After handing in the paper and leaving the cramped examination room, Mu Erpang finally recovered a little - everyone in the examination room had been huddled in the small examination room for four days, and the smell was really unpleasant.
Especially on the last day, he even smelled that smell.
I guess someone nearby didn't want to be labeled as a "shit guy", so he secretly solved it in his own examination seat.
After taking a few deep breaths, the dizziness subsided and he followed the sergeant out of the examination room quickly.
There was still half a day left before the end of the exam, and there were not many parents waiting outside Longmen to pick up their children. Chen Cui kept staring at his Q-version figurine, and when he handed in his paper, she was already standing in the most conspicuous place waiting.
Before Mu Erpang came out, several other families who had formed guaranty agreements with him also arrived one after another.
Logically speaking, Mu Erpang came out first, and his families were worried about their children, so they had to ask a few questions.
Mu Erpang was ready to answer their questions, but his face looked really bad. Seeing him like this, everyone stopped talking to him and told him to go and rest.
Shen Cui specially borrowed the Wei family's carriage, and after picking up the person, she quickly let him get in the carriage.
Under normal circumstances, the mother and son hadn't seen each other for four days, and Mu Erpang would definitely have a lot to say to her.
After getting on the carriage today, he just looked at her with his eyes open, too tired to speak.
Chen Cui immediately said, "Take a rest. When you recover, we will have plenty of time to talk."
Mu Erpang then closed his eyes and rested.
It only took a few minutes to walk from the examination room to the academy, but he fell asleep during the journey.
But he couldn't sleep well in the carriage, and he hadn't had a good meal in the past few days. Although Shen Cui felt sorry for him, she still woke him up.
In the academy, several other young men had not returned from the provincial school yet, so they just sat there without saying a word.
Lao Buyu was resting in the back room. When he heard the noise outside, he knew they had returned and immediately went out to greet them.
He also noticed that Mu Erpang looked unhappy, so he stopped talking to him and urged him to eat, take a bath, go to the toilet, etc. By the time he finished, it was already afternoon.
Mu Erpang was so sleepy that he went back to his room, lay down on the pillow and fell asleep without waiting for the others to come back from the school.
Mu Erpang slept until the evening of the next day, almost twelve hours.
He slept for such a long time without waking up, and everyone in the academy was very worried. Cui Fei even went home and invited the old doctor of the Cui family to the academy.
The old doctor went into the room and took his pulse. When he came out, he said there was no need to worry, saying that he was just tired.
Later, Chen Cui came to see him several times. Seeing that he was sleeping soundly and his physical condition was gradually recovering, she did not call him.
After waking up, Mu Erpang finally felt relaxed. He went to the toilet first, and then went to the classroom - usually at this time everyone had already had dinner and gathered together to do homework.
It was the same today. The classroom was quiet and everyone was busy with their own things.
Mu Erpang was just about to quietly leave and find something to eat before coming back, when Wei Shu spotted him, put down his pen and asked with a smile, "Han Shan is awake?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the others closed their books, stood up, and came forward to surround him as he came in.
Wei Xi asked: "Do you feel uncomfortable? Do you feel dizzy after sleeping for so long?"
Without waiting for Mu Erpang to answer, Wei Xi had already reached out to feel his pulse. As the saying goes, long illness makes one a doctor. He had taken so many herbal medicines intermittently before and had also read a lot of medical books, so he understood a little bit.
Cui Fei had been in a similar situation before, and had also learned some medical knowledge from his family doctor, so he also took his other wrist to feel his pulse.
Both of his hands were held by someone, and Mu Erpang quickly said, "It's not that I feel uncomfortable, I'm just tired. It will be fine after I wake up!"
Seeing that they were talking, Chen Cui prepared to get some food for Mu Erpang, but Wei Shu had already taken the lead and quickly came over with a tray containing a few simple but exquisite side dishes and a bowl of thick porridge. It was A-Yao who helped warm the stove.
So everyone stopped talking and urged Mu Erpang to eat first.
Mu Erpang was indeed feeling hungry, so he drank his porridge while saying, "I'm really fine. I wasn't uncomfortable lying there before, but I was stumped by the last question. I thought about it for a very long time, and didn't eat or sleep much in between. After I finished answering them in one go, I felt a headache. Now I've had a good sleep and I'm completely fine."
After confirming that he was indeed fine, Lao Buyu asked him to recite the test paper as he did before.
Everyone gathered together at the back to watch. When they saw the last question, even Lao Buyu frowned and said, "This last question is indeed a bit difficult. This is just a prefectural exam, and the candidates are all students who have just passed the county exam. But there is a question like this that requires extensive knowledge of ancient and modern times..."
Wei Shu, Wei Xi and Cui Fei all nodded solemnly. It was no wonder that Mu Erpang had a headache thinking about this question. If they had been asked to take this question when they took the provincial examination, it would definitely not be easy.
Mei Ruochu followed up, "But the examiner must have taken this into consideration, so he showed some leniency by only asking about the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth sutras, and not the eleventh and thirteenth sutras."
After hearing this, Wei Shu and the others felt a headache. These eleven or thirteen classics were not suitable for a student, let alone a scholar like them. They really couldn't answer them all at once and it would take them a lot of time to think hard.
"But it's not a bad thing," Lao Buyu said at last. "If the test questions are simple and everyone can answer them, then we have to see whose answer is more in line with the examiner's wishes and rank them according to his likes and dislikes. The questions are a bit biased, so fewer people can answer them. Moreover, Hanshan's writing is so comprehensive, and he has answered several historical theories in detail, so the ranking will definitely not be bad."
After explaining the test papers, everyone continued to do their homework in the provincial school, and Mu Erpang was persuaded by everyone to take a rest.
He had had a good night's sleep but couldn't fall asleep, so he went back to the main house with Shen Cui.
Including the time he was unconscious, the mother and son had not spoken to each other for five days. There was no outsider around at the moment, so Mu Erpang followed her into the inner room, sat down on the chaise longue and started talking.
Although Chen Cui could see his little man through the light screen and understand his movements, she could not know all the situations. For example, Mu Erpang said that some people secretly relieved themselves in their examination seats in order to avoid being stamped with a "shit stamp", which made the nearby examination rooms stink. She had no idea about it.
After a long conversation, it was getting late and the teenagers in the classroom had finished their homework.
They hadn't had a good conversation for five days, and they also had a lot to say to Mu Erpang.
It was naturally inconvenient for these guys to enter Chen Cui's house, so they stood far away and pretended to cough outside.
Shen Cui smiled and urged Mu Erpang to go back to the house, "If you don't go back, your brother Wei's throat will be hoarse from coughing."
Mu Erpang put on his shoes, got off the bed, went out quickly and joined them in the fight.
Early the next morning, He Qing, Zhang Zian and their families came again to say goodbye.
When he heard that they were leaving right away, Mu Erpang's first reaction was to ask why they didn't wait until the results were announced before leaving? It’s only a few days away.
But seeing that He Qing and Zhang Zian both looked very bad, it had been two days since the exam, and they were both young and strong, so no matter how tired they were, they should have recovered a lot.
So the complexion they have has nothing to do with physical reasons, but is related to psychology.
Mu Erpang guessed that the two of them must not have done well in the exam, so badly that there was no way they could pass, so there was no need for them to stay in the city to watch the results announcement.
Chen Cui also noticed something, so she said, "There are many candidates from Yongnian County, so we can ask them later. Besides, the good news will spread to various places, so it's the same for everyone to hear it at home."
The adults were not familiar with each other and only exchanged a few pleasantries, but the three teenagers became friends, so Chen Cui let them talk on their own.
Without the presence of adults, the energy and spirit that He Qing and Zhang Zian had forced themselves to put on immediately waned.
He Qingxian got straight to the point and said, "For the last question, I only know the Five Classics, and I didn't write any other words, so I definitely won't pass the test."
Zhang Zian said: "In addition to the Five Classics, I have only written the Six Classics and the Seven Classics, but I only wrote the bibliography, and I don't know which dynasty it started from or where it came from."
Mu Erpang nodded in understanding, "We always talk about the 'Four Books and Five Classics', why would we remember them normally?"
After that, the two asked Mu Erpang to solve the last question that stumped them. He Qing's words were rough but his point was true, saying that this was a way of "even if you die, you must die with a clear mind"!
Mu Erpang then gave his answer.
He Qing smiled bitterly, "It doesn't matter whether I remember it or not. I have memorized the books in my grandfather's house by heart... I have never read the One-Character Stone Scripture that Brother Mu just mentioned, let alone heard of its name."
He had no chance at all to come into contact with records of other scriptures.
Zhang Zian also nodded slightly. He had indeed never heard of this book, so he thought he had written the part about the Seven Classics correctly, but it turned out that he had not written it in its entirety.
The atmosphere was not good again. He Qing wiped his face and bumped Zhang Zian with his shoulder. Zhang Zian smiled and said, "Brother Mu, don't feel bad for us. Our ranking in the county exam was average to begin with, and we didn't have much hope of passing. And it just so happened that this year's questions were beyond our usual knowledge. And it wasn't just us who couldn't write the answer. There were several other students in the same exam who were staying in the inn where we were staying. I heard them talking yesterday, and they were all gloomy. No one could write the answer."
He Qing nodded and said, "After suffering a loss this year, we will know next year that we should not just read a few books. We should try to learn more about other subjects. Besides, it is impossible for the exam to be so difficult every year. The provincial exam is only held once a year. We can come back next year."
Seeing that the two of them looked a little bad but were not depressed, Mu Erpang felt relieved and made an appointment with them to meet in the capital city at this time next year.
A few days later, the results of the provincial examination were announced.
Mu Hanshan from Shuiyun Village, Yongning County ranked first.
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