Infrastructure masters in the red building

Jia Zhenghui had three trials, and the entire Rongguo Mansion was restless for nine days without thinking about food or food.

Ever since Jia Zheng declared that he failed the first exam, Mrs. Shi's eyes were swollen from crying.But she was also considered strong, and she became a fan the next day, and she still sent Jia Zheng to take the second exam, and after that, she was still able to have a good chat with the wives and ladies who came to visit at the mansion.

"If you don't do well in the first exam, it doesn't mean that you will fail in the whole exam. Otherwise, why would you divide the exam into three exams? Isn't it just for someone to come from behind?" Mrs. Shi comforted Jia Zheng, "You If you feel remote, others will also feel remote, and if you can't answer it, others won't be able to answer it either."

When Jia Fang heard this, although he felt that what Mrs. Shi said might not be true—a Jiangnan genius like Lin Ruhai might not be able to answer those extraordinarily out-of-the-ordinary scriptures—but he thought these words could inspire Jia Zheng very much. Let Jia Zheng cheer up again.

In addition to Jia Fang, Jia She also has a different view on the second brother.The first exam of Jia Zheng was sent by Jia Daishan himself, and the second and third exams were all in time for Jia Daishan to go to court, so Jia Amnesty sent them all in person.

After Jia She came back, he talked to Jia Fang about his feelings, and when he mentioned the posture of the disciples entering the arena in the tribute courtyard, Jia She could not help but sigh: "You can imagine how much the second brother is burdened... If I change it, I will take the exam." Exam, before entering the gate of the tribute courtyard, I'm afraid I'm going to pass out from nervousness... Third child, don't tell me, the eldest brother really saw a person who passed out this morning, and he was not allowed to enter the venue later. , Crying like something after waking up."

Jia Fang also secretly sighed, indeed, the imperial examinations put too much pressure on the candidates, and if you miss it once, it will take three years. Just imagine how many years the scholars can have to waste in their good years.

Jia She continued: "The second child is not easy. To be honest, I just want to burn incense and kowtow to ask the gods and Buddhas to bless me so that my second child can pass this exam... I really can't bear to see him suffer for another three years. "

Jia Fang: It turns out that the eldest brother finally understood the second brother.

Jia Amnesty did understand, and said with a sad face at the moment: "The second child is actually... bearing the responsibility of being my son..."

Both Ningrong and Rongfu were born with military merits, but in order to continue the family, some of the descendants need to stand up in the examination room, win fame and become an official, and take a different path from their fathers and grandparents.However, Jia She didn't like reading. Fortunately, there was a bookworm younger brother who was willing to take this burden from Jia She's shoulders.

Now Jia She is finally relieved, and said: "I really hope that one day I don't have to fight with my second child."

But Jia Fang said: "Don't tell me, the second brother is a good person, and the eldest brother is also a good person. I only see that you and the second brother are good. What will be said in the future will definitely depend on my father..."

In his heart, he thought that Jia She must be the master of the Rongguo Mansion in the future, because only Jia She was tactful and flexible enough to see the situation clearly. As long as it didn't go bad, Jia She would definitely be the right man in charge of the Rong Mansion; Jia Zheng's solitary and dull personality might easily lead the Rong Mansion into a ditch.

It was finally the last day of the final show. On this day, Jia Amnesty drove to the Gongyuan early to pick Jia Zheng home. Mrs. Shi also prepared a banquet at home, which meant that no matter how Jia Zheng did in the exam, the Rong Mansion would celebrate it first. some.

Unexpectedly, after Jia Amnesty came back with Jia Zheng, he went to Rongxi Hall alone.Mrs. Shi asked her eldest son in surprise, "How is Zheng'er?"

Jia Amnesty took everyone to Jia Zheng's foreign study.Jia Fang followed Jia Amnesty, and as soon as he entered the door, he heard the sound of snoring, and saw that Jia Zheng fell asleep on the bed in the outer study without taking off his shoes and socks, and without changing his outer clothes.

Everyone knew that Jia Zheng hadn't closed his eyes well during the nine days of the test. He exhausted his energy and thought, and handed in the papers out of the Gongyuan at once. After returning to his study abroad, Jia Zheng fell into a coma.

On the fifth day after the examination, the Ministry of Rites released the list outside the Tribute Court.The selected scholars are called "gongshi", and they will be eligible to participate in the one-day palace examination.

On the day when the list was announced, Jia Zheng was full of shame, thinking that he had no hope of winning, and he didn't want to go to the Gongyuan where the list was released to make a face of shame, so he hid in his study outside and refused to come out.And Jia She called Jia Fang, and the two brothers dragged Jia out of the house, into the car of Rongguo Mansion, and went to watch the list.

When they arrived at the Tribute Court, the Tribute Court hadn't released the list yet, but the place where the list was released was already crowded with people.In addition to recent candidates and their relatives and friends, there are also many managers of wealthy families who are inquiring one by one about whether they are candidates for the exam, what their age is, and whether they are compatible.

Although the candidates selected by the meeting are only Gongshi, they cannot get the status of Jinshi before passing the palace examination.But every family in Beijing knew very well that if they didn't do it sooner, they would definitely not be able to "catch" their son-in-law after the palace examination.

As soon as the feet of the three Jia family brothers fell to the ground, someone came up to inquire immediately. The first person to ask was Jia She. Looking at me like this, do you look like a candidate for this year's exam?"

Jia She was born flirtatious, coupled with his well-dressed clothes today, he looks like a dandy.The steward on the opposite side shook his head sincerely: "It's not like that!" He turned around and was about to leave.

Jia She suddenly became playful, and hurriedly stopped the steward, pulled his younger brother Jia Zheng and said, "Don't go, although I am not a candidate for studying and taking exams, my brother is! He is the student of this subject, how do you Don't ask him?"

As soon as the other party heard that Jia Zheng was a recent candidate, he stopped immediately and turned around to greet Jia Zheng.

Unexpectedly, Jia Zheng's face was ashamed, he just lowered his head and stared at his toes, muttering in his mouth: "How could it be possible to get it, how could it be possible to get it..."

The manager of the other party: ...Looking at your appearance, it really doesn't look like you can get it.

So, the other party's eyes swept over Jia Fang's face.Jia Fang was not very old, a bit younger than the average age of the candidates around him, plus he was handsome, and the other manager looked at him, and felt that Jia Fang should be a companion who came with his family to look at the list.

But looking at Jia Fang's handsome face with red lips and white teeth, the other party's manager was still moved, and asked, "Dare to ask the young master Gao's name, this year Guigeng, is there any marriage?"

Jia Amnesty pulled Jia Fang's arm and said with a smile, "Come on, let me introduce you. This is Jia Fang, the third son of the Rongguo Mansion. And Guangnan Daying, unmarried, he is a true son-in-law!"

As soon as he heard Jia Fang's name and identity, the other party's steward stepped back three steps, and immediately cupped his hands and said, "Excuse me!" After finishing speaking, he turned around and was about to leave.

The good-natured Jia She even made a gesture to stop him: "My third brother is really building a nest to attract phoenixes...Which family is your master, and how old is she?"

The steward's face turned ugly, and he said, "Mr. Jia, don't make fun of the villain. The third son's marriage... I'm afraid the family can't be the master!"

As soon as these words were said, the three brothers of the Jia family were all stunned, then Jia Amnesty looked at each other shyly, scratched his head, and said, "Don't blame the housekeeper for being quick-talking for a while!"

If there is still someone who will arrange marriage for Jia Fang, it is obvious that this person can only be the one on the dragon chair.No one else can do it for you.But obviously Jia Fang is still young now, the person on the dragon chair probably can't remember these things.

The other party didn't dare to blame Jia Amnesty, he saluted respectfully, turned around and backed away, probably because he felt that he had wasted half a day's talk just now, so he had to forget it.

In this way, the three brothers of the Jia family were stopped several times and met many acquaintances during the period.Jia She met Feng Tang from General Shenwu's mansion. Feng Tang also came to watch the list with his brother. Jia and Feng's family were very close, so Jia She kept talking with Feng Tang.

Jia Fang saw Lin Ruhai in the crowd, and hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Brother Ruhai, brother Ruhai!"

Only then did Lin Ruhai have an excuse to ask a large group of people who had been surrounding him to inquire about his age and family background, and squeezed towards Jia Fang.

"Zi Fang!" Lin Ruhai was also very happy to see Jia Fang, "Are you coming to see the list too?"

Jia Fang nodded: "Yes, I will accompany my brother to watch the list. Second brother, this is my friend, Gusu Lin Hai, do you remember? We met once in Wanqing Building last year."

Jia Zheng was distracted, and muttered in his mouth: "If you pass the exam like this, how can you pass, how can you pass..."

Jia Fang stuck out his tongue at Lin Ruhai, and asked with concern, "What do you think, Brother Ruhai?"

Lin Ruhai smiled and said: "The questions in the first test are indeed a little out of the ordinary. After I got out of the dormitory, I asked a few people at random, and few of them should be able to answer them."

Jia Fang saw that Jia Zheng wasn't listening, so he lowered his voice and asked, "But it won't bother you, right?"

Lin Ruhai smiled, and answered modestly: "Because the topic is too remote, I just found a similar problem to solve, I hope it doesn't go too far from the topic."

Jia Fang roughly understood that Lin Ruhai's answering strategy was still a bit of "hidden" intention. He knew that the topic was uncommon, but he only used the relatively popular way of answering the questions.If even such a remote topic can be solved without any doubt, it may cause unnecessary troubles if it is "beautiful in the woods".

The two talked with Jia Zheng, who was out of his mind, and suddenly heard the sound of a cannon in the Gongyuan, and the gate of the Gongyuan slowly opened, and an official from the Ministry of Rites in official robes came out holding the list of the list.

The candidates shouted at once and rushed forward together, but were stopped by the Shuntian government officials who had been prepared for a long time, and told them to "back up" first, and they were not allowed to squeeze up to watch the list until all the lists were officially released.

But someone has already reported the names and places of origin of the top ten loudly: "Huiyuan, Jiang Shicai, Yuyao, Zhejiang; No.2, Linhai, Gusu..."

Jia Fang cheered when he heard it: "Brother Ruhai, you have won, you have won! Congratulations to Brother Ruhai for high school!"

No.2, there is no Zhonghuiyuan, which sounds like a pity.Jia Fang even thought that if Lin Ruhai hadn't "hidden back" when answering the obscure test questions in the first round, he might have become No.1 without hesitation.

But this "huiyuan" is irrelevant, the tributes who are selected this time will take part in the palace test soon, and the strategy that they answer during the palace test will really tell the difference.

The cheers startled everyone around. It was visible to the naked eye that many of the crowd were struggling to squeeze towards Lin Ruhai, probably wanting to "catch a son-in-law".

Seeing this posture, Lin Ruhai suddenly became a little flustered, quickly pulled Jia Fang, and said quickly: "Zi Fang, my family background is clean, and I haven't married yet. You must understand this."

Lin Ruhai's tone seemed to be a special explanation for Jia Fang.

After finishing speaking, Lin Ruhai looked around and listened to all directions, found a path where no one was blocking him, and ran away in a hurry, probably hiding in his car.Jia Fang guessed that whenever he encounters an inquiry about "catching a son-in-law", he will deal with it vaguely.

But only the sentence just now, Lin Ruhai hoped that the Jia family would hear about it.

Jia Fang rubbed his hands, thinking that after this guy's palace exam, he would arrange a meeting with his younger sister.

Lin Ruhai was in high school, while Jia Zheng next to Jia Fang was completely ignorant—he was staring blankly at the lists posted one after another, and still murmured: "Can I really get in? "

At that moment, the officials of the Ministry of Rituals posted all the lists, and an official announced in a long voice: "290 six tribute scholars will be selected today, and they will be announced here."

290 six? ——The crowd immediately stirred up.In previous years, about [-] people were selected for each subject, but this subject is regarded as a normal level.However, more than a thousand people participated in this exam, which means that about [-] to [-] students who have studied hard for many years will have to start all over again and start preparing for the exam three years later.

Among the 290 six people, those who pass the palace examination have a higher chance of obtaining Jinshi qualifications.After the palace examination in previous years, usually 250 to 250 Jinshi can be selected, and the [-] people will be further divided into three levels: Jinshi Jidi, Jinshi background, and Jinshi background.

The "Jinshi Jidi" handpicked by the imperial pen will be able to glorify their ancestors and parade through the streets, while the "same Jinshi background" who falls to the end will have to endure the teasing of being compared with "Mrs. Ru".

But all of this depends on whether the candidates have successfully passed the "examination" and become "gongshi".

After the official's sound, another salute was fired at the entrance of the Gongyuan.The scholars were finally allowed to rush forward together to read the list.Those who found their names were ecstatic, while those who did not found them beat their chests and feet.

Those who were preparing to "catch a son-in-law" next to him were gearing up and ready to go.

Jia Zheng also followed the people around him and walked towards the announced list.Jia Fang saw that Jia Zheng was staggering along the road, so he helped him up.Together, the two brothers went to watch the list.

This list is written on wide-open gold sprinkled rice paper, with twenty names written on each page of the list. 290 six, that is fifteen lists.Jia Zheng walked up to the front of the list, starting from the [-]st one, and looked at each line, the more he looked, the worse his complexion became, and the more he looked, the more he murmured: "It's over, it's over..."

After finding the last one, Jia Zheng didn't see his name, so he turned around and looked at Jia Fang in a daze.At this moment, he calmed down a bit, just sighed, and said: "Third brother, your second brother didn't win your parents or our house..."

"Perhaps there is an opportunity to make the second brother stable, but the second brother didn't want it, so Shengsheng pushed this opportunity away..."

Jia Fang was extremely distressed when he heard what Jia Zheng said. He knew what Jia Zheng was talking about, and now he just wanted to praise Jia Zheng: being able to overcome his demons is probably more important than high school.But Jia Fang was thinking about Shui Xian's order, so he didn't dare to say a word to Jia Zheng, and only advised him: "Second brother also go and see the previous rankings!"

I just don't know if the test questions sealed with sealing wax in the box that Gao Shida gave to Jia Zheng earlier are the test questions of Jinke.But Shui Xian said that the test questions above were remote, and Lin Ruhai also said that the test questions in this subject were remote, at least both ends were matched.

Jia Zheng's eyes were filled with tears: "My third brother, you and your elder brother are both well-versed in the world and people. I am the only one who can't do anything. I can only study...but I passed the exam like this..."

Unexpectedly, at this moment, he heard Jia She's long laugh from a distance, and said loudly: "See, Jia Zheng of Jinling, that's my brother! The one hundred and third place is my brother!"

Jia Zheng straightened his eyes immediately, he never expected that his ranking was quite high.At this moment, he could barely walk, and he tremblingly wanted to take a step. Jia Fang directly dragged him, passed through the crowd, and came to Jia Shen's side.

Jia Zheng looked at his name on the list, two lines of tears rolled down immediately, and murmured: "Ten years of hard work, no one asked, and one fell swoop became famous all over the world... I have finally tasted this feeling."

But Jia Amnesty slapped Jia Zheng hard and said loudly, "Second brother, this is a happy event. Why are you crying?" As if by magic, the man took out a handful of money filled with scorpions from his pocket. He said in a loud voice: "Everyone, my second child won the one hundred and third place, I'm here to spread a little joy! Everyone come and get involved!"

It is a tradition in Beijing that this high school family distributes money at the scene of watching the rankings.It is said that being able to snatch these coins and hang them on the beds and desks of many students will bring good luck to those who come after them. .

This custom only exists in Beijing, so Huiyuan from Yuyao and No.2 Lin Ruhai from Gusu did not prepare in advance.As soon as Jia She took out the red envelope, it was as if a pot exploded in front of the list. People rushed towards Jia She, scrambling to get the happy money in his hand.

Hearing Jia Amnesty yelling "Successful", and seeing Jia Zheng's tears in front of the list, there are already those who "catch son-in-law" are ready to go out, and they are about to rush towards Jia Zheng. The man who caught the son-in-law only felt that all the people in front of him were "conformity to the crowd", and after a second look, Jia Zheng had long since disappeared, and only Jia She, who was "the eldest son in a few months", was there triumphantly in front of the list. .

At this time, Jia Fang had dragged Jia Zheng back to the car in Rongguo Mansion.Only then did Jia Fang solemnly salute Jia Zheng: "Second brother, congratulations to senior high school!"

Only then did Jia Zheng come to his senses: "Did I hit it? Did I really hit it? I didn't... did I really hit it without that?"

Jia Fang tried his best to reassure him: "Second brother, you really got hit! Take a look, you didn't rely on anyone but your own knowledge, didn't you get hit too?"

Jia Zheng suddenly felt complacent, sat upright in the carriage, and said solemnly: "There will be a palace test in the future, and now I really can't forget it. Third, what you said last time... His Royal Highness King Qing's theory, there is something Books, can you lend me a look?"

In Rongguo Mansion, Jia Daishan had already ordered someone to copy the list of candidates for general examination from beginning to end, and sent it to his study.He looked at his son's name with a very proud expression on his face.

Complacent for a while, Jia Daishan began to look at the names on the list again.When the staff of the Rong Mansion copied the list back, they had already made a lot of annotations, this person is outstanding in learning, this person is young and talented, and this person is not yet married.

After looking at it, Jia Daishan drew circles next to the names of several people on the list, thinking to himself: It's time to make plans for Min'er's marriage.

He, Rongguo Mansion, is naturally not happy to personally go to the list to catch his son-in-law.Jia Daishan knew that the old wife had already made an agreement on the marriage of the second son, but obviously he hadn't freed up his hands to think about the youngest daughter.There is no other way, but he, the father, can do it himself.