Chapter 117 Ambition After these words, the three of them were silent...
After these words, all three of them fell silent.
All those unfortunate past events are there, and the only thing to be thankful for is that they have survived to this day.
Yunqi picked up the wine jug and silently filled Xiaoluan's glass: "It's all in the past. It's a happy thing that we can still meet now. Come, have another drink."
The sisters clinked their glasses together, and everything was said without words.
Yunqi was drunk, and he pressed the table and said, "You came at the right time. I wonder if you have missed out on your studies."
"Speaking of these," Xiao Luan said, "even if I remember, what's the point? Oh, I can earn a living by writing letters for others."
Before the disaster, when the girls in the boudoirs held poetry gatherings, they once lamented, "I want to compile national history, but the Qige Pavilion does not allow female scholars to be appointed."① Even though their ambitions are not inferior to those of men, they have no place to display their talents.
Yunqi said: "It is useful, how can it be useless? It's just that time didn't wait for me."
She leaned over and laughed: "Now, under the princess, we can finally be of use. Xiaoluan, you will like it here."
Xiao Luan sneered: "I have heard some things, but the princess asked you to do some business? It's just a way for those rich families to make money. What use is there for it?"
"You really don't want to give in with your mouth." Qiu Hua said, "Stop talking, look at Yunqi, his face is so dark."
"Why, you want to hit me? Come on, come on, now I am no longer the powerless Xiaoluan."
"Why would I hit you?" Yunqi straightened his back. "Making money is only a small part of it. The princess's vision cannot be so simple."
She said confidently, "You came along the Qingshui River, right? Can you see those farmlands? The princess helped to open them up, and in the first three years, not a single grain of public grain was collected. Many of the farmers who came here to farm had no way to make a living in Kouzi. Now they have fields to plant, food to eat, clothes to wear, and even if they get sick, there are people to help them. Qiuhua brought several little apprentices with her, and they go to Yanzhidi to provide free medical treatment every two months. And those shepherds to the north, I saw one family with my own eyes before, they wrapped themselves in a woolen felt as clothes in winter. After the Beijing Sheep Road was built, the sheep could be sold at a high price, and they also had decent clothes to wear. Not to mention the commercial valleys in the city, even the small vendors on the street in front of the princess's mansion can do business here safely. It is also our credit."
"When we were young, we had aspirations to establish our hearts in heaven and earth and to live for the people. In the final analysis, weren't we just trying to make the people live a good life? Now you are also trying to imitate those stinky men, who are obsessed with fame and fortune. Do you have to become a high-ranking official or be given a high title to be able to display your talents? Go and see and listen to the people tomorrow, and you will know."
"That's great. I'll go and see if I have my own eyes."
Seeing that the two of them were arguing, Qiu Hua immediately tried to persuade them, "Okay, okay, you've had two glasses of wine and you're already angry, right? Why are you getting louder and louder? Xiao Luan, Yun Qi wants to say that the end of July is just in time for the opening of the imperial examinations at the Princess's Mansion, and they'll recruit some people to do their own work. You can give it a try."
After drinking a lot of wine, Xiaoluan was helped to the house on Fuyou Street to rest.
After days of exhaustion from traveling, Xiaoluan finally met her old friend and had a comfortable bed. She slept soundly. In her dreams, the girls who had passed away still appeared, watching her and Yunqi Qiuhua smile. When she woke up, it was already the next morning.
Yunqi left a little maid to take care of her. When she woke up, she ran around, fetched some clean water, and brought it up for her to enjoy breakfast.
"Aunt Yunqi has gone to the Princess's residence to take up her duties. She told you to do as you please. If you have any instructions, feel free to tell me."
Xiao Luan took a bite of the porridge and said with a smile: "It seems that she is still very busy."
"Of course. Aunt Yunqi is the person most proud of all the things happening outside the Princess's residence. We all jokingly call her 'Prime Minister' in private."
"Such a small place has a Prime Minister?" Xiao Luan said.
The little maidservant was unhappy: "It's not small at all. From Guihua City to the north, the entire Mobei, and even to the Maimai City bordering Luosha, there are people from our princess's mansion everywhere. It's a big area."
She was obviously unhappy and stood up: "Please do as you please. I'm going to study in the room."
"You still need to review your studies."
"Well, the retest is coming up soon."
"You can take the test, too?"
"Why not? The princess said that it doesn't matter whether you are a man or a woman. Even the wives of merchants from outside can come to the palace to take the exam."
The little maid explained a few words and turned away.
As expected of a maidservant following Yunqi, she has learned some bad temper from him. Xiaoluan put down the bowl of porridge and followed the maidservant to see. "What are you taking the test on? Let me see."
She picked up a piece of paper at random: "Why does it seem like there are math problems on this paper? Chickens and rabbits in the same cage? Han Xin recruiting his troops?"
"This is unique to the Princess's Mansion exam." The little maid glared at her, "Sister, this is an arithmetic question. If you become a serious employee, you may be assigned to Dashengkui to deal with business knowledge, so you must learn these arithmetic skills."
Xiao Luan quickly flipped through the other papers with writing on them. How should I put it? The examination of this princess's mansion is really very strange. It doesn't test the Four Books and Five Classics. There is a policy question at the end, which requires writing about a thousand words. But the previous questions are all kinds of things, like the arithmetic questions you just saw, and some questions about herding sheep and farming, and even surveying the land. It's all kinds of things.
A rigid person like Yunqi would never be able to come up with such messy test questions. So it could only be the fourth princess's own whimsical idea.
"You know all of these?"
"How can they know everything? There are some focuses. For example, I did well in mathematics and policy questions. Questions about raising sheep and farming are what they need to know when they plan to take the exam for the corresponding positions."
Seeing that she kept asking questions, the maid explained everything to her from beginning to end. The palace examination of the princess's mansion is divided into two parts. The first is a written test. After the written test, a list is drawn up from high to low according to the scores to enter the interview. The interview is based on the requirements of each position. There are positions specializing in agricultural and animal husbandry affairs, positions specializing in business affairs, and positions specializing in education... In short, there are several directions.
"So what kind of job do you want to do, agriculture or animal husbandry?" Xiao Luan asked.
The little maid knew that Yunqi valued this old friend, so she simply told the truth: "Neither. I want to be admitted to the secretariat, which is a new department that the princess said will be established. Aunt Yunqi is the secretary general."
Xiao Luan looked at her and smiled: "It sounds a bit like a cabinet minister. It seems that you have very high standards."
"Huh, yes, so I have to review." The little maid went over and opened the door, as if to see a guest off.
Xiaoluan smiled, stopped bothering her, and went out to relax.
The long row of houses on the right street of the Princess Mansion are all residences for the family members of the Princess Mansion. As soon as you walk out of the gate, the bustling sounds of the market hit you in the face, with the shouts of people selling cloth, grain, and livestock coming one after another.
Turning the corner, there is a butcher's shop. A woman is pulling her child to ask the butcher to cut half a pound of meat.
The butcher quickly cut the meat into pieces and wrapped them in paper. The woman weighed them and said suspiciously, "Are you sure this is the right weight? I'll go to the fair scale at the corner of the street to weigh it later."
"Hey, you're right. I'll give you more, okay?" The butcher complained and cut a little more meat to add in.
Xiao Luan found this interesting and asked the woman, "What is the fair scale at the street corner?"
Before the woman could say anything, the child spoke up enthusiastically, "It's the fair scale that the princess ordered to be placed at the entrance of the shopping street. If you buy anything, you weigh it. If it's not enough, you have to pay double the amount."
When Xiaoluan arrived at the street corner, she saw a tent with a fair scale inside. On the curtain of the tent were embroidered the words "Fourth Princess' Order to Make a Fair Scale". There were also two people wearing red armbands watching the scene.
Maybe they were sent by the princess's mansion, too? Xiao Luan thought. After all, she had never seen any clerk in any government office willing to spend time on this matter, and she guessed that the same was true for the Guihua Dutong Mansion.
After walking around the street and burning some incense at the General's Temple, she hailed a donkey cart and headed to the rouge field further away.
It was midsummer and the fields were full of green. She saw an old farmer working in the field nearby and she approached him to talk to him.
"How are you, old brother? I want to use the excuse of water to eat."
The old farmer raised his head and looked at Xiao Luan: "I haven't seen you before, are you new here?"
"Yes, I just arrived yesterday."
"It's good to be here. It's pretty good here. You don't have to pay rent for the first three years of reclaiming wasteland. Now that you have paid enough public grain, the rest belongs to you. It's better than many places in Kouzi."
As the old farmer spoke, he picked up the big teapot beside the ridge and poured a bowl of tea for her.
Xiao Luan sat down on the ridge of the field, asking questions intentionally or unintentionally. Speaking of his family, the old farmer was very happy. "Last year, the princess set up a free school in the public house in the countryside. There are teachers here to teach during the winter. My grandson Gou'er can now read and recite the "Three Character Classic"! It's good for you to come here, you can have enough food. I also wrote to my nephews and asked them to find a way to come here. I heard that the princess is repairing the post road and needs manpower. It will provide meals and money. Isn't this good..."
After a while of chattering, the old farmer continued to work, while Xiaoluan sat on the edge of the field in a daze. The summer wind blew from the distant grassland, sweeping the crop stalks like waves. She smelled the fragrance of wheat stalks and the fishy smell of soil.
At the age of fifteen or sixteen, I would compose poems and talk about world affairs with my friends. They all admired Zhang Zai's words, "to establish a mission for the people and to bring peace to the world for all eternity." They only regretted that they could not establish a great career because they were girls.
Unexpectedly, when they were at the end of their rope, they found a place where they could be awarded the title of female bachelor.
Although Yunqi might be very proud of herself, she should still tell her that she wants to take part in the provincial examination.
Alas, I don’t know if I can pass the exam after wasting all these years.
That fourth princess... Xiaoluan thought of her and had an indescribable feeling, hoping that she would be a wise leader.
However, I have no choice.
Just like the princess's palace examination, those who can take the imperial examination are unlikely to participate wholeheartedly. After all, strictly speaking, this is a private examination that does not even lead to a formal official position. I think there are many people like me, or people who are close to being lowly, who come to participate.
But the princess organized such an exam.
Maybe she had no choice, or maybe she felt that these mediocre people could also make a career.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
