The Pretty Eldest Daughter of a Scholar's Family

Chapter 182 Anecdotes about the End of the Township Examination ([-])

August [-]th is the day when the rural examination ends.

Although he knew that it was impossible for Su Chengzhi to leave the examination room early in the morning, Su Yunduo took Iron Head, Tongshan and Zisu to drive the carriage to meet Su Chengzhi outside the Gongyuan early in the morning.

In fact, ever since Su Chengzhi entered the Gongyuan, Tietou and Tongshan took turns to guard outside the Gongyuan every day, fearing that Su Chengzhi would be too sick to be sent out of the Gongyuan.

Not to mention, except on the first day, except for individual candidates who were disqualified from the imperial examination for life because they were found to be entrained, they were directly sent out of the Gongyuan. Almost every day, a different number of candidates were carried out of the examination room due to lack of energy or illness. There will be more candidates who are carried out in the later period.

Although Su Yunduo didn't go to wait outside the tribute courtyard in person, he carried his heart almost every day until he saw the Iron Head and Tongshan who had been guarding outside the tribute courtyard until sunset and then returned to the other courtyard of Zhen Guogong's mansion, and returned empty-handed. Only then can he breathe a little sigh of relief, these days Su Yunduo can be regarded as gradually getting through in worry and relief.

Su Chengzhi has never been sent out of the examination room, which is enough to show that after more than half a year of conditioning and exercise, his physical fitness can barely support the test of the rural examination.

When Su Yunduo arrived at the Tribute Academy, many people and carriages had already arrived outside the Tribute Academy, and almost everyone waiting outside the Tribute Academy was staring at the closed gate of the Tribute Academy eagerly.

Su Yunduo lifted the curtain of the horse and looked out, with a little anxiety on his face involuntarily.

In the first half of the night yesterday, there was still a full moon hanging high. In the second half of the night, a gust of north wind blew, and it began to rain continuously in autumn. Until now, there is still drizzle in the sky.

Zisu looked up at the somewhat dark sky, then at the closed gate of the Gongyuan, and there were more and more people and carriages, she turned her head and whispered to Su Yunduo, "Miss Su, don't worry, although today is the end of the provincial examination Most of the examinees didn’t leave the examination room so early, and with Mr. Su’s prudence, they might not be able to come out until the afternoon. It’s better to let Tietou and the others guard here, and the servants accompany the girl to the teahouse over there.”

Su Yunduo glanced at the gate of the Gongyuan and the increasingly crowded traffic outside the Gongyuan, Xiumei frowned slightly, and looked in the direction pointed by Zisu, the teahouse was not far from the Gongyuan.

Since the teahouse is opened near the Gongyuan, it is still a three-story teahouse, and there must be private rooms on the second and third floors. I don’t know if it is still possible to face the private rooms of the Gongyuan on the upper floor of the private room of the teahouse.

If you can book a private room, maybe you can see Su Chengzhi coming out of the Gongyuan at a glance than staying here.

The more Su Yunduo thought about it, the more he felt that Zisu's suggestion was worth a try, so he pursed his lips and whispered a few words to Tietou and Tongshan, and took Zisu to the teahouse.

Su Yunduo's luck is not bad, it's also because they came early, there is the last private room on the second floor, although the location is slightly off, sitting by the window and stretching his head, he can see the gate of the Gongyuan at a glance.

Su Yunduo stayed in the teahouse all the time, and only ate two pieces of snacks in the middle. Naturally, it was necessary to send some food and drink to the iron head, copper head in front of the Gongyuan, and the coachmen in other courtyards.

At noon, the sky gradually cleared up, and the moment the sun came out, there happened to be a "squeak" from the Gongyuan.

Xun Sheng saw that the gate of the Tribute Court was opened, and there was a turmoil of people outside the Tribute Court. The people waiting outside the Tribute Court to welcome candidates rushed to the gate of the Tribute Court like a tide, hoping to receive their relatives or masters as soon as possible.

Tietou and Tongshan were naturally not to be outdone. As early as the moment the gate opened, the two of them looked at each other and rushed towards the gate together, hoping to occupy the best terrain, hoping that Su Chengzhi would be able to help him as soon as he came out.

Although Su Yunduo knows that these two people have kung fu, there are too many news reports of the stampede incident in the memory of the previous life. Looking at the crowds of people outside the Gongyuan, Su Yunduo's heart beat suddenly, and he couldn't help but let out an "ah". exclaimed.

If there is a stampede, it will inevitably cast a shadow over the township examination, but what can it do!
In the blink of an eye, two groups of people came out of the tribute courtyard, and the crowd that was originally crowded towards the gate of the tribute courtyard quickly became orderly, and Su Yunduo heaved a long sigh of relief.

It turned out that the prefect and the chief soldier had already made preparations, and each sent a team of troops to maintain order outside the tribute courtyard. There was no human tragedy that Su Yunduo was worried about being trampled by support.

Although the outside of the tribute courtyard still seemed a bit noisy, it was no longer crowded and disorderly. Under the command of the servants and soldiers, there were people standing on both sides of the gate of the tribute courtyard. After searching, Su Yunduo quickly found Tie Tou and Tongshan, although the two of them didn't occupy the best position, they were still in the front of the crowd. As long as Su Chengzhi came out of that position, he could reach Su Chengzhi by taking a few steps forward, which made Su Yunduo feel more at ease.

Soon the candidates carrying or carrying the test baskets staggered out of the Gongyuan one by one, and all of them were unshaven and exhausted.

Some even fell to the ground as soon as they left the tribute courtyard, causing bursts of exclamation.

Most of the candidates who came out were greeted, and the few candidates who were not greeted walked away from the Gongyuan with their test baskets on their backs.

As time went by, the crowd waiting outside the tribute courtyard slowly dispersed and gradually lost their previous noise, but Su Chengzhi was still nowhere to be seen.

Tietou and Tongshan who were waiting outside the Gongyuan stretched their necks to look inside the Gongyuan. Su Yunduo could no longer feel at ease to continue guarding in the teahouse, and hurriedly left the teahouse with Zisu to the gate of the Gongyuan.

Although there were still candidates coming out of the Tribute Academy one after another at this time, the faces of these candidates were obviously paler than those who came out first, and their footsteps were more vain and feeble.

What made Su Yunduo feel even more worried and frightened was that gradually more and more candidates were being framed or carried out by the yamen guards and soldiers. Su Chengzhi wouldn't just pass out in the examination room, right? !
Just when Su Yunduo was wondering and restless, Su Chengzhi finally appeared staggeringly in Su Yunduo's sight.

From a distance, he was seen carrying an exam basket on his back, holding an exam basket in his left hand, and actually supporting an almost fainted examinee with another examinee carrying an exam basket in his right hand.

At this time, there were almost no people in the Gongyuan, and the yamen servants and soldiers who kept order outside were no longer as strict as they were at the beginning. Tietou and Tongshan were let in after only a brief negotiation.

With the help of Tietou and Tongshan, Su Chengzhi finally needed to take care of himself, and the three came out faster.

Su Yunduo couldn't enter the gate of the tribute courtyard, so she and Zisu could only look at Su Chengzhi anxiously.

After supporting Su Chengzhi who was pale but smiling gently at her, for some reason, Su Yunduo's tears flowed down uncontrollably.

"Don't cry, Daddy is fine." The exam basket on Su Chengzhi's back and hand was quickly picked up by Zisu and the driver who drove the carriage, and he stretched out his hand to wipe Su Yunduo's tears, while persuading him gently , with a hoarse and weak voice.

The two candidates who came out with Su Chengzhi also came from Xiushan County, and they were two cousins. Although there were some people standing outside the tribute courtyard to greet them, due to limited conditions, there was only a young servant who did not have a carriage to greet them.

Fortunately, Su Yunduo came here to meet Su Chengzhi, and the steward of the other courtyard specially sent an extra carriage over just in case.

Su Yunduo saw that although Su Chengzhi's face was pale, he was still in good spirits, and he didn't need anyone to stand there. After thinking about it, he quickly asked Tietou and Tongshan to drive the two candidates from Xiushui County to the inn, and they went to the inn by themselves. He took another carriage back to the other courtyard.

(End of this chapter)