245, lifted
245, lifted
After leaving Xianglai Pavilion that day, Lu Mingfei simply invited Zhang Lingxuan to his home for tea. However, he was staying in the courtyard of Chunxi Road where he currently lived, not in the shop. There were too many people there, making it difficult to talk.
Since his younger brothers stopped coming here to do their homework, he had the two extra tables in the study moved to the other side of the store for his brothers to use for studying, and then replaced them with a tea table and a few sofas for his own use.
The sofa is designed according to modern sofa style, with a long sofa and two single sofas. There are wooden chairs underneath, covered with thick cushions. People can sink into them when sitting on them, which is very comfortable.
For the past six months, he has been studying at home. When he gets tired of studying, he likes to lie down on the sofa here and take a nap. So he moved out some of the redundant and unused things in the study to make room for himself to read and do activities.
With the tea table in the study, it became much more convenient to entertain guests, so he invited his friends to the study for tea.
"This chair is so soft." Zhang Lingxuan sat down on a single chair. As soon as he sat down, his whole body sank into the soft cushion. The chair also had a backrest and armrests, and he relaxed instantly.
"Haha, these thick cushions were made by the embroiderer at our garment workshop. If you like them, I'll give you a few later." Lu Mingfei lit the charcoal in the tea stove and put the kettle on it to boil water.
"This thing shouldn't be difficult to make. I'll just ask my family to do it later." Zhang Lingxuan patted the cushion under his butt and felt it was quite comfortable. He thought to himself that he would find someone to sit on it and put a set of such chairs in his study.
He looked at Lu Mingfei's study and found it looked pretty much the same as when they came here to study a few years ago. He then talked about the time when Lu Mingfei invited him and Ye Zhuoran to study together at his home. "Come to think of it, if you hadn't dragged us along to study and discuss academic matters over the years, our journey wouldn't have been so smooth."
"You can't say that. Everything you have achieved now is the result of your own hard work, not the credit of others." Lu Mingfei did not attribute his friend's success to himself.
"No, without you, we would definitely not be where we are today." However, Zhang Lingxuan shook his head, insisting that it was Lu Mingfei's credit that they could get to where they are today.
Because he knew in his heart that if Lu Mingfei had not helped them, they might not have been able to pass the Tongsheng examination smoothly, not to mention that they had followed Lu Mingfei all the way from the county examination to the current metropolitan examination over the years.
Although some people failed the exam, even the worst candidate, Ye Zhuoran, now holds the title of scholar. Their eldest brother failed the metropolitan exam this time, but passed the provincial exam last time and also obtained the status of juren.
As for himself, it goes without saying that he had passed the county examination all the way to the metropolitan examination, and soon the palace examination would be held. As long as he performed normally in the palace examination, he would definitely become a Jinshi. Once he obtained the Jinshi status, he could enter the court as an official.
No one in their Zhang family has been an official for many years. He may be the first person in the family to do so.
Zhang Lingxuan knew his own situation best, not to mention others. If he had relied on his own efforts, he would have only passed the county exam at best, and he wouldn't have even been able to pass the subsequent academy and prefectural exams. Not to mention that he not only passed the prefectural exam, but also entered the Imperial College, and later went all the way from the provincial exam to the metropolitan exam, and even passed the metropolitan exam.
If he relied solely on his own efforts, he would definitely not have been able to achieve such a smooth journey and take every step so well. Zhang Lingxuan was very clear about this.
He and Ye Zhuoran have known each other since childhood and grew up together. Ye Zhuoran was not keen on studying and was not diligent. Even with him urging him, it did not have much effect.
When exactly did Ye Zhuoran start to study hard?
He remembered that it probably started when they came to Lu Mingfei's house to study before taking the county examination.
The most terrifying thing in this world is not that others are better than you, but that those who are better than you have to work harder than them. After realizing this, they both started studying hard, wanting to catch up with their friend Lu Mingfei and not be left behind by their friend.
Zhang Lingxuan himself harbored a relentless drive. He believed he was no worse than anyone else, and so he refused to fall behind. He wanted to catch up with his friends; even if he couldn't surpass them, he still wanted to keep pace. Perhaps it was this relentless drive that fueled his efforts to study by lamplight on so many cold nights, rising early every day to study and never lazing in.
"Okay, I didn't call you here today to discuss with you who deserves the credit. Let's talk about the upcoming palace examination." Lu Mingfei stopped Zhang Lingxuan from flattering him. No matter what others said, he just knew what was going on in his heart.
Even if he really helped others, he couldn't talk about it too much. Otherwise, over time, if it happened too many times, the favor might turn into hatred.
So as soon as Zhang Lingxuan brought up this topic, he extinguished it.
"I've compiled some of the major and minor events that have occurred in and outside the court over the past three or two years. The questions we'll be asking in this palace examination will most likely be related to these major and minor national affairs." Lu Mingfei stood up and picked up a stack of materials he had compiled from the desk and showed it to Zhang Lingxuan. "You can take a look at it first, and then we'll discuss these matters."
"Okay." Zhang Lingxuan took it and started looking through the things Lu Mingfei gave him.
While Zhang Lingxuan was reading the information, Lu Mingfei took the boiling water from the stove, opened the lid and let it cool a little before starting to make tea.
He poured hot water into the teapot, washed the tea leaves, poured out the first batch of water, and then poured the second batch of water into the cup.
Seeing that Zhang Lingxuan had not finished reading so much information so quickly, he picked up the tea and started drinking it. He then picked up some articles he had written before and read them again, reviewing his previous articles and looking for new perspectives and ideas.
After Zhang Lingxuan finished reading and noticed that Zhang Lingxuan was waiting for him, he returned to his seat and sat down, discussing with Zhang Lingxuan the information he had compiled and the things that the court had paid more attention to in recent years.
The two chatted until the evening.
Guard Ma went to the store to get dinner. Lu Mingfei ended his conversation with Zhang Lingxuan and said to him, "You can take these materials home and read them slowly. Just bring them back to me in a couple of days."
"Is it okay if I take it?" Zhang Lingxuan was afraid that Lu Mingfei would use it himself.
"It's okay. I wrote it myself, and I still remember it. Take it and take a look at it. If you have any questions, come to me and we'll talk." Lu Mingfei told Zhang Lingxuan to take it away and asked Zhang Lingxuan, "Do you want to stay with me for dinner?"
"I've disturbed you for so long today, I'll go back first." Zhang Lingxuan took the things Lu Mingfei gave him and stood up, feeling embarrassed to continue bothering his good friend.
"I'll have someone take you back." Afraid that Zhao Lang would come to find him later, Lu Mingfei didn't want to keep Zhang Lingxuan any longer. He sent Zhang Lingxuan out the door and asked his horse guards to use the carriage in the yard to take Zhang Lingxuan and his servant home.
Sure enough, not long after he saw his friend off, Zhao Lang arrived.
Moreover, this person came with two large lunch boxes to eat with him.
The two of them didn't finish their lunch, so they had a make-up meal in the afternoon.
There was still about two weeks until the palace examination. During this time, Lu Mingfei planned to study at home, sort out his old notes, and prepare for the examination. As for those tea parties and poetry gatherings outside, he would not attend them at all.
He had previously restricted the time Zhao Lang could visit him, but after he lifted the restriction, Zhao Lang came to see him every day because he knew he was studying at home.
Fortunately, after this person came, he would not disturb him from studying. The two of them were in the study, each of them found a seat to sit, he was busy with his work, and Zhao Lang was dealing with the account books.
These are the account books that Zhao Lang had someone bring to him before.
During this period, he had to prepare for the palace examination and had no time to deal with these things, so he left it to Zhao Lang to do it himself. He gave Zhao Lang a template for organizing the data and asked him to fill in the numbers and organize them according to the template he gave.
After he finished the palace examination, he should have some free time before he took up his post. He planned to use this time to help Zhao Lang manage the shops and businesses he had on hand.
According to his ranking in this examination, as long as there are no accidents in the palace examination and he gets one of the top three places, he will be able to enter the Hanlin Academy and stay in Kyoto Prefecture.
Lu Mingfei knew in his heart that his family was in Kyoto Prefecture, and Zhao Langren was also in Kyoto Prefecture. He could not leave Kyoto Prefecture in the short term. Therefore, it would be best for him to stay in Kyoto Prefecture for the next few years.
In a few years, when his younger brothers have grown up and can take on the responsibility of taking care of the family, he won't have to worry too much about the family even if he is sent to be an official or goes somewhere else with Zhao Lang.
But now, his brothers were still young, there was famine outside, an uprising in the south, a war in the north, and the situation in Kyoto was not optimistic. He was worried about leaving his family behind to become an official or to go with Zhao Lang.
Therefore, Lu Mingfei also needs to plan carefully for some things and make full preparations.
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