Chapter 47 Chapter 47 Let’s get to know each other again. My name is Chen Ling’an…
Chen Yanning's body has not fully recovered yet, so Mrs. Lin asked her to rest for a few days before formally becoming her disciple.
"Let's schedule it after the Double Ninth Festival. You can send her to Lin Garden and take her belongings with you. She'll live with me from now on and come back during the holidays. Of course, you can also visit her in Lin Garden."
Mrs. Lin glanced at Chen Ling'an and asked, "What do you, my brother, think?"
Of course Chen Ling'an was reluctant.
After finally finding my sister, she had to leave again after not staying at home for long - they didn't say a few words to each other.
But Mrs. Lin's name was so famous that many people wanted to ask her for advice but failed, let alone staying with her all the time and receiving her careful training.
If he refuses, he will be the biggest fool in the world!
Besides, my sister has a long life ahead of her, and it is impossible for her to stay at home forever. Sooner or later, she will have to face people's gossip and criticism. With Mrs. Lin around, those people have to restrain themselves.
Chen Ling'an simply lifted his robe and knelt. "Madam and Sir, your kindness to my brother and me is as great as a mountain. You are like reborn parents to me. I have no way to repay you. However, I will obey your orders."
Chen Yanning also knelt down.
Madam Lin sighed softly, "Get up! You were recommended to the Emperor by Lin Ting. When you do things, at least consider your master and don't tarnish his good reputation."
She was ready to leave and didn't let Chen Ling'an see her off. "Stay with your sister. Xiaoman, come with me."
Xiaoman happily saw her out.
Madam Lin said, "I've received a letter from Madam Qin of the Liu family. She wants to come visit me the day after tomorrow. You and your mother should come as well. Remember to arrive early."
Xiaoman loves to do things that embarrass the annoying people, so he nodded vigorously.
After the Lin family's carriage had gone far away, Xiaoman hummed a little tune and got into her own sedan chair.
My mother likes to eat Wu Ji’s Braised Pork on Gongyuanqian Street. Xiaoman gave an order, and the sedan chair bearers responded and slowly turned their heads. The oak sedan chair poles creaked, and they arrived at the destination in no time.
The streets were busier than usual. Looking around, more than 70% of the people were scholars and students. They were gathered in groups of three or five, calling their friends. In particular, the restaurants and teahouses along the street were almost all booked out by them.
Xiaoman was amazed: "What day is today? I've disturbed the scholar's nest!"
The sedan bearer laughed and said, "Ever since the results of the Autumn Examination were announced, this place has been bustling. Miss, please don't get off. I'll go buy some. Too many people might bump into you."
The Autumn Examination is over! Xiaoman suddenly thought of Zhang Bi, wondering if he had passed or not.
Unable to resist her curiosity, she went to ask Zhang Junyi. In order to avoid the Zhang family's harassment, Zhang Junyi lived with them, but in a separate courtyard facing the street. She usually did not enter or exit from the main gate of the Jiang residence, but only through the small door facing the street.
"I passed the exam, ranking 152nd." Zhang Junyi said with an indifferent expression as if he was talking to a stranger.
Xiaoman couldn't help but exclaim: "How amazing! The Zhang family has been through so many misfortunes, but he hasn't been affected at all. I underestimated him."
Zhang Junyi raised the corners of his mouth with a sarcastic smile.
He is studying at Nancui Academy!
The chief examiners of the provincial examinations were Beijing officials selected by the imperial court from the Hanlin Academy or the Six Ministries. The teachers of Nancui Academy had good relationships with these officials and had studied their essays and preferences.
Generally, the imperial court would announce the examiners two or three months in advance, which was enough time for the teachers at Nancui Academy to figure out the direction of the questions.
He was able to pass the imperial examination only because Mrs. Jiang spent money to send him to Nancui Academy.
But she just kept these words in her mind, she would not let down her elder brother's prestige in front of Xiaoman.
Xiaoman: "Didn't you go back to congratulate him?"
Zhang Junyi: "No, I'm too lazy to reply."
Xiaoman was even more puzzled. Zhang Junyi had always dreamed of marrying into a wealthy family. With a brother who had passed the imperial examination, her marriage would likely be relatively high-ranking. Now that Zhang Wen was in prison and the old lady was ill, with no one to control her, why didn't she return to the Zhang family?
-
"She's really outrageous!" Aunt Yao returned from the ancestral temple. She sat at the head of the table, acting like a lady of high rank. "I called her several times, but she refused to come back. She even forgot her own mother. What an ungrateful person!"
Zhang Bi sat below her, head down and silent.
Aunt Yao was dissatisfied, "Now that I have raised my head, I have become a scholar, but I am not as imposing as before."
Zhang Bi smiled bitterly to himself.
He passed the imperial examination, but ranked last, and also the last in this subject at Nancui Academy.
This year is the first time that the emperor has held an imperial examination since he ascended the throne. The emperor has shown special grace and made an exception to admit lenient candidates, which is 36 more than the previous one.
Excluding him, the lowest ranking among those who passed the entrance exam at Nancui Academy was 85th. In other words, based on the admission situation in previous years, he would not have been able to pass at all.
His classmates also came to congratulate him, and all they kept saying was "lucky" and "good fortune", as if they were laughing at him.
Zhang Bi was filled with resentment and grievance. He resented his classmates for looking down on him, Xiaoman for fanning the flames, his wife for being ungrateful and heartless, his father for being unkind and unjust, his grandmother for being selfish, his aunt for being overbearing and greedy, and his sister for being inconsiderate...
You've delayed yourself forever!
He slowly closed his eyes. "The academy is asking for tuition. If I don't pay it within three days, I won't be able to study there."
Aunt Yao was stunned for a moment, "Didn't we exchange it when we entered the academy?"
"It was supposed to be paid annually, but my wife signed up for five years at once, and now it's due. If she wants to continue her studies, she must pay more."
"How stingy. Never mind. How much is it?"
"One thousand taels a year."
Aunt Yao was shocked: "So much, you are crazy and poor, you are robbing me! You are a scholar now, can't you give me a discount?"
Zhang Bi couldn't believe that his aunt was reluctant to give him even one thousand taels of silver, and his face changed immediately.
"It's what it was when I enrolled, and it's always what it is. Do you think the academy is like a market where you haggle over prices? I'm not even the wife's child, but she's willing to pay for me. And you're my biological mother, yet you don't spend a penny!"
Aunt Yao said hurriedly, "You misunderstood me. It's not that I don't want to, but we are really broke. We've already given everything back to Jiang! Every month, we only receive thirty taels of tuition from you, the juren. Where can I find a thousand taels for you?"
Zhang Bi waved his hands in frustration, "Forget it, forget it. I won't go to the academy. I'll study at home."
Aunt Yao pondered and said, "It's better not to go. Have you heard that a very famous teacher named Lin came to the capital recently?"
Zhang Bi's spirits lifted. "You're talking about Mr. Lin Ting, a true great scholar! If I could get his guidance, not to mention Jinshi, even a first-class rank would be a piece of cake."
He looked at his aunt eagerly, thinking she had found a way.
Aunt Yao smiled and said, "Why don't you take him as your teacher and ask him where he lives. There seems to be a story about a man who went to school in the snow and moved his teacher. You can try to do the same. He will see that you are sincere and talented, so he will definitely accept you as his student."
Zhang Bi opened his mouth in shock, speechless and extremely disappointed. He stood up and walked out with a cold face.
He walked so fast that he almost bumped into Zhang Anyi who had just entered the room. He cursed softly, "Watch your way," and left without paying any attention to Aunt Yao's call.
Zhang Anyi came to pay for Mrs. Bian's medicine. "The bedsore is getting worse. She has a high fever today and it won't go away. If I don't get the medicine, I'm afraid she'll get worse."
"No money!" Aunt Yao was furious.
When she came back, she found that her house had been searched and ransacked, and not a single ounce of silver was left.
So they allowed her to go home and fill the hole?
She did have some private money, but it was for her son's marriage, and no one was allowed to touch a single cent of it.
She vented all the humiliation she had just endured from her son on Zhang Anyi, scolding him and then hitting him with a feather duster. "That stinky bitch Sun Ying, how dare she abuse my daughter? I'll beat her to death!"
Zhang Anyi screamed and wanted to run away, but she had been forced by her aunt to lose weight, and she was so hungry that her hands and feet had no strength. Later, her family fell into poverty, and she had to work as a maid and wait on others even though she didn't have enough food to eat. She couldn't break free from Aunt Yao's control.
She was not able to escape until Aunt Yao was tired of scolding and beating her.
He didn't dare go back to the old lady. The old lady couldn't move her body, but she could move her mouth. If she was unhappy, she would shout that she wanted to sell her.
She is really scared!
He groped his way to his aunt's room, turned over a floor tile, and took out a small copper key and a pawn ticket.
This was left for her by her aunt. She originally wanted to wait until her aunt came out before taking any action, but the government office was slow to close the case, and her aunt has been locked up ever since. She doesn't know when there will be a result.
She couldn't wait any longer. If her fourth sister could leave, she could leave too.
Just Auntie...
I should have listened to my third sister. If she had chosen to protect my wife, things wouldn't be like this today.
Zhang Anyi held the key and started crying.
-
That afternoon, Mrs. Qin was busy unpacking boxes and cabinets, picking out clothes and jewelry.
Liu Fang teased her, asking if she was going to enter the palace, it was so grand.
Madam Qin smiled and said, "It's not like entering the palace, but I can't be so casual - Madam Lin invited me to meet her tomorrow."
Liu Fang put down the scroll in his hand and said in surprise, "I sent you a visiting card but you haven't received a reply yet, and your wife has already been promoted to Linyuan. Your wife must be very prestigious."
Madam Qin was very proud: "Her husband is a commoner after all. She doesn't even have an imperial decree. She has to give me, a First Rank Lady, face. After all, she is a few months younger than me."
This time, Liu Fang did not try to coax her, but frowned slightly.
"Don't make any rash remarks tomorrow. The Emperor treats Mr. Lin Ting as a disciple and has officially kowtowed to him. He's not an official because he doesn't want to be one. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a place for Chen Shao and me!"
Mrs. Qin was skeptical and said, "Don't scare me."
Liu Fang put down the scroll and repeatedly warned, "Remember, remember, don't be rude, and don't be humble and flattering. This lady doesn't make friends based on family background, but on personality. Forget about your status and treat her as an ordinary friend. Chat about your travels."
Madam Qin smiled and said, "I know. It's not my first time going out for a social event. Don't worry, I will definitely be able to help you."
Liu Fang bowed and smiled, "Thank you, Madam."
The next morning, Mrs. Qin went out in high spirits.
Before noon, Mrs. Qin came back angrily.
When he came back, he locked himself in the room, refused to eat, and refused to open the door no matter who called him. The manager was frightened and hurried to the yamen to ask Liu Fang to come back.
When Mrs. Qin saw her husband, she burst into tears, leaving Liu Fang completely confused.
"She humiliated me! Do you know who I met at her place? Zhang Xiaoman! And Jiang Chan!"
Liu Fang's heart sank. "Tell me in detail."
"The servant led me to the flower hall, and she came out to greet me, smiling and looking very friendly. But as soon as I entered the room, I saw Jiang Chan sitting in the room. Then Zhang Xiaoman came out from behind the screen, took her arm and called her Aunt Lin. She even deliberately introduced her to me as her favorite friend!"
Madam Qin gnashed her teeth again, "Everyone in the capital knows about my feud with them. She even chatted and laughed with them in front of me. She's deliberately embarrassing me!"
Liu Fang frowned, "Mrs. Lin has a good relationship with them, are you sure?"
"Jiang Chan probably doesn't know her very well. Zhang Xiaoman knew her when he was in Xuanfu and almost became her student."
Mrs. Qin suddenly became nervous. "They won't help Chen Ling'an suppress you, will they?"
Liu Fang didn't think so. "Chen Ling'an's target was Chen Shao, not me. He was looking for trouble with me before because the Chen and Liu families were tied together."
He and Chen Shao joined forces to force Yang Ge Lao to give up the position of Prime Minister. At that time, everyone looked at their two families as if they were allies. But now the situation is different. The conflict between the Liu and Chen families is already exposed and cannot be reconciled.
If Chen Ling'an knew the current situation, he should join forces with him to force Chen Shao out of office.
But considering Chen Ling'an's cold and arrogant personality, he probably wouldn't be able to do that. He had to think of another way, to give Chen Ling'an a chance to severely injure Chen Shao and use him to eliminate his enemy.
Wait, since Zhang Xiaoman is so close to Mrs. Lin, he must have a good relationship with Mr. Lin Ting too!
If Mr. Lin Ting could stand on his side, the position of Prime Minister would be a piece of cake.
Liu Fang couldn't help but sigh and glanced at his wife secretly.
After all, they were a couple for many years. Mrs. Qin immediately understood what he meant by this look and could not help but get angry: "I didn't know she had this relationship!"
I hate Zhang Xiaoman even more, huh!
-
After the Double Ninth Festival, the mountains were covered with golden leaves. Three or four-meter-high sycamore trees stood on both sides of the mountain path. The lush treetops met in the air, forming a long and huge golden dome.
The road was covered with golden and red fallen leaves, which made a slight crunching sound when stepped on.
Xiaoman likes the sound of stepping on fallen leaves in autumn and snow in winter.
She looked back and said, "Hey, don't be so listless. Didn't Aunt Lin say that you can go see Yan Ning anytime?"
"It's not because of Yan Ning."
"Then what were you thinking about all the way with your head down?"
Chen Lingan said seriously, "Thinking about how to harm people."
"It's boring." Xiaoman rolled her eyes at him and squatted on the ground, scratching around.
Chen Lingan thought she was annoyed. "I wasn't joking. I recently found a weakness of Chen Shao. I have to wait until February or March next year to see it. I can't wait."
"Who wants to hear you say that?" Xiaoman held up a fallen leaf and snapped off the petiole. "Come on, pull out the old one!"
Chen Ling'an's face froze.
To pull out the old leaf, two people cross the petioles of the fallen leaves and pull them back at the same time. The one whose petiole remains intact is the winner.
Childish, these are children's games. He is already twenty years old, who wants to play them?
Thinking of this, he bent down and picked up a fallen leaf.
The dark brown spotted petioles have the best toughness. Rub them a few times in the middle to reduce their brittleness and you will definitely succeed.
With a snap, the petiole in Xiaoman's hand broke into two sections.
“Come again, come again!”
She picked up the roots again.
It broke again.
"The feng shui of this place is not good for me, let's change places." Xiaoman ran away a few steps.
Chen Ling'an followed slowly behind.
Xiaoman squatted on the ground and scratched for a while, "I must beat you this time."
This time, Chen Ling'an also squatted down like a child.
A few passers-by looked at them and laughed secretly with their hands covering their mouths.
If it were in the past, Chen Ling'an would look back at him coldly, and the other party would be frightened and quickly get away.
But now he was not angry at all, he just smiled at them gently.
Those people were obviously embarrassed and quickly slipped away.
There was a crisp sound of the petiole breaking, "We won!" Xiaoman jumped up, raising her arms and feeling happy like a child.
Chen Ling'an looked up at her, with tiny lights flickering in his eyes. When Xiaoman lowered her head to look at him, she lowered her eyelids to block her gaze.
The two walked slowly along the mountain path. Xiaoman was no longer as lively as before. He lowered his head slightly and said nothing. It was unknown what he was thinking.
There was a commotion coming from the front. It turned out that Wu Yong was pulling a young woman!
The woman kept beating Wu Yong and cursing at him. Wu Yong also cursed at her and dragged her into the woods.
Xiaoman took a deep breath and shouted, "Stop!"
She rushed forward, pushed Wu Yong aside and blocked the woman behind her. "I thought you were a man of integrity, but I didn't expect you to be this kind of person!"
Wu Yong was stunned: "What kind of person am I?"
"Pervert!" Xiaoman shouted with a red face.
Wu Yong opened his mouth wide enough to fit an egg. "How could I be called a rapist? It's unfair."
"You, you, you... you've been caught red-handed, and you still dare to quibble! Chen Ling'an, are you going to take care of your men?"
Chen Ling'an put his hands behind his back and said slowly, "How do you want me to manage it?"
"Of course, arrest him."
"Hmm—just because he touched this person's hand and pulled her arm?"
Xiaoman opened her eyes wide in disbelief. Just as she was about to ask, she caught a glimpse of a faint smile on Chen Lingan's lips, "You..."
Chen Lingan: "Oh, I forgot to introduce you, this is Wu Yong's wife, Mrs. Cao."
Mrs. Cao suddenly burst into laughter.
Xiao Man's face flushed red, and she was so embarrassed that she didn't know what to do. She clenched her fist and hit Chen Ling'an, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? You deliberately wanted to make me look bad."
Chen Lingan couldn't help laughing, and subconsciously took a few steps back and grabbed her hand.
A numbing warm current suddenly spread from his hands to his heart. Xiaoman felt a little sour, a little sweet, and itchy in his heart, but he couldn't scratch it.
What's wrong with her? She had hugged him before and didn't feel this strange.
This made Xiaoman feel very shy, and she gently pulled her hand back.
Chen Ling'an woke up from his daze when his palms felt empty. He put his hands behind his back pretending to be calm, but secretly clenched his palms.
Wu Yong noticed the embarrassment of the two and came forward with a water bag in his hand. "Sir, this is some fresh mountain spring water to moisten your throat."
Chen Lingan: "Thank you."
Mrs. Cao looked around and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "The master knows how to say thank you!"
Chen Ling'an spat out a mouthful of water and coughed until his face turned red and his neck became thick.
It was rare to see such a serious and stern person lose his composure, so Wu Yong boldly teased, "Your Excellency can actually blush!"
Chen Lingan: "That's enough."
He turned around and left, and looking at his back, he looked like he was running away.
It was the first time she didn't scold him. Wu Yong looked at his wife with eyes full of respect and admiration.
Xiaoman waved goodbye to Wu Yong and his wife, and caught up with Chen Lingan with brisk steps. It turned out that he was also embarrassed, just like her!
She relaxed suddenly.
"It's rare that you're shy, let me see."
"I choked."
"Don't hide! You made me laugh on purpose, and now I'm going to laugh at you too!"
She turned around to look at his face, and her little mouth kept teasing him. Chen Lingan couldn't bear it anymore, so he opened his palm and covered her face, just enough to cover her eyes tightly.
"You see."
Xiaoman: "How can I see if you cover my eyes?"
However, his arms were too long and hers were too short, so she couldn't reach him or pry his hands apart. She could only scream in anger.
Suddenly something was fed into his mouth.
It tastes a bit salty and spicy, then sour and sweet.
Yanjin plums!
His eyes cannot see, so his voice is especially clear:
"Let me introduce myself again. My name is Chen Ling'an."
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