Traveling to an ancient peasant family: I got rich by doing business

More than two hundred Jinshi and dozens of officials sat down together, making a grand scene.

However, only the three people in the first class can sit at a table by themselves, and they can sit in the front. As for the second and third class Jinshi, two people sit at a table, and sit behind Han Zheng and the other two.

There was nothing wrong with this, but Ji Shuo felt that he was insulted. Shortly after the banquet officially began, he took the initiative to offer to write an article.

In other dynasties, most Jinshi candidates wrote poems at the Qionglin Banquet, but this was not the case during the reign of Dayu.

Emperor Taizu of Dayu did not like poetry very much. He felt that some scholars only wrote poems about love, flowers, snow and moon, but not about the country and the world. Therefore, during his reign, the content of the imperial examination did not change much from the previous dynasty. There were still questions about poetry, but at the Qionglin Banquet, the candidates were never asked to write poems.

The following emperors, including Emperor Tianyuan, also followed the tradition of Emperor Taizu, writing less poetry and more prose.

The officials who came today also wanted to see the Jinshi's ability to perform on the spot, and they expressed their agreement one by one.

Soon, the four treasures of the study were put up.

*

Ji Shuo wanted to get back on track, so he stepped forward and asked to go first. At the same time, he faced Han Zheng and asked him if he dared to write with him.

As soon as he said this, everyone knew that he wanted to compete with Han Zheng.

For a moment, everyone looked at the two of them with somewhat subtle eyes.

This is the Qionglin Banquet, not an ordinary banquet. Ji Shuo's behavior makes people feel that he cannot afford to lose.

However, some people could understand Ji Shuo. After all, he was first in the imperial examination and Han Zheng was second. In the end, Han Zheng won the top prize and he was just an ordinary Jinshi. It was normal for him to be unwilling.

Everyone had their own ideas, but Han Zheng didn't care. He bowed to Master Jiang who was sitting at the top and said, "Students can write together with Mr. Ji."

Master Jiang nodded, "Then you can come together."

*

There is usually no fixed title for the essays at the Qionglin Banquet, and everyone can write as they please.

Ji Shuo wanted to embarrass Han Zheng, so before Han Zheng picked up his pen, he suddenly said, "Brother Han, how about we take the Qionglin Banquet as the topic today?"

Han Zheng looked at the people present, nodded after a while and said, "Okay, but other people will also have to write later, so how about we finish it within half an incense stick of time?"

Ji Shuo: “Sure!”

*

Han Zheng stood there for a while before starting to write.

At this time, Ji Shuo had already written about a hundred words.

Seeing Ji Shuo's confident look, Master Jiang said to the Minister of Rites beside him, "Ji Shuo must have been nervous during the palace examination. His essay is not as good as the one he wrote during the imperial examination. What a pity!"

The Minister of Rites smiled and said, "He is now the second in the second class, which is already good. Apart from anything else, Han Zheng's palace examination essay is really good and well-organized. When I read it, I felt that His Majesty would select him as the top scholar."

"In fact, his test articles are not inferior."

"As expected of Lao Su, he is a bit like him."

The two of them were whispering to each other, and the people below were looking at Han Zheng and Ji Shuo. Some were discussing in a low voice, while others were quietly waiting for the result.

Before the time came, Ji Shuo and Han Zheng stopped writing at the same time.

Then someone came over and handed the document they wrote to Master Jiang.

*

Both articles are not long, but Ji Shuo started earlier and wrote more than Han Zheng.

Master Jiang first looked at Han Zheng's, nodding frequently.

Han Zheng's writing is not ornate, but his word choice is precise, his emotions are rich, and his sincerity can be seen in his simplicity.

Then he looked at Ji Shuo's.

Ji Shuo's article is written in a gorgeous style with beautiful words, and the first few sentences are quite literary.

Master Jiang kept nodding.

When Ji Shuo saw Master Jiang’s actions, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

He wanted to let everyone know that Han Zheng won the palace examination because of luck. At other times, he could easily crush Han Zheng.

Just when Ji Shuo felt that he would definitely defeat Han Zheng, Master Jiang's expression suddenly changed.

Ji Shuo: “…”

Master Jiang looked at Ji Shuo deeply, then put his article on the table as if nothing had happened, and then he touched the paper with his hand, and the wine spilled on it.

*

Ji Shuo's face changed drastically, "Master Taifu, you..."

"I'm old, I'm really sorry, I accidentally ruined your article." Master Jiang said, "But you wrote well. Okay, both of you go back to your seats, it's time for others to write."

Ji Shuo would never allow him to get away with it, so he said, "If Master Taifu doesn't see it clearly, I can write it again."

Master Jiang: "No need, I have already seen it, you can go down."

Ji Shuo insisted: "Master Taifu, are you afraid that I can write better than Han Zheng and deliberately ruined my article? This is really unfair to me."

Master Jiang: “…” I originally wanted to save face for this man, but he didn’t appreciate it, so forget it.

*

Taking out a handkerchief, Master Jiang wiped the wine off the edge of the paper, then handed it to the attendant beside him, "According to the tradition of our dynasty's Qionglin Banquet, the essays written by Jinshi need to be read out in public, so you can read it."

Of the two articles, the readers still read Han Zheng's first. After all, Han Zheng was the top scorer, so it was natural to display his work first.

After reading Han Zheng's speech, everyone was speechless.

His writing is written in plain language, but it reads smoothly and there is nothing that can be changed.

Next is Ji Shuo.

After hearing the first few sentences written by Ji Shuo, everyone felt the same as the Taifu, that it was indeed beautifully written. But after hearing the latter part, everyone's eyes slowly changed.

When the attendant finished reading the last word, the table fell into complete silence.

Ji Shuo didn't see the scene he wanted to see, and was a little confused.

Seeing that he still didn't understand, Master Jiang reminded him, "Ji Shuo, the article you just wrote didn't avoid the emperor's taboos!"

Ji Shuo was stunned for a moment, then he understood and immediately fell to his knees, covered in cold sweat and his face as pale as paper.

Jiang Taifu said: "Since your majesty ascended the throne, you have been benevolent and tolerant, and have never been shy about taboos. But you did make a mistake today, so I will report it to your majesty and ask him to make the decision."

Ji Shuo fell to the ground, his lips trembling.

*

After this incident, the remaining scholars who were writing essays became more cautious than each other.

As a result of being cautious, such low-level mistakes did not occur again.

When the Qionglin Banquet was over, all the Jinshi breathed a sigh of relief.

From now on they won't dare to compete with anyone outside casually, just like today, everything was fine, but Ji Shuo insisted on competing, and ended up hurting himself.

Everyone dispersed with their own thoughts, and Han Zheng, Qi Wangnian and Lu Sheng also left in the same carriage.

The inn where these two people are staying is not far from Taiping Street, so we can just send him to the barbecue restaurant later.

*

At this time, inside the barbecue.

Li Yu was talking to Mr. Pei and Jiang Xu from the Imperial College.

Mr. Pei was forced to come here.

Because Han Zheng won the top spot in the imperial examination, his parents and elder brother asked him to come and learn from them and ask Han Zheng how he learned.

"Wait for Han Zhuangyuan to come back and ask Boss Li for help." The second young master Pei had a bitter face. He was not born to be suitable for studying, but his eldest brother forced him to study. It was really annoying!

But he dared not disobey, otherwise he would be whipped.

Compared to the Second Master Pei, Jiang Xu was not so miserable. He came here on his own initiative because his father was a Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy. He felt that he was too stupid and brought shame to his family, so he came to ask.

After listening to what they said, Li Yu felt that it wasn't easy for them either.

The three of them sat in the lobby and talked in low voices. After a while, several women walked into the store.