Wang Pingan initially thought of the anecdote about Yanzi's envoy to Chu when he first heard this topic, but this anecdote was too famous and almost everyone knew it. However, upon further reflection, Master Cheng wanted to fix me, if he came up with a simple question, how could he fix me?

  It's definitely a scam!

  Yan Zi was sent to Chu, although he was sent by the King of Qi, but in the anecdote, there is no mention of the King of Qi, only the King of Chu. When mentioning the small gate, it mentioned the dog gate, which has something to do with animals. Five out of six words are consistent, and the difference lies in the two words "Qi" and "Chu". What other deeds of Yan Zi can match these six words?

  Suddenly, Wang Ping'an had an idea and remembered another anecdote about Yanzi! Clearing his throat, he answered loudly: "This anecdote is related to the pagoda tree, it's a story about a ruler correcting his mistakes, a loyal minister advising him, the ruler listening and following, and the people benefiting, all rejoicing greatly."

  Oh! A burst of applause erupted in the study hall, and students who were focused on their studies nodded in agreement. Exactly, isn't this the very allusion? The young masters saw them nodding and hastily followed suit, indicating that they too understood the allusion, and everyone was equally knowledgeable!

  It is said that Qi Jing Gong loved the pagoda tree, and specially ordered someone to guard it. He also formulated laws: those who offended the pagoda would be punished, and those who injured it would be put to death. One day, a drunkard hurt the pagoda tree, and the government was about to punish him. The man's daughter found Yanzi and said, "A good ruler should not harm his people for the sake of plants and trees. Now, however, our ruler is going to harm my father because of the pagoda tree. If this behavior were to spread to other countries, people would say that our ruler is foolish and loves trees but despises people." Yanzi then went to advise Qi Jing Gong, who listened and cancelled the unreasonable law.

  This allusion comes from "Yanzi Chunqiu", which is not a required reading for the imperial examination, at most it can be considered as supplementary teaching materials. As for the stories inside, should you know them? Yes, you should! But must you know them? No, there's no such necessity! Should know and must know are different concepts.

  Students who are preparing for the exam can read it to broaden their knowledge, but not reading it is also fine, as the exam won't test on it. As for the rich kids, knowing about it doesn't have much benefit, and not knowing about it doesn't have much harm either, so there's no need to know about it anyway!

  Wang Ping'an knew this allusion because the pagoda tree in it, its leaves, flowers and buds are all medicinal herbs! The leaves of the pagoda tree can cure toothache, the flowers can stop bleeding, and the buds can brighten one's eyes. When he first learned about the buds as a medicine, he had seen this little allusion before, so he naturally knew it too!

  Zhōu tóng yā de yī shēng, jìng rán zhēn de zhī dào, kàn lái zhè jiè chǐ bù fǎ dǎ dào tā de shǒu shàng le! Zhè ge wèn tí tā chū de xiāng dāng de piān le, duì yú kǎo jìn shì kē de xué shēng lái shuō, zuì zhòng yào de shì shú jiǔ jīng, zuàn yán shī wén, ér bù shì qù fān xiē zā tán bǐ jì, ér qiě tā yòu shè le quān tào, běn xiǎng wáng píng ān dá bù chū de, méi xiǎng yà gēn er bù bǎ rén jiā nán dǎo!

  "Good, good!" Zhao Bi exclaimed, clapping his hands loudly. Lu Xiu also cheered loudly, slapping his palms together with a loud crackle. The other students, seeing this, hastened to join in the fun and started applauding as well. In an instant, the study hall was filled with thunderous applause!

  Wang Ping'an stood up, bowed to the crowd and thought: "Fortunately, fortunately, this allusion is related to traditional Chinese medicine, it didn't stump me. If I had to change to another one, I would be in trouble!"

  Cheng Zhou slapped his hand on the table and shouted: "Silence! If anyone makes another sound, they will be punished to copy 'The Book of Rites' one hundred times!"

  The students finally stopped applauding, but many of the young masters rushed to Wang Ping'an with admiration and praise. It seems that Wang Ping'an is not only superior to the young masters in terms of social status, but also excels in learning, and can be called a talented and handsome young master, worthy of emulation!

  The applause in the room stopped, but outside it was still going on, clap, clap, clap, with a pretty good rhythm!

  Cheng Zhou and Tong looked out the window in the direction of the sound, only to see two heads poking out from behind the window. It was Wang Ping'an's two little maidservants. After being chased away, they hadn't gone far, but instead turned around and ran to the bottom of the window to eavesdrop and peek. Seeing their young master gain face, they were more delighted than anyone else, clapping with all their might!

  "Hey, these two little brats, how dare they! Who allowed them to linger here? Cheng Zhou was about to lose his temper when the two little girls saw that things were not going well and quickly hid their heads under the window. Can't a beautiful girl avoid being bothered by an eccentric old man?"

  Cheng Zhou's face turned gloomy as he said, "As a candidate for the Imperial Examination, instead of studying the Nine Classics, you waste your time reading miscellaneous books!"

  Wang Ping'an furrowed his brow and said: "Mr. Hui's words are wrong, the student took the medical exam, not the imperial examination!"

  "Ah, you're taking the medical exam?" Cheng Zhou's face turned even darker. Why didn't you say so earlier? You had to wait until I couldn't take it anymore before speaking up, how sly! He himself was making things difficult for others, yet he said that others weren't being made difficult by him, what a shame!

  Just as he was about to elaborate on the topic, a young servant suddenly ran in from outside the study and beckoned to Cheng Zhou.

  Cheng Zhou Tong furrowed his brow, stood up and walked out of the study room. The young servant whispered a few words to him, Cheng Zhou Tong's face changed greatly, he quickly returned to the house, loudly saying: "Gentlemen, your studies are heavy, you need to work hard and review diligently. First, write down all nine classics from memory, I will come back to check them later!" After speaking, he turned around and left, as if there was something extremely urgent.

  Cheng Lao Fuzi walked away, and the study hall erupted in a loud noise. The students loudly complained, "What kind of joke is this? We have to memorize all nine classics! This is too much!"

  Someone shouted, "Book boy, book boy! My studies are heavy, you should help me share my worries. Hurry up and come in, copy the Nine Classics for me, I want to check your calligraphy. If it's not the same as mine, you'll be punished with a cane!" This is what it's like to have a book boy serving a young master.

  Those students who didn't have a book boy sighed and said, "Mr. Cheng is really muddled! He actually wants us to write the Nine Classics, that will take so much paper! Paper is very expensive!"

  Wang Ping'an said he was taking the medical exam, although Cheng Zhou was angry, but other students' impressions of him began to improve. They already knew about the list, and since it hadn't been increased or changed, Wang Ping'an hadn't harmed their interests, hadn't offended anyone, so those small dissatisfactions they had with him naturally dispersed.

  Wang Ping'an was taking the medical exam, but this was the imperial examination hall for the jinshi degree, so he didn't have any competitive relationship with the students taking the jinshi exam. However, those who were also taking the miscellaneous exams had a greatly increased good impression of him - birds of a feather flock together!

  Zhao Bi and Lu Xiuzhi came uninvited, running to Wang Ping'an's desk and sitting down. Zhao Bi smiled: "It turns out that Brother Wang is taking the medical exam, which is just like me!" He had learned that Wang Ping'an was from Wulicun Village and not a noble son, so he no longer called him Brother Wang, but instead addressed him as Younger Brother Wang based on their age.

  Wang Ping'an laughed and said: "So brother Zhao is also taking the medical exam. I thought I was the only one in the academy taking the medical exam!"

  Zhao Bi smiled and said, "It's the two of us! However, I don't understand medicine at all, and I'm most annoyed by that medicinal smell. Being exposed to it every day is suffocating, how can I even learn?"

  Wang Ping'an was surprised and asked: "Since Brother Zhao doesn't like studying medicine, why take the medical exam?"

  Zhao Bi nodded and looked around cautiously before speaking in a low voice: "I'm from a good family, my family runs an estate but also does some business selling medicinal herbs. I have connections in the capital who can take care of me when the time comes. If it were another department, there would be no way to take care of me!"

  Wang Pingan hummed in response, and it turned out that he had a powerful backer in Chang'an. Just as he was about to ask, Zhao Bi said again: "Young Master Wang, Lu is also taking the miscellaneous subjects exam. Guess which subject he's taking?"

  Lu Xiu's face broke into a smile as he stretched out his five fingers and waved them at Wang Ping'an.

  Wang Pingan said: "Is it Ming Suan Ke?"

  Lu Xiuzhi shook his head and said: "This is too difficult to test, it takes ten times six to be considered qualified, how can I have that skill!"

  Wang Ping'an looked at his five wiggling fingers and thought, "Is he talking about the Four Books and Five Classics?" He then said, "Are you referring to the Ming Jing Ke? But this is the Imperial Examination Hall for the Jinshi Ke!"

  Lu Xiuzhi responded with a "hmm", saying: "I'm even more incapable of that, you guess again!"

  Wang Ping'an shook his head and said: "I couldn't guess, Brother Lu, which subject did you actually take?"

  Lu Xiuzhi smiled and said, "It's Bohai!"

  Zhao Bi smiled and said: "Wang Xiongdi, Lu brother took a look at you, your heavenly court is full, the earthly palace is square and round, so he specially came to tell your fortune!"

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  Additional: Peaceful thanks to book friends, I am Xiao Xiao Snake and book friend Book Fish 2 for their continuous enthusiastic rewards. Thanks to book friend 100420153005025 for their generous rewards. Peaceful is touched in her heart, clasps her fists and bows, saying thank you to all of you!

  Thank you for your support, if you think this book is okay, please add it to your bookshelf and read it slowly, it will get better and better later on. If you have a recommendation ticket, please take the trouble to cast one, thank you in advance!

  Schisandrae Sinesis Pulmonis Tonicum

  Prescription: Schisandra 15g, Solomon's Seal 15g, Pig Heart and Lung 1 set, Scallion 25g.

  Method: Wrap sand ginseng and jade bamboo in a cloth bag, put it together with cleaned pig heart and lungs, and scallions in a casserole. Add water, first boil over high heat, then change to low heat stew for about 2 hours, until the heart and lungs are cooked through, season to taste.

  Nourishing yin and moistening dryness.

  Usage: Take with meals.