Chapter 40: County Examination, Sincerity is the Key
A month passed in a flash, and the day of the county examination arrived in the blink of an eye.
There was no prefectural examination in Daliang, and those who passed the county examination were considered students recognized by the court.
Jiangzhou Prefecture has seven counties under its jurisdiction, among which the prefectural government office is located in Zhaoping County, and Longchang Academy is also under the jurisdiction of Zhaoping County.
Most of the students at Longchang Academy were residents of Jiangzhou Prefecture, and their registered residence was in Zhaoping County, so naturally they all applied for the exam locally.
Half a year after the county examination, the palace examination was held under the auspices of Jiangzhou Prefecture.
If a candidate is capable or lucky, he can pass the county examination and the academy examination within a year and become a scholar.
On the morning of the county examination, Zhu Lan set out from home.
Mr. Zhu arranged two carriages to personally take her to the Imperial Examination Hall.
As Zhu Lan was the eldest granddaughter of the Zhu family, it was natural for the whole family to come out to see her off for such a big event as taking the imperial examination, and the second branch was no exception.
Zhu Hongming stood in the yard of the second house, urging people into the house impatiently.
Du Lanfang was still in the room, wiping Zhu Chao's face, and said reluctantly:
"It's just a county exam. People who don't know would think it's an imperial examination. Is it necessary to make such a big fuss?"
Du Lanfang felt very uncomfortable when she thought that Mr. Zhu’s attention had been entirely on Sister Lan recently, and he had even spent less time with Chao’er.
Besides, the eldest wife’s child was going to take the county examination, and as his aunt, I could just see him off at the gate.
Old Master Zhu actually asked their entire family to accompany Zhu Lan to the Imperial Examination Hall to cheer him on.
So what?
Zhu Hongming was helpless:
"You know what kind of person my father is. The imperial examination is more important to him than his life. He has been hoping all his life that someone in his family can study and become an official.
"Big brother is gone, and Lan Jie'er has made a name for herself now. Can't Dad just pin his hopes on her?"
Du Lanfang felt even more depressed after listening to this. She couldn't help but glance at her husband and said sarcastically:
"The Zhu family only has one son, Zhu Hongsheng, right?
If you hadn't failed to pass the imperial examination for so many years, would the old man be like this?"
Zhu Hongming was choked and felt bad. His tone became even worse and he urged her to hurry up because others were waiting at the door.
Zhu Yuanou, Pei Yue, Zhu Lan and others were standing at the gate, and he kept reminding Zhu Lan to check his writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstone, glue and the like, to make sure he didn't forget to bring anything.
I told her again and again not to be nervous and that it was no big deal.
Pei Yue smiled and said:
"Dad, I think Lan'er is much calmer than you."
Zhu Yuanou also laughed, and then saw Zhu Hongming coming late with Du Lanfang and Zhu Chao.
He dared to neglect his duties on such an important day. Zhu Yuanou could not help but frown and reprimand him.
Without even looking at Zhu Chao, he took Zhu Lan into the carriage, and Pei followed suit.
Du Lanfang glared at Zhu Hongming fiercely and took Zhu Chao to the next car.
Many children of high-ranking officials and nobles in Jiangzhou City took part in the county examination in Zhaoping County. Every family wanted to show off their wealth and send their children to the tribute academy in a grand manner.
In order to prevent congestion in front of the Imperial Examination Hall, several roads leading to the hall were blocked and checkpoints were set up at a certain distance from the hall. Everyone had to get off the bus and walk there.
The carriage arrived and everyone prepared to get off.
Du Lanfang looked at the big sun overhead and said, "Dad, it's such a bright sunny day. We are still a long way from the Imperial Examination Hall. Chao'er is still young..."
The implication is that just send it here.
Zhu Yuanou's face darkened: "I can walk at my age, but he can't?"
Du Lanfang had no choice but to take Zhu Chao out of the car.
In order not to miss the deadline, almost everyone chose to arrive at the Imperial Examination Hall an hour in advance and wait nearby.
"Lanlan." Qin Yuwei saw Zhu Lan, walked over to greet her, and then greeted the other members of the Zhu family.
Du Lanfang took a look at her and saw that the girl was dressed shabbily. Her clothes even had several patches on them and the cuffs were worn out.
He couldn't help but feel contempt, secretly laughing at Zhu Lan for hanging out with all kinds of people in the academy.
Qin Yuwei saluted her, and Du Lanfang lowered her head to tease Zhu Chao, pretending not to see it.
Qiao Youyou also came alone. Today, all the candidates were wearing casual clothes. Qiao Youyou was wearing a light yellow shirt with her cuffs rolled up like a Hu person, looking neat and tidy.
The material of her clothes was just the most ordinary satin, but Du Lanfang saw the gold locket hanging around Qiao Youyou's neck at a glance.
It was specially made by Qiao Youyou's parents when her original body was born.
The gold lock was inlaid with gems, and one could tell at a glance that it was worth a fortune.
Du Lanfang saw that this golden lock was worth more than all the money he had on his body, and he looked at it sourly several times.
Zhu Lan asked Qiao Youyou why she came alone.
Qiao Youyou looked indifferent and said that her father went to Jiangnan for business, and her mother was a Jiangnan woman, so she followed him back to visit her hometown.
Oh, so he is the son of a merchant. No wonder he can only wear satin of this material.
Merchants in Daliang were of low status, and even if they were rich, they were not allowed to wear expensive silk and brocade.
Du Lanfang regained his sense of superiority, and the look he gave Qiao Youyou was filled with the word "untouchable".
…
Xiao Wan's family was also a declining aristocratic family, with a similar situation to Zhu Lan's family.
Her mother came with a maid to see her off.
After getting off the carriage, Xiao Wan saw Zhao Sicheng from afar, but due to their status and the presence of their family members, the two of them could not show anything.
They just looked at each other from a distance and saw encouragement in each other's eyes.
…
"Xu Tiezui, you are a swindler!
You tell everyone you meet that you will win the first place in the imperial examination in the future. How come the first place is your family property? Give me your money back!"
There was a quarrel coming from a fortune-telling stall not far from the Imperial Examination Hall. In front of the stall was a banner with a large yin-yang Tai Chi diagram drawn on it.
The fortune teller's surname was Xu, and his nickname was "Xu Tiezui". He set up a fortune-telling stall in front of the entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall and always said auspicious things, saying that the person would definitely become the top scorer in the imperial examination in the future.
I didn't expect to meet such a difficult owner. After arguing for a long time, I almost had my stall smashed.
Xu Tiezui coaxed the other person away for a long time.
Xu Shiming, who had been standing by with his arms folded and watching for a long time, finally came over.
"Dad, you can't do this. Listen to me."
After a while, the fortune-telling stall disappeared, and a large shallow water tank filled with water appeared on the ground.
Xu Tiezui looked at his son walking towards him with something in his hand, his face full of confusion.
"Will this work?"
"Don't worry, Dad."
As Xu Shiming spoke, he threw the turtle in his hand into the water tank.
He sprinkled a handful of copper coins on the turtle.
There was a banner behind the water tank. The Tai Chi pattern on the banner had disappeared and was replaced by four large characters:
"Sincerity is the key to success."
…
At this time, there was still more than half an hour before the candidates entered the examination hall. Those who arrived early could not stand in the scorching sun all the time, so they all looked for inns or tea stalls nearby to rest.
Zhu Yuanou and his family strolled around the Imperial Examination Hall for half a day, but all the places to rest were crowded, so they had to find a tea stall far away.
Hearing that the tea fee was more than seven or eight times more expensive than usual, Mr. Zhu paid the money with reluctance.
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