Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 793: A pile of complicated matters
Liyuan, in the main house,

Butler Lai asked with some embarrassment. It was obviously too late to ask the kitchen staff of Rongguo Mansion to work again. However, with so many people, it would cost a lot to keep them fed. But if they wanted to save money and drove them away, Rongguo Mansion would lose its reputation.

After all, today's affairs were all helped by the Jia family, and the whole capital is watching. If you use people first and don't use them later, you will be left alone if something happens again in the future.

Obviously,

Lai Sheng's words also woke Wang Xifeng up. She obviously realized this and asked quickly;

"Are all the tribesmen who came back with us here?"

"To answer grandma, the people who stayed in the mansion to help are still here, and those who followed to the Meridian Gate have gone back to rest one after another. You know, they have been tossing around for most of the day and are very tired. How can they endure it any longer?"

Lai Sheng did not say anything. Most of the people who stayed outside the door were elderly, and the younger ones included some wives and mothers-in-law. They were tired after a day and might go back to rest without even eating. Unfortunately, the host did not even leave a word, so he was at a loss.

"Sister Liu, can you prepare a few tables for the banquet in a short time?"

The first thing Wang Xifeng thought of was Sister Liu's kitchen yard. She was now lighting a fire and cooking rice. She wondered if it would be quicker.
"Grandma, I'm afraid it won't work. Sister Liu doesn't have enough staff, and there's no preparation for so many people. There's enough rice, but not enough dishes."

It wasn't that he meant to shirk his responsibilities. After all, purchasing and the warehouse were not under Lai Sheng's management. However, given the personalities of those people, this was obviously not enough, so he started a conversation and wanted to move this matter aside for the time being.

Wang Xifeng frowned, obviously unhappy. Although she was not personally responsible for the purchases of the mansion, she still had to look at the daily account books. That money manager was not only cunning but also reported the account books later and later. If it wasn't for the sake of the Second Wife, he would have been sold out long ago.

"Well, let's follow the old rules. The tavern at the east corner of the street is where your second master often goes. Let's give everyone a big bowl of soup noodles and a stew with meat. Tomorrow, we'll prepare a banquet at the mansion. The venue will be arranged in the southeast corner of the mansion, on the demolished vacant land. It's just a coincidence."

Wang Xifeng suddenly remembered that if the banquet in the mansion was held in the yard, it would seem noisy, but it could not be held outside. She suddenly remembered that there was some vacant space in several old yards that were demolished a few days ago, so she could use it.

Lai Sheng quickly responded and agreed;

"Second Madam is really thoughtful. I know about the wine shop and will definitely arrange it. Tomorrow, I will ask Manager Qian to buy more dishes. I think this funeral will take a few more days. I wonder if Ningguo Mansion needs to prepare anything else?"

"Let's do it together. Mark the account book. When the time comes, go to the East Mansion to report the bill."

"Yes, grandma, I'll take my leave."

Lai Sheng saw that the Second Mistress had made all the arrangements, so he did not hesitate, bowed and took his leave, and took two servants with him to go outside the mansion to make the arrangements.
inside the house,

Wang Xifeng had been talking for a long time, and her mouth was dry. She picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of tea. Then she felt much better. She looked at Ping'er beside her, and she didn't know whether she was angry or deliberately looking for trouble. She reached out and pinched Ping'er's charm.

Ping Er felt a pain in her chest and said aggrievedly;
"What is grandma doing?"

"What are you doing? You are just standing there like a piece of wood. Don't be idle. Keep a record of the expenses of the two mansions in the next few days. After the funeral, I will take the account book to collect the debt from my eldest sister-in-law. She will pay for these expenses as she is almost the head of the family."

I don't know what good thing she thought of, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, it was destined that the second wife lost the opportunity. If Uncle Bao went to Ningguo Mansion, the family property and income in the future would undoubtedly fall into the hands of the second wife. Now, she had to be on guard.

However, thinking of the grievances suffered by my eldest sister-in-law, it would be difficult for the second wife to take control of Ningguo Mansion. After all, my eldest sister-in-law is a young lady from a scholarly family, and I cannot hide these thoughts from her.

"Yes, grandma, I know that it is the East Palace. I heard that there is not a single tael of silver left in the treasury. I am afraid that our account books are gone. It would be in vain to go there. We may even need to borrow money from the Rongguo Mansion."

Ping'er didn't understand. She had been to Ningguo Mansion and found that the things in the mansion were still there, but the property could not be sold out. As for the treasury, she heard that it was searched by Marquis Luo Yun and the soldiers of the Imperial City Bureau, and no silver was found. If she asked for the silver, she would probably get nothing.

"You little bitch, you've been irritating me all day long. The Ningguo Mansion is short of money only temporarily. Besides, the Ningguo Mansion's lack of money is the Ningguo Mansion's business. My eldest sister-in-law has money, and even if she doesn't, someone has given it to her. Don't worry about it, just keep a good account."

I complained.

Suddenly I remembered that in the palace, wasn't it said that the Dragon Gate had been opened?

"By the way, are Baoyu and Lang'er back?"

"This, I don't know."

"Let's go and have a look at the old lady. I wonder who will pass the exam this time."

Wang Xifeng murmured, got up and left. When she reached the yard, a thought suddenly came to her mind. It would be fine if Baoyu passed the exam, but what if Baoyu failed and Jia Lan passed instead? What should she do then?
As soon as the thought came to mind, it was immediately extinguished. How could it be possible? After all, Brother Lang was old, and it was not something that ordinary people could write.

Hanyuan Hall,
Zhang Jinyu squinted his eyes, half lying on the chair, snoring, obviously asleep. He didn't know whether he had overworked in the Jiaofangsi or didn't eat well, which consumed a lot of energy.

As soon as I sat down on the chair, I looked at the answer sheet in front of me. The densely packed words made me feel sleepy at a glance, so I had no choice but to take a nap here for a while.

The other officials were not surprised at all. They all followed the order, holding red pens, and began to review one by one. When they came across the articles mentioned by the Marquis, they read them carefully and classified them as B-Upper, B-B Lower, and the good ones were classified as A-Class.

As for those essays that took a different approach, they were singled out and sent to the two examiners in person for review. All the essays that were acceptable and had no mistakes were given an A grade.
It just seems like there are more people, but in fact, more than a thousand papers have been graded, and one-third of them have been graded. Currently, only ten papers have been graded as A.

Lord Chu Nian sat on the stage and reviewed the number of papers. Would it be too small?
"Sir Shen, you see these articles are very meaningful. I have listed them as first-class articles according to the Marquis's wishes. However, the number of first-class articles is less than 20. What do you think should be done with them?"

"Don't worry, Master Chu. We haven't even finished half of the review yet. You'll know in a moment."

Shen Zhongxin spoke to comfort him. According to the current number of people correcting papers, it is estimated that there will be more than 20 people who get first-class papers, which is not a small number.

Compared with the Imperial Examination Hall, it should be much better. As long as the gap is not too big, students all over the world will not be able to find excuses, which is what the Marquis wishes.

"Okay, I am a little impatient. Hey, Mr. Shen, please come and take a look. There are two articles here. They are written with great care. One of them has a neat paragraph. Although it has no merits, the content is novel. The font is thin and slender. Although it is immature, it has the potential to be a great writer and can be ranked first."

I don't know which noble family's talent has the ambition to apply to the court. I carefully opened the first page of the answer sheet, and it clearly said "Jia Lan from Rongguo Mansion". The letter of recommendation was from Qin Ye, a doctor in the Ministry of Works. Isn't this the father-in-law of Marquis Luo Yun? I kept it in mind.

Turning to another article, it is even more thought-provoking. The writing skills are already perfect. Looking at the previous page, he is from Qinglian Academy and is from Sizhou. I didn't expect that he is a student of an academy, and even from a poor family. It is rare. Such an article is excellent. Looking at the name, Xu Changwen, I secretly said what a good name.

Shen Zhongxin was full of curiosity. It was rare to see an article that could be praised by Lord Chu Nian. With curiosity, he took the article handed over by Lord Chu, carefully placed it in front of him, and read it carefully. He saw that it said on the letter;
"The sage has a master in his heart, and decides on the integrity of his heart and virtue. The rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of every man, and all of this is due to the sage's virtue.

Men of high ideals and benevolence are all determined to be masters and are not confused by selfishness. When such people face the moment of life and death, I only see that they seek to have no shame in their hearts, and why do they care about themselves? This is because the Master feels sad for those who have no ambition and are not benevolent in the world, so he said this to show them.
What he did was to make it impossible for reason and desire to coexist, and he was a chaste man who risked his life to fulfill his ambition and bring peace to the world, and he had no regrets even until his death.

Those who cannot have both, but sacrifice their lives to do good for the world, will not regret it even if they perish. When the country is about to collapse, they will sacrifice their lives to tame the victims. This is benevolence! And they will rush to it without avoiding it, and will be willing to do it without refusing it. If I can keep my heart fair, I will die for it, and I will not care about life or death.

When faced with hardships and displacement, those who sacrifice their lives to leave a peaceful body are kind! And they are not frightened when faced with it, and they regard it as returning home. If I can preserve the kindness in my heart, I will devote myself to it, and I will not worry about life and death.

The rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of every man.
I value my heart more than my body. Those who are passionate and determined to achieve their goals are the courageous acts of a man of ambition and the good deeds of a benevolent person. How do they compare to those who hesitate and shrink back to survive for the moment?

To live by preserving one's mind, and to consider one's body as a burden, those who calmly accept justice and show the fairness of justice are what kind-hearted people are at ease with and what men of high ideals are determined to do. How do you compare with those who hide and covet immortality?

Therefore, if we observe what the ambitious people do, those without ambition can feel ashamed, and if we observe what the benevolent people do, those without benevolence can reflect on themselves. "

The coherence of thoughts, the learning of sages, and the character of scholars are all in it, and I can't help but praise it;

"Good, what a saintly character, Master Chu, this article can be the first in the case."

Shen Zhongxin made a shocking statement and named this article as the first one, which made Chu Nian look at it with new eyes. He realized that he was indeed old and his enthusiasm was gone.

"Haha, Lord Shen is still quick to speak. He made a mark first and will ask the Marquis to make a final decision after the review is completed."

"Listen to Master Chu."

As the two were discussing,

The examiners in the hall were also concentrating on reviewing the papers. When they encountered some difficult points, they would call on the officials around them to discuss them together. Everything was in good order, and no one would privately look at the first page of the paper.
that's it,
Zhang Jinyu yawned in confusion, sat up, and looked at the quietness in the hall. He was relieved. It seemed that these censors were really capable. Although they were harsh in their words,

The articles they wrote were also very well written, not to mention that they were ruthless when dealing with the children of high-ranking officials. This was also the reason why Zhang Jinyu wanted them.

"Master Chu, how are their revisions going? How many of them will be ranked first? There are probably about twenty people."

Zhang Jinyu asked this question because he thought that if there were too many Grade A articles, he might have to review the Grade B articles more strictly and keep the number of people at 200. How many people are there? He calculated in his mind that 200 people accounted for about one-fifth of the total number of 1,000. Fortunately, he still remembered the math and did not forget it.

Master Chu Nian had just finished writing and marked the article, when he heard that the Marquis had woken up, he quickly turned around to reply;
"My Lord, there are three hundred people reviewing the papers. I just took a look and found that only eleven people's papers were ranked A. There are many B papers, about fifty people, and half of them were ranked B or above."

With such strict review, so many people can still make the list, which shows that the students who come here have real knowledge.

Zhang Jinyu calculated silently, and it turned out to be almost the same as his own. He could give an explanation to His Majesty, but he didn't know how to determine the top three. Thinking of Jia Baoyu and Jia Lan from Rongguo Mansion, he couldn't help thinking about it. The opportunity will never come again. If Jia Lan is ranked in the first class, no, in the top three, he didn't know how Rongguo Mansion would react.
Thinking of the big-faced Baoyu, who could endure the hardships to come here to take the imperial examination, Zhang Jinyu was blinded. Even Jia Baoyu could come to take the special examination, which shows the prosperity of the learning atmosphere in the capital. But thinking of Jia Baoyu's reluctant look when he took the exam, I think this article must be nonsense. Thinking of this,

Jia Lan was in the front row, and Jia Baoyu was also in the front row. There were 300 people examining the papers, so naturally they were among them.
"Master Chu, since there are three hundred examiners, are there any first-class essays?"

"Haha, my Lord, there are indeed quite a few good articles. Eleven articles have been submitted, and they are ranked first. They are all the best. My Lord, look here. I have copied the list for you."

Chu Nian was not easy to say some things. After all, the chief examiner could personally select the top three and the top candidate. The current cabinet's regulations on this special examination were indeed generous rewards. There were some things that still needed the Marquis to take the lead.

Zhang Jinyu didn't hear any of this, and felt that Lord Chu Nian was still steady. He took a folded paper with the list of A-grade articles on it. Zhang Jinyu didn't even look at the list of articles at the back, but just looked at the names listed on the folded paper, reading them row by row, and muttering to himself;

Zhao Mingsheng, Wang Ruojun, Sun Xinshan, Li Chongwen, Xu Changwen, Jia Lan, Song Xingjun, Yu Ziqing, Fu Jinping, Chen Fuqing.

Yishui's good names are really like people. What's particularly surprising is that Jia Lan is on the list, as well as the students I met before, Xu Changwen and others. It's really predestined. To say the top three, we need to look again. After another look, I saw a red pen check behind Xu Changwen and Jia Lan's names.
As the saying goes, what you think will come true. Lord Chu is really my lucky star, the worm in my stomach. If I personally select Jia Lan, if his articles are mediocre and cannot convince the public, it will be difficult to explain. With Lord Chu's endorsement, it will be perfect.

With a plan in mind, Jia Lan will definitely be in the top three, as for which place he will get, he will have to wait and see. He is too lazy to look at the list of B-grade articles. They are a bunch of mediocre people who need ready-made policies to write an article, which is useless.

Nancheng Gongyuan,

Many old officials from the Hanlin Academy sat around in the official building. There were more than fifty tables neatly arranged, with two people at each table, sitting opposite each other. The tables were filled with answer sheets, piled up there.

The first floor was decorated like this, and the second floor was similar. The officials of the Hanlin Academy, with bitter faces, read the papers one by one with red pens, but they cursed from time to time.
"What a shitty article, the writing is worse than pigs and dogs,"

"Yes, I have corrected the test papers of about six people, and almost no one made the list. Could it be that they are just here to slack off?"

"Indeed, there is only one B-grade article. According to Lord Nan's instructions, there may not be many people on the list."

The old Hanlin scholars were complaining and were secretly worried in their hearts. Why was Lord Nan so strict and unwilling to give in? Or was there another reason? No one knew.

In this way, with candles lit, the officials in the government building actually worked at night.

In the courtyard,

When Pei Shaoqing came back from his meal, he met Mr. Nan who was taking a walk.

Unconsciously slowing down his pace, he came close, clasped his fists and said,
"Shaoqing, pay your respects to Lord Nan."

Hear the noise,

Nan Zixian, who was walking slowly in front, stopped and looked back, only to see that it was Master Pei Shaoqing, and smiled;
"It's night time, why are you greeting me, Master Pei? What's the matter?"

Pei Shaoqing bowed slightly and replied;

"Lord Nan, regarding the candidate Li Feng who died of poisoning in the Imperial Examination Hall, I have asked the class leader to find a carriage to carry him and his clothes to the Shuntian Prefecture government office. I just don't know if I need to go there again."

This was also what Pei Shaoqing was wondering about. Someone died in the Imperial Examination Hall, and he was a scion of a noble family in Zhongshan County. If the higher-ups investigated, would it be troublesome? The person was also arranged by himself after the candidates had left.

Nan Daren saw her worried look and thought to herself that she was still too young, but she had a sense of responsibility and was a promising talent.
"Is Lord Pei comfortable staying in the Taichang Temple?"

Pei Shaoqing was thinking about how to take over the case in Shuntian Prefecture. When he heard Lord Nan asking him how he was doing in Taichang Temple, he was unable to react for a moment.
"Lord Luan is fine, but I am just on duty there, there is no other problem."

Just finished speaking, I was a little confused, why would you ask about this?

"Haha, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Luan Gongfu, has a decent personality. He is a student and old friend of the Prime Minister. If you stay there, what else can you do besides guarding the ministry? Do you want to move to another place?"

Obviously, Lord Nan actually wants to recruit Pei Shaoqing, who is a capable, young and energetic man. On the Wuying Palace side, although many people have ideas, unfortunately, there is only Chu Nian who can take charge of the overall situation, and he cannot do it alone!
(End of this chapter)