Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 801 The Tone of Mountain Sound
In the Imperial City North Pacification Prison,

Liu Chen, who had received the news, followed the governor's order and hurried back to the prison. Before daybreak, he released Jia Rong first.

"Jia Rong, you are acquitted and can go back today."

The arrogant words brought Jia Rong back to his senses. He touched his messy hair, got up quickly and ran to the wooden door of the cell.
"Prison boss, can I go out now? How is my father?"

"Hmph, you can go out, but he can't leave yet. Hurry and go outside, someone is waiting."

The jailer didn't show any good looks. He scolded Jia Rong and then took off the shackles from Jia Rong and led him out. He didn't even give him a chance to check on his father Jia Zhen. He pushed and shoved him out.
As soon as he got outside, he saw a carriage that looked very familiar. Before he could ask in detail, Zhong'er, the waiter beside him, came over and put a stool for Master Rong.
"Master, hurry up and get in the car and go back home to wash up. We have important things to do today."

"What's the big deal? Why are you the only one here? Where are the others? Why didn't anyone come from Rongguo Mansion?"

After taking a look at the carriage that was greeting him, only a servant came over and no one else looked at him. He couldn't help feeling a little sad. How could the saying "people leave and the tea gets cold" apply to him?

He walked quickly and boarded the carriage. After all, he was in prison and felt miserable.
Zhong Er saw Master Rong get on the carriage, put away the bench, jumped on, and waved the whip, and the carriage and horses moved.

"Master Rong, after you and the master went in, many things happened in Ningguo Mansion. Now the palace has issued an order to demote you and the master to commoners. Master Jing also committed suicide in front of the Meridian Gate. Now the body is kept in the mansion. This morning, I will let the servants come to pick you up and observe the mourning for the master."

"What? He was demoted to a commoner and went to respect the master."

Inside the carriage, Jia Rong repeated in disbelief, he could not believe his ears, it would be like this, demoted to a commoner, then the title of Ningguo Mansion, yes, the title,

"Do you know who will receive the title?"

"I don't know about this. I heard that it was because of Master Jing that the heir to the title was placed in the home of the master of Rongguo Mansion. I don't know the details."

Zhong'er didn't know what would happen in the future. Master Rong had become a commoner, so he wouldn't dare live in Ningguo Mansion anymore. After all, he heard from the second wife of Rongguo Mansion that all the servants in Ningguo Mansion who didn't obey him would be sold off. Not to mention, all the courtyards were sealed off.

After hearing this, Jia Rong felt a chill in his heart. The title of Ningguo Mansion had fallen into the hands of Rongguo Mansion, and it would be impossible to get it back. It was said that the old lady of Rongguo Mansion was kind, but Jia Rong knew that it was only for the sake of an ancestor. If there were really interests involved, how could the Rongguo Mansion's second wife, who was in such a state, get it back? Thinking of Madam You in the mansion, yes, she was still in the mansion,

"How is Madam You?"

"My Lord, Madam You is living in the West Mansion for the time being, but I heard that her status as a royal concubine has been taken away by the Imperial Clan Court, and the power of the housekeeper is in the hands of the Second Mistress of the West Mansion."

Zhong Er told the truth. After all, the current arrangements of Ningguo Mansion were all made according to the orders of the Second Mistress of the West Mansion. Many servants knew this very well.
Jia Rong shuddered all over. It seemed that he might not be able to keep the title of Ningguo Mansion. He thought about what to do in the future. As for the title, the decree of the palace could not be changed. He could only get more money to support himself. There were still many good things in the mansion, and he didn't know if he could give them out. He could then cry to the old lady and ask for a separate courtyard. Thinking of these, he felt a little relieved. But he didn't know where the prostitutes his father had bought were!

Rongguo Mansion,
As the master of the house went out, the servants inside and outside the mansion all became busy.

When they arrived at the gate of Ningguo Mansion, the Jia family members were already waiting there. The men were all outside, while the wives and old women were crying in the yard.

Looking forward, I saw that the gate of the mansion was wide open, and the lanterns on both sides illuminated it as bright as day. People were coming and going in a bustling manner, and the crying sounds inside were shaking the mountains and hills.

Baoyu got off the carriage first, and together with Jia Huan, Jia Zhong, and Jia Lan who followed behind him, they hurried to the coffin room. When they saw Master Jing's coffin, they cried bitterly. Then they met Mrs. You and wanted to pay their respects. However, after her grief, Mrs. You suffered from a stomachache and fell asleep on the bed.

Then he came out to meet the elders of the clan. At that time, Jia Dairu, Jia Daixiu, Jia Chi, Jia Xiao, Jia Dun, Jia She, Jia Zheng, Jia Heng, Jia Gao, Jia Chen, Jia Qiong, Jia Lin, Jia Chang, Jia Ling, Jia Qin, Jia Zhen, Jia Ping, Jia Zao, Jia Heng, Jia Fen, Jia Fang, Jia Jun, Jia Zhi and others had all come.

There was no male member of the Ningguo Mansion's family present, except Jia Rong, who was released overnight by the Imperial City Department after hearing the news. When he returned home in the morning, he quickly washed up and went to bed.
Before he could go to the mansion to ask questions, he was arranged to be received in front. He was crying like a tearful person, pretending to be kind and righteous. He was talking to Baoyu and others:
"Everyone in the family, from the nearest and farthest relatives and friends, knows that the head of Ningguo Mansion is gone. No one knows what will happen to Ningguo Mansion in the future."

I don't know if anyone told her anything, but when I asked tentatively, she started crying again.

Jia Baoyu did not understand what this meant. Looking at Jia Rong's haggard face, he was overwhelmed with emotion for a moment and could not say a word of comfort. However, the people who were with him saw it clearly and hurriedly tried to persuade him:
"The person has passed away. There is no point in crying. Let's discuss how to deal with the matter first. We can talk about other things later."

Jia Rong knew that this was impossible, so he put aside his thoughts for the moment and said:

"No matter how I cook, I'll just do my best!"

The meaning was clear. He had nothing now, and what he had was in Ningguo Mansion, so the more he spent, the better.
As he was speaking, he saw that outside the door, many noble and elderly relatives had sent people to pay their respects and inquire about the news. Jia Zheng then ordered Jia Qiong, Jia Chen, and Jia Lin to accompany the guests, and at the same time instructed them to ask the Imperial Observatory's Yin-Yang Department to choose a date. After a seven-day stay for the body, the funeral would be held and the obituary would be delivered three days later.

During these seven days, 108 Zen monks were invited to perform the Great Compassion Repentance in the hall to liberate the souls of the deceased, and to absolve the sins of the deceased. Another altar was set up in the main courtyard, where incense was burned and prayers were said. The body was then placed in Huifang Garden. Another 50 eminent monks performed seven good deeds in front of the altar. All the invited monks were monks, without a single Taoist priest. A special letter was sent to Jing'an Temple in Beishan, stating the purpose of the visit and inviting a master to preside over the ceremony.

Soon,
Although many people came, they left in a hurry. It seemed that the people who had inquired in various places had the news.

The things here,

The message was also passed on to Rongqing Hall in the West Palace.
There was no reason for everyone in the room to leave first, so after hearing the letter,

"Madam, Madam, the stewards from various mansions came here, just as Second Madam said, to pay their respects to the deceased, and then left in a hurry without sending any visiting cards."

"Okay, got it, let's go down."

Wang Xifeng smiled, asked the maid to leave, and turned to look at Lady Jia.
"Old lady, it won't be long before someone arrives. Should we set off now?"

"Well, it's time to set off. The first thing will be handled by the Jia family masters, and the rest will be handled by you, Feng girl. The rest of you should not be idle either. Go to the East Palace and sit in the East Garden to greet some ladies from the various palaces."

Grandmother Jia knew that the noble old relative would definitely come, but as for how he would come, it all depended on how Beijing Wang arranged it. There was no one at Ningguo Mansion, so Rongguo Mansion had to take action, and that would have to be done with great fanfare.

Subsequently,

The crowd crossed the water bridge between the two mansions and went to Ningguo Mansion.

Coincidentally,

At this time, at the gate of Ningguo Mansion, there was another voice of shouting. It turned out that the wife of Marquis Zhongjing Shi Ding had arrived. Madam Wang, Madam Xing, Sister Feng and others, who had walked across the bridge, went over to greet her. As soon as they welcomed her into the upper room, they saw the sacrificial offerings of the Marquis Jinxiang, Marquis Chuanning and Earl Shoushan placed in front of the coffin.

"Jinxiang Marquis Mansion, Lord Liao is here to pay tribute,"

"Marquis Chuan Ning, Lord Miao is here to pay tribute,"

"Shoushan Earl's Mansion, Lord Yu is here to pay tribute,"

With the constant greetings, more and more people came. After a while, the three of them got off the sedan chair and Jia Zheng and others hurried to the hall to welcome them. There were so many relatives and friends coming and going that they could not be counted.

In a short while, on Ningrong Street, a long white strip of people came and went, and clusters of flowers and officials came and went, making it as lively as the mansion of Marquis Luo Yun.

In front of the gate of Luoyunhou Mansion,

The east wall had already been painted to a high shine, and even the ground was swept spotlessly clean.
"My Lord, everything has been arranged. The auspicious time has come. Should we post the imperial edict?"

"Well, it's alright."

Zhang Jinyu was lying there, listening to Li Ji singing alone. It was a relaxing feeling. When he heard Ning Bian's words, he remembered that he had almost forgotten about the important matter. He quickly asked someone to come over. The sun was already rising. He looked back at the person singing and saw some sweat on his forehead.

"Master Jiang, this girl is very talented and deserves to be called a master. From now on, even if she is a teacher in my mansion, she can teach others when she has time. She is still in your troupe on weekdays. What do you think?"

"This, this, thank you for your kindness, Lord Marquis." Master Jiang confirmed again and again that the Lord Marquis had no thoughts about his daughter, and he felt relieved. After all, with the Marquis's care, he would not be afraid to worry in the future. He could continue to make a living with the Taoyuan opera troupe.

Just as he was about to take his daughter back with him, Li Ji beside him suddenly asked;
"Thank you, Lord. May I ask, since it is a new tune, the tune modified by Jiangnan is called Shuimoqiang, then what is the name of the tune modified by me?"

He was still standing there asking stupid questions, and the boss Jiang, who was pulling him, was so angry that his face turned red. He wanted to say so many things but couldn't.

Zhang Jinyu laughed happily. This Li is really interesting.
"Good question. As the saying goes, good wine needs a bush. Jiangnan is a land where you can't see anything on weekdays, but once there is something going on, he will brag about it. It all comes down to one sentence. Go back and compose the music. First, come up with three music scores and practice them well. This marquis will be of great use. What's the name?"

Zhang Jinyu touched his chin. Could it really be called Tianmoqu? Wouldn't that be a demonic cult? However, if you want a domineering and attractive name, only this can make a splash.
"Ahem, they call it Shuimoqiang, so let's outdo them and use a better name, let's call it Tianmoyin, it will definitely be a big hit, that's it."

Zhang Jinyu didn't think anything of it. Li Ji was still excited, chanting the Heavenly Demon Sound. Only Class Master Jiang had a bitter face and sighed;

"My Lord, you must not do this. How can there be a tune called Heavenly Demon Sound? Isn't this what those evil people in the martial arts world use? It will only cause trouble and we will never have peace."

He turned pale with fear.

Zhang Jinyu stood up, lifted up his robe, became interested, and asked;
"Interesting. Then tell me, what evil ways are there in Jianghu that dare to cause trouble in the capital? If I see one, I will kill one. If I see two, I will kill a pair."

The murderous look in his eyes frightened the Jiang Banzhu so much that he knelt down and kowtowed in reply;

"My Lord, of course I am not afraid, but we are just a small troupe, just singing songs. Most of the people who come to listen to the opera are casual travelers from all walks of life. Occasionally, there are some famous families and sects who come here to chat and listen to the music. If they hear some devil music, they will definitely be interested. In this case, my little girl is powerless, how can she resist?"

That's true. I was in the wrong. There were so many grudges in the martial arts world. If something really happened, not only would I lose face, but now there is no long-distance sound transmission like in later generations. If someone really ran away and hid in a corner, I really wouldn't be able to find him.
In that case, just change the name.
"Why not change your name?"

"Thank you, Lord Marquis, for your kindness,"

Just when she wanted to take her daughter away and go back to think about it, Li Ji was unwilling to do so. She stopped there, raised her pretty face, and asked;

"I won't leave, my Lord. Since I can't call myself by this name, can I just use a name that sounds a little bit like Shuimo dialect?"

"Of course, I think it sounds better than these. Do you have any idea?"

Zhang Jinyu actually thought to himself that a name with three characters is really hard to come up with, and he couldn't think of a reason for a while.

"My Lord, if that's the case, I have an idea."

"Well, you speak, and I am listening."

Zhang Jinyu turned back and sat back to listen to his thoughts, but saw Li Ji's face full of excitement and said;

"The water-grinding tune in Jiangnan was created by the headmaster of the academy. The water flows long and the mountains are heavy. Although the grinding is good, it is slow and the tune is not as good as the sound. So it is better to call it the mountain sound. What do you think, my lord?"

Wow, I didn't expect a little girl to have such a brain, she is talented, Shanluanyin, not bad,

"Here, take it. It's your reward. It's the sound of mountains and the rhythm of water mill. It's better than his. OK! Let's call it this."

Then, Zhang Jinyu casually took out a jade pendant from his waist and placed it in Li Ji's hand. The name here was decided.

"Thank you for the reward, Lord."

"Go ahead. Once you finish composing the music, take the jade and come to my house."

"Yes, Lord Marquis."

Jiang Banzhu agreed on behalf of Li Ji, got up and hurriedly left with his daughter.
Here

The east wall had already been arranged, and Ningbyeon also took the imperial edict and asked the surrounding personal soldiers to light firecrackers before posting the imperial edict.

moment,

Many students quickly gathered around, scrambling to get in front. Looking over their shoulders, they saw that they were surrounded by the personal guards of the Marquis' Mansion, who were keeping their distance. Ning Bian saw that the noise was out of control, so he picked up the gong and struck it hard.
"when"

Seeing the general in front of them strike the gong, many students immediately quieted down almost reflexively, and Ning Byeon then spoke.

"Everything can be seen. Line up and take turns to see it. After seeing it, leave. This year's imperial examination is a special examination. The emperor is very gracious. All those who are admitted to the first grade will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. All those who are admitted to the second grade will be admitted. In addition, the top three of the first grade will be granted official positions. The first one will be the seventh grade, the second one will be the eighth grade, and the third one will be the ninth grade. They will be granted official positions."

As soon as he sang his praises, not only did many students start to discuss the matter, but even the common people who were listening to the opera also looked at him sideways.
"Master, has the court gone crazy? This is just the provincial examination. A scholar can be granted an official position. What about the imperial examination and the palace examination?"

Wei Shuyun was horrified and asked in disbelief. Even General Shi Tai behind him was a little uneasy. It seemed that the court had made a big move.
Only the eldest princess Zhou Xiangxue took the water bag, twisted the opening, took a sip of water, and covered it again. There was no ripple on her warm face.
"Girl, why are you in such a hurry when something happens to you? I don't know what the court is like, but my brother's idea is to make up for and deter the cheating in last year's imperial examination. However, this move is really a bit too much."

Looking at Marquis Luo Yun lying on the chair, it seems that he has known it for a long time. Maybe it is because of him that His Majesty issued the decree. That enemy is really generous. Just look at the top three and see whose names are chosen.

The front gate of the mansion was already crowded with people. Even the vegetable market was not so lively. Zhang Jinyu suddenly laughed. If the people in Rongguo Mansion knew that Jia Baoyu did not win the lottery but Jia Lan did, what would they do? No, the ceremony had to be even more grand.
Recruit your own soldiers,

He ordered all the personal soldiers in the mansion to ride out on horseback and hold flags, and to have more people. Then, in the courtyard of the mansion, a large number of personal soldiers, leading horses and holding the mansion's flags, came out of the main gate.
The people who were surrounding the place were obviously frightened when they saw so many soldiers coming out, and they immediately retreated and made way.

And Ningbyon also set up a table, stood on it, and shouted;
"First place on the list, Xu Changwen from Sizhou, a student of Qinglian Academy, is granted a seventh-rank official title and a reward of 100 taels of silver."

Many candidates were shocked.
"What? It's him, Xu Changwen. I know him. He lives in the Youlai Inn in South City. How could he be the first place?"

"I remember now that he was the one who spoke up for justice in the examination room."

"Yes, I remember it too. There was such a person, with a chivalrous spirit."

"That's not a loss, we can't compare to you."

Everyone sighed, raised their heads and looked over, only to see Ning Bian continuing to shout;

"The second place winner on the first list is Gao Wen from Hongnong, a student of Yunshan Academy. He is granted an eighth-rank official title and a reward of 100 taels of silver."

Many candidates were a little suspicious. They had never heard of this Gaowen before. They looked around and saw that everyone was puzzled. Ning Bian did not wait for them to discuss and continued to read;
"The third place winner on the first list is Jia Lan from the capital, a son of the Rongguo Mansion. He is granted the ninth rank of officialdom and a reward of 100 taels of silver."

After reading,

He jumped down and asked another lieutenant to go up and continue reading.

"The top list includes Zhao Mingsheng of Tongzhou, a student of Qiushui Academy, Wang Ruojun of the capital, a student of the Imperial Academy, and Song Xingjun of the capital, a student of the Earl of Chengyi Mansion."

Some of the people who were surrounded had heard the news long ago, picked up the latest list, and hurried to report the good news. Many people who had nothing to do and were nimble on foot could make a lot of money at this time. Seeing that the top three names were released, the one who was closest and had the most money was naturally Jia Lan from Rongguo Mansion.

Therefore,
Many of the people gathered around, who were also here to share the good news, were trying to squeeze out. Those who were quicker had already entered the street and were running towards Ningrong Street. The first person to arrive would always receive the most rewards.
"Make way, why are you pushing so hard?"

(End of this chapter)