Reborn in the last years of Kangxi

Chapter 886 Follow-up
The dust in the afternoon of the fourth day of March left an indelible mark on the hearts of the people in the capital.

The yellow sand started blowing at the beginning of noon ([-]:[-] noon) and lasted for three or four hours until sunset.When the wind gradually subsided, the capital was covered with a layer of yellow sand.

Even in the courtyards of ordinary small households, half a shovel of soil is swept out, like the big courtyards of wealthy and powerful people, after cleaning and transfer, they can collect half a cart of yellow sand.This is something for later, let's not mention it for now.

When Cao Yong returned home from the Yamen of the Household Department, the wind and sand had not stopped, and the consequence of returning from the sandstorm was that his head and face were covered with sand.

Cao Yong was not at ease until he returned to the mansion, took a bath and changed his clothes.

Fortunately, in the Kangxi Dynasty, sandstorms were unusual and rarely happened in a hundred years.Otherwise, just like the later generations, it is really unbearable to have a sandstorm all spring.

"Brother-in-law, the birthday gifts for the Longevity Festival have arrived, should they be sent to the House of Internal Affairs as soon as possible?" Chu Yu asked after seeing her husband change his clothes.

"There's still half a month left, let's put it in the warehouse first, and wait a few days to see the limelight of other houses." Cao Yong thought for a while and replied.

Kangxi's preferences are becoming more and more deliberate, and the annual Longevity Ceremony is also a time to test people's hearts.Going with the crowd will make people feel indifferent; if you stand out, you don't know who to offend.

Chu Yu took the towel, helped Cao Yong dry her hair, braided her braids, and said: "The fifth uncle is the second, the second old lady is serving wine in the east courtyard, and the old lady has already taken Tianyou and the others to the past, and told me to wait for the master to come back. Let’s go together too.”

Cao Yong listened, looked at the clock on the ground, and said: "It's getting late, let's go over."

The wind outside had died down, and only the shoes fell on the ground, and the dust raised up around the feet witnessed this "anomaly".

East Mansion and West Mansion are connected by a corner gate in the middle, so there is no need to take a detour to the front yard.

When Cao Yong and Chuyu arrived at Jiaomen, there was already the woman in Zhaojia's house waiting here.

"Elder Master, Eldest Madam, our old lady has kept this old slave waiting for a while." The old woman leaned over with a smile all over her face.

Cao Yong waved his hand and told the woman to get up, and the husband and wife went to Zhaojia's yard.

*
Zhaojia's courtyard, the upper room.

The female relatives are in the back room, and Cao Fu is in the outer hall with his nephews. There is laughter inside and outside the room.

Although the wind and sand blowing in the afternoon was very evil, in the eyes of women and children, this is something that ordinary people can worry about, and it is better for each family to take care of each other.

Even on Cao Fu's side, he only heard Xiaoman's announcement, and he only heard about the follow-up before the Ministry of Rites. He knew that the wind was too strong, and the list was just blown off.

He was already filled with boundless joy, listening to his nephews chattering about the imperial examinations and patiently answering the children's questions, he didn't feel bored at all.

Tianyou is already ten years old this year, he is quite tall, he has inherited his parents' good looks, and is much more handsome than Hang Seng and Zuo Cheng.

In addition to being on the list of uncles, Mengshi Qian Chenqun was also on the list, Tianyou said: "Uncle Wu, sir also passed the exam, is it just like Uncle Fourth, going to other places to be an official and never coming back Our family?"

Cao Fu nodded and said with a smile: "Your husband is a great talent, and he should be awarded. With his talent and learning, even if he does not get the first class, he will be second class. Most of them stay in the capital and enter the Imperial Academy."

Tianyou couldn't help smiling when he heard this.

Hang Seng and the others heard about their former master, and said, "I haven't seen you for a long time, can you go and pay your respects to him?"

This one said: "Mr. lives outside the city, but it's far away. My foster father won't allow us to go."

While talking, I heard a servant girl say: "Master, Mrs.!"

It was Cao Yong and his wife who arrived. Cao Fu and his children got up and met them.

"Congratulations to Xiao Wu." Cao Yong was also in a good mood, smiling at Cao Fu.

Chu Yu also said congratulations, but Cao Fu felt a little embarrassed and said, "It's all luck."

Cao Yong said a few more words to the child, then he and Chuyu, together with Cao Fu, went into the back room to greet Mrs. Zhao Jia.

Mrs. Zhao Jia and Mrs. Li sat on the kang and talked about their daily life, while others sat or stood beside them, and the room was full of flowers.

Because Jinghui and Suxin are also on the side, Cao Yong, the uncle, can't stay in the back room for a long time. He met Li Shi and Zhao Jiashi, so he came out with Cao Fu.

In the back room, Zhao Jia's voice was loud, and he was already talking about inviting guests and setting wine.

Three years ago, Zhao Jia's most embarrassing thing was that the concubine won the Tanhua prize and the legitimate son lost the ranking.Now, the youngest son is half a step away from being a Jinshi, how can she not be happy?
In addition, in the past few years, the Cao family has not had any happy events, and the two houses have been silent for a long time, so she also wanted to make it lively.

Cao Fu was a little helpless, and complained to his cousin in a low voice: "Since we got the news in the afternoon, our old lady has been talking about it. There is still a test for the palace, and now it's just a joke. It's a joke."

When Cao Yong heard it, he remembered what Jiang Jian said in the afternoon about "unstable performance", and asked, "Is there any candidate in your room who is not suitable?"

"The examinee is wrong?" Cao Fu was a little surprised when he heard this, and said: "There is nothing wrong with it. Those who wanted to take it privately were found by the guards before the end of the court. It's just that I told you that there is an empty house. I don't know if it was delayed by other things, or there was something prohibited, but it didn't end anyway." Speaking of this, he paused, and said: "Brother, when Zhang Shilang was on tour, my younger brother saw him... Do you remember my little brother?" I met him when I was young...now he is old and out of shape...I heard that he is not proud now, my uncle mentioned him several times before his death, so I feel guilty..."

This is about Zhang Boxing, which involves old cases.

Cao Yong also heard his father mention it in his early years, but because the Li family was involved in the Gali case, Cao Yin had no choice but to sit on the sidelines, knowing that Zhang Boxing was wronged, and did not speak for it.

On the surface, he is jealous of the Li family. In fact, Cao Yong knows that there is only one person in this world who can make his father go against his original intention, and that is the one on the dragon chair.

For most of their lives, Cao Yin and Emperor Kangxi did not know the emperor's fear of Han officials.

Zhang Boxing's defeat was not due to his tit-for-tat confrontation with Gali, but because of his "prestige".

Thinking of this, Cao Yong secretly rejoiced that, fortunately, his father resigned from Jiangning's weaving job before his death, otherwise the father and son would inherit it, and the Cao family's fate would be very bad.

If it is said that the capital city is a pool of water, with dragons and tigers in it, and the bottom is not bottomless; then the officialdom in the south of the Yangtze River is like a frying pan, cooked with blazing fire and oil, greed can not be cleared, and the scale is very difficult to grasp.

"Above the officialdom, how can you do everything according to your heart? You are getting older, and you are about to enter the officialdom now. You must remember one thing. On the premise of preserving your stature, it is a great good to make a difference. Greed makes people crazy, but lack of desire is hard. This Greed is not only greedy for money, but also greedy for fame. Ga Li was greedy for money and died, while Zhang Boxing was greedy for fame, and he lost his kingly heart. This is a lesson from the past." Cao Yong thought about it for a while, and said to Cao Fu.

After Cao Fu listened, he pondered over his cousin's words carefully, his eyes gradually cleared up.

Cao Yong has a smile on his face, but there are still hidden worries in his heart.

Not to mention others, but those censors, because of the yellow sand, had to catch wind and start looking for "sinners".

God "warning", no one dares to blame the emperor, so the minister needs to be blamed, I don't know which unlucky guy will catch up with this...

*
Inside the Anding Gate, Prince Yong's Mansion, the living room.

The seventh elder brother came to pass the oral order, and the fourth elder brother knelt down to listen, and stood up after saying "the minister has received the decree".

Kangxi has already decreed that the third elder brother and the fourth elder brother will lead the other six people to grind the original test paper.

Although it is said that the Aixinjueluo family is the world, the emperor does not rely on his clan or the Eight Banners to rule the country, but on scholars.

The imperial court cherishes its face and will not make a big "imperial examination fraud case"; Kangxi also loves his name and does not want "faintness" to be written in the history books.

This subject will be examined, and strict investigation is required, so as to reassure the minds of all the students in the world.

"It's just me and the third brother? Where's the seventh brother?" The fourth elder brother heard that he and the third elder brother took the lead, and was a little puzzled: "The seventh brother happens to be in charge of the Ministry of Rites. Why didn't Huang Ama order the seventh brother?"

Seventh elder brother smiled bitterly and said: "The examination is presided over by the Ministry of Rites. Now that this incident happened, my younger brother is also responsible for it. Huang Ama's failure to ask the crime is already a lenient, why would you allow me to intervene in this matter? It's not just me , this time the probing will test the original papers, and the Ministry of Rites doesn't have a single one."

The fourth elder brother couldn't help being stunned when he heard this.

This shows that the emperor is not only suspicious of a few examiners, but also the whole Ministry of Rites.

Seventh elder brother ran all afternoon, without saying a word, and he hadn't had any water or rice for half a day. After delivering the order, his stomach was already screaming "cuckoo".

Seeing this, the fourth elder brother said: "Seventh brother hasn't eaten yet? Let's use it here, I just finished my work."

Hearing the words, the seventh elder brother just wanted to say that you are welcome, and he should go back home first, but when the words came to his lips, he remembered the matter of the fourth elder brother's sacrifice to the mausoleum last month, and thought of being rejected, please seal the paper, he changed his words abruptly, and said with a smile : "Since that's the case, I'll bother the fourth brother. But I have to trouble the fourth brother to get someone to pour some water first, and let the younger brother wash the sand on this face..."

*
The next day, when Cao Yong arrived at the Yamen, he heard a message from the head of the hall that the fourth elder brother had an invitation.

When Cao Yong arrived at the room where the fourth elder brother worked, several servants had already arrived and were standing there, listening to the fourth elder brother's talk.

Cao Yong stepped forward, greeted the fourth elder brother, and retreated to Zhang Bo's line.

The fourth elder brother was looking up at Cao Yong, just in time to see Zhang Boxing who was standing and shaking with his hunched body, frowned and said: "Show Mr. Zhang a seat!"

The hall master who was standing by the side, heeding Si elder brother's order, brought a small stool and placed it behind Zhang Boxing.

Zhang Boxing repeatedly said "Don't dare", and finally sat down carefully under the gaze of the fourth elder brother.

"The two ministers haven't arrived yet? Send someone to remind you?" Si elder brother got impatient and ordered to go on.

Before the words fell, I heard the footsteps of "Deng Deng", and the two ministers came together.

Seeing this, Zhang Boxing got up from the stool.The fourth elder brother waited for the two ministers to meet and greet, and then asked someone to press seats for them, so Zhang Boxing sat down again.

"I have obtained the emperor's order, and I will go to the Ministry of Rites tomorrow to grind the original papers of the current scientific examination. I guess it will take a few days. I have some errands in the yamen, so I will temporarily trouble your lords." The fourth elder brother said.

After hearing this, several sitting officials stood up and said, "Don't dare!"

The atmosphere in the room was a bit weird, Zhang Boxing looked dull, and the other people also had different expressions, only Tian Congdian looked at his nose and heart, not knowing what he was thinking.

The so-called grinding the original volume is to check the scholars on the current subject list one by one.

Cao Yong's heart was heavy, not afraid of anything else, but afraid that his cousin would be implicated for no reason.Regardless of whether someone really "cheated" in this subject, but at this point, the appearance of two princes and princes and two university scholars would always stir up some controversy.

Ordering someone to conduct a thorough investigation at this time can certainly temporarily appease Juzi and give him an explanation, but it is also a way of fueling the flames.

Leaving aside the candidates in the pilot test, the candidates who failed the test may have seen the arrangement of the court and became more and more convinced that there was a "fraud" incident and that they were about to make a fuss.

After the fourth elder brother explained the errands of the household department, the next day, together with the third elder brother and several other officials appointed by the imperial decree, a total of eight people went to the Ministry of Rites to review the papers.

While reassuring his cousin, Cao Yong asked him to stay at home honestly and not go out to socialize recently; at the same time, he made people stare at a few guild halls gathered outside the front door.

On Qian Chenqun's side, Cao Yong also made a special trip to send Xiaoman to talk.Qian Chenqun is from Zhejiang, he is well-known among the scholars, and he knows many relatives and old friends. Cao Yong was afraid that he would be involved.

His premonition was right, on the tenth day of March, the seventh day when the Ministry of Rites released the rankings, the excitement of the crowd finally couldn't hold back, and more than fifty people gathered at the gate of Li Fu, the assistant chief examiner of the examination and the left deputy capital censor. forward.

It was also Li Fu's bad luck. Among the four examiners, he was the only one who rented a house outside the front door.The rest of the people were all senior ministers who were valued by Kangxi, and they were given a mansion in the inner city with Grace.

In the inner city, there are people from the Yamen of the Infantry Commander, and people from the Inspectorate, patrolling back and forth, and the scholars dare not block the Shangshu Mansion to make a fuss.

After all, those three, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Zhang Penghe, held everyone's future in their hands, who would dare to offend them.The remaining minister of the household department, Tian Congdian, is known as the "iron-faced censor"; Zhang Boxing, the minister of the household department, is a well-known upright official.

This persimmon is a weak one. Compared with those three, Li Fu is younger and less experienced. In addition, when he was the official examiner of Jiangnan Township Examination in his early years, there were also rumors of "fraud in the examination room", so the boundless anger of the failed candidates, It burned on his head.

*
Qianmen, Caochang Shitiao Hutong, Li's house.

A not-so-thick wooden gate separates two worlds inside and outside Li's house.

Outside the gate, dozens of people "bumped" the gate, shouting Li Fu's name; inside the gate, several housekeepers of the Li family held sticks in their hands and stared at the gate. , for fear that someone from outside would rush in.

Li Fu was wearing an official uniform, standing in the yard, his face was shockingly pale.

Seeing the door creaking, the housekeeper finally couldn't help it. He came to Li Fu and said in a low voice: "Master, this door is not strong, and there are more and more people outside...Master still avoids the door in the backyard." Just avoid it..."

Li's house was rented in a small courtyard with three entrances, and the third one was occupied by two young ladies from the Li family who had not left the pavilion, so they did not leave a back door like other houses.

What the housekeeper meant was to ask Li Fu to climb over the wall from the backyard.

After hearing this, Li Fu was silent for a while, shook his head, and said in a deep voice: "I won't leave, I have no shame..."

At the entrance of the alley, there are swaying figures, and the sound of horses' hooves drifting away.

"Hahahaha!" Brother Nine's laughter was wanton, and his mood, which had been gloomy for several days, finally cleared up: "Go, tell that kid Gu Na to keep an eye on that side, be smart..."

(End of this chapter)