Linxia

Chapter 170, No. Scholar

The sky gradually darkened and the lights were lit in the palace, making it as bright as day.

Emperor Hongtai finished reading the second part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms in one go until nearly midnight. After finishing it, he felt as if he had not read enough and felt lost. He smacked his lips and commented, "This is a wonderful book!"

He paused, and then said, "Unfortunately, after this book, all other popular novels are no longer worth reading!"

"Your Majesty, it's time for dinner."

"Ah."

Emperor Hongtai felt a little hungry before dinner. He called the imperial kitchen to serve him food and ate half a bowl more than usual. This was a great joy for the palace people.

Chen Daban thought that this was the result of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to find someone to urge the publication of the third part of this book?"

"No need."

Emperor Hongtai shook his head: "The writing is natural, and it was created by a master. If Fang Lin forced it, it would ruin the quality of the book and make it ugly."

As an emperor, he knew very well that governing a big country was like cooking a small fish. Many things were just like governing a country. More haste makes waste and things cannot be forced.

……

Two days later, the ranking of the palace examination was initially determined and submitted to Emperor Hongtai for review.

Emperor Hongtai looked at the list handed over by the cabinet. Generally speaking, he would not make any changes, but when he saw a name, he paused.

At the end of the second class, there is a familiar name: Dong Zugao.

It turned out that Fang Lin and Dong Zugao often drank and talked about everything under the sun and the general situation in the world. The topic of the palace examination was similar to a topic they had talked about before. Dong Zugao performed exceptionally well and got the last place in the second class.

Emperor Hongtai thought of the second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" which he had just watched two days ago, and summoned Chen Daban to ask about it.

'It is indeed this person.'

Emperor Hongtai thought to himself and looked at Dong Zugao's paper. It was not amazing, but there was a certain gap between him and the people in front of him, but it was not too big. After thinking for a while, he picked up his pen and marked him as the first place.

——In fact, the matter of selecting the top scholar depends more on the emperor himself. It is not as solemn as imagined, and it can even be called casual in many cases.

For example, during the first imperial examination of Daxia, the answer sheet of a candidate named Guo was extremely brilliant, and the examiner ranked him first. Xia Taizu was also satisfied, but when he called this person later, he found that he had a fair complexion, but was short and ugly. If the first champion of Daxia looked like this, wouldn't it be a joke if it was spread out? Later, a man named Wu Bozong was selected. Do you know why? It turned out that this man had a handsome appearance, and there was a "Bo" in his name, and Bo means big!

In this way, just because of his appearance and name, one became the top scholar of Daxia, which was a rare lucky man in the history, while the other missed the top scholar position because of his ugly appearance, which was an injustice in the history.

For example, there was another time when the number one scholar was being selected. Emperor Yongning had a dream in which he saw a huge nail on the top of the hall. He then asked someone to bring the list of candidates and looked through the names of the top three candidates one by one. Finally, he selected a person as the number one scholar, just because his name was Ding Xian, with the courtesy name "Heding".

For example, there was a man named Sun Yuegong, who was also recommended as the first by the chief examiner. However, in that era, typesetting was done vertically, and "gong" means "violent", which is unlucky, so he lost the top spot in vain.

All these incidents were committed by the previous emperors of Daxia. Take Emperor Hongtai for example, he was not a conservative person and sometimes he would do some cool things.

For example, nine years ago, during a palace examination, a scholar named Qu was originally selected as the top scholar. He was very talented and good-looking, and his personality and appearance all met the criteria for a top scholar. However, the night before the list was announced, Emperor Hongtai had a dream in which he heard thunder. You say, hearing thunder in a dream is not only a common thing, but also a common thing. Logically speaking, how could it affect the top scholar?

But when he woke up from the dream that night, Emperor Hongtai felt something was wrong, so he took out the list of candidates and took a look. After a glance, he really saw something. It turned out that there was a person whose name was particularly eye-catching on the list, and his name was Qin Minglei. He thought it was God's will, so he waved his hand and selected this person as the top scorer.

Therefore, Emperor Hongtai had a criminal record, so it was not surprising that he selected the top scholar this time.

'This Mr. Dong is really lucky, he also has a good sworn brother.'

Chen Dabaner secretly sighed and flattered: "Your Majesty has a keen eye for talent and has helped others achieve their goals. This will surely become a good story a thousand years from now."

After hearing this, Emperor Hongtai smiled a little on his cold face: "Go, pass this result to the cabinet."

……

One day later, the palace examination results were announced to the world, and Dong Zugao took the top spot, ranking first in the first class and becoming the number one scholar!

……

In the inn, Dong Zugao was reading the second part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms given to him by Fang Lin before he left for the imperial examination. He had read it twice, and this was the third time, but he could still feel its wonderfulness when reading it.

At this time, there was a noise outside, as if there was some big happy event.

"Yes, the results of the palace examination will be announced today. I think someone in the inn has passed the exam, or even the top three?" Dong Zugao thought so. He knew that even if he performed exceptionally well, he would most likely be in the top three, and it was still uncertain whether he would be in the top two.

But the noise was getting closer and closer until the door was suddenly pushed open.

The servant came in, his face flushed, and announced the good news loudly: "Congratulations to Mr. Dong for winning the first place in the imperial examination!"

"Me? Number one?" Dong Zugao suddenly stood up, unable to believe it, and asked back.

"It is Mr. Dong!" the servant repeated, "Congratulations to Mr. Dong Huizugao for winning the first place in the imperial examination and the Golden Palace."

After getting the confirmation, Dong Zugao felt as if he had been hit by a huge surprise. He felt light and fluttery all over. Scenes emerged in his mind. He thought of himself studying hard in the pavilion, and his grandmother came to visit him every morning and evening. He thought of his failure in the provincial examination three times, and the neighbors mocked him and said strange things. He thought of his family's decline, the lack of horses and horses in front of the door, and the broken engagement...

All the frustration and depression I had ever felt were released at this moment, and I felt full of energy and vigor.

At the same time, Fang Lin's figure appeared in his mind. It was the encounter with Fang Lin that changed his fate: "Brother Fang!"

Wow!
Dong Zugao lost his mind and the book in his hand fell down, the pages flipped, and the chapter that opened happened to be "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage, Liu Bei Met Zhuge", which seemed to foreshadow some kind of event.

At this time, not only the guests in the inn were congratulating and cheering, but even many Jinshi scholars came upon hearing the news and congratulated Dong Zugao, looking at him with envy.

There are three people in the first class who passed the imperial examination. The top scorer will be awarded the title of Hanlin Academy editor of the sixth rank, which is a Hanlin appointed by the emperor. Nowadays, there is an unspoken rule in Daxia that "only Hanlin can enter the cabinet." The second and third place winners also passed the imperial examination, but they are of the seventh rank; the second class is granted the status of a Jinshi, and is of the seventh rank, and usually goes to various departments in the capital; the third class is granted the same status as a Jinshi, and is of the eighth rank, and most of them are sent to other places.

Nowadays, Da Xia has been at peace for a long time, there are many people but few officials, and many of the second-class officials have been sent out to other places, and many of the third-class officials are waiting for vacancies. For example, the son of Mr. Yang from Huai'an Prefecture held a grand banquet just because he got a vacancy.

It can be said that although they are both Jinshi, the fate of the top scholar is very different from that of ordinary Jinshi. As long as they do not make big mistakes, they will surely become senior officials in the court in the future and have a promising future. With such connections, these Jinshi are of the same year and are naturally close to each other. How can they not want to get close to each other and build good relationships?

Dong Zugao regained his composure and responded one by one. His calm demeanor amazed his peers, who secretly thought that this was the style of a top scholar.

Afterwards, he will be paraded through the streets on horseback and his name will be called out in the Golden Palace. Needless to say, Dong Zugao's name as the top scorer will also spread throughout the world along with the result of this palace examination!

……

Let’s talk about the palace examination in Beijing.

In Huai'an Prefecture City, the second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" continues to be very popular. Not only people in the prefecture city buy it, but merchants from the counties below also come to purchase it, and they buy dozens of copies at a time.

The first batch of stockpiles was no longer enough, and what is being sold now is the second reprint.

In addition, thanks to the mature system developed for the first part, this time, the illustrated version, color-printed version, and various character cards of the second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" were launched one after another while the popularity was at its highest, thanks to Gu Yuyan and Shi Wenjun who had been prepared in advance... As a result, the ordinary version, illustrated version, color-printed version, and character cards of the second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" complemented each other and completely pushed the Three Kingdoms fever in the city to its climax.

The entire Huai'an city was surrounded by "Three Kingdoms" wherever you went. Storytelling was performed in teahouses and restaurants, and the book was adapted into plays. The book of Three Kingdoms had become known to everyone in the city, young and old, male or female.

Speaking of storytelling, Liu Mazi is naturally the best. Every night at the third watch, he would trim the wick of a lamp, drink a purple clay teapot of good tea, and sit in a plain porcelain cup, and tell stories in a leisurely manner.

There was constant cheering from the audience, and the shows were packed with people jostling for position.

Speaking of 'drama adaptation', the best one is naturally the fireworks show at Qinghuan Xiaoju. The new fireworks show in the city is 'Liu Guanzhang Visited the Thatched Cottage Three Times'. The fireworks set off the atmosphere. The good story and the good show, which caught up with the hot topic, caused a huge sensation.

The ticket price of one or two silver coins per show was always in short supply, and many fans went to buy the tickets repeatedly.

It can be said that with the launch of the second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", Fang Lin created a grand event and brought the city of Huai'an into an unprecedented and continuous carnival.

……

The second part of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was so popular that it certainly made a lot of money.

The main store of Xuan Mo Zhai alone earned nearly three thousand taels of silver this month, with a three percent share of the pure profit as a reward. The wages of the four shop assistants, Huang Di, Chai Yiwei, Liu Hongwen, and Geng Shi, also increased this month. Together with the basic wages, they all received more than twenty taels of silver. This was the first time they had tasted the sweetness, and although they were happy, they were able to control themselves and remain rational.

The profits of the two branches this month are slightly less, but not too different. They missed the first part last time, so this time they received such a 'huge' profit sharing reward for the first time. The two branch managers, Liu Hongru and Dai Zongqi, were both shocked; the guys recruited from the alleys were all stunned; Fang Chuanhui and Fang He, who came from Xiaohe Village and had never seen the world, needless to say, they were stunned for a long time after holding the silver.

Having made a lot of money, it was natural to distribute dividends, so Fang Lin gave them to Prefect Pu, the Dong family, Mr. Xu Kuo, and Manager Liu.

Prefect Pu was greatly surprised. As he had said before, this money could help him with great things and free him from the shackles of many relatives and friends.

Dong Zugao went to the capital to take the imperial examination, and Fang Lin sent him the dividends. This amount of money was a considerable sum for the Dong family. Dong's father and mother confirmed it again and again, but they couldn't believe it.

Xu Kuo Lao was happy about making a lot of money, but he was even happier about another thing, which was the character card. Ma Chao's character card used his face, and Xu Kuo Lao often showed off in front of his friends. He also customized hundreds of sets and gave them away as gifts, and buried many of them underground. When Xu Kuo Lao was drunk, he put his arm around Fang Lin's shoulders and said that these character cards should be kept as treasures, and that after thousands of years, future generations would definitely remember him... He also said that because of this, he wanted to open a separate page in the family tree, but was beaten away by the old man.

Shopkeeper Liu was also very happy when he received the dividends. He sighed repeatedly that investing in Fang Lin was the most correct thing he had ever done in his life. Two days later, the old couple bought a yard of their own. Because they held the financial power, their two daughters-in-law became quiet, restrained their tempers, and dared not even give them any objections. They would bring their grandson to their house every few days to please them.

……

That day, Fang Lin came back from buying some young bamboo shoots and soft-shelled turtles. When he entered the house, he saw Grandma Man leaving her home.

"Mom, Sister Xuan wants to eat something light recently, so why not stir-fry the bamboo shoots and stew the turtle to nourish her body."

Fang Lin said, and asked casually: "Why is Grandma Man coming to our house?"

Ever since Fang Lin reminded Grandma Man to fake her death and saved the other party's life, Grandma Man has been very nice to the Fang family. But perhaps because of what happened in the past, the Fang family also feels ashamed and will not come over to sit without any reason.

Fang's mother was a bit gossipy. When she heard Fang Lin's question, she immediately said to him excitedly, "It's because of Man Gensheng's marriage, which has never been successful... Grandma Man asked me for a favor, saying that she wanted to steal a Guanyin Bodhisattva from the temple and worship it at home. Grandma Man said that it's not that she couldn't bear to buy one, but she heard from others that the stolen Bodhisattva is more effective. She also said that Guanyin Bodhisattva saves people from suffering and disasters. If we worship her at home and respect her every day, she will show up one day and bless Gensheng to marry a good wife again."

"No, how does Grandma Man plan to steal? There must be monks guarding the store!" Fang Lin also became curious.

"Grandma Man said, take the incense and candles and go to worship the Bodhisattva, the monk will go away, and when the monk leaves, hide the Guanyin Bodhisattva under your clothes. She also said that the monks in that temple are very old and have poor eyesight, so they won't find it at all."

Mother Fang was so curious that she almost wanted to agree, but Tian Xuan pulled her back and she calmed down. She was also afraid that the Bodhisattva would blame the Fang family and ruin their finally better life, so she refused with regret.

Fang's mother talked about something else: "Mrs. Ou's illness has worsened again. Now, she has to ask the doctor to come every day..."

Fang Lin thought about it for a moment, put down his things, and went to check on Ou's family.

When he arrived at the door of the Ou family, he saw the doctor coming out. He looked embarrassed and shook his head at Master Ou: "Go and see him for the last time!"

Fang Lin was struck by lightning when he heard this. Although he knew it long ago... he didn't expect that this day would come so soon.

Master Ou staggered and had to be supported by Fang Lin before he could walk in.

The room was filled with a strong and lingering fishy smell. Mrs. Ou was lying on the bed, having fallen down due to a sore chest. Now she was in pain, pain, pain... There was no flesh on her body anymore, only bones, a body full of painful broken bones.

Master Ou sat down beside the bed. These days, he would touch Madam Ou's body every day to relieve her pain; he would move her carefully to avoid sores; when Madam Ou was in severe pain, he would cook some medicine for her to drink and let her sleep...

Now, as always, touch the body to relieve pain.

At this time, Mrs. Ou was no longer sober, and said to Master Ou: "Who are you? Why are you so kind to me?"

Fang Lin, who was standing next to him, heard this and felt an inexplicable sense of sadness and bitterness in his heart.

Mr. Ou opened his mouth but no words came out.

"Cough cough!"

At this time, Mrs. Ou's throat was filled with phlegm, and she coughed violently, and then she died. At the last moment, she suddenly opened her eyes wide, and there was a little light in her eyes. She seemed to have regained some consciousness and glanced at Mr. Ou and his two daughters beside the bed.

At this moment, her husband and her grown-up children were standing by the bed, waiting for her death.

This was Mrs. Ou's last look in this world. Just like that, she left this world with her broken bones, the pain in her bones, and her last look.

"Mom!" The two daughters knelt down in front of the bed and burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Mr. Ou held Mrs. Ou's hand, and at this moment, he seemed to be struck by great grief.

The setting sun shone through the window onto the old half of his face. He opened his mouth and blinked his eyes, once, once, and again. Suddenly he closed his eyes, inhaled, and his body trembled.

Afterwards, when sorting out Mrs. Ou’s belongings, a note was found in her clothes pocket.

——This was written by Mrs. Ou to kill her boredom and to fight the pain after she fell ill. Master Ou taught her to write, but it is unknown when this was written.

It says:

When I was eighteen, there was a great disaster and my father and mother died.

At the age of twenty-one, his son Zhuangzhuang developed a fever and died.

At the age of 27, the eldest daughter Niuniu died of coughing.

Eighty-one years old, sick, broken bones, living is worse than death...

He had done good deeds throughout his life, experienced all the ups and downs of life, but ended up like this.

……

(End of this chapter)