Of course, the one with the worst complexion was not Mu Erpang, but Huang Junping.
In the second game, he found that Mu Erpang was moved ahead of him, but he didn't know how much ahead. He was very anxious during the test.
After finally getting through the second round, he took great pains to find out Mu Erpang's new seat number - the one closest to the county magistrate!
It turned out that Mu Erpang in front of him didn't say anything to congratulate him. It wasn't because he was nervous and jealous as he thought. It was because he had seen the whole case and knew that he was the best one in the exam so far, so he was too lazy to argue with him!
What could be more infuriating than jumping up and down, treating others as imaginary enemies, but the other party just treats you as air from beginning to end?
Anyway, Huang Junping was very angry.
He became increasingly frustrated with the exams over the next few days, and was no longer given a grade. His face grew paler with each passing exam. At this point, he could almost be described as pale.
He used to be the talkative one among the group, but now he has become a chatterbox.
He Qing, He Yan, and Zhang Zian were all kind people. They didn't laugh at him, but they were too lazy to care about him either.
Today, they noticed that Mu Erpang looked a little strange, and the three of them became concerned.
Mu Erpang hadn't originally intended to tell them this. It would be like if someone who got first place in the exam told people who didn't do as well as him about what he was not good at. This would easily give people the impression that he was showing off.
Since they asked, Mu Erpang explained: "I was good at the first few games, but I am not sure about the last one."
Zhang Zian comforted her, "You have passed the first four exams, and the only thing left is this last one. Relax. If you are nervous, don't be the first to enter the exam this time."
He Qing and He Yan also nodded and asked Mu Erpang to line up at the back. No matter whether it was useful or not, the later they went in, the later they would feel the serious and depressing atmosphere.
What if in just a short moment, an epiphany suddenly strikes and something clicks?
Mu Erpang was indeed a little nervous, but not to that extent. After talking to everyone, he adjusted his mindset.
He was just about to say no, but he saw Huang Junping walking to the front with his chin raised.
Zhang Zian lowered his voice and explained, "I can't comment on Brother Huang's other abilities, but he is indeed outstanding in poetry and prose."
Mu Erpang nodded in understanding.
The pre-entry procedure soon began, and the few people kept silent and stood still.
Entering the venue later, Mu Erpang went to the examination seat just below the county magistrate.
After several days of mutual examination, the magistrate began to think he was familiar with him and gave him a kind smile when he entered the room.
Mu Erpang has received many such appreciative smiles in the past few days. This time, because the test subject was not his strong point, he felt inexplicably guilty.
Not long after he sat down, the test papers were distributed. Mu Erpang no longer cared about feeling guilty and quickly started to look at the questions.
The title of the poem is 'Feng Fu Rang Her Arms'. Limited rhymes are quite common.
If a layman were to read this title, he would be completely clueless. He would only know that "rangbi" means to roll up one's sleeves, and that the woman surnamed Feng rolled up her sleeves... so this is a sexy title for a poem?
Doesn't this go against the requirement of solemnity and elegance in examination poems?
But after reading it, Mu Erpang immediately figured out the origin of these four words in his mind. This allusion came from "Mencius", and Feng Fu was not a woman, but a warrior from the State of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period who was good at fighting tigers. Her surname was Feng and her name was Fu.
Feng Fu was good at catching tigers. Later, he wanted to be a good person and engage in Confucianism, so he vowed not to kill any more animals. One day he went to the wild and saw people chasing a tiger. The tiger was resisting stubbornly, so the people asked for help from Feng Fu who happened to pass by. Without saying a word, Feng Fu rolled up her sleeves, jumped out of the car and went forward to help. Everyone was very happy. The scholar next to him was laughing at him for not keeping his word.
First of all, he could understand the title without any obstacles and knew the source. Mu Erpang felt much more at ease and began to think about the purpose of his poem.
This story satirizes that it is difficult to change one's nature while it can change the country. Later generations used the metaphor of "becoming Feng Fu again" to describe returning to one's old ways.
The easiest way, of course, is to write it like this.
But Mu Erpang had some other insights. He felt that Feng Fu vowed not to kill anymore and to be a good person, but broke her oath when the people were in trouble and she was able to help. Although this behavior might make people laugh at her for being unable to change her nature, it actually corresponded exactly to Feng Fu's original intention of being a good person.
That is another way of thinking. The main theme of the poem has to become a discussion of what is true "goodness".
After more than a quarter of an hour, Mu Erpang still hadn't decided which topic to choose. The first part was more conventional, and with his writing skills, he wouldn't be able to write it very well, nor would he write it very badly. It can only be said to be average.
The latter one was written out of his own feeling and has more feeling. But I’m afraid it’s too innovative. What if the examiner particularly dislikes people like Feng Fu?
Candidates can bring their own examination baskets to the county examination, and they must bring their own pens, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Mu Erpang didn't use much manuscript paper before. They were all things he knew by heart, so he could just write them down after thinking about them in advance.
I am writing a poem today and I must revise it, and I cannot do it without draft paper.
He first wrote a poem on the manuscript paper using the first theme.
Mu Erpang was the youngest among the few people who were given the nickname, and he was always the best performer in the first four games. Plus, he was always unhurried and would only start writing when it was bright outside.
Today, contrary to his usual practice, he started writing as soon as he got the test paper, and it was hard for the magistrate not to pay attention to him.
Later, when it was a little brighter, the magistrate was about to inspect the examination room, so he stood in front of him and took a closer look.
In half a morning, Mu Erpang had finished writing a poem on the manuscript paper, but he also circled a few words that he was not satisfied with, thinking that he needed to think about it further.
The magistrate glanced through the paper and was first pleased that although the examiner had started writing earlier than in the previous exams, he had made no mistakes in examining the questions. He was not one of those young men who thought they had performed well in the beginning and then became complacent at the last moment.
But unfortunately, his talent for writing poetry is really... In short, it is far from his amazing level of understanding of the scriptures.
But no one is perfect, and the boy in front of him was not yet grown up, so the magistrate continued to inspect other places with a little regret.
After inspecting the area, the magistrate had an idea that some of the poems and essays of several candidates were indeed very good.
This is a bit difficult. How do we rank them then?
In terms of poetry and prose alone, the young boy who had performed very well in the first four rounds couldn't even make it into the top three.
But if I don’t give him a top three spot, it would be an absolute disservice to the level of his meaningful words.
The meaning of the scripture was so well written that when the papers were being graded, the county magistrate and the teachers and instructors of the school were all impressed. Although they did not say it explicitly, they all felt in their hearts that this boy should be the top winner this year.
I didn’t expect this poem to…
Not only the magistrate thought so, the invigilator and the instructor also walked around Mu Erpang. The candidates were not allowed to look up, but the invigilators could see each other's faces - they were all feeling regretful.
An hour later, the magistrate walked back to the starting point, which was next to Mu Erpang.
Alas, it's a pity to think about it. If this young man's poems and essays were more outstanding, he would definitely win the first prize...
Thinking of this, the magistrate lowered his eyes again.
Then he found that there was another poem on Mu Erpang's manuscript paper.
The literary talent of this poem is still mediocre, but it has a new theme, indicating that he knows that people like Feng Fu who go back on their words will be despised by others, but if he can help those in need, he would be willing to be like Feng Fu.
He actually wrote from a completely different angle. What a fast speed he uses to write poetry! What a quick brain!
At this time, Mu Erpang was also sighing in his heart, as expected, it was easy to write about this touching theme. It took him half the morning to write the conventional topic at the beginning.
The one at the end with my own ideas was written in just one hour. Moreover, it is linked to his ideals and aspirations, and is connected to the title of the poem he prepared in advance. Although the rhymes are different, the allusions that can be used are ready-made, so there are few places that need to be modified.
Mu Erpang did not notice the magistrate's dilemma at all, thinking that he was just inspecting the examination like before, so after writing two poems with different themes, Mu Erpang went on to select poems.
Because half of the exam time had passed, and he only had enough time left to polish one of the poems, he had to make a choice.
Comparing the two poems together, Mu Erpang of course privately prefers the one that performs better in the latter part, but there is indeed an element of gambling involved.
He put down his pen, and after much thought, he decided to put the first poem at the top, thinking it would be safer. Even though he might not make it into the top three, his mother had always taught him to deal with rankings with a normal mind.
With excellent performances in the first four games and a mediocre performance in the last game, I should be able to get into the top ten, right?
Then he heard the magistrate sigh heavily.
Mu Erpang still remembered that Wei Shu said that the county magistrate had a habit of sighing like this whenever he encountered a situation that he really couldn't stand.
In other words, the magistrate does not agree with me?
He immediately understood and put the last poem on the top again. Sure enough, the county magistrate stopped sighing. After standing for a while, the county magistrate returned to his seat as an invigilator.
For this last exam, Mu Erpang handed in his paper just a quarter of an hour early.
There were not many people left in the examination room at this time. When he walked out of the dragon gate, the crowd waiting outside to take the exam had already dispersed.
But He Qing, He Yan, Zhang Zian, even Huang Junping, and their families had not left and were waiting for him with Chen Cui.
He said before the test that he was not good at this last one, and he did come out very late.
He Qing, He Yan and Zhang Zian all showed some worry.
Mu Erpang smiled and nodded at them, comforting them, "I have to think over and over again when writing poems. I am sorry to have made you worry."
Before they could speak, Huang Junping said proudly: "Such a simple poem topic, why bother to ponder it over and over again, come up with beautiful sentences at will, and show true literary talent."
Zhang Zian said helplessly to Mu Erpang, "Brother Huang was the first one to hand in his paper. It seemed like it wasn't even noon yet."
Huang Junping became even more proud after saying this, while Mu Erpang looked up at the sky and said, "He's the first one to hand in his paper before noon... and he's waiting until now?"
That's quite a lot of free time.
He Qing and He Yan were simple-minded and burst out laughing when they heard this.
Zhang Zian almost couldn't help but smile.
Huang Junping's handsome face flushed red. He stayed until now not because he was idle, but to wait for Mu Erpang. He thought he had performed very well. While he was writing the poem and when he handed in the paper, the instructor and the tutor looked at him several times.
You have to know that he has never been treated like this before. Huang Junping felt like he was walking on clouds the whole day!
Didn’t Mu Erpang say before that he didn’t want to communicate before the exam was completely over? Now that the exam is completely over today, he must have a good communication with him and let him see his talent in poetry and prose that has attracted the attention of the teachers and instructors!
But I didn’t expect Mu Erpang to take so long to hand in the paper. It was almost evening.
Her son's poetry and prose were generally acknowledged to be weak, and after this exam, although he still had a smile on his face, Shen Cui could see that he was more tired than in the previous ones.
She then said, "It's getting late today. You've taken five exams, so you must be very tired. How about this, when the results are announced, we can get together on that day and have a good discussion."
He Qing, He Yan, and Zhang Zian of course had no objection and nodded.
Only Huang Junping was unwilling to accept the result, but the results would be announced in a few days. He thought that when he got a good ranking, he would come and discuss it with Mu Hanshan.
The few of them separated and went home to rest.
In the blink of an eye, it was the day of results announcement.
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