In a few months, it will be time for the imperial examination to be held by the imperial court. Chengwu County Although Fang Zhouming, the son of Chengwu County, had outstanding literary talent and both political integrity and talent, his family was poor and could not afford the high travel expenses required to go to Beijing to take the exam, and he did not want to borrow money everywhere and burden his family, so he I found a private school and became a teacher.
On this day, his good friend Wang Luchuan came to him and discussed with him about going to Beijing to take the exam. Fang Zhouming shook his head helplessly and said: "You know my family situation. I really can't raise the money for travel. I also want to borrow money from everywhere to add unnecessary burden to my family. I will not take part in this scientific examination."
Wang Lucuan said with a smile: "I know your family is not rich, and I have come today to tell you good news. I have found a smooth boat for you!" It turns out that there is another person who passed the exam in the same period as them. The man named Zhou Lin was a rich man, and his family hired a boat to take him to Beijing for this imperial examination.
After Wang Lucuan heard the news, he found Zhou Lin and hoped to take the two of them to Beijing together. Zhou Lin was also happy and agreed without saying a word, saying that as long as they brought their own dry food, it would be fine.
When Fang Zhouming heard that there was such a good thing, he immediately became excited. He went home, prepared his luggage and dry food, and set off with Zhou Lin on the auspicious day.
Zhou Lin was a righteous man. After seeing the two of them boarding the boat, he said, "It's a real honor for me to be able to travel with these two great talents. I've paid for all the food for this trip."
Fang Zhouming waved his hands after hearing this. : "How is this possible? Brother Zhou is willing to take us to Beijing together. This has already cost you money. How can we let you take care of our food again?"
After hearing this, Zhou Lin laughed and said: "You two are great talents. , I will definitely learn a lot from you along the way, which no amount of money can buy. Those meals will be regarded as my tuition fees." Fang Zhouming and Wang Luchuan listened to what he said. , and no longer refused. The three of them discussed knowledge along the way, which was quite harmonious.
In the afternoon of this day, the boat arrived outside a town. The river flows here slowly, flowers bloom on both sides of the river, and the mountains in the distance are like dark green. The scenery is very pleasant.
Fang Zhouming stood on the bow of the boat admiring the beautiful scenery in the distance, and suddenly heard someone shouting "Help" from the shore. He followed the sound and saw a woman dressed as a maid standing by the river crying anxiously. He quickly asked: "What's wrong with you?" The maid cried, pointing to the river and shouting: "My lady fell into the river!" After hearing this, Fang Zhouming jumped into the river without any hesitation, and went towards the maid. Swim in the direction pointed. Soon, he saw a woman struggling in the water. When Fang Zhouming swam over, the woman had fainted and her body was sinking little by little. Fang Zhouming took the woman into his arms, put her face up, and then swam quickly to the shore.
Fang Zhouming grew up by the river. Naturally, he knew that the woman's abdomen was full of water and she had to spit it out quickly, otherwise her life would be in danger. He didn't dare to delay, and immediately grabbed the woman's ankle, stood up suddenly, and made the woman lie head down on his back.
As Fang Zhouming ran and bumped, the woman also bumped and swayed with him, spitting out the water in her abdomen one by one. After a while, I heard the woman shout "Wow". Fang Zhouming heard the woman cry out and knew she was awake, so he carefully placed the woman on the ground.
At this time, Zhou Lin also asked the boatman to bring the boat to the shore, and then went ashore to see how the woman who fell into the water was doing.
The woman who knew Zhou Lin had a frightened expression on her face. She hugged Fang Zhouming and shouted, "Water ghost... don't come here... don't come here!" Fang Zhouming comforted her and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here. Here it is!"
The maid also ran over at this time. After seeing that her young lady was safe and sound, she shouted excitedly: "Miss, Miss——" The woman looked at her in panic, but she pushed hard into Fang Zhouming's arms, still It is called water ghost . Now no one is allowed to get close except the woman Fang Zhouming, but Fang Zhouming can only let the maid lead the way and send the woman home.
It turns out that this woman’s name is Li Xinrui, and she is the only daughter of local wealthy businessman Li Yuan’s mother-in-law. Mr. Li had no children and only had one daughter, so he doted on this daughter. Now that his daughter was suffering from such a crazy disease, he was extremely anxious and called many famous doctors to see her, but to no avail. Li Xinrui would be quiet only when Fang Zhouming was around. Once he was gone, she would be so scared that she would shrink into a corner and not let anyone get close to her.
Fang Zhouming and others have been staying here for several days. On this day, Zhou Lin found Fang Zhouming and said, "It's time for us to leave. If we don't leave, we may miss the scientific examination."
Fang Zhouming said with a look of embarrassment: "How can I leave when Miss Li is like this!"
Wang Luchuan said: "Brother Fang, you have done your best to save Miss Li's life. You are not a doctor. I think you can't do anything about treating illnesses. Don't worry about it, you still have to focus on the imperial examination."
Fang Zhouming was kind-hearted, but he still couldn't worry about Miss Li, and said: "You also know that Miss Li's condition will worsen as soon as I leave. She is still young, maybe. My life is ruined. I will stay a few more days until her condition becomes more stable before leaving." Zhou Lin and Wang Lucuan tried to persuade Fang Zhouming for a while, but he insisted on staying. They saw that the exam period was getting closer. As they got closer, Fang Zhouming was left behind and left by boat.
After Li Yuanwai learned about this, he stamped his feet anxiously: "What can we do? My Rui'er has delayed the young master's future!" Fang Zhouming comforted him: "Liu Yuanwai doesn't have to blame himself. I'm just going to take the scientific examination. You may not be able to pass the exam. It would be better to have a good time traveling around here." After hearing this, Mr. Li was even more grateful to him. On that day, the sky was fine. Li Yuanwai took Fang Zhouming and his daughter to the Fahua Temple to offer incense and worship Buddha.
Mr. Li is also a believer and a good woman. She often donates money for incense to the temple and is considered a distinguished guest of the temple. When the old abbot heard that he was coming, he quickly came out to greet him.
When the old abbot saw Fang Zhouming, he was stunned. He stood there in shock for a while before he recovered. Then he saluted Fang Zhouming and said, "Amitabha, sir, it is really a blessing that you can come to this small temple." The temple is full of glory."
Li Yuanwai and Fang Zhouming were stunned when they heard this. Fang Zhouming said with a smile: "Master, have you admitted the wrong person?"
The abbot said seriously: "It is impossible to admit the mistake. The abbot has some books here, which he must like. Why don't I take you there now?" Without waiting for Fang Zhouming to reply, the abbot took him to the library.
When Fang Zhouming saw the collection of books, his eyes couldn't help but light up. Those are out-of-print books that are rare on the market and are very valuable. Fang Zhouming couldn't put it down after seeing it. He spent a long time looking at it in the library. It wasn't until Mr. Li was about to leave after praying to the Buddha that Fang Zhouming came out of the library.
Before leaving, the abbot said: "Sir, if you like it, I am willing to give you two books from the collection." After hearing this, Fang Zhouming waved his hands and refused: "Master, I can't do this. Those books are too expensive, and the students can't afford them. "The abbot smiled and said: "Since you insist on doing this, I will keep it for you first. If you want to see it, please come and get it at any time!"
After another five days, Li Xinrui's condition gradually improved. Fang Zhouming saw that the exam period was approaching. Even if he rushed to the capital now, he might miss the exam time, so he might as well go home.
Yuan Li went out to hire a boat for him, and met the abbot of Fahua Temple on the way. The two talked about this, and the abbot said excitedly: "Today a merchant came to the temple to worship Buddha. He is also going to the capital, and will set off early tomorrow morning. This merchant's goods are afraid of getting wet, so he takes the dry road. , much faster than taking a boat, and might be able to catch up with the imperial examination.
The abbot and Li Yuanwai hurried to the inn and met with the merchant.
It turned out that the merchant's name was Wang Can, and he was from Wangyue Tower in the capital. The shopkeeper came to Sichuan specifically to buy seasonings. Now that the goods have been purchased, he is about to return to the capital.
When Wang Can heard about Fang Zhouming, he directly agreed and said: "We can't let such a good person feel cold! Don't worry, I will set off early tomorrow morning and try to make it before the scientific examination. Go back." Li Yuanwai was very excited after hearing this. He ran all the way back home and told Fang Zhouming the good news. Fang Zhouming was very happy after hearing this and quickly packed his luggage.
The next day, at dawn, Fang Zhouming set off with Wang Can. Before leaving, Mr. Li forced him to give him a hundred taels of silver and asked him to keep it on the road.
Wang Can was afraid of delaying the time for Fang Zhouming’s scientific examination, so he really rushed forward and stayed overnight. After traveling for more than ten days, they came to a small town that night. Wang Can and the guys went to bed after dinner. Fang Zhouming wanted to go for a walk in the town since it was his first time in the north. , feel the customs and customs here.
Fang Zhouming walked around the town. He was very curious about everything he looked at and looked at everything carefully. It was already night before he knew it. When they returned to the inn, a strong wind suddenly blew, blowing away a corner of the tarpaulin on Wang Can's truck, and then a bolt of lightning tore the sky apart, followed by a deafening thunder.
Fang Zhouming screamed in his heart, it was going to rain heavily! He rushed to the side of the car and grabbed the blown up tarp. Just as he was about to pull the rope, a gust of wind blew away the other corner of the tarp. He quickly used his other hand to pull the other corner of the tarpaulin. At this time, another thunder exploded in the sky, and a heavy rain poured down instantly.
Fang Zhouming grabbed the tarpaulin and shouted loudly: "Someone is coming, someone is coming quickly. Shopkeeper Wang..." But his shout was drowned by the sound of rain, and the people in the inn could not hear it at all.
After about an hour of burning incense, Wang Can came to check the goods wearing a raincoat. It turned out that the two thunder explosions just now shocked him awake. He was worried that the goods would get wet, so he came out to check. Unexpectedly, as soon as he came out, he saw Fang Zhouming holding on to the tarpaulin tightly in the heavy rain. The strong wind was blowing the tarpaulin, and Fang Zhouming gritted his teeth and insisted on holding on to the tarpaulin in the rain, just to avoid being soaked by the rain. Wet his goods.
Upon seeing this, Wang Can quickly ran over, pulled the loose rope, tied the tarp, and tied it firmly under the car. Only then did Fang Zhouming let go, and Wang Can pulled him and ran back to the inn.
At this time, Ark had been soaked in the rain tomorrow morning and was shivering with cold. Wang Can said anxiously: "Master Fang, take off your clothes quickly, don't catch a cold." Fang Zhouming took off his clothes that were already wet. Wang Can wiped him dry and let him get into bed. .
Wang Can said angrily: "Master Fang, what do you want me to say about you? No matter how expensive this seasoning is, it is not as expensive as your body. If you get gonorrhea and delay the imperial examination, I will have a hard conscience. "Okay?"
Fang Zhouming said disapprovingly: "Uncle Wang, I missed the imperial examination, so why should I be anxious? It's you who bought the seasoning from Sichuan all the way, if it gets damaged by the rain. That's it. Besides, I'm not a fool. How could I get sick if I get wet? Uncle Wang, you're making a fuss. I'm fine, don't worry!"
Wang Can understood in his heart. , Fang Zhouming said it in an understatement, just to comfort himself and not to worry about him. Wang Can couldn't help but admire him twice in his heart.
Fang Zhouming was caught in the rain last night. The next day, Wang Can finally felt relieved when he saw that he was not sick. In the days that followed, Wang Can hurried on even more quickly.
Fang Zhouming and his party finally arrived in the capital, and they did not miss the scientific examination. Unfortunately, Fang Zhouming arrived too late. There was no room in the residence provided by the government. Even the inns in the capital were already full of people. Since there was no place to stay, Fang Zhouming stayed in Wang Can's restaurant, Wangyue Tower. Business in Wangyue Tower is booming, and every seat is busy from morning to night. It is really not a good place to study.Wang Can wanted to help him find a quiet place to live, but Fang Zhouming refused. He was satisfied with having a place to settle down. He really didn't want to trouble Uncle Wang anymore.
When Wang Lucuan heard that Fang Zhouming had come to the capital, he came to him and secretly slipped him a note and said, "Brother Fang, these are the questions for this year's scientific examination. Please take a look quickly." Fang Zhouming heard this. He exclaimed: " scientific examination question? How could you find it?"
Wang Luchuan slapped him in the face and said: "How can you find this kind of thing casually? Zhou Lin spent a lot of money to buy this. Hurry up Write two articles, one for Zhou Lin and one for yourself."
Fang Zhouming said with a smile: "This can't be a test question at all. You have all been fooled." Wang Luchuan asked in surprise: "Fang Zhouming. Brother, why did you say this?"
Fang Zhouming said: "What a simple truth, don't you understand? What a serious crime it is to leak exam questions. Who would trade his wealth and life for money? It must be that person? Seeing that you are anxious, I came up with a random question just to defraud you of your money. "
Wang Lucuan didn't know whether the question was true or false at this time. Since Fang Zhouming refused to write it, he couldn't follow Fang Zhouming's handwriting. Yeah, I had to leave in anger.
That afternoon, Zhou Lin came again, patted his chest and said: "Brother Fang, I spent a lot of money to buy that topic. There will be no mistake. You write two articles and keep the good one for yourself. Just give me the bad one. I don't want to do well in this exam, I just want to get a good name, and I'll be satisfied. Don't worry, I won't let your work go in vain. What do you think of giving me a thousand taels of silver as a reward?"
Fang Zhouming shook his head and refused without thinking, saying: "Buying and selling test questions has been a serious crime in the past. I don't want to get into trouble. Brother Zhou should hire someone else, no. Send it off!" Fang Zhouming directly issued an order to expel the guests.
Zhou Lin was so angry that he stomped his feet and cursed: "I asked you to be my friend before telling you the test questions. I didn't expect you to be so ungrateful." After that, he turned and left.
A few days later, Fang Zhouming was very troubled by the exam questions. He had already read the questions that Zhou Lin paid a lot of money for. Although he didn't know whether they were true or false, he would unnaturally think of them every time. If the test questions are real, what is the difference between getting the test results and cheating? This is very unfair to other students.
But if you give up the exam and go home, you have gone through all the trouble to come to the capital, and how you can leave without even taking the exam, it seems unreasonable. He wanted to erase the topic from his mind, but he couldn't get it out of his mind.
In a blink of an eye, it’s the day when the exam starts. Early that morning, Fang Zhou got up early, washed himself, prepared the Four Treasures of the Study, and then came to bid farewell to Wang Can. Unexpectedly, Wang Can's room was empty. Wang Can's daughter, who lived next door, heard the knock on the door and said, "Brother Fang, my father went to the warehouse early in the morning. If you have anything, go and look for him in the warehouse." Go ahead! ”
Fang Zhouming came to the warehouse and opened the door, and saw Wang Can fainted and motionless. As soon as he smelled the strong smell of peppercorns in the warehouse, he immediately understood that Wang Can must have inhaled an excessive amount of peppercorns and blocked his heart and lungs. If he wanted to save him, he had to let him inhale fresh air immediately.
Fang Zhouming remembered that there was a lake to the west of Wangyue Tower, where the trees were shady and the air was fresh. Fang Zhouming picked up Wang Can on his back and ran towards the lake.
When he came to the edge of the lake, he untied Wang Can's shirt and kept fanning him. After a long time, Wang Can finally let out a breath of turbid air and slowly opened his eyes. Fang Zhouming was so tired that he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. After Wang Can woke up and saw Fang Zhouming looking so tired, he understood what was going on.
Wang Can turned over and knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Fang Zhouming, and said gratefully: "Thank you Mr. Fang for saving your life." Fang Zhouming wanted to stop Wang Can, but he had no strength at all, so he just Can watch Wang Can kneel down to himself.
At this time, a middle-aged man in his forties passed by. Seeing this scene, he asked in surprise: "Shopkeeper Wang, which show are you acting in?" Wang Can fainted in front of him. In the warehouse, he talked about being rescued by Fang Zhouming again, and then sighed: "It's all my fault for delaying his future. It's already this hour, and even if he goes there, he won't be able to catch up with the scientific examination." Fang Zhouming said with heavy breath: "Uncle Wang, don't say such things. There is nothing more important than life. I didn't participate in the scientific examination this time. I can come again next time. It will be fine. Let's think about it carefully, why did you faint? , find the problem and prevent this from happening again!"
The middle-aged man asked Fang Zhouming: "Little brother, what is your name?"
"My surname is Fang, and my name is Zhouming."
The middle-aged man nodded and smiled. : "I remember your name, see you later!" After saying that, he turned and left.
When Fang Zhouming arrived at Gongyuan, the imperial examination had already started for an hour. The gate of Gongyuan was closed tightly, and the guards did not let him enter. Fang Zhouming felt at ease immediately and no longer had to worry about the test questions. He returned to Wangyue Tower, packed his luggage and planned to go home.
Seeing Fang Zhouming like this, Wang Can couldn't bear it and said: "Master Fang, since you have already arrived in the capital, you might as well go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to register and prepare. If there is a vacancy, maybe it will be your turn!" Ming thought the same thing. If he just went to the Ministry of Personnel to sign up, he would not lose much, so he rushed to the Ministry of Personnel to sign up.
Ten days later, a major incident occurred in the capital. The examiner was bribed to leak the test questions. The current examiner sold the test questions to several candidates for a large sum of money. When the emperor found out that Hou Longyan was furious, he sent someone to investigate. Wang Lucuan and Zhou Lin were also imprisoned. Not only were their honors and titles removed, but they were also sent thousands of miles away.
Zhou Lin also confessed to Fang Zhouming. When the investigating officer heard this, he was furious and said: "He didn't come to take the scientific examination, so what's the use of the test questions? If he really knew the test questions, why didn't he come to take the scientific examination?" Zhou Lin was speechless when he asked this question.
A month later, Fang Zhouming received a notice from the Ministry of Officials, asking him to serve as county magistrate in Liuzhou Yamen. The person who issued him the certificate of appointment and official seal was the middle-aged man he met by the lake that morning.
Later, when Fang Zhou Ming inquired, he found out that the middle-aged man was the Minister of Civil Affairs. Fang Zhou knew clearly that the reason why he was elected as Liuzhou County Magistrate among thousands of people must be the secret help of the Minister of Civil Affairs. He originally wanted to express his gratitude in person, but now that the scientific examination bribery case has made people panic, he was afraid of causing unnecessary trouble to the other party, so he had to give up.
Although the county magistrate was just a low-ranking eighth-grade official, Fang Zhouming felt very satisfied. Compared with those classmates who are in jail, he can be said to be very lucky now. He received the appointment letter and official seal, said goodbye to Wang Can, and happily went to Liuzhou to take office.
After Fang Zhouming arrived in Liuzhou and took office, he learned that Li Xinrui was still waiting for him wholeheartedly, so he asked a matchmaker to help him propose marriage to Li Mansion. Li Yuanwai knew Fang Zhouming's character well, so he betrothed his precious daughter to him.
Later, Fang Zhouming assisted the county magistrate and managed Liuzhou to be very prosperous. The people of Liuzhou lived and worked in peace and contentment, with ample food and clothing. Every family had food to eat and everyone had clothes to wear. Many years later, the people of Liuzhou still remember his good deeds.
End
Xiao Ran wants to say: Don’t hit a woman without a hand, don’t scold a stranger when you open your mouth; children and old people should not be bullied when they are alone, and people with disabilities should not be fooled: although no one will see your merits, God will know if you do good deeds; you will get blessings by chance. When the years are confusing, don’t rely on good deeds to pass them by. But do good deeds and don’t ask about the future. Everything is fate!
The world will punish those who are selfish, but it will always be kind to those who are kind and give rewards. More and more people are unwilling to pay, but good people will eventually be rewarded, but they often cannot be cashed immediately. What do you think?
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