Tongtian Bamboo Repair

Chapter 415 Heavenly Prison
On an early spring morning, the spring cold was still lingering, and there was a thin layer of frost on the windowsill. The sun comes out, the temperature rises, and the frost begins to melt. The pattering of melted frost water fell on the windowsill like raindrops, making a "tick-tick-tick" sound.

Awakened by the 'spring rain', Zhang Miao opened his eyes and yawned widely. At this time, the door opened. Qingqing came in with a basin of hot water. She first put the hot water on the washbasin stand, then took off her clothes from the stove, shook them off and said to Zhang Miao, "Master, it's time to get up."

The clothes were warmed by the stove and felt warm on the body. Qingqing skillfully helped Zhang Miao get dressed and wash herself. Then he said to him: "Master, today is the day when the results are released in spring. Zhao Shizi and Li Shizi are already waiting for you."

Zhang Miao smiled slightly and said, "They came early."

Qingqing made his bed and said, "They are not as sure as the young master. Whether they pass the exam or not depends on God's will. Of course, they are not as casual as you, the young master."

Zhang Miao snorted coldly and said: "It depends on God's will. Can God's will decide the selection of scholars? The imperial court has its own rules for selecting scholars. It selects scholars based on their talents and selects the best. If it is left to God's will, then why should we read the Four Books and Five Classics and do anything? For a beautiful article, wouldn’t it be better to directly pray to God and worship Buddha?”

Qingqing rolled her eyes at him and said angrily: "Yes, yes, everything you said is right. You are the master of science and education, and this spring is a sure thing. If you are a high-ranking official who recruits scholars, you can get a Huiyuan." It’s no surprise. For you, it’s natural to select students based on their talents!”

After hearing this, Zhang Miao felt inspired, and he laughed without refuting, because it was the truth. He became famous at a young age, was born a boy at the age of twelve, and was admitted as a scholar in the same year. Later, due to unforeseen circumstances, the autumn exam was postponed by one term, and he could not take the imperial examination until three years later. However, these three years gave him a lot of experience, and he became famous as a Jie Yuan at that time.

Now in Chunwei, he is also determined to win, and he must be one of the country's candidates.

After he finished washing, he pointed to the water stain on the window and said, "If it rains on this window, go back and ask the owner to repair it. Although the spring rain is good, it disturbs people's dreams, which is a bit unsightly."

Qingqing nodded after hearing this. The house they lived in was rented by others. Chunwei was taking exams in the capital, so they, like other scholars, chose to rent a house.

Zhang Miao's home is in good condition. She rents a small, quiet courtyard with three entrances and a dedicated living room. When he came to the living room, he saw two fellow students chatting.

Although the two of them were chatting, they were both a little distracted. Today is the day when the results are released. They are all concerned about their own results, so they don't really have the time to chat.

Seeing Zhang Miao coming, the two of them stood up and saluted, and said politely: "Classmate Zhang, the results are about to be released. How about you and I go and take a look?"

Zhang Miao looked at the sky and said with a smile: "The results will be released at three o'clock in the morning. It's still early." He thought for a while and then said with a smile: "Well, there is a No. 1 Scholar Building outside the examination hall. I heard that their No. 1 Scholar and No. 1 students are very good. How about May I invite you two to taste it?"

The two of them had no desire to eat porridge at this moment, but Zhang Miao was right. There was still an hour until the announcement of the results, so there was no rush. They could only say: "Okay, okay, just follow Mr. Zhang's advice."

This classmate Zhang came from the same province as them, and they have long known his reputation. He is Jieyuan, and he should be a sure winner in this examination. They naturally want to make friends with such classmates. If they pass the exam, there is no doubt that they will become officials in the same court in the future. This is also a kind of interpersonal communication.

The three of them traveled hand in hand and went to the Zhuangyuan Building together. This Zhuangyuan Building is a restaurant, just opposite the Examination Yuan. The Zhuangyuanjidi porridge here is very famous, and it can't be said to be delicious, but in this location, with this name, this porridge is really a must-eat.

At this time, the Zhuangyuan Building was already overcrowded, and most of the people were scholars participating in the Spring Festival. Some of these scholars were confident, some were anxious, and some were frowning. They are all good candidates in local areas, but here they are just like ordinary students, worried about their grades.

Zhang Miao came here with two companions and found that there was no place to stay in this building. Zhang Miao smiled bitterly and said: "What a mistake. I didn't expect there were so many people here today. I'm afraid this porridge for the No. 1 Scholar and No. 1 Scholar will be unpalatable!"

The other two people also smiled bitterly. But at this time, someone shouted loudly: "Can I ask if it's Zhang Miao, classmate Zhang?"

Zhang Miao heard someone calling him. He turned around and saw a head sticking out from the second floor of the Number One Scholar Building. A familiar-looking student was shouting to him.

"I am Zhang Miao, who is my classmate?" Zhang Miao responded.

The man smiled and said, "Comrade Zhang, come up quickly. I still have a seat here. There are a few other classmates here, let's get to know each other."

Zhang Miao wanted to go up, but when he heard that there was only one seat, there were three of him. He pondered and glanced at the two companions next to him. His two companions also understood the situation and immediately said, "Comrade Zhang, please go up. Let's go find a place to sit outside. There are so many people here and it's cramped, which makes people irritated."

Seeing them like this, Zhang Miao said apologetically: "In that case, I'll go up first. You two can help yourself. We'll have tea later." After saying that, he hugged the two of them and walked up the stairs.

In this Zhuangyuan building, if you have the qualifications to be the number one scholar, someone will welcome you up even if you arrive late. If you don't have the qualifications to be the number one scholar, you can only find a tea stall outside the building and go there by yourself.

Zhang Miao naturally has the qualifications to be the top scholar. He held his head high and walked up to the second floor with extraordinary dignity. Seeing him coming up, several people who knew him also bowed their hands to him. Although he didn't know them, he bowed their hands in return, showing his elegant demeanor.

When he arrived at the table, his tablemates had already stood up to greet him. This table is in a good location, right by the window, and you can see the results release place outside the examination hall at a glance.

Several people at the same table seemed to have heard of Zhang Miao, and they introduced each other politely. Zhang Miao didn't take it into heart, but vaguely remembered that their surnames were Wang, Dai and Qian.

He bowed his hands politely, sat down, and started chatting. His extraordinary conversational skills and rich knowledge quickly impressed his tablemates.

After chatting for a while, I drank the tea and ate the porridge. Zhang Miao stopped eating after taking one bite. The porridge was indeed mediocre in taste, but it was just a good thing. It was not as good as the meat porridge cooked by Qing Qing.

At this moment, a gong suddenly sounded. As soon as the gong sounded, the entire Zhuangyuan Building became restless. The examination hall opposite suddenly opened its door, and several people who looked like scribes filed out. They held a rolled up red paper in their hands. Needless to say, this was the tribute list!
Sure enough, those scribes stopped and then shouted: "On the eighth day of the second lunar month in the Xuanwu year, this is the Spring Wei year, the imperial court has selected one hundred and eighty scholars. Now I am posting this list to show everyone!"

After saying that, they started pasting the red paper. One hundred and eighty people were selected this time, about one-fifth of the total candidates. The probability is not great, but it is not small either. When this red paper is posted, someone will sing the praises. According to the rules, the list is posted from back to front. The people singing the list also have a tacit understanding and start singing from the last one.

Anyone who is sung will shout: "Haha! Hit! I hit!"

At this time, someone would go to congratulate him, and the winning scholar would also give out a reward. Although this kind of reward is only three to five cents, because it is tainted with "literary spirit", one coin is equivalent to a hundred coins, and many families are willing to offer it as an offering.

The list was posted, and the people who sang it became more and more excited. Zhang Miao was also listening in Zhuangyuan Building. He is very confident that he will win. I have never heard of Jieyuan not being selected.

But when Zhang Miao didn't see his name for a long time after the list was read out one by one, he couldn't help but feel worried. Amid this worry, he had a hint of joy. Could he really be the first?

Finally, the person who sang the list loudly shouted: "The number one on this list, the high school Huiyuan is - Zhang Yuanji, Zhang Huiyuan of Qinghe Prefecture!"

With this sound, Zhang Miao's expression turned from sunny to gloomy. The surname is correct, but the name of the person is wrong! He...he actually failed! How can this be!

Next to his table, an old Juren suddenly jumped out. He said with disbelief: "I...I am Huiyuan? This...this..." This was his fifth time to participate in the examination. However, his name never appeared. I thought he would fail the list like in previous years, but I didn't expect that he would be the top candidate!

A large group of cheering people crowded forward and began to congratulate the new member. The people at Zhang Miao's table were no exception. They all went to congratulate the newly promoted Huiyuan, but Zhang Miao was directly ignored and squeezed out of the lively second floor of the No. 1 Scholar Building.

He stumbled out of the Number One Scholar Building, and suddenly, he felt that the sun was so dazzling.

At this time, the two classmates who came with him came over happily. They bowed their hands to Zhang Miao and said, "Classmate Zhang, both of us have been admitted, but we didn't hear Classmate Zhang's name."

The two people looked a little strange, and they thought Zhang Miao was a sure winner. Because I have never heard of Jieyuan not being selected. They all passed this time, why didn't Zhang Miao?
Zhang Miao looked ugly, and he didn't know. He murmured: "This...it is inevitable that people will make mistakes and horses will miss..." In this panic, his words were a little confused.

At this time, he suddenly saw Qingqing running over staggeringly. As she ran, she shouted: "Master! The master is not good! Someone is coming to arrest you!"

Before he could react, three beefy officers grabbed him, and then the leader shouted: "Zhang Miao, a scholar of today, dares to write an article criticizing the government, slandering the king, and being rude to the court. Today your If it’s done, you’re done!”

After the officer shouted, someone picked up a chain and put it on Zhang Miao's head, then handcuffed him and left.

Zhang Miao was staggered. Only then did he react. He quickly shouted: "I am a judge, how can you punish me! I did not criticize the government, I did not slander the king! I was wronged!"

He was puzzled because all the articles in this examination were about political opinions. When a country recruits scholars, there must be laws and regulations. As candidates, it is inevitable for them to write articles and discuss government affairs. You can’t be punished just because of your words! He is really unjust!

Zhang Miao was arrested and imprisoned on the charge of criticizing the government and slandering the king. When other scholars heard about this accusation, they originally tried to vindicate Zhang Miao, but they all became quiet after hearing this accusation. It was heard that his examination paper was written in an extremely outrageous way, which offended the prime minister and the court.

But no outsider has seen his article. All the Hanlin judges said that he was rude and criticized the government, but where the rudeness lies and where the article is are a mystery.

Zhang Miao was imprisoned in the Tianlao. When he first entered the Tianlao, he was still full of hope, hoping that he could defend himself in court. But he soon discovered that he had not been interrogated at all. He was just locked up in a sky jail without even a single visitor.

After more than a dozen sunrises and sunsets like this, Zhang Miao couldn't bear it anymore. He started shouting in the prison, trying to attract attention. However, he is in prison, who can hear his shouts?
When I got tired of shouting, the prison guard came over and said, "Why are you shouting? If you shout again, be careful and I will deal with you!"

Zhang Miao, who had been imprisoned for more than ten days, immediately said: "Brother, what on earth did I commit? Why was there no movement even after I was arrested? According to the laws of the country, I must at least be interrogated, right?"

The prison guard looked Zhang Miao up and down, and finally remembered who this person was. He sneered and said, "Are you the scholar who criticizes the government and slanders the king? Do you still want to be interrogated? Do you really not understand or are you lying? Don’t you understand? Your life is over, you will be locked up here until you die of old age!”

Zhang Miao was stunned when he heard this. He said in disbelief: "I will be imprisoned until I die of old age? How is this possible? Why is this?"

The cell leader smiled and said, "You are still young and you don't understand many things. Does Dali Temple know that you were arrested? Does Jingzhao Mansion know? They don't know. You don't even have a file. No such person has been found. We have never imprisoned you in the Sky Prison. You have offended a big shot, and you still want to be interrogated? You still want to cry out for injustice? You don’t even have a chance to go to court! Hahaha!"

The prison head laughed contemptuously for a while and left immediately. And Zhang Miao was stunned at the moment... He didn't believe the words of the prison chief at all, and he didn't dare to believe the words of the prison chief...
-
The hot summer is here, and the chirping of cicadas can be heard in the sky prison. The stuffy cell was like a steamer.

Zhang Miao was lying there like a dead person. He had been imprisoned for several months. As the cell leader said, he was not interrogated and no one visited him. Even the jailer who brought him food did not know why he was there. Come in.

His heart was dead. He once wanted to end it all, but his hands and feet were so hungry that he didn't even have the strength to strangle himself. He firmly believed that the court had laws, but the court taught him a lesson and the laws he wanted did not take care of him.

In the past few months, he understood a truth. There is no law in this world. He is just a plaything. He was played by a big man who did not know his name. All this is unreasonable.

The sunlight shines into the cell, creating several light and shadows. But there was no sunlight shining into his heart, and now it was dead silent...

(End of this chapter)