Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 1760 A little backbone but not much 12.0
"Your family's affairs can be regarded as talking a lot. I hope what you said is true and you didn't lie to us."

Jin Jing looked at Jin Miaomiao who had stopped writing, walked over, picked up the confession she had written to read, then held it up to Ning Cheng, and showed him page by page.

"No problem, right? Is there anything wrong?" He raised his eyebrows slightly, "You said these, right?"

"Yes, I said it all."

"That's good!" Jin Jing waved her hands towards Ying Shiqi and Ying Wuyi, "Come on, give him the next hand and let her sign the signature, this part is over."

Ning Cheng's right hand was put down, and she didn't resist. She honestly signed her name and pressed her fingerprints on her confession. After pressing, she was tied back again.

Jin Jing handed over the signed statement to Shen Cha again, then turned around and walked up to Ning Cheng.

"Now let's talk about business." He smiled at Ning Cheng, "Did you think we forgot about Ningchang Kingdom after talking so much?"

"That won't be the case, isn't that the main purpose of your lord?" Ning Cheng sighed, "This fourth grandfather is indeed a legend in our family, a magical existence, and he is the only one who has successfully entered Xijing City. Clansmen who stand firm in the court and are officials of the first rank."

"If I remember correctly, including the Chaozhou Ning family, the children of the seven or eight big clans in the south of the Yangtze River are not allowed to participate in the imperial examination and are not eligible to be elected as officials, right?"

"My lord is right, this is indeed against the law." Ning Cheng thought for a while, "Actually, the restricted families are trying to get their children to take the imperial examination, so it is impossible to just sit and wait. If you don’t take part in the imperial examinations, and if you don’t have children to enter the official ranks, you will be replaced sooner or later. This is what all the big clans don’t want to see, but this is what the Great Xia royal family wants to see.”

"But the big clan doesn't want the royal family to get what they want, right?"

"Yes, the hearts of the people are not enough to swallow the elephant. The big clan has controlled the world for more than 200 years. Sometimes the power in their hands is much greater than that of the royal family. Now that they are not allowed to have this power, they must have a sense of loss. "Ning Cheng raised his eyebrows, and when he saw Jin Jing looking at him with a half-smile, he sighed and said, "Your Excellency, you don't have to look at me like that. The small family can be peaceful and beautiful, but I don’t care what the family is like. If the family grows bigger, it won’t do us any favors. If the family is weak, we won’t be able to take advantage of it. Maybe we will have to become victims of power struggles. "

"Since you think so clearly, then you admire Ningchang Kingdom?"

"That was when I was young, but after knowing what happened to my sister, I felt that a person who can't even manage his own family can manage the whole world well? Besides, if they really succeeded, they should have How many girls, how many families should there be, how many families will face the same situation as my sister and my family, and how many families will be destroyed? This is fine now, I hope His Majesty the Emperor will be more resolute and never compromise, they are not worthy. "

"Your attitude has changed quite quickly, huh?" Jin Jing slightly raised the corners of her lips, "Did it change after you came to our place?"

"Let's go along the way, especially after leaving Jiangnan, the further north we find that the lives of the people don't want what they told us."

"What did they tell you?"

"It is said that the Great Xia Emperor is incompetent, and the continuous wars in the northern border have caused the people here to live in dire straits. But what we see is not the same, especially after we come to the border, we see that the people here are really Live a down-to-earth life, although not so rich, but at least eat enough, wear warm clothes, and have spare money for the children at home to study and practice martial arts. Just like the house we rented, there is a small yard at home. Renting, this is something we never expected.”

"Very surprised?"

"Of course, when we were in Chaozhou, those elders told us that the people here are often hungry. They just bully us that we can't leave our hometown anytime and anywhere, and we can't see the outside world. They knew a little bit of news from the outside world. But now that we have come out, we know that every day of these years, we have been wrapped in their lies, living in the illusion they constructed for us."

"You are very lucky to be able to see this world with your own eyes, at least it is much better than the clansmen who are still being deceived by the elders." Jin Jing knows the inside story of these big clans, and knows that what Ning Cheng said is true, lightly He sighed softly, "Continue to talk about Ning Changguo, you used to admire him so much, do you know how he took the imperial examination?"

"I know!" Ning Cheng nodded, "He is the most beloved youngest son of the previous patriarch, and he is also the smartest one. The patriarch, the current patriarch, and all the elders feel that he is the hope of the family, and that he can really lead the family to break through the current shackles and stand at the top of the power again."

"So? They started planning for him?"

"Yes!" Ning Cheng sighed, "They have been trying to find a way for Ningchang to participate in the imperial examination a long time ago. Although the children of the Ning family in Chaozhou cannot participate in the imperial examination, those branches that were spun off from the Ning family in Chaozhou , is not affected by this. Therefore, they want to find a suitable family in these branches, move the household registration of Ningchang Kingdom into that family, and make Ningchang Kingdom a child of that family, so that they can participate in the scientific examination " He felt that his voice was dry and hoarse, and looked at Jin Jing with a pleading face, "My lord, can I ask for a glass of water? I really can't take it anymore."

"Of course!" Jin Jing raised her chin towards the guard, watched the guard feed Ning Cheng with a glass of water, and asked again, "This method should not be thought of out of nowhere, but the idea of ​​the restricted big clan Bar?"

After Ning Cheng drank a whole glass of water, her throat felt much more comfortable, and she asked the guard for another glass before nodding towards Jin Jing.

"It's just that the children in the family are not very competitive, and none of them can enter the center. Although Ningchang was young at that time, he had a very unique view of current affairs, and he was the candidate that all the big clans were optimistic about. , his teacher is the most famous and talented of these big clans, and they just want Ningchang Kingdom to lead them out of the years of shackles."

After finishing the second glass of water, Ning Cheng felt much more comfortable. He thanked the jailer and Jin Jing.

"What happened later?" Jin Jing waved her hand, saying that she didn't need to thank her, and let him continue talking about the Ningchang Kingdom. "Afterwards, they chose a suitable family? Would the family also be willing? What if the family also has a child who wants to take the imperial examination to become an official?" ?”

"Don't worry, my lord. Please listen to me slowly. They have already started to select people since Ning Changguo was three or four years old, but since the situation in the Jiangnan branch was not very good before, and it is easy to implicate themselves, so this time They don't intend to look for it from several branches of the Ning family in the south of the Yangtze River."

"Such a young child must be sent to a family with good conditions, and it must be convenient for visits and teachers to teach. The branch in Jiangnan is the most suitable, right?"

"That's what I said, but several other big clans used the Jiangnan branch and had some accidents. During the years of scientific research, the household registration checks were very strict, and several big clans were found out. Although they Some local officials who manage household registration have been bought, but at critical moments, these officials will still easily betray them."

"Ningchang is too important, so they didn't intend to take this risk, so they chose a branch other than Jiangnan?"

"Yes, they still value the lessons learned from the past. If Ningchang State cannot participate in the imperial examination because of household registration, the loss will not only be the Ning family in Chaozhou, but the entire Jiangnan clan, unless they can wait for a Ning family." Chang Guo is better, but this kind of talent is hard to come by, if you can't wait, then you will miss the opportunity."

"It makes sense to say that, but..." Jin Jing frowned, "If you didn't choose the Jiangnan branch, you would be out of their control. Those who are willing to accept their money and do things for them. If they go to other places, how can they talk to people from other government offices to do things for them? Don't say that money is touching people's hearts. Few people take risks in areas other than Jiangnan did this for you."

"It's not for us, it's for them. At that time, my father hadn't even been born yet!" Ning Cheng snorted, and continued, "Actually, it's not a day since the Jiangnan big clan did this kind of impersonation. Two days, one person and two people, if His Majesty wants to investigate, he can still find out a lot. Of course, there are not many in Xijing City. Except for Ningchang Kingdom who really broke into Xijing City these years, there is no Jiangnan The children of the big clan can gain a foothold in Xijing City. However, many people have been scattered to other places in Daxia, and many of them have worked as minor officials and county officials, and they have been unable to be promoted for many years."

"Understood, I was also given up by the family at the same time, but if the family needs it, I still have to do my best for the family, right?"

"My lord is right, it's just so unreasonable." Ning Cheng sighed, "Their purpose is that I can give up on you, but when I need you, you must fulfill my request, otherwise, you will be He will be exposed by his own people."

"So, on the one hand, they are looking for a suitable branch, and on the other hand, they are looking at where their clansmen are serving as officials. Can they help? Only when these two conditions are met at the same time can the final candidate be finalized, right?"

"Yes!" Ning Cheng nodded, "I heard that they chose for a long time, maybe more than a year or two years, before they found a suitable candidate in Zhongzhou, and talked with that family for more than half a month before finally finalizing However, there is no household registration official, because the surname Ning in Zhongzhou, the only son in the family is also named Ningchangguo. What’s more, this Ningchangguo and Chaozhou Ningchangguo were born in the same year, the same month and the same day, but the time is slightly different. There are some differences, plus the fact that the Ningchang country in Zhongzhou is not in good health and is already dying of illness, it is almost the right time, place and people."

"It's really a coincidence." Jin Jing turned her head and exchanged a clear look with Shen Cha. Ning Cheng's statement was almost the same as what Jiang Erye found out. It seems that this is Ning Chang Guo's inexplicable substitute for the scientific examination the truth.He turned around and looked at Ning Cheng, "Ning Chang doesn't need to change his household registration at all, he can directly replace Zhongzhou, and Jiangnan can treat him as having died of illness."

"That's what they did." Ning Cheng sighed, "After Ning Changguo of Zhongzhou died of illness, Ningchangguo of Chaozhou became the son of the Ning family branch in Zhongzhou, and the person who died of illness became Chaozhou. Zhou Ning, the prodigy who used to be famous in the south of the Yangtze River. However, in order to replace it smoothly, they have created the false image that Ningchang State is not in good health and the whole person is sick. They have not found the Ning family in Zhongzhou before. At that time, Ningchang Kingdom still frequently appeared in front of everyone."

"But after he found it, he didn't appear in front of people much?"

"Yes, there are fewer and fewer, and every time he appears, he looks sick. Therefore, people are not particularly surprised when they hear the news of his death, because the situation is not good when he appears in front of people again and again. Later, everyone It is normal to not show up for half a year, and I also heard that the Ning family in Chaozhou asked for famous doctors all over the world, but they still failed to save Ning Changguo's life. Therefore, after the news of his death was released, no one was suspicious. Later, Ning Changguo successfully became a native of Zhongzhou. After successfully taking part in the imperial examination, he won the number one scholar. At that time, he was only about 15 years old. When he was the number one student in the exam, he heard that the family had an excuse and held a seven-day running banquet , just to celebrate the good vision of the patriarch." Speaking of this, Ning Cheng sighed, "However, although Ningchang State successfully entered the imperial examination, but that year's imperial examination revealed fraudulent imperial examinations, and even revealed that there were scholars The scandal of impostors. Although impostors broke out every few years in the past, this time it seemed that His Majesty the Emperor was furious and ordered all scholars in this department to strictly check their backgrounds and resumes."

"Because Ningchang Kingdom has changed from the root, so he escaped by luck?"

"Yes, and his parents in name, the couple from Zhongzhou, seem to have gone to Xijing City to celebrate his high school." Ning Cheng chuckled, "A play and a full set, although there are people in Chaozhou, but they are very happy. Be careful, no one will find out, but that couple is very high-profile, and they talk about it wherever they go, and everyone knows that their son is the top student in high school."

"Such a high profile proves that Ningchang Kingdom's identity is not faked." Jin Jing nodded, "What happened next?"

"After the identity fraud was investigated, the fraud was investigated again. Of course, these have nothing to do with Ningchang Kingdom, but it is also for this reason that their group of scholars were not awarded important official positions. Ningchang Kingdom was sent to Hanlin to study. , this cultivation takes four or five years."

"Is your family disappointed? After all, you placed too much hope in Ningchang, and it turned out to be just a Hanlin?"

"That's not true. After all, it's bad luck, and Ningchang is too young. Even if he is sent to another place, the family will work a little bit to let him stay in Beijing. However, it's just these few days in Beijing. In the past year, they realized that they seemed to have misjudged their eyes. The behavior of the couple in Zhongzhou is really not good, and if they continue to toss, it may affect the official career of Ningchang Kingdom."

"What do they want to do?"

"What else can these big clans do?" Ning Cheng sneered, "Kill people to silence them, so as to prevent future troubles."

(End of this chapter)