Troubled times: Start practicing spiritual practice by taking care of your sister-in-law.

Chapter 537: Spending Money to Buy Peace of Mind

"Duke Anguo?"

Lin Zhong looked at his brother-in-law and asked in confusion, "What's going on?"

"I heard that it was Yi County in Huaizhou that posted the notice for the imperial examination. You can ask Uncle Fu for the details, brother-in-law. He is talking to Uncle Xuan at your house now." Lin Zhong's brother-in-law Wang Zhong said.

The Uncle Xuan he mentioned is the father that Lin Zhong mentioned, Lin Xuan.

"Cousin?"

Lin Zhong must have known this person. His name was Ma Fu, and he was the only traveling merchant in Mawang Village. When he was young, he worked as a handyman for a scholar in the county. He received some elementary education and could recognize some words. Later, he became a traveling merchant.

When the King of Huai still ruled Huaizhou, he often led a mule carrying heavy goods and traveled between Huaizhou and Fengzhou. Occasionally, he would go to the south of the Yangtze River. He was a well-informed person and was the cousin of Lin Zhong's mother, Ma.

It is said that after Lin Zhong settled down in Mawang Village, he received a lot of help from Ma Fu.

As it was about the imperial examination, Lin Zhong did not have the time to chat with Wang Zhonger any more. He even did not completely wash the mud off his feet. He put on his shoes and rushed back home without stopping.

"My dear relative, let me tell you, the notice written in black on yellow paper clearly states that as long as you pass the provincial examination, you can become an official. And I heard from others that the lowest position you can hold is a county magistrate. I think Zhong'er is a smart kid and will definitely pass." Ma Fu said to Lin Xuan.

Although Ma Fu was just a peddler of low status, he had great respect for scholars.

After hearing Ma Fu's solemn promise, Lin Xuan began to take it seriously. Then he asked with some doubt: "Didn't the imperial decree issued by the court some time ago say that we should go to Luonan to participate in the provincial examination? What's the situation now?"

"I don't know much about this kind of important person's affairs, but when I came back, I heard an old gentleman say that the Duke of Anguo used to be a hidden dragon in the abyss, waiting for the right time to move, and now the time has come, but I didn't quite understand what he meant, and the old gentleman always played it by the bush. But when Zhong'er comes back, I'll know after asking him."

As he spoke, Ma Fu's smile faded and he said thoughtfully, "I wonder if Zhong'er has neglected his studies in the past few years?"

“Never, never”

As soon as Ma Fu finished speaking, Lin Zhong's voice was heard outside the house. Lin Zhong came jogging to the door of his house. He was a little too tired to run, so he stood there with his back bent, his hands on his knees, and breathing heavily.

"Zhong'er is back." Ma Fu saw Lin Zhong coming back and immediately stood up and walked over with a smile.

"Uncle, what is going on with the imperial examination in Yi County?" Lin Zhong said impatiently.

"Read it yourself." Ma Fu took out a freshly folded piece of white paper from his sleeve and said, "This is the content of the Yi County notice that I specially asked someone to copy. Zhong'er, you are a scholar, and you will definitely understand it better than me after reading it."

Lin Zhong nodded, and after reading it, his hands holding the paper were shaking slightly.

Seeing that Lin Zhong didn't say anything, Lin Xuan and Ma Fu hurriedly asked him what was wrong.

The next second, Lin Zhong knelt down holding the paper and burst into tears of joy: "God will not let me down, God will not let me down!"

"Son, what's wrong with you?" At this time, Ma came in with some corn that had just come out of the pot. Seeing Lin Zhong kneeling on the ground, she asked nervously.

Lin Zhong, who had just vented his inner emotions, saw his mother coming in, and he stood up and hugged Ma, saying with tears in his eyes: "Mother, I am going to take the imperial examination and go to Yi County to apply for the exam."

Two days later, Yi County.

yamen.

"Name?"

"Lin Zhong, the Zhong of the heart."

"age?"

"23." "Where are you from?"

"Mawang Village, Jing County, Fengzhou."

"Okay, the registration has been completed. Here is your certificate. Keep it safe. Go to Huaizhou City on August 8 to take the exam. Don't miss the date." The clerk of the government office handed Lin Zhong's certificate to him and gave him some careful instructions before saying, "Next."

Coming out of the yamen, Lin Zhong felt a little unreal.

It took him less than a quarter of an hour from entering the yamen to leaving, and he completed the examination. This efficiency was so fast that he couldn't believe it.

Ma Fu, who was waiting anxiously outside, saw Lin Zhong coming out. He was immediately shocked and asked, "Zhong'er, why did you come out? But you didn't pass the exam. Did you give the money I gave to the clerk? Or did he think it was too little?"

As a traveling merchant, Ma Fu knew the character of the officials in the yamen. For this reason, before Lin Zhong entered the yamen, Ma Fu gave Lin Zhong one or two taels of silver and asked him to bribe the minor official to avoid making things difficult for him.

Lin Zhong shook his head: "Uncle, I didn't give any money. As soon as I entered, he asked me my name and age, and then said that I passed the exam."

As he said this, he showed his certificate to Ma Fu.

Hearing this, Ma Fu widened his eyes in surprise, as if he couldn't believe the truth of what he heard, and asked, "Could it be that the government is fooling us?"

"It shouldn't be. When I went in just now, I saw that the previous candidate had the same certificate as us." Lin Zhong said.

“That went really smoothly.”

It was going too smoothly, which made Ma Fu feel something was wrong.

So the two of them waited until the yamen was closed, and when they saw the clerk who had registered during the day coming out of the yamen, they ran over immediately.

At this time, the two discovered that there were quite a few people who had the same goal as them.

More than a dozen people surrounded the clerk in an instant. The clerk was frightened, thinking he had encountered a thief. He was also shocked in his heart that the thief was too bold to commit a crime in front of the yamen.

But they handed a pile of white change to him, calling him "an adult" one by one.

After knowing the reason, the clerk was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

These people gave him money just to get him to tell the truth. The reason was that they were worried because his application went too smoothly during the day.

To be honest, the clerk was quite tempted by the huge amount of silver. If it was done in private, he would have accepted it. But with so many people watching and coming and going, how could he dare not accept it?

He snorted coldly, tossed his robe, and said, "Who do you think I am? The notice posted in front of the government office clearly states everything in black on yellow paper. Even what happened during the day cannot be false. Since you have already passed the exam, you should go back and review your lessons and strive to pass the exam in August."

After saying that, the clerk snorted again and left.

When they arrived at a deserted place, the clerk immediately showed an expression of pain. At the same time, he felt that his behavior of treating money as dirt was so cool.

Afterwards, he went home humming a little tune happily.

After Lin Zhong and Ma Fu returned to Mawang Village, they were still a little worried and finally decided to go to Huaizhou City.

As for the travel expenses, Ma Fu said he would pay for it himself.

Lin Zhong was quite moved, and secretly made up his mind that if he really applied for the exam and passed the exam in the future, he would definitely repay his cousin.

(End of this chapter)