Lin Qinnian was a strict teacher who did not allow Du Hui to succeed. After Du Hui left Beijing, he was re-employed and filled the position of Director of the Imperial College.
Zeng Zhui studied under him. Besides treating him as a teacher, he also privately regarded him as Master Taishan. He did not dare to be as unrestrained as he was in front of Du Hui, and he worked harder than before.
On the day of Xiao Chutou's coming-of-age ceremony, he even knelt down to ask for marriage, revealing his "wolf ambition".
Although Lin Qinnian rejected him on the surface, Zengzhui knew that he was already half a member of the Lin family, so he worked even harder to prepare for the exam, determined to win.
This ambition is not only for myself, but also for my two teachers, my mother and elder sister, and even more for Little Chutou.
Finally, he survived a dull year and walked steadily into February of the following year.
——————The dividing line for the top scholar——————
This imperial examination was, as usual, supervised by the Ministry of Rites and assisted by the Imperial College.
Lin Qinnian was chosen as the chief examiner for this imperial examination. To avoid suspicion, Zeng Zhui moved back to the Du Mansion.
In the half month before the exam, no one in the Du family dared to make loud noises at home for fear of disturbing him. Du Feizhang, the eldest brother of the Du family, was so worried that he couldn't eat, and seemed even more nervous than Zeng Zhui.
Xu Jiang, Lou Yunchun and Hu Xu often came to visit. Du Feizhang tried to stop them secretly, but he couldn't stop them at all.
Several people tried to persuade him to relax and trust Zeng Zhui. However, Du Feizhang was born to worry, and he continued to keep a close eye on Zeng Zhui. By the time the imperial examination came, he was already exhausted.
The day before the imperial examination, Xu Jiang and Lou Yunchun came to visit with some dry food, most of which was made by Lin Hongchu.
Because of Master Lin's relationship, Lin Hongchu had to avoid suspicion and could not see Zeng Zhui, so she begged Xu Jiang to teach her how to make some dry food and send it to Zeng Zhui.
After receiving the dry food, Zeng Zhui was both happy and scared. Then he tried a piece of cake with a fearless attitude, and unexpectedly it tasted good.
He was pleasantly surprised and said, "The little hoe has made such progress!"
Xu Jiang laughed when she heard this.
Yin Yin on the side had a face full of resentment. All the failures went into her stomach, and the delicious ones were given to Zeng Zhui. Sister Xu said, what is this called?
Yes, it’s called putting women before friends!
Zeng Zhui counted the dry food and happily put it into the food box. He had already divided it into portions in his mind, deciding how many to eat each day.
Several people shook their heads.
In the middle of the night, Du Feizhang, Xu Jiang and Lou Yunchun personally escorted Zeng Zhui to the Imperial Examination Hall.
Du Feizhang was like an old nanny, checking and giving instructions all the way, and only stopped making any noise after she had sent Zeng Zhui into the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall.
Xu Jiang saw that he looked haggard and was about to persuade him to go back and rest, but he suddenly clapped his hands and said in shock, "You forgot to go to the Confucian Temple to worship! Hurry up! Go now, maybe you can get the first incense."
Then he urged the servant to drive the carriage to the Confucian Temple.
Xu Jiang stared at the carriage that was leaving in a cloud of dust for a long time without saying a word, but then she couldn't help but feel happy for Zeng Zhui. In this capital city, Zeng Zhui now had a family.
"Let's go." Lou Yunchun hooked her hand, "I'll take you back to the bookstore to catch up on some sleep."
"I'm not sleepy." Xu Jiang said with a smile, "Let's go to the academy first. Someone is waiting for us."
Nanshan Academy.
Lin Hongchu knelt before his mother's spirit tablet and prayed devoutly: "Mother, I hope that your spirit in heaven will bless Wenfeng to pass the imperial examinations and rise to a bright future."
Nine days later, at dusk.
Du Feizhang, Xu Jiang, Hu Xu, and Shopkeeper Wang and others crowded among the families of the examinees, staring anxiously at the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall.
With the sound of drums, the gate was opened, and the candidates, drained of their energy, staggered out and were taken away by their families.
After most of the people had left, Xu Jiang and the others still hadn't seen Zeng Zhui's shadow.
Du Feizhang rubbed the ground back and forth, anxiously asking, "Why hasn't he come out yet?"
Hu Xu consoled him, "Brother Du, be patient. You may have fallen behind, but you will eventually find your way out."
Shopkeeper Wang was also a little anxious and moved forward to look for it.
Xu Jiang saw a candidate who was familiar with Zeng Zhui, so she stepped forward to stop him and ask him questions.
"He's been moved to the last cell. He should be able to get out soon."
"Transferred to another cell?" Xu Jiang asked in surprise, "Why was I transferred to another cell?"
The examinee wore an expression that was difficult to describe. After pondering for a long time, he chose a polite way to say it to Xu Jiang, "I don't know what he ate, but he kept defecating. The neighboring examinees couldn't stand it, so they asked the examiner to move him to the most remote room."
To fart is to defecate.
Xu Jiang was speechless for a moment, and then he remembered that among the dry food made by Lin Hongchu, there was a kind of bean cake, which would cause bloating if eaten too much. He wondered if it was this bean cake that was responsible.
"Thank you for letting me know, and I wish you good luck in high school."
"Thank you for your kind words, shopkeeper."
After Xu Jiang went back and told them the reason, they all looked very confused, but they were no longer anxious.
After most of the people had dispersed, Zeng Zhui staggered out of the Imperial Examination Hall. He was very happy to see the few people. He ran over, threw the examination basket and food box, and hung them on Du Feizhang and Hu Xu.
It seems that he did well in the exam and was not hindered by the bean cake.
Hu Xu patted his shoulder and asked, "Wen Feng, how was your answer?"
Zeng Zhui said: "Not bad."
Xu Jiang raised an eyebrow, "Just good?"
He dropped the pretense and grinned, "That's pretty good."
Du Feizhang patted his head and said with relief: "Finally, you have lived up to your father's expectations of you."
Speaking of Du Hui, Zeng Zhui's heart warmed. He hugged Du Feizhang and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, big brother. I dare not let the teacher down."
Du Feizhang was feeling moved when he suddenly smelled a strange smell and his expression froze.
Everyone immediately stepped back.
Zeng Zhui felt a little embarrassed. He let go of Du Feizhang, then fanned around him with his hands and laughed dryly, "This energy of the Five Grains Reincarnation... isn't something you can just endure."
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