It took Wei Min about five or six days to walk from Qinghe Village to the provincial capital, and he was delayed for two more days because of rain on the road. Fortunately, A Ruan made her a pair of shoes that fit her feet, so that her feet didn't hurt while walking along the way.
Needless to say, the hardships on the journey were immense. By the time we arrived at the provincial capital, it was already the sixth day of August.
The provincial examination on August 9th must be held one day in advance, that is, entry must start on August 8th. Wei Min calculated the time and rented an inn for one day and two nights.
On the eighth day of the eighth month, Wei Min entered the Imperial Examination Hall carrying his bag.
The imperial court would select Hanlin scholars and cabinet scholars to go to various provinces to serve as chief examiners and deputy chief examiners to preside over the provincial examinations.
The chief examiner and deputy examiner will enter the examination room on the sixth day. A banquet will be held before the examinees enter the examination room. All the inner and outer curtain officials must attend the banquet. After the banquet, the inner curtain official enters the inner curtain area in the back hall, and the supervising official seals the door. The inner and outer curtain officials do not interact with each other. Except for marking the test papers, the inner curtain official cannot be involved in other matters to prevent cheating.
At the same time, the invigilation in the Imperial Examination Hall was very strict. When candidates entered the Imperial Examination Hall, they had to undergo a strict body search to prevent them from hiding any "secret items" on their bodies.
At the outermost "Dragon Gate" of the Imperial Examination Hall, there were officials who were specifically responsible for searching clothing and bags. Soldiers with knives stood on both sides. Candidates had to line up and be checked one by one before they were allowed to enter.
After Wei Min arrived, she lined up first. When it was her turn, she handed over the bag and exam card in her hand. Then a short woman came over and searched her clothes.
After checking the bag, the official handed it back to Wei Min and waved his hand to indicate that she could go in.
Wei Min was brought to the examination room by a leading soldier.
The examination room, also known as the "number room", is a room specially used by examinees to answer papers, eat and stay in the Imperial Examination Hall. During the imperial examination, each candidate had a single room.
When the candidates enter the examination room, the door must be locked. During the examination period, candidates are not allowed to eat, drink, defecate, urinate or sleep in the "room" until the end of the examination.
After Wei Min came in, he looked around inside. This room is very narrow, with only two wooden boards. The upper board can be used as a table for writing answer sheets, and the lower one can be used as a chair. When it is time to go to bed at night, the two boards can be put together to make a bed.
Candidates are isolated from the outside world during the exam and have to solve their own meal problems. The invigilator is only concerned with cheating in the exam. As for other actions of the candidates in the room, the invigilator does not ask anything.
Therefore, a pot of charcoal fire and a candle were prepared for the candidates in the examination room. Charcoal fire can be used for heating and cooking, while candles are used for lighting.
Wei Min bought some dry food yesterday and put it in his bag, so he didn't have to worry about food. Anyway, it's only five days, it will pass if we make do with it.
The provincial examination lasted for three days, with one test per day. The first session is a question-and-answer session on major classics, for which one only needs to have a thorough understanding of "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius". The second round of poetry and prose tests the rhyme, rhythm, rhetoric and parallelism. The third session is an argumentative essay.
Wei Min lived in a cramped dormitory. After getting the test paper, he was so focused on answering the questions that he gradually ignored the environment around him.
…
The sky cleared up a few days after Wei Min left, and the ripe rice in the fields looked even more golden under the sunlight.
After Wei Min got married, he separated from Wei Lian and got the land that belonged to her. Now that the rice is ripe and Wei Min is not at home, the job of harvesting rice falls on Aruan's shoulders.
Wei Lian's plan was originally very good, and she was responsible for harvesting the wheat from both families. However, man proposes, God disposes. When Sun went to the field and bent down to cut rice, he felt dizzy and almost fell headfirst into the ground.
Wei Lian was so scared that she quickly carried the person back. A doctor was called in and it turned out that she was pregnant.
The two have been married for six years, and this is their second child besides Wei Luo.
After the misunderstanding between Wei Lian and his wife was resolved, they have been living a loving life, and having a child is not unexpected.
Sun could originally go to the fields to help harvest rice, but now that she is pregnant, she naturally cannot do the work that requires bending over.
It would be too much for Wei Lian to do the work of both families alone. What's more, it rains a lot in autumn and the rice cannot be delayed.
A'ruan made a decision after a little thought. He asked Wei Lian to collect her own crops first, and he would collect the crops from this field.
The money from selling the rice has to be saved for my wife to go to Beijing for the imperial examination, so there can be no mistakes.
A'ruan looks like a gentle person, but actually, he is not. Once he makes up his mind about something, he will be as stubborn as a donkey and will not listen to anything, whether it is good or bad.
Wei Lian had no choice but to harvest her own rice first before helping A Ruan.
Everyone's land is connected, both men and women, and there are no taboos. When the neighbors saw A Ruan while harvesting rice, they all laughed and teased him, "How could Mr. Wei be willing to let you go to the fields?"
Ah Ruan knew that they couldn't understand sign language, so he didn't raise his hands to gesture. When he heard them talking about him, he just lowered his head and smiled, not taking it seriously.
The men gathered together, and even though there was a piece of land between them, it did not affect their chatting about family matters. The husband of one family said something, and the husband of another family responded, and they had a lively conversation.
I don't know who brought up that topic, but the topic suddenly turned to A'ruan without any warning.
"Ah Ruan, how long has Mr. Wei been gone?"
The person who was speaking was Wang from the village. Wei Min didn't seem to like him very much and rarely let A Ruan say hello to him when they met.
But today, when Ah Ruan heard him calling her by name, she knew she couldn't escape, so she could only raise her hand and make a fifteen sign.
Wang said meaningfully, dragging out the ending sound, "That was quite a long time."
Seeing Ah Ruan working silently, Wang curled her lips, and it seemed that she was talking to the man working in the field next to her. In fact, she was deliberately speaking to Ah Ruan, "This woman, once she becomes successful, who will remember her sallow-faced husband at home? You work so hard for her at home, but she may be hugging other men outside."
He pinched his waist, turned his head to look at A'ruan, and sighed with a distressed tone, "Look at everyone in Qinghe Village, which husband is as virtuous as our A'ruan? If this Wei Xiucai abandons me in the future, I will definitely be the first one to not forgive her!"
Wang gritted her teeth when she said this, as if it were really going to happen.
Ah Ruan just smiled when he heard it and continued to cut rice, obviously not taking it seriously.
Wang's eyes rolled and she continued, "Aruan, have you ever heard of Mr. Zhang from the neighboring village?"
He just asked this question, not caring about A'ruan's answer at all, and continued to talk: "Zhang Xiucai from the neighboring village is a smart man. He passed the imperial examination and became a juren right after entering the provincial capital.
She was pretty and was noticed by a rich young master in the city. He became her live-in wife and she rose to prominence and never looked back. ”
Wang spat at this point and sneered, "Mr. Zhang can have a good life as a married woman, but her original husband will suffer.
In order to raise enough money for Mr. Zhang's journey, the husband worked by candlelight mending clothes for others and damaged his eyes. All the good things in the house were left to his wife. ”
"But what was the result?" Wang's tone was always up and down when she spoke. Ah Ruan knew that his words were at least three parts false and four parts exaggerated, but he still couldn't help but listen to him, "His wife went to the provincial capital and there has been no news since then.
Everyone in the village knew that his wife had married someone else, but he was the only one who was still in the dark. Poor foolish husband was waiting day and night for his wife to come back and pick him up after she became successful. ”
Wang shook her head and said, "How pitiful."
"Women are not good. Once they have money and beauty, their original wives are just sluts who can be thrown away at will. Why do men have to revolve around women wholeheartedly? Can't they be nicer to themselves?"
Wang glanced at A'ruan's hand holding the sickle and said, "Your wife's hands are for holding a pen, and there is no callus on them. But your hands are covered with calluses for her, but what's the use of that?
Once she touches your hand, she will be grateful for what you have done for her, but at the same time she will dislike that your hands are not as soft and delicate as those of other men. Gradually, she will develop a dislike for you. In the end, how can she remember that your hands became like this for her? ”
Wang saw that Ah Ruan was stunned by what he said, so she took the opportunity to persuade him, "Ah Ruan, don't be so silly. I am telling you this because we are both men and it is not easy. You are so kind to your wife. If she never comes back, you will become the 'Mr. Zhang' that our village is waiting for day and night."
Wang wanted to say a few more words, but she happened to catch a glimpse of Sun's figure not far away, and immediately closed her mouth and stopped talking.
When Sun came closer, she saw that Ah Ruan was stunned and looked a little ugly. She glared at Wang who was standing beside her and sneered, "Did Brother Wang say anything to Ah Ruan?"
Wang laughed dryly, "What can I say to him? Just some family matters."
Sun had a half-smile on her face. She took the sickle from A-Ruan's hand, glanced at the sharp blade and said to Wang meaningfully, "Brother Wang, have you ever heard of a knife that can cut the tongue of a gossiper?"
Wang's face looked a little unhappy, and she said unhappily: "What do you mean?"
Sun led A'ruan away and looked back at Wang. "You know what I mean. If I hear you say something provocative next time, don't blame me for tearing you apart."
Wang's face turned pale and blue, and after Sun and A'ruan walked a distance, she pinched her waist and shouted, "My mouth is on my body, and you won't let me speak? If you have the guts, let's go and see, your wife's sister is a good thing!"
Sun was too lazy to pay attention to the voice behind him. He came to call A'ruan back to eat. Now seeing that he didn't know what Zhang said and looked a little absent-minded, he asked, "Do you believe what he said?"
Thinking of Wang's face and her usual behavior, Sun sneered and said to A'ruan, "You don't go out often, so you don't know what's going on here. Wang's wife is a glutton, a whore, a gambler, and she used to be more restrained, but later she saw a young prostitute in the county and ran away with him, leaving Wang to curse from the county to the village. From then on, whenever she saw a couple who were in love, she couldn't help but praise them and instigate the husband to have conflicts with his wife. He was even happier when they broke up."
After hearing what Sun said, A Ruan nodded. He also knew that Wang said these things to him on purpose, but what she said was not entirely unreasonable.
In the future, if the wife passes the imperial examination and becomes a high-ranking official, she will need to bring her husband with her when she goes out to eat. The husbands of other families are all from noble families, and their appearance is well-maintained as if they are 17 or 18 years old, but he is just a country boy with rough hands and a yellow face...
A Ruan felt so uncomfortable that she couldn't breathe when she thought about others laughing at Wei Min because of her.
The author has something to say: Many years later
Wei Min: This is my husband
Everyone: Ruan is so beautiful, a natural beauty. Prime Minister Wei is so lucky to have married such a handsome man. Balabalabala...
Wei Min looked very satisfied, while Ah Ruan covered her face when she heard this (/▽╲)
The imperial examination I wrote today draws on the imperial examination systems of the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Don’t take it seriously. Just take a look at it. We won’t do any research (* ￣3)(ε￣ *)
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