My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

After the Lantern Festival, the holiday ended and court sessions resumed as usual.

As soon as Li Longji sat on the dragon throne and listened to the daily chant "Long live the emperor", he said directly: "My lords, the Lantern Festival has passed. Is it time to start preparing for the Spring Examination?"

"Where is Minister Chen, the Minister of Rites?"

"Your Majesty, I am here."

"This year I plan to advance the spring examination by a few days. What do you think, Minister Chen?" Li Longji asked at this time.

Minister Chen bowed slightly and replied, "I wonder when Your Majesty plans to arrive earlier?"

"How about early February? Is that okay?" Li Longji said.

"Your Majesty, of course it is possible." Minister Chen said, "The previous emperors held the imperial examinations in January. Last year, the issue of evil money had not been properly dealt with, so it was postponed to February. So this year, Your Majesty, please do not advance it too early."

To be honest, everyone here probably knows why Li Longji planned to take the imperial examination in advance. When Li Longji saw Minister Chen's answer, he thought:

"Then let's move it forward to the 25th day of the first lunar month instead of the last day. Minister Chen, can you start making arrangements?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"In that case, take the people from the Ministry of Rites with you. From today on, you don't have to go to court. Just concentrate on preparing for the Spring Examination." Li Longji waved his hand and asked the people from the Ministry of Rites to leave.

Then, Li Longji asked, "A while ago, Marquis Dingkang said that the land should be publicly owned. How is the implementation going? Where is the Minister of Revenue? Report the progress to me."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The Minister of Revenue came out and said, "Your Majesty, we have tried it in Puzhou recently. Except for the local landlords and wealthy businessmen, almost all the people came."

"What about those landlords and wealthy businessmen? Do they want to disobey the order?" Li Longji asked with his eyes slightly narrowed.

The Minister of Revenue explained, "Your Majesty, those landlords and wealthy businessmen previously controlled countless fields of our Tang Dynasty. Now that Your Majesty wants to take them back, I am naturally opposed to it."

"Then treat it as disobeying my order." Li Longji waved his hand and said coldly, "I have already allowed merchants to trade without paying taxes. Why do you want to take advantage of me now?"

"What's more, wasn't there a merchant family that said no one in the family could read? Now I have also approved it. If there are merchants and scholars in the family, why do they want to make money like this?"

"Your Majesty." At this time, the Minister of Personnel came out and said, "Your Majesty, now in the Tang Dynasty's treasury, merchants have already accounted for 30% of the tax revenue. If we take away the land so forcefully, I'm afraid it will cause opposition from the merchants."

Li Longji stroked his beard and said, "I want to ask the Minister of Rites, are you getting old and confused, or am I no longer able to sit on this throne?"

The Minister of Personnel was stunned, and Li Longji said, "Do you know why merchants pay taxes? What taxes do they pay?"

"Merchants don't have to pay taxes. The taxes they pay are the head tax and rent and labor tax of their families. There are many people in the family, and they usually pay less. I will let it go. Can it really be let go?"

"Now that the land is being reclaimed, did I say that the land would not be distributed to merchants? They want more land, but did I say no?"

The Minister of Personnel did not dare to say anything. He was an official in charge of selecting officials, and it was obviously a bit too much for him to get involved in matters concerning household registration.

"Shang Shu!"

"The minister is here."

"The God of Land has something to ask, and you, the Ministry of Revenue, will continue to handle it. You don't have to worry about the rest." Li Longji waved his hand and said.

......

After lunch in the afternoon, Chang An massaged Gu Li's swollen hands and feet as usual, and then accompanied her for a nap. But just as he was about to start the massage, Chang Qi's voice came in with a knock on the door:

"Young Master, Sanniang."

"Come in!" Gu Li untied the bun on her head and let the person outside in.

"What's the matter?"

Chang Qi was accompanied by Huai Qin. It seemed that the two of them came together. Chang Qi bowed to Chang An and said, "Sir, His Majesty has posted a notice saying that the date of this year's spring examination has been announced."

Chang An and Gu Li both raised their eyes at this time, and then looked at Chang Qi, and Chang Qi continued: "Just now, Huaiqin and I went out to buy things, and we found that notices were posted at the entrances of various markets, saying that this year's Spring Examination will be held on the 25th day of the first lunar month, which is nine days later."

Chang An was stunned for a moment, and Gu Li asked directly: "Why is it so early this year? Isn't it always the end of the first lunar month in previous years?"

Chang Qi shook her head, indicating that she didn't know. Chang An comforted Gu Li, saying, "It's okay. There are only nine days left. Finish the exam sooner and relax sooner."

"Well then," Gu Li did not pursue the matter, and then asked, "Then is there a time limit for registration?"

"We don't need to register." Chang An said at this time: "I am a student of the Imperial College. If I want to take the imperial examination, I will go back to the Imperial College in two days to take an exam. If I pass, the chief priest will report my name to the Ministry of Rites."

"The chief priest also told me these things before."

Gu Li nodded and said, "Then Chang Lang must review his lessons well these days."

"Don't worry, when Mother Gu goes to sleep, I will take the book and review my homework while accompanying her to sleep." Chang An smiled and put Gu Li's feet back into the quilt.

......

Two days later, after Chang An finished the exam arranged by the Imperial College, he walked out of the examination room. He yawned and stretched as he walked out of the classroom, and suddenly he realized that someone was following him.

He glanced back casually and found that it was Li Weihao. When the other party saw him, he bowed politely and said, "Marquis Dingkang."

He then asked, "Don't be like this, I still like your unruly look at the beginning."

"Marquis Dingkang is joking." Li Weihao smiled awkwardly and asked, "Why did Marquis Dingkang hand in the paper so early today? Didn't you stay in and write for a while longer?"

"No need." Chang An shook his head, then said, "But it seems that Li Langjun also came out so early, didn't he also hand in the paper early?"

Li Weihao was stunned for a moment and said, "I am a foreign student, not a candidate from the Imperial College, so I don't need to take this exam."

Chang An raised his eyebrows, looked at Li Weihao's embarrassed look, and said, "Oh, sorry, I forgot. You look like you have something to say to me?"

"Yes, the Spring Examination will be held in a few days, so I would like to ask Marquis Dingkang for some advice." Li Weihao said, bowing slightly, as if he regarded Chang An as his "quasi-teacher".

Chang An simply waved his hand and said, "I am not very knowledgeable and I cannot instruct others. Besides, I learned all my knowledge from the academic director of the Imperial Academy, just like you."

"When you encounter something you don't understand, why don't you ask me for help? Why not ask Dr. Xue Zhenghe?"

Li Weihao was stunned for a moment, and then Chang An said, "The Spring Examination is like a battlefield. What matters is your daily accumulation, not sharpening your weapon before the battle. There are only a few days left before the Spring Examination. Instead of worrying about what you don't know, you might as well study more about what you know."

After saying this, Chang An turned around and bowed to Li Weihao, saying, "My wife is now full-term, and I need to go home to take care of her. Mr. Li, please stay. Bye."

Having said that, under Li Weihao's confused gaze, Chang An left the Imperial College.

......

In the following days, Chang An did not follow Gu Li's previous arrangement to study for an hour and a half, but began to take care of his body. If he missed the imperial examination due to illness or other problems, he would have to wait another year, which was not worth it.

The family has been paying close attention to Chang An's health these days. Even the two imperial doctors, Ma Huai and Yang Mo, who are staying at Chang An's home, not only check Gu Li's health every day, but also take Chang An's pulse.

As for Gu Li, he asked the kitchen to prepare some dishes with good meanings every day, hoping that Chang An would have a good omen: such as pig's trotters, porridge with a good score, and "fish leaping over the dragon gate". Gu Li even asked his family to buy some sweet-scented osmanthus cakes, which were said to be "winning the first prize in the imperial examination", so that Chang An could eat one every day.

Although the two imperial doctors had been persuading him, Gu Li was just foolish. Whenever the kitchen prepared something to eat, Gu Li would go and get it himself, carefully bringing it to Chang An.

Not only did she want to feed Chang'an these things, she also said things like "It will be auspicious if you eat it" and "It's quite nutritious and won't harm your body".

After several days passed, the two imperial doctors saw that Chang An was indeed fine, so they did not interfere.

Finally, it was the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month. Chang An and Gu Li got up early in the morning before the hour of Mao. Seeing that Gu Li was still sleepy, Chang An smiled and said:

"Mother Gu, if you feel sleepy, just sleep a little longer. I won't be back until twilight hour tonight, so it's still a long time."

"Hmm..." Gu Li shook his head and said, "No, I have to send Chang Lang out. Chang Lang, hurry up and wash up... Haah~"

Helplessly, Chang An had to wash up quickly, and then make time for Gu Li to wash up. Then, fearing that there was not enough time, Gu Li checked the documents and items that Chang An was going to bring, and regardless of his big belly, he hurriedly pulled Chang An to the gate of the mansion.

At this moment, Chang An looked up. Although it was not completely bright, he could still see the rice dumpling hanging on the door.

"Chang Lang, come on!" Gu Li said, and he stood on tiptoe and kissed Chang An on the mouth, then raised his little fist and waved, "Xiaoguai and I will be waiting for Chang Lang at home, Chang Lang will definitely be able to pass the high school entrance examination!"

Chang An smiled and touched Gu Li's face, kissed him back, and said, "Okay, thanks to Gu Niang for her good words."

After kissing goodbye, Chang An got into the carriage and left.