Inside the Jubaomen Gate in Nanjing, opposite the Gongyuan Courtyard, is the Old Wuding Bridge Courtyard—the largest and most prosperous romantic place in the Ming Dynasty.
Because the 16th year of Wanli happened to be the year of Qiuwei, and the examination center of the entire southern Zhili was in Nanjing. When a large number of scholars who participated in the provincial examination gathered together, it was the best time for business on the Qinhuai River.
When the lanterns on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are first lit, they are colorful and shine like daylight. The red lanterns are hung high in the pavilions and painted boats, contrasting with the bright moon in the sky and the ripples of the water.
Inside the window, the shadows of candles swayed, and the figures of people could be vaguely seen. Merchants and shops were dazzling, and their signs and banners were fluttering in the wind. Restaurants and teahouses were filled with guests, and the sound of hustle and bustle was endless.
When Zhu Zhifan took the boy servant to the downstairs of Jixian, he saw that the tortoise who greeted the guests at the door was short in stature and dressed the same as the guests in other brothels. However, there was no green scarf on his head. Instead, the hair on the top of his head was shaved into a round shape.
, the hair around the circle hangs down past the ears, which makes people laugh.
Seeing Zhu Zhifan standing at the door, one of the guests came forward, knelt down, kowtowed his head to the ground and said: "Dear guests, please come in -", his accent also seemed strange.
After hearing his accent, Zhu Zhifan realized that he was a Japanese servant hired by the store. He smiled contemptuously and stepped into the building. The madam in the building came up with a girl. After asking about Zhu Zhifan's reservation at Liuhua Pavilion, the little girl beside him took his master and servant.
The two of them went in.
The winding path led to a secluded place, full of silk and bamboo. When we arrived at Liuhua Pavilion, several people had already arrived. When Zhu Zhifan came in, they all stood up to greet him.
Zhu Zhifan said: "As a landowner, I came late to the gathering. My dear friends, please forgive me." Everyone said it was okay. A middle-aged man said: "We live here for the exam and have no family ties. We just came here to chat early."
After saying that, he introduced several young people in their twenties around him and said: "This is Dong Sheng of Huating, Zhou Sheng of Zhenjiang, and Zhang Sheng of Changshu." The three people hurriedly introduced themselves: "Dong Qichang of Huating.", "Zhenjiang Zhou Yingqiu."
","Zhang Jiubao, Changshu."
Zhu Zhifan looked at Dong and Zhou, and asked thoughtfully: "But which one is the Dong family or the Zhou family?" Dong Qichang said in surprise: "It is exactly the Dong family that was destroyed by slavery thirteen years ago, and the Zhou family is ours.
A family."
Zhu Zhifan nodded and sighed, and then comforted him: "Now that the Holy Emperor is on the throne, the two families have successors, and their restoration is just around the corner." The two of them bowed and thanked him.
The middle-aged man pointed to the remaining middle-aged man and said: "This is an expert hermit, Mr. Beiliu of Qingpu, whose name is Wang Yingkui. He is a sage in the Xinglin forest and is very good at divination. Both my brother and I admire him very much."
"Zhu Zhifan heard this and greeted him.
The middle-aged man introduced these people again: "This is Zhu Zhifan, Mr. Lanyu, who has become famous in recent years. He is an expert in calligraphy and painting. He will take the provincial examination with us this time." Several people bowed to each other again.
Zhu Zhifan looked at the middle-aged man and said, "Mr. Jingfan, can Mr. Jingyang come tonight?"
Mr. Jing Fan said: "Because I had to pick up the driver, I was very busy the past few days. Because the weather was too hot the day before yesterday, my brother was not feeling well, so he asked for leave and went back to his hometown to escape the heat."
It was past the Mid-Autumn Festival and it was the cool season in Nanjing. Mr. Jingfan said "avoid the heat". Everyone present was stunned at first, but then they all understood. They all lamented that Mr. Jingyang Gu Xiancheng's cliffs were high and different from the customs.
Mr. Jingfan waited for everyone to finish expressing their feelings, then smiled and said to Zhu Zhifan, "My dear brother, I heard that I got a big fortune during the Mid-Autumn Festival."
The smile on Zhu Zhifan's lips couldn't be suppressed: "It's also a rare opportunity. I don't know how one of the paintings was seen by the emperor, and he praised it 'good'. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the emperor sang with the Hanlin officials for the first time, and Shen Xiang asked me to do it.
Record it, so I was given a piece of writing."
Zhou Yingqiu, Dong Qichang and Zhang Jiubao heard that the envy was written on their faces. Gu Yuncheng said: "When the autumn period is over, I will go to my wise brother's house to appreciate the imperial brush."
Zhu Zhifan smiled and said: "This is an honor for my foolish brother. The emperor's calligraphy is both graceful and noble, and it is also different from the ordinary. It cannot be written by us. Either we have worked hard or God has given it to us." After listening to the three,
More and more envious.
As soon as everyone arrived, the "doctor" named Wang Yingkui arranged for the dishes to be served and wrote letters to the colonel. Everyone exchanged cups and cups, and the atmosphere gradually became lively.
Since autumn is approaching, several candidates naturally have to talk about the exam first. Gu Yuncheng, Mr. Jingfan, first lamented: "Nowadays, the scientific exam is difficult even if you don't go to college. Every time a question is asked, there must be a question about things, and the eight-part essay question is becoming more and more simple.
My brother had previously written a memorial on this matter, but it disappeared after he entered the General Affairs Department."
Zhu Zhifan laughed when he heard this and said: "Mr. Jingyang advocates 'equal emphasis on cultivation and enlightenment', and he is a person who values practical learning the most. Why do you prefer eight-legged writing? If you ask me, the scientific examination reform has become a general trend, and no one can defeat the emperor. I have taken advantage of the local area.
, I studied at Nanjing University for two years before I felt confident."
Upon hearing this, Wang Yingkui interjected: "It's true that the time to determine one's origin with a piece of writing has passed - the changes that have not happened in a thousand years are due to the flow of destiny and cannot be reversed by human power."
When Zhu Zhifan heard this, he pointed at the roof with a smile and said, "Is this the sky?"
Wang Yingkui said with a straight face: "This was derived by my master ten years ago using the Book of Changes, so I have long given up on the idea of taking the imperial examination. As the saying goes, if you don't be a good prime minister, you will become a good doctor - a few days ago, I saw a doctor for the Duke of Guo.
, but it’s a lucky draw.”
After saying that, he took out a round pearl the size of a thumb from his arms, and looked at the school book next to him until he breathed heavily.
Zhu Zhifan frowned, while Gu Yuncheng held the wine glass and smiled without saying a word.
Zhou Yingqiu joked at the side: "Is this an Dongzhu? It's a rare thing. My mother once had one of this size. She cut it in half and inlaid it into a pair of hairpins. It's a pity that it was cheaper than Jin Yiwei." After saying this, his eyes turned red.
, I punished myself with a glass of wine while sighing.
Wang Yingkui said with a smile: "Brother Zhou, there is no need to restrain yourself. I can see from your face that you are going to do well in your bachelor's degree." Zhou Yingqiu was overjoyed when he heard this and even offered Wang Yingkui three glasses of wine.
Zhu Zhifan waited for them to finish drinking and asked impatiently: "Mr. Chachoengsao is good at physiognomy? How about your bachelor's degree?"
Wang Yingkui stroked his beard and smiled and said: "The art of physiognomy is just superficial. I learned Yongshenzhang from my ancestors. My ancestors predicted in advance that 'after thirty, I will be in the city behind curtains, and my fame will no longer matter'. Now it's true!"
If Mr. Lanyu is interested, he can divine it."
Then he smiled and said: "Let's make it clear first, don't blame me if you get any bad intentions." Zhu Zhifan swore that he couldn't do it.
Wang Yingkui took out a few copper coins from his arms and said with emotion: "This is the Jiajing Tongbao coin. Nowadays, coins are only round and have no holes. How can we see the truth in the world!"
Zhu Zhifan didn't care whether he could see the meaning of the coin now, he hurriedly cleaned his hands and prayed silently, and respectfully threw the coin six times. Wang Yingkui looked at it, calculated and laughed and said: "The official star of Youjin is in the world, and when it is strong, the Pleiades sun will oppose it.
And if you move secretly, the Shangguan of Ninety-Five Yao will turn into a spirit to help support the people. Not only will he win the championship in the golden autumn, but he will definitely take the top spot in the coming spring."
Zhu Zhifan was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. He said with emotion to Gu Yuncheng: "My little brother has done some divination several times in the past few days, but he always talked in silence. I didn't expect Mr. to be so decisive! I didn't expect to meet such a wise man today!"
He took out a handful of "round" Dragon Yuan from his arms. He wanted to use it as a tool for divination, but he was afraid of offending the master, so he showed hesitation.
Gu Yuncheng said with a smile: "My brother and I didn't really believe in the saying that 'You don't talk about strange powers and confuse the gods', but we verified it several times in a row and couldn't do anything about it. How can I use Aduwu in today's gathering? Dear brother,
Sit down, today is all mine."
After saying that, he turned to the other three people and said: "Do you think it counts? If you want to predict it, all the divination gold will be mine, haha!"