Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

Chapter 33: A Few Plum Blossoms in the Corner

The so-called official examination is actually nothing more than a grand banquet, writing poems and couplets, and then, what else, is flattery.

If you fall in love with someone, you will be made a teacher and given gifts. In the coming year, you will be popular in official circles and form your own party.

It is so blatant that it is no wonder that during the next spring examination, His Majesty the Emperor will mercilessly execute nearly half of the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

The Qing Kingdom, whose military power was growing day by day, was not good at literature, but its culture could not be ruined like this.

The rain falls lightly and sparsely.

"Where are you taking me, sir?"

"Mr. Lin, where else can we go? Of course, we should go to the Ceremonial Hall. All the students are in the Ceremonial Hall. Officials from the Ministry of Rites and Imperial College will arrive soon."

Lin Ruo was not interested and thought it would be better not to participate, so he asked, "Where is the library?"

The official's expression froze, with resentment on his face, why don't you understand this? Lord Si Nanbo chose to send it today, just for the exam, so that you can build relationships with officials from various departments.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lin. It won't be too late to go to the library after you finish the exam."

As they were talking, they had already arrived outside the ceremony hall. They could hear students talking and laughing, and it was quite lively inside.

The official bowed his head slightly and led Lin Ruo into the hall.

Lin Ruo had no choice but to go in. He took a casual look and found that the seats on the left and right sides of the hall were already full, with only more than 20 seats in the upper seats empty.

Without taking a single step, Lin Ruo found a seat near the outside of the hall and sat down. The official saw this and quickly stepped back, pretending to be sorry and saying, "I'm sorry to bother Mr. Lin. I came a little late and couldn't find a good seat."

Lin Ruo smiled without saying anything, looking at him with a bored and elegant manner.

The official responded with a wry smile, not knowing what the official had seen. In fact, most of the seats in the front row were bought by the children of princes and nobles with huge sums of money, so there were no empty seats left. Lin Ruo's actions saved him a lot of trouble.

After a while, teams of maids came into the hall, bringing plates of food, wine and various dishes. It was not a big meal of meat or fish, but it was more than enough to fill their stomachs, which also indicated that the banquet would begin soon.

Lin Ruo was in such a hurry to go out in the morning that he didn't have time to eat breakfast. Feeling a little impatient, he picked up a piece of dessert on the table and stuffed it into his mouth, savoring the flavor.

A student nearby laughed.

"Mr. Lin, please pay attention to etiquette." The official was anxious and leaned down hurriedly to remind him, fearing that more people would notice it. In fact, some people had already noticed it, but they kept it secret and did not laugh out loud like the student.

Lin Ruo thought, if he doesn't want to eat, then don't eat, then pour tea into the cup and take a sip to moisten his throat.

Seeing that Lin Ruo continued to move, the officials became more anxious.

At this moment, the sound of zither and qin was heard outside the hall, and someone shouted the name of the Minister of Rites. Then, dozens of people in official robes slowly walked into the hall and took the seat.

The students who were originally talking with great interest now held their breath and concentrated, and the atmosphere in the hall gradually became quiet.

The students all stood up, bowed and greeted each other. After the officials from the Ministry of Rites took their seats, the students sat down one after another.

"Since it's a banquet, you should eat and drink. You are all candidates for next spring's imperial examination, so there is no need to be restrained." An official from the Ministry of Rites spoke at the table.

But after the words were passed down, no one dared to pick up their chopsticks. All the students thought it was just a polite remark and still maintained their graceful postures.

Lin Ruo took a look, and in the silence between everyone, he calmly stuffed another piece of dessert into his mouth.

The official saw this and lowered his head, making a shushing gesture to silence the crowd.

Lin Ruo chuckled twice, and simply asked the officials to cover for him, and drank another glass of wine. In the quiet hall, how could such an action not attract people's attention? Many people from top to bottom immediately cast strange eyes, and the students shook their heads and sneered, but no one stood up to scold, because no one dared to move until the big man in the hall said something.

This atmosphere did not last long and ended when the Minister of Rites himself started eating.

The students followed suit and buried their heads in their food. There was some movement in the hall, but not much.

The words of the officials from the Ministry of Rites were simply meant to liven up the atmosphere, and there was no deep meaning in their so-called rhetoric that needed to be understood. Unfortunately, the students were always insignificant, self-righteous, and had wild thoughts, so the prelude was a bit long.

Faced with Lin Ruo's impolite behavior below, the officials of the Ministry of Rites just laughed it off, but in their hearts they couldn't help labeling him as a loner.

The student who had just laughed came over. There was no sarcasm in his words. He just asked Lin Ruo in an unpredictable way: "I told you to eat it, and you really dared to eat it."

"Follow orders." Lin Ruo said calmly.

He was a very obedient person, and he scolded the students in the hall more or less thoroughly. The student thought to himself and laughed heartily: "Yes, the Minister of Rites is named Wei An, and he is said to be a kind person. I don't think there will be so many rules."

Inside the hall, people called the Shangshu by his name, what a great student! Lin Ruo remained silent, and took a glance unconsciously. The man was good-looking, with a pair of clear and bright eyes. He was estimated to be not much older than him.

Seeing that no one was talking, the student seemed a little embarrassed and could only force a smile and say, "It's better to eat more. Eat enough to cope with the upcoming exams."

The official nodded and said, "Mr. Lin is young and promising. He will surely amaze everyone later."

His words were full of flattery, and the reason he stayed in the palace was that he hoped that Lin Ruo could demonstrate his literary talent in the upcoming examinations.

As the person who personally brought it into the courtyard, he should also have a bit of pride on his face.

Halfway through the banquet, the examination officially began. First, the Minister of Rites Wei An came out to give a speech, and made routine courtesies to encourage the students.

Then, officials from the Imperial Academy were responsible for setting the questions. The examination format was extremely open and could include playing music, reciting poems, playing the zither and writing calligraphy, and many other talents.

However, most of them start by composing poems pointing to objects. Only when one shows his talent in poetry and songs will there be a chance to show his talent later.

After the Imperial College official finished speaking, the officials from the Ministry of Rites thought for a moment and then came up with a poem topic inspired by plum blossoms.

For a while, as the autumn wind blew, poems and lyrics were exchanged on the stage, and compliments were endless.

It was too noisy. Lin Ruo rested his head on the desk and could only hear a few sentences vaguely. He couldn't muster any interest.

The official had hoped that Lin Ruo would show off his poetry, but when he saw his drowsy and depressed look, and his gloomy face, he couldn't help but ask, "Master Lin, do you have any ideas?"

When Lin Ruo heard this, he picked up a pen and wrote a sentence.

The official quickly came forward to take a look, and the student also shifted his gaze over.

Lin Ruo smiled and said, "When the pen is put down, the poem is done."

There were five big words written on the paper: "A few plum blossoms in the corner..." and that was it.

The official was stunned: "Mr. Lin, is that all?"

Lin Ruo nodded: "My inspiration is exhausted, I can't do it."

The student smiled and couldn't help but admire Lin Ruo's carefree and casual style, and said, "It's a good poem."

"It's actually a good poem, it's just not complete." Lin Ruo muttered to himself.

(End of this chapter)