Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination

Master Dai took the words for him, and more and more treated him as his own student, and asked him about his knowledge.

Cui Xie’s quick knowledge was not enough for Yu Shi to ask, so he could only pick up the commentary in "The Collection of Zhu Zi" by Mr. Lin and the commentary in "The Complete Book of Poetry" sent by Master Liu. The answer was dry. If you ask a little deeper, you can only rely on editing.

After asking a few questions, Dai Ren found out his bottom line and said: "Your article is well written, but the meaning of the scriptures is mediocre. When you chose "The Poetry" as the text, it was for the scientific examination, right? The students have been learning since childhood. "Poetry", during the imperial examination, the two rooms of "Poetry" and "Ritual" are the most candidates. People think that "Poetry" is the easiest to learn, but they don't know that "Poetry" has justice, ambiguity, and out of context, which is the most difficult A book that is thoroughly intended."

Cui Xie lowered his head and explained two sentences with shame: "When the disciple first learned the scriptures, he didn't understand anything, because the master of the book, Mr. Lin, wrote the "Poem", so he followed the poem as the original scripture. Later, he was really busy. In the matter of scientific research, I could not read the first Confucian articles with my heart, so I only read one "Collection" and one "Encyclopedia"."

Dai Ren nodded slightly: "I can't blame you for this. Only "The Collection" is emphasized in the examination room. Even Cheng Zi's notes are not accepted by the examiner if they disagree with Zhu Zi. You are willing to read "The Encyclopedia". It's already seen a lot."

He glanced at Cui Xie and sighed slightly: "With your age and talent, you shouldn't just study for the imperial examination. Yongping Mansion is lonely and it is not a place for talented people, so Tongxie can also allow you to mix in. By the time of the test, talented scholars from all over the world will gather in the capital to take the test. With your half-heartedness, you only know how to extract the words and sentences from the scriptures in the commentary, how can they compare to other people's profound knowledge of the classics?"

Cui Xie said to him that his forehead was sweaty, and stood up respectfully and replied: "The disciple is young and ignorant, so please ask the teacher to teach me."

This "teacher" called to Dai Ren's heart. He took Cui Xie's hand and said, "Sit down, take care of a small three-yuan case leader, how come to me and stop here. I just advise you to read more while you are young, and don't regard the imperial examination as an official. It's nothing more than business."

Cui Xie nodded, then sat back.

Dai Ren looked at him a little regretfully: "This is the last year I have been transferred to Beizhili. I will return to Beijing to stand by after the annual exam. I will rarely have the opportunity to speak in the future, so I advise you a few more words today:

"Confucius said that "The Poetry" is'more knowledgeable in the names of birds, beasts, plants, and trees.' Therefore, the "Poetry" must first be exegetical. There is no good gentleman in Qian'an County. You can hang up your student status here and go back to Beijing or But study in the south. First study the exegetical knowledge of the Song people, and then intensively read Zheng's "Jiang", "Justice" and "Mao Zhuan"... Although it is the knowledge of the predecessors and cannot be used on the ink scroll, you will only be an examination room for your entire life Articles? You need to understand what the predecessors said, and to verify the texts of the debates in order to get a glimpse of the meaning of the "Poem"."

Cui Xie responded seriously, but he was still a bit uncertain about whether he could go to other places to study in the future.

From the only impression he had of that Cui Langzhong, he seemed to be a man with a little control desire and mania. He took the risk to take the child test because no one paid any attention to it in Qian'an. Now that something went wrong in Jingli, he had to go back to the palace, and Cui Lang would definitely know that he was a talent.

So would the Cui family want to control him and forbid him to go out to study again?

He can't bet on this possibility. It is better to hug the thigh of the emperor when he enters the palace, and it is best to be able to tell him to allow himself to go out and study. Otherwise, I will wait for Master Dai to return to Beijing, cheeky and beg him to accept himself as a disciple, and then move to the teacher's house...

He looked at Dai Ren affectionately, as if he had already taught Cui Langzhong to be locked up at home, across a prison-like fence door, watching Teacher Dai who came to visit him on bail.

Dai Xuezheng also looked at him lovingly and said, "If you are willing to change the scripture into "Li", I will really accept you as a disciple."

Or try to hug the emperor's thigh first.

"Zhou Li" is 45,000 words, "Yi Li" is 56,000 words, and the Book of Rites is 99,000 words... His "Poem" is only 39,000 words, which is not an order of magnitude at all. He has a hard disk gold finger, can open PDF in his mind, but can not open and copy the scriptures, he can memorize every sentence, and every sentence can be as neat as CTRL+F search in WORD.

Even if Dai Xuezheng was in charge of "Yi", he gritted his teeth and changed it, but "Book of Rites" has to learn the three rituals, which adds up to more than 100,000 characters, which is a bit less than "Chun Qiu" plus "Zuo Zhuan". Back to that point, it really hurts to think about it.

The two of them looked at each other speechlessly, and suddenly there was a series of hurried knocks on the door outside, shocking the atmosphere of this school of teachers and students. Dai Ren looked back and asked, "Who is it?"

The one who opened the door turned out to be Song Ji from the local experience. He entered the door and gave him a beating, saying: "Back to your lord, someone outside the door claims to be Cui Xiucai’s family, saying that the family has received the imperial decree, and the emperor wants to ask him to enter the palace. So someone was sent to Yongping to pick him up."

Dai Ren said in surprise: "I just took him a small three yuan, but did I alarm the saint?"

Song Shiji shook his head: "The subordinates in that family don't know anything, except that the head of the family, Cui Langzhong, took the imperial decree and said that the emperor was going to summon the prodigy, so he ordered them to bring Cui Xie back to Beijing immediately. They ran into it, and they followed the road to find the Yamen. But the lord wants Cui Xie to go back immediately?"

Both their eyes fell on Cui Xie's face, slightly surprised. But Cui Xie got some advice ahead of time, and he had a bottom in his heart, and he showed the same grace as Taishan collapsed.

Dai Ren couldn't help but praised him again, saying, "You don't dare to talk nonsense about the imperial decree in your family. Go and recognize it. If it's really family members, then go back with them."

It's really the Cui family, he doesn't know any of them.

Cui Xie’s hardship is hard to tell, so I had to say: "I have an old acquaintance waiting outside the Confucian Temple. He is also fifteen or sixteen years old. He wears a melon hat and a red robe. Can the adults find him? I ask him a few words. words?"

Song experienced: "You're talking about the one called Pengyan? Isn't he your little servant? He is also waiting with the servants of the Cui family, sitting in the hall."

Cui Xie was worried about holding Yan, so he accused Xuezheng and had to go over and take a look. Dai Ren waved his hand and said: "Sheng's call is a matter of business, so you can go there with peace of mind. I will tell the officials in Qian'an County for you and ask them to sign up for you."

"Then thank you sir."

Following Song's experience, he went to the palace hall, and saw Pengyan sitting with two strange young men. The three of them didn't speak much. As soon as he entered, the two of them immediately stood up and squeezed out some flattering smiles and said: "The big son is finally here! The emperor, God, asked you to enter the palace, the master hastily ordered the younger ones to pick you up. Jing, I can make you new clothes and socks and teach you the etiquette of entering the palace."

Holding the inkstone also made his eyes red with excitement: "Brother, Cui Xing said that your reputation as a child prodigy has been passed into the palace! The emperor said that you are loyal and talented. If you want to summon you, you are not going to be a high official. Huh!"

The emperor wants to see him, not only to summon the child prodigy, but also to ask about the case of Xu's falsehood of officials.

Cui Xie sighed secretly, patted him on the shoulder and said, "I know. This is a great thing. I should have taken you to see it. But your father doesn't know the truth in the county, so I'm afraid to worry about it. Don't tell me. Go to Jingli, go back and pass a letter to your father. Your father and son will go to the grave for me these few days, and then go to the temple to invite a few moral monks, staring at them and reciting the two thousand scriptures to save the ancestors. Let the ancestors share Mu Tian'en."

After all, their father and son were servants of the Cui family. After entering Beijing, they always bowed their heads in front of the Cui family. If the Cui Langzhong knew about the Ju Anzhai under their name, he would still not know how to toss.

What's more, it was a big case of framing officials, and the Cui family might not be so innocent. In case of involvement here, their father and son living in the temple would be safer than in the house under the Cui family.

The two servants from Beijing heard the "ancestors" and thought that Cui Langzhong hadn't returned to the hometown to worship the ancestors for many years, and the servants who had sent them had always been perfunctory. I am afraid that the eldest son would have known them, and their expressions were a little embarrassing. Although Pengyan still wanted to go, he was accustomed to it. He endured the thought of entering Beijing and said, "Then I will go back, and I will take care of Brother Lao Xing and Shi."

The two servants said, "Don't worry, Brother Pengyan, how dare we not serve the old man carefully."

Cui Xie went to say goodbye to Dai Xuezheng and the adults in Fucheng, and went to the inn to pack things first.

Because it was the day of the great gift, the rookies went to try the blessing together. The inn was empty, but no one came to ask him why he had to leave in a hurry. He asked Pengyan to stay and talk to the fellow scholars about going home. He packed a few clothes, brought some dry food and money, and got off with the Cui family.

When the two of them left Yongping Mansion, they dared to tell him the truth: "Our wife called Jin Yiwei arrested, and the emperor called you to enter the palace after the case was closed."

There was no fluctuation in Cui Xie's heart, but there was an expression of horror and anger on his face, clutching their collars and shaking them: "What is going on, why is it like this!"

The performance was a bit exaggerated, but the two servants had scared the soul a long time ago, and didn't care about the details. They grabbed his arm and whispered and persuaded, "The son is silent, this matter can't be heard. Go! You will know the truth when you return to Beijing, and now the younger ones dare not say it!"

Cui Xie glared at them, and said in a deep voice: "My mother worked hard to nurture me, and now she is in jail. I am the son of man as a substitute for torture. How can I be cold-eyed and just do not know? What are you talking about? , Otherwise I will go directly to knock on the palace gate and appeal to the emperor!"

The two servants were so frightened that they quickly stopped him: "Master, calm down, let's just say it!"

The two of them said one by one what they heard on the day of the order, and persuaded Cui Xie: "The master wants to divorce Xu. Sooner or later, she won't be counted as a member of our family. You are a child prodigy that the emperor wants to see, that husband. If you say you are loyal, why bother to get angry for these unskilled criminals?"

Cui Xie said generously: "Even though my mother is guilty, as a son of man, how can I bear to ignore it! Needless to say, I have to petition her!"

The two servants even took out Cui Langzhong's failure to go to work for several days and persuaded him to ask him to think about his father and not to pull the Langzhong's mansion into this terrible case. Cui Xie has the attitude of being a filial son, lazy to eat, and sighing every day.

The carriage traveled day and night, and finally entered the Cui Mansion three days later. The Cui family met each other in the courtyard, and even Cui Que came out. Standing in the courtyard watching the eldest son who had not returned for a long time, he was in a daze: This is his son, a righteous man and a child prodigy praised by the emperor. Hope for the future.

Fortunately, he sent the child out of Beijing early, so that Xu's evil woman did not harm him.

He flicked his sleeves, took up his father's dignity, sat in the main hall and waited, waiting for Cui Xie to come out of the main room to worship his grandparents, and walked in front of him to pay respects.

Time seemed to have lengthened several times at this moment. The laughter from the yard outside was so annoying, but the old lady refused to let him go to the upper room to receive a gift, so he had to wait in his yard tormentedly.

I don't know how long it took, and finally there was a cry of "big brother" and "big son" outside the courtyard. He straightened his clothes, sat up straight and looked out of the hall, anxiously waiting for Cui Xie to come in to please him. Who knows that the team just walked down the stairs, but a reckless figure came in from the door, blushing and rushing to Cui Xie, thumping his fist in his face, and shouting: "It's all you This **** has harmed my mother!"

There was a crisp sound of skin and flesh, Cui Que jumped up from his chair in surprise, and shouted sternly: "Catch that bad boy! Take me to the ancestral hall!"

He couldn't sit still anymore, and rushed out the door to see Cui Xie-he was the one who was going to enter the palace, so there must be no scars on that face!

In the courtyard, only the screams of the foster mothers and maids were heard. Normally, the voices of these warblers were pleasant to the ears. At this time, they smashed into each other noisily, and they couldn't hear anything crisp and tender, and they were very upset. He shouted at them, ran up to the steps and looked down, only to see the real situation in the courtyard.

It was Cui Heng rushing over from behind, clutching Cui Xie's sleeve, and punching him in the face with a fist. Cui Xie flicked his right arm back with his hand, his face turned back slightly, avoiding the punch, and his left hand grabbed the flying fist and twisted it down.

Before Cui Que ran out to stop him, his eldest son twisted his second son's right hand, turning that hand half a circle and pressing it on his chest, so that he could not move.

Cui Heng’s cries reverberated sharply in the yard. Cui Xie was unmoved. Instead, holding his left hand, he asked coldly in his cries: "My father is also your father, and my mother is my father. What did you call me just now? My mother is now in jail and I don’t know my life or death. You, a son, don’t want to run for her to atone for her sins. You don’t know how to recite the scriptures and pray for blessings, but you come here to do such things that bully your brother and are against human relationships—"

"Are you afraid that the world won't talk about mothers' lack of virtue and will not educate their sons? Are you afraid that scandals in the family will not spread, and the future of the father is not difficult enough!"

Yes!

Cui Xie knows all this in the country. How about this second son who has been living in the house? Could it be that the Xu family is inherently evil, and the son born out of it will look like this?

Cui Que has forgotten what he thought of when he beat his eldest son to the countryside. He walked down the stairs step by step to reunite with his good son, father and son, and share the family relationship.

The second son in the middle was not sensible, showing a cruel and ugly appearance, and screamed: "It's not all you did! You deliberately donated the Cui family's yard to get some books for Qian'an County." Hall, you got the benefit, my mother called Jin Yiwei arrested! It's all you mean--"

His left hand hurts and he dared not yell again. He stared at Cui Xie with only **** eyes.

Cui Xie sighed: "Those who know me mean I am worried, those who don't know me mean what I ask for. What I donated is the yard my grandmother gave me. What does it have to do with my mother? Your accusation is simply...nothing, my mother is indeed guilty. , But after all, she is the wife of my father Mingzhong. My stepmother gave birth to your second son for my Cui family. She is credited to the Cui family. No matter what you think, I respect her as a mother in my heart, and I won’t just watch. Something happened to her..."

He raised his eyes to look at Cui Langzhong, let go of the brother's hand, and raised his hand: "I have already suffered from the pain of bereavement of my mother, how can I have the heart to make Brother Heng suffer so much? How can I make him suffer because of his mother? Do you hate my father for not saving me today, and then I hate the Cui family? I have to make a complaint to my mother and ask my father to stay at home for a while. When I come back, I will greet my father."

He turned around and left, his posture was chic and super easy, and everyone couldn't even stop him. Cui Langzhong ran down the steps in a hurry to stop him, and halfway through the air, he almost rolled to the ground. Fortunately, the servant below held him back, but was surprised.

But when he raised his head again, there were only Cui Heng who was so terrible in pain and a group of bewildered maids in the yard. Anxiously, he rushed out a few steps, waved his hand and shouted: "Stop him! Don't let him pass any papers... Don't let him provoke Jin Yiwei or the emperor!"