51-60

Chapter 51 Continue on the road

rested in an inn for a day. In the early morning of the next day, they once again formed a team and prepared to set off.

"Its eyes are so beautiful." Li Wen saw the big black horse behind Zhao Xiangyi. Even he, who didn't know anything about horses, knew that it was a good horse. The horse was tall, with strong limbs, shiny coat, and bright eyes. Big and beautiful, it looks very spiritual.

Horses are very spiritual animals, and good horses are even more spiritual.

The man and the horse looked at each other for a while, and Li Wen saw his own reflection in the horse's big eyes.

"Can I touch you?" Li Wen asked the horse's opinion, slowly reached out and touched it tentatively.

The big black horse looked down at the little boy in front of him, lowered his head and touched the boy's hand.

"Haha..." A smile appeared on Li Wen's face, and he touched the horse's head with his hand. He smiled happily while touching

the young man. There was an innocent smile on the young man's face. Zhao Xiangyi watched the young man touching his horse, and then looked at the initiative. The horse lowered its head and let the boy touch its head. Normally, his horse would not even lower its head to be touched. It would choke and kick strangers when they came near. It was obvious that his horse liked this little scholar, so he was willing to let the little scholar touch it. .

Even Zhao Xiangyi's subordinates were a little surprised when they saw Ben Xiao letting the little scholar touch it.

"Does it have a name?" Li Wen turned to ask Zhao Xiangyi and found the man looking at him. Li Wen asked.

Zhao Xiangyi hummed and said, "His name is Benxiao."

"The galloping Ben, Yunxiao's Xiao?" Li Wen touched the horse twice before reluctantly letting go, knowing that it was a very spiritual horse. A good horse, a good horse is hard to buy. It cannot be bought with money.

"Yeah." Zhao Xiangyi nodded.

After replenishing food at the inn, they continued on the road to the capital.

They walked with Zhao Xiangyi and his party along the way. Fortunately, nothing like the previous thing happened on the rest of the way. On the way, they met students who were going to the capital to take exams like them, and everyone was in a hurry.

The Spring Examination is approaching at this time. In fact, many people have already set out before the year and have gone to the capital to wait for the Spring Examination to start in February.

Those who were still on the road at this time had already arrived relatively late.

For Li Wen, as long as he could get to the capital in time for the Spring Examination, it didn't matter if he went earlier or later. The only thing he was worried about was that he couldn't find an inn to stay in when he went there. Lu Zhishu wrote to him a few years ago and knew that he would go to the capital to attend the Spring Festival in February. He left him the address in the letter and asked him to check in when he arrived in the capital. Go to him and live with him.

When Fu Yihan left the capital, he had already disposed of his mansion and shop in the capital, so he had no place for his disciples to live there. Knowing that Dean Fu didn't have a yard in the capital, Dean Fu asked him to write him a letter and ask him to stay at a friend's house. Li Wen didn't want Dean Fu to owe others a favor for such a trivial matter, so he refused. He said that he had friends over there, and in the worst case, he could just go to his friend's place to pick him up for a few days.

If he couldn't find a place to live outside, he would have no choice but to temporarily seek refuge with Lu Zhishu. I would like to ask Lu Zhishu for a few days. When he

arrived later, Li Wen saw that the weather outside was good, and Li Wen also mounted his horse and followed Zhao Xiangyi. Obviously, two people who didn't know each other at first gradually became familiar with each other while walking together.

Zhao Xiangyi didn't talk much, but Li Wen wasn't afraid of this man at all. He didn't have many advantages, the biggest advantage was that he was familiar with himself, hahaha...

After walking like this for five or six days, they were getting closer and closer to the capital.

"Young Master, let's stay here for one night. We will have to drive another day tomorrow to get to the capital." In the evening of this day, they arrived at a small town closest to the capital and wait until tomorrow to drive another day. By the way, they can reach the capital.

It's already a little late at this time, and the city gates were closed in the past. It's better to rest here for a day and wait until early tomorrow morning to start the journey. If you go quickly, you can arrive in the afternoon.

"Well, that's good." Li Wen said after hearing the steward's words.

It's finally almost here.

After driving for such a long time, riding in a carriage for such a long time, and riding a horse for a while in the next few days, he had never ridden a horse for such a long time, and the skin on the inner thighs was worn out, so Li asked later He didn't dare to get on the horse, so he could only stay in the carriage honestly.

I've been traveling all day, and the day has passed when I read a book again.

Since he was on the road for more than half a month, Li Wen still insisted on reading and reviewing every day. Otherwise, he would not feel at ease if he did not read for such a long time. When we got here, it was only a few days before the Chunwei exam started.

"We are almost there. If you keep patiently, there is only one day left." After riding in the carriage for so many days, the little girl was as wilted as an eggplant beaten by frost. Li Wen felt funny when he saw the little girl. He asked her to go home honestly but refused, and had to follow him out. Do you regret it? I have to finish this road even if I cry!

Li Jinwan looked at her brother with dull eyes, feeling like she had no love left in her heart.

They are already here, no matter what, she has to persist, and they will be in the capital soon!

Zhao Xiangyi over there saw the brother and sister and knew that the little scholar and the little girl were brother and sister. Along the way, Zhao Xiangyi could see that the brother and sister had a good relationship. I don't know why the little scholar went to the capital to take the exam and took his younger sister out. But these are other people's matters, and Zhao Xiangyi would not be curious to ask anything. There are many people staying in Tiefu

at this time, and there are not so many vacancies in the inn.

There was a little girl among them, so Li Jinwan stayed in a room by herself, and the rest of them shared the same room for just one night. They all stayed for one night and left the next day.

In the past, Li Wen slept alone, while Li Tong slept with the steward. Today, the room was not enough, so several people had to share one room. The other people lived together in two or three people, and in the end there was only one room left, and the remaining ones Li Wen and Zhao Xiangyi had no rooms.

"Brother Zhao, if you don't mind, let's sleep together for one night?" They are the only masters here. There are two of them, but they only have one room. Li Wen looked at Zhao Xiangyi and asked what he meant.

Along the way, he got acquainted with Zhao Xiangyi, and Li Wen even called him "Brother Zhao" instead.

"Yes." Zhao Xiangyi had no expression on his face. We had slept together in the Datong bunk in the military camp before, so the man had no objection to sharing a room with the boy.

But Li Wen thought of his ecstatic sleeping state and reached out to touch his nose, feeling a little guilty.

After everyone had dinner in the lobby below, they returned to their respective rooms. Li Wen and Zhao Xiangyi were in the same room.

"Brother, please send me a few buckets of hot water. I want to take a bath." Li Wen rewarded him with some money and asked the waiter in the store to bring him a few buckets of hot water. He wanted to take a bath.

"Yes, yes, I'll go and have someone deliver it here." The waiter took the reward, responded with a smile, and hurriedly went to have someone deliver the bathtub and hot water.

He had been traveling for the past few days and didn't encounter any places with good conditions on the way, so he hadn't taken a shower for many days since the last time he took a shower.

Li Wen thought about sharing a bed with Zhao Xiangyi tonight, and that they would arrive in the capital tomorrow. It was not good for him to go into the city unkempt, so he might as well take a shower and change his clothes to look better.

It's easy to do things if you have money. The bathtub and hot water came after a while, and Li Wen had someone put him behind the screen.

"Brother Zhao, let me take a bath." Li Wen stretched his head out and shouted to Zhao Xiangyi who was standing by the window.

"Do you want to take a shower and come over later?" he asked.

All of them were men, and Li Wen didn't think there was anything to mind.

"You can wash it first, I'm not in a hurry." Zhao Xiangyi responded and saw the young man taking off his clothes one by one and hanging them on the screen. He could still see the young man's slender figure through the screen, and then heard the young man entering. The sound in the water told me that the boy was taking a bath.

Zhao Xiangyi turned around and continued to look out the window, not knowing what this man was standing here looking at.

"It's so comfortable!" As soon as he entered the hot water, Li Wen let out a comfortable sigh. It was really rare to take a hot bath along the way. Li Wen didn't call Li Tong to come over and help him. After soaking in the hot water for a while, he washed and scrubbed, taking off his hair and washing it.

After soaking in the water for a while, Li Wen noticed that the water was a little cold, and then he got up from the water.

Finding that his clothes were still on the bed and he had forgotten to bring them over, Li Wen wiped the water off his body with a towel and stretched his head out to shout, "Brother Zhao, I forgot to bring my clothes. Can you help me get them?" On the bed."

Hearing the boy's voice, Zhao Xiangyi glanced at the bed and saw the clothes stacked on top. He walked a few steps over and handed them to the boy.

"Thank you, brother." Li Wen took it. The young man who had just taken a bath had a peach-like face, and his fair and tender skin was red from the hot water. When he smiled, his eyes were crooked. The young man had a pair of very beautiful eyes. .

Zhao Xiangyi took the clothes over and accidentally glanced at the naked young man. The young man's fair body fell into his eyes.

Zhao Xiangyi had never seen shirtless men in the military camp, and everyone would bathe together. It's just that the young man's body is different from those rough men in the military camp. The fair skin and slender waist are only for young people.

Although he saw the young man's naked body, Zhao Xiangyi had no other thoughts in his mind.

After handing the clothes to the boy, Zhao Xiangyi turned around, walked to the bed, and sat on the bed.

"Brother Zhao, do you want to take a shower? I'll have someone come over and change the water." Li Wen got dressed and

came out from behind the screen. When he saw the man sitting on the bed, he asked.

The boy's freshly washed hair was still dripping with water. When he saw someone about to go out, Zhao Xiangyi pulled him out and said, "It's windy outside, wipe the water off your hair and I'll go by myself." "

Oh." Li Wen took a towel and rubbed the water from his hair. To be honest, he really wanted to find a pair of scissors and cut off his hair. It's just that all the men in Dacheng have long hair. If he cuts his hair, he will become an alien, so he still can't cut it.

Li Wen sat on the bed and wiped his hair honestly, wiping away the water little by little.

Zhao Xiangyi opened the door and went out, calling someone to come over and change the water.

After a while, someone from the store came and knocked on the door. When they opened the door, someone came in and replaced the bath water that Li Wen had just used with clean water. Zhao Xiangyi took off his clothes and hung them on the screen, then soaked in the water for a while before getting up.

It was already dark outside, the lamp was lit in the room, and the boy was sitting at the table reading a book.

Seeing Zhao Xiangyi come out of the shower, Li Wen put down the book in his hand and prepared to put it away. Seeing this, Zhao Xiangyi said, "Nothing, just keep reading if you want."

"Oh, okay, I'll stop reading after I finish this point." He was still a little bit finished, Li Wen said.

Along the way, Li Wen was looking at his own reading notes. He had taken a lot of notes in the past few years,

which were all about things he had learned over the years. He would take a look at them to review what he had learned before the exam. The exam is coming soon at this time, and it is unrealistic to learn any new knowledge. It is better to look at the knowledge you have learned before and strengthen your memory.

After reading books for so many years, not just a few days of reading can determine the score of this scientific examination. Knowledge is accumulated bit by bit, from setting to quality, but there is no difference in reading sooner or later. In short, you should read a little when you can read, and learn a little when you can learn. Over time, you will get more.

After reading the notes on the handle, Li Wen blew out the oil lamp and climbed onto the bed.

At this time, Zhao Xiangyi was already lying on the bed, leaving the space inside for him, and the two of them covered each other with a quilt.

"Go to sleep."

''Well,

the two of them closed their eyes and went to sleep.

After a while, he heard the boy's even breathing. Zhao Xiangyi knew that the boy was asleep, so he closed his eyes.

After sleeping for a while, Zhao Xiangyi felt the boy next to him squirming. He didn't know if the boy was cold in his sleep, but he kept moving towards him. This reminded Zhao Xiangyi of the night they were in the ruined temple. The boy crawled along his arm into his arms and slept in his arms.

In fact, at this time, Zhao Xiangyi could completely ignore the young man who was trying to crawl towards him. But seeing the young man's pitiful appearance like a little rabbit, Zhao Xiangyi lifted the quilt by accident. As soon as the young man got the chance, he crawled over to him and got into his arms smoothly, his frown relaxed.

From his angle, he could just see the curve of the corner of the young man's mouth.

Li Wen had a dream at night. He dreamed that he was sleeping with a big stove in his arms. He was very warm and comfortable.

When Li Wen woke up the next day, he found that he had slept with someone in his arms.

At this time, Zhao Xiangyi had woken up. Li Wen opened his eyes and met the man's clear eyes. Knowing that the man must have been awake for a while, he gave a slightly guilty laugh and said, "Good morning.

" Morning." Zhao Xiangyi said expressionlessly.

"Haha...that..." He didn't know why he ran from his own bed to someone else's bed. It was a little embarrassing. How to explain this problem? Li Wen himself didn't know how he ended up with someone else and even slept with someone else in his arms.

Fortunately, both of them were men, Li Wen comforted himself in his heart.

"Get dressed and go down. Everyone should get up." The man's words relieved Li Wen's embarrassment. Li Wen said, "I'll get dressed and go down .

"

Good clothes, the two of them went down together.

Chapter 52 Arrival

"Brother, look, look, we're here!"

"I see it." Hearing the excited screams of the little girl, Li Wen had a headache and wanted to throw him down. On the carriage, they saw the towering city wall from a distance, and many people were queuing up to enter the city outside the city gate.

This is the capital, they have arrived!

Zhao Xiangyi did not enter the city with him. When they were approaching the capital, Zhao Xiangyi proposed to him that they should go first and asked him if he would help arrange a place to live. However, Li Wen still rejected the other party's kindness and thanked him for taking care of him along the way.

So they separated on the road, and Zhao Xiangyi rode away with his men.

The carriage was getting closer and closer to the city gate, and they reached the foot of the city wall.

Li Wen got off the carriage and looked up at the towering city wall. The blue-gray stone bricks were covered with moss. This city wall had stood in the wind and rain for who knows how many years, experienced how many wars, and how many stains were on it. The traces of human blood still stand here. Standing under the city wall, he felt the history conveyed from this city wall.

This is the center of Dacheng Kingdom's politics, economy and culture at the feet of the Emperor^

"Brother, this wall is so high." Li Jinwan followed her brother, looking up at the city wall like her brother. The little girl had never seen such a high city wall before, and her eyes were filled with wonder when she saw the towering city wall.

"Well, yes, it's very high." Li Wen withdrew his gaze and looked at the businessmen and people waiting in line outside the city gate.

A gorgeous carriage came from behind and went straight into the city without queuing behind.

This is the capital, and it is also a place with many privileged classes. Whenever you go out, you may encounter children from the families of princes, generals, and prime ministers. There are many powerful and responsible people in the capital, and there is also no shortage of wealthy and praising children. Therefore, after entering this city, he must be more cautious in his words and deeds, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble to himself.

Now he is just a small person. If he provokes someone who shouldn't be provoked here, the other party will crush him as easily as crushing an ant. Li Wen knew very well how powerful the privileged class was in feudal society, which was beyond the ability of a little scholar like him to contend with.

Now he is not alone. Behind him are his parents, family and clan members. His personal rise and fall affects the rise and fall of his family. As long as he is good, his parents, family and clan members can follow suit. He is responsible for the rise, fall and survival of the entire family. It was only at this moment that Li Wen realized more deeply the impact that a scholar had on a family, or even a family. It is no wonder that in this era, some families would not hesitate to use their entire family's strength to provide a scholar.

They queued up behind the queue entering the city and waited for a while before it was their turn.

Li asked to show his city entrance examination certificate. The general in charge of guarding the city gate took it and took a look at him, then looked at him, returned the certificate to him, and said with a smile, "I didn't expect such a young master to lift people. Come in,

the spring festival in February is around the corner, and you can participate in the spring festival." The candidates for the scientific examination all gathered in the capital.

In a place where the fourth-level officials were just minor officials, a small candidate was really nothing, but such a young candidate was really hard to find in the entire Dacheng. After a few came out, it was no wonder that the generals in charge of the city gates treated Li Wen a little differently.

Li Wen took his certificate and nodded to the other party with a smile.

They entered the city smoothly.

As soon as you enter the imperial city, you will be greeted by a sense of solemnity. This is the place where the emperor lives. There are wide streets with rows of shops on both sides. There are many pedestrians, carriages and rich people on the streets. The clothes on his body are gorgeous, and the clothes of ordinary people are also decent. Everything here shows the difference of the imperial city.

"Young Master, there are several inns in front. Let's go there and ask if there is any place to stay. "The steward hasn't been to the capital for some years, but he still roughly remembers how to navigate the streets here.

"Well, let's go and ask. "Li Wen looked around while walking, and whispered to the little girl to follow her and stop wandering around. If you get lost here, you really don't know where to find it.

Li Jinwan also knows this truth. They said "Okay" and followed her brother obediently on the way.

They asked several inns, and all they heard was that the inns were full and there were no rooms.

Indeed, it was almost spring, and there were a lot of candidates and students. Various people entered the imperial city. The inns in the city had been fully booked a few months ago. They were afraid that they would not even have room to stay in the ruined temples outside the city. They just wanted to try to find a place to stay. I went to inquire, so I was not too disappointed when I learned that there were no available rooms.

Seeing that the sun was about to set, and they would really have to sleep on the street tonight if they couldn't find a place to stay,

Li Wen had no choice but to give up and continue . He went and asked, "Forget it, let's go to Lu Zhishu's place. "It's better to go find Lu Zhishu first. Since Lu Zhishu wrote to him and told him to find him when the time comes, he will definitely arrange a place for him to live.

Then he will see where there is an independent small courtyard, and he can buy a small courtyard. . If they want to

live in the capital in the future, they will definitely need a place to live. They can't bother others all the time. Wait until they meet Lu Zhishu and ask him. He has lived here for several years and knows this place better than him. Be familiar with it.

Li Wen took out the address written on the paper and asked the steward if he knew how to get to this place. It happened that the steward knew the way to this place, so they didn't need to ask anyone else.

"Okay, let's go." Li Wen said.

On the way, the steward told Li Wen about the distribution and residence of an area within the imperial city.

The imperial city is divided into inner and outer cities. The inner city is where the emperor, princes and generals live, and the outer city is divided into southeast, northwest and northwest. The outer city of the Four

Cities is divided into four districts: east, west, south, north and south. Dongcheng District is where ministers live and various bureaucracies are located; Nancheng District is where minor officials in the court and some wealthy businessmen live; Xicheng District is opposite to Dongcheng District and Nancheng District. As far as the urban area is concerned, it is an area between the two. It is a place where petty officials and businessmen with less high official positions and less money live. Some scholars also live here, and the environment is quiet. ; Finally, there is Beicheng District. This is where ordinary people live. The environment there will be worse, and it will definitely not be that good.

Lu Zhishu lives in Qingliu Lane at the junction of Nancheng District and Xicheng District, which is close to the lake. The lake was filled with willow trees, hence the name Qingliu Alley.

"Knock knock—"

They walked along the road and knocked on the door.

"Who is knocking on the door? "Someone asked inside.

The door was opened from the inside, and Li Wen saw an acquaintance. He knew he was in the right place. After not seeing each other for several years, Li Wen still recognized the other person at a glance and said with a smile, " Uncle Zhou, it's me, I'm Li Wen, do you still remember me?

"Oh, it's Mr. Li. Remember, of course. " You are here. Our young master has called you several times. Mr. Li, please come in quickly. "The housekeeper recognized that this was the classmate and friend of their young master. Their young master had mentioned the person several times and had ordered the people below them to invite them in if they saw someone coming.

"Master Li, please come in quickly. "The housekeeper smiled hurriedly and opened the door, asking the people below to inform their young master, and said, "Master Li, please come in quickly. "

There is a small courtyard at the entrance, where their carriages and horses are kept.

The housekeeper called a slave and asked him to take the horse to the stable at the back to feed it. "Look at the young master's appearance. He has just arrived in the capital, right?"

"Yes, we just arrived today." Li Wen followed. The butler went inside.

"Master, Mr. Li is here."

"Where are the others?"

"We have already invited him in. He is in the main hall."

"Let's go."

When Lu Zhishu, who was reading in the study, heard that Li Wen was coming, he covered his hands with his. , the person strode outside.

At this moment, Li Wen was sitting on a chair in the main hall, taking a look at the things in the room, and took a sip of the tea at hand. Hearing the footsteps, Li Wen subconsciously turned his head and looked back. He recognized at a glance that it was Lu Zhishu who was walking towards him. He stood up from his chair, looked at him and smiled.

Lu Zhishu strode over, saw the young man smiling at him, grabbed the young man's arm with both hands, and called Li Wen's name.

"Zhishu, long time no see." Li Wen was of course very happy to see his friend whom he hadn't seen for so many years, and the corners of his mouth curved upward.

"Well, it's been a long time." Lu Zhishu was also very happy to see Li Wen.

Lu Zhishu had imagined countless times what the little Li Wen would be like when he grew up. There was never a time like this when he met Li Wen. It turned out that Li Wen would look like this when he grew up. It was so intuitive to tell The two of them

haven't seen each other for six or seven years. When they separated, they were still young. Now they have grown into teenagers, and their appearance has changed. Probably the only thing that remained unchanged was that the feelings they had for each other did not fade away as time went by, but instead became stronger.

Lu Zhishu's eyes wandered over Li Wen's face, as if he couldn't get enough of this person. They hadn't seen each other for a long time. Li Wen smiled and let Lu Zhishu look at him. He also looked at Lu Zhishu and found a familiar look on his friend's face.

"Did you just arrive today? Did everything go smoothly on the way?" Lu Zhishu asked.

"Well, I just arrived today, everything is fine." Li Wen said.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time, thinking that you won't be able to arrive until after the new year. The restaurants and inns outside are all full right now, and

it's hard to find a place to live outside. You can stay here with me. I'm the only one living here. "There are several vacant rooms in the back." Lu Zhishu told the housekeeper to arrange for someone to clean up the house.

The house has actually been tidied up a long time ago. Now I can tidy it up and it will be habitable.

"Yes." The housekeeper asked the two servants to clean up the house and said with a smile, "Master, Mr. Li must be hungry now that he has come such a long way. I will ask the kitchen to prepare some dishes. Master You and Mr. Li have a meal.

"Well, go ahead and ask the kitchen to add two more dishes. "Lu Zhishu said.

The housekeeper was happy to see their young master. He went out and asked the kitchen to cook some vegetables.

The two sat together and talked for a while. Li asked Lu Zhishu about his stay in the capital, and the two of them talked about studying. The Spring Festival was coming

soon , and they were all about to take the exam. Lu Zhishu was in the capital and knew the situation better. He told Li Wen about this year's Spring Festival. The cooked vegetables and rice were delivered.

They hadn't seen each other for a long time, and they had too much to say and couldn't finish them all at once. Lu Zhishu was worried that Li Wen was hungry, so he said, "Let's eat first. I'll talk about the rest later. "

Okay,

the two of them sat down to eat. Li Wen was really hungry at this moment. He was rushing all the way and didn't even have a good meal on the way. When I arrived in the capital, I finally no longer had to think about the rush. I relaxed and my appetite improved.

Lu Zhishu had a habit of eating in silence, and it was not the first time that Li Wen had dinner with him, so the two of them ate quietly.

Later, Zhishu Lu asked the kitchen to bring in two more dishes.

Li Wen ate big mouthfuls of food. He ate three bowls of rice in a row. By the end of the meal, he was full and sat there paralyzed, not wanting to move. Lu Zhishu looked at Li Wen and suddenly smiled and said, "You are still the same as before, you are the Li Wen he is familiar with.

"Huh? "What's the same as before?" Li Wen chuckled and said, "I've obviously grown taller."

"Haha, you're right. " "The appearance has changed, but the temperament is still the same person he is familiar with.

Lu Zhishu asked people to change into tea, and the two of them chatted while drinking tea.

The sun in the west had set, and it was getting dark at this time. I was worried that Li Wen would come all the way so It was far away, and he would definitely be tired after traveling for so long. When he learned that the house over there was tidied up, Lu Zhishu asked people to go back to the house to rest, and after taking a bath,

Lu Zhishu personally escorted the people to the door . , said, "If you need anything, just tell me, or ask Boti Zhou."

"Okay. "It's just the first day here. Li Wen still doesn't know what the situation is like in the capital. He wants to go around the area after he gets up from sleep and ask Lu Zhishu if he can buy an independent small courtyard nearby. However, It's probably hard to buy a house in the capital at this time.

"You should go back and rest early, and don't read too late. 3" Li Wen noticed the gray under Lu Zhishu's eyes and knew that this man must stay up late every day to read. He still said with concern. One sentence.

"Hmm. "The corner of Lu Zhishu's mouth curled up a little, revealing a faint arc.

Li Wen went into the house. Hot water was prepared for him. He took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and asked the child who was serving him to go back to the house. He lay down on the bed and went to sleep.

The bedding on the bed was clean, and there was a scent.

Lying on the soft bed, smelling the scent from the quilt, he relaxed all over. The boy on the bed closed his eyes. , and soon he fell asleep.

As night fell, it was already dark, and the lantern hanging in front of the door was lit.

At this moment, the oil lamp in the study was still on, and Lu Zhishu was sitting under the lamp . I was reading a book, but I didn't turn it for a long time... After Ben Benben separated from Li Wen and the others

during the day

, Zhao Xiangyi took his people back to the camp on the outskirts of Beijing, and returned to the city from the camp on the outskirts of Beijing in the evening. After returning home, when it got dark, Zhao Xiangyi went out with a personal guard and went to the place agreed with Yang Shaomu.

Zhao Xiangyi walked in and heard the melodious sound of the piano . I saw His Royal Highness sitting on a soft couch, listening to the beauty playing the piano.

"There is no need to salute, just sit down. "Yang Shaomu opened his eyelids and glanced at Zhao Xiangyi who came back. Although His Royal Highness was sitting here listening to the piano, his mind was not on the music.

"Yes. "Zhao Xiangyi found a seat and sat down, poured himself a glass of wine, and added a little to Yang Shaomu's cup.

Yang Shaomu raised his hand and said, "Go out. "

Hearing this, the beauty stopped playing the piano, got up, blessed herself, and went out.

This time Zhao Xiangyi left the capital to do something for His Highness the Crown Prince. When he saw the person coming back, Yang Shaomu asked a few questions about Zhao Xiangyi. How about going out to do something? After the two of them finished talking about business, Yang Shaomu asked again, "Did you meet Li Wen on your way back this time? "

"Yeah." Zhao Xiangyi was not surprised that Yang Shaomu knew that he was traveling with Li Wen on the road. Originally, it was nothing, so there was nothing to hide. Zhao Xiangyi talked about what happened to them in the wild store, and naturally also mentioned that Li Wen shot a robber to death with an arrow shot from his wrist.

"Haha, I really can't tell that he still has the courage." Hearing that Li Wen killed a robber, Yang Shaomu showed a faint smile on his face. It's not surprising, people will always be anxious when they are cornered. Do something to protect yourself. It was because he was a little curious about what Zhao Xiangyi said Li Wen was wearing on his wrist, and he didn't know what it was.

Zhao Xiangyi was also curious about what Li Wen used to kill people, but there was no rush, he would figure it out sooner or later.

The two people talked for a while upstairs and left one after the other.

Chapter 53: First arrival in the capital

"Ding ding dong dong -"

In the early morning, the sky outside was still gray and the road had not yet been clearly seen. The officials from the previous court entered the palace in small sedans and hurried into the palace. Went to court. On the streets of Beijing, there are vendors pulling small carts out to set up stalls to do business. The small carts are pulled by, making a tinkling sound, which is particularly clear in this quiet morning.

It took eighteen big men to open the gates of the imperial city. The heavy gates were lowered to connect both sides of the moat. When the gates were opened, people from outside the city could come in and people in the city could go out.

Outside the door were merchants and people lining up early waiting to enter the city.

The boy who was still sleeping in the bed didn't know what was going on outside. He wrapped himself in the whole quilt and was still sleeping soundly.

Lu Zhishu got up early to study and knew that Li Wen was still sleeping, so he didn't let anyone disturb him.

"Master, are you awake?" The little boy outside the door was waiting there, listening to the sounds inside. Li Tong opened the door a little and took a look inside. When their young master sat on the bed and knew that he had woken up, Li Tong opened the door and went inside with the hot water in his hand.

At this moment, Li Weng just woke up and was still not quite awake.

When he saw the little boy coming in with hot water to wash his face, he looked around with sleepy eyes and then remembered that they had arrived in the capital yesterday and were now staying at Lu Zhishu's place.

"Master, wipe your face." Li Tong twisted the towel and handed it to their young master. Li Wen took the towel and wiped his face twice before he felt a little more awake. He lifted the quilt off his body, took the clothes and put them on one by one.

The weather in Beijing is a bit colder than that in Nanyang. I went out in the morning and stood in the yard and took a breath. The fresh air was breathed into my lungs, carrying the chill of early spring.

Li Wen thought of the capital city in later generations. The air and environment were already very bad. How could one stand in the capital city and still inhale a breath of fresh air like it is now. However, in the big cities of later generations, no matter where they are, the environment has become very bad.

The weather looks pretty good today with blue skies and white clouds.

"Good morning, third brother." Li Jinwan got up early. When she saw her brother coming out of the house, the little girl ran over and called him. Li Wen hummed, and seeing that the little girl seemed to be in much better spirits, he asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"

Li Jinwan nodded and said that she slept well.

"This is not our own place. Don't run around alone. You can't run outside alone without anyone to take you. Do you understand? We will move out after we find a house in a few days." Today After meeting this little girl, Li Wencai felt that it was urgent for them to find a house.

It would be fine if he stayed with Lu Zhishu by himself, but now he also brought a cousin, a young girl who has reached the age of marriage. If he lived with someone else, it would not be good for the young girl's reputation. Since coming in yesterday, Li Wen has discovered that in addition to a housekeeper, Lu Zhishu has two or three servants here. There are no extra people.

This was also the reason why Lu Zhishu refused to send a maid from his family to serve him.

When Lu Zhishu came out of the study, Li Wen saw Lu Zhishu, introduced the little girl to Lu Zhishu, and said, "Zhishu, this is my cousin Li Jinwan. Jinwan, this is my good friend Lu Zhishu." Li

Jinwan saw the handsome appearance . Lu Zhishu, a little embarrassed, called out "Mr. Lu."

Lu Zhishu nodded to Li Jinwan as a greeting.

The three of them sat down to eat breakfast together.

After breakfast, Lu Zhishu said, "You just arrived in the capital yesterday. You must have not walked through the city yet. I will take you outside for a walk today." When he was alone, he almost didn't know how to do it. Go out.

If Li Wen hadn't been here today, he wouldn't have thought of going outside.

"Will it hinder your study? Why don't we go for a walk by ourselves." Li Wen was worried that it would affect Lu Zhishu's study and not let Lu Zhishu accompany them.

They didn't waste much time on the road. They were in a hurry all the way. After all, they arrived in the capital at the end of the month. It was already around the 20th, and the exam in Chunwei was only about half a month away. There is not much time left to study. Li Wen was worried that their arrival would bring unnecessary trouble to Lu Zhishu, and he felt bad about it.

"It doesn't matter, it's enough to study for a day and a half." Lu Zhishu said while looking at Li Wen.

"Haha, okay then. Oh, there's one more thing I want to ask you." Li asked Lu Zhishu if he knew if he could find a rental yard nearby, or if there was a suitable small yard, and he said, " If there is a suitable small courtyard, I can buy one. "

It is impossible to live in an inn at this time. If I can find a suitable small courtyard, it would be good to buy a small courtyard.

Lu Zhishu didn't know much about these things. He just wanted to find a house and move out when he saw Li Cailai. He didn't agree with it and said, "Isn't it good for you to live here with me? Why do you want to move out?"

" That's not what I meant. It's okay if I stay here for a day or two. It's not very convenient if I stay here for a long time, don't you think? "Living in other people's homes will cause trouble to others. Li Wen knew that Lu Zhishu was devoted to studying, and he did not want to say that his arrival would affect other people's studies.

Li Wen glanced at the little cousin next to him, and Lu Zhishu also looked over, finally understanding why Li Wen wanted to find a house and move out.

"It's nothing inconvenient. Since you want to find a house, let's ask if there is a suitable one first. I have a place to live here, so don't worry." When Lu Zhishu saw Li Wen's insistence, he waved to the servants. Calling the housekeeper over, "I don't know much about these things. You can ask Uncle Zhou later. He should know more about these things."

"Yes, I understand." On the way here, Li Wen saw that the environment here was not bad. It would be great if you could find a house nearby.

After hearing their young master say that he was looking for him, the housekeeper came over soon.

"Uncle Zhou, it's like this. I want to ask you if there is a suitable yard nearby. I want to rent a yard. Or if there is a suitable yard, it would be better if I could buy it." Li Wen said. After all, if he lives here for a long time in the future, it would be better if he can buy a small yard. Renting a house is only suitable for short-term living.

You won't lose money if you buy a house in a place like Beijing. Even if you don't live in it anymore, you can still sell it.

"Master Li wants to buy a yard. The yards here in the capital are not cheap. And at this time, it's probably hard to buy a yard." When the housekeeper heard that Li Wen wanted to buy a yard, he thought for a while and said, "I'll go out and help Young Master, please ask around. If there is a good yard, it would be great."

"Okay, I'll bother Uncle Zhou." Li asked Zhou Bo about a house price in Jingcheng and told him that it was within a general price range. Affordable price.

He brought a little silver with him. A year ago, his father had someone send him a sum of money. In addition to the silver that his father had given him, he also had a little bit of his own small earnings over the years, and The New Year's money given by Dean Fu during the Chinese New Year was enough for him to buy a small courtyard here.

A house that is too big will definitely not be enough money, but a small yard should be enough.

After he has passed the next two exams, he will think about making money again. Now the exams are more important, and making money is secondary.

After saying these things, Li Wen took Li Jinwan and Li Tong and went out with Lu Zhishu.

Lu Zhishu only had one boy with him.

Li Wen and Lu Zhishu walked in front. Lu Zhishu introduced this area to Li Wen on the way, "Many scholars live here. I originally chose here because the environment here is relatively quiet, which is suitable for me to study here."

"Well, this place is pretty good." Li Wen nodded and said.

There was a lake as soon as they came out of the alley. They stood by the lake for a while.

As the two of them walked along, Lu Zhishu talked about his years in the capital, and also asked Li Wen how his years in Nanyang were like. "If I hadn't gone to the capital, maybe we would have met in Nanyang and studied together in Nanyang." Lu Zhishu said with a bit of regret, remembering what he had missed with Li Wen back then.

But maybe if he had to make the choice again, he would definitely follow his family's arrangements and go to the capital to study.

"Haha, haven't we met now?" Li Wen mentioned Shen Zijing and Su Yuan, thinking of the years when they studied in a small town. That was probably the most unforgettable time for the four of them together. childhood.

After growing up, everyone went to different places. It was only after so many years that he and Lu Zhishu met here in the capital.

Here at the junction of Nancheng District and Beicheng District, the environment is relatively good and the people are not that complicated.

They walked along the road by the lake, and after a short walk they reached the street outside.

Lu Zhishu took Li Wen out to the street. More and more people came out, and the streets were filled with pedestrians. "Let's go to a restaurant for tea?" Lu Zhishu suggested to Li Wen, not knowing where to go.

"Okay." Li Wen didn't have any ideas. He was not familiar with the capital, so he could just follow Lu Zhishu.

At this time, restaurants and inns were where students and candidates gathered. Lu Zhishu took Li Wen to the largest restaurant nearby. At this time, there was still room upstairs, so they went upstairs, asked for a seat by the window, and sat down.

After a while, the waiter brought tea and snacks.

Li Wen stood on the street and looked outside. Looking down from a high place, he could see pedestrians, cars and horses coming and going on the street. After taking a look outside, he sat down and chatted with Lu Zhishu while drinking tea.

The two of them have been chatting since they met yesterday, but they still have endless things to say.

Li Jinwan sat next to her brother and listened to what her brother and Lu Zhishu were saying. Some of them she could understand, but some of them she couldn't understand. She just sat there obediently eating tea and snacks on the table.

The environment on the second floor was a bit cleaner than that downstairs. They drank two cups of tea here and talked for a while before Li Wen suggested, "Let's go back." There wasn't much to see outside, and it wasn't like he hadn't been out yet. The passer-by wanted to go out and take a look around. He knew that at this time, Zhishu Lu had to go back to study. He couldn't disturb other people's study,

but he also had to calm down and study, and prepare for the scientific examination in the spring.

"Okay." When Lu Zhishu saw Li Wen saying to go back, he called someone to come over to settle the bill and went back with Li Wen.

When she left, Li Jinwan found that she was full...

Chapter 54 Preparation before the exam

At this time in the capital when preparing for the exam, there are candidates gathering everywhere outside. When there are too many people, everything will happen. It just so happened that neither Li Wen nor Lu Zhishu liked to join in the fun. If they had the intention to join in the fun, they might as well read more books before the exam and feel safer.

In the past, when Lu Zhishu was alone, he could study at home for a month without going out. If Li Wen hadn't come to the capital today, he might not have walked out of his home.

"The exams are in half a month. Let's study at home in the next few days. When the exams are over and you want to go out and play, let's go for a walk." Even though we haven't seen each other for so many years, Li Wen still knows Lu Zhishu's character shows that he is a person who doesn't like excitement.

And he has no interest in making friends everywhere. The two of them are somewhat similar in this regard.

Hearing Li Wen's words, Lu Zhishu nodded and just said okay.

Lu Zhishu said, "I forgot to tell you yesterday that there is a study room for you. The books are all in my study room. If you want to use any books, just go to my place and get them^" He

knew that Li Wen would take the Beijing exam years ago. , Lu Zhishu was writing a letter inviting the other party to come and live with him. He had asked people to prepare everything early, and even set up an extra room in the study so that Li Wen could read and write in it when he arrived. The use of words.

"Okay, thank you. If I need any books, I'll come over and get them from you. You go study, and I'll go read a book too." Seeing Lu Zhishu prepare everything for him, Li Wen couldn't express his feelings. move.

This is the Lu Zhishu he knows. He always thinks about and prepares everything in advance. He is a very considerate and attentive friend.

"Between you and me, there is no need to say thank you." Lu Zhishu glanced at Li Wen, his eyes serious.

He was very happy that Li Wen could come to him so that all the things he prepared for him could be put to use. Lu Zhishu didn't like Li Wen being too polite to him. He didn't like it before, he didn't like it now, and he wouldn't like it in the future.

"Okay, okay, I understand." Li Wen understood what Lu Zhishu meant. He nodded and said with a smile, "If you want to go to the study, just go and don't worry about me. I'll say a few words to Jin Wan."

Lu Zhishu looked at Li Wen He glanced at it and walked towards his study.

The two studies were separated by a courtyard and faced each other. If he opened the window, he could see the other side. Seeing Lu Zhishu go to his study and look back at him while standing at the door, Li Wen waved to Lu Zhishu.

Lu Zhishu went into the study to study.

Li Wen looked at the little girl aside. Seeing her brother looking at her, Li Jinwan hurriedly said to her brother, "Brother, you go read your book and don't worry about me. I can make arrangements for myself." She said with a nice smile on her face, Blinked twice.

She knew that her brother's study was important. She couldn't help her brother, but she couldn't hold her brother back.

"Yeah, that's fine. Then you can just find something to do on your own these days, and I won't care about you." Li Wen didn't have time to take care of this girl at the moment, so he just wanted to let her do whatever she wanted. .

"Yeah." Li Jinwan nodded quickly, looking very well-behaved.

Seeing the little girl smiling like a fool, Li Wen reached out and patted her on the head. "Okay, just do whatever you want to do. I'm going to study." He walked towards the study. Li Jinwan covered her head and waved her fist at her brother. She didn't dare to hit her brother, but it didn't hurt when her brother hit her.

What is she going to do now? Her brother went to study and had no time to take care of her, and no one gave her any work to do. Li Jinwan stood there thinking for a while, feeling very distressed.

Suddenly an idea flashed through my mind, yes!

Her brother studies so hard, so she can go cook her brother some delicious food to replenish his health! With this thought in mind, Li Jinwan thought it was feasible. She asked someone and found out where the kitchen was, so she went to the kitchen.

Sitting in the study, Li Wen calmed down and began to concentrate on reading.

While rushing along the way, although he also read a book, due to the surrounding environment and the interference of various factors,

he could not concentrate on reading on the way. He thought he should take advantage of the half month before the exam to seize the time. Review the knowledge you have learned and read all the articles you have written in the past.

Don't forget to write articles. It's best to start writing every day. It's very important to maintain the feeling and speed of writing articles. Also, Dean Fu read his article and wrote comments for him. We should pay attention to these. The same mistake must not be made again.

Once a person calms down and reads, time passes by unconsciously.

The sun moves from east to west, reaches the west, and sets at dusk of the day.

The smell of meat came from the small kitchen, and meat was simmering in the pot.

Li Jinwan stayed in the kitchen all afternoon. When she was at home, she often ran to her aunt's house. When she saw her aunt cooking, she would do odd jobs and also learned good cooking skills by the way. Her mother-in-law is lazy, and

the sisters do all the work at home, so Li Jinwan also does laundry and cooking when she is at home. She can basically do any kind of work.

Today she showed off her skills and cooked some delicious dishes for her brother. After making a good soup to replenish her body, her brother seemed to have lost a lot of weight during this period.

The stewed meat in the pot gave off a burst of fragrance, and even the cook in the kitchen praised her, "Oh, I can't believe that you are so good at cooking, little girl. This meat smells so delicious."

"Hey, auntie, Please help me taste it." Li Jinwan smiled reservedly, opened the lid, and used chopsticks to take out a piece of meat for the aunt to taste.

"Why is this so good?" The aunt was embarrassed. The master didn't even eat it. How could their servants taste it?

"It's okay. If we don't taste it, how will we know if it tastes good? Is it salty or bland? Is the meat stewed soft enough? You always have to taste it to know, right?" How much meat she stewed, It doesn't matter if you try a piece. Li Jinwan took a piece and gave it to the aunt.

The aunt couldn't resist, so she had to open her mouth to catch it. The meat in her mouth was fragrant and soft, and the taste was great.

As soon as he saw the aunt's expression, Li Jinwan knew that her stew was good.

There was also chicken soup simmering in the pot. She opened the lid and skimmed out the layer of chicken fat on top for cooking. Seeing that it was almost getting dark now, Li Jinwan told her aunt and she started cooking.

Originally, when the aunt saw the little girl coming to the kitchen to help with the cooking, she was worried that the little girl wouldn't know how to cook. However, she didn't expect that the little girl showed her skill. Not only could she cook, but she was also very good at it. After tasting it, even the aunt was convinced by the little girl's cooking skills.

Li Tong glanced inside at the door of the study room, hesitating in his heart whether to call their young master to eat. The fourth lady just said that she had prepared the meal and asked him to call their young master to eat. It looks like it's going to be late today, but we can't delay eating because of studying. What if their young master is starved to death, what will he tell his wife when he returns?

"Little boy, what are you doing shrinking at the door?" Li Wen had known for a long time that the boy was looking in at the door, and he had gotten better several times. It was difficult for him not to notice.

"Well, young master, you have been reading all day, and the sun is setting. Why don't you eat your food first?" Li Tong said.

"Okay, let's go eat first." He was a little tired after reading for so long, so Li Wen closed the book and stretched. When he walked out of the study, he saw Lu Zhishu also walking out of the study. It was as if the two of them had made an appointment.

When Lu Zhishu saw Li Wen, he had a faint smile on his face and asked, "Are you tired after reading for so long?

" "It's okay, it's okay." "Studying is definitely tiring, and sitting for a long time will cause back pain. After hearing Lu Zhishu's words, Li Wen joked, "What can you do in this world that is not tiring? Even if you sit in the bank and count money every day, your hands will become weak if you count too much, right?

"Haha, your analogy is interesting. " "Lu Zhishu couldn't help but laughed out loud. Only Li Wen would say such interesting things.

Seeing the young man with a smile on his face, Lu Zhishu's eyes were also filled with smiles and he said to the young man, " Let's have a meal together. "

" Hey, that's exactly what I meant. "Li Wen said.

The two of them sat down on the chairs next to the dining table, and the waiter brought the soup. Li Jinwan followed behind and put a pot of meat on it, used a silk to cushion it, and opened the lid. After opening it, a smell of meat came out.

As soon as he smelled it, Li Wen hummed, looked at the little girl and asked, "Did you cook today's food?"

"Brother, you got the answer right." Li Jinwan said with a smile on her face, "Brother, Mr. Lu, you guys try my cooking skills."

"It must be very good." Lu Zhishu glanced at the dishes on the table, and He ate something different in the past, but he knew it was good when he smelled this aroma.

Li Jinwan suddenly smiled like a flower.

Li Wen saw that the little girl opened a dyeing workshop after giving her some color. He chuckled and said, "You can't make a conclusion so quickly if you haven't tried it. Zhishu, you don't need to praise her for her craftsmanship for my sake." , you have to tell the truth

, "Be careful I don't let you eat it." "Li Jinwan snorted, but helped her brother to serve a bowl of soup, and said, "Brother, this is the chicken soup I have been stewing all afternoon. I learned all my cooking skills from my aunt. You can try how it tastes." , is it the same as what the aunt did? "

On Lu Zhishu's side, his servant had already served the soup for him.

Seeing the two brothers and sisters getting along, Lu Zhishu showed a faint smile and looked at Li Wen in front of him.

Just when Li Wen raised his head, he saw When Lu Zhishu looked at him, he gave Lu Zhishu a smile.

"Oh..."

Hearing what the little girl said, Li Wen let out a long "Oh," and said, "Then I'm going to have a good taste." "It's been a long time since he's eaten the food cooked by his mother-in-law. It looks like he learned the cooking from his mother-in-law, but I don't know if it's as good as her mother-in-law's.

"Miss Li, let's sit down and have a meal together. . "Lu Zhishu asked someone to bring over a pair of bowls and chopsticks. This was Li Wen's sister, and Lu Zhishu treated her as half a sister.

Li Jinwan glanced at Lu Zhishu, her face turned a little red, and she said hurriedly, "No, no, no. , I finished eating with the ladies in the kitchen. "It's so uncomfortable to eat with her brother and Mr. Lu. She won't be full. She went to eat with the aunt and the others.

Before her brother could say anything, Li Jinwan said, "Brother, you... Eat slowly with Mr. Lu, I'll leave first.

As he said that, the person ran away quickly.

"Hey..." This little girl, Li asked if she wanted to say anything else, but the girl ran away and disappeared. Seeing Lu Zhishu looking at him, Li Wen said, "Let's eat, don't worry about her, she won't starve herself."

"This chicken soup smells good, drink it while it's hot." Li Wen picked up the bowl and drank it Take a sip of the soup. The chicken soup is fragrant but not greasy. The top layer of chicken fat has been removed. The soup is clear and fragrant, and the chicken inside is stewed until soft.

After taking a sip of the soup, Li Wen knew that he had been waiting for the soup for a long time. He said, "It seems that this girl has learned a third of my grandmother's skills."

"It's not bad."

"Let's eat vegetables."

' 'Hmm.'

The stewed meat was also good. After Li Wen drank half a bowl of soup, his appetite immediately whetted his appetite. The stewed meat in the pot was fragrant and soft, fat but not greasy. After eating one piece, he still wanted to eat the second piece. The cooking skills are also quite good. The little girl learned her cooking skills from her mother-in-law, and the dishes she made are based on her mother-in-law's skills.

He returned home for the Chinese New Year the year before last, and it has been more than a year now. I haven't been back home, and I haven't seen my parents, brother, and grandma at home. I don't know if his grandma is in good health or if Li Haopeng is obedient. I haven't seen him in a year. I wonder if his grandma has grown again

. Looking at Lu Zhishu across from him, he probably hadn't been home for a long time, and he hadn't seen his relatives at home for an unknown amount of time. He felt a little sorry for Lu Zhishu. Feeling Li Wen's eyes on him, Lu Zhishu looked up. Looking at Li Wen with confusion in his eyes, he didn't know why Li Wen was looking at him like this.

Seeing the confusion in Lu Zhishu's eyes, Li Wen smiled at him and didn't ask whether he missed his family. This was not stupid. Lu Zhishu has never been home after studying abroad for so many years. How could he miss home? After dinner, Li Wen took Lu Zhishu for a walk outside

.

, it is not good to stay in the study all day reading, people should combine work and rest, and relax properly.

The sunset is late at the moment, and they can see the sunset on the horizon while standing by the lake.

"The sunset is infinitely good, but it is almost dusk. " . "The red sun suddenly set below. As soon as the sun set, the day almost passed. Li Wen took a deep breath and smelled the humid water vapor of the lake, and there was also a breath of spring. The shore The green willows beside him have sprouted green buds at some point.

The weather has become warmer in the past few days, and Li Wen is a little worried that the temperature will drop later. It will be doomed if he encounters a cold spring at this time,

thinking about the days of the Qiuwei exam . , they just found it difficult after staying in there for three days. Not to mention that Chunwei had to take the exam for nine days and eight nights before they could come out. If the cold air came, they would have a hard time during the few days they took the exam. I was afraid there would be More candidates were carried out of the examination room.

He could only pray in his heart that the weather would get warmer day by day!

"Zhishu, let's go back. "Li Wen turned to Lu Zhishu and said.

Lu Zhishu looked at the young man's smiling face. Hearing the young man say something back, he nodded and said yes.

The two of them walked back slowly.

In the next few days, Li Wen and Lu Zhishu They were both studying at home. Apart from going for a walk by the lake every day, they did not go out to attend social gatherings. The two of them concentrated on studying at home and occasionally sat together to communicate

. After the meal, Li Jinwan went to the kitchen every day and took on the important task of cooking for her brother and Mr. Lu. She changed her appearance every day to cook for her brother, and she also went to the kitchen with the aunt in the kitchen. They got to know each other very well, and the aunt also liked this young girl who was hard-working and good at craftsmanship.

So even if her brother had no time to pay attention to her, Li Jinwan was able to get along well in this small courtyard.

Chapter 55 Buying a Yard

Before buying a yard, Li Wen asked housekeeper Zhou to help him keep an eye on whether there were any vacant houses for rent or sale outside. Unexpectedly, a few days later, there was news from Butler Zhou that he had actually found a suitable small courtyard nearby. It happened that the old mother of that family in the countryside was seriously ill, and the other party rushed to sell the courtyard. I want to go back and serve my old mother, but I want to sell the yard.

"I just got the news, so I hurried back to ask Mr. Li what he meant." Housekeeper Zhou hurriedly came back from outside and said to Li Wen.

"Oh, really? Let's go and have a look." Upon hearing that Butler Zhou said that he found someone selling his yard nearby, Li Wen immediately became happy and led his people to follow Butler Zhou to see the yard.

The yard for sale is on the other side of the lake. It is not very far from Lu Zhishu's place. It only takes them half a stick of incense to walk there.

"Yes, yes, yes, we are thinking of selling this yard and going back to the countryside." As soon as they arrived at that family's home, the other party heard that they were coming to see the house and wanted to buy the yard. The head of that family said to him He said, "We are in a hurry to go back to our hometown, otherwise our yard would not be in a hurry to sell it."

The other party was eager to ask for money, so they did not put it up for sale in the Yamen, otherwise the yard would not be in their turn. I'm afraid someone will rush to buy it as soon as it is put up. This family was in a hurry to get money and wanted to sell the house, and the price offered was suitable. In the current capital, this price was not considered expensive.

The things in the house were almost packed, and it was obvious that this family was in a hurry to leave.

After looking at it, Li Wen felt that the yard was pretty good, not too big or too small, and there were several rooms for people to live in. There were not many people in their family, so the rooms were enough. It's just that the doors and windows of the house look a bit shabby. When the time comes, he will hire someone to change the doors and windows, replace them with new ones, and then redecorate the house, so that people can move in.

The location of this house is good, and the price is not too expensive in the capital, and he can afford it.

Even if he sells it later, he will not lose money if he buys it at this price.

"I think this yard is not bad. If you like it, young master, you can buy it and live there temporarily, and then change it to a better place later." After looking at the yard, the steward gave some advice. This yard is a little small, but they can't find a better place than this for the time being.

In this capital, there must be bigger yards, but the price must be high. There is no need to spend that money to buy a big house now.

"Okay, then I will decide on this yard." Li Wen thought for the same reason and decided to buy this

yard.

They were satisfied with the house after viewing it and settled on the house that day.

To buy or sell a house in the capital, you have to go to the Yamen to register. Li Wen and the head of the small courtyard went to the Yamen to go through the registration procedures.

Li Wen and the other party went to the Yamen to go through the formalities, paid the money with one hand, and took the house deed with the other. That day, the family took the silver and moved everything out of the house. From now on, this small courtyard will be his. . Then they will hire someone to do some simple decoration here. If they hurry up, they can move here in a few days.

What Li Wen, who bought the small courtyard, didn't know was that he was able to buy such a small courtyard in the capital so smoothly because there was an invisible hand behind him that was pushing all of this.

"Master, the matter has been settled." The slave who returned from outside said to their master.

The man standing by the window with his back to the door did not respond, so he knew about it. After the servant who came in to report finished his report, he bowed and left.

Zhao Xiangyi stood by the window. He stood high and looked into the distance, with no expression on his face.

Since they separated from the boy that day, they have not seen each other again. The reason why he asked people to help the young man was just to take orders from His Highness the Crown Prince. Otherwise, Zhao Xiangyi would not have asked people to help the young man deal with the matter of buying a yard.

If the young man hadn't been unwilling to accept their help directly, he wouldn't have had to ask people to do it in a roundabout way, and he wouldn't have let the young man know that it was them who did it. In the past few days of walking with the young man, Zhao Xiangyi had a little understanding of the young man's character. He knew that the young man was not a greedy person, and he would not accept the benefits they gave without merit.

Knowing that the boy had bought the small courtyard, he had an explanation for this matter to the prince.

After standing there for a long time, the man turned and left.

Mumumu

didn't know that Li Wen had bought the courtyard until Lu Zhishu came out of the study that day. When he came back and saw Lu Zhishu staring at him silently, Li Wen's heart skipped a beat before he remembered that he had forgotten to tell Lu

Zhishu about buying a yard. This man must be angry with him.

Li Wen knew that Lu Zhishu would definitely not be happy that he was running out to buy a house at this time. What he had been most afraid of since he was a child was that Lu Zhishu would be unhappy. He forced a flattering smile on his face and softly shouted "Zhishu

Lu Zhishu Board" With a face on his face, Li Wen didn't respond.

"I, I looked at a courtyard outside today and decided on it if I thought it was suitable. Also, we, didn't we agree on this? "Li Wen tried his best to keep the smile on his face. He was timid in front of Lu Zhishu, but who made him afraid that Lu Zhishu would be angry? If this person would be angry with him, he would not talk to him for a long time.

He has a repressed temperament . If you don't live there, you can solve any problems on the same day, and you must not leave it until the next day, otherwise he won't be able to sleep at night.

"And you see, the house I'm looking for is so close to your place, we can hang out often. Come on, it's very convenient to have a meal or something, right? I bought it just because the yard was close to yours. "Li Wen raised his head and smiled at Lu Zhishu. He hadn't noticed before, but now the two people were standing together, and he realized that Lu Zhishu was half a head taller than him. When the two stood together, he had to look up at each other.

Damn it!

It doesn't matter, he is still young and can grow longer!

He will definitely grow to more than 1.8 meters!

Even if Lu Zhishu was unhappy when he saw the boy in front of him, he was not angry at all. . Indeed, Li Wen had said that he wanted to buy a yard from the first day he came here. Even if he didn't mind Li Wen living here, Li Wen might not want to live here all the time. Since Li Wen is The person who wants to move has found a yard nearby, which is better than moving to a place too far away.

"If you are short of money, just tell me, I still have some money here. "Lu Zhishu's stern face relaxed, and he was no longer angry with this man. He was worried that Li Wen would be out of money after buying the yard, so Lu Zhishu said.

"No, no, I still have some. When I came, my father Give a lot. "Li Wen waved his hand and said nonchalantly.

However, he was still very touched. Lu Zhishu was worried that he would not have the money to buy the yard.

Lu Zhishu knew that Li Wen's family was doing business in these years, but what exactly was this business done? Lu Zhishu didn't know the extent. Li Wen didn't talk to Lu Zhishu in detail about his family affairs, but he was indeed not short of money.

After finishing the exam, he would see if he could buy a shop outside with the remaining money. , or renting a shop to do business, earning a little money to support his life, and he no longer has to ask for money from his family. Based on his mental age, he is already an adult, and he still uses his family's money. After all, he feels sorry for it.

Just think of the money his father gave him as an early investment. He will pay it back to his father when he makes money!

Seeing that Lu Zhishu was finally not angry with him, Li Wen had a happy smile on his face. He bought a yard for himself in the capital, and he would also have a house here in the future.

After dinner in the evening, they went out for a walk. Li Wen took Lu Zhishu to see the yard he bought. He said to Lu Zhishu, "Look, this is the yard I bought today. I will find a craftsman to repair it tomorrow." The doors and windows have been replaced and the house has been tidied up. I will move here in a few days. "

At that time, he will have to replace all the furniture in the house with new ones to make it comfortable.

Lu Zhishu looked at Li Wen's yard and nodded with satisfaction, mainly because Li Wen's yard was not far from his place, so it would be convenient for them to meet in the future.

Butler Zhou hired a craftsman for him the next day. Li Wen gave the craftsman the drawings he drew overnight and communicated with him how to make the doors and windows, as well as the bed cabinets he wanted to order. It would be best if they could be made as soon as possible. Help him get it done.

The subsequent work supervision matters will be left to Butler Zhou to help him supervise.

The first month has passed and February is here.

In early February, the doors and windows of his small courtyard were replaced with new ones, and the house was renovated according to his requirements. Because he didn't have high requirements for wood, as long as it was usable, his custom-made bed cabinets were made of ordinary wood, so they were quickly made and delivered to him.

Put the finished bedside table into the room and everything will be ready.

On the fifth day of February, they moved to the small courtyard across the lake. He didn't have many things, and one carriage could pull them all there.

Lu Zhishu followed Li Wen to his side. Seeing that the room was neatly tidied, he said to Li Wen, "If anything happens to you, just go over there and find me."

"What can I find here? " You just worry about it. Don't study too late these days. You should take some rest. "The next exam will take nine days and eight nights, so the rest beforehand is very important. Li Wen reminded Lu Zhishu to rest early and recuperate before taking the mental exam.

"Well, I know, and so do you." Lu Zhishu was pleased with the young man's concern for him.

On this day, Li Wen invited Lu Zhishu to have a meal at his new home. It was considered a hit in the new house, and everyone was busy and lively

. So from this day on, he moved to live in his own small courtyard.

Steward Chen and several of the guards who sent him to the capital have not returned to Nanyang yet. Steward Chen means that they will not set off back to Nanyang until he has passed the next joint examination and palace examination. At that time, two guards will be left here to continue following him.

"Young Master, you can study with peace of mind these days. I will help you prepare the things you need for the exam." The steward sent the Young Master here according to their master's order, and was also responsible for settling him down before he could return to Nanyang. , the things that happened in the past two months are no different.

"Okay, I'll just trouble Uncle Chen." Li Wen said.

They had just arrived in the capital at this time, and it would be best if there was someone familiar with this place who could stay and help him. Li Wen knew that Manager Chen would stay because of Dean Fu's wishes, so he temporarily left People stayed and used it.

However, he knew that Manager Chen's wife and children were in Nanyang, so he couldn't let him stay in the capital and follow him. As for the two people who would stay at that time, he asked each other what they meant. If they were people who had nothing to worry about in Nanyang and were willing to stay and follow him, they could stay. Otherwise, he might not need someone to follow him. .

There are several of them here, and after moving to their own small courtyard, they won't feel that the place is too cramped.

Li Jinwan also played a little role by following her brother. The family has not hired another cook for the time being, and she is responsible for everything in the kitchen. Anyway, she is idle every day. Stewing good soup and cooking two delicious dishes for her brother every day can also help her brother eat well before the exam and stay in good health, so that he can have the strength to study, right?

However, Li Wen saw that the little girl was going out to buy groceries alone, and he was worried about what might happen to her in an unfamiliar place, so he told her to find someone to accompany her when she went out every day.

There are only three days left before the Chunwei exam starts, and Li Wen has entered the final adjustment stage before the exam.

Chapter 56: Trial

The General Examination is an examination held every three years in the capital. All provincial candidates and Imperial College students can take the examination. Because it is held in February in spring, it is also called Chunwei. The examination was presided over by the Ministry of Etiquette. There were two chief examiners and one deputy, as well as eighteen fellow examiners, mostly Hanlin, who participated in the post-examination marking.

The examiner is an imperial envoy personally appointed by the emperor. Officials who can be appointed as examiners have always been ministers of the court and have the qualifications to preside over the Chunwei examination.

Before the Chunwei exam started, the ministers in the DPRK and China had been arguing over who to choose as this year's examiner. Now that the emperor is getting older, and the princes are becoming more mature, the officials in the court are divided into several factions, and they are fighting endlessly secretly.

Although the emperor is getting older, he is still not so clear-headed. Emperor Zhaozong has always

attached great importance to the examinations held every three years. Emperor Zhaozong can ignore how his sons fight secretly, but Emperor Zhaozong will never allow anyone to put their hands on the scientific examination. The task of the chief examiner of the examination fell to the great scholar Zhan Shizhan of the Hanlin Academy. The deputy examiner was an official from the Ministry of Rites. Some of the following personnel were recommended and elected by officials in the court.

The examination is held on the ninth day of February every year.

The exam was held in Gongyuan. The exam was divided into three sessions. All candidates had to take the exam there for nine days before they could come out.

Three days passed quickly, and the day of the exam came in a blink of an eye.

The temperature in the past few days before the exam has been getting warmer and warmer, but it is too warm. Li Wencai is more and more worried. The temperature often rises before it cools down. It will most likely still be cold today. The temperature here in Beijing is even colder than that in Nanyang. Once the temperature drops, we don't know how cold it will be.

This time he was going to take exams for nine days, so he had to prepare a lot of food and supplies.

Knowing that her brother was going to take the exam for nine days, Li Jinwan prepared a large basket of food for her brother, "Brother, we have prepared dry food for you, including sour buns and pancakes, as well as rice and flour, as well as your favorite foods. There are bacon, dried meat, dried vegetables, mushrooms, and some salt and sugar here. I will tell you clearly when you eat them."

"Okay, okay." The day before the exam, Li Wen asked himself to make sure that everything was ready. When he saw such a large basket of food, it was enough for him to eat for nine days. The little girl prepared a complete meal for him, and everything was included in the basket.

I saw that the clothes the child prepared for him were relatively thin spring clothes. If it is not cold today, wearing such clothes is enough. Yes.

According to his past experience, there is a high probability that it will still be cold today, and maybe the temperature will cool down in the next two days. After thinking about it, Li Wen asked the child to add two more quilts and some thicker clothes. , hat, scarf and gloves are all given to him.

"Master, it's so hot today, why do you still need to bring so many quilts and thick clothes?" Li Tong was a little confused when he heard what their young master said.

It's so hot today. In the past few days, everyone no longer needs to wear cotton-padded jackets, but has put on thin clothes.

"Be prepared for any trouble." Li Wen only said four words.

"Well, the young master is right. Bring thick quilts and clothes. It's definitely a good idea to have extra supplies. You can just bring them back when you don't need them." The steward who was still in the capital also felt that the young master was doing this. That's right, if you don't need it then just bring it back. If it gets cold, you won't be able to come out if you go in, so it's better to bring it with you.

The older the person in charge is, the more thoughtful he is in thinking about things.

"Oh, Master, I'll get it right away." After hearing what their young master and the steward said, Li Tong hurriedly packed the young master with thick quilts and thick clothes, as well as hats and scarves. A large sack.

Finally seeing that everything was ready, Li Wen was worried that Lu Zhishu's place did not have thick clothes, so he made a special trip to Lu Zhishu's place to remind him to bring everything. He also had an extra pair of unused gloves, a hat and a slightly larger down vest, which Li Wen sent to Lu Zhishu.

The down jacket was made for him by his mother-in-law at home. He had mentioned to her before that she could use duck or goose down to make clothes. The clothes made were not only very light and thin, but also very warm. After his mother-in-law tried it, she found that clothes made from duck fur were really warm, so she made them for him every year and sent them to him.

The clothes and shoes he wore were all made for him by his mother-in-law and sent to him by others. Putting on the clothes and shoes made by his mother-in-law, Li Wen could feel that his mother-in-law missed him in them.

"I was just about to ask someone to tell you to prepare thicker clothes, because I'm afraid it will be cold today." Lu Zhishu has lived in the capital for several years and knows that it will still be cold in February and March every year, at least until After May, this genius became really hot.

Lu Zhishu felt warm in his heart when he saw Li Wen coming all the way to remind him and bring him the things.

"Let me tell you, this is a down jacket, which is made of duck down. Even if it is thin, it will be equivalent to a thick cotton jacket in winter. There are buttons on the side. You can unbutton it when the time comes. Just take out the velvet inside and put it back after the inspection. Isn't that very convenient?" Li Wen took the things he brought out from the package and told Lu Zhishu how to use them one by one.

"And this is a glove, it's put on the finger." Worried that Lu Zhishu didn't know what it was, Li Wen took the glove and put it on for Lu Zhishu himself, and said, "Look, it's put on like this. The fingers are exposed. If it's too cold, you can wear these gloves and your hands won't be so cold. "

Otherwise, when the weather gets cold, your writing fingers will become stiff and won't move.

"Why did I forget to have someone send you a set of these before! Seriously, how could I forget such an important thing?" Li Wen suddenly felt like he had forgotten to bring such a hat and gloves to Lu Zhishu before. A little annoyed.

Over the years, he and Lu Zhishu had been exchanging letters. Every year, he would send someone to send some food to Lu Zhishu, and every year, Lu Zhishu would send someone from the capital to send him a New Year's gift to his home.

"It's okay. I'm very happy that you can think of me." Seeing the young man's annoyed look, Lu Zhishu couldn't help but smile. This was the first time he expressed his joy to others. Looking at the gloves on his hands, Lu Zhishu looked at Li Wen and said, "I will bring these things you gave me."

"Of course I have to bring them." Otherwise, why would he send the things over? Silly ah? Li Wen saw Lu Zhishu smile, and he also giggled. He knew that Lu Zhishu would definitely bring these things he sent, and they might be useful

. Sent to Lu Zhishu.

Lu Zhishu looked at the young man with a gentle smile in his eyes that he didn't even notice. He felt happy that his friend could care about him, and it was also because he was lucky to meet Li Wen.

It is rare in life to have a close friend.

The two had lunch together at noon. They were going to take the exam tomorrow. Knowing that others might be busy at the moment, Li Wen didn't stay with Lu Zhishu any longer. When he left, he said to Lu Zhishu, "Don't stay up late reading tonight. Go to bed early tonight. Let's go to Gongyuan together tomorrow morning."

"Okay, I know." Lu Zhishu personally saw Li Wen to the door. After watching Li Wen leave with his slaves, he turned and returned to his yard.

On the day before the exam, Li Wen said in his heart that he was not nervous. It would be a lie. He would still be a little nervous. But along with the nervousness, there is also a little excitement, because I am going to take the exam soon.

Getting to the general examination is almost the final step. As long as there are no accidents in the general examination, he may have another palace examination to attend, so there will be at most two examinations left.

In this life, he started studying when he was five years old. He studied hard for more than ten years in a cold window. In addition, he studied for more than ten years from kindergarten to university in his previous life. He has been studying for 20 or 30 years in his two lifetimes. When he said this, he burst into tears!

But it doesn't matter, he will finish the exam soon! ! !

Li Wen was very motivated, thinking that he would be liberated after taking the exam. He had survived like this for more than ten years, was there still two or three months left? After the exam, I was liberated. His current mood is similar to that of when he took the college entrance examination. Others were nervous and worried about not doing well in the exam, but what he wanted was to be liberated after the exam and no longer have to study and take exams so hard in the future.

If there is another life, he must not be a scholar anymore! Who said studying is not hard work? Come and try reading for two lifetimes.

However, this excitement was quickly suppressed by Li Wen. Even on the day before the exam, his life steps were the same as before.

I took a nap when I came back at noon, and read for a while in the afternoon. Then I took a shower and washed my hair before the meal. Otherwise, I would definitely not be able to take a shower and wash my hair during the nine days after the exam, so I had to wash it in advance.

After dinner in the evening, Li Wen took the little girl and the child for a walk outside.

Across the lake, Li Wen saw Lu Zhishu opposite and waved to the person opposite. Lu Zhishu knew that Li Wen would go out for a walk at this time, so he also took people out. When he saw the young man waving to him, a smile appeared on his face.

The two walked along the lake for a while and talked for a while. Encourage each other to take exams well.

In the following years, Lu Zhishu went to the capital to study. There were many great Confucian scholars in the Imperial College, and Lu Zhishu's uncle was also here in the capital. Lu Changping invited the best teachers to give lectures to his nephew. In the following years, Lu Zhishu studied very hard. .

Li Wen, on the other hand, has been studying in Nanyang in the past few years, and was personally taught by Dean Fu, who himself is also a diligent student.

In the last Qiuwei examination, Li Wen came first in Nanyang Prefecture, while Lu Zhishu came third in the capital. It is difficult to decide who is superior and who is inferior between the two of them, because of the differences in regions and talents.

"You must win the exam!" Li Wen made a cheering gesture to Lu Zhishu.

Lu Zhishu didn't know why and looked confused.

Li Wen laughed loudly, pointed at Lu Zhishu and said, "Hahaha... Zhishu, you are so cute."

"..." Lu Zhishu.

The sun was going down, which meant that the day was coming to an end. The two of them walked outside for a while and then went back to their homes.

Mu Mu Mu,

as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Yang Shao Mu was also very busy with his official duties during this period. His father wanted to train him. Yang Shao Mu knew that this was a very rare opportunity for him, and he had to seize every opportunity he got. . After returning from Pingzhou, Yang Shaomu acted in a more low-key manner in the capital than before. However, the number of officials in the court who supported him was not less, but more than before, and they were all more optimistic about him as the prince.

Rather than fighting with his brothers, Yang Shaomu wanted to make his father feel that the prince did not pose any threat to his throne, so that he could continue to sit firmly in the position of the prince.

Of course, Yang Shaomu would not be so naive as to think that as long as he honestly acted as his Crown Prince, he would definitely be able to sit in that position in the future.

Just as his brothers would not think that if they were not the prince, they would have no chance to sit on the dragon throne in the future.

Opportunities are given by others, but they are created by oneself.

Yang Shaomu was sure that his father was displeased with intervening in the Spring Science Examination, so on this matter, Yang Shaomu was not as eager as the rest of his brothers. He kept moving and wanted to tell his father clearly that they When it came to inserting his own people, he showed no scruples and the opportunity fell to him.

After being busy outside until dark, Yang Shaomu returned to the East Palace where the prince lived. There were already people waiting for him in the study. The lights in the study were lit late at night. After the staff left, Zhao Xiangyi, the companion, was still there.

After the two of them finished chatting about official matters, Yang Shaomu thought of the young man and asked about him.

"It's already been done by someone," Zhao Xiangyi said.

"I just thought he wouldn't come to me, and it turned out to be true." Yang Shaomu was saying that he had given the young man a jade pendant in Nanyang and told him to go to him if anything happened to him in the capital. Naturally, the young man didn't go looking for him. Later, Yang Shaomu thought of the young man and asked someone to check. Only then did he find out that the young man had not found an inn to live in, but had stayed with a friend.

Yihao knew that the young man wanted to find a house in the capital. In fact, Yang Shaomu had a better and bigger house. However, he knew that the young man would not accept his kindness, so he asked Zhao Xiangyi to personally arrange for someone to do this.

"If your Highness has nothing else to do here, I will go back first, and Your Highness will have a rest early." Zhao Xiangyi stood up and said goodbye to Yang Shaomu.

"Well, you can go back."

It was getting late, so Yang Shaomu recruited a servant to come over and send his companion out.

Walking on the deserted street at night, Zhao Xiangyi couldn't help but think of the young man who came to the capital to take the exam, and knew that the boy would take the exam tomorrow. The road back to the General's Mansion from the East Palace was not too far. Zhao Xiangyi took his personal guards back to the General's Mansion.

Chapter 57: Gate of Gongyuan

"Let's go."

Li Wen went to bed early last night, and when he woke up, he was going to go to Gongyuan for the exam. It was only two or three o'clock in the night. He had to get up so early. Li Wen covered his mouth and yawned, feeling a little sleepless.

Reading and taking exams in this era are really hard work!

It's still very dark outside now. The moon doesn't know where it's going, and there are only a few stars hanging in the sky. The young slave brought a lantern to light up the road ahead, fearing that their young master would fall if he didn't look at the road.

A carriage stopped at the door.

It was still some distance from Gongyuan, so they didn't have to walk too far by carriage, and there were too many things to bring, which were difficult to carry.

"Brother, take the exam well and don't be nervous. You will definitely do well." Li Jinwan woke up early. Knowing that her brother was going to take the exam, she got up and saw him off. Li Wen stretched out his hand to touch the little girl's head and said, "I understand, it's still early, you can go back and sleep for a while. If you need anything during the few days I'm gone, just tell Manager Chen. Don't go there alone." Go outside."

"Brother, I understand, you don't have to worry about me, just hurry up." Li Jinwan looked up at her brother. Now that she has grown up, Li Jinwan knows that her family can live a good life, and even the people in Lijia Village can have enough to eat, because of her brother. for them.

When she was at home, Li Jinwan could only see her brother when he came back to his hometown from Nanyang every year. That was the happiest time for her. She used to think that studying was a very easy thing. After she got to her brother's side, Li Jinwan saw how hard her brother studied and how much he paid for their family.

"Well, I'm leaving." Li Wen walked towards the carriage, fearing that Lu Zhishu would arrive first and be waiting for him.

Li Tong paid their young master a hand and said, "Master, get on the carriage."

"Let's go over and see if Zhishu and the others have come out." Li Wen got on the carriage, still covering his mouth and yawning. When they reached the intersection, they saw Lu Zhishu's carriage waiting here. After the two of them met, they headed to Gongyuan.

Those who participated in the examination were the candidates from various provinces and the Imperial College's supervisors. This meant that candidates from all over the country came to the capital to take the examination, so there must be many of them.

When they arrived, many people were already queuing at the gate of Gongyuan.

"I didn't expect so many people to come so early." Li Wen's eyes widened when he saw so many people. They came in a carriage along the way. He calmed down in the carriage for a while and stopped yawning after getting off the carriage.

"It's not surprising. There are more candidates this year than in previous years." Lu Zhishu has been studying in the capital for so many years. He will pay attention to the previous two scientific examinations, so he also knows that the number of people taking the examination this year is higher than in previous years.

Li Wen thought they had arrived early enough, but he didn't expect that there were already so many people lined up in front of him. He was afraid that some people would stay up late at night, so they ran to the gate of Gongyuan to queue up.

They finally found the tail of the queue and queued up behind them.

Both of them brought a lot of things, and Li Wen was not polite at all. From food to everything, everything was fully prepared. Even if he came to take an exam, he didn't have the slightest thought of wronging himself.

Those who can take part in the examination are all senior civil servants, so when it comes to the examination, most people are over thirty years old, and many are over fifty. Some people even have gray hair after passing the examination. On the way to the imperial examination

, those who passed the rural examination were considered as juren, and those who passed the general examination were considered as tribute scholars. The first three hundred people admitted in the annual general examination were called tribute scholars, and the first place was considered as a member. As long as you pass the imperial examination, you will be eligible to take part in the following palace examination. That is to go to the Jinluan Palace to take the palace examination. In front of the Holy Emperor, you have the opportunity to see the emperor. As long as you make no mistakes in the palace examination, you will be a tribute scholar who takes the palace examination. All of them can be rated as Jinshi.

In the feudal dynasty, a small person can gain so much personal benefits and immunity for himself, let alone win the Jinshi.

The difference between being a successful candidate and being a successful Jinshi is as great as heaven and earth.

Those who rank at the top of the Jinshi ranking will have the opportunity to stay in the capital and serve as officials. Even if you are at the bottom of the rankings, you can still work as a small official in the local government. If you get a good rating in the future, you will have the opportunity to be promoted. If you have someone from behind to push you, you can become a high official when you return to the capital.

This is also the reason why so many people come to participate in the examination. If they win the Jinshi, they will not only become an official, but they will also be able to change their court and lintel in the future.

"Master, how long will we have to wait in line?" Li Tong helped their young master carry things. He couldn't let his young master carry so many things alone. Seeing so many people in front of him, Li Tong said with a bitter look on his face,

"Some of you have to wait, just wait." It was still early, and it would be some time before Gongyuan opened its doors, and Li Wen was also very helpless about this.

They had just stood at the back of the team for a while, and there were already quite a few people standing behind them. Lu Zhishu and Li Wen were the youngest in the entire team. Standing behind them was a Juren master named Feng from Huizhou who greeted them.

"I didn't expect that such a young student would come to take the Chunwei scientific examination this year." Feng Cheng looked at Lu Zhishu, and then at Li Wen, who was obviously younger, and said with a smile.

"Hello, Brother Feng." Li Wen bowed his hand to the other party. He found no malice in the other party's eyes, so he was naturally willing to talk to him. Lu Zhishu, on the other hand, did not know how to deal with strangers. After saying hello to the stranger, he stood next to Li Wen and listened to Li Wen talking to him.

Noticing that Lu Zhishu did not intervene in their speech, Li Wen chatted with the other party for a few words and found out that the other party's name was Feng Cheng.

Then Li Wen did not let Lu Zhishu stand aside. After saying hello to the other party, Li Wen turned around and continued talking to Lu Zhishu.

Lu Zhishu has been indifferent and withdrawn since he was a child. He doesn't like to talk to others. He can only say a few words in front of Li Wen. Even if he didn't say anything, he liked to listen to Li Wen. Noticing Li Wen's gaze returning to him made Lu Zhishu feel very happy.

There were many people around, so it was inevitable to have to deal with people. Li Wen was responsible for greeting people.

The weather has been getting warmer these days, and Li Wen noticed that many people were wearing thin clothes and didn't carry many things with them. He chuckled in his heart. It would be great if it can continue to be so warm in the next few days. If it gets cold, let's see how you can survive so many days.

A gorgeous carriage stopped not far from them, and a well-dressed young man got out of the carriage, still complaining, "Dad asked me to queue up so early, isn't the door open yet? "Don't let me sleep a little longer."

"Young master, you are right to listen to me. I won't tell you how you like to play after the exam." The old slave who followed them coaxed the young master. It took a lot of effort to coax the young master to come to the gate of Gongyuan, but he can't let him run back. This master is going to beat the young master to death, and he won't cause a quarrel by then.

"Humph! My dad has a lot of problems. He can't do anything he asks me to take the exam for." Their family doesn't need him to get fame, and he doesn't know what level he is at yet. He will definitely not pass the exam.

If his father hadn't said that he wouldn't give him pocket money in the future if he didn't come to the exam, and also promised him that as long as he could take the exam after the exam, no matter what his ranking was, he would let him have fun in whatever way he wanted in the future. Absolutely Leave him alone. If it weren't for the many benefits in the future, Situ Yu would not be willing to participate in this test.

"Do you know who this person is?" Li asked Lu Zhishu.

"The young master of the Zhongyuan Marquis Mansion." Lu Zhishu glanced at him and said.

"Oh." Li Wen did his homework before coming to the capital, and he still had some impression of Marquis Zhongyuan.

The reason why Li Wen noticed the other person was because the child's face was so good-looking that it couldn't be described as exquisitely crafted. However, judging from the way the other party was dressed, he must be a descendant of a prince, general or prime minister in the capital. He didn't look like someone who could study well and pass the exam based on his own ability.

He guessed that the other party should be a student in the Imperial College. Only the students in the Imperial College were directly eligible to jump to the general examination and take the examination without taking the previous scientific examination.

Some people spend half their lives taking the exam to get to the level of the general examination, and some people jump directly to the general level examination without taking the previous exams. However, the world is so unfair, and your origin determines your starting point.

Reincarnation is a technical job. If you can't get a good one, you have to work hard on your own!

They waited outside for a long time, and the Gongyuan had not opened yet. Waiting in line outside was very boring and a waste of time, but they had to wait in line.

After passing the examination, the discipline of the examination room is very strict. There are many soldiers at the gate of Gongyuan to maintain order. This is a place to select talents for the imperial court. Even the emperor attaches great importance to it and does not allow anyone to appear here. Any mistake.

If there is a problem during the general examination, not to mention that the cheating examinee will have all previous results cancelled. If it is serious, he will no longer be able to participate in the imperial examination in the future. If something goes wrong in the examination room, even the invigilating officials will be held accountable.

Time passed little by little, and more and more candidates were waiting at the gate of Gongyuan. They waited at the gate of Gongyuan for a long time.

"Da da da..."

There was a sound of horse hooves, followed by neat footsteps, and everyone turned their heads to look at the source of the sound. Li

Wen subconsciously turned his head, followed everyone's gaze, and noticed it at a glance The man is riding on a big black horse. The man is wearing an official uniform and has a sword on his waist. His majestic appearance makes people notice him at a glance.

How come Zhao Xiangyi appears here with someone? Here? Li Wen blinked.

But he had to say, the man on the horse was really handsome!

Zhao Xiangyi looked towards the crowd as if he felt someone was looking at him. I don't know if he saw the young man standing in the crowd. After just one glance, the man looked away.

Chapter 58 Admission

Emperor Zhaozong, who was in the palace, suddenly thought of it and mobilized soldiers from the camp on the outskirts of Beijing to help maintain order in the examination room. Zhao Xiangyi brought people here according to the order. As the Ozhi soldiers entered, the voices outside the examination room suddenly disappeared, and there was silence. The atmosphere outside the examination room became solemn.

"Dong-dong-dong-"

At this time, the big drum in front of the Gongyuan gate was beating, and the gate of the Gongyuan was opened, which meant that the candidates could check in.

There were officers and soldiers in front shouting, "Line up, line up."

"Everyone should line up and come forward one by one to be inspected and enter the examination room."

"Those who disrupt the order of the examination room will be punished as cheating and violating regulations..."

In order to avoid If cheating occurs in the examination room, inspections at this level will be even more stringent. Small sheds were set up next to the examination room, separated from each other. After checking that the items they brought did not bring any cheating tools, candidates had to go into the compartments for physical examination.

They had already undergone such an inspection once during the rural examination.

The drums were beating, and the candidates in line in front had already stepped forward to be inspected one by one. Some candidates started to turn pale when they saw the small shed next to them. It was obvious that they were psychologically affected by this kind of inspection before admission.

The team kept coming forward. Li Wen swallowed his saliva when he saw the small shed next to him. He thought that he would be examined like that by a man like him. This would be a violation of human rights in modern times. But in this world, who do you talk to about human rights?

If they hadn't reached this point with great difficulty, Li Wen really didn't want to take this scientific examination. His character is relatively open-minded, and it is difficult for others to do such things to him, let alone some scholars in this world who are stubborn and have high self-esteem. This is probably a more uncomfortable thing than death.

You can say that such an examination is inhumane and insulting, but if you want to cross the door of the scientific examination, every candidate who enters must undergo such an examination. This is probably why civil servants and military generals are at odds with each other. Reason.

The further they followed the team, Li Wen noticed that Lu Zhishu's back began to stiffen. He reached out to hold Lu Zhishu's hand and found that Lu Zhishu's hand was cold. Seeing Lu Zhishu's face turning slightly pale, Li Wen whispered, "Don't be afraid."

"Everyone has to be like that. We are not the only ones. Don't let such a small thing affect your exam performance. Mood." He knew that Lu Zhishu had never liked being close to strangers since he was a child, let alone having his body violated like that by a stranger. This was more serious than killing him. Li Wen could only comfort Lu Zhishu in this way, Also to comfort himself.

"Yeah." Lu Zhishu nodded stiffly and responded.

The temporary increase in manpower provided great help for inspection work outside the examination room.

As the team continued to advance, the candidates who came out of the small shed after undergoing examinations all had disheveled hair and did not look very good. Half of the people at the front of the team have already entered, and it won't take long for them to arrive.

"Sir, I was wronged..."

"Take away!"

A disheveled candidate with disheveled hair was taken away by a soldier covering his mouth.

Seeing someone being taken away, everyone outside the examination room became even more nervous.

Even when it comes to taking the exam, it is inevitable that some candidates will take risks and try to cheat by bringing something with them. Once anyone is found to be carrying any cheating tools, they will be prohibited from participating in the examination. Even the previous results may be invalidated and they will be interrogated. If anything is asked, all relevant personnel will be punished. punish.

It's easy to deal with the incident outside the examination room. If it is discovered that it happened inside the examination room, not only the cheating examinee will be punished, but also the official who presided over the examination will be punished.

"Little boy, just give me the things. You can go back and pick me up after the exam is over." Seeing that the queue in front of him was not long and it would be their turn soon, Li Wen reached out to pick up the things. Come here and let Li Tong go back first.

This time he had to stay in there for nine days and eight nights and could not come out until the exam was over.

"Master." Li Tong gave the things to their young master and was a little reluctant to leave.

Lu Zhishu also took the things from his boy's hands and asked him to go back and pick him up after the test.

"Master, let's go."

"Yeah, let's go back."

Li Wen, a small man, carried a big package. The package looked bigger than his own, and he stood out unusually in

the team. , but he didn't feel embarrassed at all. You have to stay there for so many days, and if you don't prepare all your things and let you all act cool, you won't regret it until you go in.

This thing is not too heavy for him, he can easily carry it alone.

People at the front of the line kept coming forward to be checked, and they were quickly reached.

Li Wen followed Lu Zhishu, carried his things forward, and gave a flattering smile to the soldier responsible for the inspection. Seeing so many things in front of them, the soldiers responsible for the inspection laughed in anger.

Yes, reach out and don't hit the smiling person.

They were temporarily sent to work today, and the soldier accepted his fate and began to check everything.

Zhao Xiangyi, who was patrolling outside the examination room, had long noticed the little boy. Seeing him carrying so many things by himself, a smile flashed in his eyes.

Li Wen brought too many things, including bedding and clothes, and a lot of food. He also brought a small iron pot to cook food. He had prepared as many as ten writing brushes, so that he was prepared for any emergencies. It didn't matter if there were more things, as long as they were there when they were needed.

There were three people nearby who had finished checking, but he hadn't finished checking anyone's things here.

Anyway, there was nothing wrong with the things he brought. Li Wen felt reassured and asked someone to check them. It took such a long time to wait for them.

"Thank you, brother." Li Wen said to the soldier who had checked so many of his things.

He finally finished checking such a large amount of things. Li Wen used the outer layer of cloth to roll up and tie the things in a few quick movements. It was obviously not the first time he had done this kind of thing, and he easily carried it on his back. Just go to the small shed, put your things down at the designated place, and go in for a physical examination.

Seeing the young man going to the shed, Zhao Xiangyi knew the rules outside the examination room, so he naturally knew what the small shed was doing.

The space inside the cubicle was so small that it was difficult to even turn around when entering.

"I'll come here." A tall figure blocked the door. Li Wen, who was in the cubicle, was taking off his shoes when he heard a slightly familiar voice. He looked up and saw Zhao Xiangyi appearing in front of him, with a look on his face. A moment of astonishment.

"It's your Excellency." The soldier took a step back. He just thought that their adults wanted to give it a try and didn't think about anything else.

Zhao Xiangyi stepped forward and took the place of the soldier just now.

The man looked down at the young man in front of him and noticed the surprised expression on the young man's face. The man's face had no expression, as if what he was going to do next was just a trivial and ordinary thing.

There is also an assisting soldier next to him, and each group of inspections is completed by two people. This is to avoid the situation of someone accepting bribes.

Li Wen stood up straight and raised his head to look at the man who was a head taller than him. Could he say that Zhao Xiangyi was too tall to come? How embarrassing. An unknown soldier came to do this. Anyway, the capital is so big and we will never meet him again in the future. But if it were Zhao Xiangyi, if he were to pass the exam and become an official in the court in the future, it would be awkward to meet Zhao Xiangyi without looking up.

Seeing that the young man was reluctant to move, Zhao Xiangyi had a look of impatience on his face.

The corner of Li Wen's mouth twitched. Seeing that the man was not going to give up and let others do it, he was finally defeated. There was no other way, he had to go inside to take the exam.

Forget it, come on. Anyway, both of them are men, and he is not some young lady who cannot be seen by men. This is not the first time, and it is the same for those who know her and those she does not know. With this thought, Li Wen quickly started to untie his belt, pulled off his clothes and took them off. He closed his eyes and whispered to the man, "Hurry up."

He had to go inside to take the exam, so he didn't want to. It wasted his time.

Seeing the young man being so straightforward, Zhao Xiangyi didn't know what to do.

Even though he knew that the young man would not carry anything with him, Zhao Xiangyi still trusted the young man's character. But this step was indispensable. Zhao Xiangyi had to touch the boy's hair. He could feel the softness of the boy's hair and inserted his hands into the boy's hair to grope.

The soldiers next to me touched the clothes, shoes and socks that I took off inch by inch, checking to see if there was anything trapped inside.

Let people pinch his nose, pick out his ears, and finally check the place behind where the grains are reincarnated.

Li Wen turned his back to face the man. His hands could not help but clenched into fists, and his back was slightly stiff. This still made him feel nervous. It was embarrassing for him to let others check that area of ​​his body. things.

The boy's skin was very white under his clothes. Zhao Xiangyi's eyes fell on the boy's slender back, which reminded him of the boy's appearance when he came out of the water after bathing that day. The man's throat couldn't help but roll. It was obviously a man like him, but Zhao Xiangyi didn't know why it made him feel nervous. He reached out to touch the boy in front of him.

Zhao Xiangyi was tall, and the two of them stood together. Zhao Xiangyi's body blocked the young man inside, so the people next to him could not see his movements.

"Okay, put on your clothes." Zhao Xiangyi said in a deep voice.

Hearing the man's voice, Li Wen opened his eyes. This sound was like a pardon to him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, the man's hand just touched his waist and then took it back. Li Wen blinked and quickly turned around to find clothes.

Zhao Xiangyi stood at the door with his back to the boy.

Li Wen quickly put on his clothes, tied his hair with the hair tie, and tidied himself up. When he went out and passed by the man, he paused, not even daring to raise his head to look at Zhao Xiangyi, picked up his package and left quickly.

Zhao Xiangyi, who was standing behind, saw the young man carrying a large package inside.

What happened today made Zhao Xiangyi feel a little strange in his heart. He attributed his behavior to the fact that he was just worried that the soldier's rude actions would hurt the boy, so he walked over here, took the soldier's place, and gave the boy a hand. examine.

The man's hand on his side shook it, and the feeling of just touching the boy's body still remained in his palm. Zhao Xiangyi's eyes showed a little deep thought.

After the examination is completed, the examinee will finally have to go to the examiner to confirm his or her information and make sure that it is him/herself who is taking the examination and not someone pretending to be taking the examination. Both the guarantor and the guarantor will be implicated and will be punished.

"Li Wen, sixty-six years old, from Qingping Town, Qu'an Prefecture, with a decent face and no gray beard..." University Scholar Zhan saw the little boy in front of him. He didn't expect to pass the exam before he was even older than Guan Guan. try. As expected, young people produce outstanding talents. Academician Zhan nodded with satisfaction and handed out a sign.

"It's a student."

Li Wen kept looking at his feet, stepped forward and took the sign with both hands, thanked him, took the sign and entered the examination room.

He found his cabin facing the number plate, and this time he sat in the second seat from the left. Fortunately, he had good luck in both exams and did not sit next to the bad guy. Otherwise, it would have taken nine days to take the exam. Sitting next to the bad guy and smelling so much shit would be fatal.

As for who is unlucky enough to sit next to the bad horn, it is none of his business.

The examination room in Gongyuan didn't look much better than the examination room in the rural examination room. In a small room, there was a wooden bed next to it for only one person to lie down on. A table and chair in front were used for examinations. There is a small stove and a pile of coal in the corner for use by candidates taking the exam.

There was no place to turn around here. Thinking that he would have to live in this small place for the next nine days and not be able to go out except to go to the toilet, Li Wen sighed inwardly.

But there is no other way, just work hard and finish this exam and this miserable day will be over!

No one has been here for an unknown period of time, and there is a thick layer of gray inside.

This kind of place is probably only open during exams so that people can come in. Basically no one comes here at ordinary times, so it is no wonder that there is so much dust in the dormitory every time there is an exam.

Taking advantage of the fact that there was still a little time before the exam started, Li Wen hurriedly started to tidy up the place. He would be living here during the exams in the next few days. If he didn't tidy up, he would not be able to stay here.

Chapter 59: Exam starts

Li Wenxue was smarter this time. He even knew how to find a towel to cover his face and nose before he started doing hygiene.

"Ahem...

Damn it, dust can choke people to death. Apparently even wearing a face mask can't resist the dust.

Not only is he unable to help but cough, the people next door are also coughing due to the dust, but they can't . The sound kept coming and going. It was like this every time he entered the examination room, which made Li Wen couldn't help but laugh.

He wiped the bed, tables and chairs twice, and threw the dirty cloth aside. After laying down the quilt, he felt sore in his back and back after doing some cleaning. He was exhausted. No, he had to lie down.

The bed was right in front of him. Li Wen couldn't help but take off his shoes and socks and lay down on the bed.

So comfortable...

I got up too early in the morning. I queued up here early in the morning and waited for so long before I came in after checking. After a lot of work, the remaining energy was exhausted. As soon as I lay down, Li asked. He didn't want to get up. He still had time anyway, so let's sleep for a while, he thought to himself.

He didn't know where Lu Zhishu was. Before closing his eyes and going to sleep, Li Wen thought of Lu Zhishu.

After a while, he arrived. Unable to control his sleepiness, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Across the corridor, a delicate-looking young man found the dormitory where he was taking the exam. Situ Yu stood inside and saw such a small place. It was so dirty and dusty that he was dumbfounded.

Who could tell him what to do?

In the examination room three roads away, Lu Zhishu was also cleaning his room. He was sitting on the chair. I sat down, closed my eyes, and waited patiently for the exam to begin.

After checking the examination rooms outside the door, I entered the examination room, and there were more and more people in the examination room. All the candidates were dragged away with their mouths covered. However, all the candidates who entered the examination room knew about it

. After that, the door will not be opened, and the people inside cannot go out.

"Dong-dong-dong--"

the sound of drums indicates the beginning of the

sleep test. It was so heavy that Li Wen fell asleep and forgot about the time, forgetting that he was here to take the exam. When he heard the sound of the drum, Li Wen, who was sleeping in the bed, was startled and woke up, remembering that he was in the exam studio. , Li Wen jumped up from the bed, almost overturning the weak wooden bed. He quickly reached out to stabilize the wooden bed,

lowered his head to find socks and shoes, and sat down in the exam position. Fortunately. He had just put his pen and ink on this.

The young master opposite him stared at Li Wengui when he saw someone who was even more unreliable than him and came to sleep in the examination room. Someone like him must have been forced to take the exam by his family, that's right!

Huh? Isn't this the handsome young man who met Li Wen across from him? Wen naturally saw the young master opposite.

It seemed that the two of them were really destined.

However, this place was not right. Obviously, they couldn't say hello to each other. Li Wen was not that stupid that they were separated by a passage. , you look at me, I look at you, Li Wen blinked twice, and the young master opposite gave him an arrogant little chin. Li Wen suddenly felt that the child was very funny.

They are the only two young people here, and those next door are all candidates in their 30s, 40s and 50s.

The officers and soldiers were distributing test papers in order, and Li Wen quickly got his paper.

The names of the general examinations are sealed. This ensures that the examiner who marks the papers does not know who the owner of the papers is before the marking is completed. This can avoid fraud and make the scientific examination more fair and just.

For children from poor families, scientific examination is their only way to become a scholar-bureaucrat.

Similarly for Li Wen, this is the only way for him to get ahead. He has reached the stage of taking the examination, which is almost the last step of the imperial examination. As long as nothing goes wrong, he can still get a job as a civil servant.

After getting the paper, Li Wen stopped playing around and read the paper seriously.

The content of the exam focuses on classics and meanings, and less on poetry. The General Examination is also based on questions from the Four Books and Five Classics. The contents include the meaning of Mohism, the meaning of classics, poetry, law, and arithmetic. The last question is policy questions. The amount of questions in the general exam is very large, and they have to complete it within nine days.

Answer sheets can only be answered during the day, and lighting fires at night is prohibited. This is also because

fires occurred in the examination room before, so the higher authorities later issued a ban prohibiting candidates from lighting fires at night.

The sun rose slowly in the east, and the sunlight hit the examination room, coating the ground with a faint golden light. The entire examination room was so quiet that you could hear the sound of a pin dropping to the ground. Most of the candidates were lowering their heads and answering the papers carefully. Most of the candidates who can pass the examination are really talented and knowledgeable. Wrong cloth.

Of course, except for a few who entered the Imperial College through the support of their ancestors, they did not need to pass so many previous exams and directly passed the examination.

The soldiers around were patrolling back and forth.

Zhao Xiangyi was ordered to bring people to assist in this examination. He led the soldiers into the examination room. In the next nine days, he would stay in this examination room like all the candidates until the examination was over. Only then can we take people back to the camp on the outskirts of Beijing.

"Gulu..."

His stomach grumbled, and Li Wen realized that he was hungry, and so much time had passed without him realizing it.

People are like iron rice or steel. If you don't eat a meal, you will feel hungry. You still need to solve the stomach problem first. This paper cannot be completed in a day or two. He calculated the time and found that as long as he controlled the time well, it would be enough time to complete these papers in nine days.

After finding something to press the paper, Li Wen looked for something to fill his stomach.

After thinking about it, he didn't want to do anything too complicated. There was a stove and charcoal fire in the corner. He lit the charcoal, put the iron pot on it, put a little oil in it, and put the steamed buns down to fry. He brought over a jar of meat sauce, which was perfect for eating with steamed buns, and then fried two eggs.

As the saying goes, eat a good breakfast, a full lunch, and a light dinner. This is not unreasonable. Breakfast is an indispensable meal for everyone. Only after eating a full day can you have the energy to work; lunch is a supplement to a person's physical and mental strength throughout the day, and serves as a link between the past and the next; as for the last dinner , because it is the last meal of the day, it should be light and easy to digest.

The aroma of fried steamed buns and eggs spread out. The candidates around them smelled the smell and sniffed it. They all felt hungry and started looking for food one after another.

Breakfast was prepared quickly. Li Wen broke a steamed bun in half and put eggs and meat sauce in the middle. It was so delicious when he took a bite. The candidates were provided with hot water in the examination room, so he drank the hot water, ate a few bites of steamed buns and drank a sip of hot water.

Situ Yu, who was across the aisle, smelled the aroma of food and looked at the people on the opposite side preparing food. He swallowed and then remembered that when he came, his mother-in-law had prepared a large box of pastries for him. Situ Yu found some pastries and ate a few pieces to fill his stomach.

Over there, Li Wen ate four sour buns and two eggs before he stopped. His appetite is getting bigger and bigger now, but fortunately he won't gain weight no matter how much he eats. Otherwise, with the way he eats, I still don't know how fat I will become.

After he was full, Li Wen sat back and continued to answer questions.

He planned to finish the other questions first and leave the policy questions for the next two days. In order to avoid typos, Li Wen always wrote it out on scratch paper first. After checking that there were no problems, he transcribed it onto the paper.

In one morning, Li Wen only wrote the answers on the scratch paper, but had not yet written them on the paper.

At noon, he made soup with dried meat and vegetables, added noodles, and cooked half the pot. He finished it all by himself, leaving not even a drop of soup left.

So satisfying! Li Wen touched his belly with a satisfied look on his face. After he finished eating, he saw the young master opposite eating pastries.

He usually has the habit of taking a nap at noon, so now he starts to feel sleepy as soon as he is full. It was not easy to continue answering questions at this time, so he checked the questions he had answered in the morning. After half an hour, he lay down on the small bed and went to sleep for a while.

After a good sleep, I felt refreshed and continued to answer questions in the afternoon.

Zhao Xiangyi was patrolling the examination room with someone and passed by the young man. Li Wen, who was answering questions with his head lowered, did not raise his head, so he did not know that the man was passing by him.

The weather was a bit cloudy and gloomy in the afternoon, which didn't look very good.

There is a high probability that the temperature will drop this day, and it will definitely still be cold.

They would spend the next nine days in the examination room, and he didn't know what would happen next. Li Wen was worried that his physical strength and energy would not be able to keep up later, so he would do as many questions as possible as much as he could do in the early stages. It didn't matter if he took it easy and slowly in the later stages.

Without the sun in the afternoon, it gets dark very quickly.

Li Wen settled the dinner casually. After he finished dinner, it was almost dark outside. The last bit of charcoal in the stove was burned and the fire was extinguished.

If we were to say what Li Wen disliked the most in the examination room, probably the thing he disliked the most was going to the toilet. There were so many people in the examination room who crowded into a small place to urinate. The place was not well ventilated, and flies and mosquitoes

were flying everywhere. You can imagine the smell inside.

So Li Wen even drank less water, just to avoid frequent trips to the toilet. Not only was it troublesome to go to the toilet, but it was also too disgusting.

After going to the toilet and coming back, it was too dark to continue answering questions. Fortunately, he exceeded his plan for answering questions today. After sitting for a while, Li Wen went to bed.

At night, he heard the person next door turning over and making a soft rustling sound. Li Wen just lay down and it was a little hard to fall asleep. After a while, he fell asleep.

He woke up once in the middle of the night and heard the wind outside. The doors and windows inside the dormitory were not closed, and the wind was pouring in from the outside. Li Wen clearly felt that the day was starting to cool down. It was still early, so he tightened the quilt around him and continued to sleep.

After sleeping until the next morning, Li Wen woke up.

When I woke up in the morning, it started to rain lightly outside. Sure enough, it was going to continue to be cold today. Li Wen wasn't surprised when he saw it was raining outside. He felt cold when he woke up in the morning. He found a thicker coat and put it on. It was no joke if he caught a cold.

Li Wen lit the charcoal fire in the stove and started to make breakfast. He cooked rice for breakfast. When the rice was almost ready, he placed dried vegetables and a layer of bacon on top, and finally cracked an egg on top. He deliberately cooked more rice so that he could eat it until noon, so he didn't have to cook at noon.

After breakfast, it was getting a little brighter outside, so Li Wen sat down to answer questions.

After a little rain that day, the temperature dropped even more obviously, and it suddenly became cold. If we have entered spring a few days ago, now we are suddenly back to late autumn, and I am afraid that the temperature will continue to drop.

Once he concentrates on answering the questions, external matters have nothing to do with him.

The day passed quickly, and when it was getting dark, Li Wen put away the papers and started to make some simple food.

He would try his best to eat in the morning and noon every day, and he would just grab some food for dinner. As long as there was not much time in the afternoon, and he had to go to bed soon after eating, he would just eat something casually as a meal. .

After two days of this, Li Wen found that the young master opposite him had never written a word since he came in. He just sat there waiting for the time every day, ate cakes when he was hungry, and went to bed when it got dark. Not knowing what the other party was doing here, Li Wen shook his head in his mind. He had no time to think about other people's things at the moment.

After Situ Yu had eaten pastries for two days, no matter how delicious the food was, he couldn't resist eating three meals a day, so the food the man opposite was cooking every day became more and more tempting to him. .

Every time, he smelled the aroma coming from the opposite side and knew that the other party was making something to eat. Situ Yu took out the pastries prepared by his mother-in-law and ate them while smelling the aroma. He felt that his stomach was getting more and more full. Hungry.

In fact, not only Situ Yu across the way, but also the candidates sitting next to Li Wen, smelling the aroma of food every day is a very big test for them. Most of them live on dry food. Candidates who can pass the general examination are either young masters or masters at home, and they are all waited on. They can't even light a stove by themselves, let alone cook.

But Li Wen is obviously different from these people. In the past ten years, he has mastered various survival skills. Not only can he make a full table of Manchu and Han banquets, but he can also cook a simple rice and noodles by himself. matter. If he has free time and is in the mood, he will try to do something weird.

Chapter 60 The cold spring

As the late spring

night falls, the entire examination room becomes even quieter. Candidates arenot allowed to light candles to answer questions after dark in the examinationroom. All candidates can only put away their papers, go to bed, and wait fordawn tomorrow. Only then can you continue to answer the questions.

There were soldiers patrolling outside with lanterns, and there were soldierspatrolling inside the examination room all night.

Li Wen hung the bag with the test papers on the bedside and placed it in theplace closest to where he slept. Even in the examination room, it was better tobe careful. This was not a place where people could feel completely at ease.

There was still a drizzle outside, and the weather was getting colder andcolder. Li Wen opened the quilt and lay down inside. The quilt was already coldas soon as he lay down.

Today is the end of the second day, and there are still seven days left.

In the past two days, he had answered questions faster than planned. Li Wencalculated in his mind that it would not be a problem for him to answer all thequestions within the specified time.

He studied hard for more than ten years and spent more than 3,000 days andnights studying. He thought of the days when his father carried him to theacademy on his back when he was a child. He thought of his parents and familyat home and how he treated him. Ruzi's teacher couldn't help but feel a sorenose. In both lives, he was lucky enough to meet his parents and family wholoved him. This was probably the luckiest thing about him.

In this life, he was born in a peasant family and studied to obtain fame. Forhim, it not only changed his own destiny, but also changed the destiny of theentire family, so he had to give it a try. Li Wen secretly made up his mind. Hewould never allow himself to have any accidents in this exam. He must do well!

The woman at home counted the days and knew that her child would have gone tothe capital to take the exam at this time. Sun Yi said to her husband,"Sambo will be taking the exam now. I don't know how Sanbao will do in theexam. It's been cold these past two days." "I don't know if Sanbaobrought thick bedding, but don't get cold."

Sun Yi knew that it would take several days for the child to come out of theexamination room this time. It was warm in the previous days, but it suddenlybecame cold today. People worry about whether the child has brought enoughthings with them, or whether the child will be cold or hungry inside. This isalways where a mother will worry about her child.

"That kid from Sanbao does things properly. He will prepare thesethings." Li Shangu, the father, did not care about the child. The childwent to the capital to take the exam alone, and he, the father, could notaccompany the child.

He couldn't get away from home. It was a long way to the capital, and it wouldtake two months to go back and forth. It will take at least half a year for thechild to take the exam. This is why Li Gushan cannot accompany his child to thecapital for the exam.

"Let's just wait for news about Sanbao at home. Sanbao will do well in theexam." The weather suddenly turned cold. Li Gushan and his wife Talkingabout the crops in the field, "It has suddenly become cold today, and thecrops that were just planted in the field may not survive

. Fortunately, the people in their village have not lived entirely on a fewacres of land in the past few years. Except for a few families who are reallygood at Tai Chi, each of the remaining families has one or two people workingin the workshop. In a year, the income of a family is at least twenty or thirtytaels, and more is another story. Compared to the time when everyone only hadone or two taels of money a year, it was already too much. As long as anyoneknew how to live, they could live a good life with this much money.

The address of the village school was chosen. The school will be built afterthe spring plowing. In the future, all the children in the village can be sentto the school to study. However, it is difficult to hire a good wife. Peopleare not willing to work as teachers in the village, and they do not want a badwife. The village chief. They are struggling with this problem.

After returning from the outside, Li Gugu will discuss everything with his wifeat home and ask her for her suggestions and ideas. She can often give him goodadvice.

"When the weather gets warmer, everyone will go to the ground. Go insideand take a look. If the seedlings are going bad, pull them out and replantthem. This is not a big problem, it just takes some effort. "Hearing herhusband talking about the crops in the fields, Sun Yi said that if the weathergets cold, some of the crops in the fields may be frozen.

As for inviting the husband, Sun Yi didn't have any better ideas. She said,"We are not in a hurry to hire a master at the school. We will wait untilthe school is built. Didn't Sanbao say in his letter that he might go homeafter he finishes the exam? At that time we will ask what the Three Treasuresmean. "

The child has been studying abroad for so many years, and he must have known alot of scholars. Maybe he will be able to find the right person there by then.At this time, the child is going to the capital to take the exam, and it is noteasy for them to bother the child with such small things until later. I'm not in a hurry to discuss this matter anymore.

"Hey, that's true. "Afterhearing his wife's words, Li Shangu remembered that he had forgotten his son'sletter saying he would come back. It happened to be almost that time, and therewas no rush to ask for his wife. It would be better to wait until his son cameback and ask him. It means, "Don't keep thinking about the ThreeTreasures. When the Three Treasures finish their exams, I think it won't takelong for them to come back."

"I understand. " "She just couldn't help but thinkabout it.

At night, the couple lay on the bed and slept for a while. The voices graduallydied down and the people inside also fell asleep.

This night, the drizzle mixed with snowflakes fell. It was February. It snowedagain in the capital.

When he woke up the next day and saw a layer of white crystals on the groundoutside, Li Wen realized that it had snowed last night. No wonder he felt evencolder than the day before when he woke up in the morning. It was a late springcold, and it was obvious that they were encountering such bad weather.

The rain and snow outside continued to fall, and the capital returned to winterovernight.

Fortunately, Li Wen had done everything before coming . After getting ready,he brought enough food and warm bedding and clothes. When he got up in themorning, he put on his down vest and added a thick layer of cotton clothes.Even though he was dressed like this, he still felt a little cold in theexamination room. However, some candidates were not so lucky. It wasfreezing last night, and

many candidates started to feel dizzy and runny noses when they wokeup. He was sneezing, and there were two strips of mucus hanging under hisnose. He grabbed the handkerchief at hand and wiped away the mucus. He didn'tbring any thick clothes, so he could only wrap the thick silk quilt around him,but it was obvious that This didn't have much effect. Li Wen cookednoodles in the morning and sat there eating them, looking across the aisle atthe young master who was obviously sick and wrapped himself in a silkquilt . He was eating the pastry, and looked at the person opposite himwith pitiful eyes. To be precise, he was looking at the noodles that the otherperson was eating. He was a young prince of the Hou family and had never eatenanything good. Situ Yu had never known a bowl of noodles. It was so attractiveto him that he could smell the fragrance even from such a distance. Thelight on the rainy day was not very good. After he had breakfast, the skybecame brighter, and Li Wen spread the papers on the table. Go up and startworking on today's questions. Nine days is not a lot of time, but there isabsolutely no extra time for him to waste. He has to hurry up and finish all thequestions. That person is not the same as him. Are you just messingaround? Why are you answering the questions every day? Situ Yu looked at theboy who was answering the questions again, and felt that the boy had lied tohim since he was born . He was destined to be rich and responsible,and he had never suffered at all. Even studying was something he loved to do.No one forced him to study, and his family did not expect him to get a job. TheMarquis couldn't bear to see his mother-in-law. The son who was spoiled by hiswife and his wife had nothing to do all day long, so he forced the child tostudy and tricked the child into taking the exam. He just wanted to sharpen thechild's temperament and did not expect that the son would really come back tohim with a top score in the exam.

Mrs. Houye, who was at home, saw how cold the weather was. She felt anxious andsaid that her son had only packed light clothes and quilts when he went there.What would he do if it got cold now? The beautiful woman pointed at Mr. Hou andsaid,

"It's all you. You force your son to read some books or take exams whenyou have nothing to do. If you don't force your son to take exams, can your sonsuffer this?"

Mr. Hou also felt bitter in his heart. It's unspeakable that my son has a lotof problems caused by the people in his family. However, the Marquis did notdare to complain about his wife's accusations, and just sent his servants towait at the gate of Gongyuan.

"Yes, slave, go right away." The housekeeper and two slaves wereguarding the gate of Gongyuan, waiting for when their young master would comeout.

Not all candidates were unprepared before entering the examination room. Somepeople thought that it might still be cold in February, so they brought thickerbedding and clothes with them when they came in. This proved how good they wereat that time. wise and correct.

Today is already the third day of the exam. There are less than seven days leftuntil the exam. At this time, most people are seizing the time to answer thequestions.

After ten years of studying hard, my success failed in this exam.

"A sneeze,"

Situ Yu got up and sneezed all morning, with two long strings of mucus hangingunder his nose. He still saw the person opposite lighting up the stove to cook,and then he remembered that he also had a small stove. After working there fora long time, he lit the charcoal fire in the small stove, held the small stovein his hand to keep warm, and huddled on the bed.

At the end of the day, Li Wen followed the steps he planned. When it was timeto answer the questions. To answer the questions, he would eat when the clockwas up and take a nap at noon to feel better in the afternoon. He spent themorning answering the papers and the afternoon was spent transcribing theanswers onto the papers

. It is not allowed to make corrections on the paper. Often, the examiner whois marking the paper will see that the paper is not neat and tidy. If the paperis not good, no matter how good the answers are, the examiner will not take asecond look and will directly discard the answers. There is no room for anymistakes at this time. This is a very mentally draining job.

His past experience in taking exams tells him that his spirit and mentality arevery important in the examination room, so Li Wendu is constantly adjusting hismentality

. Being in a cramped space for so many days is a very uncomfortable thing, butthere is nothing he can do about it. He can only adjust this irritability byhimself. It is not good to just force himself to answer questions. People arein such a long period of time. In the exam state, it is easier for people tofeel tired and irritable. If he feels tired and irritable, Li Wen will stopwriting and rest and adjust himself temporarily.

He has written two pieces in the past two days. Fortunately, he had preparedenough brushes, so there would be no problem after the exam.

"Huh...,

it's another day. Li Wen transcribed the answers onto the paper and waited forthe ink on the paper to dry before putting it away. . The characters on thepaper are neat and tidy, and the surface of the paper is clean and tidy. He haspracticed this handwriting for two lifetimes. If he still can't write well, hecan just pack up the bag and go back to his hometown.

After relaxing at this time, Li Wen was in the mood to pay attention to themovements outside. When he heard footsteps passing by, he subconsciously raisedhis head and saw the man walking past him with someone.

Zhao Xiangyi led the soldiers on a final inspection and passed in front of theboy's dormitory. He looked towards the boy's dormitory out of habit.Unexpectedly, the boy just raised his head and the two people's eyes met. Thismade his His feet paused.

When the soldiers behind him didn't feel it, the man walked forward and ledpeople to inspect the front.

"..." Li Wen was obviously stunned for a moment. He didn't expectZhao Xiangyi to be here. Seeing this man reminded him of the admission checkthat day. It was obviously a routine check before admission, but it was just adifferent person. This made him feel a lingering feeling in his heart. Strangefeeling.

From the first day he came here, Li Wen only thought about exams and answerpapers, and had no time to think about anything else. When he saw Zhao Xiangyiat this moment, he remembered what happened that day, and his face felt alittle hot. He touched his warm face.

Crazy!

Li Wen, who had been concentrating on answering questions all day, didn't knowthat several candidates had been carried out of the examination room on thisday.

It was a bit late to see the sky getting dark, probably around five o'clock inthe afternoon. In February, it doesn't get dark until early six o'clock in theafternoon. The ink on the paper was completely dry. Li Wen found a bag to putthe paper in, and then started to get some food.

Across the aisle, Li Wen saw the young master huddled on the bed across fromhim, and sighed in his heart. At this time, there was no time for him to careor sympathize with others.

The water in the pot was boiling. Li Wen put the meat and vegetables into it,and then poured the noodles into it. He deliberately put in less water andcooked the noodles until they were thicker. You will feel hungry, but you don't have to keep running to the toilet.

If he didn't have to go, Li Wen really didn't want to go to that toilet.

The gnocchi in the pot was cooked, and Li Wen finished half the pot of gnocchiwith a snoring sound.

I don't know if he had a special fate with Zhao Xiangyi today. When he went tothe toilet with the soldiers, he met the man on the way back. Li Wen raised hishead and glanced at the man, who also looked at him with his deep eyes.

The two people passed each other and could not say a word.

The night falls and the day comes to an end.

It's been raining outside all day today, with light snow mixed in with therain. The soldiers in the examination room were divided into two groups andpatrolled non-stop. Zhao Xiangyi brought his soldiers back from the patrol. Noweveryone was having dinner. The first batch of people had already eaten, andthere were still those who came back from behind. Didn't eat.

"Sir, you eat."

Zhao Xiangyi took the meal handed over by his subordinate and asked the otherparty if he had eaten. When he learned that the other party had not eaten, ZhaoXiangyi said, "You should go and eat too."

"Yes." He gave them the food. The adults ate, and with their adults'permission, the soldiers went to eat. Zhao Xiangyi took the rice and ate it inbig mouthfuls. The man ate the same as the people below him. He did not haveany privileges because of his high official position. He would eat what othersate, but the man's rice was bigger. Eat more than the average person.

The days at the border are more difficult than now. At least now there is noneed to go hungry, and the soldiers under his command can have enough to eat.Thinking of something, the man ate a little slower, and then took big mouthfulsof rice in the bowl, eating three big bowls in a row before stopping.