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Although Sheng Changbai is a good student, he also knows that Sheng Changbai ranked 13th in the first class in the plot, but who knows if there will be any accidents.

Sheng Changbai's expression was very calm: "If I didn't pass the exam, no one can tell. I have decided to take part in this exam."

Zhou Chen exclaimed: "Very good, you have a very good attitude. Your sister also asked me about the examination a few days ago. I already know who the examiner is for this examination. I have prepared some essays and notes for you. This is my own summary. It may not be helpful to you, but if you are interested, you can take it back and have a look later."

Sheng Changbai stood up immediately and bowed to Zhou Chen: "Thank you, brother-in-law. I am very interested."

He admired his eldest brother-in-law very much. He knew that although the eldest brother-in-law had not passed the provincial examination, he had passed the provincial examination and had performed in front of officials and civil and military officials. The princes all praised Zhou Chen's knowledge, and the picture of the banquet at Jiying Hall still hangs in the official palace.

"Okay, I'll bring it to you after dinner. By the way, I've been busy with work recently. If Zhong Huai comes back, I may not have time to pick him up. You can tell him when the time comes. I'll treat him to a drink when he returns to Tokyo."

"I'll tell Zhong Huai."

Zhou Chen suddenly changed the subject: "There is one more thing. I am in charge of the security of the inner city. I have heard from my subordinates that Chang Feng has been hanging out with a group of officials in brothels recently. I can't say anything, but as his brother, you still have to persuade him more."

Sheng Changbai's face changed slightly. He naturally knew that his younger brother Sheng Changfeng had made friends with a group of officials' children, and often used the name of the Poetry Club to go around eating, drinking and playing. He also tried to persuade him several times, but to no avail.

But it was different when Zhou Chen said it. It meant that Sheng Changfeng might have been a little arrogant recently, otherwise it would not have reached the ears of Zhou Chen, the commander of the cavalry.

"Don't worry, brother-in-law. I will warn him when I get back."

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 1126: Sheng Hong trains Hua Lan, the spring examination begins

As the day of the imperial examination draws closer, the flow of people in Bianliang City is increasing. Students from all over the country who are going to take part in the imperial examination have arrived in Bianliang in batches.

When there are too many people, accidents are more likely to occur.

Fortunately, the vast majority of students and candidates settled in the outer city, and only a small number of children of the powerful and wealthy settled in the inner city.

The spring examination period every year is one of the busiest time periods in the city of Bianliang. Passing the examination and rising to the top is a real big deal.

Once you make the list, even if you are in the top three, you will be a fish leaping over the dragon gate, and at worst you will be a reserve official.

Zhou Chen has been quite busy these days. Although he doesn't have to do anything himself, he is still required to coordinate things and he also has to meet with officials from time to time.

That day, he got off work early and returned to Chaoyun Pavilion, but found that Hualan and the children were not there.

Call the maid in the yard to ask.

"My Lord, the eldest lady of the Earl of Yongchang Mansion came to visit today and invited her to play polo. The old lady asked her to go, and Ji Ge'er and Xu Ge'er were taken to the old lady's courtyard."

Zhou Chen was not surprised. Madam Wu of the Earl of Yongchang's Mansion was such an energetic person. She could hold several polo clubs a month. If we talk about who has the most extensive network of contacts among the noble ladies, it must be Madam Wu without a doubt.

Even the princesses of Prince Yong and Prince Yan would occasionally show up to the polo club she initiated.

Hualan is good in all aspects, but actually she is not the best type in any aspect. She has grown a lot in the past few years, and her sophistication and vision have improved a lot. She can stand out among those female relatives who are cunning and have different ideas.

Although Madam Wu is a cunning person, she is still a good person. This is why Zhou Chen is confident in letting Hualan go out with Madam Wu.

If it was someone like Madam Qin from the Ningyuan Marquis's Mansion, even if he didn't want to give Ningyuan Marquis face, he would not let Hualan stay with Madam Qin.

He did not go to his mother's yard, but started practicing in his room. Recently, he felt that Yangzhou Man's internal strength was about to make a breakthrough.

At the Jinmingchi Polo Field, Madam Wu said to Hua Lan happily, "Madam Sheng, your skills are improving too fast. I guess in two years, I won't be your opponent."

She didn't invite many people today, but most of the ladies didn't know how to play polo. Today she played a game with Sheng Hualan and was surprised to find that Sheng Hualan's level was much better.

She remembered that the last time she played polo with Sheng Hualan was two years ago, when Sheng Hualan had not yet become pregnant with her second child.

Although Sheng Hualan's level was good at that time, there was still a big gap compared to her. But now, she is almost catching up with her, so she is naturally very surprised.

Sheng Hualan straightened her clothes and replied, "I learned all this from my husband, but Madam Wu is too flattering. Compared to you, I am still far behind."

Madam Wu looked relieved, "So he learned it from Marquis Zhongjing. Everyone in the Song Dynasty knows that Marquis Zhou is an unrivaled warrior. But I've never heard of Marquis Zhou playing polo. I'd like to see it. When I organize a game, Madam Sheng can bring Marquis Zhou along."

Sheng Hualan replied with a smile: "I will go back and ask the master about this."

Madam Wu laughed heartily: "Although I am a woman, I really want to see the majesty of Lord Zhou."

She was indeed quite curious about Zhou Chen. Zhou Chen was very famous in Tokyo City, but he was a very low-key person. Except for some necessary banquets, it was rare to see this Marquis Zhou appear in public, and it was rare to hear rumors about him.

What is particularly curious is that Lord Zhou has been married to Madam Sheng for more than five years and has two sons, but he has never taken a concubine. Looking throughout the entire Tokyo city, there is no such nobleman, and there are only a few such people among the civil servants who love fame.

This is also the reason why many female relatives envy Sheng Hualan. Who doesn’t want their husband to love them alone?

The two of them left the Jinmingchi Polo Field in a carriage. When they were passing a street, Madam Wu suddenly asked someone to inform Hualan that they were almost at Jiying Lane and wanted her to go to the Sheng Mansion with her.

When Hua Lan first heard it, she was very surprised, but she quickly realized that Mrs. Wu might have other intentions.

Suddenly, he thought of Liang Jialiulang, who went to the polo field with Madam Wu today, and he immediately had some guesses. After thinking about it, he agreed to Madam Wu.

So, Hua Lan first arranged for the guards to go to Sheng Mansion to inform them. When the two teams arrived at Sheng Mansion one after another, Wang Ruofu had already brought people to greet them.

"The Countess."

"Lady."

"Mother."

As soon as Mrs. Wu and Wang Ruofu met, they greeted each other with professional smiles, looking very familiar with each other.

Madam Wu said with a smile, "I have wanted to come and visit you for a long time. I just played a game of polo with your wife the Marquis at the polo field. When I passed by here, I discussed it with her and came with her. It was really abrupt."

Wang Ruofu also smiled and said, "You are a distinguished guest. I can't wait to see you. If you play polo with my Huaer, you will surely win."

"No way, madam, this girl in your family is incredible. I am almost no match for her."

"Really? This kid has been married for several years, and I, as a mother, don't understand her anymore."

The two of them walked into the Sheng Mansion chatting and laughing, and Hualan accompanied them. There was nothing she could do. No matter how high her status was, when she arrived at her mother's family, the Sheng Mansion, her parents were the most important.

The group came to the banquet hall and chatted for a while. Sheng Changbai, who had already finished class, was called over to greet Liang Jialiu Lang. Qi Heng, who had not returned yet, also came along. Sheng Hong also got off duty and returned home at this time.

All of a sudden, the hall became lively, and Madam Wang asked Mama Liu to dress up Rulan, wanting to show off in front of Madam Wu.

If it was during the first few years after she came to Tokyo, she certainly didn't have the confidence to marry someone like the Earl's Mansion, but now she is full of confidence.

Tokyo City is full of dignitaries. Everyone in the city knows that the eldest daughter of the Sheng family is the eldest lady of the Marquis Zhongjing's mansion. Who wouldn't give a thumbs up when talking about her eldest daughter?

It is precisely because of the Marquis's wife Sheng Hualan that in the past two years, many families have come to the Sheng Mansion, openly or secretly wanting to see the girls from their family.

So she also thought that Madam Wu had the same idea, so she wanted Rulan to show up, and she was a little scheming and did not inform Linqi Pavilion and Shou'an Hall.

Lin Qinshuang from Linqi Pavilion reacted quickly when she learned that Madam Wu came to the Marquis' Mansion with Sheng Hualan. She thought that Sheng Hualan might have intended for Madam Wu and her son to meet Rulan.

Naturally, she also wanted her daughter Molan to show up. Although she also wanted Molan to surpass Hualan, she was not out of her mind. It would not be that easy for the Marquis's wife.

Looking at all the nobles in Tokyo at present, Zhou Chen is the first one who can inherit the title at his age, so she also wants her daughter to marry into the noble mansion and become the official first wife.

Qi Heng, who was studying in their Sheng Mansion private school, was one of the targets of the mother and daughter.

Lin Qinshuang already had a relatively high vision, but Molan was even better than her. The mother and daughter actually started commenting on the dukes and marquises of Tokyo City in their own room, saying that this family's legitimate son was not good enough, that family's legitimate son was a playboy, and so on.

Lin Qinshuang and Molan, the mother and daughter, are the kind of people who lack self-awareness. Their ambitions are as high as the sky, but their lives are as fragile as paper.

Madam Wang didn't call them, so the mother and daughter planned to go there secretly. Molan's behavior attracted Rulan and Minglan, which also led to Rulan and Minglan being framed by her.

…………

Zhou Chen, who was meditating, opened his eyes when he heard Hua Lan coming back.

"Why do you look unhappy?"

Hua Lan frowned and said, "I'm not unhappy, I just think my father is too partial to Lin Xiaoniang and Mo Lan. Forget it, why am I telling you this?"

"Didn't you go play polo with Madam Wu today? Why are you talking about your father-in-law?"

Zhou Chen turned to look at Cui Chan. After receiving Zhou Chen's signal, Cui Chan did not hide anything and told him what happened today.

After hearing this, Zhou Chen felt familiar. Wasn't this the scene where Molan framed Rulan and Minglan? He didn't expect that Hualan would be able to join in the fun just by playing polo.

Soon she found out why Hualan was unhappy. It turned out that she had spoken well of Rulan and Minglan, wanting her father to find out the truth and not believe what Molan said alone.

But Sheng Hong didn't know what was wrong with him. Not only did he not listen, but he started talking about Hua Lan. He said that Hua Lan was now the eldest lady of the Marquis's Mansion and was starting to put on airs in her natal family. He also said that he was the head of the Sheng family and it was not Hua Lan's turn to be in charge here.

Hualan had good intentions in speaking up for her sisters, but unexpectedly she was scolded instead. Before she had time to get angry, Wang Ruofu got mad and started arguing with Sheng Hong.

To Wang Ruofu, Hualan was her first-born daughter, and the daughter that made her most proud. However, Sheng Hong scolded the eldest daughter, who was already the wife of a marquis, for the sake of a daughter born to a lowly maid. This was certainly intolerable.

It's fine that I'm angry with that bitch Lin Qinshuang, but I want Hua'er to be angry too. That doesn't make sense.

Although Hualan was also very dissatisfied, she still persuaded her mother with kind words, and then left the Sheng Mansion without even eating.

Zhou Chen was also stunned after hearing this. What was this father-in-law thinking? But after thinking about it carefully, this was something that Sheng Hong would do. After all, Sheng Hong was the most face-conscious. Hua Lan defended her sister in person, which made him feel bad, and he lost control and got angry.

Holding Hualan in his arms, Zhou Chen comforted her, "Okay, don't be angry. Xing'er, go ask the kitchen to get some food and send it over."

"Yes, sir." Xing'er who was outside the door went there immediately.

Hua Lan wasn't really angry. She sighed, "I just think that my father's behavior is too wrong. The concubine's daughter bullied the legitimate daughter, and he still favored the concubine's daughter, just like he favored Lin Xiaoniang. It was fine in Yangzhou before, but this is Tokyo. If rumors spread that he favored his concubine over his wife, how could he hold his head up high?"

The wife is married into the mansion with a formal ceremony after going through the three books and six ceremonies, but a concubine is, after all, a slave. If he favors the slave and neglects the mistress, especially the most polite civil servant, it would definitely be a huge blow to Sheng Hong's reputation if this were to get out.

What she didn't know was that after she left Sheng Mansion, the old lady learned about this matter and immediately had Sheng Hong called over and scolded him in Shou'an Hall.

Although Sheng Hong was raised by the old lady, to be honest, her feelings for Sheng Hong were far less deep than those for Hua Lan and Zhou Chen. Moreover, this matter was originally Sheng Hong's problem. Hua Lan couldn't say anything, but she, his stepmother, could.

After Gu Tingye returned to Tokyo, he specially visited Zhou Chen at Zhongjinghou's residence, saying that he wanted to invite Zhou Chen to have a drink at Guangyuntai, but Zhou Chen politely declined and asked him to wait until after the spring examination.

Thinking about the reason why Gu Tingye failed the imperial examination this time, Zhou Chen felt sad in his heart that Gu Tingye's first half of his life was indeed miserable.

The father dislikes him, the stepmother flatters him, the brothers scheme against him, the woman betrays him...

If he had not risen to prominence later on with his own abilities, his life would have been extremely miserable.

However, he could not help Gu Tingye with the imperial examination, because the words Gu Tingye said when he was a child would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the emperors as long as they were heard by his elder brother.

Even if Gu Tingye had not successfully rescued the emperor from the palace later, he might not have been able to get the emperor's forgiveness and apology.

Because Hua Lan was scolded by Sheng Hong, she did not go to the Sheng Mansion for more than a month. It was not until the day when Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng took the imperial examination that she and her mother, Madam Wang, sent them to the examination room.

On the day of the Spring Examination, there were so many people that Zhou Chen, the cavalry commander who was mainly responsible for the inner city, had to lead his troops personally to maintain order.

The examination lasted for three days. Before it even started, the area near the Imperial Examination Hall was surrounded by the imperial guards, both to maintain order and to protect the hall.

Three days passed in a flash. At the end of the day, the entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall was crowded with people. Hualan insisted on coming over to take a look, so Zhou Chen accompanied her.

"Father-in-law, mother-in-law."

"Father, mother."

Wang Ruofu was very happy to see Zhou Chen and Hua Lan, but Sheng Hong looked a little embarrassed. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Zhou Chen and Hua Lan looked normal.

To be honest, he was a little timid about his eldest son-in-law Zhou Chen. Although Zhou Chen was usually very kind, he was still quite scary when he got a stern face.

Furthermore, Zhou Chen is the Marquis of Zhongjing, and his status and position naturally put a lot of pressure on him.

There was still some time before the end. Zhou Chen glanced around and saw a few familiar faces, so he apologized, "Father-in-law, mother-in-law, I'm going to say hello to Duke Qi and Duke Ling over there."

Sheng Hong said, "Go ahead, go do your work, don't worry about us."

So Zhou Chen walked towards the other side where the nobles of Duke Qi were. Many sons of the nobles also participated in this examination, such as Qi Heng from Duke Qi, the eldest son of Duke Ling, and several sons of marquises and earls.

As fellow nobles, no matter how familiar they are, if they meet, they naturally have to go over and say hello.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 1127: Minglan, who refused to listen to advice, listens to music in the brothel

Because of the policies and guidelines of the Song Dynasty, the titles of duke, marquis, and earl had not changed much since the founding of the country, and there were few new titles conferred later.

Over the past hundred years, the civil service group became increasingly powerful, and the families of nobles and military generals naturally gradually weakened. Although as long as the nobles did not commit serious crimes and the Song Dynasty was still there, their wealth and status for generations would be guaranteed, but it was not so easy for them to gain real power.

For example, top nobles like the Duke of Qi and the Duke of Ling have not had much say in the court in recent years, and have no future in the army. For the sake of power and status, they have to turn to civil service, but their status as nobles means that they are destined to never be able to reach the upper level of civil officials.

Just like the current Duke of Qi, although his rank is high, he only holds a sinecure and has no high status in the court. What's more, they gave up their power in the army long ago, and the Duke's Mansion has declined in population, so his position is very embarrassing now.

Although he is a duke, there is a huge gap in power compared to Zhou Chen, the Marquis of Zhongjing.

This is the strategy of the royal Zhao family. They would rather give the nobles sufficient status, position, and wealth than let them control the military power.

Duke Qi and Duke Ling were also very polite and enthusiastic when they met Zhou Chen. Zhou Chen was now the most promising one among the nobles. Although he was not as good as them in terms of title, he was not worse than them in status, not to mention in terms of actual power. Although he was a military officer, it was not an exaggeration to say that he was in the emperor's favor, which was much better than the sinecure positions they held.

Even the arrogant Princess Pingning was very polite when facing Zhou Chen. Naturally, she wanted to make friends with such a powerful nobleman.

Their Duke Qi's Mansion is getting weaker every year, but the Marquis Zhongjing's Mansion is on the rise. As long as Zhou Chen is there, there will be no problem for it to prosper for another few decades. Making friends with Zhou Chen will only benefit them, not harm them.

After they complimented each other, Zhou Chen returned to Hua Lan.

Princess Pingning looked at the Sheng family's formation, her tone was complicated and difficult to understand: "The Sheng family is a small family and is really lucky. There is a big Buddha hidden in the mansion. If it weren't for the former only daughter of the Marquis of Yongyi, how could the Sheng family marry into the Zhongjing Marquis's mansion."

Duke Qi nodded with deep approval: "Yes, but this Zhou Chen is indeed a rare young talent. In his hands, the Zhongjing Hou Mansion will probably be even more glorious than when his father was."