Bravely enter the heavens and become a god

Chapter 311: Lord Cangmo Fails the Imperial Examination

Finally, the day of the imperial examination came, but Wang Shouren's name was not on the list. Wang Shouren was devastated and stood in front of the imperial list in despair, letting the rain soak his whole body. Wang Shouren collapsed and screamed: "Impossible, this is impossible. I am absolutely sure that I can win the top prize. Everyone is optimistic that I will win the first place. How can I not even be qualified to be on the list? I don't believe it!"

Luo Ying looked at him distressedly, hugged him tightly, and consoled him, "It's okay! It's okay! Something must have gone wrong somewhere. Let's try again and strive for three years later..."

Wang Shouren hugged Luo Ying tightly and said painfully, "From childhood to adulthood, I have always been known as a child prodigy and a genius. I am proficient in scriptures, poetry, military tactics, riding and archery, and Taoism. I am well-rounded in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor. How could I fail the exam?"

Luo Ying patted him on the back and coaxed him, "You have been too good since you were a child, and you are too arrogant and conceited. God wants to kill your spirit. He wants to test you and to torture you. As the saying goes, when God wants to give a man a great responsibility, he must first make his heart and mind suffer, his muscles and bones tired, his body hungry and empty, and his actions frustrated. This is to make him move his heart and endure his nature, and to increase his ability to do what he could not do before."

Luo Ying held his face and encouraged him, "This kind of setback is not a bad thing! It allows you to calm down and reflect on your mistakes. Only by restraining your rebellious character can you become a better person. A butterfly must be trapped in a cocoon and go through all kinds of difficulties before it can break out of the cocoon and become a colorful butterfly; a phoenix must be reborn in the flames to become the most dazzling existence."

Wang Shouren looked at Luo Ying in bewilderment, extremely negative, and asked with a wry smile: "How can I break out of my cocoon and be reborn? How can I be reborn like a phoenix? I can't even pass the imperial examination, and I still dream of becoming a sage like Confucius and Mencius. It's really ridiculous, ridiculous!"

The rain gradually stopped. Luo Ying wiped the rain off his face and encouraged him, "Of course you can! As long as you believe you can do it, you can do it! There is no conflict between taking the imperial examination and becoming a sage!"

The purpose of the imperial examination is to serve the country as an official, and becoming a sage is to become a spiritual leader and benefit the people! Even if you fail the exam and cannot serve as an official, you can still spread your thoughts and benefit the people of the world!

All setbacks and hardships are just a necessary process in life. In the world, lotus grows in mud, and all the hardships in the world are for sharpening and learning. Life is a place of practice, and suffering is a form of cultivation.

In life, everyone has times of hardship and will encounter countless bad people and bad things. Some people complain all the time, and end up depressed and becoming mediocre, while others become more courageous after more setbacks, hone themselves in suffering, and eventually become great.

As the saying goes, "Experience brings wisdom, and life brings virtue." Everything in the world that tests you is there to save you and to test your mentality."

Wang Shouren asked in confusion: "Then how can I become a saint?"

Luo Ying encouraged him, "I have read a book written by Master Zhu Xi. It seems that in the book, it says that if you want to become a saint, if you want to govern the country and bring peace to the world, you must first start with the study of things. Only by understanding the principle of the study of things and the pursuit of knowledge can you become a saint."

Wang Shouren asked in confusion: "To study things and reach the goal?"

Luo Ying pulled him up and said, "Come on, let's go home and find the answers you want in Master Zhu Xi's book."

The two returned to the Forget-Sorrow Garden, and Wang Shouren looked for the answer in the book. He repeated a sentence from Zhu Xi's book: "To understand the truth of things is to understand the truth of things. When you reach the extreme, you will find that everything is the truth."

Luo Ying saw him mumbling absentmindedly, so he leaned in and asked him, "What does this mean?"

Wang Shouren looked at Luo Ying and explained, "It means that everything in the world contains the truth of heaven. Only by studying things can we understand the reasons behind it."

Luo Ying was confused by what he heard and muttered, "How profound!"

Wang Shouren read the book and muttered: "I understand that the pursuit of knowledge through investigation of things is very important, and I also know that only by investigating things can one eventually become a sage. But how do we investigate things?"

Wang Shouren looked at a patch of bamboo in the yard, walked in front of the bamboo, stared at the bamboo and thought about life.

After staring at it for three days, he still didn't understand the truth. Luo Ying consoled him: "If you can't figure it out, forget it. Just take a good rest!"

Wang Shouren shook his head and insisted stubbornly: "No, I must understand what Master Zhu Xi meant by the study of things and the extension of knowledge."

Luo Ying sighed, shook his head and left. Luo Ying walked to the gate of the courtyard. Xiao Qingxiu and Shao Hanyue looked at Wang Shouren who was staring at the bamboo. Xiao Qingxiu asked helplessly: "Is Lord Cangmo too depressed by failing the imperial examination this time? He has been staring at the bamboo for three days and three nights."

Luo Ying shook his head, sighed and said helplessly: "He has been a talented boy who grew up with everyone's praise and has never encountered any setbacks. It is not a bad thing for him to suffer a big setback this time. When he understands and becomes enlightened, he will know how to restrain his brilliance and change his bad habits of being unruly. Only then can he embark on a successful life."

Shao Hanyue asked in confusion: "How come such an outstanding young genius like Lord Cangmo can't even make it onto the list? I really don't understand..."

Luo Ying's thoughts suddenly opened up when she heard her words. She quickly told Xiao Qingxiu, "Qingxiu, please help me go to the General's Mansion and ask the Duke of Zhenguo to check if there is any trick behind this imperial examination!"

Shao Hanyue asked in surprise: "Sister, do you suspect that someone tampered with Lord Cangmo's paper and caused him to fail the exam?"

Luo Ying recalled what Huang said that day: "Ren'er, you are the eldest son, and you have been talented since childhood. You are the hope of our Wang family! Unless you have no children, can't bring glory to the Wang family, and even ruin our Wang family's reputation. Then... the heavy responsibility of bringing glory to the Wang family will fall on your brother."

Luo Ying nodded and said coldly: "I hope it's not her, otherwise I won't let her go."

Shao Hanyue asked in confusion: "Who are you talking about, sister?"

Luo Ying said coldly: "I will tell you when the Duke of Zhenguo finds out the truth. Don't alert the enemy now."

Four more days passed, and Wang Shouren was still staring at the bamboo, with no intention of resting. Luo Ying could only accompany him silently, not daring to disturb his thoughts.

Suddenly, Wang Shouren muttered: "Since bamboo is also a living being, and I am also a living being, why can't my heart resonate with the bamboo? What exactly does the Confucianism mean by the unity of mind and matter, and the unity of all things? Why can't I suddenly realize the truth of the way of heaven? Could it be that the theory of Master Zhu Xi, which we Confucians have always believed in, is wrong?" At this point, he finally ran out of strength, spit out a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground unconscious.

Luo Ying hurriedly caught him, tears gushing out instantly. She stroked his face and sobbed, "Why are you so persistent in everything you do? You won't let go until you have no way out?"

Xiao Qingxiu and Shao Hanyue saw this scene outside the yard, and hurried in to help carry the unconscious Wang Shouren into the room.

Luo Ying lay on the bed, looking at the unconscious Wang Shouren, holding his hand tightly, his brows furrowed, his face solemn.

At this time, Xiao Qingxiu came to her side and whispered in her ear the results of the investigation by the Duke of Zhenguo. Luo Ying's face darkened instantly, and he said in a voice as cold as ice: "It is indeed her. Let's go! Let's settle the score with her."

After that, he told Shao Hanyue, "Hanyue, help me look after my master. Qingxiu and I will go out to do something."

Shao Hanyue looked at her solemn expression and asked with concern: "Sister, what's wrong? What happened?"

Luo Ying glanced at Wang Shouren and said softly to Shao Hanyue, "I'll tell you later, don't let my master know about this."