Chapter 42 A thousand words are worse than silence
Zui Feng Tower
Drink until we are tipsy, talk, laugh and have a feast.
In the meantime, Han Hui heard Song Yuan mention the imperial examination. He couldn't help but put down the wine cup in his hand and said with a smile: "Ziyu wants to take the second county examination. Is three months too hasty?"
Jia Heng said: "I did have some experience with my previous studies, but I didn't give it a try. If I study hard for three months, it shouldn't be a big problem."
Song Yuan said with a smile: "There are lecturers in the prison who teach you. If you don't understand something, you can come and ask me. Although Song is just a civil servant, before he joined the Imperial Academy, he was a private school teacher and taught several scholars."
Tens."
After hearing this, Jia Heng stood up, saluted solemnly, and said, "I will bother Mr. Song more in the future."
Just now, from a conversation with Song Yuan, I discovered that this person may be interested in clinging to Han Hui, but he cannot be said to be flattering.
Hearing this, Han Hui nodded and said, "Mr. Song is extremely knowledgeable and well-informed, and my uncle is full of praise for him."
Song Yuan laughed at himself and said: "But I failed the exam every year. From the age of twenty to now, it has been a waste of more than ten years..."
Han Hui said: "Sir, you are just unlucky. Next year is the year of the competition. If you have accumulated a lot of experience, you will definitely win."
Song Yuan raised the wine cup and said: "Chengzi has been promoted to auspicious words."
In fact, he was already a little disheartened. He had been in high spirits since he was awarded the imperial examination at the age of twenty, and had been taking the exam for more than ten years. Only recently did he think about whether to follow the path of the Han family and be appointed as an official in the Ministry of Personnel.
Han Hui also raised the wine cup and sighed inwardly.
He also didn't think it was so difficult to pass the exam to be a scholar. Scholarship was called entering a school. Anyone who was talented and studied hard could enter the school at the age of thirteen or fourteen. Even if it was a matter of promotion, it would be like that. Only Jinshi could be admitted.
He is now a candidate for the exam, but he failed to pass the exam the year before, so he has to go to prison to study. This time he not only wants to pass the Jinshi exam, but also tries his best to get a good ranking.
He belongs to the Han family of poetry and calligraphy hairpins, and his father was born in the Hanlin Academy. He is destined to be a member of the Academy of Science and Technology, and his ranking cannot be too low, for fear of humiliating his family name.
Yu Zhen also smiled and said: "Zi Yu, if you need a collection of Shiwen Jingyi's annotations, you can come to me. You don't need to go to Hanmo Mansion to spend extra money to buy them. I have collected a lot of them."
Jia Heng said: "Thank you very much, Brother Wendu."
As his contacts with Han Hui and Yu Zhen became closer, he had just learned their identities. One was the son of Han Huang, the second assistant of the dynasty, and the other was the son of Yu De, the imperial censor of the capital, Youqian of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
He is a Qingliu civil servant.
Then there was a banquet that lasted until the beginning of the month.
…
…
Ningrong Street, Jia's house in Liutiao Hutong.
The night falls and everything is silent.
When Jia Heng arrived home, it was already Xuzheng time. He pushed the door open and put the lantern he was carrying under the eaves of the main corridor.
"Brother Heng, why are you back so late?" Aunt Cai was obviously not asleep yet. She was lighting the lamp in the ear room, holding the soles of her shoes, and while talking, she came out of the house and asked.
Jia Heng went to the well and drew a basin of water. While washing his face, he replied: "I went to the Imperial College to meet some friends and left some food."
Over here, Qingwen, who was in the main room, heard the commotion in the courtyard and walked to the door. She already had a towel in her hand, stepped forward, handed it over, and said: "Master, here it is."
Jia Heng reached out and took the towel, smiled, and said warmly: "Why aren't you sleeping yet?"
The lanterns hanging on the eaves of the corridor and the soft candlelight illuminated a pretty face, and the almond-shaped eyes reflected the young man's gentle and "kind" expression like... a father and brother.
"Can't sleep." Qingwen said quietly, and asked, "Didn't the young master go to the Qin family?"
Jia Heng wiped his face and said: "I went to Qin's house in the morning, had lunch there, and then went to the Imperial College in the afternoon. By the way, I have been in the Imperial College recently, and I usually don't come back until later.
, you guys should rest at home earlier and don’t have to wait for me.”
Over here, Aunt Cai smiled and said, "Brother Heng, the water is hot in the pot. Do you want to take a bath?"
Jia Heng nodded and said with a smile: "Auntie, just go and rest first. I can do it myself."
"It doesn't matter." Aunt Cai said with a smile as she went to pick up the bucket: "I went to Dongshi in the morning and spent the whole afternoon choosing, but there was nothing suitable."
Mrs. Cai actually wanted to choose a maid with a good color for Jia Heng. Of course, after seeing pretty maids like Qingwen, her eyesight was raised unconsciously.
When Jia Heng heard this, he knew that he was talking about buying a maid for a rough job, so he smiled softly and said, "There is no need to rush and search slowly. It is better to be honest and reliable."
In Dream of Red Mansions, Zhuo'er, a maid in Baoyu's room, steals things, and then gets pricked by the sick Qingwen... with that needle.
If someone with unclean hands and feet were allowed to come in and start a quarrel with Qingwen, they might cause a lot of trouble.
He has been studying hard for a while recently and really doesn't have the extra energy to deal with these household matters.
Qingwen said: "Sir, I'm going to pour you hot water. I'm used to doing this before."
After saying that, he also went to pick up the wooden bucket. His delicate and thin figure showed a bit of stubbornness.
Aunt Cai quickly stepped forward and followed to help.
Jia Heng smiled, but did not insist. He turned around and went to the study room, intending to continue the half-part chapter of "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms".
Under the east window, Jia Heng was hunched over his desk, writing with a flurry of movement, while rice paper was piled up beside him.
He writes very quickly now, using running script. He doesn't even worry about the neatness of the handwriting, as long as it is legible. Hanmo Studio will find someone to correct it anyway.
"Sir, the hot water is ready." Qingwen walked to the side room, her eyelashes slightly drooped, her eyes were hidden in a cluster of shadows, her voice had a subtle tremor, but she still raised her head and looked at the young man who was writing at the desk.
.
She suddenly realized something important, if the young master asked her to take a bath later...
Jia Heng raised his head, glanced at Qingwen, and said with a smile: "Get some hot water, wash your feet, and have a rest early."
With that said, he put down his brush, took a few Chinese clothes, and headed towards the west room.
He could guess a little bit about the little girl's embarrassment.
He was not prepared to say anything to dispel his doubts.
A thousand words are worth less than a moment of silence.
Sure enough, when she saw Jia Heng walking straight away, Qingwen's eyes moved, and she didn't know what she felt in her heart.
It was getting late at night. After taking a bath, Jia Heng changed into his middle clothes and came to the side room. Seeing that it was not the third watch yet, he simply finished writing the remaining second chapter.
In the side room next to the wall, Qingwen had already taken off her shoes and socks, washed her feet, and was sleeping in her clothes. However, for a while, she opened a pair of clear black and white, sparkling apricot eyes, but there was no sleepiness at all.
I originally learned the rules in the Jia Mansion and was not assigned to that brother or sister by the old lady. In the blink of an eye, I was sent here. I originally wanted to make a fuss... But this uncle Heng is so kind and has no master at all.
His temper makes him unable to express his anger at all.
"Even if I cause trouble, I won't be able to return to the house. On that day, Sister Yuanyang should have given him a slave contract..."
Qingwen closed her eyes slightly, thinking complicatedly.
Seeing that the light behind the curtain was still on, he got up again and put on his clothes. He walked to the small table and made a cup of tea. He then entered the side room through the curtain and saw the young man writing furiously. He stood there for a moment and said, "Master, have some tea."
."
Jia Heng raised his eyes, was surprised, and said, "It's Qingwen, maybe the candlelight affected you."
He knew that some people sleep shallowly and cannot see any sound or light.
Qingwen stared closely at the young man's face, shook her head, and Qingyue's voice had a certain cadence in it, and said: "I don't have anything to do, it's just... Master, don't hurt your eyes when you write at night."
Jia Heng paused and said with a smile: "What you said is reasonable, so I won't write it down anymore."
As he spoke, he placed the brush on the pen holder.
Seeing Jia Heng put away the paper and pen, Qingwen's eyes moved, but without saying anything, she put the tea bowl on the desk, turned around, walked to the bed, and spread the quilt for Jia Heng.
Jia Heng put down the tea cup, stood up, and said, "I can just clean it up myself."
It's a good thing that I don't know how to do needlework, otherwise... my personality will collapse and my elegance will be wiped out.
"I learned the job of serving people in the mansion. Do you think I came here to be a rich lady? If word spreads, someone might say that I am frivolous and have no eyes for you." Qingwen seemed to have regained her composure.
He said softly, with an air of coquettishness.
Jia Heng said: "I don't mean that. I'm just used to taking care of myself. If you stay here for a long time, you will know."