A Complete Explanation of the Negative Textbooks of the Imperial Examination - Chapter 124

    In the evening, Xiao Jingduo returned to the Chengxi Hou Mansion, and the people in the Hou Mansion were very happy.

    The reason is very simple, Xiao Jingduo went on expedition to Yuhun in February last year, and he never came back until this June, when Princess Qianning returned to the court, and their Hou Ye came back with him .

      Although the official rank of foreign officials is not comparable to that of Beijing officials, the speed of this promotion is already very scary.

    Qiu Ju happily took the official uniform to incense: “I said, Dalang-jun will definitely be able to put on the red clothes soon, and now, Langjun has changed into purple robes, Jinyu brought it.”

    Qiu Ju watched Xiao Jingduo change from white clothes to eighth-grade dark blue to light green and light crimson, and now he is a frontier official and governor, and no one knows better than Qiu Ju The ups and downs are tough.

    Qiu Ju was moved to tears, Qing Han saw that Xiao Jingduo finally came back, and didn’t want to lose Xiao Jingduo’s interest, she quickly blocked in front of Qiu Ju, said with a smile: “The governor can be counted back. Empress Dowager An Yi, the governor should be tired, right?”

    After the death of Empress Dowager Wu, she was chased by Rong Ke as Empress Dowager De’an and buried in the imperial mausoleum. In the past few days, women were ordered to go to the harem to mourn, while foreign ministers such as Xiao Jingduo paid their respects in the previous dynasty.

    Actually, Xiao Jingduo only returned to Beijing for more than ten days, but too many things happened in these ten days, liquidating the chaotic party, dismissing the family, Empress Wu passed away, followed by the burial of Empress Dowager De’an , King Qi Li Jing, etc., busy things one after another, Xiao Jingduo rarely spared time to return to the house.

    So when he returned to the Hou Mansion today, Qinghan and the maids found it unexpected and pleasantly surprised.

    Seeing Xiao Jingduo’s pale face, Qinghan thought it was the matter of the Queen Mother De’an, but in fact, Xiao Jingduo was in a bad mood and had nothing to do with the Queen Mother Dianyi.

    Seeing that Xiao Jingduo didn’t speak for a long time, Qinghan and the maids looked at each other, they didn’t dare to talk more, and even walked as lightly as possible, and didn’t dare to disturb Xiao Jingduo.

    Qing Han arranged Xiao Jingduo’s living and other matters, so she should retire. But she thought of the continuous urging over there, so she had to bite the bullet and say, “The Governor, the Marquis of Dingyong’s mansion invites you to visit the mansion tomorrow.”

    In fact, the people in the Dingyonghou mansion said to invite Xiao Jingduo to return to the mansion. Qinghan knew that Xiao Jingduo had a bad relationship with that side, so she polished it up a bit. When Xiao Jingduo heard it, his tone was very tired: “What happened to them?”

    “You’ve been away from Beijing for a year and a half, I don’t know, Shilang-kun is already married.”

    “He is also married? Why, he is fifteen or sixteen this year, so he shouldn’t be in a hurry.”

    Also? Who else got married? However, Qinghan didn’t dare to ask, and just replied: “I don’t know why, but I heard that Mrs. Dingyong was in charge. According to legend, Lord Shilang was very unhappy, but Mrs. Wu didn’t know what was wrong and insisted on letting Lord Shilang marry her. , the wedding was arranged in a hurry, and the fourth lady had already passed by in May.”

    “So, they want me to go back and recognize me?”

    Qing Han nodded. It has been almost two months since the new lady passed by. It turned out that Xiao Jingduo was not in the capital. Now that Xiao Jingduo came back, the new lady had to pay her eldest brother a visit.

    Xiao Jingduo laughed softly: “The meaning of a drunkard.”

    Two days later, Xiao Jingduo left the court and went straight to the Dingyonghou mansion.

    In Dingyonghou’s mansion, a bunch of people are already waiting.

      Are you injured? You were in Luoyang last year, and you didn’t come back for the New Year, so why didn’t you send someone back to say something!”

    Old Mrs. Xiao asked so many questions, but Xiao Jingduo just answered coldly, “It’s good”, and it was gone.

    Old Mrs. Xiao was very embarrassed, but then she thought of the eldest grandson’s official position and thought it was acceptable.

    The old lady slowly came to the topic: “Duoer, when you came back this time, did it say what kind of official you want to be transferred to?”

    After the old lady said this, all the rooms stretched their ears.

    Xiao Jingduo was the governor of Huzhou and the prefect of Huzhou. Huzhou was just north of Chang’an, and it was the most important barrier in the north of the capital. Although Xiao Jingduo is the governor, he has been staying in Chang’an for the past few days. It is foreseeable that his next official will definitely be the Beijing official.

    Xiao Jingduo slowly turned the lid of the tea cup and said, “It depends on the intentions of Your Highness and the ministers.”

    It is the same as saying it and not saying it. The rest of the room was very disappointed, and the old lady was also dissatisfied, but did not dare to ask.

      No, General Yiwei has only a few ranks, and Xiao Jingduo can become the commander of General Yiwei. Xiao Jinghu, who was always in and out of the military camp, felt a lot of pressure, not to mention other female relatives. The old lady was really embarrassed to see the atmosphere, so she quickly said, “By the way, Shiro is also married. You probably haven’t seen the bride yet. Mother Zhou, come and see your uncle.”

    A young woman wearing a red skirt with a cloud bun on her head stepped forward quickly, bowed her head and said, “See you, brother.”

    Xiao Jingduo did not speak, but her eyebrows moved. Is she the only one here? When the old lady saw it, she scolded: “Shiro, your eldest brother is back, why are you stubborn, come over and accompany Zhou Niang!”

    Xiao Jingye came over reluctantly: “Brother.”

    Xiao Jingduo nodded, even if it was revealed, Qinghan behind him held a plate and stepped forward: “Hello, Fourth Madam! This is the meeting ceremony of the Marquis of Chengxi, I hope Madam will accept it with a smile.”

    Zhou Niang smiled and thanked the maid behind her to take it. When changing hands, the maid’s arm sank, and Zhou Niang was surprised, looking at the red silk covering it, it looked like a piece of jade, and it was so heavy?

      .

    In fact, this is Zhou Niang’s misunderstanding, the meeting gift was picked by Qinghan from the warehouse, and the gift from Chengxihou’s house has always been this amount.

    Seeing the bride is just an introduction. But it just so happened that he also had some things on his mind to do in the Dingyonghou Mansion.

      Xiao Jingduo put the tea cup on the table, and when the porcelain touched the table, there was a soft sound.

    The voices in the room suddenly stopped. It was obviously a very small voice, but the strange thing was that everyone could hear it.

    “Where is Wu, why don’t you see her?”

    As soon as these words came out, the air froze. This is the tacit rule of everyone in the Marquis of Dingyong Mansion. Where there is Xiao Jingduo, there will be no Wu Junru, and usually no one talks about this boring. But now that Xiao Jingduo took the initiative to mention it, he couldn’t help but think about it.

    The old lady’s face was stiff and she said, “Why did you think of asking her? Mrs Wu has been in bad health these days and is recovering in the yard.”

    Xiao Jingye raised his head suddenly, his eyes widened: “She is your mother, how could you call Mrs Wu!”

    “Shiro, don’t talk to your eldest brother like this!” The old lady hurriedly reprimanded.

    Xiao Jingduo smiled and said slowly, “My mother is not the Wu family. Grandmother, what do you think?”

    Oh, Buddha, why did she let her do such a thing! The old lady has the heart to die. If she knew today, why did they force Zhao Xiulan to death, otherwise, Xiao Jingduo is still living in the Dingyonghou mansion, and his name is the second-rank governor. ! To promote Xiao Jinghu and Xiao Jingye is just a matter of words!

    But money is hard to buy, I knew it earlier, the old lady couldn’t laugh, and said reluctantly: “It’s been a long time, how do you still remember? Zhao Xiulan is a virtuous person. We were in Zhuo County back then. , it’s up to her to wait for your father to come back. It’s a pity that she was lucky and went away early…”

    Mrs. Xiao rolled her eyes when she heard this, what does it mean to rely on Zhao Xiulan? Most of the farm work is obviously done by her! The older the old lady is, the more dazed she is, she is just talking nonsense with her eyes open.

    But sitting opposite Xiao Jingduo, Mrs. Xiao, with such an arrogant temperament, did not dare to show anything wrong in front of Xiao Jingduo, and even dared to lower her head and secretly think.

    “What happened in Zhuo County…” This is really too long ago, Xiao Jingduo can hardly remember what the farmhouse looked like back then. Xiao Jingduo lost his mind for a short moment, and then quickly returned to reality: “My mother is obviously the first wife, but now when it comes to Mrs. Dingyonghou, no one knows she is the wife of the original wife.”

    The old lady beat drums in her heart: “What do you want to do?”

    “Before she died, she always regretted that she didn’t get the justice she deserved. However, she was supposed to be Mrs. Hou.” Xiao Jingduo looked at Xiao Ying, who had never spoken, and said bluntly: “It will be Marquis Yong, my mother should be an orthodox Mrs. Hou, but so far her position has not been determined. Marquis Ding Yong, what is the crime of stopping a wife and marrying another, you should know?”

    Xiao Ying felt uncomfortable from the moment Xiao Jingduo came in, and now hearing Xiao Jingduo call his title, and in front of so many juniors, Xiao Ying, who loves face, is immediately annoyed: ” Presumptuous! Are you talking to your father like this?”

     “Okay, since you are obsessed, then I can only submit the matter of that year to the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple, and let them investigate.” As Xiao Jingduo was about to get up, the old lady hurriedly stopped: ” Don’t, let the family talk nicely.”

    Just kidding, the old lady at least knows that Xiao Jingduo has been in the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War for a long time, and now there are a few vacancies in the six departments. Sex is great. He was in the Sixth Division himself, and then asked the people from the Criminal Division to investigate the events of the year. Whatever happened, it would not be the Dingyonghou Mansion that he sought good for.

    The old lady asked: “Duoer, what do you think?”

     “Open the ancestral hall and put my mother’s name on the genealogy. Also, the Ministry of Rites requested an decree to posthumously name her Mrs. Dingyong Hou.”

    Opening the ancestral hall… The old lady would faint when she heard it, and Xiao Jingduo also asked them to go to the Ministry of Rites to ask for a seal… The old lady’s face was bitter, but when she saw Xiao Jingduo’s official uniform, No matter how much pain you have to swallow. The old lady gritted her teeth and said, “Okay, let’s go!”

    As soon as the voice fell, there was a gasp in the room, opening the ancestral hall, changing the genealogy, and asking the Ministry of Rites to seal it. This is almost a public slap in the face, and it is obvious that the mansion of the Marquis of Yong is set. I couldn’t help Zhao Xiulan at first. You must know that when Xiao Jingduo was still young, the statement given by the Dingyong Houfu was that Zhao Xiulan had long since separated from Xiao Ying. Now that Zhao Xiulan is going to be named Mrs. Dingyong Hou, are people stupid today?

    Xiao Ying did not speak, it was the default. This kind of thing is said by the old lady, and it is better than the head of the family.

    After the old lady finished speaking, her face hurt, but the old lady was still a little relieved. Xiao Jingduo insisted that Zhao Xiulan be named Mrs. Dingyonghou, which showed that he still had some nostalgia for Dingyonghou mansion. Now that Zhao Xiulan’s heart has been resolved, in the future, it is uncertain whether Xiao Jingduo is still willing to recognize his ancestors and return to the clan.

    The old lady was about to speak when she heard Xiao Jingduo say, “It’s just when the ancestral hall is opened, so move the mother’s tablet out.”

     “Moving out?” The old lady was startled, “What are you doing?”

    Qinghan added with a smile: “Mrs. Xiao, our governor is the Marquis of Chengxi, and the mansion of the Marquis of Xi is dignified. Naturally, there is also an ancestral hall. In the future, Mrs. Zhao’s incense will be up to us. The Xiao family provided it themselves.”

    The old lady was stunned: “Then you still change the genealogy, why do you pursue the title?”

    “It is justifiable to be admitted by Xiao Ying. This is my mother’s wish. It is my wish to open another door and take her away from here forever.” Who, but there seems to be a ten thousand force in the air, “My time is very tight, I don’t need to pick the day, just in these few days, let’s open the ancestral hall.”

    When he said this, it was just a statement, and he did not intend to discuss with Xiao Ying.

    Although Xiao Jingduo said that the ancestral temple was opened in the past few days, but the Empress Dowager De’an just died of illness, and the construction was started before the filial piety came out. He really regarded the royal family and the imperial censor as dead. The old lady said embarrassedly: “The Empress Dowager De’an has just left, isn’t it appropriate to move the tablet?”

    Xiao Jingduo responded to the situation, and when he changed his hand, he asked in a rhetorical way: “Then please seal it with the Ministry of Rites.

    Qinghan knelt in the back and couldn’t help slandering when she heard this. Why does this slapstick method always feel familiar?

    What can the old lady say, these are the facts, they are guilty and can only answer: “Okay.”

    They met Xiao Jingduo’s conditions, Xiao Ying took the opportunity to ask: “These days, the position of General Youwei is vacant, do you know who the court is interested in?”

    “How do I know such a thing.”

    “That’s right, it’s me.” Xiao Jingduo smiled very lightly, “What does Marquis Dingyong want to say?”

      Your father used to belong to Duke Xuan, and he was not valued by King Qin. Later, after King Qin ascended the throne, your father’s official position was not bad, but it was not good. You come up with candidates, hand them over to the prime minister and the princess to choose. You can see that this is just a matter of convenience. There are so many people on the list, and adding your father will not affect anything. Anyway, the princess and the prime minister will decide, you It’s just to recommend one more person, it’s not a favoritism.”

    Xiao Jingduo sighed, this is not a favoritism. When the name of Xiao Ying is added to the list, Rong Ke is worried that this is his father. an important job. Who is Xiao Ying, why does Xiao Jingduo help him?

    “It is a taboo to employ cronyism, I can’t help you.”

    “But the ancients also said, what to say…”

    Xue Lan reminded gently at the back: “Don’t shy away from relatives.”

    “Yes, that is to shun relatives.” The old lady continued, “Your father is very capable, but because of the previous reasons, this has not been reused. This is just a matter of hands-on, As a son of man, how could you not turn to your own father?”

    “Ask him first if he has done what a father should do.” Xiao Jingduo despised Xiao Ying’s high self-esteem, but let the old mother open her face for him The practice of intercession. “I remember when I was taking the imperial examination, he used filial piety to press me to get married. When I was a jinshi, he threatened me with things like my future, and if I didn’t listen to him, I would be suppressed. I went to Jiannan Road to become a county magistrate. , resisting the Nanzhao, after returning to Beijing, I visited the Wailang, and I fought the Turks in the north. Later, I sent troops to Tuyuhun and besieged Luoyang City. I can sit in this position today, and I take every step by myself. As a father, he What father’s duty did he fulfill? He was the culprit in the death of my mother, and the ups and downs of my youth were also inseparable from him. With such a father, who is qualified to show filial piety to me?”

    “Rebel!” Xiao Ying slapped the table, and the old lady hurriedly turned between the two, reading: “Duoer, how can you say that… Don’t be angry, just say it!”

    Other people in the room didn’t expect to bump into the dispute between the father and son of Changfang. They bowed their heads and didn’t dare to breathe.

    Xiao Jingduo stood up, and the servants and maids of Chengxihou Mansion also stood up. The unique slender figure of the Xiao family makes him stand out in the room, and his eyes are as cold as the moon in the cold river and the snow in the Tianshan Mountains. There is no warmth on Xiao Jingduo’s face, so his outstanding appearance looks more and more like a jade carving, and even Xiao Jingduo’s voice is calm and emotionless: “I remember I said a long time ago, if I gain power , I will never make Xiao Ying look good. I am a person who never tells lies.”

    After he finished speaking, he didn’t even pause, and strode out. The old lady was stunned, and quickly chased out: “Duoer, Duoer…”

    However, the aged and frail old lady can catch up with Xiao Jingduo, who has been practicing martial arts for many years, even the maid of Chengxi Hou’s mansion has to trot to keep up. When he was about to lift the curtain and go out, Xiao Jingduo suddenly stopped, and all the people behind him stopped, and no one was swaying.

    Xiao Jingduo turned around, looked at the old lady, glanced at Xue Lan again, and smiled meaningfully: “Although the Queen Mother De’an is dead, the past account is not just following If the lights go out, it can be written off. In the past few days, the palace is investigating the evidence that Empress Dowager Cui used diamond powder to poison Empress Dowager De’an. I heard that she has a party. “

    Xue Lan was swept all over by Xiao Jingduo, and the old lady was stunned.

    What does this mean, what does the death of the Empress Dowager Wu have to do with the Dingyong Houfu? Why did Xiao Jingduo say this?

    The old lady was in shock, and the other people in the Xiao family looked at each other and tacitly thought of the same person.

    The Empress Dowager Cui has been imprisoned in the deep palace, and her party can only be attached to the Cui family.

    The funeral of Empress Dowager De’an gradually calmed down, and new topics began to be discussed. For example, the new policies implemented in the past few months, such as Dingyonghou, who has been awarded the title of Mrs. Hou to the Yuan wife who has been dead for more than ten years. What is especially funny is that their family clearly said that they had divorced Mrs. Zhao. Be polite and quit. But now, seeing that the Zhao family’s son is promising, he hastily went to ask for an official appointment. He really made everyone in the world look like fools and laughed to death.

    This matter was discussed for a full month, and many people took this to teach their daughters: “In the future, you must nurture your son well, look at Zhao, it’s not just because he has a son to support him, he will die after his death. Take a sigh of relief for yourself.”

    The origins of Dingyonghou Mansion and Chengxihou Mansion also spread farther and farther, until something new happened, which overwhelmed the excitement of Dingyonghou Mansion.

    Being able to steal the limelight of the people’s favorite Yuan partner and stepmother bridge shows how sensational the new news is. As soon as this news came out of the palace, the whole city was detonated.

    Princess Qianning has chosen a concubine.

    Buddha, everyone took a deep breath after hearing this, and then discussed it enthusiastically.

    Princess Qianning issued an edict, and the Empress Dowager De’an worked hard, and was buried according to the ritual of the Empress Dowager. She also ordered the eldest princesses to observe filial piety for the great-grandmother for a year according to the specifications of the grandparents. That is to say, Princess Gan Ning, who has been filial piety since reaching the marriageable age, has to keep filial piety for another year. You know, she is nineteen this year.

      Discuss with Gan Ning. Such a princess, she just blows the sky into a flower, and no one can say anything.

    And now, it is said that Gan Ning wants to choose a concubine?

      . The discussion on this matter was in full swing, and many officials and family members in Chang’an, especially those who often went to the palace to speak with the Queen Mother, were all cut off.

      , uncle, brother, cousin, nephew, nephew…

    Lang Jun’s being cut was a little painful, and Lang Jun’s relatives also quit, and the concubine hasn’t become a consort, why should they suffer? But even so, it can’t stop many suitable-aged gentlemen and their families from resigning their marriages and waiting in secret.

    Three ways to quickly cross the class, imperial examinations, joining the army, and being a consort.

    It doesn’t matter if Princess Ganning doesn’t want to get married now, they can wait, in case Ganning figured it out one day, the pie from the sky will just hit them on the head.

    Until later generations, many people were discussing the marriage customs during the Qianyuan period. Princess Ganning single-handedly raised the age of first marriage for all men of suitable age in the Gyeonggi region.

    At a time like this, when others look at Xiao Jingduo who has insisted on not marrying for many years, there are other meanings in their eyes.

    Oh, these two are not afraid of something tricky, right?