Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Earl's Mansion, Jia Cong Courtyard.

The bed curtains in the main room were newly hung, the air was filled with the fragrance of cream, the window lattices and curtains were drawn, and the spring morning sun shone into the room, leaving light golden spots on the jujube wood floor.

Zhishao stood behind Jia Cong, helped him comb his hair, gently put a jade crown without a beam on the bun, and then inserted a jade hairpin into it.

The morning light merged into one, shining on her beautiful and fair face, making it seem to sparkle.

Her eyebrows were lightly drawn, her skin was smooth like jade, her eyes were like stars, and her eyes were moist and graceful. When her eyes met Jia Cong's through the mirror, she would always smile involuntarily, like a rare flower blooming for the first time.

Jia Cong looked at the image in the mirror, somewhat fascinated.

Asked: "Zhishao, do you remember who else is at home?"

Zhishao adjusted his hair crown and said, "I don't remember. Why did you ask this, Third Master?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I was thinking that now that life is stable, if you still have relatives at home, you should take good care of them so that they can also benefit from your blessings."

Zhishao was slightly startled, and unconsciously placed her hands on Jia Cong's shoulders, saying, "In the past few years, Third Master has told me many things about the past. I have vague memories of some of them, but I can't figure out some of them clearly.

I can't remember things further back. My master often told me that everything is born and dies due to cause and effect, and once you forget everything is gone. He also said that this might be my blessing and told me not to force it.

I have Third Master who treats me well and always stays with me, and that is enough. It doesn’t matter whether I think about the past or not.”

Jia Cong smiled and patted the delicate palm on his shoulder, saying: "You are right, as long as we live happily now and in the future, it will be enough."

Zhishao said, "Last time when Nanny Zhao injured her arm, when I went to see her, she told me that when I was six years old, I was bought into the mansion by Butler Lai to serve the Third Master.

As for my family situation, Aunt Zhao didn't know much either. She just heard from people in her early years that my family was a family of officials and servants, and they were sold because they committed a crime.

Madam Zhao doesn't know what happened. "

Jia Cong thought that since Zhishao was bought into the Jia family by Lai Da, Lai Da should be clear about Zhishao's origins, but the Lai brothers had been beheaded long ago, and even Nanny Lai died of illness last year.

I'm afraid no one knows the real reasons anymore...

……

Jia Cong knew clearly that being a slave sold as an official's servant was a lower status than that of an ordinary slave, and even ordinary families would avoid it.

A wealthy and powerful family like the Rongguo Mansion would employ either family-born slaves passed down from generation to generation or purchased slaves from good families with clean backgrounds.

For example, Xiren, who was beside Baoyu, came from a poor family.

The Hua family was so poor that they had to sell their daughter as a slave. Since her daughter was worth a few taels of silver, they sold Xiren to the Jia family as a maid.

A family like the Jia family would usually not bother to buy slaves that were sold at a low price during government property confiscations.

If Lai Da knew Lady Jia's expression back then, he would definitely look down on himself and thought it was not his turn to be a servant in the family, so he would find someone from outside to serve him.

In addition, Zhishao was only six years old at the time, and the little girl with yellow hair was not very noticeable, so others could not tell whether she was good or bad.

That's why Lai Da bought her casually and gave her to him as a maid. Otherwise, considering Jia Cong's poor situation in the East Courtyard back then, how could he have gotten such a pretty maid?

If it had not been so, Zhishao would not have been coveted by Jia She when she was just about to grow up and blossom, attracting everyone's attention, causing such a big accident.

Nowadays, it may be difficult to know Zhishao's family background and relatives, but this is not an urgent matter. We can only wait and see.

……

At this time, the door of the main room was pushed open, and Wu'er came in carrying a large copper basin filled with steaming hot water.

She placed the copper basin on the washbasin rack, wrung out the face towel, and handed it to Jia Cong to wash his face.

He said, "Third Master, Second Madam asked me to pass on a message yesterday, but Third Master was practicing calligraphy last night, so I didn't disturb him.

The Second Mistress said that the 21st of this month is Third Master Wuxiang's birthday. Now that Third Master is the Lord of two mansions, this is a big day. According to the usual practice, a birthday banquet should be held in both mansions to entertain guests.

Second Madam also said that this was Third Master’s first birthday after he inherited the title of Rong State, so it would be best to prepare a good party so that the Jia family would look good inside and outside.

After listening to Wu'er's words, Jia Cong sensed the hidden meaning in Wang Xifeng's words.

Ever since Jia Cong inherited the title of Rong, the first branch of the Jia family has become the legitimate branch. As the daughter-in-law of the eldest branch and Jia Cong's sister-in-law, Wang Xifeng and Jia Cong share the same glory.

Wang Xifeng now not only relies on Jia Cong for support, but Jia Lian will be exiled to Liaodong for fifteen years. During such a long period of time, the children in her belly will also need Jia Cong's protection in the future.

Although Wang Xifeng is also a cruel woman, she is wiser and more flexible than Mrs. Wang. She has calculated clearly in her mind that as long as Jia Cong is safe, she will be protected.

At the last birthday banquet in Dongluyuan, she noticed that Lady Wang and Madam Xia were having a reconciliation, most likely secretly trying to gain a high position in the harem for Yuanchun.

She certainly couldn't take it lightly; this was probably the trick and secret struggle of the women in the harem.

She advocated a grand celebration of Jia Cong's fifteenth birthday, but she only used the means to consolidate and publicize Jia Cong's status as the head of the family and the legitimate successor of the eldest wife by sending messages inside and outside and inviting guests to the house.

Even if the second house really gave birth to an imperial concubine, the status of the first house had long been secure, and no matter how much trouble her aunt made, she would not be able to overturn it.

……

Ever since returning home from the birthday banquet at the East Courtyard that day, Jia Cong had heard his sisters mention what Mrs. Xia said and did at the ladies' table in the flower hall that day.

Since Wang Xifeng could guess what was going on, Jia Cong could naturally think of it as well.

However, in this matter, Jia Cong had already laid the groundwork with Yuanchun in advance, and neither Lady Wang nor Wang Xifeng knew the inside story.

Therefore, Jia Cong was not worried at all about Mrs. Wang secretly messing around with this matter.

You have to know that the supreme ruler in the imperial city is a man who will not tolerate any sand in his eyes. He has already put in some eye drops in advance. No matter what Mrs. Wang does, it will be a joke.

Jia Cong said: "My second sister-in-law has thought it through carefully, but I am going to let her down.

A few days ago, the palace issued an imperial edict to officials related to the Spring Examination, and the Ministry of Rites also issued the examination schedule.

The 18th of this month is the final day. I will stay in the prison of the Imperial Examination Hall for nine days, taking three exams in a row, and will not be released until the 27th of this month.

Birthdays on the 21st have to be celebrated in prison, so there is no need for me to hold a special birthday party at home."

Wu Er asked, "Why not ask Second Madam to move Third Master's birthday banquet forward a few days, wouldn't that be a good idea?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "That's not necessary. It's only ten days before the Spring Examination. Once the birthday banquet is held, there will be a lot of socializing and it will take three or four days. It will waste too much time.

It would be best for me to concentrate on studying for the exam during the remaining time.

Although I am the top scorer in Yongzhou and I may be able to get the title of Jinshi in the end, the spring examination is a gathering of talented people from all over the world, so I cannot be careless at all.

If you are too careless and end up failing, it would be a huge disgrace.

"Teacher is the pioneer of Liumen Eight Scholars. If I am here and it ruins the reputation, I will be ashamed of my teacher."

Wu'er found what Jia Cong said so interesting that she couldn't help but chuckle, with curved eyebrows and eyes, looking very cute and lovely.

Zhi Shao smiled and said, "Then wait until Third Master comes back from the exam and then we can arrange it. When Third Master passes the imperial examination, we can hold a birthday banquet, which will be a double celebration."

……

After Jia Cong had washed up and had breakfast, he saw Qingwen come in with a roll of toilet paper.

He said, "Third Master, this is the imperial edict that the steward copied at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall according to your instructions. It says that all the names on it are complete."

A few days ago, the imperial court posted a notice of the appointment of officials for the spring examination at the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall, and informed Jia Cong of the news as soon as he received it.

At that time, in order to report quickly, Jiang Liu only copied the names of the three chief examiners and the names of the top 20 officials in the Spring Examination.

Jia Cong also asked someone to copy down a complete list of names, in order to see which of these officials who had taken the Spring Examination might be the examiners for this Spring Examination.

In the Spring Examination of the Great Zhou Dynasty, not only two to three chief examiners, but also presidents, will be appointed.

Also because of the imperial examination, the Five Classics were "Book of Songs", "Book of Changes", "Book of History", "Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Book of Rites".

Eighteen co-examiners would also be appointed to review the Five Classics for the imperial examinations in separate rooms, known as the Eighteen Rooms.

After the three examinations lasted nine days, the examination papers of the candidates would be screened and graded.

The eighteen examiners will review the Five Classics separately, select the correct answer sheets, and finally submit them to the chief examiner of the Spring Examination for ranking.

Although the position of the chief examiner in the Spring Examination was very respected, for ordinary candidates, the weight of the co-examiner was, to some extent, no less than that of the chief examiner, and in some key situations, even more important than the chief examiner.

Because the co-examiners are responsible for the initial review and screening of the candidates' test papers, if your test paper, together with the examiners' review, cannot pass, it will not be able to reach the desk of the chief examiner, let alone pass the exam.

Although, in order to avoid missing out on some talents, the chief examiner of the spring examination would review the answers of his fellow examiners, and some talented candidates were therefore re-selected.

But such lucky people are, after all, only a very small minority, and those candidates who fail the exam cannot expect to be hit by such good luck.

Moreover, the officials who could serve as co-examiners were all talented people with excellent performance in the examinations, and usually they rarely made mistakes.

Therefore, for most candidates, the co-examiners are the most important because they hold the fate of the candidates in their hands.

The chief examiner, who holds a highly respected position, is of vital importance to those who are extremely talented and intend to top the examination, because the final ranking of the successful candidates is determined by the chief examiner.

The role of the chief examiner on the candidates is more after the joint examination, because once the candidates pass the examination, they will form a teacher-student relationship with the chief examiner.

All those who were selected as the chief examiners of the Spring Examination were high-ranking officials of the imperial court with great prestige. Their support and recommendation of their students played a very important role for the Jinshi who had just entered the official career.

……

The chief examiner of the Spring Examination will preside over the examination in public, so the imperial court will make a clear announcement before the examination so that everyone inside and outside the court will know about it.

However, the names of the eighteen examiners will not be announced in the spring examination announcement; their names will be mixed with those of other officials.

This is also because the imperial court is well aware of the special duties of the co-examiners and is on guard against anyone secretly colluding with the co-examiners to commit fraud before the spring examination.

As there were so many examiners, except for the chief examiner, no one else knew who would be the examiner, which became a big topic before the Spring Examination.

When the blue booklet first appeared on the market, there were actually only five or six candidates for examiners listed on it.

However, the popular practice of paying visits to the examinees was not limited to the five or six examiners. All the officials listed in the blue booklet who passed the spring examination were sought after and paid visits to by the examinees to varying degrees.

It is because many of these officials listed among them may be the same examiners in this spring's imperial examination. Once they pay a visit to them and make friends with them, they can ask for advice and communicate with each other's writing styles.

Even if the examination papers in the future are marked with a copy of the name, it may not be impossible to win a little more luck and opportunity for the candidates who are taking the exam...

……

Jia Cong was already the top scholar in Yongzhou and a nobleman with two titles. His expectations for fame in the imperial examination were far less enthusiastic than those of ordinary candidates.

For him, after the Spring Imperial Examination, all he wanted was to win the title of Jinshi, and to give an account to his master.

The second is to break the rules set by the Great Zhou officials, which made it difficult for those who were not Jinshi to be promoted to civil service positions of rank five or above.

So for Jia Cong, the co-examiner is more important than the chief examiner...

In the past two years, he has worked in the Firearms Department of the Ministry of Industry. He is no longer a rookie in the officialdom and knows some of the current figures in the officialdom.

Therefore, he asked his butler to copy the complete list of imperial edicts for the Spring Examination so that he could browse through and speculate whether those officials might be the co-examiners of this Spring Examination.

Of course, this was just his natural curiosity as a candidate for the Spring Examination. He would not use this as an opportunity to target his fellow examiners and do anything like visiting and making friends with them.

……

The study room in spring is filled with the fragrance of books and bright light.

After spending the birthday with her mother, Yinglian has returned to Jia Cong's study. She and Lingguan are squeezed on the Luohan couch under the south window, reading some books and sharing snacks in the food jar.

Lingguan had a pair of bright eyes and always looked at Jia Cong from time to time. She saw him sitting at the desk, reading a piece of paper full of names with great interest.

Jia Cong discovered quite a few talented officials in the copied list, all of whom were very likely candidates for the examination.

When he saw the name of one of the officials, he was stunned: Sun Shouzheng, the Censor of Yongzhou Province of the Censorate.

Jia Cong was quite familiar with this name because it was closely related to Rongguo Mansion.

At first, Jia Zheng wanted to move out of Rong Xi Tang, but his mother Jia and Mrs. Wang stopped him. As the matter was being delayed, somehow the news got out.

Sun Shouzheng, the censor of Yongzhou in the Censorate, was a man who attached great importance to etiquette and law. After hearing the news, he impeached Jia Zheng for being obsessed with Rong Xi Tang.

Because he was only a seventh-rank official at the time and had no qualifications to attend court, the impeachment memorial was submitted to the emperor by the Ministry of Public Administration, so very few people knew about this matter.

However, when Emperor Jiazhao saw the memorial, he praised him greatly, saying that he was upright and outspoken, and abided by etiquette. He also granted him an additional promotion to the seventh rank after three years of examination.

When this news spread, officials from various departments impeached Jia Zheng one after another, which eventually forced the second branch of the Jia family to move out of Rong Xi Tang in a hurry and finally sneak into the East Courtyard.

The officialdom is a place where seniority is the most important factor in determining one's position. According to common sense, it would be difficult for a newly promoted seventh-rank civil servant to be selected as one of the officials for the Spring Examination.

But Sun Shouzheng happened to have this honor.

Perhaps it was because this person had performed well in the imperial examinations. After all, to be able to serve as an official in the Censorate, he must be at least a talented person ranked among the top two.

Or perhaps it was because of that impeachment of Jia Zheng that he unexpectedly attracted the attention of Emperor Jia Zhao and was directly promoted to the seventh rank, thus making him famous and making others dare not ignore him.

Regardless of the reason, it was an interesting thing for Jia Cong that this person was listed as an official in the Spring Examination.

……

Rongguo Mansion, Fengjie's Courtyard.

At this time, Wang Xifeng had been pregnant for nearly half a year, and her body had become plump and lazy. She changed into a new loose robe and walked much less in her daily life.

After helping Jia Cong to wash and dress, Wu'er returned to the West Mansion to do housework and reported Jia Cong's words to Wang Xifeng.

Wang Xifeng said, "I don't know when my third brother will take the imperial examination, so it seems that this matter cannot be carried out this month.

But it doesn't matter anyway. I often hear people say that my third brother is the top scorer in Yongzhou. As long as he takes the exam, he will definitely pass.

A 15-year-old Jinshi is terrifying. When the time comes, the hairpin banquet and birthday banquet will be held together. It will be a rare honor for the Jia family in a hundred years, and the second branch will never be able to expect it in several lifetimes..."

Seeing that Wang Xifeng's words were so blunt and she didn't try to hide her ridicule of the Second House, Wu Er suppressed her laughter and said, "That's my idea too. Then the Third Master will have a double happiness."

Wang Xifeng smiled slightly and said, "Wu'er is wrong. In my opinion, it is a triple happiness."

Wu'er and Ping'er looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering where this triple joy came from.

Wang Xifeng laughed and said, "According to what Third Brother said, after he has passed the Spring Examination, he will be old enough to dance with the elephant. According to the old rules of the mansion, someone will move into his room."

After hearing this, Wu'er and Ping'er couldn't help but blush.

……

Wang Xifeng glanced at the two of them and continued with a smile, "Last time the old lady had something to say, and I heard that she wanted to arrange for a capable person to go to Third Brother's room, and it is most likely Yuanyang.

I know Third Brother's temper. When has he ever let anyone make decisions for him? This is no small matter. As his eldest sister-in-law, I cannot just stand by and watch. "

In fact, Wang Xifeng now regards Jia Cong as her biggest backer, and she is very thoughtful in dealing with others and herself.

The most powerful person in the world is the one with the sweet and soft pillow wind.

No matter whether it was Ping'er or the maids around Jia Cong, Wang Xifeng didn't care which one he took into his room, as long as he didn't take anyone from the old lady.

To avoid the old lady from holding a handle on the eldest wife in the future, so that the power of the eldest wife would be easily affected by the old lady...

Wu'er listened to Wang Xifeng's teasing words, and thought of the day when Jia Cong coaxed her into telling her about this matter and the sweet words he said to her, and her pretty face became even redder.

Wang Xifeng continued, "In Third Brother's room now, Qingwen is the same age as Third Brother, Yinglian is still young, and although Sister Xiuyan has been given a status, she is only past the age of 16.

He is a man who treasures all his daughters. I don't know what he is thinking.

Wu'er, go back and tell your Third Master that I am not able to move around very well right now, so I can only ask Third Brother to come to my place when he is free. I need to know what he is thinking first."

Wu'er's face turned red. She felt uncomfortable with Wang Xifeng's teasing words. Although she responded quickly, her voice was much lower.

Wang Xifeng suppressed her laughter and said, "This way I can help him make arrangements and I have to act as a peacemaker, although he has the final say in this matter.

But this family, inside and outside, has a complicated account, and we have to get along well.

I'll talk to the old lady first to smooth things over, so that the two of them won't have to argue again." (End of this chapter)