Wanli Xinming

Chapter 431 Southern Tour (XV)

Inside the Jubao Gate in Nanjing, opposite the Gongyuan, is the Wudingqiao Old Courtyard, the largest and most prosperous place of entertainment in the Ming Empire.

The sixteenth year of the Wanli reign was the year of the Autumn Examination, and the examination center of the entire Southern Zhili was in Nanjing. When a large number of scholars gathered to participate in the provincial examination, the Qinhuai River was at its peak of business.

When the lights on both sides of the river come on, they are colorful and bright as day. The red lanterns hanging high on the pavilions and pleasure boats complement the bright moon in the sky and the rippling water.

In the windows, the candlelight flickered, and the shadows of people could be vaguely seen. The shops were full of goods, and the signs fluttered in the wind. The wine shops and teahouses were full of guests, and the noise was endless.

When Zhu Zhifan and his servant boy arrived at the bottom of Jixian Building, he saw the receptionist at the door, Wang Ba, who was short in stature and dressed like the receptionists in other brothels, but he did not have a green turban on his head. Instead, the hair on the top of his head was shaved into a circle, and the hair around the circle hung down over his ears, which was very funny to see.

Seeing Zhu Zhifan standing at the door and watching, one of the greeters came forward and knelt, and one of them knocked his head on the ground and said, "Please come in, distinguished guest—" with a strange accent.

Zhu Zhifan heard his accent and realized that he was a Japanese servant hired by the store. He smiled contemptuously and walked into the building. The madam came up with a maid. After finding out that Zhu Zhifan had booked to stay at Liuhua Pavilion, the maid took him and his servant in.

The winding path led to a secluded place, and the sound of stringed instruments filled the ears. When they arrived at Liuhua Pavilion, several people had already arrived. When they saw Zhu Zhifan enter, they all stood up to greet him.

Zhu Zhifan said, "I am honored to be the host and I am late for the gathering. Please forgive me, gentlemen." Everyone said it was okay. A middle-aged man said, "We are living in a residence waiting for the exam and have no family affairs to tie us up. We just came here to chat early."

After that, he introduced several young men in their twenties around him, saying, "This is Mr. Dong from Huating, Mr. Zhou from Zhenjiang, and Mr. Zhang from Changshu." The three of them greeted him and introduced themselves, saying, "Dong Qichang from Huating," "Zhou Yingqiu from Zhenjiang," and "Zhang Jiubao from Changshu."

Zhu Zhifan looked at Dong and Zhou and asked thoughtfully, "But that Dong family and Zhou family?" Dong Qichang said with embarrassment, "That's right. Thirteen years ago, the Dong and Zhou families that were ruined by slavery were our two families."

Zhu Zhifan nodded and sighed. Then he comforted him, "Now that the Holy Emperor is on the throne, the two families have successors, and the revival is just around the corner." The two bowed and thanked him.

The middle-aged man pointed at the remaining middle-aged man and said, "This is a hermit master, Mr. Beiliu of Qingpu, whose name is Wang Yingkui. He is not only a master in medicine, but also an expert in divination. My brother and I admire him very much." After hearing this, Zhu Zhifan greeted him.

The middle-aged man introduced these people, "This is Mr. Zhu Zhifan from Lanyu, who has become famous in recent years. He is an expert in both calligraphy and painting. He is taking the provincial examination with us this time." Several people bowed to each other again.

Zhu Zhifan looked at the middle-aged man and said, "Mr. Jingfan, can Mr. Jingyang come tonight?"

Mr. Jingfan said, "Because of the welcoming ceremony, the past few days have been very busy. The day before yesterday, the weather was too hot and my brother was not feeling well, so he asked for leave to go back to his hometown to avoid the heat."

It was already past the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Nanjing was in its coolest season. When Mr. Jingfan said "avoid the heat", everyone present was stunned at first, but then they understood and sighed that Mr. Gu Xiancheng of Jingyang was so lofty and unconventional.

Mr. Jingfan waited for everyone to finish expressing their feelings, then smiled and said to Zhu Zhifan, "My dear brother, I heard that you won a big prize during the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Zhu Zhifan couldn't suppress the smile on his face. "It's a rare opportunity. I don't know how my calligraphy was seen by His Majesty, who praised it. This Mid-Autumn Festival, His Majesty sang with the Hanlin scholars for the first time, and Prime Minister Shen asked me to take notes, so I was given a calligraphy."

When Zhou Yingqiu, Dong Qichang and Zhang Jiubao heard about this, their faces were filled with envy. Gu Yuncheng said, "After the Autumn Examination is over, I will go to your house to admire the imperial calligraphy."

Zhu Zhifan smiled and said, "It is my humble honor. The emperor's handwriting is so elegant and extraordinary that we cannot write it. Either he has worked hard or it is a gift from heaven." After hearing this, the three became even more envious.

When everyone was present, the "doctor" named Wang Yingkui arranged for the dishes and proofreading, and the atmosphere gradually became lively as everyone toasted each other. As the autumn examination was approaching, several candidates naturally wanted to talk about the examination. Mr. Jingfan Gu Yuncheng was the first to sigh: "It is difficult to take the examination now without going to college. Every time the questions are asked, there must be content about the study of things, and the eight-part questions are becoming more and more simple. My brother wrote a memorial for this before, but it fell into the sea when he entered the Tongzhengsi."

Zhu Zhifan laughed when he heard this and said, "Mr. Jingyang advocated 'paying equal attention to cultivation and enlightenment', and he is the one who attaches the most importance to practical learning. Why does he prefer eight-part essays? In my opinion, the reform of the imperial examination is a done deal, and no one can change the emperor's mind. Because I got the advantage of being a local, I studied hard at Nanjing University for two years, and now I feel more confident."

Wang Yingkui interrupted and said, "That's right. The time when one's fate was determined by one's writing has passed. This change has not happened in a thousand years. It is the will of heaven and cannot be reversed by human power."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhifan pointed at the roof and said with a smile, "Is this the sky?"

Wang Yingkui said with a straight face, "This was deduced by my master using the Book of Changes ten years ago, so I gave up the idea of ​​taking the imperial examination a long time ago. As the saying goes, if you can't be a good prime minister, you can be a good doctor. A few days ago, I treated the Duke of Guo and got lucky."

After saying that, he took out a thumb-sized round pearl from his bosom, which made the schoolmaster next to him breathe heavily.

Zhu Zhifan frowned, while Gu Yuncheng held the wine glass and smiled without saying a word.

Zhou Yingqiu chimed in, "Is this a Dongzhu? This thing is rare. My mother once had one as big as this. She split it in half and inlaid it into a pair of hairpins. It's a pity that it was given to the Jinyiwei inexpensively." After saying that, his eyes turned red and he sighed and punished himself with a glass of wine.

Wang Yingkui smiled and said, "Brother Zhou, there is no need to restrain yourself. Judging from your appearance, you will definitely be successful in your undergraduate studies." Zhou Yingqiu was overjoyed when he heard this and toasted Wang Yingkui three times.

Zhu Zhifan waited until they finished drinking, and then asked impatiently, "Mr. Beiliu, are you good at face reading? Then help me see, how is your undergraduate degree?"

Wang Yingkui stroked his beard and smiled, "The art of face reading is just the basics. I learned the "Using the Gods" from my master, who predicted that after the age of thirty, I would be in the capital, and fame and fortune would no longer be a concern. Now it has come true! If Mr. Lanyu is interested, you can tell me a fortune."

Then he laughed and said, "Let me make it clear first, if it doesn't bring you good luck, don't blame me." Zhu Zhifan swore that he couldn't do it.

Wang Yingkui took out a few copper coins from his pocket and said with emotion: "This is the Tongbao coins of the Jiajing period. Nowadays, coins are only made into a round shape without any holes or squares. How can we see the truth of the world?"

Zhu Zhifan didn't care whether the coins could be seen or not. He washed his hands and prayed silently, then respectfully threw the coins six times. Wang Yingkui looked at it, calculated for a while and laughed: "The Youjin official star holds the world, and when it is prosperous, the Pleiades sun hits it and moves secretly. It also gets the help of the nine-five hexagram Shangguan Huajin God. Not only will it win the prize in the golden autumn, but it will definitely take the lead in the next spring."

Zhu Zhifan was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. He said to Gu Yuncheng with emotion: "I have also done divination several times in the past few days, but I always got in the way. I didn't expect you to be so decisive! I didn't expect to meet such a wise man today!"

He took out a handful of "round" dragon essence from his bosom, wanting to use it for divination. However, he was afraid of offending the expert, so he hesitated.

Gu Yuncheng smiled and said, "'A gentleman does not speak of strange things'. My brother and I did not really believe in it at first, but after verifying it several times, we can't do anything about it. How can we use such a thing in today's gathering? My dear brother, please sit down and let me take care of everything today."

After saying that, he turned to the other three and said, "Do you want to do the divination? If you want the divination, the money will be mine, haha!"

(End of this chapter)