More than twenty days passed in a blink of an eye, and in the blink of an eye it was February 15th, and Chongwen's thirty-year examination finally arrived.
These days, the students in Chang'an have become restless, and most of the topics discussed by the people in the city are about the examination.
Examples of hard study can be seen everywhere in various guild halls, and books on problem solving in various bookstores have been sold out.
February 15th is the day for candidates to enter the venue. The exam will officially start at midnight in the evening. Unlike the provincial examination, which has three sessions over three days, the general examination has three sessions over nine days, and no one is allowed to leave the examination room from beginning to end.
This is not a big problem for students in the Juzi realm, but the sky has been cloudy these past few days, with occasional light snow falling at night, and the weather is still too cold.
Many students are preparing things, especially some cooking utensils, food, and some even bring thick quilts, preparing to face the cold nine days comfortably.
Naturally, Song Mu was not lagging behind others. He took advantage of the study break in the past few days to prepare these things. However, he was not allowed to bring any carrying equipment into the exam. Nowadays, most of these things have to be carried into the examination room by himself.
"Brother Song, how are you preparing?"
Song Mu was doing the final tidying up in the room when a rough voice came from outside. Song Mu immediately stood up and a stout figure walked towards the door.
"Brother Liu, I'm ready. Let's set off now."
The Juzi standing at the door is named Liu Kaidong. He was a Juzi in the 25th year of Chongwen. He was also the Jieyuan of Jiangnan West Road in those days. He has also dealt with Song Muduo in the past few days and is quite familiar with him.
The other party nodded and said to wait for Song Mu downstairs. Song Mu put down the things packed in front of him and turned to look at Tao Fengming.
Tao Fengming seemed to be getting older and still coughed from time to time, which made Song Mu very worried.
"Master, come with me. I told Brother Teng that you can rest in the shop over there."
Song Mu immediately spoke with concern.
Song Mu wanted to take Tao Fengming to the Nagongyuan. If someone triggered the vision then, Tao Fengming's condition might be relieved.
But Tao Fengming just shook his head slightly and said breathlessly.
"No, even top-level visions are of no use to me. Jingzhao, please relax. After the exam is over, I will pick you up at the gate of Gongyuan."
Song Mu was about to say more, but Tao Fengming coughed violently again, and Song Mu quickly stepped forward.
After Tao Fengming seemed to feel better, Song Mu sighed slightly. At this moment, he could only tell Tao Fengming to take care and walked out with his things.
But before stepping out of the room, Song Mu suddenly stopped. He put down his things, turned around, looked at Tao Fengming solemnly, and suddenly lifted up his robe.
"Jing Zhao, what are you doing?"
Tao Fengming raised his eyes and saw Song Mu suddenly kneeling on his knees, kowtowing heavily towards him.
"Master, Jing Zhao will definitely fulfill his mission this time and will work hard to gain fame!"
"Jing Zhao will always remember the agreement we made with Master."
Tao Fengming straightened up slightly. Hearing Song Mu's deep voice, his old face also showed some emotion. He closed his eyes and nodded.
"Okay, okay, get up quickly, Jing Zhao, my master is right here, waiting for your good news."
Song Mu slowly stood up, glanced at Tao Fengming again, and then walked out.
At the door, Liu Kaidong and two officials from Jizhou Prefecture were waiting for Song Mu. They saw Song Mu go downstairs and say a few words to Shopkeeper Zhu before heading here.
"Excuse me for waiting, let's set off now."
Song Mu calmed down and said to the three of them. They were all carrying large and small bags, but at this time, the boy from the guild hall had already led the carriage to the door.
Liu Kaidong and the other three also hurriedly handed over their hands, with a bit of smile on their faces at this moment.
"Thank you so much, Brother Song. If it weren't for Brother Song's carriage, it would be hard to find a carriage in the city today. But we have to think of more ways to get to the examination room."
Liu Kaidong said this, and the other two nodded.
As soon as the four of them stepped out of the gate of the guild hall, they saw horse-drawn carriages passing by on the street outside, and each of them was packed to the brim.
Many students sitting on the carriage yawned and continued to read while holding the books in their hands.
Song Mu and others stuffed their luggage into the carriage and immediately drove towards the Gongyuan.
It was the first time for several people to take part in the examination. It was inevitable that they were a little nervous along the way, and they couldn't help but start talking.
"I asked Brother Zuo yesterday, and he said that apart from having to stay in the examination room for nine days, there is actually nothing uncomfortable about the exam."
"He also said that it is not too cold in the examination hall at this time. If it is a snowy day, the formation will be deployed, at least there will be no wind."
Wu Yong, who came from Jizhou Prefecture, was talking eloquently at this moment. The Zuo brother he was talking about was an experienced examiner from Jiangnan West Road.
That's just some common sense.
Whenever the other party talks about strategies for solving problems, everyone in the club will inevitably look embarrassed.
Song Mu also remembered this person. It was not that he was not knowledgeable enough, but he always acted recklessly during exams and did not shy away from it. Song Mu also wondered how he could pass the provincial examination and become a scholar in one go.
"This Gongyuan is so ingenious. I have long heard that the Wenxing Altar in the examination room in the Gongyuan is extremely grand and spectacular."
"It's just that the Gongyuan wall is too high, so we can't take a peek in advance."
"Then I want to take a good look at the Wenxing altar. During the college examination, the altar only had two floors. During the provincial examination, it only had three floors. I will try it now. I heard it is six floors."
"Hehe, I think the palace examination is the most beautiful. I heard that Wenxing is in the center of the imperial city, with a nine-story tower, which is extremely spectacular."
Several people immediately started talking, and Song Mu listened while driving the carriage.
"Then everyone needs to work harder. As long as we successfully become tributes, we can also take part in the palace examination and see the glory of Wenxing."
Liu Kaidong said this, and both of them nodded. At this time, they all looked at Song Mu. Among them, Wu Yong smiled and said to Song Mu.
"Brother Song, what do you think I'll wait for this proposal?"
"Excellent. Mr. Song is also curious about Wenxing. I'll go take a look at it at the same time!"
Song Mu replied with a smile, and several people laughed, and the tension on their faces suddenly relaxed a little.
The wheels of the carriage kept moving forward, passing through streets one after another, and the street where Gongyuan was located was already in front of us.
It's just that there are more carriages here, causing bursts of congestion even on the wide streets. During this period, many people were heard shouting, but the team did not move at all, and there were officials sweating profusely among them.
"Look, that's Gongyuan."
The carriage moved forward slowly for a moment, Wu Yong suddenly spoke, and Song Mu also looked forward. In the daytime, the tall red walls of the Gongyuan gave a different feeling.
Song Mu's heart beat uncontrollably, and familiar memories of exams from the past came to mind.