Chapter 598: Writing and Asking about the Vicissitudes of Life

Love Shenjing, Examination Hall.

The little official holding the examination card walked past Jia Cong, and he had already memorized eight or nine out of ten of the three four-book essays and four five-classic essays, and then recorded them on the draft paper with great speed.

When the little official holding the card returned and passed by Jia Cong again, he recorded the seven examination questions completely, and then filled in the few omissions in the notes one by one.

During the provincial and prefectural examinations, the book classics questions in the first session often appeared as intercepted sentences from the Four Books and Five Classics.

Although it appeared obscure and full of ambiguity, the intention was to assess the candidates' proficiency in the classics and their ability to respond to literary changes.

However, when the imperial examination entered the Metropolitan Examination stage, all the candidates who could enter the spring examination were outstanding talents among scholars.

These people were all well-versed in the classics and familiar with the words of the sages. Using the intercepted sentence method of the provincial and prefectural examinations to test these candidates was somewhat too shallow.

Therefore, the questions in the spring examination emphasized simplicity and returning to the source, and more often intercepted complete sentences from the classics as current essay questions.

Because these complete sentences had been annotated and explained countless times by sages of past dynasties, using them as questions, wanting to establish a basis for exposition, was difficult to cross the barriers.

Candidates facing such questions, wanting to establish a novel argument, expressing a unique voice, and being higher than the crowd,

without a magnificent vision and knowledge, and a pen that could move the gods and ghosts, was absolutely impossible to do.

Therefore, such questions that appeared clumsy but were actually clever were better at testing and distinguishing the talent of the candidates, and thereby evaluating the qualified candidates who would place on the list.

The first question in the first session of the spring examination: "Can be entrusted with a six-foot orphan, can be entrusted with the fate of a hundred miles, and cannot be taken away even in the face of a great festival. Is he a gentleman? He is a gentleman."

It was exactly a spring examination question that intercepted a complete sentence from the classics. The question came from the "Tai Bo" chapter of the "Analects."

And this passage had been used by countless literati and elegant scholars throughout the ages to compare their own ambitions and encourage their own hearts; it was somewhat overused.

Using this complete sentence as a question made it very easy to write clichés, plain and unremarkable. Wanting to write a strange and novel essay based on this was not an easy thing.

This year's spring examination had more than three thousand candidates. A spring examination was divided into nine days and three sessions. For the chief examiners and associate examiners, the task of grading papers after the examination was very heavy.

The book classics essay in the first session of the spring examination, although it was the foundation of the imperial examination, had always been valued by the candidates.

Because if one couldn't even pass the book classics essay, even if one performed well in the next two sessions of judgment and policy questions, one would still be dismissed by the examiners.

Therefore, every candidate did not dare to take the book classics essay in the first session lightly, and the first question in the first session was the top priority.

Because it was the first to be noticed by the grading officials, it determined the chief examiner's initial impression and cognition of the candidate's talent.

If the first question of the book classics was written poorly, or was plain and unremarkable, it would not be so easy for the candidate to place on the list.

Regarding the urgency of the first question in the first session, every candidate naturally understood it, and no one dared to take it lightly. In order to dig for novel ideas and establish a new opening,

some racked their brains, thought hard, and couldn't put pen to paper for a long time.

Some drew inferences from one instance, had some realization, and excitedly waved their pens to draft sentences.

Jia Cong didn't rush to put pen to paper, because for him, the time for the examination was very ample. He was thinking about which chief examiner had set this book classics question.

His teacher, Liu Jing'an, had once served as the Minister of Rites and had served as chief examiner for several provincial and spring examinations, having profound thoughts on writing essays for the examination.

Liu Jing'an had once told him that any question set by any chief examiner would not be without a root.

Every spring examination question contained the literary temperament of the questioner, vaguely involving the ups and downs of the questioner's official career...

Every chief examiner set questions to speak their mind and ask about their heart, using the questions as a carrier to test the scholars of the world and select talents whose hearts and ambitions were similar to their own.

Although this was an invisible link between the chief examiner and the candidate, it was the most real connection between them.

Every time the imperial examination list was posted, the reason why the teacher and the successful candidate formed a close and solid relationship

was not just the teacher's favor in selecting the candidate, but a deeper reason: they were like-minded in literary context and vocabulary, and were the group most likely to become mutual allies.

This was the basic principle of the Confucian orthodoxy galloping through the world, and also an invisible means for the civil official group to form parties and combine forces.

Like Liu Jing'an, a grand Confucian master who carried the world's tripod, compared to those mediocre teachers who only knew how to study until their hair turned white,

the former not only taught the meaning of books but also taught the learning outside of books and the art of the human heart.

Jia Cong had received Liu Jing'an's heartfelt teaching for many years and was regarded by him as the successor of his mantle in his later years.

Added to the fact that Jia Cong was originally a person of many lifetimes, his thoughts and vision had a foresight that ordinary people didn't have, making him more able to draw inferences from one instance about what Liu Jing'an taught, and his learning and gains were increasingly able to surpass his teacher.

It was precisely because of the special connection between the chief examiner and the questions that before Jia Cong entered the spring examination, Liu Jing'an had analyzed the temperament and background of the three chief examiners of the spring examination in detail for his young disciple.

These three spring examination chief examiners, although their seniority was far from Liu Jing'an's, had already begun to show their talent in the officialdom when Liu Jing'an retired.

Liu Jing'an, although he had retired from the officialdom for more than ten years, had a deep foundation of connections and naturally knew these people very well through the old colleagues and associates he interacted with daily.

Grand Secretary of the Cabinet Wang Shilun was famous in his youth, with a deep city, well-versed in "seeking straightness through curves," and knowing how to advance and retreat, which was why he could reach the peak of officials at such an age.

Minister of Rites Chen Mo had deep qualifications, was smooth and transparent, could often step through dangers while in crisis, and could still protect himself; he was a famous "tumbler" in the officialdom.

Huang Hongcang, because he withdrew from the position of chief examiner halfway, was not within Jia Cong's inference.

Vice Minister of Revenue Xu Liangxiong, because he was a temporary replacement for the chief examiner, was completely unexpected, so Liu Jing'an did not analyze this person for Jia Cong.

However, Jia Cong had also heard some rumors about Xu Liangxiong daily, saying that although this person had missed the first rank by a hair's breadth, he was also a famous talent in the world, and regarded himself quite highly...

Which of them cherished the thoughts of a gentleman, pondered the way of righteousness, and deduced the idea of entrusting orphans...

Jia Cong held the purple-hair lake brush gifted by Daiyu, writing and drawing on the draft paper, sorting out his thoughts.

This purple-hair lake brush he used had been polished by Daiyu herself. With the soft strength of a young lady's hand, it had been polished by writing over a hundred characters, and the brush strength was both soft and resilient, writing very smoothly.

Following the ink dots and strokes on the draft paper, the literary words flowed. He suddenly thought that he was born in a noble and wealthy family, but grew up in a cold and dire situation.

Thinking carefully, there were actually quite a few suspicious points.

Over these years, being able to rise and turn the tables, it was difficult to borrow external force. In the final analysis, it relied on the imperial examination of the classics. For a moment, his thoughts surged slightly, and a spirit of generosity gradually grew in his chest...

Marquis Prefecture, Daiyu's courtyard.

Daiyu also rose early. She estimated the time, and the Examination Hall must have already started the examination.

She believed that with Jia Cong's status as Jieyuan and his outstanding literary talent and lessons, passing the spring examination would be a matter of course.

It was just that he had gone for nine days, and the prefecture felt unusually empty without him, making Daiyu somewhat restless, feeling truly stifled staying in her own courtyard.

So she took Hearing Zi Juan and went to Jia Cong's courtyard to stroll. Actually, he wasn't at home today, but she was just going over to wander around.

Once she entered Jia Cong's courtyard, she found that it was quiet inside and out, very different from usual.

All the young ladies and maids in the courtyard were at home, and even Wu'er didn't go to the West Prefecture to manage affairs today.

Zhi Shao was tidying up the bed curtains and clothes in Jia Cong's room, Wu'er was bored in the main hall, watching Qingwen doing needlework.

Zhen Ying Lian was lying on the desk in Jia Cong's study, seemingly asleep.

Lingguan was also hiding in her room without going out, and even Douguan, who usually ran around, didn't come out to make a fuss today.

Daiyu entered the courtyard and went toward Jia Cong's study, her heart thinking that in the past at this time, he would be concentrating on reading in the study.

By the time she entered the study, Zhen Ying Lian, who was lying on the desk and feeling quite bored, heard the footsteps at the door, looked over with a pair of beautiful eyes that were slightly dazed, and seeing it was Daiyu, she got up to greet her.

She asked, "Lin Young Lady, why have you come today too?"

Daiyu said, "I was bored today, didn't want to stay in my own courtyard, so I came out to stroll."

She saw that this study had been tidied up as clean as new, without the bloated clutter of books piled up on the desk when Jia Cong was studying in the past.

Daiyu smiled lightly in her heart. Although this Third Brother of hers had a full belly of talent, his bones were of a nature that sought practical use. If it weren't for the imperial examination, he wouldn't bury his head in the classics every day.

He was determined to win this spring examination and was full of confidence, so before entering, he had early on tidied up the study, with the style of just waiting to place on the list and then being free and at leisure from then on.

Daiyu browsed the study at will, her gaze unknowingly falling on the ancient zither hanging on the wall. Zhen Ying Lian followed her gaze and also saw the ancient zither hanging on the wall. She knew this zither was the young master's treasure, usually only allowing Zhi Shao and herself to dust and maintain it, and no one else dared to touch it.

Zhen Ying Lian smiled, "Every time the young lady enters the study, she plays this ancient zither with the Cong Sanye for fun. Today the Cong Sanye is not here, why doesn't the young lady play a tune for us to listen to?"

Daiyu smiled slightly, "That's fine."

Zhen Ying Lian carefully took down the ancient zither from the wall and placed it upright on the desk. She thought that the young master liked to light soul-cleansing incense the most.

She cleverly took one from the bookshelf and lit it, inserting it into the small incense burner on the desk.

Daiyu touched the zither strings, suddenly remembering the accidental discovery she and Jia Cong had made that day: the bottom of this zither was carved with strange words and had been blocked with rouge by someone as a cover.

The shape and craftsmanship of the ancient zither were also very exquisite. Daiyu flipped through relevant ancient books and determined that this was a precious Tang Dynasty ancient zither.

Daiyu was born in a noble and official family of poetry and books. The Lin family was a family of Marquis for five generations in Gusu, and their family foundation was not weaker than the Ning and Rong Jia families, and their literary foundation was far superior.

She was born in such a family since childhood and knew that rare calligraphy, paintings, and musical instruments were not comparable to vulgar objects, and had always been regarded by noble families as heirlooms, not to be easily discarded unless there was a disaster of breaking the family.

Lin Ruhai had once had a son, but he died young, and only one daughter, Lin Daiyu, remained.

!

He sent his daughter to the Jia family in the Love Shenjing to be fostered, not bringing her a large amount of gold and silver, but the ancient books and rare editions piled up on the walls of Daiyu's room.

In the eyes of noble families, gold and silver could not be passed down, but ancient books and rare editions were heirlooms worth thousands of gold.

Daiyu lived in the Jia family, and although she didn't appear prominent, her room full of ancient books and rare editions was her dowry, which was more valuable than the tens of thousands of taels of silver brought by her mother's family.

It was precisely because of this noble family upbringing and cultivation that Daiyu determined that the ancient zither left by Du Jinniang was a rare Tang Dynasty ancient zither, and she speculated in her heart that Jia Cong's maternal family was extraordinary.

Daiyu gently plucked the zither strings, the lingering sound winding, pine-like and clear, extraordinary, and even though it wasn't the first time she had played it, she was still intoxicated by the beautiful tone of this Tang zither.

The thought that had been lingering in her heart for a long time floated up again...

The fact that Third Brother's biological mother carried such a precious Tang Dynasty ancient zither only meant that it was a prominent, extraordinary, and deep-background noble family that had such a foundation.

But for so many years, the rumors in the Jia family had always been that Third Brother's biological mother had fallen into the smoke and flowers, and was a clear-headed flower leader with a bumpy life.

If her aunt really came from such a magnificent noble family, how could she have fallen to this point, and even given herself to someone like the Great Master? This was truly unbelievable...

Moreover, she was so unfortunate that she passed away soon after giving birth to Third Brother, without leaving any words of entrusting the orphan.

Leaving Third Brother alone, how much suffering and twists and turns had he eaten since childhood?

Although Daiyu had many doubts in her heart, they were all speculative thoughts. She never spoke of them in front of Jia Cong, otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the deceased elders.

However, she was also very clear in her heart that with Third Brother's cleverness and talent, could he not think of what she could think of?

Daiyu touched the cool zither body, her autumn eyes like water, her eyes turning, and there was an unusual cherishing and love in her eyes.

She gently plucked the zither strings, and the harmonious and graceful zither sound, like light and swaying ripples, lingered in the study, touching the heart, and spread outside the house.

Zhen Ying Lian sat beside the desk, supporting her chin with both hands, listening very intently.

In the bedroom, Zhi Shao was tidying up Jia Cong's clothes. Hearing the melodious zither sound, she also sat on the couch to listen.

In the main hall, Qingwen stopped her needlework abruptly, and Wu'er's gaze also looked toward the study.

Ever since Jia Cong entered the Examination Hall, Lingguan had been somewhat bored, hiding in her room all day, playing with the flower crown and theatrical costumes Jia Cong had given her.

The graceful zither sound coming from the study made Lingguan, a woman from a theatrical background, listen even more intently, and she unknowingly put down the flower crown in her hand.

The zither sound was gentle and scattered at first, melodious and peaceful, like graceful feelings, and more like silent pouring out.

Gradually, the zither rhythm became smooth, like a clear stream rushing, jumping and exuberant, flying without stopping, as if it were an instant swift tide, back and forth, filling the quiet courtyard, spreading far into the high sky...

Love Shenjing, Examination Hall, main hall of the government office.

It was the spring sun, but suddenly the atmosphere changed, clouds surged, and a spring rain began to fall.

The fine, dense rain curtain, exuding a trace of exuberant spirit, diffused a pleasant, moist, and cool feeling...

In the main hall of the government office, the three chief examiners were sitting and chatting, and the tea mist was floating beside the tea bowls beside each person.

Minister of Personnel Chen Mo smiled, "Just now the official announced the examination card, and the old man noticed the book classics question today.

Especially the first question, intercepting the complete sentence, simplifying the complex, clumsy but clever, quite exquisite.

'Can be entrusted with a six-foot orphan, can be entrusted with the fate of a hundred miles, and cannot be taken away even in the face of a great festival. Is he a gentleman? He is a gentleman.'

This statement has countless annotations throughout the ages, and famous sages have chanted it endlessly. Candidates for this year's spring examination using this to write essays, wanting to write something new, is quite difficult.

Moreover, these candidates for reference were all born in times of peace and prosperity.

The integrity of entrusting orphans, the firmness of entrusting fate, and the heart of the great festival are the realms of the gentleman's virtue. For these people in the peaceful and prosperous age, it is too tragic, and I fear it is difficult to have a deep understanding.

What does Lord Wang think?"

Wang Shilun smiled slightly, because the book classics question today was set by him. Chen Mo was a Zhuangyuan in his youth, and saying this was just a discussion and chat.

He said, "What Chen said is not without reason, but the sages have teachings on governing the country: be prepared for danger in times of peace.

Although it is a prosperous age, there is even more need for loyal and upright hearts, and upright officials.

Chen is a senior in the officialdom, having seen many ups and downs, and can understand the vicissitudes of the world better than the younger generation. Times have prosperity and decline, but the gentleman's virtue, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom can overcome disasters and cannot be easily abandoned.

Regardless of the peaceful and prosperous age or the setbacks of the country, the integrity of entrusting orphans, the firmness of entrusting fate, and the heart of the great festival should all be virtues practiced by scholars throughout their lives.

These thousands of students taking the examination in the Examination Hall were all born in an age of peace and prosperity. There are scholars who study until their hair turns white, and there are talents who study the classics, so there must be generous and strange men!"

Chen Mo heard Wang Shilun's words, put away the chatty feeling on his face, his eyes were solemn, and he had a look of contemplation.

Wang Shilun picked up the tea bowl beside him, took a sip, and looked at the countless cubicles neatly arranged under the rain curtain outside the window, his eyes flickering, not knowing what he was thinking...

Wang Shilun and Chen Mo were like sitting and discussing the Dao. Xu Liangxiong on the side was somewhat confused. How did these two adults start talking about Zen when they were chatting?

However, Xu Liangxiong was not very interested in the content of their chat.

He was also highly talented in his youth and had a high vision.

So he felt that the study of book classics was just the foundation for scholars to enter, and the so-called subtle words and great righteousness often drifted into empty talk.

Selecting talent through the imperial examination, only the study of policy questions was the practical study of governing...

Examination Hall, inside the cubicle.

Jia Cong pondered and deliberated on the copied book classics question, and after some certainty in his heart,

he returned to the first book classics question: "Can be entrusted with a six-foot orphan, can be entrusted with the fate of a hundred miles, and cannot be taken away even in the face of a great festival. Is he a gentleman? He is a gentleman."

At this time, outside the cubicle, the spring rain was like silk, and in the moist and cool atmosphere, it seemed to contain a surging opportunity of heaven and earth.

His thoughts surged, his literary spirit flowed, and following his inspiration, he generously picked up his pen and wrote rapidly. The purple-hair brush danced, and lines of ancient, clumsy, and elegant handwriting on the draft paper seemed to gush out:

The hope of entrusting orphans, the virtue of entrusting fate, the righteousness of the great festival.

Only those who are clear and upright can step over the filth of profit-seeking, remove the dark and gloomy heart, and be worthy of it.

However, the nature of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom is not from the beginning of man, and the spirit of rigidity, gentleness, kindness, and evil is not a gift from heaven.

Heaven is vast and clear, so the sun, moon, and stars follow its path; the earth is wide and vast, so grass, trees, mountains, and rivers flourish.

How can a scholar condense the merits of entrusting orphans, entrusting fate, and the great festival?

Nothing else, it comes from hard study of the classics, inheritance from the teachings of sages, inspiration from the examples of heroes, and tempering from the hardships of time.

Then, seeing the nature and clarifying the heart, the pure virtue can begin to be cast.

The classics pass on the words of the ancestors, and the classics are hung high in the dust, not for the sake of rotten words. For thousands of years, they have been soaked in blood and fire, verified in life and death, shining on loyalty and treachery; they are elegant words, and also swords!

The green-shirted Confucian method produces industry, the classics melt the resolute heart, not thanking the courage of entrusting orphans and fate, not abandoning the great righteousness of life and death.

Stepping on the prosperity of the country, supporting the vicissitudes of the right path, one can bear the wind and rain alone, daring to imitate the beheaded Xing Tian!

... (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 599 =====