Jinghong Tower

Aunt Zhang wanted to find a place on the mountain to bury Sister Zhang, but before the burial, a matchmaker came to the door. It turned out that she was talking about a ghost marriage. A family learned that a young girl had died in Zhaocai Village, so they asked the matchmaker to come and propose marriage. They wanted to marry Sister Zhang to the old bachelor in their family who had been dead for several years.

The old bachelor died before getting married. According to local customs, no matter whether he is a man or a woman, if he dies before getting married, he cannot be buried in the ancestral tomb.

Therefore, the old bachelor has not been able to be buried in the ancestral tomb. Recently, he has frequently appeared in his family's dreams, saying that he is lonely and cold, so his family came to arrange a marriage for him.

The matchmaker repeated the same words, saying that she didn't mind that Sister Zhang's body was damaged by someone during her lifetime and that no one else would be interested in her except their family. This time, Aunt Zhang didn't have the strength to pick up the stick and drive the matchmaker out. She fainted.

The matchmaker was kicked out by Feng Jingchun.

Sister Zhang's body was secretly buried in the mountains in the middle of the night. They were afraid that the body would be stolen after death, so they didn't even dare to erect a tombstone. They only used two stones as a mark. The Five Hegemons helped Aunt Zhang bury Sister Zhang. When the five of them came back, they were all in a heavy mood.

This was the first time they faced the death of someone close to them, and the first time they felt powerless and helpless.

The Five Tyrants were silent for many days, and had no energy to do anything. They even cancelled the meeting at Grandma Fu's house because Feng Jingchun had to accompany Aunt Zhang. She was worried that Aunt Zhang would commit suicide while she was away.
Even so, there are still people who say bad things about Sister Zhang behind her back, saying that she ruined her health before she got married, which brings discredit to Zhaocai Village.

Sister Zhang was a child picked up by Aunt Zhang. Therefore, whenever someone mentioned Sister Zhang, the aunts surnamed Zhang would reiterate: "She was a bastard picked up from outside. We don't have such a slut who is immoral in our Zhang family."

There is no crime in the law for cursing someone behind their back, otherwise He Xiaojiu would have sent them to the yamen.

She took San Ya to sit on a big rock halfway up the mountain, and they had a panoramic view of Zhaocai Village.

He Xiaojiu thought that it was no wonder that the Emperor's mother often said that the most unpredictable thing in the world was the human heart. It was also no wonder that the Emperor's mother said that one should not be blinded by one thing, but should go out and see with one's own eyes. The Emperor's mother also said that what you can easily see are what others want you to see, and what you can easily hear are what others want you to hear.

He Xiaojiu turned around and said to San Ya, "Sanyah, I left the capital and saw many things that I couldn't see or hear in the capital, and I couldn't see or hear in the memorials, but I wasn't happy at all. On the contrary, I was very sad."

San Ya looked confused. She didn't understand what He Xiaojiu was talking about. She could only follow her heart and persuade him: "Don't be sad. You are still a child. You are only eight years old."

He Xiaojiu let out a sigh that was not consistent with his age: "Fortunately, I experienced the darkness of this world when I was eight years old."

For many years afterwards, whether she was He Xiaojiu or He Jiayu, whether she was the crown princess or the emperor, she would always think of the sufferings she saw and heard when she was eight years old. When faced with those eulogies, she would imitate the emperor's mother and say, "There is a long way to go."
The Five Hegemons' depression lasted for a month. In the third month after they arrived in Zhaocai Village, they finally received good news.

The Lu sisters' essay passed the audition, and the government sent them a big red congratulatory message, and also sent someone to take them to the capital to take the written test.

They were the only two people selected in the entire county. This was a big event in the county. The county magistrate and all the people from the county school came. The county magistrate announced publicly that the Lu family would be exempted from taxes and labor service this year. If one of the Lu sisters could make it into the top ten, the taxes would be exempted for three years. If both of them could make it into the top ten, they would be exempted for six years!
In addition, the county also sent two sets of writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, along with forty taels of silver, so that Lu's parents could make new clothes for each of their two children to wear in Beijing.

The whole Zhaocai Village was in an uproar. When the villagers heard about the tax exemption, their jaws dropped. They just hated why the county magistrate was not talking about their own family. When they saw the county magistrate personally handing forty taels of silver to Uncle Lu, everyone felt even more jealous.

Is this still the old Lu family that was laughed at by everyone?

The Lu family had no money to marry their son, but they had to eat coarse food to support their daughter's education. Countless people laughed at them and poked their spines.

But now, the Lu family doesn't have to pay taxes and perform labor service like them, and the officials give them money. Is God blind? How great is it that this good thing of being exempted from taxes and labor service falls on their family?

But the villagers quickly found a balance. What's the big deal? They are just two money-losing goods. It's just forty taels of silver, which is not as good as their own grandson.

But when it comes to slapping someone in the face, either don’t slap them at all, or slap them repeatedly.

As soon as the people from the county government left, several wealthy families in the county came to this small village to make money.

The richest family in the county, the Sun family, who were also imperial merchants, sent a hundred taels of silver;

The Wu family, which has a scholarly family tradition for generations, had someone send a few books and a note. The villagers didn't know what the note was for, but Feng Moqiu told them that with the note, the Lu sisters could study at Shu Ren Academy, the most famous academy in the capital.

The villagers were stunned. Could the two girls of the Lu family earn money for the family? They had 40 taels before, and now 100 taels, and they could even go to the capital to study?
Although not many villagers are literate, they all know that being able to study in the capital is a blessing for their ancestors, and it would be great if such a good thing could happen to their own family.

Then a funny thing happened. Someone really shamelessly came to the Lu family and asked Uncle Lu to give up the opportunity to study in the capital to his family. He even pulled his son to kneel on the spot and wanted to be Uncle Lu's godson. Even the matchmaker was dispatched. Some wealthy families in the county and town took a fancy to the Lu sisters.
Uncle Lu's family drove away the man who wanted to adopt him as their godson, and also politely declined the marriage proposal. They closed the door and prepared to pack their two daughters.

However, Zhaocai Village could never return to peace. The two daughters of the Lu family shocked everyone, especially the matchmaker who came to propose marriage and told them that the family that had chosen the girl from the Lu family was an official family, and the father and uncle of the young man were both officials. The family did not mind the Lu family's poverty, but they were attracted by the talent of the girl from the Lu family.

Even the head of the village sighed, thinking that he had been wrong and had underestimated the Lu family.

Three days later, the Lu sisters were accompanied by people from the county school to the capital. On the day they left the village, all the villagers came to the village entrance to see them off, even people from nearby villages came.

In the following half month, the girls from the Lu family were the topic of conversation among the villagers after dinner. Some people said that Uncle Lu had lost his mind. Why didn't he go to Beijing with his daughters? How could he let outsiders take away two virgin girls? Wasn't he afraid that they would be ruined and do something immoral like Sister Zhang?

He Xiaojiu happened to hear it and was about to point his finger at the man and start scolding him when he heard a woman spit, "You know nothing! Only someone as shallow-sighted as you would think that. Haven't you heard that the county magistrates in the neighboring county are all women? In my opinion, the two girls from the Lu family will probably become officials in the future. Haven't you seen how much attention the county pays to them? The county magistrate even said that they are some kind of imperial scholar."

He Xiaojiu quickly added: "Women are just as good as men."

The woman smiled and said, "Yes, yes, that's right. You are indeed a kid from the capital. You know a lot."

From then on, the villagers started talking about the girl from the Lu family becoming an official. Amidst everyone's discussion, the girl from the Lu family returned from the capital.

When they left the village, they took a carriage hired by the county school. When they came back, they took two carriages, one for them and the other for officials from the Imperial College and the county school.

The carriage simply dropped them off at the village entrance and headed straight for the county town.

When they heard that the girl from the Lu family had returned, all the villagers who had not gone to the fields came to the Lu family to watch the fun.

The dilapidated courtyard wall of the Lu family was crowded with people. After a while, the head of the village came out of the Lu family. Everyone quickly surrounded him and said, "What happened? Did the girl from the Lu family fail the exam and was sent back?"

"I told you, the books that little girl read are useless, and I was right."

"Could it be that the Lu family's girls did something shameful and angered the high officials in the capital, so they are not allowed to go to the school in the capital?"

The head of the village was originally in a very happy mood, but now he was so angry that he wanted to curse.

"What nonsense are you talking about? You have cursed away your good fortune. Let me tell you, the Lu family girls are doing very well. One of them ranked third in the exam, and the other ranked seventh. Now they are going to study at the Imperial College. They came back this time to handle the formalities."

The villagers didn't know what the Imperial College was, and the head of the village couldn't explain it clearly either. They only knew that it was a very great school, connected to the sky. But Wu Ba knew it, because Feng Moqiu would also go to the youth class of the Imperial College next year.

In the previous dynasty, in addition to students, children of nobles or officials of the fourth rank and above could also enter the Imperial Academy to study after the age of eight. During the Dacheng Dynasty, all these old rules were changed.

There are only two ways to be admitted to the Imperial College: examination and competition.

No matter how noble Xiaojiu is, she still has to take an exam if she wants to enter the Imperial College.

Feng Moqiu was admitted to the Imperial College this year, but He Xiaojiu, Dong Jinbao and Feng Jingchun all failed. As for Lu Wen, he was not even qualified to take the exam because he was not old enough and could only take the exam after he turned eight years old.

So Feng Moqiu decided to postpone his enrollment. He couldn't be the only one among the Five Hegemons in the Imperial College. He needed someone to accompany him when he got into trouble.

As for Lu Xiaomai and Lu Xiaodao, there is no need to ask, they were admitted to this essay competition.

Historically, the top ten in such competitions have been qualified for admission. One of them was third and the other was seventh, so there was no suspense about their admission.

"What are the benefits of studying at the Imperial College? Can you make money?" someone asked.

He Xiaojiu said in a light tone: "I can see the emperor and play with the princess."

"What?"

He Xiaojiu heard a gasp, and she continued, "Students of the Imperial College have the opportunity to meet the emperor, and they can also stay with the Crown Princess, play with her, and guide her homework."

Well, the slurping sound became louder. Oh my God, this girl from the Lu family will be able to meet the emperor in the future and even be a teacher to the crown princess.

He Xiaojiu: He is not a teacher, but he guides me in my homework.

The Emperor's mother firmly believed that people of the same age could communicate more easily, so she would select teenage boys and girls from the Imperial Academy to guide her in her studies and accompany her to some occasions.

However, the villagers all agreed that the Lu sisters would become teachers to the Crown Princess in the future.

He Xiaojiu: Think whatever you want. The Crown Princess is too lazy to explain.

When the Lu sisters left the village again, the Five Hegemons discovered that the wind direction in the village had changed.

Talking about the Lu family, the villagers went from feeling jealous to being envious. Not long after, one day, the village head came back from outside with his youngest son and eldest granddaughter. When asked where he had been, he said proudly, "I took Guozong and Dani to the town's school to register. The teacher praised them for their intelligence and said they were both good candidates for study. The teacher also changed Dani's name to Fu Wenjin. Listen to it, what a nice name it is. You can tell she will have a promising future."

Someone said, "How much can a girl achieve? Can she compare to a boy?"

The village head said angrily, "Nonsense, the current emperor is a woman. Is there any man in the world who can compare to her?"

When the emperor is brought up, who dares to refute?

The head of the village was a role model for the whole village. Not long after, another family in the Fu Jiaben family sent their daughter who was working in the fields to school in exchange for a son who only knew how to fight in school and did not know a few words after studying for several years.

In a blink of an eye, it was the day to leave Zhaocai Village. Feng Jingchun insisted on taking away Aunt Zhang, who was still immersed in grief. The Zhang family also wanted to get rid of this burden. They had no objection to Feng Jingchun's taking people away, but they wanted Aunt Zhang to give up her house.

Feng Jingchun agreed on behalf of Aunt Zhang. It didn't matter if they didn't have a house, but there was one less thing they could miss. Next time they came back to visit Aunt Zhang's grave, they could go directly up the mountain without even having to go into the village.

He Xiaojiu wanted to take San Ya away, but ran into trouble.

The Zhong family refused to let the man go, and finally asked for a huge price of fifty taels!

Everyone in the village said that Old Lady Zhong was crazy about money. Fifty taels! Her Erya only asked for twenty taels of dowry, but she still hasn’t been married. And a skinny Sanya was asked for fifty taels. Who would buy her?

However, some people said that Old Lady Zhong saw that the little girl named Dajiu came from a wealthy family, so she asked for fifty taels right away.

He Xiaojiu didn't want to spoil her, so he offered her ten taels. Old Lady Zhong didn't agree, so He Xiaojiu turned around and left. Old Lady Zhong got anxious and said, "Twenty taels, twenty taels and take her away."

He Xiaojiu stopped and said coldly: "Twenty taels, sign the marriage agreement!"

Old Mrs. Zhong was not stupid. She knew that if she just sold San Ya, the capital was not far away. As long as she knew where He Xiaojiu lived, she could still find San Ya and ask for money. Those families who sold their daughters to be maids all did this. Filial piety was more important than anything else. Even if San Ya had been sold into a slave, she was still the daughter of the Zhong family.

But things are different after signing the severance agreement. Don’t even think about getting money from San Ya anymore.

Mrs. Zhong didn't want to sign and wanted to make trouble. He Xiaojiu turned around and left. Mrs. Zhong gritted her teeth and said, "Sign now. It's settled. Twenty taels!"

He Xiaojiu glanced at Zong Qin who came to pick them up. Zong Qin took out two shiny silver ingots. Old Mrs. Zhong's eyes lit up. Without saying a word, she signed and sealed the letter of severance and put her fingerprints on it.

He Xiaojiu brought San Ya back to the capital. The first thing she did when she returned to the palace was to hug the emperor's mother tightly around her waist: "Mom, I miss you."

The following year, the trial planting of new rice varieties in Huangzhuang was initially successful, and He Xiaojiu recommended Zhaocai Village. Zhaocai Village and more than a dozen other villages became the first batch of beneficiaries of the high-yield new rice varieties.

After arriving in the capital, Aunt Zhang did not live in the Feng family, but went to a charity. At first, she could only do some cleaning work. Perhaps the children's laughter healed her. She finally came out of her sadness, took care of the children in the charity, and later adopted a girl.

As for San Ya, He Xiaojiu did not let her stay in the palace as a maid, but sent her to a girls' school. San Ya worked and studied part-time in the school to learn a craft. She was not a bookworm like the Lu sisters, but she was clever and able to endure hardships, so her future was bright.

The story of the Five Hegemons of the Capital continues. He Xiaojiu and her friends went to many places again until they separated when they were fifteen years old.

He Xiaojiu changed his name and became the county magistrate, Feng Moqiu continued to study in the Imperial College, Feng Jingchun also changed his name and joined the military camp, and Dong Jinbao went to the Zhenjiang Shipyard. As for Lu Wen, after He Xiaojiu became the county magistrate, he ran away from home. While the Wu'an Marquis's Mansion was looking for him, he had quietly come to the county town where He Xiaojiu was and worked as a yamen runner.

Three years later, He Xiaojiu returned to the capital and served in six ministries. Three years later, a war broke out on the southwestern border. He Xiaojiu followed his father into the war and made many military achievements.

Four years later, He Ran, the founding emperor of Dacheng, abdicated and became the emperor emeritus. The 25-year-old crown princess He Jiayu ascended the throne and changed the reign title to Sheng'an.

(End of full text) (End of chapter)