Shen Cui was a semi-illiterate woman, and she was really confused by a sentence of nonsensical classical Chinese.
So he turned around and went to the classroom and started flipping through the book.
Although she often appeared in the classroom, accompanying the students to review their lessons or attend classes, she knew that her level was limited, so she did not interfere with their homework. She also did not like these things very much, so she rarely read the Four Books and Five Classics.
It was naturally abnormal that she actually looked through it seriously today.
During the break between studying, Mu Erpang was the first to come over and ask her, "What are you looking at, Mom?"
In front of her own son, Shen Cui did not need to hide anything, and said worriedly: "Your elder brother said something to me before he left. I vaguely remember hearing the teacher talk about it earlier, but I can't remember which book it was in. I have been looking for it for a long time but still can't find the source."
Since Mu Erpang was free to come over, Shen Cui didn't bother looking for it herself and told him the sentence directly.
Sure enough, Mu Erpang understood what he heard and picked up the "Analects of Confucius", quickly turned to the place and pointed it out to her.
The original context of this sentence in the Analects is: Zigong asked: "Who is better, Shi or Shang?" Confucius said: "Shi is too much, Shang is not enough." Zigong asked: "Then who is better, Shi?" Confucius said: "Too much is as bad as to too little."
Mu Erpang smiled and said, "Brother, what you said seems to be incoherent, but according to the way of thinking in the imperial examination, the first sentence is just an introduction, and 'too much is as bad as too little' is what he really wants to say."
He paused and said, "Do you know what "too much is as bad as too little" means?"
Shen Cui glanced at him with amusement, "Is your mother so stupid? She doesn't understand such a simple idiom?"
Mu Erpang smiled beggingly and added, "That's right, my mother is smart and has been the head of the mountain for such a long time. If my elder brother had said the idiom directly instead of saying only half of it like he did in the imperial examination, you wouldn't have to ask me."
Chen Cui also laughed and was about to say, "Isn't it?"
But as her thoughts turned, she realized something was wrong.
The smile on her lips faded, and Mu Erpang stopped laughing too. After thinking for a while, he asked tentatively: "So, actually, Big Brother didn't mean to tell you this, but he knew that you probably couldn't figure out where this came from, so you would probably ask me. So, was he saying this to me?"
Shen Cui nodded with a complicated look on her face, and Mu Erpang continued, "That's not right, brother, why don't you just tell me directly? Why are you going through so much trouble?"
Of course it’s because I can’t tell you directly. Shen Cui gave the answer in her heart.
"Please repeat the last time he gave you advice on poetry."
Mu Erpang had an extraordinary memory. Although it had been two months since that incident, and he was concerned about his elder brother's health at the time, he thought for a moment and repeated it word for word: "Diligence is naturally a good thing, but when it comes to poetry and prose..."
Shen Cui added: "Too much is as bad as too little."
This is a complete and fluent sentence.
Mu Erpang said as if waking up from a dream: "Brother, what you mean is that I want to improve my poetry and prose now, but being too diligent is inappropriate?"
His talent now was no longer comparable to that of the past. He pondered for a while and suddenly said, "Yes, poetry requires talent and inspiration. I have repeatedly polished and written all the poetry topics I can think of according to the methods taught to me by everyone. I must make sure that when I see the topic, I can think of the corresponding things and allusions. Until now, the little inspiration that I had in the county exam earlier has never appeared again."
After listening to him, Shen Cui also summed up the problem.
Mu Yunchuan meant that Mu Erpang was too diligent and did too much preparation, and as a result, he lost his personal style in poetry and prose. Just like students in later generations who could only write examination essays, he could only write examination poems now. He had already developed a subconscious reaction and was following the template step by step.
It’s not that this is a bad thing, because Wei Shu and Wei Xi also took the same path. As Mu Yunchuan said last time, this kind of examination poem can ensure that he will be ranked in the first or second place.
But Mu Erpang's accumulation in this area is not as good as Wei Shu and Wei Xi. Even if it is the same examination poem, his may not be better than theirs. It is impossible to expect such poems to add luster to the whole paper.
It can be seen that he should stop and think carefully now, which path is really suitable for him.
Mei Ruochu, who was listening nearby, said appropriately, "The imperial examination has always emphasized classics and downplayed poetry. Lord Mu, is he also saying that poetry is important, and Hanshan knows that it is his weakness. It is a good thing to work hard on it, but people's time and energy are always limited. If you put all your time and energy on poetry, which is not valued in the imperial examination, then it is also 'too much is as bad as too little'?"
His overall qualifications are comparable to Mu Yunchuan's, and the second level of meaning that came out of his mouth is probably what Mu Yunchuan was thinking.
Mu Erpang nodded again in sudden realization!
Seeing that they had figured out the meaning themselves, Shen Cui asked Mu Erpang to go back to his desk and think about it, and stopped talking to him to distract him.
At the same time, she couldn't help but sigh to the system in her mind: [This law has forced his own son to become a riddle man! Fortunately, I have had a good relationship with Mu Yunchuan recently, otherwise, as before, I would have just thought that he was pointing at me, and would not have thought that he actually wanted to use me to pass a message to Erpang... After all, he is the son of the plane, and a few words of advice allowed our Erpang to clear the "fog". No wonder the rules are against him and he is not allowed to give any advice. If he says a few more words, it might not be impossible for our Fatty to become the top scorer in the imperial examination. 】
In a calm and peaceful manner, the young people of Cuiwei completed the last round of review.
In February, the imperial examination is about to begin.
The process of the imperial examination is basically the same as that of the provincial examination, except that it is on a larger scale.
This examination will have one chief examiner, three deputy examiners and eighteen co-examiners. Not only did the number of people increase several times, but even the examiners were all knowledgeable Hanlin officials.
They were all held in the Imperial Examination Hall in three sessions, one every three days. The first session was on February 9th, the second on February 12th, and the third on February 15th. People also entered on the first day and left on the next day.
During the period, candidates can go home to take a nap, but they have to stay in the examination room for the remaining nine days and seven nights.
Only clean water and quilts are provided in the Imperial Examination Hall. Candidates have to bring all other belongings by themselves and are only allowed to enter after undergoing strict inspection.
The only difference is that last year the unbearable thing about the provincial examination was the summer heat that had not yet subsided, while this year what was torturous was the weather that had not yet warmed up after the beginning of spring.
Of course, the weather now is much warmer than during the coldest days of winter.
But the hard part is that candidates are not allowed to wear cotton-padded jackets or even linens. They can only wear a single layer of clothing from head to toe.
One can imagine how cold they will have to endure in there after nightfall.
Chen Cui still didn't dare to be careless when she was packing their bags.
After the previous provincial examination, the five-digit shopping point reward she received came in handy.
She had already prepared the pens, ink, paper, inkstone, and candles. Secondly, in terms of keeping warm, many candidates nowadays would bring in strong liquor to warm themselves up.
I heard that some people become more intelligent after drinking, and the poems and articles they write on the spot are far better than their usual level. Not only did they win the prize, but they also became a legend that was passed down through the generations.
Of course, more people drank too much and fell asleep in the examination room, or even got drunk and crazy and were kicked out of the examination room by the sergeants.
None of Cuiwei's students knew how to drink, and Chen Cui didn't dare to gamble on this, so she bought a thermos for each of them. The style looked ordinary, but it had a large capacity and good heat preservation effect. The soup inside would not get cold within three days.
This way, at least they can have something hot to eat within three days.
The rest of the food is fried rice and noodles, diced steamed buns, diced sausages and dehydrated vegetables.
Then there are the hand warmers. The batch that Cui Wuniang sent earlier is still in good condition, but after all, they are modern products. Affected by the current level, the hand warmers can only maintain the heat preservation effect for half a day to a day at most, and the teenagers need to change the charcoal themselves in the meantime.
This step cannot be considered dangerous, but if you are not careful, sparks can easily fall on the paper.
She also bought a new hand warmer from the system mall. It was similar in style to a stove, but it actually heated with electricity. The system supported charging, and a single charge was just enough for three days of use. She also stuffed some wood ash inside to cover it up.
Finally, she bought a pair of socks for everyone. Although they looked thin, they were also much more warming than the current products.
This way their hands and feet would be warm, and they could eat something hot, so they wouldn't feel too uncomfortable.
In addition, there were also miscellaneous items such as Wei Xi's tonic, Wei Shu's calming incense, Mei Ruochu's lucky clothes and face towels, Chen Aoshuang's stimulating medicine, etc., which also had to be put away for them.
On the seventh day of February, the government posted a notice, dividing the more than 5,000 candidates taking the exam into several waves.
Needless to say, on the Cuiwei side, Mei Ruochu was one of the earliest batch. He was assigned to the Chou hour of the eighth day of the first lunar month, which was between 1 and 3 in the morning, and had to wait outside the Imperial Examination Hall.
The time for other people is relatively normal, at least they can get a good night's sleep before entering the venue.
They still didn't let Chen Cui deliver the food in batches, so she simply didn't sleep and watched the fire in the kitchen, making sure that no matter when they got up, they could get hot water and eat something hot right away.
The day before such a big exam, even Mei Ruochu couldn't sleep much. He felt sleepy at the end of 11:00 p.m., took a nap, and got up at 12:00 p.m.
Chen Cui checked the things in his bag again and finally sent him out of the academy.
The night wind was chilly. Mei Ruochu wrapped herself in three layers of clothes and asked Chen Cui not to see her off. Seeing the worry in her eyes, she persuaded her, "Don't worry, Shanzhang. The cold weather is actually a good thing for me. No one will think it's abnormal for me to wear more clothes. What's next... at most I will have to sit in the stinking toilet for another nine days. In this early spring weather, even if I face the toilet, it's much better than the provincial examination."
Last year’s provincial examination was as hot as summer. The smell of the toilet was so hot that it was almost impossible to open your eyes.
In comparison, sitting next to a smelly bus in such a cold weather is not so unacceptable.
Shen Cui waved at him and told him to go to the exam with peace of mind. There was no need to distract himself by talking to reassure himself at this time.
Soon Mei Ruochu went towards the Imperial Examination Hall by himself. Since that day was the important day for candidates to enter the imperial examination, there were soldiers patrolling the streets, so there was no need to worry about his safety.
What Chen Cui was worried about was, of course, what stupid trick the law would use on him next.
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