Food gives me an entry, I will be invincible if I stay alive

Chapter 100: Famous soup in the wind and rain, sharp frost and snow (on the shelves, please pre-order first!)

In the examination room, the long bell rang.

The long and heavy voice was like an invisible wave, sweeping across the entire examination room.

Chen Xu suddenly realized something was wrong.

He felt that the innate Qi in his Dantian seemed to be under some invisible suppression. After the bell rang, there was an indescribable sticky feeling, and it became very difficult to circulate it.

He thought of what Feng Yuanbai had said: "The first bell in the imperial examination is called the Juntian Bell. When this bell rings, all beings are equal.

Because some students come from outstanding family backgrounds, they have already learned the art of cultivating qi before achieving fame. They can cultivate a breath in their dantian, making themselves different from others.

In order to limit these students who cultivate their Qi in advance and prevent them from disrupting the examination hall by relying on their cultivation, Juntian Bells were installed in both the prefectural and academy examinations."

According to Feng Yuanbai, when the Juntian Bell rings, ordinary students who have not practiced cultivation usually cannot notice anything unusual.

Those who cultivate their Qi in advance will have their cultivation naturally suppressed. Within the examination room, they will not be able to use the Qi in their Dantian at all.

But Chen Xu discovered that although his innate Qi was suppressed and moved slowly, it was still able to function.

The innate Qi is indeed different from ordinary Qi cultivation, and Chen Xu once again clearly felt the difference between them.

After the third bell rings, the examiners will patrol the exam room.

Prefect Ding Qian and two deputy examiners sent by the Ministry of Rites, surrounded by a group of soldiers, inspected all 5,900 examination rooms in the examination hall.

There were actually 3,700 candidates taking the examination in Yunjiang Prefecture this year. The examination room was not full and the last few rows were blocked.

Chen Xu was sitting in the examination room and felt that the prefect Ding Qian seemed to pause for a moment longer when he walked past his room.

Soon, the group of figures in official uniforms disappeared into the distance.

Not long after, the examination papers were unsealed in front, and a ceremonial officer recited aloud: "From ancient times to the present, the sun and moon have shone brightly, the heavens and the earth have flowed, and all the saints have witnessed.

In the eleventh year of Yonghui, the 487th Yunjiang Prefecture Examination, the first round, the secret scroll is opened!

"Start the talisman and record the file."

"Hair curlers——"

The sense of ceremony was full, and Chen Xu, sitting in the cell, suddenly felt a little excited.

Various subtle sounds were heard around the dormitory, as if the students were all touched.

Until the test papers were handed out, the patrolling soldiers shouted again: "Silence!"

The entire examination room suddenly fell into a boundless silence.

The only sounds were the rustling of papers and an occasional soft hiss.

The provincial examination is divided into three sessions and lasts for two days. Students are not allowed to leave the examination room during the two sessions.

The first session is about the meaning of the scriptures, which is divided into three parts: the meaning of the Four Books, calligraphy of the scriptures, and the exposition of the meaning of the scriptures.

This should also be the most basic exam, which tests the recitation of classics and knowledge reserves.

Except for the large amount of questions and the lengthy writing——

There are more than a hundred questions in the Mo Yi and Tie Jing sections.

This terrifying amount of questions, which lasts a whole day, is enough to drain the spirit of many candidates.

Those who become confused and dizzy after writing, and those who do not have a solid foundation, will be screened out.

But for Chen Xu, this exam should not be difficult at all.

He has a strong spirit and after taking the Lotus Soup to Nourish Wisdom, he has the ability to remember everything he sees.

If you only take a glance at a book you've read, you'll never forget it. So why should you be afraid of memorizing it?

The only problem is that some of the books were not accessible to him before.

Fortunately, Feng Yuanbai recently made up for this shortcoming for him, and when Feng Yuanbai was not here during the day, his teacher Wu Zhengze would often give Chen Xu special lessons.

Chen Xu only needs to pay attention to the appearance of the paper.

He ground the ink, picked up the pen, and wrote smoothly.

Since some time ago, the entire examination room was filled with the subtle rustling sound of ink hitting paper.

Chen Xu turned a deaf ear to the outside world and just answered the questions seriously.

Although the number of questions was huge, he wrote quickly enough.

I read the Four Books and Calligraphy Sutras smoothly without any problems, and time slipped away unnoticed.

At noon, Chen Xu did not eat anything, but just closed his eyes and rested for a while.

In the afternoon, I started writing questions about the interpretation of the scriptures.

There are three questions in total on the interpretation of the sutra. After looking at them, I feel that they are the kind that are difficult for those who don’t know how to answer, but not difficult for those who do.

He was quick-witted and quickly answered the first two questions.

Come to the last question: Mencius said, "I am good at nurturing my great and righteous spirit." Explain "great and righteous spirit."

How do I answer this question?

In line with the current trend of scholars cultivating qi and practicing cultivation, Chen Xu believes that qi and righteousness should be combined.

Answer: What is Qi?
Mencius said: "As for its energy, it is extremely great and strong. If it is nurtured with integrity and without harm, it will fill the space between heaven and earth."

"It is born from the accumulation of righteousness, not taken by force of righteousness."

——Interpret Mencius with Mencius, and comment on sages with sages, to ensure that there is no mistake, but also have one's own point of view.

The great and righteous spirit means that one has indestructible fortitude and unbreakable integrity in one's heart. Otherwise, how can one be called a great and righteous person?

The word limit for this question is 300 words. You can use more, but not less.

Chen Xu controlled the number of words and wrote exactly 301 words. After finishing, he checked the test paper again.

He was reading seriously when suddenly a cool breeze blew up from somewhere and blew violently through the examination room.

A student nearby exclaimed, "My test paper!"

But it was too late, the test paper had been blown into the air by the evil wind.

At the end of the cell, a sword-wielding guard suddenly leaped up, his figure as nimble as an eagle soaring through the sky. In an instant, he grabbed the flying test paper. The guard landed lightly on the ground, truly agile and agile.

The test paper was retrieved, but the patrolling officers on the other side of the dormitory shouted, "Keep your heads down! Don't look!"

Then, the student who lost the test paper was "asked" to leave the dormitory.

The student cried heartbrokenly: "My test paper... the test paper I worked so hard on! I found my test paper, I didn't cheat, why can't I take the test again?"

"If you don't keep the test paper properly, you will be disqualified from the exam. Go, go, go. If you want to take the exam again next year, don't make a fuss."

……

Scientific examinations have always been so cruel.

No one could do anything about it, so the other students became more cautious and focused on answering the questions.

Before I knew it, the sun's shadow gradually shifted.

Until the beginning of the afternoon, I heard: Dong——

The long bell rang again, and it was time to roll up.

Anxious, almost pleading, voices suddenly rang out in the examination room: "My paper! I still have a few questions to answer! Can I have one more?"

"Don't bother. If you don't follow the rules, you won't be allowed to take the next two exams."

"Everyone else can answer the questions, why can't you?"

Someone started crying: "I...I haven't finished answering either."

"Quiet, quiet down! If you keep making noise, you will be disqualified from the exam!"

In the first round of the provincial examination, more than one-third of the candidates were unable to answer all the questions.

In the Dali Dynasty, the county examination was always the easiest, and the rest were more difficult.

No wonder it is said that being a student is not considered an achievement.

In the Dali Dynasty, one could be considered a Tongsheng if he passed the county examination. This was different from Chen Xu's memory that in some dynasties, one had to pass the prefectural examination to be considered a Tongsheng.

However, the prefectural examination and the imperial examination in the Dali Dynasty were basically held consecutively, with only a seven-day interval in between.

This system made the examination for scholars even more cruel.

The test papers were eventually taken away, no matter how much you begged or cried. No matter how much you were unwilling to give up, as long as you still wanted to continue taking the exam, you had to learn to accept reality.

The first test paper was collected, and the second test paper has not yet been distributed.

Although it was only mid-afternoon and not yet evening, it was the time for the students to have their second meal.

Because many students, like Chen Xu, did not eat anything during the first session, and they were afraid that the students would be too hungry, so they were allowed to eat something at this time.

And in a quarter of an hour, the second test paper will be distributed.

Soldiers patrolled on both sides, and the leading officers shouted, "No whispering or talking to each other!"

Everyone had to eat in a low voice, and no one dared to make loud noises for fear of being accused of cheating.

Because the exam only lasted two days, Chen Xu only brought some very small pieces of flatbread as dry food.

The reason for bringing this is simply to show that I have nothing smuggled in, and I hope the inspecting officer won't tear the food into pieces too much.

But even so, the pancake was still torn into pieces.

Chen Xu just took a few bites and put it down.

He now has abundant energy and blood, and sufficient essence. Not eating for one or two days, let alone three or five days, is actually nothing.

Closing my eyes and resting at this moment seems to have some meaning of "nurturing my great spirit".

It can be said that those who eat air are divine and live long, while those who do not eat are immortal and divine.

A quarter of an hour later, the second test paper was handed out. As soon as the questions were turned over, there was an uproar in the examination room.

It turns out that this exam not only includes the regular long-sentence dictation of classics, but also includes questions on numerology and laws!

As expected, it was just as the rumors spread before the exam—

However, not everyone has heard the rumors.

"quiet!"

But then they heard the soldiers' angry shouts, and this shout woke everyone up.

The noise was suppressed and the whole audience fell silent.

The sky suddenly began to rain, and the raindrops pattered on the ceilings of the examination halls and the bluestone pavement of the Imperial Examination Hall. Some of the rain also splashed on the hems of people's robes and the uppers of their thin shoes...

The rain comes so quickly, like a cry in the world.

With the sound of rain covering up their emotions, the students who had been suppressing their emotions were finally able to release some of them, and the sound of sobbing began to quietly rise.

Now, no soldier could shout at everyone to be quiet.

This is what fame and fortune are like. You must walk through thorns when you come here.

Chen Xu's heart was very calm, and the innate Qi that had been severely suppressed became more active at this time.

No wonder there are always some theories of spiritual practice that say that if you want to leave the world, you must first enter the world.

If you have never seen the famous soup, the wind and rain, and the frost and snow, how can you know that the hustle and bustle of the world cannot defeat the enlightenment of practicing Taoism?
The second exam was very short. Everyone answered the questions quickly amid the sound of wind and rain, racing against time in anxiety.

The wind and rain stopped at dusk, and the night was quiet and wasted.

At dawn the next day, I heard a bell ring and the third test paper was handed out!

This time, there is nothing else but a test poem.

As for policy essays, they will not be included in the provincial examination, but will naturally appear in the academy examination.

Chen Xu opened the test paper and was about to look at the questions when he suddenly felt dizzy and a blurry shadow appeared in front of his eyes.

The shadow was translucent and floated in front of Chen Xu like a wisp of smoke. It stretched out a pair of hazy hands, as if to cover his eyes.

(End of this chapter)