Chapter 39 The Night Before the Selection
In mid-August, the selection process for the imperial examinations began.
This selection process was a large-scale event, with officials from various regions, in addition to Shengjing, recommending many respectable women to participate.
And because of the rules set by the Empress Dowager—
Eligible women only need to pass the preliminary selection to qualify for the final selection; family background and social status are not considered.
Many poor families in Shengjing were overjoyed and used all their connections to inquire about the emperor and empress dowager's preferences while urging their daughters to study, hoping that a concubine would emerge from their family and bring glory to their ancestors.
However, for the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion, such a "joyful event" was more like a dark cloud obscuring the sun, and the masters of the mansion could only force a smile.
The Marquis of Dingbei's residence, Rongshou Hall.
Holding Xiao Ge'er from the third branch of the family, Old Madam Pei finally smiled, her usually melancholy face breaking into a smile.
"This Xiao Ge'er looks even stronger now, Third Brother's wife, thank you for your hard work."
"Grandmother, don't worry. Although the child came out a little early, he can eat and sleep well. Mr. Shen has come to see him several times and said that he is fine."
Song Miaoyu put down her teacup and replied with a smile, "Besides, my second sister-in-law has been working hard these past few months to find four wet nurses to take turns feeding this child. I was worried that she would spoil the child!"
"Oh! So this is still my fault?"
Wen Lingzheng happened to return from the outer courtyard and heard these words as soon as she entered the door. She couldn't help but sigh, "Grandmother must do justice for her granddaughter-in-law! I am truly more wronged than Dou E!"
"Lingzheng, you're here too."
While teasing Pei Xiao in her arms, Old Madam Pei shook her head with a smile, "Don't you know your third sister-in-law? She can't keep her mouth shut. The eldest son's wife passed away early, and now you are the eldest sister-in-law. You can scold her all you want, I will never stop you."
Song Miaoyu got up and walked to Wen Lingzheng's side, teasingly saying, "Good sister-in-law, I'm not joking! You treat Xiao'er well, and he knows it perfectly well! When he grows up, you can just treat him like your own son."
Upon hearing this, Pei Xiao hummed along twice, making Old Madam Pei laugh heartily.
Granny Chang, who was standing to the side, smiled and chimed in, "Look, our Xiao-ge'er is so clever, he understood it!"
"Xiao-ge'er is intelligent, and his health is getting better and better, so I'm quite relieved. But... please sit down first!"
Old Madam Pei handed Pei Xiao back to the wet nurse, then turned to Wen Lingzheng, "Did you just come back from the outer courtyard?"
Wen Lingzheng nodded and sat down, and Song Miaoyu followed suit and sat down to her left.
"I'm getting old too, Brother Xiao, you don't need this old bone of mine to worry about you... Respectable Brother..."
"This child has been living at Bieheju for quite some time now. How are the people around him being taken care of? Are they all doing their best? If it really doesn't work out, perhaps we should move him back to Zhilan Courtyard!"
Although Pei Lin and Wen Lingzheng tried to conceal what happened at Zhilan Courtyard, Old Madam Pei had been immersed in the inner workings of the mansion for decades and could guess some of the details.
Upon hearing this, Granny Chang immediately dismissed everyone around her, leaving only the three masters and their confidants inside.
Wen Lingzheng: "Grandmother! Whether it's luring the snake out of its hole or catching a turtle in a jar, patience is the most important thing."
Several months have passed since the incident at Zhilan Courtyard. Although Pei Lin and Wen Lingzheng ordered an investigation immediately, the enemy was in the dark while they were in the light, and the clues went cold when they reached Fang Mama's gambling-addicted son.
Then there's the calming incense... Even Shen Que didn't notice anything wrong with it... This inevitably put the situation on the defensive.
After discussing it with Pei Lin, Wen Lingzheng used the excuse of not taking good care of her master to demote Granny Fang and Cuiluo to work on a manor in the suburbs of the capital. She also took advantage of Cuiluo's resentment at being implicated by her and made her act as an informant in public...
The matter seemed to have come to an end, but the hidden undercurrents had not actually stopped.
After much deliberation, Pei Lin and Wen Lingzheng decided to have Pei Jing move to the Biehe Residence in the outer courtyard.
Firstly, Pei Jing had indeed reached the age where he should move to Bieheju; secondly, it was also for the convenience of protecting Pei Jing.
The Marquis of Dingbei's family now has few heirs, only Pei Jing and Pei Xiao.
Although Pei Zhun was foolish, Song Miaoyu was intelligent. With such a mother, Pei Xiao naturally didn't need Wen Lingzheng to worry about him, but Pei Jing was different.
In this secluded mansion, he had neither parents nor confidants.
Old Madam Pei loved him, but she was old and her abilities were limited.
Pei Lin felt sorry for him, but he was too busy with official duties. Not to mention Pei Jing, even his wife Wen Lingzheng probably only saw him a few times a month.
Let's get back to her own story...
As the matriarch of the household, she was in charge of all family affairs. Just dealing with the interpersonal relationships between various powerful families was enough to keep her busy for a long time.
She was already busy with the monthly account books from various shops, and then she unexpectedly stumbled upon this selection process...
Ultimately, she was willing but unable to help Yu Jingge.
Therefore, Pei Jing's move to Bieheju was actually safer than staying in the inner courtyard.
After all, Pei Lin's confidants are mostly men, and it would be inconvenient for men from outside the inner courtyard to enter, but the outer courtyard is different.
Wen Lingzheng smiled and comforted Old Madam Pei, saying, "Grandmother, don't worry. Jianwei was just telling me yesterday that he was planning to have Vice Minister Yuan come and teach Jing-ge'er martial arts. He was just asking me to arrange for someone to prepare the guest rooms!"
"Let Jing-ge'er learn martial arts?"
Old Madam Pei initially wanted to object, but after thinking about it, she finally nodded and said, "Alright! I used to feel sorry for this child and didn't want him to suffer the hardships of martial arts training, but now I see that it's good for him to practice."
“That’s right!” Song Miaoyu chimed in, “Jing’er is weak, so we don’t expect him to train to the point where he can lead troops on the battlefield like his ancestors. We just want him to improve his health!”
Old Madam Pei agreed, nodding and saying, "In that case, let's make the arrangements!"
After finalizing Pei Jing's matter, Wen Lingzheng and Song Miaoyu coaxed Old Madam Pei to have lunch before she could finally relax and look at the accounts.
But as she read half of it, her brows furrowed more and more, especially when she turned to the book that Lin'an had handed her.
Something's strange about this!
Before Wen Lingzheng could think much about it, she heard Yao Guang, who had just entered, say that everything Pei Ning needed for the final selection was ready. She immediately felt a little lighter on her shoulders and simply asked Yao Guang to move all the account books to Lixin Courtyard so she could go there to take a look.
"You're back?" Wen Lingzheng heard footsteps and looked up. It was already sunset, with the afterglow of the setting sun casting a beautiful glow.
Yao Guang, always perceptive, and having received instructions from Wen Lingzheng, withdrew early, also taking Xing Yun, who had entered the courtyard with Pei Lin, with her to guard outside the courtyard.
Pei Lin walked into the inner room and saw Wen Lingzheng looking up at him. He couldn't help but wonder, "Were you waiting for me? Could it be that something happened at Rongshou Hall?"
Wen Lingzheng shook her head and continued looking at the account book in her hand.
"Everyone already knew about A Ning's entry into the palace. This so-called selection was just a formality. Although the old lady was worried, she also gradually began to accept that all imperial favors, whether thunder or rain, were expressions of imperial grace."
"I noticed something suspicious in the accounts, and after thinking it over, I decided I should tell you."
After changing out of his official robes, Pei Lin walked behind Wen Lingzheng. He leaned down, rested one hand on the edge of the table, and glanced at the account book on the table. "So much this time?"
Feeling the warmth behind her, Wen Lingzheng closed the ledger in her hand, leaned back gently, and rested in Pei Lin's arms. "With the new emperor of Great Xia ascending the throne, you court officials are so busy that you don't even have time to breathe. Isn't it the same for us merchants?"
He casually picked up one of the stacks of account books on the table and said, "Take a look for yourself. Just the rice books alone are such a thick stack. It'll keep me looking at them for several days."
Pei Lin casually took the ledger from Wen Lingzheng's hand and sat down beside her to carefully look through it.
"Before the Lunar New Year, rice prices rose considerably due to the disruption of trade routes with Great Xia. Now that the Great Xia regime has stabilized and trade routes between the two countries have resumed, rice prices seem to have fallen back down."
"A pullback? That's probably just limited to Shengjing!"
Wen Lingzheng snatched the ledger from Pei Lin's hand and put it back on the table. She then picked out another one, opened it, and stuffed it back into his hand. "Take a look at this one."
Pei Lin glanced at Wen Lingzheng suspiciously.
Wen Lingzheng straightened her expression and said, "This is what I wanted to tell you!"
"This was originally sent from Lin'an. The shopkeeper, Third Sister, is my confidante. She often travels with caravans to the southwestern border to do tea business. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have known that in those small border towns in the southwest, the price of rice has skyrocketed to five strings of cash per dou!"
Five strings of cash?
Even a marquis like Pei Lin, who was used to seeing big scenes, was somewhat surprised when he heard this number.
The Great Zhou Dynasty has been established for more than 20 years. Because its ancestors suffered from the hardships of war and displacement, the three emperors of the dynasty have always attached great importance to the people's livelihood.
Although rice prices rose somewhat at the beginning of the year due to a year of famine and the blockage of trade routes caused by the change of ownership of the Great Xia, they only reached a peak of two strings of cash per shi (a unit of dry measure)...
Moreover, the government, showing compassion for the people, had already dispatched an imperial envoy and allocated silver in early March, ordering officials in various parts of the south to open granaries to relieve the disaster victims!
Such actions prioritize the people's well-being; how could they allow rice prices to skyrocket to this extent?
It should be noted that although people's incomes had increased compared to the previous dynasty, if we consider a family as a unit, the average daily income of a family was at most a hundred or so coins.
A thousand coins equals one string, and a peck of rice can cost a family nearly two months' income.
This is utterly absurd!
"What is the price of rice in the capital now?" Pei Lin frowned and pondered.
Putting away the ledger, Wen Lingzheng said, "With the new emperor of Great Xia ascending the throne, the country is in dire need of rebuilding, and he has a group of brothers who are as fierce as wolves. Regardless of his true thoughts, at this critical juncture, he must also restore the old relationship with Great Zhou."
"If trade routes between the two countries reopen, and even the price of rice in the capital rises instead of falling... isn't that exactly what Sima Zhao is planning?"
Having said this much, Pei Lin and Wen Lingzheng exchanged a glance, said nothing more, and stood up almost simultaneously in tacit agreement—
One took out his official robes, and the other obediently changed into them.
"I probably won't be able to come back for dinner tonight."
"I'll keep this a secret from my grandmother."
Pei Lin changed back into his official robes, and Wen Lingzheng lowered her head to straighten them for him.
He heard her whisper, "The waters here are still very deep; you must be careful not to rashly approach the Emperor."
Pei Lin couldn't resist reaching out and touching Wen Lingzheng's hair, his fingertips brushing against the white jade ruyi hairpin she was wearing.
"rest assured."
"good."
Wen Lingzheng nodded slightly, gave a smile, and escorted Pei Lin to the gate of the mansion. After watching him and the Yun Xingzhou brothers leave, she composed herself and then went to Rongshou Hall.
The Pei Zhun couple from the third branch arrived even earlier than her, and even Jing Ge'er, who was studying at the academy, made an exception and took leave to return home early.
Wen Lingzheng stopped in her tracks and stood outside Rongshou Hall. She glanced at the darkening sky and was about to sigh when she heard Pei Ning's voice from behind her.
"My beautiful sister-in-law, what are you staring at so intently? Have you perhaps grasped some kind of opportunity and are planning to ascend to immortality?"
Pei Ning is still dressed as a young lady from a respectable family today.
Dressed in a rosy skirt and a moon-shaped shawl, she resembled peach and plum blossoms, even surpassing the lotus in beauty.
Wen Lingzheng was lost in thought, staring blankly as she approached, while another figure kept appearing in her mind.
—That splendidly dressed Consort Shu, who, despite receiving the Emperor's favor, remained melancholy.
As if guided by some unseen force, the moment she approached, she asked the question that had been lingering in her heart for so long—"Is this really what you want?"
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