I was favored by the evil god, and I became a white-bone bodhisattva.

"Haha, it's not a holiday, but there is a class reunion today."

Li Xingwen said happily: "Tangtang, I might be back late. You don't have to wait for me in the evening, just buy something to eat."

The little girl nodded, and curiously asked her classmates about the "qqun#6-↗留,△㈡／陆⌒0?/菱*(坝∨②#Ⅱ↗" meeting.

"If you want to stand out in the county exam, you can't just work behind closed doors. Besides, we all need to keep in touch with each other so that when you are in trouble, others will be willing to help you."

After saying this, the scholar drank the cooled porridge in a few gulps and stood up.

"I'm leaving now. Take your time eating, Tangtang."

"Oh!"

Emotions can be transmitted to each other. Li Xingwen was so happy today that Tangtang was also in a good mood.

She drank her porridge happily, thinking that after finishing work today, she could go to Sister Shan's house to play.

'Sister Shan's tofu pudding is a must, Tangtang, let's have tofu pudding tonight.'

..............

"Haha, Brother Zhou, Brother Hu, Brother Yang!"

"Xingwen is finally here, please sit down."

In the small teahouse, the atmosphere became lively before everyone arrived.

Four scholars sat at a table, and they were eager to share their recent reading experiences.

They had a nice chat, during which two people who arrived late joined in after making excuses.

By the time several pots of tea were finished, everyone had a look of satisfaction on their faces.

"Brother Yao hasn't arrived yet? He has to pay for the tea today."

Mr. Zhou took a sip of tea and said half-jokingly.

Hearing this, several scholars immediately echoed it.

Of course, their opinions were not unanimous. For example, Yang Xiucai thought that Li Xingwen should pay for the tea.

"Why do we have to pay in Xingwen?" Zhou Xiucai asked curiously.

"Hey, Xingwen is really a literary star from heaven. In just one month, his talent and learning have improved greatly. I think he will definitely pass the county exam this time."

Yang Xiucai half-jokingly said: "I am envious and jealous, how can I not take the opportunity to make him lose money?"

After Li Xingwen spoke humbly and laughed and scolded a few times, everyone's topic turned to the county examination.

"My dear brothers, I heard that the county examination is different from the academy examination. It seems that not everyone can pass the examination if they have talent." Someone suddenly said.

"You also need luck in the exam," Hu Xiucai said casually, but he found that the atmosphere around him suddenly became solemn.

"It's not just about the luck in the exam," Zhou Xiucai wanted to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he shook his head and took a sip of tea.

"Humph, what's there to hide? The aristocratic families are in power, and the imperial examination is unfair, so why don't you let people speak out?"

The imperial examination system was created by Taizu's grandson, and it is said that it was strongly opposed by ministers both inside and outside the court at that time.

If this emperor had not just conquered Miaojiang and Luosa, and not only had his prestige approaching that of Taizu but also had the support of countless military officers, the imperial examination would have definitely died amid widespread opposition.

After the death of the third emperor of the Jin Dynasty, he was posthumously named "Xiao Wu" and was known in history as Emperor Wu.

Later generations spoke highly of this emperor, believing that although he was the "Wu Emperor", his civil administration was in no way inferior to his military achievements.

The feat of vigorously promoting the imperial examination system and breaking the monopoly of the aristocratic families alone extended the fortunes of the Jin Dynasty for at least three hundred years.

Unfortunately, times have changed.

The imperial examination system has continued to this day. The academy examination can still be considered fair, but going higher becomes extremely disadvantageous to students from poor families.

..............

Although no names were mentioned, it is still quite taboo to criticize the powerful in public.

Yang Xiucai said impulsively that the imperial examination was unfair, and now he felt a little regretful.

He quickly said, "Of course, if someone had Xingwen's talent, he would definitely be able to pass the exam. After all, scholars like us shouldn't let our imagination run wild and should just focus on studying."

"That's right!" Everyone agreed, and the atmosphere at the tea table gradually eased.

A group of scholars gathered together and had endless things to talk about with each other.

The discussion was mainly about the imperial examination, but this time no one criticized the powerful. Instead, people recalled the period when academies flourished and scholars were at their most glorious.

The fourth and fifth emperors of the Jin Dynasty did not achieve much in their lives.

But they followed the will of Emperor Wu and established academies during their reign, using the civil servants who had passed the imperial examinations to check and balance the local clans and...those military nobles.

It is very interesting to say that Emperor Wu of Han was able to suppress internal and external dissatisfaction and promote the imperial examination system because he had a large army and the support of military nobles.

Later, he left a will, instructing his sons and grandsons to severely suppress the descendants of his most staunch supporters at that time.

It seems a bit too much to say that the bow is put away when the bird is dead.

After all, it is just suppression, not eradication.

It is definitely true to say that nothing in this world is permanent.

Due to the rise of the civil service group, academies in various places received support and even gained the qualification to hold academy examinations in a special period.

That’s right, the academy examination was not held by the imperial court, but by local academies!

In other words, academies were qualified to evaluate scholars; on a deeper level, academies in various places even controlled the promotion channels for ordinary people.

It is conceivable how glorious the students in academies were during that period and how much academies expanded across the country.

At that time, there were even several saints, and all the academies in the world promoted the "Way of the Saints", attempting to place the saints' teachings above the imperial power.

Then, and then no more.

Once the imperial court revoked the qualification for the imperial examination, there were no more saints in the world.

.............

Everyone else was reminiscing about the most glorious era for scholars, except Li Xingwen, who remained silent.

He drank his tea in silence, feeling quite amused.

Just now he was filled with righteous indignation, saying that there was a monopoly among the aristocratic families and that the imperial examination was unfair.

However, the monopoly by aristocratic families is a heinous crime, but the monopoly by academies is fair and just?

There is no such truth!

Even from his own standpoint, Li Xingwen felt that the students at the tea table should not miss that era.

"My family was poor, but because I was known as a child prodigy in the village when I was young, I was sponsored by the academy and studied for free."

'If the academy still had influence, how could it support someone like me who was poor but had a talent for studying?'

It's impossible. If he could go back to that era when the academy was at its peak and the students were so glorious, he, Li Xingwen, would not be able to study at all!

The same was true for several of my classmates. They were not rich and powerful, and they could not even step into the threshold of school.

"We have to go to the academy today to listen to the dean's lecture. Why hasn't Brother Yao come yet?" Li Xingwen said with a frown.

"I'm afraid something has delayed him. After we finish listening to the dean's lecture, we will go look for him together!"

Chapter 016 Self-degradation

“So there is sweet tofu pudding!”

After the little girl finished embroidering, she came to visit Shan Yunhe.

The tofu pudding that Miss Shan served her today was particularly different. It tasted cool and sweet.

"How does this new product I made taste?" Shan Yunhe asked with a smile.

“It tastes good, but it feels weird.”

After all, the girl had always eaten salty tofu pudding before, and it took her some time to adapt to this new dish.

"Haha, try the new bean cake I made."

Shan Yunhe brought the food she made herself. Seeing that Tangtang was eating happily, she asked, "By the way, Tangtang, what has Master Li taught you recently? Tell me quickly."

Every time Tangtang came here, Shan Yunhe would ask her about Li Xingwen, and the little girl would tell her everything she knew.

Gradually, the image of a talented scholar emerged in the girl's mind.

How does the saying go, start with appearance, fall in love with talent, and be loyal to character?

Shan Yunhe is now in the second stage and has already thought about examining Li Xingwen's character.

"Sister Shan, why do you always ask about my cousin?"

Once or twice, Tangtang thought Shan Yunhe wanted to learn.

After it happened too many times, she began to feel strange.

"To be honest, I have never experienced the feeling of being in love with someone."

Seeing that the little girl seemed to understand, Shan Yunhe simply said, "Haha, actually, I have a crush on your cousin! However, Mr. Li is currently in the observation period, and I haven't completely decided on him yet."

Wow

Tangtang's pigtails shook and she quickly started speaking well of Li Xingwen.

After listening to this with a smile, Shan Yunhe rolled his eyes and said that he would send the girl home tonight.

The reason was that she was worried that it was unsafe for Tangtang to walk at night, but in reality, she wanted to take this opportunity to test the scholar a little.

.....

Li Xingwen didn't know that he had been "targeted" by Shan Yunhe. He walked out of the academy with a thoughtful look on his face and was walking with everyone towards the residence of the person who broke the appointment.

Along the way, several scholars seemed rather silent, and they were all trying to figure out the principles that the dean had talked about in his previous lectures.

When they arrived in front of the cabin rented by Yao Xiucai, Li Xingwen broke the silence and asked, "Does this count as bad intentions?"

Several scholars were stunned when they heard this. Zhou Xiucai was the first to react. He laughed and said, "Forget it! After all, I'm here to ask for money for tea. Why should I be polite to others when asking for money?"

After saying that, everyone burst into laughter, and Li Xingwen began to knock on the door hard.

thump thump——

After a while, the door creaked open.

Yao Xi looked haggard and was yawning as he opened the door.

"Who... ah, it's awful!"

He was a little slow to react. When he saw his classmates outside, he was stunned for a moment before he remembered what day it was today.

"Brother Yao, you...did you stay up late to study hard yesterday?" Li Xingwen asked with a frown.

Yao Xi responded vaguely and just stood in front of the door, with no intention of letting his classmates come in and sit down.

Several scholars looked at him thoughtfully, teased him a few times, and then said goodbye and left.

"Brother Yao, studying hard is not just for a short period of time, your health is the most important thing."

Li Xingwen sighed and left with a disappointed look on his face.

After he caught up with the main group in a few steps, it seemed as if the scene when he came was repeating itself and everyone fell silent again.

Watching his classmates leave, Yao Xi couldn't help showing a look of annoyance.

He took two steps forward as if he was going to catch up, but at this moment, a slender hand reached out from behind the door and gently embraced the scholar's neck.

"Sir, come on."

With just a charming cry, the annoyance on Yao Xi's face disappeared.

'I'll apologize to them another day'

After this thought flashed through his mind, he returned to the land of gentleness.

.....

After the scholars walked for a while, someone suddenly sneered and said, "Yao Xi will definitely have no hope in the next county exam."

Everyone had just seen Yao Xi's condition.

The whites of the eyes are yellow, the lips are dark blue, and he yawns all the time!

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