Chapter 51 Provincial Examination

The scholar noticed Ji Hean when he first appeared at the lamp puzzle stall.

She was fair and tender, and her behavior was simple and cute. Although her clothes were not very expensive and she did not wear any jewelry, the bracelet on her wrist looked very valuable.

Anyone can see that the twins are very spoiled at home and their family is well off.

The scholar fell in love with Ji Hean almost at first sight. Originally, he didn't want to participate in the second lantern puzzle competition, but seeing Ji Hean's love for the prizes, he thought this was a good opportunity to strike up a conversation with her.

As for Ji Zheng standing next to him, the scholar never guessed that the two were a couple. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Ji Zheng's dress and the fact that he obeyed Ji He'an's words revealed that he was just a servant serving Ji He'an.

There is also a large-scale blind date scene at the end of the Spring Festival.

So the scholar told Ji and An that he wanted to make friends, but everyone knew exactly what kind of friends they were.

This sudden situation made Ji Hean and Ji Zheng stunned for a moment.

After reacting, Ji and An's faces turned red immediately, and they quickly hid behind Ji Zheng who was beside them.

Ji Zheng's face immediately darkened. She was flirting with his boyfriend in front of him. Such a thing actually happened to him.

The atmosphere was very awkward, but the scholar didn't feel it at all. Instead, he thought that Ji Hean was too thin-skinned and that he had scared people.

When she thought of this, she looked up and saw the handsome young man hiding behind his servant with a blushing face.

Seeing Ji Hean like this, the scholar liked him even more. He then handed the glass lamp in his hand to Ji Zheng and said, "Since your young master likes it, I will give this lamp to you."

The tone and the posture made it seem as if he treated Ji Zheng as a slave.

Ji Zheng also reacted, but he laughed. It turns out that people really laugh when they are very angry.

Ji Hean understood what the scholar meant. He didn't care about being shy and quickly came out to explain, "I'm sorry, he, I, we..."

Unfortunately, I was too nervous and didn't get any results after explaining for a long time.

Then Ji Zheng stepped in. He took Ji Hean's hand and kissed him on the lips. Then he raised his eyebrows and looked at the scholar with wide eyes and a shocked face and said, "We have gone through the government."

Now it was the scholar's turn to be embarrassed. Most scholars are very concerned about their reputation and are thin-skinned. The scholar's slightly fair cheeks turned red in almost a second, and he cupped his hands and apologized repeatedly: "Sorry, sorry, I was blind."

This matter was really embarrassing. The scholar offered the glass lamp in his hands with both hands, "I am sorry for being rude. Please accept this lamp as my compensation."

The man apologized sincerely, and Ji Zheng didn't want to argue with him, so he waved his hand and said, "It's okay, I won't take the lamp."

After saying that, he took Ji and An away, leaving the scholar standing there in a daze, watching their backs disappear into the crowd.

After the people completely disappeared, the scholar let out a sigh with frustration on his face. That little girl really was beautiful in every way to his liking, but it was a pity that she was already taken.

After such an embarrassing and regrettable thing happened, the scholar lost the mood to play anymore. He went home in a daze, holding the glass lantern tightly in his hand.

On the other hand, Ji Zheng and Ji Hean Ke didn't take the matter to heart at all. They still wanted to watch, play and eat as usual.

But Ji Zheng secretly decided in his heart that he should dress himself up more in the future. Not to look particularly good, but at least to stand next to his boyfriend and look like a good match. What happened today must not happen again.

In the following time, the two of them released river lanterns to pray for blessings, rode on a flower boat, and watched others reciting poems, singing songs and drinking. They played until they were exhausted and only returned to the inn when Ji and An fell asleep without realizing it.

The Spring Festival is usually held for three consecutive days, and the content of the three days is almost the same, so the two went back early the next morning.

But I just returned to town, not home.

Although the town is not as lively as the county town, it is still fun.

So Ji Zheng took Ji Hean to play in the town for another night before going home.

After the holidays, everyone gradually returns to their normal lives.

Of course, apart from the students who were going to take part in this provincial examination, as the examination time approached, many people spent almost all their time reading and studying except for eating and sleeping.

Ji Zheng was naturally no exception, but Li Wencheng did make a lot of money from selling paintings during this period.

I heard that because his paintings were so realistic and good, many people bought his paintings even if they had never heard of the story.

Especially during the three nights of the late Spring Festival, he sold in the town on the first night and in the county town on the next two nights.

Business was booming, money was flowing into his pocket, and he couldn't sleep at all, and he was painting every minute of every day.

However, hard work always pays off. He sold dozens of paintings for 170 taels of silver. After deducting the cost of pens, ink, paper and inkstone, he earned 147 taels. He was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling all day and all night.

Ji Zheng was a little surprised when he got 47 taels of silver. He didn't expect to earn so much. He guessed that he could only earn a few dozen taels at most.

Of course, Ji Zheng didn't expect that being able to earn so much was inseparable from Li Wencheng's eloquent mouth.

Moreover, there were many wealthy businessmen in the county, and spending seven or eight taels or more than ten taels to buy a painting was just a drop in the bucket for them.

Although the painting is not worthy of being collected, the character in the painting is the protagonist of a story that has recently swept the county, so the meaning is different.

Ever since that day when he learned that Ji Hean wanted him to become an official, Ji Zheng made two preparations: one for a career in politics and the other for a career in business.

Although this dynasty was not so strict with merchants, they were always ranked last. Whenever there were natural disasters or man-made disasters, the merchants were definitely the first to be pulled out.

Of course the most important thing is to regularly offer tributes to the local officials where you are doing business, and the tributes are not small, so it would be even better if you could enter the official career.

However, becoming an official through imperial examinations was not an easy task. So many people from all over the country took the exam, but only a limited number of people were recruited.

Ji Zheng simply took advantage of the times and managed to look at the world by standing on the shoulders of giants. He was still not very confident about competing with so many people for an official position.

Ji Zheng stretched his shoulders and put down his brush. Fortunately, he had been writing books for Gu Lulu every day recently, so his calligraphy has improved from being barely passable at the beginning to being okay now.

Although he was always criticized by the teacher, at least his handwriting was clear and neat, and Ji Zheng was still very satisfied.

...

The imperial examination system here is pretty much the same as what Ji Zheng knew, and it lasts a total of three days.

You cannot go out during these three days. You have to eat, drink, defecate, urinate and sleep in the examination room.

Poetry is the first subject of the examination. Candidates need to complete a seven-character quatrain or seven-character regulated verse, as well as a five-character or seven-character verse within the specified time.

This subject mainly examines the candidates' literary accomplishment and poetry writing ability, and is also one of the main indicators to measure the candidates' literary talent.

This subject can be said to be Ji Zheng's weak point. Given his literary literacy, he can only write it barely. As for the quality, that is another matter.

After finishing this exam, Ji Zheng felt like the sky had fallen on his head, and once again he admired those who passed the imperial examinations and became officials.

The second subject is the interpretation of classics. Candidates are required to choose a classic from the Five Classics to explain and write an academic article.

This subject mainly examines the candidates' academic quality and cognitive level.

This is a little better for Ji Zheng than poetry. His Chinese teacher organized this kind of activity once in his previous life, so he has some experience.

As for the last subject, Ji Zheng liked it more, as it was a policy essay test.

The policy essay requires candidates to write an essay expressing their political views and opinions on current affairs. This tests the candidates' critical thinking ability and political literacy.

If you can memorize the first two subjects, there will be no problem, but the last subject depends on how smart and sharp your brain is.

Ji Zheng is still somewhat confident in his IQ. In addition, he has seen the world by standing on the shoulders of giants, so he is quite confident about this subject.

When the three-day scientific examination was over, some people were happy and some were sad. Ji Zheng was in a good mood. After all, whether he passed the exam or not would not have a big impact on him.

Being an official and doing business each have their own advantages and disadvantages, it's just that being an official is slightly better in comparison.

This time the exam was held in the county town. Because he would be detained for three days, Ji Zheng was worried about letting Ji He'an live alone in the inn for three days, so he did not bring him and asked him to wait at home.

A lot of things happened during the exam. Some people were caught cheating, some fainted due to nervousness, some fell ill, and so on.

Ji Zheng was not nervous at first, but became a little nervous later.

After leaving the examination room, I saw Lu Qin and other people from the academy in the crowd.

However, these people had mixed emotions on their faces, and Ji Zheng didn't care much. He didn't ask any questions. After a simple greeting, he planned to go home.

I haven't seen my boyfriend for three days and I miss him a lot.

After walking only a few steps, Lu Qin caught up with him and asked, "Want to go back together?"

Ji Zheng was puzzled. Why did Lu Qin go back to town instead of staying in the county to wait for notification after the exams were over?

But in the end he didn't ask any more questions. If someone didn't take advantage of an opportunity, he would be a fool. So the two of them went back together in the carriage.

"How is it? Are you sure?" Ji Zheng was a little bored in the carriage and asked a random question.

“The questions are relatively simple.”

He gave the answer in one sentence without any emotional ups and downs. Ji Zheng was amazed. This was the confidence of a top student.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help feeling a little sad, because I remembered that he had given the same answer when someone asked him the same question.

"How are you?" Lu Qin asked after taking a sip of tea.

Ji Zheng shook his head, "No, I wrote a messy poem in the first section."

"It's okay. After all, you've only been learning for two months. If it doesn't work this time, there's always next time."

It is rare for Lu Qin, who is usually taciturn, to say so many words to comfort Ji Zheng.

"I don't take it seriously. It doesn't matter if I fail the exam. It's not a matter of life and death." Ji Zheng said calmly.

Lu Qin said nothing.

But everyone wants to know the outcome of things in advance, so Ji Zheng simply recited two poems he had written and asked Lu Qin how many points he would probably get.

But after listening to him, Lu Qin fell silent. He patted Ji Zheng on the shoulder and said, "I have a lot of poetry collections here. I can lend them to you when I get back."

Who is Lu Qin? He is the treasure held in the palm of the hand by all the teachers in the academy. His words are tantamount to sentencing Ji Zheng's imperial examination results to death.

He let out a long sigh. Although it was expected, he still felt a little frustrated. This was the first time he had ever failed an exam.