Chapter 724 Examination (1)
On the ninth day of the second month of the first year of Zhengping, outside the Imperial Examination Hall, at the 1st quarter of an hour.
Sun Shan curled up and shivered. Even though he was wearing a thick cotton-padded jacket, he still felt cold.
Gui Ge'er held up a hand warmer and asked Sun Shan to hold it. He said worriedly, "Brother Shan, do you feel that today is colder than yesterday?"
It's clearly spring, but why is it still wintery?
How can Shan take the exam in such cold weather? Alas, it is even more difficult than the provincial examination in Guangnan, where autumn is like summer. Gui Geer is not only worried that Sun Shan will fail, but also worried that Sun Shan's body cannot bear it.
What if I catch a cold and a fever in there? The Imperial Examination Hall won’t let anyone in before the time comes.
Sun Shan raised his head, straightened his chest, and shook his legs.
Then a cold wind blew over, and they immediately huddled together like quails.
There are three popular ways for Guangnan people to keep warm: breathing out air, shaking legs, and lying in bed.
It’s not that I can’t afford the clothes, it’s just that shaking my legs is more cost-effective.
Just lift your feet and shake your legs, and the cold will stay away from me!
A few days ago, Old Madam He paid a high price to hire a legendary fortune teller who knew everything about astronomy and geography to predict the weather.
It is said that this fortune teller is very difficult to hire and he will not easily make a move unless the price is high.
In the end, the fortune teller kept calculating, but everything he said was ambiguous.
After reading Sun Shan's version of the "Book of Changes", I found that the content of this so-called divination is very similar to the "Book of Changes", and it is not about calculating the weather at all.
What he said was even more unclear.
In the end, Sun Shan was not told whether it would rain, snow or hail during the examination period.
Old Madam He was satisfied because the fortune teller said a lot of nice things.
For example, if you see a lot of purple air floating above the "Shilang Mansion", the candidates from the "Shilang Mansion" will be radiant when they enter the venue this time.
The old lady must be very happy if it was such an auspicious sign. As a result, the fortune teller received a lot of rewards.
Sun Shan secretly observed the fortune teller and felt that what he said was complete nonsense. Since it was called "Minister's Mansion", there must be some purple air around it.
Sun Shan thought that if he were poor and destitute, he could also help people tell fortunes.
After all, his professional knowledge is very solid and even more profound than what this fortune teller said.
At this moment, Sun Shan counted with his fingers and looked at the night sky: it was quiet and clear, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and the air was fresh.
It doesn't look like it's going to rain.
Sun Shan felt much more at ease when it wasn't raining. He was most afraid of rainy and cold nights, because not only would people get sick more easily, but the papers they had written would also get dirty more easily.
According to Minister He, due to the increase in admission quotas this year, the number of students taking the imperial examination has more than doubled compared to previous years.
Especially in provinces close to the capital, scholars in their seventies and eighties also came out in droves to try their luck.
Some people may say that even if a person has a high school degree, it is not easy for him to be an official in his seventies or eighties.
But what scholars pursue is not only the position of official, but also the family background.
There is a huge gap between the status of Juren and Jinshi. Who doesn't want to be a dragon among people of high status?
Gui Ge'er, Sun Dali, and Sun Dingnan surrounded Sun Shan tightly, fearing that he would be hit by the crowd.
Because there were so many people, we went in batches.
Sun Shan's number was still in the first batch, so he came to Gongyuan in the early morning to queue up for admission.
The second and third batches of He Shujun and others should still be waiting anxiously at He's house.
Sun Shan looked around very purposefully, trying to find someone he knew.
Let's chat and time flies.
Suddenly a voice came from behind: "Ashan, you are here too?"
Turning around, I saw that it was Chairman Liu Zhiyan.
When fellow villagers met, their eyes were filled with tears, even though they had met at the Guangnan Guild Hall the day before to exchange information they had received from each other.
Sun Shan responded with a big smile: "President Liu, what a coincidence, you are also one of the first to enter?"
Liu Zhiyan waved his hand and asked Sun Shan to come over.
Sun Shan led his family and friends over, and President Liu introduced his friends to Sun Shan.
But judging from his accent, he should not be from Guangnan.
After everyone bowed to each other, greeted each other, and introduced their names, they officially started chatting.
Anyway, I'm free anyway, and time will pass by if I don't chat.
Chairman Liu's friend Jia Shen said mysteriously, "Do you know? There are too many people in this exam and there are not enough examination halls."
I know that there are too many people, I know that there are not enough examination rooms, but why do you say it in such a mysterious tone? This is a fact that everyone knows.
If there are not enough examination halls, just build one.
The Ministry of Rites should have planned this matter early on.
President Liu's friend B then said mysteriously: "I heard, I heard, because there are so many extra people, they need to build a temporary examination hall."
Sun Shan and Liu Zhiyan nodded repeatedly to show their agreement with this statement.
Chairman Liu's friend C then said mysteriously, "I have a relative who works in the Ministry of Rites. It is said that the temporary examination room built this time is made of wood. Tsk tsk, according to him, it leaks everywhere."
After a pause, he continued, "Actually, it doesn't matter if there's air leaking. What I fear the most is rain. Tsk tsk, rain in the middle of winter will not only freeze people silly, but it may also soak the examinees' papers. Tsk tsk, if you're drawn to a makeshift examination room, you'll be in big trouble."
President Liu's friend Ding rolled his eyes and looked around. When he found that no one was looking at him, he whispered, "Haha, this is not the worst. The worst thing is to get the stinky number in the makeshift examination room. That's the worst."
Ding couldn't help trembling when he said this, fearing that he would become such an unlucky candidate.
Speaking of stinky trumpet, Sun Shan felt nauseous.
Thinking back to the time when I took the provincial examination, I spent nine whole days next to a toilet. It was a life-or-death experience and I never want to recall it for the rest of my life.
Of course, this is not the worst. When Sun Shan was poisoned by porcupine, he...
Thinking of this, Sun Shan quickly took out a candy from his pocket and put it in his mouth. The faint smell of shit was then filled with the aroma of milk.
Everyone stared with wide eyes, watching Sun Shan eat the candy with curiosity.
I was thinking: Why did Mr. Sun eat candy when we were all talking? And if he wanted to eat candy, why did he eat it himself and not give it to them?
It's hard to gain weight by eating alone. No wonder you look like a skinny monkey.
Sun Shan doesn't want to eat alone.
This candy was given to Sun Shan yesterday when Jiujin knew that he was going to take the imperial examination, so he ran over and gave him a candy specifically for him to take into the examination room and eat.
Because every time he had an exam, Jiujin would think about eating candy if he couldn’t answer the questions.
Jiujin thought Sun Shan was the same as him, so he generously took out a candy from a jar and gave it to Sun Shan.
The corner of Sun Shan's mouth twitched. Jiujin was really stingy. He only gave him one candy out of so many.
Don’t miss it, the free candy will naturally go into your pocket, even if it’s only a drop in the ocean.
Back to the topic, speaking of bad numbers, Sun Shan is not worried about them.
I got caught the first two times, and I’m confident that I won’t get caught this time.
Even if you are so unlucky that even drinking water can make your teeth ache, getting a bad number is still not worse than failing the provincial examination.
The capital city is still quite cold in February, so the smell of the stinking horn is not very strong.
In any case, there will not be the stench of the provincial examinations.
But after what the whistleblower Ding said, Sun Shan became afraid again. The thought of the stinking horn in the rain made him feel desperate.
Sun Shan looked up at the night sky again. It was clear and pure, with brilliant stars. It must be a sunny day.