The four masters and disciples continued up the mountain and came to the side of the middle-aged scribe. There were many people on the mountain path who were surprised by the middle-aged scribe.
Then many people started crying.
Some were even older than the middle-aged scribe. They just sat down on the mountain road and cried, shouting: "It's hard~ It's hard——"
Man Bao, who was on tiptoe searching for wine in Bai Shan's backpack, was startled. He turned to look at the many literati who were crying and sighing on the mountain path. He couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"
Neither Bai Shan nor Bai Erlang knew.
Mr. Zhuang said: "This year's major exam is over. This year's performance is not good. The imperial court may not hold the imperial exam next year. They are sad."
Unlike Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, the two of them went to the Imperial Academy and are now students of Chongwen Hall. In the future, they can become officials even if they do not take the imperial examination. They can also go directly to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to take the examination.
But for other students who were not from the Imperial College, or even those who were not from official schools, if they wanted to become officials, they had to first pass the imperial examination, then pass the civil service examination, and finally queue up for official selection.
The imperial examination was only formalized in the previous dynasty, but the selection of officials was mainly based on qualifications. In this dynasty, there were more imperial examinations, but they were always suspended due to various reasons.
Encore was opened this year, and I took the exam again in the fall. There were a lot of elected officials, and basically all the vacancies were filled. This year's economic situation is not good, so there is a high probability that I will not take the exam next year.
After the results were released last month, the Imperial College had already spread the news. The scholars who wanted to stay in the capital until next year were disappointed, and many of them were already preparing to leave the capital and go home.
Mr. Zhuang told the three disciples the inside story, then shook his head slightly and said: "I originally wanted to climb high on the Double Ninth Festival to see the distance, but I didn't expect to encounter these things. Forget it, let's go up the mountain after giving us the wine."
But Man Bao stopped and looked at the middle-aged scribe who was sitting on a stone not far away and crying silently, "Sir, he is so sad. What if he falls down the mountain when he is drunk?"
Bai Shan also said: "The mountain road is rugged. If he accidentally falls or falls, it will be our fault."
Mr. Zhuang: "...can Dukang wine make you drunk?"
The three drunk people nodded together, "Yes."
The four masters and apprentices glared at each other. In the end, Mr. Zhuang, who was outnumbered, was defeated. He could only sigh, "Then shall I have a drink with him?"
Anyway, he likes to drink when he is unhappy.
Man Bao dug out the needle bag in the bag on his waist, "How about I give him a few needles."
Man Bao said: "He is too sad now and his will is easily damaged. He will be energetic after just two injections."
Mr. Zhuang was very curious, "Isn't it said that heart disease is difficult to cure? Can you cure frustration with acupuncture?"
Of course it is impossible to cure frustration, but it is possible to make him forget the pain in his heart for a while. Manbao took the needle bag and stepped forward, first saluted the middle-aged scribe who was crying sadly, and then said: "This
Sir, my husband is worried about you, uh, well, don't be too sad, I think you are still young and you will have opportunities in the future."
Mr. Zhuang’s three masters and apprentices:...
Onlookers:...
Man Bao continued to comfort the other party lamely, "If you don't think about yourself, you also have to think about your family. The mountain road is rugged and you are so sad. What if there is an accident?"
She finally stated her purpose and said: "Let's do this. I'll give you two injections to cheer you up. You go down the mountain to have a good meal and sleep again. You will feel much better tomorrow."
.”
The middle-aged scribe felt even more sad when he saw that such a young Man Bao said that he was still young.
As a result, before he had time to express his sadness, Man Bao, who saw that he did not object, reached out to pick up his hand, rolled up his sleeve, exposed one of his arms, and then took out a needle from the needle bag and pricked it.
Got in...
The middle-aged scribe was unexpected and his eyes widened for a moment. Before he could react, Man Bao took out a needle and pricked him in another place, and he immediately shouted "Ah——".
The pain of the sound frightened all the onlookers and those who were not onlookers.
Man Bao gently held his arm. The middle-aged scribe who wanted to pull his hand back found that he couldn't use his arm at all, but - it hurt!
Seeing that he was crying so hard that he was about to burst into tears, Man Bao took out the needle. After she removed the needle, his arm slowly regained consciousness.
He pointed at Man Bao and said, "You, you, you..." and was speechless.
Man Bao comforted him and said, "How are you? Do you feel better?"
The middle-aged scribe who had been calling for a while found that he had stopped crying, and he didn't seem so depressed anymore.
He couldn't help but be quiet.
The onlookers also discovered this, and they all breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded quite scary, just not life-threatening.
When Man Bao saw that he was well, he put away the needle bag, then reached out and patted his shoulder to comfort him: "Sir, take care, I think you are not very old. As long as you live long enough, you will always have a chance.
For things like the imperial examination, you can just take the test when the day comes. You can still do more other things on weekdays."
Anyway, there is no age limit for the imperial examination. You can take the exam whenever you want.
Middle-aged scribe:......
He felt no comfort.
Mr. Zhuang finally stepped forward. He asked Man Bao to step aside, and then introduced himself with a smile, "I am Zhuang Xun, Mianzhou. Today I am here to climb the Double Ninth Festival. We are destined to meet each other. Why don't you, brother, climb the top of the mountain with me?"
?”
He then pointed at his three disciples and said with a smile: "I asked my three disciples to bring two jugs of wine, just in time to drink with my brother."
When the other party heard this, he stood up after being silent for a while, patted the dust on his body and returned the greeting: "I'm Zhang Chen in Cangzhou. That's very polite of you, sir."
However, they did not refuse his invitation. He could also see that they were afraid that something would happen to him on the mountain. Although he felt frustrated and wanted to break out, he never thought of committing suicide.
That was a sin, and he couldn't do it.
But he still accepted Mr. Zhuang's kindness and simply lifted up his robe and went up the mountain with them.
He was in good health and much younger than Mr. Zhuang. Although he was very disappointed, he still walked steadily. Mr. Zhuang had to rely on Bai Shan and Bai Erlang to help him in the second half of the journey.
Zhang Chen looked back at their masters and apprentices and couldn't help but ask: "Mr. Zhuang also came to Beijing to take the exam?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "No, I'm here to study with a few disciples."
Zhang Chen's eyes fell on Bai Shan and Bai Cheng, and he praised: "Sir, these two disciples are clear and bright. They look like good men. Which academy are they studying in?"
Mr. Zhuang paused and said, "Studying in Chongwen Hall."
Zhang Chen was stunned for a moment, then lost some of his enthusiasm. He smiled and asked: "I see, I wonder whose disciples these two young masters are?"