Be a master through ancient times

After reading the exam papers, Zhang Songnian was a little dumbfounded, and only then did he understand why the double recommendation and five-person joint selection that hadn't been seen for many years happened again today.

It turned out that he did not match the scholar's style of writing.

It is strange to say that since Lu Weixue retired from his old age and returned to his hometown, he has no idea of ​​judging the modern style of writing.

At the beginning, he and Lu Weixue were competing in the same field, because the late emperor liked his writing more, so he was chosen as the number one scholar, and Lu Weixue was the second.

That old stubborn has been unconvinced since then. Every time they meet, the two have to argue, and they often get red-faced and break up unhappy.During the period, the two had their own victories and defeats. Every time he lost in a quarrel, he had to go back and search through ancient books and articles to find out the chance to win, and the same was true for that person.

In the eyes of others, they should be the kind of old and dead.But in fact, when Lu Weixue retired and returned to his hometown, he personally sent him ten miles outside the city.

After he left, Zhang Songnian felt that he had slackened a lot in writing.A few months ago, on a whim, he wrote an "Ode to the Officials and the People". After finishing writing, he suddenly felt that it seemed that modern prose was not without its merits.

……

After the exam, Chu Ci slept peacefully for a whole day and night before getting up.

The nine days and nine nights of the rural examination made him lose at least three to five catties.It can be said to be a weight loss tool.

"Master Chu, are you awake? The master is here to invite you." Seeing Chu Ci come out, Xu Mu immediately stepped forward and said.

"Mister is back?" Chu Ci was overjoyed, he tidied himself up, and then went to the study.

Xu Zheng's official uniform hadn't been taken off yet, and the inspectors had to check all the rooms until the examination room was closed.

"Come here? Have breakfast with me first." On the table in front of Xu Zheng were stacks of side dishes, a basket of buns and two bowls of porridge.Such dishes are very simple for a fifth-rank official.

"Yes." The elder gave it, it was irresistible, and he happened to be hungry too.

After breakfast, Xu Zheng went back to his room and changed into his regular clothes, and then the two went to the study.

"Show me the articles you wrote in the township examination one by one." Xu Zheng pushed a stack of blank papers in front of Chu Ci.

"Yes."

Chu Ci picked up the pen, recalled it for a while, and then began to silently write one by one.There were occasional pauses, but it was all silent within an hour.

When his last word fell, Xu Zheng immediately picked up the last one and read it.

"The spring and autumn questions are well done. If there is no accident, you should be the chief of the Spring and Autumn House." After Xu Zheng finished speaking, he felt that he had spoken too much, and added: "If someone beats you, it will be better than you." No need to be disappointed, you must know that there is a sky beyond the sky, and there are people beyond people. Just work harder in the future."

"I would like to follow Mr.'s instruction." Chu Ci said with a smile. After so many days of busy work, the first thing Mr. came back was to examine his knowledge. How could he be unhappy?

"But, what's the matter with these few articles of yours? Why are they all imitating the style of ancient times?"

"Sir, after thinking about it, I still think it's better to write articles that I am good at. I write my own heart. Only by writing such articles can I move others."

"Aren't you afraid of failing the exam if you don't try to figure out what the chief examiner is thinking?"

"There are some things that need to be adhered to, even if you fail the ranking." Chu Ci said seriously.

Xu Zheng showed a satisfied smile on his face: "This book is just for you to read casually. It is very good that you stick to your heart and don't follow the trend. If you change your writing style during the exam, I won't say much, but It is inevitable that I will be a little disappointed in my heart. I did not pass the provincial examination for the first time because I refused to change my style of writing, which angered the examiner. But I do not regret it. Learn to flatter, and now I am no different from those mediocre people."

"What you said is very true, the students feel ashamed." Chu Ci lamented that there was still some distance between him and the gentlemen in their lofty ideological realm.

Mr. Qin resigned resolutely because he refused to join forces with corrupt officials, and Mr. Xu insisted not to flatter him with literature, which led to his failure.He still needs to work harder.

……

"Brother Chu, now that the provincial examination has passed, we can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Xijiang Province to our heart's content. Today I chartered a painting boat, I wonder if Brother Chu would like to go to Yingyue Lake with us?"

"As long as you want, I dare not ask for your ears."

After several months of stress, Chu Ci was finally able to relax. It happened that Zhang Wenhai and others invited him together, so he naturally would not refuse.

This Yingyue Lake is a good place to go. From time to time, literati and poets recite poems on this boat, and there are many good articles that are well-known.The most wonderful thing is that the young men of Xijiang Province also often go out on a boat, and if they come across a well-written article, they will compose a song and sing it everywhere.It's also a way of getting famous.

"The blue waves are rippling, and the figures are full of people. It is indeed a good place to go."

The lake is so huge that you can't see the edge at a glance.The lake water is clear, and the aquatic plants under the lake water are twisting and twisting with the undercurrent, occasionally swimming past a few small fish, leaving circles of playful ripples.

The painting boat is parked on the shore, which was ordered by Zhang Wenhai a long time ago, and it can accommodate about 30 people to play together.

A group of high-spirited students are swimming on Yingyue Lake, some are playing chess, some are playing the piano, some are sitting at the stern of the boat, closing their eyes and concentrating, fishing like the old man on the river. This scene is very eye-catching.

"Our sisters are from Leyangfang, where are you students from?"

A small boat came slowly, and the one who spoke was a woman with a smile on her mouth. She was not particularly beautiful, but her voice was soft and melodious, very pleasant.

Everyone knew that they had run into the noble ladies from the dance workshop, so they generously revealed their identities, and afterward the two chatted for a few more words before inviting them to board the boat.

There are three women in total above, besides the one who is waving the oars, there are two more, one of them looks a bit lonely with indifference hidden between his brows and eyes, the other looks a little timid with lowered brows and narrowed eyes.

"No need, we were just passing by by chance, and we're going back soon," said the indifferent woman.

"That's it, the girls go slowly." Everyone watched them leave, feeling a little regretful about losing a chance to become famous.

One of the students sneered: "You still think they have something to do? Obviously they came directly to us just now."

"Brother Zhu, listening to your words, you seem to know the reason?"

"It's nothing more than looking down on people like us. The women in their place, don't look like they are clear, in fact, everyone has a pair of trick eyes. I dare say, just what she said just now, she already Find out about our wealth."

"Brother Zhu's words are a bit one-sided. We just met by chance and don't understand anything. Why do you have to speak so harshly of the other girl."

Some people are upset, how rare are talented and beautiful girls, they are so gentle, how can they be the snobbish eyes in his mouth?

"Oh, don't you believe me? If you don't believe me, ask the boatman to follow the boat just now to see if they are going back or looking for another opportunity." The student surnamed Zhu sneered.

"Brother Zhuguang, where do these people come from?" Chu Ci whispered to Fang Jinyang.

"I'm not very familiar with them either. They seem to be friends who live next door to Brother Kuo. They happen to be candidates for this year. We met on the road and came here together."

"I see." Chu Ci nodded, no wonder he couldn't recognize any of those people.Listening to the conversation between those two people just now, this person surnamed Zhu obviously has a story, as for the other person's mind, it is easy to understand.

As the host, Zhang Wenhai naturally wanted to come out to make peace.After a long meal of persuasion, the two calmed down and walked aside.

He smiled wryly in his heart, and he knew that he would not have said it casually. If only they were the original people, the atmosphere would definitely be much more harmonious.It seems that he will have to apologize to Brother Chu and the others in the future, and today spoiled their interest.

The boat sailed towards the other side, where there was a small island on which it is said that many chrysanthemums were planted.Autumn is a good time to appreciate chrysanthemums, so they naturally couldn't miss it.

After mooring the boat on the shore, everyone found that there are many chrysanthemums planted here, red, yellow, pink and white, with different postures.

"There's a pavilion over there, why don't we go there and sit and enjoy the scenery, and by the way, we'll each compose a poem on the subject of chrysanthemums, how about that?"

"good."

Students always like to compete for priority when they are together. Although Chu Ci is present, everyone who knows him knows that he is a hard worker in writing poetry.

Then when they got to the pavilion, they found that a group of people were also coming towards the pavilion.There were also three women among them, the same ones who had just rejected their invitation.

Originally, this was nothing, but there was also Lu Qinjun who quarreled with them last time.Na Lu Qinjun also saw them, and immediately recalled the setback in the champion building.

He squeezed to a person's side, pointed at Chu Ci, and said to the person who was indistinctly the leader: "Brother Shang En, this person is that Chu Ci. A few days ago, he blatantly said that our Guozijian students are not as good as them. It's a county school. It's a pity that I and the other two brothers are not his opponents in terms of words, so we have no choice but to lose."

"Why bother with this kind of person who only punishes his tongue quickly? If you have that time, you might as well read a few more books." Li Shangen said indifferently, his indifference was not because of his broad-mindedness, but because of his high self-esteem.

"Brother Shang En is very right. I don't know if you still remember, who was awarded the virtuous founder plaque in the province this year?"

Li Shangen thought that the plaque was in his pocket, but unexpectedly, it was taken away by an unknown soldier.He didn't look at it when the list was released, so it was him?

"Heh, what's a mere plaque?" He said, but his face turned cold.

Chuci and the others were finishing up their rhymes and were about to compose a poem, when they suddenly saw the group of people who had just stopped walking towards this side again.

"Everyone is composing a poem? You and I are both students of Xijiang Province. Why don't you let us join in and write a poem together?"

Li Shangen said with a smile, but in a tone that could not be refused.

"Are you Brother Li from the Imperial College?" Suddenly one of Chuci and the others yelled: "I have a good friend who studied in the Imperial College, and he said that Brother Li is very talented, and he ranks first in every exam. Today When I saw it, it was really extraordinary!" Li Shangen had a red birthmark on the side of his neck, and this person guessed it based on this.

Chu Ci took a look at the one who farted the rainbow. He was just arguing with the student surnamed Zhu, who seemed to be Gou Tianci.