Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

On May 25, the 15th year of Jiazhao, in the Earl’s Mansion, Jia Cong’s Courtyard.

The morning light gradually emerged from the pitch black sky. The museum shelf near the east window shone a dim light through the window lattice, cutting it into fragmented light and shadows, which slowly moved on the dark jujube wood floor.

Zhishao, who was lying on the side couch, woke up from a deep sleep, lifted the thin rose-red silk quilt, and a breeze blew, filling the room with the intoxicating fragrance of her daughter.

She stretched her waist, and the chiffon silk dress on her body was tightened, revealing her slender and graceful curves.

Zhishao got off the couch and walked quietly to Jia Cong's bed. She could hear his long breathing in the bed curtains, which made her feel at ease.

She smiled slightly, drew the bed curtains together a little, and walked to the rosewood Ruyi hanging cloud clothes rack, where Jia Cong's robes and her own clothes and skirts were neatly hung.

She took out a long skirt made of pink and white satin embroidered with plum branches and put it on, and then put on a snow-blue thin silk jacket with a cross-collar embroidered on it, and fastened the buttons under her ribs.

For fear of waking Jia Cong, she did not light the candle. Facing the morning light shining through the east window, she looked in the diamond-shaped bronze mirror and combed her long black hair into a black bun.

She also inserted a crystal clear jade hairpin into her pretty and neat bun, completely covering up her morning laziness, revealing herself as a pretty and elegant lady.

She seemed to have thought of something, walked to the museum shelf, carefully took down an ebony box, and took out a roll of yellow satin imperial edict from it.

Gently unfolding it, facing the faint light from the east window, he curiously whispered: "The country's talents are the best in the world, and the literary and artistic achievements are worthy of the teachings of the saints..."

Miaoran's clear voice floated slowly in the dim room. It was unusually pleasant and light, with a kind of quiet and beautiful feeling of time.

Just as I was muttering softly, I felt someone gently hugging my slender waist and a warm, solid chest resting against my back.

Zhishao bit her lips slightly, a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and she stood there motionless.

I only heard Jia Cong's voice ringing in my ears: "I am the leader, with great reputation and high expectations among scholars. Not only is he respected by the whole country, but he is also relied upon by the country...

Zhishao, you got up so early in the morning and started reading the imperial edict. What's so fun about this? Do you want to take the imperial examination and win first place?"

Zhi Shao chuckled and said, "If you want to win the first prize in the imperial examination, you must first be a man, otherwise you can't be the maid of the Third Master.

The Third Master won the first-class Jinshi title this time, which is a rare honor in the world.

I am just curious about what the imperial edict issued by the palace to the top-class Jinshi looks like. I didn’t see the Third Master receiving the edict that day, so I naturally want to see this rare thing.”

Jia Cong smiled and said, "The imperial edicts are all similar. It's not just me who received the imperial edict. The other two first-class scholars will also receive it."

Zhishao said, "Third Master often told me that when we lived in the warehouse of the East Road Courtyard, Third Master studied very hard. Although I can't remember it, but now that Third Master is where he is today, all his hard work in the past is worth it."

Jia Cong couldn't help but tighten his arms slightly around Zhishao's waist. He felt the warmth and softness of the delicate body in his arms, and the sweet fragrance filled his nose, and he felt intoxicated.

Smiling, he said, "When I was in the East Road Courtyard, my life was rough, but luckily I had you to keep me company. Now you are still here, and my life is much better than before. What else can I be dissatisfied with?"

Zhishao's heart was moved. She hugged her waist with both hands. The morning light under the east window gradually became brighter. The two of them snuggled together, and they seemed to think of many things...

Jia Cong felt the warmth and fragrance in his arms, and couldn't help himself. He kissed Zhishao's well-defined lips a few times. Zhishao closed her eyes and let him do it.

She felt her slender waist getting tighter and tighter, her heart was beating fast and she felt sweet, but Jia Cong's hair rubbed her pretty face and made it itchy. She couldn't help but chuckle.

……

At this time, footsteps were heard from the corridor outside, and a figure was reflected on the glazed window panes of the east window. Zhishao smiled and broke free from Jia Cong's arms, took a fire starter, and lit the candlestick in the room.

There was a knock at the door. After just a few knocks, the door was pushed open. Qingwen came in with a neatly ironed Jinshi robe in her hands. Wu'er followed in with a copper basin of hot water for washing.

The ceremonial robe in Qingwen's hand was given by the official of the Ministry of Rites who taught Jia Cong the etiquette of the imperial examination yesterday. He brought several sets from the inventory and asked Jia Cong to try them on and choose the right one.

Yesterday, Qingwen and Wu'er carefully washed the ceremonial robe and then ironed it flat, so that Jia Cong would wear it to fit him properly and look more stylish at the ceremony.

When the two of them just walked to the door, the room was still pitch black. But when they pushed open the door, the red candlelight seemed to light up, and they thought Jia Cong and Zhi Shao had just got up.

Unexpectedly, in the bright candlelight, Zhishao was already dressed, but Jia Cong was standing there in his small clothes, obviously having just got out of bed.

Qingwen saw Zhishao in the candlelight, her eyes full of autumnal beauty, her cheeks faintly rosy, she was dazzling and extremely beautiful.

She was a little confused. How come Sister Zhishao suddenly looked good so early in the morning? She looked weird...

Wu'er is older than Qingwen and much more careful than her, but she can taste the subtle charm and ambiguity in the room.

She thought about her daily night shifts with the patient, and the inevitable rubbing of ears between them, and her face turned slightly red.

She put down the copper basin, naturally went to the hanger to take Jia Cong's robe, and helped him put it on.

Zhishao pursed her lips slightly, went over to press Jia Cong onto the stool, and carefully helped him comb his hair. Although Qingwen was a little confused, she was too lazy to think too much. She picked up the ironed gown and hung it neatly on the hanger.

The strange atmosphere in the room suddenly returned to its normal rhythm. The original sweetness and beauty gradually faded away, and was once again filled with the gentle and peaceful homely atmosphere.

After Jia Cong finished washing up, he had breakfast with the people around him.

Just after the hour of Mao, Yingchun brought her maid Xiuju, accompanied by Jia Mu's maid Yuanyang and Wang Xifeng's maid Ping'er, and they entered Jia Cong's courtyard early.

Because today's palace ceremony will be held at the Huangji Hall at 1:00 p.m., all successful candidates must gather at the Wumen Gate in the palace before 1:00 p.m. and wait there, and officials from the Ministry of Rites will guide them into the palace.

The Ceremony of Announcement is an extremely important etiquette for successful Jinshi candidates to enter officialdom. It is of even greater significance to the Jia family of Rong State, which produced the first Jinshi in a hundred years.

As the eldest sister, Yingchun naturally had to come early to take care of her younger brother.

Even someone like Lady Jia, who has always been indifferent to the imperial examination, knows that Jia Cong's participation in the ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examination today is a very important matter. If he is negligent, he will become a laughing stock.

So she got up before dawn and sat in the hall, and asked Yuanyang to escort Jia Cong from the house to the palace on her behalf, which was considered a serious matter.

As Yingchun and others entered the yard, Daiyu and Zijuan also came over early.

Jia Cong went back to his room and changed into the ceremonial robe of a Jinshi. Yingchun turned him around and looked at him many times. She pulled his sleeves and straightened his collar, carefully correcting his appearance until she was satisfied.

Although Daiyu is close to Jia Cong, she is different from Yingchun after all. It is not easy for her to help him with the chores, so she just watches with interest from the side.

By the time Jia Cong was dressed, Tanchun, Xiangyun, Xiuyan and other sisters were waiting in the yard. Even Baochai came from the West Mansion to see him off, so the occasion was considered a serious one.

The sisters sent Jia Cong to the second gate. They looked at him in his new formal gown, looking tall and handsome, with an outstanding demeanor. He took a few steps, turned back and waved to them, then walked away.

……

Just as Jia Cong's carriage left the Earl's Mansion, the corner gates on the east and west sides of the Mansion opened one after another.

Yesterday, Wang Xifeng asked Ping'er to come to the East Mansion to discuss with Yingchun the reception of guests in the two mansions. They made many preparations in a hurry to avoid being in a hurry in the next few days.

Before dawn, many carriages and horses had already parked on the roadsides on both sides of Ningrong Street, each transporting fresh vegetables, rice, fish, mutton, fine wine and other items.

Under the guidance of the stewards and servants of the two mansions, the carriages and horses drove into the corner gates of the two mansions respectively.

Today, due to the palace's grand ceremony of announcing the names of the dead, the morning court is suspended for one day. This is a rare opportunity for civil and military officials above the fifth rank in the capital to take a break.

This also indicates that because of Jia Cong's joy at passing the imperial examination, most of the Jia family's old relatives and friends who are descendants of the noon gods will come early to congratulate him after noon.

After Jia Cong left home and entered the palace, Wu'er went to the West Mansion early to help Wang Xifeng and Ping'er with entertaining guests, and Baochai also went with them to help.

In the East Palace, apart from Yingchun who is in charge, Tanchun and Daiyu also help out.

The assignment of slaves, the collection of materials, the arrangement of utensils, the reception of guests and other matters in the East and West Palaces were all arranged in an orderly manner.

Even the smallest details such as washing and sorting food, distributing lamp oil and candles, and distributing them have been carefully considered.

When it was bright, many carriages and sedan chairs drove in from both ends of Ningrong Street and stopped at their respective east and west mansions.

As the sun rises, the Jia family's east and west mansions once again become the focus of attention in Shenjing City...

……

The palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Chengtian Gate.

When Jia Cong's carriage arrived, many successful candidates had already gathered and were waiting.

As the top scorer in the spring examination and the second place in the palace examination, Jia Cong was a highly regarded Jinshi among the same year's candidates.

As soon as he stepped off the carriage, many fellow Jinshi came forward to greet him, and the atmosphere was warm and cordial.

This time he had the potential to be the best in the country. Although he didn't get the top spot, he was able to avoid being in the spotlight, which also left more room for his future career development...

As the only noble among the 300 Jinshi of the same year and the only fifth-rank official, he was already too dazzling.

After all, Jia Cong's many halos are hard to ignore. He is a disciple of Emperor Wenzong, a double-winner in the imperial examinations, a master of poetry, a master of calligraphy, a famous young general, a man who has been demoted and given a title, and has solved many major cases...

Any one of these is difficult for ordinary people to achieve in their lifetime.

If a person like Jia Cong was the best in the world, perhaps his talent and writing skills would be difficult to criticize.

However, given the bad habit of scholars looking down on each other, students all over the world will create countless criticisms. Rumors such as officials protecting each other, distinction between the nobles and the common people, misusing public resources for personal gain, and obscure ideas will surely become more and more rampant.

Now that he has retreated to second place in the first class, and his fame has faded, he has gained more support and goodwill among the Jinshi candidates in this year's imperial examination.

Because he is no longer so dazzling and difficult to approach, he is more likely to be regarded as a "peer" by most Jinshi candidates. What's more, he is such an outstanding person, so why not make friends with him?

This is human nature...

……

This year's top scholar Zhang Wenxu and third place scholar Chen Qirui also came forward to greet Jia Cong.

As the top scholar, Zhang Wenxu should have been full of energy and pride, but at the same time, he felt indescribably depressed...

This year's spring examination was truly unusual. Not only did a major fraud case occur, but many extremely talented people also emerged.

It goes without saying that Jia Cong, the top scorer, is a legendary figure known throughout the world. In addition, Zou Hui from Xuzhou and Lin Zhaohe from Hangzhou are both popular candidates for the top scorer.

Zou Huigaoju ranked second on the list, Lin Zhaohe ranked third. Although Zhang Wenxu was famous for his talent in Qingzhou, he seemed a little ordinary compared to these people.

Jia Cong is a distinguished and noble person, Lin Zhaohe is involved in a fraud case, and Zou Hui is said to be a genius in classics and eight-legged essays, but he seems to be oblivious to the outside world and is not sensitive enough to the current affairs of the court, so he failed in the palace examination...

If it weren't for these reasons, it would have been difficult for Zhang Wenxu to become the top scholar. This would have been a stroke of luck for him, and he would have been proud and ecstatic.

But anyone who can pass the imperial examination is not a foolish person. Everyone who has witnessed or heard about major fraud cases can more or less deduce the basis behind them.

What's more, below Zhang Wenxu, he happens to be next to such a brilliant figure as Jia Cong, whose talent and fame are obviously even better than his.

Whether it was when he was looking at the list or the scene in front of Chengtian Gate, Jia Cong's reputation and support among his peers seemed to be higher than Zhang Wenxu's.

Zhang Wenxu felt helpless as to who was the foil for the top scholar and the runner-up...

……

Compared to the top scorer Zhang Wenxu, the third place winner Chen Qirui was in a much more relaxed mood.

There are only three people in the first class. Although the Tanhua is the last one and is the least important person in the overall situation, he is also a genuine first-class Jinshi, and there are really countless benefits and advantages for him.

Therefore, Chen Qirui went up to Jia Cong and started a conversation with him in a very open and generous manner. His admiration and respect for Jia Cong came from the bottom of his heart, and he was not stingy with his praise.

This is only natural. Chen Qirui, who ranked third, expressed admiration for the top two scorers. It seemed very natural and he was not at all shy like Zhang Wenxu.

Jia Cong and Chen Qirui got along quite well during their chat. He saw that this newly-crowned scholar had a handsome appearance and a strong build, but his skin was slightly dark and his waist was a little fat.

Although the Tanhualang is handsome and has a similar appearance, there is not much difference between them, but he looks pleasing and has a blessed face, which is pleasing to the eye.

People have always had some mundane fantasies about the Tanhua scholar, and have portrayed the top three Tanhua scholars as more glorious than the No. 1 scholar.

The person chosen by Du Zhuan as the third place in the imperial examination must not only be extremely talented, but also have a handsome appearance.

Since the establishment of the imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty, there have indeed been such stories of selecting the third place in the imperial examination, but it is often difficult to fully fulfill this reality in the imperial examination selection process.

Among the students in the world, there are not many people who are both talented and handsome.

Whether such a person can pass the imperial examination and enter the spring examination is a 50-50 chance.

Even if he finally enters the Spring Examination, the examination will involve transcribing and marking the papers, and ranking the candidates, not judging people by appearance. So, can such a student with outstanding appearance be ranked in the top 18 in the examination?

The chance of eventually entering the top class is extremely slim, almost non-existent.

Therefore, the selection of Tanhua in the Great Zhou Dynasty was still based on talent, but the appearance and demeanor were taken into consideration as much as possible. However, it was not a beauty pageant after all, so the only consideration was that the appearance should be decent and not too ugly.

Therefore, a third place winner like Chen Qirui is just among the middle-ranking ones, which is reasonable.

Those who boast that the third place winner is as handsome as Pan An are just shallow people in the market, wishful thinking, nonsense fantasy, and flirting...

……

As time passed and the sky brightened, more and more new scholars gathered outside Chengtian Gate.

Since the time to enter the palace has not yet arrived, this is a good opportunity for these newly promoted scholars to contact their peers and have conversations with each other to get to know each other.

Three hundred scholars was already a large group of people. They formed small circles and chatted with each other.

Most of them were chatting with people from the same hometown, but some were discussing with people with the same teacher, or gathering together in the same academy.

There is another type that is more scheming and focuses on building personal connections to lay the foundation for future career.

The most obvious manifestation was that the three first-class Jinshi were the core, and there were many new Jinshi around them, greeting and chatting with each other.

Moreover, among the three first-class Jinshi, Jia Cong is the core...

The reason for this is that although the top scorer Zhang Wenxu and the third place winner Chen Qirui were honored with the honor of being on the list and were very famous, they had no official status or prestige.

In comparison, Jia Cong held a high position and was famous throughout the world. It was also said that he was a favorite of the emperor, so he was naturally more popular.

Jia Cong's classmates Cai Xiaoyu and Liu Xiaoping also arrived outside Chengtian Gate and saw from afar a group of Jinshi scholars surrounding Jia Cong and chatting with him.

They were close friends of Jia Cong and had plenty of time to drink and chat, so they just stood outside the circle and watched the fun.

This time, Cai Xiaoyu and Liu Xiaoping were both among the top two. With a little luck, they might be qualified to enter the Hanlin Academy, so they were in a very relaxed mood.

Liu Xiaoping looked at the crowd around Jia Cong and said, "Yu Zhang was almost able to pass the imperial examination and become a famous figure in history. It's really a pity that he has to go down in history."

There was a hint of cynicism on Cai Xiaoyu's slightly plump face.

He smiled and said, “My father once said that fame is necessary, but too much or too little can make you a target and also a burden. Sometimes, when you are in the officialdom, it is difficult to generate the spirit of wind and thunder and do practical things.

Yuzhang is different from ordinary people. He has never lacked fame. Look, he is just the runner-up, but he has already attracted so many women.

If he really becomes the top scholar, he will still be very proud of us when he sees us again. That's not good enough. Being the second place is enough. We can still have a good time drinking and talking without any scruples. "

Liu Xiaoping smiled slightly after hearing this, thinking of Cai Xiaoyu's father, Cai Xiang, who was a cabinet minister. Although he held the highest position among officials, he was always known as a ruthless scholar.

Cai Xiang was somewhat of an oddball among the court officials. He did not advocate the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, but only believed in being pragmatic and useful. Although he was a very talented person, he was also ruthless towards his political enemies...

It is not surprising that he would say such words to his son. If I were not Cai Xiaoyu's best friend, I am afraid Fatty Cai would still be cautious and I would not be able to hear these words.

He smiled and said, "The third place winner Chen Qirui is handsome, generous, and popular, and he really lives up to his title.

The top scholar Zhang Wenxu is also a man of outstanding talent, but he seems to be not well-liked by his peers..."

Cai Xiaoyu smiled with a gloating look and said softly, "To say that Zhang Wenxu is indeed famous, my family's ancestral home is Qingzhou, and my family relatives visited Beijing and mentioned that Zhang Wenxu was quite famous in Qingzhou.

He was considered to be extremely blessed, with his ancestors' graves smoking, and he actually got picked as the top scholar. However, his luck was a little lacking, as he actually met a freak like Yu Zhang.

You and I, brothers, don't realize that over the years, Yu Zhang has been best at stealing the limelight and ruining other people's interest. Haha, look at these peers, they keep trying to get close to him.

"Hey, Zhongwen, when did you go blind? Even Chen Qirui is so handsome and worthy of the title of Tanhua, but he is still not as handsome as me."

Liu Xiaoping looked at Cai Xiaoyu with some disdain.

He shook his head and said, "The best appearance for a man is one with a straight nose, a wide mouth, a strong and voluptuous figure, a masculine and majestic appearance.

Chen Qirui is such an outstanding person with great talent. Although his skin is a little dark, it does not hurt his taste. He is worthy of the title of Tanhua. "

He then advised Cai Xiaoyu: "Xiaoyu, I am not saying anything bad about you, but since you passed the imperial examination, you have been lazy and greedy, and have extorted a lot of banquets from Yuzhang at Chunhua Tower.

Look at your appearance now, you are fat and cheerful, with a round waist and back, almost catching up with the third place in the imperial examination. If you don’t control yourself, you will be a hindrance to the appearance of the imperial examination.”

The two men were joking and insulting each other when a rumbling drum sounded from Chengtian Gate. Officials from the Ministry of Rites came over to teach etiquette, and all the successful candidates of the imperial examination began to line up and dress properly.

In the bright morning light, two huge palace gates slowly opened, and three hundred Jinshi, led by officials from the Ministry of Rites, lined up to enter Chengtian Gate... (End of this chapter)