Red House Farm Stay

The pirates went ashore in autumn, and finally receded in winter. After this battle, Prince Zhongshun's reputation soared, and no one could shake his position for a while.The son of Prince Zhongshun wrote a letter, admiring Jinling's prosperity, and wanted to stay in Jinling.

The trick of asking for a letter to be kept as a hostage also made the emperor happy.

But after Dayue, he was furious, and there was no warning when he broke out. The general soldiers of the two governments were escorted to Beijing to thoroughly investigate the government's military abuses, and put an end to the lack of pay.

The newly appointed commander-in-chief acted vigorously, expanded the government soldiers, and checked the warehouses, digging more and more exploits inside.When the emperor saw the memorial, he was shocked and angry. If the pirates hadn't come ashore this time, he wouldn't have known that the government soldiers were nothing but empty shells and had been devoured by the rats long ago.

There is also a book in the imperial history, saying that the general soldiers of the two governments have too deep a relationship with Prince Zhongshun, so they should not be in command.But his words were drowned in the numerous memorials, not even a splash came up.

On the martial arts training ground in the backyard of Ma's house, Li Hong was standing with two buckets of water hanging from his shirt-sleeves.Ma Meng taught on the side, "You started too late, but fortunately your body is not bad and can withstand hardships. If you want to become a master, you have to endure hardships. Before practicing against Ma Zhou, you resisted all three moves. However, if you can stick to thirty strokes now, this is progress, but haste makes waste, what are you in a hurry for?"

"My nephew is not in a hurry, I just hate myself for not being up to date." On Li Hong's forehead, there were big beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. It was clearly winter, and others had already put on jackets. He was still sweating shirtless, You can see the hard work.

"This time, you are credited. It's a pity that he was too cunning and he escaped. You have to remember what we are here for. It is credit for collecting information and sending it back. As for how to use the information, is there any It is not our business to intervene." Mamon lowered his voice and said to him.

The training ground was empty and empty, and there was a wall in the distance. They spoke in a low voice, but the last thing they had to worry about was being overheard.

"It's my nephew who has a picture." Li Hong felt sad.

Ma Meng understood his thoughts, and said with relief: "I promised you, as long as you make great contributions, I will guarantee you to take mother out to live with you."

"Yes, my nephew won't be like this again." The bucket hanging on Li Hong's arm had already started to shake, and Ma Meng raised his hand, "Put it down."

Li Hong put down the bucket, his hand was so numb that it didn't look like his own, but he still followed the homework assigned by Ma Meng and practiced boxing before he was willing to go back to the house.

After returning to the house, he changed into a long gown. He thought there was a problem with his left, but he still had a problem with his right, so he simply asked Ma Meng, "Uncle Ma, can the Wang family win over?"

Ma Meng narrowed his eyes and sipped tea. Hearing this, he said slowly: "The Wang family knows a little about our identities, so they won't be curious. I hope we can leave safely. That's why I chose to join them. Living next door is much better than a neighbor who doesn't know the root cause of boring coveting. But you have to understand that the royal family lives in Jinling, and their ancestors were officials in the capital. They don't have the deep hatred we have, and they don't have the strong motives you have. .It is even more difficult to persuade."

Seeing Li Hong's disappointment, Ma Meng chuckled lightly and said, "But the advantage is that they have a natural and inseparable relationship with you. Needless to say afterwards, they are by no means the kind of people who don't know the current affairs. Right now, they Didn’t I also give you an idea? As long as you don’t say anything, they will still come up with the idea they should come up with, and smart people don’t mind leaving a way out for themselves.”

Although he couldn't recruit the Wang family, Ma Meng didn't mind his association with the Wang family, and Li Hong felt a little at ease.He asked Ma Meng again, "Forgive my nephew for being stupid, until now I don't know how Prince Zhongshun broke the game."

Ma Meng sighed, "Frozen three feet does not happen in a day. I am afraid that the image of extravagance and pleasure he has created over the years may not be broken in a short time. I am afraid that he has already made a plan and conspired with the pirates to pull out Chao Ping. The clans in the mansion who didn’t listen to him would then expose the status quo of the soldiers in the mansion. In the end, they settled for his own manpower. The Chaoping Mansion was his fief and he had been running it for many years. Without his help, the new chief soldier might not The barracks are out of reach."

"The whole thing has been calculated by him. There is only one thing that has been missed, that is, whether the cotton is exchanged for Japanese knives or the cooperation of pirates, it will be reported by the censor. Prince Zhongshun Walking around Jinling together with the eldest prince, they even took care of the harem. In addition, the previous image was so well managed, it is unlikely that the emperor will doubt him because of this incident."

Li Hong also understood that it was not that their information was not used well, but that an isolated incident could not support such a serious crime as treason.

Seeing that he understood, Ma Meng nodded in relief, "This year's sales route remains unchanged. Last year, Ma Zhou followed. This year, you can follow me."

Li Hong knew that he was obviously selling goods, but he was secretly communicating with the hidden piles along the way. This was definitely improving himself, and he clasped his fists gratefully, "Uncle Ma, Hong will report it in the future."

The Wang family didn't know that there were turmoil in the court, and the whole family was anxiously hoping that Ban'er's courtyard examination could be passed in one fell swoop.

"Don't be nervous, Baner will definitely do it." Grandma Liu couldn't help laughing as she watched Mrs. Liu walking around the yard waiting for the announcement.

"Yes, yes, it will definitely work." Mrs. Liu said so, keeping her eyes on the door.Except for the two of them, the whole family went out.

After a while, I heard their voices coming back.

"Mother, my brother won, won. From now on, my brother will be a scholar, Wang Xiucai, you are a scholar his mother." Qing'er ran at the front, and plunged into Liu's arms chattering.

As soon as Mrs. Liu hugged her daughter, tears fell down in a blink of an eye. Scholar, my father-in-law was always talking about his scholarly family, his farming and studying family, and he must not forget his roots.

She clasped her hands together and knelt down in the direction of the Wang family's ancestral grave, "The ancestors of the Wang family, did you hear that? Ban'er, Ban'er is a scholar."

"Okay, it's because of your ancestors' blessing that you are excited, they must know." Wang Gou'er came in, with tears in his eyes, but he pulled Shi Liu up and patted her on the back hard. laughed.

"Let's go back to Xianghe Village tomorrow to pay homage to our ancestors." Wang Gou'er looked at Liu Shi, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and pressed her shoulder hard.

"Xiao, I'm going tomorrow, the whole family is going, what about Ban'er, where is Ban'er going?" Mrs. Liu only saw the two girls' homes, but not Ban'er.

"I met my classmates and went to drink." Qing'er interjected.

"Did you give him any money?" Mrs. Liu was always worried that her son would not have enough money to pay the bill.

"Worry." Wang Gou'er dropped a sentence, ignored her, opened the door, and lit a set of firecrackers.Qing'er and Jia Zhuo hurriedly put the candies they bought on the road on a plate, and took them outside for the neighbor's children who were watching the fun to take at will.

Not long after, the neighbors who got the news all came to the door, even Li Zheng came to congratulate him.Wang Gou'er cupped his hands again and again, "Thank you very much, our family will go back to our hometown tomorrow to worship our ancestors, and when we come back in two days, please treat us to a meal of wine."

"If you don't take care of this drink, we will come to ask for it. It doesn't matter if you eat or not, but the scholar's drink will not be spared." Li Zheng laughed loudly. At this time, who is the icing on the cake.

The Wang family did not stop, went back to Xianghe Village to worship their ancestors, went back to Xiaodongshan, and invited the villagers of Liujia Village to have a drink, and then returned to Wannian County to invite the teachers and classmates of the school to have a drink, and invited the neighbors to have a drink.The family has been so busy with this matter that they are almost on the verge of celebrating the New Year.

In addition to the county magistrate's gift this year, there is also the East Mansion of the Li family.Jia Lan won the election only because the pirate rebellion at that time was not a big deal, and he just invited acquaintances to his house for a drink in a low-key way, and he didn't even hold the flowing water banquet that Li Wan had planned for a long time.

Among the people Jia Lan invited was Ban Er, who treated him like a guest of honor.Outsiders only thought that he was in Jia Lan's favor, but no one knew that Jia Lan actually regarded him as his own family.He also shared the strategies and theories he had written during the college examination, as well as the temperament and preferences of the examiners who might be sent to take the exam.

After Jia Zhuo found out, he also accepted his love, and praised him in his heart for being smart, knowing that his sister could not use his strength, so he simply used his strength against Ban'er.

Facing Ban'er who was about to take a hospital exam, the help he got from him was extremely important.The Wang family couldn't afford to refuse such a benefit, and Ban'er admired his knowledge even more, so Jia Zhuo had no choice but to put away his attitude of not being in touch with each other, and treat him as a friend of Ban'er who is also a teacher and a friend.

Mrs. Liu took the two girls to the county magistrate's annual ceremony. The county magistrate's wife had a daughter this year, and Qing'er's embroidery skills came in handy again. A fringe of white rabbit fur and a pair of exquisite sheepskin boots, Mrs. Qin couldn't put it down.

The annual ceremony here in Jialan is much more monotonous. Except for a pot of Doro with a bright future, the rest are two inkstones, some dry goods, homemade cornmeal and smoked bacon.

"He's going to Jinling to take the spring exam after the Chinese New Year." Jia Zhuo turned his head and asked Baner as he was preparing for Jia Lan's New Year gift.

After the township examination, there will be the general examination, which will be in February, so I will also take the test.If you are selected as Gongsheng, Gongsheng enters the Jinluan Hall to participate in the palace examination in April, and the emperor personally selects Jinshi candidates, and then he can be awarded an official.

"Well, Brother Jia has already registered his name in the Ministry of Officials. If he is lucky, it would be best if he can pass the Spring Examination and Palace Examination. If not, he will probably find a way to find a vacancy."

"Don't you have to be a Jinshi to be awarded an official?" Jia Zhuo was a little confused.

"As long as you win the imperial examination, you can go to the Ministry of Officials to register as a candidate. If there is a suitable vacancy, you can be appointed as an official. But if you want to find a good vacancy, it is very difficult. If you have many candidates with this idea, you will wait for a lifetime. , and you can’t wait for a vacancy. You don’t pick or pick, but there are.”

Ban'er explained to her that the safest thing is to pass the palace examination, but even if you really pass the palace examination, if you want to find a good job, you still need connections.It's just that if you are a Jinshi, your official career will be much smoother after all.

It was only then that Jia Zhuo suddenly realized that it was indeed extremely difficult to pass the exam step by step.

In the time and space she lived in, people often criticized the imperial examination system for killing nature and imprisoning people's thoughts, but she really didn't think so.If such a large country wants to select talents through a fair system, shouldn't it learn the four books, five classics and six arts that are respected by the world, and shouldn't it establish a set of rigorous standards?

The person who can be selected among so many people, not to mention other things, self-discipline, IQ, it is not too much to say that he is superior.Although there are also many who are stupid in reading, only know that there is a golden house in the book, but they don't know the people who are flexible, but such people will not stay in the local government for a long time. Most of them vote for the Overwatch Council or devote themselves to organizing files. Class of office.

Those who can really be a good official in the local area and get praise are those who can integrate books and reality.

"His grandfather should help him out." Jia Zhuo was unsure again when he thought about what happened in Xia Tian.

"I only know that Xiong Jia didn't live in Li's mansion during the township examination, but lived in a house bought by his mother. It was said that it was close to the examination room. When he left the examination room, his cousin went to pick him up, but he didn't go back. He only brought him a few days later. After receiving a gift, I entered the gate of Li's house and kowtowed to Mrs. Li and Mrs. Li."

After Ban'er said this, Jia Zhuo knew that Jia Lan and the Li family had already had such a deadlock.

"It's not surprising that Prince Zhongshun is in full swing, and the Li family has caught people's eyes by stealing food before. After all, such a big family, in the face of fame and wealth, who can really let go, no matter how difficult it is." Jia Zhuo Shaking his head, Li Shouzhong had two lives for his daughter and grandson back then, so naturally he had risked his life.

But after being rescued, there is no need to worry about his life anymore. The official career of his son and grandson, and the bumps and bumps in getting along with each other, all come.No matter how much the old man loves his daughter and grandson, doesn't he love his son and grandson? At this time, the palms and backs of his hands are full of flesh, and he can only turn a blind eye to many things.

Jia Lan Zhongju, even Jia Lian also sent gifts, Jia Yun who came back from other places, and Jia Qiang who has been in Jinling all the time.Even Wang Ren and Jia Rong gave gifts to each other, and in the end, Jia Lan sent someone to send them back as they were.Whether they are embarrassed or not is not what Jalan considers.

It's just that Jia Lan didn't say these things, so Jia Zhuo and Ban'er had no way of knowing.

Ban'er went to give New Year's gifts, and when he came back, he brought back two people. Jia Yun and Xiaohong and his wife sat in the mule cart and secretly went to Wang's house to see Jia Zhuo.

"Greetings to Miss." Xiaohong wanted to salute again, but Jia Zhuo held her hand.

"Sister-in-law Yun'er says that again, I'm really going to get angry."

Jia Yun also smiled and said, "We are all family members, so don't go through the old calendar anymore." After so many years of experience outside, Jia Yun's whole temperament has changed. It's completely like a businessman who makes money with kindness.

The two of them greeted Grandma Liu and said hello to Wang Gou'er and his wife before sitting down to have tea.

"This time it can be said that they have returned from a calamity..." Jia Yun and Wang Gou'er talked, and it was only then that Jia Zhuo knew that they had come back from Chaoping Mansion, just after the pirate rebellion.

"We planned to leave as soon as we received the news, but Prince Zhongshun blocked all the official roads, saying that he was afraid that pirates would join in and go to Jinling to assassinate. We had to delay until the end of the war." Jia Yun mentioned these experiences, and also said: I have lingering fears.

"Isn't it? Several big families will be gone if they say they are gone. Hundreds of people will die, and none of them will be left." Lin Xiaohong thought of what she heard every day at that time, and she could only sigh.

Mentioning the soldiers Jia Yun even shook her head, "You are usually a soldier, but you are a bear in battle. It is not as useful as the personal guards of the Zhongshun Palace."

"Fortunately, the imperial court has sent people to rectify it. I think it will be fine." Wang Gou'er said casually and frowned again. Chaoping Mansion and Kangnan Mansion were rectified, but other places.

Thinking that the whole army of Dayue was nothing but empty shells, Wang Gou'er shuddered a little.

This topic was too heavy, everyone tacitly turned a corner and talked about other things.

During the New Year's Eve, Qing'er also gave New Year's gifts to her close friends, and they all returned the gifts. Children's homes are nothing more than a pot of flowers and a piece of handkerchief. Those who can read will also write their own letters. .

Qing'er only knew the benefits of calligraphy at this time, but she couldn't do it overnight, so she took the letter and asked Jia Zhuo to read it to her.

"Yo, the girl from the Zhao family has pretty good handwriting." Jia Zhuo opened the letter and smiled. Because the Zhao family is a businessman, both men and women must be able to read and write. Literacy is not for arty, but for practical needs.

In the letter, the girl from the Zhao family complained to Qing'er, saying that she didn't learn the rules well and was watched by her mother every day, so she was afraid that something would go wrong when she went out to sit with guests during the Chinese New Year.

He also said that the third aunt was crying poor, and she didn't make new clothes for the New Year, so her mother spent her own money to make clothes for her, for fear that others would laugh at their family.

Jia Zhuo knew a little bit about the situation of the Liu family. The old man divided the business among his sons, which meant that they divided the property and did not divide the family. They usually spent their own expenses.As for new clothes, everyone should buy their own, but Bai Xi's doing so is really unreasonable.

Then there was a lot of miscellaneous talk, and another very funny thing, also about the third aunt, saying that she secretly dug the cellar at home, and the women reported it to her mother early in the morning. Afraid that she wanted to hide the dowry, she had no choice but to pretend that she didn't know.

A whole room of people clearly knew what she was doing, but they pretended not to know, and even deliberately avoided her for her convenience.

Jia Zhuo laughed while reading, and Qing'er rolled into a ball laughing.How unreliable Bai Xi is, even a child knows it, and pretends to be very successful.

"However, sister, she really dug the cellar to hide the dowry." Qing'er folded the letter, making up her mind to learn how to read and write with Jia Zhuo.

"How is it possible? The dowry has a dowry list, and the mother's family keeps the bottom. Besides, is the Zhao family such a family?" The Zhao family is really that kind of family, and they would not be able to get along with so many officials as merchants. deal with.

After Jia Zhuo finished speaking, she was also stunned, yes, then why did she dig the cellar.

Tibetan?Don't be kidding, you can't hide people in the cellar, you can only hide people by digging a tunnel, and you have to consider ventilation and other measures, it's definitely not something she can dig with just a few people.

Hiding something?It's doable, but it's certainly not a hidden dowry.

What exactly Bai Xi wanted to hide became the biggest mystery in the hearts of the two young ladies, and in the end it was Ban Er who heard it and laughed.

"Just look at what she bought recently. If she didn't buy anything, it was what she had originally. If she bought something, it was what she bought."

Jia Zhuo smacked his lips, okay boy, his mind is getting more and more flexible.

"But how do we know what she bought?" Qing'er still felt that she couldn't find the answer.

"We don't know, isn't there a girl from the Zhao family? Doesn't she want to know what treasures her third aunt has hidden?"

Jia Zhuo replied to Qing'er's letter, and it was Lala Zaza who talked about the things around Datong, pretending to be unintentional, and jotted it down, "I don't know what good things your third aunt bought and wanted to hide, it can't be Found a treasure somewhere, ready to move back home."

It's purely a childish joke, but I don't know if the Zhao family girl can understand it.

The girl from the Zhao family did not hear it, but she knew how to tell it, and told her mother as a joke while chatting.As a result, the grandmother of the Zhao family really noticed something strange. This nervous third sister-in-law actually asked someone to buy a lot of food back.

"Is it really food?"

Qing'er was invited to go to the Zhao family, and spent half a day with the girls of the Zhao family, and when she came back, she told the news.Jia Zhuo listened, but he was not as happy as Qing'er.

Instead, he froze his face, thoughtful.

"Sister, is there a problem here?" Seeing that Jia Zhuo didn't smile, Qing'er also panicked.

"In addition to food, she also bought a lot of dry goods..." Qing'er told her everything she knew, without daring to miss a single word.

It's all shelf-stable food, why would she do that?

What happened in Jinling?How is it possible, this is just a joke, unless Dai Viet's regime is overthrown, how is it possible...

Wait, what if there is a war?If you don't surrender, you will besiege the city for ten days and one month.If the incident happened suddenly, where would ordinary people have much food in storage, wouldn't it be...

Jia Zhuo's teeth began to tremble, she wished she could rush to Zhao's house to ask Bai Xi to find out, this is a matter that concerns many lives, how can she not make any effort, just thinking that she can escape robbery.

"Sister, sister, what's the matter with you, sister." Seeing Jia Zhuo's reluctance to speak, Qing'er was startled and cried.

"Brother, come quickly, come quickly." Qing'er started to call Ban'er loudly, and when he heard the sound outside, Ban'er, who was studying in the room, had already walked out quickly.

"Xiao Zhuo, Xiao Zhuo." Ban'er hugged Jia Zhuo and ran his hands along her back, "What happened to your sister? Did you scare her?" He turned his head and asked his sister again.

Jia Zhuo let out a long breath, came back to his senses, looked at Ban'er and Qing'er firmly, and said with a serious expression: "There is something I have to tell you."

Ban'er looked at her intently, waved his fingers in front of her, and said cautiously: "Do you still remember my name?"

"I knew a long time ago that my sister descended from a fairy, didn't she?" Qing'er didn't know where she had gotten into, and suddenly became excited, she rushed over to hug Jia Zhuo and said loudly.