Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 112: Book Mountain Starts Again

After Jia Cong and Wu'er returned to Qingzhizhai, they soon heard a burst of joy coming from there, among which Qingwen's beautiful and charming voice was particularly ear-catching.

Not long after, Daiyu took Zijuan to Qingzhizhai, and Yingchun and Tanchun also came over with the good news.

Originally, the sisters were all very worried about Jia Cong, but in the end, there was such an unexpected result, and they were all happy for him.

Yingchun was already thinking that her brother Cong was going to Jinling. Copying scriptures for the Empress Dowager would take more than a few days, so he would probably have to stay in Jinling for a while, so he had to prepare his luggage early.

In addition to being filled with joy, Tanchun was also full of envy. She only regretted that she was not a man and could not, like her third brother, win the first prize in the imperial examination, travel around the world, and see the different scenery of the world.

Daiyu's beautiful eyes were filled with joy, and her face, which had seemed a little haggard, became radiant and charming.

But I feel a little melancholy in my heart. My third brother has gone to Jinling, and I don’t know when he will come back. I may not see him for a long time.

……

When Guo Lin was reading the decree in Rongxi Hall, maids and servants were kneeling on the ground outside the hall.

Soon, the news that Master Cong Sanye had won the first place in the imperial examination and was granted an eighth-rank official title by the emperor spread quickly throughout the Rong and Ning mansions.

Those dead-eyed people who had been gloating over other people's misfortunes, making sarcastic remarks, and waiting to see the show, all suddenly became silent, as if horse manure had been stuffed in their throats.

Wasn't it said that his honors and titles would be taken away and he would never be able to take exams again in his life? Why was he given an official title by the emperor now?

At this time, some shameless women came out and pretended to have foresight.

I told you that Master Cong Sanye was the Star of Literature, but you guys just kept talking nonsense and you didn't believe it. He had a very strong destiny. Others were killed, but he was fine and even got promoted.

Jia Cong lived a humble life in the Jia family since he was young. In the past two years, he has become more and more outstanding. He is jealous of others because he himself is not handsome. This is human nature.

Among the masters, there are those who are as sinister and scheming as Mrs. Wang, those who are as cold and calculating as Aunt Feng, and those who are as indifferent and indifferent as Lady Jia.

As the superiors set an example, the subordinates below will naturally have corresponding figures.

But after this incident, these people understood that the illegitimate son of the eldest wife, who had lived in a humble manner and was not even as good as a decent servant, had completely disappeared.

He is now the first in the thirteen cases, and has been conferred the title of eighth-rank Fengyilang by the Emperor. He is the most outstanding son of the twelve families of the Jia family in Beijing.

A person who can remain unharmed no matter how he is tossed around, and always has a way to turn things around and be successful.

In the next few days, the Jia Mansion became lively again, and the crowds of people who came to congratulate, which had disappeared a few days ago, began to gather again.

The world is fickle and people are fickle. When false is true, true is false. That's how it is.

However, Jia Cong took the six gifts and tuition fees prepared for him by Jia Zheng and went to Liu's house in Luocang Mountain to pay a visit to his master and his mistress.

Therefore, most of those who came to congratulate him had never seen this young councilor who was now famous in the capital.

This saved Jia Cong a lot of trouble in socializing.

……

In the past two years, Jia Cong studied at Qingshan Academy and often visited Liu's residence, which was also located in Luocang Mountain. He became familiar with most of Liu Jing'an's relatives.

Liu Jing'an's wife, Cui, was born into the Qinghe Cui family. She was not only proficient in poetry and literature, but also famous for her skill in playing the zither. She was a guest official at the most famous zither room in Shenjing, Zhiyin Pavilion.

Cui had always been very appreciative of this handsome, polite, diligent and hardworking young man. Now that she saw him becoming her master's disciple, she was naturally very happy.

She even took out a paulownia guqin from her collection and gave it to him as a gift, saying with a smile that if he wanted to become a disciple of the Liu family, he must learn both the master's method of managing his life and the master's wife's method of playing the seven-stringed instrument with clear sound.

This surprised Liu Yanxiu, because the guqins collected by his wife were all rare treasures, and even his own children rarely gave them to others.

This disciple of mine is of outstanding character and appearance, and is very much loved by my wife.

Liu Jing'an had two sons. The eldest son was the governor of Jiangxi, and the second son was the prefect of Qiantang. Neither of them was around. Most of the older descendants in the family had become officials. The descendants of the Liu family had studied in private schools since they were young. Thirteen years ago, when Liu Jing'an retired, he taught his children in the private school.

Together with the three branches of Liu Jing'an's brothers, seven Jinshi scholars emerged in the past ten years, enjoying a high reputation among scholars all over the world.

Scholars and juren were not uncommon in the Liu family. No wonder Liu Jing'an was called the learning saint, and the title was well-deserved.

Jia Cong worshipped Liu Jing'an as his master. He had a high seniority in the Liu family. He was respectfully called "little master uncle" by several Liu family members who were much older than him, which made him feel embarrassed.

Since Liu Jing'an accepted him as his disciple, teaching and answering his questions became the most important thing for him. It was not like before when Jia Cong came to him for advice, and he would just give him advice and suggestions based on the facts.

After Jia Cong passed the college examination, the next step for him was to face the autumn examination.

Historically, in order to enter school and become a scholar, as long as one was well versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and familiar with the study of craftsmanship, one would have the necessary conditions to pass the examination.

But the autumn examination was several times more difficult than the academy examination. In addition to the knowledge of a scholar, one had to be proficient in the eight-legged essay, the art of vertical and horizontal policy essays, and the method of examination poetry.

It is extremely difficult to pass the eight-legged essay in the autumn examination. To reach the level of passing, both talent and diligence are indispensable.

In order to write a good policy essay, candidates are required to study a large number of books on military affairs, agriculture, law, political theory, etc., so that the policy essay can be meaningful.

Therefore, there are many scholars in their teens, but few juren in their teens, because they are too young and do not have much time to read widely and accumulate knowledge.

Liu Jing'an knew that Jia Cong's trip to Jinling Da Ci'en Temple to copy scriptures for Empress Dowager Xianxiao would take at least three months and at most half a year, so a lot of time would be wasted.

Studying for the imperial examination is like rowing against the current. You cannot slack off for even a single day, otherwise you will get half the result with twice the effort.

So I took advantage of these few days to help him sort out the academic framework, teach him the key points of eight-legged essay writing, and the basics of policy essays.

He also sorted out the various insights and ideas he had written down and asked him to take them to Nanjing for study.

In this way, Jia Cong stayed at Liu's house for three days, until someone from the Jia Mansion came to report that the Ministry of Rites had sent a message asking him to go to the Ministry of Rites for official business in the afternoon. He then hurried back to East City.

……

After Jia Cong returned to the Jia Mansion and tidied up a bit, he went to the South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites.

The person who met him was Liu Jizu, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites.

Ever since Li Jizong, the Grand Master of Rites, had been recuperating from illness, Guo Youchang, the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites and the Left Vice Minister, reached an agreement with Emperor Jiazhao on the construction of Daci Temple.

Therefore, the issue of the etiquette and rituals for maintaining the Da Ci'en Temple became the most important official task of the Ministry of Rites.

Jia Cong, who was appointed as Fengyilang by the emperor, copied scriptures and prayed for blessings, which was an important part of the relevant etiquette.

That was why the Ministry of Rites sent a fifth-rank official to personally discuss relevant matters with him, which showed how serious the matter was.

Because of the students' complaint, Jia Cong and the Ministry of Rites were in the same boat. He was also the first choice personally selected by the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, so naturally he had a closer relationship with the Ministry of Rites.

This doctor in charge of ancestral temples had a close and favorable impression on Jia Cong, the overly young first-ranking councilor, and the communication between the two sides was smooth and pleasant.

This time, Jia Cong needed to copy a total of twelve Buddhist scriptures in Jinling, all of which were prayer scriptures carefully selected from the Taisho Tripitaka.

The most important ones include the four volumes of "The Sutra of the Dharani of the Secret Heart of All Tathagatas and the Whole Body Relics Seal in the Treasure Box", the two volumes of "The Sutra of the Original Vow of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva", and the two volumes of "The Diamond Sutra".

The copying had to start when the foundation stone of Da Ci'en Temple was laid and ended when the main hall of the temple was consecrated and completed, which took more than four months, so there was plenty of time for copying the scriptures.

Finally, it was decided to set off for Nanjing in ten days, because Qin Bangye, the construction official of the Ministry of Works, would go to Nanjing to supervise the construction of the Da Ci'en Temple. Jia Cong could go with him and sail south along the river on an official ship.

Jia Cong's mind moved. This Qin Bangye, the construction official of the Ministry of Works, must be Qin Keqing's father.

　This book is a historical fiction. We apologize for depriving Baidu experts of the opportunity to display their talents.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)