The Jade of the Red Chamber

Before dawn on the eighteenth day, Lin Zhenyu got up and tossed about. After dressing up very carefully, she only went out with her long tail swing. Because Shui Yang insisted on following, this matter had to be kept a secret. Yule Deshuiyang is escorting him, although everything has been taken care of, but what if something goes wrong?You must know that the Qingxu Temple has always been the place where Jia's family is active, otherwise it would not be so easy to go out with the status of mother's aunt.

Arriving outside the temple, Zhenyu told Qiuqian to go play on her own. Seeing that Master Shen was with her, Qiuqian felt relieved and went for a stroll.

Zhenyu had already ordered someone to rent a small quiet courtyard in the temple. Every time in autumn and spring, officials would come to the temple to meditate, so it was very easy.The small courtyard closed the courtyard door and no one came to disturb it.Aunt Zhou would go to the wing room specially prepared by Guanzhong to sit and pray for blessings. In order to be safe, Aunt Zhou rented out the entire backyard with Yinzi. Qingxu Guan had seen the Jia family's wealth and grandeur before, so it was not surprising.Coincidentally, the two yards are very close to each other.

Waiting until Sishi, Chunfeng, Aunt Zhou's maid, passed by the small courtyard for an excuse, and met Zhenyu who was sitting in the small courtyard inadvertently. Hurry up and leave quickly.Lin Zhenyu concealed the courtyard door, forced herself to sit in the courtyard calmly.

Aunt Zhou asked Chuncao to change into her coat and sit in the quiet room. She dressed herself up like a maid, and under the cover of the spring breeze, she quietly went out of the backyard, avoiding other maids and wives, and took out a gray cloak from her bag to cover her face. After getting out of shape, he ran to the small courtyard, pushed open a crack and quickly entered the door.

In this room, Lin Zhenyu's eyes were already red, and she was choked up and unable to speak.Shui Yang sent the two of them to the room to have a private conversation, and waited in the yard by himself.

In the wing room, the mother and son cried and looked at each other for a long time, and Zhou Hui continued to say: "Grow up, my son has grown up!"Until noon, Shuiyang knocked on the door and handed in a large bamboo basket. Zhenyu stared at him gratefully with her rabbit eyes open. Shuiyang pointed to the small basket on the stone table in the yard, beckoning him to have dinner with Aunt Zhou, mother and son. I am ready in the courtyard.

Sitting next to each other, the mother and son ate their first meal together after eight years of parting, and they were both happy.He kept talking until the moment of Shen Shi, and the spring breeze had already passed by the door twice, so Shui Yang had no choice but to knock on the door of the wing room.Because Zhou Hui had to return to Jia's mansion before Youshi, the mother and son had to say goodbye reluctantly.

Aunt Zhou put on her cloak again, quietly went back to the secluded place in the backyard, put the cloak back into her bag, and quickly entered the quiet room with her head down.The maids and wives in the backyard have long been sent away by the good wine, good food and various snacks bought by the boy in the spring breeze, and went to the next room to make jokes.Aunt Zhou quickly changed clothes with Chuncao, packed up and ordered everyone to return home.

Lin Zhenyu and Shui Yang hid in an inconspicuous place outside the gate of Qingxu Temple, and they were relieved to see Aunt Zhou and her party leave safely.Lin Zhenyu touched the new purse from her mother in her bosom, her heart overflowing with joy.

Aunt Zhou was sitting in the Wulun Langai car, stroking the flat box in her arms from time to time, thinking that her son had lost his childishness, he was as gentle as jade, fresh and handsome, and felt happy and relieved for a moment, and it was inevitable that he would see him again. Some can't see the sourness of his growth.But as long as his son is promising and can live a smooth life, it's ten thousand times better than being in that mud nest in Jia's mansion!Thinking of Jia Huan's timid temper and Jia Baoyu's stubbornness and foolishness, Zhou Hui couldn't help sneering, "The family of Zhongming Dingshi, the family of calligraphy and poetry", such a child has no way to teach!Fortunately, my Jue'er left this swamp early!

After regaining consciousness for a moment, she saw Chuncao coming into the car, quickly took out a plate of pastries from the basket and handed it to her, and said in a low voice, "You didn't eat at noon, hurry up, go back and get some money and quietly let the small kitchen cook well." Set up a table for us to eat."

When I returned to Rongguo Mansion, Aunt Zhou went to the main room to greet Mrs. Wang. Chunfeng followed, but Chuncao left behind and rewarded four elderly people who followed the car, each with a plain purse, and a daughter-in-law and two mothers-in-law who went out with them. A pair of plum blossom-shaped silver pegs, even the two little maids got a handful of big money, and they were all so happy that they clapped their hands and called "Amitabha".For a while, the servant girls and women of the whole family all rumored that Aunt Zhou got the attention of his wife this week, otherwise he was an unfavored aunt, where did the money come from, it was not rewarded by his wife!

In the middle of the night when everyone was quiet, Aunt Zhou carefully took out the box, but it was Zhenyu who gave it to her before leaving.Aunt Zhou opened it and saw that it was a stack of banknotes. There were small broken banknotes, ten taels, 20 taels, and 50 taels most, and large ones, 100 taels, 500 taels, and 1000 taels. It turned out to be a 1 taels of "Household Banknote"!Aunt Zhou burst into tears, with mixed feelings. She knew that her son was trying to make things easier for the Jia family, who had a pair of rich eyes up and down. Really... Ever since Lin Zhenyu's shop made money, she had to include some banknotes every time she sent letters to Aunt Zhou, but Aunt Zhou was considerate of her son's difficulty, so she put them back every time she wrote back, and added some in the first few times. It's just a loving mother's heart and a filial son's affection.

Since meeting her mother-in-law on the [-]th, Lin Zhenyu has only devoted herself to studying and preparing for the provincial examination.Shui Yang came to accompany him when he was free, and the two of them read the stereotyped essays they had written over the years, and the other dealt with official business or flipped through idle books, occasionally chatting a few words, and they got along very well.It is not popular in this dynasty to visit officials and subordinates before the official examination. Officials who refer to clan members in the five servers must also avoid suspicion.Therefore, Zhenyu is quite leisurely these days, but occasionally exchanged some words with her friend Jin Kang and the three of them.

On the eighth day of August, before dawn, the scholars lined up in front of the Shuntian Gongyuan. Only a hundred steps away were the relatives and friends of the accompanying scholars. A line of soldiers in armor and sabers stood solemnly around the Gongyuan.Lin Zhenyu stood in the queue and glanced at the Gongyuan in front: in front of the gate there is an archway of "Tiankai Wenyun". " and "seeking talents for the country".Outside the gate of the Gongyuan are two gates, the east and the west, and the gates are divided into three gates: the middle gate, the left gate and the right gate.Therefore, when the gate of the Gongyuan was closed, Zhenyu could not see the layout inside, but could only see the walls of the Gongyuan surrounded by thorns, and each corner had a floor.Looking up to the top of the Gongyuan, you can see the towering first floor. Zhenyu knows that this is the famous "Mingyuan Tower". Whether the executive staff has the disadvantage of passing it on behalf of others. "This is stricter than modern times." Zhenyu thought.

There was a commotion ahead, and the three doors of the Tribute Court were opened wide, and this time the examiners and guards came out from inside.Lin Zhenyu wore a single layer of unsewn clothes and single-layer shoes and socks, and walked slowly with the team carrying the test basket.The person in front of him, already with gorgeous hair, handed the big test basket to the inspector with trembling hands, and tested all things in the basket: the inkstone must not be too thick, the barrel of the pen must be hollowed out, the wax table must be hollow to the bottom, the felt blanket must not have a lining, and the pastry must not be too thick. All must be cut...

Rows of horns in the tribute courtyard form a long alley with gates at the entrance.After entering, the gate was locked, and at the same time the gate of the Gongyuan was also closed, and guns were fired.

Lin Zhenyu looked at her house, it was very good, simple enough!In the case near the window, there are scrolls and a few blank papers for scholars’ drafts on the case. The only comfort in the dilapidated water basin is probably the new bucket in the corner.

The two rows of halls are opposite each other, and there is a corridor in the middle where three carriages can run side by side. Lin Zhenyu's hall is directly opposite the middle of the two halls.

Lin Zhenyu picked up the broken broom thrown in the corner of the wall, swept up and down the dust accumulated in the dormitory, opened the test basket, took out a piece of snow-white cotton cloth from it, soaked it, and cleaned the table case, bed board, window lattice, and water basin. Wipe them clean one by one.A scholar on the opposite side glanced at Zhenyu with disdain, then hurriedly looked down at the scroll.

Lin Zhenyu's test basket is quite large, and the inside is divided into several compartments with thin wooden boards. The things inside are prepared by Lin Hai and Jia Min, and some are added by water, such as food, water jars, medicines, cotton cloth, pens and inkstones Each candlestick occupies a grid.

Zhenyu put the pen, inkstone and wax stand on the table, and took out a very long piece of blue cotton cloth from the basket, which was specially woven for him by Shui Yang, but the single layer was thicker than ordinary cotton cloth Three or four times, Zhenyu folded it in thirds according to the length of the bed board, and the remaining section was just folded into several pillows.Lin Zhenyu patted the bed, very satisfied.At this time, Lin Zhenyu's dormitory was tidy and tidy, and the official Zhu Yi who came to this row of dormitory supervisors looked at Lin Zhenyu carefully, and the corners of his lips curled up, wondering what he was thinking.

Lin Zhenyu sat down in front of the desk after cleaning her hands and straightening her clothes. After grinding, she gently opened the roll.The township examination is divided into three sessions. In the first session, there are four books, three essays, and one five-character and eight-rhyme poem.Lin Zhenyu thought for a long time before drafting on white paper...

By noon, the weather was hot, and the candidates were already hungry. Many scholars took out cakes from the test basket, ate them hastily, and answered the papers.Lin Zhenyu also took out the meat cakes wrapped in oiled paper. These cakes were baked at the fourth watch this morning. For the convenience of inspection, they were cut into small pieces by the chef Ma Shou staring at the cook after cooling down, because It's hot, so this kind of meatloaf is only prepared, which is only enough for lunch.

After Lin Zhenyu ate the cake, she wiped her fingers with a cotton cloth, took out a jug and poured a porcelain cup of water.Because the township examination has always been taken three times in a row, each three days, only after the examiner collects the test papers and rings the gong on the day when each round ends, can the scholars leave the dormitory and stand quietly opposite the door of their dormitory. On the corridor, the water can only be picked up after the inspection officials push the water truck, so the scholars must save water, otherwise there will be no supplies in the game, and they can only be next to each other. If they faint or walk out of the dormitory, He would only be dragged out of the Gongyuan by the guards and be disqualified from the provincial examination.

Zhenyu read carefully what she had written in the morning, changed a few places, then put down the pen and paper, leaned on the bed and closed her eyes to rest.After half an hour, she got up, carefully poured out enough water from the jug to cover the bottom of the basin, washed her face and hands, and Lin Zhenyu continued to answer the questions energetically.I didn't stop writing until the end of Youshi.

The inspectors carried in two baskets of candles and distributed them to the scholars at the windows of each dormitory.After filling her stomach with cakes, Lin Zhenyu lit a candle, and carefully examined what she had done in the afternoon under the lamp, adding and subtracting a few places, and studied it again.After that, Lin Zhenyu tidied up the examination papers, drafts, pens and inks one by one, blew out the candles, lit wormwood to repel mosquitoes, and went to bed to rest.At this time, it is three o'clock in the morning.

Zhenyu lay on the hard bed and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep, she just smiled wryly in her heart, this life is too rich, can it be unbearable at all?For a while, I thought bitterly, this window frame without window screens and sash is also good, how cool it is when the small wind blows in!Slowly falling asleep while thinking wildly.

At this time, in the main courtyard of the Lin Mansion in Yangzhou, Ru Hai and Jia Min faced each other, secretly worried about the dilapidated environment of the Gongyuan, would Zhenyu be able to bear it?

Shui Yang has no errands for the time being, so he simply lives in Zhenyu's bedroom in Lin's house. Ma Shou and all the servants and women know that this young man is a close friend of the uncle, so they don't care, they just try their best to serve him well.

On the third day, Lin Zhenyu read through the draft, and after confirming that it was correct, he wrote one by one on the examination paper in correct regular script, and did not finish writing until noon. After the ink was dry, he checked it several times Then put it back on the roll.

At the hour of You, the golden bell rang, and the examiner neatly stacked the rolls of each dormitory in the wooden box carried by the two guards, and the inspector put away the draft paper.

After the golden gong sounded, all the scholars came out, all holding water pots, kettles and other things waiting to receive water.After a while, two huge waterwheels came slowly. The water in the waterwheels was well water, and there was no cooked water for them.

When the water truck arrived in front of Lin Zhenyu, the inspectors, guards, and a group of scholars were amazed to see that Zhenyu took out a huge water jug ​​and filled it with water, and then took out the old water basin in the dormitory The scoop was full of water, and everyone's faces were mixed for a while.Many scholars looked at the jug in their hands that was smaller than this man, and at the broken water basin in his hand, regretting and jealous.Lin Zhenyu turned a blind eye to these gazes, and only gently moved the full pots and basins to her feet, bowed her hands to the officials and guards, and stood aside quietly.Walking in the front, the prison officer in red clothes cast an interesting glance at Lin Zhenyu, and licked the corners of his lips.

Lin Zhenyu didn't dare to drink the unboiled water directly, who knows if it would cause diarrhea.Open the test basket and put a few pieces of torn iron amaranth leaves into the porcelain cup. This is what my mother told me when I came. Iron amaranth, also known as Yeli Zangzhu, is a very common herbal medicine, which can clear away heat and detoxify, and prevent bad Stomach, isn’t it necessary for Qiuwei~