Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 88: Secrets of the Imperial Palace (Please save this article and read it later!)

It was Jia Cong who came in from outside and said to Daiyu when he saw her, "I was in Sister Lin's room just now. Zijuan said you came to Third Sister's place."

Tanchun pushed Shi Xiangyun forward and said, "Brother Cong, this is Shi's sister Xiangyun."

Jia Cong laughed and said, "I have seen it just now in Rongqing Hall. I am sorry that Sister Xiangyun saw me scolding someone."

Shi Xiangyun joked, "Third brother Cong's words are like knives, so unpleasant. I really admire you. I won't dare to quarrel with you in the future, otherwise I will be like Wang Zhang, who was skinned and boned by you, haha."

Jia Cong saw that she was cheerful and innocent, generous and bright, pretty and charming, and also had a bit of tomboyish naivety, and her personality was also likable.

He also asked several sisters to choose the perfumes he brought, as this kind of thing is always the most popular with girls.

Daiyu asked him again about the college entrance examination. Jia Cong only said that tomorrow would be the day when the Ministry of Rites would announce the results, and he had already made an appointment with his classmates to go and watch it together.

When Jia Cong returned to Qingzhizhai, since he had not lived there for a long time, Wu'er and Qingwen brought a little maid to clean Qingzhizhai from front to back.

Jia Cong returned to the east study. Not far from the desk, near the window, there was a small rosewood table.

There was a small purple copper incense burner on the table. Wu'er had already lit a soul-purifying incense stick in it, and next to it was a pair of silver flower twisted wire bracelets.

Jia Cong took out a pure white porcelain bottle from his body and placed it next to the pair of bracelets. Inside was the perfume that Jia Cong specially made from peony flowers.

Wu'er and Jia Cong both knew that today was Zhishao's birthday. Jia Cong looked at the pair of silver flower twisted wire bracelets and thought of the days he and Zhishao had spent in the warehouse, and his heart was filled with sadness.

Since Zhishao's body was not found at the beginning, Jia Cong had always been hoping for luck.

But over the past few years, he had tried to find out, but to no avail. He and Wu'er had given up hope.

……

On the left wing of Rongxi Hall, in the room of Jia Zheng and Wang Fu-ren.

"Brother Cong's words today were really too much. With so many old relatives present, he showed no mercy at all. After all, they are his elders.

Fortunately, the master usually thinks highly of him. If he were to take the master's place, he shouldn't have done this."

When Wang Zhang left today, she cried and complained to Madam Wang, saying that she had come to pay the old lady a happy birthday but was humiliated like this, and she would never dare to come again.

Mrs. Wang felt upset after hearing these words. She blamed her sister-in-law for her rash behavior today, and hated Jia Cong for his harsh behavior and for not showing her any mercy.

Jia Zheng threw the book in his hand on the desk and said, "Humph, your sister-in-law ridiculed others for their humble birthday gifts in public, and she showed some leniency to them. This is not the behavior of a lady from a wealthy family.

She also humiliated Cong's mother as lowly in front of the old lady and so many elderly relatives. She had no regard for the reputation of the Jia family at all. She was punished in public, and it was her own fault.

My brother-in-law is also a nobleman in the court, how could there be such a woman who doesn't know the importance of the situation? She is really ignorant!"

When Mrs. Wang heard Jia Zheng's stern tone, she felt ashamed and her face turned pale. She just used her handkerchief to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes but did not dare to say a word.

The husband is the leader of the wife. Although Jia Zheng is usually mild-tempered, when he gets really angry, Mrs. Wang will never contradict him.

She was a woman from a wealthy family, she was thoughtful and attached great importance to rules, which was also her way of protecting herself in the Jia family.

Jia Zheng glanced at his wife and sighed in his heart. Ever since his eldest son died early and Baoyu was born, his wife had changed a lot. She and the old lady spoiled Baoyu all day long.

He had no idea how to discipline his son, and now he had cultivated Baoyu's character. It was common for a loving mother to spoil her son, which made him very disappointed in his wife, and the couple became increasingly estranged.

He has hardly ever stayed in Lady Wang's room over the years, otherwise how could Aunt Zhao have both a son and a daughter?

"My brother has returned from his business trip to Texas and will be back home tonight. He asked his attendants to tell him to come home early tomorrow morning to celebrate the old lady's birthday."

"The Ministry of Industry has an important official meeting tomorrow. I cannot be absent, so I will let you receive me."

Mrs. Wang felt sad when she heard this. The master was so partial to Cong'er, and her sister-in-law had embarrassed that boy in Rongqing Hall.

The master felt uncomfortable and even had resentment towards the Wang family. He even avoided seeing his own brother when he came to celebrate his birthday.

When Jia Zheng saw Mrs. Wang's expression, as they had been married for many years, he knew very well that she was thinking something wrong.

"Madam, don't think too much. It is indeed the ministry's business that is most important. Tomorrow, the Minister will summon us to discuss the construction of the Jinling Da Ci'an Temple.

The Da Ci'an Temple was built by His Majesty for his biological mother, Empress Dowager Xianxiao. This is the most important matter for the Ministry of Works. How can I be absent?"

Mrs. Wang felt relieved after hearing this. She was born into a wealthy family and knew some secrets of the palace.

The current Empress Dowager is only the Emperor's legal mother; the Emperor's biological mother is someone else.

It is said that the emperor's biological mother was just a maid named Zhang in Jingxiu Palace. She was favored by the emperor and gave birth to the prince. According to palace rules, the biological mother was of low status and was not qualified to raise the prince, so the emperor was raised by the queen since he was a child and was not close to his biological mother.

Later, when the emperor was sixteen years old, his biological mother died of illness. Until her death, she was only a fifth-rank concubine and was unknown.

It was only several years after the Emperor ascended the throne that he, against all odds, posthumously conferred the title of Empress Dowager Xianxiao on his biological mother.

Now that the emperor rules the world and commands power throughout the four seas, he misses his biological mother even more. He feels that she lived a poor life when she was alive and never enjoyed a single day of honor and glory, which makes him feel resentful.

Because Empress Dowager Xianxiao was from Jinling, she built the Da Ci'an Temple in Jinling so that her biological mother could enjoy the incense and show her love for her mother.

The ministers in the court who followed the old system strongly opposed this matter, but the emperor was autocratic and confronted many court officials.

Although the Jinling Grand Ci'an had already begun planning for its construction, censors still came out to make noises from time to time...

But his brother originally wanted to meet his own master to discuss the operation of the nine-province control. What's the point of meeting that uncle who wanders around and drinks all day long?

……

The main hall of the South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites.

In the middle of the year, the emperor appointed Guo Youchang, the former left vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, as the principal of Yongzhou Academy and the chief examiner of the Yongzhou Academy Examination in the 12th year of Jiazhao.

Since the Yongzhou examination was held in Shenjing, and the Ministry of Rites was one of the six ministries in charge of the imperial examination, Guo Youchang was appointed as the principal of Yongzhou Academy, and even his official residence did not move, which was convenient.

The Yongzhou Academy Examination had ended nearly ten days ago. The Ministry of Rites had selected more than thirty well-educated officials who were Jinshi graduates from the Imperial College, the six ministries, and various county governments to serve as examiners for this examination.

These people will select nearly two hundred students with excellent performance from the thousands of students taking part in the academy examination and select them to pursue the title of scholar in this academy examination.

After nearly ten days of arduous marking of papers all night long, they have screened nearly two hundred candidates for admission and determined the performance rankings of most of the students.

Currently, only the top three rankings in the college entrance examination have not yet been determined.

The top three candidates in the college examination will be selected from the top ten candidates who have been screened.

Yongzhou is a state under the jurisdiction of Shenjing, the first state in Da Zhou, and the place with the most prosperous learning atmosphere in the north. Those who can be selected as the top ten in the Yongzhou Academy Examination by these examiners are all people with brilliant essays and outstanding talents.

Because the best are selected from thousands of people, the difference in essay performance among the top ten is minimal.

More than 30 examiners were divided into five groups, and each group selected three people from the ten as the top three candidates for this college examination. Finally, the chief examiner Guo Youchang ranked the three candidates.

Just for this step, these more than 30 learned men argued for two days before they decided on it, and then presented the three selected test papers to the chief examiner Guo Youchang.

Guo Youchang was the runner-up in the palace examination in the 15th year of Yongshun, and his talent and learning were known throughout the world.

These three people were selected from thousands of test papers, and their writing talent is among the best among the students of the time.

Even someone as knowledgeable and far-sighted as Guo Youchang could not help but be delighted. It could be said that the test papers of these three people had their own merits and were equally good.

But his attention was more focused on one of the test papers.

The eight-part essay test question for this college entrance examination was taken from the Analects of Confucius: A gentleman cannot be respected if he is not serious, and his learning cannot be solid.

This test paper starts with "A gentleman, in his studies, should have the necessary qualities and must make every effort to learn." It is straightforward, original, and logical, and is refreshing.

Then he wrote:
If one's character is not respected, one's learning will not be solid. However, if one's Dao is not fully understood, how can one achieve success?
The ancient sages seemed to say: A gentleman studies by self-cultivation, but he must put prestige first.

If one's words and actions are superficial and frivolous, then one lacks the depth and substance;
When socializing, he is rude and slow, and his dignity is not evident.

Although it is said that learning is to understand goodness, I know that it is uncertain whether it exists or not, and it is not necessarily necessary to follow it and not lose it;

Although it is said that learning is to return to the beginning, I know that as you gain, you lose, and you may not necessarily work hard to achieve it...

Guo Youchang nodded continuously. It was extremely rare for a mere student to have such a broad and profound understanding of righteousness. No wonder he was selected as one of the top three candidates by dozens of examiners.

But what attracted Guo Youchang's attention was not only the extremely sophisticated writing of the eight-part essay, but also the outstanding calligraphy on the test paper, which was ancient, elegant, and unique in style.

Among the thousands of candidates, there are many who are good at calligraphy, but there is only one candidate whose calligraphy is as outstanding as this one.

Moreover, this style of calligraphy has never been seen before, and it has already become a unique style.

Even if this boy does not pursue a career in officialdom in the future, he can become a master of calligraphy just by virtue of his calligraphy.

Guo Youchang looked at the name covered on the test paper, which read Ding 137.

(End of this chapter)