Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 94: Winning the First Prize in the Imperial Examination (First Order Request)
Rongqing Hall.

Grandmother Jia sat upright on the couch in the middle, looking a little tired.

Jia She, who was sitting at the bottom, said, "Old lady, you have seen today that this beast thinks he is more and more self-righteous because he has read a lot of books.

It was really lawless. They even dared to use a knife to commit murder and made the son of the governor of the Beijing camp into that state. Wang Ziteng was a high-ranking official.

Fortunately, the Wang family is our in-laws, so we still have some face for them. If it were any other family, it would have brought disastrous disaster to the Jia family.

I would say that such a rebellious beast should have been kicked out of the house long ago, to avoid bringing trouble to him in the future!"

Mrs. Wang was filled with hatred at this time. Jia Cong had treated her nephew like that. Her brother, the governor of the Beijing camp, was humiliated when he came to celebrate the birthday.

When he heard Jia She say that he wanted to expel Jia Cong from the family, a light flashed in his eyes.

Grandmother Jia said angrily, "Just shut up. As a father, it's fine if you don't help your son, but you can't even see the truth. Your son acted a little too radically today.

But if that Wang family kid hadn't come here to cause trouble, would it have turned out like this? We, the Jia family, are right!
He is protecting the reputation of our Jia family. Otherwise, anyone would come and say that you are shameless, but I still want to keep my old face.

You are a drunkard, you are always thinking about plotting against your own son, and you even said something stupid about kicking him out. Aren't you afraid that others will laugh at you?"

Although Grandmother Jia disliked Jia Cong and was extremely partial to her children and grandchildren, she was not completely senile after all. She could distinguish between her own family and other families, and would not be partial to the Wang family.

When Mrs. Wang heard this, her face turned pale. The old lady was blaming the Wang family in her heart.

Jia She's face turned red after being scolded by his grandmother, and he dared not speak.

"In the past, we only knew that he liked to study, but we never thought that his calligraphy was so treasured even by the emperor.

Besides, the kid from the Wang family is a descendant of a military family and is a martial artist. How could he fall into the hands of that kid in just a few moves? Could he beat or kill him at will?
We don't know how many things he has done, and you, as his father, don't know either. He doesn't come back many times a year, so you should stop provoking him and let everyone have some peace and quiet."

Then he asked Yuanyang beside him: "Did he just say he was going to check the list?"

Yuanyang replied, "Yesterday I heard Qingwen say that the results of the imperial examination were announced at the Ministry of Rites today, and Third Master Cong invited his classmates to go and see it. Old Madam, how about I go and get the news?"

Grandmother Jia said, "It's better to keep an eye on him. After all, he is a member of the Jia family, so he won't talk too much. No one in the family remembers things like the exam, and Zheng'er will definitely ask about it when he comes back."

……

Under the east wall of the South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites.

The first list of Yongzhou Academy Examination was posted, pushing the atmosphere at the list viewing site to its climax.

Countless ardent eyes were focused on the top list written on red gauze paper, as if they were going to ignite the list.

This top list seems to have a magical power to bewitch people.

Some people found their names on it and were ecstatic or even cried bitterly.

Some people didn't find their names on the first three lists. They still held on to a last glimmer of hope, but were ultimately disappointed. Their faces turned pale, as if they had lost their parents.

When the first list was posted, a group of yamen runners in red appeared under the list. These people were delivering good news to the top candidates. There was also an official from the Ministry of Rites holding a list.

Once the top list is posted, these people will go to the candidates' homes recorded on the list and report the good news according to the distance they live. All families of candidates who pass the high school entrance examination will receive generous rewards.

This is a good job that these red-robed yamen runners look forward to every year, and only students who make it to the top of the list can enjoy such grand treatment.

Finally, everyone's eyes turned to the top of the list.

The crowd was surging, and countless people were pushing forward, wanting to get closer and see clearly who was the lucky person who won the first place in this year's college entrance examination.

Isn't it just for this moment of passion and glory that scholars work so hard and burn candles?

The surging crowd even pushed Jia Cong to the corner. From this position, he was still blind and could not see the names on the list at all. Finally, more and more people saw the name at the top of the list, and countless voices spread among the crowd: "Jia Cong! Jia Cong!"

Soon this name spread around like a rapid tide. When Jia Cong heard everyone around him chanting his name, he fell into a daze.

He was satisfied with his performance in the college examination. After the exam, he copied his test paper according to his memory and showed it to several teachers in the academy.

All the teachers praised his essay and said that as long as the examiner marked it normally, he would almost certainly pass.

This was also the reason why he seemed to be calm when looking at the list this time. Even though he couldn't see the list clearly from a distance, he was not too anxious. Since the probability of admission was very high, he was not in a hurry.

But when he heard countless people calling out his name, he realized that he had actually won the first place in this Yongzhou Academy Examination!

When he was still struggling to survive in the East Courtyard, even though he was expelled from the clan school by Jia She, he still studied hard.

During the nearly three years at Qingshan Academy, I studied hard day and night and never dared to slack off for a moment.

Fortunately, he had the guidance of books given by Mr. Jing'an. Since the old man also lived in Luocang Mountain, he was often generous in teaching him in person, which was a great help to his studies.

With the reading notes of Tanhua scholar copied by Lin Daiyu in his hand, his understanding of the imperial examination became increasingly profound.

The academic atmosphere and heritage of Qingshan College helped him lay a solid foundation in his studies.

Due to the accumulation of various internal factors, plus a little luck in the examination room, he actually won the honor of first place in the college examination.

It would be hypocritical to say that he was unhappy. Jia Cong was truly happy in his heart. Years of hard work had finally paid off. He passed the imperial examination and had the power to make his own future.

In the Jia family, which has not had any students for many years, a top scorer in the imperial examination holds great importance. He has already established a foundation for himself, and no one can look down on or ignore him anymore.

Among the crowd looking at the list at this moment, there were also many students from Qingshan College. They naturally knew who Jia Cong was and were excitedly looking for him in the crowd.

At this time, Jia Cong's wish had been fulfilled, and he had already quietly left the South Courtyard of the Ministry of Rites alone.

The news that Jia Cong, a student of Qingshan Academy and the son of Rongguo Mansion, had ranked first in the Yongzhou Academy Examination in the 12th year of Jiazhao spread quickly among thousands of students and throughout the capital.

Several yamen runners in red rushed to Rongguo Mansion on Ningrong Street in Dongcheng District to report the good news.

……

Jia Zheng participated in a meeting at the Ministry of Works on the preparations for the construction of the Da Ci'an Temple in Nanjing. The four departments of the Ministry of Works clearly defined their respective responsibilities, and Vice Minister Li Dekang dispatched Qin Bangye, the Construction Officer, to Nanjing to coordinate the construction of the Da Ci'an Temple.

In the court, many civil officials and nobles had complaints about the emperor building the Da Ci'an Temple to pray for his biological mother's soul.

Not long after the emperor ascended the throne, he posthumously conferred the title of empress dowager on his mother, who was only a fifth-rank concubine during her lifetime, which caused a stir in the court.

Although the emperor had only been on the throne for a few years at that time, he had already achieved a lot, worked hard to govern the country, and his power was already established.

The court officials also made some suggestions. However, after a Right Censor-in-Chief who was determined to submit a petition was found to have taken bribes and committed abuses of power by the Court of Judicial Review and was demoted to a remote place, the voices of opposition in the court died down.

It's just a woman who has been dead for many years and a seemingly noble title.

But now that the emperor wanted to build the Da Ci'an Temple to pray for his biological mother who had passed away many years ago, this again touched the nerves of the court officials' ancestral rules and etiquette.

Many people have built temples and erected monuments to pray for the Empress Dowager who has passed away many years ago, as the current Empress Dowager is still in the palace. How would the living Empress Dowager feel? This action is contrary to filial piety, righteousness, and etiquette.

But the emperor has made up his mind and will not tolerate any argument.

After all, the current emperor ascended the throne by extraordinary opportunity, and it was quite difficult for him to hold on to the throne, so it is inevitable that there is a haze in his heart.

After ten years of trials and tribulations, he has now conquered the world and his royal power is growing stronger. He misses his biological mother sincerely, but he also wants to use this incident to measure the world and see whether his royal heart is truly unique!
The court was still in a state of disarray, but the emperor had spoken. Li Dekang turned a deaf ear to the court's discussion and put the matter of building the Da Ci'en Temple on the Ministry of Works' agenda.

(End of this chapter)