Chapter 26026 Fighting Late at Night
"Phew—that scared me to death!"
Fu Wen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his steps unsteady, his face still filled with shock.
Just a little bit more and the inkstone would have hit classmate Du, not only staining his entire body with ink, but also causing him to be ridiculed and mocked by his classmates.
Fu Wen's concerns are not unfounded.
When she was studying in the village school, the children in the village always ganged up on her and bullied her because she was thin.
Today he would tear up her homework, and tomorrow he would pour a bucket of water on her and soak her like a drowned rat. He used all kinds of methods one after another.
Every time after bullying her, those people would not leave immediately, but would stand there admiring her miserable appearance and laughing.
Her parents knew that she was being bullied in the village school, but they kept urging her to be patient.
Not only that, they also turned around and criticized her: "Flies don't bite eggs without cracks, so why don't they bully others? Behave yourself and don't cause trouble in the village school, otherwise I will beat you to death!"
Fu Wen has known since she was a child that the secret of her identity must not be revealed. Once the truth comes out, the consequences will be disastrous.
So she endured it, tried her best to reduce her presence, and didn't dare to have too much contact with anyone, for fear that someone would notice something was wrong.
Fu Wen smiled bitterly and thought that if that day really came, her parents would definitely not acknowledge her as their daughter.
Du Qingtang didn't miss the fleeting bitterness in her eyes and said confidently, "Who cares if it's Xie Guang or some other Guang? I'll eat and drink, but I won't tolerate being wronged. I've always been the one bullying others. Anyone who bullies me will be beaten back on the spot."
In a flash, Fu Wen seemed to understand something: "Classmate Du, you mean..."
She didn't hit Xie Guang with the inkstone by accident, but did it on purpose!
Fu Wen's sadness vanished as he clapped his hands and laughed, "This is truly heartening!"
Du Qingtang also laughed and sighed casually: "Today is really a thrilling day."
Fu Wenshen felt the same way: "Student Du must be exhausted after carrying books for so long. Let's go eat. Dinner is on me..."
Du Qingtang refused sternly: "You treated me to lunch, I won't take advantage of you for dinner."
Both sides had their own insistence, but in the end Du Qingtang was slightly better and convinced Fu Wen with reason, making him give up the idea.
When we arrived at the cafeteria, dinner was mostly light, with porridge and rice, and what we ate depended entirely on our preferences.
Du Qingtang memorized two books in a row, his throat was so dry that it was almost smoking. He ate a bowl of porridge, and then drank a bowl of vegetable soup. He didn't stop until his belly was full.
Fu Wen was also full, so he leaned against the wall, stroking his belly, and didn't move for a long time.
After a long pause, Du Qingtang put the dishes and chopsticks into the wooden barrel, and walked back to the dormitory with Fu Wen while admiring the Qingyuan Academy under the sunset.
Du Qingtang did not wash up and rest immediately, but took out the test questions given by Liu Tongsheng and continued to work on the unfinished part.
Fu Wen tidied his clothes and turned around to see Du Qingtang writing at his desk. When he got closer, he found that he was writing about the Four Books.
She couldn't help but exclaim: "Student Du is so diligent. I am ashamed of myself."
"The village students have come up with a few dozen test questions. Teacher Sun didn't assign any homework today, so I'll do a few more. I'll ask him for advice when I return to the village at the end of the month." Du Qingtang tilted his head. "Does classmate Fu have anything important to say?"
Fu Wen shook his head: "I plan to read a book for a while."
Du Qingtang extended an invitation: "It's easy to do it alone, and it's easy to do it with two people. Why don't you, classmate Fu, do the questions with me?"
The test questions provided by Liu Tongsheng are all high-quality. If you practice these questions thoroughly, passing the Tongsheng test will be no problem.
In his previous life, Fu Wen ranked second in the imperial examination, and he must have long wanted to take the imperial examination and become an official.
Du Qingtang is not a stingy person. Since Fu Wen shows goodwill to her, she is willing to reciprocate and make progress together with Fu Wen.
Fu Wen was flattered when he heard this: "Can I?"
Du Qingtang didn't answer but asked: "Don't you want to?"
Fu Wenchao shouted: "Of course I do!"
She had just taken a quick glance and realized that she had never done the Four Books questions on the paper. Needless to say, she was envious. She didn't expect Du Qingtang to invite her to do the questions together.
Fu Wen was overjoyed. He brought a stool and prepared his writing brush and ink. He said in a strong and powerful tone, "Thank you, classmate Du. You are such a good person!"
Du Qingtang rarely said something naughty: "I said the same thing to Xie Guang before."
Fu Wen: “…”
Du Qingtang: "Let's get started. Try to finish three or five questions tonight."
Fu Wen: "Okay."
The two of them quickly got into the state and started to solve the four book questions in front of them.
“The virtue of a gentleman is like the wind, while the virtue of a villain is like grass. The wind will bend the grass.” [1]
This quote comes from the Analects of Confucius. It says that the moral character of the ruling class is like the wind, and the moral character of the common people is like the grass. When the wind blows on the grass, the grass will fall in the direction of the wind. [2]
Literally, it talks about the importance of those in power setting a good example.
Du Qingtang's thoughts flowed like a spring and he wrote quickly. In just a short while, he had written a 300-word essay on the Four Books.
Next came the test poetry topic, and then the policy essay topic.
Du Qingtang and Fu Wen each wrote their own work, without disturbing each other or learning from each other. Time passed quickly without them noticing, and by the time they finished the three questions, it was almost the end of the Si hour.
"That's all for today, we'll continue tomorrow."
"That's what Fu is thinking."
Du Qingtang cleaned the brush, hung it on a homemade wooden rack to dry, and went out to fetch water with a basin.
There is a washroom next to the classroom and the dormitory.
She and Fu Wen walked in the corridor and found that almost all the dormitories in the fourth row had lights on. They were probably still studying by lamplight.
The man boiling the water was a white-haired old man who was dozing against the wall. He opened his eyes when he heard footsteps and asked with a smile, "Have you been studying until now?"
Du Qingtang should be.
"You're really hardworking," Grandpa sighed. "You two kids are still young, and you're still growing up. You can't stay up too late. I used to work too late, which tired me out. That's why I didn't grow tall."
Grandpa's voice was rough and old, but it couldn't hide his concern.
Fu Wen smiled and agreed: "We'll make a note of it."
Hot water flowed into the wooden basin. Du Qingtang stopped after collecting most of the water and let Fu Wen take over.
On the way back to the dormitory, Du Qingtang said, "Classmate Fu, I'm not used to having someone around when I wash up. Could I wait outside the door for a while?"
Fu Wen was overjoyed: "Of course, I happen to be one too."
The two of them took turns washing up, turning off the lights and going to bed. They lowered the bed curtains, lay down, and let the full sense of security wrap themselves up, and soon fell asleep.
-
Have a good night's sleep.
The next day, Du Qingtang woke up on time at dawn, put on his clothes quietly, picked up his book and went out.
It was still dark and the Qingyuan Academy was quiet, with only the occasional chirping of birds perched on the branches.
In the center of the academy, facing the main gate, stands a statue of Confucius with a kind face and deep eyes.
Du Qingtang put a cushion made of coarse cloth on the ground, sat on it, and recited aloud beside the statue of Confucius.
At present, she has mastered the Four Books and Five Classics, from memorization to interpretation, which is enough to cope with the imperial examination. It is time to study other books.
For example, the book "Zhou Li" in her hand.
"The Book of Zhou Rites" is a Confucian classic related to ritual system, one of the Thirteen Classics, and also one of the examination books for the imperial examinations.
"Only the king can establish a country, distinguish the right path and take the right position..."
The sound of reading aloud echoed in the cool air of the early morning. This was why Du Qingtang chose to study here. He could read loudly without disturbing the students who were still sleeping.
On the way, a man in a brown short-sleeved shirt trotted past her.
Seeing Du Qingtang reading, he stopped and asked, "Are you in the scholar class?"
Du Qingtang raised his eyes and saw the man in front of him who was over fifty years old, with white hair, clear eyes, and a solemn face, with a bit of scholarly demeanor.
Judging from his temperament, he seems like a professor or instructor in Qingyuan Academy.
But he was wearing the clothes of a craftsman in the academy.
The two were contradictory, so Du Qingtang simply ignored them and said, "No, I'm a student in the enlightenment class."
"Introduction class?" The man was a little surprised. He looked at the obviously handwritten copy of "Zhou Li" and said something in a low voice that Du Qingtang couldn't hear clearly. "You continue. I'm leaving."
Du Qingtang felt puzzled: "...Take care."
The man trotted away. Du Qingtang read the chapter "Tianguan Zaizhong" five times and tried to recite it again.
There was a moment of confusion during the process, but fortunately she quickly remembered it and recited the rest fluently.
Afterwards, Du Qingtang further interpreted the chapter "Tianguan Zaizhong". While translating the classical Chinese into vernacular, he thought about which sentences the examiner would choose as test questions if "Zhou Li" was tested in the imperial examination.
An hour passed in a flash.
Du Qingtang ended his morning reading and thinking time, hid his cushion and books behind the statue of Confucius, and began his morning exercise.
Her body has been in a state of malnutrition for many years and is just skin and bones. It is not suitable for overly intense fitness programs, so Du Qingtang chose to take it step by step, starting with radio gymnastics and then slowly adding other programs.
After finishing a set of radio gymnastics, Du Qingtang sweated a little. On the way back, he tried to avoid the wind to avoid catching a cold and affecting his class.
When I walked into the dormitory, Fu Wen was still sleeping.
Du Qingtang called her: "Classmate Fu, it's time to get up. You have classes later."
There was silence inside the bed curtains for a long time before a rustling sound was heard. Fu Wen said drowsily, "Yeah, it's up."
Du Qingtang dipped a willow branch in salt, quickly brushed his teeth, and went to the bathroom to get some hot water to wash his face: "Classmate Fu, I'll share half of the hot water with you."
Fu Wen, who was struggling with the belt of his academy uniform, was overjoyed when he heard this: "Thank you, Qingtang."
Du Qingtang paused while pouring water and agreed to Fu Wen's address.
After washing up, the two went straight to the dining hall.
Breakfast was a bowl of porridge with two vegetable buns. After finishing the porridge, I held a bun in each hand and ran to the classroom, eating them in big mouthfuls.
It's not just Du Qingtang and Fu Wen, many students along the way are like this.
They hurried to start the new day's classes.
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