Do you know that it starts with Meng Tong?

Minglan caught a glimpse of this scene with her peripheral vision, and couldn't help but snorted, with the corners of her mouth raised slightly.

When the classmates around her were not paying attention, she carefully rolled up her sleeves, lowered her head and blew on the red swelling on her forearm.

"When I came in as a teacher just now, I saw someone eating water shield and seabass soup. In today's morning class, let's talk about the thoughts of water shield and seabass. "The Biography of Zhang Han in the Book of Jin" says: When Han saw the autumn wind blowing, he thought about the isolated vegetable in Wuzhong. Water shield soup, seabass clam..."

Zhuang Jun's old and deep voice sounded in the classroom. Feeling the teacher's glance, Minglan quickly restored her sleeves to their original shape, sat upright, and listened carefully.

Chapter 125 Chaos

In the midsummer of June, the heat wave was rolling, and the blazing sunshine fell straight to the earth without any obstruction.

Sweat drips onto the hot pavement and disappears in the blink of an eye. The air sways in the sun, making the distant scenery look like a lake.

On the Jinming Pond in the west of Bianjing City, green lotus leaves cover the surface of the pond, and white lotuses stand gracefully. Just looking at it makes people feel cool.

In the center of the huge Jinming Pond, a huge painted boat sailed slowly among the lotus leaves. The boatman supporting the boat, wearing a bamboo hat, slowly pushed the bamboo pole every now and then, making the heavy boat move little by little.

When other ships passing nearby saw the small flag with the Chinese character "Qi" hanging high on the boat, they knew that this was a banquet for the nobles of the Duke of Qi's family, and they all consciously got out of the way.

Two little girls of eleven or twelve years old squatted on the side of the ship, stretched out their white and smooth wrists, picked off the lotus pods where the boat passed by, put them in small baskets, and happily carried them into the cabin.

In the cabin, more than a dozen buckets of ice cubes were placed in hidden places, blocking all the heat from the boat.

In the corner, a band was playing silk and bamboo, with a curtain in front of them blocking their view of the cabin.

In the center of the cabin, six geishas with excellent sexual and artistic skills were singing and dancing to the music. Their beautiful and moving dance postures dazzled the guests.

After entering, the little envoy placed baskets containing lotus pods on the tables of Duke Qi and all the guests.

One of the two maids behind Duke Qi was fanning, and the other picked up the lotus pod and helped peel it off.

The Duke of Qi stroked his long beard with his well-maintained right hand, and looked at his son Qi Heng, who was singing poems and harmony with his classmates, with a smile through his half-closed eyes.

The Shengjia school was closed for ten days, and today, taking advantage of the holiday, Qi Guogong asked Qi Heng to invite several classmates to play on the Jinming Pond to escape the summer heat.

A slight collision made the boat tremble slightly, and then a series of footsteps sounded from the ship's side aisle outside the cabin. Sheng Hong, who had just left the office, appeared outside the cabin.

Duke Qi's eyes lit up, he laughed and stood up, bowed his hands and saluted Sheng Hong.

Sheng Hong had just taken a small boat and came down from the bright sun to the cabin. He was still sweating profusely. The Duke of Qi quickly ordered tea to be served and sent a female envoy up to fan Sheng Hong.

Sheng Hong greeted all the juniors and then sat down under the guidance of the female envoy. He picked up the tea bowl in front of him that was filled with well water and took a sip. He felt refreshed and refreshed.

He raised his eyes and looked around, feeling the cool and comfortable atmosphere in the cabin, and couldn't help but admired: "The life that the Duke of Guo is living is really the envy of my subordinates!"

Duke Guo of Qi waved his hand and smiled calmly: "I'm just a rich and idle man. I'm really ashamed to say that I can't compare with the Qiancheng of the country like Brother Sheng, who works hard for the country every day and shares the worries of the king."

These words touched Sheng Hong's heart. Although Sheng Hong understood that the other party was just being polite, he still felt a little complacent in his heart.

The Duke of Qi is one of the few Dukes in this dynasty. In terms of his status, he is way ahead of Sheng Hong. However, although he is a Duke, he has no actual duties. In fact, Sheng Hong, who has a low official position, is even better. .

For example, Sheng Hong had just returned from attending a court meeting, and the Duke of Qi would hardly go unless he was specially summoned by an official.

The routine court meeting can also confirm from the side that Qi Guogong has gradually moved out of the center of power in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

When the two were chatting, Qi Guogong also intentionally or unintentionally brought the topic to today's court meeting.

Hearing Qi Guogong ask about today's court meeting, Sheng Hong sighed softly and said: "Today, two great scholars, Han and Wen, once again led the memorial, asking the officials to decide on the matter of adopting the clan as soon as possible."

"It's the same old thing again."

Qi Guogong frowned and said: "Two years ago, the official family was seriously ill and could not afford it. Several academicians advised the official family to decide on an heir early. The official family was generous and never blamed him. Now that the third son of the emperor has just died, they are urging the official family to adopt an heir. , this is too inhumane.”

After finishing speaking, he sighed and said: "The officials are kind and caring for the people, but for some reason, they have such difficulty in the issue of heirs. All three princes died in infancy. It is really sad."

Sheng Hong comforted him in a slow voice: "My lord, there is no need to worry. The official family has deep blessings and will be blessed by God. Maybe in two years, another dragon will be born."

Sheng Hong may not be able to do anything else, but there are two things that are beyond ordinary people.First, he wrote so well that even officials heard about it.Second, he is well versed in the way to protect himself wisely, and his hands will not slip when they are slippery.

Sheng Hong knew very well in his heart that the battle for the reserve was a matter of honor, disgrace, fortune, wealth and life. The water in this pool was too muddy and there were too many whirlpools and undercurrents. Before he could see the situation clearly, if a small character like him got involved, he would be shattered to pieces if he was not careful.

Therefore, Sheng Hong will never take sides easily until the situation becomes clear.

Duke Guo of Qi also saw that Sheng Hong didn't want to continue talking about this topic, so he ignored it and picked up a few interesting things from his past days when he was a local official.

Duke Guo of Qi was once in charge of salt affairs in Yangzhou, and Sheng Hong also served as a magistrate in Yangzhou. The two quickly found a common topic, and they had a good conversation.

When Qi Guogong was talking to Sheng Hong, he did not shy away from the juniors sitting nearby.

Sheng Changbai and Qi Heng are just the eldest members of the family, and their elders often give them advice.

But as a concubine, Sheng Changfeng rarely heard Sheng Hong talk about court matters, especially such important matters as the establishment of a prince.

This gave Sheng Changfeng a sense of personal participation in national events, and he was extremely excited, even a little too excited.

Sheng Changfeng pricked up his ears and was about to hear carefully who his father thought was the future official, but he found that Sheng Hong never mentioned the matter again, and the topic changed to recalling the past events in Yangzhou.

Sheng Changfeng suddenly lost interest and turned to look at several classmates around him.

Qi Heng?

I'm not very familiar with him, so it's not appropriate to talk about this kind of topic.

Sheng Changbai?

Although he was his own brother, Sheng Changfeng didn't dare to come forward and talk to him.

Then only Mr. Little is left.

Seeing Wei Chen who was enjoying the song and dance seriously, Sheng Changfeng's eyes lit up and he walked towards Wei Chen with a smile: "Sir, I wonder what you think about the official family..."

When Sheng Changfeng was halfway talking, Wei Chen guessed what he wanted to say, and his mind suddenly collapsed: "Don't ask, I won't listen if you ask, and I won't tell you if you hear. This kind of national important matter is not yours." You should worry about the little kid who didn’t pass the exam, you’d better think about your homework tomorrow!”

At this time, Sheng Changbai, who had always been like an old monk in trance, suddenly opened his eyes, stared at his younger brother, and said in a deep voice: "What happened today is rotten in my stomach. I am not allowed to say a word, let alone outside." You talk nonsense in front of people, otherwise I will definitely report it to my father when I go back, and I will take care of you according to the family law!"

"understood."

Sheng Changfeng responded dejectedly.

Chapter 126 Two Years

Autumn goes and winter comes, spring leaves and summer comes.

In the blink of an eye, the fifth year of Tianyou came.

This year, Wei Chen was 14 years old.

For the past two years, Wei Chen has been living a contented life reading, writing articles, and training the two little girls of the Sheng family.

At the beginning of every year, he and Sheng Changbai would go back to Jiangning Mansion to take part in the annual examination. By the way, they would stay in Youyang's hometown for two or three months, accompanying Wei Ruyi and his family of three.

The little guy Zhang Xu has now grown into a young man. When he was ten years old, Wei Chen specially asked Chen Jun to enlighten him.

However, Zhang Xu had no interest in reading. When he was a child, he was woken up by Wei Chen's reading every morning, which made him understand how hard it was to take the imperial examination.

Zhang Xu felt that he did not have Wei Chen's talent and perseverance, and he really had no confidence in participating in the imperial examination. In contrast, the business affairs were more to his liking.

After Wei Chen discussed with Wei Ruyi and his wife, they arranged for Zhang Xu to work at Wuquan Winery and let him work as an apprentice with Zhang Ming.

Today's amber wine is sold all over the country under the name of tribute wine, and Wei Chen and the Zhang family's shares in the winery are already priceless.

But to Wei Chen, too much money is just a number, and he no longer cares about it.

According to the letter sent by Wei Ruyi, Zhang Xu did a good job in the winery. Even Sheng Wei praised him for being smart and a good business prospect. Zhang Ming was ready to train Zhang Xu as his successor and let him be hired in the future. Take over the role in the wine shop.

As for the Sheng Family School, Sheng Changfeng and Qi Heng made rapid progress in their studies under the guidance of Zhuang Jun. Last year, they both passed the college examination and became a scholar.

However, Sheng Changfeng and Qi Heng were really unsure about the provincial examination in August this year. In the end, they both chose to study hard for three years and wait for the next provincial examination to take the exam again.

Therefore, only Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai participated in the Qiu Wei this year. In fact, there was also Gu Tingye, but Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai returned to Jiangning to take the provincial examination, while Gu Tingye returned to his hometown in Jiangxi.

There were still more than two months until autumn, so Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai packed their bags and set off together to prepare for the exam in Jiangning.

Before leaving, Sheng Hong and Wang Ruofu took their whole family to the pier to see Sheng Changbai off.

When they parted, Minglan and Rulan were both in tears. Wei Chen tried his best to persuade them, but he finally made them laugh out of tears.

Seeing his two younger sisters reluctantly surrounding Wei Chen, Sheng Changbai's eyelids twitched suddenly, feeling that something was not right.

At the end, I comforted myself in my heart: It must be Mr. Wei Chen who has done his duty and created such a strong teacher-student friendship...

The passenger ship sailed slowly, and the figures on the pier gradually disappeared. This was the third time Wei Chen took a boat down to the south of the Yangtze River. Looking at the beautiful scenery on both sides of the strait, Wei Chen couldn't help but sigh.

From scholar to scholar, from scholar to scholar, these are the two most critical levels in the imperial examination.

Every three years in the Great Zhou Dynasty, [-] Jinshi candidates will be selected from [-] candidates. Each province also holds a provincial examination competition every three years, and [-] candidates will be selected from [-] candidates. Therefore, scholars often say that the provincial examination is more difficult than the national examination. Yin Xiucai's statement.

If he fails to pass the examination, no matter how talented Wei Chen was before, he was just a small scholar. As time goes by, he will inevitably gradually fall out of the mainstream scholar circle.

child.

From the first year of Tianyou to the fifth year of Tianyou, four years ago, Wei Chen worked hard to find a career and made all kinds of preparations for the provincial examination.

Once you cross it, it will be a carp leaping over the dragon gate, and the road will be smooth from now on!

Entering Jiangning City from Shuimen, Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai went directly to the Sheng family's old residence in Huagaifang to stay.

Huagaifang is not far from Jiangnan Gongyuan, the hometown examination venue. Both are located on the north bank of the Qinhuai River. It is densely populated and bustling shops, where well-dressed people live together.

Across the water, on the south bank, is the famous Qinhuai Old Courtyard, a place where famous singers and concubines gather for feasting and feasting.

Every autumn, scholars from Jiangnan Province gather in Jiangning, and they often come here to hang out. As for whether they want to hang out on the north bank or the south bank, everyone has their own ambitions.

On the second day after Wei Chen arrived in Jiangning, he followed his teacher's instructions and brought gifts to visit his senior brother Shen Du.

When Shen Du saw Wei Chen, he first asked about the teacher's current situation, exchanged some pleasantries, and finally got to the point: "Xingyun, do you know who is the president of the Jiangnan Provincial Examination this time?"

The president of the rural examination is actually the chief examiner of the rural examination. Generally, he is not appointed by the academic administration of the province, but is appointed separately by the court to preside over the examination from the central government to the local government.

In order to prevent requests for help, the candidates for the examiner will not be announced before the exam, and the candidates can only inquire on their own.

The sooner you know who the examiner is, the better you can figure out his essay and prepare for the provincial examination. This is an off-site advantage.

Every time at this time, the candidates will cross the sea and show their magical powers.

When Wei Chen heard Shen Du mention this matter, he suddenly became energetic: "Senior brother, what news did you find out?"

Shen Du nodded and lowered his voice: "It's the Minister of Dali Temple, Wang Wenqing."

"Is it him?" Wei Chen was surprised.

Unexpectedly, the former Jiangnan Academic Affairs Officer, who had been promoted, would return to Jiangnan Province to preside over the provincial examination.

Gaining the appreciation of the academician Wang Wenqing was the first turning point in Wei Chen's life. Since then, Wei Chen's reputation has skyrocketed, and his reputation as a child prodigy has spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River.