The Concubine Wushuang of Red Mansion

Chapter 100

Jia Cong behaves well and has an extraordinary bearing. Even when facing two important bosses in the government and the public, he remains calm and composed.

Just now Baoyu's shaking legs made Jia Zheng feel extremely embarrassed. Seeing Jia Cong like this now, Jia Zheng felt that he had regained some face, and he was so proud that his face turned red with excitement.

"Get up!" King Zhongshun asked Heshan, "Why are you here so late?"

There was no accusation, just a question, as if you were facing a nephew in the next generation.

Compared with the harsh words and harsh words towards Jia She just now, it is really a world of difference.

Jia She was also jealous, and became more and more intolerable to Jia Cong, a rebellious son. Being under the same roof would literally kill him.

At this moment, everyone believed the rumors outside that Jia Cong was fighting for Prince Zhongshun's waist.

Jia Cong glanced at Jia She slightly, which made Jia She frightened. Fortunately, he did not drag him in, but said, "I accidentally fell down when I was at the door just now and soiled my clothes. If that's the case, It was really rude to come to see the prince and Mr. Xiong, so I had to go back and change my clothes."

Knowing that what Jia Cong said was just an excuse, King Zhongshun stopped asking. He just wanted to warn Jia She to stop acting like a monster under his nose.

Xiong Bichen said, "If I come to the study to teach, you won't come to class, but you don't think I teach well?"

Jia Cong really couldn't bear the blame. He hurriedly bowed and apologized, "The student has no such thoughts. The student knows that his knowledge is shallow, and his desire to learn is as strong as a rock. He has admired the old gentleman for a long time, and hates that he has nothing to do with it." The blessing of listening to me. Unfortunately, something happened at home in the past few days. The elders in the family were considerate and ordered Cong not to go to school for the time being. He had to obey the words of his elders, so the old gentleman misunderstood!"

King Zhongshun sneered, "It is an imperial decree to let you go to the study to study. I did not expect that Duke Rongguo would actually have a rebellious intention and dare to be disrespectful to the Holy Emperor and the imperial decree!"

Pfft!
In the entire Xiangnan Hall, everyone from Jia Dairu to Cao Zigen knelt down. Jia Cong looked around and knelt down as a last resort.

"Yin Sheng and others have absolutely no intention of treason, please give me a warning!" Jia Zheng cried.

"Today the emperor asked your nephew to go to the study to study. You can resist the order and refuse to let him go. Tomorrow, the emperor asked your nephew to go to guard the border. Can you also let him come back? He will have to return?"

Jia She said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, Jia Cong is not an ordinary supervisor, but a person with an official status. Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety cannot be both. How to be loyal and how to be filial. Jia Cong should know clearly that he cannot be loyal even if he wants to be filial." , I can’t afford this official position.”

King Zhongshun and Xiong Bichen looked at each other. They were both parents, but they never imagined that such a family, a family that has been married for generations, could force their own children to die. It is conceivable that , the rumors outside are true, Jia Cong is in a difficult situation at home.

"What do you mean, the right way is to ask the emperor to deprive Jia Cong of his official status?" King Zhongshun was a little funny. Jia Shecheng had been drained of his body by drinking and sex, and he had lost his brain, right?
"I'm just following the Holy Will, but Jia Cong has always been disobedient and unfilial. I want to expose him, but I don't dare to hide from my relatives. Now that the prince asks, I dare to say something."

"One moment you said that Jia Cong should fulfill his filial piety and not go to the study to study, and the next moment you said that Jia Cong was disobedient and unfilial, I was confused by you. Jia She, are you kidding me that I am not smart, or are you yourself? Confusing black and white, not distinguishing between right and wrong, being an unkind father?"

Jia Sheyuan thought that a word of "disobedience and unfilial piety" could end Jia Cong's future. It would not only prevent him from winning this simple competition, but also ruin his future. If the words were spread, there would be a lot of controversy in the court. It caused a commotion. He, a child with no foundation, faced not only a dead end, but also being put to death.

Instead, King Zhongshun put the label of "unkind father" on his head, which Jia Shewan did not expect.

What Jia She didn't expect was that Xiong Bichen actually shook his head and said, "As a parent, it's better not to scold your children for being unfilial. You must know that 'if a son doesn't teach, it's the father's fault', and 'if the father is unkind, the son is unfilial.'" .

Jia Cong is an eight-year-old boy. He studies and understands things, but he does a few naughty things, which is normal.As a son of a prince, he could compose a poem like "Compassion for the Farmers", and he knew that crops were difficult and had a kind heart to show compassion to the farmers. How could he be considered an unfilial person? "

As he said that, Xiong Bichen glanced at Jia She sideways and saw that he was pale and had bags under his eyes. He looked like a drunkard and he could not help but feel contempt for him.

Jia She was so angry that he was shaking all over, but he also knew Xiong Bichen's power. Whenever he was dissatisfied with Ning Rong's second house, if he said a few words outside, the Jia family's reputation would be ruined.

Although there was resentment in his heart, Jia She did not dare to contradict him.

"Jia She, please think about it before you talk to me!" King Zhongshun's tone was indescribably harsh. He was not simply looking for a place for Jia Cong, but he was a mortal enemy of the four princes and eight princes. I'm just not used to Jia She.

Jia Zheng was still trembling, but Jia She didn't take King Zhongshun seriously at all. His Ningrong Palace did not rely on the emperor to live its life. This time, wasn't he clamoring for Guo to seize the title of Ningrong Palace?
In the end, it was not necessary to send someone in despair to help Ning Guogong choose an heir.

Seeing Jia She's expression, King Zhongshun understood. He snorted in his heart, but he also knew that there was really nothing he could do to him at the moment.

"Your Majesty, the debts of the father must be paid by the son, and the faults of the father must be shouldered by the son... If a father is dissatisfied with a student, it must be the student's fault... Please punish me, Your Majesty!" Jia Cong said hurriedly.

"There will be no punishment today!" King Zhongshun was very satisfied with the ladder handed over by Jia Cong. Looking at Jia Cong, he seemed to see the hope of Ning Rong's second mansion falling, and he looked more kindly, "Today this king and Mr. Xiong Sir, I have something important to do. How about Mr. Xiong, can you answer the simple questions?"

Xiong Bichen said, "How to simplify things? Both the Supreme Emperor and the Holy One have decrees. The employment of people in the court is nothing more than literary and military. Today there will be a literary test and a martial arts competition. I will preside over the literary test, and the prince will be in charge of the martial arts competition!"

As soon as these words came out, the faces of those who wanted to participate in the Jia Jiayu generation showed a look of constipation. Although their ancestors started in the military and were awarded military titles, after so many years, there are not even heroic figures like Rongguo Gong Daishan. Educate two sons into talents, let alone the other seven families.

It is true that a gentleman's fortune will be cut off in five lifetimes.

"Then let's take the literary test first!" Xiong Bichen looked around with his old eyes and said, "Since we talked about the principles of filial piety and loyalty, I will use this as the title today, either as a poem, or as a lyric, or as an essay. A stick of incense will take the time to judge the outstanding ones."

In the Rongxi Hall, the servants moved tables and chairs. Jia Zheng personally lit a stick of incense and placed it in front of the hall. He and Jia She stood on both sides, while King Zhongshun and Xiong Bichen sat and drank tea.

The two people's eyes mainly fell on Jia Cong. They saw him dipping ink and laying out paper, and almost without thinking, he started to write. They were very curious, wondering what he wrote?
In the Rongqing Hall, the maids had already reported the situation here. The maids tried their best to report good news and not bad news. Previously, the maid reported the reward for being loyal and obedient to the king, and Jia Mu happily rewarded the maid with a handful of money.

At this time, they heard that there was both a literary test and a martial arts competition, which confirmed what Daiyu had said before. The old lady and Mrs. Wang were worried.

Young Master Xifeng stepped forward to comfort him, "It's not what I said. Among the people in our family, Baoyu doesn't study very hard, but that's because the master is comparing him to those children from poor families outside. Children of other families have no future if they don't study, and they are burdened with No matter how big the relationship is, we can only sharpen our heads and read to death. But if we compare it with our own children, who is as diligent as Baoyu?"

In one sentence, the old lady and Mrs. Wang both laughed, "You are right!"

Mrs. Wang held the handkerchief and touched the corners of her eyes. She was also panicking just now. After all, the person who came was Xiong Bichen, the former prince and grand master, a famous scholar in the world, and he could not catch his eye easily.

But I didn't expect that Baoyu was just the eldest son among the dwarfs. He couldn't compare with other people. Could it be that he couldn't compare with these people in the family?
Tan Chun took a deep look at Xifeng. The second sister-in-law was used to comforting people, and she was also very curious. Could it be that Brother Cong San was not involved today?
Tanchun would not ask. She was the concubine of the second wife, born from the same mother as Jia Huan. Her marriage was in the hands of Mrs. Wang. If Mrs. Wang had done something about it, her future life would be in darkness. Life is worse than death.

She never dared to interact with her unconventional mother. Instead, she got close to Mrs. Wang, tried her best to please Mrs. Wang, and planned a good future for herself.

Knowing that Jia Cong was Baoyu's strong competitor, she naturally would not openly favor Jia Cong, so she didn't dare to ask.

"Where's brother Cong San? Did he attend today?" Daiyu asked the maid without paying any attention.

This question reminded Jia Mu and Mrs. Wang. They only thought that Daiyu was concerned about Baoyu, but they didn't think much about it and asked, "Is Cong'er here?"

The maid said, "First, I didn't see the third master. Later, Prince Zhongshun asked about it. The king ordered all the men to attend, saying that he would wait for Jian to select the candidates and then choose a suitable one."

The so-called suitable one must not be the one who takes away the only incense from the parents, but must also be recognized by both palaces. With this said, the hearts of the old lady and Mrs. Wang dropped again, and there is a lot of room for maneuverability. .

Daiyu was murmuring in her heart. Needless to say, in the literary test and the martial arts competition, Brother Cong San would definitely come out on top.

Brother Cong San's poems and calligraphy are unmatched by anyone. As for Wu Bi, didn't he have some kind of commander as his disciple?
I heard that in the palace, you have to practice riding and shooting with the princes, and you have to practice martial arts after school. The children of the Jia family who have this desire to learn may not have such good conditions. If they have such conditions, such as Baoyu and the others did not have such perseverance to work hard.

Brother Cong San has both.

Today's harsh competition seems to be to fulfill Brother Cong San.

In the Rongxi Hall, Baoyu held the pen as if his soul had disappeared. Whether it was "loyalty" or "filial piety", they were two words that made him extremely disgusted.

He was originally a person who valued emotions but not etiquette, but he also disliked the Four Books, "saying that he has no books except 'Ming Ming De'". He liked poems, songs, music and other temperament literature, and called those who pursued the imperial examination and official career as "lu beetles". , how can we write the word "loyalty and filial piety" now?

Looking up, he happened to meet Jia Zheng's eyes. Baoyu's face was already pale. At this time, beads of sweat were rolling down, and he couldn't even hold the pen.

Worthless beast!

Jia Zheng cursed in his heart, it's not good to do it in front of the nobles. Then he looked at Jia Cong. He wrote calmly, his expression was calm, and he wrote like a god. He obviously got a good article.

After nearly four-fifths of the incense burnt, Jia Cong finally stopped writing. He placed the pen on the mountain of pens. Seeing that the writing on the paper was still wet, he leaned over and blew on it.At this time, King Zhongshun and Xiong Bichen had come over, standing on either side of him.

Xiong Bichen thought he had written some wonderful article, so he couldn't wait to read it, but it was the article "Han Feizi. Loyalty and Filial Piety". Fortunately, it was unparalleled in one stroke.

"Why did you write this article?" Xiong Bichen saw that the ink was dry, so he picked it up and read it from beginning to end. There was not a single word wrong. It was good for him to be able to recite this article for such a small person. Besides, there was only "" "Four Books" does not talk about articles and strategies. It is common for people to be unable to write good articles.

"Students think that the saints have already taught them, and it is enough if the students can implement the saint's teachings into practice. Moreover, the students have not learned how to write articles, so they dare not write for fear of violating the holy teachings."

Xiong Bichen nodded in agreement and said, "That makes sense!"

Then he handed this article to King Zhongshun, "My lord, please take a look at it. An eight-year-old child can write down an article "Han Feizi. Zhongxiao" without missing a word. I think it is excellent!"

King Zhongshun had never read "Han Feizi. Zhongxiao", and he thought to himself that if Xiong Bichen hadn't said it was the words of a saint, he would have thought it was written by Jia Cong himself. With this in mind, King Zhongshun naturally recognized Xiong Bichen's point of view.

The incense had burned out, and Xiong Bichen asked Jia Cong to collect the test paper. He first looked through it and filtered out all the words that could not be written clearly. In the end, he got very little.

Baoyu handed in a blank paper, fearing that Jia Zheng would reprimand him, so he stood aside with his head drooped. Although he was dressed in brocade clothes and had a hairpin as big as a bowl, but without energy, he was like a defeated rooster. He was depressed and his face was gray and haggard, which made Jia Zheng even more worried.

But he didn't dare to let Baoyu go down, fearing that King Zhongshun would take advantage of this to make another attack, which was inexplicable.

Jia Zheng took one look at the selected pictures and turned red in the face. Each of the self-written articles made no sense, and they even had the intention of showing off. He didn't know what he was talking about!
There is no doubt that Jia Cong won the first place.

Next came the martial arts competition. The examination room was moved to the archery path in front of Tianxiang Tower of Ning Guogong Mansion. After the Tianxiang Tower was burned down, the arrow path was much wider. Next to it were the burned ruins, which enhanced the atmosphere. Be on the battlefield.

"It's not too difficult. Let's compare it to standing shooting. Each person has three arrows. If you can't draw the bow, you can give up automatically!" King Zhongshun ordered people to put out the long bow, and also ordered people to set up a standing target thirty steps away. The competition begins.

In the previous literary examination, those who did not get the ranking were all the older brothers of the Yuzi generation. At this time, they were vying for the first place. Who knows, few of these pampered and privileged people can draw their bows.

I tried the bows from big to small, but I could barely pull them open, even if I nocked the arrow, I couldn't hit the target.

It was Baoyu's turn. He may have never practiced riding and shooting before, and he looked completely lost just now. He didn't even look at how other people held their bows, but actually held the bow backwards. Somehow, he pulled the bow string out of the way. The bullet actually hit his face.

"Ouch!" Baoyu hurriedly covered his face, and everyone gathered around to take a look. He was a good guy, with tender skin and tender flesh. The place where he was shot was already visibly swollen.

"You bastard, why don't you go back? You're going to be embarrassed!" Even though Jia Zheng had a good temper, he couldn't bear it anymore even if he wanted to give Baoyu face.

King Zhongshun only smiled mockingly. Fortunately, seeing that Jia Zheng was so angry that his beard was trembling, he swallowed the words as they came to his lips.

Xiong Bichen, a gentleman, shook his head and said, "Young Master's reputation is well-deserved. He is like a 'treasure' and a 'jade'. He must be loved by the old lady and his wife. Zhong Zhong must have neglected his studies and put all his studies and martial arts into it." delayed.

Learning is like sailing against the current. If you don't make progress, you will retreat. Think about how brave the good men were in those days, how could they allow future generations to be so decadent and unwilling to make progress! "

Jia Zheng's face turned red with embarrassment. He couldn't tell how many grievances he had, but he just bowed his head and said, "Because of Yin Sheng, he was not strict in his upbringing and spoiled his son. I am really ashamed of my ancestors!"

Seeing that it was Jia Cong's turn, he stood there and his aura was completely different. He tried the bow and turned to King Zhongshun, "Your Majesty, this bow is a bit awkward. Can I change it to a four-power one?"

It turned out that the bows displayed by King Zhongshun were all three-power at most.

The Sili bow weighs about forty kilograms. When Jia Congchu started learning archery, he used the smallest bow. Not long ago, as his arm strength improved, he switched to the Sili bow.

The bow in the army started with the four-force bow. Xia Jincai said that if Jia Cong could use the four-force bow, he could join the army.

As soon as these words came out, others looked at Jia Cong as if they were enemies. There were so many big brothers in front of them, and they couldn't draw the three-force bow. How old was Jia Cong? If he had to use the four-force bow, wouldn't he be eliminated directly?

King Zhongshun also wanted to see Jia Cong's strength, so he had a four-force bow brought over. He stroked it lovingly, "If you can pull it open and hit the target, I will give you this four-force bow. This is This king used it when he was young!"

Good luck!
Everyone’s eyes turned red with envy!

Jia Cong fell in love with this bow at a glance. It was much better than the one his master Xia Jin bought for him. He only used that bow temporarily. Every time he used it, he was afraid that the string or the back of the bow would break. If he ends up like Baoyu, it's a small matter if he hurts his face, but it's a big deal if he hurts his shoulder or fractures.

"Thank you, my lord!"

Jia Cong retreated to a distance of fifty steps, calmed down, stringed the arrow, stretched it into a full moon, took aim, and shot an arrow, hitting the bull's eye.

Jia Zheng didn't know how to ride and shoot, but looking at Jia Cong's posture and demeanor, he knew that this child had worked hard. The more he looked at Jia Cong, the happier he became, and how proud he was to have "my unicorn".

After Jia Cong shot this arrow, he no longer needed to shoot again, leaving time for the brothers behind him.

Jia Huan tried his best to pull out a small bow, but by some bad luck, the arrow hit the target.

When Jia Zheng saw it, there was a smile on his face. Finally, his two adopted sons were not all embarrassed by him.

King Zhongshun and Xiong Bichen looked at each other again. The two of them reached an agreement on the result of this brief extraction, which was in line with the opinions of the two palaces. King Zhongshun announced the result, "Jia Cong will be the best in both the literary test and the martial arts competition." He has many advantages over the others, and you have all seen the result of this selection. No need for me to say more, I will report the candidate for this selection to Jia Cong to the palace, and you can wait for the decree."

For some reason, Jia Zheng breathed a sigh of relief, but Jia She, with a dark face, looked at Jia Cong fiercely, as if Jia Cong had stolen his wife.

Jia She was dissatisfied and questioned, "During the literary examination, Jia Huan also handed in his papers. Just before the martial arts competition, his arrow also hit the target. The subordinate thought that Jia Huan was also qualified to be reported to the palace."

When Jia Zheng heard this, he was like a thunderclap and shouted, "Brother!"

Jia She ignored it completely.

King Zhongshun wanted to laugh or not, he looked at the two brothers each, nodded and said, "Jia She's words are reasonable, I will report these two together, and let the two palaces decide!"

Jia Zheng originally did not want Jia Huan and Baoyu to participate, so he only asked Jia Cong to go up alone, which was exactly what he wanted.

At the last moment, Jia She decided to intervene like this. The two candidates he chose were both from Rong Gong's family. There were already some bad rumors outside. From now on, I'm afraid there will be people saying that Jia Zhen gathered a group of people for lewdness and was discovered. It happened to be a trap set by Rong Guo Gongfu.

Does he still have face to face?
"Brother, why are you like this?"

Jia Zheng was about to cry, but Jia She took revenge instead. He smiled with special satisfaction and touched his beard, "That's how it should be!"

Jia Huan was so happy that he almost floated.

Jia Cong has another competitor, but his face is still neither happy nor sad. This calmness and calmness are extremely precious in Xiong Bichen's eyes.

After all, he is just an eight-year-old child, how determined can he be to do this!
He walked up to Jia Cong and said, "When I came to Beijing with the order, I made a request to the Holy One. I still have some energy left in my old age, and what I have learned all my life must be inherited by others. The way of the saint also needs to be passed down. The Holy One has ordered I am selecting students in the upper study room, and what I saw today is that your qualifications are as good as a piece of jade or a piece of white paper. If I can get a student like you, I will fulfill my lifelong wish!"

Jia Cong knelt down with tears in his eyes. He deeply felt the vast love from this old man, which was rich but not stressful.

Just like his grandfather in his previous life, he hopes to teach him what he has learned throughout his life so that he can have a foothold in society.

"How can a student be so virtuous and capable that he can be so favored by his teacher!" He choked out, unable to control himself.

On weekdays, no matter what he does, he always weighs the pros and cons. Even when he was accepted as a disciple by Xia Jin, he still thought about hugging Xia Jin's lap and getting protection.

But at this time, facing Xiong Bichen, he was filled with only warmth and gratitude.

　In yesterday's update, there was something wrong with Qingwen's age setting. She should be in her teens, not twelve or thirteen.It hasn't been two or three years yet, so I will make the protagonist grow up as soon as possible.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)