Back to Daming to be a genius

Chapter 32 The Palace Exam Begins

"Young Master, Young Master, Young Master, wake up, wake up quickly." After sleeping like a dead pig for a long time, Young Master Zhang was woken up by Zhang Shitou with a crying voice.Opening his swollen eyes, he saw that it was still dark outside the window, and the still exhausted Young Master Zhang said vaguely, "Don't disturb me, it's still early, let me sleep for a while."

"Master, why are you sleeping?" Zhang Shitou shook Young Master Zhang desperately with tears in his voice, "Today is March [-]th, and it's time for your imperial examination!" Before Zhang Shitou finished speaking, Young Master Zhang was completely sleepless Sitting up, she exclaimed, "Oops, I'm so tired that I forgot all about it! Shitou, touch my forehead and see if I have a high fever?"

"No, young master, I've tried it several times, and you don't have a high fever." Zhang Shitou replied with a sad face.As if being struck by lightning, Young Master Zhang hurriedly touched his forehead, and found that his forehead was ice-cold. Uncomfortable feeling -- but this is not surprising at all, Young Master Zhang is young and strong, after a day of tossing yesterday, he first drank the secret medicinal wine made by Dongchang, and then took a hot bath, and then suddenly fell ill It's really hard.But in this way, our young master Zhang screamed dumbfounded, "Oh my god, what can I do about it—?"

"Master, don't worry." Zhang Shitou comforted: "I've already made inquiries. Candidates for the palace examination must report outside Chengtianmen before [-]:[-]. Decide, do we run now or continue to feign illness?"

"Run away or keep pretending to be sick?" At the moment of life and death, even though Young Master Zhang is usually resourceful, cold sweat can't help but sweat on his forehead at this moment, making it difficult to make a decision.At this time, someone knocked on the door of Young Master Zhang's room, and someone said outside the door: "Tanhuagong, you are going to have a palace test today, and the boss of our inn ordered the young one to bring you breakfast as soon as the light in your room is on." , let you go to the palace examination after eating, may I ask whether you should eat now or not?"

"Send it in." Young Master Zhang hasn't eaten a bite of food since noon yesterday, and he has done so much activity, his stomach is already growling with hunger.The door of the room was pushed open, and a shop boy from Liansheng Inn came in with a wooden tray. There were four dishes, two bowls of rice porridge, and four large steamed buns with refined white flour. Served from the kitchen.Young Master Zhang was very hungry, the waiter rushed up to grab the steamed buns and gnawed on them as soon as he left, and then greeted Zhang Shitou, "Shitou, hurry up and eat something, we can discuss it after we finish eating."

"Thank you, young master, I had supper last night, and I'm not hungry yet, and I can't eat any more." Zhang Shitou shook his head sadly.Young Master Zhang picked up a bowl of rice porridge and took a few more mouthfuls, and said vaguely: "If we can't eat it, we have to eat it. If we decide to run away later, we have to eat enough to have the strength to leave."

"Yes." Zhang Shitou had the strength to run when he was full, and Zhang Shitou thought about the same reason, and was about to pick up a steamed bun.There was another knock on the door of the room, and then the door was pushed open. The white fat middle-aged eunuch who rescued Young Master Zhang in front of Wei Zhongxian's mansion that day led a few young eunuchs in. The young master smiled and said, "Tanhualang, is breakfast already? Eat quickly, Jiuqian has sent someone from our family to pick you up."

"Godfather sent you to pick me up?" Young Master Zhang was a little dumbfounded.The fat eunuch smiled and nodded and replied: "Yes, Nine Thousand Years loves you very much. I am afraid that you will miss the hour because you are too young to sleep, so I will send some people from our family to pick you up, so as not to delay your imperial examination."

"Godfather, you are so kind to me!" Young Master Zhang replied almost crying; the fat eunuch thought our Young Master Zhang was so moved that he was about to cry, so he sighed, "Yes, nine thousand Old Ancestor Sui has several godsons, but when it comes to the person who loves the most, you must be Tanhualang. Okay, I will talk about gossip later, Tanhualang, eat quickly, I don’t know that today’s palace test will be a toss When the time comes, I won’t have enough energy to make papers if I’m full. But don’t drink too much water, or you’ll be in trouble when the time comes.”

"Thank you, Eunuch Song, for your advice." Young Master Zhang remembered that the fat eunuch was called Song Jin, and invited with a wry smile, "Eunuch Song, can you use it too?" The fat eunuch shook his head, and replied, "Thank you Tanhualang, But our family has already eaten it, Tanhualang, you should eat it yourself, it's getting late."

Things have come to this point, people sent by Wei Zhongxian are watching from the sidelines, whether our Young Master Zhang wants to run away or continue to pretend to be sick, it is already impossible.So our young master Zhang had no other choice, so he had to chew the food mechanically while quickly figuring out the countermeasures in his mind. , held down Young Master Zhang's hand to get the third steamed bun, pulled the male duck's voice and said: "Tanhualang, I can't eat any more. If you eat too much, you will also feel anxious. Change your clothes and go." Eunuch Song then ordered to the little eunuch behind him: "You monkey bastards, don't be dumbfounded, and help Tan Hualang change his clothes."

"Eunuch Song, I..." Young Master Zhang originally wanted to delay for a while, but the four eunuchs brought by Eunuch Song quickly picked up the clothes that Young Master Zhang put on the bed, and took care of Young Master Zhang. Change clothes, shoes and socks - there is no way, what they do is to serve others.Eunuch Song eagerly pulled Young Master Zhang up and left, "Tan Hua Lang, let's go, the sedan chair is waiting outside."

"I...I..." The arrow was on the string, and Young Master Zhang didn't know what to say, so he could only tell Zhang Shitou in the room: "Shitou, you are so good at housekeeping, if I don't come back at night, you can arrange it yourself." ...Arranging dinner by yourself." Zhang Shitou, who was also at a loss what to do, nodded blankly, watching Master Zhang being dragged away by Eunuch Song, only one thought remained in his mind, "What should I do? What should I do? The young master was dragged to the palace examination, what should I do?"

"It's over, I really can't explain to the master this time." Thinking of the consequences of the young master Zhang being exposed, Zhang Shitou wanted to cry. The father who was the housekeeper explained.Hesitating for a while, a middle-aged man wearing a brocade and sweater suddenly came in from outside the door, but he was Master Zhang's elder brother Xiao Chuan from the Dongchang Baihu family. Seeing Zhang Shitou standing in the room blankly, Xiao Chuan couldn't help but asked in surprise. Said: "Zhang Shitou, what's wrong with you? Where's your young master?"

"Master Xiao? Why are you here?" Zhang Shitou came back to his senses, and hurriedly explained: "My young master was picked up by someone sent by Jiu Qiansui, and he just left."

"Oh, if I had known that Jiu Qiansui would send someone to pick him up, I wouldn't have come." Xiao Chuan heaved a sigh of relief, and said with a smile, "I was afraid that brother Zhang would miss the time because of his sleepiness, so I came here to pick him up to report to Chengtianmen Unexpectedly, the nine-thousand-year-old man would come first and let me make this trip for nothing, so I didn't even have breakfast."

"Oh, Mr. Xiao, you haven't eaten yet?" Zhang Shitou was deeply influenced by Young Master Zhang's generosity, and greeted him: "That's easy, Mr. Xiao, please sit down for a while, and I'll ask the waiter to prepare breakfast for you. "

"No need, isn't there something ready-made here? I'll just eat these things." Xiao Chuan pointed to the leftovers of Young Master Zhang's food on the table and laughed.Before Zhang Shitou could speak, another person came out of the door, it was the waiter from the inn who brought the food just now. It's a bit cold, let the little one give you some more."

"Alright." Xiao Chuan didn't want to eat the leftovers, so he nodded casually.The waiter was overjoyed, and quickly came over with the wooden tray to remove the vegetables, but at this moment, Xiao Chuan, who was born in Dongchang, had a flash in his mind, and subconsciously pressed the waiter's wrist, scaring the waiter. He screamed in horror, "Guan Ye, what do you want to do?"

"What are you doing? You seemed to be standing outside the door on purpose just now and waiting for the food to be removed?" Xiao Chuan sneered, reached out and lifted the leftover porridge bowl of Young Master Zhang, sniffed it under his nose, and then inserted it with a silver needle. After stirring a few times, I finally dipped my fingers into a little porridge and put it in my mouth to taste.Zhang Shitou next to him looked confused, and asked wonderingly, "Lord Xiao, what are you doing?"

"Slap!" Xiao Chuan didn't answer Zhang Shitou's question, but directly slapped the waiter who was already ashen-faced on the face, knocking out two of his teeth, and kicked the waiter so hard... ………

…………

Let’s not talk about Xiao Chuan’s bullying and beating innocent clerks in the inn. Let’s just say that our Young Master Zhang was forced into the sedan chair by Eunuch Song and carried directly to Chengtian Gate. On the way, our Young Master Zhang wanted to take the opportunity to think about countermeasures, but Young Master Zhang probably was too tired during the day yesterday and did not have enough rest. He leaned on the sedan chair and fell asleep shortly after he got on the sedan chair. Just woke up sleepy.Seeing the appearance of Young Master Zhang, Eunuch Song couldn't help sweating, and reminded: "Tanhualang, you have to cheer up quickly, if you are still like this when you arrive at the Jinluan Hall, it will delay your answer. I'm afraid that Long Live the Emperor will be unhappy."

"Thank you, Eunuch Song, for your guidance." Young Master Zhang shook his head desperately, trying to wake himself up, but his head was as heavy as if it had been filled with lead, and he felt dizzy and heavy.Young Master Zhang couldn't help being a little puzzled, thinking what's wrong with me?The last time I was in Suhuai Hospital, I didn’t sleep well for several nights in a row, and my daily activity was not much less than yesterday’s daytime. How come I’m not so tired?

After blowing the cool morning breeze for a while, Young Master Zhang finally felt a little sober. When he looked around carefully, he found that although the sky was still dark, there were already many people in court clothes standing outside the brightly lit Chengtian Gate. Officials, as well as many Confucian scholars in plain clothes and square scarves, presumably were the third-ranked Jinshi who participated in the palace examination with him, but most of these people were covered in dew, as if they had been waiting here for a long time.At this time, Eunuch Song had already sent someone to register and check the seal for Young Master Zhang, and he came over to Young Master Zhang and said, "Tanhualang, our family has done everything we can for you, and it's time to go to the palace to give orders to the old ancestor. Take care."

"Thank you, Eunuch Song." Young Master Zhang cupped his hands in thanks, yawned again, and then said, "Eunuch Song, it's inconvenient today, I will invite you to drink another day." That Eunuch Song laughed heartily, and repeatedly agreed, "Okay , okay, our family is waiting for Tanhua Lang's wedding wine for your title on the gold list." Young Master Zhang smiled wryly, thinking that the wedding wine will be avoided, and you will be Amitabha if you don't go to the execution ground to drink my beheading wine.

Eunuch Song led the little eunuch away, looking at his shy back as he left, Young Master Zhang suddenly had an idea and said to himself, why am I so stupid?No one was staring at me at this time, why didn't I sneak away and stay here waiting to die?Thinking of this, Young Master Zhang hurriedly pretended to be walking casually, and slipped quietly towards the opposite direction of Chengtianmen. He never thought that two people would stop him before he walked ten steps, and they bowed their hands to Young Master Zhang together and said, "Zhongzheng!" Brother, are you all right?"

"Sun, why are you here to make trouble again?" Young Master Zhang groaned in his heart, and when he looked carefully, he found that these two people were Liu Ruozai, No. He returned the courtesy and said: "Brother Yinping (Liu Ruozai) and Wuzhen (Yu Huang), it's a blessing to the two dear brothers. The younger brother is doing well these few days."

"That's good, that's good." Yu Huang nodded with a smile, and asked enviously: "Brother Zhongzheng, I heard that you have worshiped Eunuch Wei as your father for nine thousand years, is there such a thing?" Young Master Zhang smiled wryly Nodding, Yu Huang was even more envious, and sighed: "Then I have to congratulate Brother Zhongzheng even more. Brother Zhongzheng is a man of great talent, and with the [-]-year-old Eunuch Wei defending him in the court, it's okay if he doesn't have a bright future."

"If you keep pestering me, my future will be over today." Young Master Zhang muttered in his heart, thinking in his stomach, he just wanted to get rid of these two troublesome guys as soon as possible, and hurry up to escape.Liu Ruozai over there said very seriously: "Brother Zhongzheng, I have something that is very harsh to my ears, but I hope that Brother Zhongzheng can accept it. It doesn't matter who Brother Zhongzheng recognizes as his father, but it is a major event for the country to select scholars through the imperial examination. Brother Zhongzheng is the most important It's better not to take chances, take advantage of the situation and do a good job in sage articles, which is the right way for me to wait for the candidates of the palace examination."

"What do you mean? Are you afraid that I will use Wei Zhongxian's influence to snatch your title of champion?" Young Master Zhang was unhappy when he heard it, and was about to yawn and ask Liu Ruozai what he meant when Gu Bingqian asked After a group of cabinet ministers came over, they shouted to Young Master Zhang and the others from a distance: "Candidates for the undergraduate palace examination, line up, line up." Yu Huang and Liu Ruozai didn't dare to neglect, and hurriedly stood in front of all the candidates, and all the candidates also They all lined up under the guidance of Guozijian officials.Young Master Zhang complained in his heart, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go over, and whispered to Gu Bingqian: "Brother, I'm in a hurry, I want to go first for convenience before coming back to line up."

Gu Bingqian was a little embarrassed, looked around first, and then said in a low voice: "Go and come back quickly." Young Master Zhang was overjoyed, and was about to run away, but Gu Bingqian pointed to an official and ordered: "Master Yang, Tanhualang is not familiar with this place. The situation in the area, please take him to the latrine and bring him back, go and come back quickly, don't miss it." Young Master Zhang almost didn't cry when he heard that, so he had to say: "No, I will Don't be in a hurry anymore."

Ever since, in a situation of complete desperation, Young Master Zhang drove the ducks to the shelves, but was forced to be rushed by the officials of the Imperial College to the ranks of examinees, and stood behind Huiyuan Liu Ruozai to accept the test.A while later, when the hour was just around the corner, the bells and drums in Chengtian Gate were beeping, and all civil and military officials and candidates for the palace examination lined up to enter the palace. I can't escape, if I insist on escaping from the team, I'm afraid that the Jin Yiwei on both sides of the line will immediately kill Young Master Zhang as a gang of assassins trying to assassinate the Holy Driver...

"Sun! Fight!" The situation was so pressing that Young Master Zhang had no choice but to make up his mind while yawning, "I will not write a single word in the palace examination later, and I will follow my predecessor Zhang Tiesheng to hand in a blank paper! If the emperor and the old eunuch Wei If I ask the reason, I will find a way to prevaricate it, in short, as long as I flatter more, maybe I can save my head."

(End of this chapter)