Records of the King of Xin'an County

When more than a thousand students sat down in the test house, they found that it was not as cold as they had imagined.There are almost hundreds of braziers placed in different positions to keep the Kao House warm all the time and benefit everyone.In this way, at least when they answer the paper and write, the grinding ink will not be frozen, and the fingers will not be too frozen to move the pen.

At this time, dozens of Jinwu Guards came in with their knives in hand, and they were scattered in the examination room and stood quietly.Not long after, Guozijian Liu Jijiu and Xin'an County King Li Hui came in with a group of scribes and sat down on the next seat.All the disciples immediately got up to salute them, and the two also nodded their heads.Facing the scrutinizing and scrutinizing eyes, Li Hui sat upright calmly, while the judges looked at the young county king so closely, all of them had complicated and difficult emotions in their hearts.

"Let's start the first round." Liu Jijiu ordered the scribes to hand out today's exam papers.Jinshi Science and Technology Provincial Examination for two days, one test per day.The first session is history reading. There are three different examination papers based on "Historical Records", "Han Shu" and "Hou Han Shu". Examiners can choose the paper they are best at to answer.

Wang Zixian did not decide what exam paper he would do like the other candidates did.He kindly asked the scribe for three different papers, and pondered over these exam questions.One examination paper has five questions, and three examination papers have fifteen questions. Almost no one has ever been able to answer three examination papers in one day. What exactly does this young man want to do? ——The clerk who gave the paper couldn't help but glanced at him, and secretly remembered the appearance of this handsome young man in his heart.

In fact, many talented people may not be able to complete the three test papers, but it is difficult to perform well in every question.Wang Zixian is no exception. At present, his accumulation and ability are still insufficient. Perhaps in another ten or twenty years, he will be able to answer the three examination papers perfectly without any effort.Of course, his goal this time is not to complete the three test papers, but to judge the intention of the questioner from the questions.

All the candidates know that the questions of this provincial examination are written by today's sages.They also understand that as long as their answers can satisfy the sage, it means that Qingyun Road will be unimpeded in the future.However, what kind of answers does the sage want to see?What is he most concerned about?Perhaps it is difficult for many court officials to guess correctly, let alone these immature gestures, which are almost ignorant of saints.

Wang Zixian and Li Hui had discussed His Majesty's plight and policy countermeasures many times, and they understood his thoughts to some extent.However, he still needs to carefully read the subtle meaning contained in the provincial examination questions to determine whether His Majesty the Emperor has other obsessions that are not known to the public.

He quickly discovered something keenly from these topics, and his eyes moved slightly: perhaps, there are some more secret undercurrents that neither Xuan Qi nor he has noticed.And these undercurrents may be one of the reasons why His Majesty the current emperor is somewhat suspicious.If these undercurrents are not resolved, His Majesty the Emperor will never be able to be a loving uncle with peace of mind.No matter how peacefully the Yue Palace and the Pu Palace were kept to themselves, they were very likely to be dragged down by these undercurrents, or even completely swallowed up.

Just as the examiners were carefully reading the questions or began to sharpen the ink, the number of scribes on the observation deck outside gradually increased.Wang Zimu followed behind a group of scholars in green shirts, silently looking for his elder brother.The next moment, he realized that he didn't need to look for it at all, his elder brother was sitting in the most conspicuous position, and anyone could see the young man who behaved calmly at a glance.

He watched his brother's every move closely, and the uneasiness in his heart gradually dissipated a lot.It was almost noon when he came back to his senses due to the hunger in his stomach.He was a little hesitant to leave for a while, go to the nearby Lifang to have some lunch and then come back, but he was worried that he would miss something important.

At this time, Wang Zixian in the test room had already finished answering a paper.But he was not in a hurry to hand in the paper, but took out a few mustaches and baked them on the brazier next to him.It wasn't until these sesame seed pancakes were baked that they were browned on both sides and exuded a tempting aroma that he began to enjoy them with satisfaction.The students next to me were all tempted by the burnt aroma, their mouths were full of saliva, their stomachs were beating like drums, and they no longer had the mood to answer the test.

As examiners, Liu Jijiu and Li Hui were naturally sent to eat by someone.However, looking at the slightly cold corridor food in the food box, Liu Jijiu couldn't help but let out a long sigh, and muttered to Li Hui in a low voice: "This kind of corridor food is not as delicious as the sesame seed cakes offered by the prince! "

Li Hui smiled slightly, took out his food and shared it with Liu Jijiu.His food box was sent by Prince Pu's Mansion. Not only are the dishes extraordinarily rich, but they are also kept warm all the time, with excellent color and fragrance.However, at first he felt a little pity that he could not share the food with his close friends, but now he thinks that he may have underestimated him too much.How can a person who has traveled many times not take good care of himself?

Wang Zimu, who was far away on the viewing platform, could smell the burning aroma of sesame seed pancakes. He hesitated for a moment, and finally turned around to look for something to eat.However, after walking a few steps, he saw two familiar figures, he was startled for a moment, and couldn't help but take two steps forward: "Li Shishilang, Shishilang..."

"So it was you." Princess Changning, who was holding Princess Yong'an, looked back and smiled softly.She is still dressed as a man, but her heroic hair has the unique charm of a girl. When her eyes turn around, it seems that ice and snow can melt: "Shh, don't make a sound. Go, go outside and talk."

The two sisters had just quietly come up, Princess Yong'an hadn't seen her brother yet, so naturally she didn't want to leave.The little guy hugged the railing of the observation deck and refused to go, the fluffy ball was like a small animal.Princess Changning was very helpless and tried to lift her up.However, the weight of the little guy in a heavy winter coat is really heavy.Rao, who has been archery and riding horses all year round, felt her hands a little sore after just holding it up for a while.

Just when she was about to put her sister down, Wang Zimu next to her took Princess Yong'an and held her up high: "I'm sorry to take the liberty..."

The young man didn't dare to look directly into the girl's eyes, his ears were slightly red, and he tried to move his eyes elsewhere, but still quietly lingered on her from time to time.

Princess Changning glanced at him, her red lips curled up, and she smiled happily.She has also reached the age where she can understand the meaning behind these behaviors.It has to be said that she has always found this young man more interesting than her future son-in-law.Every time they meet each other, her actions can make her feel happy from the bottom of her heart.

After Princess Yong'an had seen enough, the three left the viewing platform.Wang Zimu was already so hungry that his stomach groaned softly, which made Princess Yong'an couldn't help turning her head to look around, her face full of curiosity, while Princess Changning's smile became even stronger.

The young man blushed and lowered his head because he felt ashamed, and his mood immediately fell from secretly happy to the bottom.At this time, he heard her say: "We haven't had lunch yet. Come with me and take you to the best restaurants nearby. The five-color wonton stew and soup cakes there, even my brother can't forget..."

At this time, the smell of all kinds of food filled the test house, which was really unbearable.However, because the top of the test house is very breathable, the smell quickly dissipated.Examinees don't have to endure any strange smell anymore, and they can continue to devote themselves to the answer sheet wholeheartedly.And Wang Zixian also completed the second answer sheet and the third answer sheet one after another.

Liu Jijiu and Li Hui walked among the candidates, checking the progress of their answers.When he came to Wang Zixian's side, Liu Jijiu took away the three answer sheets he had completed with lightning speed.Wang Zixian was taken aback for a moment, and wanted to say that he felt unsure about some of the questions, but the old man ignored him, stroking his raised white beard and walking away on his own.

Li Hui smiled softly, with a bit of ridicule in his eyes, and at the same time expressed his helplessness.After all, he was just an assistant examiner, and the chief examiner had already been staring at someone for a long time, waiting for him to finish answering all the papers.

Seeing this, Wang Zixian could only shake his head and sigh softly.However, even with a sigh, he was still full of confidence, which made the people around him even more stressed.

At this time, the sky was already dark, and the first history reading exam was officially over.Regardless of whether the answer sheet has been completed or not, the scribes mercilessly collected the answer sheet.As a result, for a while, the expressions on the faces of all the candidates were different, or they were full of confidence, or they were overshadowed.After Liu Jijiu and Li Hui left with the scribes holding the papers, the Jinwu guards changed shifts, and all the people in the examination room got up one after another, moving their bodies that were almost stiff.

After the students returned from the evening meal and took turns to change clothes and wash, a tall and thick barrier was erected outside the test dormitory.From a distance, it looks like a huge tent.Shujiu was sheltered from the cold wind, and everyone was wrapped in heavy winter clothes and fell asleep amidst the warmth.

Early the next morning, the big tent was quietly removed, and it returned to the appearance of yesterday.Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the second time affairs policy exam officially started.Wang Zixian reads five questions: one is the strategy of the people's livelihood, the other is the troubles of the frontier, the third is the change of tribute, the fourth is the law of supervision, and the fifth is to ask Zhou's external emphasis on internal emphasis and Qin's external emphasis on internal emphasis .Reminiscent of the exam questions in the first history reading, he felt that he should have touched the hidden worries in His Majesty's heart.

Seeing that he wrote like a dragon, almost in one go, neither Liu Jijiu nor Li Hui were surprised.While other people were carefully considering their words, wishing to be cautious enough, he was as smooth as a cloud, with a calm demeanor, and even the mere swipe of a pen seemed to reveal a sense of chic, which was enough to show that he had a plan in mind.Not only many examiners in the examination hall secretly admired it, but the scribes on the observation deck were even more admiring.

"Yesterday, the prince gave a full answer to three papers, and today he answered so smoothly, which shows how rich he has accumulated in daily life! Alas, I was too short-sighted in the past. I didn't know him at all, but I followed what others said, Slandering behind his back that he is only famous because of his background and connections..."

"Yeah, it would be great if I could get to know him sooner. Such a character, after becoming a first-class leader, is not something ordinary people like you and I can get in touch with! However, I think this king will hold a meeting in the future Let’s talk about it? We’ll have to work hard to get some posts!”

"I heard that the place where he lives is called...'Vine Garden'? Why don't we visit it a few more times before the list is published? No, I was thinking about it, and this matter can't wait. Let's go tomorrow Go to visit early in the morning, and you must not wait until the guest from the rattan garden arrives like a cloud!"

"That's right! That's how it should be!"

The hermits who had made good friends with Mr. Song also quietly came to the viewing platform for a while, and then murmured together: "The old boy would rather write music in the vine garden than come over to have a look. This disciple is so relieved. We worried about him for nothing!"

"Since you're here, how can you come here for nothing? Leave all the disciples behind, and the rest of us will go to Vine Garden to look for him! No matter what, at least we should get some good wine and food to entertain us!"

Not to mention how Wang Zixian's reputation spread again in Beijing, after the second exam was over, he said goodbye to the candidates he knew, and went back to the vine garden to rest.And even he probably didn't expect that Liu Jijiu immediately took the answer sheets he had read, picked out [-] or [-] copies each, and went straight to the Hall of Liangyi to ask to see the saint.Li Hui was a little helpless, and ordered the clerk to follow with other answer sheets.