Rise From the Humble

It was pitch black outside the window, and it was the darkest, darkest and coldest moment before dawn. The students and scholars who were sleeping soundly in the inn all packed up their clothes and went out with their belongings.

moths to flame

or phoenix nirvana

This was the day when the fate of each of them began to be determined. The county examination in February of the Ming Dynasty began. The students and scholars who walked out of the inn were either anxious or full of ambition, and of course some were expressionless and calm.

Zhu Ping'an also went out at this time, and brought a lot of things, as if moving house: in the bag, there was a rabbit fur blanket and a thin mattress; he carried a large bamboo basket, which was full of food and drink Yes, there are preserved fruits, pastries, cooked food, stewed meat, water cups, etc.; of course, pens, inks, papers and inkstones are also essential.

After all, Zhu Ping'an was only thirteen years old, and he was not tall. With so many things with him, he was almost invisible, like a clumsy turtle with a shell on its back.

Other students and scholars who went out saw Zhu Pingan laughed at him for bringing too many things. Most of them carried relatively light things, and some also brought a lot of things, but none of them carried so many things like Zhu Pingan.

Zhu Pingan turned a deaf ear to the ridicule of fellow students and scholars.

When passing by the lobby, Zhu Ping'an was a little surprised to find that his uncle Zhu Shouren was leisurely ordering a table of good wine and food with several other students, and he had no intention of leaving at all. The other students and scholars in the same group looked at them enviously , Uncle Zhu Shouren and the others also enjoy the attention and envy of everyone.

"Hey, don't be nervous, it doesn't matter if you don't win this time, and you'll have more experience, and the future will last forever."

Uncle Zhu Shouren, who was enjoying the envy of everyone, saw his nephew Zhu Pingan, who was carrying a lot of things, his face was even more complacent, and he preached in the tone of an elder.

I haven't had the exam yet, so why did I just open my mouth and keep my mouth shut to gain experience? Zhu Pingan looked at his elder uncle Zhu Shouren who was kindly preaching, and ten thousand grass and mud horses roared past in his heart.

"Why hasn't uncle left yet?" Zhu Pingan asked quietly.

Hearing Zhu Ping'an's doubts, uncle Zhu Shouren seemed to be floating up after drinking three bowls of soju in one breath, and his face was flushed with excitement, but he pretended to be nothing.

"Uncle is already a child. You don't need to take the county examination or the government examination. You only need to take the hospital examination."

Uncle Zhu Shouren stroked his beard, his face full of pride, waiting to see Zhu Ping'an's envy and hatred.

"Oh, that pig will go first." Zhu Pingan didn't care about his uncle's pride at all, and replied lightly, and went out with the crowd with his bags on his back.

Just oh

Waiting for Zhu Ping'an's envious and jealous uncle, he looked at Zhu Ping'an's leaving back blankly.

Zhu Pingan followed the crowd to the county test center, which was located in a market not far from the county government office. During the test period, the market was closed for cleaning, and a huge test shed was set up, facing south. On the south side of the test shed, there are two gates, east and west, surrounded by fences made of wood. A large courtyard was set up in the test shed, and there was a main entrance, which is often called the Dragon Gate. This large courtyard is the examination room for candidates. The examination room is divided into two parts. The front part is for candidates to wait, and the rear part is equipped with rows of tables and chairs for candidates to answer their papers. The examiner sat on the west side, and the examinees lined up here to wait for the examiner to roll their names. After the roll call, the examinees could be used as the answer sheet.

In front of the examination shed, there are five teams of government servants in front of the main entrance, checking the certificates of the students and scholars and the salutes they bring with them. The inspection is very careful: the bedding must not be lined, the socks must be single-layered, the clothes must also have seams, and the inkstones are all It can't be too thick, the pastry has to be cut

The yamen servants checked so carefully because they were afraid of cheating, so as not to be held accountable in the future.

There were a lot of things that the students brought with them failed the test, but fortunately, they were not caught cheating. As long as they weren't cheating things, if they didn't pass the things they kept, they could go in.

The imperial examinations have been held for so many years, and the penalties for cheating are also very serious. At least Zhu Pingan did not find any cheating things during the time waiting in line.

The search by the yamen servants was like a modern security inspection. Zhu Ping'an's large pile of everything was opened for inspection, and the preserved cooked food was cut up by the yamen servants so that they could be imported.

There was nothing unqualified in such a large pile of things, not only the students who were waiting to see the jokes were surprised, but also the inspectors were a little surprised.

After entering the main entrance, a small official with a little literacy checked and checked Zhu Pingan's identity and resume. After checking, he led Zhu Pingan to an open space, where there were already four scholars who were about 20 years old waiting. This should be the Mrs. Sun has become the four candidates for the guarantee. These four people thought highly of themselves and communicated with each other. None of them paid attention to Zhu Ping'an. They all knew that Zhu Ping'an was recruited by Mr. Sun to make up the numbers.

Zhu Pingan saw the performance of the few people, and his original idea of ​​saying hello disappeared, and he stood there waiting foolishly.

When it was almost dawn in Dase, the county magistrate in official robes arrived, and the waiting students and scholars became commotion, which made it difficult for the yamen guards to keep order.

There were too many people, and Zhu Ping'an was young and short, so he didn't see clearly what the county magistrate looked like.

Through the communication of the people around, Zhu Pingan knew that the county magistrate had generally said a word of encouragement, and then he talked about the exam. There are four exams in this county exam and so on. The field is also acceptable, as determined by the county magistrate. Zhu Ping'an is also happy to hear that there are four exams this time.

Then the county magistrate left the venue, and the officials began to roll their names, and several yamen servants repeated the county magistrate's words loudly for all the students to hear.

It took Zhu Pingan a long time to hear his name, and he walked in with several scholars who were guarded by Old Master Sun with him.

There is a paper light sign in the courtyard, which is easy to see. Zhu Pingan followed a few people into the atrium lobby, and followed a few people to bow to the person who looked like an examiner in front of him.

"Li Lanshan, a native of Shanghe Village, will be guarantor by Sun Hongzhi, the son of the housekeeper." One of the four people stepped forward, took a test paper and sang the guarantor loudly.

Then Zhu Ping'an heard Old Master Sun's voice, "Sun Hong Zhibao is the son of Lin."

Zhu Pingan looked up and saw Mrs. Sun sitting in one part of the lobby, and there were several people sitting with Mrs. Sun.

After hearing Mrs. Sun's confirmation, the examiner nodded, and then a small official led Li Lanshan to the examination room to take the examination.

Zhu Pingan was the last one among the five to sang the bail. After Mr. Sun accepted the bail, Zhu Pingan didn't even have the chance to make eye contact with Mr. Sun, so he was led by the petty official to the examination room to take the exam.

I can also understand that so many candidates and nurses have to go through this process, and the time is tight.

The seat number on the roll seal in Zhu Ping'an's hand is Ding Chou. This is arranged according to the celestial stems and earthly branches, but Zhu Pingan, who is used to reading Arabic numerals, is still at a loss. Fortunately, a small official has asked for a seat, otherwise finding a seat would be a hassle.

There are ten rows of simple seats, one long table and one chair, that's all.

Zhu Pingan sat on the seat, arranged the pen, ink, paper and inkstone one by one, and then opened the test paper.

The test paper has red lines, horizontal and straight dots, a total of more than ten sheets, each page has twelve lines and each line has twenty characters, and there are two blank sheets of paper for drafting.

However, he didn’t see the test questions. Zhu Ping’an was a little puzzled. He was about to raise his hand to ask the examiner, but he saw several government officials patrolling the field with sign lights. The topic is posted on this big wooden board.

It turned out that Zhu Pingan suddenly realized.