The Red Chamber: The Rise of the Lin Mansion

Chapter 182: Township Examination

Lin Yun's birthday was in the middle of May. Since he had to prepare for the provincial exam, he didn't celebrate it too much. Instead, he prepared a banquet in the mansion and invited a few relatives and friends to get together.

However, a few days before his birthday, he still received congratulatory gifts from Daiyu, Shi Xiangyun and Sanchun sisters from the capital.

The person who came to give the gift was Wang Xifeng's servant Laiwang, who was sent by Wang Xifeng to manage the accounts at the perfume shop in Jinling.

Naturally, it was impossible for Lin Yun to hand over the accounts to an outsider. He asked Lai Wang to work as the second manager in the perfume shop, only responsible for helping Wang Xifeng collect the accounts, and he was not allowed to intervene in any affairs of the shop.

...

In mid-June, the Imperial College officially closed, and most of the scholars stayed in Jinling to make final preparations for the provincial examination in August.

At the end of June, Mei Ruoao, the chief examiner of Nanzhili Township Examination appointed by Emperor Zhide, and Mei Ruoao, the right concubine of the Hanlin Academy, arrived in Jinling, pushing the atmosphere of the township examination to a climax.

Not long after Mei Ruoao arrived in Jinling, it was reported that the date of this year's rural examination was set for August [-]th.

Lin Yun had already received the news that he would be the examiner before Mei Ruo'ao arrived at Jinling. Even Mei Ruo'ao's articles when he passed the imperial examination and passed the Jinshi examination were already on his desk.

However, Lin Yun's mind at the moment is not all on the rural examination.He learned from Jia Yucun that the Mongolian leader Alatanbu publicly rebelled against Chu in early June.

Now, the court just couldn't think of sending troops.If the imperial court increases troops to the northwest, the leading general besides Prince Xuan will be Prince Teng.

Based on Lin Yun's knowledge of the Son of Heaven, Emperor Zhide would most likely send Prince Teng, the commander of the Beijing camp, to lead the expedition.As compensation for Wang Ziteng, Jia Yuanchun will definitely succeed in choosing a concubine.

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Since the capital is too far away from Jinling, Lin Yun could not receive the news in time, so he could only focus on the rural examination.

...

Before the night fell, little lights gathered in front of the Jinling Tribute Courtyard from all over the place.

The scholars gathered together and the crowd was noisy.The first scientific examination of the Southern Zhili Township Examination begins today.

The big competition held every three years attracts the attention of Jinling City.

Compared with Beizhili, Nanzhili is the strongest place in the country's imperial examinations, not one of them.

When it was getting dark, Lin Yun held the test basket in his hand, said goodbye to Xiao Mo and Zhong Yi, followed a row of scholars to the front of the dragon gate, accepted the inspection by the guards, and prepared to enter the arena.

Not far behind Lin Yun, Tian Sheng was also holding a test basket and nodding at him.This person had already experienced the blow of failing the provincial examination once. Based on Lin Yun's understanding of his writing skills, his probability of winning was a few points lower than his own.

In front of Lin Yun, there was a young man with a weak crown in a blue shirt, named Zhao Lin, who was also Lin Yun's classmate in the Imperial College, his scriptures were very well written, and he was deeply loved by Cao Shaoqian, who offered sacrifices to the Imperial College. He is also known as the most promising scholar in the Imperial College.

Zhao Lin is also from Suzhou, and he is from the same hometown as Lin Yun.However, the two did not have much intersection in Guozijian.

Zhao Lin was very dissatisfied with Lin Yun getting involved with a few dudes, thinking that he was self-destructive.

After both of them were examined at the same time, Zhao Lin took a deep breath, stretched out his hand to Lin Yun and said, "Brother Lin, please!"

Lin Yun nodded and smiled, "Brother Zhao, please!"

After giving in, Lin Yun took the first step and walked into the examination room, feeling as if he had taken the college entrance examination in his previous life.

He secretly said in his heart: "Regardless of whether he can win the exam this time, he must rush to the capital as soon as possible. That is the main battlefield of his life."

...

In the morning, Li Mansion.

Li Hongyi received a message from the servant, saying that his father had asked him to come and question him.

He hurried to the main hall of the inner house, and saw his old man drinking tea leisurely.

Li Hongyi stepped forward to salute and said, "My son pays his respects to his father."

Li Shouzhong nodded slightly and said, "Yi'er, today is the last day of the provincial examination, right?"

"Exactly."

Li Shouzhong: "Based on your guess, can Boy Yun be on the list this time?"

Li Hongyi said in his heart: "I can't guess this right. There are too many accidental factors in the scientific examination. If there is a slight mistake, years of hard work will be in vain."

After thinking about it, Li Hongyi still replied: "Reporting to my father, brother Yun has been studying hard for the past few months, and his level of scriptures and essays has improved rapidly. As long as there are no mistakes, he should have a chance to be on the top of the list."

Li Shouzhong nodded slightly, and then changed the topic: "Boy Yun is going back to the capital next month. Your mother wants your aunt and two nieces to come to Beijing with him. What do you think?"

Li Hongyi was taken aback when he heard the words, his second aunt's natal family was in the capital, and his father asked his second aunt to bring the two nieces back to Beijing at this time, what was his plan?

"Father, do you and your mother let the second aunt and two nieces come to Beijing, do you want them to stay in the capital for a long time? Or just let them go back to Beijing to visit relatives?"

Li Shouzhong sighed softly and said: "Your uncle is no longer here. Although our father and son can also take care of their mother and daughter, we are still separated by one layer. Besides, it is difficult for your two cousins ​​to find a good match here in Jinling. You The mother and the father think that they should be sent to Beijing to plan ahead for the two little nieces."

After a pause, Li Shouzhong added: "Your sister must be having a hard time in the Jia family. With your aunt here to take care of her, your father and your mother can feel more at ease."

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Li Hongyi nodded hurriedly and said: "Father arranged it very well. I wonder what the child can do?"

Li Shouzhong: "Your aunt and the others have gone to the capital, and they still need the help of Boy Yun to take care of them. Some things are not convenient for a father to say. You should find an opportunity to talk to Boy Yun."

Li Hongyi: "Okay, after the exam is over, I will go talk to Brother Yun."

Li Shouzhong: "You tell Boy Yun to take care of your sister and my little nephew after he returns to Beijing."

"Ok."

...

At the same time, Aunt Xue and Baochai were also talking about Lin Yun's participation in the provincial examination.

Aunt Xue said to Baochai, "After the provincial examination, Brother Yun will return to Beijing soon. We should make preparations early so as not to be in a hurry."

Baochai comforted her with a smile: "After the provincial examination, we still have to wait for the announcement of the results. I'm afraid we still have to wait."

Aunt Xue: "By the way, how long will it take to release the list?"

"I heard from my brother that the list will be released at the end of the month at the earliest. If it is slow, the list will not be released until the beginning of next month."

Aunt Xue said with a smile: "It's still you who are careful, and actually found out all these things clearly."

Baochai blushed when she heard the words, and she explained with a guilty conscience: "My daughter also heard what my brother said, and she didn't ask for it on purpose."

Seeing the shy look on her daughter's face, Aunt Xue said inwardly that it was a pity, if Brother Yun hadn't already engaged in a marriage, he and her daughter would be a perfect couple.

Baochai didn't guess what her mother was thinking. She thought in her heart that when she went to the capital, she must meet the girl who was praised by Lin's brother and see how outstanding she was.

Chapter 183: It's the bottom of the list again

The ancient rural examinations were more torturous than the modern college entrance examinations.Even a top student like Lin Yun, who has experienced the grind of the modern college entrance examination, was locked up in the Gongyuan for three consecutive days, and when he came out, he felt like a serious illness.

After resting at home for several days, Lin Yun slowly recovered.

Next, while waiting for the announcement of the rankings, Lin Yun packed his bags and prepared to leave for the capital.

Fourth Master Zhu seemed to have forgotten about his granddaughter, Zhu Zhu. After he left last time, he never sent anyone to pick her up.

Pearl was very happy here, and she didn't mention going back to the Four Seas Gang. Lin Yun asked her if she wanted to follow her to the capital, and the girl agreed without thinking.

Pearl was easier to deal with, but Miss Liu gave Lin Yun a headache.This girl's identity is very sensitive, so it's definitely not possible to stay in Jinling. Taking her back to the capital would be difficult to explain to her elders.

While waiting for the announcement of the rankings, Lin Yun was invited to Li's Mansion again, and was forced to take over an errand to bring Li Hongyi's aunt and two cousins ​​to Beijing.The two little girls are Li Wen and Li Qi, only seven or eight years old.

After hearing this, Lin Yun secretly complained that the Li family and his son trusted him so much that they were not afraid of any troubles when they asked him to take a young widow and two little girls on the road.

Fortunately, Aunt Xue's family is also going to Beijing, so they can stay with Aunt Li's mother and daughter.

...

On August 28, the scholars who participated in the provincial examinations gathered near the Gongyuan, anxiously waiting for the news of the results.

Lin Yun, Tian Sheng, Zhao Hongming, Qiu Mengjie, and Zhou Lin gathered in a restaurant and waited.There were also many scholars from Suzhou waiting in this restaurant, and Zhao Lin was among them.

An anxious atmosphere filled the air.Everyone understands that the fateful moment is approaching.

Zhao Hongming, Qiu Mengjie and Zhou Lin are relatively relaxed. The three of them are all cute supervisors. They don't need to take the provincial examination. They can go directly to Beijing to take the Jinshi exam next year. Of course, whether they can pass the exam is another matter.

During this period, scholars came upstairs to wait from time to time, and everyone greeted each other.

Lin Yun is also well-known in the Guozijian, there are not a few people who know him, and everyone is joking with him, saying that he is sure to win this time.

Zhao Lin was very upset to hear that, he was a top student in the Imperial College, and he thought that his essays on classics and righteousness were much better than Lin Yun's, but Lin Yun had an essay on Ping Nan Ce, and the scholars all looked at him with admiration.

A scholar in his early twenties cupped his hands at the crowd and said, "I am Shangguan Jie, a scholar from Yangzhou. I heard that the Great Khan of Mongolia, Alatambu, rebelled. You all think that I, Great Chu, should send a large army to suppress the rebellion. Or should we send envoys to Mongolia to persuade Alatanbu to return from his lost way?"

Zhao Hongming: "Needless to say, it is natural to send a large army to suppress the rebellion."

Zhao Lin said from the side: "I thought sending a large army to put down the rebellion was a bad idea."

Shangguan Jie's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he quickly asked: "How do you say this?"

Zhao Lin: "The northwest is a place of bitter cold, which is not conducive to the gathering of large troops. Besides, the Mongolian soldiers are all cavalry. If they avoid fighting and my 10,000+ army gathers here, the daily consumption of money and food will be astronomical. "

Zhao Hongming retorted: "If you don't send troops to suppress the rebellion, will the rebel army disband by themselves?"

Zhao Lin hurriedly said: "There are tens of thousands of frontier troops led by Lord Yue in the northwest, and the defense is sufficient. I want to send envoys to persuade other tribes in Mongolia to send troops to besiege Alatambu together. Anyone who kills Alatambu can replace them." .”

Several soldiers who were watching clapped their hands and praised: "It's a good idea, and it's a good idea to defeat others without fighting."

Shangguan Jie smiled at Lin Yun and asked, "Brother Lin, what advice do you have?"

Lin Yun: "I don't know anything about the enemy's situation in the northwest, so I dare not speak out."

Zhao Lin's face darkened when he heard this, and he asked Lin Yun, "Brother Lin, do you mean that the younger brother is talking about war on paper?"

Lin Yun said speechlessly, "I'm only talking about my own thoughts, Brother Zhao doesn't have to be right."

"you~"

Zhao Lin really wanted to insist on a few words, but he was still afraid of Lin Yun and didn't dare to speak too harshly.

Shangguan Jie quickly brought the conversation back to the rural examination, which eased the atmosphere in the restaurant a little.

...

At [-] o'clock in the morning, Feng Ziying and Xue Pan, together with their entourage and servants, together with Xiao Mo and Du Sha, crowded outside the tribute courtyard, waiting to watch the news of the announcement of the ranking as soon as possible.

Several people were waiting anxiously, when they saw the gate of the Gongyuan suddenly opened, and several guards came out, and began to post the list on the screen wall.

In an instant, the crowd who came to see the list was like a volcano erupting, pushing each other and rushing towards the screen wall.

From time to time, someone in the crowd shouted in surprise: "I'm on the list."