The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 521: Examination (Part )

When the February spring breeze caressed the earth, the spring grass in the garden seemed to have sprouted overnight, the withered plum blossoms fell, and the willows sprouted new buds. The imperial examination in the eighth year of Qiansheng's reign also arrived as scheduled.

On the ninth day of the second month, Jia Huan was awakened by Ping'er before dawn. Mandarin, the foreign maid who always loved to sleep in, stood by the bed for the first time ever, yawning while helping Jia Huan to wash and dress.

After everything was ready, Jia Huan walked out of Yueweiju under the eager gaze of two beautiful maids. He saw a half-moon hanging high in the sky. Under the hazy moonlight, Qingwen and Feng'er were standing quietly in the yard waiting, the former holding a test basket and the latter holding a lantern.

Ever since she was turned away at the Yihong Courtyard that night, Qingwen fell seriously ill. Thanks to Jia Huan's prompt invitation of an imperial physician for treatment, and with the careful care of Ping'er and others, she gradually recovered. However, she became taciturn and had completely lost her former spirit. She just helped with chores silently and never took the initiative to talk to Jia Huan. For example, she would not do any of the close service work of serving the master, such as pouring tea and water, folding quilts and making the bed, as if she was deliberately avoiding suspicion.

"Qingwen, has the Third Master prepared everything he needs to enter the examination room? This matter is of great importance, so don't miss it." Ping'er asked.

Qingwen nodded and said, "Everything is ready. If Sister Ping'er is worried, you can check it out."

Ping'er took the examination basket and checked it carefully. She found that there was nothing left. She nodded and said, "Everything is here. Third Master, you can go now. The old lady and the mistress have already sent someone to tell us yesterday that you don't need to greet us or say goodbye. You can go directly to the examination room. The master is probably going to court by now, so there is no need to say goodbye."

Jia Huan nodded, and naturally hugged Ping'er and Mandalin, waved his hand and said, "It's still early, you can go back and sleep for a while."

Qingwen's face was slightly hot, and she turned slightly to look away, while Jia Huan had already walked out of the courtyard gate as if nothing had happened. Qingwen and Feng'er hurriedly followed him. Their mission was to send Jia Huan to the gate of the garden and hand him over to the accompanying servant.

"Jia!" Mandarin called out. When Jia Huan looked back, she made a heart shape with her hands in front of her chest and smiled like a flower.

Jia Huan smiled, waved and continued to move forward. Feng Er asked curiously, "Third Master, what did Sister Mandarin mean by that gesture just now?"

Although she had only been in Yueweiju for about ten days, seeing that Jia Huan was approachable and not arrogant, the little girl Feng'er became bolder and bolder, always asking questions about this and that.

Jia Huan replied casually: "Your sister Mandarin is wishing me all the best and success."

Feng Er nodded in sudden realization: "So that's how it is!"

Qingwen scolded, "Why are you so talkative, little hoof? Where is the lantern shining? Be careful not to fall and knock your teeth."

Feng'er stuck out her tongue secretly and didn't dare to say anything more. She held the lantern and led the way carefully in front.

Soon, the three of them arrived at the south gate of the Grand View Garden. Shi Tou, Xing Wei, Mu Ye and Jin Bao had already harnessed their carriages and were waiting there for a long time.

"The Third Master is here!" The three of them saluted hurriedly. Jia Huan nodded and got on the carriage directly.

"Miss Qingwen, please give me the Third Master's examination basket." Mu Ye stepped forward smartly and took the examination basket from Qingwen.

"Hold it carefully and don't lose anything." Qingwen reminded.

Mu Ye said confidently: "Don't worry, I would rather lose my head than this." After that, he jumped onto the carriage with the exam basket and sat on one side of the shaft, while Jin Bao sat on the other side of the shaft with the lantern.

Shitou was in charge of driving the cart. He whipped the horse whip skillfully, making a loud bang, and shouted, "Hold on tight, we're off!"

"I wish Third Master all the best and everything goes well!" Feng'er shouted crisply while raising her hands and making a heart gesture in front of her chest.

Qingwen hesitated for a moment, then followed suit. Jia Huan couldn't help but laugh and waved, saying, "Thank you. You can go back now."

Then, the carriage drove towards the distant street in the hazy moonlight. Qingwen put away the heart shape on her chest, slapped Feng'er and said, "You little hoof learns to flatter quite quickly."

Feng Er said aggrievedly: "I am not flattering you. I am sincerely wishing you the best. Don't you, Sister Qingwen, wish you the best?"

Qingwen was choked and rolled her eyes coquettishly, then turned and walked into the house. She was as graceful and elegant as a willow swaying in the wind, and was naturally charming and clever. No wonder Mrs. Wang thought she was a witch at first sight. In fact, Qingwen was more chaste than Xiren, Sheyue, Bihen and others. At least she had not yet had an affair with Jia Baoyu.

Needless to say, Xiren was the one Jia Baoyu had his first time with. As for Bihen, there is also an indirect description in the original novel. Once, Bihen helped Jia Baoyu take a bath, which took several hours. Afterwards, it was found that there was water on the ground and the mat. It is easy to imagine what happened during that time. In short, they had a lot of fun.

The original novel also implies that Musk Moon and Jia Baoyu had intimate contact. However, Qingwen, who was called a goblin by Mrs. Wang, never did anything inappropriate with Jia Baoyu until her death. However, Xiren, Musk Moon and others became "stupid" honest people in Mrs. Wang's eyes. It is really a great irony.

…………

Xiaoxiang Pavilion. Zijuan was sleeping in a daze, when she suddenly heard Lin Daiyu calling her. She quickly sat up from the small couch, put on her outer clothes, and asked, "Miss, are you going to get up to go to the bathroom?"

"No, what time is it now?" Lin Daiyu asked softly.

Zijuan lit the lamp, glanced at the western clock on the wall, and replied, "It's past five o'clock."

"Oh, I guess Brother Huan has already gone out." Lin Daiyu said softly.

Zijuan yawned and said with a smile, "I'm afraid he has already left. Since Miss is worried about the Third Master, why don't you get up early and see him off?"

Lin Daiyu's face was slightly hot, and she denied it, "Who said I was worried about it? I just happened to wake up and asked casually."

Zijuan laughed and said, "Damn it, that was my fault. Miss, go to sleep for a while, it's still early." Lin Daiyu shook her head and said, "No, I can't sleep anyway. There seems to be some moonlight outside. Let's take advantage of this moment to go outside for a walk."

Upon hearing this, Zijuan hurriedly helped Lin Daiyu to dress, and fetched a cloak for her to put on, saying, "It's still a little cold outside, so it's better for you to put this on to avoid catching a cold. There's a lot of dew in the morning, so it's best to bring an umbrella with you."

"Okay, stop fussing. The moon will set soon." Lin Daiyu said lightly, walked out of the house quickly, and refused the suggestion to bring an umbrella.

The sky at this time is undoubtedly the most beautiful, and carrying an umbrella is really a burden. Sure enough, the garden was quiet before dawn, the sky was as blue as a wash, a half-moon was hanging obliquely, and the cold stars were scattered, cold and charming.

Lin Daiyu walked slowly along the path in the bamboo forest. With the help of the moonlight and the faint morning light, she could just barely see the road clearly.

Walking through the bamboo forest, they reached the foot of the mountain without realizing it, and saw stairs going straight up. Lin Daiyu was in high spirits at the moment, and she knew that the stairs in front of her led to Tuobi Villa on the top of the mountain, so she simply climbed up.

When Lin Daiyu climbed to the end of the stone steps and arrived at Tuobi Villa, she saw a rising sun rising from the horizon, dyeing the eastern sky colorful and full of rays of light, which was truly beautiful.

"How beautiful!" Two voices rang out almost in unison.

Lin Daiyu was startled for a moment and asked, "Who is behind the tree?"

As soon as she finished speaking, a person appeared from behind the tree. Her face was like a silver moon, her eyes were like watery apricots, her lips were red without any makeup, her eyebrows were green without any eyebrow paint, her figure was slim, gentle and dignified. It was none other than Xue Baochai.

When the two girls saw each other, they were both stunned for a moment, and then their pretty faces turned red, as charming as the morning glow in the sky.

Xue Baochai calmed herself down and smiled gently, "Pin'er, you're here so early. What a coincidence! Are you here to see the sunrise, too?"

"Sister Bao is here even earlier? Oh, this sunrise is so beautiful." Lin Daiyu said.

Xue Baochai nodded: "Oh, it is indeed beautiful."

There was an awkward silence.

…………

Jia Huan first rushed to the Hongfu Inn, where he met up with Lu Xiangsheng, Liu Yi and twelve other people. Then, led by the headmaster Sun Chengzong, they went to the examination venue - the Imperial Examination Hall in Beijing.

Relatively speaking, the joint examination is easier than the provincial examination because the admission rate is higher, generally reaching 10%. For example, in the last joint examination, there were about 3,000 candidates taking part, and 298 were finally admitted. The number of candidates for this year's special examination is about the same, and the final number of admissions is estimated to be around 300.

When Jia Huan and others arrived at the Imperial Examination Hall, they saw a crowd of people outside the Dragon Gate, and the candidates were queuing up to enter.

"Haha, Brother Zhisheng, I knew that you would be the leader of Diecui Academy this year!"

Following a loud laugh, Gu Xiancheng, the president of Donglin Academy, came towards them with a large group of examinees.

Sun Chengzong stood still, clasped his fists and said, "Mr. Gu, nice to meet you!"

Gu Xiancheng glanced at Jia Huan, Liu Yi and others behind Sun Chengzong and said with a smile, "There are thirteen people from your academy who have passed the exam this year, which is the highest number in history. With talents like Jia Ziming and Liu Shouzheng, it seems that your academy will definitely take the top spot."

As soon as these words were spoken, the examinees from Donglin Academy laughed, with amused expressions on their faces. Their number was almost five times that of Diecui Academy, totaling sixty-two people, which was considered to be very strong.

Sun Chengzong raised his eyebrows slightly and said calmly, "Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Gu. I hope to receive your good words."

Gu Xiancheng stroked his beard and smiled, then led the candidates from Donglin Academy straight ahead and lined up to enter. Zhang Pu, Wu Changshi and other candidates from Nanzhili were also among the candidates from Donglin Academy, and they greeted Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng as they passed by.

“Bah, a bunch of guys who curry favor with the powerful. Seeing that Donglin is now powerful, they all joined Donglin Academy. Otherwise, Donglin Academy wouldn’t have had such a bad ending this year!” Li Baidu spat lightly to express his disdain.

Zhang Zhilong sneered, "So what if there are more people? We'll see after we pass the exam. Who knows, in the end, there might be more of us passing than them."

Huang Cong, a "test tyrant" who had participated in four imperial examinations, stroked his beard with a serious look on his face and said, "The chief examiner for this imperial examination is Hanlin scholar Zhao Mingcheng, and a considerable number of the 18 co-examiners are from the Donglin school. The situation is not optimistic!"

Sun Chengzong's face darkened and he rebuked, "What nonsense! The imperial court is holding an imperial examination to select talents for the country, which is a major event in the world. Under the emperor's feet, everyone is watching. If anyone dares to cheat for personal gain, no matter who he is, he will be crushed to pieces and there will be no redemption."

Huang Cong bowed his head in embarrassment and admitted his mistake. Sun Chengzong's expression eased a little and he said solemnly: "The emperor values ​​heroes and teaches you articles. We scholars have learned literary and martial arts and sold them to the emperor. Whether we can enter the emperor's hall depends on today. You must put aside distractions and go all out to make up for the past ten years of hard study."

"Yes, we will follow the master's teachings!" Jia Huan and others said in unison.

"Go ahead. Your master will be waiting for your triumphant return!"

Sun Chengzong waved his hand, and everyone lined up to enter the venue with their examination baskets.

(End of this chapter)