The world of film and television begins from childhood

"Okay."

"This is your first time taking part in the provincial examination. It doesn't matter if you fail. Just consider it as gaining experience."

Zhou Tong was talking to himself. As Zhou Chen's biological elder brother, he knew his younger brother very well. Although he was not bad in his studies, he was not outstanding, and his level of hard work was far worse than when he was young.

Even though he worked so hard back then, he only passed the provincial examination at the age of eighteen. Then he made another effort in the imperial examination the following year and passed it, becoming the eighteenth first-class Jinshi.

Based on his own experience, he judged that Zhou Chen was only sixteen years old now and was not as hardworking as he was back then, so he felt that there was a high probability that Zhou Chen would not pass the exam. Not only him, but even Zhou Chen's teacher thought so, and felt that this reference was just to gain experience.

As soon as he finished speaking, Mrs. Zhou Xu, who was sitting at the head of the table, remained calm. However, Mrs. Zhou Cui said in dissatisfaction, "What you said is unreasonable. Sanlang has been working very hard these days. Who knows, he might be able to pass the provincial examination this time."

Zhou Chen glanced at Cui. He had a good impression of this sister-in-law. Ever since she came into the family, his mother Zhou Xu handed over the power of housekeeper to her. She lived in the backyard, ate vegetarian food, chanted Buddhist scriptures, and seldom asked about affairs.

Cui was still very capable. After the initial familiarization, she quickly managed the Marquis' Mansion very well, and her performance was even better than that of her mother, Zhou Xu, the housekeeper.

It’s not that Zhou Xu is incompetent, but mainly because Zhou Xu is not interested in the power of housekeeper at all. She usually leaves it to her subordinates, the housekeepers. So, after Cui became the housekeeper, it was actually a good thing for the Zhongjing Marquis’ Mansion.

In his memory, this sister-in-law not only managed the backyard well, but also treated her parents and brothers with humility, courtesy, respect and care. She was a lady with excellent qualities.

On the contrary, Zhou Tong is not very old, but he looks serious and stiff all day long, and never smiles, making it difficult for people to get close to him.

Zhou Tong nodded and said seriously, "If you can pass the exam, that would be great. You can still take part in the Spring Examination next year. Sanlang, I have sorted out the books I used before. You can move them to my place when you have time. Regardless of whether you pass the exam this time or not, you should never slack off in learning."

"okay."

Mrs. Zhou Xu interrupted her eldest son and said dissatisfiedly, "Sanlang just came back, and you are talking about this. Sanlang, you just finished the exam, you should rest more. Don't be like your eldest brother, who spends all day either doing official business or reading books. People who don't know would really think that our mansion has become a scholarly family."

They are all sons, but she loves her youngest son the most because her eldest son Zhou Tong is not close to her. Since he was a child, he was taught by Zhou Yexiong, the Marquis of Zhongjing, to put family first, study hard, be a good person, etc. Over time, he became rigid and serious and did not get close to others.

Even when he met her, he always called her mother politely and was respectful and submissive, making it difficult to get close to her.

The younger son is different. He has been brought up by her since he was young, calling her "Mom" and "Mother" all day long. He is lively, unrestrained, naughty and a little bitchy. However, she is particularly doting on her younger son because she thinks this is the way mother and son should get along.

Zhou Xu was also born in a marquis's family. She also knew that civil servants held more weight in the court, and had no objection to her eldest son pursuing a career as a civil servant. However, she was unhappy because Zhou Tong always urged her younger son to study as the eldest brother.

Studying is certainly a good thing, but if everyone is like Zhou Tong, it is not a good thing.

The youngest son did not have to inherit the title, nor did he have to serve as the clan leader. She wanted her youngest son to live a happy life. Even if he failed in his studies in the future, he could still get a good official position with the help of the marquis's mansion, and that would be enough.

"That's what my mother taught me."

Zhou Tong did not refute at all and took the initiative to admit his mistake. His temper made Zhou Xu unable to vent her anger.

Cui lowered her head and said nothing. She had long been accustomed to the way the mother and her two children got along with each other. In fact, she had great respect for her mother-in-law.

Looking throughout the entire Bianjing, is there any famous and noble family where the daughter-in-law can take charge of the household after she marries into the family?

After being a daughter-in-law for many years and finally becoming a mother-in-law, she would be grateful if she didn't act like a mother-in-law. But to be in charge of the power in the house is something she dare not even think about.

But in such a huge Marquis Zhongjing Mansion, she received such treatment, and she also understood why her mother favored Sanlang and was cold to her own husband, so she was very respectful and filial to her mother-in-law, and the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was better than that between mother and son.

At the dinner table, Zhou Tong ate meticulously and in an orderly manner, but Zhou Chen was much more casual. Having stayed in the small dark room for a whole day, he was already hungry. He didn't care about his image at all and ate heartily, which made Zhou Xu angry and scolded him, but she still kept picking up food for Zhou Chen.

Zhou Tong glanced at her with a hint of dissatisfaction. Just as he was about to speak, his wife Cui stopped him. He frowned slightly and said nothing.

Although Zhou Chen was eating voraciously, he was watching their movements and expressions. His evaluation of this cheap brother was very simple.

This is a man who is mature beyond his years, upright, old-fashioned and serious, and has obsessive-compulsive disorder.

The eldest brother and his wife really complement each other's personalities. I don't know how his father, whom he has yet to meet, chose this daughter-in-law, but his vision is very unique.

In general, the overall environment of the Marquis Zhongjing's Mansion is quite good. There aren't so many messy things going on. Under the management of the eldest sister-in-law, Cui, the backyard is relatively harmonious and peaceful.

At night, Zhou Chen lay in bed, his thoughts flying.

In this world, the start can be said to be very smooth, and most importantly, he has roughly figured out the current time.

It is the third year of Huangyou in the Song Dynasty. The current emperor Zhao Zhen has been in power for more than thirty years. According to the time in the TV series "The Story of Minglan", the Sheng family had not yet moved to the city of Bianjing, and their daughters should not have married yet. The youngest, Sheng Minglan, was probably only four or five years old.

From a time perspective, the main mission of Sheng's son-in-law should be relatively easy to complete.

He is sixteen years old now. Thinking about the ages of the four daughters of the Sheng family, it seems that Sheng Hualan is the most suitable for him. The others, Molan, Rulan and Minglan, are about ten years younger than him.

There is definitely no need to consider Sheng Molan. In modern society, this woman would at most be an option for a one-night stand, let alone in this era. Marrying her would definitely cause a lot of trouble.

Sheng Rulan has a good personality and is very cute. It would be interesting to marry her, but she is too naive, just like Madam Wang.

As the heroine of the drama, Sheng Minglan is extremely outstanding in all aspects except for her poor background. If she is married home, she will definitely be a good wife. But the problem is that she is too young now.

As for Sheng Hualan, she should be only a few years older than he is now, but he doesn't know whether she has been engaged to the Earl of Zhongqin's Mansion. If not, that would be the best choice.

From the plot of the TV series, we can see that Sheng Hualan grew up with Old Lady Sheng and has both skills and abilities. Even though she is not as good as the clumsy Sheng Minglan, she is not much worse, and she is also very good in other aspects.

So, if he were asked to choose now, he would definitely choose Sheng Hualan without hesitation.

If the Sheng family was in Bian Jing, there would be many ways to propose marriage, but the Sheng family is still in Yangzhou, so what excuse could they find?

"Ok?"

Suddenly Zhou Chen's expression froze. In his memory, his mother, Zhou Xu, was from the Yongyi Marquis Mansion in Jinling. She was the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the Yongyi Marquis Mansion and was also the niece of the old lady of the Sheng family.

“This is a point that can be exploited.”

If he had a choice, he would definitely choose Sheng Hualan. He didn't want to wait another ten years, but the prerequisite was that the Sheng family had not yet proposed marriage to the Yuan family of the Earl of Zhongqin's Mansion, so he had to confirm it first. If not, he had to act as quickly as possible.

As for whether his family and the Sheng family would agree, he was not worried at all. His father, Marquis Zhongjing, did not pay much attention to him and only had eyes for his eldest brother Zhou Tong. His mother doted on him very much. As long as he proposed, there would most likely be no problem.

As for the Sheng family, it goes without saying. Sheng Hong and his wife felt that they were marrying above their station by marrying into the impoverished Earl of Zhongqin, not to mention that he was the legitimate son of a powerful marquisate. As long as he proposed, Sheng Hong and Madam Wang would definitely agree.

In Zhou Chen's family, apart from the current Marquis of Zhongjing Zhou Yexiong who is guarding the northwest, only Zhou Tong works in the Hanlin Academy. Now he is a seventh-rank official. As the eldest son of the marquis, he passed the imperial examination and serves as a civil servant. He is also an outlier among the many nobles in Bianjing City.

Normally, as the eldest son of a marquisate, he would definitely inherit the title in the future and usually become a military general. It is really rare for someone like Zhou Tong to take the imperial examination and pass it.

But it must be said that the Song Dynasty was a special dynasty. The status of civil officials was far higher than that of military generals. The Song Dynasty basically did not kill scholars and officials. It was indeed much safer and more reliable to be a civil servant than a military general.

Of course, the world of “Knowing Your Destiny” is different from the Song Dynasty in official history, because the titles in the world of “Knowing Your Destiny” can be inherited, which greatly enhances the status of the nobles, making them much stronger than the nobles in official history who cannot inherit the titles.

It is precisely because of this that Zhou Tong, the future marquis, is more unique in taking the path of imperial examination and becoming a civil servant.

Any second son like Zhou Chen who cannot inherit the title would not appear out of place if he took the imperial examination.

In addition to the legitimate brothers Zhou Chen and Zhou Tong, the Marquis Zhongjing's Mansion also has three illegitimate sons, the second, fourth and fifth, and two illegitimate daughters, all born to Zhou Yexiong's three concubines.

In this feudal society, even the common people at the bottom could afford to marry concubines. It was very normal for a noble family like the Marquis of Zhongjing to have several concubines.

Except for Zhou Tong who had become an official, the rest of the children all studied in the school of the marquis's mansion. The teacher in charge of their instruction was a learned man who had passed the imperial examination when he was young.

The teacher's surname was Li, and Zhou Chen and others usually called him Li Xuejiu. Although he had a difficult career in officialdom when he was young, he was still quite competent as a teacher. Zhou Tong passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi under his guidance.

Except Zhou Tong, Zhou Chen and his two brothers, the other three, except the youngest one, also passed the provincial examination and became scholars. However, only Zhou Chen took part in this provincial examination, while the other two illegitimate sons did not.

Li Xuejiu has already said goodbye and will return home after Zhou Chen's results of the provincial examination are announced.

So during this period of time, Zhou Chen no longer had to go to class. He would use this time to go out for a stroll every day.

Although they are both Bianjing City, there are still some differences between the Bianjing City in this world and the Bianjing City in the Menghualu world. The road names, street names, etc. are all different.

Of course, it is impossible to explore the entire city of Bianjing in just a few days, but I did visit some of the famous places.

For example, the most famous Fanlou in "The Story of Minglan", as well as Qianchunlou, Nanbeipu, etc. Zhou Chen went to all of them and ate at them all.

Coincidentally, one time when he went to Fanlou, he actually met Gu Tingye, the male protagonist in the world of “The Story of Minglan”.

Although Gu Tingye is still a boy of twelve or thirteen years old, he has already developed a playboy demeanor. When he saw Zhou Chen, he invited Zhou Chen in a very generous manner.

The Marquis Zhongjing and the Marquis Ningyuan are both marquises, and both marquises are stationed at the border, so they occasionally interact with each other. Zhou Chen and Gu Tingye are not very familiar with each other, but they know each other.

Based on Gu Tingye's age, Zhou Chen was more certain about the ages of the girls in the Sheng family. Including Sheng Hualan, the four Lans are all children now, and the three younger ones are still little kids.

In a blink of an eye, it was time to announce the results of the provincial examination.

Zhou Chen, the person involved, did not rush to check the list just because it was announced today, but calmly practiced shooting in his own yard in the Marquis' Mansion.

It has been some time since he came to this world. He started practicing internal skills on the first day, but unfortunately, after so many days, he still hasn't developed any sense of qi.

But he didn't care. After all, the world of "Do You Know" was not even a low-level martial arts world. It was just an ordinary ancient feudal society. It was extremely difficult to cultivate internal strength.

Just when Zhou Chen was practicing shooting in the courtyard, Shui Quan, the servant who had taken people to check the list, ran back, rushed into the mansion through the side door and shouted loudly.

"I got it, I got it, you got it, you got it, you got it in Liyuan..."

This loud shout immediately caused a sensation in the entire mansion, and the news quickly spread throughout the mansion.

Zhou Chen was called over by his mother. When he arrived, he found that there were already many people inside and outside the house. Even Zhou Tong, who had just finished his shift, came without even changing out of his official uniform.

"Sanlang, my good son, it's great that you passed the imperial examination, it's great..."

Mrs. Zhou Xu grabbed Zhou Chen's hands, crying with joy and excitement. She never expected that her son could actually win the title of Jieyuan in the imperial examination. She was really surprised and happy.

Even Zhou Tong, who was always serious, was full of joy: "Sanlang, you are really great."

Although he couldn't understand why Zhou Chen had achieved such a great success this time, the result was good and he was truly happy for Zhou Chen.

Although this was only a provincial examination, the point was that Zhou Chen was the first place winner. According to past practice, a juren who won the first place in the examination would basically be guaranteed to pass the imperial examination as a jinshi as long as he did not make any major mistakes in the imperial examination the following year. It would just depend on how many places he could get.

Everyone in the marquis's mansion was in high spirits, even the servants. After all, the more powerful the master was, the more proud they would be.

The fact that the top prize in the provincial examination was won by the eldest son of a marquis caused quite a stir in the surrounding areas of Bian Jing. However, it was a provincial examination after all, and there were top prizes in various places, not just one. There was some attention, but it was not that big.

More students are still focusing on the next year's spring examination. If they can get the first place, the second place, or the third place, they will be truly famous throughout the world.

However, Zhou Chen passed the imperial examination and became famous in the city of Bianjing, especially among the nobles and literati. Everyone knew that the Duke Zhongjing's mansion had a talented person who passed the imperial examination, which made many nobles envious.

Even after Zhou Tong came back, he said that many colleagues asked him about Zhou Chen's situation. Even many people in Bianjing City began to inquire about whether Zhou Chen was married, either openly or secretly. Their intentions were very obvious.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 1103 Departure for Yangzhou, Visiting Sheng Mansion

The controversy over the title of Jieyuan did not last long, as there were only a few months left until the next spring examination. Those students who had passed the examination were fully preparing for the examination, while those who had not passed the examination forgot about their envy and jealousy after a while.

Zhou Chen's life was still the same as before, practicing martial arts every day and reading books occasionally.

Zhou Tong came back from his shift that day with a tired face. He saw Zhou Chen practicing martial arts. He stood there watching silently for a long time with an inexplicable expression.

Zhou Chen had already discovered Zhou Tong, but he did not stop until he had finished practicing a set of shooting skills.

"Brother, why are you here?"

"I'll send you some books. They should be helpful for your imperial examination next spring."

Zhou Tong handed the bundle of books in his hand to Zhou Chen, and Shui Quan, the servant next to him, immediately took them.

"Thank you, brother."

Zhou Chen thanked him, then looked at the unhappy Zhou Tong, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "You don't look too happy?"

Zhou Tong shook his head and said, "It's nothing. You should study hard and bring honor to our mansion next year."

After saying that, he left.

Zhou Chen looked at his back, thoughtfully. In his memory, when he was wielding swords and guns in the past, Zhou Tong would say a few words to him, asking him to read more books and study more.

But since he went to work as an official in the Hanlin Academy, he rarely said such things and became more and more taciturn.

"It seems that you are not having a good time in the Hanlin Academy."

Zhou Chen secretly guessed in his heart, but this was not surprising. Although Zhou Tong passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, in the eyes of those civil servants, he was still the eldest son of the Marquis's family and came from a noble family.

In the Song Dynasty, the officialdom was divided into civil and military officials. The civil officials considered themselves to be upright and always looked down upon the military officials and nobles.

Therefore, even if Zhou Tong passed the imperial examination, became a civil servant, and went to a prestigious department like the Hanlin Academy, although he had the support of the Marquisate and would not be bullied, he would definitely be ostracized and suppressed.

The ideas of Zhou Yexiong and Zhou Tong, Marquis Zhongjing, are both correct. The Song Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials. Especially under the rule of the current emperor, it is more difficult for military generals to survive and make achievements. If they are transferred to civil positions, it will be beneficial to the marquisate and there will be no problem with the general direction.

But the problem is that it is impossible for you, a military general or noble, to integrate into the civil service circle. Civil servants are naturally hostile to you. Even if there are some who don't reject you, they are very rare and cannot affect the overall situation.

Just like the young master Qi Heng in "The Story of Minglan", although he passed the imperial examination and became a civil servant, he was always used as a tool by others and could not integrate into the clean stream of civil servants at all.

Therefore, it was several times more difficult for Zhou Tong to carve out a path among the civil servants than for a child from a poor family.

But Zhou Chen couldn't help with this matter. After all, Zhou had studied literature for more than ten years and had already reached the Hanlin Academy. It was impossible for him to give up literature and pursue martial arts. He could only grit his teeth and go all the way to the end.

In fact, the military generals in the world of "The Story of Minglan" are relatively better off. In real history, the military generals of the Song Dynasty had a harder time. They were almost constrained by civil officials from beginning to end. The military generals were like the thugs of the civil officials.

'All things are inferior, only reading is superior'.

This was truly reflected to the fullest in this dynasty.

Zhou Chen still had confidence in himself. Having passed the provincial examination, he had to start from a better position than others. If he passed the metropolitan examination and was among the top three in the palace examination, becoming the top scholar, the second place or the third place, then even if he was the descendant of a noble family, he would definitely be taken seriously.

If you just want to become the top scholar, it is not enough to just write good essays. After all, the provincial examinations and palace examinations are different from the college entrance examinations in later generations. There are no standard answers at all. It mainly depends on the corrections of the examiners. If you cannot satisfy the examiners, no matter how knowledgeable and talented you are, it will be of no avail.

The most crucial thing is that in the imperial examination of the Song Dynasty, once you passed the Jinshi examination, you could not take the exam again even if you were not satisfied with the ranking. There was no chance to retake the exam at all.

"Li Xuejiu, are you really going back home? Sanlang has passed the imperial examination and will take part in the imperial examination next year. Can't you stay for a while?"