"Since you're not going there,
I'll take you to the suburbs of the capital,
Where are you staying now? Is there a time limit for you to go back at night? "the Jia Zhen asked.
"Brother Yuan is lucky,
You came early,
You stayed in a temple in the suburbs of the capital,
I fell ill before I went to the capital,
I came a little late, so I stayed in the house of an uncle in Gusu. "Su Jiusi was a little helpless. His family was not poor, but everything in the capital was expensive.
He had brought a hundred taels of silver with him when he went to the capital. Now, he had already spent half of it, and he was still staying in his uncle's house.
If he had stayed in an inn, he would have left even faster.
The Jia Zhen nodded,
Scholars spent the most money. Brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone were not a small expense. Moreover,
After coming here, you had to buy articles that might be written by this chief examiner,
This was not a small expense,
If your family was not rich,
After buying these articles, they would exchange them to read. Of course, if your family was rich, you did not have to pay so much attention. You could just buy a set for yourself. This way, after reading it, you did not have to exchange it with others. It also saved you the trouble.
In addition, this was the capital, the most noble place in the world. The prices here were naturally higher than in other places. In other places, living in the city, five taels of silver should be enough to support an ordinary family of three for a year. In the capital, it would cost at least twenty taels of silver. Second only to the capital was Jiangnan.
Moreover, Yuan Lin and Su Jiusi's family background was not bad. They should be the sons of small landlords. However, the sons of small landlords were really nothing in the capital. It was no wonder that Yuan Lin would find a temple to stay in while Su Jiusi would stay in his uncle's house.
"Then do you want to move to my family's Zhuangzi? It's in the suburbs of the capital," the Jia Zhen asked.
Yuan Lin and Su Jiusi looked at each other and finally refused. "Brother Jia, I appreciate your kindness. Since we've already settled down, there's no need to trouble yourself too much."
The Jia Zhen nodded. He was just bringing it up. "It's getting late. We can go to the suburbs tomorrow."
Yuan Lin and Su Jiusi didn't have any objections. They felt that they were really lucky to be on good terms with Jia Zhen. They were the children of small landlords, so they were not pedantic people. They knew very well that Jia Zhen's identity as the son of the Minister of Rites was enough to attract many people to stick to him. However, among so many people, the son of the Minister of Rites was only on good terms with them. They felt lucky. If they felt ashamed and thought that they were sucking up to the son of the Minister of Rites and distancing themselves from him for the so-called face, they would be really stupid.
The Jia Zhen had a good impression of Yuan Lin and Su Jiusi, so he said that he would let them live in his family's Zhuangzi. If it were other people, the Jia Zhen wouldn't even pay attention to them. For example, Tian Jun, who said that he had an old relationship with the Fifth Princess, also used the identity of the Fifth Princess to get close to the Jia Zhen, but he was directly ignored by the Jia Zhen.
For the Jia Zhen, it was his father's order for him to make friends. If he could make friends, he would make friends. If he couldn't make friends, he could do whatever he wanted. He had a good impression of Yuan Lin and Su Jiusi, so he chose to make friends with them. If he didn't have friends from the same period, it would be fine. After all, he had Jia Jing's protection in the imperial court. Moreover, he and the Emperor had started a business partnership. For business partners, the Emperor had to take care of them.
Time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was the Chinese New Year. The Jia Zhen invited Yuan Lin and Su Jiusi to visit Zhuangzi, but he never brought them to Ningguo Province to entertain them. This couldn't be blamed on the Jia Zhen. After all, the Prince would come to his residence on the 25th of every month. If something happened, he couldn't bear the responsibility. Su Jiusi and Yuan Lin were very tactful. They never said that they would visit the Jia Zhen in Ningguo Province. For a while, the friendship between the three of them deepened.
Before the Chinese New Year, Lin Ruhai's mourning period ended. He went to the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs to report his work. The Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs didn't give him a clear answer. They just asked him to wait for news at home. Lin Ruhai was still a little anxious. He could only come to Jia Jing to ask about the situation in the imperial court.
"There should be a conclusion about your matter after the Chinese New Year. The Emperor seems to want to transfer you to Lantai. You should be prepared." Jia Jing also heard the news not long ago. Lantai was the Censorate. To put it bluntly, the Censorate's job was to criticize the Emperor's mistakes and the officials' mistakes. The Censorate's job was to offend people. As a Censorate, he had to be impartial. If he was careless, he could cause a big mistake.
"Lantai?" Lin Ruhai frowned. Why would the Emperor want to transfer him to Lantai?
Jia Jing nodded. "It should be close. The Emperor and the Minister of Official Personnel Affairs have discussed this matter. The Minister of Official Personnel Affairs secretly revealed this to me. You used to be a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue. Now that you are transferred to Lantai, you will be a third-rank physician in Lantai Temple. It can be considered a three-rank jump."
"Big Brother Jing, don't worry. I know what to do. I am already so old. I am not that naive. I will try my best to be fair." Lin Ruhai felt a little helpless. To be honest, if possible, he also didn't want to go to Lantai. Lantai was the same as the Six Ministries. It was the primary target of the Princes. After all, if the Princes wanted to attack the power of the other Princes, the Censorate of Lantai had to appear.
"Fortunately, you are only a third-rank physician in Lantai Temple. Above you are the Left and Right Censorate of Lantai Temple and the Left and Right Deputy Censorate of Lantai Temple. You are a newcomer. Don't force yourself. When there is a chance in the future, this old man will plead with the Emperor to see if he can transfer you out of Lantai Temple." Jia Jing sighed. He felt that Lin Ruhai was just unlucky to go to Lantai Temple. The Emperor wanted to place his own people in Lantai Temple and happened to see Lin Ruhai. He never thought that the Emperor was paving the way for Lin Ruhai.
Between the Salt Patrol Censorate and the Lantai Temple physician, Jia Jing would decisively let Lin Ruhai choose the Lantai Temple physician. When it came to salt, whoever got involved would be unlucky. More than half of the taxes paid in Jiangnan came from the salt tax. And half of the taxes paid in the whole country came from Jiangnan. It could be seen how important salt was. Unless they could break the monopoly of the salt merchants, this situation would continue.
Jia Jing's information was not wrong. After the New Year, the Emperor did transfer Lin Ruhai to Lantai Temple to become the Lantai Temple physician. Hearing the congratulations and envy of the other officials, Lin Ruhai and Jia Jing felt a little bitter. With their family's current situation, they would rather Lin Ruhai fight steadily and slowly advance in the Six Ministries. They didn't want Lin Ruhai to suddenly climb up the ranks. Climbing up the ranks quickly was often accompanied by danger.
This New Year's this year, Xia Lu also attended a banquet in the palace for the first time. He tasted the legendary exquisite and cold dishes.
In the first month, the Emperor empathized with the Jia Zhen. He didn't let the princes come to the Jia Zhen's mansion to disturb the Jia Zhen's revision. In the afternoon of the eighth day of the second month, Jia Zhen made an appointment with Yuan Lin and Su Jiusi to go to the examination hall for the examination. There were three rounds in the examination: the first round on the ninth, the second round on the twelfth, and the third round on the fifteenth. The examination content was the Four Books, the Five Characters and Eight Verse Poems, the Five Classics, and the Political Theory. It was similar to the provincial examination, but the content was more complicated than the provincial examination. Although each round lasted three days, the time to answer the questions was very tight. Coupled with the cold weather, it was not easy to answer the questions calmly.
Just as Xia Lu was waiting for Jia Zhen to come out of the examination hall, the Third Princess came to visit.
"You're here." Xia Lu quickly greeted the Third Princess and invited her to Ninggyeongdang.
"Get up. I saw that you haven't been to the shop recently, so I came to see you." The Third Princess sat down on the main seat.
"Isn't it because my master went to participate in the imperial examination? That's why there have been a lot of things happening in the mansion recently." Xia Lu sighed. He had studied hard for ten years just to see if he could pass this time. If he didn't pass, three years was not a simple word. He didn't know how much hardship he would have to endure. The imperial examination here was more intense than the college entrance examination in modern times.
"I think so too. However, you and Earl Jia have been married for so many years. It's really rare that you're still so loving." The Third Princess thought of her Fifth Sister again. If her Fifth Sister could also marry a man like Jia Zhen, she would suffer less in her life.
If Xia Lu knew what the Third Princess was thinking, he would only snicker. Love was mutual. Thinking about the Jia Zhen in the original work, he had to crawl in the dust with his daughter-in-law. Whether a marriage was good or not depended not only on the man, but also on the woman. She had put in a lot of effort to become a good man in the eyes of all the women today. To be honest, it was really difficult for the Fifth Princess to control the Jia Zhen.
"Princess and Prince are also a loving couple for so many years." Xia Lu complimented.
The Third Princess smiled. A loving couple? Only she knew the sadness in her heart. The only thing she knew more clearly than her Fifth Sister was that the marriage between her and Prince was just an agreement reached between Prince Beijing's Mansion and the royal family. Prince Beijing's Mansion would hand over the military power, and the royal family would marry their daughter to Prince Beijing's Mansion. It was that simple. However, because it was a political marriage, there was no love between them. However, she was still lucky. At least she was a princess, and Prince Beijing still respected her. Over the years, the Lord had many women around him. Fortunately, he still valued the marriage with the royal family and didn't have a concubine's son, so she didn't care. However, Earl Jia and his wife were completely different. Earl Jia was really chaste.
"What do you usually do in the mansion?" The Third Princess asked.
"There are many children in the mansion, so I can't do anything else. I can only write and write," Xia Lu said in her heart. There was also painting. However, that servant Jia Zhen said that her painting was too crafty, so she didn't say it out loud to show off.
The Third Princess thought of the children raised by Xia Lu. The children of the Lin Family, Rongguo Province, and Jia Jing were all raised by her. Now, the Emperor also sent the older prince to her mansion for a few days every month. She was really busy.
"Princess, what can I do for you today?" Xia Lu asked.
"Can't I come to you for no reason?" The Third Princess smiled and said.
"Of course not." Xia Lu hurriedly said.
"I really came here today to talk to you. I was bored in the mansion, so I wanted to go out and walk around. Well, I thought of you." With her status, in the entire capital, except for the concubines in the palace, only the Third Princess and Xia Lu could make her look up to them. The Third Princess was her sister who she had doted on since she was young. As for Xia Lu, she really liked to talk to Xia Lu. She liked to see the shadow of Xia Lu. She felt that Xia Lu was lively, unlike other wives who were monotonous.
"It just so happens that I also want to talk to Princess." Xia Lu was puzzled. It seemed that the Third Princess was really depressed, but why did she think of her, an outsider? If she was depressed, she should talk to the Fifth Princess. After all, they were good sisters.
The Third Princess smiled. Just as she was about to speak, Zi Yuan came in and said anxiously, "Madam, Young Master Lian was scratched by a cat."
"What? Scratched by a cat? "Xia Lu was anxious. There was no vaccine here. What if he was infected? Xia Lu immediately got up and wanted to see what was going on. After taking two steps, she remembered that there were guests here.
"Go ahead. I'll wait for you here." The Third Princess was very considerate.
"Thank you, Princess. There are books there. You can read them to pass the time. I'll be back soon." Xia Lu said.
"Okay." The Third Princess nodded. "Go ahead."
Xia Lu hurriedly followed Zi Yuan to Jia Lian's room. As she walked, she asked, "Why was he suddenly scratched by a cat?"
"Today, a few kittens came to the cat and dog room. Rong Ge saw them and wanted to catch them. However, the female cat saw them and stretched out her claws. When Young Master Lian saw it, he quickly blocked it for Rong Ge. He was scratched by the cat himself."
"Let's go and see." Xia Lu was very anxious. As soon as she arrived at the door of the cat and dog room, she heard Jia Lian's voice. "Wow, this raccoon slave is so beautiful. This one is beautiful too. They're both beautiful."
"I think this one is the prettiest," Jia Yao said.
Xia Lu walked in and saw four little people surrounding the kittens. The female cat was lying at the side, lazily basking in the sun. From time to time, she would swing her tail. She was very comfortable.
"Sister-in-law, you're here." Jin Yu saw Xia Lu and called out.
"Yes. I heard that Lian 'er was bitten by a cat. How is it? Let me see." Xia Lu asked.
"It's okay. I'm wearing thick clothes. The cat didn't use much strength." Jia Lian showed Xia Lu the wound. There were only three white marks. There was no broken skin and no blood. Xia Lu finally heaved a sigh of relief. In ancient times, it was really not easy to raise a child.
"That's good." Xia Lu turned her gaze to Jia Rong. The naughty child really needed to be taught a lesson. It was really a case of three days without a beating. Xia Lu's gaze changed and she walked towards Jia Rong.
Jia Rong looked at his mother and instantly felt danger approaching. He reacted quickly and quickly ran behind Jia Lian to hide. "Too, ah, hit …" Even if he couldn't complete his sentence, when danger approached, his sharp instincts as a small animal made him immediately seek protection.
Seeing Jia Rong run behind her, Jia Lian quickly reached out and blocked Jia Rong. "Sister-in-law, Little Nephew didn't do it on purpose. He just didn't control his strength well. The big raccoon slave doesn't blame Little Nephew anymore. Don't be angry. If you hurt yourself, Big Brother will be heartbroken when he comes back."
"That's right, Sister-in-law. Little Nephew knows his mistake." Jia Yao quickly came over and hugged Xia Lu's leg.
"Sister-in-law, if Little Nephew makes a mistake again, you can punish him again. I'll let it go this time." Lin Jinyu hugged Xia Lu's other leg. Poor little nephew, let's see if you can be naughty in the future.
Xia Lu narrowed his eyes and looked at the three little kids protecting Jia Rong. He was thinking of a plan to punish these little kids.
Jia Rong secretly peeked out from behind Jia Lian and glanced at Xia Lu before quickly retracting his gaze.
"Alright, I'll let him off this time. If there's a next time, I'll punish him according to the family rules." Xia Lu said.
Jia Lian and the other two heaved a sigh of relief. Jia Yao and Jinyu let go of Xia Lu's leg. Jia Lian turned around and said to Jia Rong, "Little Nephew, Sister-in-law won't punish you anymore. Be good." Jia Lian patted Jia Rong's head, acting like an uncle.
Xia Lu smiled and took a few steps forward to stand in front of Jia Rong. He reached out and grabbed the back of Jia Rong's collar. He lifted Jia Rong up and said, "En, your uncles won't be able to protect you now. You're getting bolder."
"Ah, ah!" Jia Rong's four limbs flailed in the air as he looked pitifully at his three uncles on the ground.
Jia Lian and the others were dumbfounded. They hurriedly went forward and hugged Xia Lu, begging Xia Lu to let Little Nephew go again.
Looking at the worried expressions of the three little ones, Xia Lu thought for a while and put Jia Rong down. He didn't care if Jia Rong understood or not and said, "If there's a next time, your uncles won't be able to plead for mercy." Xia Lu thought for a while. Since Jia Rong had grown up, he could just let him sleep with his uncles at night.
"Little Nephew definitely won't make a mistake again." Seeing Xia Lu put Jia Rong down, Jia Yao and the other two quickly hid their little nephew. They were afraid that Xia Lu would reach out again and lift Little Nephew into the air.
Jia Rong pouted and hid behind his uncles. He didn't cry.
"I'm leaving first. You guys have fun." Xia Lu turned around and glared at Jia Rong before leaving.
Seeing that Xia Lu had left, the three little ones finally heaved a sigh of relief. For the first time, they looked forward to their beloved sister-in-law leaving.
"I also want to ask Sister-in-law if we can raise a raccoon slave." Jia Yao suddenly remembered.
"Let's ask tomorrow. What if Sister-in-law remembers Little Nephew's mistake and wants to punish Little Nephew?" Lin Jinyu said.
"That's true. Let's ask tomorrow." Jia Lian and the others surrounded Jia Rong behind them.
Xia Lu returned to Ning Xi Hall and saw the Third Princess reading a book. It was really the travel book of Mrs. Sun that she wrote.
"You're back. Is it okay?" the Third Princess asked.
"It's okay. The children are naughty. They didn't hurt anything. I have already taught them a lesson." Xia Lu was a little helpless.
"They are all boys, so they are always naughty. If they are girls, they are much quieter. It's a pity that neither of our families has a daughter. Otherwise, we can arrange a marriage between them." The Third Princess really felt that it was a pity.
"Isn't it?" Xia Lu smiled. Prince Beijing's Mansion was indeed a good marriage partner. In the original novel, something happened to the Jia family, but Prince Beijing's Mansion was still fine. Moreover, Prince Beijing's Mansion had now handed over the military power and married the princess. It was already considered a member of the imperial family. As long as the next emperor ascended the throne and didn't get involved, there would be decades of prosperity.
Don't blame Xia Lu. She clearly traveled back in time from modern times. She didn't let the children have free love, but arranged marriages. The social situation here was mainly like this. Young people having free love didn't do anything to men, but it was very harmful to women. She couldn't sacrifice the reputation of other girls for her son's love. In ancient times, there were only three paths for a girl who lost her reputation. The first path was that the adults in the family were more ruthless and let the girl commit suicide. The second path was that the girl became a nun. The last path was to be carried to the man's family in a small sedan chair and become a concubine.
Even if you despised arranged marriages, it was reasonable to exist. In this era, such marriages were necessary.
Looking at the third princess, Xia Lu's thoughts wandered again. Her family didn't have such a thing, but the Lin family did. In modern times, when she read the Doujin novels in the Dream of the Red Chamber, many authors wrote that Sister Lin and Prince Beijing were a couple. The reason was the bracelet that Prince Beijing gave to Jia Baoyu. Jia Baoyu gave Jiang Yuhan the Songhua Handkerchief that Hua Xiren gave to Jia Baoyu. Later, Jiang Yuhan and Hua Xiren got married, which led to the association. If Sister Lin didn't lose the bracelet, was Sister Lin's husband Prince Beijing?
However, Xia Lu thought again. Sister Lin hadn't been born yet, but Prince Beijing's son Shui Rong was already seven years old this year. The age difference between the two was too big. Prince Beijing hadn't married yet at that time. Xia Lu shook her head, indicating that she shouldn't let her imagination run wild anymore.
"By the way, do you still have the second volume of Mrs. Sun's Travels?" asked the third princess.
Xia Lu was stunned. "There's more. What's wrong?"
"The story is quite interesting. Can you lend it to me?" asked the third princess.
"That's not a problem. Does the princess like this story?" asked Xia Lu.
The Third Princess nodded and said, "In order to pass the time, I read a lot of leisure books. There are novels and travel books. Generally, travel books are about the mountains and rivers of various places, customs, and specialties. As for novels, most of them are stories about scholars who love beauties. Those novels were written by those unhappy scholars, so it's okay to read them. But this book is different. Very few people combine novels and travel books. Moreover, the protagonist is different from ordinary novels, it's a woman."
Xia Lu smiled. Sure enough, the third princess had the same feeling as her.
"Do you know this Sun? Is she a scholar? It's rare to see such a woman who's so detached from the world. What other works does she have? "asked the third princess.
Xia Lu shook her head and said, "I only got it by chance. I'm not sure if she has other works." Xia Lu quickly covered her identity. It wasn't that she didn't want to reveal her identity. After all, the things she wrote were quite shocking. If it was spread out, she would definitely be cursed to death by those scholars. In addition, her little Zheng 'er's wife was taking the imperial examination. If her reputation was bad at this time, it would be harmful to her little Zheng' er's wife.
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