On the ninth day of March, the imperial examination was in full swing. Candidates from all over the country packed up their bags and rushed to the Imperial Examination Hall before daybreak.
The weather in early March was still very cold, and the wind blowing on the face felt like a cut. When Li Yaonan and Zhang Qixian arrived at the Imperial Examination Hall, the entrance was already full of people. The candidates were gathered in groups of three or five, sometimes talking loudly, sometimes looking around expectantly. The ground was littered with large packages. The scene before them was so chaotic that it could not be described in one word: chaos.
"Brother Li."
From a distance, Li Yaonan heard someone calling him. He turned his head and took a closer look. He slowly walked over and bowed, saying, "Brother Li, Brother Lu, long time no see."
Li Mingzhang returned the greeting and said with a smile, "You are so good, Mr. Qingyang, you kept it a secret."
Lu Zhian also joked: "I have been wanting to find Brother Li to reminisce about the past for a long time, and today I finally found him."
Li Yaonan laughed and said cheerfully, "I'll treat you after the exam. By the way, where's Brother Zhou? Why don't you see him?"
Li Mingzhang's eyes flashed with worry: "A Qian has something going on at home, I'm afraid he won't be able to take the exam this time."
Li Yaonan frowned. What important matter could it be that even the imperial examination was delayed? Then he understood something. Thinking of Zhou Qian's life experience, Li Yaonan sighed. Brother Zhou was very talented, what a pity.
Seeing him like this, Li Mingzhang knew that he had guessed the cause and effect, so he did not hide it and said gloomily: "A Qian was beaten by his father and still can't get out of bed.
Lu Zhian was stunned: "How could it be?"
Li Mingzhang said helplessly: "A Qian is a bastard, and Lord Zhou is a righteous man who cannot tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes."
Li Yaonan sneered. The wealthy and powerful were always like this. They liked to put on a high-sounding appearance in everything they did. However, this matter had nothing to do with him. They were just casual acquaintances. Although they had known each other for half a month, their relationship was not that good. It was not his turn to complain for him. He smiled and said, "We will go to visit him another day. I will trouble Brother Li to lead the way."
Li Mingzhang nodded and said, "Of course."
As a few people chatted, the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall slowly opened. The candidates suddenly became quiet, their eyes fixed on the red-painted gate.
Zhang Qixian was also in the crowd. He found a few old friends and when he saw the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall opened, he said goodbye quickly and returned to Li Yaonan. He greeted Li Mingzhang and Lu Zhian. The officials of the Imperial Examination Hall had already started calling out names.
Among the candidates, Li Yaonan also saw an old acquaintance, his half brother with the same father but different mothers.
Lai Yiu-cho seemed to be smarter than Lai Yiu-chung. When he saw Lai Yiu-nam, he showed no emotion at all and just pretended not to know him, not even giving him a glance.
Li Yaonan was very satisfied with his attitude. It was good that they kept to themselves.
As the officer called out the names, Li Mingzhang went in first, followed by Zhang Qixian. He patted his cousin on the shoulder and said carefully, "I'll be waiting for you to pass the imperial examination."
Li Yaonan curled his lips and smiled: "You too."
Zhang Qixian picked up the package and strode towards the Imperial Examination Hall.
After waiting for about a cup of tea, it was Li Yaonan's turn. He turned around and bowed to Lu Zhian: "After the imperial examination, there will be a teahouse at 9:00 p.m. the next day. See you there."
Lu Zhian nodded slightly: "There is a very famous teahouse, I will definitely go there."
After checking Li Yaonan's package, the officials let him go smoothly. This time, Li Yaonan sat in the east, close to the invigilator, which was also the best room in the entire Imperial Examination Hall. It might be the worst in summer, but it was the warmest in early spring.
Li Yaonan was a little surprised, but overall it was a good thing. As long as he got good grades, he didn't care about the rest.
When all candidates are present, the invigilator will issue the test papers.
Last summer there was drought, the ground cracked, no grain was harvested, autumn floods were severe, people were in distress, how could we cure it, what should the government do, how could we stop natural disasters... ...
When seeing the test questions this time, Li Yaonan was slightly stunned, but soon his expression returned to normal. Like all the other candidates, he began to ponder.
Zhang Qixian was just as surprised as he was. When he saw the test questions, his heartbeat accelerated sharply and a surge of ecstasy surged in his heart. He tried his best to suppress himself so as not to lose his composure in front of everyone. He lowered his head, buried it in deep thought, and only returned to normal after a while.
Li Yaonan was very proud and was not surprised that her husband guessed the test questions. Lin Yixuan was already a man of great learning. Last year there was a drought in the summer and heavy rain in the autumn. During the period of the provincial examination, it drizzled for more than half a month. The area south of the Yangtze River was still fine, but the people on both sides of the Yellow River suffered. After a long drought, there would be floods, so it was normal for her husband to think of this.
Li Yaonan had already done the questions for this imperial examination countless times and soon had an outline in his mind. At this moment, his ideas were flowing like a stream, and he picked up his pen and began to answer the questions with great enthusiasm.
During summer droughts, canals are used for irrigation, and fields can be used to grow drought-resistant crops such as corn, sweet potatoes and other plants.
When there is a flood, we can provide disaster relief by letting the victims repair the river embankments themselves. This way they will definitely do their best, and the court can save money on disaster relief, thus killing two birds with one stone.
The people are in poverty, so the court can slightly reduce the agricultural tax and replace it with commercial tax. This will not only enrich the national treasury, but also reduce the pressure on the people. The people will become rich in the near future.
Officials should be impartial and selfless, and act in accordance with the law... ... In short, Li Yaonan advocates the rule of law and gives a lot of examples of the benefits of the rule of law. He guessed that the current emperor should also be a supporter of the rule of law, otherwise he would not have made many reforms to the court. Except for his offspring, the current emperor can be regarded as a wise ruler.
Natural disasters cannot be prevented, but they can be prevented...
Li Yaonan deleted a lot of things and wrote a long essay. He knew that the examiner of this year's subject was a conservative person and liked down-to-earth and steady articles. He put his name in front of the emperor, but this did not mean that his answer sheet could be transmitted to the emperor. After thinking it over again and again, he deleted most of his real thoughts and only wrote down feasible plans on the answer sheet.
His ideas were too avant-garde. Even if he knew that they were feasible, they were undoubtedly wild ideas in the eyes of others. He took the imperial examination in order to get his name on the list of successful candidates and to stand out in society. He knew what was more important than what was not. He would not lose more than he gained because of these trivial matters.
This time, Li Yaonan answered the questions very quickly, and after three days he began to calm down and rest. The examiner looked at him with regret, shaking his head, and curiosity.
Li Yaonan is Mr. Qingyang. With the emperor's publicity, everyone in the capital knows him. Many eyes are staring at him to see whether Mr. Qingyang has real ability or is just pretending to learn Taoism. The chief examiner was a little unhappy to see him so negligent, but when he walked to the desk and saw Li Yaonan's answer sheet, his eyes immediately lit up, and he felt a little ashamed for his previous thoughts. It seemed that Li Yaonan was confident.
The chief examiner no longer cared about him, but various things in the examination room were reported to the emperor through a third party. Of course, the emperor was not concerned about Mr. Qingyang, but all the candidates in this imperial examination. Hearing that Li Yaonan had already finished answering the test questions, the emperor became curious and asked someone to bring Li Yaonan's test papers to him after marking the papers.
Inadvertently, Li Yaonan got an opportunity, an opportunity to truly catch the emperor's eye.
Nine days passed in a flash. After leaving the examination room, Li Yaonan was in good spirits. Lin Yixuan had been waiting outside the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall, and many of their families were also waiting there with him.
Seeing the crying all around, Li Yaonan felt that he was very accustomed to it. Every time he came out of the examination room, it seemed to be this kind of scene. He couldn't help but get used to it.
Not long after, Zhang Qixian also left the examination room. Perhaps because he found it easier to answer the questions this time, his face looked a little haggard, but his eyes were full of smiles. He looked pretty good overall. You know, during the last provincial examination, when my third cousin left the examination room, his eyes were dark circles and his legs were shaking when he walked.
Li Yaonan turned around to say goodbye to Lu Zhian, and made an appointment to meet again tomorrow. Then she put her arm around her husband and got into the carriage in a swaggering manner, leaving Zhang Qixian so angry that he could only stare blankly.
The couple simply treated him as if he didn't exist. Zhang Qixian firmly denied it in his heart, but he was actually a little envious. As a poet, what he liked most were romantic stories. The relationship between his cousin and his husband was really touching, and it was what he had been longing for.
If Li Yaonan knew what he was thinking, he would definitely sneer. Even though his third cousin is not very old, he already has a wife, a concubine and two maids at home. It's nonsense to ask for love even in this situation!
After returning home, hot water and meals had already been prepared. Mother Lin knew that her brother and son-in-law were preparing for the imperial examination, so they moved to the Li residence these days. She was worried that she would not be able to take care of her own little Jiu.
After taking a comfortable bath, Li Yaonan felt refreshed. After eating, he took a few exercises before going back to his room to sleep.
The next morning, Li Yaonan said goodbye to her husband and went to a teahouse.
After taking the imperial examination, Zhang Qixian relaxed completely. He had already made an appointment with his friends to have a poetry party, and left early in the morning. Li Yaonan knew his temper very well and didn't say anything, only asking him to come back early and not play too late, as the capital was different from Yangzhou and the curfew was very strict at night.
We arrived at a teahouse. Even though it was still early, the teahouse was still bustling with people. Now it has become a place for students to appreciate poetry and discuss ideas. After the imperial examination, many literati gathered here. There were almost too many articles on the walls to paste them all in.
"Brother Li, here." Lu Zhian waved to him from upstairs, with several fellow candidates standing beside him.
"Brother Lu." Li Yaonan bowed.
Lu Zhian smiled and said, "These are some of my classmates. I have heard of the great name of Master Qingyang for a long time. I will definitely come with me today. Please don't blame me for forgetting Brother Li."
"It's okay, Brother Lu, just call me Donglin!" Li Yaonan exchanged greetings with the scholars. As a sensitive person, he could easily see that three of them came with curiosity, and the other two had flickering eyes, and their purpose was unknown.
After chatting for a while, Li Yaonan learned that Lu Zhian was also a famous family in Jinling. His ancestor had once been a prime minister, but unfortunately it was in the previous dynasty and he was a notorious treacherous prime minister. The Lu family had been lurking for nearly two hundred years. Thanks to the wisdom of the current emperor, they were able to find an opportunity to restart the imperial examination.
Li Yaonan felt ashamed. What could he say about the former prime minister who had fallen into such disgrace till now