Chapter 138 The glutton in room 68!
Kou Zhun was born into a wealthy and prominent family, and he was a man with plenty of money.
He did not live in an inn like those scholars who went to Beijing from other places to take the imperial examinations. Instead, he bought a small courtyard and lived in a quieter place.
The little servant Kou An's leg injury recovered well, and he could already walk with the help of a cane.
After hearing that the fourth prince was assassinated, the servant Kou An once asked the young master with relief, could it be that the chivalrous and courageous Young Master Luo who got rid of the evil for the people?
Kou Zhun was so scared that he quickly warned him not to speak nonsense! Lest he bring trouble to Young Master Luo.
But he also secretly wondered in his heart, is Young Master Luo related to this matter? Seeing how he had the guts to order the killing of seven guards in front of the seven princes that day, does he really have...? No matter what the truth is, even if this suspicion rots in his stomach, he cannot say a word, lest it bring trouble to Master Luo.
Tomorrow is the day of the exam, but Kou Zhun did not continue to lock himself in the room to study hard.
He does not believe the saying that sharpening a spear before a battle is not fast enough. After ten years of hard study, you should relax before the exam!
The two hired cooks were busy in the kitchen making pancakes and preparing three days of dry food.
Kou Zhun was drinking tea and admiring flowers in the yard, while Kou An, the book boy who was practicing walking, strolled back and forth with a cane.
"Excuse me, does Mr. Kou Zhun live here?"
A handsome young man asked, standing at the gate of the courtyard with two large bamboo baskets.
Kou Zhun looked up and immediately stood up to greet him.
He bowed and saluted! "Are you the attendant beside Mr. Luo? Please come in quickly!"
Hong Gu, who was dressed in men's clothes, did not hesitate to walk into the courtyard with two large bamboo baskets.
She put the bamboo baskets on the stone table in the courtyard and said, "Mr. Kou, tomorrow is the day of the exam.
My son has specially prepared three days of food for you. I wish you success in the exam and be among the top three in the high school!"
Kou Zhun bowed in gratitude when he heard this!
: "Thank you for your son Luo's kindness. I dare not say that I will be among the top three in the high school entrance examination, but I am confident that Kou Zhun will pass the imperial examination!"
Hong Gu was not talkative. After telling her what the young lady said, she was too lazy to exchange pleasantries with Kou Zhun. :
"Mr. Kou, the things have been delivered. I am going back now." After saying that, he turned around and left!
Kou Zhun hurriedly spoke to keep him, "Brother, please sit down and have a cup of tea before you leave."
Seeing that he was too lazy to even say polite words, and he had already reached the gate of the courtyard.
Kou Zhun hurriedly shouted! "Excuse me, where does your son Luo live? After Kou Zhun passes the imperial examination, I will definitely go to visit and thank him!"
Hong Gu thought to herself, don't lose your conscience when the time comes, just don't forget to come and thank him!
"My son lives in Luo Xueshi's house. If you want to visit him and express your gratitude, make sure you don't go to the wrong place!"
Hong Gu said, walked to the tree where the horse was tied, untied the reins, and flew away on the horse.
Luo Xueshi's house? It turned out that Mr. Luo was the son of Luo Ji, the Grand Scholar of Guanwen Hall, who was known for his integrity and uprightness.
Kou Zhun was excited!
Luo Xueshi was extremely talented and upright, and he was truly a good teacher. If I could use my friendship with Mr. Luo to become Luo Xueshi's disciple, it would be my good fortune!
Kou An, the book boy who was leaning on a cane, also said happily, "Sir, Master Luo is a very righteous man. He even prepared food baskets for you for the exam!"
Kou Zhun came to the stone table and lifted the cloth covering the two large bamboo baskets. The fragrance filled his nose!
Kou An, who came over, couldn't help but exclaimed! : "With so many delicious foods, why do we need the cook to make any cakes?"
: "These two are roasted ducks, and these are fragrant and soft pasta.
These are canned delicious foods that are only sold in the capital. This one is meat jerky, and this one is fruit jerky.
What is this one with a strange fragrance?
And what is this big bag of white stuff?"
Kou An was talking while rummaging around.
Kou Zhun looked at the two big bags of novel foods and didn't recognize them. He
couldn't resist the temptation of the aroma, so he picked up a white one and put it in his mouth.
: "It's delicious! It's made with that kind of corn grain, but I don't know how it became such a delicacy?"
Kou Zhun grabbed a handful and put them into his mouth one by one to taste them.
The little book boy Kou An looked eagerly at the young master who was eating with relish.
"Kou An, you try it too!"
The young master finally spoke, and Kou An happily agreed, grabbing a few and putting them in his mouth.
"Delicious! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, sweet and delicious!"
Kou Zhun looked at another bag of red oily food, picked up one and put it in his mouth.
The taste buds on the tip of the tongue were immediately conquered by a strange and delicious taste!
"Delicious! This delicacy is really unique, spicy, sweet, salty and fresh mixed together, there is such a strange delicacy in the world!"
Kou An couldn't wait for the young master to speak, and quickly picked up one and put it in his mouth.
"Delicious! Delicious! It's so delicious!... Young master, this is the first time I have eaten such a magical delicacy since I grew up!"
Kou Zhun picked up another one and rolled his eyes at the book boy Kou An!
"You are only twelve years old, and I am seventeen and a half years old. This is the first time I have tasted this kind of exotic delicacy!"
The master and servant stood in front of the stone table, eating happily one by one!
Kou Zhun looked at Kou An, whose mouth was full of red oil, and then looked at the food in the bamboo basket that took up less space.
He pressed the bamboo basket, "Don't eat it anymore! This is the food that Master Luo sent to your son for the exam. You, a little glutton, have eaten it all. What will I eat for the next three days?"
Kou An, who was eating happily, smiled embarrassedly, "Master, it was Kou An's gluttony that crawled out and forgot the important things!"
Kou An reluctantly covered the bamboo basket with two pieces of cloth. But thinking that everyone could only bring one bamboo basket into the examination room tomorrow, Kou Zhun silently took out half of each of the delicacies in the two large bamboo baskets.
Kou An was immediately delighted!
"Sir, the weather is too hot! Don't let these delicacies go bad.
Otherwise, let's eat tonight!"
Kou Zhun looked at the delicacies in the two bamboo baskets again. What Master Luo sent was really too much. "Okay! I will bring one basket into the examination room to eat. I will eat this basket tonight, and leave the rest for you to satisfy your hunger."
"Thank you, Master! "
Kou An was overjoyed, and quickly grabbed another handful of delicious corn kernels and stuffed them into his mouth. ...
The autumn imperial examination was an opportunity for white-clothed scholars to make a leap into the dragon gate.
A few months ago, candidates from all over the country gathered in the capital one after another, studying hard while waiting for the day of the examination. The
Gongyuan used as the examination hall was heavily guarded, with teams of imperial guards guarding it.
In order to prevent candidates from cheating, turning over and checking when entering the examination hall was an indispensable procedure.
A general of the imperial guards carefully checked Kou Zhun's big bamboo basket and sniffed the fragrance a few times!
"Are you here to take the exam or to enjoy yourself? With so many delicious foods, do you still have the mind to answer questions? "
Kou Zhun straightened his robes that were messed up by the inspection. He smiled slightly: "I will be more creative while enjoying delicious food and answering questions!"
The general of the imperial army glanced at the smug candidate, did not continue to embarrass him, and waved his hand to let him in.
Although the inspection of turning over cannot be sloppy, one does not know which candidate will be the lucky one to pass the exam, and he must not offend them.
The first day tests the meaning of classics, the second day tests poetry and prose, and the third day tests policy essays.
The rules of this period of imperial examinations are extremely strict. Candidates enter the examination room of Gongyuan After that, he had to stay in that small cell for three days without going out.
Kou Zhun was led to a small room with a sign saying "No. 68" and was locked inside.
The space inside was really small. A small narrow bed and a small desk took up most of the space, leaving only enough space for turning around. A small window on the wall was sealed with iron bars.
In late August, The weather still made the room hot and stuffy. Those with poor physical fitness could not survive the three consecutive days of hard thinking.
In previous years, some candidates with poor physical or mental quality were carried out after barely finishing the exam.
Kou Zhun looked at the big bamboo basket in his hand with gratitude. With these delicious foods sent by Master Luo, I should be the most enjoyable candidate in this examination room, right?
On the first day of the exam, Kou Zhun wrote quickly after receiving the test questions, and finished answering the questions in more than an hour.
After eating a piece of soft, sweet and sticky pastry with a sesame flavor and a few bites of canned oranges, Kou Zhun wiped his hands and carefully copied the test paper.
Several examiners were patrolling in the examination room. When they passed by each room, they would look in through the small window to see the condition of the candidates.
: "The candidate in room 68 just now was so wild and frivolous. In such a serious exam, while others were thinking hard about answering questions, he was eating.
Since he was so perfunctory about the imperial examination, why did his parents let him come to Beijing to take the exam? It was a waste of money!" Cheng Yu, one of the examiners, said angrily.
Wei Jie, the Minister of History, also echoed sarcastically, "This candidate must be illiterate. He knew that he would fail, so he didn't want to say it wrongly."
Luo Ji, who was also one of the examiners, had a different view. He smiled faintly and said, "Maybe he is confident, so he is more relaxed. "
Kou Zhun copied the test paper carefully, checked it again, and rang the bell to be the first person to hand in the paper. ...
The next day, Kou Zhun was even more adept at poetry and his ideas flowed.
After quickly finishing the poem, he ate delicious snacks while looking at the test paper and repeatedly pondering the poem.
Several examiners who were patrolling here saw it again.
Wei Jie and Cheng Yu were indignant again . ! Several other examiners also felt disgusted with this greedy candidate.
Luo Ji was secretly wondering!
This greedy candidate ate the kind of popcorn today, which is a delicious snack that only my daughter can make! ...
On the third day, Kou Zhun was serious about the policy essay. After thinking for a while, he wrote down his thoughts in one go
! After writing, he habitually reached into the bamboo basket beside him, picked up a spicy, sweet, salty and delicious snack, and started to eat it.
The examiners who had specifically targeted the glutton in Room 68 were naturally full of dissatisfaction.
Several examiners uttered a few angry words again.
Scholar Luo Jiluo was sure this time!
The delicacies in the bamboo basket for this gluttonous candidate must have been sent by my precious daughter.
The delicious spicy strips he ate today are delicious snacks that can only be produced in the Luo Mansion and the Qin Palace!
After Kou Zhun finished copying, he was still the first to hand in the test paper and completely relaxed. Leaning on the narrow wooden bed, he enjoyed the remaining delicacies in the bamboo basket to his heart's content.