kvmb Chapter 883 Spring
Chapter 883 Spring
Ever since Tanchun tasted the snacks made by Lu Cheng at Daiyu's place, she would visit Daiyu from time to time to eat and drink. Daiyu didn't have many people she could talk to in the Jia family, so naturally she wouldn't turn Tanchun away.
With Lu Cheng's cooking skills reaching level nine, even the snacks he made casually were better than those made by the imperial chef.
In Duke Rong's Mansion, Daiyu was looking forward to Lu Cheng's letters and the food that was delivered to her.
In fact, although these young ladies in the Jia family seem to live a glamorous life on the surface, they actually only receive two taels of silver as a monthly allowance.
For ordinary people, two taels of silver were enough to feed a family for one or two months.
But the two taels of silver that the young ladies of the Jia family received each month were not enough. Although the young ladies had set meals, they would occasionally order extra meals, which required extra payment to the kitchen.
As for rouge and powder, due to the corruption of servants, the rouge and powder distributed in the mansion were all defective. The young ladies of the Jia family had to spend extra money to purchase rouge and powder. This alone cost about one or two taels of silver every month.
In addition to these, there are also the usual rewards for servants, treating each other to meals, etc., which all cost money.
In fact, many young ladies live worse than others.
The Rongning and Ning mansions have been passed down for several generations, spanning hundreds of years. Many of the servants in the mansions have also been passed down for several generations, and even formed several small families.
These servants, relying on the old lady's generosity and kindness, sucked blood unscrupulously.
A concubine's daughter like Yingchun, who was not loved by her father and stepmother, was also cowardly and could only accept her fate and endure the humiliation of the servants. In the end, she was even sold to Sun Shaozu, a wolf from Zhongshan, and was tortured to death not long after the marriage.
In the original novel, after Lin Daiyu arrived at the Jia Mansion, she was also "pressed by the harsh wind, frost and sword for 360 days a year."
Of course, now Lin Daiyu has a strong backer and is in good health. Anyone who dares to bully her will suffer.
Moreover, in order to make Lin Daiyu live happily in the Jia Mansion, Lu Cheng would not only send her some food and daily necessities from time to time, but also regularly ask Xiangling to bring some silver bills to her.
Compared to those tight-fisted young ladies in the Jia family, Sister Lin's treasury was very full. She never liked to spend the banknotes Lu Cheng gave her carelessly, and basically saved them all. If she took out some of them casually, it would be enough to cover the monthly allowance of the three sisters in the Jia family for one or two years.
Two flowers bloom, one branch each.
On a street in the south of Kyoto, Lu Cheng had just walked out of the alley and was about to go for a walk on the street when he saw a group of people walking towards him not far away.
Leading the group was a young man on horseback, dressed in splendid clothes and looking very happy. Behind him followed a sedan chair, two carriages, and some servants.
The people on both sides of the street looked at the group of people and talked in low voices.
"Mrs. Rong from the Jia Mansion has come back to visit her parents again."
"Qin Langzhong's family really found a good marriage. This Rong grandmother would go back to her parents' home from time to time, and she would bring back a lot of good things every time."
"That's right. These dukes and marquises have mountains of gold and silver. If they show a little bit, it would be enough for us ordinary people to live on for a lifetime."
Hearing this, Lu Cheng also looked up at the sedan chair in the team.
At this moment, the curtain of the sedan chair was slightly opened, revealing half of a pretty face. Then, the curtain of the sedan chair was immediately lowered.
Obviously, this is Qin Keqing, the wife of Jia Rong of Ningguo Mansion and the daughter of Qin Ye, the director of the Ministry of Works.
It was mentioned in the original work that Qin Keqing combined the beauty of Baochai and Daiyu, with both the brightness and charm of Xue Baochai and the gracefulness and delicacy of Lin Daiyu.
Just from that quick glance before the screen, Qin Keqing was indeed very beautiful.
It is said that Qin Ye, the engineer, was childless in his early years, so he adopted a son and a daughter from Yangshengtang (an ancient orphanage). The son died young, leaving behind the daughter. Later, when Qin Ye was over 50, he gave birth to another son, Qin Zhong.
Later, perhaps through the introduction of Jia Zheng, a colleague from the Ministry of Works, Qin Ye's adopted daughter Qin Keqing married into the Ningguo Mansion and became the wife of Jia Rong.
After Qin Keqing married into the Jia family, she was recognized by the whole family and became the housekeeper's wife of the Ningguo Mansion. Youshi protected her, Jia's mother pitied her, and Fengjie had a deep affection for her and would often go to talk to her.
However, it is not necessarily a good thing for a poor girl to live in a rich family. Jia Jing from the Ningguo Mansion went to practice Taoism, and Jia Zhen was extremely licentious and lustful, and finally extended his claws to his daughter-in-law Qin Keqing.
Eventually, the affair was discovered by Jia Zhen's second wife, Youshi. Qin Keqing was so worried that she hanged herself on the top of Tianxiang Tower.
Then, Qin Ye's son Qin Zhong got involved with a young nun from Shuiyue Temple. Qin Ye was so angry that he beat his son and died of anger. Not long after, Qin Zhong also died. The whole family was wiped out.
Thousands of beauties share one cave, and tens of thousands of beauties share the same sorrow.
Now the fire is blazing and the flowers are blooming. Tomorrow the family will be broken up and the wife and children will be separated.
In this era, even if one is a high-ranking official, a general or a prime minister, he is still a royal subject after all.
Once you make a mistake and lose favor, your family may be destroyed and your property will be exterminated, leaving the world in ruins.
Therefore, if you want to fully control your own destiny, you must stand at the highest point and hold the greatest power in the world, the royal power.
Thinking of this, Lu Cheng looked back at the Forbidden City. His gaze seemed to penetrate through the layers of palace walls and look towards the position of the supreme ruler.
At the same time, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation in the Forbidden City, Emperor Changtai, who was reviewing memorials, suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation. The imperial pen in his hand trembled, leaving an ink spot on a memorial.
Afterwards, Emperor Changtai put down the pen and took another look at the memorial, which was sent by the Governor-General of Ji and Liao. It stated that the Jiannu in Liaodong were still obedient to the Ming Dynasty.
Emperor Changtai thought for a moment and called the eunuch in charge of writing, Dai Quan, who was also known as the Grand Eunuch of the Internal Affairs.
"Dai Quan, is Liaodong safe and sound these days?"
"Your Majesty, according to the recent war reports from Liaodong, the Jiannu are currently experiencing internal strife, but they are obedient to the Ming Dynasty."
"Send someone to take another look. I always feel a little uneasy."
In the blink of an eye, several months passed.
In February of the fourteenth year of Changtai, candidates from all over the country rushed to the capital to prepare for this year's joint examination.
For a time, all the inns in the capital were full of people. Some inns took the opportunity to raise the room prices, while some inns offered certain discounts specifically for the candidates taking the exam.
Scholars can be seen walking everywhere on the streets, and bookstores and writing studios everywhere are doing brisk business.
The examination is divided into three sessions, and the examination times are February 9th, 12th and 15th respectively.
According to the custom in recent years, the number of admissions for each subject is about 300, of which 60% are from the south and 40% are from the north.
Once upon a time, the Ming Dynasty was divided into three volumes: South, Central, and North, with quotas allocated proportionally. Later, it was changed back to the North and South.
On the eighth day of February, all candidates entered the venue early.
On the ninth day of February, the first exam was on the meaning of the Four Books and the Five Classics, which lasted for three days.
Then, the second round is for trial essays and judgments. The third round is for essays on classics and history, and five-character eight-rhyme poems, etc.
Lu Cheng had already planned all these out in his mind, and he wrote them down like a god, completing them in one go.
After finishing the test paper in a short time, Lu Cheng closed his eyes slightly, relaxed his mind, felt the world around him, and also felt the emotional fluctuations of the candidates around him.
Some candidates are only around 20 years old. They have passed the imperial examination at such a young age. They are full of energy and confidence when answering questions.
Some candidates are already in their 40s or 50s, their blood and qi are declining, and they have been through many exams, but they still refuse to give up. It's just that they have lost their spirit, are worried about gains and losses, and when they see difficult questions, they become pessimistic and disappointed.
Some people pick up their pens and write with great enthusiasm. Some hesitate and ponder. Some are in despair and feel sad alone.
At this moment, in this examination room, the candidates who came from all over the country were no longer the respected scholars in their hometowns, but scholars who were eager to make progress and wanted to completely change their destiny.
When all kinds of emotions come together, isn’t that the various aspects of life?
Full of vigor and vitality, but unable to obtain what you seek, your time is numbered as time goes by.
No matter how hard the students here work and how motivated they are, they are ultimately just cattle and horses locked in cages.
I have spent my whole life studying the classics, just to become famous and renowned throughout the world.
Imprison the patriots and dream of eternal life.
However, after thousands of years, it is nothing but a handful of earth.
Even if he was a high-ranking official, he would only be mentioned in a few words in history books.
Lu Cheng suddenly felt something in his heart, and he completely merged with the surrounding environment, as if he had become a part of this world, as if he wanted to change the world around him.
Destiny is still in your own hands...