Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 5 Gossip
  Jia Lian did not question him immediately, but waited patiently for the young man to sign up and leave. Then he stepped forward and asked, "Sir, why did the young man sign up without paying a fee?"

When the middle-aged man heard the word "sir", he accepted it with peace of mind. He was not at all uneasy about being caught dirty. He explained very calmly: "The young man has a recommendation letter written by a Jinshi, which states that his family is poor, so he is free of charge." . Not only is registration free, but you will also receive a scholarship if you enter the academy in the future. Are you satisfied with this explanation?"

The middle-aged man's "little gentleman" asked back, but Jia Lian did not accept it calmly. Instead, he hugged his hands and responded politely: "I don't dare to call you sir because I am a junior. I have no doubts about this, so I'll excuse you and take my leave."

Of course, modern people can accept this kind of behavior, because it was normal at the time. Poor students received subsidies, and those who studied well received scholarships. These phenomena were so normal that they were not surprising. Jia Lian, who was going out, stopped, raised his head and looked back at the plaque on the door, smiled unconsciously, turned around and left unhurriedly.

After Jia Lian left, the middle-aged man took out Jia Lian's registration form, looked at it carefully, and couldn't help laughing to himself: "This guy is interesting." At this time, an old man came out of the door and came forward to see the gift. Said: "Mr. Xishan, I'm tired of eating, and I'm tired of you." The middle-aged man laughed and said: "It doesn't matter, I've only been on duty for half an hour, so it's quite interesting."

The old man said: "Not many gentlemen have returned today. More than half will be back tomorrow, and school should be able to start the day after tomorrow."

The middle-aged man remembered that Jia Lian walked outside the gate and turned around to look up at the plaque on the gate. Instead of rushing in, he walked to the open space in front of the steps of the gate and looked up at the four large characters on the plaque in the middle of Qingyun Academy: "天下." For the public good.”

These four characters in Taizu's handwriting can only be considered average in terms of characters, because Taizu did not leave any couplets at that time, and no one dared to make up for it later. Even the Supreme Emperor did not dare to make a couplet to make up the two sides, so he simply empty.

I went to pay my respects to Jia Mu in the evening. When I arrived at the door, I heard someone talking loudly.

"Do you think that Mr. Lian from Dongkua Academy can be admitted to Qingyun Academy?"

"It is said that Mr. Lian has enlightened himself and is now studying hard. After all, the time is shorter."

"What does it have to do with you whether it succeeds or not? Grandma Li's mouth has only healed from swelling, but you still dare to shout loudly about the master's affairs?"

Jia Lian put his hands behind his back and continued walking in slowly, as if he didn't hear anything. However, when several women in the corridor behind the door saw Jia Lian coming in, they were as frightened as the caught quails, shrinking their necks. Shivering.

These few people are all old people around Jia Mu. They usually have nothing to do and just like to hang out together. If Jia Lian wanted to compete with them, he would really lose his identity. These servants were also quite surprised. This second master Lian used to be accompanied by a long attendant wherever he went, making a lot of noise. Now he was walking around the Rongxi Hall without anyone around him.

Walking along the path with one scene after another, a young couple came in front of them, it was Jia Zhu and Li Wan.

Seeing these two people, Jia Lian stepped aside to give way, clasped his hands and said, "Hello, brother Zhu, hello, sister-in-law."

Ah..., Jia Zhu didn't come back to her senses. She paused for a moment and then hurriedly responded with clasped hands. Li Wan also responded with sympathy.

We usually have a normal relationship, so we didn't talk much this time. Jia Zhu made an excuse: "Brother Lian is here to say hello. I still have schoolwork here and I have to make up for it when I get back, so I won't say much."

Jia Lian smiled and asked them to go first, with a playful smile on his face when he turned around. Jia Zhu and Li Wan are still a bit young, not as thick-skinned as Mrs. Wang, let alone any tricks. Let's see how Mrs. Wang plays. As long as she can deal with Jia She, she can deal with Jia Lian, and she is not afraid of him making trouble. What, Nanny Li and Guixiang are fighting? Don't mention this matter, it is not conducive to unity.

Jia Lian knew what Mrs. Wang was thinking. Mrs. Wang was destined not to let go of such a large family property. This is also a strategy for Jia Mu to walk on two legs. One is Jia Zhu, who was selected as a scholar (entered school) at the age of fourteen, and the other is Jia Yuanchun, who is waiting for election this year. For this reason, someone was specially invited to teach the palace the rules.

I originally thought well, but I never thought that Jia Zhu would be gone four years later, and Jia Yuanchun had not improved in the palace for a long time.

Who would have thought that returning to the province in Yuanchun was the peak of the Jia family, and then the Jia family fell sharply?
  The young couple returned to the courtyard of this house, and Li Wan whispered: "Brother Lian seems to have really come to his senses these days. In the past, he loved playing around most, and would go wherever there was excitement. Now he will be at home every day. Reading and practicing calligraphy. I heard from my father-in-law that Uncle Pardon took Brother Lian's handwritten "The Analects of Confucius" and asked my mother-in-law to show it to the Wang family. He said that Brother Lian has learned well now. He also praised his progress in calligraphy. "

"I have also read that handwriting, and it can only be regarded as average, not good writing. Brother Lian went to Qingyun Academy to register today. He really did not know the depth of his behavior. I am afraid that it will be embarrassing when the exam starts on February 2nd. The Imperial College is naturally the first choice for a noble son who abandons martial arts and pursues literature. Brother Lian has to go to Qingyun Academy to meet the challenge, so what can he do?" Jia Zhu was very helpless when talking about this.

Seeing that there was something wrong in his words, Li Wan couldn't help but ask, "Why, were you gossiped about in the Imperial College today?"

Jia Zhu nodded: "They are all students of noble families who have the opportunity to study in the Imperial College because of the shadow of their ancestors. There are also some students who are the children of officials. This matter spread too fast. They signed up in the morning and were notified to the Imperial College in the afternoon. I’m afraid it was done deliberately.”

"Brother Lian is not going back to the Imperial College. It can only be the news that he went to Qingyun Academy. Maybe he met me when he signed up." Li Wan's guess is basically reliable. Qingyun Academy itself is really not so boring. The young man Jia Lian met that morning told his companions about it. No matter how poor the family is, there may not be even one child out of ten from Qingyun Academy who is from a poor family.

This is not to say that Qingyun Academy is a black box. The main reason is that this exam stumps children from poor families. The poor cannot afford to send their children to school, and most of their talents are buried by poverty. As for this exam, as long as it is an exam, can the students from your township middle school pass the students from the county middle school? The obvious thing is that examination is a means and there is a method.

"It's useless to say anything now. We can only look at the whole capital and know it. No matter what, it's not a bad thing for brother Lian to suffer a little." Jia Zhu said this, but she still secretly despised Jia Lian in her heart. What is lost is the Jia family’s face after all. Jia Lian naturally knew nothing about this. No one told him, and no news from the outside could come in. Every day, Jia Lian reads at home with peace of mind. Relying on his super memory, Jia Lian has already memorized the "Four Books" once. He has also copied other related books, such as Zhu Xi's "Collected Commentary on the Four Books".

Speaking of this "Collected Commentary on the Four Books", Zhu Xi added a lot of private information. Jia Lian used the imperial examination as a stepping stone, mainly because in this era, if you want to be an official, you have to be respected, so you have to take the imperial examination route. As for the "New Suan Jing", Jia Lian read it once and then threw it away. There was no difficulty at all. At most, it was at the level of a sophomore in high school. Jia Lian, who had failed, read it for a while, and the knowledge he had learned in the past came back by itself, and he could easily master the knowledge.

The rest is the test content. The first is casual understanding, which is to translate the content in the textbook, and the second is the preparation of three essays, which is the eight-legged essay. This thing was difficult for Jia Lian, so the method he adopted was to buy back a bunch of collected works, first read what others had written, summarize the format, and then use a question-and-answer strategy.

For these masterpieces and the same topic, I write three articles every day. It’s not that I don’t want to write more, but it actually takes time to write, probably one article in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening.

Every day, except for walking for half an hour when he gets up early, walking for half an hour after dinner, and taking an hour nap at noon, Jia Lian spends the rest of the time reading. Jia Lian made a plan to stop Guixiang for an hour, get up and burn some incense.

Jia Lian's enthusiasm calmed down the people in Dongkua Yuan, and soon the entire Jia family no longer dared to gossip. Even if he fails to get into Qingyun Academy and goes back to study at the Imperial Academy, Jia Lian is so eager to learn, what if he really passes the exam? Besides, everyone has not forgotten the tragic situation of Grandma Li.

Jia She was not surprised by Jia Lian's behavior. He set time every morning and dusk, and asked Jia Lian several times about his studies. Jia Lian said that he had gained something from studying, and he was just waiting for the exam to start at Qingyun Academy.

On the first day of February, Jia Lian suspended his normal study plan. When he got up early to greet Jia She, the old man said unexpectedly: "The entrance exam will be tomorrow. You don't need to expect more. Even if you don't pass, the Imperial College will not do it." Those who can go to school will still be able to rely on it in the fall if they didn’t pass the exam in the spring. You are still young, so don’t worry.”

It's so rare that Jia Lian thought he was hearing hallucinations. Doesn't the normal rhythm begin with "Little Beast"?

"What my father said is reasonable. If you want to study, it won't be sooner or later." Jia Lian didn't say anything big. After all, he really didn't have much confidence. I really want to talk nonsense, it would be a shame if I failed the exam.

These days, Jia She often hears people talk about this matter. Every time, he explains to others with a little pride and pride in his heart. It probably means that Jia Lian has enlightened and suddenly wants to study. Qingyun Academy is naturally not sure, but give it a try. There's no harm in it. The Jia family doesn't lack the little money for the registration fee. If you don't dare to try, you will fall behind. Do you think this is the truth?

Jia Mu also showed a rare concern and said: "Brother Lian has been studying hard these days, but he is just studying behind closed doors at home. There is no one to give guidance, and he is afraid that he is not studying well. Your elder brother Zhu has already entered school, and there is nothing you don't understand. , you can ask him."

Jia Lianxin said this, why didn't you say this earlier? Jia Zhu doesn't care, that's because of interests. You old man, if you asked him to teach me how to study earlier, would he dare not come? You said that only after the exam is tomorrow. Are you afraid that if I pass the exam, I will lose face to Jia Zhu?

Although he was cursing in his heart, Jia Lian said with a look of gratitude on his face: "Thank you grandma for your concern. What my grandson wants to do is to give it a try on his own first. If he fails to enroll in the school in the spring, he will find a teacher to teach him and take the exam again in the fall."

After saying this, Mother Jia's face didn't look so good, and she still had to maintain a kind smile on her face. This little monkey seems to be very thoughtful in what he says, but why does it sound bad to his ears but not to his heart? oh. Your grandson wants to study and take the Qingyun Academy exam. Don't you know how to arrange for a gentleman to teach you for a while? He said that he was taken care of by Rongxi Hall, but you arranged it.

In principle, these are the things that Jia She should worry about. You, noble man, have forgotten things. There are so many gossips in this Hall of Rongxi, and you really can’t hear them? Oh, it’s hard to find a husband, but if it’s no good, there are several Qingke in Jia Zheng’s side who have the title of civil servant, let’s arrange it! When Jia Mu felt disgusted, Jia Lian had already said goodbye and left.

In the Dongkua Courtyard, guests came to Jia Lian's yard. Youshi from the East Mansion came to the door with several maids and brought a specially commissioned Hui brush and Hui ink. Seeing Jia Lian, Youshi said with a smile: "I understand this too. Your brother Zhen said to buy the expensive ones. I followed this arrangement, and I don't know if it is suitable or not."

Jia Lian definitely didn't believe that Jia Zhen arranged this matter. He didn't have that intention. Youshi must have thought of it and mentioned it to Jia Zhen. After all, he is the brother of the serious Rong Guofu Xijue. He is of great use value. How much does the pen and ink cost?
  Jia Lian thanked him seriously. Youshi was well prepared. He must have consulted others. The newly bought small box contained pens and ink. It was not heavy to carry around. There were bottles of water in it, and there were several more in the row below. A box containing snacks and candied tea leaves.

"It's said that it will take two days, and we will have food and accommodation in it. I'm afraid that brother Lian won't be used to the food." Youshi continued to say that she had been paying close attention to Jia Lian recently, and all the news she got was positive, and she felt very sad. It's Shangxin. If there is a Jia Zhu in the east and west mansions, and another Jia Lian comes out, the east mansion will definitely be outclassed, but how can I say, we are a family, maintain a good relationship, the interests of the two families are consistent, in the future Jia Lian will be the head of the family, in advance Put your concern first.

It can be seen from this that You's happy death in the novel "Red Mansions" really did not fall from the sky. This woman is extremely smart and good at protecting herself wisely. She has no intention of harming others, she only wants to protect herself. It's a bit like Jia Xu of the Three Kingdoms.

Jia Lian thanked him repeatedly and sent him to the gate of the courtyard wall in person. You kept stopping, and Jia Lian stopped. Looking at Youshi's graceful back, Jia Lian silently cursed Jia Zhen for not doing anything. He would have to find an opportunity to kill Jia Zhen for such a bad thing.

Back at the Dongkua Courtyard, another guest came, this time it was Mrs. Wang, who also sent some things needed for the exam, and said that they were made to the same standards as Jia Zhu. Jia Lian thanked him again and sent him off.

Back in the house, Jia Lian immediately told Guixiang: "Put aside the test box sent by the second aunt. Later, you can divide the food. Don't say it was sent by the second aunt, just say that I rewarded it." Guixiang listened. He nodded seriously, indicating that he knew what to do.

On the second day of February, the dragon raised its head. At Mao hour, Jia Lian got up, and the carriage and horses were ready. His attendant Changshou carried the book box, and Jia Lian got into the carriage. Maybe it was because it was too early, and only Guixiang and his maid saw him off.

In the darkness before dawn, a lantern and the crisp sound of horse hooves.

(End of this chapter)