A Complete Explanation of the Negative Textbooks of the Imperial Examination - Chapter 52

    After Xiao Ying and Wu Junru arrived, the room was quiet.

      Naturally, he didn’t dare to talk and laugh loudly.

    Wu Junru stood beside Xiao Ying, still smiling gently, as if the matter of Yizhi many years ago did not affect her. Behind Wu Junru were several girls, including Xiao Yuya, the only daughter of the big house, and Xiao Yuyun and Xiao Yuying, the concubines from the other two concubines.

    Xiao Jingduo felt very exciting.

    In their eyes, what kind of existence is he? A developed brother who can be used? Or a backer who has no brain to ask for anything?

    Xiao Jingduo is very strange, does he seem to be such a talkative and brainless person?

    This family dinner is for Xiao Jingduo, who is naturally the only protagonist in the audience. The cousins ​​who were not close to him all came forward to make a toast, and even a few cousins ​​were laughing and laughing, and changed their ways to vote for him.

     Halfway through the banquet, the old lady, seeing that the fire was almost over, took the initiative to bring up one thing: “Duo Er, do you think the jinshi is easy to take the test?”

    Xiao Jingduo glanced at the other side of the old lady, and already guessed the answer in his heart. Instead of answering, he asked, “What is the grandmother asking about?”

    “Isn’t this for your second brother? Seeing that the tiger is getting bigger, it’s time to take care of things in the future.”

    The seat on the right hand of the old lady was occupied by Xiao Jingduo, and Xiao Jinghu, who was usually the most favored, could only move to the left. Hearing the old lady’s words, Xiao Jinghu, who was already fifteen, snorted and said angrily, “I don’t want to take the imperial examination, I want to be a general like my uncle!”

      How dangerous it is to kill and kill, in any case, the old lady does not agree with her precious grandson to go to the military camp to suffer. However, Xiao Jinghu couldn’t understand the old lady’s thoughts. He still hated reading and played jokes all day long.

    The old lady also had a hard time saying that when Xiao Jinghu was a child, Xiao Jinghu loved to fight and make trouble. She couldn’t bear to restrain her grandson. But she later learned that not all the descendants of officials could take over the mantle of their elders and enter the officialdom without being assessed. If so, the court would have been paralyzed long ago. The Xuan Dynasty set strict restrictions on the descendants of high-ranking officials. Officials of the third rank and above could have two descendants, and the sons of the first-rank officials had the shadow of the seventh-rank officials. But looking at the entire court, the first-rank officials are all empty titles, and the third-rank officials can be counted with two hands. How many people can directly be the seventh-rank officials? If the official position of the father’s generation is between the fifth and third ranks, then the younger generation can only shadow one person, and it must be approved by the emperor. And Xiao Ying’s current official position is the fourth grade, and only Men Yin is alone. With Xiao Jingye and Wu Junru around, the old lady doesn’t think this benefit can fall on Xiao Jinghu.

    However, when the old lady knew about this, it was too late. Xiao Jinghu had already developed a willful temperament, and it would be difficult to get it back. He was willing to let Xiao Jinghu be educated by sticks. The old lady was reluctant to complain about her grandson, so she transferred all her anger to other people, of which Mrs. Xiao was naturally the first to top the tank. Xiao Jinghu and Xiao Jingduo are only two years apart. Look at what Xiao Jingduo looks like now, and then look at Xiao Jinghu, it is a world of difference.

    Mrs. Xiao didn’t dare to talk back when she was scolded. She could only wait for the old lady’s energy to pass, and then slowly think of a way with the old lady. Xiao Jinghu is her son. Seeing the comparison between Xiao Jingduo and Xiao Jinghu, how could she, a mother, not be impatient? After thinking about it, Mrs. Xiao came up with a trick. Isn’t there a ready-made example in front of them? Since Xiao Jingduo can go to the Guozijian to study, and then become a jinshi in one fell swoop, there is no reason why Xiao Jinghu can’t do it!

    So after three rounds of drinking, the old lady brought up this matter with Xiao Jingduo: “Duoer, our family is just your brothers, you and Huer grew up together from childhood, and are the most affectionate. However, it is said that flesh and blood brothers, although you and Hu’er are separated from each other, they are not bad as brothers. They should help each other. You give me a hand and I will give you a hand, so that our Xiao family can flourish. Now you have passed the jinshi entrance exam, and you are good at it, but your younger brother is still in a bad way. I remember that you went to the Imperial College of the Thirteenth, and Hu’er is fifteen this year, and you are not different in age from you. Why don’t you and The master of your Guozijian said, let Hu’er also go to the Guozijian to study?”

     While the old lady was talking, Xiao Jingduo slowly turned the cup in her hand. When the old lady finished speaking, Xiao Jingduo put down the cup and said, “Grandmother is right, brothers really need to help each other. It’s just that the students who are admitted must be sacrificed to drink. I am a light-hearted person, so how can I influence the decision of the sacrifice.”

    “The wine is…”

    “The highest person in charge of Guozijian is from the fourth grade.” Xiao Jingduo added kindly, “Master Hou is also of the fourth grade now, instead of asking me to plead with Jijiu, grandmother should let Master Hou go. …they are about the same level and should talk better.”

    The same level as Xiao Ying, the old lady looked at Xiao Jingduo who was smiling, and she felt troubled. But the old lady was still not reconciled and asked, “It’s just a student, and Jijiu is the biggest official in the Guozijian, doesn’t he even care about this kind of thing?”

    Xiao Jingduo said nonsense without blinking: “Yes.”

    This made the old lady embarrassed: “Then, how did you get in?”

    “I received a reward from the palace at that time. It seems that the prince recommended it to the sacrifice.”

    Xiao Jingduo looked at the old lady with all her leisure time. No matter how pretentious the old lady was, she would not dare to say the words that let Xiao Jingduo go to the prince to be accommodating. She was stunned for a while, then she could only sigh: “It seems that it is not possible to let Hu’er go to Guozijian to study… Well, it is not bad to ask the master to teach at home. Duoer, you have just graduated from the jinshi, and your knowledge and skills must be solid. , these days, why don’t you teach Hu’er!”

    No, Xiao Jingduo wanted to refuse at that time. But there is also a way to refuse, and it would be rude to say “no” directly. Now he can’t have a deadlock relationship with the old lady. Xiao Jingduo paused and deliberately put on a hesitant attitude: “But tomorrow, I and the same year are going to pay a visit to the prime minister, and it doesn’t seem good to resign from the prime minister’s side…”

    “Are you going to see the prime minister? Oh, that can’t be delayed. In the next few days, there should be time, right?”

    “Afterwards, there will be the Xingyuan feast and the palace feast. We will also go to hear the joy, see the Buddha’s tooth, etc. After I have freed up time, I will report to my grandmother.”

    As for when you can spare time, it is up to God.

    That’s the only way, the old lady had to respond. Seeing that the old lady finally stopped, Xiao Jingduo quickly went outside in the name of sobering up for fear that she would come up with something else.

    The night wind in February was still a little chilly, Xiao Jingduo stood under the corridor and looked up at the stars in the night sky.

    Not long ago, he was an embarrassed lord in the Hou Mansion, but he didn’t expect that it was just a list, and the attitudes of these people all changed. The things in the world are so mysterious.

    He turned around and saw Xiao Ying standing not far away, looking at him blankly.

    Xiao Ying was extremely uncomfortable when she heard Xiao Jingduo’s name. However, Xiao Ying just frowned and did not correct the matter, but said, “You can pass the Jinshi exam in one go, so I underestimated you.”

    A sarcastic smile appeared on Xiao Jingduo’s lips, and it was fleeting: “I don’t dare to do it.”

    “It’s always a good thing to pass the exam. They all say that you have a family and a career. You are seventeen this year, so it’s time to prepare for marriage.”

    “I know what you’re thinking, since there are no outsiders here, I might as well tell you the truth, I won’t do what you want.”

      Good grandson after so long, why not continue now?”

     In such a night, his voice seemed to freeze with the cold wind.

    Xiao Ying can certainly hear it, Xiao Jingduo said that it is necessary to pretend to be in front of the old lady, but not with him. This is really an excessive offense. Xiao Ying has marquis protection and military merit. No one has dared to talk to him like this for many years, but his own son has repeatedly challenge his bottom line.

    “Xiao Jingduo, you may think that being a jinshi at the age of seventeen is a great thing, but I still want to remind you, just being a jinshi doesn’t mean you can be an official, even if you pass There is also a huge difference between officials and officials in the selection test for the official department. I have seen many jinshi, who once enjoyed great glory in high school, but did nothing in official circles, and are still only a small official with a school book. I really hope , you don’t want to be such an example of Jiang Lang’s talent.”

    Xiao Jingduo just smiled, “That’s it, don’t worry about it.”

    Xiao Ying felt strange, and asked with great interest: “You always have an unrealistic trust in yourself, I would like to know, where do you get the confidence that you can be used by the officials. If you send a good official position, where can you get the confidence to disobey me?”

      , sooner or later there will be retribution.”

    “Huh.” Xiao Jingduo couldn’t help laughing, this is his father, and every time he can refresh his understanding of ruthlessness. “You may think that this matter is irrelevant, but for me, it is the mother who raised me since childhood, the most important person to me in the world. You only know that she is cowardly and soft, and can’t support Mrs. Hou. Responsibilities, but how do you know how she worked hard to manage the family business during the nine years in Zhuo County, and how much anger she suffered from her grandmother because of you. You only think that she is submissive, but why don’t you think about why she cultivated Such a temper?”

    When Zhao Xiulan was mentioned, Xiao Jingduo became excited again. He closed his eyes and calmed the restless anger in his chest. After a while, his voice finally returned to a straight line: “You are so high now, you naturally don’t want your old man to ruin your glory. Mother is like this, and so is I. Since you don’t want to admit the past, that’s fine. “

    “My business, you don’t have to worry about it in the future. I won’t marry Cheng Huizhen, and you don’t want to put people around me to hold me down. If you push me, I don’t know I will What do you do? After all, my aunt and cousin will stay at Xiao’s house for a long time, and no one will look good at that time.”

      Aren’t you afraid?”

    “I don’t ask for you, naturally I have no fear.” Xiao Jingduo did not turn around, but turned his back to Xiao Ying and said, “The sons of other families may need their father’s help, but I don’t. You don’t have to I put a little bit of thought into pretending that there is no such person in the government. If I fail the official selection test, then I will take the test again next year. If a very poor official is sent, I will be happy. Oh yes, if you don’t Don’t worry, if you want to let go of the air with the Ministry of Personnel in advance, so that I can lose the election…”

    Xiao Jingduo smiled softly: “That’s up to you. In short, I will take the imperial examination for one day, and one day, I will be able to become an official by my own efforts. “

    Xiao Jingduo quickly left the corridor, and gradually, the cold wind got farther and farther, and the lights got closer.

    The maid who was standing outside was startled when she saw Xiao Jingduo: “Da Langjun? Why are you here!”

    Xiao Jingduo stopped and pinched his eyebrows, not wanting to mention the matter just now: “Is grandma still inside?”

    “Yes, the old lady just sent someone out to ask him where he is. Langjun, are you going back now?”

    Xiao Jingduo did not speak, he stood straight there, looking up at the banquet room through the bare branches.

    There are many servant girls waiting outside the house, maids in long skirts coming and going, busy conveying the orders of the masters. The heavy door curtain was opened, and there were many wives and young ladies in gorgeous clothes and hairpins, among them his grandmother, his sister, and his nominal mother.

    However, his grandmother just wanted to use him to give her second grandson a future, and his sisters were all smiles, but none of them were for his sake, just wanted to use his Fame and value, as for his so-called “mother”, not to mention.

    Xiao Jingduo stood on the spot and suddenly felt that this house was very boring. The father and son were suspicious, the first-born mother was assassinated, and the sisters used it. He stayed here from the age of nine to seventeen, but he was still the only one in the end.

      It stood there like a statue.

    Before the maid could speak again, Xiao Jingduo moved. He raised his footsteps, but instead of walking towards the house where the old lady was, he walked out without looking back. “You go back and tell your grandmother that I’m not good at drinking, so go back first.”

    “Ah? How did this happen! Dalangjun, Dalangjun…”

    Because of the unpleasant conversation with Xiao Ying, Xiao Jingduo was in disbelief for a few days, although on the surface he was still the same as before, estranged and politely attended one banquet after another, but Xiao Jingduo I know that this is only the last peace.

      Silently surging in invisible places.

    Xinke Jinshi has been released, which cannot be changed, but whether or not to be elected as an official next, and who can be an official after the election, there is too much room for human manipulation.

    Early in the morning, Xiao Jingduo went to greet the old lady as usual.

    Many people were there in the Gao Shou Hall, everyone stopped talking when they saw him.

      wrist. His whole person is wrapped in black and red, with strong colors, and under such colliding colors, his eyebrows and eyes are also gorgeous and vivid.

    The old lady saw Xiao Jingduo dressed like this, and asked tentatively: “Duoer, you want to…”

    “Today there is a polo match in Furong Garden. To facilitate the movement, I can only change into Hu clothes.”

    The old lady understood: “So it is. I heard that polo is very dangerous, Duo, you have to be careful, if possible, it is best not to play…”

    Xiao Yumang’s eyes lit up: “The polo match in Furong Garden? Is it the one that all new scholars have to participate in?”

    “Yes.”

    “Grandmother.” Xiao Yumang immediately turned around and begged the old lady, “Today is the Xinke Jinshi polo match, what a lively event, let’s go and have a look!”

    After the Jinshi middle class, a polo match will be held in Furong Garden to show the demeanor of the new Jinshi. This has always been the focus of attention of the people of Chang’an, so it is conceivable that it will be another crowd-pleasing event for a while. However, although outsiders yearn for this game, in fact, this polo game is mostly of a performance nature. After all, even if the Xuan Dynasty is martial, it is impossible for every student to be both civil and military, let alone in the city’s people. Watch to proceed. So the twenty or so of them had already discussed it, and it was almost enough, and they had even rehearsed several times in private.

    The old lady nodded, Xiao Yuli and the others immediately burst into cheers, and even the servant girl in the room showed a happy smile. Going to see Shinke Shinshiro’s polo match in good season makes me happy just thinking about it.

    Xiao Yuli and the others immediately went back to change their clothes. Under the leadership of them, the old lady was also in a good mood, and said with a big smile: “You little skin monkeys, let’s talk about today. Ask Mrs Ya to come into the manor, and choose a few maids for each room. In the end, it’s good for you, Mrs Ya hasn’t arrived yet, so you should go out to play first.”

    The people around the old lady laughed, Cheng Huizhen sat next to the old lady and said flatteringly: “Grandma, I don’t need to pick people anymore, I went to the street yesterday and happened to meet a girl begging for food, I bought her back when I saw that she was too pitiful. Xia Feng, come over to see your grandmother soon.”

    An ordinary woman took two steps forward and knelt down to salute the old lady without raising her head: “I have seen the old lady.”

    “You child, how do you think that you will come out?” The old lady was angry, but buying a girl is not a big deal. Cheng Huizhen went, “Since you like it, just buy it. But the girl is from outside, I’m afraid I haven’t taught it well. I’ll ask Mrs. Ya to bring people in tomorrow. You can pick another smart one.”

    This is a great honor, I am afraid that even Xiao Yuli and the others cannot compare. Cheng Huizhen saw the old lady accommodating herself like this, and immediately smiled and rolled her eyes: “Thank you for your grandmother!”

    After the old lady finished speaking, she thought of Xiao Jingduo: “Duoer, do you have enough staff there, do you need to buy a few more?”

    Xiao Jingduo had long turned his attention to the submissive girl behind Cheng Huizhen. The girl did not seem to feel the gaze of outsiders, and kept her head down humbly until the old lady and Cheng Huizhen spoke, and there was no one in the room. When people paid attention to this piece, she turned her face slightly and looked at Xiao Jingduo quietly.

    Xiao Jingduo smiled in his heart, turned his eyes and stopped looking at her. Hearing the old lady’s question at this time, Xiao Jingduo quickly declined and said, “No, Qing Zeyuan has enough staff, thank grandma for your kindness.”

    How many more people? Xiao Jingduo didn’t want to buy a few pieces from the East Palace.

    I didn’t expect that Donggong would attack Cheng Huizhen so quickly.

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