Chapter 1 When the sweet-scented osmanthus is fragrant (1)
Update time:2012-09-18
"You can't be too showy. Zhang Ning from Shangyuan County knows that, right? Yes, he publicly announced that he would be the one to solve Yuan Dynasty this autumn. He boasted that he was the best in the world in literary talent. What happened?" said a round-faced man with a big belly.
As soon as the young man sat down, he talked excitedly to the two tea guests sitting next to him. He sighed as if he had regrets, but there was a hint of gloating in his tone.
"What's going on? What's going on?" A young man wearing silk satin asked anxiously.
The young man who spoke and the newly arrived pot-bellied man were wearing silk and satin and the other was wearing cloth. This did not indicate the difference between rich and poor, but because the young man had fame and the pot-bellied man did not. It was the 21st year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (AD
1423), Taizu's decree that common people could not wear silk and satin was still in effect. Moreover, this was in Nanjing, which was the capital of the Ming Dynasty not long ago. People did not dare to do anything that went against the rules at will, especially in public.
occasion.
The pot-bellied man who had just arrived was about to start talking, but unexpectedly, a burst of percussion instruments suddenly sounded on the stage downstairs, and he suppressed his words. At this time, a corner came up.
He sang: "The autumn lights are bright and green, and the night is full of stories. There are so many stories in the past and the past. There are few talented people, but there are also gods and ghosts, which are trivial and unsightly. It is not related to the weathered body, even if it is good, it will be in vain.
.When it comes to legends, it is easy to entertain people but difficult to move people. Gentlemen who are close friends should look at it from a different perspective. Don’t talk about gags, don’t look for palace numbers, just look at the filial piety of the son and the virtuous wife..."
The following lyrics were paired with the erhu, and the sound was not as harsh as the percussion music, so the pot-bellied man continued: "What happened? I happened to see it with my own eyes yesterday. His uncle Zhang Jiujin took someone to carry him back. He was carried back."
Yes. That's right, Zhang Jiujin, who was in the Yun brocade business, took his nephew out of the Yamen and carried him back. It looked like... what kind of prison was it, and how could he not get away with it once he entered it? Zhang Ning
He is also a scholar who devotes himself to studying but has no strength to restrain himself. I heard that he is dying at home and is waiting for that breath."
The young man looked curious and said: "Brother Chen is in the silk and satin business. He seems to have some dealings with Zhang Jiayun Brocade Shop. He must know something about the inside story. I only heard that Zhang Pingan was jailed for bribing the examiner before the provincial examination.
, is there any more detailed news?”
"Ma Maocai took the examination in the same Gongyuan as Zhang Ning, and you don't know anything about this?" the pot-bellied man asked.
The young man in satin robe shook his head hurriedly and said: "Although we are both taking exams in Nanjing Gongyuan, I am a student in Jiangning County, and Zhang Ping'an belongs to Shangyuan County School. We usually have little contact with each other, and we have only met a few times. I am really right.
Very little is known about this matter.”
After hearing this, the pot-bellied man who was called Brother Chen waved his hands in a mysterious manner. After the two of them moved their positions and came over, he whispered in a mysterious manner: "Who is the examiner? Mr. Lu Zhenlu, the Minister of Rites from Beijing. Let's
After all, Nanjing is an important place, and the examiner of the provincial examination is also an important court minister, but now he has been suspected of cheating in the examination room and has been sent to the Zhenfu Division Prison by the Jin Yiwei. The examiner Zhang Ning bribed is this Mr. Lu. I heard that the case happened
Later, it was revealed that Zhang Ning boasted that he would win the exam before the exam started. Thinking that the feng shui land on both sides of the Qinhuai River is full of talents. Every time Ziwu Maoyou attends the Qiu Wei, there are countless scholars, and there are also countless people with real talents and practical knowledge who can go to the exam.
The first time Zhang Ning participated in Qiuwei, he dared to threaten in public that he would win the first place. Where did he have the confidence? So the government put him on trial. As expected, there was a reason for everything, and he was punished for everything. He was imprisoned for a while,
The imperial court wanted him to be exempted from the death penalty for his first offense, stripped of his honors and never to be employed again, and let him go home."
"That's all the news?" The young man in satin robe looked a little disappointed, "Didn't you hear who exposed it?"
The pot-bellied man was not very happy: "Who among ordinary people can know? I thought Ma Mao was a person in the examination room and would have more information about this kind of thing."
"Since all the ministers of the Ministry of Rites were imprisoned, why was Zhang Ning released so quickly..." The young man in the satin robe suddenly picked up a tea cup and drank tea, and stopped there.
The pot-bellied man said casually: "It's my last breath. The Zhang family is preparing for the funeral. The death penalty is almost the same."
…
Nanjing City is not square and square like many cities in the north, but is shaped like an inverted convex character. The city belongs to Shangyuan County and Jiangning County. Except for the convex part to the south of the "inverted convex character", the other areas belong to Shangyuan County.
, the dividing line is Dazhong Street. The Qinhuai River flows southward along the west wall outside the city, splits at Sanshan Gate, and flows into the city. Most of this section of the Qinhuai River is in Jiangning County, at Tongji Gate in the southeast of the city.
Nearby it joins the Qingxi River, a canal coming from the north, and passes through the city wall out of the city.
There is a bridge on the Qingxi River next to Tongji Gate called Dazhong Bridge. To the north of Dazhong Bridge is Liren Street. This is one of the gathering places for merchants engaged in daily necessities business, such as Dazhong Bridge, Beimen Bridge, and Sanpailou.
The place is a commercial district. The home of Zhang Ning, who was just picked up from prison, is in an alley on Liren Street.
The Zhang family was obviously engaged in business, but their household registration was agricultural, because there was no such thing as a business registration in the Ming Dynasty. Some of the systems of the Ming Dynasty were really contradictory. Taizu hated those who were idle and not engaged in production, and
In his view, merchants are non-producers, so there is no business registration; however, a civilized society cannot lack merchants. People who engage in business have their own strategies and use various methods to register as farmers, craftsmen, military, etc.
The most common way for people with some assets is to buy farmland from the landlord in the countryside, insist that the main business is land rent, and then become a farmer. In this era, except for officials, those who farm land in name are the most innocent and noble, and everyone
Want to eat.
Zhang Ning's parents are two brothers. His father is Zhang Jiuyin, and his uncle is Zhang Jiujin. They run the Yunjin business together. Zhang Ning's father died early, and his mother also passed away a few years ago. The remaining two brothers and sisters in their family live with their uncle. Yunjin
The shop has a share of the assets left to them by Zhang Jiuyin, and there are also a few acres of land in the countryside to collect land rent, which can be considered a small industry. However, Zhang Ning is a man who is engaged in business and education, and is not engaged in production at all. All the assets and real estate are managed by his uncle, and he lives there.
He was also in his uncle's house, and his livelihood was not a problem. Zhang Ning lost his father in his early years, and his uncle Zhang Jiujin was almost equivalent to his father. He was even called Erlang at home because Zhang Jiujin had an only son named Dalang; but the two brothers were in Zhang Jiujin.
His eyes are still very different, not because Zhang Ning is his nephew, the most important thing is that Zhang Ning was a picked-up baby before, so there is a layer of blood separation.
Zhang Jiujin's brows have not relaxed in the past few days, and he sighed as soon as he picked up his chopsticks during dinner. A few days ago, he was worried when his nephew was in prison, but now he feels more helpless.
Looking back at the dining table, there were five people, old and young, in total. In the past, there were usually seven people eating together. Zhang Jiujin asked with a face: "Where is Zhang Xiaomei, do you still need someone to invite you to dinner?"
"I called her just now and said she didn't want to eat. She was dipping rice soup into Erlang's mouth in the room." Zhang Dalang's wife Luo Yue'e answered while lifting the six or seven-year-old girl onto the stool.
The middle-aged woman next to her said: "Go and call her again to persuade her. This child cried several times yesterday. How could she be born if she doesn't eat?"
Zhang Jiujin said angrily: "Leave her alone, don't go!"
He was the head of the family. When everyone saw him getting angry, they didn't dare to confront him and fell silent for a while. Only the six or seven-year-old girl pulled her mother's sleeve: "I want to eat steamed eggs. Mom, scoop it up for me."
Zhang Jiujin's son Zhang Shicai broke the silence: "When I was in the shop today, the Wang family came over to return the gift?"
"Fifty taels of silver were refunded." The middle-aged woman said, she was Zhang Shicai's mother, Zou. Zhang Shicai couldn't help but muttered: "Erlang was dismissed from his official career. Their family had long wanted to regret their marriage but were afraid of being said to be snobbish. Yesterday I heard
The doctor said that Erlang is dead, so he is probably secretly happy and has a reason to regret the marriage."
Zhang Jiujin immediately put down his chopsticks with a bang, turned to stare at his son and said, "Why are you talking? Are you afraid of offending others?" Zhang Shicai said hurriedly: "Isn't this at home? I can still go out and fool around.
It doesn’t work…”
Mrs. Zou helped: "You can't talk about others like this at home. The Wang family is a respectable and solid family. If we don't break off the engagement now, when the second son has his shortcomings, what reputation will you bring on your daughter who has not yet left the court?"
"Yes, yes, don't you know you are wrong?" Zhang Shicai buried his head with a dark face.
Zou added: "I'm just pitiful about Erlang. How could he bribe the examiner? This is obviously an unjust case! Erlang usually ignores what is going on outside the window and just immerses himself in reading. Not to mention bribing officials from Beijing, he doesn't even recognize them.
"
Zhang Jiujin said: "Who told him to stir up trouble without knowing the truth?"
At this time, the old couple stopped blaming Zhang Shicai, and Zhang Shicai added: "I heard the news from the county scribe. Mr. Lu, who was involved in the fraud case in the academic field, was imprisoned once in Beijing. He said it was him
The son-in-law made a mistake in etiquette when he went to court. As a result, the prince of the prison did not blame Master Lu because he was the minister of the Ministry of Rites. Someone secretly reported this matter to the emperor. Emperor Long Yan was furious and imprisoned Lu Zhen in prison. Later,
After his anger subsided, he felt that it was not a big deal, so he was released and reinstated. Father, do you think that this time Mr. Lu was involved in a fraud case in the examination room? Is it related to this matter, and was he taken advantage of by the emperor?
Don’t you like that he was plotted against you?”
Zhang Jiujin was silent, and Zou said in confusion: "The emperor also controls his son too strictly."
"Mother, you don't know, how can the emperor's family be the same as our ordinary people's families? The sons of ordinary people's families will be scolded if they do something wrong; if the prince does something wrong, the unlucky ones are the officials around the prince, who have been punished for this in recent years.
How many officials were killed and imprisoned? No one knows how the famous talented scholar Xie Jin died in Nanjing. It is said that he had a secret meeting with the prince. But everyone did not dare to say it outside." Zhang Shicai said matter-of-factly.
.
But what they said was in vain. The emperor, prince, court officials, etc. were really far away from the Zhang family.
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