Chapter 37: The Proud Son of the Past, a 200-Li Street
Madam Shuanghua's surname is Murong, so she is Murong Shuanghua.
Her father used to be an official in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Later, he offended his superiors, was framed and lost his official position. He had no choice but to bring her to Xianyang City to avoid disaster.
When I was young, my father's health deteriorated day by day, and our family's financial situation became increasingly difficult.
Fortunately, she was precocious, intelligent and studious. At the age of thirteen or fourteen, she became a teacher for girls in the city and finally had a way to make a living.
But now, she is only twenty-two years old, and is very famous in Xianyang City. Everyone calls her "Madam Shuanghua".
In her previous life, Murong Shuanghua did not follow the path of selection. Before Cui Si married Yan Xingchuan, she came to pay homage to Cui Si and was willing to be served by her.
Later, Cui Si became so capable, and it was inseparable from her advice.
Eventually, she became the Lady of the Palace in the Three Departments and Six Bureaus.
This is the female appearance.
Cui Si has no intention of marrying Yan Xingchuan in this life. It just so happens that Yan Xingchuan comes here today to "inspect and select scholars". For both emotional and rational reasons, and for both public and private reasons, he will speak for Murong Shuanghua.
Everyone present dared to scold Murong Shuanghua, but they did not dare to say anything wrong about the girl from the Cui family. After being scolded, they could only hold it in, not daring to be angry or speak.
Besides, the King of Northern Yan had already spoken, saying that Miss Cui was right, so they dared not say anything more and could only accept their fate and retreat.
Murong Shuanghua looked up at Cui Si, nodded and bowed to her in thanks, then sat there quietly.
No matter how strong the wind blows or what others say, she remains unmoved.
Admiration flashed in Cui Si's eyes, and she felt a little regretful that they could not work together in this life.
However, I sincerely wish her a bright future.
The onlookers stepped back a dozen feet and soon quieted down. Mr. Cui ordered people to give writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone to the hundred scholars and then began the examination.
"Today, the King of Northern Yan is recruiting scholars. There are three questions. The first question is to praise the king's merits and virtues. No matter whether it is poetry, songs, or analysis of policy essays, any one of them can be written.
The time limit is one stick of incense. After one stick of incense, I will stop writing and collect my answers for the King of Northern Yan and the other gentlemen to comment on. Only those who are selected on this question may proceed to answer the second and third questions."
"Please incense."
Mr. Cui took a stick of incense from a gentleman, asked someone to light it, and put it in the incense burner himself.
Then he turned around and said to the hundred scholars and students, "Please start writing."
The scholars and students who had already begun grinding ink and thinking began to write.
Mr. Cui returned to his seat and asked Yan Xingchuan, "Would you like to rest for a while?"
"It's okay." Yan Xingchuan looked up at the Xianyang Academy.
Green mountains and trees, elegant study buildings, and flowers everywhere dot the landscape, making the academy elegant and beautiful.
"It won't take long. The spring breeze is just right today, and the scenery is beautiful. Sitting here and chatting and enjoying the spring is also a very elegant thing to do, isn't it, Cui Sanlang?"
What else could Cui Jing do? He could only answer "yes".
Cui Si thought to herself, the spring breeze is nice, the spring scenery is beautiful, but you are a bad person, you are really a nuisance and an eyesore, I want to kick you into the ditch.
The spring weather is nice today and the water in the ditch is also good, perfect for you to take a photo.
Cui Si sat quietly on the surface, but in her heart she cursed Yan Xingchuan seven or eight times.
Cui Si could still sit still, but Cui Changyou really couldn't help it.
He frequently looked at Mr. Cui, asking if he could slip away.
Mr. Cui raised his eyelids and looked at him, signaling him to be honest.
There was no other way, Cui Changyou could only put his hands on the table and sigh.
It's really a natural disaster and man-made disaster. How come I encountered this big Buddha as soon as I went out?
Why is this big Buddha running here instead of just sitting on the high platform?
Alas, alas, alas!
Cui Changyou and Cui Si looked at each other, and the uncle and nephew fell silent.
As time passed bit by bit, Cui Si took a sip of tea from time to time. By the time she finished a cup of tea, the incense stick had also burned out.
Mr. Cui ordered people to stop writing, and then asked several gentlemen to come forward to collect the papers.
After a while, a hundred papers with black words on them were collected.
Yan Xingchuan asked several teachers to divide into five teams, with three people in each team, to review twenty papers and select thirteen of the best ones.
After one round like this, sixty-five remain and thirty-five are taken away.
Next, the 65 papers were shuffled, with each team keeping nine and removing four, to ensure that the best, most and most talented people were selected.
After this round, only forty-five people's papers were handed to Yan Xingchuan.
Yan Xingchuan flipped through it casually.
There is no one who is too flattering or fawning, no one who writes in a stiff and insincere way, and no one who is blank and knows nothing about him.
Yan Xingchuan accidentally saw Murong Shuanghua's paper, which contained a short poem:
In the past, he was a proud son of heaven, with a street two hundred miles long.
The old dream of mountains and rivers is gone, and I bid farewell to the west by crossing Yanchuan.
Yan Xingchuan held the piece of paper in his hand, and thought of the past in a trance.
When he was young, he was still Yan Sanlang of the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion. He still had his parents, uncles and aunts standing above him, and his elder brother was rising like the sun in front of him.
He was dressed in gorgeous clothes, holding a folding fan, and wandering around the bustling streets of the imperial city.
I thought I would live a carefree life and become a playboy.
But one day, the mountains and rivers collapsed, and the entire Zhenbei Marquis family died at the hands of a tyrant.
In a blink of an eye, he was the only one left in the clan.
This old dream is a nightmare.
He fled back to Beiyan City and proclaimed himself king. Today he crossed the river to the west, hoping to conquer the imperial city and avenge his blood feud.
Yan Xingchuan's eyes were filled with complex emotions, but as soon as he thought about it, he pulled out the paper and handed it to Cui Si beside him:
"Madam Cui, this Madam Murong is also a woman. I've heard that Madam Cui is extremely talented and has excellent insights. Why don't you give this scroll to Madam Cui for her comments?"
Cui Si waved a silk fan embroidered with crabapple flowers in her hand and smiled as she rejected him:
"What the King of Northern Yan said is not true. Everyone here is his subject. The selection process does not discriminate between men and women, and naturally, the comments do not discriminate between men and women either."
"Please, King Bei Yan, do not treat me differently."
"That's right." Murong Shuanghua stood up from the crowd and bowed respectfully. "Please, King Beiyan, don't be lenient and treat me like a man."
Since both of them said so, Yan Xingchuan naturally had nothing to say: "Well, it's just that I was mistaken, so let's comment together."
He originally wanted to let her take a look at the poem, but since she didn't want to, forget it.
Yan Xingchuan asked Mr. Cui to read out the names of the more than 40 people who were still left, and then divided them into two groups, with those who could stay arranged in the front and those who were not selected staying in the back.
Then, please ask the selected people to read out what they have written one by one and then explain it to everyone.
At this time, if the unsuccessful people at the back have any questions, they can speak up.
If this person has flaws in his character and is not a good person, you can still spend money on him.
After this round of selection, the selected candidates can proceed to the second and third questions.
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