Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 416

Before Song Ying could answer, Tao asked hurriedly, "No, does this young master recognize my grandson?"

Shen Jing was beaming with joy and bowed, "So it's Old Madam Yuan. I'm a close friend of Brother Yuan. My name is Shen Jing. You can just call me Shen Jing, Madam."

He was dressed in rich clothes, and it was obvious that he was not from an ordinary family. How could Tao really call him by his name? She just skipped the name and asked anxiously, "Is the question difficult?"

Shen Jing laughed loudly, "Don't worry, old lady. This question is difficult for others, but it is easy for me and Brother Yuan!"

"Hey, Yuan Qing has a clear understanding of the classics and has excellent writing skills, so this question is naturally not difficult for him. How dare you, Shen Jing, who has never been ranked in the top five in the academy, say that it will be a piece of cake?" There was a laugh from the side, and it was Bai Liang, who was also a student of Jiahu Academy.

Facing Bai Liang's ridicule, Shen Jing was not angry at all, and was still beaming with joy. "The first question about the Four Books, Brother Yuan and I read about it in a book half a year ago, and we even discussed it at that time."

The candidates nearby were all stunned, some were envious and some were suspicious.

"Don't talk nonsense, this is a question of cutting off the connection."

Being in the excitement, Shen Jing did not hear the doubt in the tone of the person asking the question, and still said excitedly: "That was the article written by Tang Laozhong who won the first prize in the eighth year of Huijia. If you don't believe it, go and look through the collection of articles. I don't remember which collection of articles it was, but I remember it was on the later pages of the collection of articles."

After hearing this, the examinees were even more unconvinced. "The provincial and metropolitan examinations don't test questions on interpolation. You can't even make a clear lie."

"Who is lying? It's not that you can't take the exam just because you don't take it often! You can find out if you go back and check!" Shen Jing felt that these people were simply treating him as an idiot. What's the point of lying about such a thing? You can find out if you just look through the documents in the collection.

At this time, a candidate from Jiahu Academy suddenly asked, "Is it the time when you and Yuan Qing said it was brilliant and unmatched when we were having lunch in the cafeteria?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That time!" Shen Jing nodded and became excited again, "Were you there too?"

"I'll review the lessons behind you." The candidate regretted so much that he beat his chest and stamped his feet. It was near the quarterly exam and the instructor from the county government was the one setting the questions. He was extremely anxious and took two bites of food before picking up the book to review.

Later, Yuan Qing and Shen Jing were very excited and kept saying it was wonderful. He listened to a few words and then ignored them and continued to review his own books. If he had known earlier, he should have gone up to discuss it with Yuan Qing and the others that day!

With the words of this examinee, the scholar who suspected Shen Jing of cheating earlier felt less suspicious, but he still asked: "It's been half a year, you still remember? Your memory is so good?"

Shen Jing rolled his eyes. "I didn't recite it specifically. I just read it once. How can I remember it all?"

After a pause, he became excited again, "But I remember the opening sentence very clearly, word for word!"

Hearing this, Yuan Shan couldn't help but mutter, "I only remember one sentence."

Looking at his expression before, I thought he had memorized the entire text and would definitely pass the exam this time!

Although Song Ying had never written an eight-part essay, he had learned a little about it in the past few years. He explained, "If the topic is well-chosen, the essay is half done!"

She couldn't help but be happy for Yuan Qing and Shen Jing. These two were so lucky. It was such a good omen. It seemed like they would have no problem passing the county exam.

She was still thinking about waiting for Yuan Qing to come out and ask a few questions, but an officer shouted that many candidates had caught a cold and had been holding on until the end. Now they were exhausted, so Song Ying went to treat them with the doctors.

Shen Jing, who was in the crowd, was in a very good mood. He looked inside the Dragon Gate and asked, "Why hasn't Brother Yuan come out yet?"

The candidates nearby were all envious, especially the students from Jiahu Academy. Someone said, "Yuan Qing has a good memory, he should remember more. It seems that he will almost pass the county exam this time."

The county examination selects fifty people. If some are sure to pass, the others will lose a chance.

Not long after, Yuan Qing came out. Shen Jing rushed to meet him before Tao and Yuan Shan. "We have seen the first question about the Four Books in Wen Mansion before. Do you remember it?"

Yuan Qing was speechless. Shen Jing had a carefree personality and didn't even think about his special status. If he guessed the right answer, people would suspect that County Magistrate Chen leaked the test questions to the Shen family. He could just make a fortune from this kind of thing quietly, so why did he make it known to everyone?

He glanced calmly at the candidates around him, and sure enough, suspicion was evident in many of them's eyes.

He sighed softly, helping Shen Jing clear his suspicion, "Remember, this is the work that won the first prize in Huijia's eighth year of the imperial examination."

Immersed in the joy of hitting the jackpot, Shen Jing was completely unaware of these subtleties and was still in high spirits: "Your memory is better than mine, so you should remember more. I only remembered one sentence of the opening sentence, but it doesn't matter. If the opening sentence is correct, half of the essay is done. This time, we brothers will win the county exam!"

"I remember the general idea, but I wrote it myself."

"Ah?" Shen Jing was stunned. Those envious candidates were also stunned. He guessed the question correctly in the examination room but didn't write it. He must have a problem with his brain!

Tao was anxious. She squeezed into a group of candidates and asked anxiously, "Why don't you write? This is a good thing that others can't even ask for."

"Grandma, why are you here?" Yuan Qing was surprised when he noticed Tao's presence at this time. He looked again and found Yuan Shan outside the crowd.

"You are taking the county exam, so of course I have to come and take a look. Let me ask you, why didn't you write down the answer even though you guessed the answer correctly? Child, how can you be so inflexible? We are not cheating, and you wouldn't write down the answer even though you guessed the answer correctly." The more Tao spoke, the more anxious she became.

In order to prove herself, she insisted on having her own way and supported her husband, son and grandson to go to school. However, her husband and son were not talented and the family savings were all gone. Fortunately, her grandson was talented, but after studying in the city for a few years, he became pedantic.

"Grandma, please don't worry. Listen to me." Yuan Qing hurriedly explained, "I also thought carefully about how to answer if I encountered this situation. For this county exam, I want to rely on my real talents and knowledge, and I believe I have the ability to do it!"

It was impossible for Yuan Qing to speak out his true thoughts in public, but these powerful words made everyone around him quiet for a moment.

Immediately, one of the candidates clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Well said! This brother is truly a gentleman, a role model for our generation! My name is Zheng Yi, and I would like to make friends with you."

Yuan Qing returned the greeting, "I'm Yuan Qing, nice to meet you!"

Zheng Yi added: "I hope to go to the government examination with Brother Yuan."

After him, many people came forward to make friends with Yuan Qing, which made Shen Jing unhappy. He said bluntly: "Brother Yuan, you are too rude. You make me look like a villain."

"Shut up!" a female voice rang out.