first minister

Chapter 16 A Family with Different Minds
Xia Jingyun made a bet, and walked back to Feng Xiuyun, "My lord, I've already bet, so just as I said just now, I'll pay you back if I lose, and we'll split half a point if we win."

Feng Xiuyun smiled slightly, "No, I will treat this money as if I gave it to you, and there is no need to pay it back."

Xia Jingyun didn't say much, and buried a hook here. When he really wins in the future, won't he have a reason to send money to the other party in an open and honest way, and maybe the matter of redress will be settled.

Although she is only a female official in the palace, she is a palace person after all. It is not a simple matter to make a decision on the local county magistrate.

With the 500 taels as a base, he will also have the courage to ask the other party to do something.

Xia Jingyun bid farewell and left, looking at his back, Feng Xiuyun slightly sighed.

She didn't have much money, and relied on the salary and rewards in the palace to accumulate some family property. Half of the money she brought out on this trip was spent collecting copybooks, and there were only a few dozen taels left in her hand, and now she spent another ten taels.

Forget it, let's think of it as the money to buy that word, and I still earned it.

As for the fact that Xia Jingyun was able to buy it, she never thought about it at all.

Not to mention that the odds set by the casino are all particular. How can people win so easily with a small fortune? In fact, just looking at the names of these participants, it is difficult to give birth to the idea that Wen Kui will be left behind.

She has only been here for less than a month, and she has heard many names on that sign, Zeng Jimin, the number one talented person in Jiang'an County, Lin Feibai, the great-grandson of Mingquan Great Confucianism, and Zheng Tianyu, the leader, whose ears are almost numb.

The son of the prefect, the dragon and phoenix among the people, the best literary talent among his peers, the first son of Sishui Prefecture, etc., if such a person participates, from real talent and learning to background and face, this literary leader is his and cannot escape.

Thinking of this, Feng Xiuyun wanted to bet the little money left on Zheng Tianyu.

After hesitating for a moment, forget it.

Inexplicably, it feels like betraying Xia Jingyun in private.

After successfully signing up and returning home, Xia Jingyun went straight into the room and began to sort out all the literature-related memories in his mind.

This is not only related to the future life of this big family and the rehabilitation of the crime, but also related to whether he can take that crucial step in restarting his life.

He wants to combine his accumulation with the world's classics and classics to sum up what belongs to him.

It takes half a day to go in.

Fortunately, no one came here to urge him to work. When everyone heard Xia Ning Zhenyi say that he was going to participate in the literary conference, everyone was stunned at first, and then felt helpless and distressed.

If it weren't for the fact that their Xia family was targeted by the wicked and became sinners, now it's time for him to prepare for Qiu Wei with peace of mind!

"This kid, just like us now, there are adults who are willing to help us, if we want some money or do something wrong, why not go to a cultural event!"

Aunt Xia Zhang's main point is that she is outspoken and careless, she speaks her mind.

Xia Ningzhen immediately came out to uphold justice, and gave his mother a critical blow, "Mother, how can you say that! It's the second brother's own ability. The second brother has rescued us from the labor force. We are now given by the second brother for our food and clothing. What's wrong with going to a literary conference? How can you be so ungrateful!"

Xia Zhang's ears turned red immediately.

"Go, go, go! You damn girl, are you trying to piss me off!"

She stroked her chest, and stared at her daughter who had grown rebellious for no reason, "Go and kill chickens with your brother! Don't be an eyesore here!"

Xia Jingyun's mother, Xia Lishi, was sitting by the side picking vegetables, silent.

Mrs. Xia Zhang quickly went over to explain, "Sister and sister, I didn't mean that. Don't listen to that damn girl talking nonsense."

Xia Lishi reluctantly twitched the corners of her mouth, "Sister-in-law, it's fine if we don't talk about each other."

She let out a long breath, her eyes were slightly red, "It's nothing else, I feel uncomfortable just seeing that child so earnestly and diligently studying. You said that our Xia family has always been honest, why did we have to suffer like this!"

Mrs. Xia Zhang got up and sat next to her, holding her hand, "Sisters and sisters, I think Gao Yang is just idle and interested in this literary society, not because he is still thinking about the imperial examination, so don't think too much about it. Although Gao Yang has improved a lot now, his literary talent is still the same. Going to the literary society is just to make up the numbers. Can he really compare to those reading seeds?"

Xia Li looked at her sister-in-law resentfully, almost crying.

In the evening, Xia Jingyun basically had an idea. His mother, Xia Lishi, came in with a bowl of chicken soup with chicken drumsticks in it. Seeing him immersed in his studies and writing, she went out wiping her tears.

Xia Jingyun was taken aback for a while.

At night, in another side room, two brothers are sleeping together.

In the darkness, Xia Hengzhi suddenly said, "Brother, I will take care of you for a few more days. I plan to go around the city to see if I can hire a teacher there."

Xia Mingxiong was stunned for a moment, then quickly came to his senses, and hummed, "Well, this matter is reasonable. After a few more days, I will go out to see if I can find a job as a housekeeper. Such a big family can't put all the burden on the juniors and women."

After speaking, the two remained silent at the same time.

Both of them are in their early forties, and they are no longer young and strong. Finding a job that can support a family is not as easy as they say.

After a while, Xia Mingxiong said softly, "Gao Yang is really going to attend that cultural meeting?"

Xia Hengzhi hummed in a low voice, "Let him go. He has nothing to do when he stays at home. He has been in poverty for more than ten years and cannot take part in the imperial examination. Having such a literary meeting can be regarded as showing what he has learned in his life. Let's think about it."

Xia Mingxiong thought for a while, "That's right, you taught him, and he never went out to ask for a famous teacher. After participating in the literary conference, knowing how much he weighed would just put him out of his thoughts. It's not necessarily a bad thing."

"Big brother."

"Ok?"

"Go to bed early."

The next day, Xia Jingyun woke up early, washed up slowly, had breakfast, walked out of the door, and headed all the way to the Wenhui venue next to the county government office.

Along the way, the voices of those hawking along the street can be heard endlessly, as if the live broadcast room has augmented reality technology, which makes people's blood boil.

The frugality that can be persisted the most is indeed having no money. Xia Jingyun didn't have any other thoughts at all, and went straight through the turmoil and arrived at the destination.

It was a messy place yesterday, but now it has been set up and tidied up. A group of soldiers armed with weapons surrounded an open space and separated the crowd of onlookers.

A tall platform is set up at one end, and the red silk is paved on the floor, showing festiveness and dignity.

There are several desks and chairs on the table, presumably for those famous Confucian scholars to sit on, to preside over the literary meeting and judge the pros and cons.

On both sides of the venue are viewing platforms, each with several rows of chairs, which should be reserved for the dignitaries watching the ceremony.

In the middle of the venue, there are four large desks gradually placed. Before each desk, there is a chair, as if leading to the high platform, you need to pass these four levels.

Although I don't know what this is for, it must be the core place of the Wenhui.

At the other end directly opposite the high platform, there are rows of long benches. Needless to say, these are for the scholars and students participating in the literary fair, because there are already many scholars standing in twos and threes.

Xia Jingyun handed in the registration voucher and was successfully admitted.

The people inside saw a new face, and some acquaintances took the initiative to chat, "Brother, Xu Dapeng is in Xiajiang'an County, and his name is Boyi. This is a polite place."

Xia Jingyun was still a little unfamiliar with this kind of greeting, and hesitated for a while, "Xia Jingyun of Wanfu County, whose name is Gaoyang, has met Brother Xu."

The name was also unfamiliar, so Xu Dapeng asked, "Brother Gao Yang, which great Confucian is he studying under now?"

Xia Jingyun smiled, "I'm here to see the world, I can't compare to you guys."

Reach out and don't hit the smiling person, the other party already thinks he is not enough, Xu Dapeng also politely said: "Everywhere, it's all a grand event!"

"Brother Bo Yi is modest." Xia Jingyun asked with a smile: "Brother Bo Yi, what activities are there in this essay meeting?"

The corners of Xu Dapeng's mouth twitched after hearing this, you really came to see the world, you don't even know this.

"Usually the Wenhui is to drink alcohol, or to play Touhu, Pu, Shuanglu, etc., but this time it is to participate in a grand event and congratulate the concubine. Naturally, there will be no drinking and fun in the Wenhui. Have you seen the four cases? They are anagrams, couplets, counting, and poetry. The first three levels are all elegant, and finally the winner will be determined by poetry."

"Thank you, brother, for clarifying the confusion."

"Everyone knows this, it's nothing, you just follow me honestly in a while, don't be ashamed."

Seeing that Xia Jingyun didn't understand even the most basic things, Xu Dapeng's tone became a lot more casual.

Just as he was talking, there was a sudden commotion around him, and many people stood up.

Xia Jingyun turned his head and saw an ordinary-looking young scholar walking in. At least one-third of the scholars who had already entered greeted him respectfully, "Brother Zize!"

Xu Dapeng's expression also changed, "Oh, I've been busy chatting with you."

As he spoke, he hurried forward to meet him, "Xu Boyi has met brother Zize!"

The young scholar returned the salute gently, and then sat down calmly in the first row.

Xia Jingyun whispered: "Brother Bo Yi, who is this?"

(End of this chapter)