The happy little days of the Ye family

After returning to the academy, the three brothers were promoted from Class A to the Tongsheng Class.

My classmates were all students preparing to take the imperial examination, and there was quite a big age difference between them.

The youngest is only 12 years old and hasn't started growing yet. He looks like a little kid.

The oldest one, who looked to be about the same age as Ye Donglin and Tang Xiaojing, was said to have participated in the college entrance examinations several times and was frowning all day long.

Seeing several older classmates, the three brothers felt a sense of urgency. They didn't want to continue studying in the academy at such an old age.

Compared with the previous Class A, the overall atmosphere in the Tongsheng Class is more tense, and everyone is more introverted than the others.

The three brothers passed the examination for becoming Tongsheng at a young age, and they were initially a little proud of themselves. However, after finishing a few sets of real test papers, everyone felt heavy-hearted.

These topics not only cover a wide range of knowledge allusions, but also have higher requirements for poetry and songs.

As for knowledge and allusions, it’s not too difficult. The three brothers have read a lot of books, so basically nothing is difficult for them.

Poetry and songs are indeed a weakness of the three.

The three brothers' writing styles are all pragmatic, focusing on understanding and applying classic works. As for poetry and songs, they can only do so in a conventional way.

Although the three of them read a lot of books on a daily basis, their family did not have a deep cultural heritage to support them, so they naturally could not compare with some children from aristocratic families.

Previously, they had participated in the county and prefectural examinations with confidence thanks to their solid basic knowledge.

But now, facing such a difficult assessment as the college entrance examination, everyone can't help but feel anxious.

The three brothers only hoped that the examiner who set the questions this time would have a more pragmatic style and preferences.

If you don’t have enough talent, you can only make up for it with hard work. During these three months, the three brothers entered a frantic state of learning.

The three of them got up earlier than the chickens and slept later than the dogs every day. Soon they lost a lot of weight, which made Ye Qingqing and the other mothers very distressed.

Then the chickens at home suffered, and they had to kill one every few days to feed the children.

In the intense study day after day, time quietly came to the Mid-Autumn Festival.

At night, the three brothers went to the river to release lanterns.

Xiaoqi had already written the words "high school scholar" on his lantern.

After putting the lantern into the river, he kept muttering to himself, praying to all the gods to bless him to pass the college entrance examination.

Although Xiao Shitou and Chenchen were not as exaggerated as him, they also wrote several sentences on the lanterns, expressing their hope that they would pass the examination and become scholars.

Then the two brothers prayed silently in their hearts, hoping that they could pass the examination and become scholars smoothly.

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival. The moon in the sky is big, round and especially bright.

On the way back, Xiaoqi was very excited. He pulled Chenchen and Xiaoshitou to write poems facing the moon in the sky.

"It would be a waste if we didn't write a poem for such a beautiful moon. Come on, everyone, write a poem about the moon."

With people and the moon reunited, everyone was in a good mood and soon finished a poem about the moon.

I don’t know if it’s because he’s in a good mood, but he looks a little more lively than usual.

After the festival, the three brothers got ready and set out for the provincial capital to take part in the entrance examination the next day in high spirits.

Just like the previous provincial examinations, Tang Xiaojing and the other two fathers accompanied the children to the provincial capital.

The examination hall for the college examination was the same place as the previous provincial examination. Tang Xiaojing had already booked four spacious rooms in the previous inn.

After a night's rest, the three brothers went to the government office to register early the next morning with two other classmates, Wang Yong and Yang Yi, in high spirits.

Wang Yong and Yang Yi are the ones who will be guarantors for this college entrance examination.

The academy examination is divided into two sessions. The first session is the main examination, which mainly tests the Four Books and Five Classics, the Book of Filial Piety and the Analects of Confucius, as well as five-character and six-rhyme poems.

The second round was a re-examination, which tested essays from the Four Books and five-character six-rhyme poems.

Unlike the previous provincial examinations, both exams must be completed regardless of how well you do in the first one.

After signing up, no one spoke, and several of the teenagers looked a little more nervous.

Wang Yong saw that the atmosphere was a little tense, and suggested with a smile:

"I heard there's a poetry gathering at Yipinlou today. How about we go over there and learn some new things?"

Xiao Qi was interested in going over to take a look, and looked at Chen Chen and Xiao Shitou next to him with anticipation:

"I've never been to a poetry reading like this before. How about we go over and take a look?"

Little Stone was not interested, so he shook his head and said, "I'd better go back and read a book."

"With my level, I won't go and embarrass myself. I'll go back to the inn and read." Chenchen also refused.

Since the two brothers didn't want to go, Xiaoqi had no interest anymore and obediently followed them back to the inn to read together.

After returning, the three brothers did not step out of the inn for several days. Every day they were either reading books or solving problems.

In the blink of an eye, the day of the college entrance examination arrived.

Tang Xiaojing and the other two were more nervous than the children. They got up before dawn and prepared breakfast and toiletries early.

Seeing that the child had gotten up, he hurried over to check all the things needed for the exam.

When the sun just came out, the three brothers took their exam baskets and walked towards the examination room facing the rising sun.

The examination room was filled with a tense and serious atmosphere. After sitting down, the three brothers' heartbeats involuntarily quickened.

The originally energetic little face also showed some obvious anxiety.

It was not until they got the test papers and saw the questions on them that Chenchen and the other two breathed a sigh of relief.

Thank God, this time the test questions were not very difficult, and there was only one question about poetry and songs.

After finishing the first exam, the three brothers came out with smiles on their faces, and on the way they couldn't wait to discuss the exam questions.

After checking the answers, the smiles on everyone's faces became even brighter, and they were full of hope for this college entrance examination.

A few days later, the second exam began quietly.

The moment they saw the test paper, the three brothers frowned. The difficulty was obviously much higher than the first exam, and the poetry part accounted for a large proportion.

After taking a few deep breaths, the three brothers, who were not far apart, began to grind the ink in unison.

Xiao Qi bit the pen, recalled the poems he had memorized during this period, carefully broke them down and rethought them.

Xiao Shitou and Chenchen relied on their deep understanding of classic works to tackle questions in other parts first.

The most difficult poems and songs are placed at the end.

During the exam, the candidates were concentrating on answering questions, and the examination room was so quiet that the only sound was the rustling of pens.

There were two questions on lyrics and poetry, and both were quite difficult.

The three brothers racked their brains and thought hard, and finally wrote two acceptable poems.

It took a lot of time to write the poems, and the three brothers were among the last to hand in their papers.

Compared to the first exam when they were all full of smiles, this time all three of them walked out of the exam room with frowns on their brows.

Seeing that the children did not look well, Tang Xiaojing and the other two did not dare to ask any more questions and hurriedly took the children back to rest.