Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 279 What is her name?

When Leng Yuchan walked into Xue Bingxin's room carrying the medicine bag, Xue Bingxin had already pulled over a few tables and placed food on them.

Leng Yuchan walked over silently and sat down beside him.

Xue Bingxin rolled her eyes at her and said angrily, "You still have achievements, right? Go wash your hands."

The two picked up their chopsticks and had just taken a few bites when the idle man who was waiting for them came over, holding a large food box in each hand.

When Leng Yuchan heard the noise, she asked him to take her to Xue Bingxin's room.

As the dishes were brought out one by one, Xue Bingxin's eyes widened.

It’s just a home-cooked meal, who wants to eat too much?

Plus, there were only two of them, so they didn’t order much food.

But these two large food boxes can be used to make a sumptuous banquet, and the dishes are all made with extremely expensive ingredients.

"You...you...you are not going to spend so much money?" Xue Bingxin waited for the idler to leave, then scolded Leng Yuchan in a bad mood.

If Leng Yuchan had known before that she was about to become free, she would have proudly told her that this was ordered by Yang Yuan for her, just to piss off this little bitch.

But now she just felt sorry for Xue Bingxin, and was afraid that telling the truth would make her sad.

So, Leng Yuchan hesitated for a moment before saying, "Isn't this... an apology to you?"

Xue Bingxin patted her chest and said generously: "Alright, alright, we are no match for each other. I have such a broad mind, how can I really hold a grudge against you? Really."

While enjoying the delicious food, Xue Bingxin persuaded him earnestly: "Don't spend money so recklessly in the future, save some money.

If you don't want to stay in the palace for long when you are thirty, you will have to live after leaving the palace. Whether you live on your own or get married, it will always be more convenient if you have some money for yourself."

Leng Yuchan felt so sad for her when she heard this that she couldn't help but shed tears.

Xue Bingxin panicked when she saw this, and quickly dropped her chopsticks, came over to hug Leng Yuchan, wiped her tears, and comforted her softly: "Okay, okay, I said you were like a child, how come you really are like a child.

Anyway, we grew up together, I will take care of you. If you stay, I will stay, if you leave, I will leave too.

If you can't find a family you like by then, I will stay with you for the rest of your life. Don't worry if you don't have money, I still have some saved."

After hearing this, Leng Yuchan cried even louder.

Woo woo woo, actually Xue Zhuzhu is not that bad!
But, it would be troublesome for Erlang to get another person out of the palace, right?
How can this be good?

Otherwise, I will put the skills I learned from "Yinianhong" into practice and serve Erlang comfortably in the future. Then I can ask him for help to buy Bingxin a free life. That should... be possible, right?
……

Tonight, Dan Niang and Qing Tang also rushed to Fengweilou.

Tomorrow their husband will take the imperial examination. For them, this is a big event, as solemn as sending their husbands to the battlefield.

Even Mr. Qu came specially and explained to Yang Yuan in detail some of his experiences when he took the imperial examination.

It was only the second drum, but Fengweilou closed for fear of disturbing Yang Yuan's rest.

In fact, Yang Yuan had no desire to sleep at all, but he could not refuse the invitation, so he went back to his room and recited the article again.

Just when he was halfway through reciting the poem, Father Song started yelling from outside: "Why don't you rest yet? What if you can't concentrate on the scientific examination tomorrow?"

Yang Yuan had no choice but to burn the manuscript, which was almost torn apart, with the lamp, and then went to bed to rest.

In the kitchen, Luxi and Danniang were working, and Qingtang was helping them, preparing food for Yang Yuan overnight.

Yang Yuan had to "lock himself in for the exam" for three days. During those three days, he had to stay in that small exam room and couldn't go anywhere.

Food needs to be prepared in advance, so you can only choose foods that are easy to store and not easy to spoil.

But the two girls wanted their husbands to eat as deliciously as possible, so they could only cook delicious food for him in different ways.

……

At dawn the next day, Luxi, Danniang, Qingtang, and Old Man Song all went to see Yang Yuan off.

As we walked along the bluestone alley, neighbors who got up early saw us and offered their sincere blessings.

Studying and learning literature are the most respected things. The news that Yang Yuan is going to take the imperial examination has now spread throughout the entire Qingshi Lane, and every neighbor in the lane is paying attention to it.

Lu Xi and his group hired three large carts just to allow Yang Yuan to walk less and save his strength.

There was a huge crowd of people outside the examination hall in Lin'an Prefecture, with thousands of candidates.

These are still individual students who cannot apply for entrance exams to Imperial College or Imperial Academy.

The number of people who sent them to take the exam was several times that of the students, so that the streets were congested. Even though all the cars and horses had to park outside, it was difficult to squeeze in.

In front of the examination hall, soldiers were on guard and tents were set up on both sides.

All the candidates who were sending themselves to take the exam were stopped here. After their floating tickets were checked, the candidates had to enter the sheds on both sides for inspection.

In the shed, candidates had to take off all their clothes and have their entire bodies checked, including their robes, hats, boots, and study tools. Everything had to be carefully inspected.

Even the pasta and other snacks they brought with them had to be broken open one by one to check whether there was anything contraband inside.

After Yang Yuan said goodbye to Luxi, Danniang and others, he entered the shed for inspection. He actually saw several candidates who were found to have smuggled materials, or candidates whose appearance did not match the records on the "floating tickets" were pulled out and taken away for punishment in a dishevelled state.

It would be easy to deal with if there is cheating. If the cheat sheets are found, then the evidence is solid.

As for those who take the exam under someone else's name, although there is no photo on the ticket and the physical features are recorded very simply, once discovered, the punishment will be extremely severe.

Those who can take the exam for others have all passed the exam and have achieved honors. How much benefit do you have to give them in order for them to give up their honor and future to help you cheat?
Therefore, even if the description is simple, it is not easy to find a person who matches the description.

The appearance of one of the candidates was described as short, thin and beardless.

The person who came to take the exam with the "floating ticket" was not very tall, but very fat. He didn't have a beard, but his stubble was really...

When he was dragged away, he was still shouting that he had just gained too much weight recently...

Yang Yuan took the special channel for candidates taking the "locked hall test", which had relatively fewer candidates.

And because they are officials, they have to try their best to give them some respect during the inspection, so it’s not so bad.

He passed the inspection successfully and entered the examination room, where he was led to the area for candidates taking the "locked-hall examination".

Although they are all small rooms, their area is relatively not cramped and it is quite comfortable to be in.

Yang Yuan found his own room, put away his food and study supplies, put down the small board in front of him, and began to grind gently to calm himself.

Otherwise, if you panic and forget everything you have memorized, you will be doomed.

After all the candidates were in place, the examiner hung up the test questions for the first exam of the day outside the curtain.

Then soldiers holding large signs with test questions written on them began to slowly walk in front of the rows of rooms.

When Yang Yuan took a look at the test questions on the sign, he found that they were exactly the same as the ones he had received, and he couldn't help but feel happy.

He spread out the test paper, picked up the pen and dipped it in ink, concentrated his mind, and then began to write carefully in neat regular script.

This imperial examination was held once a year during the Tang Dynasty, and this rule also continued in the early Song Dynasty.

Later, it was adjusted gradually, and now it has been officially determined to be an examination every three years.

However, the Jinshi examination that was held this year was a special examination that Qin Hui specially found an excuse to ask the emperor to grant in order to push his grandson to become the number one scholar.

Therefore, the major examination held every three years will be held next year. So as long as Yang Yuan passes the "Juzi Examination" this time, he can take part in the "Ministry of Rites Examination" to become a Jinshi in March next year.

Yang Yuan's calligraphy cannot be said to be very good, but fortunately, the people of the Song Dynasty were quite pragmatic in some aspects.

For example, they did not include poetry and songs in the examination content because they felt that these were irrelevant to the knowledge required to govern the country.

The same goes for calligraphy. The Tang Dynasty imperial examinations paid great attention to the beauty of calligraphy, which was a big plus point, but the Song Dynasty had already implemented the "blind name system" and "transcription system".

Not only were the candidates' names covered up on the test papers, but in order to prevent people from making marks on the papers, the papers that the examiners read were all rewritten by clerks and not the candidates' original manuscripts.

Therefore, although there was a saying of "judgement as good as writing" in the Song Dynasty, it was actually not implemented at all in the imperial examinations.

Examiners only look at the content and neatness of the paper. They don't care much about fancy things like calligraphy and poetry.

Therefore, Yang Yuan's regular script is also quite impressive.

……

Early this morning, the Goose King went to the palace to pay his respects to the Queen Mother and the Empress.

As soon as the two palaces saw Zhao Qu, they knew that this guy was a night owl who came into the house without any reason.

If he didn't have something to ask for, he would never have gotten up so early and come to the palace to pay his respects.

However, both palaces liked Zhao Que's casualness very much. Only in this way did they feel that he was a junior of theirs and they began to dote on him.

But Zhao Yuan was too rigid, and the two palaces found him boring.

Of course, Zhao Yu was raised by the queen since he was a child and was more familiar with the queen and the queen mother, which was probably one of the reasons.

Hearing Empress Dowager Wei and Empress Wu teasing him, Zhao Yu was thick-skinned but didn't care, so he said shyly: "Grandma, mother, Yu'er said that you are not allowed to laugh at others."

This guy is also a shrewd one. When asking for help from others, he uses the names that the closest ordinary people use to address grandma and mother.

Empress Dowager Wei smiled and said, "Child, if you have a request, when have I and your mother never agreed to it?"

Queen Wu also laughed and said, "You still have some dignity? Come on, tell me. I know you have something to say."

Zhao Yu pretended to be shy and said, "The one our inner court sent to the Privy Council's speed room... that... ahem, the female official..., I saw her and I liked her very much..."

When Empress Dowager Wei heard this, she laughed and scolded, "I knew you were such a frivolous kid. It really isn't a serious matter."

Zhao Qu said: "How can this not be a serious matter? It is Qu'er's responsibility to expand the royal family."

Empress Wu asked, "What is the name of that lady-in-waiting?"

Zhao Yu was stunned. Huh? I forgot to ask, that Erlang is really unreliable, why didn't you tell me?

Seeing him in a daze, Empress Wu couldn't help but laugh and cry: "You don't even know her name, and you're already attracted to her?"

Empress Wu turned around and told Zhang Quwei, who was waiting beside her, "Go check who the inner court has sent to the speed room."

Zhang Quwei agreed, turned around and slipped away.

Empress Wu said with a smile, "Qiao'er, how is the little cook you brought into the palace? Has she been accepted into your house?"

When Zhao Yu heard this, he said seriously, "Mother, I really just admired the cooking skills of the young cook and wanted to let grandma and mother taste the delicious dishes. I have no personal feelings for her."

Regardless of how true or false his words were, the two palaces still smiled and felt relieved after hearing them.

Zhang Quwei had only been away for a moment when he had found out everything.

He returned to the palace and bowed, saying, "Empress Dowager, Queen, I have already made inquiries.

In the speed room, there are two female officials sent by our inner court, one is Xue Bingxin and the other is Leng Yuchan. "

Queen Wu turned to her son and asked with a smile, "Qiao'er, which girl do you like?"

Zhao Yu stared at his mother with straight eyebrows and eyes, and after a long pause, he asked hesitantly:
"Mother, I like... I like them. Can you give them both to me?"

(End of this chapter)