Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 185 Well-dressed Household

Nanxun Hall.

"It's been a long time since I've seen the right prime minister."

Gao Lishi greeted Li Linfu and asked: "Recently, there has been a serious dispute between the DPRK and the central government over the ranking of Jinke, but the right prime minister has not come forward?"

"Being busy with national affairs such as urging farmers to cultivate spring plowing, I didn't care about a child's farce."

"It's true." Gao Lishi smiled and nodded repeatedly.

Naturally, Li Linfu couldn't take care of the examination room. He was not finished with important matters such as land equalization, government soldiers, renting and transferring, etc. in the Tang Dynasty. How could he care whether a child won the first prize or not? After all, there are still two or three children from poor families who have passed the exam in Jinke, unlike Tianbao who has been in the field for six years.

When the emperor and his ministers met, even Li Longji praised him.

"The right Prime Minister is acting in a prudent manner."

"The saints are over-reputed. As the saying goes, 'Ruling a big country is like cooking small dishes.' Old ministers are walking on thin ice and dare not mess around like young people."

Some people worked too hard on the Chunwei issue and have been beaten by Li Linfu.

——"You are so greedy that you don't even care about the face of a saint? There are no less qualified Jinshi, and you even have to get the title? After all, Juro is in charge of the prison, and you can't let you make paper and publish books privately? Why bother to reach out? On the bright side? Come up with an explanation to satisfy the saint, and you will be better off later!"

In short, he took action and quickly put an end to the farce, and now only a small matter remains.

"If you don't depose Xue Bai as the top scholar, then there are two ways to break the taboo."

Avoiding such etiquette debates is a big trouble. Li Longji didn't want to get involved. Before Li Linfu could finish speaking, he said lightly: "He is not Xue Ling's son."

"Then...it is still recorded in the Young Mansion Supervisor's booklet that Xue Pingzhao is Xue Xi's son. Should this be changed?"

Li Longji's face darkened and he said, "What I am pardoning is Xue Bai, the orphan raised by Xue Xiu. Don't you understand?"

"I understand. Xue Bai has exposed the evidence of Xue Xi's rebellion and has made great achievements in getting rid of his humble status. I will settle down for him now."

Li Linfu received the oral order and left, thinking all the time that this involved the case of three common people, how could Xue Bai still be forgiven by the saint? Even though I found a reason, once this news was opened, it was inevitable that some people would have the extravagant hope of rehabilitating the deposed prince.

……

Jinwu Jingjie, all the way back to the Prime Minister's Mansion in Pingkangfang, the first thing Li Linfu did was to summon Xue Bai to see him.

He asked Li Xiu to go in person.

"Grandpa, did the child tell him to give him an identity?"

"Needless to say, if he doesn't come, then it's up to him."

This is because Da Xixun once invited Xue Bai to come, but he was rejected.

Li Linfu was narrow-minded and had been holding back his anger for a long time. Of course, Xue Bai had offended him many times, so even a narrow-minded person could be ventilated.

Unexpectedly, Xue Bai arrived after only half an hour. He said goodbye to Gao Shi, and the first thing he did was to go to the Prime Minister's Mansion.

Li Linfu was reviewing official documents. When he received the notice, he frowned and felt inexplicably unhappy.

"Shu Zi came too quickly."

"You must have asked me to come here because of my household registration?"

Li Linfu said "hmm" in a muffled voice.

Xue Bai said: "The prime minister of a country bothers me for such a trivial matter. I should thank the right prime minister. By the way, I also have to thank the right prime minister for appointing me as the number one scholar."

It is said that Zhang Bian took action to prevent his future in order to vent his anger on the saint. Li Linfu insisted on selecting him as the number one scholar, but his purpose was to harm him.

People in the power arena only care about interests and are not influenced by emotions. Now that the result is in Xue Bai's favor, he doesn't care about people like Suo Douji who have been repeatedly defeated, and he seems to be quite graceful.

"No further talk, I just established a family for you." Li Linfu said: "You are neither Xue Lingzi nor Xue Xiuzi. Who are your parents? You can't just pop out of a stone."

"The right minister has also watched Journey to the West?"

Li Xiu stood aside and was speechless, secretly thinking that Xue Bai was so brave and dared to joke in front of his grandfather.

It should be noted that Li Linfu has a violent spirit and seems to be more severe than the cheerful saint. More than a year ago, he could easily decide Xue Bai's life or death.

But the eternal truth in the world is that those with ability will be looked down upon by others. Xue Bai has now shown his method.

"I have never seen such vulgar things." Li Linfu said in a business-like manner: "If you want to be appointed an official, there must be a way to do it."

It should be noted that in the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty, even a poor family could be traced back to their ancestors.

But Xue Bai insisted that he couldn't remember it. In the end, Li Linfu had no choice but to write in his register "I lost my parents when I was young, I am lonely and helpless, and I don't know my ancestral home" and handed it over to the Shaofu Supervisor for processing.

After finishing this official matter, Li Linfu also gave Xue Bai a slap in the face.

"From now on, when you have an official status, you will be an upright official of the imperial court. You will no longer play in the palace often. If you have any general affairs, please go to the Right Prime Minister's Mansion to handle them."

"Then I'm going to bother the right prime minister."

Next was the real purpose of finding people today. Li Xiu took advantage of the situation and invited Xue Bai to drink and talk in the backyard.

~~

"You only have the Holy Family and no family background. You can be a jester, but you can't get far in the serious officialdom. Why don't you listen to the advice?"

"That's why I seek to be born as a Jinshi and walk step by step in a down-to-earth manner."

"Solid?"

When Li Xiu first heard these two words, she thought that Xue Baitai was too shameless. He only wanted to work hard and get to the top by virtue of his nepotism. How dare he be called down-to-earth?

If you think about it carefully, Xue Bai sharpened his calligraphy articles, followed the rules of the examination room, and cultivated his talents conscientiously, and he was really solid in his official career.

The benefits of doing this are not obvious now. Others will say that he has poor personal ethics and a humble background, but his foundation has been laid firmly, and even the hidden dangers of his life experience have been solved by him.

"It's true that you are down-to-earth. You will be looking for an official position in the future. What are your considerations?"

"Juro, can you give me some advice?"

"Now you have just passed the exam, but have not yet passed the exam. You must first take the official examination." Li Xiu said: "If you become a Jinshi in Bai Shen, you will be exempted from taxes and corvee, and you will enter the ranks of a 'well-dressed household'... Oh, you are different. You went from a lowly person to a white person to a well-dressed person in one day."

"It's the support of the right prime minister."

"To put it simply, your name, family status, etc. must be recorded in a white document, and after passing the examination by the Ministry of Rites, you will be handed over to the Ministry of Personnel. From then on, you will be among those selected by the Ministry of Personnel. This is the 'release of brown'. From civilian to official."

As he spoke, Li Xiu became more cordial and said with a smile: "Although it is a chore, it is troublesome to do. When my father helps you take care of your family, I will do it for you."

"That's it, Laojuro has taken the trouble."

"Between you and me, why should we be polite?" Li Xiu said: "But if you are a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, you are still just a 'selector'. You may not be able to retain a single member for three to five years. According to your enterprising spirit, you must not Willing to wait.”

"Juro really understands me." Xue Bai said, "But maybe Uncle Guo can find some recruits for me."

"After all, the salt officer is a secular person. You are a top scholar and you should be a high-ranking official. Besides, if you want to take the Qingyun Road, you should solidify your foundation. In my opinion, the best way is to join the official department. The Erxue Hongci Examination, or the Calligraphy and Evaluation Examination. If you succeed in the subject examination, you don’t have to keep the selection, and you can immediately give up your farmland and get paid.”

In fact, officials in the Tang Dynasty had to remain elected when their terms were up, and they could not get new official positions for three to five years. Many officials served as officials for a few years and then took a few years off, taking a break.

Receiving the rank of Jinshi only has the qualification to be awarded an official, but it does not mean that the status of Jinshi is low. After being released, he had an official status and was the same as other officials, and even had a higher reputation as a Jinshi.

The problem is that there are too few official positions and too many people waiting to be appointed. Although the number of Jinshi scholars is pitifully small, there are many aristocratic families with many relatives. There are many wolves but not enough meat, making it extremely difficult to fill the gaps.

Therefore, the Erduo Hongci Examination and the Calligraphy Examination of the Ministry of Civil Affairs are also important steps in the official career.

What it pays attention to is not talent and fame. Rather, it depends on whether an official can manage court officials and pen clerks, and whether he can be favored by the examiner of the Ministry of Personnel. Even if he passes these, the Ministry of Education will still have to review him in the end.

Just imagine, even if a poor and talented person with outstanding reputation becomes a Jinshi, where can he find hundreds of dollars to support his staff? How can we prevent Zhongshu Province from deposing him?

The answer lies in Li Xiu's attentive eyes.

"You and Du Wei are also good friends. You should know that he has moved to the third level in half a year." Li Xiu said: "Don't worry, I will take care of things with the Ministry of Personnel and Zhongshu Province. If you are free, I will come back tomorrow. Come over here, oh, call the Seventeenth Mother, and hold a family banquet to congratulate you on winning the first prize."

"Speaking of this, the Qujiang Banquet is on March 3rd, and I have been busy rehearsing the opera recently. Why not wait until then?" Xue Bai said: "After all, this opera can make the saint happy, and it also has the credit of the right minister. "

"This...is true."

Li Xiu was determined to form a marriage, but he was greedy for the credit of the opera, so his posture was unconsciously shorter, and he did not dare to force Xue Bai anymore.

~~

"What are you doing again, Ge Nu?" Du Wulang was waiting outside the door of Youxiang's Mansion again.

"The matter of conferring officials." Xue Bai said: "By the way, I would like to remind you that I will be under his control from now on, so don't offend him too much."

Du Wulang said: "I just saw those two poor scholars coming out of Youxiang Mansion with Da Xixun. Did you know that they were recruited as sons-in-law? One is going to marry Yang Qixuan's cousin, and the other is going to marry the concubine of the Cui family. , that’s not what they said when they came to worship my uncle Guo.”

"We can't let us steal all the limelight." "That's right, your top pick is worth ten of them." Du Wulang said: "I guess the next step is to win over you."

"So you are so smart."

"That's not the case. The matchmaker who came to the No. 1 Scholar's house has already crossed the threshold. How could I still not know?"

Xue Bai heard this and said, "Then let's go back to Du's house today."

"Hey, you have only been focusing on your career in the imperial examinations recently, but there are still many family affairs that you have not taken care of. It doesn't matter if you don't recognize Xue Ling, Mrs. Liu and the Xue family brothers and sisters have to be comforted? It's all me who is trying to appease their emotions. Now I put Xue Ling in the longevity house. Looking at it, the others moved to Xuanyangfang, and I told them that we would still be a family from now on..."

Du Wulang talked nonchalantly, and Xue Bai also listened carefully.

Finally, Xue Bai said: "It seems that you handled it well, so I feel relieved."

"But I got into trouble because of you." Du Wulang sighed and whispered: "I'm telling you, don't tell anyone else. After you and Xue Ling cleared up the relationship, my grandfather felt a little dislike for Sanniang. Now that I’m born, I have to get married as soon as possible.”

"If you are capable, your grandfather will naturally not be your master. I will tell your uncle about this matter for you, don't worry."

"Yes, just say that although Third Sister is not your biological sister, she is better than your biological sister."

"You don't need to teach me."

As a result, Du Wulang was willing to go all the way south with Xue Bai to Du's house in Shengpingfang, and asked hopefully: "When do you think I should get married? Can it be in the middle of the year?"

"Since you have won the Ming Sutra, don't you want to seek an official position?"

"I'm not in a hurry." Du Wulang said: "It would be great to start a family first, wait for the election for a few years, and then become an official when you are more than 20 years old."

……

"Time waits for no one. Now that I can release myself as an official, what I want to do is to change my green robe into a red robe within five or six years, and then I can find a way out of town."

When he arrived at Du's house, Xue Bai did not hide his ambition from the Du sisters.

He did not immerse himself in the joy of holding the top spot and directly planned for his first official position.

"Originally, the sage promised that if I won the competition, he would give me a high official position, but now he is still angry that I deceived the king. But it doesn't matter. I can consolidate my qualifications first and follow the eight steps mentioned by the lady. When the saint loses his temper and remembers his promise, he will be able to make more achievements."

"This is exactly the reason." Du Jin said: "As soon as you become an official, you will be appointed by a saint. No matter how high you are, you can't exceed the eighth rank. And if you get the qualifications, you will go from green robe to green robe, from green robe to red robe." When you are wearing a robe, the saint can save you ten years of life with just one opening of his mouth."

As expected, she understood Xue Bai's greed best. She had to turn this bad thing into a good thing and maximize the benefits.

"That's why I plan to take part in the Erbu Hongci Examination." Xue Bai said.

As he spoke, he glanced at Du Wei and realized that although the two sisters came together, they had not yet fully reconciled.

"We have been prepared for this matter for a long time. Now that I have been appointed as a meritorious doctor, I should be useful." Du Jin asked with a smile: "But before the official selection, we must first let the high-ranking family choose the son-in-law. I don't know. Whose son-in-law does the champion want to be?"

Even Xue Bai found it difficult to deal with such a problem.

Fortunately, at this moment, Du Wulang's excited voice sounded in the courtyard.

"Xue Bai, my grandpa is back, please talk to him quickly!"

"..."

That night, Du Youlin was in high spirits. He drank wine and talked with Xue Bai about the glorious scenery of Jinshi.

Although they are only qualified to be awarded official posts, those with connections always look down on Jinshi. But there are only more than twenty places in a year, and after all, they are recognized by the world as outstanding talents. The Jinshi in the Tang Dynasty are actually quite wild.

"For example, in the fifth year of Kaiyuan, there was a Jinshi Wang Lingran. After passing the exam, he wrote to the imperial censor Gao Changyu. The letter probably said, 'Gao Yushi, you once praised me, and I once regarded myself as your disciple. As a result, You passed by Songcheng many times but ignored me, and you dismissed me when I attended the Qiu Wei Festival hosted by you. I have blamed you for a long time."

Du Youlin burped from wine and was a little drunk. He chuckled and continued: "Wang Lingran also said, 'There are countless Jinshi in the world. From the north of the river, they are just servants, and their brilliance is far less.' He is the only one north of the Yellow River. Jinshi, what an honor? So he said to Gao Changyu, "I hope that the censor will be a servant this year, and next year he will be an official." If Gao Changyu forgets too many nobles, one day he will stand side by side with him in the pavilion and look sideways at him. If you look at me, you won’t look good on me... Hahaha."

Xue Bai was amused and said: "The talented people of the Tang Dynasty are indeed crazy."

"You deserve it, you deserve it." Du Youlin drank another drink and said with a smile: "There are countless Jinshi in the world. You deserve to be so arrogant. Xue Lang is too calm. Otherwise, you have to say to me, 'I hope you will be a servant. A woman, pay attention to an official."

The atmosphere in the courtyard was stagnant.

Du Wei was picking up the wine bottle to pour it for Du Youlin. She seemed to be shocked when she heard this, and her face turned pale.

"My grandpa is drunk and he always talks nonsense." Du Jin said, "Mom, please help me go back and rest."

"it is good."

"Xue Lang must be more crazy." Du Youlin continued to wave his hands and smile after being helped up: "If the number one scholar is not crazy, how can there be any fun in the Qujiang Banquet?"

~~

In the dead of night, in the backyard, outside Du Wei's boudoir, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Sister, are you asleep?"

Du Jin was tossing and turning, and when she heard Du Jin's voice, she reluctantly opened the door, only to see her and Xue Bai standing there.

"It's been a long night, and I didn't even sleep thinking about my sister." Du Jin smiled and said, "I want to invite you to enjoy the flowers in the backyard together."

"You think of me now?"

"Don't be angry, but thanks to you being angry because of my lies, he thought that he should confess to save his life. This time, sister made the most important contribution."

Du Wei couldn't help but smile, which was quite gentle. Finally got back together with Du Jin.

The two sisters held hands and talked, then looked sideways at Xue Bai and started teasing.

"Hey, why is the No. 1 Scholar so silent?"

"The backyard is too close to the main house."

"My grandpa asked you to be crazy, are you this crazy?"

After all, Xue Bai didn't feel so comfortable when he came to their boudoir, and allowed Du Wei to make fun of him.

After closing the doors and windows, a strong wind began to rise outside the house, and the teasing sounds inside gradually turned into murmurs.

"Crazy, crazy...so crazy..."

~~

"Going down the fragrant steps, walking lazily on the green moss. When you leave the study and go to the painting pavilion, the moon moves the flowers and shadows, and the beauty comes. Learn to steal jade, try to steal incense, and the dream soul flies into the Chu balcony..."

The next day, in the theater of Xuezhai in Xuanyangfang, Niannu was singing opera lyrics. His voice was like an oriole coming out of the valley, so sweet and charming that Li Jilan nodded repeatedly.

"Ji Lanzi, what do the following sentences mean?"

"Which one?"

"The orchid, musk and fragrant butterflies are enjoying themselves."

"Well, that means... we'll meet in the backyard." Li Jilan hesitated.

Nian Nu was not completely confused. He glanced at her and asked in a low voice: "Is the Nu family wondering whether I should sing more coquettishly or..."

Li Jilan turned around and saw Xue Bai arriving from a distance. He simply left Nian Nu and went to meet him. Wan Fu said, "Sir, you are finally willing to come."

"The Qujiang Banquet is coming soon, so it's time to come."

Xue Bai glanced at the theater and asked, "Are you confident of winning?"

"No." Li Jilan shook his head uneasily and said in a low voice: "The sage is the best person in the world in music. To compete with the sage, I was so worried that I couldn't sleep well for many days. I didn't sleep all night last night, so I was fine. It was easy to let her rest."

"Thank you for your hard work."

"No, no." After hearing this, Li Jilan's eyes immediately lit up and she said, "I've heard all about it. It's really amazing that you saved the number one scholar..."

She only knew how to praise Xue Bai blindly. On the contrary, the model girl pretending to be a matchmaker who knew better how to interact with men scolded Xue Bai.

"Xue Lang only cares about the number one scholar and refuses to come to see me often. It doesn't matter if the servants lose during the Qujiang Banquet, they are afraid of Xue Lang's life-long event."

"It doesn't matter, as long as you did your best."

Xue Bai didn't understand music, so he could only believe them.

As for winning or losing, with his unscrupulous temperament, he thinks it would be easier to bribe the referee...

　It’s the last day of the month, please vote, please vote~~ Today is a transitional plot, the second chapter will be very late, don’t wait~

　　

　

(End of this chapter)