After the whole family was swept away, I lay down flat

Chapter 674 Plan
Haitang looked at Jin Jiashu holding Haijiao's hand tightly, and then looked at his other hand stretched out in front of her, but she didn't dare to do anything rash. She smiled and said, "Brother Jin, don't be polite with us. We are just analyzing it for you. We have known each other for such a long time and have always gotten along well. Naturally, we also hope that you can live a good life."

"That's right!" Haijiao held Jin Jiashu's hand, and with his other hand he put his arm around his shoulders and patted him gently. "What kind of relationship do we have? If you keep saying such cheesy words, you really don't consider me your own! The friendship between us brothers doesn't need to be mentioned on our lips, it's in our hearts!"

Jin Jiashu's eyes were slightly red, and he smiled and lowered his head. In any case, since he was grateful for this friendship, of course he had to speak out! If he didn't make his thoughts clear, would he leave a gap for outsiders with bad intentions to sow discord? !

The three of them sat down again, and Haijiao asked Jin Jiashu: "What are you going to do next? Will you continue to study hard in Chang'an and wait for the next provincial examination? In fact, I think that since Ma Ma thinks that Prefect Xin does not really want to depose you, she must have her reasons. You can still try to take another exam. Without the constraints of the emperor's order, Prefect Xin should not hinder you anymore."

Jin Jiashu pursed his lips and said, "Of course I will take part in the next provincial examination, but... I don't want to continue studying behind closed doors. After I found out that I failed today, I discussed with Wu Ke about entering the Imperial College. We are the top scholars on the second list and are eligible to be recommended to the academy. He said he wanted to ask around."

"The Imperial College?" Haijiao tilted his head. "If your goal is to enter the capital in advance, the Imperial College is indeed a good choice. But if the emperor is determined to prevent you from entering the capital, and even does not hesitate to tamper with the list of provincial examinations, I am afraid he will not allow you to obtain the qualification to enter the academy."

Jin Jiashu said, "How can we know if we don't try? If we can enter the Imperial College, that would be great. Even if we can't, we can study in the provincial academy for a few years. Although the teacher is knowledgeable, different teachers can also help us improve."

Haitang guessed his intention: "If Brother Jin enters the prefectural school, many people will know your academic achievements, right? In addition to the teachers and students in the prefectural school, everyone will know how outstanding you are. The next time you take the provincial examination, others will not be able to suppress you easily. What's more, if you become a student of the prefectural school, the school officials will protect you. If the prefect Xin finds a reason to expel you in the next provincial examination, the school officials will also fight for you."

Jin Jiashu looked at Haitang with some surprise: "Sister Hai is so smart, she actually guessed what I was thinking!"

Haitang smiled and said, "If Brother Jin can pass the imperial examination with his real ability and become a student on government stipend, and his talent and reputation spread throughout the prefectural school, who can doubt your knowledge as a relative of the emperor? If you become the first in the prefectural school, even if you have been in school for a short time and cannot qualify for the annual tribute, you still have a chance to become a tribute of grace and a tribute of excellence. Of course, if you don't want to enter the Imperial Academy, that's okay. When you become a juren and want to go to Beijing to take the exam, there will be many companions who can go with you. When you arrive in Beijing, they will spread your name. You are a juren who came from the official imperial examination system, and you have real talent and material. Your talent and reputation can overshadow the reputation of a relative of the emperor. If any examiner uses the fact that you are a relative of the emperor to suppress you, others will also question his intentions, right?"

Jin Jiashu smiled embarrassedly: "Is it not self-righteous for me to think so? I only ranked 78th in the provincial examination, the tenth from the bottom, but I actually think that I can overwhelm everyone with my talent and knowledge. I am really arrogant."

Hai Jiao said disapprovingly: "What's the big deal? There are so many people who just mess around in Chang'an Prefecture School. Zhou Jinpu was able to stay there for more than ten years. You have real talent and knowledge, so why are you afraid of not being able to get ahead? Besides, you are the disciple of Uncle Xie. With Uncle Xie's talent, is it possible that the direct disciple he taught can't pass the exam to become a mere student on government stipend?!"

Haitang whispered, "Brother, don't speak so loudly, or someone might hear you. Even if it's true, we should be more modest."

Jin Jiashu couldn't help but lower his head and chuckled. After he finished laughing, he said, "Okay, I know Brother Hai is trying to encourage me, but it's really not that easy to pass the exam to become a student on government stipend. Although I have a little talent, I still have a short time to study. There are always people better than you, and I dare not say that I will definitely be better than others. I can only try my best."

It is not easy to compete for the top spot in the prefectural school, but Jin Jiashu does not feel much pressure. Now with the analysis of the Hai brothers and sisters, he knows that he does not need to rush to Beijing to help his "aunt". He still has the patience to wait for three more years. Even if he goes to Beijing to take the exam, he dare not say that he will definitely pass the exam. He will have to study hard for a few more years to lay a more solid foundation. Since he now regards Tao Yue as a role model, Tao Yue can be an idle official for 20 to 30 years after entering the officialdom to cultivate his reputation. It is reasonable for him to spend more time to take the imperial examination.

He can't be impatient, nor does he need to be impatient.

He was still young and could not help his "aunt" and the Eighth Prince at the moment. He had to be patient and build up capital and reputation for himself. Good things come late, and he had to take a long-term view. If he was too eager for quick success and let others gossip about him, he would be holding his "aunt" and the Eighth Prince back.

Jin Jiashu made up his mind and didn't want to talk about this topic anymore. He tried to ask Hai Jiao: "Brother Hai, what are your plans for the future? Now that the results of the provincial military examination are about to come out, Brother Hai will definitely pass, right?"

Haijiao raised his eyebrows. Is this trying to change the subject? No, he still has something to remind Jin Jiashu.

So he said, "The first place will definitely go to Zhou Yijun. His answers to the Four Books are not as good as mine, but he is much better than me in military strategy and tactics. He is not much different from me in archery and horse riding. If it were somewhere else, perhaps the examiner would pay more attention to the Four Books, but this is Chang'an, and he is a better general than me, so I am convinced that he ranks first. If nothing unexpected happens, I may be second or third."

He was quite satisfied with the result, which was good enough but not as eye-catching as the first place.

He said, "Once the list of provincial examinations is out, I will probably go to the capital with Zhou Yijun to participate in the military examination next spring. It shouldn't be cancelled this time, right? I am still confident that I can pass the exam, but no matter whether I can pass or not, I will try to find out about Madam Xu and the Eighth Prince in the capital and find out their real situation in the palace. I also have to check to see what the Sun family is up to! Although Lord Sun has only the Eighth Prince to choose, he has not allowed the emperor to make the Eighth Prince the crown prince until today. Maybe he is holding back some big tricks. What if he attacks Madam Xu in order to control the Eighth Prince?"

Jin Jiashu's attention was immediately drawn back by him: "He dares?! My aunt is the emperor's favorite concubine after all, and she lives in the palace. As long as she is on guard against Concubine Sun, how dare Lord Sun kill her?!"

Haijiao waved his hand, "I'm not saying they want to kill Madam Xu, that would be too obvious. The emperor is not made of clay, what if he gets angry and wants to kill Lord Sun? If the Sun family doesn't want to rebel, they can't really do that. But they might throw some dirty water on Madam Xu, or make a fuss about her background... In short, the Eighth Prince is young, and the emperor may not last long. The new monarch will probably ascend the throne when he is young. If the Empress Dowager and the Queen Mother are in charge of the government, how can the Prime Minister of the Cabinet make the decision? It is normal for Lord Sun to continue to hold power after the new monarch ascends the throne and make a fuss about the new monarch's biological mother. Madam Xu had better be more careful."

Jin Jiashu held his breath: "What will they... do?"

(End of this chapter)