Chapter 60 epilogue one

I sigh. "After my brother died, I was also very sad and often blamed myself. But my brother's ghost did not let me go. Whenever I took the scientific examination, his ghost would also float to the Gongyuan in the capital and follow me into the examination room. Then secretly play tricks, take revenge on me, and let me lose my name every time." "Is there no way to think about it?" "The third time I went to participate in the test, before I left, I invited several eminent monks to perform rituals. I thought that there should be no more accidents. In the court, at the second watch, I suddenly saw a mouse running into it. My test number bit our test papers, I chased them away, and came in to harass me again after a while, and I was exhausted after repeating this. I knew it was my younger brother who came to pester me, and he still refused to let me go in this test. I cried bitterly, and for a long time, I stopped answering with a pen, no matter how good the answer was, it was useless. I met Wang Juren next door, and knowing that he was difficult to be selected, I decided to dictate my knowledge to him. Wang Juren saw that I had a lot of insight, so he naturally accepted it."

"Then, did Wang Juren pass the exam?" "Of course Wang Juren was selected and won the Jinshi. Not long after, he was sent to the county magistrate of Jingzhou, Hubei. Because he didn't understand the rules of the officialdom and only cared about doing things for the people, he offended many people. One time he handled a case because he committed crimes against an important court official. My nephew asked to be beheaded, thus offending the powerful. After one or two years in office, he was framed, charged with an unfounded crime, and went to the guillotine! I don’t know if this is also caused by my younger brother!”

It sounds strange to me, since Wang Zhixian was beheaded, why can he still play chess with us? I was about to ask for clarification when I suddenly heard Tian Gudao calling my name outside. I looked out and saw that Tian Gudao had already arrived at the door with a mantra in his hand: "Xiucai, what did you do? You stayed inside so alone. Long?" There are obviously three people, how can Tian Gudao say that they are alone? I looked back, only to find that the two scholars who had just played chess suddenly disappeared!Where are Li Juren and Wang Zhixian? I broke out in a cold sweat, could it be that I encountered a ghost!

Tian Gudao explained: "When I came in, I saw you alone using some tiles to move around on the dusty old table..." It seems that I really encountered a ghost!Why didn't I discover it myself? The more I think about it, the more confused I become.It is estimated that when the two souls saw Tian Gudao's staff with the Brahma mantra in his hand, they immediately disappeared.In this way, this Brahma Mantra Heavenly Staff is indeed extraordinary. "Xiucai, I don't think we can stay here for long. That gold digger is right, let's hurry!" Tian Gudao reminded me.

So, we quickened our pace and walked forward, we had to get out of this ghost place quickly. After walking another five miles in one breath, we felt that we should have walked out of the gold rush area, so we stopped to rest for a while. While resting, we ate dry food.At this time, the sky has completely darkened, and the blackness has swallowed the entire mountain.Except for the sound of tired birds returning to their nests in the woods, and some hares scurrying in the grass, there is no life in the mountains. Sitting quietly for a while, suddenly a few owls hooted from the woods. "Xiucai, this owl's cry is very unlucky, will it be all right?" Tian Gudao couldn't hold his breath every time.

At this time, the ghost cub who was running around just now ran over, pulled me to look south, and vaguely saw a light in the mountains.I am secretly happy, I finally saw him, I can go and settle down, and I don't have to travel at night tonight, in this deep mountain, if I encounter big insects and beasts, it is rare to deal with them. After resting for about two sticks of incense, we continued to drive the corpse forward. However, an accident still happened—the body of Ma Tongsheng was motionless! "Grandma, pickle, did you encounter a ghost again?" Tian Gudao always said it was a ghost.

"No way? We have the Brahma Mantra and Heavenly Rod in our hands, so we can't suppress ghosts!" I was very suspicious. So, I wiped off the yang fire between my forehead and performed yin and yang techniques.Sure enough, I saw many lonely and wild ghosts making troubles. After a rough look, there were as many as forty or fifty. These wandering spirits look a little like the gold diggers in the mountains ahead.They pushed forward and pulled back, not allowing the horse boy to step forward.Some were sucking the wounds of Ma Tongsheng's corpse. I used to take out the Huya ruler and shoot these wild ghosts.What surprised me was that these ghosts did not hide and turned a blind eye to my movements.

I tried again, but it still didn't work. I took the Brahma Mantra Heavenly Staff and waved it, and saw the ghosts dodge for a while, but when I stopped, they turned back again.At this time, I felt a little apprehensive, it seemed that I had encountered a fierce ghost!This is the most powerful ghost I have ever met since I chased the corpse! I told Tian Gudao, and Tian Gudao quickly took out the ghost lock rope, and restrained him for a while, but it didn't work. "Senior brother, I'm afraid I really encountered a fierce ghost today. Your Brahma Mantra and Heavenly Rod and Tiger Tooth Suppression Ruler won't work either. These wild ghosts seem to be sure to eat us."

When I was looking for a solution, suddenly, I saw the two scholars I met in the hut coming towards me. The elderly Li Juren said to me: "This is a mountain depression. The terrain suddenly lowered, and the mountain air accumulated. At the same time, the trees here are tall, and the fallen leaves are piled up like a mountain. Many animals that were injured and died also fell here. By the side of the river, a miasma is formed, which will not disperse for a long time. All magic tools will lose their mana once they are invaded by miasma. Therefore, the magic tools in your hands can’t produce mana at all. I miss you You are a scholar, and the dead body you are chasing is also a scholar. Therefore, we help you block these ghosts, and you go forward quickly. There are too many ghosts, and we can’t stop them for long. You have to move quickly, hurry up Once you get out of this mountain depression and the place where miasma accumulates, you will be fine."

As soon as I heard it, I was not polite, bowed and thanked in a hurry, and then performed the corpse fast movement technique, trotted all the way, turned, went uphill, and came out of the valley not long after. Standing on a high place, I performed the yin and yang technique again, and sure enough, I saw many wild ghosts chasing after me, but they refused to approach me when they saw the magic staff in my hand.I waved the staff with the Brahma mantra, and saw the wild ghosts nearby fell to the ground, instantly turning into ashes... I thanked the souls of those two scholars far away, and then rushed to the house on the mountainside ahead.

Stayed at that person's house for one night, and continued to climb Xuefeng Mountain the next day. All the way down, there is no hindrance.Before dark, they crossed Xuefeng Mountain and entered the boundary of Baoqing Mansion. Another burst of rushing, soon arrived in Wugang, Ma Tongsheng heard the tragic cries of his wife and children, and fell to the ground.With the consent of the bereaved family, I set the old boy's inscriptions on the scriptures before his death on fire, and burned them together against his spiritual seat... After leaving Baoqing Mansion, I started to enter the plains. Anyway, no one needs to drive away the corpses. I asked Tian Gudao to put away the Tianlu flag, and rented a mule cart to avoid the pain of walking. The three of us got on the cart, Go straight to Changsha Mansion. In the past, I used to drive corpses and walk among the high mountains. Now I came to the plains, Tian Gudao, the ghosts, and I looked around, curious about the changes in geography and the changes in the clothes of passers-by on the road. "Xiu Cai, if we continue like this, we will arrive at Changsha Mansion in a short time." Tian Gudao looked very excited. At this time, there are still a few months before the exam, so there is plenty of time.Arrive in Changsha Mansion earlier so that I can rent a house and study hard. When the mule cart arrived in Xiangxiang, it was already dark, so I asked the groom to stop and start sharpening. It's not far from Changsha, so I'm not in a hurry. In Xiangxiang, I want to do two things.The first thing is to go to Xiangxiang Confucian Temple to offer sacrifices. Confucian Temple is dedicated to Confucius, also known as Confucian Temple.Confucius is the originator of scholars and has been admired by Confucian scholars of all ages. As soon as a school child enters a private school, the first thing to do is to kowtow to the tablet that says "Heaven, Earth, Monarch, Teacher and Parent", and the "teacher" in it represents Confucius.The Xiangxiang Confucian Temple has a long-standing reputation. The emperors of the Qing Dynasty, including Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, Xianfeng, and Tongzhi, all gave plaques and steles, which shows its majesty.Of course, when I went to the Confucian Temple to offer sacrifices, I still wanted to pray to Confucius to bless me and grant me fame. The second thing is to pay a visit to Fuhoutang, the ancestral home of Wen Zhenggong Zeng Guofan.Fuhoutang can cultivate a great husband like Wen Zhenggong. I think it must be a treasured place of geomantic omen, and I want to get a glimpse of it.Wen Zhenggong Zeng Guofan has always been a model for scholars and the pride of scholars.Wen Zhenggong, who was born in Fuhoutang, Xiangxiang, entered a school when he was six years old. He was able to read stereotyped essays and recite the Five Classics when he was eight years old. Best is listed as superior.In the twelfth year of Daoguang, he was admitted as a scholar, and he was awarded a Jinshi when he was just 28 years old.Since then, his official career has been smooth, and he was finally added as the crown prince and Taifu, granted the first-class title of Marquis of Yiyong, and rewarded with two eyes.Wen Zhenggong was eager to learn all his life. Even when he was marching and fighting, Wen Zhenggong couldn't leave his hands. His studious learning has been widely recited by scholars. Regarding the second matter, Tian Gudao spoke nonsense: "Xiucai, it is said that Zeng Guofan killed people without blinking an eye. He was called Zeng Shaved. What's so interesting about his ancestral house!" "If you don't understand, please refrain from talking wildly. Wen Zheng's public killing is also based on the order of the court, not personal intentions. Besides, Duke Wen Zheng presided over the restoration of the Jiangnan Tribute Court. How many champions and important officials of the court came from the Jiangnan Tribute Court. Moreover, Wen Zhenggong has always supported newcomers, Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, etc. are not immune to his kindness. From this point of view, Wen Zhenggong is indeed a model for my scholars." I scolded. A group of several people stayed overnight in Xiangxiang City. That night, I fasted, bathed, changed clothes, and prepared incense candles. Speechless all night, go to sleep.He slept until midnight, but was awakened by the sound of flute. Hearing the sound of the flute, it is sad and mournful, straight to the hearts of the people. Even though I am good at the hole flute, I still can't resist the sound of sorrow, and I can't help crying.Hearing the sound, you know that the sorrow is in the flesh, the heart is broken and dead. I was shocked and asked the shop owner, "Who is this blower?" The owner of the store replied: "The guest officer doesn't know. This is Wang Sanlang at the end of the street. He failed in the scientific examinations repeatedly and has been depressed. Two days ago, his wife fell ill and died. He was even more distraught and moved. I want to die. The villagers grabbed the flute and saw bloodstains on the flute!" So, I held up the hole flute and played it, making a pleasant and pleasant sound, to kill his sorrow.Not long after, the mournful Dong Xiao stopped.I told the shop owner: "There should be no serious problems now. You can ask his relatives tomorrow to split his hole flute, then fry it and drink its liquid, which can cure his heart disease." The shop owner nodded in agreement. Sitting down alone, I couldn't help but think of Tian Xiaomei.It's strange to say that I, who only read sage books, did not know when it started, but I actually had some concerns about this woman, and this concern seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.If I win Juren, I will definitely marry this strange woman.Now I say to myself. The next day, just after dawn, Tian Gudao and the ghost cub were still asleep, so I came to the Confucian Temple devoutly.The Confucian Temple has double eaves and brackets, red walls and green tiles.Lingxing Gate, Bell and Drum Tower, Dacheng Hall and Chongsheng Hall form a huge architectural complex. The Confucian Temple in the morning light is full of the majesty of the most holy teacher.Although it has been baptized by wind and rain in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, it is still solemn and solemn. In the Dacheng Hall, a tall statue of Confucius, dressed in imperial costumes, looks lifelike.Confucius and even the sages and teachers, even the emperors are his disciples.The status is so high that no one can shake it. In front of the Dacheng Hall, there are two imperial monuments, "Confucius Praise of the First Teacher" and "Four Great Virtuous Praises", and there are many kinds of imperial plaques hanging, such as the plaque "Master of All Ages" awarded in the 22nd year of Kangxi; The first year of Qianlong was awarded the plaque of "Participating with Heaven and Earth"; the fourth year of Jiaqing was awarded the plaque of "Shengji Dacheng"; the first year of Daoguang was awarded the plaque of "Shengxie Shizhong"; Plaque; in the second year of Tongzhi, the plaque of "Holy God Tianzong" was awarded. Seeing these imperial plaques, I was in awe.The respect for Confucius arises spontaneously. At this time, there was no one in the hall.I am very happy in my heart, today I burn the first incense.Burning incense can often bring people good luck. I put the three animals I brought on the altar, put sandalwood on it, and then respectfully came to the altar, kneeling three times and prostrating nine times.In my heart, I silently recited the chant of "Wen Sheng, My Ancestor, Master Wan Shi...".At the same time, I silently made a wish in my heart, praying to the sage Confucius to bless me this time for the provincial examination and high school... After the ceremony, I retreated cautiously and went to the gate. I met an old man dressed as a scholar. He was estimated to be close to sixty years old, with gray hair and beard. He also came to worship with offerings and other things. I nodded with him as a sign that we had dealt with each other before. After leaving Dacheng Gate, I wandered leisurely in the courtyard.At this time, the sun was rising, and the number of people began to increase. I guess, because the township examination held every three years is coming soon, many students have rushed to the Confucian Temple to worship and make wishes in order to get a good reputation. When I came out of the Chongsheng Hall and walked to the courtyard, I suddenly saw a young man rushing in, and I blamed him in my heart: the Confucian Temple is a solemn place, the behavior should not be so reckless. I watched the young guy enter the Dacheng Hall. Not long after, I heard a heart-piercing cry from inside the hall: "God, why do you betray me so much..." I searched for the sound and went in, only to see the old man who had gone in to pay homage earlier, was sitting on the ground in the hall, deeply grieved. I inquired about it, and it turned out that the young man ran over in a hurry and brought a piece of paper to his father who is a scholar. Urgently, the imperial court regards the promotion of science as a matter of urgency, and has repeatedly issued edicts, ordering the governors to set up schools, so that people all over the country can learn more about practical learning, so that they can be sent to their posts. The Brigadier General's Township Examination is divided into three subjects. According to the reports of the governor and others, the imperial examinations are not stopped, and the people take the lead to wait and see. To promote schools, the imperial examinations must be stopped first. What is said is not unfounded. The writing starts from the Bingwu Section, All the township and general examinations will be suspended, and the provincial examinations will also be suspended. The previous measures, tributes, and students are measured separately, and other items are handled as requested." When I read the text, my mind went blank, and I seemed to be suffocating. This note means that the imperial court has issued an edict to abolish the imperial examinations starting from the thirty-second year of Guangxu! Looking at the old man crying bitterly, I stubbornly comforted myself: Impossible!This is absolutely impossible! The abolition of imperial examinations has been discussed for the first time since the imperial court implemented the "New Deal" in the 27th year of Guangxu.By the 30th year of Guangxu, the imperial examination had been changed to stereotyped essays, but it had not been abolished.Could it be that I was abolished as soon as I took the scientific examination?Did the bad news really come so fast? ! I can't believe it.Seeing the grief-stricken look of the old man, I consoled him in turn: "I have never heard of these words on the paper. Maybe they are just folk rumors. Before it is confirmed, it is better to keep calm." Hearing what I said, the old man's crying gradually died down, and then he asked where the news of his son came from. His son told him that it was sent by Jiao Xiucai from the neighboring village. At this moment, outside the main hall, there were a few cries, and three people who looked like scholars stumbled in. The three of them went straight to the statue of Confucius, fell to the ground and wept: "The sage is above, you judge. Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong, who are so evil, actually connive at Lafayette to abolish the imperial examination. I waited my whole life to study hard, but in exchange for a curtain of empty dreams, what is the law of heaven! What is the law of heaven..." Upon hearing this, the old man knew that the news about his son was true, and burst into tears again. Immediately, there were constant cries in the originally quiet Dacheng Hall... At this time, from time to time, scholars came one after another, hugging each other and weeping... Looking at the scene shrouded in sadness, I suppressed my grief, exited the hall, and leaned on the Zhuangyuan Bridge in front of Lingxing Gate.There was no movement for a long time.Recalling the hardships of reading, I couldn't help the eyes moist, and then screamed, took out the wolf flute cinnabar pen, and wrote vigorously on the bluestone board, and hurriedly wrote "Ode to Sadness": Yu, Leng Yicai, entered a private school at the age of four, could recite the Five Classics at the age of eight, mastered the historical records at the age of fifteen, and became a student at the age of eighteen.The Leng family has always been proud of their studies and valued their fame. However, there are very few people who stand out. Only Leng Sansi enrolls students, and when he is dying, he tells the clan members that they must use their studies to prosper the clan, so as to glorify the ancestors and help the clan's prestige. A down-and-out scholar was born at an untimely time, just when his family was in decline, and his family was in decline.After the boy's list, the family is bare and nothing else.The township examination is coming soon, and the pockets are so shy that it is difficult to make up money.Extremely depressing, hearing that walking corpses and moving souls makes a lot of money, he humiliated himself and went around several places, asking for help from others, but to no avail, all because of his good looks.When he was desperate, he broke the boat, disfigured his face with venom, and then worshiped his teacher, but he refused, so he knelt down for three days, unable to get up, his teacher was very grateful, and accepted him. After entering the teacher's school, he got the true biography and became a closed disciple.Yu Xiu walks dead, not to make a living. He originally wanted to be an official, so he fulfilled his fifth uncle's long-cherished wish.On the way to chase the corpse, he was exposed to frost and dew, lying on thorns, day and night, eating mud on the top and drinking the spring below.Some are curled up in desolate valleys, or live in ruins and ruined temples. During this period, some people are starved of food, some are trapped in a whole body, or they are entangled by ghosts, or they are spurned by others, or they are plotted by others. Miserable, Yu, Zhijian is unshakable. Waiting for the three-year competition, I have enough money, and I went to Changsha to take the exam, hoping to achieve success and fame.However, when we arrived in Xiangxiang, we learned that the imperial court issued an edict to abolish the imperial examination.Hearing it, my heart is full of worries, my liver and gallbladder are torn, and I have spent more than ten years of studying hard in the cold window, all of which are in vain.Sigh!God's will and human affairs can be sad and sad. At that time, suddenly the autumn wind blew up for a while, Yu Bai felt sad, heartbroken, Xiao Xiao was sad, as if dying.Hee hee sad!I was angry and hated, unwilling to reconcile, and took a long breath to cover up my tears, mourning the severance of my official career.Woohoo, why did the heavens blame me... After writing, he threw the cinnabar pen aside, rushed to his heart, spit out a mouthful of blood, fell on the Zhuangyuan Bridge, and passed out... ... When I woke up, I found myself lying on the bunk in the inn. Seeing me open my eyes, the ghost cub screamed excitedly, and Tian Gudao heard the sound: "Xiucai, you scared me to death! We woke up early in the morning, but there was no sign of you. We knew you had gone to the Confucian Temple, but wait I haven’t seen you back for a long time, Guiziyao and I went to look for you, only to find you fainted in the Confucian Temple, so we called someone to carry you back, and strangled you hard.” Tian Gudao also knew about the court's decree to abolish the imperial examinations. He said bitterly: "Grandma is a kimchi, Yuan Shikai, who is so stupid, has killed many scholars in the world! Fortunately, I didn't study at the time, otherwise I might not be able to bear this blow. Xiucai, anyway, things are already like this, and it’s not just that you can’t take the imperial examination alone, think about it, there will always be a bright future.” At this moment, I heard the sound of crying on the street outside the inn. It was the grief-stricken voices of local and out-of-town Confucian scholars. The voice was full of despair, as if the end of the world had come. Under Tian Gudao's persuasion, my grief was gradually released, but it was really hard to calm down. Now that the imperial court has canceled the imperial examination, what should we do next?Shall we go on to Changsha, or go home?Tian Gudao said: "If you come here, you will be safe. We have a carriage, and we are only a day away from Changsha Mansion anyway. Let's go and have a look, otherwise we may not have the opportunity to go to the provincial capital in our lifetime. Scholar, I will Don't believe that we can't get along in Changsha City, we are not even afraid of ghosts, but are we afraid of the people in Changsha City?" Gui Ziyao also applauded. I thought about it, and felt that what Tian Gudao said made sense. Besides, we had a lot of money in our wallets, which was enough for us to stay in Changsha Mansion for a while.In addition, since the imperial court abolished the imperial examination and ordered the opening of schools, I might as well go to Changsha to see the situation first, wait and see how it changes, and maybe there will be new opportunities. Seeing that I agreed to his proposal, Tian Gudao was very happy, and asked me if I would still go to Zeng Guofan's Fu Hou Tang.I said of course I would.Tian Gudao said that since scholars have lost the opportunity to gain fame, it is meaningless to visit Zeng Guofan's hometown, so it is better not to go.In fact, when I went to Fuhoutang, apart from paying a visit to Wen Zhenggong’s mansion and learning about the background of the commander of the Hunan Army, another reason was to see the Feng Shui there. I have always been curious about how the Zeng Wenzheng family can be so powerful. , there must be good Feng Shui to help. While we were arguing, the owner of the store who went upstairs to deliver water interrupted and said, "Guest officials, do you want to go to Wen Zhenggong's hometown? Zeng Wenzheng is certainly a hero in the world, but in our Xiangxiang, there is a saying-Wu Zennan , there is no Hunan Army. Besides Wen Zhenggong, we locals in Xiangxiang also pay homage to Luo Zhongjiegong.” The Zenan mentioned by the shop owner is the famous Zhongjie Gong Luo Zenan. I have heard of his reputation a long time ago. He is the ancestor of the Hunan Army.Zeng Guofan trained the Hunan Army with Luo Zenan on the basis of the Xiangxiang regiment training hosted by Luo Zenan.In Xiangxiang, Luo Zenan is known as the "Father of the Hunan Army". The owner of the store said: "I know that you scholars study very hard. It is really difficult to get a degree of fame. Luo Zhongjie is also a scholar like you. He did not pass the exam until he was in his forties. During the incident, Duke Luo Zhongjie assisted Duke Zeng Wenzheng in training the Hunan Army. Duke Luo Zhongjie was a gentleman before, and his disciples followed him into the army, and most of them became generals and commanders in charge, and made great contributions to the court." Hearing what the shop owner said, I felt that Luo Zenan, who is also a scholar like me, was more worthy of my worship, so I asked Duke Zhongjie where his hometown was.The shop owner said that the distance between Luo Zenan and Zeng Wenzheng's family is not far, only twenty miles away, in Zhongliwanzhou, Xiangxiang, and it can be reached in a day with a horse-drawn carriage.If you want to save trouble, there is Luo Zhongjie Temple in Xiangxiang County, which was also built by Emperor Xianfeng's imperial edict to commemorate the outstanding founder of the Hunan Army. When Tian Gudao heard that I was going to visit Luo Zenan's hometown again, he was a little reluctant.So they tricked me into paying homage to Luo Zhongjie Gong Temple in Xiangxiang County.After a while of deliberation, we decided to go directly to Changsha Mansion after paying homage to the Luo Zhongjie Temple in Xiangxiang City.After calming down a bit, I, He Tian Gudao, and Gui Zai Yao prepared incense candles and went to Luo Zhongjie Gong Temple to worship.In front of the statue of Lord Luo Zhongjie, I bowed deeply. After leaving the special temple, Tian Gudao suddenly said: "Xiucai, I found that Luo Zenan was born as a scholar, but he has gained such a great reputation, even the emperor Laozi specially issued an imperial decree to build a special temple for him to commemorate him. Many of his disciples Later, they all became governors, governors-general and admirals of military camps in various provinces, so I think that studying may not be the only way to gain fame, and you can also learn something from Luo Zenan." After listening to Tian Gudao's words, I felt enlightened.I didn't expect that Tian Gudao, who I always thought was dull, was more enlightened than me.I immediately looked at Tian Gudao with admiration. Speechless all the way, went straight to Changsha Mansion. When entering the city, he suddenly remembered the eighty-year-old scholar Zhong Taishu he met on the boat to Hongjiang. Tian Gudao took out a note from his purse, which contained the address where they stayed in Changsha, a Jinbang Inn next to Hunan Gongyuan.So, our group went straight to the Jinbang Inn, where we found the old scholar Zhong Taishu.When Zhong Taishu heard we were coming, he immediately greeted me. As soon as he saw me, he hugged me tightly and cried bitterly: "Brother, Yuan Shikai is wicked. Using slanderous words to make Lafayette abolish the imperial examination is equivalent to changing our old life." Ah, we have been studying all our lives, just hoping to be named on the gold list, gain fame, and honor our ancestors, this is great, hope is all in vain..." Zhong Taishu's words hit my heart every sentence, and I felt a burst of sadness again.After that, I comforted Mrs. Zhong.His children and grandchildren were at a loss, probably because they couldn't solve the old man's knot. After a period of sadness, Zhong Taishu and I sat down hand in hand.The old man asked me what my plan was, and I said that I wanted to go to the Gongyuan to have a look. I had studied all my life, and I just wanted to get a good grade in the Gongyuan. Scientific atmosphere.Mr. Zhong nodded, and said he would go with me, he was very familiar with the place. At that moment, Mr. Zhong led me straight to the Gongyuan, because the Gongyuan was diagonally opposite the inn, only ten feet away, and we arrived in a short time.When I came to the gate of the Gongyuan, I found a dense area, and a group of scholars were in great pain there.Zhong Taishu and I squeezed in with moist eyes.Zhong Taishu took me on a tour, and gave me a detailed introduction. At this time, he seemed to be a different person, like a veteran who has been involved in the rivers and lakes for a long time. It seems that he has come to this Gongyuan for exams more than once or twice.I really did not expect that the examination house that determines the fate of a scholar is so simple.I felt very upset and thought it was too hasty.Today, the imperial examination has been cancelled, that's all. When Zhong Taishu accompanied me out of the Gongyuan, more and more scholars gathered in front of the gate, and they refused to disperse. Most of them had gloomy faces, and many of them were crying bitterly.Mr. Zhong stood in front of the gate of the Gongyuan, asked his descendants to take out the "Four Books" and "Five Classics", held them in their hands and meditated for a long time, then asked his descendants to fetch candles, and burned all the books with one fire.While watching the burning of the scrolls, tears flowed down my face.A scholar next to him saw Mr. Zhong's actions, wept bitterly, and passed out.Zhong Taishu's descendants hurriedly took the old man away, fearing that he would be sad again. It's night, we are speechless.I habitually took out the books and read them. Tian Gudao grabbed the book in my hand and threw it out of the window: "Xiucai, I think you are really poisoned. This Laoshizi Confucianism, whether you don’t study it or not, the court will not care about it." Right now, the most important thing is to think about how we should go next!" One word awakens the dreamer.Yes, it is time to consider how to go after the abolition of the imperial examination. Tian Gudao obviously already had his own plan: "Xiucai, anyway, if the imperial examination is not going to be successful, we might as well get on with our old skills." "Hurting corpses in Changsha city? You are such an idiot! Why do you want to drive away dead corpses in this city!" I retorted. "We use Changsha as our station, just like we use Liye as our station in our hometown. If there is a dead body, we will go there. If there is no dead body, we will pull out some corns, give them some Chenzhou talisman water, and cure them. Minor colds, suppressing shock for children crying at night, suppressing ghosts for wealthy families, watching Feng Shui, etc., can also make a living." Tian Gudao said.