Chapter 1682: More Than Du Kang
The four masters and apprentices continued to climb up and came to the side of the middle-aged scholar. Many people on the mountain path were startled by the middle-aged scholar.
Then many people started crying.
Some were even older than the middle-aged scholar. They sat down on the mountain path and cried loudly, "How miserable! How miserable!"
Manbao, who was tiptoeing to search for wine in Bai Shan's backpack, was startled. He turned his head to look at the many scholars crying and sighing on the mountain path, and couldn't help asking, "What's going on?"
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang didn't know.
Mr. Zhuang said, "This year's exam is over. The harvest was bad this year, and the court may not hold the imperial examination next year. They are very sad."
Unlike Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, they both attended the Imperial College and are now students of the Chongwenguan. In the future, if they want to become officials, they don't need to take the imperial examination. They can directly go to the Ministry of Personnel to take the examination.
But other students who were not from the Imperial College, or even scholars who were not from official schools, had to pass the imperial examination first, then the examination of the Ministry of Personnel, and finally queue up to be selected as officials if they wanted to enter officialdom.
The imperial examination was only officially established in the previous dynasty, but the main purpose of selecting officials was to determine their ranks. The number of imperial examinations increased in this dynasty, but they were always suspended for various reasons.
An imperial examination was held this year, and another one was held in the autumn. Many officials were selected, and basically all the vacancies were filled. This year's economic situation is not good, so there is a high probability that there will be no examination next year.
After the results were announced last month, this rumor had already spread among the Imperial College. The scholars who had wanted to stay in the capital and continue their studies next year were very disappointed, and many of them were already preparing to leave Beijing and go home.
Mr. Zhuang told his three disciples about this, then shook his head slightly and said, "I had planned to climb the mountain and see the distant horizon on Double Ninth Festival, but I didn't expect to encounter these things. Forget it, give me the wine and let's go up the mountain."
Manbao stopped and looked at the middle-aged scholar who was sitting on a rock not far away and crying silently. "Sir, he is so sad. What if he gets drunk and falls off the mountain?"
Bai Shan also said: "The mountain road is rugged. If he accidentally falls or falls, it will be our fault."
Mr. Zhuang: "...Can Dukang wine make people drunk?"
The three drunken people nodded in unison, "Sure."
The four masters and apprentices stared at each other in amazement. In the end, Mr. Zhuang, who was outnumbered, was defeated. He could only sigh, "Then I'll have a drink with him?"
Anyway, he likes to drink when he is unhappy.
Manbao took out a needle bag from his waist bag and said, "How about I give him a few injections?"
Manbao said, "He's too sad right now, and his spirits are easily broken. Two injections will make him feel better."
Mr. Zhuang was very curious. "Isn't it said that heart disease is difficult to cure? Can your acupuncture cure frustration?"
Of course, it's impossible to cure a broken heart, but it can help him forget the pain in his heart for a while. Manbao took the needle bag and walked forward. He bowed to the middle-aged scholar who was crying bitterly, and then said, "Sir, my master is worried about you. Uh, well, don't be too sad. I think you are still young and there will be opportunities in the future."
Mr. Zhuang has three disciples: ...
Onlookers: ...
Manbao continued to comfort the other party lamely, "If you don't think about yourself, you have to think about your family. This mountain road is rugged. You are so sad. What if something happens?"
She finally made her purpose known, saying, "How about this, I'll give you two injections to cheer you up. Then you can go down the mountain, have a good meal, and get some sleep. You'll feel much better tomorrow."
The middle-aged scholar felt even sadder when he saw Manbao, who was so young, saying that he was still young.
Before he could even express his sadness, Manbao, seeing that he didn't object, reached out and took his hand, rolled up his sleeves, exposing one of his arms, and then pulled a needle from the needle bag and stabbed him...
The middle-aged scholar was caught off guard and his eyes widened instantly. Before he could react, Manbao took out another needle and pricked him in another place. He immediately screamed "Ah--".
The pain of the sound startled everyone who was watching and those who were not.
Manbao gently supported his arm. The middle-aged scholar who wanted to pull his hand back found that he had no strength in his arm, but - it hurt so much!
Seeing that he was screaming so hard that tears were about to come out, Manbao took out the needle. As soon as she took out the needle, his arm slowly regained consciousness.
He pointed at Manbao and said "you you you...", unable to speak.
Manbao comforted him and said, "How are you? Do you feel better?"
After calling him for a while, the middle-aged scholar found that he had stopped crying and seemed to be less depressed.
He couldn't help but be still.
The onlookers also noticed this and breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded quite scary, but it was good that no one was killed.
Seeing that he was better, Manbao put away the needle bag, then reached out and patted his shoulder to comfort him, saying, "Take care, sir. I see you're not too old. As long as you live long enough, there will always be opportunities. Things like the imperial examination can be taken when the time comes. You can still do more things on weekdays."
Anyway, there is no age limit for the imperial examination, so you can take the exam whenever you want.
Middle-aged scholar: ...
He felt no comfort.
Mr. Zhuang finally stepped forward. He asked Manbao to step aside, then introduced himself with a smile, "My name is Zhuang Xun from Mianzhou. I'm here to climb the mountain today during the Double Ninth Festival. Meeting is fate. Why don't you join me on the way to the summit?"
He pointed at his three disciples and said with a smile, "I asked them to bring two jugs of wine, just right for you to drink together."
The other party was silent for a moment, then stood up, dusted himself off, and returned the greeting: "I am Zhang Chen from Cangzhou. Thank you for your courtesy, sir."
But he did not refuse his invitation. He could see that they were afraid that something might happen to him in the mountains. Although he had just felt frustrated and wanted to give up, he had not thought of committing suicide.
That would be a sin, he couldn't do it.
But he still accepted Mr. Zhuang's kindness and simply lifted his robe and went up the mountain with them.
He was in good health and much younger than Mr. Zhuang. Although he was very disappointed, he still walked steadily. Mr. Zhuang had to rely on Bai Shan and Bai Erlang for support in the second half of the journey.
Zhang Chen turned around to look at the master and his disciples and couldn't help asking, "Mr. Zhuang is also coming to Beijing to take the exam?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "No, I came here to accompany some of my disciples in their studies."
Zhang Chen's eyes fell on Bai Shan and Bai Cheng, and he praised them, "Master's two disciples, Feng Qingyunlang, look like good boys. Which academy do they study in?"
Mr. Zhuang paused and said, "I'm studying in Chongwenguan."
Zhang Chen was stunned for a moment, then his enthusiasm faded a bit. He smiled and asked, "I see. I wonder whose disciples these two young masters are?"
Still hurts
See you at 11pm
(End of this chapter)
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