Lin Zikui hadn't seen Zhao Ling for more than a month. When he was studying, he often felt that he was beside him and even dreamed about him. This lingering feeling was finally released.
The carriage was not big. When Lin Zikui got in, he stared at him intently. When Xiao Fu called him "young master", Lin Zikui bent down to hug him without hesitation, and put his arms directly through his back and waist, hugging him tightly.
Instead, Xiao Fu was stunned - Lin Zikui had never taken the initiative to hug him. He didn't know whether it was because of the reservedness of a scholar, or because he was concerned about the fact that he was a man. This was the first time such a situation happened.
It turns out that a separation can make an old-fashioned scholar become less reserved.
Lin Zikui's body was very hot from the sun, and this scorching warmth reached Xiao Fu's every limb.
Holding the back of his head with one hand, Xiao Fu lowered his head and asked, "Zikui, are you studying hard in Prince Shuo's mansion?"
"some."
Xiao Fu knew that he was serious, and he could ignore Yu Wencan's snoring.
Xiao Fu felt that he had grown some flesh on his body, and it seemed that he had been eating well recently.
"Then you must do your best in the exam. It's good enough to pass the exam. Whether you win the first place or not doesn't matter."
Lin Zikui nodded and whispered, "If I have to, I will pass." He promised his teacher and swore an oath in front of his parents' grave.
Unlike the palace examination which tests the emperor's favor, the metropolitan examination only looks at the essay and knowledge.
Lin Zikui tilted his head slightly, sweat on his forehead: "If I win the first prize, you..."
He hesitated to speak, wanting to ask Xiao Zhaoling whether his parents would be willing to see him because of his fame.
However, the words sounded like a threat, and Lin Zikui couldn't bring himself to ask.
Xiao Fu: "Hmm? Just because I won the first place in the imperial examination, does that mean Lin Lang is willing to spend the wedding night with me? The ancients always said that when one's name is on the imperial examination list, the wedding night will be spent with candles."
"No, it's not the bridal chamber..." Lin Zikui couldn't explain clearly, "Forget it, I'll talk about it after I win."
"You will pass the exam. Do your best."
All the examinees entered the Imperial Examination Hall, and Lin Zikui was also let down from the carriage by Xiao Fu. Before letting him down, he held his lips and touched them for a moment before separating. Lin Zikui was immediately uneasy, and after getting off the carriage, he kept looking back.
Commander Chen escorted him to the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall and handed him his book collection.
The show lasted for nine days in total, with one show every three days. The weather was still hot in early August, with a cool breeze blowing occasionally. There were foot-powered wooden fans painted by Lin Zikui in front and behind. It seemed that Prince Shuo had done business in the Imperial Examination Hall.
The students were talking about it: "He even sent someone to fan us examinees to prevent us from getting a heat stroke. The Minister of Rites is a good man."
Mr. Pang sat firmly on the high platform, holding a string of beads in his hand, thinking, "If the Regent hadn't ordered that scholars are weak and will faint in the hot weather, and the examination can't be carried out properly, I would never have sent people to fan you."
He walked down to inspect the examination hall. There were dozens of examination rooms, filling the entire Imperial Examination Hall. Mr. Pang's son Pang Xiang was also there. Even though Pang Xiang had memorized the questions in advance, he still had a hard time answering them.
He could only make couplets and guess riddles. He knew nothing about writing and found it difficult to memorize ready-made articles.
Pang Xiang looked up at the young candidate sitting next to him. He had a handsome face like jade, a figure like bamboo, a slender neck, and a pair of transparent eyebrows on his white nose. He wrote the article calmly and seemed to be very adept at it and looked very confident.
Nine days later, the examination ended.
Pang Xiang finally breathed a sigh of relief, added some more details and finished writing. Then he looked at the young student he had been paying attention to. He was calm and composed in the face of danger. After handing in the paper, he packed up his books and strode out of the examination hall.
He is so triumphant and full of confidence, it looks like he is going to win.
After Lin Zikui left the Imperial Examination Hall, there was only a carriage waiting for him. Lin Zikui looked around and saw Xiao Fu lifting the curtain and waving at him: "Don't look, I'll ask your teacher to go back first. How can he bear it in such a hot day?"
Lin Zikui just nodded and got into the car hesitantly, but sat a little far away from him.
Xiao Fu: "I asked the kitchen to make you lychee and bayberry soup. The ice hasn't melted yet. Is it too hot?"
"It's not hot. The Imperial Examination Hall uses the foot-powered wooden fans I designed for the examinees. There are some in every examination room." Lin Zikui took the bowl and said, "Why don't you ask me how I did on the exam?"
"Lin Lang must have done well in the exam, right?"
"I think I answered well. Making the list... isn't a big problem." Lin Zikui said modestly. When he felt Xiao Zhaoling sitting over, he stepped aside.
Xiao Fu frowned: "Why are you hiding from me?"
Lin Zikui still hid with the bowl in hand: "I haven't taken a shower for nine days... I'm dirty, don't come near me."
It wasn't just him, it was all the candidates. A few days before the exam, the examination room was filled with a bad smell.
That's why Lin Zikui was looking for the teacher's carriage just now, thinking about going back quickly to take a shower and change clothes. Xiao Fu wanted to touch him, but he naturally refused.
Xiao Fu didn't care about this at all. Seeing that he was unwilling, he insisted on getting closer and asked if he could smell it. He forced him into the corner. Lin Zikui was really embarrassed and closed his eyes. He was still holding the white porcelain bowl in his hand, with ice water melting in his palms.
"I can't smell anything on you. I only know that Lin Lang is fragrant, pleasant, and sweet." The whisper-like tone fell, and Lin Zikui blushed and was speechless for a moment. He pushed the white porcelain bowl to him and said, "You eat it."
"It would be a waste if I were to eat the lychees and bayberries. You should let the young master eat them."
Lin Zikui thought for a moment and said, "You eat too, and I eat too."
Xiao Fu understood: "You take a bite, and I take a bite."
Perhaps because he was tired from the exams, Lin Zikui returned to the villa and felt a little sleepy after taking a shower, but he still insisted on visiting the teacher and discussing the topic with him.
He wrote down the test questions and his own essay verbatim.
Xue Xiang couldn't help but praise: "The writing is brilliant, the words are meaningful, and the talent is amazing!"
Lin Zikui: "Teacher, you are so kind."
"Is it an exaggeration? The examiner has eyes. Just wait and see!"
The examination papers were sealed and sent to the Ministry of Rites. After the transcriber copied them with a red pen, the examiners read the papers one by one.
The examination room for Pang Xiang was naturally sent to his father, Shangshu Pang, by an official from the Ministry of Rites.
Minister Pang nodded. Yes, his son Pang Xiang’s test paper had a few mistakes and omissions in it, but he had almost copied down the entire article he had written. His writing was sophisticated and concise, and every word was to the point! It is not surprising that he was nominated as the champion. The article was written by him himself, so Minister Pang could naturally recognize it at a glance.
He put his son's test paper aside and looked at the first sentence of the next test paper, which made Pang Da's eyes light up.
Mr. Pang read line by line, and the more he read, the more surprised and horrified he became. He quickly turned to the first page, looked at the number on the candidate's red paper, and then went to look for the name and hometown that was covered by the seal on the original paper.
Lin Zikui, a candidate from Huainan.
"This is a genius, this is the champion!" He couldn't help but praise.
With Lin Zikui's wonderful writing in front, what Pang Xiang wrote suddenly became dull and dim.
The examiners of the Grand Secretary all rushed across the room to read it, and praised it one after another: "Excellent essay, good handwriting, and great learning!"
Such a genius should be highly valued by the court. But when Mr. Pang glanced at Pang Xiang's paper, his expression suddenly changed.
Doesn't that mean Pang Xiang won't be able to become the champion?
The scholar Wen, who had just been transferred from the Imperial College, kept muttering the three words "Lin Zikui".
"Sounds so familiar, is this the blind man from Huainan?" Wen Shengli suddenly remembered that this Lin Zikui had been engaged to his current wife Xiao Ting.
Looking at Mr. Pang's expression again, Wen Shengli took the initiative and whispered in Mr. Pang's ear: "Sir, I think this is inappropriate."
"Master Wen, do you think there is something wrong? What do you want to say?" Mr. Pang was still thinking about what to do. Otherwise, should he really let Lin Zikui be the champion?
But he was unwilling to give up. Pang Xiang only took the exam this once, which was a great honor for his family. Although the Regent said that favoritism and cheating were not allowed, there were still the Jinyiwei to monitor the examination room, and Pang Xiang did not cheat on the spot.
Pang Xiang just memorized it in advance. In addition, Pang Xiang's test paper was so outstanding that even if Mr. Pang avoided marking it and rejected it, the examiners in other rooms would inevitably select it when they saw it and checked the rejected papers.
The Grand Scholar Wen said, "As for Lin Zikui, either we should eliminate him or let him get a mediocre ranking."
Minister Pang was furious: "Look at the article he wrote, and see for yourself how he eliminated the person?!"
"I have an impression of this Lin Zikui. He is a top scholar in Huainan. He suffers from eye disease and is a talent that is not appreciated. Although he is physically disabled but determined, his eyesight clearly prevents him from serving as an official in the imperial court. Even if he takes the palace examination, His Majesty will not like him. In addition, his test paper is not completely perfect."
Pang Daren: "How is it not perfect? Don't you have eyes?"
"Please look at this sentence, 'In man it is called 'Haoran', which is so abundant as to fill up the universe, and literature is used to carry the truth.'"
Pang Daren: "What's wrong with this sentence?"
"Look, sir, the two characters 'Yuwen' are connected, but the character 'Yu' has an extra dot for no reason. Is this a sinister act? To put it in a bigger way, it is a disrespect for the imperial power!"
Mr. Pang rubbed his eyes and looked carefully.
"There is indeed an extra '宇' in the copied character." Mr. Pang stretched out his hand and touched it, and there were actually traces of red ink on his fingertips!
He looked up at Wen Daxueshi and asked, "Did you add it?"
"No, no, no, how could it be your humble servant? I just saw that Lin Zikui's article had problems with its ideas. How could he be chosen as the first prize winner?"
After unanimous discussion and decision by all examiners, Lin Zikui's article was rejected.
An assistant examiner lamented, "The Prince Regent and Prince Zhao have an old grudge. The extra character 'Yu' is just a metaphor for two tigers on the same mountain. We saw it, and we can't pretend we didn't see it. If a test paper angered that thousand-year-old master, such a good candidate would be beheaded on the spot."
So after ten days of sleepless reviewing, the last three hundred selected papers with red ink were sent to the Regent's imperial study, waiting for him to select the candidates.
Xiao Fu sat up straighter and flipped through the pages one by one. He had seen the examination essay that Lin Zikui wrote after he left the Imperial Examination Hall and remembered the content very clearly.
But after looking through all 300 pages one by one, there was no article of his at all!
Where is Lin Zikui’s test paper?
With his talent, how could he not be among these three hundred people?
Could it be that someone took his test paper away? Xiao Fu's face immediately turned ugly: "Liang Hong, tell that dog slave Pang Zhuo to get out of here!"
When Minister Pang heard the bad news, he immediately rolled in and knelt on the ground, kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down."
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