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◎The Little Princess and the Failed Scholar Jia Fangping◎
The palace was opened in Qingyang once in the first and second months. At that time, the four major markets in the capital could be seen everywhere, and candidates who came to Beijing to take the imperial examinations could be seen everywhere. Before the exam, all the candidates were in high spirits, as if they were only one step away from passing the dragon gate. After the exam started, most of the candidates became anxious and impetuous, because they were not sure that their answers would pass.
The little princess had been watching the candidates for two months and her interest had faded. This time, she deliberately chose to leave the palace half a month after the results of the palace examination were announced. This was because she thought that the candidates who failed the exam should have left the capital one after another. After all, the inns, restaurants and stalls in the capital were quite expensive. Unless their families were very rich, most candidates were reluctant to stay in the capital.
Arriving at the South Market, I saw that the wide streets had indeed returned to their former bustling crowds of merchants, but there were fewer scholars gathering in groups to recite poems and compose couplets. However, if I listened carefully, I could still hear from some stall owners and vendors about the miserable story of a scholar who failed the exam, or about a scholar who passed the exam and was immediately chosen by a high-ranking official to be a son-in-law.
While Qingyang was picking and choosing in front of the stalls she passed by, she listened to the idle chatter of the people nearby. The little princess who had lived in the palace for a long time always liked to listen to these things.
Qin Ren just stayed with his sister, and Zhang Su kept an eye on the common people passing by, even though the three of them were secretly protected by a team of plain-clothed guards in front and behind.
As the little princess was playing with a wooden hairpin with a unique carp-shaped head, two women came over, chatting loudly as they walked: "That man is so pitiful! I heard he was a scholar, so poor that he didn't even have money to go home, so he went to help a rich man with his debts. As a result, he had just taken the money given by his boss, and the next thing he knew, he was robbed by a group of beggars..."
"It's definitely not a beggar. Beggars usually rob people and run away. How could they break someone's legs? It must be an accountant who was kicked out by his boss and holds a grudge against him. He deliberately bribed a group of thugs to pretend to be beggars."
"I don't know if they've reported it to the police."
"It's useless to report this. He didn't see who hit him, and his leg was broken. How can he report it to the police?"
The women were talking excitedly, and wherever they passed, many people tilted their necks to follow the two figures, even the two princes in the palace were no exception.
Qin Ren was shocked: "How dare someone beat up a scholar under the emperor's feet?"
Qingyang took out fifteen coins from his purse to buy the carp wooden hairpin, asked his third brother to help keep it, and then went forward.
After passing seven or eight shops, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by several groups of people in front of an inn called "Jufu". From the surrounding chatter, they suspected the beaten scholar was inside. Zhang Su, realizing what the little princess was saying, walked to her left, pushing aside the people blocking his way with one hand and blocking her back with the other. Qin Ren followed suit, walking to his sister's right.
Watching the fun means squeezing and shoving. As long as you don't step on others, others won't get too angry because of being squeezed. At most, they will glare at you and grumble.
Soon, Qingyang came to the front of the crowd and saw a simple calligraphy stall on the left side of the inn door. The stall owner, with red and swollen scars on his forehead and face, looked to be about thirty years old. He was wearing a washed-out blue coarse cloth robe. In front of him was a wooden board with a message about his calligraphy business. He only charged ten cents for each character, and five cents for a page if he wrote a letter for someone else.
The former does business for elegant people who like to collect fine calligraphy, while the latter is just an ordinary ghostwriter.
Behind the stall owner hung a poem written by him, with delicate, elegant and lively brushwork, imitating the style of Wang Xizhi.
Qingyang thought that this person could only imitate the charm of Sanfen Wang's characters at most, which was not good enough for the calligraphy masters of this dynasty to comment on. However, selling one character for only ten cents was too cheap, which showed that he was eager to make money and would rather make a small profit but sell a large number of characters.
Unfortunately, most of the people standing here are not interested in buying calligraphy, they just come here for the fun.
The stall owner seemed to be taciturn and relied entirely on the kind-hearted inn waiter to help him shout and attract business. The stall owner was beaten because the waiter told everyone. After the waiter went in to get busy, the people who had seen the lively scene also left contentedly, and the area in front of the stall quickly became quiet.
Qin Ren was kind-hearted and asked the other party, "How much money do you need to go home?"
The stall owner lifted his slightly swollen eyelids, took in the three people's faces, then lowered his gaze and said, "My ancestral home is Xinyu, Ganzhou. My journey to Beijing to take the imperial examination cost a total of 28 taels, of which the imperial court provided 20 taels as a travel allowance for candidates, and 8 taels of my own money. After arriving in Beijing, I was almost penniless. Fortunately, I stayed at the government inn, where I was provided with food and lodging."
"Three days after the results of the imperial examination were announced, I received another twenty taels of travel allowance. Three taels of this was used to repay the doctor's bill for my cold. This time, I spent another five taels on the doctor's bill, one tael on the inn's food and lodging, and one tael on writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone. So, I still need eighteen taels."
There were many figures, and Qin Ren didn't calculate them carefully, but he felt that this person was very pitiful. When the other party reported the missing figures, Qin Ren immediately untied the pouch at his waist, took out two gold ingots of one tael each and placed them on the stall, smiling kindly: "I have some spare money here, you can use it. Heal your wounds and go home quickly. Come back in three years. Maybe you will pass the imperial examination next time."
The stall owner had already stood up and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. Although I'm in dire need of money, I also hope to be able to support myself. If you're willing to help me, I'd like to offer my services by writing a calligraphy piece for you. You can pay me the price of the calligraphy."
Qin Ren: "This..."
Qingyang saw it clearly. When the third brother took out the purse, the stall owner's eyes were calm. When the third brother put down the two gold ingots, the stall owner just glanced at him and then looked away. From beginning to end, there was no ecstasy or greed in his heart, so his refusal was a heartfelt refusal.
She asked her third brother to keep the gold ingots, and Qingyang took out two coins and asked the stall owner to help her write a five-character poem in the style of Wing Chun, which was just right for the occasion.
The stall owner thanked him and sat down to grind and prepare.
Seeing that he had business, the innkeeper brought out a long bench and asked the three guests, who looked like they came from wealthy families, to sit down.
Zhang Su continued to stand. Qingyang ignored him. After sitting down next to her third brother, she quietly chatted with the stall owner, "Excuse me, sir, what's your name?"
Stall owner: "My surname is Jia, and my given name is Fang Ping."
Qingyang: "So it's Mr. Jia. Is this your first time to take the imperial examination in Beijing?"
Jia Fangping said ashamedly: "This is the second time."
Qin Ren encouraged him: "Sir, you are still young, you will definitely succeed next time."
Jia Fangping smiled and began to write a poem for the little girl.
Qingyang continued to ask, "I heard that Mr. Jia originally wanted to help people with accounting and raise money. I'm confused. Those wealthy businessmen have their own accounting offices. How did Mr. Jia get such business?"
Jia Fangping understood what the girl wanted to hear. What the girl wanted to buy more was his story. Fortunately, there was nothing to hide, so he said, "Merchants have to do their accounting every day. Over the years, there are bound to be some unintentional omissions or intentional errors. What I want to do is to help merchants who have doubts about their accounts."
Qin Ren: “…”
If the accounts were calculated correctly, this business would naturally benefit the wealthy businessman, but the accountant and his family who were scolded, fired, or even sent to jail would definitely hate Jia Fangping, so it is not surprising that he was beaten.
Qingyang was curious about another point: "It's hard to tell anything from a three- to five-day account book, but how could you finish reading through accounts accumulated over many years in just half a month?"
According to Jia Fangping, he left the official post station at the end of February, which was only twenty days ago. He was beaten and then stayed in bed for five days to recuperate, so he only had half a month to help the rich businessman settle the accounts.
Jia Fangping's calm and composed face finally revealed a hint of self-satisfaction. He glanced at the girl across from him and smiled, "I'm not very talented and learned, having failed the imperial examinations twice. However, I'm proficient in the arts, especially mental arithmetic. An account that would take an ordinary accountant a year to check can be completed in ten days at most. Simple accounts can be completed in three to five days."
Others might be bragging when they say this, but since he was beaten like this, it must be true.
At this time, a poem was finished and Jia Fang placed it aside to dry.
Just as Qingyang was about to pay out more copper coins, Zhang Su suddenly handed Jia Fangping six coins of silver and asked Jia Fangping to write another poem about summer, autumn and winter.
Even if the story he sold was true, Jia Fangping did not feel guilty about accepting the silver. He changed the paper and continued to grind the ink.
Qingyang looked up at Zhang Su and then asked, "I've heard there are poor scholars among the common people, but few poor juren. Why is it that you have such a hard time even raising the money for the exam?"
Jia Fangping's face turned slightly cold as he spoke to the thick ink in the inkstone, "Juren often become wealthy. First, some nearby officials and wealthy merchants give Juren silver under the pretext of cherishing their talent, but in reality, they're trying to befriend and win them over. Once the Juren pass the imperial examination and are appointed an official, these people can leverage their gifts to curry favor with the new officials. Second, Juren don't have to pay land taxes on their land, so commoners rush to register their land under the Juren's name, and then give a portion of the exempted land taxes to the Juren."
"I despise these two ways of making money, and would rather remain in poverty."
Qin Ren scratched his head. Is there such a thing?
Qingyang was silent for a long time. Seeing the innkeeper peeking inside, Qingyang asked casually, "The room and board at this inn are quite expensive, right? How long can you stay with one ounce of silver?"
Jia Fangping expressed his gratitude: "The shopkeeper is so kind. He allowed me to stay in his woodshed for one tael of silver and gave me his leftovers until I could collect enough money to leave."
Qin Ren: “…”
A few shadows fell behind him, and other people came over because they were curious about the stalls here.
Qingyang hesitated to ask any more questions. After the four poems had dried and Zhang Su had collected them, Qingyang asked one last question: "Sir, you should know who is behind these thugs. Why haven't you reported this to the authorities for so long?"
Jia Fangping looked at the hem of the little girl's skirt and said with a wry smile, "I caused him to lose his job for the sake of money. It's understandable that he resents me. If you want to blame someone, blame me for being too eager for success and not thinking things through."
Qin Ren nodded subconsciously, and then was glared at by his sister again.
Qingyang: "A country has its own laws. Sir, you are magnanimous and don't care about it. However, I cannot tolerate a villain who dares to beat up a scholar living with me in the capital. Sir, please wait in the inn. Someone will give you an answer in a few days."
Jia Fangping stood up in astonishment, but unfortunately the little girl who seemed to be able to order even the Jingzhao Yin around left without even looking back.
In the crowd, Qin Ren asked his sister, "Are you really going to report him to the police?"
Qingyang: "No, I'm not familiar with Jingzhao Yin, so I wouldn't bother him without permission."
Qin Ren understood: "You're going to find the Emperor?"
Qingyang: "Father is very busy with affairs of state. It's not worth disturbing him with such a small matter. Yan Xi is the Left Prime Minister. He should share Father's worries."
Whoever she goes to see will be suspected of having a private relationship with a minister in Yan Xizheng's eyes, so she should go directly to Yan Xizheng. If Nie Ao has the guts, he can also report her to his father for having a private relationship with the Left Prime Minister!
【Author’s words】
Here I come, 100 red envelopes, see you tonight~
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