Half in the river wind, half in the clouds

As for Jiang Fei and Gao Hui's marriage, because Gao Hui resisted the marriage, the elders turned the semi-underground plan into a completely underground one, and no news of it was leaked out. This made Jiang Feng, who had overheard half of it that day, so anxious that he stamped his feet.

A pair of shoes fell down from the upstairs. The owner suddenly thought that it would affect the neighbor downstairs, so he gently put down the second pair. But the person downstairs waited until the second shoe fell to the ground before he could sleep peacefully. Jiang Feng still had some selfish expectations at this moment: Gao Hui was a rare romantic man, and he was deeply in love with her. With the majestic image of a love warrior, he broke free from the cage of parents' orders and matchmakers' words in feudal society and would marry her!

Compared to the fat cousin whom she only met once, Jiang Feng was of course willing to marry Gao Hui.

On June 13, Fei and Feng were presenting the embroidery they had just finished to Jiang's mother. Jiang's mother was very satisfied and was about to give some advice when she suddenly heard a gong sound outside. Then Nanny Sun ran in and tripped over the threshold, almost falling. She didn't have time to clean herself up and said excitedly with a rosy face, "Madam! Madam! Good news, my eldest brother passed the exam! Someone is out there to give the good news!"

Jiang's mother was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses. She was also excited, but her thoughts were still clear: "Hurry, send someone to invite the master back, You Ran prepare the wedding money, A Fei and A Feng come with me to take a look..."

Jiang Fei's joy and pride were beyond words. His brother had become a potential official. If he passed the imperial examination, he would be a prime minister! Now he had something to brag about to Qinru.

Jiang Feng thought, as expected, hard work pays off! Jiang Zuo studied hard for ten years and finally passed the imperial examination. From then on, he had made the leap to a new world!

The two sisters helped Jiang's mother and the maid to the front yard, where they saw three strong men outside the gate, each leading a tall horse, holding a piece of good news, and shouting in unison: "Please ask Lord Jiang to come out, your son has passed the imperial examination!"

The sound of gongs and drums had already alarmed the neighbors, and some of them followed the person who brought the good news. In short, the front of Jiang's house was already crowded with people. After a while, Jiang's father came back on horseback, and hurriedly took the good news, and then immediately gave the three people red envelopes to thank them, and asked the servants to scatter money to the onlookers who were asking for rewards.

After arriving at the main hall, Jiang's father suppressed his excitement, wiped away his tears of enthusiasm, and opened the "Golden Flower Postcard" with shaking hands. He saw that it listed the titles and signatures of the four chief officials, and it also read "Jiang Zuo of Liangzhou, born on February 7th, Tiance Wansui, his grandfather's taboo name is Jin, and his father's taboo name is Jingxiu. He ranked 17th in the first class in the second year of Jinglong."

Jiang's father burst into tears again and quickly instructed the steward to find a skilled craftsman to carefully frame the painting and hang it in the hall.

After a moment of excitement, Jiang's father was in a dilemma again. When Jiang Zuo took the imperial examination, he had never expected to pass it right away. Although he had high expectations for his eldest son, he was also prepared to take the exam again if he failed. Jiang's father knew how difficult the imperial examination was.

But who would have thought that Jiang Zuo would be so competitive! Therefore, Jiang's father began to be really troubled now, because the imperial examination was followed by the subject selection. The imperial examination was based on ability, but the subject selection was based on connections.

The Jinshi exam only gave one the qualification to be an official, but what kind of official position he could be in depended on the subject selection of the Ministry of Personnel. Subject selection was a watershed, and many people failed the exam. If they failed the exam repeatedly, they could only be a minor official in a prefecture or county, like Father Jiang, and the end of their career was clear at a glance. If they passed the exam, they would be able to leap over the dragon gate and enter the central government. The prime ministers and the heads of the three provinces and six ministries in the Tang Dynasty were all Jinshi subject selection candidates.

There is no need to go too far. Just look at that outstanding person, Shen Guxing, who passed the subject selection and was directly appointed as the Right Picker of the Eighth Rank, which was two ranks and six levels higher than Father Jiang. The key is that he is a Beijing official, who makes reports to the emperor and assists the prime minister. He has a promising future.

Jiang's father was like an ant on a hot pot, looking for ways to help his son. Dou Huairang's elder brother Dou Huaizhen became a censor, and he had already informed Jiang's father that he could use his elder brother's relationship to pave the way for Jiang Zuo. This was originally a very good thing, but at this moment Jiang's father hesitated!

Because Dou Huaizhen's reputation is really bad! She attached herself to Empress Wei, and married Empress Wei's wet nurse to please the empress. People at that time ridiculed her as a national traitor. With such an introducer, Jiang Lao always felt that Jiang Zuo's clear stream had become a muddy stream! Jiang Lao's idea at the bottom of society was simple, but irrefutable: the hen crowing at dawn was doomed to not last long. The world had suffered from Emperor Wu and Empress Wei for a long time. Opportunists like Dou Huaizhen would be finished sooner or later.

It's rare for Old Man Jiang to have such insight!

He politely declined his boss's offer, but had no other stepping stone.

After a few days, Jiang's father was furious, with blood blisters in his mouth. As he was holding the medicine with a frown on his face, Jiang Zuo's letter arrived: his good son had been favored by Prince Baling, so Jiang's father didn't have to rack his brains to find connections anymore.

Li Longfan, Prince of Baling, was later known as Prince of Qi, the fourth son of Prince of Xiang Li Dan, and the younger brother of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

After reading it, Jiang's father's face that had been gloomy for days disappeared. He did not reveal anything to others, only saying that he had done his best and believed in fate, and that what he would do was already determined.

Behind the scenes, they burn incense and pray to Buddha every day, begging God for food.

Jiang Feng was thinking about two things: First, Jiang Zuo was a young boy who was unfamiliar with the capital. How could he get in touch with the prince's connections? It was rumored that Shen Guxing had good relations with the royal family, and even the princess had taken a fancy to him. It seemed that this was true.

Secondly, he was able to see the big picture from the small details. First, Prince of Zhongshan Li Longye intervened in the military affairs of Liangzhou, and later Prince of Baling was in charge of the imperial examinations. It turned out that Li Dan's sons were not idle.

Father Jiang finally felt relieved, while Old Lady Jiang and Mother Jiang began to get busy. All the women from Liangzhou came to visit, and they came one after another in recent days, almost breaking the door of the Jiang family. Old Lady Jiang was old after all, so she only met those who had high positions and were easy to talk to, leaving the rest to Mother Jiang. Mother Jiang relied on her youth to entertain them with all her strength.

Jiang Feng would hide whenever she could, and pretend to be invisible when she couldn't. Jiang's mother didn't want to care about her, and always dragged Jiang Fei to meet guests. Occasionally, when the lady in the hall asked about it, she would personally drag Jiang Feng to dress up and go out to meet the guests.

After a while of dealing with each other, Jiang Fei was quiet and gentle, and the ladies of the families praised her endlessly. There were also a few blind families who actually took a fancy to Jiang Feng and showed the intention of marrying him. Jiang's mother used a little trick to get the better of him, and only said nice things to him, but she would never agree.

Jiang Feng naturally knew his own weight and would never get carried away because of this: In Liangzhou today, the Jiang family is the most popular. Originally, they were just an unknown ninth-rank official. Although Jiang's father Jingxiu was not a good official, his children were well educated. The eldest son had a good career and had been appointed as a ninth-rank secretary of the Secretariat. The son-in-law had just been promoted after meeting the Prince of Zhongshan. Although the second son was still a soldier, he was favored by General Guan. Since he had no daughter, he wanted to marry his niece to him. The most important thing was that the two delicate girls had excellent qualities, and they were good at needlework, sewing, playing chess, calligraphy and painting. Their appearance and temperament were also top-notch among the girls in Liangzhou. Among these official families, the wives of the governors were the most enthusiastic, and they kept praising Fei and Feng. Jiang Feng got goosebumps when he heard this, and couldn't help but sigh, is this still the wife of the governor with eyes on the top of her head? As the wife of the head of the Liangzhou administrative agency, Mrs. Dou's status among the female family members was naturally the highest, and she was always the object of scrambling for favor. Feifeng and the two girls from the ninth-rank official families were never in her eyes, and invitations to poetry gatherings, elegant gatherings, and spring outings were never sent to the Jiang family.

It is true that when one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit.

Fei and Feng finally broke out of the encirclement of middle-aged women and went out to see a group of young men coming in from the gate, talking loudly and in high spirits. Leading the way were the second brother Jiang, Gao Hui, and the second son of the governor's family, Dou Ding. Gao Hui had not been to the Jiang family for a long time, but Dou Ding appeared quite often.

Both sides stopped, Gao Hui was stunned for a moment, Jiang Feng's eyes were full of stars and the sea, his mouth moved as if he had a thousand words to say, but he was silent in the end. Jiang Fei's eyes were red, it was so hard to see the man she loved, but he was distracted and his mind was not on her at all. Dou Ding was fascinated, that Fei Se was fine, she was a beauty since she was a child, the amazing thing was that in a year or two, the one called Feng became more and more beautiful, he couldn't help but admire that Gao Hui had good taste.

Silly Second Brother was just wondering: Why is the atmosphere a bit weird?

These half-rebellious girls and boys are the most difficult to deal with. If you say they are mature, they don’t know that they need to control their emotions in public and let their seductive eyes fly around; if you say they are immature, they have a little love hidden in their hearts that only adults have.

Fifteen or sixteen years old in the 21st century is receiving nine years of compulsory education, and parents will be called if they fall in love. But these boys and girls have been matched several times by the ladies there. Jiang You has decided on Sister Shan Yue; the son of the county magistrate's family has said his aunt's cousin, and it is said that he got on the bus first and then bought the ticket; Gao Hui and Jiang Fei's marriage is also being plotted; Dou Ding's old mother is more picky and has already picked out all the girls of the right age in Liangzhou.

Jiang Feng was deliberately playing a prank, so he let the bullets fly for a while. So he didn't come out to smooth things over, and whoever couldn't stand it would be embarrassed.

"Hey, Second Young Master, Madam is waiting for you in the room. What are you doing here?" The governor's wife's nanny came out from behind the curtain and broke the silence.

As he spoke, he pushed Dou Ding into the house, and the group of boys followed him in.

Gao Hui deliberately stayed at the end of the team and mustered up the courage to speak: "A Feng..."

Both girls looked at him.

He scratched his head, a thin layer of red appeared on his face, and said, "Aobai brought back a hawk. I'll take you to see it someday."

This is truly a season for marriage for all things, even Oboi has married.

Jiang Feng looked at Jiang Fei's increasingly ugly expression and could only say, "My family has been very busy lately. I'm afraid I can't spare the time."

Looking up, the boy could not hide the disappointment in his eyes. Jiang Feng sighed in his heart and added: "But I have a name for it, let's call it Xiaobao."

"Okay! Let's call him Xiaobao." Gao Hui said firmly.

……

Back in the west wing, Jiang Fei had not yet come to her senses. She sat on the edge of the kang, looking at the various new toys on the alcove on one side: a foot-tall wooden pot-bellied doll with mortise and tenon joints, a brightly colored mermaid kite, an exquisitely made kaleidoscope mirror...all of which were bought by Gao Hui for Afeng.

Her grandmother once told her that Gao Hui definitely didn't treat Jiang Feng as just a sister, but she just didn't believe it. Now, thinking back to the past, and thinking about Gao Hui's inability to control himself just now, hatred rose from the bottom of her heart.

She twisted the handkerchief in her hand fiercely, and looked at the little girl angrily as she sat at the table, her left hand supporting her cheek, and a crimson wolf-hair brush flying on the white and slender fingertips of her right hand. When Jiang Fei was young, she thought it was fun and learned it for a while, but she broke several brushes and could only turn them clumsily a few times, but Jiang Feng seemed to be born with the ability.

At this moment, the girl's eyes were fixed on the rotating brush, but her mind was flying somewhere else. Her black hair, as black as crow feathers, was divided into two strands, tied with a gold and jade hairpin, and then naturally draped over her shoulders, without any decoration on her head. A strand of hair hung gently on the side of her face, occasionally gently caressing the girl's fair and delicate cheek with the breeze. The two pools of clear water in her eyes drifted away with the girl's mind, turning into clouds and rain.

In the past, Jiang Fei only thought that this girl was cute and round like a flower bud on a branch. Today, when he looked at her again with this emotion, he found that she had already bloomed shyly, and her beauty was breathtaking!

Jiang Fei's emotions also drifted away with Jiang Feng's eyes. She looked at the newly built bird nest under the corridor. The adult swallows had just brought back insects, and a group of young birds in the nest were chirping and crying for food.

Which child should I feed the worm to first? Mother Swallow was thinking.