Tomorrow is the Autumn Examination, a day that the students of the Yu Dynasty are eagerly awaiting but also extremely nervous about.
Ten years of hard study are just for these three days of the autumn examination.
If you can pass the imperial examination, it will be like a carp jumping over the dragon gate. From then on, your path will be a golden avenue!
And if my name is not on the list...how can I face the elders of Jiangdong?
So, since who knows when, many students would come to Lantingji to pay homage on the day before the Autumn Examination. Lantingji is the most important place for literary affairs in the world. It is believed that Wenquxing would occasionally stay here. If one can get the favor of Wenquxing and get a ray of inspiration during the Autumn Examination and write a beautiful article, he may be able to get his name on the list of successful candidates.
Therefore, behind the Lanting Pavilion, there is an altar specially used for literary sacrifices. Next to the altar is a seven-hole exquisite tower. This tower is not made of wood, but built with bluestone. It has several windows and is hollow inside. It is used to burn the articles of the literati.
Many students have gathered here at this moment, including Zhang Wenhan, Zhou Tianyou, Fang Wenxing and others.
They were going to take part in the Autumn Examination tomorrow. They stood outside the crowd, chatting about the story of Wen Ji's miracle, waiting for Yan Xiwen's arrival.
Yan Xiwen had already won the top spot in the imperial examination last year, so of course he didn't need to suffer the three days of the autumn examination.
But as the leader of the young literati in Shangjing, Yan Xiwen had to attend such a literary memorial ceremony. His purpose was nothing more than to encourage these poor younger students, cheer them up, wish them good luck, and hope that the literary star would always shine on them.
This was a form of spiritual sustenance, a tradition that had existed since ancient times and had persisted for countless years. Coupled with the many legends of Wenquxing appearing to be divine, the students who came to the capital for the imperial examinations believed in it without a doubt and attached great importance to this literary sacrifice.
Not long after, Yan Xiwen came with his sister Yan Xiaolou. Yan Xiaolou was wearing a white face scarf, and Yan Xiwen had a festive look on his face.
"Thank you for waiting. Xiwen just went to Sifanglou to book a banquet. I'd like to invite everyone to have a simple meal together at noon today."
Fang Wenxing smiled upon hearing this and said, "It seems like Brother Xiwen's wedding is already set. I just wonder if it means he's engaged to Miss Shulan, or if he's going to be sent out for a job because of a vacancy?"
Yan Xiwen laughed heartily and shook his head. "Things are going quite rough over there with Shulan. Let's take our time with this."
This means that he has received a real position. All the students are envious and congratulate him.
After the Yu Dynasty recruited officials, they could not be assigned jobs immediately. They had to wait. There was a vacancy for each radish. If the radish was not removed, there would be no job for it.
It is said that the Jinshi who waited the longest, from the age of 22 to 48, a full 26 years, was finally appointed as a county magistrate.
Of course, this was an exception. But even for a powerful family like Yan Xiwen, with three ministers, he still waited for a full year.
For students like Zhou Tianyou and Zhang Wenhan, it is common to wait three to five years if they pass the exam.
"Don't worry, the first step is to pass the imperial examination. Your Majesty is investigating and punishing corruption in disaster relief efforts. Many officials could lose their heads. In my opinion, this is your Majesty's first step. The next step should be to rectify the administration. So, gentlemen, you will surely have a bright future!"
These students all knew that His Majesty had dispatched four imperial envoys to inspect thirteen prefectures, and that His Majesty's imperial edict was still posted on the wall of Lanting Pavilion. However, they hadn't thought about it the way Yan Xiwen had. Now, hearing Yan Xiwen's words, it seemed like many radishes would be pulled out, freeing up this pit. So, they all became excited.
Yan Xiaolou found it boring, so she said goodbye to her brother and left. She went to the place with a thousand stone tablets to look at the poem listed in the first column of Class A.
"I just ran into Dong Xiu De at Sifang Tower." Yan Xiwen frowned slightly and added, "Now that I think about it, it's been a while since I've seen him. I thought he'd picked up the sages' books again and was really preparing for the Autumn Examination, but it seems that's not the case."
Many people here know the second son of the Dong family. After all, he is Dong Shulan’s second brother. However, they have very little interaction with each other because they have different paths.
Everyone is devoted to studying, but Mr. Dong is just looking for a beautiful woman's smile.
It's okay to ask a beautiful woman to smile. In fact, many talented scholars also like this. It's not a dirty thing, and it can even be passed down as a good story. But it just happens that Mr. Dong doesn't have much money.
This was a bit embarrassing. Fortunately, Mr. Dong was born with a good appearance, and when he went to Hongxiuzhao, the girl Xue Feifei rescued him from trouble several times.
"He doesn't understand Brother Xiwen's earnest advice. There's nothing we can do about it... Didn't Brother Xiwen ask Miss Shulan?"
Yan Xiwen smiled bitterly, "I asked, and he said Shulan already has someone she likes."
How is this possible?
Is there any other young man in Shangjing City whose fame can surpass Yan Xiwen?
In this vast Yu Dynasty, apart from the royal family, which other family can compare with the Yan family's foundation?
Everyone was puzzled, and Fang Wenxing asked, "Did he say who it was? We'd like to go see who it is!"
"He said...it was Fu Xiaoguan!"
…
Fu Xiaoguan!
The place suddenly became quiet, but everyone had different expressions, most of them in disbelief, especially Fang Wenxing and Zhang Wenhan.
It had been just over a month since the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, and the words that Fang Wenxing and Yan Xiwen had said at the Mid-Autumn Poetry Gathering were now ringing in their ears again.
"If he wins, we will follow his lead. If he loses, he will not be allowed to set foot in Shangjing!"
"Okay, I, Yan Xiwen, swear. If the poems he writes are better than ours, we will treat him as a disciple whenever we see him. If the poems he writes are worse than ours, then he will not be allowed to set foot in Shangjing!"
Of course, Fu Xiaoguan won. Could it be that this country boy from Linjiang had come to the capital? What should he do?
"I don't know if Fu Xiaoguan has come to the capital, but he is qualified to come. After all, we lost, and we lost with conviction. Okay, let's put this aside for now and start the literary sacrifice."
Zhang Wenhan was a little distracted, with a hint of anger in his eyes.
He had already known about his sister Zhang Pei'er's suicide by jumping into the river. His father's letter also briefly described the whole story. The reason why his sister jumped into the river was because of Fu Xiaoguan.
The brother and sister had a deep affection for each other, but in the blink of an eye, his sister was gone. He must avenge this grudge!
…
Fu Xiaoguan posted the eloquent policy paper on the wall, and then he and Su Mochunxiu came to the Thousand Stele Stone.
He actually looked at the poems and articles very carefully, and found that there were indeed no names of the bigwigs from his previous life. He felt quite strange, and thought that this time travel was a bit strange.
Then he came to the Thousand Stele Stone containing the Mid-Autumn Poetry Collection, looked at the Water Melody Song on the top of the stele, laughed bitterly, and said, "This looks like an epitaph. Should we scrape it off?"
Yan Xiaolou was reciting silently and devoutly. When he heard the voice, he immediately frowned.
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