Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 666: Is it important to take the test?
"Langjun, Langjun, I can't stand it anymore,"

A delicate cry came out weakly, as weak as if she was sick.

Zhang Jinyu stood up, lay on the bed and exhaled loudly. Although the beauty was good, her body was indeed a little tired. She covered her with the quilt, turned over, lay on the bed, and fell asleep in a daze.

The people around him also leaned against him and closed their eyes. Only the fluttering eyelashes told the owner of his uneasiness.

The streets outside the mansion were crowded with people, and the people coming and going were also surprised as to why so many people were here today.

Many street vendors in the surrounding area were tightly packed. Many students could not bear the pain, so they bought a bowl of tea on the spot and sat on the chairs in the stalls to wait.

"Hey, brother, why do you think there are so many people and they can't even see the gate of the Yamen?"

At the tea stall,
A few coolies sat there, drank a large bowl of tea, and wiped their sweat with their old rags. They had just carried a lot of food for the officials at the yamen gate, and they were panting from exhaustion. , I don’t know why I was kind-hearted, so I gave a few big bucks and asked him to go out to find some food, and then go back after eating.

Several people were happy, but they still wanted to save money, so they went to a roadside stall to drink a few sips of tea to satisfy their hunger, and secretly shared the money given by the official.

"Isn't this obvious? Did you see it? They are all the students who participated in Enke. They are lining up. I heard that there are officials inside handing out money."

As soon as they heard about the money being distributed, the other two guys quickly asked;
"Brother, what's going on? I've never heard of the Yamen handing out money."

"Yes, brother, isn't this an anecdote? Yamen have always been about making money. How can anyone give out money? There must be some explanation."

The three of them looked curious and disbelieving. That was money. Even one tael of silver could help them stay in the capital for a month without working.

The leading strong man smiled with envy on his face.

"You, even if you are destined to work as coolies, look at your future, this is the only thing you can do."

It was originally meant to be a scolding, but the three of them were actually overjoyed, and one of them replied;
"Brother, that would be great. If we can continue to survive, we can get a lot of money, and we can't go hungry. Look at a chamber of commerce in Shuiqiao in the south. They give you a little more money, and the work is not tiring. They need help all year round. , but it’s not easy to become a member of the Chamber of Commerce.”

The three of them also had longing looks on their faces. The leading strong man reached out and slapped the table and cursed;

"The more you talk about it, the more promising you are. That place is not something you can go to if you want to. That big chamber of commerce in the south is the property of the Luoyun Marquis Mansion. The people who work inside and outside are all noble brothers, and they don't have enough. , how can it be our turn,"

He looked up again and saw the students crowded in front of the yamen, and sighed;
"We are all poor people, but we are not as good as those scholars. Those officials said that all the people who came here are people who took the Enke exam. When the exam was changed, everyone was given two taels of silver, saying that it was for the money. It didn't matter who you were. No matter whether you take the exam or not, as long as you sign, you can get money.”

After saying that, he bit his tongue in envy. A few people were stunned. It was such a good thing.
"Brother, those Wenquxing are really good. Let's go to work after we finish our tea and earn some extra money. My son is old enough to go to school, so he can't go to a private school. What if he passes the exam?"

Since he looked at the speaker like a fool, the leader laughed and said,
"That's a good relationship. If your son wins the election, you will be the father of the official, and we old brothers will be in trouble. Okay, let's get to work."

After several people got up, they each placed a copper plate on the table, and the leader shouted,
"The shopkeeper, please pay and leave."

: "Okay, let's take it slow and be objective."

The shopkeeper replied, and several people stood up and pushed their way into the queue in front. From time to time, curses could be heard.

The yamen of the Wucheng Army and Horses Department is still crowded. There are so many students coming to the capital to take the exams. Many people from the Army and Horses Department take turns to be on duty here to deal with the students' visa changes.
Even the payment of money by the Ministry of Internal Affairs is now under their control. Several eunuchs from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are sitting there drinking tea and eating cakes. How comfortable!
As for the outside,

It was crowded and crowded,
"Get out of the way, you're squeezing me to death, ouch."

"Still squeezing, my foot, who the hell is stepping on my foot, let's see if I don't hit him."

"Stay safe, I'm old and weak, so I can't squeeze in. I can't squeeze in."

Down the hall,

All the candidates were pushing and shoving below with flushed faces. Some were young, some were gray-haired, some looked like scoundrels, and most of them were children from poor families.

To the west of the lobby is the place for collecting money, and to the east is the place for exchanging lots. You need to exchange lots first and then receive the money. Just this little thing made the whole Yamen a mess and noisy.
On the main seat in the lobby,
Dongcheng's military commander knew Zuo Anhe.

With an anxious look on his face, he was sitting in the hall, drinking tea, looking at the mess of the people below, he couldn't help but feel a little unhappy and muttered;

"Damn it, look at what it's like. There are so many people here every day and it's so crowded every day. It's so noisy."

The master next to him, with a smile on his face, walked over and asked the maid behind him to bring tea and cakes. He himself took a paper fan and shook it for Mr. Zuo.

"Master, please take a sip of tea first and calm down your anger. Think about it. The saint is merciful and can be paid two taels of silver. Those who can take the exam or those who can't take the exam are now rushing to register. Come to our Army and Horse Department Change the lottery, look at the following, how many of them really want to take the exam, most of them are here to make money. "

As soon as the master finished speaking, Zuo An and Mr. Zuo raised their heads and looked down. They saw many disheveled gangsters and some children from rich families, fighting for seats to receive money. On the contrary, those behind them looked like children from poor families. , there are some rules, really,
"It's been half a month now, and there are still so many people coming here to renew their visas. There are five military divisions in the capital. So how many people are there for Enke's exam this year?"

Zuo Anhe picked up the tea bowl and took a slow sip. He still had some doubts. Regardless of those who pretended to be fake, even those who made reference, wasn't it the best in the past years? Enko was a good thing, but with more people, wouldn't the test be better? Difficult,
Thinking of last year's imperial examination riots, Zuo Anhe felt a headache. How could he stop the mouths of the students from all over the world? However, these are the affairs of the imperial court and they cannot be blamed. In addition, I heard that Marquis Luo Yun is the master of Hanyuan Palace. Examiner, he really does everything.

There is still some joy in my heart. Enke is just a mess. Anyone who goes in will be covered in mud. It depends on how Luo Yunhou cleans it up. Thinking about it this way, looking at so many people in the hall, I don’t feel bored and feel human. Some are missing some.

"Sir, you are right. There are quite a lot of people. I don't know how many people there are in the other Military and Horse Division yamen. But in our Dongcheng Military and Horse Division, there are now more than 1,000 people registered for visa renewal. It’s the best ever.”

The master was also speechless. Every day after closing the door, he would sort out the list of names and accounts before going back. In recent days, he took a look at it on a whim and found that there were more than a thousand people registered. How could the 50% of the troops and horses be there? It's not bad, there are even more than 4,000 people. I'm still thinking, there are so many people, what kind of exam will they take? Those with poor literary talent will basically not be able to take the exam.

"What, so much,"

When Zuo Anhe heard this, he almost spit out the tea he had just drank. There are more than a thousand people in a military division. Those five, don't they have 5,000 people? What else is there to test? Let's see. Those in front of me who were anxious to receive the money also somewhat agreed. If you can't pass the exam, you can still receive the money, so you can feel relieved.

He put the tea bowl down, wiped the tea from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve without any affectation, and said;
"With so many people taking the exam, it may be difficult to get ahead. The candidates at Hanyuan Palace are doing much better. After all, there are not as many candidates as at Gongyuan."

The master was stunned. He felt something was wrong after hearing what he said. What does the Enke exam have to do with the number of people?
"Sir, exams have always been based on students' essays, and it has little to do with the number of students."

"Uh."

Zuo Anhe's face turned red, knowing that he had said the wrong thing, he said with a straight face;

"I don't know, sir. I'm talking about the environment of the examination room. The Hanyuan Palace was newly built in the palace. How can it be compared to the examination room in Gongyuan?"

"Yes, what I said is absolutely true. I have just become stupid." When the master saw the master's look, he knew that he had said something wrong and quickly apologized.

Down the hall,

Lai Wang, who was in the courtyard of the second mistress of the Rongguo Mansion, was holding Lange'er's examination ticket and a group of boys, squeezing in. When he saw anyone who didn't have eyes, he kicked him with his foot and cursed;
"You don't even have eyesight, just get out of the way."

The people in front wanted to yell and scold, but when they turned around and saw the arrogant and domineering group of people behind them, they did not dare to say anything and silently moved out of the way. Lai Wang snorted coldly. In this area of ​​Dongcheng, The power of Rongguo Mansion is not something that those with weak legs can touch.

"Go in, go in, grandma is waiting there."

When Lai Wang saw the way ahead, he rushed to the east first and exchanged Lange'er's signature.
"My lord, please change the lottery for the younger one first. It belongs to the Rongguo Mansion. The master of the house is waiting impatiently."

The old scribe sitting there raised his eyes and looked at the person who came. It turned out to be someone from Rongguo Mansion. No wonder he was so arrogant outside just now. He stretched out his hand and said;

"Bring it here, that's not right. I heard that there is only one disciple who participated in Enke, so why is there another one?"

The old scribe has been eating this kind of food for his whole life. A few days ago, someone from Rongguo Mansion came to exchange the visa. He was polite and said, let the people from Rongguo Mansion handle it first. Who knows, someone came and said Rongguo Mansion? There was only one young master in the government who took the Enke exam, and no one else.
He also found it unbelievable that a young master could be involved in the Nuo Grand Duke's Mansion and its clan studies. Don't others want to give it a try? There are still two taels of silver left to take, but he is the only one from a high-ranking family in the Rongguo Mansion. Scribe, how dare you ask.

Today it seemed that the person was still Rongguo Mansion, so I couldn’t help myself and asked,
Lai Wang didn't know much about what was going on in the mansion. After all, he was outside every day, busy with the affairs of the Second Mistress, with an impatient look on his face.

"What's one or two? Do you need to change the signature? How can you decide how many people there are?"

If nothing else, he had a certain momentum. He looked like a slave from the noble house. The old scribe didn't dare to say anything. He took the examination form, registered it and checked it. Suddenly he found that the name was Jia Lan, but it was recommended. He turned out to be Qin Ye, a member of the Ministry of Industry, shouldn't he be from the Duke's mansion?
The old scribe didn't dare to say anything, he just remembered it silently, then registered it in the book, wrote a new red sign, and handed it over.

Laiwang was illiterate, so he took the test signature carefully and asked for the previous test signatures to compare. Except for the different colors of the signatures, the handwriting was the same, so he felt relieved.
"Thank you sir,"

He returned the previous examination certificate, went to the west side, happily received two taels of silver, put it in his arms, and went out with the others.
Zuo Anhe's eyes had long noticed the person coming, the confidant of the second mistress of Rongguo Mansion. Now he was busy in the streets and alleys of Dongcheng. He paid attention and said to the master beside him;
"Go and ask what happened just now. I remember, didn't they, Rongguo Mansion, come here a few days ago?"

"Yes, sir, I'll go and ask now."

The master also vaguely remembered that he seemed to have really been here. When he came to the old scribe, he asked him again. The old scribe took out the examination ticket and handed it to the master.

"Master, he is indeed a disciple of Rongguo Mansion, but the recommender is not."

Then he pointed at the last line of the test ticket.
The master took a closer look and saw that it was true. He turned around and returned to the high seat in the lobby to tell Mr. Zuo,
"Sir, he is a descendant of the Jia family of Rongguo Mansion, but the recommended official is from the Ministry of Industry."

"Isn't it strange? The second master of the Rongguo Mansion, Jia Zheng, is a member of the Ministry of Industry, so he naturally has a quota for recommendation."

Zuo Anhe waved his hand angrily, wondering which official who came to the capital had not recommended one or two children. Otherwise, why would there be so many candidates, presumably all children of close relatives and friends?
"Sir, it's true that he is a foreign minister from the Ministry of Industry, but he is not Jia Zheng, but Qin Ye,"

The master next to him smiled bitterly and whispered back,
Zuo Anhe stared, grabbed the note from the master's hand, and took a look. Sure enough, it really belonged to Mr. Qin. It was really interesting that the dignified Duke's palace was like this. Zuo Anhe immediately had many ideas in his mind. Gaomen Things about big families are nothing more than that. He has seen a lot. When he remembered that there was no clan member in Rongguo Mansion to refer to, he had already suspected it. Two taels of silver was quite a lot.

I don’t understand how the Rongguo Mansion is suppressing the brother from the side house who needs it more.

"Take the things back and don't make any noise about them,"

"Yes, master, I understand."

The master nodded and went down to send back the test papers. Only Zuo Anhe was wondering whether there was any benefit to be gained from what happened here. But when he thought of involving Qin Ye, Luo Yunhou's father-in-law and the father of Chang'an County Lord, I have another headache. I can't afford to offend him. If it were another person, Zuo Anhe would dare to stir up trouble.
Just when Zuo Anhe was frowning,
outside,

Lin Ping, the guard of the East City Gate, walked in dressed in casual clothes and bowed in the lobby;
"Sir, thank you for your hard work. You are still here watching."

Lin Ping looked at the large crowd of people in the front hall and how lively they were, so he made a joke.

When Zuo Anhe saw that it was one of his own, he waved his hand hurriedly;

"You're so polite. Come here, bring a chair for General Lin. It's over here."

"Yes, sir."

The boy who was waiting next to him quickly moved the stool and placed it next to the high desk, then quickly stepped back.
Lin Ping smiled, did not refuse, lifted up his robe and sat down.

The master who was waiting beside him quickly served new tea to the two generals. Zuo Anhe asked with a smile;
"General Lin, how come you have time to come to the Yamen?"

"Mr. Zuo, isn't this the time when the general is exchanging the examination papers for my nephew at home? I just have nothing to do, so come over and talk to the old man."

Lin Ping smiled helplessly. Nowadays, there are rumors in the capital that the red lottery for admission to Hanyuan Palace is difficult to obtain. What's more, it is rumored that the candidates for Hanyuan Palace are all noble children of aristocratic families, and there are also major academies. The students of Luo Yunhou, who supervised the examination, may be admitted to more places than the poor students in Gongyuan. However, there are few letters of recommendation from officials in the capital, and their place of residence is not in the capital, so it is difficult to get a red ticket.
So Lin Ping came here to think of a way. Many of the children in the clan did not have red cards.

Zuo Anhe was smiling and sitting there happily, but he didn't take it seriously in his heart. As the saying goes, you don't go to the Three Treasures Hall if you have nothing to do. Who would come to the Yamen if you saw nothing? Let alone Lin Ping, there was no such precedent in the past.
"Pingzhi, if you talk like this, you are out of touch. Now that you are here, just say something if you have something to say. If you talk about other things, you are out of touch."

"Then I'm sorry to bother you, Sir. I heard rumors from outside that it is easier for candidates holding red visas to take the examination than candidates holding white visas who go to Gongyuan for the scientific examination. Therefore, many of the children in the clan want to There is no other way to change the red sign, so I have to ask Mr. Zuo to find a way."

Lin Ping didn't say much and told the whole story about the purpose of his coming. But when Zuo Anhe and the master next to him heard this, their expressions changed. Why didn't they know when it was passed on? Zuo Anhe did know a little bit about the lottery change. Second, because there were so many people, it was Marquis Luo Yun who came up with the solution.
But you want to say that the Hanyuan Palace candidates are easier to pass than the Gongyuan Palace candidates. It is simply nonsense. According to Luo Yunhou's temperament, how is it possible? If you offend him, it is like an old man who has eaten arsenic and is impatient.
After looking at Lin Ping in front of him, Zuo Anhe leaned down and asked quietly;

"Pingzhi, tell me clearly where this rumor came from. It's not like you haven't seen Marquis Luo Yun before. You want to take advantage of him. Do you think it is possible? Although Hanyuan Palace is in the palace, , that is, the conditions are better. What you said about Enke is very important, so you can't just talk about it. "

Lin Ping was suddenly shocked, how could he forget these things and what happened during the imperial examination last year? He was very smart and quickly replied;

"Thank you, Mr. Zuo, for reminding me. The general is also careless. This matter was spread from the streets and alleys of the capital. It was all discussed by the scholars who were rushing to take the exam. Some of the children in the clan held red lottery tickets and some held white lottery tickets, so I If there is a dispute, as for the rest, the general will not know.”

Seeing that Lin Ping didn't look like he was telling lies, Zuo Anhe knew it well and secretly knocked on the table. It seemed that someone was talking nonsense outside, and he didn't know who was behind it. What a coincidence, Luo Yun Hou was the first to bear the brunt.

"You go back first. Don't get involved in this matter. The examination papers are all on record and cannot be changed. Even if Zuo helped you change it, it will be hard for you and me to live with it if we find out, especially those rumors. I don't know who is behind it." You and I can never get involved in pushing hands, but you understand."

Zuo Anhe did not beat around the bush and gave a clear warning. Lin Ping obviously understood that someone in the capital had begun to fish in troubled waters. Fortunately, Mr. Zuo knew about it.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Zuo, the general understands in his heart, but what about the rumors in the capital?"

"Hmph, then we can't control it. Besides, you're the one who's doing the job when you're the Imperial City Secretary!"

(End of this chapter)