A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 159 I Knew Someone Would Like That Monkey (Part )
The Seven Star Killer climbed over the wall of Gu Zimo's house and disappeared.

He suddenly felt that he had just reported a seven-star killer, which was a bit too low. He should have directly reported a nine-star killer.

Maybe Judge Gu can give him some more money.

However, he did not expect that the Tongpan of Yingtian Prefecture was quite professional in his work.

I knew I had to lie low first and give myself some funds for activities.

Good.

He'll come back next time when he has work to do.

Such generous employers are rare.

Mrs. Gu suddenly saw someone climbing over the wall of her house and was about to scream.

But she saw her husband standing there watching without saying a word.

She immediately became suspicious.

Is this someone sent by the Dou family to secretly contact my husband?

Mrs. Gu certainly knew some things about her husband.

Especially targeting Song Twelve.

It’s a shame to think that a young man like Song Shier, who has good character, would be subjected to such great malice.

Mrs. Gu felt a pang of heartache.

Why are there always so many people in the world who want to bully others!
Mrs. Gu retreated back to her room and secretly thought about how to remind her twelfth brother.

The little beggar Qu Ze soon received the tip-off.

Ever since he figured out Gu Zimo's plan, he has always arranged people to guard the place and has not dared to slack off at all.

Beggars don’t need to work anyway, so begging on any street is still begging.

Didn’t you see that your master was already waiting in front of Shierlang’s shop? It shows that the situation is extremely troublesome.

Qu Ze would never mess up such a small matter.

Early the next morning.

Qu Ze pretended to ask for food on Song Xuan's way to school.

Song Xuan took the opportunity to give him some copper coins.

Qu Ze took the opportunity to tell Song Xuan that there was a new killer coming to the Gu family.

He is currently renting a room near the Confucian Temple, and he has also sent people to keep an eye on him.

Song Xuan said he knew, and he and Zhang Fangping continued to move forward.

"Twelfth brother, did Madam Gu come to you on purpose?"

Zhang Fangping felt something strange since Song Xuan suddenly left the temple yesterday.

Although the woman was not ugly and her face did not look very big, her breasts were quite big and could be noticed at first sight. Zhang Fangping felt that his twelfth brother would not like her.

But young people's willpower is not very strong when facing women.

So he was a little worried that Mrs. Gu was using her beauty to deliberately get close to the twelfth brother and help her husband get information.

"It's hard to judge."

Song Xuan now has some doubts about Gu Zimo's sexual orientation.

Facing such a daughter-in-law with a baby face and big breasts all day long, it would be fine if I wasn't moved, but I'm actually excited.

This man is so abnormal!
Zhang Fangping nodded slightly:

"Then Brother Twelve should just be more careful."

"Since ancient times, heroes have been unable to resist the temptation of beautiful women. Although Madam Gu has 'great shortcomings', she is more beautiful than ordinary women."

Because Zhang Fangping remembered that Song Xuan said that the more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to lie!

He always knew that Song Xuan had an extraordinary mind, but he treated matters between men and women.

Twelve Brother was a bit talkative and had never actually visited brothels or other places.

Song Xuan glanced at Zhang Fangping. It seemed that he was still influenced by the aesthetic taste of the literati in the Song Dynasty.

How could that be a big shortcoming for Mrs. Gu?

None of them know the value of the goods.

Forget it.

The summer insects talking about ice are completely different!

"I'll keep a close eye on her and see what she does."

Zhang Fangping nodded and didn't say much.

In addition to his trust in Song Xuan, he also believed that Mrs. Gu had such big shortcomings that her twelfth brother would definitely not be moved by her.

When they arrived at the academy, Song Xuan still brought breakfast for Bao Zheng, which was bought by Jiao Ming anyway.

Bao Zheng gnawed on the meat bun and could not help nodding:
"I always eat vegetarian food, and when I have a little taste of meat in my mouth, I feel it is really delicious!"

"I'm sorry, Brother Bao."

Song Xuan joked with a smile, and then a student who was about the same age as Bao Zheng walked over.

He took the initiative to greet them, "I'm Zhao Yi from Yucheng, and am I Song Twelve?"

Yucheng used to belong to the Guide Army.

It is now under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture (the county closest to Shangqiu).

"Exactly."

Zhao Gai quickly said with a smile:
"Brother Bao and I are classmates and friends. Today I finally get to meet Shi Er Lang."

Bao Zheng did know Zhao Gai, whose original name was Zhao Yi.

He was also a descendant of an official, and at the age of seventeen, famous literary figures Liu Yun, Qi Lun, and Huang Zongdan all praised Zhao Gai's literary works, saying that they would surely be famous in the time.

At this time, he changed his name and came to Yingtian Academy to study, also aiming for the goal of becoming the top scholar three years later.

As for why he didn't go to Class A, it was just a casual test.

This is the admission test.

Zhao Gai didn't take it to heart at all.

"Oh, Brother Bao is a very upright person. Anyone who can make friends with him must also have an excellent character."

Song Xuan formally introduced himself to Zhao Gai:
"My name is Song Xuan, the twelfth of the family, from Lema Town, Ningling County."

"I have admired you for a long time."

Zhao Gai seemed a little anxious and asked quickly:

"Shi Er Lang, can you please excuse me for a moment and talk?"

"sure."

Song Xuan did not refuse to interact with other people in the academy.

I just don’t know why Zhao Gai came here so early in the morning?
"May I ask if that Journey to the West was written by Twelve Young Master?"

"good."

Zhao Gai's face showed a look of understanding again, and then he asked again:
"Has Shi Er Lang changed his romantic stories from those in The Story of the Stone because he's been busy with school and under a lot of pressure lately?"

"That's not the case. I originally wrote The Story of the Stone for a friend's sister out of boredom. It already had many chapters, so I'm selling it."

"Oh!"

Zhao Gai nodded repeatedly, then asked in a low voice:
"Shi Er Lang, that entire court of heavenly soldiers and generals, led by Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, surrounded and attacked Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong fought alone against them. When are you going to write the rest of the story?"

Song Xuan looked at Zhao Gai.

He really didn't expect that there were people in the academy who liked to read vernacular novels.

It seems that this has been the characteristic of many students since ancient times.

Even if a thousand or eight hundred years pass, this behavior will not be erased.

Song Xuan already knew about his entire vest.

Otherwise, how could it be so easy for readers to come in person to urge for updates?
So Song Xuan said tactfully:

"Let Brother Zhao know. It will probably take some time." "Because I have been fully preparing for the Fajie test recently, I will only write chapters of Journey to the West occasionally."

"If I'm not satisfied with what I've written, I have to delete and revise it, for fear that my haphazard writing will leave readers dissatisfied."

"Although everyone thinks I'm selling lottery tickets, my original intention was to sell some storytelling books, and the lottery tickets were just a supplement."

"good."

Zhao Gai really liked the story of Journey to the West written by Song Xuan.

Especially the fact that Sun Wukong challenged the entire heaven alone made Zhao Gai very excited and yearned for it!
I wish I could grab a stick and trace back to the Great Sage to fight him.

So when Zhao Gai went to the Twelve Bookstores with great expectations to buy the new chapters of Journey to the West, what he actually bought was The Story of the Stone.

It really made him a little unable to hold back.

As for lottery numbers, he never pays attention to them.

What I am thinking about all the time is the monkey in Journey to the West, and what will happen next.

But Song Xuan actually stopped writing, which really made Zhao Gai a little impatient.

It was written so well, why did you give up?
Early this morning, Zhao Gai came here to try his luck and see if Song Xuan would come to talk to Bao Zheng again. He had been waiting here for a long time.

Now that he got this answer from Song Xuan, he felt a little uncomfortable.

"I wonder which of these four subjects Shi Erlang is the worst at?"

Zhao Gai said carefully, "Perhaps you don't believe me, but I'm actually quite talented in studying, so perhaps I can help you."

After he finished speaking, he stared at Song Xuan, fearing that this person who ranked third in the exam would not believe him.

"That's great." Song Xuan immediately smiled.

"Master Wang said that my poems and essays for the imperial examination were not written in the Xikun style at all."

"For the past month, I have been reciting all the poems in the collection of poems to train myself."

Zhao Gai had also read Song Xuan's poems.

He writes really well.

But in fact, he did not have an advantage in the imperial examination.

At that time, the pros and cons were not decided by President Fan.

The examiners still graded the papers according to the Xikun style.

Zhao Gai thought about it and made a direct plea:

"How about this, I can give Shi Erlang some more pointers on the Xikun style, and I only hope that Shi Erlang can write another chapter of Journey to the West in return."

"Of course, I'm not saying that The Story of the Stone isn't good. It's just that in my opinion, it's not very interesting and not as fun as Journey to the West."

Song Xuan came to his senses.

Zhao Gai has become a little fan of the Monkey King, so he can't wait to know how things will develop next.

However, which boy is not a fan of Sun Wukong?

Song Xuan immediately saluted with his arms crossed:

"Thank you, Brother Zhao. I'm in Xikun Sports, and I'm worried that I'm always being looked down upon. I haven't been able to calm down. If you can help me, it would be great."

"Hey."

Zhao Gai was very satisfied with Song Xuan's attitude.

She did not look down on him because he was a student who just did not do well in the exams and was assigned to Class D.

No wonder many students in the academy praised Song Twelve for his loyalty and respect for others.

Although he is young, he is not arrogant, and he knows how to cover up his brother's behavior of stealing poems.

There is nothing to say about character!
As soon as Song Xuan's poem "A young man who knows nothing of sorrow" came out, all the students in Yingtian Academy believed that the poem "Ode to the Frog" was written by him when he was eight years old.

In addition, Song Xuan did not yield to power and dared to confront the Hanlin scholars, forcing Dou Chou to commit suicide, so he naturally had an excellent reputation.

Zhao Gai felt that Sun Wukong had the audacity to fight against the siege of all the gods in the sky alone. Perhaps Song Twelve stood up alone at that time without fear of the threat of Dou Chou's power. This was probably a reflection of his inner thoughts, right?
Of course, what made the students of Yingtian Academy praise Song Xuan the most was...

It was he who paved the way for many poor students to go to the temple to study at night.

In addition to Lingtai Temple, these students will also form teams to visit other temples.

After all, Lingtai Temple today is just like a "study room". Even if it is very popular, the main hall can only accommodate so many people.

You must reserve a seat in advance!
Many students even waited until the teacher announced the end of school before they packed up, put on their backpacks, and ran towards Lingtai Temple, hoping to get a good seat.

Nowadays, the students of Yingtian Academy have gradually improved their physical fitness through running.

From the initial gasping for breath and collapse on the ground, to the slight sweating in recent days.

There is always growth.

Perhaps in the future, if they encounter a war like the one where the donkey cart drifted like that of Emperor Taizong of Song, they will be able to imitate the "sages" and escape successfully!

After Zhao Gai got an answer that satisfied him, he said goodbye to Song Xuan and returned to his classroom with Bao Zheng.

Song Xuan turned around and ran towards his class, and couldn't help laughing on the way.

Zhang Fangping: ???

What kind of jokes did Zhao Gai tell to his twelfth brother that still made him laugh while recalling them?

"I told you, someone will definitely like that monkey!"

monkey?

Zhang Fangping immediately understood what was going on.

Inside the classroom.

Teacher Wang Zhu was very satisfied with the study atmosphere in Class A.

After the morning reading was over, he stood on the podium and said:

"There's only one month left before the Fajie exam. Registration starts today and lasts for seven days. If you're brave enough to give it a try, you must find five people to guarantee you within seven days."

"I have signed a 'guarantee'. If your conduct fails to meet the standards, I will be severely punished, and the other candidates who have guaranteed you will also be held jointly liable."

"Last time, the candidates who returned home also found guarantors as required. If you want to take the exam here, you must report to the academy as soon as possible, and then the dean will go to the officials of Yingtian Prefecture to confirm your approval."

Normally, students who want to take the preliminary examination of the imperial examination should return to their local place of residence.

The Northern Song Dynasty was also on guard against the issue of college entrance examination immigration.

But starting this year, Yingtian Prefecture was upgraded to a prefectural school. If the students who passed the exam want to take the imperial examination, they can also register with the help of the academy, which will provide them with a guarantee.

Only the three current capitals can do this. During the reign of Emperor Zhao Kuangyi, those scholars all pretended to be from Kaifeng Prefecture in order to facilitate their studies.

But when the test results came out, there were fifty people in total. Among the top fourteen candidates, only the ninth was from Henan, and the remaining twenty-five were also from other places of origin.

The role of the guarantor is to confirm the candidate's household registration, identity and character to prevent impersonation.

The most important thing is to confirm that the candidate has no bad record and is qualified to take the imperial examination.

Of course, there must be joint liability. If the candidate cheats in the exam or violates the rules, the guarantor may be subject to joint punishment.

On the other hand, if there is a problem with the guarantor, the candidates will also be implicated.

Wang Yaochen was implicated by his guarantor.

Song Xuan glanced at his somewhat worn collection of poems. There was still a month left, enough time for him to familiarize himself with it.

"As for the students who haven't received the guarantee letter yet."

Wang Zhu gave detailed instructions again.

Not everyone is qualified to be a guarantor.

The first type of guarantor is usually a local gentry, official or prestigious scholar.

There is also a detailed division of the relationship with the candidates: the guarantor must have a certain social relationship with the candidates, such as relatives, teachers or fellow townsmen.

Of course, the most important thing is the credibility requirement: the guarantor must have good social credibility to ensure the validity of his guarantee.

After submitting the guarantee letter for the exam, the official will carefully check it to confirm the credibility of the guarantor.

If there is any problem, the student will not be able to pass the exam.

The guarantor you found is not good enough, which shows that there is something wrong with you as a person.

The crime of collective punishment has always been one of the means used by dynasties to control the people below and ensure their loyalty.

(End of this chapter)