Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 29 I am very worried
……

"After you finish writing your essays, you can go to the palace and hand them in to Zhao, the instructor of the Imperial College. He will decide whether the essays are acceptable."

Seeing those playboys leaving unwillingly, the old man left a word and went back inside.

"Have it!"

Song Yu clapped his hands and said with a smile: "I'll go write it first."

"Let's go together." Ye Mengshu said.

"Shunzhi." Xie Jiwen patted Jia Rong on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Let's not wait any longer. Let's finish writing and go in to see if anyone is inside."

A simple contemporary essay would certainly not be a problem for those who had ranked top in the provincial examination. Jia Rong nodded, found a table at random, and gently picked up the pen and dipped it in ink.

"This brother is invited."

Jia Rong looked up and saw that it was the man who had just been flipping through the book in front of him.

"What's the matter, brother?"

"May I ask, brother, which book or chapter of the Four Books did this question come from? I, ahem, I forgot for the moment."

Jia Rong: “…”

I have been looking through the book for a long time, but I still haven't found the topic.
This person is truly a talent!
"The Analects, Xiangdang."

As Jia Rong was talking, he had already started writing.

When a sage drinks in the countryside, he will always strictly enforce the rules for the elders!

"Thank you very much. My name is Liu Hao, also known as Haoran. Actually, I am familiar with the Four Books, but I forgot it because I was nervous. Your introduction is very good. Brother, how did you learn to write so quickly? Don't you need to make scratch paper? You... Brother, have you finished writing?"

Jia Rong picked up the craftsmanship article and said with a smile, "Brother, take your time with your work. I'll go in first."

……

"I, a commoner, kowtow to His Majesty!"

"Lord Li, please stand up quickly."

Emperor Wende, who had been on the throne for three years, suddenly had tears in his eyes and quickly stepped forward to help Li Minzhi up.

Li Minzhi was so excited that she burst into tears.

"Your Majesty, you have suffered a lot over the years."

"Hey."

Emperor Wende sighed and waved his hand, saying, "Let's not talk about this anymore. I secretly summoned you to the capital this time because I have something important to discuss with you."

"I will never give up even if I die!"

Although Li Minzhi is nearly 70 years old, she stands straight and her voice is deep, heavy and firm as iron.

Emperor Wende took a few steps inside the room and said, "Now that villain has become even more rampant. Not only has he controlled the government and excluded dissidents, he has also openly placed his cronies around me in an attempt to deceive my eyes and ears!"

Speaking of that villain, Emperor Wende's eyes were filled with unconcealed hatred, and his fingers were clenched until they turned white.

Li Minzhi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, I believe that good will prevail over evil, and there will be a day when order will be restored!"

"I believe it too! But I have to watch helplessly as that villain controls the government, acts recklessly, and harms loyal officials. I am so heartbroken! Cough cough..." When he spoke urgently, Emperor Wende suddenly couldn't help coughing.

Li Minzhi said anxiously, "Your Majesty, for the sake of the country, please take care of your health!"

"My health is fine!" Emperor Wende calmed down and said with worry in his eyes, "This year, the salt tax in the Huaiyang area will start to be collected. I am worried that the man will take the opportunity to attack Lord Lin and disrupt the salt tax in Jiangnan. A few days ago, someone even impeached Lord Lin for abusing his power for personal gain. I am very worried!"

Li Minzhi thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Lord Lin has always been upright and would never abuse his power for personal gain. If that person intends to frame me, he is wrong. The whole court will not allow him to confuse right and wrong and call a horse a zebra!"

Speaking of this, we have to say a few words about the current situation of the Great Xia court.

It has been three years since the retired emperor abdicated. Although he lives in the deep palace, he still controls the government through the cabinet. Several regents in the current cabinet are old men from the retired emperor's period, especially the cabinet chief, Ye Gao, who has been the chief minister for nearly twenty years. He has served as the chief examiner of the provincial examinations three times and the chief examiner of the metropolitan examinations twice. His students and former officials are all over the country, and he has almost all the power in the court, making him the most powerful force in the court.

Emperor Wende has been on the throne for three years. Although he has the heart to govern the country, he has to be cautious because of the presence of the retired emperor. Therefore, his power is not prominent in the court. Only Emperor Wende himself knows the details. The military meritorious lineage has the least say in the court, because the retired emperor has emphasized civil officials over military officials since his early days, which has greatly reduced the status of meritorious officials. Now most of the meritorious families have empty titles but no real power, just like Jia She and his ilk, who can't even go to the court.

Only the Ningguo Mansion firmly holds a place in the court, and the Minister of War Jia Jing is basically the representative of meritorious officials in the court.

The three parties have basically maintained superficial calm in the court, but it is unknown how they have been "forming alliances", "eliminating dissidents" and "engaging in petty intrigues" in private.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Lin Ruhai is related to the Jia family by marriage. Can Lord Jia from the Ministry of War just watch his brother-in-law being plotted against?"

"Humph!"

It would have been fine if Jia Jing was not mentioned, but when Jia Jing was mentioned, Emperor Wende could not help but snort.

"That old fox has been staying out of the matter. I have already made private representations to him many times, but he always evades the main point and talks about the other side. I am afraid that he will hold me back, and Lord Lin will be restricted in every way and unable to work for me with all his strength..."

Die in vain...

When Lin Ruhai first went to Huaiyang, how brave and fearless was he? He withstood the pressure from the court and fought the salt merchants to death, and the salt tax increased every year.

What now?
No more,
Less and less every year.

I am very worried!

"Lord Li, I asked you to come here this time because I want you to go to Huaiyang in person and give Lord Lin a message saying that I believe he can clean up the world and completely eliminate the threat of salt merchants."

"I'm waiting for him!"

……

After passing the magnificent front hall is the back garden of Mu Garden, where the scenery suddenly changes.

The winding path leads to a secluded place.

The low bamboo houses are scattered among the forest.

There are strange rocks and slopes, exotic flowers and plants, and a winding river running across the east and west. The banks are surrounded by wooden fences, and most of the pavilions are built on high places for easy viewing.

"It's still the same as last year. Whenever I come here, I have a simple and natural heart that wants to let go of fame and fortune and indulge in the mountains and rivers..." Xie Jiwen talked freely while waving a fan.

Everyone was used to it and didn't interrupt his fun.

"Let's say goodbye here. You go and seek your fame and fortune, and I'll go over there to see how Miss Yun Qian is doing."

Ye Mengshu said with a smile: "Brother Xie, you better be careful. Don't teach a Hua Jing Kui, who will then compete with you in a battle of wits."

"Haha." Xie Jiwen smiled and waved his fan, "You guys don't have to worry about that. When the time comes, Miss Yun Qian and I will drink together under the moon and discuss eight-part essays. Isn't that wonderful?"

"Shunzhi, where are you going?" Song Yu asked.

"Why would he ask? His mind is full of fame and fortune, so he must have gone to ask Mr. Li for advice."

"Haha." Jia Rong smiled faintly: "I want to go and see what Miss Yun Qian's article is like."

Except for some particularly pedantic Confucian scholars, it was normal for young ladies from official families to read the Four Books and Five Classics. Many of them could write eight-legged essays. I remember that in the previous life, the book "The Scholars" wrote about a girl from a Hanlin family who read the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood and began to learn to write essays at the age of eleven or twelve. Her articles were "natural and elegant, with a cluster of flowers and colors." After reading them, her father sighed and said: If she were a man, she would have passed the imperial examination and won as many as a dozen top scholars!
It can be seen that women are really not much worse than men when it comes to writing eight-legged essays. It’s just that there are not many such extraordinary women in this era, even fewer than the top scholar in the imperial examination!

Scarcity makes things valuable, so of course I have to appreciate the female teacher's eight-part essay first.

"Are you going too?"

Xie Jiwen immediately felt as if he was facing a formidable enemy.

"What's the matter? Weren't you in love with Miss Yue from Mingyue Tower some time ago?" Jia Rong asked curiously.

Xie Jiwen said seriously: "The bright moon is what I want. The shallow clouds are also what I want. If I can have both, I will die without regrets!"

"Your father is very pleased!"

……

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(End of this chapter)