At three o'clock in the morning on March 26, the fifth year of Qingfeng in the Great Zhou Dynasty, a long bell rang in the setting sun. With loud shouts and shouts, the examiners and soldiers began to collect the answer sheets. After that, the dormitory opened the door and the candidates were released.
The most important test in their lives has come to an end.
More than three thousand candidates with different expressions slowly gathered on the avenue leading to the entrance of Gongyuan. Some of them looked confused, some were excited, some were calm and confident, and some had frowned and gloomy faces.
There is no doubt that their expressions represent their mood and also reflect their performance in the exam. Those who do well in the exam naturally have a confident mind, while those who do not do well in the exam naturally have a sad face. But no matter what they think in their hearts, everything has actually happened.
It's decided. When they step out of the dormitory, the outcome may have been determined.
At the gate of Gongyuan, the soldiers of the Guards Infantry Division opened the gate, allowing the family members and entourage of the candidates who had been waiting for three days to greet the candidates at the gate of Gongyuan. For a while, the streets outside Gongyuan were filled with shouts and noises, and it was lively like a temple fair.
The scene was average. People waiting outside greeted the people they wanted to pick up, and eagerly asked them about the exam. Or they judged whether the exam was going well or not by observing their expressions. Those who felt good about themselves naturally laughed happily together.
Those who did not go well in the examination also became worried. The mood of the more than 3,000 Gongsheng students was now affecting the mood of tens of thousands of people around them, and by extension, it was also the mood fluctuation of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty.
The commotion at the gate of Gongyuan soon became quiet. Those with carriages and horses left in their carriages, while the candidates without carriages and horses returned on foot. Those who were greeted came in groups, and those who were not greeted continued to carry their bags.
The parcels walked slowly. Under the setting sun, the Gongyuan changed from noisy to quiet and lonely after half an hour. The next noisy event will be three years later. Rows of dormitories in the Gongyuan stand quietly.
, like a solemn old man quietly waiting for the next group of people to fight for their destiny and future, silently witnessing all this.
At the gate of the Gongyuan, Lu Wu and Xiao Hu, who were looking forward to seeing Lin Jue carrying two large packages, rushed over with a shout. The three masters and servants were overjoyed. Xiao Hu took the package and carried it to the carriage on the other side of the street.
As he left, Lu Wu pulled Lin Jue's sleeve and looked up and down, and suddenly his eyes became wet.
Lin Jue took her little hand and walked across the street, laughing in a low voice: "What's wrong? Miss me? Why are you still crying?"
Lu Wu pouted and said, "It makes me feel bad to see the young master suffer."
Lin Jue smiled and said: "Where did I suffer? I had a good time here these three days, and the questions were not difficult. The most important thing is that the sugar cakes you made are delicious. There are more than thirty sugar cakes
, I ate it all, not a single bit was left.”
Lu Wu sighed: "Are those sugar cookies so delicious? I'm not talking about food. The young master's hair is disheveled, his beard has grown a bit, and he looks very haggard. It's because of this that people feel sad.
.No one is allowed to go in and wait on you during this big exam. Otherwise, if I were to wait on him, I wouldn’t let the young master become so sloppy."
Lin Jue laughed heartily. It turned out that Green Dance was concerned about his poor image and thought he had suffered a lot. Indeed, after his twentieth birthday, Lin Jue consciously began to grow a beard. In order not to affect his image, Lin Jue
I wanted to make my beard grow as long as I wanted, so I worked hard to repair the beard on my upper and lower lips on weekdays. But after three days in this dormitory, I couldn't take care of it, so there were a lot of irregular spots on my lips.
The stubble looks very decadent. As for the messy bun, there's nothing we can do about it. Green Dance usually helps comb the hair, but he doesn't have the ability to comb this 'hair' well, so he combs it randomly.
Just put a hairpin in her bun. It seems that her sloppy appearance made Lu Wu feel a little guilty.
"What does this mean? In the future, when I get old, I will have a lot of eyebrows and beard, wrinkled goosebumps on my face, and a shaky walk. That's what I call slovenly. You'd better get used to it now, otherwise when I get old, you'll see
But it’s not eye-catching.” Lin Jue joked.
Lu Wu pursed her lips and said: "No, how could the young master become like that? Even when he is old, he is still a handsome old... old master. As long as Lu Wu is here, he will not let the young master become sloppy."
Lin Jue was speechless and led Lu Wu towards the carriage, looking around on both sides of the street.
Lu Wu was very smart and said softly: "Young master is gone. The little princess is not here. I thought she would come to greet the young master, but I didn't see her after looking for a long time. But I did see the young prince. I just rode on him not long ago."
He rode away with a group of soldiers and horses. He seemed to recognize me."
Lin Jue sighed, a little disappointed in his heart. He thought that the little princess would be waiting for him in front of the Gongyuan gate, but he didn't expect that she didn't come.
"Sister Yingying didn't come either. She wanted to come, so she told Mama Xie that the show would be closed for one day, and Mama Xie persuaded her for a long time. The theaters were full these days, and the ticket prices were very high. If the show was closed for one day, it would still be fine.
It's not a big deal, so Sister Yingying can't do anything about it. She asked me to apologize to the young master. Hey, Sister Yingying is really tired." Lu Wu chattered beside her.
Lin Jue sighed and said: "I know, there is really nothing we can do. After investing tens of thousands of taels of silver, how can Sister Danhong be willing to let her stop the show? So there are scalpers speculating again? It looks like Hangzhou again.
That would implement a real-name system. But it is a good thing that the theater business is good. The capital is a place to make a lot of money, and soon we will be extremely rich."
Lu Wu smiled and said, "Young Master also loves money now. In the past, we only had ten taels of silver a month, and we didn't feel we were short of money to spend. Now, spending hundreds of taels a month is not enough. Hey, money is spent really quickly."
Lin Jue said with a smile: "In the past, it was just the two of us who spent money on food. How many people are there now? In the future, we will have children to raise, and we will have a large family. The expenses for food, clothing, and transportation will be even greater. There is never too much money."
of."
When Lu Wu heard the words about having a baby, her face turned red and she was a little shy. Lin Jue whispered: "Now that the exam is over, let's choose a date to have a banquet. I promise you that I will marry you. You say
OK?"
Lu Wu nodded lightly. She was very happy in her heart. After arriving in the capital, the young master was dealing with the young princess and sister Yingying, and he was a little neglected. Lu Wu felt very uncomfortable. For so many days, she had only served the young master.
For two nights, Lu Wu felt quite dissatisfied. Although he knew that this would be the norm in the future, and there were too many women around the young master, so naturally he would not be able to do anything else, but he always wanted to go back to the small house of the Lin family, just the young master and himself.
, the days when no one else was around to bother me. But those days can never go back.
However, listening to the young master's tone, he was the first one to formally marry into the house, and Lu Wu still felt a little proud. It doesn't matter whether you are the princess or someone else, in short, I am the first one to marry.
Young Master. When I thought about it, my heart suddenly became much calmer.
While they were talking, the master and the servant came to the carriage parked on the west side of the road. Lin Hu was standing on the shaft of the carriage, looking towards the tribute courtyard with his hands on the pergola, swaying from side to side like a monkey.
Lin Jue smiled and said: "What are you doing? What kind of skill is this?"
Lin Hu frowned and said: "Uncle, my father hasn't come out yet. Everyone has almost left and I haven't seen him yet."
Lin Jue was startled and said: "Why haven't you come out yet? When I came out, there were already very few people."
"Yes, look, there are only a few people left, why haven't they come yet? Hey, hey, I saw it, it's coming, it's coming." Lin Hu shouted, jumped off the carriage and rushed to the other side.
Lin Jue and Lu Wu hurriedly looked at the gate of the Gongyuan opposite, and saw Lin Youde listlessly walking out carrying a large package. Lin Hu went over to carry the package for him and kept asking what he was talking about. Lin Youde shook his head weakly.
His head looked downcast.
Lin Youde and his son crossed the street and came to the carriage. Lin Jue saw the frustrated look on Lin Youde's face, smiled and stepped forward and asked: "Cousin Youde, what's going on?"
Lin Youde glanced at Lin Jue, his eyes were full of frustration, and he sighed and said: "Hey! Mr. Lin Jue, I am really embarrassed. I wasted so much money, and you took care of me, but this spring exam, hey
...Ignore it. I, Lin Youde, am not the type to study. Poor Hu'er is still waiting for my good news in Hangzhou. I spent so much money on my family, but in the end it was all in vain. If I had known this, I would not have come to the capital.
Well, money has been wasted now, and people will laugh at me later."
Lin Jue heard it and realized that Lin Youde must have failed the exam, so he felt depressed and blamed himself, feeling regretful in his heart.
"My virtuous cousin, how can we know the victory or defeat before the red list is released? Why is it necessary? You will know the difference when the red list is released." Lin Jue consoled him.
"Hey, you don't know. I know my own family affairs, and I know best how I will do in the exam. Those questions... Hey! I won't talk about it anymore. I won't talk about it anymore. It's just my wishful thinking. I, Lin Youde, will never be an official in this life. Hey.
!" Lin Youde shook his head and sighed.
Lin Jue didn't know how to comfort him. For a person who wanted to become an official in the imperial examination and failed several major exams, continuous failure was the most devastating thing. Especially this time, it was already past the autumn period and it was now the spring period.
First pass. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Lin Youde's state of mind is also understandable. Lin Jue is actually not surprised by this, because Lin Youde's autumn quota was an extra quota. To put it bluntly, with Lin Youde's
His ability, Qiu Wei, was about to be taken down. He wanted him to pass this test and come to the capital to try his luck, but he didn't expect that it would bring him greater disappointment. He didn't know if he was doing the right thing or not.
.
"Hey! If I had known this, the cost of coming to the capital would have been more expensive than pulling a few feet of floral fabric for your sister and buying a few pieces of jewelry for your mother. Daddy is incompetent, hey!" Lin Youde sighed in self-pity.
Lin Hu suddenly jumped up and said loudly: "Dad, what are you doing? Isn't it just that you didn't do well in the exam? So what? Do everyone in the world have to take the imperial examination in order to eat? Dad has always been pursuing this dead end.
It's no longer right to go to the toilet. If you fail this time, the child thinks this is a good thing. It also teaches dad to see himself clearly. He can just find a job to do in a down-to-earth manner. Do you deserve to be so sad? Dad, look at it.
Uncle Lin Jue, he has encountered more difficulties than you, and has also experienced big life and death scenes, but I have never seen him complaining like you. Is complaining useful? Daddy sighing like this also makes other people unhappy. This
