Patriarch, he doesn't want to take the imperial examinations

Chapter 33

After returning from the county government office, Meng Zhen devoted all his attention to reading and writing articles.

In twenty days or so it will be the county examination. If he doesn't seize the time to study hard, he is afraid that he will fail the exam again.

Time is like a breeze, slipping away quietly inadvertently.

The [-]th day of the first lunar month was the opening day of Qingshan Academy.

Early in the morning, Mengzhen came to the academy in a carriage, and the students in the classroom were whispering to each other, obviously still immersed in the joy of the festival.

Meng Zhen sat down in his seat, and as soon as he took out the book, Deng Bowen walked over.

Deng Bowen made a salute: "The junior Bowen pays homage to Uncle Meng in his old age. May Uncle Meng have the same spring with pines and cypresses, unlimited blessings, and success in everything."

Meng Zhen smiled happily: "Thank you Bowen, Uncle Meng also wishes you good health, success in your studies and success in everything. It's just that I came out in a hurry today and didn't bring a red envelope with me. I'll make it up for you tomorrow."

Deng Bowen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He paid New Year's greetings to send blessings, not to ask for red envelopes.

Just as he was about to refuse, a voice came from behind: "Red envelope?" He turned his head, and saw Xu Jiaxing coming up with the book case on his back.

As soon as Xu Jiaxing entered the door, he saw the two of them talking together. After walking a few steps, he heard words such as red envelopes and greetings. He was so curious that he didn't even bother to put the books on his desk, so he ran to the two of them. .

"Hey, Bowen, how much lucky money did you get this year?" Xu Jiaxing asked excitedly.

Deng Bowen said: "Not much, I'm already such an adult, why do I have the nerve to ask for the New Year's money, except for some from the elders in the family, there is nothing extra."

Then he asked, "How about you, you should have gained a lot."

Xu Jiaxing smiled and said, "I didn't get much, only my great-grandfather and grandpa gave more. Although other relatives also gave, but not much."

His family was from a decent family, and because he was the only boy in the family, he had some preference.During the Chinese New Year, he is the one who gets the most lucky money among the brothers and sisters in the family.

But this is only limited to his own family. Compared with other wealthy families, his little New Year's money is insignificant and not worth mentioning.

"Bowen," Xu Jiaxing called out suddenly, his eyes lit up, "If I pass the county test this time, I'll invite you to Xingxianglou to eat apricot goose." The new year's money is not much, but the apricot blossom goose in the feasible Xianglou is enough.

Speaking of the apricot goose in Xianglou, he went to eat with his family during the Chinese New Year, and the taste was really delicious.Just thinking about it at this moment, the son's saliva is about to flow out.

Deng Bowen saw him talking about food like he was fascinated, and lightly touched his arm, "Jiaxing, you are drooling."

"Ah?" Xu Jiaxing was taken aback, and hurriedly wiped the corners of his mouth, but there was nothing, he couldn't help but blame, "Bowen, you've turned bad, no matter what you're bluffing."

Deng Bowen pursed his lips and smiled: "Seeing that you are crazy, I can't help teasing you. I have been to that store a few times, and the taste is really good. If you want to eat, you don't have to wait until after the county test. I will learn from you today. I can treat you to eat."

"Really?" Xu Jiaxing's eyes lit up suddenly, but soon dimmed again, "I'm sorry to ask you to spend money."

Although the food in this shop is indeed delicious, it is not affordable for ordinary people. Take their family as an example, they seldom go there, and usually only go there once during the holidays or when there are guests at home.

And Deng Bowen and him are still students, and they haven't been able to earn money on their own. They rely on their family for food and clothing on weekdays. Gone.

Deng Bowen seemed to see what he was thinking, smiled and said: "It's okay, except for paper and ink, I don't spend much money in other places, and I have saved a lot of pocket money over time, I can't afford the delicacies. , I invite you to go to Xingxianglou to have a meal, or you can sell it. How about it, just tonight, shall we go?"

"This..." Xu Jiaxing's interest suddenly rose, "Is it just the two of us?" Deng Bowen glanced to the side, "No, Uncle Meng is going too."

When the two of them said these words, they had been sitting around Mengzhen's book table. Mengzhen originally planned to write an article silently, but the two of them took up more than half of the table.

Although he was memorizing the book silently in his heart, he heard the entire conversation between Xu Jiaxing and Deng Bowen verbatim.Suddenly hearing Deng Bowen asking him to go to Xingxianglou for dinner, Meng Zhen slowly opened his eyes and said, "You two go, I'm used to being quiet, so I won't join in the excitement."

"Where are you going? Xingxianglou?" At this time, a classmate surnamed Lin in the front row of Mengzhen turned his head, "Count me in, a cousin from the capital invited me to have a meal there during Chinese New Year. The Xinghua Goose is really delicious." He closed his eyes and pretended to smell it, as if the delicious Xinghua Goose was right in front of him.

"Hey, Brother Wang, are you going too?" Classmate Lin surnamed Lin opened his eyes suddenly, and patted the back of his front desk, "Didn't you say that you wanted to eat Xingxianglou's food for a long time, and it happened that Bowen Jiaxing and the others Let's go, let's go together."

Although the classroom was noisy at the moment, the student's voice was a bit loud, which attracted many students to look this way.

A student asked, "Where are you going?"

Another student replied: "It seems to be going to Xingxianglou and eating apricot goose."

"Really, is it?" said the student, "Count me in, I won't eat for free, and we will share the meal money equally."

The two students sang together like this, and immediately attracted the attention of other students.

Then the classroom became even more noisy, and at the end of the noise, the tone of the conversation changed. Everyone began to discuss what to eat for lunch today, whether it was mutton radish or roast chicken ribs, and other things that had nothing to do with study.

Mengzhen was listening, his ears were buzzing non-stop, his head was about to explode.I thought to myself, these students can really talk, and I don't know where they come from so many words, more than he can talk in a month.

Just when everyone was talking about the dire straits, a sharp voice suddenly sounded: "Master is here!" The students seemed to hear a wolf coming, the noise stopped abruptly, and they rolled back to their seats one after another. Books, writing, writing, don't dare to twist around.

When Mengzhen saw it, he couldn't help laughing.

He thought of his last life, when he was the patriarch of the cultivation world, once his disciples and grandchildren were chatting and laughing under a big tree, and he happened to pass under the tree, and these boys and girls saw him Just like a mouse seeing a cat, the face that was happy just a moment ago stopped laughing immediately, saluted him respectfully, and then scattered around in a panic.

The situation at that time was like the students in the school seeing Mr. Zheng now. His disciples and grandchildren were afraid that if they were not paying attention, they would be caught and lectured by him. If they couldn't answer, they would be punished.

However, if it wasn't some major fault, how could Meng Zhen punish them for no reason.

Recalling the past, Meng Zhen actually had some emotions for no reason.In any case, he will never see his disciples and grandchildren again, so what can he do with them.

Just as Mr. Zheng walked into the lecture hall, he glanced down, said a few words and asked everyone to review by themselves, and there was no more words after that.

The county exam was approaching, and the students did not dare to slack off at all. After coming out of the aftermath of the holiday, they devoted themselves to the exam preparation, thinking of passing the exam once.

Like everyone else, Mengzhen spends all his time reading and writing these days except eating and sleeping.He didn't know whether he could pass the county test this time, but he was so busy every day that he felt very at ease in his heart.

The days passed quietly like this for more than half a month, and soon it was the sixth day of February, the day of the county examination.

Mengzhen got up before dawn, had breakfast after washing up, and hurried to the county office.

In February, the weather was cold and cold, and many candidates who came to the county examination surrounded the gate of the county government office. They carried a test basket in their hands, and the basket contained the food for the day.

At this time, the sky has not yet brightened, and the surroundings are hazy.Mengzhen stood in the middle of the long queue, and when the cold wind blew, chills penetrated into his body, he shivered for a while, and couldn't help wrapping his clothes tightly.

At a quarter of the hour, the county government gate opened.Candidates entered the arena one by one under the inspection of the yamen servants.

When it was Meng Zhen's turn to be inspected, he let his hair loose and was touched by the yamen servant, then he opened the test basket, and the steamed buns inside were broken and crushed to make sure that there was no problem before he was released into the examination basket. .

A few steps after entering the door, I met the government servant who checked the identity documents.Information such as the candidate's name, age, place of origin and physical appearance are written on the identity document.

The yamen servant checked with Meng Zhen with the document, which read: Candidate Meng Zhen, fifty years old, from Xianghe County, Shuntian Prefecture, described as thin, with white face and short beard.

The yamen servant looked at Mengzhen for a while, but he didn't see anything wrong, so he let him in.

Mengzhen carried the test basket and came to the outside of the test booth. After all the candidates had entered, he and a group of candidates accepted a speech from the magistrate. Go to the test shed.

There was a seat number on the test paper, Meng Zhen found his seat according to the comparison, and after sitting down, he couldn't help but feel happy, glad that his seat number was not a stinky one.

The so-called stinking house is the house next to the toilet.If a candidate is arranged to take the exam in the stinky hall, then he will really be in bad luck. Not only will he be unconscious due to the stench, he may even get sick from the smoke.

None of the candidates is willing to take a stinky name, but this is out of anyone's control, it can only depend on luck and resign themselves to fate.

With the sound of a gong, the sky was bright, and the examinees began to answer the questions.

There are four county exams in total, one day for each exam, and the papers are handed in on the same day as the answers.

The first session is the main event, with four calligraphy essays and a five-character six-rhyme test poem.Master Zheng asked them to practice these questions on weekdays, and they were no strangers to doing them.

The first thing to do was the four scriptures, and Meng Zhen took a look at the title: Be a Gentleman and Confucianism.

Take this as the title and write an article of no less than [-] words.It's just that this article was not written casually, but according to a certain format, that is, the stereotyped format.

Confucianism for a gentleman, from "The Analects of Confucius Yong Ye": "A woman is a Confucianist for a gentleman, and Confucianism for a villain."

It means that you should be a noble scholar, not a scholar who is despised by others.

Meng Zhen looked at these four characters and thought about it in his mind. The article probably had an eyebrow shape, so he carefully wrote stroke by stroke on the straw paper.

There are two kinds of papers issued for the county examination, the answer sheet and the straw paper. The straw paper is used to conceive the article, and the answer sheet is used for formal answering.

When the article on the straw paper was finished, Meng Zhen checked it carefully, and made some deletions and additions where he didn't like it. He didn't write it carefully on the answer sheet until he was satisfied that there were no mistakes or omissions.

This copying is also time-consuming. The imperial examination system in this dynasty is strict. Not only do cheaters be severely punished, but even the examination papers are also strictly required.

The paper must be neat and tidy, and the whole text should be written in lower case. There must be no typos or omissions, and no random alterations on the test paper, otherwise it will be regarded as a dirty paper by the examiner and you will lose the selection.

Therefore, Meng Zhen didn't dare to be sloppy at all, and wrote a piece of four scriptures. In the warm and cold February, a dense layer of sweat oozed from his body.

And this is only the most elementary county examination, and there are various major examinations to follow, just think about how hard it is.

After finishing the four essays, Mengzhen opened the examination basket, ate a few mouthfuls of pancakes, and did not take a sip of water, before starting to write another five-character six-rhyme test poem.

There are also corresponding requirements for the five-character and six-rhyme test post poems. Although they do not need to use the stereotyped format like the Sishuwen, they are required to be flat and flat, and rhyme in antithesis.

Title of the poem: Fu got the word "clear light hanging in autumn" and got the word "clear".

The test post poem is also called Fu Dede, which means that the five characters "Qiu Ri Xuan Qing Guang" must appear in the poem, and the word "Qing" should be used as the rhyme.

Meng Zhen looked at the title of the poem, holding a pen in his hand, and gradually fell into deep thought.If he hadn't been studying in the academy this year, he would definitely not be able to do this imperial examination question just by figuring it out at home.

He thought about Mr. Zheng's explanation on the test post poems in class, his thinking was clear, and he wrote with spirit. It took less than an hour to write a five-character six-rhyme test post poem.

It was still early at this time, and it was almost the time of application, and candidates had already started to hand in their papers.Meng Zhen looked at his test paper, since he had finished writing and there was no possibility of altering it, and sitting in the test booth was useless, so he handed in the test paper ahead of time.

At this time, many examinees had gathered outside the examination shed, and when a certain number was reached, the dragon gate would be opened, and the examinees would come out in batches in an orderly manner, which is called release.

Meng Zhen came out from the county government office, Meng Hong had been waiting outside for a long time.Meng Hong came home the day before yesterday. His father had a county exam. As a son, he was more excited and nervous than the client.

"How is it dad, how do you feel?" As soon as Meng Zhen came out of the door, Meng Hong rushed forward and asked.

Meng Zhen glanced at him, expressionless: "I don't feel it."

"I don't feel it?" Meng Hong was taken aback, then laughed, "That means you did well in the exam." He took the test basket from his father and held his arm, "Let's go home. Dad wants to go home at night. What to eat, my son will cook for you."

Meng Zhen said weakly: "You can do whatever you want." During the exam, he only ate a few mouthfuls of pancakes, and now his body was weak, and he wanted to go home and lie down on the bed to sleep, and then eat some delicious food.

It was still early when the two returned home, Meng Zhen simply ate something, then lay down on the bed and went to sleep.

There are four county examinations, and the results are announced every two days. Only the seat number is written on the case report, and the candidates' names are not listed without ranking.

On the ninth day of February, Meng Zhen, accompanied by Meng Hong, came to the gate of the county government office, where a group of examinees crowded in front of the government office to check the exam results.

Meng Hong placed his father under a big tree in front of the yamen, and asked his father to wait here, while he squeezed into the crowd to help his father read the grades.

After a while, Meng Hong squeezed out from the crowd, Meng Zhen asked: "How is it? Is there me up there?"

Meng Hong smiled and said: "Congratulations dad, you are on the list."

Meng is really happy, it's good to pass, last year he came to participate in the county examination and was rejected in the first round.

This time, after passing the opening test, my heart is as sweet as eating a few honeys, and I look more energetic.

On the tenth day of February, the second county test.

The second round is Zhaofu, one of the five scriptures and one of the law.

Thanks to his well-trained training on weekdays, Meng Zhen didn't panic when facing these exam questions. The two exam questions were just like the first exam, and he had finished writing them by the time of application.

The next step is to hand in the test papers, and the test results will be announced two days later.Then came the third and fourth games, and the third game was repeated again, with two essays in four books and one law.For the fourth session, there is a series of repetitions, one piece for each of the four books and five scriptures, and one piece of poem in five characters and six rhymes.

After all four exams were over, Mengzhen returned home exhausted and didn't want to move.

Ah Qing knelt down beside him, beat his legs and squeezed his back, "Master, it's not that Ah Qing is talking too much, you said that you would go to study some books and take some imperial examinations, and enjoy the blessings at home, why bother to be punished by that bastard?" Not to mention the trouble and money, it might even hurt your life.”

He thought of the illness his master had suffered some time ago. It was because of studying too much that his body was traumatized.

Meng Zhen closed his eyes tightly, and listened to Ah Qing whispering in his ear, but he didn't pay much attention, he just said casually: "I don't want your master to work so hard, so you can take the exam for me, isn't that all right?"

Embarrassment immediately appeared on Ah Qing's face, and he said embarrassingly: "Master, why bother to make fun of Ah Qing, Ah Qing is illiterate, can't read a single word, how can he study for the master in the imperial examination, isn't this killing Ah Qing?"

Meng Zhen smiled at the corner of his mouth, then opened his eyes, looked at Ah Qing and said, "You have self-knowledge, you know how much you weigh, but don't persuade your master to study in the future." I have been studying for more than a year. , until now he is still reluctant, if it wasn't for the sake of ascension again, he would have been enjoying his life long ago, there is no need to suffer this, not to mention being exhausted, but also being ridiculed by others. uneasy.

"But..." Ah Qing beat Meng Zhen's leg, hesitated to speak, "Okay, Ah Qing listens to the master, and will not mention the matter of the master's study in the future."

After he beat Mengzhen's legs for a while, he began to pinch his shoulders again. Seeing that Mengzhen's eyes were tightly closed, and he seemed to be enjoying himself, he said a few more words.

"Master, I see that the young masters are young and healthy, why don't you let them take the exam, it's better than you..."

He didn't say anything later, because Mengzhen opened his eyes and looked straight at him.

"Master, Ah Qing is talkative, just treat Ah Qing as a fart and let it go." Ah Qing said in a low voice, without stopping the movements of his hands.

Meng Zhen was very friendly, and said in a gentle voice: "You have been serving for a long time, and you must be tired, go down and have a rest."

Ah Qing hurriedly smiled and said: "I'm not tired, it's Ah Qing's blessing to serve the master, Ah Qing couldn't wish for it, how could he feel tired." The strength in his hands increased a little bit, and he pounded even harder.

But Meng Zhen waved his hand: "I'm a bit tired, I want to sleep for a while, you go."

Ah Qing was also sensible, and told the master to take a good rest, and if there was anything to call him, he would stand guard outside the door, then got up and closed the door and went out.

Mengzhen lay on the couch, closed his eyes but couldn’t fall asleep, thinking about the exam room for a while, and thinking about his sons for a while, thinking about it, but couldn’t make up his mind, and finally forced himself not to think about these messy things , Thinking that one day he will attain the Tao and ascend to the ascension.

At that time, he will be a carefree and unrestrained immortal, listening to the scriptures and enlightening the Tao in his spare time, and having a drink with three or two immortal friends when he is bored.

Thinking about it this way, he really felt much happier, and slowly he sank into dreamland.

Three days later, the results of the county examination were announced.

Meng Hong went to help his father read the grades, Meng Zhen waited at home, after about half an hour, Meng Hong ran back and ran all the way into the house.

"Congratulations dad, you have passed the exam in the old county, and you are on the list!" Meng Hongpao was panting, his face was full of joy, and he couldn't restrain his excitement.

Meng Zhen was holding a book in his hand, he was surprised and happy when he heard the words, put down the book and said calmly: "Really? Don't lie to me."

Meng Hong said with a smile: "I lied to you. You can't joke about this kind of thing. If you don't believe me, you can go over and have a look yourself." Not bad, ranked 27th.

Seeing that his father was relieved, Meng Hong said again: "Father got a good grade in the exam, so we should celebrate it. Let's go out to eat tonight." Travel to Xianglou.

Meng Zhen said: "You don't need to make such a fuss, just celebrate at home."

Meng Hong: "How can we do it at home? Since it's a celebration, the more noisy the better, Dad listens to me, so go out to eat, and then we can hang the whip again, wouldn't it be better."

Meng Zhen shook his head: "Father is getting old, he likes to be quiet and not noisy, just sit and have a meal with the family." He remembered the last time he took Meng Che out to eat and there was a lot of noise around him, and he didn't feel good at all.And this is just a county test, and he is not a scholar, so there is no need to make such a fuss.

Meng Hong saw that his father was really unwilling to go out to celebrate, so he didn't force him any more, he just said that he would prepare the dinner tonight, and after that he told his father to have a good rest, and took him out.

In the evening, everyone sat together and ate a delicious dinner happily. The next morning, Meng Zhen took his own carriage to the academy.

The school was chaotic, and everyone was discussing the results of the county test. This time, 18 students took the test, 11 passed and seven failed.

The seven people who hadn't passed sat in their seats and listened to the laughter of others, feeling very uncomfortable.

The classmate surnamed Lin who sat in front of Mengzhen didn't pass the exam, and now he was depressed on the desk, the more happy others were, the more worried he was.

It happened that Deng Bowen walked up to Mengzhen at this time and bowed: "Congratulations, Uncle Meng, for passing the county examination."

Hearing the words "passed the county test", the classmate surnamed Lin became even more depressed, thinking, even an old man in his [-]s can pass the test, how could he fail the test at a young age? Is it not as good as that?

This hair is stuffy, and Deng Bowen next to him continued: "Tonight, Xingxianglou has a banquet, and Uncle Meng will also come."

Meng Zhen was about to refuse, but Deng Bowen didn't give him a chance to speak, "Uncle Meng can't refuse, all the students from our academy will go, and Master Zheng will also go."

"Master Zheng is going too?" The classmate surnamed Lin in front of him turned his head, forgetting the unhappiness of failing the exam for a moment, "When did you invite your master?"

Deng Bowen smiled: "I haven't invited you yet. I will go to invite you after class in the morning. The master should not refuse. Brother Lin will also come by then."

The classmate surnamed Lin immediately turned his body away after hearing the last sentence. It is true that he wanted to eat the food at Xingxianglou, but it is not the right time now. He has not passed the county examination, so he feels very disappointed, and he is not satisfied with the food. He was interested, and Mr. Zheng was also going. When he thought of Mr. Zheng's coffin face all the year round, he couldn't go anymore.

"Brother Deng, you go, I don't feel very well, I have to find a doctor to take a look after school, I'm really sorry." The classmate surnamed Lin said lazily, just like before the county exam, he yelled loudly to eat Xingxianglou The people who eat the food are completely different.

Deng Bowen knew that it was because he hadn't passed the county test, so he didn't try to persuade him any more, he just said: "Since he is not feeling well, brother Lin, hurry up and have a look after school, and we can eat next time." The classmate surnamed Lin nodded Head, no more words.

Deng Bowen said to Mengzhen again: "Uncle Meng, let's make an agreement, we will see you at Xingxianglou at night."

However, Mengzhen didn't want to go, he also wanted to imitate that classmate surnamed Lin and find a reason to prevaricate, at this time Xu Jiaxing came over with a book case on his back, "Hey, Bowen, why do I see you standing in front of me every time I enter the door?" Here, is there something that is holding you back?" Looking back, forth, left, and right, it seems to be trying to find the thing that is holding people's legs and feet.

Deng Bowen tapped lightly on his forehead: "Where is there anything seductive, you are talking nonsense."

"Then why are you here every time I come in? Could it be that you are here to ask questions from your classmates?" Xu Jiaxing looked dazed, not sure if he really didn't know or pretended not to.

Deng Bowen laughed and said, "I'm not here to ask questions, but to invite my classmates to Xingxianglou for delicious food."

When Xu Jiaxing heard this, he immediately changed his expression, his eyes brightened, "When did I go to Xingxianglou for dinner as I said last time, but I didn't go there, and now I can finally get what I wanted. My New Year's Eve The New Year's money is still there, or tonight, I will treat you."

Deng Bowen pursed his lips and laughed: "Okay, you invite, you invite all the thirty or so students in the academy."

Xu Jiaxing was a little embarrassed: "Bowen, are you telling the truth or are you joking with me? I only have a small amount of New Year's money. It's okay to ask for a dozen or so. If you ask for so much at once, I really can't bear it."

Deng Bowen couldn't help laughing, and laughed out loud: "Look at scaring you, I'm just joking, so I can take it seriously. Since all the students from the academy go, how can only one person pay the bill? I mean everyone will share it equally. It's fair to everyone."

Xu Jiaxing nodded hurriedly: "It's very good." It happened to save him the New Year's money, so why not do it.

"Well, has everyone been informed?"

Deng Bowen also nodded: "I've told you everything, come here to show you." He bowed sideways to Meng Zhen, and then pulled Xu Jiaxing to his place.

Meng Zhen watched the person go away, thinking about the words he hadn't refused yet, feeling a little helpless.

Here Xu Jiaxing was dragged to Deng Bowen's place. A booklet was placed on Deng Bowen's desk with the names of the students written on it. Deng Bowen picked up a pen and ticked Mengzhen's name, and then pointed To Xu Jiaxing, "This is the list of students who will go to Xingxianglou for dinner tonight. There are 31 students in total. Take a look."

Xu Jiaxing followed Deng Bowen's gaze for a while, pointed to Mengzhen's name on the brochure and said, "Is he going too? No matter how much I tried to persuade you not to go before, how did you figure it out now?"

Deng Bowen smiled: "It's not that people have figured it out, but that I didn't give him a chance to refuse, so I directly agreed for him."

"You..." Xu Jiaxing was stunned for a moment, "This was originally voluntary, if he didn't want to, why did you force it, don't let people remember you because of it, then the gain outweighs the loss."

Deng Bowen said: "That's not the case. Uncle Meng also passed the county test this time. Since we celebrated together in the school, he should not be missing. In the future, there will be a long way to go in the scientific test. Since he is a classmate with us, You can’t stay alone all the time, learning is important in communication, and you can build a good relationship with your classmates, and your future career will not be bad.”

"You say yes?" He tilted his head to Xu Jiaxing, Xu Jiaxing was silent for a while, and then said, "Well, you say yes, but if it were me, I wouldn't force other people's affairs." Although Meng Zhen has changed a lot compared to before, he is not as close as Deng Bowen. Except for this county examination, the relationship between the two has been vague. His classmate relationship has nothing to do with him.

When Xu Jiaxing was thinking this way, Mr. Zheng walked into the lecture hall with the books, and he quickly ran back to his seat.

The weather has warmed up in the past few days. Mrs. Zheng wore a thin indigo shirt today. She looks much more energetic than before, and even her normally serious face is rarely softened.

Sitting in the lecture hall, he first praised the students who had passed the county exam, and then comforted those who hadn't passed the exam. One county exam doesn't mean anything.Life is like a journey against the sky, if you don’t advance, you will retreat. No matter what time, people should have a heart of Lingyun, just like the long pine that enters the clouds, but it is invincible.

Mrs. Zheng picked up some words of encouragement, and then talked about the application for the government examination.The application process for the prefectural examination is the same as that of the county examination, and five children are bonded together, and one child is guaranteed. Mr. Zheng asked the students to prepare in advance, and go directly to Shuntian Prefecture to register after the prefectural examination registration notification comes out.

After finishing the registration for the government examination, Mr. Zheng asked the students to do a good job of reviewing in the next period of time, so as to try to pass the government examination in one go.

After he finished speaking, he asked the students to speak up enthusiastically, and if they had any problems, they should be raised together and solved together.

The students were not as reserved as usual in class. Everyone asked a few questions about the exam review, and Mr. Zheng answered them one by one very gently.

Mrs. Zheng was in a good mood today. After answering the students' questions, some students took advantage of this to invite Mrs. Zheng to a banquet at Xianglou tonight.

To everyone's surprise, Master Zheng readily agreed.Mrs. Zheng also said that there will be no class this afternoon, and everyone will go home and pack up for dinner in the evening.

The school was boiling immediately, and the students were overjoyed. After class in the morning, they went home happily.

When Meng Zhen returned home, he happened to meet Meng Hong going out, Meng Hong was a little surprised seeing his father: "Father, why did you come back so early today?"

Meng Zhen told the story of the school again, and Meng Hong's mouth shrunk when he heard it, "Yesterday I invited my father to Xingxianglou for dinner, and my father said that if I don't like quietness, I don't want to make trouble, so why did my father's classmate invite me?" Now, dad is clearly treating one class more favorably than another, treating his classmates more favorably than his own son."

Meng Zhen knew that he was speaking out of anger, so he didn't take it seriously, he just said: "You go with me at night, in the Xingxiang Building you opened."

Meng Hong sneered and laughed: "Father and classmates have dinner, why should I join in the fun, father and classmates celebrate well, then I will give you a discount." After saying that, he waved to his father and went out alone.

Meng Zhen watched him walk away and returned to his own room. After lunch, he took a nap, got up and read a book for a while, tidied himself up, asked Ah Qing to drive the carriage to Xingxianglou.

When we arrived at Xingxiang Tower, many students had already been waiting there for a long time.A total of 32 people participated in the banquet, and the boxes in Xingxiang Building were too small to accommodate so many people, so they had to sit in the hall on the first floor with two tables.

After everyone arrived, everyone first chatted warmly, and then whispered to the classmates they had made friends with, chatting in full swing.

Most of the people present were young people, Meng Zhen looked out of place sitting among them.Fortunately, Mrs. Zheng was sitting next to him, and the two of them were about the same age, so they could chat.

Mrs. Zheng first congratulated him on passing the county examination, and then told him a lot about the scientific examination over the tea and food on the table.

Meng Zhen listened intently to Mr. Zheng's talk, the food on the table didn't move much, amidst the chaotic noise, a harsh male voice came from the next table, cutting a hole in the noisy crowd.

"You don't have long eyes when you walk. Master, this suit is tailor-made by someone. If you get dirty like this, can you afford it?"

Meng Zhen looked over and saw a boy in plain clothes being stopped by a man in red brocade.The man was aggressive, with furious eyebrows, and scolded the young man.

The young man was obedient, a little timid, and apologized again and again: "I'm sorry, I really didn't do it on purpose, why don't you take it off and I'll take it back and wash it, and send it to you again, do you think so?"

The man didn't know whether he was angry at the words or something else, his face turned blue and white, pointed at the skirt of his chest, and said angrily: "You haven't eaten at this restaurant, have you? Once the juice gets on your body, even fairy water can't wash it off. You wash it, how do you wash it, use your brain fluid to wash it!"

"Hahaha..." The man's words caused everyone at the table to burst into laughter. The young man's face turned red, and he clenched his hands tightly, wishing he could find a crack in the ground and sneak in.

At this time, another young man in black cotton silk clothes came over, blocked the bullied young man behind him, and said to the man: "Since you dirty your clothes, we will pay you all, why do you speak violently and aggressively. "

The man said disdainfully: "I'm sorry, I'm afraid you can't afford it! The material of my clothes was brought back from Jiangnan by my brother-in-law. I didn't have much left at home, so I asked someone to make me clothes. The clothes are as good as heaven and earth. This one is not even sold in the capital, so how can you pay for it! Idiots!"

Facing the man's insults, the young man in black clothes tried his best to hold back and said: "Even if there is no one that is exactly the same, it is okay to pay for one that is similar to you."

The man resolutely vetoed it, and pressed his tongue: "No, I want one that is exactly the same as mine."

"Then, we can always pay with money." Because of the mistake first, the young man in Daiqing's side obviously lacked momentum, and talked with others in a low voice.

However, the man is unreasonable, no matter how hard the other party begged, he just refused to let go, "No, I said that I want one that is exactly the same as my clothes, so it has to be exactly the same as my clothes, one more It’s not enough for needles or thread, you have to bargain with me. My grandfather’s family is not short of money, so who cares about your poor money.”

"This..." The two teenagers looked at each other speechlessly, not knowing what to do.The plainly dressed boy seemed to have never seen the world, his body was trembling, and he was almost about to cry.

But the man was still aggressive, and the people beside him were watching with relish while eating delicious food, but no one came out to help the two teenagers out of their troubles.

Just when the situation was at a deadlock, a voice suddenly came from not far away: "Brother Nie, what's wrong?"