Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 113: Combing Hair with Delicate Hands

Then there was his position as Fengyilang, an eighth-rank official, which was not selected by the Ministry of Personnel but was conferred by the emperor himself. According to palace rules and conventions, he needed to enter the palace to express his gratitude.

This morning, the Palace Ceremony Supervisor informed the Ministry of Rites that the time to enter the palace to express gratitude has been set at 2:15 pm after the court meeting tomorrow.

After finishing his official business with the priest, he went to the north hall of the Ministry of Rites to pay a visit to Guo Youchang, the left vice minister of the Ministry of Rites.

Guo Youchang also served as the principal of the Yongzhou Academy Examination and was the teacher of all the scholars who passed the examination.

Jia Cong was personally selected as the first candidate in the case by Guo Youchang, so the relationship between them was closer than usual.

Although the weight of a seat master is not as close as that of a professional master who teaches knowledge, in officialdom, the weight of a seat master is sometimes higher than that of a professional master.

This was Jia Cong's first official business trip to the Ministry of Rites, so naturally he had to pay a visit to the seat master, which was also an extremely important etiquette.

When Guo Youchang saw Jia Cong coming, although he said a lot of praise, he couldn't help but have other complicated emotions in his heart.

Jia Cong was not only a man of extraordinary literary talent, but also of first-class character and appearance. The selection of officials in all dynasties paid attention to "appearance, speech, writing and judgment". Appearance refers to the figure, which is almost a prerequisite for selecting officials.

A person like Jia Cong was chosen as the top candidate, and he, as the chief examiner, felt honored.

But this young man's fate is too bizarre.

He was falsely accused of being the son of a prostitute, but he became the emperor's leverage and defeated all dissenting voices in the court.

As the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, I have suffered a lot in vain.

Those quick-tongued censors in the Censorate are probably cursing me behind my back, fawning on the powerful, slandering the king, and changing their attitudes according to the wind, with all their original intentions gone.

Alas, Minister Guo has no way to express his grievances. He feels even more wronged than Dou E.

……

After returning from the Ministry of Rites, Jia Cong asked Wu'er and Qingwen to start packing their luggage, and told Jia Zheng that they would go to the palace to meet the emperor tomorrow.

Jia Zheng was very excited and surprised to hear this. Cong'er, at such a young age, could already catch a glimpse of the emperor's face. His future is promising and limitless.

But Jia Cong was not very enthusiastic about entering the palace to meet the emperor.

In the past few days, he thought carefully about the events before and after he was reported. He also heard from Cai Xiaoyu about the disputes in the court, as well as the imperial edict that Guo Lin read out in the Jia Mansion that day.

After sorting out all these things, it was clear to him that he was being used as a gun by Emperor Jiazhao this time.

Although he had gained a lot of benefits, he was still wary of this scheming emperor and kept his distance from him, wishing he didn't even have to meet him.

But it seems there's no way to avoid it, so just grit your teeth and get through it.

Now he really longed to go to Nanjing, because the waters in the capital were too deep.

Not to mention that there are many hidden plots in the Jia Mansion, none of these relatives are easy to deal with, and the court is even more treacherous and unpredictable.

He studied hard and got top marks in the exam based on his real abilities, but he was stabbed in the back for no reason and was almost punished to the point where he could not recover.

I went to Jinling to copy some scriptures, to stay away from gossip and to quiet my ears.

……

Qingwen was on duty that night.

But the little girl was a little nervous and excited. She tossed and turned and refused to sleep, as if it was she, not Jia Cong, who was going to see the emperor tomorrow.

She chatted a lot with Jia Cong on the small couch, her voice was sweet and clever, and she was lovely and pretty.

After tossing and turning for a while, I finally fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, at dawn, Qingwen surprisingly did not sleep in and jumped out of bed.

She helped Jia Cong dress and comb his hair, probably because she felt that since it was his first time to meet the emperor, she must make the Third Master look presentable.

Qingwen's hands became more careful and focused, and the process of combing her hair was unconsciously prolonged.

The wooden comb gently stroked Jia Cong's head again and again, tickling him slightly and he enjoyed it very much.

The little girl seemed determined not to let a single hair mess up, but she didn't expect that this action would be very hypnotic after a long time, and Jia Cong had just woken up from a long sleep. After a few strokes, he was made drowsy by the little girl's care. The wooden comb moved his long hair, and his head unconsciously tilted back, and it bumped into the rich and fragrant place, which seemed to be a little comfortable.

"Oh, Third Master!" Qingwen said coquettishly with a blushing face.

At this time, Wu Er came in and asked, "What happened?"

Qingwen was as flustered as if she had been caught. Her hand holding the wooden comb tensed up and her wrist accidentally pressed Jia Cong in a beautiful place.

Wu Er blushed and scolded, "Stupid girl, you can't even comb your hair properly."

Wu'er continued to go out to pack clothes for Jia Cong. Qingwen breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that Jia Cong was still leaning on her arms, she quickly pushed him away, her little face flushed as if on fire.

Seeing Jia Cong smiling at her in the mirror, she glared at him with her bright eyes: "It's all your fault."

Wu'er also brought out Jia Cong's brand new eighth-rank official uniform, which he had brought back when he went to the Ministry of Rites on official business that day.

The uniform of the eighth-rank official of the Great Zhou Dynasty was green, embroidered with delicate and colorful oriole patterns, which looked somewhat funny and festive.

I heard that the seventh rank officials wear blue official robes, so I will get promoted if I have the chance.

By the time Qingwen had combed Jia Cong's hair and washed his face, Si'er had already brought breakfast from the kitchen, and they all ate.

Wu'er and Qingwen began to help Jia Cong put on his official uniform, carefully smoothing out every wrinkle on the clothes.

Jia Cong felt a little dizzy when he saw the two pretty maids circling around him.

If they were not stopped in time, they would probably even resort to methods like applying powder and wearing flowers in their hair.

……

After the hour of Mao, Jia Cong set out. Yesterday, Jia Zheng had instructed Guo Zhigui to prepare a carriage to pick him up.

The reason for setting off so early was to enter the palace with the officials who were attending the early morning court.

The palace is heavily guarded. They won’t open the door for you just because you say so.

Only when the emperor specially summoned a close minister to the palace to make a report could he enter the palace outside of court meetings.

A newly promoted minor official like Jia Cong naturally did not receive such treatment and could only obediently follow the officials attending the morning court into the palace.

After entering the palace, he had to wait in the rest room for two hours. Only after the court was dismissed would the eunuch take him to see the emperor. He could not make any mistakes in the rules of the journey.

The officials from the Ministry of Rites had specifically instructed to demonstrate it yesterday. Fortunately, he was just simply meeting the emperor to express his gratitude, so the rules were not too strict.

When they arrived at the Meridian Gate, the place was already filled with the palace attendants' carriages and the officials' attendees. Many officials were talking in low voices with their familiar colleagues, waiting for the time to come when the Meridian Gate would open and they could enter the palace for court.

When Jia Cong got off the car, he attracted a lot of people's attention, mainly because he looked too young and was wearing a striking eighth-rank green official robe. He stood out among a crowd of red, purple and green people.

It was a rare sight to see an eighth-rank official in a green robe appearing at the Meridian Gate at this hour.

You should know that those who are qualified to enter the court are officials of the fifth rank and above in Beijing. Why is an eighth rank official here joining in the fun?

Only a few smart officials guessed who Jia Cong was from his official uniform and the boy's appearance.

At this time, three cannon shots were heard from the Meridian Gate, and the two huge vermilion doors inlaid with copper nails as big as cup rims rumbled open in the dim morning light.

As Jia Cong followed the crowd going to court into the Meridian Gate, he was stopped by the imperial guards guarding the gate. The reason was nothing more than that his sparkling green eighth-rank official robe was too conspicuous.

An eunuch from the Imperial Household Department had been waiting at the Meridian Gate. He stepped forward and asked, "Is this the Minister of Imperial Court, Xiao Jia?"

After checking the official documents from the Ministry of Personnel that Jia Cong brought with him, he took him to the rest room in the palace to wait. This room was specially used for officials who came to the palace to see the emperor to rest and wait.

When he entered the rest room, it was still dark outside. He had been waiting for more than two hours and was extremely bored, but he did not dare to step out of the rest room to wander around.

It was not until the sun was shining brightly outside that a eunuch arrived late and took him to the Qianyang Palace to meet the emperor and express his gratitude.

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　　Chapter 114 was successfully uploaded after modification, and its content is the same as Chapter 113.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)