There were six subjects in the Dayan Examination: Yi Li, Fengshui, Astrology, physiognomy, strange arts, and arithmetic. Among the six subjects, only Yi Li was a compulsory subject. The other five subjects could be skipped because everyone had their own specialties. The Celestial Commissioner did not insist on learning all the subjects.
After planning, Yu Shu decided that other than the Yi Li, she would also take the Astrology, Qigong, and Arithmetic exams. She only knew the surface of physiognomy, and she had learned a lot about Fengshui. She would also fail in the exams, so there was no need to waste her Essence exam. In order to fight for a chance to enter the Taishi Library, she would definitely spare no effort. Thinking about it, even if she did badly in the Yi Li exam, as long as she was outstanding in the other three subjects, she would not be buried.
Under Jing Chen's guidance, Yu Shu's writing had a clear improvement. Although it was still far from being good, at least it wasn't unrecognizable.
Three days after the hijacking ship case, Xue Rui showed up again. He sent a servant to Yu Shu's house to call for people. Yu Xiaoxiu happened to be resting in the Academy today, so Yu Shu asked him and Jing Chen to stay at home. She took the two pairs of horoscopes that Xue Rui asked her to calculate last time and went out.
Xue Rui's horse carriage was parked at the corner of the street. Yu Shu pulled open the curtains, and Xue Rui was sitting diagonally inside, reading a book. His hair was combed into a loose bun, and a few strands of hair hung down from his forehead, reflecting the light from the small window. His expression was relaxed, and he truly looked distinguished and elegant.
Today, he did not wear his official uniform. He was wearing a dark green satin robe with flowing clouds, and a silver and white brocade belt around his waist was very eye-catching. His two long legs were crossed on the bunk, and the soles of his white boots were spotless. There were even three golden buttons on the edge of the shoes. He was as exquisite as he could be.
Yu Shu rarely looked at him so carefully. Secondly, he never put on airs in front of her, so she ignored the fact that he was one of the top playboys in Anling City. The rice and salt he ate were more expensive than others since he was a child.
The curtain opened and light came in. Xue Rui came back from the book and looked up. He saw Yu Shu's face by the door. He rolled up the book, put down his legs, and sat up straight. He smiled and said to her, "Get in the carriage first."
Hearing this, Yu Shu got into the carriage and sat beside him. She took out the two pairs of horoscopes and handed them to him. She explained, "Among these two people, one is quiet and has no fortune or misfortune. The other one is born at a quarter to three in the morning. He will be in danger in half a month and will see blood. If he is your friend or acquaintance, you'd better remind him to be prepared."
Yu Shu did not ask who these two people were and stopped talking. Xue Rui nodded and did not explain further. He put the horoscopes with Yu Shu's annotations into his sleeve and changed the topic, "How are you preparing these days? Are you confident that you can pass the exam?"
As long as one can get into the top 100 of the exam, he will pass the exam and get the book of Master Yi given by the Celestial Commissioner. If two subjects can get into the top 100, he will be a Master of Master Yi. Of course, arithmetic is an exception. Yu Shu was not modest and only said the truth, "I will definitely pass the exam in arithmetic. As for the other subjects, I am confident that I can also pass astrology and the strange arts. But the results will depend on what the exam is about. It's a pity that I can't look at the past papers, so I have no idea.
She was part of the generation that had been baptized by the high school and college entrance examinations five hundred years in the future. She had a lot of experience with exams and knew what she lacked the most in the Great Yan Examination. What she was most afraid of was being at a disadvantage in the exam.
When Xue Rui heard this, Scroll lightly tapped her palm and said happily, "You and I are thinking the same thing. Let's go, I will take you to a good place."
"Eh? Where are we going? "
"Taishi Library."
"What?"
"Taishi Library has the past Great Yan Examination's exam papers. I will find someone to sneak you in to read them so that you will have an idea."
Yu Shu did not expect that Xue Rui would really take her to the entrance of Taishi Library. When they got out of the carriage, Feng Zhaomiao, the youngest son of the Zhenguo General's residence, was waiting outside the two small doors. When he saw Xue Rui, he hurriedly greeted them, "You are late by half an hour. I thought you were not coming."
He then turned his head and glanced at Yu Shu, who was dressed in a robe and a ribbon. He politely withdrew his gaze, nodded, and said politely, "Hello, Miss Lianfang."
Fortunately, Yu Shu still remembered this person's name, "Hello, Mr. Feng."
Xue Rui called Feng Zhaomiao to the side, and he instructed in a low voice. "Bring her to the Treasury, and be careful not to lose her. It's inconvenient for me to enter, so I'll come pick her up in the afternoon."
People were not allowed to enter the Imperial Historian's Study Garden easily, and even Xue Rui had only entered it a few times to investigate a case. Moreover, after Xia Jiangying was murdered, the control over it became even stricter, and it was easier said than done to bring someone in. It was only because Feng Zhaomiao's relationship with Xue Rui was strong enough that he was willing to go against the rules.
Feng Zhaomiao smiled and said, "Brother Rui, rest assured. How can I mess up what you have asked me to do? Let's have a drink together in the evening. I have booked a private room at the Huifeng Restaurant and called Second Brother Qi. "
"It is not convenient today. I have something to do tonight. How about tomorrow? I will treat you." Xue Rui patted him on the shoulder.
Feng Zhaomiao looked disappointed, "Well, it is a deal. You are not allowed to run away tomorrow."
"Okay."
The two walked back to Yu Shu. Feng Zhaomiao stretched out his hand to lead the way and said to Yu Shu, "Miss, come with me. If you see anyone later, just answer to me. You don't have to pay attention to them."
Yu Shu turned her head to look at Xue Rui. Xue Rui nodded and said to her, "If there is anything you are not clear about, just ask Zhaomiao. He is someone who has taken the Dayan Examination. Go, I will pick you up in the afternoon."
Of course, Yu Shu would not miss the opportunity to see the collection of books in Taishi Library. She thanked him and nodded to him. Then, she followed Feng Zhaomiao into Taishi Library.
Feng Zhaomiao must have informed the guard and entered the door with Yu Shu unimpeded. This was the second time for Yu Shu to enter Taishi Library. The first time was when Xia Jiangying was killed. She followed Xia Mingming there when she was handling a case at the Supreme Judiciary.
After passing through a long winding corridor, the lower corridor was a different world. Flowers and trees withered in winter, but both sides of the road were covered with pine needles and holly. It was lush and green, not cold.
After passing through a winding corridor, there were courtyards and small buildings in the distance. They were all the same, with glazed tiles, white walls, rockery corridors, stone screens and painted walls. They were either in front of the courtyard or by the side of the road. It was as if they had just passed by and turned back. Being in it, it was like entering a maze, one's head and tail could not be seen.
An expert could see the knack here. Yu Shu had some knowledge of Fengshui. She could roughly see that there was a formation hidden in the layout of Taishi Library. It was a strange combination of illusion and reality.
Along the way, they met a few people. Regardless of gender, they were all young and outstanding. Seeing that Feng Zhaomiao was bringing Yu Shu, they could not help but ask curiously. Feng Zhaomiao answered them all like this, "Oh, it is Master Zhou who asked me to bring this young master to see him. I don't know what it is for."
This must be a lie, but the others did not doubt it. Seeing that he was in a hurry, they did not ask any more questions and let them go.
Feng Zhaomiao did not know whether it was due to the difference between men and women or other reasons, but he did not take the initiative to talk to Yu Shu. He only looked back from time to time to make sure that she was still behind him and did not get lost.
Yu Shu carefully studied the Fengshui of Taishi Library along the way. Similarly, she did not have time to chat. After walking for at least the time to drink a cup of tea, Feng Zhaomiao finally led her to the place.
In front of her was a pavilion, standing by the lake. It was two stories high and was octagonal in shape with a balcony on one side. On the door, there was a plain horizontal board with the two words "Carrying Tao" written on it. The two corners of the board were hung with ribbons, and on the red ribbons were four pairs of Eight Trigrams. Yin and Yang intersected, black and white alternated.
There was no one guarding the door. Looking from outside, there was only an old man holding a feather duster sweeping the dust on the window.
At this point, Yu Shu could not help but ask, "Is this the pavilion?"
Feng Zhaomiao saw that there was no one around and stopped in front of the door to explain to her in a low voice, "There are four pavilions in Taishi Library, and this Carrying Tao Tower is only one of them. It is specially used to store the lectures of the past hundred years, the Yi Li chapters of the past dynasties. Other than that, the second floor also stores the questions of the Six Examinations of the Great Yan Examination every year for people to look up."
Yu Shu nodded, feeling surprised. She only knew that there was one pavilion in Taishi Library that had a rich collection, but she did not know that there were as many as four. From the sound of it, this Carrying Tao Tower seemed to be the most unremarkable one.
Feng Zhaomiao saw that there were people coming this way from not far away. He waved his hand at Yu Shu and said, "Okay, follow me in. Don't talk too much to whoever you see."
"Mm."
Entering this ancient library, Yu Shu felt that her eyes were not enough to see. The first floor was spacious, and the bookshelves were all against the wall, leaving only the window. The empty hall was covered with a thick carpet, and walking on it was silent. Perhaps because of the passage of time, the patterns on the carpet had become blurred, but it was still clean without a single stain, and there was still the scent of old books in the air.
The old man sweeping the dust might have been seeing things, for he did not even see who had come in. He only bent his back and cleaned the dust on the bookshelves over and over again.
The staircase was in the southeast, and it was also covered with carpet. Yu Shu followed Feng Zhaomiao up to the second floor. This floor was even clearer. There were only two rows of bookshelves against the wall, and the rest were short, square-legged bookcases. They were small, not even the height of a person, and could be reached by stretching out one's hand.
Coincidentally, there was not a single person on the second floor, and they could even hear the echo when they spoke.
Feng Zhaomiao led Yu Shu through the rows of bookshelves, bending down to search for the stamps on the bookshelves. Finally, he found a row, and happily clicked his tongue. He squatted down to open the bookshelf, and took out an old scroll. He glanced at it with the light, and raised his hand to pass it to Yu Shu. He said with a smile, "This is the fifteenth year of Feng Shun. It's a little old. You take it first, and I'll find the recent ones for you."
Yu Shu took it, and saw that the title of the scroll was marked with the word "Da Yan". She couldn't wait to open it. The first one was Yi Li, and the title was "Yin flourishes and Yang declines, so the dynasty does not take it". To her surprise, there was actually a student's paper attached at the bottom.
As a result, Yu Shu placed the scroll on the shelf, and lowered her head to carefully read it. Feng Zhaomiao, on the other hand, sat on the carpet, and rummaged through the bookshelves on the left and right. When he saw a scroll that he was interested in, he would also stop to read it.
Unknowingly, the two of them had stayed here for the whole morning, until the second floor's library came again. "Liu 'er, you look from this side, and I'll look from that side. We must find all the papers from the Feng Shun era."
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