Fortunate Young Gentleman

Chapter 64 of the main text of the Ruyi Young Man: The wise son-in-law of the Zhong family cannot be known to others even if he is really a beast, let alone that he is not.

"I was sitting in the dormitory and when I got the test papers, I felt like I had read these questions somewhere before, and then I remembered a lot of things..."

Tangning was surrounded by several people, like a criminal confessing the facts of a crime.

Zhong Mingli looked at him and asked, "Have you remembered everything you learned before?"

Tangning shook her head and said, "Not entirely. I did recall a lot of the books I had read, but I still didn't recall much about the choice of words and writing..."

Zhong Mingli thought for a while and comforted him: "Don't worry too much about this matter. The strategy and discussion have been organized for many years, so just follow the steps. You can finish the poetry test with peace of mind tomorrow. There are still two days to prepare for the strategy and discussion..."

In the first game of the state examination, 5,000 people were eliminated to 1,500 people, which was also the game with the largest number of people eliminated.

This is to examine the candidates' accumulation and background, and it must not be false in the slightest. The purpose is to screen out those who only know how to take advantage of opportunities and do not have a solid foundation.

Policy essays and poems and poems are among these people to screen out some talents with talent and ability to govern the country. Among them, only about 500 people are eliminated in the poem and poem section. The important thing is policy essays, which has always been an important part of the imperial examination. The most important thing is Tangning's shortcomings.

Although until now, he is still unwilling to enter the officialdom, but now he is being pushed to the shelf, and everyone's expectations are condensed on him. If it doesn't work, he can still bite the bullet...

Before that, he had to pass the next poem.

Before Tang Yaoyao left, she warned: "You must keep the peace charm I gave you close to you, it will bless you."

The peace talisman given to him by Fairy Tang was a small wooden plaque with a very smooth surface and a good feel to the touch. It looked a bit old.

When he entered the venue for the first time, the officer who was inspected checked it over and over many times to make sure it was not something cheating before he was allowed to bring it in.

Before Su Ru left, she asked with a smile: "Brother Xiao Ning, what do you want to eat? I will prepare it and deliver it to you tomorrow morning."

Tangning thought for a while and said, "Just the same as last time."

Every state exam starts at Chen time, which is about seven o'clock in the morning.

Before seven o'clock, you have to rush to Gongyuan and undergo examination. When the gong rings at seven o'clock, all the candidates are already sitting in the examination room.

This means that Tangning has to get up at five o'clock, and Xiaoru has to get up even earlier if she wants to help him cook.

However, Tangning did not refuse. He could feel Xiaoru's happiness from the bottom of his heart and would not stop her.

Tomorrow's exam won't be a big problem, but Tangning also needs to prepare. He needs to know what to take and how to take it, otherwise something like the last exam will happen.

If he had known that those questions could be optional, he would have read less books. Those law books were long and boring, and he had to suppress his nausea before reading them...

He knocked on Zhong Yi's door. When Zhong Yi opened the door, he was still holding a poetry album in his hand. He looked at him and said in surprise: "It's so late, you..."

Tangning thought for a while and said, "I have a few questions to ask you..."

"Come in first." Zhong Yi closed the door, poured him a cup of tea, and then asked, "What's the matter?"

Tang Ning thought for a moment and asked, "What will be tested in the second round of poetry and poetry in the state examination, and how will it be tested?"

Zhong Yi was stunned for a moment, then she looked into his eyes and asked, "You answered all the questions in the first session. Isn't it because you didn't know that you don't have to finish the questions in the first session?"

"..."

"How could it be..." Tangning waved her hand, smiled awkwardly, and said, "It's because the exam took too long and I was bored. I didn't have anything else to do except answer questions. Who knew that I would finish writing as soon as I wrote... "

Zhong Yi looked at her.

Tangning met her eyes and sighed for a long time, "Okay, I admit that I don't know..."

Zhong Yi looked at him with a complicated look and did not continue the topic. She shook her head and said: "The poems in the second scene have two titles. It may be one poem and one word, or it may be one poem and one word." Fu, or one word for each poem... In recent years, most of the scientific examinations are one poem for one word..."

The literature of this era was greatly influenced by Tang poetry and Song poetry, and it has not yet formed a unique literature of its own era.

Therefore, poetry was also favored in imperial examinations.

"As expected, the first question is poetry. Both five-character and seven-character rhymes are possible... If you are testing lyrics, you will be given word markers and just fill in the lyrics according to the tune..." Zhong Yi took out a book from the bookshelf, He handed it to Tang Ning and said, "This contains some of the best poems that have appeared in scientific examinations over the past few years. Take a look first..."

Tangning flipped through it casually and roughly understood.

The style of the second question is varied, but the essence is still writing poems and lyrics. As long as the rhythm and melody are good and the political leanings are correct, there usually won't be a big problem.

"It would be great if you could take this second exam instead of me." Tangning shook her head and sighed, "She is the most talented woman in Lingzhou. Who can compare to her in writing poems and lyrics?"

Zhong Yi looked at him and said, "The most talented woman in Lingzhou can't compare to you. The first person in the state examination for more than ten years..."

Zhong Yi is really different now than before. She is not reserved at all. She can do this in business without blushing...

Tomorrow's exam was probably clear. After teasing the most talented girl for a while, Tang Ning went back to her room to rest.

After he left, a window in the room on the other side of the courtyard was slowly closed.

Zhong Mingli hummed an unknown tune, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Chen Yuxian looked at him and shook her head, saying, "It was Ning'er who got the first place in the exam, not you, so why are you so proud?"

Zhong Mingli looked at her and said dissatisfiedly, "I am happy because I remembered the state exam that year and the past events I took at that time..."

Chen Yuxian curled her lips and said, "What do you have to remember? You failed the first two times. What is there to be happy about?"

"..."

...

September 12, the second state exam.

The chief examiner and co-examiner of the state exam are mostly transferred officials from Beijing or officials from other states. Local officials of Lingzhou cannot serve as examiners, but they also have to do some things such as invigilating and maintaining discipline in the exam room.

In the Imperial Academy, Zhong Mingli finished inspecting the exam room and came to a small building for inspecting officials to rest.

"Master Zhong..."

In the small building, many officials took a break and bowed to him.

An official looked at Zhong Mingli and asked in surprise: "Master Zhong, it is said that the candidate who answered all the questions correctly in the first round is Master Zhong's virtuous son-in-law. I wonder if this is true or false?"

Zhong Mingli stroked the short beard on his chin and smiled: "It is indeed my son-in-law."

"Great, great..."

"My Chen State has not produced such a talent for more than ten years..."

"I didn't expect that Master Zhong would have such a virtuous son-in-law..."

"Congratulations, Master Zhong..."

...

After the provincial examination, the local officials of Lingzhou will hold a Luming Banquet and invite these examiners from Kyoto and the students who have passed the provincial examination. This is a tradition for hundreds of years.

This is one of the few opportunities for them to show their faces in front of the officials in Beijing. Since seeing Master Fang's attitude towards Zhong Mingli last time, the local officials of Lingzhou have completely changed their attitude towards him.

In the absence of Governor Dong, they will naturally not be stingy with their kindness to Zhong Mingli.

An official asked with a smile: "Master Zhong must have taught his son-in-law a lot on weekdays, right?"

Zhong Mingli waved his hand and said: "This is all the result of his hard work..."

"He is quite self-aware." Zhao Zhijie sat at the table, took a sip of tea, and said lightly: "I took the state exam three times that year, how could I teach the top candidate in the state exam in more than ten years?"

Zhong Mingli glanced at him and said: "I took the exam twice in a row that year, right?"

Zhao Zhijie put down the teacup, two times are better than three times..."

"The second time you ranked at the bottom of the B list, you almost failed!"

"That's one less than you!"

...

Tang Ning was sitting in the room, and just put away his things when he heard the sound of a gong outside, indicating that the second exam officially began.

Not long after, an officer came over and handed out the test paper and manuscript paper...

He opened the test paper and looked up...