As expected, Xiuzhu followed through on her promise to ignore Wu Shigong. No matter how Wu Shigong teased her, she pouted and said nothing, making Wu Shigong a little bored. Wu Shigong was debating whether to shamelessly apologize.
, a house slave came to the door, saying that a scholar named Sun Chengxiu came to visit him. He thought: This can just relax the mood of Xiuzhu. So Wu Shigong quickly asked the house slave to welcome Sun Chengxiu in, and he went to the door to greet him.
Sun Chengxiu was Wu Shigong’s only friend in the Imperial College, and Wu Shigong’s only friend in his seventeen-year life. As mentioned before, Wu Shigong in this life was a very introverted person, even a little autistic in character, so he basically had no friends.
, but when I was studying in the Imperial College, I somehow met classmate Sun Chengxiu and became close friends.
At that time, Wu Shigong was positive and tried hard to get closer to those outstanding classmates who had the hope of passing the exam. However, due to his introversion, no one paid attention to him. Only Sun Chengxiu would patiently communicate and discuss with him, and
Patiently answered Wu Shigong's academic questions. In addition, Wu Shigong also learned that Sun Chengxiu once had one foot in the door of juren (the reason why he said this will be introduced below), which is why Wu Shigong particularly admired him.
Moreover, Wu Shigong is just introverted, not stupid. Sun Chengxiu is sincerely good to him, and Wu Shigong can certainly feel it. Therefore, Wu Shigong, who grew up in an indifferent environment, is particularly grateful to Sun Chengxiu, and he feels like a teacher and friend.
Sun Chengxiu, also known as Yaozhi, was a native of Damingfu, North Zhili Province. He was known as a child prodigy in his hometown since he was a child. He passed the scholar examination at the age of fifteen, and took part in the provincial examination at the age of sixteen. It can be said that he was successful at a young age. But
His good luck ended here. At that time, Sun Chengxiu did pass the exam, but was blocked by the examiner and failed. The reason for failure was very ridiculous. It was not that the examiner had any grudge against Sun Chengxiu, but because the examiner thought he was too young and wanted to
Sharpen him.
Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister during the Wanli period, was also raped by examiners for the same reason when he was young. But in the end, Zhang Juzheng became a high-ranking temple and became a famous prime minister. The story of his childhood was also sublimated into a story about teachers and students. He blocked Sun Chengxiu.
The examiner probably wanted to perform the same teacher-student story in pairs. But no one thought that Sun Chengxiu’s misfortune had begun. Next, Sun Chengxiu’s parents died of illness one after another, and Sun Chengxiu had no choice but Ding You.
He missed the next three provincial examinations, wasting twelve years. However, the examiner had already gone home because he was too old, and later died of illness, leaving Sun Chengxiu with nothing.
In the twelfth year, Sun Chengxiu finally took the provincial examination with full confidence, but the result was sad and he failed. He kept trying, and in the fifteenth year, he took the examination again and continued to be miserable. At this time, Sun Chengxiu was already over
He was thirty years old. Because Ding Youhe was studying for scientific examinations, Sun Chengxiu had never gotten married. Originally, Sun Chengxiu wanted to continue working hard, but at this time, there was a problem in Sun Chengxiu's family. His grandfather passed away.
Sun Chengxiu's family can be regarded as a farming and educational family in the local area, and of course it is a big landowner family. His grandfather is the patriarch. And Sun Chengxiu's father is the second eldest brother in the family. Because of his grandfather's past life, the position of the patriarch naturally falls on the eldest brother - Sun Chengxiu
In the hands of his uncle. In the previous big house, Sun Chengxiu had a cousin who was also very successful. He passed the exam and got an official position. If grandpa was here, with his favor, it would be no problem for the family to continue to support Sun Chengxiu in his studies. But grandpa
After he was gone, the family asked Sun Chengxiu to give up the scientific examination and participate in the management of family affairs. Anyway, someone in the family already became an official. However, Sun Chengxiu had studied with his cousin since he was a child, so he knew the basics. His cousin's reading level was far inferior to him.
How could Sun Chengxiu swallow such a sigh of relief? He was completely unwilling to make the family's decision.
Just at this time, one of Sun Chengxiu's classmates returned to his hometown to visit relatives. That person passed the Jinshi examination and became a powerful official in the capital. After learning about Sun Chengxiu's situation, his classmate gave Sun Chengxiu an idea. He asked Sun Chengxiu to
Find a way to go to the Imperial College to study, and stay in the capital to take the scientific examination in Shuntian Prefecture. You must know that there are more places for the scientific examination in Shuntian Prefecture, so it is easier to go to high school. In modern times, this practice has a special term, called "college entrance examination immigration."
Moreover, the classmate told Sun Chengxiu that even if he did not pass the examination, as long as Sun Chengxiu graduated from the Imperial College, he would still have the opportunity to fill a position as a miscellaneous official. This could be regarded as a retreat.
After listening to this classmate's suggestion, Sun Chengxiu was suddenly moved. Looking at his classmate and his cousin's official career, he was even more envious, and secretly decided in his heart that even if he just graduated from the Imperial College and became a miscellaneous official,
It is better than being a poor scholar without an official. So Sun Chengxiu asked his uncle to go to the Imperial College to study. His uncle was kind enough and spent money to manage it. With the help of his classmate, Sun Chengxiu successfully entered the Imperial College. After going
In front of the capital, Sun Chengxiu and his uncle separated their families, and the land and house he owned were converted into more than 1,600 taels of silver and brought to the capital. After all, if you graduate from the Imperial College and become a miscellaneous official, you will need money.
At that time, people who studied in the Imperial College were basically divided into three categories. The first type were older scholars who basically had no ability to further pass the imperial exams, so they wanted to fill the post after graduation; the second type were relatives of the emperor and the country.
, the children of the Xungui family, who have studied in the Imperial College and obtained the qualifications of supervisors; the third type are the children of Beijing officials and outstanding scholars from all over the country, who come to study to improve their own skills, and continue to take the scientific examination after graduating.
Of course, Sun Chengxiu classified himself as the third type of person. However, after studying at the Imperial Academy for a period of time, Sun Chengxiu found that his level was above average at best. Especially those of the officials' children, whose level was far higher than that of Sun Cheng
Show off a lot. In the Ming Dynasty, the reading level in the south, especially the level of scholars in Zhejiang and South Zhili, was outstanding, and the children of officials were basically from the south. With this discovery, Sun Chengxiu's fragile heart was a little
It's going to be broken.
We know that Sun Chengxiu was hailed as a child prodigy in his hometown, and he was very proud of himself at that time. But in the end, when he was over thirty, he had not yet passed the civil service examination, and even had the idea of becoming a miscellaneous official. It can be seen that at this time
He was already extremely fragile psychologically, and after being dealt such a blow in the Imperial College, he felt even more confused that he had lost his goal. At this time, Wu Shigong admired him and asked him for advice. After going back and forth, they had the same problem and crossed the age gap.
became friends.
But the day after the Dragon Boat Festival, Sun Chengxiu was studying in the Imperial College when suddenly bad news came. There was a big explosion in Wang Gong Factory. In the capital, in order to save money, Sun Chengxiu lived in a fellow villager's home near Wang Gong Factory. People at that time
Not having the habit of depositing money in the bank, Sun Chengxiu hid the more than 1,200 taels of silver he had left over the years in the home of his fellow villager. The big explosion leveled his home of his fellow villager to the ground.
The whole family died, and of course Sun Chengxiu's money was nowhere to be found. At this time, Sun Chengxiu was destitute except for a few taels of silver around him. You must know that the money hidden in his fellow countryman's house was when Sun Chengxiu prepared to take the exam after graduating from the Imperial College.
He didn't win the title, so he spent his money on miscellaneous activities for official use. This suddenly ended Sun Chengxiu's last hope of becoming an official.
In addition, without living expenses, it is now a question whether Sun Chengxiu can continue his studies in the Imperial College. These days, he has spent almost all his last few taels of silver. Today, he came to visit Wu Shigong. On the one hand,
He knew that Wu Shigong was injured, and he was indeed concerned about the health of his good friend Wu Shigong. The other purpose was to borrow some travel expenses from Wu Shigong to return to his hometown. Because he didn’t know many people in Beijing, and he didn’t want to ask anyone to do it in Beijing.
He was a classmate who was an official and wanted to maintain his final dignity. But now, he was completely discouraged about his future.
So, what appeared in front of Wu Shigong, who was full of joy and went out to greet his friends: Sun Chengxiu's gray face. Sun Chengxiu seemed to have lost his life and floated over like a ghost. This surprised Wu Shigong and stopped smiling.
, exclaimed: "Brother Yao, what's going on? How did you become like this?"