Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5042 The Person Who Grants the Scale
Shangguan Yi was furious. His eldest daughter-in-law was the legitimate daughter of Zheng from Xingyang...

Shangguan Tingzhi held his forehead, feeling a sticky hot stream flowing. His head had been smashed by the teacup. He looked at his father in astonishment: "Why did my father hit me?"

Shangguan Yi's hair and beard were all ruffled, and he didn't care about his manners. He cursed: "Hit you? I wish I could kill you! For the sake of your future, you want to send your wife to be tortured by others. You are worse than a beast!"

At this moment, there was a slight "bang" outside the door, like the sound of porcelain falling to the ground and breaking, followed by the maid's voice: "Young Madam..."

Shangguan Yi: “…”

Shangguan Tingzhi: “…”

The father and son looked at each other.

Shangguan Tingzhi reacted and immediately cried out: "When did my son have such shameless thoughts? I was just guessing what the commander was thinking! Oh my god, I'm being killed by you, my father!"

He thought his wife was coming to serve him tea, but when he walked outside the door he heard what his father said. He smashed the teacup and left in anger.

Shangguan Yi was also a little panicked. His eldest daughter-in-law had been reserved and virtuous since childhood, gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, and she would definitely not give up this time.

Although the Zheng family of Xingyang is no longer what it used to be, I can't just bully my eldest daughter-in-law just because her mother's family is in decline, right?
If things get out of hand this time, I'm afraid the whole family will be in turmoil...

But he refused to admit his fault and said stubbornly, "You said that, what does it have to do with me? Why are you still staying here? Are you waiting for your father to bandage your wounds and apologize? Go and comfort your wife. If you can't comfort her, I will not forgive you!"

Shangguan Tingzhi covered his forehead with his hands, feeling very angry, and said angrily: "This is a sudden disaster from heaven. How miserable is my life?"

Shangguan Yi warned: "If your wife makes a fuss about going back to her parents' home, I will let you know that not only is your life miserable, but your butt is even more miserable!"

Shangguan Tingzhi looked innocent, and didn't even care about the wound on his head. He turned around and trotted away.

When he returned to the bedroom, he saw his wife Zheng sitting upright on a chair drinking tea, while a group of maids and servants were packing their belongings, putting all the clothes and jewelry into boxes...

When the maid saw the wound on Shangguan Tingzhi's forehead, she immediately exclaimed: "When did Dalang get hurt? Treat it quickly!"

Zheng's grip on the teacup tightened slightly, but her cold face remained expressionless and her eyes did not even move.

Shangguan Tingzhi waved the maid away, walked up to sit next to Zheng, and asked with concern: "Madam, what are you doing?"

Zheng put down the teacup, her beautiful face showing no emotion, and said calmly: "Of course I am going back to my parents' home. Do you think I will stay here and be treated like a slave and sent out to be played with by others? When I return to Xingyang, I will ask my father and brother to send the divorce agreement, and we can part ways and live happily."

The room suddenly fell silent. The maids and servants were all shocked and stared at Shangguan Tingzhi with wide eyes - is Dalang tired of living?

Shangguan Tingzhi dismissed the others, then smiled and explained in a low voice, then said helplessly: "It was my father's misunderstanding, what does it have to do with me? I am innocent!"

Zheng was surprised and said, "It's not just father who misunderstood. Fang Jun just said a few words of concern to you, and everything else is just your own assumption. Didn't you also misunderstand the words of the general?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I am extremely confused and mean-spirited."

Shangguan Tingzhi admitted her mistakes with a good attitude. Zheng seemed like a delicate flower reflecting in the water or a willow swaying in the gentle wind, but in fact she had a stronger personality. Zheng had always dominated the relationship between the couple.

Zheng took a sip of tea and remained unmoved.

Shangguan Tingzhi looked around and saw that no one was around, so she quickly apologized in a low voice: "I was wrong, okay? Please don't make a big fuss. If I really go back to my parents' home, how can I hold my head up in front of your family in the future?"

Zheng didn't intend to let him go easily, so she sipped her tea and said nothing.

Shangguan Tingzhi understood that his wife wanted to vent her anger, so he approached her and apologized gently. The Shangguan family had a long history of learning, and Shangguan Yi was extremely respectful to his wife, and his sons followed suit. The family had always been "dominated by yin and weak by yang", so he did not feel ashamed to be humble in front of his wife...

The words sounded nice, and Zheng's anger subsided a lot. She asked curiously, "Did Fang Jun really say that the Shangguan family has excellent blood, so he asked you to have more children?"

Shangguan Tingzhi pointed to the sky and swore: "That was really all I said. I didn't mention anything else. It was because of my mean mind that I had that conversation with my father just now. I am wrong, okay?"

Zheng was not angry. Instead, her cheeks slightly blushed. She glanced at her husband and said with a sigh, "Speaking of raising children, I remembered something. Some time ago, I had a dream one night. In the dream, a man with an immortal appearance gave me a scale and said, 'Use this to weigh the scholars in the world.' Could it be a sign? If we can have another boy, he may become a brilliant and talented literary master like Fang Jun!"

In those days, Emperor Taizong once said, "If I had a son, I hope he would be like Fang Yiai." Everyone in the court, inside and outside the palace thought it was just a joke. However, within a few years, the "uncertain, uneducated, dull and stubborn" Fang Er made many achievements and rose to the top. He earned a title of Duke on his own, making the Qinghe Fang family "two Dukes in one family," which was extremely glorious.

Fang Jun has many shortcomings, such as bad temper and recklessness, but he has more advantages. He is both civil and military, loyal, filial, benevolent, and has the skills to make money... If he were someone else's son, he would be slandered and despised in every way, but if he were his own son, who wouldn't be grinning from ear to ear?

Shangguan Tingzhi nodded subconsciously. To this end, the three characters "Fang Yiai" have long become the benchmark for "other people's sons". If a family can give birth to such a son, they will wake up with a smile in their dreams...

But I feel very uncomfortable in my heart. Why does my son look like Fang Jun?

Listening to his wife enumerating Fang Jun's various advantages with a face full of longing and shining eyes, it seems that she can't wait to give birth to a child who looks exactly like Fang Jun...

Shangguan Tingzhi finally couldn't help asking, "Could it be that the man who gave the scale to my wife in her dream is the same as Fang Jun?"

Other families have “Guanyin delivering children”, but in my family it’s “Fang Jun delivering children”?
Zheng was interrupted with great interest. She was stunned for a moment, then she realized what her husband meant. She was immediately ashamed and angry. Her pretty face flushed, her eyebrows raised, and she stretched out two slender jade fingers, pinched the soft flesh under her husband's ribs, and twisted it hard.

He said angrily, "You seem very happy that your wife dreamed of another man?"

Shangguan Tingzhi screamed miserably, and the sound shook the whole house.

*****
In June in Guanzhong, the temperature gradually rises, and with the increase in precipitation, the heat and humidity become increasingly unbearable. The crops in the fields like this climate the most. The rice is lush and green, and the corn is growing. The farmers stand at the edge of the fields with hoes on their shoulders, watching the crops change day by day, and they are so happy that they can't stop smiling.

Nowadays, there is no shortage of grain and rice in Guanzhong. Although the value of various goods has skyrocketed and the price of rice and flour has remained constant, has there ever been a year in history when people can have enough to eat all year round?
Farmers are the most simple people. As long as they can have enough to eat, nothing else matters to them. Their endurance is almost infinite.

Who would rebel if they had enough food to eat?

Therefore, it is not difficult to make a dynasty stable and last for thousands of years. All you need to do is to make sure the people have enough food. However, such a simple condition was only achieved after thousands of years of dynasty change...

The most hardworking nation in the world lives the hardest life. How unfair is it?
While crops were flourishing throughout Guanzhong, the country was thriving, there was widespread discussion and excitement in Chang'an.

The most attention-grabbing event in the world right now is the selection of officials by the Ministry of Personnel.

The process of the imperial examination was extremely rigorous, and the various rules almost blocked any avenues for cheating. From the provincial examination to the Ministry of Rites examination, no one could do anything. The worst thing was that the palace examination was cancelled this time, which completely eliminated the extravagant hopes of the children of wealthy families who hoped to get a good ranking by relying on the connections in the court.

Everything is within the rules and based on performance.

At first, people paid attention to the rankings. When the imperial edict was posted outside Chengtian Gate, all the hundreds of Jinshi were listed on it and ranked in order, and the discussion never stopped.

As the saying goes, "There is no first in literature and no second in martial arts." Throughout history, unless every question in an examination has a unique standard answer, it is extremely difficult to obtain a recognized result regardless of fairness or corruption.

This is especially true for examinations based on Confucianism.

How do we judge the quality of an article, an idea, or even a paragraph of text?

Confucius has been dead for hundreds of years. Who can confirm the original meaning of "Zi Yue"? At present, the final interpretation of the test question is based on the "Five Classics Commentary", but the "Five Classics Commentary" does not dare to standardize Confucius' thoughts and behaviors within a certain category.

In this way, when articles are written, some may explain and express from the inside out, some may be from the surface to the inside and awaken the deaf, and some may be passionate and point out the way forward. They have different viewpoints and angles, so how can we judge which one is better?

Therefore, if one wants to rank first, second, or third among these test papers of outstanding talent, one must give them a tangible and intangible standard.

Why?

It could be the general situation of the court, the ambition of the emperor, or the interests of the country.

For example, at present, the whole country is expanding and actively making progress. The empire relies on military force to seize the wealth of the whole world, which is beneficial to the country, the aristocratic families, and the people. Whoever advocates maritime hegemony and economic trade will naturally follow the mainstream and be superior. On the contrary, whoever is unconventional and sings a different tune in the test paper and goes against the general trend will be committed to it.

All in all, there is no real fairness and justice in this kind of imperial examination.

Since there is no real fairness and justice, it is impossible to prevent accusations, attacks, and discussions...

Public opinion in Chang'an City was in an uproar, like a pot of boiling water. Who was incompetent but occupied a high position, and who was gifted with literary talent but failed to get the list? At first, the scholars argued endlessly, and later the officials also joined in.

Until the Censorate suddenly broke the news that a new Jinshi had got through Fang Jun's connections and was directly appointed to the Ministry of Works, and was about to preside over a large-scale project that was destined to bring great achievements, which immediately pushed this trend to its peak.

The government and the public were shocked and the public opinion was in an uproar.