Every year when the provincial and municipal examinations are approaching, there are three major industries in Jiangning City that are bustling with activity.
One is the inn.
The second is the brothel.
The third is the temple.
The place Tao Dazhi took Wei Chen and the others to was Qixia Temple, a large temple in the east of the city.
According to Tao Dazhi, this is the place where Ye Shutong, the former champion of the dynasty, stayed before going to the provincial examination.
It is said that when Ye Shutong spent the night in the temple, he had a strange dream. He dreamed that a dog jumped on the table and barked at him. There was a bunch of bamboo under the table.
After Ye Shutong woke up, he went to the abbot of the temple and asked what the dream meant.
After hearing the content of the dream, the abbot immediately smiled and saluted Ye Shutong, congratulating Ye Shutong for winning the top prize.
Ye Shutong was surprised and happy, and hurriedly asked the abbot: "I haven't even passed the provincial examination, how can I be the top scholar?
The abbot laughed and said: "Master Zhuangyuan, if you think about it carefully, a dog is a dog. It is lying on several cases, and the cases have two legs. When they are combined, doesn't it mean the word "Zhuang"?"
Ye Shutong was overjoyed after hearing this and asked the abbot: "What does the bunch of bamboos under the case mean?"
The abbot said: "That's a shortcut for you to get the top prize. You have to guess it yourself."
Ye Shutong wanted to ask more questions, but the abbot waved his hand and smiled without saying a word.
Ye Shutong thought hard all night, and finally understood that a bunch of bamboo was the word "strategy". This was God's reminder to him to specialize in policy questions!
Later, as the abbot said, Ye Shutong successfully passed the provincial examination, and the next year he won the first prize in the palace examination and won the first prize.
After Ye Shutong's story spread, many scholars who came to Jiangning to take the provincial and provincial examinations would come to Qixia Temple to stay overnight before the exams, hoping that a god would tell them in their dreams how to win the top prize.
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Now that the government examination is approaching, scholars from various counties are pouring into Jiangning, and many of them come to Qixia Temple because of its reputation. As a result, the monks' room in Qixia Temple is full and it is difficult to find a room.
Although the guest rooms in the temple are tight, Tao Dazhi is a local leader in Jiangning, so this kind of thing will naturally not be difficult for him. He bribed the monks in the temple early and reserved a Zen room for himself.
However, I didn't expect to meet Wei Chen and others before. There is only one room in the meditation room, so four people can only squeeze in.
Wei Chen was helpless. The story told by Tao Dazhi sounded sensible, but in Wei Chen's opinion, it was just a story fabricated by the monks in the temple to attract customers. How could it have any credibility?
But seeing how convinced Tao Dazhi and Chen Jun were, even Sheng Changbai persuaded Wei Chen to stay. Wei Chen couldn't say anything else and had no choice but to agree to sleep one night in the temple's Zen room with the three of them. p>
The next day, the sky was bright.
The four of them woke up one after another and exchanged the dreams they had had that night with great interest.
Chen Junxian said: "I dreamed last night that I was growing cabbage on the wall. I don't know what the meaning is."
Tao Dazhi immediately looked worried and said: "How can we survive growing vegetables on the wall? Isn't it a waste of effort, Brother Chen? This dream is dangerous!"
"No, no, no."
Sheng Changbai shook his head and said: "Grow vegetables on the wall, I think Brother Chen is going to high school!"
Tao Dazhi slapped his head: "Yes, the wall is high, isn't it a high school!"
Wei Chen cupped his fists and said, "Congratulations, Brother Chen, for doing such a good job, the government examination is no longer a problem!"
After Wei Chen finished speaking, Sheng Changbai and Tao Dazhi also congratulated Chen Jun.
Chen Jun scratched his head, hehehe.
Then, the three of them asked Tao Dazhi what he had dreamed about.
Tao Dazhi was stunned for a long time, then suddenly turned red and hesitated to speak.
Under the questioning of three people, he slowly told his dream.
"I dreamed..., I dreamed that my cousin and I were lying on the same bed."
After Tao Dazhi finished speaking, the other three people stared at him with strange expressions, which made Tao Dazhi's heart go crazy, and then the three of them burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha, Brother Tao, you are not dreaming from a god, you are dreaming of lust without hesitation!"
"As the saying goes, what you think about every day and what you dream about every night, I guess this cousin is probably the sweetheart of Brother Tao, right?"
Tao Dazhi blushed: "Me and Wanmei are childhood sweethearts who are getting married at the same time. And although we are lying on the same bed, we are back to back and we have not exceeded the courtesy!"
"Back to back?"
Sheng Changbai was thoughtful when he heard the words, and suddenly his eyes lit up and he said: "I understand, this dream indicates that Brother Tao should turn over!"
Tao Dazhi was slightly startled: "My Tao family has been in business for generations. If I want to turn over, wouldn't it mean I turn over into a noble family?"
"So, what Brother Tao had was an auspicious dream!"
Wei Chen and Chen Jun congratulated each other repeatedly, but they only winked and smiled. Tao Dazhi was so ashamed that he quickly changed the subject and asked, "What kind of dream is Brother Sheng having?"
Sheng Changbai recalled: "I dreamed that I was wearing a blue shirt and robe, with a round collar and straight sleeves, a student sword on my waist, and riding a big blue and white mule..."
Wei Chen listened for a long time, but didn't hear any valuable information, so he had to interrupt: "Brother, please get to the point!"
"Why are you so anxious? Isn't that what I was about to say?"
Sheng Changbai glared at Wei Chen and continued: "I was walking on a small road with many big trees growing on both sides of the road. After walking for a long time, I suddenly felt something behind me, so I looked back!"
"What do you see when you look back?"
Chen Jun and Tao Dazhi both came closer curiously, wanting to hear what Sheng Changbai had to say.
Wei Chen rolled his eyes and said helplessly: "Brother, what you have said so far is all nonsense. Hurry up and reveal the answer to the mystery for us!"
Sheng Changbai smiled slightly, coughed slightly, and then said slowly: "I looked back at that time and saw Wei Xiandi standing behind me holding six bloody heads. It was so scary. Do you think this dream is weird?
?"
Chen Jun and Tao Dazhi looked at each other, nodded and said: "Brother Sheng, this dream is indeed weird!"
Tao Dazhi curiously asked Wei Chen: "Brother Wei, are you too rough with Brother Sheng on weekdays? Why are you so cruel in your dreams?"
Wei Chen scratched his head, also puzzled.
I'm usually very nice to Bo Lan, but why in his mind has he turned into a murderous maniac who kills without batting an eyelid?
Am I that terrible...?
Wei Chen hurriedly asked Sheng Changbai: "Brother, you have interpreted the dreams of Brother Chen and Brother Tao before, so you should be able to interpret your own dream, right?"
Sheng Changbai waved his hand and said sternly: "He who helps others does not help himself, and a healer does not heal himself."
Wei Chen had no choice but to look at Tao Dazhi and Chen Jun: "You two, what do you think?"
Tao Dazhi smacked his lips and asked, "Brother Sheng, can you clearly see the face on that head?"
Sheng Changbai shook his head and said: "My face is covered with blood, so I can't see it clearly."
Chen Jun pondered for a moment and then asked: "May I ask Brother Sheng, how did Brother Wei dress up in your dream?"
Sheng Changbai still shook his head: "I can't remember clearly."
Wei Chen said speechlessly: "Brother, you clearly remember the irrelevant things in the front, but why can't you remember the most important things in the back?"
Sheng Changbai spread his hands with an innocent look on his face, and the three of them had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being.
Tao Dazhi and Chen Jun turned to ask Wei Chen: "Brother Wei, you also slept in the Zen room last night, but what did you dream about?"
Wei Chen glanced at the two of them and sighed: "You two, you all slept to death last night and snored all night long. Brother Chen went up to half the night and Brother Tao went up to half the night. How could I have the time to dream!"
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Tao Dazhi looked embarrassed and said: "Brother Wei, it's my fault. I dragged you here with good intentions, but I didn't expect that this would happen and keep you awake all night."
Chen Jun also said: "Brother Wei, you should wake us up."
Wei Chen secretly thought to himself, who knows if you guys are angry when you wake up? If you wake up and kick me away in a daze, then who should I talk to to reason with you?
But he said: "It's not that I can't, but that I can't bear it!"
Tao Dazhi and Chen Jun were both moved after hearing this, and said in unison: "Brother Wei is such a kind person!"