The Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

"Look at that man."

Fang Yun raised his chin to the person in front of the bronze furnace in the holy temple. Everyone looked there, and they were all speechless. They looked at the person silently and walked forward silently.

An old man wearing a tattered green robe embroidered with clouds stood in front of the copper stove, his hands hanging down, his head drooping downward, his body swaying slightly, his eyes closed, as if he was dozing off. His hair was like a hen's coop that had just been shaved by a hen, his beard was as messy as a large piece of bitter gourd silk tangled together, and a noodle hung prominently on his gray beard.

Fang Yun almost laughed out loud when he saw this scene. Although he had known that the beggar uncle was famous for a long time, he did not expect it to be so exaggerated.

However, no matter how messy the beggar uncle's beard and hair are, there is not a trace of dust or oil on them, because he has been clean from dust since he arrived in Hanlin. Even if Zhao Jingkong jumped into the oil and came out again, his body would still be clean after the blink of an eye.

Zhao Jingkong's clothes were stained with a lot of oil, which was particularly dazzling in the bright morning sun.

"It's true." Fang Yun sighed.

"My eyes have been opened, but... alas... I still won't say some words." Chang Wanxu said.

Several scholars nodded lightly, and everyone knew that Chang Wanxu was being rude to say that Zhao Jingkong was a bit rude. However, Zhao Jingkong's impoliteness did not hurt anyone, and Chang Wanxu also knew that too much criticism would make him rude.

"This kind of courtesy sometimes doesn't matter if it's lost or not." Fang Yun's expression changed slightly, and his gaze towards Zhao Jingkong seemed to imply something.

One person whispered: "It is said that this person did not get along with the late emperor and the old emperor. He committed suicide in order to avoid being jealous of the late emperor and the old emperor."

"This is the most likely."

"It's a pity. If he has a strong temperament, I'm afraid he will be the second Li Wenying."

"Everyone has his own ambitions. Maybe the beggar uncle has another world in his heart."

"It's hard to say..."

Fang Yun and others were talking, and some of the scholars around him listened attentively, while others were indifferent. No one found it strange. This was completely different from Chen Zhiyuan's attitude towards Fang Yun. They were commenting, while Chen Zhiyuan was making arrogant accusations.

Fang Yun sighed lightly, others don't know, but yesterday he heard Dong Wencong and others say that back then, the Qing Kingdom alienated Zhao Jingkong from the late emperor and the emperor, and also used people from Juwen Pavilion and the Za family to continuously attack Zhao Jingkong. The three of them became tigers, and finally This led to Zhao Jingkong being in seclusion for more than ten years. It was not until he became a bachelor that Zhao Jingkong reappeared in Jingguo, but he had become a complete idler and did not even attend the funeral of the late emperor.

Because it was Li Wenying who replaced Zhao Jingkong, Fang Yun had a natural affection for Zhao Jingkong. No matter how the beggar uncle was, he was still a bachelor, which made people feel at ease.

All the candidates arrived near the copper furnace one after another.

In addition to Zhao Jingkong, there were four people standing in front of the copper furnace: the inspector of the Holy Academy, the prefect of Jiangzhou, and the secretary of the Academy.

The remaining officials stood on both sides and did not take the main seat.

After everyone arrived, a ceremony very familiar to Fang Yun began. First, Gezhou Mu led the people to pay homage to the saints, then Zhao Jingkong recited the "Sacrifice to the All Saints", and finally, the Siye of Jingguo Academy announced the rules of the examination room.

Zhao Jingkong originally looked drowsy, but he was extremely serious when reciting "Sacred Texts for Sacrifice to All". If he listened with his eyes closed, he would be no different from other great scholars. However, after reciting, he returned to his usual weak appearance, with his eyes closed, standing and dozing off, and his body swaying slightly from time to time.

Fang Yun looked at the scholars around him. The average age was at least ten years older than the previous candidates for the government examination, and he felt sad.

After the ceremony, all acquaintances left one after another.

Fang Yun looked back before entering the examination room. The beggar uncle was sitting on a chair and fast asleep. The expressions of the officials around him were more helpless than the others.

Fang Yun smiled and continued to find his own examination room.

After a while, Fang Yun found his own examination room, which was not much different from the examination room for the scholar examination. There were necessities such as beds, tables, chairs, and toilets, but nothing else.

Fang Yun quickly organized everything, then stood behind the table and waited quietly for the person to hand out the test papers.

In the examination, poetry will be tested first, then the meaning of scriptures will be tested, and finally policy theory will be tested. Each subject will be tested for one day.

Not long after, the sound of wheels grinding on the ground was heard, and people stopped and walked.

Fang Yun turned his head slightly in the direction of the car because he heard multiple candidates whispering and heard a rare word.

"Test randomly."

Fang Yun didn't even realize it for the first time. He didn't remember what it was until he thought about it carefully.

Normally, the questions for the three subjects are taken one day at a time in order, but for the random test, questions from the three subjects of Poetry, Classical Meanings, and Policy Theory were given out together, and the time was also three days.

Fang Yun knew very well that there may not seem to be much difference between the two, but random exams test one's concentration and choices very much, because different questions can easily distract people. When writing poems, one will inevitably think about the meaning or meaning of the classics. Thinking about the policy will lead to confusion, causing the contents of the three subjects to influence each other, and ultimately leading to a lower rating.

This is not the most fatal thing. The most fatal thing is that once you find that your thinking is affected, you will fall into self-blame and regret.

Fang Yun thought for a moment and quickly made a decision.

The carriage appeared, and the guard handed Fang Yun a thick stack of paper. After Fang Yun thanked him, he sat down with the test paper.

The first page is written with the title of the poem and the requirements for meter and subject matter, while the second page is blank paper.

Fang Yun put away the thick test paper and only took the first and second pages and put them in front of him, as if he didn't know that there were questions on classics and theory or policy discussions behind them.

After reading the title of the poem, Fang Yun began to think slowly.

Writing poems by oneself requires a long process. Fang Yun kept thinking, considering the subject matter, rhythm, structure, artistic conception, thought, intention and other aspects. If you want to write a good poem, one day is not too much time.

In the process of thinking, once the corner of his eye touched the stack of test papers, Fang Yun's mood immediately changed slightly, as if there was a force urging him to look at the questions of classics and policy papers, so that he could have more time to think.

However, from beginning to end, Fang Yun did not hesitate, and finally even pressed the paperweight on the thick test papers and continued to think seriously.

One hour, two hours...

"Ah..."

A cry suddenly sounded and disappeared suddenly. Fang Yun's heart shuddered, realizing that someone was out of control and isolated by the power of the temple.

This kind of random test method itself would not make people lose control of their emotions, but this was a juren test. More than half of the candidates failed the test more than three times, and the pressure was unimaginable.

What's more, even if it was not a random test, every year there were people who went crazy or even committed suicide before and after the test.

A scholar is not a juren, and he does not have a literary courage. If he wants to answer the questions smoothly, he must rely on his own concentration. This kind of random test will not work for a juren at all, and the literary courage can solve it with a shock.

Fang Yun never used the power of the literary courage, because he had made a decision when the papers were distributed. If he could not even pass the random test, he would not be qualified to be a juren in front of the saint, and he would not be qualified to mobilize the literary courage.

Not long after, there was a cry, which disappeared quickly.

"Choice difficulty is indeed an incurable disease. With the pressure, this random test is simply ruthless." Fang Yun thought to himself, and pressed the inkstone on the thick test paper again.

Fang Yun's emotions fluctuated at first, getting bigger and bigger, but after reaching a certain level, they slowly subsided. In the end, Fang Yun seemed to be completely unable to see the thick test paper, and only the poem topic was left in his eyes.