The First Auxiliary Road from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 57
If it is said that there are not many people in the Ning family in the capital, the Ning family in Luming Academy is the only one.

Speaking of academies in the capital, ranging from government to private schools, there are as many as a dozen schools, most of which are located in the outer city, adjacent to the suburbs of Beijing.

Only Luming Academy is located in Zhongcheng, covering an area of ​​nearly [-] mu, with a very spacious layout.

Different from the magnificent style of other academies, Luming Academy has the charm of the south of the Yangtze River inside and outside, with gray tiles and white walls, flowing water pavilions, and a sense of tranquility amidst the noise.

The Luming Academy, which has a history of about 300 years, has successively produced six great Confucian scholars, thirteen elders, 59 central officials, and thousands of local officials. It is very famous in Qingliu academic circles.

Some people once joked: [The sound of reading can be heard in the downtown area, and it has been famous for more than a hundred years; saints have walked on the stone steps, and the elders of the pavilion have swept the door. 】

What's more interesting is that the former residence of Lord Ning, the dean of Luming Academy, is across the street from Luming Academy. Although the area of ​​Ningfu is not as large as that of the Academy, there are still three miles of lakes and hundreds of houses.

At this moment, the contemporary Duke Ning is on the boat in Fuzhong Lake, drinking tea and talking with his sons.

When Uncle Ning boarded the boat, he saw his father pointing to the two younger brothers who had been here for a long time, and asked him with a smile: "Could it be that you also come to pass orders from the backyard like them?"

"Why did father say that?" Although Uncle Ning was no longer puzzled, but because he had chosen a good scholar to study in the Shuchang Hall, he was quite refreshed.

Duke Ning didn't care if the eldest son knew what he was asking, he just pointed to the second son and said: "The second son was ordered by his wife, Li Shi, to make my father disqualify the children of Anjiayu, Baoxianghou and Shengguo's children from enrolling."

After finishing speaking, he pointed to the youngest son and said with a smile: "The third child is ordered by your mother not to recruit girls from Lu and Sheng to enroll as a father."

Uncle Ning looked at his two younger brothers and saw that they hung their heads and refused to speak, so he couldn't help raising his eyebrows lightly: "As far as I know, the noble concubine intends to let brother Yu study with the prince; and Lu and Sheng both have government schools. , Even if there are children who go out of the government to study, they basically go to the outer city, and Luming Academy has never been their choice."

Ninggong laughed loudly when he heard this.

Uncle Ning's heart trembled, and he looked at his two younger brothers with hatred.

Sure enough, after Duke Ning laughed, he slammed the teacup on the table and snorted coldly: "You useless boy! You only listen to the words of the woman in the back house, how ignorant you are!"

Second Master Ning and Third Master Ning blushed, and answered honestly in a low voice.

Uncle Ning held the folding fan in his hand and rubbed it for a moment, then smiled lightly: "Father, don't get angry, it's not a grievance for the young man in the family to be bullied this time, I have inquired about it, and it was these children who bullied others first.

It's just that the mother and daughter-in-law couldn't bear the children's suffering, so it's inevitable that they were partial and distressed. It's just that the second and third children didn't know the seriousness, took their complaints seriously, and disturbed the father's peace. "

Ning Gong snorted: "You don't need to cover them up, I said at the beginning that although the Duke of Jing'an has been passed down from generation to generation, it is only owned by the dean of Luming Academy.

Even if this title does not come down for many lifetimes, if you think about it carefully, it is just an empty name. There is no salary, no food and no real power, so why bother to go to the garden party!
They didn't listen, crying and shouting to go.At present, the gentleman is not up to date, and he is crying and crying to let me avenge my personal revenge, which is ridiculous! "

Uncle Ning put away his fan, and said with a smile: "Father, why bother to be angry? If it's such a trivial matter, you will be angry. In the future, the man in the mansion can't compete with the girls outside, wouldn't it be even more troublesome?"

When Ning Gong heard the words, he snorted coldly and remained silent.

On the contrary, Second Master Ning and Third Master Ning showed displeasure: "Brother, don't you really want to hold women's imperial examinations?"

The second master Ning and the third master Ning are all juren, but because they failed in the examinations many times, they don't know as much about the important affairs in the court as their elder brothers.

Uncle Ning smiled, and looked at his father: "You can't ask me about it, you still have to ask my father. As far as I know, after the morning court, the cabinet minister once went fishing with my father?"

A smile appeared on Duke Ning's face, and he stroked his well-trimmed beard and nodded: "It's just that the brothers and sisters meet each other. It doesn't happen every season, so why make a fuss."

Uncle Ning smiled, looking over the faces of the two younger brothers, and said: "Although I study in the Shuchang Hall, I have heard some news. I heard that His Majesty ordered the Imperial College to open a women's school. The admission of the children of the aristocratic family is just a test, maybe in the future, our Ning family will produce a female Confucian official."

Second Master Ning and Third Master Ning heard the words, although he respected his elder brother, he couldn't help but sneer.

Ninggong didn't express his opinion, he fiddled with the tea cover with one hand, and didn't know what to think.

Uncle Ning also said: "The elders in the cabinet and all the lords in the court have no objection. I am afraid that your majesty is determined. When you are fully prepared, it will be a chance to set a precedent... I heard that the government has already intended to reform. I don’t know how our academy will choose.”

He said that, Second Master Ning and Third Master Ning couldn't help looking at his father. Although they have no access to the affairs of the academy, the position of dean of the academy is not necessarily inherited by the eldest son. The eldest brother has a career in official career, and the post of dean is more likely to fall on their brothers. time, so they are very concerned.

Seeing that the three sons had doubts, Duke Ning lowered his eyes and chuckled for a moment, and then began to gossip: "Your grandfather inherited the position of dean directly from your great-grandfather, do you know why?"

The three sons of the Ning family had vaguely heard of it, but they didn't know much about it, so they all shook their heads.

Ning Gong nodded lightly indifferently, and said: "After your great-grandfather passed the test, you failed in the provincial test many times. Until the white frost dyed your temples, you were only called a scholar; although you may not be very knowledgeable, you are extremely transparent. Interesting words, my father once sat on his knees and listened to his jokes, and I still remember a few words..."

He read out softly as if recalling: "【Go out of the boat to avoid the high wind and waves, and wait for the weather to dry the rice; it is said that everything is done in a comprehensive way, but it is a coincidence that the change is a coincidence.】"

The second master Ning and the third master Ning didn't understand. The two brothers looked at each other, and they both saw confusion from the other's eyes. They didn't dare to ask, so they could only look at the elder brother quietly.

Uncle Ning smiled but said nothing.

Seeing his two sons like this, Mr. Ning felt a little bored: "I think back then, I hoped for my father to have both civil and military skills. How many martial arts masters were invited, and many of the northern and southern sects were involved, but so what? I have Zhang Liang's plan and you have Going over the wall and ladder, you brothers cooperated to cross the sea, and finally grew into a physique, no matter how much you look forward to being a father, you still have nothing to gain in martial arts."

Second Master Ning understood a little bit, but Third Master Ning still scratched his head: "Father, can't you just say something? It's so inexplicable! Only our father and son are here. You can talk to me, and outsiders can't." Knowing that, why bother to cover up and make people guess!"

Ning Gong felt that he had gone further in nourishing his qi, so he took a long while to catch his breath. He looked at his two sons angrily, and said in a deep voice:
"There has been a saying since ancient times: if the ruler is not secretive, he will lose his ministers, and if his ministers are not secretive, he will lose his dignity. If you can't cultivate meticulousness, it's better not to set foot in officialdom!
After twenty or thirty years of ups and downs as a father, I don't feel much, but I only know many things that I can only understand!If you understand, listen, if you don't understand, go out! "

Second Master Ning and Third Master Ning certainly didn't understand, but he didn't want to go out either, so he could only hang his head in embarrassment and be scolded obediently.

Fortunately, Uncle Ning still has brotherly love. Seeing his younger brothers like this, he smiled and said to his father: "The lake is quiet, and a few servants are waiting on the boat a few feet away. Make it more popular, so that my son can grow up a little bit."

Duke Ning lowered his eyes and hummed. Although he was not very happy, he organized his words and gave examples to the two dull sons.

(End of this chapter)