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

Chapter 655: Dai Ling Arrives
The Palace Examination is the highest level examination in the imperial examination system. For candidates, passing the Palace Examination can allow them to move to a high position and bring honor to their family.

So as the exam started, the candidates were answering the questions seriously. The candidates who could make it to this stage were considered to be outstanding talents in the whole Song Dynasty, so no one would be dazed and fall asleep right away.

Of course, Chen Mo is not the only one supervising the entire huge examination hall, although with his ability, one person is enough.

In addition to Chen Mo, there were six clerks walking back and forth to prevent anyone from cheating.

You know, from ancient times to the present, there have been many cheaters in every imperial examination, and even in the palace examinations, there have been more than one or two cases of cheating.

Of course Chen Mo couldn't let cheaters get away with it. After all, this was the first time he held an imperial examination. If news of cheating came out, it would greatly reduce his credibility.

After sitting quietly for a while, Chen Mo also came down from the upper seat to inspect. He first came to Guo Ning's side, glanced at his test paper, and raised his eyebrows.

This is because the handwriting is not only elegant but also very neat, as if it was printed, without a single typo or correction.

Regardless of whether the other party did the right thing or not, the handwriting and the neatness of the paper alone are pleasing to the eye and give people a good impression.

This reminded Chen Mo of a sentence his teacher often said to him before exams in his previous life.

Paper score.

Put yourself in his shoes. If he were a teacher, he would give more points after seeing such a neat test paper.

In order not to put too much pressure on Guo Ning, Chen Mo just stopped and watched for a while before walking away.

Afterwards, Chen Mo discovered that not only Guo Ning, but most of the candidates present had relatively neat test papers and beautiful handwriting.

This made Chen Mo quite satisfied, after all, these were all his disciples.

As the chief examiner of the palace examination, Chen Mo found it quite interesting at first and was full of interest, looking around.

But after just half an hour, I felt a little bored and sleepy.

Fortunately, at this time, a clerk walked in from outside the hall, came to Chen Mo and whispered in his ear.

The opening ceremony of the Linhuai Money House in the east of the city has been prepared, and they are just waiting for Chen Mo to go and cut the ribbon.

After Chen Mo learned about it, he asked the clerk to call Wei Linchun, who was in charge of the palace examination, so that he could spare time to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

……

Xiangyang’s prosperity and bustle has surpassed that of the capital, with a population of over one million and a strong commercial atmosphere.

As a businessman, he is of course shrewd. Taking advantage of today's palace examination, various restaurants and shops have discounted their goods. Candidates who have taken part in this imperial examination, even those who have failed, can take their registration vouchers and enjoy a half-price discount in the store.

Today's Xiangyang can be described as a carnival for all the people.

Almost all the stores were packed.

And people all love to join in the fun, so the opening of the Linhuai Money House was a grand occasion, surrounded by common people who came to join in the fun. Moreover, these people were all wearing brocade robes and gold and silver jewelry, and it was obvious at first glance that they were not people from the lower class.

"Excuse me, old man, what happened? Why are there so many people around?"

Dai Ling, who had just arrived in Xiangyang, saw so many people gathered in front of him and asked a sturdy man.

"You don't know?" the man asked back.

"To be honest, I am from Cangzhou and just arrived in Xiangyang today." Dai Ling bowed.

Seeing Dai Ling being so polite, the man didn't want to put on airs anymore and told the truth: "I heard that it was the opening of a bank."

Dai Ling didn't understand: "Even if the bank opened, there wouldn't be so many people around, right?"

After all, the opening of a money shop has nothing to do with the lower-class people.

The man smiled, feeling proud that he knew something that others didn't, and immediately boasted, "Do you know the origin of this bank?"

"All ears."

"This bank is the property of the King of Wei. The Xiao family and the Wu family, two of the seven famous families, are involved. I heard that the King of Wei will come to participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony later. Didn't you just come from Cangzhou? Then you are lucky. You can see the King of Wei as soon as you come."

"I see. Thanks for letting me know."

Dai Ling nodded, then turned to Huang Zhaodi and whispered, "Zhaodi, it seems that we are lucky. Not only did we catch up with the palace examination, but we can also meet the King of Wei later."

There was also excitement in Huang Zhaodi's eyes.

"What are your names?" Just as the two were talking in low voices, a thin, bearded man came up and asked.

"My surname is Guo. This is my niece-in-law and her son. We have just arrived in Xiangyang. I wonder if you have any advice for us." Although Dai Ling felt strange about the man who suddenly came to deal with him, as a traveling merchant, he had dealt with many people. When he was out, he always greeted people with a smile and was friendly.

"It's not really about giving you any advice. I just heard that you guys are from Cangzhou, and you obviously haven't found a place to rest yet. And judging from your looks, you must have encountered some difficulties. Do you need any help?" the man said with a smile.

Dai Ling was stunned. If it were someone else, they would definitely think that he had met a kind person, but he had seen a lot of things and knew that there was no good without a reason in this world. Although he was on guard in his heart, he smiled and said, "Brother, please show me the way."

"To be honest, I'm a clerk at the Linhuai Money House. If you're in trouble, you can come to our money house to apply for a loan. The interest rate of our money house is very low. If you repay the loan within a certain period of time, you can enjoy interest-free treatment. Would you like to consider it?" The man said with a smile.

Dai Ling: “…”

Seeing Dai Ling didn't say anything, the man thought he was worried about something, and said with a friendly smile: "Don't worry, brother, our Linhuai Bank is legal and compliant. If you apply for a loan, we will sign a contract and the loan will be issued very quickly. Considering that you are an outsider, we need collateral..."

The man talked a lot in a long-winded manner.

Dai Ling's ears were callused from hearing so much. Although he was indeed short of money and had no place to live, his experience told him that this so-called loan was definitely full of tricks.

Dai Ling had already labeled the man a liar in his heart, but on the surface he still said in a friendly manner: "No, I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave first."

"Brother, don't be anxious. The interest rate of our money bank is really low. If you don't want to borrow money, you can also deposit money in our bank. The interest rate for a three-year fixed deposit is very high. Don't go." said the man.

Seeing Dai Ling and the other two leave without looking back, the man had to change his target.

Although the man's sales method was annoying, through his efforts, the onlookers had a clearer understanding of the bank's loan benefits and deposit interest rates, as well as its convenient policies.

This attracted some people who wanted to do business but had no capital, or those who had a certain amount of money but were afraid of being stolen.

……

"Old man, please tell me where the palace examination will be held." Dai Ling and the other two did not stay there to wait to see the King of Wei. Instead, they came to a stall selling buns and asked.

The vendor told him with a smile.

After the three of them found out the place, they were about to leave, but Dai Feng (Guo Feng) did not move. His eyes stayed on the bun stall for a while.

Huang Zhaodi, who was holding her son's hand, felt quite distressed and looked at Dai Ling.

Dai Ling squatted down in front of Dai Feng, touched his head, and said with a smile: "Xiao Feng, hold on for a while. When you see your father, we will buy whatever you want to eat."

The money he had on the road had been used up long ago, and the food he had was given priority to Huang Zhaodi and her mother. He hadn't eaten for more than two days, so how could he have the money to buy buns for Dai Feng?

Dai Feng was quite sensible and said to Huang Zhaodi: "Mom, I'm not hungry."

At this moment, Huang Zhaodi's eyes were red and she wanted to cry.

"Let's go."

Just as the three were about to leave, the old man selling buns stopped them, took out three buns from the steamer and gave them to the three of them one by one, saying with a smile: "Eat it, it's free. Think of it as a good deed done by me today." Huang Zhaodi couldn't hold back any longer, tears fell from her eyes, and she said to the old man: "Boss, don't worry, I will definitely give you the money."

"What's your name, boss? Do you usually set up your stall here?" Dai Ling asked the old man's name.

"You're welcome. Everyone has difficulties. A few vegetable buns are not worth much money." The old man stroked his beard and said with a smile: "I don't need to call you Liu. You can just call me Old Man Liu. I live behind here."

"No need to be polite with him. His son is taking the palace examination right now. He has a bright future. He can enjoy a comfortable life for the rest of his life. The money for a few buns is not a waste for him." The vendor next to him interjected with a smile.

In response to this, Old Man Liu chuckled. This was a great joyous event that made smoke come out of his ancestral graves, and he just regarded it as the envy of others.

"I'll remember that." Dai Ling bowed.

"The guest asked about the place where the palace examination is. Is there someone around the guest taking the examination?" asked Old Man Liu.

"It's my father." Before Huang Zhaodi and Dai Ling could speak, Dai Feng, who was eating buns, couldn't help but say something.

Children are the kind of people who can't keep secrets, and compared to adults, children like to show off more.

Old Man Liu looked at the three people in surprise.

Dai Ling knew that the other party had misunderstood, and hurriedly said, "He is my nephew. This time I came to Xiangyang to bring them to see him."

"Oh." Old man Liu suddenly realized and felt a little apologetic. Before this, he regarded these three people as a family of three.

"Congratulations." Old Man Liu first congratulated, and then took out three buns from the steamer. This time they were not vegetable buns, but meat buns. Facing the surprised eyes of Dai Ling and the other two, he smiled and said, "Take them. Maybe my son, your nephew, and your husband will be good friends in the future."

Old man Liu was not afraid of being cheated. The vendor next to him was right, he really didn't need the money for these few buns.

"Xiaofeng, hurry up and thank grandpa." Hearing what Old Man Liu said, Huang Zhaodi no longer refused and let her son thank him.

"Thank you, grandpa."

"You're welcome. This little boy is really well behaved." Old man Liu said with a grin, showing his big yellow teeth.

After eating the buns, the three of them went to an alley not far from the palace examination venue and waited there.

……

the other side.

Chen Mo has many admirers in Xiangyang, especially scholars.

When Chen Mo came to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening ceremony, the people were very respectful and many of them deposited money in the bank on a regular basis.

You should know that if you withdraw the fixed deposit in advance, no interest will be calculated.

After attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Chen Mo declined Qin Hao and others’ invitation to a banquet and returned to the palace examination venue.

During the exam, candidates are not allowed to leave the examination room.

So the lunch was provided by the examination center, two large steamed buns and a portion of pickles per person.

The examination lasted until 5 p.m.

As the gong sounded, the candidates stopped writing, announcing the end of the palace examination.

The results of the palace examination will be announced in the middle of this month.

The candidates left the examination room one after another.

Outside the hall.

"Brother Dai?" Guo Ning patted Dai Tu's shoulder.

After the palace examination, Guo Ning finally found "Guo Xian", so after leaving the hall, he couldn't wait to greet him.

Dai Tu turned around and looked at the familiar face in front of him. He felt inexplicably nervous. Fortunately, he was prepared. He asked in surprise, "You called me?"

Guo Ning's friendship with Dai Tu was actually not very deep. They had not even spent more than a day together. When he heard him say this, he immediately suspected that he had recognized the wrong person.

"You look very much like a friend I knew before," said Guo Ning.

"Oh, what's your friend's name?"

"Dai Tu." When talking about Dai Tu, Guo Ning looked directly into the eyes of "Guo Xian".

But Dai Tu was very calm and said with a smile: "What a coincidence, but my name is Guo Xian."

"So it's Brother Guo. What a coincidence. We have the same surname. My surname is Guo too. We might have been from the same family five hundred years ago. Where are you from, Brother Guo?"

"People from Cangzhou."

"I am from Yanzhou."

After the two chatted for a few words, Dai Tu found an excuse to separate.

……

There were many carriages parked outside the palace examination venue. After all, there were many children from aristocratic families among the candidates, and there were also many people gathered outside.

When I saw my friends and relatives coming out, I immediately greeted them with a smile and asked how they did in the exam.

Dai Ling, Huang Zhaodi and Dai Feng, who were outside the crowd, couldn't squeeze in or out at all because there were too many people.

Dai Ling thought of an idea and asked Huang Zhaodi and Guo Feng to shout, maybe the other party could hear them.

The three of them shouted and pushed forward.

"Please give way."

"Give way."

"Who is it? Don't push, don't push."

Dai Feng was too thin, and not only did he fail to squeeze forward, but he was pushed to the ground instead. He didn't know whether he was stepped on or was frightened by so many people around him, but he started crying.

Huang Zhaodi had no choice but to stop and help Dai Feng up.

Dai Tu, who had already boarded the carriage, was embraced by his fiancée Zhang Zhu, who asked him how he did in the exam.

Dai Tu did not answer for a moment, but was a little absent-minded, because he heard someone calling him outside, and the voice was particularly familiar.

"No, no," Dai Tu began to worry.

"Guo Lang, what's wrong with you?" Seeing that "Mr. Guo" didn't answer him, Zhang Zhu thought that he didn't do well in the exam. Although he was a little disappointed, he still comforted him: "Guo Lang, it's okay, I will always be with you."

Then he said to the groom outside, "You can go now."

When leaving, Dai Ling had already squeezed forward and passed by the departing carriage.

The three of them stared at the door closely, but they never saw the person they were thinking about.

(End of this chapter)