Traveling through ancient times: living a different life

In the county town, they contacted the escort agency to the prefectural city. The next day, the five of them followed the convoy to the prefectural city. Lü Gensheng drove the car, and the four of them sat in the car. There were also small teams of five people along the way, and some people hired a mule cart together. Most of them were scholars going to take the imperial examination, and there were also single families returning to the prefectural city with servants.

Fortunately, this road has been relatively safe in recent years and there has been no banditry, which is a blessing.

After three days of stopping and walking along the way, they arrived at the provincial capital and lived in the small courtyard where they had lived when they took the exam for the scholar. A couple in their 35s opened the door. When they saw the visitor, they knew he was the master's student, and welcomed him in with smiles on their faces. Lu Gensheng led the carriage to the stable, the man arranged accommodation, and the woman went to make lunch.

The man said to his grandparents, "Mr. Zhu Zheng and his wife went to the winery in Beijing. My son works in the capital. The master is considerate of us and let our family work here. A while ago, the master wrote to us and asked us to follow your family's instructions."

"We'll just cook our own meals, just like we did three years ago, and be your neighbors."

Seeing that grandpa was so persistent, the couple agreed.

"My name is Zhu Gang, and my wife is Xia. If you have anything to say, please don't hesitate to tell us."

"Thank you both. Just make something casual for lunch, and we'll go buy some food, meat, and vegetables this afternoon."

"Ok."

Biyue went to her fourth uncle's room and saw him take out a package of study materials from a bamboo box and put them neatly on the desk. Lu Gensheng was making the bed and tidying up the room.

When Bi Yue came in, Lu Gensheng greeted her: "Hello, Miss."

Bi Yue responded with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work."

He turned around and asked his fourth uncle: "How many days will the candidates stay in the examination room this time?"

"Six and a half days. If you don't hand in your paper before noon on the seventh day, it will be forfeited."

Bi Yue recalled the novels she had read in her previous life. It said that the ancient Chinese imperial examination lasted nine days, and eating, drinking, defecating and urinating were all done in there. Here, it only takes six and a half days. It is autumn now, and it is cold in the morning and evening. Staying in there for so many days is also a test of a scholar's physical fitness and perseverance. Fourth Uncle has practiced martial arts for so many years, from elementary to intermediate level, his body must be very good. With the spiritual spring water, he should be able to easily survive a week.

"Uncle, let's do some fighting in your yard to check how your Kung Fu has improved over the years."

"Okay! Yueyue."

When Lu Gensheng heard this, he also came out to watch the uncle and nephew compete.

The two came to the yard and started to compete with each other. Bi Yue had just started to practice advanced martial arts, but today, in order to verify each other's martial arts, they both used intermediate skills.

The two fought back and forth, evenly matched. Fourth Uncle took advantage of his height and pressed forward step by step, but Bi Yue was not afraid or discouraged. She used her own strength to block Fourth Uncle's attacks. The two fought for more than twenty rounds. Bi Yue made a feint and used the strength of her feet to kick Fourth Uncle's lower body. He couldn't dodge and was knocked to the ground. Fourth Uncle cried out "Ouch!" Bi Yue and Lu Gensheng hurried over to help him up. The exam was about to start, and it would be troublesome if he got hurt.

Bi Yue asked: "Are you injured? It's serious."

"It's okay, I just lost my balance and fell to the ground. Yueyue, you are so strong! I heard Tingsong say that before, but I didn't believe it. Now I really see it."

"If Fourth Uncle wants to become stronger, I have a way."

"Let's talk about it later!"

With the servant boy beside them, some things were hard to say, but the uncle and nephew knew it well.

Lu Gensheng also practiced with his fourth uncle all his life, and from being unfamiliar with the technique to being proficient, he can now easily deal with one or two people.

After the two of them finished the demonstration, they went to the kitchen with Lu Gensheng to get some water to wash their hands. It was almost time for lunch.

On the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, after packing up early in the morning, Lu Gensheng drove the carriage. Grandpa and grandma, Biyue, and fourth uncle sat in the carriage to send Qinghui to the Imperial College for the examination.

Just like last time, Bi Yue accompanied her fourth uncle in line. Only after seeing her fourth uncle enter safely did she drive the carriage back with her grandparents and the servant.

After a week of waiting, at eight o'clock in the morning on the seventh day, Grandpa and Grandma, Biyue and the servant drove a horse-drawn carriage and waited for Qinghui to come out opposite the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall.

In order to get up early, the four of them did not have time to have breakfast. Biyue took out bread from the locker and handed two to Lu Gensheng. The three of them ate bread and milk in the carriage, but their eyes were looking at the gate through the window.

There were a lot of people waiting outside. The gate was not opened until 8:30, and scholars began to come out. After several days of suffering, some of them collapsed as soon as they came out, while others were staggering, their clothes were in disarray, and they looked very haggard.

At nine o'clock, Qinghui came out with a backpack on his back, walking steadily. Grandpa and Lu Gensheng walked over, and the servant took the backpack. Grandpa went over and took his son's hand, leading him to the carriage. Grandma said, "You must be tired, Si'er."

Grandpa said, "Go home first! We'll talk about it when we get home."

The five of them drove back in the carriage. The couple at home had prepared bath water, made some light millet porridge, and boiled a few eggs. Grandpa and grandma let Qinghui eat a bowl of food, then take a bath and then go to sleep.

He didn't get up until noon the next day, and his head was still dizzy. Lu Gensheng brought him a bowl of hot water and asked him to drink a few sips. He felt a little more awake, got up, dressed, cleaned up, washed up, and went to the cafeteria to have a hearty lunch.

I plan to stay one more day tomorrow to buy some things, and go back the day after tomorrow. I have already contacted the escort agency.

The day after tomorrow, several people followed the escort agency's convoy back to the county town smoothly, rested here for two days before going back.

After returning to the house in the county, Qinghui went back to his room to prepare to memorize all the questions for the six-day exam. At noon, Biyue didn't see Fourth Uncle and Shutong coming out for lunch, so Grandma asked her to go to the room to call them. When she got there, she saw him writing the test paper on the desk. She picked it up and looked at it. The handwriting was strong and powerful, and the Song style was very beautiful, very neat and clean. I don't know how long he has practiced this handwriting.

In the afternoon, my fourth uncle was doing dictation again, and it took him a whole day to finish it. The next morning, he took the dictation test paper and went to the academy with Lu Gensheng.

Bi Yue knew that he must be going to see Chief Zhu.

After lunch at noon, the five of them said goodbye to Old Man Tian and drove back to the village in a horse-drawn carriage. Ten days later, a group of people and horses walked into the village. The three people in front rode tall horses, holding colorful flags and banners in their hands, and the servants behind them fired cannons and played music all the way. When the villagers saw this scene, they all put down their work and ran to Chen's house. The messenger came to the gate of Chen's house. The whole family, young and old, heard the voice and opened the gate. Grandpa, grandma and the three brothers welcomed the messenger. There were also crowds of people outside the Chen's house. The messenger read loudly: "Good news, your family's Chen Huiqinghui passed the Ning'an County provincial examination and won the first place. The Beijing newspaper was listed in the yellow class. Congratulations to Mr. Chen, congratulations to Mr. Chen."

Qinghui knew he had won the exam, but he didn't expect to be the first. He picked up the good news excitedly and was overjoyed.

The whole family was also happy to reward the person who brought the good news, giving each person a big red envelope, 10 taels each for the three people on horseback, and 5 taels each for the people behind. They also picked up a basket of copper coins and a basket of sugar cakes and fruit candies, and threw them to the villagers outside the door. There was a scramble outside, and it was very lively.

The person who delivered the good news drank a cup of tea, took the red envelope, and left happily.

The whole family is immersed in this joy and will have another big banquet tomorrow.