you must make the best of ethics. All gossip is the best, and all things must be one..." After reading it carefully, Lin Jijiu said: "It's a good work! I thought that when I looked at the Imperial College, only Liu Fang Gan took the slant and used the 'law of the conservation of heaven and earth' to solve the problem, and it made sense. I didn't expect that someone in the Imperial College could write such a masterpiece. Eh, this is Tang Shen's paper?"

Lectured: "Yes, it is Tang Shen's paper from Gusu Mansion."

In the main room, many lecturers showed a clear look.

"It turned out to be Master Fu's student. No wonder he was able to write such a masterpiece. He is indeed talented."

Tang Shen is Fu Wei's student, this matter is not a secret in the Imperial College.But Lin Jijiu knew one more thing, that the letter of recommendation that Tang Shen entered the Imperial College was not written by Fu Wei, but by Wang Qin!Wang Qin personally brought Tang Shen into the Guozijian, which shows that Wang Zifeng also likes his junior brother very much.

Lin Jijiu became serious, and he turned to the second page of the test paper.He had already thought that since he was Wang Zifeng's younger brother and Fu Xiru's student, and his writing on Eight-legged Art was really good, this time even if Tang Shen's test post poem was very ordinary, as long as it wasn't too bad, it wasn't so bad, he would write it down. The No.3 of the class in the second library is for Tang Shen, selling Wang Zifeng and Fu Xiru as favors.

However, the moment he saw this test post poem, Lin Jijiu's eyes widened, his face blushed, and he couldn't say a word for a long time.

After a cup of tea, he said three times in a row: "Cai! Cai! Cai! Come and see this wonderful poem!"

All the lecturers were curious, and immediately took the test paper and read it.Although the lecturers are officials, they are also scholars.A short five-character four-rhyme poem made them look radiant and joyful.

"The dangerous building is a hundred feet high, and the stars can be picked by hand..."

"Don't dare to speak loudly, for fear of frightening the heavenly beings!"

The author has something to say: Lao Wang next door: Oh, every time my junior brother asks for me, he will wait for me to go home so obediently.

Xiao Tang Lang: Then can't you speak more bluntly, and keep it hidden!Talking to this kind of person is exhausting!