To The Land of Nevernight

Master Li took this blurred paper and was amazed.

The other marking officers kept nodding their heads and admiringly.An official grader said: "Although the first two papers are written in a normal way, this last paper is definitely the first among the more than 1 candidates."

Someone asked: "Then what should be the ranking of this test?"

Li Dashi thought for a while, and said: "Although I will test, even if I confirm the top ten papers, I will not easily reveal the ambiguity. But today is an exception. There are such precedents in the period of the first emperor. There are two Juren Outstanding literary talents, it is difficult to distinguish between top and bottom. Finally, we will uncover their names, check their real handwriting, supplement the next two examination papers, and finally get the Huiyuan. Dear colleagues, the old man suggests that we first select the top three, and then reveal Open the rankings, how about ranking in the top three?"

"Listen to Master Li."

Therefore, the examiners first determined the papers of the top three, and then they ordered the officials to take out the papers of the last two exams of the three.Of course, it's their real handwriting.

Those who copy the examination papers are only scholars, and most of the handwriting is correct and beautiful, otherwise they will not be selected.However, compared with these three candidates, it is like a firefly, far behind.The examiners looked at the original three examination papers and felt refreshed.

After reading the three examination papers, a deputy examiner said, "I have come to a conclusion."

The other two assistant examiners also said: "I also have a conclusion in my mind."

In the end, everyone looked at Li Dashi together.

The eccentric Master Li stroked his dry and gray goatee, and said, "Then let's vote. The old man gets three votes, and the three of you have two votes each."

"good."

The day before the announcement of the exam, Tang Shen completely forgot about it and slept soundly.Unexpectedly, the next morning, Feng Bi woke him up before dawn.Tang Shen was startled, and immediately remembered what day it was.Fengbi said: "Young master is still waiting at home today, let me go outside the Shengjing Gongyuan to see the ranking?"

Tang Shen thought for a while: "I'll go in person."

Putting on a thick padded jacket and a cloak, Tang Shen, Feng Bi and Yao San arrived at the Shengjing Gongyuan before dawn.

It is now March in Yangchun, but Shengjing is still cold, and the breath is foggy.It was not yet Yin time, and on the quiet and spacious carriageway, apart from the princes and ministers who went to the early court, there were only candidates who came to the gate of the Tribute Academy to wait for their grades.Wearing stars and wearing moons, they walked silently on both sides of the road, and it was rare for them to be happy and confident.

Tang Shen lifted the curtain of the car and saw the candidates with faces full of bitterness and hatred. He sighed helplessly, and said, "The topic of this test is indeed off the mark!"

Arriving at the gate of the Gongyuan, looking from a distance, under the moonlight, there are all black heads of students.But with so many people, they only heard the sound of breathing and one or two coughs, followed by an oppressive silence like stagnant water.

Finally, the gate of the Tribute Academy opened, and the crowd of examinees finally moved.

Tang Shen stood in the center of the crowd, he saw two officials holding up a large red list, and posted this apricot list.The list is posted from the back to the front. A total of 291 people were admitted in this session. Tang Shen saw that the 217th place was actually Liu Fang.He thought it was the same name at first, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be Liu Fang and Liu Keji. Among the students of the Guozijian who were referenced this time, Liu Fang was the most likely to win the prize.

There were also other Guozijian students who saw Liu Fang's name, and someone shouted: "Liu Fang, why are you only ranked 217! Ah, brother Liu Fang, what's wrong with you... Sigh, I didn't expect Brother Liu Fang to be so impatient. , and left without waiting for the list to end!"

Tang Shen thought to himself: If it weren't for Li Dashi's messy problem solving, Liu Fang wouldn't have won the top three in this year's competition?It's good to shake your sleeves and leave, but those with a bad temper might curse on the spot.

Looking further down, Tang Shen saw one or two familiar names.Most of the students who participated in the Xie Yuan Banquet at Prince Jing's Mansion won the top 34, but all of them were at the bottom.Looking further up, Tang Shen saw Mei Shengze's name in the [-]th place.

Tang Shen immediately turned his head and looked at Mei Shengze not far away.

Mei Shengze cupped his hands at him, said with a wry smile, "I'm already content, Jing Ze, don't laugh at me."

Tang Shen has a deep understanding: "I feel empathy, especially shameless."

The list went further, and Tang Shen saw two familiar names.Two quarters of an hour passed, and only the top three were left unannounced.

Yao San held his breath nervously, and Tang Shen also stared at the apricot list.

In the 27th year of Kaiping, Shengjing will try No.3, Yao Ju and Yao Wenji.

No.2, Tang Shen Tang Jingze.

No.1, Wang Xiao and Wang Daiyue.

Suddenly being held down by someone, Tang Shen turned his head in a daze, only to see Mei Shengze looking at him happily: "Jing Ze, you got second!"

Yao San was also very excited: "Little boss, you are No.2!"

Tang Shen was stunned for a moment, and said intentionally, "My name is Tang Shen?"

Everyone laughed, and the surrounding Guozijian students also congratulated.

Mei Shengze: "Look at your appearance, it makes you so complacent."

Tang Shen chuckled, unable to hide his excitement: "The one who knows me is Brother Shengze! All classmates, Qianlilou, I, Tang Shen, have invited you at noon today!"

"Don't go to the place where Brother Pengjing Ze is!"

"I will definitely go!"

The first place in the general examination was expected by Tang Shen, but the second place in the general examination was beyond Tang Shen's expectation.After he was beautiful for a day, he thought about it carefully and came to a conclusion: "I am a genius in nature, and I also have the bonus of traveling through golden fingers. Well, this accounts for [-]% of the reason. In addition, my first article The writing should be considered good, but the second article is not so good, I can only say that the writing is solid. The second must be due to the third article "I examine myself three times a day". Mr. Zhu Xi, help me!"

He even guessed very well.

Tang Shen got good grades and immediately went to report the good news to Fu Wei and Wang Qin.But this time he couldn't see Wang Qin. Wang Qin left Beijing for business and didn't come back for several days.Waiting to see Wang Qin again was something Tang Shen never expected.

Each general examination is held in February, the results are announced in March, and the palace examination will be held in early April.

The Guozijian has a large number of talents, and at least one-sixth of the Jinshi on the list in each examination comes from the Guozijian.At this time, Guozijian Lin Jijiu will invite the ministers of the court and China to come to Guozijian to teach, which is called "official class".One day Tang Shen listened to the lecture and said that the person who would come to the Imperial College tomorrow to give lectures on official lectures was actually Wang Zifeng, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and he was astonished.

Mei Shengze also said: "Jing Ze, it's actually your senior brother! I'm afraid you already knew about it."

Tang Shen was extremely innocent: "I don't even know when my senior brother will return to the capital!"

On the second day, Lin Jijiu brought the examinees to the Huaxing Hall.Not a moment later, Wang Qin, who was wearing a red official robe, came in from the main entrance of the lecture hall.Although he was wearing an official uniform, he did not wear an official hat.Standing in front of the lecture hall, he scanned the students with clear and peaceful eyes. He should have seen Tang Shen, but he didn't look at him deliberately.

Among the students of Guozijian, half of them came from official families and knew Wang Qin a little bit.The other half are the children of poor families who are serious and honest. They have never seen this kind of court officials.Seeing Wang Qin so young, the poor children represented by Liu Fang were surprised, and their original expressions changed.

However, the students of Guozijian were still calm.

Wang Qin said: "My name is Wang Qin, and my name is Zifeng. I came to the Imperial College today to hold an official class. It is for the friendship between teachers and students, and I have no official status."

The students said in unison: "Listen to Mr. Wang."

Wang Qin officially started teaching.

Lin Jijiu specially invited Wang Qin to give a lecture this time, and what he taught was not the Four Books and Five Classics, but government affairs and current affairs.Of course, it was impossible for Wang Qin to disclose the major events in the court, but he talked and laughed easily, and easily said a few things about the past of the late emperor.Smart students can understand a little bit, have a deeper understanding of the officialdom, and have some preparations for the future palace examination.

In the palace examination at the beginning of April, there will be no examination of stereotyped art, but only the time policy question!

The official class was over, and the students were still immersed in the lecture just now.

Wang Qin's voice was clear and clear: "But there is still confusion."

Several students hesitated for a moment and raised their doubts.Wang Qin answered them one by one.

At the end of the official class, Wang Qin didn't look at Tang Shen more from the beginning to the end. Tang Shen began to suspect that his senior brother was really just teaching the official class this time?

"Wang Zifeng is such a kind person?" Tang Shen always felt that Wang Zifeng had nothing to do with the word kindness.

When he walked out of the Zhixing Hall, a lecturer was waiting for him outside, saying: "Jing Ze, Mr. Wang is waiting for you in Chongzhi Hall!"

Tang Shen came to Chongzhi Hall in a daze, he knocked lightly on the door, Wang Qin said, "Come in."

Tang Shen entered the house, and saw Wang Qin standing next to a picture of an old man riding a bull on the west wall of Chongzhi Hall, looking up.After Tang Shen came in, he turned to look at Tang Shen, his eyes paused for a moment on his face, then fell down, and landed on Tang Shen's shoulder.

Tang Shen: "Brother Zifeng."

Wang Qin stepped forward and reached out to pluck a light-colored flower petal from Tang Shen's left shoulder.

Tang Shen was taken aback.

Wang Qin: "Apricot blossom."

Tang Shen: "Perhaps it fell on me when I walked through the backyard of the Imperial College just now."

Wang Qin said with a smile: "Congratulations, junior, you have been nominated in the apricot list, and you will be second in the exam."

Having been congratulated by countless people these days, Tang Shen already has immunity.But hearing Wang Qin's ordinary words, and looking at Wang Zifeng's smiling face, Tang Shen felt a little embarrassed for no reason.Tang Shen said sincerely: "As senior brother said, the test is not important, what is important is the palace test."

Wang Qin nodded, and suddenly changed the subject: "How is your calligraphy?"

As a modern person, Tang Shen couldn't understand Wang Zifeng's magical brain circuit at once.

No, just now I was talking about taking the test, why did I suddenly ask him how his handwriting practice is going?

Tang Shen muttered in his heart, "I've been practicing for a long time."

"There are still ten days before the palace examination. These days, you come to the mansion every day at the time of application."

"Brother?"

"I'll teach you calligraphy."

"..."

I'm afraid there is something wrong with Wang Zifeng today!

Tang Shen didn't know until a long time later that Wang Qin didn't think that he could win the top three in the palace examination by relying on his real talents!

When asked about policies, it is easy to say, but it is actually more difficult to write than stereotyped essays!The titles of the stereotyped essays are all from the Four Books and Five Classics, even those from poor families who don’t know much about the world’s major events can quote the classics and write a good masterpiece.But what about policy?

Tang Shen is only sixteen this year, in terms of experience, he is not as good as Yao Tong, who is third in the exam, and in terms of family background, he is not as good as this year's member Wang Xiao.Except for these two people, none of the candidates on this year's apricot list who came from official and scholarly families is better than him!Tang Shen still has a chance to be in the top [-], but it is already very difficult to be in the top ten, and it is even more difficult to be in the top three!

However, it is man-made.

During the palace examination, the only examiner is the current emperor, and all other examiners are called "readers". The test papers of 291 candidates were first selected by the test examiner to rank the top ten, and the rankings were arranged in advance, and then handed over to the emperor, who asked the emperor to select the top three.

If Tang Shen can't make it into the top ten, he doesn't even have the qualifications for the emperor to take a look at him.

On the second day of the fourth lunar month, before Mao time, the examinees entered the palace through the Xuanwu side door and came to the Mingyi Hall.On this day, the emperor was naturally absent, and nearly [-] examinees saluted to the vacant throne, and ten examiners handed out papers to invigilate the exam.

Tang Shen, as the second in the test, sat in the second place in the first row.

Even though he had been prepared for a long time, when he saw these four policy issues, he was still stunned.Tang Shen had no experience in politics in his previous life, but in this life, he has been full of calculations, and it has only been three years.Not to mention thinking about these problems with officialdom thinking and giving solutions, Tang Shen didn't even know much about the "Battle of the Tigers" mentioned in the fourth question, only heard about it!

However, Tang Shen's expression remained unchanged, his demeanor was calm, and he began to answer the questions calmly.

Not knowing what to write, he wrote some official words to respect the Holy Majesty and please the Emperor.Tang Shenzai carefully wrote every word, and carefully copied each word into the examination paper according to the format specially stipulated in the palace examination.

It is not difficult to write policy questions, but it is extremely difficult to write good words and format!It wasn't until sunset that Tang Shen wrote the last word. He dried the ink and stopped writing.

After another half an hour, all candidates stopped writing, collected their papers and left the palace.

Tang Shen walked halfway, and Mei Shengze followed.The two looked at each other and smiled wryly.

Mei Shengze: "Jing Ze, what's the matter?"

Tang Shen said sincerely: "It's full, each article has [-] characters."

Mei Shengze: "Okay Tang Jingze, I only wrote [-] characters. Not good, my ranking in this imperial examination will be lower than yours again."

The two laughed.

Newly-promoted scholars filed out from the side gate of Xuanwu, and the examiners took the examination papers with their names smeared, each of them was assigned [-] papers, and they began to grade the papers in rotation.The examiners are all important officials of the imperial court, half of them are senior officials of the second rank, and basically all the six ministers are there, except Wang Qin who is not among them because he avoids suspicion.

Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites is a tall and thin middle-aged man with a beautiful mustache.

During the palace examination, all the examiners saw were the papers written by the examinees themselves.Minister of Rites finished one paper, and then opened the next one, his eyes stopped just as soon as he saw the first line.After a while, he called the Zuo Shilang from the Ministry of Rites, pointed to the paper and said, "Does it look familiar?"

The left servant of the Ministry of Rites took a look, but he couldn't take his eyes off. After reading the entire examination paper, he laughed and called the right servant of the household department: "Master Qin, come and take a look."

This time, all the examiners in the room were alarmed.

The crowd gathered around.Qin Si came over to take a look, his eyes fixed on the paper.

The Minister of Rites stroked his beard and said with a smile, "But Master Wang's handwriting?"

Qin Si smiled wryly and said: "It has seventy percent of the charm of Lord Wang, presumably it is the paper of Lord Wang's junior brother, Tang Shen and Tang Jingze!"

The Minister of Rites pretended to snort: "I haven't practiced this character for a year and a half, but I can't practice it like this! Good for you, Wang Zifeng, you are just making a mark and cheating for personal gain!"

In the main room, all the humerus ministers of the imperial court looked down at the ground and thought: You can tell Wang Zifeng face to face!

The Minister of Rites snorted, and handed over Tang Shen's examination paper to Zuo Shilang.

"The reasons are detailed, Wen Zhengzixiu, let's put it in the top ten candidates."

"Yes."

How can Tang Shen understand the brother's heart!