The Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

"What? Fang Zhenguo gave up the exam?"

Most of the candidates' exam rooms were far away from Fang Yun, so they couldn't see Fang Yun leaving from the front, nor did they know that Fang Yun had left long ago. They all couldn't believe the news.

"Impossible! You must be talking nonsense!"

"Really! If you don't believe it, ask your family. The whole world knows it."

"What happened? Tell me about it."

So the people outside the exam room told the details of what happened in the past few days.

All the candidates were very sorry. Chen Zhiyuan clenched his fists and tried hard to control himself from laughing. Originally, he thought he could only compete for the top five in Dayuan Prefecture, but now that Fang Yun is gone, and his three subjects have been answered very smoothly, then he has a great chance to become the first in Jiangzhou, the first place in a state!

A person with a Dayuanfu accent said, "Everyone can give up the exam, why can't Fang Yun? You don't have to do this."

Chen Zhiyuan looked at the person who was speaking and said, "If I remember correctly, you are Chang Wanxu of Dayuanfu. We talked before entering the examination room on the first day of the first month. You are Fang Yun's classmate." Chen Zhiyuan pronounced the word "chat" very heavily.

Chang Wanxu said, "It's me."

Chen Zhiyuan said, "Brother Chang's words just now are too biased! Do you think Fang Yun is a mediocre person like you and me or an unknown newcomer? He is a role model for literati and the spiritual leader of all the literati in Jiangzhou. Do you understand the significance of his giving up the exam? The best scholar in my Jiangzhou and my Jingguo gave up the exam, so what happened to all the students in my Jingguo? Is he calling on the students in Jingguo to give up the exam? Do you think the queen mother is so angry for no reason?"

"Humph, the so-called confinement of the queen mother is obviously to protect him and let him calm down and hone his skills for a while." Chang Wanxu said.

"I admit this, but do you dare to say that the Queen Mother is not really angry?"

Chang Wanxu was speechless. Not to mention the Queen Mother, he himself also felt a little angry and confused after confirming that Fang Yun had given up the exam, because Fang Yun was already half of the spiritual pillar of Jingguo students, and no one could immediately accept this fact, so it was normal to be angry.

Chen Zhiyuan continued: "You who speak for Fang Yun have forgotten the most important thing!"

"Oh? Brother Chen, please teach me." Chang Wanxu said.

"Fang Yun is a former juren! Don't you know what it means that a former juren gave up the juren exam?" Chen Zhiyuan's voice suddenly rose.

The surrounding area suddenly became quiet within a few feet, and no one spoke out against it.

Chang Wanxu's face changed drastically, and a nameless fire rushed out of his heart. For the first time, he hated someone so much.

The morning of the fourth day of the first lunar month was sunny, but Chang Wanxu felt cold to the bone.

"Why, Brother Chang, you have nothing to say? I don't mean to attack Fang Yun, I just feel sorry for him. I hope he can really shoulder the responsibility of being a role model for scholars." Chen Zhiyuan said with a smile.

Chang Wanxu looked at Chen Zhiyuan and said, "I hope so. Goodbye." Then he left in a hurry.

Chen Zhiyuan said loudly: "Although Fang Yun made mistakes, his flaws do not outweigh his merits. In my heart, his poems are still unmatched and the best in Jingguo! I will write an article tomorrow to praise Fang Yun's literary reputation. I hope he can survive this disaster and go to a higher level, and continue to lead the literati of Jingguo out of the haze!"

"Brother Chen is indeed a gentleman! He is worthy of being one of the scholars in Jiangzhou. He will surely be in a high position in the temple in the future!"

Some people agreed, but some people looked at him with a hint of contempt. It is normal for Chen Zhiyuan to use Fang Yun to fight for his literary reputation. As long as there is no slander, it is understandable. But judging from the situation, Chen Zhiyuan has already pointed out the saint before the saint. I don't know what he will say in the future. He will definitely take the opportunity to step on Fang Yun to get to the top, which is disgusting.

Chen Zhiyuan criticized Fang Yun before the exam, but now he put away his radicalism and became approachable. He smiled and talked with everyone. When talking about Fang Yun, he basically said good things and occasionally pointed out Fang Yun's small mistakes.

Many ordinary scholars flocked to where Chen Zhiyuan was. As the champion of a state, Chen Zhiyuan was also proficient in policy essays. He would surely rise to prominence in the officialdom in the future and was worthy of being befriended by everyone.

On the road from the capital to Dayuan Prefecture, a convoy was driving towards Dayuan Prefecture. One of the vehicles was particularly large, covered by a green dragon cloth curtain, and was pulled by 18 dragon horses.

On the solid ground, the dragon horses and armored oxen moved forward at a very fast speed.

On an armored ox cart, several soldiers whispered.

"Alas, I would rather go to the battlefield and fight with the monsters than do this kind of job. The key is that without the poem to strengthen my body, it is really uncomfortable to be so bumpy."

"Alas, there is no way, the etiquette cannot be violated. Even if the Minister of Literature can fly to Dayuan Mansion, since he is an imperial envoy, he must have the imperial envoy's guard of honor. But I think the Minister of Literature is not very enthusiastic about catching Fang Yun. The Queen Mother asked him to travel overnight, but he set off on the third day of the first lunar month, rested for an hour at noon, and simply stayed in Niancheng at night. He will definitely not arrive today, and I am afraid he will arrive on the evening of the fifth day of the first lunar month."

"The Minister of Literature is a well-known good guy, so you should say less behind his back."

"Hehe, I just complained a few words, it's harmless. I don't want Fang Zhenguo to be arrested, what a pity."

"Alas..."

The sun sets, the lights come on, and the night of Dayuan City is more lively than usual.

Thousands of scholars from Jiangzhou gathered in Dayuan Mansion, waiting for the announcement of the results.

These people were very tired after the imperial examination. They slept soundly during the day and woke up at night to call their friends to go to the red-light district to have a romantic story, or to busy restaurants and teahouses to chat. The famous scholars or those with good family backgrounds took part in various literary gatherings to discuss the questions of the imperial examination.

Different from previous years, today's hundreds of cultural gatherings in Dayuan Mansion seemed a bit dull. No matter what the students said, they would always talk about Fang Yun.

"I heard that the Holy Court has turned into a battlefield! The literary list was extremely brutal. Countless poems were on the list, and countless poems were suppressed. As for the list, it can be described as a river of blood. Literati from various countries wrote articles and fought fiercely for Fang's destiny."

"That's a place where only the best people can compete. It's better for us to stay away from that kind of place. If there is a discussion about the holy way, we scholars must pay attention to it, otherwise the literary palace will be shaken."

"I originally expected that after Fang Yun became a candidate, he would be proud of the Holy Academy's literary rankings, but who knew this would happen. But we people in Jingguo don't need to be discouraged, we just have to wait a few more years."

"Actually, Fang Yun's poems and essays have long been on the literary list. It's a pity that he was not officially a civil servant at that time, otherwise his previous poems would have been enough for him to earn a lot of 'literary money'. Even just thinking about it would make people envious."

"There is a scholar next door who can enter the literary list. He is constantly publishing news about the literary list and the essay list. Come on, let's go and take a look."

"Walk!"

All the scholars in Dayuan Mansion were busy, only Fang Yun was reading in the world of strange books. From the second day to the fourth day of the third day, Fang Yun read more than 3,000 books of varying thickness, covering history, Military, economics, politics, mathematics, physics, chemistry and other aspects have greatly broadened my horizons.

There is a lot of knowledge that cannot be used in Shengyuan Continent, but Fang Yun feels that these things are beneficial and allow him to make connections.

After reading the third volume of "On War", Fang Yun retired from Qishu World to rest.

Fang Yun stood up and moved his body, but his mind was thinking about what he had learned today.

Suddenly, Fang Yun looked out the window to listen, and then walked quickly outside. His face became worse and worse, and at the end he looked as sinking as water.

With a clang, Fang Yun pulled the door bolt, opened the door, and said to the soldiers outside: "Please come in, Mrs. Wang."

The two soldiers at the door were frightened when they saw Fang Yun's face. Fang Yun's identity was just that, but General Chen Xibi had always said that if something happened, he might be whipped.

One person immediately shouted towards the street: "Marquis Wen has ordered that woman to come in! What are you looking at? Send Mrs. Wang over quickly!"

"Right away! Right now!"

Not long after, two soldiers escorted a middle-aged woman. This woman was dressed in light red fine brocade clothes, with a golden phoenix and jade hairpin on her head. She had light makeup on her face and had a dignified appearance. Only the subtle crow's feet at the corners of her eyes gave away her age.

Fang Yun cupped his hands and said: "Are you Mr. Wang's wife? Mr. Wang once taught me classics and meaning in the state liberal arts academy. He even burned his life to use the Blue Blood Pill Heart in the battle with the turtle demon general. You are a person I admire. You If you have anything to say, say it directly. As long as I can do it, I will never refuse!”

Mrs. Wang's eyes turned red, she pulled out a handkerchief from her sleeve, gently wiped the wet corners of her eyes, and said, "No wonder I praise you every day. I didn't expect that you are, as he said, a real person who values ​​feelings. I This woman cannot speak. If I have offended you, I hope Marquis Wen will forgive me."

"But it doesn't matter." Fang Yun said with a smile.

Mrs. Wang immediately said: "Then I'll tell you the truth. Just a few days ago, our master was called to the government office and told that your four longevity fruits were delivered and asked me to go and discuss how to divide them. You also know, At that time, five people used the Blue Blood Pill Heart."

"It is indeed five people." Fang Yun said.

Mrs. Wang said: "These five people were willing to spend ten years of their lives to kill monsters. Naturally, they were all real scholars. Our master said that actually everyone among the five wanted the longevity fruit, but in the end they all firmly gave up."

Fang Yun sighed softly. He still remembered the determination of the five people who were elected. These five people may not be able to become Jinshi in their lifetime, but their literati heart is no less than those famous people. And these five people were able to restrain their desires in front of the longevity fruit, which is really a model for literati.

"What happened next?" Fang Yun said.

Mrs. Wang said: "If you don't say that scholars are hard-core, our master said that if someone was too selfish and wanted to get the longevity fruit, it might be better, and everyone would compete, and then four people would be happy and one person would be unlucky. But at that time, The five of them were all moved by the selflessness of the other four, and all of them had the stubborn temper of scholars, and no one wanted them."

Fang Yun smiled slightly, you could say those five people were pedantic, you could say those five people were stubborn, but they were all true gentlemen.

"Prefect Sun couldn't take care of it, so he simply let a small official take charge. Without the Jinshi to hold him down, no one could take care of these five people, and they kept dragging them. But on the first day of the new year, a man who claimed to be the 'housekeeper' of a famous family in the capital I found one of them and said that I wanted to buy the life-extending fruit at a high price. Who can sell it? "Do you think this is true?" said Mrs. Wang.

"You're right." Fang Yun immediately thought of the "housekeeper" in the capital. He was from a family with the surname Guan. He was often misunderstood, but it was actually memorable.

"Of course he didn't sell it, so he told Zhuo Fu and others about it on the first day of the Lunar New Year. But I didn't expect that on the night of the first day of the Lunar New Year, that man actually went to our house."