Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chunhua Tower, west of Shenjing City.

In the elegant room on the second floor, there was a red clay tea stove on the table, with several plates of exquisite candied fruits and several plates of cut and peeled seasonal fruits.

Lin Zhaohe was pouring tea and drinking it by himself, seeming to be enjoying himself.

That day, he was arranged by his cousin Lin Zhaorong to stay in his cousin's villa in Shenjing, which was much more convenient than staying in an inn.

With someone to take care of my daily life, I don't have to go out to find food to eat, and I can focus on studying and preparing for exams every day.

After reading like this for four or five days, I felt that I had gained more understanding than in that noisy inn, and I felt very satisfied and happy.

That day, he thought about leaving the inn. His roommates Wu Liang and Zhou Yan wanted to invite him to visit high-ranking officials together, but he happened to be moving out of the inn, so the trip was not made.

Wu Liang and Zhou Yan had seen him off warmly at the beginning, and he also said that he would host the party later.

Having studied hard for several days, he wanted to go out for a walk and also had an appointment for the day, so he asked his cousin's servant to leave a message at the inn, inviting the two of them to have a small gathering at Chunhua Tower.

The reason why Lin Zhaohe chose Chunhua Tower was because the western city of Shenjing was a place where many inns gathered, and many candidates who came from all over the country to take the imperial examinations lived here.

Chunhualou is a time-honored restaurant in Xicheng District. It serves high-quality and low-priced wine and food, and is a popular place for candidates preparing for imperial examinations to have banquets and gatherings.

Wu Liang had hosted a dinner here before, so Lin Zhaohe invited them here, and it also made it easier for the two to find a place.

……

After sitting idly for half the meal, he saw the door of the private room was pushed open. Lin Zhaohe saw Wu Liang's slightly plump smiling face, but he was the only one who came, and there was no sign of Zhou Yan.

Lin Zhaohe asked with a smile: "Why is Xiwen the only one here? Didn't Brother Baokun come?"

Wu Liang said with a smile: "Originally, if Yichun was hosting, Brother Baokun would definitely come, but unexpectedly something happened. He has a relative in Shenjing, who got the news from somewhere and sent someone to invite him to the banquet.

It was said that he was a relative of the family who had lost contact for many years. He had no choice but to go to the appointment first and asked me to apologize to Yichun. He would host him next time and invite him to return the favor.

Lin Zhaohe didn't care. Anyone who could pass the imperial examination in Beijing would be considered an outstanding scholar, and his neighbors and relatives would be proud of him.

After the candidates came to Beijing for the imperial examinations, any distant relatives or old neighbors in the capital would invite them to a banquet as soon as they heard the news, and would consider it an honorable thing to do.

Not long after Lin Zhaohe arrived in Beijing, he was found by his cousin who had lost contact with him for many years. He was invited into his home and treated like a distinguished guest.

Wu Liang smiled bitterly with envy and said, "From what I see, Brother Baokun will soon follow in Yichun's footsteps and move out of the inn in a few days. Then I will be the only one left."

Lin Zhaohe laughed: "That's good too. Xiwen will have more peace and quiet, so he can concentrate on his studies."

Wu Liang smiled and said, "I know that Yichun will study harder after entering your noble family's courtyard. He probably doesn't know about the storm outside these days.

Now that the Spring Examination is about to begin, the imperial edict to the chief examiners of the Spring Examination is also imminent according to the procedures of previous years. These days, the outside world is becoming more and more lively.

There are many different opinions on the selection of topics for this year's spring examination. Various scholars have their own opinions, and many wonderful topics have been proposed.

Yichun studies behind closed doors every day, so he must not be aware of these things.

When I was in the academy, the teacher taught me earnestly, and he had unique opinions on poetry, books and articles, but he was able to draw inferences from other cases and be inclusive.

Yichun can't ignore what's happening outside the window and only read the books of sages..."

Wu Liang took out a stack of papers from his bosom and said with a smile: "During this period, my brother Baokun and I have visited high-ranking officials and often had banquets with our peers. We have collected many popular examination questions.

Of course, there are other wonderful topics out there, but because of the limited interactions among people of the same age, I cannot know all of them.

Whenever I got a new topic, I would go back and write an essay according to it. I also asked senior scholars for advice, and usually gained a lot from it. This is much more practical than poring over books of classics.

Today I have compiled these proposed topics and brought them to Yichun for your review. Perhaps they will be of some inspiration to you.”

……

Lin Zhaohe listened to Wu Liang's words with great interest and did not find it strange. His classmate had always been quick-witted and talented, but he was inevitably a bit cunning and competitive.

This is a common trait among young people and it cannot be said to be good or bad.

But this classmate of mine has a very good character and is kind-hearted. After receiving a topic from outside, he even brought it with him to appreciate.

Lin Zhaohe took the proposed topics copied by Wu Liang and read them carefully. After looking at some of the topics, he felt that they were very well organized and nodded secretly.

Seeing that Lin Zhaohe was watching very attentively, Wu Liang felt somewhat proud. He knew how capable his classmate was, that he had won the title of Hangzhou Prefecture's top scholar, and that his talent and learning were extraordinary.

The fact that these proposed topics that I copied were read so carefully by him and caught the eye of this top scholar shows that these proposed topics are of great weight and reason.

Wu Liang thought about these days, and how he had pondered over these topics for writing essays, and he often gained many insights and inspirations. It turned out that his work was not in vain.

After reading the transcribed topics, Lin Zhaohe said thoughtfully: "Many of these topics are ingenious and have a broad vision. They must have been written by great scholars.

Some other titles have mediocre insights and old-fashioned wording, and the talent of the person who proposed the title is very limited.

However, although some of the proposed titles are novel and eye-catching, and pleasing to the eyes and ears, they lack the correct sense of the truth, appear obscure, and are still debatable.

For example, the questions proposed by Lord Xu Liangxiong fall into this category..."

Wu Liang said with a smile: "Lord Xu has many wonderful ideas. When I visited Xu's mansion and had a banquet that day, he highly praised Liu Ying's "Retreat from Thoughts" and felt that it was quite meaningful.

This proposed question he came up with is probably just a game..."

Wu Liang had always admired Lin Zhaohe's knowledge and talent. Seeing that his comments on the proposed topics were often very accurate, he humbly asked for advice.

The two of them talked and drank tea, and what they said was quite interesting.

……

Wu Liang laughed again and said, "Some of these topics were obtained by visiting high-ranking officials and famous families. This kind of topic was quite praised by Yi Chun.

Some other proposed titles were obtained from banquets and gatherings in the same year. The sources of these titles vary and are not exhaustive.

Perhaps some of the proposed titles are just made up by mediocre scholars in the market to show off and make money from students.

When the blue booklet came out in the market some time ago, everyone knew that those officials would have the honor of being involved in this spring's imperial examination.

Although these fellow candidates all wanted to pay visits and interact with the officials according to the book, the threshold to these officials was not accessible to everyone. There were always some people whose family background and connections were limited and who could not enjoy this convenience.

I guess it is for this reason that some people take advantage of the situation, secretly make some proposed topics, falsely claim that they were written by famous scholars and high-ranking officials, and sell and circulate them among the candidates to make money. It is not uncommon.

Nowadays, whenever classmates get together, they will talk about the Spring Examination, and the topic always comes up with those new and strange topics.

Everyone has to bring out a few items to show off, and some people don't have the means to pay respects to high-ranking families, so they use things bought from the market to make up the numbers, so it is inevitable that there will be a mix of good and bad, and the good and the bad will be mixed in, as you can imagine, haha."

……

After listening to Wu Liang's interesting story, Lin Zhaohe couldn't help laughing.

Passing the imperial examination is the lifelong wish of thousands of students. After ten years of hard study without anyone paying attention to one, if one only focuses on reading the books of sages, naturally it is not a problem at all.

It is not uncommon for people to do everything they can to gain the honor of passing the imperial examinations.

Before the Spring Examination is over, all kinds of bizarre topics are a common topic of discussion among the examinees in every Spring Examination. Even if they are bizarre and absurd, they are no longer considered strange.

However, Lin Zhaohe was calm and thoughtful by nature. He was not like Wu Liang, who just treated these things as interesting anecdotes and talked about them with relish.

He thought more about this matter than Wu Liang. It seemed that before this spring examination, there was a surge in the trend of paying homage to the emperor, and all kinds of proposed topics were circulated everywhere.

All these slightly strange situations were different from the anecdotes he had heard about the previous spring exams.

After the two discussed the proposed topics compiled by Wu Liang, Lin Zhaohe asked the waiter to serve wine and food. The two of them toasted each other. Wu Liang was good at speaking and talked nonstop, telling some interesting stories about his daily visits to high-ranking officials.

Wu Liang originally wanted to ask the waiter to bring pen and ink to copy these proposed topics and let Lin Zhaohe take them back to study them.

Lin Zhaohe declined with a smile, saying that he had already read it and there was no need to re-transcribe it. Wu Liang knew that he was very talented and did not care.

When they were both half drunk, Lin Zhaohe said, "Xiwen, the topics you collected are for honing your writing skills and inspiring your thoughts, which makes sense.

But don't be overly obsessed with it. After all, a proposed topic is just a proposed topic. How can it become the real question in the imperial examination?

Now, the days until the end of the imperial examination are numbered. In my opinion, Xiwen should spend the remaining days less visiting and drinking, and concentrate on reading scriptures and books, and concentrating his thoughts. This is the right way. "

Wu Liang was drunk and said with a smile: "What Yichun said makes sense. Although there are some good topics among the current ones, there are always better ones among the best.

When it comes to amazing knowledge and mastery of the imperial examinations, how many people in the world can compare with Mr. Jing'an, the Grand Master of the Ministry of Rites, who was known as the literary saint.

It was widely rumored that he had been teaching his children at home since he retired fifteen years ago, which led to the Liu family having seven Jinshi (imperial examination candidates) in the past ten years, a feat that was unprecedented.

No, I was wrong. A few years ago, Jing'an's eldest grandson, named Liu Bi, passed the imperial examination in the twelfth year of Deng Jiazhao. Now the Liu family has eight Jinshi candidates!"

Lin Zhaohe said with a smile: "Xiwen, you are still wrong. That Weiyuan Earl Jia Cong is the closed disciple of Master Liu. With his talent and knowledge as the champion of Yongzhou, he will definitely win the title this time.

By that time, the Liu Clan will have nine Jinshi graduates in one lineage."

Wu Liang looked as if he had suddenly realized something, and said, "Yichun is right. How could I have forgotten this Marquis Weiyuan? Since arriving in the capital, I have heard that many people have heard of the great name of Marquis Jing'an and want to pay a visit to him, but the threshold of Marquis Jing'an's residence is even higher than that of Marquis Weiyuan's residence."

Many people entered Kuacang Mountain and couldn’t even find the gate of Liu’s family…”

When Wu Liang said this, he suddenly thought of something and his eyes were full of envy.

He said, "Yichun, Lord Jing'an is known as the sage of literature and learning. You said he would give Jia Cong a topic to practice, which is much better than what we have on hand."

Lin Zhaohe smiled and said: "You can't envy this, I am blessed with a mentor who is the best in the world.

That’s why I told you not to be too obsessed with these topic proposals. As you said, there are always stronger people among the strong. Left and right are of limited use. It’s better to work harder on the books…”

……

Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

In the study, the afternoon sun shines into the room, reflecting on the jujube wood floor, leaving a shadow of the carved window lattices. The condensed light clearly illuminates the fine dust flying in the air.

Jia Cong sat upright at his desk, calming his mind and writing quickly. He was practicing the topic for the Spring Examination compiled by Liu Jing'an.

While writing, his eyes often looked at the notebook in his left hand, on which Yinglian had placed a Xiuyan jade paperweight.

The notes record the proposed title of this exercise.

reads:

You have been entrusted with a heavy responsibility and have worked hard day and night to obey the emperor's benevolent grace with the utmost sincerity. During your 15 years in office, your governance has not only been getting more powerful, but your benefits have also been expanding.

However, the country has not achieved its grand aspiration and great order. Is it because the education has not been fully realized and the king's orders have not been trusted? ...

Wu Liang, who enjoyed talking about the examination questions, envied Jia Cong for having the sage Wen Zong as his teacher, and was curious about what kind of questions Jing'an would come up with for his disciples to practice and ponder.

If he saw the topic that Jia Cong was proposing, he would probably be shocked, because the topic that Liu Jing'an gave Jia Cong was so large in scale and broad in vision that it completely exceeded the scope of topics for the imperial examination.

Because the topic that Jia Cong wrote in his essay was not a topic for the joint examination at all, it was a question that might only appear in the palace examination.

This is a simulation by Liu Jing'an based on Emperor Jiazhao's governing psychology. He asked the question: After 15 years of governance, the results of governance have not met his ambitions. What is the root cause of this?

This question is about how to implement political peace in the world from the perspective of a king. It has a broad vision and perspective, and there is probably no other question in the world that can compare to this...

Among the various topics proposed before the imperial examinations in previous springs, topics for the palace examinations would occasionally appear. The court would not regard this as an act of presumption or disrespect, but would at most treat it as an academic discussion on the subject.

However, there are very few great scholars and lofty scholars who would come up with such questions for the palace examination, because the questions for the palace examination are nominally set by the emperor, and it is impossible for ordinary people to guess the emperor's thoughts.

Moreover, compiling the questions for the palace examination before the joint examination would most likely become a laughing stock.

For the candidates, passing the imperial examination was extremely difficult.

Even if one is extremely talented and has won the first place in a state, one would not dare to say that he can pass the imperial examination with 90% certainty.

Moreover, in the imperial examination system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, as long as one passed the joint examination, one would become a Jinshi. The palace examination was only a ranking test, not an elimination test.

Therefore, it is completely unnecessary to prepare questions for the palace examination. Although the court does not prohibit the compilation of questions for the palace examination, it is somewhat sensitive.

Therefore, before each imperial examination, very few great scholars would do such a thankless task.

Perhaps Liu Jing'an felt that his disciple was born with wisdom, talent and shrewdness, and would undoubtedly pass the imperial examination, so he even proposed questions that directly involved the palace examination...

He wanted to use this kind of broad-minded topic to broaden the thinking and knowledge of his favorite disciples, and to temper and condense their practical ability to apply what they have learned.

Or perhaps, this was just a pure practice and discussion of the scriptures between the master and the disciple.

Anyway, Jia Cong practiced Liu Jing'an's topic-writing skills in this study room every day. After working on some topics, he would think them over thoroughly and even burn them.

The study was silent, with only Yinglian serving beside him. Every time Jia Cong read or wrote, Zhishao would come early to pass on the message. Even in the corridor outside the study, few people walked around to avoid disturbing him.

Jia Cong wrote with great concentration:

The effectiveness of education is not only achieved through the ability of lips and teeth, the meaning of orders, but also the use of power to drive.

Loyalty, filial piety, chastity and respect for elders are the moral principles for rulers, and courtesy, kindness and respect are the moral principles for ministers...

……

Rongguo Mansion, Fengjie's Courtyard.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly, and there was no one walking around in the yard, which was very quiet. Only Feng'er was sitting in the corridor at the door, sewing a pair of tiger-head children's shoes.

In the main room, Wang Xifeng was chatting with Ping'er and Wu'er about the daily affairs of the West Mansion when they suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.

When Wang Xifeng and others heard Feng'er calling Aunt Lin, they knew that it was Lin Zhixiao's wife who had arrived.

The door curtain was opened, and Lin Zhixiao's wife came in with a smile on her face, followed by two maids holding several pieces of lustrous brocade in their hands.

Lin Zhixiao's wife bowed to Wang Xifeng and did not forget to say hello to Wu'er and Ping'er.

She is an old lady in the mansion and knows everything about the affairs of the two mansions. Even though Wu'er and Ping'er are maids now, they will both be concubines in the Third Master's room in the future.

She is more noble than the current Second Wife. She is not making a fuss about it. You should know that the Rong Kingdom title held by the Third Master can be inherited by both legitimate and illegitimate children.

If these two people in front of me are extremely blessed in the future and give birth to a son who can inherit the title of Rong State, then I will not be an ordinary concubine and I will be able to get an imperial decree.

Therefore, a shrewd and sophisticated person like Lin Zhixiao's family in the inner house, even if she is still in a low status now, she will not fail to observe the proper etiquette.

He smiled and said, "Second Madam, a few days ago you asked me to buy high-quality fabrics with patterns, and I have always kept this in mind.

This morning I had some free time, so I went out for a walk for half a day and happened to have everything ready."

As Lin Zhixiao's wife spoke, she asked two maids to bring the brocade forward so that Wang Xifeng could take a closer look.

There were four pieces of cloth in total, all of which were colorful and lustrous. They were all high-quality brocade cloth.

One is scarlet with gold flower pattern, one is vermilion with gold lotus pattern, one is moon white with silver bamboo pattern, and one is royal blue with brocade pattern.

Wang Xifeng looked at them carefully, stroked them gently with her hand, and said with a smile: "They are indeed all top-quality fabrics. You have good taste and have chosen them very well.

The last time I was in Rongqing Hall, the old lady nagged me, saying that April 15th was Baoyu’s fifteenth birthday, and I should remember to make him two new clothes.

I was thinking that the twenty-first of next month was also my third brother's birthday. Since Baoyu wanted to make new clothes, there was no reason for me to drag my third brother into it.

I picked these moon-white and royal-blue ones for my third brother. I think they will look good on him. Wu'er and Ping'er, take a look too. If they don't look good, we can buy some more."

……

Lin Zhixiao's wife naturally understood what Wang Xifeng meant. According to current logic, it would not make sense for Baoyu to pay for the purchase of cloth from the West Courtyard. Instead, he should pay from the East Courtyard's share.

I don't know if the old lady was confused or she was used to doing things the same way over the years, but she just let Wang Xifeng do the shopping.

It would have been fine if she had just bought them, as both were her grandsons and were born in the same year. She only remembered Baoyu's birthday but forgot to mention that Jia Cong was also born in the same month.

When Du Jinniang gave birth to Jia Cong in the East Courtyard, people in the family died one after another afterwards, and even Duke Rong Jia Daishan seemed to have been killed.

Therefore, Grandmother Jia felt very alienated and distant towards Jia Cong. Jia Cong grew up in the East Courtyard before he was ten years old, and Grandmother Jia had never even met him a few times.

She probably didn't remember clearly when Jia Cong was born...

But Lady Jia can be confused, but Wang Xifeng is now in charge of Jia Cong's family business, so she absolutely cannot be confused.

It may seem like a trivial matter to others, but to Wang Xifeng it is a big matter as it relates to her position as the eldest wife. She cannot afford to make any mistakes in front of others, so as to avoid causing people to have extra thoughts.

Lin Zhixiao's wife smiled and said, "Second Madam has a good idea, but I secretly think that it is not enough to just make birthday clothes for Third Master, as he will take the imperial examination next month.

People outside say that the Third Master is extremely talented and might pass the imperial examination and become the top scorer. This is such a glorious event, so he must wear some new clothes to go to the examination hall. Otherwise, it would be too simple. "

After hearing this, Wang Xifeng smiled brightly and felt that Lin Zhixiao's wife really knew how to talk and behave.

He smiled and said, "You are older and more experienced than me. This is exactly how we should do it. If you have time in the next few days, go and pick out some good fabrics for my third brother."

Lin Zhixiao's family quickly agreed with a smile.

Wang Xifeng asked Wu'er and Ping'er to each take two pieces of cloth, one piece of moon-white cloth with silver bamboo patterns and one piece of royal blue cloth with brocade patterns, and asked them to take them to Jia Cong for inspection.

Then he asked casually, "This material looks like the best quality Suzhou embroidery. It's not cheap. How much did you pay for it?"

Lin Zhixiao's wife smiled and said, "Although the things are good, the price is very reasonable, eight taels of silver per piece."

Wang Xifeng was somewhat surprised when she heard this and said, "This kind of material normally costs at least ten taels of silver, and during festivals it costs twelve taels. How can it be so affordable now?"

Lin Zhixiao's face had a mysterious smile on it, and she said, "Because these pieces of cloth, from the source, are all from the second wife's dowry shop..." (End of this chapter)