Chapter 201

The sky was slightly bright, and the study of the Qingzhi Studio was already brightly lit.

Since the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the atmosphere of the New Year had faded, and all the New Year's social interactions had ended, and the two mansions had returned to calm.

Jia Cong got up at dawn every day, practiced sword techniques for half an hour to loosen his muscles and bones, washed up under the service of the maids, and began his day's study.

In the morning, he studied and pondered the Four Books and Five Classics, and according to the topic records sorted out by Liu Jing'an, he wrote one essay on the Four Books and two essays on the Five Classics.

After a nap, he spent the whole afternoon studying various military books, agricultural books, legal books, and political essays listed by Liu Jing'an, and wrote political essays according to the topics at night.

Every five days, he would go to the Liu residence on Mount Mount Luocang to have his essays and political essays commented on by his mentor.

Taught and answered by Liu Jing'an, correcting deviations, and then returning to the mansion to study again, repeating this cycle, repeatedly grinding and accumulating, the power of dripping water wearing through stone.

Because he was under the tutelage of a master like Liu Jing'an, the teaching effect was incomparable to the large classroom of the Qingshan Academy.

So after informing the mountain head Zhao Zhao Chongli, he no longer participated in the daily lessons of the Qingshan Academy, and his studies were mainly arranged by Liu Jing'an's teaching.

On this morning, Jia Cong was practicing the sword in the courtyard as usual, and the sweat on his forehead was blown by the wind, making him extremely clear-headed.

After the New Year, he had participated in a monthly examination of the Qingshan Academy, and his performance was still at the forefront.

But Jia Cong still participated in the monthly and quarterly examinations of the academy to test what he had learned.

She was just stubborn and refused, taking the task of watching the study very seriously. The young master was already up to read, so she had no reason to stay in bed.

Jia Cong knew that even if he told her to go back to sleep, she would still refuse to leave, so he didn't wake her up, letting her doze off at the corner of the table to make up for sleep.

……

Moreover, Jia Cong was named the top scholar of the Yongzhou Academy Examination, and his foundation in the imperial examination was already higher than that of ordinary students of the same year, so wasting time in large classes was meaningless.

Since following Jia Cong in Jinling, Zhen Ying Lady Lian was no longer living the life of being kidnapped, eating and sleeping without worry, and had become more beautiful in the past six months, showing a bit of the beauty of a rose.

It was really a bit like that person in the Ding'an Temple back then; the warmth and tenderness in the incense room could not be kept under patriarchal rituals and teachings after all.

Zhao Zhao Chongli naturally had no objection; with a private kitchen to open, there was naturally no need to eat from the big pot.

Zhao Zhao Chongli was very satisfied with his essays and political essays, thinking that the essays he wrote were a few points more sophisticated than those in the academy examination.

When he waited for Zhi Shao and Wu'er to serve him to wash and comb his hair and entered the study, he found that Zhen Ying Lady Lian had already ground the ink and spread the paper, and had organized and placed the books he wanted to read today.

At this time, Qingwen's voice came from outside: "Why did Aunt Zhao come so early this morning?"

She was still at the age of being sleepy, getting up early with Jia Cong every day, and often had to be confused for half an hour before waking up. Jia Cong had persuaded her several times to let her sleep enough.

Encouraging him to persevere and strive for excellence, so the Autumn Examination could be expected.

"I haven't seen the young master for a long time, so I came to see him. The persimmon tree in my courtyard bore new fruit at the end of the year, and I made fresh osmanthus persimmon cakes. Jia Cong and Zhi Shao both loved this taste when they were young."

Jia Cong also smiled and greeted her, respecting this wet nurse who had treated him sincerely since he was a child.

Seeing the osmanthus persimmon cakes in the food box brought by Aunt Zhao, they were neatly arranged, golden and sweet, with excellent appearance, making people want to eat them.

A few years ago, when he was studying in the academy and rarely in the mansion, he asked Jia Zheng to assign Aunt Zhao an easy task, so she didn't have to serve in the inner chambers all the time, living a relaxed life.

"I was just thinking of this taste, and it happened that Aunt sent it. How is Guo Zhigui's letter? Is he doing well in the camp?"

Aunt Zhao smiled, "What could be wrong with him? Meeting a master like Jia Cong is his great blessing. The young master not only asked the Second Master to release this kid's slave status.

But also introduced him to join the army in the firearm camp. Which servant in the mansion has his blessing? Now that he has left the register, he cannot enter the mansion, so he asked me to bring a message to the young master.

Saying that the Marquis of Marquis Zhongjing thinks highly of him and made him the Marquis's personal guard, but this is mostly because the Marquis looks at the young master's face."

Guo Guo Zhigui was Aunt Zhao's only son. Since he became Jia Cong's personal servant, he had followed him to the military camp several times, and Jia Cong saw that he had a yearning for military life.

In the Jia family, except for those sisters, the people Jia Cong was closest to and trusted were the maids in the courtyard, Aunt Zhao who had loved him since childhood, and her only son Guo Guo Zhigui.

Guo Guo Zhigui was simple and honest by nature, but his brain was also bright, otherwise it would be impossible for him to learn a good skill of driving carriages at a young age.

Although he was the same age as Jia Cong, he was stronger than ordinary teenagers and had a bit of military courage. Jia Cong didn't want the people close to him to be just a servant driving a carriage for a lifetime.

He was about to take the Autumn Examination, and once he passed, he would have the qualification to be an official. Although his mentor Liu Jing'an didn't suggest him to get involved in officialdom too early, plans might not keep up with changes.

Since the last memorial on the firearm strategy, the Minister of War, Gu Guo Yankui, and the Marquis of Marquis Zhongjing, Shi Ding, had proposed to let him observe politics and coordinate, but it was shelved because he was only a scholar.

Even so, recently, whether it was the test firing of modified firearms in the Five Armies Camp or the establishment of the Firearm Supervision in the Ministry of Works, and the search for famous scholars in the West Sea, he was invited to participate in affairs because he was the first initiator.

Therefore, once he successfully passed the Autumn Examination and had the qualification to be an official, it was not impossible for old things to be brought up again.

Officialdom has always been dangerous, seeing life and death in an inch. People who are blind and deaf will eventually find it difficult to become a forest.

For a family like the Jia family whose descendants are withered, in order to protect their own safety and glory, they must cultivate foreign aid like Wang Wang Ziteng and Jia Yucun, which is also the reason.

Having a good future for someone close and trusted like Guo Guo Zhigui might not be his help in the future. Although he is only a personal guard now, everything starts from scratch.

How far he can go depends on his own good fortune and ability.

After Guo Guo Zhigui left the register, Jia Cong asked for a teenager named Jiang Liu from Qu Qu Hongxiu's side.

Qu Qu Hongxiu once adopted five orphans, and when he and Qu Qu Hongxiu first started the perfume shop business, the original intention was to find a living for these children.

Two of them managed the secret perfume workshop on the outskirts of the city.

The other three followed Lady Feng to manage the shop. This Jiang Liu was one of them, familiar with the streets since childhood, smart and clever, so Jia Cong asked him to be his long-term attendant.

During his closed-door study, he also let Jiang Liu help him keep an eye on the news outside.

After lunch, he went out for a walk, went to the sisters' rooms in the garden to talk, and asked Wu'er to send some osmanthus persimmon cakes to the Lixiang Courtyard. Girls should like to eat these sweets.

Yesterday, Xue Baochai sent some crabs from the south to the Qingzhi Studio, which was just a ritual of coming and going.

(End of chapter)