453 The provincial examination is not something a human should do
After returning home safely, he put Chen Sheng's matter aside. After all, he was not important to him.
He called Xiao Wu and Lin Feng.
"You two go to the city and ask about the betting for this provincial examination. If anyone bets on me to be the first, please bet two thousand taels for me. If anyone bets on Zhou Heng to be in the top ten, you can bet two hundred taels. If you bet on me to be in the top three, please bet two hundred.
Also, you guys should try not to bet on this. If you really want to bet, you can still bet on Zhou Heng's top ten, but don't tell my parents, uncles, and grandpa right now. Master will be back tomorrow, so don't tell him either."
No parent likes their children to gamble.
But he still wanted to bet on himself to win. There were only a few people in the whole Great Zhou who could be taught by both the old imperial teacher and the former president of the Hanlin Academy. Even Fu An and Chen Xuan rarely received the careful instruction of the old man. Most of the time, the old man would call him to the yard for one-on-one instruction.
He had been particularly motivated in the past few years, and even if the matters in the clinic were not very difficult, he would not act rashly. In the past two years, most of the mole and spot removal work was done by Qingshi and Wu Jun.
Xiao Wu and Lin Feng took the silver and turned to leave, but they were thinking in their hearts, they could bet some on Mr. Zhou, but they must bet more on the young master's first place. Others may not know, but they know how hardworking their young master has been in recent years and how he goes to bed at midnight every night.
These close subordinates of theirs have no shortage of money, and the young master has always been generous to them.
Sun Sicheng returned to Yong'an on the second day of October. On the next day, he took Ping'an and the other two to his house in the city to change their living conditions and give them a chance to adapt. He also asked the chef to prepare three meals a day strictly according to the exam requirements.
Ping'an basically studies alone in the backyard, and would take an hour in the afternoon to go to the front yard to exchange ideas with Zhou Heng and Sanqiang.
On this day, Sun Sicheng was preparing to ask Ruyi to prepare medicinal food for Ping'an. Ping'an had been suffering from a sore throat over the past two days and had small blisters on his lips.
Ruyi suddenly became a little hesitant.
Wanli asked, "What's wrong? What are you doing?"
Sun Sicheng then raised his head and looked at Ruyi. He had called Wanli and He Jin to discuss something.
Ruyi said, "Master, everyone in the city is betting on the top ten candidates for this provincial examination. Jixiang and the others, please discuss with me whether we should bet on Master Ping'an?"
He Jin was interested: "There is such a thing? I forgot about it. It seems to be like this every time there is a provincial examination, but the eldest master has always forbidden us to gamble. Eldest master, this time it is Master Ping An, do you want to bet once?"
Sun Sicheng asked Ruyi, "Did you go and see? How did they bet on Ping An?"
"Master, some people bet on Young Master Ping An to be in the top three. The odds are 1 to 2. If you win, you will get double the prize. Some people bet on Young Master Ping An to be the first. The odds are 1 to 4. If you win, you will get four times the prize. We all want to bet on Young Master Ping An to be the first. Xiao Wu and the others also bet on him. I heard that Young Master Ping An gave up the prize himself."
Wanli laughed: "How much did Master Ping An ask them to bet?"
Ruyi said, "I heard that Master Ping'an asked them to bet on the top three, and they could bet 100 taels. If they bet on the first place, they could bet 50 taels. It seems that Xiaowu and the others bet on Master Ping'an for the first place, and did not bet on the top three."
Sun Sicheng laughed out loud: "They really believe in their master. Well, let's make an exception this time. Go find a reliable gambling house and bet on Ping An for first place. Give me two thousand taels. You don't have to bet anything else.
If you want to bet, it’s only this time. If I find you betting again, I’ll kick you out. The maximum amount per person is 100 taels.”
Wan Li smiled and said, "Master, can you make an exception for me and He Jin? We will bet 500 taels on Master Ping An and also pay for Fang Xiao."
Sun Sicheng smiled and waved at Ruyi: "Go ahead, but don't let anyone know. Come quietly."
"Yes, my Lord."
"Just think of it as encouragement to Ping An. Don't regret it if he doesn't get first place. This guy even secretly let people bet on him, hehe, hehehe."
The day of the provincial examination finally arrived.
He Jin and Wan Li drove the carriage themselves. Sun Sicheng's carriage was large, and Ping An, Zhou Heng, Sanqiang and Lin Feng sat inside.
Sun Sicheng and Wan Changsheng were sitting in the car at the back, Erqiang and Xiaowu were sitting next to them, and Dazhuang was driving the car in the front.
The two carriages followed closely, moving very slowly. The sky was still very dark, and only a little light could be seen.
But there were people and cars driving in the streets and alleys of the city, and lanterns were moving in the dark night. It was said that there were more than 4,000 students taking the provincial examination, which was the largest number in recent years.
When we arrived at the courtyard in front of the examination hall, quite a few people had already arrived, and probably half of them were family members seeing them off. Take Ping An for example, there were three candidates and eight people coming to see them off.
Ping An and the others got off the bus, hurriedly carried their exam boxes and went to line up. The earlier they got in, the better. They familiarized themselves with the private room early and made all the preparations.
Erqiang and six others surrounded the three people.
No food is allowed to be brought to the provincial examination, but those who can afford it can bring some ginseng wine or ginseng slices; those who cannot afford it can bring some red date wine and some daily medicines. That's all. The rest will be prepared by the government office.
Sun Sicheng and Wan Changsheng each guarded a carriage, watching the children not far away for nine days and eight nights. If they went in today, they would not be able to come out until nine days later, unless there was an emergency and they could not continue the exam.
Sun Sicheng was not worried about this. Ping An had been doing morning exercises every day in recent years and was stronger than a calf. He was rarely sick. He would occasionally have a slight fever, but would be gone in two days at most.
It was Ping'an's turn to enter the examination room. He consciously took out the things in the examination basket one by one.
Fortunately, one of the three inspecting yamen runners knew Ping An. When the students of the provincial school were poisoned, his son was one of them, and his illness was quite serious. Fortunately, the eldest son and young master Ping An saved his son.
Because of his politeness, the other two people became much more gentle.
After checking the examination basket, he had to take off his clothes. It was already a bit cold in Yong'an in October. As he was not allowed to wear jackets or cotton-padded clothes, the master asked him to wear four thick single clothes. He could take them off when it was hot, but it would be painful if he didn't bring any when it was cold.
He had a leather cloak, but his mother had removed the inner layer, leaving only the outer layer of leather. It could be considered a single piece of clothing and could be used as a quilt at night, half as a mattress and half as a cover.
He took off his clothes one by one, and stopped when he was left with only his last set of underwear.
"Young Master, please take off all your clothes. We can't do anything about it, but..."
Ping An could only ask the heavens in silence, gritted his teeth and stripped himself naked. Fortunately, the yamen runners quickly checked his clothes and let him put them on.
As he walked in through a small door carrying the examination box, he could vaguely hear a yamen runner behind him asking, "Brother, who is this person? Do you know him?"
"Of course he's an acquaintance. You're an acquaintance too, it's the eldest master's disciple, the young master Ping An. Stop talking, someone's coming in."
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