Painter

Chapter 213 62: Spring Test
A conversation in the Qianyuan Academy was covered under the lights of the Shangyuan Festival.For the people of Yujing, the upcoming spring test is a spectacle for young talents from the entire Dayong Kingdom to show off their feathers.In the eyes of the examinees, this spring test is the stage of making steady progress and attaining Taoism and longevity.But in the eyes of Qianyuan Xuegong, this is a contest between the rich and powerful in Yujing, even saints, and Buddhism and Taoism.

As time goes by, the closer the spring test is, the more talented and beautiful people appear more frequently. Among the figures walking between the palace and the Yunqiao Feilou, apart from the beautiful hairpins and tassels, the number of pockets of the soldiers of the guards is also obvious. .

Li Chan became famous for a book of ghosts and legends, but the closer the spring examination, the more lively things in Yujing City, after being disturbed by booksellers from various workshops, life in the garden gradually became dull down.In addition to practicing, Li Chan is studying to prepare for the exam, and discussing knowledge with Mai Wang, Bai Weizhi and others.Occasionally set up the chessboard, take out the chess pieces given by Li Guanqi, and play a game with others.

In the garden of Guangzhaifang, the spring grass is gradually deepening, the narcissus in the pond, the mountain guest and Ditang in the garden are gradually blooming.If the garden was still in disuse last winter, it is now a thriving scene.The money sent by the two major bookstores in Yujing City made the family who was not well-off much richer, and the monsters finally didn't have to continue to cut down on food and clothing to make ends meet.Sao Qingniang bought five bolts of silk cloth, put red medicine on them, and bought two new clothes for the monsters in the house who could transform into human shapes.It wasn't until February [-]nd, the day of the Spring Festival, that they stopped sewing and went to the forest with lush cherry blossoms in the eastern suburbs to join in the fun and watch people play the piano and drums.And Li Chan had an official position on him, and although he hadn't performed his duties a few times, he was also called to the Sheji Altar to share meat and drink with the officials of Yujing City.

In the past four days of Spring Society, the spring water in Longyou Tangli, northwest of Yujing, boiled.Every time there is a waking insect, Longyou Tang will always have this vision. As expected, the spring thunder rang that night, accompanied by a heavy rain, washing away the last bit of snow in the city.By the time the sun cleared, the weather would have completely warmed up.

Li Chan has since changed into a spring shirt.

On the second day of the vernal equinox, he received a notice from the Ministry of Rites, and together with the 390 people who participated in the spring examination of the Qianyuan Academy, he gathered at Jingfengmen, and was taken to the northeast corner of the imperial city by the eunuchs.Longyuan Pavilion is here, and there are 31 portraits of Qianyuan Xuegong University scholars of various generations hanging in the pavilion, most of whom have made great achievements in the evil and troubled times of the past.

Outside the Longyuan Pavilion, Yuan Shuo, the sacrificial wine of the Qianyuan Academy, personally distributed the wine to the crowd.When everyone crossed their hands and bowed to the Tonglou to salute, Tai Leju beat the drum.After the ceremony, the musician played a song "An Shi Le", and everyone joined in singing.

Yuan Shuo was old and frail, with a hoarse voice, but he could hear even the farthest people clearly.Practitioners' practices are almost destined to disturb the vitality of the world. Li Chan observed carefully, but he couldn't see any signs of this sacrificial wine displaying his supernatural powers.I secretly thought in my heart, such a clever and clumsy method, I am afraid that I have broken the realm of knowledge and entered the Tao.

Yuan Shuo sang at the front, followed by everyone.In recent months, although these young people have been frequently seen at various gatherings in Yujing City, they generally know each other, but this is the first time that they have gathered together without missing a beat.Even though the ceremony was not a place for competition, everyone also competed secretly. 400 people sang in unison, and the sound shook the sky. Even the people outside the imperial city could faintly hear it, and they all felt the majestic atmosphere.

The ceremony at Longyuan Pavilion was the signal for the spring examination of Qianyuan Academy to begin.

Li Chan is used to wandering and wandering, and he is a temperament that goes with the situation. Although he wants to enter the Qianyuan Academy, he has no obsession to become a benevolent person if he succeeds. Because of this, when other people are busy visiting officials and dignitaries, he can be at ease. .But as the garden in Guangzhaifang was tidied up to look decent, the life of the monsters became more and more orderly. Li Chan also got used to the life in Yujing City. Knowing the names of the neighbors, he could I said hello to the old man who sells tofu and the man who sells apricot flower every day in the alley.One day, after returning from Lantai, he overlooked his own house on the cloud bridge. When he thought of the days when he lived in no fixed place, he felt as if he had passed away.

Perhaps it was because of nostalgia for this peaceful and comfortable life. A few days before the spring test, Li Chan became very nervous. She planned to read the scriptures again, but she couldn't calm down.He went out to find Bai Weizhi to discuss the article, and when he arrived at the Taoist temple where Bai Weizhi lived, he learned that the crane in Lingqiu had gone out to enjoy the flowers.I also heard that peach blossoms were blooming at the foot of Duling Mountain in the western suburbs, so I simply put down the scrolls, took the monsters, and went out to the west gate of Yujing for an outing.

It was still early spring, and the so-called peach blossoms were blooming. There were only a few sporadic branches, and they budded early without accumulating much vitality.It is not as famous as the peach blossoms in Xuandu, and it is not yet in flowering period, very thin and thin, but it somehow evokes a sense of intimacy from thousands of miles away, and then reminds Li Chan of his experience in Xuandu last spring .

Taking a step back and thinking about it, even if he couldn't enter the Qianyuan Academy, the situation would not be worse than before, and he felt a lot relieved.

……

After the rain, the first morning after the rain stopped, the darkness was filled with undispelled moisture.The sky has not yet appeared, and Xiaoyue is still hanging in the sky.There was a rustling sound in Li Zhai's bedroom, it was the sound of clothes rubbing against the bedding when turning over.The voice repeated for about half an hour, and finally stopped.The person on the bed stopped tossing and turning, but did not sleep soundly. Instead, he stood up against the edge of the bed and cleared his throat.

The room was suddenly lit up, and a multicolored rooster holding a candle stood alone in front of the table.Li Chan squinted for a while under the candlelight, yawned, took a willow branch from the water bottle, and walked to the window while chewing.His movements are very light, but his breathing is more obvious than his steps.

Today is the day of Qianyuan Academy's Spring Examination, but he slept without dreams all night, but woke up extraordinarily early.Opening the window to see the sky, the sound of the donkey pulling the millstone was faintly heard from Cangmi's tofu workshop, which caused the black donkey who was sleeping soundly in the trough to occasionally snort twice.Seeing that it was still a while before dawn, Li Chan rubbed her stomach, remembering that there should be some pancakes left in the kitchen last night, and left the bedroom.Pushing open the door, there is a hidden light in the west room.Just two steps past, Chi Yasha's husky voice came from the wall: "Ah Lang got up so early?
"I'm full of sleep." Li Chan spat out some willow twigs.

Qing Yasha's voice came from the roof: "Let's just say don't go to the room, Mr. Snow Lion wants to climb the tiles, and now I woke up Alang..."

"No such thing." Li Chan smiled, "Why didn't you sleep?"

On the top of the chess pavilion with sharp corners, the white fox was swallowing a thin ray of moonlight. He turned his head to look down, jumped down, turned into a human form, and said faintly: "Alang is a human being. We are used to sleeping at night. But we are used to being nocturnal by birth. It’s just that with some Taoism, we are also energetic during the day.”

Xu Da said, "Madam Fox Immortal is a straightforward person, why is she so awkward tonight? We are worried about Alang, we can't sleep at night, we can't sleep at night. Why did Alang wake up so early today?"

"After all, it's a big event. If you don't worry at all, it's not so much calm as it is that you don't care about it." The red paper-cut fell, and Sao Qingniang appeared under the window, and said softly: "Speaking of it, Shaolang must have been somewhat nervous when he was invited to the Qingque Palace to take the school exam at Fuyu Mountain."

Mr. Bi also appeared on the side, and said with a smile: "When you enter the Qianyuan Academy, you will be able to be your own in the future."

Li Chan looked around all the monsters, it turned out that he was not the only one who couldn't sleep well, the whole family of monsters were awake.He was a little moved in his heart, and said with a smile: "Isn't it now that you are alone?"

Mr. Bi shook his head, "Now you are just a rootless weed. Take Xiyishan as an example, you managed to kill a Hong Yixuan with all your deliberations, and when you met Wu Quexie who was stronger than him, you could only run away in a hurry. Yes." He paused here for a while, and said seriously: "If a practitioner who knows the realm wants your life, you alone will not even have a chance to escape."

"Entered Qianyuan Academy." Mr. Bi patted Li Chan on the shoulder, "You have a foothold."

……

Waking up in the middle of the night was a bit nerve-wracking, but with the company of monsters, Li Chan also dispelled the last trace of nervousness in her heart.Hongyao mixed a plate of tranquilizing incense, and as the incense characters turned to ashes, the dawn of the moon gradually set, and the sky gradually brightened.

Although the gods cannot be worshiped in this monster house, the monsters got three god statues from nowhere.

Every exam, the Confucian children of Dayong Kingdom worship Wenchangxing, the Taoist priests worship Kuixing, and the monks worship Manjusri.As for Li Chan, the three religions merged and put a stick of incense on each of the three statues.It was almost time, so I put on a straight gown, rode a black donkey, and left Guangzhaifang. I don't know if the three great gods have a sense of their own, whether they will bless or punish them.

The black donkey crossed the streets and alleys, and arrived at the Gongyuan in the southeast of Yujing City just after the first day of the morning.

The Gongyuan was originally the examination place of the imperial examination, which contributed talents from all over the world to the saints. The first three examinations of Qianyuan Academy were also held here.No noise is allowed near the examination room, but how can the onlookers and the nearly [-] candidates hold back from talking and discussing.Before the exam, the reputation accumulated by the examinees is completely different. The famous people who have risen to fame before have not only been watched by countless pairs of eyes, but also the common people have formed major clubs for them.

The black donkey who was ridiculed outside the Xin Garden before, approached the Gongyuan this time, but received a burst of cheers.Faintly, the cry of "painting fairy" can be heard.

Li Chan subconsciously turned her head and looked at the crowd from a distance, a little surprised in her heart, but her gaze just paused for a while, and then the black donkey was handed over to the officials of the Ministry of Rites and the Second Department of Chongxuan Xuanchan, and after verifying her integrity, she walked into the Gongyuan .

(End of this chapter)