Great Zhou Empire: Kill Zhao Kuangyin at the beginning

Chapter 435 The person in your eyes is the person in front of you (Special thanks to the book friend Shangshan Ruoshui Wuwei Zhihoude Hude Carrying Things reward!)
After the imperial edict of the successful candidates was announced, the Ministry of Rites, in accordance with the emperor's order, held the "Qionglin Banquet" and the "Yingyang Banquet" in the Jixian Hall and Wuying Hall in the front yard of the imperial palace respectively on June 15, the 32nd year of Kaixi.

According to Chai Zongxun's arrangement, the "Qionglin Banquet" in Jixian Hall entertained the Jinshi of liberal arts and business; the "Yingyang Banquet" in Wuying Hall entertained the Jinshi of military and engineering.

The chief examiner Kou Zhun hosted the "Qionglin Banquet" and Cao Bin hosted the "Yingyang Banquet".

Since the establishment of the imperial examination system in the Sui and Tang dynasties, ancient intellectuals could enter officialdom and join the upper class society based on their talents.

Chinese society has entered a society with full class mobility. As long as one has talent and knowledge, farmers, workers, fishermen and even peddlers can enter the upper class through the imperial examination.

To put it bluntly, the insistence on solidifying people into different classes is a vicious scheme of those in power to monopolize power for a long time. It is not stupid but evil.

Since the Tang Dynasty, Jinshi candidates have used various banquets after passing the exam to thank the hosts and keep in touch with their classmates. There appeared such names as the Grand Acquaintance Banquet, the Secondary Acquaintance Banquet, the Small Acquaintance Banquet, the Wenxi Banquet, the Cherry Banquet, the Moon Lantern Banquet, the Daba Banquet, the Peony Banquet, the Buddha Tooth Viewing Banquet, and the Guan Banquet.

Of course, the most grand and largest banquets were naturally the "Qionglin Banquet" and "Yingyang Banquet" bestowed by the emperor on the newly-minted scholars.

The banquet started on time at noon.

Ding Wei, the top scholar in the liberal arts who was sitting in the host seat, was in high spirits. He toasted Kou Zhun who was sitting in the host seat from time to time and expressed his gratitude frequently.

After several rounds of drinking, the atmosphere in the hall gradually became warmer.

As the most learned group in the empire, and also one of the most joyful events in life for those who had passed the imperial examination and entered the upper class, many people at the banquet responded with poems.

Kou Zhun looked at the pool of spring water outside the Jixian Hall and suddenly got inspired. He pointed to the flower pond outside the Jixian Hall, looked around at the new scholars in the hall, and said in a couplet:
"The sun under the water is the sun above the sky."

The first couplet compares the sun to Emperor Chai Zongxun, implying that the emperor's majesty is all-encompassing.

All the newly-appointed Jinshi candidates racked their brains for the second couplet, but no one, including Ding Wei, could come up with one for a long time.

When Kou Zhun saw that no one could come up with an answer, he felt both disappointed and proud.

Suddenly, Yang Yi, who was sitting in the fourth seat, chanted calmly:
“The person in your eyes is the person in front of you.”

As soon as this couplet came out, the whole hall was filled with praise and admiration.

The cleverness of Yang Yi's second couplet lies in that it implies that the sweetheart is the life partner of the person in front of him.

Kou Zhun sighed:

"That's right! That's right!

"This couplet by Da Nian has a lingering aftertaste, it is really wonderful! With Da Nian's talent, it is a pity that he ranked fourth!"

Yang Yi quickly left the table, bowed and thanked, saying:

"I feel so ashamed to be honored by my teacher."

Kou Zhun was the chief examiner of this year's imperial examination, and naturally he was considered the "mentor" of all the successful candidates of the same year.

Ding Wei, who was standing by, felt quite unhappy when hearing this.

As the top scholar personally selected by Emperor Chai Zongxun, the chief examiner Kou Zhun gave a couplet, but he failed to match it, and the fourth place Yang Yi stole the limelight.

After a few more rounds of drinks, Ding Wei saw that there were some food stains on Kou Zhun's beard, and he wanted to curry favor with this favorite of Emperor Chai Zongxun.

Ding Wei immediately stood up from his seat, bowed, and walked in front of Kou Zhun. He took out his handkerchief and carefully cleaned the food particles off his beard.

Kou Zhun felt a flash of contempt in his heart, thinking of the couplet he had just made, but Ding Wei, the top scholar, did not make a match, and he could not help but laugh:

"Ding Weizhi is the new number one scholar and a future minister of the country. Is he going to brush the beard of his superior?" Thousands of new scholars in the hall burst into laughter when they heard this.

Ding Wei's face turned red as blood in an instant. He was ashamed and angry. He hated Kou Zhun so much in his heart that he quickly retreated.

……

On that day, after waking up from his lunch break, Chai Zongxun thought of Han Jiyu attending the "Eagle Banquet" in the front yard of the imperial palace, so he went to Wuying Palace accompanied by eunuchs such as Tang Qi, the chief eunuch.

When Chai Zongxun entered the hall, the banquet had been going on for more than an hour. The military scholars were different from the civil scholars. They were all outstanding in martial arts and military tactics, and most of them had bold personalities. The engineering scholars were even more straightforward. At this moment, the whole hall was filled with the sounds of fist-guessing and drinking, and it was as noisy as the busy streets of Bianjing.

Even the host, Cao Bin, had drunk so much that his face turned slightly red.

Seeing the emperor coming, thousands of scholars hurriedly left their seats to greet him, and many of them were in a panic and claimed to be guilty.

After greeting, Chai Zongxun said with a smile:
"My dear ministers, it is natural for you to drink to your heart's content. How can I blame you?
Sit down and continue eating and drinking."

Chai Zongxun sat at the first table and persuaded all the scholars in the hall to drink a few cups. Then he ordered everyone to continue and specially summoned Han Jiyu to a side hall for a secret meeting.

After the greeting, Chai Zongxun gestured for him to take a seat, and Tang Qi personally brought a chair for Han Jiyu to sit on.

Chai Zongxun said:

"Yu'er, your father intends to arrange for you to join Cao Bin's 4th Corps and start as a thousand-householder.

Cao Bin has a steady and thoughtful personality, and will definitely be able to take good care of you and train you.

In the future, when you have made more achievements, your father will entrust you with important tasks and make you a duke or a marquis, without any problem!
If Yu'er has any requests, you can raise them with your father now."

Han Jiyu bowed and said:

"Thank you, father, for your grace!
You must be loyal to the emperor and serve the country and make many meritorious deeds under the command of Governor Cao!
Your Majesty has been very caring towards me, and I am content with everything. I only have one thing to ask of you."

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"Yu'er, just tell me."

Han Jiyu hesitated for a moment and said:
“Father, since I got married and started a family the year before last (the 30th year of Kaixi), I have been living alone in a courtyard of the “Duke Baoguo’s Mansion”.

My mother is now living alone in a separate courtyard, feeling lonely and cold. I would like to ask my father to issue an order to allow me to raise and take care of my mother."

After hearing this, Chai Zongxun felt sad when he thought about Lady Huarui's life.

Lady Huarui was a rare beauty in the world. When she was over ten years old, she was selected to be a concubine in the palace of Meng Shu. Soon she became the exclusive favorite of Meng Chang, the last emperor of Shu.

In the fourth year of Kaixi, when Chai Zongxun destroyed Meng Shu, Lady Huarui was escorted to the Bianjing Palace to meet the emperor. She was extremely stunning at the time, but Chai Zongxun was only twelve years old and was afraid of hurting her body, so he refused to take her into the palace, so he gave her to his trusted minister Han Hui.

When he entered the palace on New Year's Day in the eleventh year of Kaixi, Chai Zongxun and Lady Huarui became intimate and got together.

Later, Lady Huarui accompanied the emperor on the expedition and became pregnant. After returning to Bianliang, she gave birth to Han Jiyu at the end of the 13th year of Kaixi.

In general, except for the first few years when the two were together, Chai Zongxun often went to the Han Mansion's villa to have a tryst with Lady Huarui, but later he went there less and less frequently.

In the past ten years, Madam Huarui was already forty years old, and Chai Zongxun rarely went to the Han Mansion Villa a few times a year, and most of the time he went there was to visit his son Ji Yu.

It can be said that Lady Huarui came to Bian Jing when she was in her early twenties and is now fifty years old. The days she spent happily with Chai Zongxun were less than ten years. Her life can be said to be lonely and cold. The only thing that comforted her soul was that she gave birth to the "prince" Ji Yu for Emperor Chai Zongxun, who was the thing she was most proud of.

(End of this chapter)