As the sun sets and the sun rises, time flows; as we kiss the years crazily, we splash the fragrance of ink and orchids.
In the pen holder where Zhu Ping'an was splashing ink, practicing calligraphy and washing, time was like sand in the palm of his hand, passing quietly between his fingers. The birthday of the old lady of the Linhuai Marquis Mansion was coming in the blink of an eye. The Linhuai Marquis Mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and everyone was celebrating.
Preparing for the old lady's birthday tomorrow.
Zhu Pingan also prepared a birthday gift for Mrs. Linhuai Marquis. It was a calligraphy and painting handwritten by Zhu Pingan. The paper was made of fine Chu leather paper that Zhu Pingan bought outside. It was as white and smooth as a mirror, and the fibers were pounded very finely.
The paper is evenly and tightly knitted and as exquisite as silk. This kind of paper absorbs ink evenly. You can use it to make calligraphy and painting for a lifetime.
When writing and painting, Zhu Pingan also thought about it.
In ancient times, where the bells and pans were full of food, every time an old man celebrated his birthday, people would always send birthday poems or couplets. Most of the birthday poems were overused, so some poets pointed out the difficulty: "It's difficult to live long."
If the words are all about wealth, it will be mundane; if all the words are about fame, it will be flattery; if all the words are about immortals, it will be vain." Looking at many birthday poems and couplets, they are basically inseparable from the words "Blessings are like the East Sea, longevity is as long as
"Nanshan" and the like, this kind of birthday greeting is almost useless on the street.
After Zhu Ping'an thought for a moment, he dipped his hands in ink and wrote a calligraphy and painting on the fine Chu paper:
"Don't even mention it, it is the living Guanyin Bodhisattva. Even this year, he looks sixty, and he is only sixteen when he sees the bottom.
Don’t use joss sticks to celebrate birthdays, don’t wish for turtles and cranes. All you have to do is gently lift the pen and add a stroke on the cross.”
If you add a stroke on the cross, it means a thousand years. This kind of birthday greeting is indeed a blessing that is much greater than that of the East China Sea and the Nanshan Mountain.
Of course, this birthday greeting is not Zhu Pingan's original work. It is a phrase written by Xin Jiaxuan to wish a relative of his family his 80th birthday. Zhu Pingan changed it from 80 to 80.
He turned sixty in order to match the birthday of the old lady of the Linhuai Marquis Mansion.
In addition to this calligraphy and painting, Li Shu also asked the little maid Baozi to send a jade carving to celebrate Magu's birthday, and asked Zhu Pingan to send it as a gift. Li Shu was very thoughtful and was afraid that if Zhu Pingan's gift was too light, it would be stolen by the Marquis.
I looked down upon him with shallow eyelids.
Zhu Pingan put the things away, lit the oil lamp, and sat at the desk without letting go of the scroll.
At this time, it was already dark and the earth had fallen asleep. Except for the gentle breeze blowing and the occasional barking of a dog, the prosperous Hou Mansion was silent.
The eldest lady of the Hou Mansion is in the old lady's room, telling the old lady about the arrangements for tomorrow's birthday. The old lady is very satisfied with the eldest lady's arrangements. The main reason is that several shops in the mansion have been making a lot of money in the past few days.
, business is exceptionally good.
In order to expand profits, the old lady agreed to the grandma's plan and invested all the funds available in the house. Although the investment was large, judging from the income in the past few days, the profits could be doubled several times.
The old lady felt that she was many years younger, and she was in a very good mood. She was almost in the same mood as when she drove that vixen from the third family out of the Hou Mansion.
The eldest grandma is in an even better mood. On the surface, several shops in the mansion are making so much money, but in fact they are actually making more money. It’s just that they all go into the pocket of the big house. Her whole family has paid so much for the Hou Mansion.
, it is natural to get more. Today, with the approval of the old lady, I will invest the available funds in the house, and the profit will be doubled at least several times. This time, I can get a huge amount of income for my big house.
, no longer need to point to the third house to subsidize the house. With money, you can also use your connections to move your master's position up.
I am in a good mood. Everything is fine. Grandma is concerned about the old lady's daily life, and the old lady loves her and asks her to go back to her room to rest early.
All in all, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are in perfect harmony.
While the Linhuai Marquis Mansion was quiet in the dark night, the Shuntian Gongyuan far to the southeast of the capital was brightly lit, and it was the last moment of marking and ranking.
In the court hall, the fellow examiners worked overtime, and now they have finished marking all the test papers. The chief examiners Xu Jie and Yan Maoqing also worked day and night to finish marking all the test papers recommended by the fellow examiners. The chief examiners Xu Jie and
Yan Maoqing even "searched" for two buried test papers among the failed papers, and finally got the 400-point test paper. All 400 places for this Enke examination have been selected.
The 400 test papers that will be admitted are arranged one by one on several long papers. Each test paper on the long papers has five colors of fonts. This is because the marking officer is also very strict about the pen colors used on the test papers.
According to the regulations, purple pens are used for the officials who supervise and supervise examinations, promote transfers, receive papers, seal seals, and close the outer curtain. The official who examines and closes the inner curtain uses a blue pen, the official who writes the document uses a red pen, and the official who reads the book uses a yellow pen.
The pen, the main pen, and the ink pen used by the deputy examiner are collectively called "five-color pens", so the 400 test papers that will be admitted have five colors of fonts.
Ranking these 400 admitted examination papers is also a considerable workload.
According to the practice in previous years, examiners often argue over the ranking work, because the ranking of the examination is so important.
Why is it so important? Because the rankings of this general examination are almost the rankings of the upcoming palace examination. The palace examination with questions set by the emperor himself will rearrange the rankings of new scholars, but if there are no accidents, the palace examination rankings and the general examination rankings
The difference is not big. The emperor only made slight adjustments according to personal preferences. Generally, it does not change much. Usually the winner is the number one scholar. The first, second and third place in the imperial examination are the number one, second and third. These three people have 100% chance.
Ninety-nine out of 100 will be in the top ten in this competition ranking.
The ranking of the examination is the last step in grading, and it is also a step to test the quality of this examination.
Therefore, the ranking of this examination is of great importance. Examiners, whether they are the chief examiner or fellow examiners, will often argue for the ranking and express their own opinions.
400 test papers were placed on several long tables one by one, and nearly thirty test papers were placed additionally. These thirty test papers were additionally selected by the examiner Xu Jie during the marking process. They are all for this examination.
The above work is also the focus of this examination ranking.
Under the auspices of the examiners Xu Jie and Yan Maoqing, the ranking of 400 test papers was carried out in an orderly manner. Everyone expressed their opinions and argued with the examiners. Although there were constant disputes, the ranking work was still carried out in an orderly manner.
In addition to the nearly thirty additional test papers, the rankings of the remaining three hundred test papers came to an end amid a flurry of saliva, and all were ranked.
Immediately afterwards, twenty of the thirty-point test papers were also ranked, and the remaining ten were also determined to be the top ten. However, among the top ten papers, who was ranked first and who was ranked second?
The opinions among the third examiners could not be unified. They were bickering and arguing endlessly. Some examiners had drank two cups of tea and still felt dry in the mouth and could not stop talking (to be continued.)