83. The Farmer Who Became the Top Scholar

The clan has been informed about the family recognition, and the clan leader has readily agreed to the matter. When Yan Yu found out, there was no room for objection.

He didn't know that it was Yan Chu who suggested this. He only knew that his parents took the initiative to ask his grandparents for this request. Even if he was angry, he couldn't go to that ignorant couple and tell them that they had done it. What a mistake.

After accepting Fu Zhenzhen as their godmother, Old Man Yan and his wife were neither happy nor unhappy. The person in the second room was very happy, but the person in the first room was gloomy and couldn't even pretend to be happy.

Yan Yi's expression at this time was not conspicuous at all in the crowd of people in the main room. Liu Fuchun and Yan Changxue looked at their youngest son's expression and felt that this son was caring to them. They thought of going together and did not care about their own sadness. , but had to comfort his younger son.

"Er Bao, don't be angry. Even if Fu Zhenzhen isn't there, it can be someone else. Don't worry, no one can surpass you and your eldest brother in this family. Even if that little brat Yan Chu becomes successful, I'll let him He works hard to earn money for us."

Liu Fuchun's words were harsh, but in fact, for a while, she couldn't think of any way to deal with Yan Chu. She originally thought that Fu Zhenzhen was the biggest handle, but now Fu Zhenzhen can't move. The other women, Yan Chu, are not that stupid and can easily Can be used.

These words were just words she comforted her youngest son.

After listening to Liu Fuchun's words, Yan Yi frowned and suddenly felt that it was good to be like this now, at least he didn't have to worry about what happened after it happened.

I feel guilty towards Fu Zhenzhen, so finding a good husband for her in this life can be regarded as compensation. As for Fu Yugui, it is good that he is a hot new general in the army, but in the officialdom, there are differences between civil and military affairs, and "he" only needs to Just like in the previous life, he was admitted to the top of the exam and his son-in-law was captured at the bottom of the ranking. If there was no princess, there would be other scholarly families, and young ladies who were knowledgeable in books and etiquette could marry him.

Thinking about it this way, Yan Yi suddenly had nothing to worry about.

Seeing their son's appearance, Liu Fuchun and Yan Changxue thought that their persuasion had worked, and smiles immediately appeared on their faces.

"Let's ignore others for now. In a short while, it will be the day when the hospital examination begins. We must be careful about food, clothing, and accommodation during these days. We must not make any mistakes again after entering the examination room."

The couple were both proud when Yan Yu admitted them to a county clerk in the second year. Just like Yan Chu, wasn't the county clerk a sure-shot scholar? Due to various accidents, Yan Yu could not finish a set of papers smoothly. If he did not complete the exam, he would naturally have no grades. Without grades, even if there is an unspoken rule that the county chief is a scholar, it does not work.

I gave hope but was disappointed again and again.

If there were no results for Yan Yu, the county chief criminal officer, perhaps the couple would have given up just like they did with Yan Yin's eldest son. But even if Yan Yu was admitted to the county criminal chief, there was another one who was also the county criminal chief, and now It was easier said than done for the couple to give up because of the example of Yan Chu, who was a master of civil engineering.

Over the years, the money provided by the family has become less and less. In order to allow this son to continue his studies, and the eldest son in front of him who always refused to give up studying as a scholar, the family's savings in the early years have almost bottomed out.

Yan Changxue's salary was quite high, but he couldn't afford to spend it like that. For this reason, he secretly started to make fake accounts. He was both the shopkeeper of the tavern and the accountant. It was not difficult to make an account book that could fool the people above to check.

In the past two or three years, he has cheated his employer with dozens of taels of money. According to the criminal law of the Jin Dynasty, if he is found out, he will have his family confiscated and his family will be confiscated for ten years.

Yan Changxue had to fight his last battle. Yan Yu, the son for whom he had high hopes, had to succeed even if he didn't succeed.

"It doesn't make sense. Erbao eats and drinks the same as Dabao before every exam. How come Dabao can finish the exam smoothly every time, but Xiaobao can't."

Yan Changxue sighed, sometimes he couldn't help but think in his heart, it would be great if the eldest son and the youngest son could change.

After all, the eldest son failed the exam countless times, and the younger son was delayed by these illnesses. He is a child who has passed the exam. Isn't it easy to take the college exam?

If it hadn't been delayed by those several illnesses, perhaps it wouldn't be the second son's family that is in the spotlight now.

Yan Changxue sighed, and Yan Yu didn't think deeply about it.

Before, he suspected that the remaining soul of the original body was causing trouble, but after thinking about it carefully, he had been possessing the other person's body for so long and there had never been any problems.

People at that time believed deeply in ghosts and gods, and Yan Yi was no exception. Especially after he returned to his nine-year-old self, he became even more convinced that there really were demons, ghosts, and gods and Buddhas in the world. This was why he doubted himself before. Physical illness is the cause of ghosts and ghosts in the other party.

However, after asking for so many talismans several times in succession and visiting so many popular temples, Yan Yu felt that he should change his mind.

Now, he has his own suspects.

******

"Er Bao, eat it while it's hot."

Liu Fuchun was worried about this college examination and came with Yan Changxue.

The scholar's daughter from Yan's family also came with her. The family rented a small courtyard. The rent for two or three days was not cheap, costing a full two hundred yuan. However, it was much more cost-effective than staying in an inn. .

"These are all made by your sister-in-law, and they are exactly the same as what your elder brother eats. Just now, my mother watched your elder brother finish eating. Nothing will happen, so you can eat without worry."

Liu Fuchun was really afraid of her son's habit of getting into trouble just before exams. This time, she had full control over what his son ate, wore, and drank. She didn't believe that his son could get into trouble in this way.

"Mom, you leave them here. I'll eat them after I finish sorting these books. By the way, I want to drink tea. Could you please make me a cup of hot tea? The tea in the room has already cooled down."

After listening to his son's words, Liu Fuchun touched the teapot in the room, and it was indeed ice cold.

"Mom is confused."

Liu Fuchun patted his forehead. He spent the whole morning watching his eldest wife making breakfast and watching his eldest son eat. He made sure there was no reaction and forgot about his son drinking tea.

Fortunately, Erbao is smart. After drinking this cold tea, he won't have a stomachache again today.

"Mom, go right now." Liu Fuchun took the kettle and went out. After she went out, Yan Yi picked up the steamed buns on the table and put them under the bed. He opened the window and poured the hot gruel outside, and then took it out. I didn't even bother to dry the sesame cake I bought at a small stall outside, and just chewed it.

Over the past few days, he had thought carefully about why his first county exam went smoothly without any incident, but after he successfully passed the case exam, every subsequent exam failed. Once he Who will have the greatest impact on stopping childbirth?

It's impossible for Yan Chu, how can he not understand himself?

Except in the case of Fu Zhenzhen, Yan Yi considers himself to be a person of high moral character, so naturally he cannot do such dirty things. In this case, the most likely person to attack him is Yan Yu. He once ’s eldest cousin.

Yan Pei had been a child for more than ten years. Being admitted as a criminal prosecutor was too much pressure for him. In order to prevent his younger brother from getting ahead of him, he took the action of drugging his food. Very normal thing.

Yan Yu could no longer trust the character of Dafang and his family.

Although he didn't know why the doctor couldn't find out every time the other party drugged him, Yan Yu only thought that it was because the medicine the other party used was relatively hidden. Otherwise, it would be completely impossible to explain why he would always eat and drink the same thing. Nothing was wrong, but I had diarrhea, vomiting, or a high fever every time.

This time, Yan Yu just wanted to try to see if he could complete this scientific examination normally without touching anything at home.

When Liu Fuchun came in with hot water, what he saw was the dishes that had been eaten.

"I've eaten too much, and I still don't drink water. It would be bad if I overeat."

Yan Yi did not dare to touch the water brought by Liu Fuchun. The other party would not be suspicious of his son. If this pot of water was tampered with by Yan Ping, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

"If you're full, don't drink water. Now walk more to digest."

Now Liu Fuchun was in a state of chaos, and after hearing Yan Yi's words, he immediately blamed himself for bringing so much food here early, and never mentioned letting his son drink water.

The journey from the rented small courtyard to the examination room went smoothly. When the gantry opened, all the candidates were inspected and entered in sequence, and they were safe and sound.

Liu Fuchun and Yan Changxue stood outside the examination room, fearing that their son would have another accident this time.

But this time, perhaps because of God's blessing, Yan Yu actually completed the first day of the exam, including every subsequent exam, safely.

When Yan Yu came out after the last test, his face looked tired, but his eyes were more excited than ever.

Yan Yin, Yan Yin, what kind of beast is he.

Yan Yu screamed in his heart. His guess was indeed correct, it was the other party who had done this to him.

******

Yan Chu practiced Chinese calligraphy in a calm mood. Ever since his parents recognized Fu Zhenzhen as their goddaughter and held a banquet in honor of their clansmen and neighbors, the relationship between the two was no longer so taboo.

At this moment, the fourth sister, Yan Lanhua and Fu Zhenzhen, were both in Yan Chu's study. One was holding a travel journal with paintings and looking at it with interest, while the other was setting up a small table and copying the fonts on the copies that Yan Chu had given her. .

The atmosphere was very harmonious. Occasionally when Yan Chu stopped writing to rest, the three of them could talk and laugh. Fu Zhenzhen could not let go from the beginning, but now she can call Yan Chu "third brother" calmly.

She didn't know if she was feeling sad or not. At least after recognizing her, the other party had already begun to try to change his attitude towards Yan Chu.

Write a sharp-edged word "forbearance", and then watch the water stains slowly dry on the rice paper until the word disappears.

Yan Chu calculated the time, but this time he did not take action. If his estimate was correct, it would be time for the family over there to take a bite.

*****

"What are you talking about? This is impossible."

Before Liu Fuchun and Yan Changxue woke up from the joy that their youngest son had passed the entrance examination, they heard their son suspect that every time he was sick and couldn't take the examination normally, his eldest son Yan Yin was framed.

The eldest son and the youngest son share the same mother, so why would he do something to frame the younger son? Is this of any benefit to him?

"I don't want to doubt my eldest brother, but dad and mom, I'm afraid you don't know. From the beginning to the end of this scientific examination, I never drank the water at home or ate a bite of the food at home. On the days of the examination, I used The only thing that satisfies my hunger is the sesame cakes bought from street vendors.”

Yan Yu was very disappointed that he didn't get the first place in the exam, and even didn't get the title of Bingsheng, but he couldn't be blamed for it. After all, he was nervous throughout the exam. In addition to the test questions, he had too many random thoughts in his mind. In addition, there were indeed many students with real abilities in this imperial examination. It was already very good to be able to pass the exam to become Zengsheng.

Although they were all scholars, there was still a big difference between Bingsheng, Zengsheng, and Fusheng.

Everyone said that scholars were poor, but Bingsheng among the scholars were not poor. They had food distributed by the government on a monthly basis. In addition, every county and prefecture exam, candidates who took the exam needed to have one or two Bingsheng as a guarantor. If they guaranteed one candidate, they could receive one or two silver coins. If there were many candidates who guaranteed, they would have enough for a year. Therefore, when people said that scholars were poor, Bingsheng was not included.

As for Zengsheng and Fusheng, they did not have the benefits of Bingsheng, but they could also participate in the subsequent provincial exams.

Therefore, if Yan Lu did not pass the provincial examination and become a juren, his reputation as a scholar would only sound good. He might not be able to get students even if he wanted to open a private school. All the expenses for studying in the future would still have to come from his family.

However, for Liu Fuchun and Yan Changxue, whose eldest son had failed the examination many times and failed again this time, their youngest son was already very motivated. He was only thirteen years old. How could such a young scholar be afraid of not being able to pass the examination for a juren or a jinshi in the future?

Anyway, the couple had full confidence in their youngest son.

"You didn't eat the food at home."

Liu Fuchun was stunned. How could she not know.

"Because at the beginning I was not sure whether my suspicion was true, but the facts proved it. I believe that my parents would not harm me. Then, who else in the family could have access to the food and tea I was going to eat?"

Yan Lu said with great pain. The reason why he did not expose Yan Lu when the imperial examination was just over was that he wanted to wait for his results of passing the examination for a scholar to come out, so as to increase his weight in the hearts of Yan Changxue and his wife.

It's a pity that he is not the first in the case, otherwise the effect will be better.

He sighed in his heart, but it doesn't matter. Compared with the eldest son who is in his early twenties and still doing nothing, he believes that Yan Changxue and his wife will make the right choice.

Looking at the determined and heartbroken look of the younger son, Liu Fuchun and Yan Changxue opened their mouths, but in the end they said nothing and returned to their room in despair.

"The father of the child."

Liu Fuchun wanted to say that it might not be her eldest son who did it, maybe it was those people in the second house, but this time, including the previous exams, those people in the second house did not interfere in her son's imperial examinations at all. When she said this, she herself did not believe it. Could it be that the people in the second house have the ability to see through the sky?

But it was really her eldest son, and she was heartbroken and couldn't believe it.

No matter how she and her husband calculated the second house, she hoped that the two sons would work together and get along happily.

The family assets that they and their husbands have saved will belong to their brothers in the future. They are all flesh and blood. Liu Fuchun can't bear to hurt any of them.

"I'm afraid what Erbao said is true."

Yan Changxue looked sad. He had never thought about it before. If the two brothers could really live in harmony, no one would be jealous of the other. Whoever was in trouble and lived a good life would help the other. Why should he always calculate the second brother's family, fearing that they would take advantage of him. Seeing that the other party was living a good life, he was angry and couldn't sleep all night.

How could he let his eldest son do what he couldn't do by words and deeds?

For the first time, Yan Changxue felt a little regretful.

"We have to talk to Dabao."

Yan Changxue sighed. As his youngest son said, there are too many coincidences, so it's not a coincidence.

*****

"Nonsense, did Yan Yu tell you about it?"

Because he failed the exam again and his younger brother passed, he was unhappy. He wanted to go to Chunfeng Tower to find Xiao Cui to relieve his worries and feel his purse to see if there was a penny in it. Now he came back and heard his parents' accusations, and Yan Yu was furious.

"It has nothing to do with your brother. It's just that your parents want to ask you why your brother always got sick after eating the food at home, but this time he secretly went out to buy food and ate, but he finished the whole exam safely?"

Yan Changxue looked at his eldest son's intense anger and thought that he was guilty, just like he did to his younger brother before. He had special experience in this kind of thing.

Because he was that kind of person, Yan Changxue was not particularly surprised by his younger son's statement. Although he couldn't accept it for a while, he believed it after thinking about it for a while.

"He blames me for his poor health? If that's the case, why don't you say it was mother who did it?"

Yan Ru was already in a bad mood, and now he was even more furious.

He felt that everyone looked down on him. Since his parents had a younger brother who could read, they cared less and less about him. When had he ever lacked money before? Now he just wanted to ask for a few hundred coins to go to Chunfeng Tower to relieve his worries, but his parents were reluctant to let him go. Why did they hide the money? It was to save it for their promising youngest son.

Yan Ru felt it was too unfair. He was the eldest son in the family. According to convention, at least 80% of all the property in this family belonged to him. He was just spending his own money early. Was he wrong?

They were really father and son. What was the difference between Yan Ru's thoughts at this time and what Yan Changxue thought when he was calculating Yan Changxi.

"Dabao, how can you talk to your mother like this."

Listening to her son's quibbling and pointing the finger at her, Liu Fuchun couldn't be more heartbroken. She believed that she was sincere to both sons and had never favored anyone. In fact, because Yan Yan was the eldest son, she treated him better in many cases.

But how did this son treat her? He made a mistake, but he put all the blame on her.

Liu Fuchun panted and felt dizzy.

"Separate the family. You have been married for so many years. Separate the family as soon as possible, and everyone will be happy."

As a man, Yan Changxue is more shrewd and decisive than Liu Fuchun in some aspects.

For example, at this time, Liu Fuchun was actually still thinking about helping her son to get away with it, thinking that it might really be just a coincidence, but Yan Changxue had already begun to calm down and seek a more appropriate solution.

Regardless of whether it was the eldest son who did it, Yan Changxue has already felt alienated from his brother. One is the eldest son who is destined to stop at being a student, and the other is the youngest son who has passed the examination and has a bright future. Yan Changxue feels that he should make a choice between the two.

If he chooses the eldest son, the youngest son is destined to feel that they are partial to him and drift away from him and his wife. They have finally trained him to be a scholar, but they just gave up. Yan Changxue is reluctant to do so.

If he chooses the youngest son, the eldest son will not accept it, but he is still dreaming of the imperial examination. Perhaps the best way to deal with him is to make him face the reality.

Without money and food, he should learn to find a craft to support himself.

Thinking that he had made the best choice, Yan Changxue said the words of dividing the family.

Even Liu Fuchun was stunned. He didn't understand why the family was divided when he hadn't asked clearly about the matter yet?

*****

"Boss, the boss, have you thought it through?"

Old man Yan put down the pipe in his hand and looked at the other party in disbelief.

It's a happy event that the second grandson passed the examination, so why did it end up with a family division?

"I've thought it through a long time ago. I invited all the elders in the clan to be witnesses this time." Yan Changxue nodded and said.

In the main hall of the Yan family, all the men in the family were present, and the married daughters also got the news and went home. In addition, there were the clan leader and several elders in the clan.

"Since everyone is here, you and Changxi's two rooms should also be divided together, so that you don't have to divide the things in your hands with Dabao and Erbao again when you brothers divide the family."

Old man Yan coughed a few times, and what he said shocked Yan Changxue and Liu Fuchun.

"Dad, why should my second brother and I divide the family?"

What a joke, now that Yan Chu has made a difference, he wants to get rid of them, and a lot of the money for his studies in these years has come from the public.

Yan Changxue was indignant. Actually, his brother-in-law wanted to pay for his nephew's study at the beginning, but Yan Chu himself was not happy about it. He took some book copying jobs outside, and painted some calligraphy and paintings of Bodhisattvas and Buddhas to sell to those who believed in Buddhism to earn some money for paper and pens, saying that it could offset the expenses of studying.

He didn't believe it. The old man and the old lady must have given a lot of money to the second son's family. Otherwise, if money was so easy to make, why did other scholars still live a miserable life.

"You can divide the family for your two sons, so can't I, as a father, divide the family for my son?" Old man Yan asked the eldest son in return: "Besides, you are all grandfathers, and this family should be divided."

Generally speaking, parents do not divide the family, but there are also those elderly people whose children have started their own families who choose to divide everything they can while they are still alive, so that other children don't have to argue about those things after they are a hundred years old.

Old man Yan now sees that the second son's family is thriving, and the eldest son's family seems to have other little thoughts.

He wanted to divide the family before the eldest family made a big fuss. When they were far away from each other, maybe the little grandson would still have some feelings for his eldest uncle's family and could help his cousins ​​in the future.

Besides, the second grandson of the eldest family seemed to have passed the imperial examination and became a scholar. Although he might not be as good as the little grandson, he was also promising. It would be good for everyone to divide the family while the whole family was still harmonious.

The current emperor attached great importance to filial piety. In front of the clan members, Yan Changxue dared not refute the words of the old man Yan no matter how brave he was. He was so upset that he didn't know whether his idea of ​​dividing the family was right or wrong.

Yan Chu passed the imperial examination and the second branch was not short of money. Therefore, when dividing the family, the old man Yan still chose to favor the eldest son.

The eldest son got 10 acres of the 13 acres of high-quality paddy fields and the youngest son got 3 acres. The eldest son got 5 acres of the 7 acres of medium-quality paddy fields and the youngest son got only 2 acres. The remaining 24 acres of sand fields will not be divided for the time being. The interest from the fields will be used to support the old couple in their old age. After they are a hundred years old, the eldest son will get 16 acres and the youngest son will get 8 acres.

The division of the land is too biased. Don't forget that the family paid for the eldest son to buy a house in the town and emptied the remaining savings to help the eldest grandson of the eldest son, Yan Ju, marry a wife. The expenses on these two items alone amounted to 80 taels. However, Old Man Yan seemed to have forgotten these two things and still chose the custom of giving more to the eldest son when dividing the family.

Yan Changxi and Li Qiuyue were honest, and their sons had also made progress and did not lack the old man's money, so they didn't say anything.

They also have children and understand their parents' feelings. They always want every child to have a good life. When they see a family doing well, they want to help those who are not doing so well. Although this behavior will make those who are not favored unhappy, sometimes they can't help doing it.

Although Yan Changxi has never been favored, he still understands his parents.

The eldest wife of the Yan family was completely happy. Although they still felt a little distressed about the land divided by the second wife, they didn't care about the little pain when they saw what they were about to get.

The remaining livestock were divided equally, and those that could not be divided equally were converted into silver.

Because Yan Changxi's family will still live in the countryside for a long time, they also converted the livestock distributed to the eldest brother Yan Changxue into silver to buy them. It means that the chickens, ducks, cows and other things in the family now belong to the second wife, and the eldest wife gets the money.

As for the old house at home, it should be given to the eldest son, but because the old man Yan and his wife planned to live with the second son Yan Changxi, this farmhouse will be given to Yan Changxi a hundred years later.

Houses in the countryside are not valuable. Yan Changxue and his family used to live in the town and rarely came back. Thinking that their parents would not rely on them for their old age, they had no objection to this deal.

The old man Yan's division of the family went smoothly, but it was not so easy for Yan Changxue to divide the family for his two sons.

Yan Lu looked down on the money at home. In his opinion, as long as he could participate in the imperial examinations normally, he would be able to earn it back sooner or later. However, as long as he thought about what Yan Lu did to him, he didn't want to let that vicious and mean man take advantage of him.

Similarly, in Yan Lu's mind, Yan Lu framed him. He was the eldest son, so why couldn't he ask for more land and real estate.

The two of them were at loggerheads, and Yan Lu was slightly better. He couldn't let go of his pride as the top scholar and the son-in-law in his previous life. There were many things that Yan Lu could say and do that he couldn't do, and he held his anger and suffered a lot.

Yan Lu seemed to have given up on himself. When the family was divided, if his parents and other clan members hadn't stopped him, he would have fought with Yan Lu directly.

The two brothers stared at the clan leader and other clan elders. Old man Yan didn't understand why his two grandsons were like this all of a sudden. No wonder the eldest brother insisted on dividing the family.

In the final division of the family, Yan Changxue was fairer than Old Man Yan. Except for the house in the town and a small amount of cash, all the other things he had were divided equally.

As for the house in the town, both sons can live in it now. After a hundred years, the house will belong to the eldest son Yan Lu.

It stands to reason that Yan Ru was also taking advantage, but looking at the proportion of the family division that his grandfather had just given to his father and second uncle, and then looking at the proportion of the family division that his eldest son and his younger brother had received, Yan Ru felt that he had suffered a loss and it was unfair.

The same was true for Yan Lu. He had clearly told Yan Changxue and Liu Fuchun about the despicable things Yan Ru had done, but the couple still gave Yan Ru so much money. Obviously, the words they said before about loving and respecting him were all lies.

It was true that the words of such a sinister and vicious couple could not be fully trusted.

The Yan Changxue couple felt that they had done a good job in the family division this time, but none of their two sons were satisfied, and they hated them in their hearts. They had brought disaster upon themselves.

After the family division, several elders in the clan notarized it, and all the male members of the Yan family put their fingerprints on the family division agreement, and the family was considered to be divided.

Logically, the whole family should have a meal together, indicating that even if the family is divided, they are still blood relatives and will help each other in the future, but Yan Yu obviously didn't think so. He took the silver money and ignored his wife, and left angrily.

The clan leader and other elders present looked unhappy at his rude and unreasonable behavior.

*****

"My eldest brother, hey, Xiaobao, I only recognize you as my brother now."

After dinner, several elders in the house smoked dry tobacco, and the women were in the back kitchen cleaning up the messy kitchen after cooking and washing dishes.

Yan Chu was not used to the pungent smell of smoke, so he came out to the yard to take a breath, and Yan Lu just followed him out after seeing him leave.

To "himself", he narrated the heinous evil deeds that Yan Yu had done to him, and sighed that in this world, he could only trust "himself".

Yan Chu looked at the other party's affectionate confession and didn't know what expression to make.

After all, he is the real "bad guy".

However, the better the original body treats him now, the greater the blow he will suffer in the future.

It seems that the other party is very proud of his success in the growth test, so let him be happy for a while.

This is how his life will be, so cherish this last happiness.