Chapter 102: We Long for Each Other, We Are Showered in the Snow Together, We Will Grow Old Together in This Life (4400 words)
"This is the capital of Beihai Prefecture, Xiao Mo, it's so lively."
As soon as Bai Ruxue and Xiao Mo entered the Beihai provincial capital, they saw pedestrians coming and going on the streets and various vendors shouting on both sides of the streets.
"It's quite lively." Xiao Mo nodded.
It was already winter, and because of a heavy snowfall, the entire town was covered with a thick layer of white snow.
But this could not mask the noise in the town.
In Xiao Mo's mind, he compared the capital of Beihai Province with that of three thousand years ago.
Three thousand years have passed, and although the name has not changed, the layout of the entire Beihai Province has indeed changed a lot.
But overall, it has become more prosperous than before.
"Tanghulu, selling Tanghulu"
Not far away, an old man was shouting.
Bai Ruxue's eyes lit up, and she pulled Xiao Mo over and ran over: "Xiao Mo, I want to eat this!"
"Uncle, how much is one string?"
"Three cents a string."
"Give me a string of candied haws." Xiao Mo said with a smile, handing over three cents.
After a while, Bai Ruxue and Xiao Mo continued to move forward, but they had a string of candied haws in their hands.
Looking at the woman beside him eating candied haws, Xiao Mo couldn't help but curl his lips, as if everything had returned to three thousand years ago.
Three thousand years ago, Ruxue also accompanied him to the capital of Jiangnan Prefecture to take the imperial examination.
Today, Ruxue accompanied him to the Beihai Prefecture capital to participate in the assessment of Bailu Academy.
It seems that nothing has changed.
"What's wrong with Xiao Mo? Do you want to eat too? Here you go."
Bai Rushue held up the candied haws, and her sleeves slid down her delicate arms.
"No, just eat it." Xiao Mo smiled, "By the way, Ruxue really likes eating candied haws?"
"It's okay~" Bai Ruxue shook her head, "When I'm with you, I just want to eat candied haws."
"Why?"
"Silly Xiao Mo, don't you know that candied haws are sour inside?"
"So what does this have to do with me being together?"
"Of course it does." Bai Ruxue's eyes curved, "As long as I'm with you, the candied haws won't be so sour anymore~"
"." Xiao Mo was slightly stunned. He looked at the woman beside him, his eyes becoming softer. "If that's the case, then eat more."
"Xiao Mo, you'll get sick of eating too much candied haws." Bai Ruxue gently pulled Xiao Mo's sleeve, "But as long as I want to eat candied haws, you'll always be by my side, okay?"
Xiao Mo reached out and rubbed the woman's head: "Okay."
Listening to Xiao Mo's response, Bai Rushue lowered her head and continued to eat the candied haws in small bites, but her cheeks had a beautiful blush.
soon.
Xiao Mo and Bai Ruxue found an inn to stay in.
After putting down her baggage, Bai Ruxue followed Xiao Mo to the local Imperial Examination Hall to sign up for the selection for Bailu Academy.
The governor of Beihai Prefecture lent the Imperial Examination Hall to Bailu Academy, and the examination was also held at the Imperial Examination Hall in the Beihai Prefecture government office.
The number of students who want to participate in the Bailu Academy selection is not too many, but not too few either.
It’s not a big deal, because as long as one has a certain level of spiritual roots and is a scholar, he or she will generally choose to give it a try, and Bailu Academy generally accepts everyone.
I say few because there are not many ordinary people who can practice cultivation, let alone follow the path of Confucianism and Taoism.
Xiao Mo successfully registered and could go directly to the Imperial Examination Hall to take the exam five days later.
Before I knew it, five days had passed.
On the day of the exam, Bai Ruxue personally sent Xiao Mo to the Imperial Examination Hall.
"Don't be nervous during the exam."
"Um."
"Xiao Mo, you must believe in yourself. You will definitely pass the test."
"I know."
"It doesn't matter if we don't pass the exam. At worst, we can go to another academy."
"If that doesn't work, I'll help you tie up a few teachers from the Confucian Academy and give you private lessons."
On the way to the exam, Bai Ruxue kept talking to Xiao Mo, fearing that Xiao Mo would be sad after failing.
"Ruxue, don't worry, I'm fine. If I don't pass, it just means I'm not capable enough." Xiao Mo said with a smile, "Besides, it's obviously my exam, why do you seem more nervous than me?"
"No way." Bai Ruxue turned her head away.
"That's good." Xiao Mo stopped and said, "Ruxue, I'm going to take the exam."
Only then did Bai Ruxue notice that she and Xiao Mo had arrived at the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall.
The woman raised her head and looked at Xiao Mo seriously: "I'll wait for you to come out."
Xiao Mo took a step back, bowed to the beauty, turned around and disappeared into the crowd, and walked into the Imperial Examination Hall.
In front of the street of Gongyuan, the girl stood on tiptoe, looking up and down.
Imperial Examination Hall.
In a room, there sat an old man.
Two disciples, a man and a woman, stood beside the old man.
"Jiuli, how many scholars are participating in the selection for my White Deer Academy this time?"
Qi Daoming, a teacher at Bailu Academy, picked up the teacup, took a sip and asked.
"Teacher, there are a total of 325 scholars participating in the selection this time." The girl named Shang Jiuli said playfully.
"Three hundred and twenty-five." Qi Daoming touched his chin. "It's definitely more than usual."
The man named Luo Yang said calmly, "It would be a blessing if only two of these 325 disciples could pass the assessment."
As the three of them were chatting, an official in charge of helping knocked on the door and walked in: "Mr. Qi, all the scholars taking the exam have arrived."
"Thank you for your help, Master Zhang." Qi Daoming smiled, put down his teacup, and stood up. "Let's go and meet the scholars of Beihaizhou."
"yes!"
Luo Yang and Shang Jiuli bowed and followed their master out of the room.
There were more than three hundred scholars standing in the huge courtyard.
When they saw the old man walk out of the room, the noise gradually stopped and everyone looked towards the old man.
"Today's assessment of Bailu Academy will be presided over by this old man. My name is Qi Daoming, nice to meet you all." Qi Daoming bowed.
"Greetings, old sir." Everyone hurriedly returned the greeting.
"I didn't expect it to be this Mr. Qi."
"What happened to Mr. Qi?"
"You don't know this? Mr. Qi is the chief priest of the Confucian Academy."
"Not only that, Mr. Qi is also the junior apprentice of the current head of the Confucian Academy."
"Why did Mr. Qi become a teacher at Bailu Academy?"
"What's the big deal? Mr. Qi likes to travel and study, and Bailu Academy happened to be short of teachers, so he stayed."
Xiao Mo, standing in the crowd, heard the whispers around him and roughly understood the background of Mr. Qi. It turned out that this old man was not just an ordinary gentleman.
"Today our assessment is divided into three parts. The first one is to test your knowledge. Please take a seat." Mr. Qi made a "please" gesture.
The students sat down on the cushions that had been placed in the Imperial Examination Hall.
Mr. Qi waved his sleeves, and the test papers fell onto the small table in front of each person. "The test will last for one hour. Please answer the questions."
The candidates flipped through their test papers.
In Xiao Mo's opinion, this test paper is actually similar to the ordinary imperial examination.
It's just that it lacks some family and national affairs, and focuses more on the exploration of various Confucian classics.
Even as he wrote further, Xiao Mo discovered that there were not only Confucian books, but also some miscellaneous books on the market.
An hour later, Mr. Qi collected the papers.
One test paper after another floated past Mr. Qi's eyes, and each test paper only stayed in his sight for three breaths of time.
"Yue Penglai is qualified."
"Dialect, unqualified."
"Wei Xinyu, qualified."
After reviewing each test paper, Mr. Qi would read out whether the candidate passed or failed.
When a test paper fell in front of Mr. Qi, he looked at it for ten breaths. Even Shang Jiuli and Luo Yang came closer to take a look out of curiosity.
"Xiao Mo, passed."
Finally, the old man chanted.
In the crowd, Xiao Mo bowed.
After the first test, there were less than a hundred candidates left.
"Congratulations on passing the first test. The first test relies on your knowledge, but you all know that the students at Bailu Academy are both scholars and cultivators.
Next, we will test you based on your level of cultivation."
Qi Daoming walked forward, picked up an inkstone, and then poured water into the air.
The ink in the inkstone separated into drops of ink and dotted onto everyone's eyebrows.
Xiao Mo's consciousness gradually faded.
Everyone is caught in an illusion.
In the illusion, Xiao Mo saw himself possessing endless wealth and splendor, surrounded by countless luxury cars and beauties, and having great power in the court.
"Brother, guess how many people can wake up?" Shang Jiuli asked the man beside him.
Luo Yang glanced at the crowd: "They are all vulgar people. I don't think any of them can wake up."
Just as Luo Yang finished speaking, a scholar in the middle of the crowd slowly opened his eyes.
"How is this possible?" Luo Yang was shocked.
It took me half an incense stick to pass this test back then.
But the other party only used four breaths?
"It seems that Senior Brother has lost."
Shang Jiuli was all smiles.
But when she looked at Xiao Mo, there was also surprise in her eyes.
This scholar is a little bit unusual.
Could it be that luxury cars, beauties, power and money have no temptation for him at all?
Noticing that Mr. Qi and the other two were looking at him, Xiao Mo bowed and saluted.
One after another, some scholars gradually woke up.
But including Xiao Mo, there are only five people.
Finally, Qi Daoming took out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his storage bag and placed them on a table.
"For the third test, please pick up your pens and write a poem on the theme of 'white snow'."
"yes!"
The five people bowed, drew lots, and then took turns to pick up their pens and write poems.
In the eyes of everyone, writing poetry is something that cannot be simpler.
Everyone is very confident in their own talents.
But when the first person walked to the desk, rolled up his sleeves and tried to pick up the brush on the table, he couldn't lift it at all.
Qi Daoming shook his head. "This pen is called Wenqi. When a scholar cultivates, he will gradually gather the Qi of literature and calligraphy. Without sufficient Wenqi, it would be difficult to even pick up a pen, let alone compose poetry. My friend, please cultivate more in the future and come back next time."
Although this person was unwilling, he could only sigh, bow, and leave the courtyard.
The second person stepped forward and picked up the brush. He was able to lift it with difficulty, but as soon as he wrote a stroke, the brush felt as heavy as a thousand pounds and fell from his fingers.
The third person was named Fang Chen, and he wrote four words.
The fourth person was named Hu Qingshan, and he wrote half a sentence of poetry.
Although none of them completed a poem, they were qualified and were admitted to Bailu Academy.
Looking at their puzzled expressions, Shang Jiuli, who was standing aside, said with a smile:
"If you want to write a complete poem with this literary brush, it's not easy. In the entire state and county of Chu, there is not even a single person who can do it. So as long as you can write four words, you will be qualified."
The two of them understood.
Shang Jiuli looked at Xiao Mo not far away playfully and said, "Hey, that good-looking scholar, it's your turn."
Xiao Mo bowed and walked forward.
The moment he picked up the pen and ink, almost everyone outside the Imperial Examination Hall turned their heads to look.
In that courtyard, there was actually the roar of a black dragon.
At 3:00 p.m., the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall opened and a man in a blue shirt walked out.
"Xiao Mo~"
Outside the courtyard, a woman in a white dress waved her white arms.
Looking at the woman not far away, Xiao Mo smiled slightly and walked down the stairs. The woman quickly caught up with him.
Under the watchful eyes of two other equally qualified scholars, Xiao Mo followed the woman, stepping away step by step on the snow on the street.
"Xiao Mo, how did you do in the exam? Did you pass?" Bai Ruxue asked.
"Well, I passed." Xiao Mo nodded.
"I knew you could do it." Bai Ruxue stood on tiptoe and wanted to pat his head, but he was too tall and she couldn't reach him.
Since he couldn't reach it, he just pulled the corner of his sleeve.
Bai Ruxue pulled Xiao Mo's sleeve and shook his arm: "What are the exams for Bailu Academy?"
"There are three tests. The first one is to answer questions." Xiao Mo patiently explained to Bai Ruxue, "The second one is to test your character. I entered into an illusion, surrounded by beauties, mountains of gold and silver, and powerful. However, I should wake up in less than four breaths."
"So fast? Aren't you men very interested in these?" Bai Ruxue asked.
Xiao Mo smiled and said: "I don't want to be an official even though I have great power. You have shown me too much about mountains of gold and seas of silver. As for the beautiful women and luxury cars..."
Xiao Mo looked at the woman beside him: "None of them are as pretty as you."
"That's natural."
Bai Rushue turned her head, the blush on her cheeks spread to her ears, but her little hand pulled Xiao Mo's sleeve even tighter.
After a long while, Bai Ruxue calmed down her embarrassment and then remembered that she hadn't finished asking, "Xiao Mo, what is the third test?"
"The third test is to write a poem with the theme of white snow. It's actually quite simple." Xiao Mo said.
"Poetry? What kind of poem did you write?" Bai Ruxue asked curiously.
"Do you want to know?" Xiao Mo stopped and looked at Bai Rushue.
"Yeah." Bai Ruxue nodded seriously.
"This poem has four lines in total. I wrote the first two."
Xiao Mo gathered his sleeves and recited.
"The old friend's shadow was startled in the boat beyond the clouds, and the river was so cold that it turned into autumn."
"Yeah, not bad. What about the last two sentences?" Bai Ruxue blinked.
"The last two sentences." Just as Xiao Mo was about to read them out, the corners of his mouth curled up.
"Forget it, I won't tell you for now." After saying that, Xiao Mo walked forward.
"Eh? Why are you like this?"
Bai Ruxue was stunned for a moment, then quickly ran forward, hugged Xiao Mo's arm tightly, and shook it coquettishly.
"Smelly Xiao Mo, tell me, tell me quickly."
In the Imperial Examination Hall.
Shang Jiuli looked at the brush on the table, and then at the neatly written poem on the table.
The more Shang Jiuli looked at it, the more he liked it: "Teacher, this poem is really well written. Can you give it to me?"
"Girl, stop messing around. The test papers of these three candidates all need to be reviewed by the dean."
"It's okay, teacher. My grandpa won't mind. Just let me copy a copy for him when the time comes. Teacher, just give it to me, just give it to me." Shang Jiuli shook the teacher's arm.
"Okay, okay, I'll give it to you." Qi Daoming was also helpless, knowing that this girl liked to collect poems, especially those written by the authors themselves.
If I don't agree to her, I'm afraid there will be no peace along the way.
"Thank you, teacher." Shang Jiuli happily picked up the pen and ink, ready to copy one for his grandfather.
Luo Yang looked at the scholar's exam paper and felt a little excited, but in the end he didn't want to take away what his junior sister liked.
The two of them only saw the girl pick up the calligraphy brush and copy the words one by one, word by word, on the paper.
"The old friend's startled shadow is seen in the boat beyond the clouds."
"A river of chill turns into autumn."
"Two places of longing, soaked in the snow together."
"We can grow old together in this life."
(End of this chapter)
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