Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it is the second day of February in the fifteenth year of Zhengde. The weather is gradually getting warmer in mid-spring, and the peach blossoms in the courtyard are blooming brilliantly, bathed in the hazy spring rain.

As the ninth day of February approaches, the atmosphere of the Beijing-China Examination is getting stronger and stronger. In the streets and alleys of Mingshifang, as well as in teahouses and restaurants, you can see candidates wearing straight skirts everywhere.

Whether it is the literati circle or ordinary people, the topic of discussion after dinner is the examination. The examination of the Ministry of Rites is held every three years, and the examination of Jinke is a bit special, that is, the emperor is still stranded in Jinling and has not returned, which means that after the examination

It is impossible for the palace examination to be held as scheduled, which has rarely happened since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Many officials who are not afraid of death have written letters accusing the emperor of today for not doing his job properly, violating the ancestral system, and the country will be ruined. The rhetoric is exaggerated, as if

If the emperor fails to preside over the palace examination on time, the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed.

In addition, since the Spring Festival Gala on the Lantern Festival, Xu Jin's reputation has become very famous, and he has become the favorite to be at the top of the examination. The odds offered by major gambling houses have been as low as 4 out of 10. The lower the odds,

It shows that the more people bet, in fact the amount of money betting on Xu Jin’s high school membership has reached as high as 50,000 to 60,000 taels. Once Xu Jin fails the exam, the bookmaker will make a lot of money. Of course,

If Xu Jin passes the Huiyuan exam in the end, the gambling house will have to pay a huge sum of 20,000 to 30,000 taels.

Of course, all this has nothing to do with Xu Jin. Since the Spring Festival Appreciation Party on the Lantern Festival, he has declined all invitations and visits and plunged into the sea of ​​questions before the exam. He is determined to win this exam. Previously, he had spent

Maozhong gave Xu Jin dozens of questions on the Four Books and Five Classics drawn up by Fei Hong. He now has to complete two eight-legged essays, a policy question, and two test poems every day. The training intensity is not ordinary.

In addition, the only thing that has changed in life is that there are more people in the family, and wherever there are people, there are rivers and lakes. The more people there are, the more complex the rivers and lakes will naturally be, and the more struggles there will naturally be.

For example, right now, Chu Xia is carrying a bowl of freshly stewed gastrodia and pig brain soup, tiptoeing towards Xu Jin's study, looking left and right like a radar, as if he were a thief.

Chu Xia is fifteen years old this year. She has obviously dressed up carefully today. She has applied a thin layer of makeup on her face, which makes her features even more picturesque. Her skin is white and rosy, and her two cherry lips are like peach blossoms in the courtyard.

Chu Xia hid under the peach blossom tree outside the study for a while and observed, but did not see the elusive Yue'er. She couldn't help but be overjoyed. She walked out of the study in three steps and then knocked on the door: "Master..."

As a result, the door of the room opened with a sound, and Yue'er, with her handkerchief tucked around her waist, came out, looking like the chief manager of the Xu Mansion, and said calmly with a straight face, "Chu Xia, what's the matter?"

Chu Xia was immediately dumbfounded and said in a low voice: "The gastrodia and pig brain soup that the madam asked me to stew is ready. I will bring it to the master for you to drink!"

Yue'er couldn't help but said, reaching out to take the tray held by Chu Xia, and said: "The master is busy preparing for the exam now, so you can't disturb me. From now on, you sisters don't need to bring the master's food to the study. I will naturally go to the kitchen to get it. Let's go."

, don’t stay here!”

Chu Xia glanced into the room unwillingly, and then left angrily. Yue'er snorted coldly at the former's back, then turned around and entered the study, closed the door, and brought the Gastrodia Pig Brain Soup to the desk with a sweet smile: "

Master, I've stewed Gastrodia and Pig Brain soup for you, drink it while it's hot to replenish it!" After saying that, he quickly filled a small bowl.

Xu Jin couldn't help but secretly laugh. He had naturally heard the conversation outside the study just now, and this was not the first time such a scene had happened. He put down his pen, took the bowl, took a sip, and said with a smile: "It tastes good!"

The beautiful girl's smile became even sweeter, and she turned to the back to give Xu Jin a pat on the shoulder. Since the early spring and early summer, Yue'er's daily work has become much easier. This girl is guarding the study room and outside every day, watching as if guarding against thieves.

, don’t let early spring and early summer come close.

Yue'er's behavior was undoubtedly a bit childish in Xu Jin's opinion, but it did save him a lot of trouble. He was about to try it out, and he didn't want to deal with the attentive little cabbage every day.

Xu Jin was drinking soup in the study. Chu Xia, who had failed to infiltrate again, returned to the kitchen angrily. His sister Chu Chun was burning the stove and preparing hot water. Seeing this, she couldn't help but chuckled: "Have you been stopped again?"

Chu Xia said angrily: "It's unreasonable. Yue'er's little hooves have gone too far to deceive others. This time she even hid in the master's study. I'm so angry!"

Chuchun shook his head and said: "Sister, forget it, the exam is about to take place, so you better not disturb me."

Chu Xia said angrily: "Sister, look at what kind of work we are doing now. People are not working hard to stay here just to be kitchen girls. In the past, we were waited on in the Duke's Mansion. It's better now. It's the other way around.

Waiting on others."

Chu Xia Tianran said: "I think it's pretty good now!"

"Hey, sister, what can I say to you? Do you really want to be an inferior maid who waits for others all your life? Look at her hands. They have become thick and ugly. They will turn yellow in a few years.

What a shame!"

"No, your skin is still the same as before!" Chuchun grabbed her sister's hand and looked at it carefully, her confused look was naturally cute.

Chu Xia couldn't help but stamp her feet and said: "Sister, when will your warm-hearted character change? I'm so mad at you. Alas, if I don't tell you, I don't believe that Yue'er's little hooves can guard her all the time.

Next to the master."

After Chu Xia finished speaking, she walked out of the kitchen with a gust of fragrance, presumably to continue her reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance struggle with Yue'er.

Chuchun shook her head helplessly and continued to sit quietly in front of the stove, adding firewood and boiling water.

Although Chuchun is the older sister, she has a quiet temperament, is happy-go-lucky, easily satisfied, and has no ambition. Chuchun feels that her current life is actually quite good. [Biquge www.biqugexx.co] The master has an easy-going temperament and has no airs, and the wife is also very kind.

Even Na Yue'er is a sharp-tongued person, so she lives a very relaxed and comfortable life here. Unlike the Duke's Mansion, which has many rules and regulations, she has to be careful in everything she does, and sometimes she has to accompany guests.

Of course, she was bought into the Duke's Mansion in the early spring and early summer of the year before last. During this year, she has been undergoing training. She has very few opportunities to accompany guests. At most, she can perform her skills and drink a few glasses of wine with the guests. There is no need to sleep with them.

.However, Chuchun knew that if she continued to stay in the Duke's Mansion, it would be a matter of time before she slept with the guests, or she might be given away by the Duke, because several maids who had been trained at the same time were given away.

Therefore, when Chu Chun learned that her sister was going to be given to Xu Jin, she was not surprised but overjoyed, because the recipient was not a bad old man, nor a vulgar martial artist, but a young, handsome and talented young man. Because of this, she was

Then he cooperated with his sister in acting and tried to stay.

Although she rarely has the opportunity to come into contact with the master now, Chuchun is quite satisfied with her current life. However, she knows that her sister is different from herself. Chuxia does not have such low expectations for life, and she is an independent and stubborn person. She probably won't do it.

She will never give up when she reaches the position of aunt.

…

In a blink of an eye, it is the ninth day of February, and the Spring Festival Competition in the fifteenth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty has begun. There are three exams in total, each of three days, for nine consecutive days. The entrance is on the ninth day of February, and all the exams will be held until February 17th.

You can only leave the examination room after you have finished the exam. In other words, during these nine days, all candidates have to eat, drink and sleep in the examination room. This is not an ordinary hardship.

At around four o'clock in the morning on the ninth day of February, Xu Jin got up, washed up under the service of his lovely wife and beautiful maid, had breakfast, and rushed to the Gongyuan examination room. As usual, women were not allowed to be sent to the examination room, so Dabao carried a lantern.

Xu Jin was sent to the examination room.

When Xu Jin rushed to Gongyuan, he couldn't help but be shocked when he saw the queue of candidates lined up in front of him. There were too many people, probably thousands. Under normal circumstances, only the first three hundred people were admitted to the examination.

, which means that the acceptance rate is only about 10%, and the competition is quite fierce.

Xu Jin waited outside the Gongyuan for more than an hour before it was his turn to enter. There was also a search before entering, but it was obviously not as strict as the boy's test. The search just flipped through the test basket casually and did not reach out.

Actions like touching the balls in the crotch. After all, those who take part in the examination are all Juren, and they are already half-officials. Naturally, they cannot treat ordinary scholars like they do, and have to take into account the face and dignity of the Juren master.

Xu Jin received his number plate, a stack of draft paper, and three candles and headed to his seat.

The Gongyuan is very large and can accommodate thousands of people taking exams at the same time. The conditions are naturally much better than other places. The toilets are independent and far away from the candidates' seats, so there is no need to worry about stinky seats.

Xu Jin found his seat, sorted out all the items for the exam, and then calmly waited for the papers to be distributed and the exam to begin.

At about six o'clock in the morning, the sky dimly lit up. The examiners Liang Chu and Shi Yun led eighteen fellow examiners to inspect the examination room, and the examination papers were handed out on time at 6:30.

The general examination was the same as the provincial examination. In the first session, there were two essays with five texts, two essays with four texts, and two essays (made up). After Xu Jin got the test paper, he browsed through it and immediately calmed down.

The first question of the test paper is exactly what is said in "The Analects": When three people are walking together, there must be a teacher from me. And Xu Jin just did this question a few days ago!

In the first weightlifting competition, the first question is focused on the first question. If you score high on the first question, as long as you don't do too poorly on the following questions, you are most likely to pass.

Xu Jin was not in a hurry to start writing. He slowly polished the ink and worked up a good mood. Then he picked up the pen and wrote a question on the draft paper: An ordinary man can be a teacher for hundreds of generations, and one word can be a law for the world...

An old police officer patrolling the exam stopped outside Xu Jin's exam hall, stretched his neck, took a look, and thought to himself: "This young gentleman is stable, I guess he can get it!"
Chapter completed!