The old lady treated Zhu Niang with affection and reason, and used all possible means of coercion and inducement.
But for Zhu Niang, this routine is no longer new.
We all know what kind of character and tricks this old lady has, and now she will be deceived by you? But on the surface, she still pretends to be embarrassed.
"Mom, my daughter-in-law is not capable of taking care of all the affairs of the Zhu family. She just wants to live a stable life with Xiao Hao. My daughter-in-law will never do anything to disgrace the Zhu family's family tradition. She will teach her son to become a good person..."
Zhu Niang replied neither humble nor arrogantly.
Zhu Jia was not annoyed, shook his head and sighed: "Oh... you really have no vision. This time we put down the bandits from Jiangxi, my Zhu family has made great achievements, and will be rewarded by the court in the near future. Now Wang Shouren, the governor of South Central Jiangxi, personally
Go to Anlu to take over the bandits and ask for rewards based on your merits. If you are willing to return to the Zhu family, it is not impossible for your son to inherit the position of one hundred families...or even one thousand families of the Zhu family."
Zhu Niang muttered: "Mother, Xiaohao has already achieved some results in the imperial examination. I'm afraid he won't be interested in the position left by his ancestors again."
"Could it be said that a son is so unfilial that he doesn't even inherit his father's legacy?"
Zhu Jia's face was not kind, and he started to scare people with the big hat of filial piety.
Mother Zhu really wanted to say, when we wanted to inherit before, the Zhu family didn't give it to us, and now we don't want it anymore, so you have to force us to accept it. What kind of logic is this?
Do you have to confront us and put the interests of the Zhu family first at all times?
"Mom, I'm back..."
At this moment, Zhu Hao's clear and sweet childish voice came from the yard.
Zhu Jia was about to continue persuading and educating her daughter-in-law, but when she heard her grandson's voice, she couldn't help but frown and huddle together with a frown on her face.
Immediately, the old lady and Zhu Niang walked out of the hall door together, and saw Zhu Hao sitting on a bamboo chair under the grape vine in the yard, picking up the teapot on the coffee table and pouring tea into his mouth.
The old lady asked with a dark face: "Grandson, isn't it a government exam today? Why are you here?"
"Grandma? How come you are paying your respects to your grandson in..."
Zhu Hao took on the posture of a good grandson and bowed to salute Zhu Jia, with a childlike smile on his face: "Today is indeed the government examination. My grandson went to take the exam before dawn, but found that the exam was very difficult.
Oh, both questions are so confusing that I couldn’t figure it out after looking at them for a long time, so I could only answer them casually and then they came out.”
"What?"
When Zhu Jia heard this, he immediately felt that something was wrong.
This kid...
I was very good at the county examination, but when I saw the questions in the prefectural examination, I couldn't answer the questions?
Just answer it casually and then come out?
Is this statement credible?
People like Tang Yin and Fan Yikuan would definitely not listen to Zhu Hao's nonsense.
There are difficulties in writing the four-part essay, but it’s not like you won the first prize in the county examination and turned in a blank paper in the government examination, right? Besides, we don’t know what your knowledge is, right?
But Zhu Jia didn't know this. She didn't have a clear understanding of her grandson's knowledge. She felt that what Zhu Hao said... made sense.
The whole thing is that Zhu Jia never believed that Zhu Hao had the ability to participate in the imperial examination.
A child who has only been in elementary school for two years can actually succeed in the imperial examination?
It must be that Prince Xing's government bribed the state government, leaked the questions in advance during the county examination, asked a famous teacher to write down the article, and asked him to memorize it and then go to the examination room to answer the questions, and he got the first prize in one fell swoop.
It seems that you can easily get the title of scholar, but in disguise you are kicked out of the palace... If you become a scholar, don't you study hard at home and try to pass the provincial examination? Do you still have time to go to the palace to work as a companion and play with the children?
Unless there is an ulterior motive!
As a result, now that Zhu Hao has taken the government examination, no one has revealed the questions to him. He has written the article and asked him to memorize it. Doesn't this reveal his true colors?
Zhu Niang said nervously: "Xiaohao, even if it is very difficult, you can't leave the examination room so early. You...I have inquired, even if you get the top spot in the county examination, if you do not perform well in the government examination and the college examination, you will not be able to leave the examination room so early."
You may not be able to enter the school. You...do you have time to go back to the examination room now?"
Zhu Hao said aggrievedly: "Mom, I've been suffering from a bit of cold these past two days, and I just have a runny nose or something. I'm afraid that if I stay in the examination room for a long time, the runny nose will stain the test paper, and I'm afraid I won't even be able to enter school at all.
The opportunity was gone, and Mr. Wangfu asked me to do something today, so I came out early. Fortunately, I finished answering all the papers."
In the past, Madam Zhu might have thought that Zhu Hao's words were true.
But now she has grown up too.
Normally her son would brag in her ear and talk about how great he was, but why did he talk down about him so much during the government examination? When she turned her head and saw her mother-in-law with an annoyed look on her face, she understood everything.
This was not meant for her as a mother, but to make the old lady believe that this was the case.
Didn’t you say that my son was about to pass the examination as a scholar and would have a bright future, so you used this to coerce and induce me to return to the Zhu family? Now my son has said that he did not perform well in the imperial examination this time. Look at him coming out so early.
, can a normal examinee leave the examination room so early? There must be something wrong with the examination.
"Mom, look..."
Zhu Niang looked at her mother-in-law with an aggrieved look on her face.
Zhu Jiashi said: "My grandson, your husband knows that you are going to take the government examination today, why does he still ask you to do something?"
Zhu Haodao: "That's it, grandma, my husband has an old friend, a high-ranking official named Wang Shouren, who arrived in Anlu today. The palace asked my husband to be in charge of the reception. He wanted me to make more friends with the great scholars and famous officials in the world, so he asked me to make friends with him.
I participated in the reception work together and accumulated contacts...
"My husband also said that if I enter the examination room and find that the questions are difficult, I should finish them early. Not only will it not hinder me, but it will also help me pass the government examination smoothly."
Reasonable and well-founded.
People who are familiar with the rules of the examination room will definitely sneer at Zhu Hao's words. How can an unrelated provincial official influence a local government examination?
But Zhu Jia was full of bad ideas, but he had never taken an imperial examination. How could he know such details?
After hearing Zhu Hao's "reasonable" answer, coupled with her stereotyped prejudice against her grandson, she instantly connected all the doubts in her mind...
It was obvious that these words were spoken from the bottom of her heart.
It doesn’t matter whether others think it is reasonable or not, as long as the old lady thinks it is reasonable.
"You, sir, have really taken great pains... From the third family, please think carefully and go first for your mother!"
Based on the wrong understanding, Zhu Jia discovered that the situation had changed.
The daughter-in-law is now worried that her grandson will fail the college entrance examination, so she will definitely not rashly agree to the Zhu family's conditions. It would be futile to stay here any longer. It is better to go back and send someone to investigate whether the grandson's words are true or false.
She knew that Wang Shouren came to Anlu, but was Wang Shouren an old friend of the tutor in the palace? What role did his grandson play if he went to receive him?
What benefits will it bring to the Zhu family?
Rather than scheming against her daughter-in-law, the old lady preferred scheming against people in Prince Xing's palace and official circles.
…
…
Zhu Jiashi is gone.
Zhu Niang and Zhu Hao walked out of the back door together.
When she came back and closed the door, Zhu Niang asked: "Xiao Hao, did you lie in front of your grandmother? In fact, you did well in the exam?"
"Of course."
Zhu Hao said, "The question this time is too simple. It took me less than an hour to finish it. Why are I still staying in the examination room? Today Mr. Tang asked me to receive the high officials of the DPRK and Central Government, saying that he would introduce me to a good student."
It allowed me to gain some fame among scholars, so I handed in my papers and left the examination room in advance."
"Then why don't you go quickly?"
Zhu Niang was so relieved that she quickly urged her son to get down to business.
Zhu Hao smiled and said: "Mom, this senior official was originally a Jiangxi official, responsible for pacifying bandits in Jiangxi, Fujian and other places. Now he is working across provinces. When he arrives, he must first make a handover with the government. You asked me to go there as a child.
What are you doing so early?”
Only then did Zhu Niang feel relieved: "No wonder you went home first."
Zhu Haodao: "When they complete the handover at noon, I will go find Mr. Tang... Do you know that Mr. Tang and Wang Zhongcheng took the examination in the same year, but that year Wang Zhongcheng passed the Jinshi exam, while Mr. Tang failed due to some
From now on, you can no longer take the imperial examination...
"The circumstances are different, and the future is also very different... Mr. Tang's success in the palace now is the result of our family's help..."
"OK OK."
Zhu Niang didn't want to hear about these things about sesame seeds and rotten millet. It had nothing to do with her, so she didn't care at all.
"Hurry up and get ready. If you can't change your clothes before going to see the official, my mother has sewed a few new clothes for you during this period... I hope you can pass the government examination smoothly, so that you will be closer to being admitted as a student member.
With this step taken, mother can rest assured to reward God..."
Zhu Niang now has money in her hands, but she finds that it is of no help to her son's imperial examination.
I don’t know where to spend my money.
It seemed like she couldn't do anything except praying to gods, praying to Buddha, offering sacrifices to her late husband, and hoping for blessings from gods. This was what made her feel so powerless.
"Okay, mother, I'll go change my clothes. I'll go back to the palace first. The person Mr. Tang arranged to pick me up should be waiting for me... If grandma comes again, if you just give her a few words, she must not have any good intentions.
...I guess she wants to annex our business this time, under the pretext of letting you take charge of the Zhu family's business, right?"
Zhu Hao said with a smile.
Zhu Niang had known for a long time that her son was capable of calculations and could clearly see the old lady's conspiracy, otherwise she would not have said those words just now.
"You are the only one who is smart."
"Mom, we can't suffer a loss, I'll go first."
…
…
Zhu Hao left home and was not in a hurry to return to the palace. He still wandered around the city.
The bandits' matter was successfully resolved, the ground in Anlu and even Huguang quickly stabilized, and the city seemed more lively than before.
Everyone knows that there is Prince Xing's Mansion in Anlu, and thousands of bandits can be easily wiped out by sending troops. Which bandit will dare to come to Anlu to cause trouble in the future?
Xingwangfu is simply the protector of Anlu and even Huguang. The government did not dare to fight against the thieves and bandits, but Xingwangfu took the initiative and easily defeated them. So why don’t businessmen move to such a relatively stable place?
Besides, Anlu originally had relatively convenient transportation conditions. In the past two years, various businesses in Jiangxi have suffered a blow. Many businessmen have transferred their business to surrounding provinces. Anlu has enjoyed a wave of dividends, and the economy is slowly rising.
"There are so many people."
Zhu Hao walked around the city for a while and found that not far ahead was the business store opened by his family in the city.
At this time, a group of people came out and were in a hurry. They were the "agents" under Shopkeeper Ma. They came to discuss business with merchants from all over the country and were returning to report to their superiors.
This commercial hall with both trade and accommodation functions attracts businessmen from all over the country who come to Anlu to do business, because they can negotiate business in the commercial hall without leaving home, and avoid having to go around to contact people to buy and sell goods.
Zhu Hao originally wanted to go in and take a look, but when he looked up at the sky, he saw that it was almost noon, and it was already the time he had agreed to meet with Tang Yin. He estimated that after returning to the palace, someone would take him to see Wang Shouren.
Business matters can be put aside for the time being. It is more important for me to go and meet Wang Yangming, a great sage of the time.