Chapter 1103 Departing From Yangzhou and Visiting Sheng Mansion

The Jie Yuan turmoil did not last long, because it was only a few months before the Spring Festival of the next year. Those students who passed the examination were all preparing for the Spring Festival Examination. Those who did not pass the exam were envious and forgotten for a while.

Zhou Chen's life was still the same as before, practicing martial arts every day and occasionally reading.

Zhou Tong, who came back from duty this afternoon with a tired face, saw Zhou Chen practicing martial arts and stood silently for a long time with an incomprehensible look on his face.

Zhou Chen had discovered Zhou Tong a long time ago, but he only stopped after practicing a set of marksmanship.

"Brother, why are you here?"

"I'll give you some books, which should be helpful for your exam next spring."

Zhou Tong handed the bundle of books in his hand to Zhou Chen, and Shui Quan, the boy next to him, immediately took it.

"Thank you, brother."

Zhou Chen thanked him, then looked at Zhou Tong who was unhappy, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "You don't seem to be in a good mood?"

Zhou Tong shook his head and said, "It's nothing. You should study hard and bring glory to our Marquis Mansion in the coming year."

After saying that, he left.

Zhou Chen looked at his back, thoughtfully. In his memory, when he used to wield swords and guns, Zhou Tong would say a few words to him, asking him to read more and study more.

But since he became an official in the Hanlin Academy, he rarely said such words, and he became more and more taciturn.

"It seems that my stay in the Hanlin Academy was not satisfactory."

Zhou Chen secretly guessed in his heart, but this is not surprising. Although Zhou Tong passed the Jinshi examination, in the eyes of those civil servants, he was always the eldest son of the Marquis House and came from a noble family.

In the officialdom of the Song Dynasty, civil servants and military officers faced each other. Civil servants regarded themselves as high-ranking officials and always looked down upon the noble military officers.

Therefore, even if Zhou Tong passed the Jinshi examination, became a civil servant, and went to an aristocratic department such as the Hanlin Academy, although he would not be bullied due to the support of the Marquis Palace, he would definitely be squeezed out and suppressed.

Both Zhou Yexiong and Zhou Tong, the Marquis of Zhongjing, were right. The Song Dynasty valued civil service over military affairs. Especially under the current government rule, it would be more difficult for military generals to make meritorious deeds. If they were transferred to civil service, it would be beneficial to the Marquis government and there would be no problem in the general direction.

But the problem is that it is simply impossible for you, a noble military commander, to integrate into the circle of civil servants. Civil servants naturally reject you. Even if there are some who do not reject you, they are rare and will not affect the overall situation.

Just like Qi Heng, the young master in Zhifou. Although he passed the Jinshi examination and became a civil servant, he was always treated as a weapon and could not integrate into the elite stream of civil servants.

Therefore, it was several times more difficult for Zhou Tong to carve out a path among civil servants than for a child from a poor family.

But Zhou Chen couldn't help with this kind of thing. After all, Zhou had been studying in the Hanlin Academy for more than ten years and had already reached the Hanlin Academy. It was impossible for him to abandon literature and join the martial arts. He could only bite the bullet and go all the way to the end.

In fact, the military generals in the world are relatively good. The military generals of the Song Dynasty in real history were more difficult to deal with. They were constrained by civilian officials almost from the beginning to the end. The military generals were like thugs of the civilian officials.

‘Everything is of inferior quality, but reading is of high quality’.

In this dynasty, it is really reflected vividly.

Zhou Chen still has confidence in himself. If you take the provincial examination to learn about Yuan, you will have to start better than others. If you pass the first-class examination and then the first-class examination, and the top three in the palace examination, and become the first, second or third overall, then he will be considered a distinguished person. It will definitely be taken seriously.

If you just want to be the top scholar, you really don't have to write well. After all, the general examination and the palace examination are different from the college entrance examination in later generations. There are no standard answers at all. It mainly depends on the corrections of the examiners. If the examiners cannot make the corrections, We agree that no matter how knowledgeable and talented you are, it will not help.

The most important thing is that in the imperial examinations of the Song Dynasty, once you passed the imperial examination, you could not take the exam again even if you were not satisfied with your ranking. There was no chance to repeat the exam.

"Li Xueguo, do you really want to go back to your hometown? Sanlang is a senior high school student and will take the examination next year. Can't you stay for a while?"

Li Xuexu, the teacher in charge of teaching the children of the Hou Mansion, had already packed his belongings and was about to leave the Hou Mansion. Zhou Tong tried his best to persuade him to stay for Zhou Chen's sake.

Li Xuegu is already over fifty years old. He is already in his old age in this era, and his hair and beard are all gray.

"Shuyuan High School is a high school student. I have nothing left to teach. As long as Chunwei performs normally, he will definitely be on the apex list, so I don't need to stay."

Speaking of Zhou Chen's high school Jie Yuan, although he was surprised, he was also proud of it. He taught in the Hou Mansion for several years and taught a first-class Jinshi and a provincial exam Jie Yuan, which is enough to be proud of.

Although he was a Jinshi at that time, he was only ranked among the top three. Later, he waited for several years before going out to serve as a ninth-rank official. It took more than ten years before he was promoted to the seventh-rank official. When he saw the opportunity to be transferred to Bianjing, he failed because of He offended his superior due to mistakes at work and failed the examination, which led to his official career being unsatisfactory. In the end, he had no choice but to become an official.

After wasting decades, he did not make much achievements in the official career. Later, he was promised generous terms by the Marquis of Zhongjing and accepted the invitation to teach in the Marquis' mansion. In the blink of an eye, several years have passed.

He is old, lacks energy, and wants to return to his hometown. Now he has taught a first-class Jinshi and a Jieyuan. Even if he returns to his hometown, he will be respected by countless students with such a reputation.

Coupled with the property and other rewards given by the Hou Mansion in the past few years, he can live a good life back in his hometown, so he doesn't want to stay in the Hou Mansion anymore.

There is another reason, that is, the remaining concubines in the Hou family have limited talents. Even if they continue to stay, it is almost impossible for them to achieve results like Zhou Chen and Zhou Tong again.

He still understands the principle of retreating bravely from the rapids.

Seeing that Li Xuexiu had decided to leave, Zhou Tong knew that it was useless to persuade him, so he could only sigh softly and say some words of thanks.

Li Xuexuan gave Zhou Chen a lot of instructions. In the past, he felt that Zhou Chen was not as good as Zhou Tong, but now it seems that Zhou Chen may be the kind of person who is a late bloomer and realizes his talent in one fell swoop.

Of course, he also hopes that Zhou Chen will go to Chunwei High School next year. If Zhou Chen can go to high school, it will be of huge benefit to him.

Zhou Chen suddenly remembered something: "Li Xuexue, I remember your hometown is Yangzhou, right?"

"Yes, my hometown is Yangzhou. It has been several years since I went back. My grandchildren have grown up and have reached the age of enlightenment and education."

Speaking of his grandson, Li Xueguo couldn't help but smile kindly.

Zhou Chen said: "It's a long way from Bianjing to Yangzhou, and the students are willing to send scholars back to their hometown."

Zhou Tong was shocked and immediately wanted to stop Zhou Chen, but thinking that Li Xuejun was still here, he could only hold back.

Li Xuejun said with a smile: "I haven't reached the point where I can't move yet. I understand Shuyuan's kindness. You still have to participate in the Spring Festival next year. During this time, you should stay in Bianjing and study hard. Don't waste it on me." precious time."

Zhou Chen said: "Students understand the meaning of scholarship, but I feel that reading thousands of books is not as good as traveling thousands of miles. I have never left Bianjing since I was born. Although I have read many books, I have always studied hard. I won Xie Yuan, but I know very well that I was just lucky this time and may not actually be that talented."

"I have been thinking these days, maybe going out for a walk and taking a look can broaden my horizons and increase my knowledge, which may be more beneficial to the Spring Examination next year; for example, those students who come to Beijing to take the exam will naturally They have richer experience than those of us students who have lived in Bianjing for a long time."

"this?"

Li Xuexu and Zhou Tong both looked at each other, not knowing how to answer Zhou Chen's question.

Zhou Chen's words may sound reasonable, but when you think about it again, it turns out to be very problematic. After all, most of the scholars in this era study hard in poverty and have weak bodies. It is simply not realistic to travel thousands of miles.

Zhou Tong said: "I can't make the decision on this matter. If you want to go out, go to your mother and tell her. But I don't think there is much hope. Mother will not be willing to let you go."

"It all depends on people."

Zhou Chen was not worried at all. Based on Zhou Xu's doting on him, as long as he was firm, he would definitely agree.

As for Li Xuedou, he didn't care. He had originally planned to hire a car to go back alone. If Zhou Chen accompanied him, the journey would be safer and not boring.

Just as Zhou Tong expected, when Zhou Chen told Zhou Xu about this, Zhou Xu immediately disagreed and was unwilling to let him leave Bianjing and go to Yangzhou.

However, under Zhou Chen's soft words of persuasion and pleading, Zhou Xu relented and agreed to Zhou Chen sending Li Xuexue to Yangzhou, but she set a deadline for Zhou Chen to come back before the end of the year.

Zhou Chen naturally agreed without hesitation. There are still three months until the end of the year, and a few trips back and forth to Yangzhou are enough.

So a few days later, after his mother, brother and sister-in-law said goodbye, Zhou Chen and Li Xuexu left the Hou Mansion and Bianjing.

During his time in the Hou Mansion, Zhou Chen also met his other brothers and sisters. Although they were half-mothers, the relationship between the legitimate son and the concubine was naturally not very good. Instead, he had a relationship with the two concubine sisters. good.

Under the control of Zhou Yexiong, the gap between the concubine and the concubine is huge. It is completely unlike the situation in the Sheng Mansion in the plot. The concubine has to be respectful even when facing the legitimate son, let alone the concubine. Appeared in front of Zhou Chen.

Zhou Chen's memory of his father was also limited. Because he had been guarding the northwest all year round, Zhou Yexiong's time at home was limited. Even at home, he spent most of his time teaching his eldest son Zhou Tong and rarely communicated with him.

This is a father who puts family inheritance first. He puts the family first in everything he does. He is a qualified head of a large family, but he is not so qualified for his own small family.

During this trip, Zhou Chen not only brought Shui Quan with him, but Zhou Xu also arranged ten guards for him, all of whom were signed and loyal servants.

Although the current government of the government claims that the world is peaceful, there are still some green forest bandits and water bandits. It is definitely safer to have guards by your side when traveling.

Of course, Zhou Chen would not refuse his mother's kindness. Not only did he bring his guards, but he also brought a lot of gold and silver.

They had to take the land route first, then the water route, and finally the land route again. If they didn't rush, the whole process would take about ten days.

More than ten days later, Zhou Chen and his party finally arrived safely in Yangzhou City.

The road was calm, maybe because we were lucky, we took the official road, and we didn't encounter any water bandits when we took the waterway.

At Li Xuexue's invitation, Zhou Chen took people to the Li Mansion.

Li Xueguo's seventh-grade official's official career is naturally nothing in Bianjing City, but it is still quite prestigious in Yangzhou City. The Li Mansion is also a large mansion in Yangzhou City and is a famous family in Yangzhou.

Li Xuexiu specially arranged Zhou Chen in the best villa in the house and allowed Zhou Chen to move around freely. However, Zhou Chen was very sensible and did not move around. He just stayed quietly and at the same time sent his men to Yangzhou City to inquire. The situation in Sheng Mansion.

Zhou Chen set out all the way from Bianjing, of course not to escort Li Xuexue. The ultimate goal was of course the Sheng family.

It was a coincidence that Li Xuexue's hometown was Yangzhou. Otherwise, he would have found other reasons to inquire about the Sheng family.

A few days later, Sheng Mansion!

Sheng Mansion is the residence of Sheng Hong, the general magistrate of Yangzhou. As the general magistrate of Yangzhou, Sheng Hong is only lower than the magistrate of the state. He is an official of the sixth rank. If he is placed in Yangzhou City, he also belongs to a noble family.

In the plot, Sheng Hong seems to be a dull and funny person, but in fact he is not like that. Sheng Hong is actually a smart person who is well-rounded, good at observing people's words, and good at dancing.

The fact that he was promoted from a ninth-grade official in a bitter cold place to Tokyo, and finally became a member of the imperial court, shows that he is quite capable and very shrewd in his work.

Under the leadership of Sheng Hong, the second branch of the Sheng family gradually became prosperous.

Sheng Hong was originally just an unpopular concubine of the Sheng family. He was raised by his aunt, Mrs. Sheng, and Mrs. Sheng went to the former master Wang's family to propose marriage for him and married the youngest daughter of Mrs. Wang. That is Mrs. Wang today.

Sheng Hong's father was a courtier who was handsome and talented. He won the heart of Yongyi Hou's only daughter. In the first half of his life, his career was smooth and his marriage was happy.

However, the originally good situation was ruined by the Tanhua Lang himself. He married the only daughter of Marquis Yongyi, but in the end he doted on his concubine and killed his wife. As a result, the main wife's legitimate son died young, and the Sheng Mansion slowly declined from then on. .

But Mrs. Sheng was a resolute and courageous woman. After the death of her husband, she raised Sheng Hong, the concubine born by her concubine, on her own, so that he could study for the imperial examinations. She also asked Mrs. Wang to marry Mrs. Wang’s niece for his career. This gave Sheng Hong a chance to live. I have the opportunity to serve as an official, and my career gradually goes smoothly and gets better and better.

After Sheng Hong became successful, he also married two concubines, namely Lin Xiaoniang and Wei Xiaoniang.

As a concubine, Sheng Hong did not learn the lessons of his late father. When he came to his own place, he actually began to spoil his concubines and destroy his wives. He doted on his concubine Lin Sushuang and Lin Xiaoniang far more than his wife Wang, so that the backyard of the Sheng Mansion was a mess. , even the eldest lady’s housekeeping rights were assigned to her concubine, Lin Xiaoniang.

As the saying goes, like father, like son, I'm afraid that's the case. It's just that Sheng Hong is luckier than his father. He has an aunt, Mrs. Sheng, who can protect him from wind and rain.

Sheng Hong spoiled his concubine and killed his wife. He spent most of the month staying in Lin Xiaoniang's Linqige, and today he happened to be resting in Linqige.

Sheng Hong, who had taken off his shirt, was sitting on the Arhat bed, eating wine and enjoying Miss Lin's service. He would read a few poems from time to time, which was comfortable and comfortable.

"Hong Lang's literary talent is so outstanding that I am truly convinced and admired by my slaves."

Lin Xiaoniang twisted her waist and sat in Sheng Hong's arms with a charming face. She put her arms around Sheng Hong's neck with a look of affection on her face.

Sheng Hong laughed proudly, raising and lowering his hands to tease Lin Xiaoniang, making him even more satisfied.

The reason why he dotes on Lin Xiaoniang is because with Lin Xiaoniang, he can enjoy the pleasures of men, which he cannot enjoy with Mrs. Wang.

Not only would Mrs. Wang not cater to him blindly like Xiaoniang Lin, but she also had a very bad temper. She would start yelling after a few words of disagreement. She was not delicate or lovable at all.

Sheng Hong's eyes were blurred and he was drunk. He hugged Lin Xiaoniang and wanted to take action.

"My lord, my lord."

The sudden call made Sheng Hong startled, his body trembled, and then he roared angrily.

"What's your name? What's your name? Are you going to rest if you don't see me?"

Anyone who is interrupted at this critical moment will get angry, even if he knows that the person speaking is his right-hand man.

"Dongrong, you'd better be busy, otherwise you go and get the ten pieces of bread yourself."

Dongrong's voice outside sounded again: "Master, the concierge just sent a greeting card. He reported back that the person who sent the greeting card claimed to be a servant of the third son of the Marquis Zhongjing in Tokyo."

"What?"

Sheng Hong in the room exclaimed and hurriedly pushed Lin Xiaoniang away. Then he rushed over and opened the door without even putting on his clothes.

Dong Rong stood at the door and lowered his head slightly when he saw Sheng Hong coming out.

"Tell me again, who sent the greeting card?"

"My Lord, he is the third son of the Marquis Zhongjing in Tokyo."

Sheng Hong looked solemn: "I know the Zhongjing Marquis Mansion. It is the famous Marquis Mansion in Tokyo. How could their third son go to Yangzhou and specially send a greeting card to our family?"

"Dongrong, where is the person who sent the greeting card?"

"Already gone, please post here."

Sheng Hong hurriedly took it and opened it. The content of the greeting card was very simple. It said that he would visit in person tomorrow and leave his name for Zhou Chen, the third son of Marquis Zhongjing.

"The surname of Marquis Zhongjing is Zhou, so that's correct."

With doubts in his heart, he didn't care to be intimate with Lin Sushuang, and hurried back to the house to let Lin Xiaoniang dress him.

Lin Sushuang heard what Sheng Hong and Dong Rong said just now. She asked carefully while dressing Sheng Hong.

"Honglang, I just heard you talk about the Marquis Mansion. Does Honglang still have any friendship with the Marquis Mansion?"

To her, a sixth-grade official like Sheng Hong was already a big deal, let alone the majestic Marquis Palace of Tokyo, which was something she could not reach no matter what.

"It's okay, don't ask around, this is not something you can ask about."

Sheng Hong scolded him angrily. Although he doted on Lin Sushuang, he was still sensible. He could leave the affairs of the inner house to Lin Sushuang, but he would not let Lin Sushuang mess around with matters outside.

Lin Sushuang said angrily: "Honglang, don't be angry. I just asked casually, okay, okay, I won't ask anymore."

Sheng Hong ignored her, and after putting on his clothes, he hurriedly left Linqige and went straight to Madam Wang's Wei Ruixuan.