A trip starting from the courtyard

Chapter 651

In the early morning of the next day, hundreds of freshly baked Jinshi gathered in the West Corridor of Xuandemen South Street in the Imperial City to beat the drums for their chief teachers and ask the emperor to retry the case of Han Qi's treason.

The old emperor has dealt with the big turbans for decades, and he is very clear about the urgency and routines of these people, and knows that all kinds of moths will be born if it is delayed.

At noon that day, at [-]:[-] p.m., Han Qi was secretly dragged to the Wansheng Gate of the West City by the Secretary of the Imperial City, where he was cut with a knife.

After Wang Lidong received the news, it was like drinking a large can of iced Coke in June --- cool!
In the evening, for the first time ever, I had a few drinks with Father Qi to celebrate.

The emperor's coquettish operation severely slapped the faces of all the civil servants and modern scholars.

The civil servants are used to being arrogant, how can they swallow this bad breath, the next day all the ministers and more than half of the civil servants took leave of absence at home, and the court was thrown into chaos
At noon that day, Duke Qi returned home after going to court, and found his son was also at home, curiously asked, "Why didn't you go out today?"

Wang Lidong took the teapot and poured a cup of tea for his father, "I went to several banks in the morning to check the accounts, and the last one was on the west side of the city, so I came back by the way."

Princess Pingning looked at the officials and said, "Why did you leave the court so late today? All the civil servants have gone to court?"

Father Qi took a sip of tea and said, "They are all in court. Last night, His Majesty personally went to the governor's mansion and gave them enough face. Today, Liu Chang, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Fu Qiu, governor of Kaifeng Mansion, are at the court meeting. Impeaching the other party is a quarrel."

Princess Pingning asked curiously, "What are these two people doing?"

Father Qi said,
"The 'master' of this subject examination was originally Han Qi, but now he is gone. These two are the deputy chief examiners of this subject examination, and they both want to grab the position of 'sector' and take more than 300 Jinshi into their names. Down."

Princess Pingning suddenly said, "No wonder it's been seven or eight days since the palace examination, and the 'No. [-] Scholar Bureau' hasn't been held yet."

"Zhuangyuan Bureau", also known as "Jiji", after the roll call, the winners of the same list will use the time before they officially hold official positions to gather together and carry out many activities to strengthen mutual ties.

The venue of the "Zhuangyuan Bureau" is usually chosen near the home of the examiner. During the period, two visits to the home of the examiner are required. In addition, there are also visits to the ancestors of Confucius and Mencius, worship of Huang Jia, narration of the same year, inscriptions on the monument, and the creation of "Tongnian Records". "Wait, activity.

Now that the chief examiner is having a difficult delivery, the two deputy chief examiners have similar positions, and the backers behind them are equally important, so they are not easy to mess with. If one person is called a 'master', the other one will be offended, and all the new subjects can only stand He stared blankly.

Father Qi recalled how Marquis Ning Yuan asked him for help after the imperial court was over today, and said, "Heng'er, Gu Hou's family Saburo wants to find a better teacher, may you accept students?"

Wang Lidong put down his teacup and said, "Why doesn't Gu Hou go to Zhuang Xuejia?"

Since Zhuang Xuexue can accept Gu Tingye, a well-known bohemian in the capital, Gu Tingwei, a good-natured boy, will definitely not refuse.

Father Qi said, "Originally there were five or six students in Zhuang Xuexue's private school, but recently he has accepted five more. He is alone, and he is almost eighty. As a student, he only plans to teach until next year, and then return to his hometown to take care of the elderly."

Wang Lidong ordered Chunlan to prepare some supplements and give them to Zhuang Xuejiao and his wife to nourish their bodies.Thinking of these days, more than a dozen noble military generals have asked him whether they will accept students, they are all family friends and relatives, if they push it away completely, they will think that he has won the first prize, and the eyeballs will be pressed on the top of the head. "I remember that apart from Second Uncle Gu, there is no noble military general's family that has passed the provincial examination. Father, please tell them, as long as they pass the provincial examination and want to be my student, then I will accept it."

Qi's mother nodded in praise, "Heng'er's idea is good, it's good for face. After this gust of wind, few people will continue to stare at this matter."

Father Qi smiled and nodded, now he doesn't have to be embarrassed.

Princess Pingning glanced at his son, and suddenly said, "I heard people say that Marquis Fuchang has found a marriage for his youngest daughter, and the decision will be made in the next two days."

Wang Lidong was stunned for a moment, the youngest daughter of Marquis Fuchang is Rong Feiyan, I haven't heard this name for a long time, so she is going to be engaged, he asked curiously, "Which family is it?"

Princess Pingning breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his son's face was normal, and said, "The commander of the Guards and Infantry Division, Li Hu, the ninth younger brother of Taiwei Li Zhang."

Li Zhang, Song Renzong Zhao Zhen's cousin and number one confidant, controlled one-third of the imperial army in Kaifeng Mansion.In addition, he is the boss of Concubine Rong's younger brother Rong Xian (deputy commander of the Guards and Infantry Division).This is to prepare for a strong alliance to take down the entire Guard Infantry Division.

Qi's father also broke the news, "I heard that the Jiacheng County Lord has also arranged a marriage."

Qi's mother was surprised, "Which one did I find? I haven't heard any news."

Father Qi said, "During the court this morning, the British official said it smoothly. The commander of the Huazhou Horse Infantry Army, the Jiedu envoy Bai Jiqing's family boss."

Huazhou, the nearest state to Feng, is about 3 miles away, and the Jiedu envoy Bai Jiqing is in charge of the forbidden army of 2500 small armies (a small army of [-] people).

Wang Lidong was a little speechless, he could understand that King Yan wanted to give it a go, after all, he had come to this point, he was cornered, even if he wanted to back off and follow him, or the benefactor who paid the money would force him to go on. .

But King Yong is gone, and Wei Guogong did not inherit the title of Prince, he is still a Duke, and he wants to go back to his hometown to spend a few days of leisure, and he even has the idea of ​​​​the Dragon Chair. The position of the emperor is so easy to grab!
Shing Mansion on Ji Ying Lane

Sheng Minglan hurried out of her small courtyard and entered Shou'an Hall. Sheng Molan and Sheng Rulan were sitting in the room. Rulan looked at the door from time to time, muttering something.

Sheng Minglan sighed secretly, and Rulan would inevitably complain later, she said hello to her grandmother, then said hello to her two sisters, and then sat down next to Rulan.

Ru Lan complained, "Sixth Sister, it's almost 8:15 ([-]:[-]), and grandma has been waiting for you for a long time. And yesterday I specifically told you to get up early today, don't be late!"

Mo Lan said in a strange tone, "Fifth Sister takes herself too seriously. I really thought that Sixth Sister would take your words at ease? She is the heart of grandmother, even if it is half an hour late, what can you do? At most Even if you tell the eldest lady, it seems that the eldest lady can't punish the sixth younger sister, right?"

Seeing that Ru Lan's face darkened a lot, Ming Lan quickly approached and explained in a low voice, "Sister Zhuang's (Sheng Hualan's eldest daughter)'s birthday is two days away, I also prepared a gift for Fifth Sister, I was too busy last night It was midnight, so I accidentally overslept."

Minglan didn't say anything, but Rulan almost forgot about it, patted the little chestnut, and asked, "What gift?"

Ming Lan said, "Doll, mine is a little rabbit, and Fifth Sister's is a big tiger."

Ru Lan was overjoyed, took Xiao Liu's arm affectionately, turned her head to Mo Lan and said, "Sister Liu has not been in a good health, she sleeps more, it's not a serious matter."

Mo Lan was so angry that she almost hurt internally, she twisted the handkerchief in her hand severely, and said with a sneer, "Being dazzled by small favors, one day they will be sold, and maybe they will even count the money."

Ru Lan replied, "I'm happy, I'm happy, you are."

Seeing that the two sisters were arguing that they were about to rise to human cock again, the old lady Sheng interrupted their quarrel, "It's getting late, brother Heng should be here soon, let's all go."

Ru Lan turned her head to look at the "Purple Sandalwood Block Silk Enamel Beast Ear Fragrance Clock". Hastily rushed to the front hall.

The incense clock, a timekeeping tool in ancient times, is similar to the modern wall clock.Coiled incense is made of a special mold, just like the mosquito coils we order in summer.However, compared with mosquito coils, coil incense is more exquisite in workmanship: coil incense is uniform in thickness, and the burning time is proportional to its length. The longer the burning time, the less the remaining coil incense.

The lid of the incense burner is scattered with small holes in different positions, and people can read the time by observing which hole the smoke comes out of.Or use different spices at different positions of the lines, and people only need to smell the fragrance to judge what time period it is.

Wang Lidong took his cousin Qi Xuan into the hall of the Sheng family, glanced at the sweaty Rulan, and bowed to his future mother-in-law, Wang, "Qi Heng has met Aunt Wang."

Qi Xuan also saluted, "Qi Xuan has met Aunt Wang."

When Wang saw his future son-in-law, he said eagerly, "Brother Heng hasn't been here for a long time, how is everything going?"

Wang Lidong nodded with a smile, "Aunt Lao is concerned, everything is fine."

Mrs. Wang asked about the recent situation of Princess Pingning and Duke Qi. After knowing that they were all well, she looked at the young man next to her son-in-law. Brother, this Brother Xuan belongs to your uncle's family?"

Wang Lidong introduced, "Well, I happen to have nothing to do today, so I came here to check out the door."

Mrs. Wang said a few polite words, telling Qi Xuan to come and play at home when she was free, and then called the three sisters to come forward and recognize her.

After Qi Xuan and the three sisters greeted each other, they gave each girl a meeting gift.

Ru Lan looked curiously at the red sandalwood box at her feet, then raised her head to look at Wang Lidong, Wang Lidong smiled and said, "Look at it if you want, brother is not an outsider."

Ru Lan lifted the lid of the wooden box, and a big golden pig came into view, "What a big golden pig! It's about the same size as the one you gave me, Second Brother Heng."

Qi Xuan smiled and said, "I just gave it according to Brother Heng's portion."

Mrs. Wang was taken aback by such a generous gift, and hurriedly said, "Brother Xuan, this gift is really too expensive, so I accepted it kindly, but take it back."

How could Qi Xuan be willing to take it back, he came here for his daughter, he spent a lot of time talking, and with the help of Wang Lidong, he forced the three girls of the Sheng family to accept the golden pig.

Sheng Minglan touched the big golden pig, and felt very happy, and another 500 pennies arrived in the account. She only hated that Qi Heng was only one brother, if there were ten or eight
When Minglan straightened up, she saw Sheng Molan's listless look, and felt a little puzzled.To be normal, Mo Lan has already started to play Qi Xuan's idea at this time. She has a first-class family status, a heroic attitude, and is an only son. I heard that he is also very decent. Absolutely high-quality unmarried man. What's the situation today?
Wang Lidong chatted with his future mother-in-law for a while, and after eating two pipas, he intentionally talked about polo, and then he retreated to the second line, letting Qi Xuan and the Sheng family half the sky, chatting about the polo league and hammering Pill League thing.

"To be in the public eye often, to the reputation of the girls."

"Auntie, don't worry about this. Those who can enter the court are all the children of nobles or officials. It's no different from the usual polo match."

"As long as you participate, you can get 20 slams. It doesn't matter whether you win or lose?"

"Well, there are 20 consecutive jackpots for each appearance, and the winning team can each get another 10 consecutive jackpots."

Sheng Minglan did some calculations in her head, and found that it would cost at least 10,000+ coins a year to organize this game. She was a little confused about Qi Heng's original intention for organizing this game, so she found an opportunity to express her doubts.

Wang Lidong slapped his thigh suddenly and said, "I remembered that I still need to ask Zhuang Xuexue for something. If it is convenient for the fifth sister, please help me guide the way."

Sheng Minglan rolled her eyes, the excuses she made now are all so perfunctory.

If Wang Lidong knew what she was thinking, he would definitely scoff at her. In a few months, she would be his own wife. In modern times, the two of them would already be familiar with each other's left and right hands.

Ru Lan turned her head to look at the old lady, Wang smiled and waved, "Go, Zhuang Xuejiao will have class in a while."

"Sixth Sister, let my elder brother answer your question for me." After Wang Lidong winked at his cousin, he followed Ru Lan out of the front hall.

The two came to the small pond in the small garden of the Sheng family. Wang Lidong looked at the koi in the pond, and found that there were only two red-crowned koi left alone. Where are the eight or so big koi? You and Ming Lan have all been yelling at them?"

Ru Lan said flatly, "Recently, there hasn't been any big lady organizing a ball game. Xiao Liu and I are almost getting moldy, so we can only go fishing and playing chuiwan."

Wang Lidong smiled and said, "Recently I've been busy with the imperial examinations, and next is the imperial family's civil examinations. Everyone is very busy. Even if some old lady decides to do it, it is impossible for your mother to take you to participate."

Ru Lan thought about it too, glanced at Wang Lidong, and asked in a low voice, "My second brother told me, you offended many civil servants this time?"

Wang Lidong said, "Your second brother still told you this?"

Ru Lan kicked the grass beside her feet and said,
"I accidentally mentioned it during dinner. Is it okay?"

Seeing the worry in the girl's eyes, Wang Lidong's heart warmed up, he stretched out his hands and rubbed his little head, and comforted him, "It's okay, if you offend me, you'll be offended. They can't do anything to me."

Ru Lan stretched out her hand to remove the hand on her head, and said a little unhappy, "I'm not a child anymore."

Wang Lidong subconsciously glanced at the upper circle of his eyes, but he didn't expect that it was really different, and Xiao He showed his sharp corners.
Ru Lan's face turned red instantly, like a cooked lobster.
Wang Lidong didn't continue joking, now it's the Song Dynasty, he changed the subject and said, "Even if you don't offend, your official career will not go smoothly."

Ru Lan asked curiously, "Why?"

Wang Lidong laughed and said, "Because I was born in a noble family, I am in two camps with civil servants. Even if I become a Jinshi and sneak into the court, civil servants will not treat me as their own, and will try their best to push me away."

In the Dream of Red Mansions, Jia Jing from Ningguo Mansion passed the Jinshi examination, thinking that he would be able to rise to the top and his family could change from literary to martial arts, but the reality hit Jia's face severely. Jia Jing couldn't get along in the court at all. Some illusory as sustenance.

However, Jia Zheng has been working for decades, and he is still a small official. On the one hand, his own ability is weak, and on the other hand, all the officials around him reject you. After a long time, his heart becomes cold.

Ru Lan felt that being an official was too complicated, and she had the same temperament as Wang, and she had no interest in political affairs. Suddenly thinking of the scene in the hall just now, she asked, "Did Brother Xuan take a fancy to Xiao Liu?"

Wang Lidong said, "Did you see it?"

Ru Lan nodded her head, "As soon as Brother Xuan entered the room, his eyes kept looking at Xiao Liu. If Brother Xuan has the truth about Xiao Liu, then you must hurry up and tell Brother Xuan."

Wang Lidong asked, "Xiao Liu is getting engaged?"

Ru Lan thought for a while, and said, "It should be soon. Grandma helped to find it. The He family in Baishitan, the Xinglin family. Mrs. He often brings her grandson to visit the house recently."

(End of this chapter)