A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 204: The True Number One Scholar Song Qi

At this moment in Songcheng, Song Xuan was holding his daughter carefully and couldn't help laughing.

Mrs. Gu was lying on the bed, looking at Song Xuan, with a smile on her face.

"Shi Er Lang, you can actually hold a baby!"

After listening to Mrs. Gu's words, Song Xuan carefully placed the blinking little girl in the cradle.

Song Xuan then asked, "Have you given her a name?"

"I just thought of a nickname called Sisi." Mrs. Gu smiled. She felt that Song Xuan should understand the meaning.

Song Xuan nodded, turned the little thing on the cradle, and made a noise to amuse the child.

"Hello Sisi, what a nice name."

Song Xuan was fiddling with the toys he made in his hands. Sisi's body was wrapped up the whole time, and she just grinned.

"I brought some diapers for the baby, as well as a mattress for you. Have Xiaohua change them frequently, so you don't get sick. You don't have to worry about anything during this time, just take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Doctor Song, for your consideration." Madam Gu curled her lips and said:
"Since you entered the room, your eyes have been on Sisi, but have you ever glanced at me?"

"what?"

Song Xuan was stunned for a moment, then turned around and said:
"How can you still be jealous of your own daughter?"

"Humph~"

"It's my fault. I forgot to check Madam's pulse."

Mrs. Gu looked at Song Xuan like this and smiled again.

Only then did Song Xuan sit down and take the patient's pulse.

During this time, he saw that Mrs. Gu's clothes were soaked with milk, and he thought:

"Sister, do you have chest pain?"

"Yes."

Song Xuan then said solemnly:

"My dear sister, your milk is too abundant. You need to express it every day."

"what?"

This was also Mrs. Gu's first birth, and her mother-in-law never told her about these things.

Especially after not giving birth to a son, she was very disappointed.

Now she is busy grieving for her son and taking care of her dying old man.

"The best way is to let Sisi suck more every day. This is the best way to relieve your pain."

"Then I understand." Mrs. Gu nodded immediately:

"But Sisi is asleep now, and I'm in so much pain again."

"If you had any care, you wouldn't have caused me so much pain!"

Mrs. Gu reached out and pinched Song Xuan's ear.

Song Xuan tilted his head and thought for a while:
"I'll help you today. Tomorrow, you can feed Sisi more. If it hurts again, Xiaohua will have to help you express the milk."

"Then come quickly." Madam Gu puffed out her chest.

"But it's killing me."

"Since it is Madam's request, I dare not refuse."

Mrs. Gu stroked Song Xuan's head and couldn't help laughing.

After a while.

"Are you ready for this test?"

"I am preparing for the exam with all my strength. Just wait and see if I can get the top scorer in the exam."

"Just bragging."

Only then did Mrs. Gu become convinced that what Song Xuan said was right.

Did his master also teach him some medical skills to treat women?
"I rarely break my promises."

Song Xuan held her hand and said, "By then, you will be able to walk around and listen to people all over the city praising my name!"

Mrs. Gu just smiled.

Song Xuan's shameless self-confidence really attracted her.

"Then go back and prepare for the exam. No one's plotting against you this time, so you should be able to get a good night's sleep. Don't get sick from the rain like last time."

"If it's inconvenient for you, how can I go out in the rain and get sick?"

"Begging for a beating!"

Mrs. Gu gently hit Song Xuan's shoulder.

After Song Xuan said goodbye, Wang Gui subconsciously sniffed on the way home:
"Brother, is the smell of milk so strong?"

"It's a bit thick, which is normal."

Song Xuan smelled the scent on his body carefully:

"I'm a doctor, you have to trust me!"

"Oh, I see!"

Song Xuan spoke up based on his status as a doctor, so Wang Gui naturally believed him.

After all, the medical skills are there!

Wang Gui took Song Xuan directly to Madam Gu's house. It was very convenient for him anyway.

After returning home, Zhang Fangping was studying hard to prepare for the upcoming exam. He glanced at Song Xuan:
"Twelfth brother, are you heading to Madam Gu's house?"

"how?"

Zhang Fangping shook his head:

"It's a bit strange. After all, it's best if Judge Gu dies!"

"But I can't understand why Brother Twelve takes such good care of Madam Gu. Could it be that he wants to emulate Prime Minister Cao?"

After Zhang Fangping finished speaking, he himself was a little bit unconvinced.

How could the twelfth brother possibly learn Prime Minister Cao’s habit of pursuing other people’s wives?

I absolutely cannot think like this!
"Twelfth brother, I was just joking, don't take it to heart."

Song Xuan, who was thinking about his words, heard Zhang Fangping hit him in the vital spot and then quickly retreated, and he stood there in a daze for a while.

"In fact, Cao Mengde was a loyal and righteous man in the first half of his life. It was only the development of the situation that led to his later choices."

"Yeah." Zhang Fangping responded.

Song Xuan sat aside, not caring at all:
"I just went out for a while. Where did you see?"

Zhang Fangping is currently reading the Records of the Grand Historian, so that he can use more allusions in his poems and essays for the examination.

Anyway, this matter was extremely simple for him. He just had to scan it once, just like a scanner, and store everything in his mind.

There is no one else in the entire Song Dynasty who has this ability.

Like others, at most they can be praised once or twice for their broad knowledge and strong memory.

I would never say that I have a photographic memory!
"I have finished reading the Records of the Grand Historian and am now reading the Book of the Later Han."

Zhang Fangping was very surprised as to why his twelfth brother had been so absent-minded these past two days.

Because I told him this morning that I had finished reading the Records of the Grand Historian.

"Then let me see it."

Song Xuan chuckled and continued to work hard.

……

"Come, let's drink together."

The newly appointed magistrate of Songcheng, Song Qi, held a banquet at his home with a singing girl by his side.

Compared with his elder brother Song Yang, Song Qi is extremely fond of pleasure. After becoming an official and having some money, he started to wear silver handkerchiefs like crazy.

He previously served as a military prosecutor in the prefecture, but because the two magistrates of Songcheng were both busy, this vacancy was filled by him.

Song Qi was not in a hurry to take office at home, so he just enjoyed himself for two days.

"Master, your sister has sent a letter."

"Put it in the room first. I'll look at it tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Come on, come on."

Song Qi was already about half drunk. He kissed the singer beside him and then raised his glass: "Let's drink together!"

The guests were not polite at all. After all, it was a banquet and the purpose was to have fun.

The next day, the sun rose early.

Song Qi pushed away the singer beside his pillow.

He stood up, shook his head, and motioned the singer to go down, there was no need to stay with him.

Although his elder brother Song Yang had advised him many times, Song Qi simply refused to listen.

I gave the top spot to you, and you still bother me with such a small matter?

After a long pause, Song Qi finally saw the letter from his sister on the table.

He opened it and took a look.

It turned out that it was his nephew Xu Zheng who had caused trouble in the academy.

I dare not tell my husband for fear that my son will suffer. It so happens that you are going to Songcheng to take up your post, so please go and look after him.

The current official avoidance system of the Song Dynasty only prevents officials from holding office in their registered counties, and has not been extended to prefectures, roads, etc.

"What did this little bunny mess up?"

Even though Xu Zheng was only a few years younger than Song Qi, he was still a little brat in his eyes.

The main reason was that his nephew was not good at his studies, so he sent him to Yingtian Academy to study hard, but he didn't expect that he would cause trouble.

"It's not a big deal."

Song Qi didn't think his nephew could do anything harmful to the world.

However, since the letter was written personally by the dean Fan Zhongyan, it seems that this matter is quite serious.

Song Qi frowned, then ordered his servants to pack up and head to Song City.

Yingtian Academy.

Song Qi did not rush in, but first looked at the list outside for a while. The last time he passed the exam, the top scorer was Han Qi. Compared with his elder brother Song Yang, he was the first in both the provincial and provincial exams.

In addition, the Empress Dowager graciously gave her title of top scholar to his elder brother, and only then did Song Yang achieve the honor of "three firsts in the imperial examination".

In fact, Song Qi was a little unhappy in his heart!
He could give the titles of Jieyuan and Shengyuan to his elder brother, but he wanted the title of Zhuangyuan very much.

The Empress Dowager has spoken. Do I have to refute her in court?

Revisiting the old place made Song Qi feel a little melancholy.

Because he found that the environment of the academy was much better than when he studied there.

As for the name of Fan Zhongyan, he had also heard of it.

After all, some sons of officials and gentry saw that he was poor and wanted to prepare a sumptuous meal for him. However, Fan Zhongyan didn't eat a single bite until the food went bad.

Song Yang admired Fan Zhongyan's move very much and believed that such a person was ambitious.

However, Song Qi described Fan Zhongyan as pedantic!

Life is short, don't miss out on enjoying it.

What’s the use of being strong when you are old?

At that time, what use would power and influence be?

Song Qi walked into the academy. The walls and trees were the same as before, but he was a little surprised when he saw the newly built cafeteria.

I was even more surprised when I saw that the renovated classrooms and the dormitory where I used to live were no longer bumpy yellow earth.

Could it be that Fan Zhongyan actually has such a good way to make money?
Although the outside hasn't changed much, the inside is no longer the dilapidated appearance it used to be.

Otherwise it would never be like this.

Song Qi strolled around and then found the dean's office according to the instructions.

At this time, many teachers went out to teach.

Only Fan Zhongyan was still writing something at his desk.

Song Qi was the first to salute: "But Dean Fan?"

Fan Zhongyan raised his head and said, "Exactly. Who are you?"

"My name is Song Qi. I have just been transferred to the position of magistrate of Songcheng County. I am the uncle of Xu Zheng from the academy. My sister wrote to me saying that my nephew has made a mistake and asked my family to come over."

"My sister is not in good health, and my brother-in-law is an official in another place, so he asked me to come here."

"It's Magistrate Song. Please take a seat."

Although Song Qi enjoyed pleasure, he was more sociable than his elder brother.

"I don't deserve it. Brother Fan, you can just call me Zijing. We are classmates. Besides, Brother Fan started studying here earlier than me."

Especially when Fan Zhongyan was reinstated, Song Qi also felt that his official position was higher than his own.

Moreover, he guessed that being appointed as the county magistrate this time was a compensation from the court, after all, he had lost the top spot he had won.

Not everyone in the court was willing to see "Empress Dowager Liu" in power.

Even though military men are no longer in power in the Song Dynasty, a "Wu Zetian" incident is not allowed to occur.

In particular, when Liu E was offering sacrifices to the ancestors of the Song Dynasty, she actually wore a dragon robe.

Because of this incident, many people made suggestions and were demoted from the court.

The two of them reunited, even though they had rarely met each other before.

Song Qi then got to the point: "I wonder what mistake my nephew Xu Zheng made?"

Fan Zhongyan was very puzzled: "Your sister didn't tell you anything in her letter?"

"No, he just asked me to take care of something."

Song Qi could actually understand that his sister was covering up for her nephew, so that his father wouldn't get angry if he found out.

After all, compared with his relatives at home, Xu Zheng's son is really disappointing!
Among a bunch of students with good grades, even though Xu Zheng's grades were average, they still looked extremely bad!

Fan Zhongyan then repeated to Song Qi in detail what had happened.

When Song Qi heard this, he was extremely surprised:

"This little bastard actually did such a stupid thing!"

"This kind of thing happened in the academy, so it naturally attracted the attention of Prefect Yan. You also know that Prefect Yan is strict in his work."

Fan Zhongyan sighed again: "I still had to force them to give them a chance, so that Prefect Yan would not make the decision to persuade them to withdraw."

"Such a terrible thing must be discussed with the parents. Now I want to ask you, how should we punish Xu Zheng so that he will learn his lesson but will not lose his desire to study."

Song Qi was able to pass the imperial examination and become the top scorer, so he knew that being unhealthy was the original sin on the road to the imperial examination.

Since we all come from ordinary backgrounds, we must work hard on the imperial examinations in order to have a better future.

His good nephew Xu Zheng actually wanted to make trouble for other people's reputation because of the court's policy!
This harms both others and yourself!

It's truly unforgivable.

What’s important is that Song Hao and Song Xuan are both distant relatives of Song Qi!
This made him even more embarrassed.

After all, when he recalled the "graduation banquet" at that time, he did not say that it was humiliating to the Song brothers, but he just looked down on them.

As for the guy named Song Xuan, he didn't come at all.

However, Song Qi didn't care. A boy from the countryside who was lucky enough to be admitted to the academy, but couldn't even pass the test, would probably be too embarrassed to attend the top scholar's banquet.

Therefore, Song Qi naturally did not take Song Xuan seriously.

Listening to Fan Zhongyan's description of Song Xuan and his approach to dealing with him, Song Qi realized that he had underestimated the "poor relative" named Song Xuan!
"Brother Fan, do whatever you want with me!"

Song Qi first put down his words, then spoke again:

"As long as he isn't expelled from the academy, it'll be fine. I'll be here for at least three years, and during those three years I'll definitely supervise him well."

Besides, Song Qi also had to do Fan Zhongyan a favor.

After all, Song Qi really couldn't communicate with Yan Shu at the moment.

What's more, he is my immediate superior.

If it weren't for Fan Zhongyan, there would be no good result if I had stepped forward to plead for mercy.

Fan Zhongyan nodded:

"That's true, but the degree of this is still determined by the family. The academy is for education, not for arbitrary punishment!"

Song Qi also understood what Fan Zhongyan meant, especially since the academy’s motto had changed!
This is enough to show that Fan Zhongyan was a man with ideals and ambitions.

"I will discuss this matter with my sister and brother-in-law, and will definitely give Dean Fan a satisfactory answer."

"it is good."

Song Qi asked about the location of Xu Zheng, Song Hao, and Song Xuan's classes. As a parent representative, he had to urge Xu Zheng to apologize no matter what.

At least we have to do our best to save face.

"Apologize."

Xu Zheng once again apologized to Song Hao politely.

Song Hao really didn't expect Song Qi to come, and was suddenly at a loss.

He dared to hate Xu Zheng for this matter, but he did not dare to hate Song Qi, the man who passed the imperial examination and became the top scorer.

Even though he had been ridiculed at the banquet, he had actually given me the top scorer's notes.

Song Hao would always remember this kindness in his heart.

When Song Qi saw Song Hao's expression, he knew that the matter had been settled.

"Don't worry, Wulang. I will definitely give you an explanation on this matter. I've already told Dean Fan that we can deal with Xu Zheng in any way we want, as long as you're satisfied."

Song Hao quickly waved his hand: "Erlang, don't say anything more. Let's just let this matter go."

"How can that be possible!"

Song Qi added, "I have now been transferred to be the magistrate of Songcheng County. I will naturally take better care of you, but one thing is one thing."

"what?"

Neither Song Hao nor Xu Zheng expected that he would stop here and not leave.

"Xu Zheng, don't be complacent. I will certainly supervise your studies. If you keep regressing, you'll be punished by my iron rod!"

"I see."

Xu Zheng was like a wilted eggplant. He knew very well the methods of his uncle.

But he is more sharp than his uncle.

I'm afraid the days ahead will be extremely difficult.

Song Hao felt mixed emotions. He really didn't expect Song Qi to be promoted so quickly.

If I think too much about this matter, I'm afraid my life will not be easy.

It is better to handle it with care and appear more generous.

"By the way, Fifth Brother, please take me to find Twelfth Brother. I haven't met him yet."

"He's also a victim in this matter. I might as well take that bastard Xu Zheng with me to apologize to my twelfth brother."

Song Hao nodded woodenly, thinking in his mind.

The three of them ran towards Class A.

Song Qi didn't expect that Song Xuan, the boy who didn't study hard, would appear in Class A!

It shouldn't be a mistake.

When chatting with Fan Zhongyan just now, Song Qi felt that Fan Zhongyan was an extremely meticulous person and would never do such a careless thing.

Could it be that Song Xuan also has some talent in studying, but he just doesn't show it on a daily basis?
"Twelfth brother, come out for a moment."

Hearing the sound at the door, Song Xuan, who was writing, looked up and found it was his fifth brother.

He looked up and glanced at the teacher Wang Zhu behind him, asked him for some instructions, and then walked out of the classroom.

Song Qi glanced at Song Xuan who walked out of the classroom.

He should be tall, at least a head taller than me.

It is not wrong to describe him as having a face like a jade.

It's a good appearance for an official.

If I have the chance to be on the Tokyo City Ranking in the future, I wonder how many people will come to the list to be my son-in-law!
Song Qi quickly recovered his composure and said with a smile:
"But is my twelfth brother in person?"

Song Xuan also looked at the man in front of him. His face was dark and his eyes were dark circles. It was obvious that he had been drinking and having sex too much.

"you are?"

(End of this chapter)