Second Master Xue of the Red Chamber has space

Chapter 616
The township examination is divided into three exams, and these three exams are not all consecutive, but one exam every two days, and one exam every three days and two nights, so the whole exam will last about nine days.The township examination is held in August and is divided into three sessions.The ninth, [-]th, and [-]th days of the lunar new year are the main sessions. Candidates enter the venue one day before each main session and leave the venue the day after.When taking the exam, bring a test basket, in which you can put pen, ink, inkstone and dry food.

All candidates live in the No. [-] room for two nights every time they take an exam. The No. [-] room is a small house with one grid.Each candidate will be assigned candles, charcoal and other things.Of course, if you write quickly, you can hand in the paper in advance, so you don't have to suffer from the cold night wind.

The most terrible thing is that both the township examination and the general examination are conducted in this way, and regardless of whether it is the spring or autumn examination, candidates are not allowed to wear clips, only single clothes, this is to prevent candidates from wearing clothes Hide something to cheat.

Candidates with better conditions, in order to keep warm, wear clothes made of leather, such as cowhide, sheepskin, deerskin, mink, no matter how luxurious you wear, the clothes you make must follow the rules of the examination room It is a single layer, and the design has to be simpler, and there are no pockets and wide sleeves.

Those who are poorer and can only afford cotton clothes and common clothes will be miserable.Because for a few days in the examination room, everyone gets a fair amount of charcoal fire, and no one will give more. Those commoner students will freeze out some good or bad ones in the evening, weak in body, even nervous and cold. There are not a few people who lost their lives just like that.

Furthermore, every year during the imperial examination, several supernatural events would happen in the Gongyuan.There are still only a few people who freeze to death due to frailty, illness, and most of the people who go in vertically and come out laterally have seen ghosts.

Xue Hong never believed in these things, but there was always a reason for their existence in folklore.People say that the imperial examination is the gateway to fame and fortune. Only those who are truly talented and have not done anything wrong can come out safely.I also heard that there is a rule in the Gongyuan. For example, there will be an exam tomorrow. In the evening, the soldiers in the Gongyuan will set up the incense burner case. There is a special ceremony to sacrifice three big flags. The first one is red. Take it up. Swing vigorously, which means to invite the gods of heaven and earth, and tell the gods of all walks of life that we will have an exam tomorrow and seek talents for the country; the second side is blue, and it is also picked up and swayed, inviting the first ancestors of the family. The ghosts of the family can come to the scene to watch the exams of the descendants of the family; the bad thing is the last flag, which is a black flag, just shakes vigorously in the wind, in order to tell all the candidates who are rushing to the exam Tomorrow will be a big day in their lives for the karmic creditors, lonely souls and ghosts who are related to you. You can come here in a fair and just way, hold the grievances for those who have grievances, and revenge for those who have vengeance.

This also makes sense. If the candidates in the examination room get high school, they will be the pillars of the country in the future. How to corrupt the law when they become officials will be a matter of the future. After passing, it means that this person is okay, he has not done anything harmful to nature, and there is a limit to being an official in the future even if he is bad.

But not all the candidates who came to take the exam were good.Some of them did something wrong to themselves, and some of them had some grudges against their ancestors in the family and ended up being punished on their own heads, and they had to die in the examination room.In short, these are the things in the Gongyuan, and the people living around it say that they can do it for three days and three nights without making any mistakes.

Ordinarily, with Jia Zhu's body so weak, if the exam in the Gongyuan is okay during the day, it is most likely to attract evil spirits at night when there is a cloudy wind. That's why everyone is so nervous and came here to remind Jia Zheng a few words. .

Unexpectedly, Jia Zheng was annoyed first.It turns out that after Jia Zhu suffered several failures in recent years, I don’t know whether it is because he has summed up his experience, or because he has gained more knowledge as he grows older, and the articles he writes are more insightful than before. Then Li Zhixing is in Jia Zheng’s work. As I mentioned earlier, if Master Zhu is going to take the exam this year, it will be fine if he writes such an article, and he will definitely pass the exam.

With Li Zhixing's words, Jia Zheng naturally wanted Jia Zhu to take the exam no matter what. In fact, he was holding his breath to compare with the Xue family. Hearing that his son could finally pass the exam, he was still so sure. Assert, can you be unhappy in your heart?

Jia Zhu's health is not very good, Jia Zheng always knew it.But he never took it to heart. He always felt that it was normal for him to be less educated. Seeing that he went to school and wrote articles on weekdays, he was very good. How could he not even go to the exam?That's why I was annoyed, thinking that these people had ulterior motives in saying such things.

"Heh, everyone, whether you succeed or fail, it's Zhu'er's own good fortune. Mai said that he can walk and write now, even if he can't get out of bed, as a candidate, he should die in the examination room if he dies! Please! Come back, Jia Zheng won't send it off."

"This... father..."

Jia Baoyu was about to say something, but his old man gave him a gouged look. He was so frightened that he quickly shut his mouth.

All the young masters came out of Jia Zheng's office in despair and went back to Baoyu's study.

Baoyu was so anxious that tears came down, and he said angrily: "Father, why doesn't he care about the body of the elder brother at all? I think the elder brother... hey... what should I do?"

Qin Zhong and Baoyu were the closest friends. When he saw Baoyu like this, he persuaded him: "Why should Baoyu be like this? I think that although Brother Zhu is weak, as your father said just now, he is not too sick to get out of bed. Besides, it's not the first time to take the exam, and he is more experienced than others. Those who fail the exam are due to the blessing of their ancestors. If he was born in an ordinary family, that's all. The clothes he wore during the exam won't work? You should be at ease and don't always think of things so badly."

Li Shaoyou also said: "Yeah, Baoyu, don't be anxious first. Anyway, it's just the exam nights, it will pass if you endure it. This is autumn, the weather is not too cold in August, don't be so pessimistic. Well."

After a lot of persuasion, Baoyu finally sighed: "Hey... what can I do? I have to comfort myself."

After Baoyu finished speaking, he looked up at Xue Hong again.Just now everyone was looking at him, only Xue Hong remained silent.In the past, Jia Zhu's health was not good, everyone in the family knew that Xue Hong knew about the pulse case, and he had a good relationship with Miss Ye, and the medicines he gave Jia Zhu were all suitable for the symptoms.

(End of this chapter)