[Qing Chuan + Red Mansion] Midas touch

Martial arts test?

No. 20 one?

What is this all about?

Aunt Xue stared blankly at the daughter-in-law in charge opening and closing her mouth, but she couldn't understand what she meant?

Not to mention Aunt Xue, even Zuo Xi was a little dazed.

She could hear every word clearly, but how could this have anything to do with her family's silly brother Spore?

Everyone was going to have lunch, but as soon as the daughter-in-law of the Xue family came in, she knelt down and talked like this, making the whole Rongqing hall so quiet that a needle could be heard.The daughter-in-law saw that everyone looked confused, suppressed her pride, and then smiled and said to everyone, or to Aunt Xue and Zuo Xi:

"Our uncle wholeheartedly wants to become an official in martial arts. In recent years, he has been studying hard and preparing for the exam. He has passed five stages and cut six generals all the way. He has made it to today with all kinds of difficulties. The uncle is afraid that his wife and girls will miss him, so he keeps calling it a secret. Sir The housekeeper took the first-class award and rewarded the official who announced the good news to the court, and now he is waiting for the wife and the girl to return to the mansion to take charge of the affairs."

In the Qing Dynasty, there were not a few subjects to be tested in martial arts, but many of them were Xue Pan's strengths.

Horseback Archery, Pegasus Rapid Archery, School Field Foot Archery, Strength Competition, etc., the above scores are selected for admission to take part in the written test.

During the Kangxi period, the written examination consisted of one essay on policy and two essays on theory.The title of the policy comes from the three military books of "Sun Tzu", "Wu Zi" and "Sima Fa".Topics only come from "The Analects" and "Mencius".

After the difficulty of the exam was lowered, Zhou Yun and others wrote model essays for him.Carrying out effective targeted exercises like this also greatly increased Xue Pan's probability of passing the exam.

A good memory is not as good as a bad pen. I copy those model essays two or three times a day, and there is always one that I can use in the written test.

However, he was able to pass the No. 20 exam. Apart from his own hard work and the hard work of his friends, it is estimated that the Xue family's ancestral grave is also full of smoke.After all, Liu Xianglian, who went to compete with her, was at the top of the martial arts test, but her score in the written test was lower, and her final ranking was not as good as that of Xue Pan.

Of course, this is also the reason why Liu Xianglian has a high self-esteem and refuses to ask professionals to grab the pen.

After hearing this, Aunt Xue was too excited to speak.When I touched my face, it was full of tears.And Zuo Xi also felt a little sore after listening to the daughter-in-law's words.

When she fooled Xue Pan back then, she really didn't have much hope.He thought to himself that if he could practice the archery technique, he would be considered a skill, and he would be able to support his family as a hunter in the future.Then little by little, when every day is full and surprising, Xue Pan has really come to today with a little faith and recognition.

She was wrong, she was really wrong.

She thought that the most jaw-dropping event this year was the adoption of the fourteenth elder brother, but it turned out that the biggest event was at her house, by her side, her brother.

Wow, Zuo Xi's right hand was placed on the heart, and the whole person was a little excited.

It's so fantasy, is there any~

After receiving such news, Aunt Xue and Zuo Xi couldn't stay in Rongguo Mansion anymore.So the meal stopped, and the two of them got up and prepared to say goodbye.

It was also at this time that the female family members of the Jia family in the house reacted and said congratulations to Zuo Xi and Aunt Xue.But anyone with a discerning eye can see how unnatural their expressions are, and how insincere this congratulation is.

Aunt Xue couldn't care about this anymore. Zuo Xi felt that being alone is worse than being happy with others, and that these female relatives should not be too disappointed, so she said sincerely to Mother Jia and others, "I lived in the garden earlier, and I lived in the garden every day. Sooner or later, I have to go to Changcui Nunnery to offer incense and kowtow to the Bodhisattva. Every now and then, I also bring some things to the Yangsheng Hall to do good deeds. Now the Bodhisattva sees my sincerity and makes my wishes come true. It can be seen that as long as the heart is sincere, this operation is also true. Very useful. I will come back to fulfill my wish when I have free time later."

Good guy, just one sentence gave Xue Pan's efforts to the Bodhisattva.Then because Zuo Xi didn't live in Grand View Garden anymore, Quicui'an, who was a little deserted, became angry again because of Zuo Xi's words.

Miaoyu stood in front of the Avalokitesvara statue in Changcui Temple with a whisk in her hand, with a confused look on her face.

That man comes to Changcui Temple every day, is this really what he is asking for?

The family of Rongguo Mansion may not be as happy as the Xue family.Especially when Xue Pan, who seemed to them to have nothing to do, turned out to be as handsome as he is today, he was in a rather unhappy mood.

The Rongguo Mansion started out as a military general, but now it has fallen to the point where it is impossible to achieve success in writing or martial arts.The men in the whole family have no real errands, apart from Baoyu being born with a piece of jade, all they can show off is that there is a concubine in the family.But that's it, the family is still living a life of drunkenness and dreams.

For the Xue family, they were sympathetic at first, with a little envy and disdain in addition to sympathy.

I envy my family with fewer people and more money.They despise that their family does not have a title, but is just a merchant family.

But it will be different in the future.

In the past, Zuo Xi was just a merchant woman, to put it mildly, she was an imperial merchant. After Ziwei gave up her husband, to put it bluntly, her status has always been the lowest among the sisters.Now that Xue Pan has won the No. 20 in this subject, it is a certainty that he will become a scholar.

Especially for Wang Ziteng, the uncle, who is also a military officer like the Nine Provinces Command, it would be easy to arrange and support his own nephew.Perhaps in the future, Zuo Xi's status will be the highest among their sisters.

No, it must be.

For a while, apart from Baoyu's daily disgust, there is another stupidity in the world?Besides, everyone else fell into a state of envy, jealousy and hatred.

However, the Xue family, especially Zuo Xi, could no longer take care of these matters.

As soon as Xue Pan's ranking came out, Xue Pan was awarded an official by the Ministry of Officials.

Zhengliupin, hundreds of households.

The official position is not high, but it is not low for someone like Xue Pan who has just entered the scholar.To be able to get this six-rank errand, it was because of the face of the ninth master and the fifth master that the official department took care of.

As soon as the official letter of appointment from the Ministry of Officials was delivered to the Xue family, the Xue family was no longer a royal merchant's family.Aunt Xue touched the official documents over and over again, crying uncontrollably.

Seeing that his old lady was so happy, Xue Pan glanced at Zhou Yun, and said without holding back that he had asked the court to seal Aunt Xue.

Rank five and above are imperial orders, and rank six and below are imperial orders.Although Xue Pan can only ask Aunt Xue for an imperial order now, Xue Pan is still proud.

This is something his father can't do.

After these words brought more tears from Aunt Xue, Xue Pan turned to look at Zuo Xi who had been quietly sitting next to him, "Sister~"

Zuo Xi pursed her lips when she heard the words, her heart was softened by this silly brother Spore.After nodding heavily to him several times, he said with certainty, "I always knew that my brother would definitely be able to do it."

After speaking to Xue Pan, Zuo Xi got up again and saluted Zhou Yun, thanking him for his help.

Zhou Yun returned a salute and hurriedly said a few words of humility.Then he talked about Xue Pan's taking office.

"Originally, such a great event should have invited relatives and friends to celebrate it. I just thought that the uncle has just entered the military, so we might as well keep a low profile. When the uncle has gained a firm foothold in the cavalry battalion and the first month is negotiated, then we will grow up again." Banqueting with guests and friends will not make people think that our family is crazy, but it will also let people know that the Xue family has changed their family in the past two months.

Another one, didn't the wife say that she wanted to choose a good marriage for the uncle among the girls who will be drafted next year.My wife is gentle..."

Aunt Xue has soft ears and doesn't know how to reject others.If someone wants to marry the daughter of the family to Xue Pan now, I am afraid that Aunt Xue will not be able to refuse.When the first month comes, with the precipitation of the past two months, people will no longer always treat Aunt Xue as a business woman, and even if someone brings up the marriage again, they will not be as "benevolent" as they are now. The concubine at home got married.

Come on, Zuo Xi understands that Zhou Yun is guarding against the Jia family.

With the financial strength of the Xue family and Xue Pan's official position, Mr. Jia might really be able to pick Xue Pan as Jackie Chan's son-in-law.

Speaking of this, Xue Pan blushed first, and then said to Aunt Xue, Zuo Xi, and Zhou Yun who was beside him: "On the eleventh day ago, he told me that there were two foster nuns in his palace who were going to be released. Thinking about waiting for my sister to enter the palace, Mom will be bored at home alone, and there is no one close to discuss anything. The two of them have experienced in the palace anyway, so they can help. Eleven also said that Mom will There are too many entertainments, and there are a lot of rules of the official family members who have to be followed. I thought it would be reasonable on the eleventh, so I asked him to send the two nuns to our house in two days."

When Zhou Yun heard this, he nodded again and again, "That's very good." He was afraid that Aunt Xue would get into some tricks when she went out to socialize, or that there would be some trouble when Aunt Xue went out to see the marriage.

Zuo Xi rubbed his ears, and said in a low voice, "Just in time, those rules in the palace are quite unfamiliar, so I should pick them up."

Aunt Xue/Xue Pan/Zhou Yun: "..."

Girl, when you say this now, have you considered the feelings of others?

╮(╯▽╰)╭

While the four were talking, some people came back and forth, saying that someone from the Wang family had come, and Wang Ziteng asked Xue Pan to go.

After hearing this, Aunt Xue and Zuo Xi had no idea.However, Zhou Yun immediately thought that Wang Ziteng called Xue Pan to come over to ask the official.

It stands to reason that it is not possible to be awarded an official immediately after obtaining a ranking in the examination.Some people may have to wait for a long time to get the official letter from the Ministry of Officials, or even spend money to get a position and take up the post.Someone like Xue Pan, who was neither the top three nor the top five or six, and got an official the next day, must have lost some connections.

Wang Ziteng had just received the good news from Xue's family, but he was still thinking about his nephew's future.Thinking about waiting for the Xue family to come to the door, he helped to get the official appointment.I don't want to wait for the Xue family to come to the door, and Xue Pan will be appointed as an official.

As soon as he heard that both Master Jiu and Master Wu had sent a message to the official department, Wang Ziteng was a little displeased.

Let your uncle not beg, but you beg for outsiders, what's the point?

Another one, Wang Ziteng thought about the future of the fifth and ninth masters, and felt that his nephew was out of his mind.

Follow these two worthless bastards, what else can you do in this life.It's not about taking one's official career as a joke.

Wang Laoer was so angry that he slapped the table and stared, shouting loudly that Xue Pan would be sent to see him.

Zhou Yun accompanied Xue Pan to go out. Along the way, he analyzed with Xue Pan what Wang Ziteng might say, and at the same time taught Xue Pan how to deal with it.

This Wang Ziteng is not only your own uncle, but also a senior member of the court, now that the opportunity has come, you might as well use him to practice your skills.

I don't know what kind of coincidence, but Zhenghongqi's cavalry battalion is stationed in Hongyun Town, [-] miles north of Xiaotang Mountain.

After Zuo Xi heard about it, he directly sent someone to Hongyun Town to purchase the property.Because they didn't have a big house, the servants of Xue's family directly bought three or four connected houses, and then opened up the courtyard wall to form one.However, it was already October at this time, and the weather turned cold, so it was no longer suitable for repairing the house. Fortunately, the house was not too dilapidated, and it barely survived the winter, so it would be urgent to clean it up next spring.

After beating Xue Pan to appoint an official, the Xue family didn't completely disappear until Xue Pan took office.However, on the surface it seems to be at a standstill, but in fact it is still busy.

Xue Pan went to the cavalry battalion in Zhenghongqi, and it will be the end of the year soon. Should all the superiors and colleagues prepare a New Year gift?

Xue Pan is a hundred households, with thousands of households on the top, two general banners below, and 10 small banners below the two general banners.There are 10 people in each banner, counted as small banners and general banners, excluding Xue Pan, a total of 112 people.

Zuo Xi wanted the new official to take office, and after three fires were burned, he had to give some sweetness.I thought there were more than 100 people, which is not too many.So they prepared 200 yuan for cotton cloth rulers, 100 yuan for silk and satin rulers, and 40 yuan for superior official rulers, and then asked the stewards to go to the village to buy pigs, except for two large elbows for each of the two general banners , Ten catties of pork for each other.As for the pig's head, pig's knuckles and pig's offal, they were all marinated and sent to the house in Hongyun Town.In the future, they will hold a dinner party with hundreds of households. These are hard dishes.

The camp also rests once every ten days, but Hongyun Town is far away from the capital.So when the two nuns sent by the [-]th came to Xue's house, Zuo Xi and Aunt Xue took people to live in Zhuangzi under Xiaotang Mountain.In this way, when Xue Pan goes home after taking a rest, he can save some traveling time.

The two nuns sent on the eleventh, one surnamed Da and the other surnamed Shen.They all have gentle faces, and their speech is also extremely gentle and polite.

The two nuns accompany Aunt Xue to talk about the affairs of the palace and officials, and also teach Zuo Xi some rules.

In the early years, Xue's family invited the nurturing mother to teach Zuo Xi palace etiquette and rules. After all these years in Beijing, the mother did not follow her.Fortunately, with some background, it is easy to pick it up again.

The most important thing is that Zuo Xi entered the palace as a court lady, and court ladies don't need to wear the bottom of a flower pot to comb their flag hair.She only needs to use the red string from her hair to comb her braids, wash her hands and face, and there is nothing wrong with her appearance.

I don't know if it's Zuo Xi's delusion or there is something wrong with the nanny sent on November. When they helped Zuo Xi review the palace rules, many things the original owner had learned were simplified in one sentence.

By the way, there is also the Mongolian language that Zuo Xi has taught himself for several years. Thinking about the arrangements mentioned in the previous eleventh, it seems that there is really no use for it.

I can't tell what it feels like, but it feels like the appearance of Eleven and the recent events have deviated from her earlier plan.

There is a kind of panic about the unknown and worry about the future.

……

On the evening of the holiday, Xue Pan took Zhou Yun back to Zhuangzi from the military camp, rested for a night, and accompanied Aunt Xue and Zuo Xi to talk about the military camp the next day, and left again after lunch up.

Because it will be Jia Zheng's birthday in two days, the Jia family wants to make a big deal, so they sent a post to Xue's house.After the butler sent people to Zhuangzi, Zuo Xi and Aunt Xue talked a few words before ordering people to prepare a car and go back to the city.

This time when I went to Jia's house for a banquet, Aunt Xue had something on her mind, so she dressed up very carefully.Zuo Xi originally wanted to make a rich and casual makeup, but after thinking about it, let it go.

She didn't have a good son, and she didn't have a good life on her, so why would she try to steal Mrs. Xue's limelight.

→_→

In the past, Xue Pan was not married, plus some unwritten rules, so others or his own family just called Aunt Xue and grandma. When they were in Rongguo Mansion, sometimes they would call Aunt Xue as concubine to distinguish them or to please people.It's not out of the norm to use the title of Mrs. once or twice once in a while, but it's not something that Aunt Xue can use on a daily basis.

The moment she became famous for beating Xue Pan and Aunt Xue was killed again, Aunt Xue could also be called a wife.

Originally, Zuo Xi didn't know these rules.I thought that the name grandma was based on seniority, and after staying for a long time, I understood it better.

In addition to these, there are some jewelry, clothing materials and so on.The Xue family is rich, the rules are loose, and Zuo Xi has no common sense, so she has no idea that there are certain things that she cannot wear on her body.

Now that Xue's family is not what it used to be, and there are two nanny from the palace beside them telling these rules in a way of chatting without hurting face, Zuo Xi has to admit how ignorant and stupid she was before.

After going to Rongguo Mansion for a day, Zuo Xi found time to go to Changcui Temple to talk to Miaoyu.When he went there, Qiaqiao saw Miaoyu's girl and mother packing things.Can't help but wonder what this is doing.

Seeing Zuo Xi asking, the nanny glanced at Miaoyu before she smiled and said: "We have been in the capital for some time, and we have been bothering this mansion for a long time, so we will leave someday, and gather things in advance."

This word.

Zuo Xi thought for a while, but didn't ask any further questions, and just said: "There is no banquet in the world that lasts forever, but let's meet for a while, no matter where we will stay in the future, send me a letter, and if we have a chance in the future, we can visit once or twice." .”

When Miaoyu heard this, she raised her head and glanced at Zuo Xi, then looked down at the scriptures again, with a look of disdain.

If it wasn't for Zuo Xi who told the Rongguo mansion to take it seriously, seeing the heavens and praying for the Bodhisattva, almost causing the Quicui Temple to blow up the offering, Miaoyu really didn't make up her mind to leave this place so quickly.Hearing what Zuo Xi said now, it's no wonder Miaoyu has a kind heart.

I can't even hide, okay.

It's a pity that Miaoyu still doesn't know that her relationship with Zuo Xi will continue to be entangled for many years...

After pretending to pay back his wish, Zuo Xi went to sit in the nursery of Sister Feng who was pregnant.

After all, Sister Feng listened to Zuo Xi's words, and when she gave Jia Zhengzhang a birthday banquet, she became pregnant.Throwing half of Zhang Luo's birthday banquet to others.

Not only the birthday banquet, but after listening to the doctor's diagnosis, Sister Feng had to quietly raise the fetus in the room for several months before leaving the room.

So on a busy day like today, Sister Feng can only stay in her yard to get moldy, oh no, to raise a baby.

When Sister Feng saw Zuo Xi coming, she opened her mouth and joked that Zuo Xi was the eldest lady of a hundred families.After hearing this, Zuo Xi also happily posed, neither shy nor annoyed, and laughed and quarreled with Sister Feng for a while.

"There's something I'm asking you to help me figure out."

"What's going on under the sun, and what you Bao girl can't figure out? Come tell me, and let me have a good time."

Zuo Xi gave Sister Feng a look, and then said to Sister Feng: "My second uncle passed away two years ago, and my aunt suffered from phlegm again. It seems that she is also struggling. My second uncle's family also has a son. Daughter, the older one is Xue Biao, the younger one is Baoqin. The second uncle chose a marriage for my little cousin before he was alive. He is the son of Mei Hanlin of the Hanlin Academy. My aunt is afraid that she will delay my little cousin's marriage if she is not good. As for the marriage, as soon as I am filial, I will send my scorpion brother to send girl Qin to Beijing to get married."

When Sister Feng heard it, she first laughed, and then asked in confusion: "It turned out to be an excellent marriage, why? But what happened, is there something wrong with Mei Hanlin's family?"

"Last month, after our family received a letter from my aunt, I specially sent someone to inquire about this Mei Hanlin's family. Guess what? Mei Hanlin received the letter with our family, but He actually walked away from the relationship without making a sound, and let him out of Beijing..."

When Zuo Xi got the news, he quickly sent someone to deliver the letter to Xue Biao. Those who didn't want to deliver the letter found that the two roads had gone wrong when they arrived in Jinling, and Xue Biao had already gone to Beijing with Baoqin.

"The Mei family wants to regret the marriage." When Sister Feng heard this, she thought about the actions of the Mei family and asked Zuo Xi what it meant, whether she wanted the Mei family to recognize this marriage or followed the Mei family's wishes.

"If you ask me, for a family like the Mei family, life may not be comfortable even if you marry into it. But I think about my aunt and the others, and I don't want to give up this marriage."

Second Uncle Xue is an ordinary businessman, and it took a lot of thought to find such a noble marriage for his daughter.Definitely not willing to give up just like that.

Moreover, regretting the marriage after making a marriage agreement would be even more harmful to the woman.It will be even more difficult for Baoqin to find another good marriage in the future.

"After all, it's the flesh and blood of the whole family. If it's up to us, we can't ignore it. Not to mention your family, even if you go back to the Wang's house to ask your uncle to come forward, this marriage may not be impossible. It's just that I watched this marriage. They also harbor suspicions, which are no different from a fire pit.

Don't talk about anything else, just talk about your wife.She was also an excellent girl back then, if not for that, she wouldn't have hired her back.But you see, everyone said that the eldest wife has a bad temper, but if she hadn't been squeezed and looked down upon by people all year round, she wouldn't have become such a temper.Now when she came to Qin girl's place, she didn't care about it, and she didn't care about it. "

It's very confusing.

Zuo Xi knows her faults and shortcomings. She always uses her modern ideas to think about things. She doesn't say whether modern people's ideas are applicable to ancient times, but even in modern times, people with different views have different ideas.

Baoqin's marriage is like this.

She didn't think it was good, but in the eyes of people like Bao Qin, it might not be a bad thing.She thought that the twisted melon must not be sweet, but others thought that the melon would be twisted first, and it might become sweet after holding it.

Even if it is not sweet, the melon is in my hands.

The example of the eldest wife is there. Just because Baoqin is beautiful, you can't be loved by your parents-in-law, respected by your sister-in-law, and then the husband and wife will live in harmony, right?

From Zuo Xi's point of view, even if Bao Qin's appearance won the love of her son-in-law, it would probably become a thorn in her mother-in-law's eyes and a thorn in her flesh.

However, serving others with color, how many people love to ride before their color fades.There are also the secret means in the inner house, it is easy to destroy a person's appearance.

After hearing this, Sister Feng was also troubled for Zuo Xi.

After all, regardless of whether this matter is concerned, it is quite disturbing.

……

Sister Feng didn't have any good ideas for Zuo Xi. For a woman, if she wanted to gain a foothold in her in-law's family, apart from her own ability and skills, it was her mother's family.

I can't write two Jia characters in one stroke, and I can't write two Xue characters either.But the two households of the Xue family have long since separated.No matter how much you care, I'm afraid it will be limited.

And people may not always look at how Xue's parents' house is, but whether Xue's scorpion can stand up.

If Xue Biao can't stand up, he is still just a merchant.No matter how excellent the Baoqin is, it may not be comfortable to wait for the noble family there.

Zuo Xi talked with Sister Feng, but they didn't get any good advice.Moreover, Sister Feng also said something about Zuo Xi's toothache.

Regardless of whether this matter is managed or not, we will complain in the future.

"Forget it, forget it, I don't want to mention her, I'm so upset." We should wait and see the situation after meeting the Baoqin brothers and sisters. "By the way, I just heard that the old lady is going to show Baoyu about her marriage? Has the marriage of your two girls been settled?"

When Sister Feng asked, she asked Zuo Xi to thank her with a big gift.

"Our master wanted to promise the second girl to Brother Pan, so I stopped him. Just tell me and thank me."