The night was as dark as ink, pitch black, without a single ray of light...
At this time, most people have fallen asleep. Occasionally, there are a few rooms in the inn that still have lights on. Among them is Zhu Pingan, who is reading by lamplight. There are several books neatly arranged on the desk. Zhu Pingan holds a copybook and leans forward slightly to read it carefully.
It was quiet outside, with the occasional cuckoo call, cuckoo cuckoo...
The enchantress who was sleeping soundly on the bed opened her eyes slightly, glanced at Zhu Ping'an who was sitting there reading a book, and fell into deep sleep again.
Zhu Ping'an, who was reading by lamplight at night, slightly curled the corners of his mouth and immersed himself in the calligraphy again. The more he looked at it, the more he felt that he could feel the three flavors of the book mentioned by the old fisherman. Although it was vague, he felt that it was within reach.
As the night deepened, all the lights in the inn went out one after another, and the night completely took over the world.
The next morning, Zhu Ping'an got up much earlier than usual. He wanted to put what he had learned from reading the calligraphy last night into practice and see how it worked. It was like he had picked up a new car and couldn't wait to drive it out for a spin.
The shore of Taihu Lake was quiet and deserted. The old man who was fishing that day seemed like an NPC you met by chance in a game who had just refreshed a dungeon. You only saw him that once and never met him again.
Lay out the black board, dip a brush in water, exert a little force on the wrist, and place the tip of the brush on the black board. At this moment, the brush seems to have a soul. The feeling can almost be described in one word, that is, writing with divine help. The words on the black board seem to have flesh and blood, and they are vivid on the board, ready to come out.
That bottleneck was finally broken...
After the sun rose, Zhu Ping'an put away the black wooden board and the bamboo brush tube, took out a handwritten book from his schoolbag, and leaned against the boulder to read it quietly.
The next day was a similar rhythm. When the boatman's fishing call came from afar, Zhu Pingan collected the books, put them in his backpack, and returned to the inn leisurely. He was stopped by his uncle and others on the way and pushed to look at the list again. He came earlier this time, and the list had just been posted.
My fellow villager who survived did not continue his luck this time and failed the exam.
The fellow villager who failed the exam was distraught, then suddenly clapped his hands, pointed at the list with one hand and stammered.
What's up
Zhu Ping'an was a little worried about his fellow villager, wondering if he had been upset by something.
"Zi'er, tell uncle your seat number again!"
Uncle Zhu Shouren spoke in a hurried tone, as if he was so excited that he could hardly control himself.
"Yiyou" Zhu Pingan repeated it after hearing it.
As soon as he said this, the fellow villager who seemed to have received some excitement clapped his hands again, and his mood seemed to be much better. "That's good. I'm not alone anymore. An Ge'er can return home with me, hehe..."
"No one is on the second list, and no one is on the first list either." Uncle Zhu Shouren stroked his beard and said with a look of regret, "Alas, although you failed this time, don't be discouraged. You have been on the first list every time since the county exam. It is rare for you to be on the first list. Wait for your uncle to go back and review your studies with you."
After the uncle finished speaking, he sighed again and said with emotion, "Our Zhu family has placed their trust in me this time. I have an important responsibility and will not let you down."
Two other fellow villagers who were already students like my uncle also came to comfort Zhu Ping'an and another fellow villager, saying that they would take Zhu Ping'an to Zuijunlou to get drunk in the evening.
"It shouldn't be like that. I performed better this time than usual."
Zhu Ping'an murmured to himself. At this time, he also looked through the entire list. Indeed, his seat number was not on List B, nor on List A. This shouldn't be the case. He performed better than usual in this exam.
"Haha, I always saw An Ge'er being calm and composed, and I thought he wouldn't have any other emotions. This time, after failing the exam, I finally saw a different expression from him."
"Don't be like this, An Ge'er. Everyone says the same thing when they fail the exam. Come on, come on, let's go get drunk and forget our sorrows."
Although Zhu Ping'an's voice was low, it was heard by the people around him. Everyone tried to comfort him, but of course the words of comfort were not so pleasant to the ear.
Uncle Zhu Shouren and others felt that this was the normal state, and that the imperial examination was finally on the right track, which seemed a bit surprising.
Zhu Ping'an looked at the list, still confused.
Everyone comforted him and took Zhu Ping'an and another fellow villager who failed the exam to have a drink together.
Just when everyone was about to drag away Zhu Ping'an, who had been looking at the list, they heard a commotion in the crowd. It turned out that the clerk who had just posted the list was sticking a piece of red paper as big as a bowl at the center of list A. On the red paper was the first place on the list, the top candidate in the second round.
The seat number on the red paper was exactly Zhu Ping'an's seat number: "Yiyou".
Time seemed to stand still, and the uncle and the others were all disappointed and surprised. They were greatly surprised when Zhu Pingan was ranked in the A list before, and this time he was not ranked in the A list or the B list, but they never expected that the first place that they dared not dream of would fall on Zhu Pingan.
Similarly, Zhu Ping'an was also surprised. He didn't expect that he could get the first place. Although he had prepared for a long time and there was one question in the test that he was very familiar with, he never expected that he could get the first place.
Although this first place is only a temporary top spot and its value is not high, after the three examinations are completed and the long list is announced, the first place will be the real top spot in the provincial examination. But this does not erase the difficulty of getting this first place, after all, it is a competition among more than 300 outstanding candidates who have been screened many times.
This dramatic turn of events was hard for Uncle Zhu Shouren and the others to accept. Although they could not hide their disappointment, they still wanted to invite Zhu Ping'an to have a drink. They couldn't just say they would invite him now, that would be a slap in the face. However, the mood was not good, especially the villager who failed the exam, who had a long face.
I guess it's because scholars look down on each other, or there's jealousy, or maybe there are other more complicated factors, which is why I'm disliked by my uncle and others.
Zhu Ping'an was not without tact, so he declined. After Zhu Ping'an refused, his uncle Zhu Shouren and others did not insist, and dragged the failed villager to the restaurant, and it seemed that he would not return home all night.
On the other side, Xia Luoming and others from Tongcheng looked at the list with disdain and chatted calmly:
"Although I don't know who 'Yiyou' is, he is not you or me, nor is he the top of the other counties or the top ten people who are familiar with him. I guess he is just a lucky guy who got lucky."
"My dear friends, do not be discouraged. This is just a formal judgment, which accounts for the smallest proportion of the three examinations. The Four Books, Eight Essays and Policy Essays are the basis for the final decision."
"That's exactly what you said..."
And Zhu Ping'an, the lucky guy they called him, had quietly left the announcement site and was going to look for delicious snacks along the street.
(Please collect, recommend, and ask for anything else. I will do it again. Thank you all book friends for your continued care.)