jdhmnovel Chapter 316 Spring
Chapter 316 Spring
Min Xi took the risk of saying so much to Queen Mother Li, but he didn't know if she would change. He heard that the Queen Mother was quite impartial and impartial, and was a very old-fashioned and principled person. He was just a commoner, and he was afraid that he could not persuade her.
What he actually wanted was to prevent the little emperor from being put under too much pressure, otherwise the final backlash would be very terrifying.
But the emperor's education was not up to him. He could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.
Because they had gone to the palace to see the emperor the day before, they were unable to visit their grandparents' home to pay New Year's greetings. They went to pay New Year's greetings on the third day of the New Year. As soon as they arrived at Tao's house, they were surrounded by people, who pulled them aside and asked them questions. It was obvious that they had heard what Tao Lizhi had said yesterday after he returned home.
Yun Ji and the other two first went to pay New Year's greetings to their grandparents, and then to their uncles and aunts. Only then did they sit down and talk to their cousins about entering the palace.
Tao Yuan pulled Min Xi and said, "Ninth brother, you are so awesome. You dare to say anything! I admire you! In the future, you should work as a censor in the Censorate. The court needs people like you who dare to speak out and make suggestions." After he said that, he gave a thumbs up.
Tao Shu and Tao Yu raised their hands and patted Tao Yuan on the shoulder: "Alright, you just want to make the world chaotic, right?"
Tao Shu said sincerely: "Brother Min, I know your original intention is for the good of His Majesty, but the Queen Mother is the mother of a country. It is really disrespectful for you to interfere with her teaching His Majesty. You should be careful with your words and actions in the future."
Min Xi shook his head. "If it was an ordinary child, I wouldn't bother to comment. What he would become would be controlled by the law. But he is the ruler of the Ming Dynasty, not just the empress dowager's son. Your Majesty's future is related to the people of the country. If a king's character goes to extremes and becomes moody, it would be a terrible thing. You have read more books than me, so I believe you know it better than me."
Min Xi's words made everyone silent. What scholars all over the world were most worried about was not that the emperor was cowardly and incompetent, but that he was moody, because a single word from him could decide a person's life or death.
Tao Hong came in from outside and said, "Min Xi is right. I agree with him."
Min Xi turned around and looked at Tao Hong and smiled: "Thank you for your support, Grandfather!"
Tao Hong sat down and said: "Scholars serving as officials should not only think about protecting themselves and trying to please their superiors. That is not a loyal official, but a treacherous official."
All the young people in the room listened to his teachings and no one dared to refute him.
Tao Hong added: "The Empress Dowager is wise and capable, not foolish and incompetent. She is definitely not the kind of person who will take revenge for any slight, so don't worry that she will punish you." The latter sentence was said to Min Xi.
"Thank you, Grandpa. Actually, I'm not worried." Min Xi smiled.
Tao Hong continued, "But if you enter the officialdom in the future, you still have to be careful about what you say and do. After all, you have to find out the true character of your colleagues first to prevent villains from making trouble for you. This is not called keeping a low profile, but self-protection."
Min Xi nodded: "I'll remember that." Although he responded this way, he didn't think that he would be able to enter the officialdom in the future.
Before the Lantern Festival was over, Min Xi and Yun Ji both went to school.
The capital was about to welcome the once-in-three-years Spring Examination. Candidates from all over the country gathered in the capital, and the restaurants, teahouses, brothels and theaters became particularly lively. Although there were only a few thousand candidates participating in the examination, it created a commotion of tens of thousands of people.
This year three people from the Tao family will take part in the imperial examination. Two years ago, Tao Jingzhi, Tao Shu and Tao Yu all took part in the special examination but failed. Then they studied hard for another two years. This year they will all take part in the imperial examination.
At this point, there was little point in sharpening one's sword before a battle, so the three of them often went to teahouses and bookstores, participated in literary gatherings, and made friends. Their main purpose was to exchange ideas and learn from others, and to improve themselves through learning.
Min Xi and Yun Ji had nothing to do with this excitement, but they did make a lot of money from it. Yunxiang Restaurant was often full of guests, all of whom were scholars who talked eloquently.
Although there are many poor scholars, they will no longer be poor after they pass the imperial examination. Even if their family background is not rich, after they pass the imperial examination, wealthy gentry will take the initiative to send money, land deeds, house deeds, and women to their homes to make friends with them, which is equivalent to an investment. If they can pass the imperial examination, they will have a bright future in their careers. Even if they cannot pass the imperial examination, the status of a juren is quite high, and they may even be able to become an official in the local area. For those wealthy gentry, they are the best connections.
Therefore, all the candidates who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination had some money in their pockets and could afford to go to a restaurant. The business of Yunxiang Restaurant was getting more and more prosperous. Min Xi even came up with an idea to ask the shopkeeper to paste rice paper on the walls of the restaurant so that these scholars could write poems and paint.
Of course, there were also people who drank too much and scribbled doggerel on it, but the shopkeeper did not erase them, leaving them for the passers-by to judge. After a few times, those shameless guests no longer dared to make a scene, and it became a real wall of poetry.
On the ninth day of the second month, the imperial examination, which is held every three years, was in full swing. Wenchang Academy had a rare few days off, because many of the teachers in the academy were juren, and some of them would take this opportunity to participate in the imperial examination.
Tao Hong also gave Min Xi and others a holiday, saying that it was to let them experience the tense atmosphere of the Spring Examination in advance.
Min Xi felt that the old man wanted to take this opportunity to rest for a few days. After all, these children were still too far away from the imperial examination. It was just like when it was time for the postgraduate entrance examination, the kindergarten teachers gave the students a holiday, saying that they wanted them to experience the atmosphere of the postgraduate entrance examination in advance. The gap was really too far.
Min Xi believed that the main reason was that there were three candidates in the family, and the old man was worried about his son and grandson and had no intention of teaching.
The imperial examination had nothing to do with them, but since they had a holiday, they naturally had to relax. In February, the capital city could not feel the breath of spring, so Min Xi and Yun Ji took Yun Lin to the farm outside the city to relax and arrange some farm work.
The reason for going to the manor was that Yunlin seldom went out of the city to play, and he yearned for the world outside the city. This time, his two brothers fulfilled his wish and took him to stay at the manor for a few days.
Every day I take him to the fields to find grass that sprouts particularly early, let him feel the breath of early spring, and take him to feed animals such as cattle, sheep, and horses, so that he can get in touch with the real nature.
Yunji also took him hunting, bought him a small bow, and asked him to learn to draw the bow and shoot arrows. The little bully finally ran happily. As a hunting dog, it finally came in handy. On its first hunt, it successfully picked up two rabbits shot by Yunji.
Min Xi was also very happy. He cleaned up the two rabbits and made two rabbit meat delicacies, spicy hot pot rabbit and roasted rabbit meat. Yun Lin licked his fingers while eating because he also contributed to the two rabbits and he helped carry the rabbits.
When they left the village, the village head gave them several small animals, including a pair of little white rabbits, a long-haired kitten, and a pony less than one year old. They were all for Yunlin, which made him very happy.
Min Xi smiled and said, "I don't know who will be in trouble again."
Yunlin asked in confusion: "Why?"
Min Xi asked: "Do you have time to feed the rabbits? Do you have time to feed the kittens and ponies?"
Yunlin held the kitten in his arms and puffed out his cheeks: "I'll come back after school to feed it."
Min Xi touched his head and said, "Feed him when you have time."
After the holiday, Tao Jingzhi went back to school. After finishing the exam, he went back to teach. This year, father and son joined forces again. He said that if he failed the exam this year, he would not take it in the future and would just be a teacher.
Tao Shu and Tao Yu, on the other hand, were in a state of having nothing in their mind. They didn't think about anything and every day they just slept until they woke up naturally, then read some books, wrote some calligraphy, painted some pictures, played a few games of chess, and waited for the results to be announced at the end of the month.
February 28th was the day when the results of the imperial examination were announced. Tao Hong did not give the students a holiday that day, and pretended to be calm while teaching the children. However, Min Xi could clearly see that he was absent-minded, and he was always listening to the noise outside the door.
The servants in the house went to check the list early in the morning, and as soon as it was announced, they would come back to report the good news.