The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 372: Provincial Examination Evaluation
During the Mid-Autumn Festival in the seventh year of the Qiansheng reign of the Jin Dynasty, the sky was clear and the moon was as round as last year, traveling above the clouds and spreading its light all over the world. On a whim, the seventy-year-old Jia Mu, instigated by Wang Xifeng and others, came to Tuobi Villa in the Grand View Garden to celebrate the festival and enjoy the moon. Families from both the eastern and western mansions gathered together to enjoy the feast, which was very lively and joyful.

The old lady was obviously in good spirits tonight. She drank two more cups of sweet-scented osmanthus wine. Looking at the whole family in front of her, she couldn't help but sighed, "It's rare to have such a good Mid-Autumn Festival this year. My family is so lively."

Jia Baoyu said gloomily, "This year it's not as complete as last year. Sister Lin and Sister Bao are not here."

Grandmother Jia was startled for a moment, then nodded slowly and said, "Yes, no wonder I always felt like something was missing. It turned out that Daiyu, Baoyatou, and the concubine were missing."

Jia Baoyu took the opportunity to ask, "Sister Lin has been gone for more than half a year. When will the ancestor send someone to bring her back?"

Wang Xifeng said with a smile: "Your sister Lin and sister Bao are not from our family. They were just staying with us temporarily. Isn't it normal for them to go back to their respective homes to reunite now?"

Jia Baoyu was very anxious when he heard this: "So Sister Lin and Sister Bao will never come back?"

Jia Xichun laughed and said, "Second brother, you are confused again. Sister Bao and Sister Lin are just guests in our house. How can they come back? They will leave sooner or later."

Jia Baoyu turned pale in an instant, broke out in a cold sweat, and trembled all over.

Everyone was shocked when they saw this. Grandmother Jia hurriedly hugged the former and comforted her lovingly, "Silly child, don't listen to what Feng and Si Ya say. Your sister Lin will be back soon."

Jia Xichun was timid to begin with, and was so frightened that she dared not say anything. Wang Xifeng said hurriedly, "Yes, yes, yes, we were just teasing you, Brother Bao. Your sister Lin has lost her mother, and Mr. Lin is busy with official business, so he has no time to take care of her. He will definitely send someone to send sister Lin back after a while."

Jia Baoyu stopped shaking immediately after hearing this, and said coquettishly in Jia's grandmother's arms: "Then the old ancestor should send someone to pick up Sister Lin as soon as possible. Why wait for Uncle Lin to send someone to bring her here himself?"

Jia Zheng had already frowned greatly, and when he saw Jia Baoyu making such a fuss, he shouted, "Nonsense!"

Jia Baoyu had always been very afraid of Jia Zheng, and he trembled with fear again, not daring to say anything. Jia's mother rebuked him dissatisfiedly, "Baoyu is already like this, and you are still trying to scare him. If you scare him, I won't allow it. If you have any power, go outside and show it off."

Jia Zheng said awkwardly, "This evil creature is too much of a fool. Mother, please don't indulge him too much, or he will become even more lawless in the future."

Grandmother Jia snorted coldly, "He is still young. When you were young, how did I indulge you? You are now lawless and unforgivable? You are busy outside all day, and only Baoyu stays with me to talk and relieve my boredom. This child is also filial. He visits me every morning and evening. When the flowers in the garden bloom, he thinks of picking a bunch and sending them to my room for offering. What's wrong with me loving him a little more? I am an old woman of seventy and sixty years old. I still have a few years to live. How many more years can I indulge him?"

Jia Zheng dared not say anything more and could only bow his head and admit his mistake. Seeing that this person was also scolded, the others naturally dared not say anything.

After scolding Jia Zheng, Grandmother Jia turned around and held Da Lianbao's face in her hands to comfort him, "Don't be afraid. I'm here. I'll send someone to Yangzhou to pick up your sister Lin tomorrow. Tell her that I miss my granddaughter. Even if Uncle Lin can't bear to part with his daughter, he won't refuse."

Jia Baoyu was ecstatic inwardly, but since his father Jia Zheng was present, he did not dare show it. He just buried his head in Jia Mu's arms and continued to twist his hair and act coquettishly.

Grandmother Jia warned with a smile: "You are not allowed to tease Baoyu anymore. The two Yu'er have been together since they were little, so naturally they have a deep affection for each other. How can they not miss each other after not seeing each other for more than half a year?"

Wang Xifeng was about to make a joke, saying that in that case, why not let your majesty take charge and get married? However, when she glanced at Mrs. Wang’s expressionless face, she immediately swallowed her words back.

Lin Daiyu was delicate and weak, always sick, and had a bad temper. She did not seem like a blessed person, so Lin Daiyu was never considered in Wang Fu-ren's list of daughters-in-law. The person she preferred was Baochai, who was dignified, steady, decent, with a calm personality and intelligence. She was undoubtedly the most suitable wife and mother.

The eldest wife, Madam Xing, rolled her eyes at this moment. She liked to make things difficult for Madam Wang, and said with a smile, "In fact, apart from Miss Lin and Miss Xue, our family is still missing one person tonight, so it can't be considered complete."

Grandmother Jia nodded and said, "Indeed, I forgot about Huan'er. By the way, the provincial examination should be over by now, right?"

Jia Tanchun quickly replied, "The exam should be over today."

"Well, Huan'er is a good student. I wonder how he did in the exam this time." Grandmother Jia pondered.

Madam Xing glanced at Madam Wang and said with a smile, "Of course, Huan'er won the top three places in the imperial examination three years ago. He must have made great progress now. When the results are announced next month, our Jia family will surely have another juren."

Although Grandmother Jia didn't like Jia Huan very much, she was still very happy to hear this and said with a smile: "If Huan'er can pass the imperial examination, that would be great. Our Jia family will have successors. It's worth opening the ancestral temple to hold a grand ceremony to worship him."

Mrs. Wang and Wang Xifeng both felt a little uncomfortable when they heard this, while Jia Zheng fell into deep thought. Lin Zhixiao had been in the south for almost two months and should have met Jia Huan. He wondered how this rebellious son would react to the relocation of the grave.

Jia Baoyu hated Jia Huan in the beginning, and became even more jealous when he learned that Jia Huan had moved into the Lin Mansion and was favored by Lin Ruhai. He was afraid that Lin Daiyu would get along with Jia Huan every day and eventually become estranged from him, so he wished that Grandmother Jia would immediately bring Lin Daiyu back to his side.

At this time, he heard everyone discussing Jia Huan, and the topic of discussion was the imperial examination, which he hated the most, so he pulled Jia Mu's hand and shouted that he wanted to listen to the music.

After Jia Baoyu's commotion, Grandmother Jia turned her attention away from Jia Huan and ordered people to call the twelve actors that Jia Yuanchun had specially bought home when she came home to visit her parents to come and sing.

The Jia family's Mid-Autumn family gathering lasted until almost midnight. After Grandmother Jia left, each family went their separate ways to rest. Young dandies like Jia Zhen, Jia Lian, Jia Rong, Jia Qiang and others naturally had a second half, so they went to another place to continue having fun all night long.

Let's talk about Mrs. Wang. She has been worried since she returned to the room. She looked unhappy. At the beginning, Mrs. Wang asked her servant Li Shi'er to take a message to Jia Huan, warning him not to participate in this special examination. However, the latter ignored her and even "threatened" her with a hint of meaning. She was furious and immediately found her brother Wang Ziteng, hoping to use Wang Ziteng's influence to suppress Jia Huan so that Jia Huan would never pass the imperial examination. At that time, Wang Ziteng also agreed confidently. Now that the provincial examination is over, I don't know if my brother Wang Ziteng's method worked!

The more Mrs. Wang thought about it, the more anxious she became. She didn't know what kind of luck this bastard Jia Huan had. He should have been left to fend for himself in the south, but he ended up causing such a big fuss and was even praised by the emperor as "a role model for sons and a paragon of filial piety." Wow, what an honor! Just based on this point, no one dared to treat him as a bastard's son. For this reason, the old lady and the master even wanted to move that bitch Aunt Zhao back to the Jia family's ancestral tomb for burial.

The situation is already serious now. If this illegitimate son passes the imperial examination and even becomes a Jinshi and becomes an official in the court, wouldn't he be able to bully Baoyu and me even more?
At this moment, the narrow-mindedness, selfishness, jealousy, stupidity and viciousness of Mrs. Wang, a middle-aged illiterate woman, were exposed. The next day, she couldn't wait to return to her mother and ask her brother Wang Ziteng for news.

Wang Ziteng naturally understood the purpose of his sister's visit, but he had been having a hard time during this period. The illegal salt den in Yangzhou had huge implications and was constantly spreading. In addition to Prince Yi Zhong being placed under house arrest, other people in the court were being removed from their posts one after another. The Donglin faction took this opportunity to dig up some dirty information and continuously attacked the old noble group, the most important of which was the salt permit.

Because the problem of "occupying the nest" is very serious in the old noble group. The so-called "occupying the nest" means that the powerful people use their influence to get salt permits from the Ministry of Revenue, and then resell them for huge profits. At present, many influential powerful people have been reported and impeached, but these impeachment memorials were temporarily kept by Emperor Qiansheng and not sent out. I don't know whether it is because he is worried about too much resistance or deliberately waiting for it.

After all, this is a contest between the new imperial faction and the old imperial faction, or a power struggle between Emperor Qiansheng and the retired emperor. As a backbone figure of the old imperial faction, Wang Ziteng naturally knows the consequences if he fails in the fight between the two factions. So he has been living in fear during this period. How could he have the energy to care whether Jia Huan could pass the imperial examination?
However, since his sister had come to visit, Wang Ziteng still tried to comfort her, saying that he had already made arrangements and that Jia Huan would definitely have no chance of passing the imperial examination this time!

After getting her brother's assurance, Mrs. Wang left with peace of mind.

…………

In Jinling, continuous autumn rain began to fall after the Mid-Autumn Festival, and everything was wet. The students who had been suppressed for months before the exam now completely relaxed, traveling and sightseeing every day. Some even became more unrestrained, lingering in brothels and pleasure boats every day, looking for the seductive man in prostitutes while waiting for the announcement of the results of the provincial examination.

At the same time, the marking of the provincial examinations in Nanzhili was also proceeding at full speed.

There are nearly 20,000 candidates and three examination papers, which amount to 60,000 copies. They have to be transcribed and compared, and then graded and ranked. The workload is undoubtedly enormous, so the results of the provincial examinations are usually not available until September. According to the rules of Dajin, the results of the provincial examinations must be announced before September 15 at the latest. If there is no reason for the delay, all those below the chief examiner will be held accountable.

So on the night after the provincial examination, the chief examiner Sun Chengzong immediately organized the review work. Dozens of examiners worked late into the night, with three people in a group reviewing the papers. If a paper was unanimously approved by all three, it would be recommended to the same examiner for review, which was called "recommended paper."

The co-examiner is the deputy chief examiner. After receiving the recommended paper, he will review it for the second time. If he thinks it is acceptable, he will write the word "accepted" on the paper and then pass it to the chief examiner for final review. If the chief examiner also thinks it is acceptable, he will write the word "passed" on the paper, which means that the paper has been "accepted".

After all the papers have been marked, those that have been selected will be classified into one category, and then the ranking will be determined. At this time, the co-examiners and other examiners can give their opinions, but the final decision lies with the chief examiner. The paper that the chief examiner points to as the first place will be the first place, that is, the top scorer.

After the rankings are determined, the sealed envelope of the original papers will be opened in the presence of all examiners, and the list will be written according to the rankings. A day will be chosen to post the list and make it public. The process is strict and fair.

Of course, there is no absolute fairness in the world. For example, in the process of evaluating rankings, the personal preferences of the examiner have a great influence on the final result. Someone's article is originally very well written, but his or her viewpoints are not liked by the examiner, so he or she will definitely not be the first choice and will be ranked relatively low.

Let's get back to the point. Mei Yucheng, the co-examiner from Nanzhili, is Wang Ziteng's son-in-law. He came with a secret mission, so he has been worried since the provincial examination began. After the marking work started, he was even more nervous, fearing that the paper would appear on his desk.

Fortunately, the marking work had been going on for the third day, and the paper still had not appeared. Mei Hanlin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed that Jia Huan was just a superficial person, and his paper didn't even pass the "recommendation" stage. But that was better, as he didn't have to reject his paper against his conscience.

However, at this moment, a person in charge of the examination team came in with a stack of papers and saluted, "Master Mei, these are the new papers that I and others have reviewed. There are many excellent works among them, especially this one. The three of us unanimously think it is the best."

Mei Hanlin nodded and said calmly, "Put it aside for now. I will take a look at it and make a decision later."

The person in charge put down the pile of papers, bowed again and walked out.

Mei Yucheng picked up the first paper, which was the top-notch work mentioned by the person in charge. However, as soon as he took a glance at it, his breathing tightened and his heart started beating rapidly.

It was obvious that the paper Mei Yucheng was holding in his hand was Jia Huan's. As for how he knew about it, it was actually very simple. When the sealing official collected the papers and covered the names, he remembered the topic of Jia Huan's first article and then secretly told Mei Yucheng.

In this way, even if the name of the paper was obscured and the writing was changed, Mei Yucheng would know that the paper was Jia Huan's as soon as he saw the solution to the problem in the article. Therefore, there are countermeasures for every policy. As long as you want to cheat, even the most stringent procedures can find loopholes.

However, at this moment, Mei Yucheng held Jia Huan's paper as if he was holding a hot potato. His expression changed constantly. It took him a long time to calm down slowly. He began to review the manuscript carefully, trying to find a legitimate reason for his dismissal.

But soon, Mei Yucheng was disappointed. Jia Huan's paper was very brilliant. Not only was the article written fluently and elegantly, but even the five-character eight-rhyme poem at the end was a unique masterpiece that was handed down from generation to generation. Even Mei Yucheng couldn't help but applaud. It would be really unfair if such an excellent test paper was rejected!
Mei Yucheng did not give up and reviewed it word by word, hoping to find some taboo words or discover some taboo ideological themes. Unfortunately, he failed to do so!

Mei Yucheng couldn't help but sigh. Holding the test paper in his hand, he felt as if he was holding a heavy mountain. He was extremely conflicted. He gritted his teeth and threw the test paper into the pile of discarded papers, then picked it up again. He repeated this several times. Finally, he gritted his teeth, picked up the pen, and wrote the word "take" on the test paper.

As mentioned in the previous article, Mei Yucheng was a man of few skills, not good at speaking, not good at writing, and most importantly, not good at taking advantage of opportunities, so he never got promoted.

In fact, although Mei Yucheng was timid and poor at speaking, he was a talented person. He was upright and had his own persistence and refused to go along with the crowd. This was the reason why he could not get promoted.

This time Wang Ziteng instructed him to deal with Jia Huan, but he was actually very resistant in his heart. Firstly, it was because he was timid and afraid that the matter would be exposed, and secondly, it was because he could not get over the hurdle of his conscience.

Now seeing Jia Huan's excellent test paper, he couldn't bring himself to do it, and finally made a decision that went against his father-in-law Wang Ziteng.

(End of this chapter)