bookrandom Chapter 131 Trial
Chapter 131 Trial
[The previous chapter has been completed. Those who haven't read it can go back and read it now, thank you!]
The imperial examination lasted for three days. After Zheng Hao entered the examination hall, Gu Lin and Niu Qiang's group remained at the inn.
In recent days, Gu Lin has been staying at the inn with Zheng Hao to help him prepare for the exam. He seems to be having a lot of free time and nothing to do, but in fact, he has been preparing to open a shop in the capital.
That day, he met with Mrs. Fang at the restaurant. After talking for half an hour, she agreed to his idea and request, promising to change the way she bought out the prescription, invest in his shop and business, and provide him with convenience.
In fact, Gu Lin was very surprised that Mrs. Fang agreed so readily.
Originally, he thought that no matter how reasonable the other party was, it would take him some time to change Mrs. Fang's mind.
Unexpectedly, after he expressed his thoughts, Madam Fang pondered for a moment and asked, "You might earn 100,000 taels of silver in the next year."
The 100,000 taels of silver here is not considered cash flow, but rather actual profit.
Even the largest cosmetics shop in the capital wouldn't dare make such a boast.
Facing Mrs. Fang's seemingly kind but actually scrutinizing gaze, Gu Lin showed no fear and confidently said, "If you agree to my request, you can sit back and wait to receive dividends every quarter thereafter."
When he uttered these words, the young man's brows and eyes radiated confidence, and his tone was slightly raised, completely defying the current social norms that expected men to be humble and gentle. However, Madam Fang found Gu Lin's behavior not at all offensive.
Mrs. Fang's expression relaxed slightly, and she smiled gently, "I agree."
"However," she changed the subject, "if you don't earn 100,000 taels of silver next year, all your prescriptions will have to be sold to our Fang family first, how about that?"
Gu Lin was not angry at Madam Fang's request. He said, "The Fang family has always been honest and trustworthy in business, and they have always been my first choice for cooperation."
Only then was Mrs. Fang satisfied.
However, when she returned to the Fang residence and told her confidant about the matter, her confidant was somewhat puzzled by Madam Fang's actions.
For people of their social standing, merchants like Gu Lin were beneath their notice. Gu Lin was already grateful that his master had taken a liking to the other's formula and was even giving him a share of the profits. How could he possibly think of taking control, letting his master invest and receive dividends, or providing him with any benefits?
Madam Fang patted her hand and said, "If it were anyone else, I certainly wouldn't have agreed so easily."
“However,” Mrs. Fang shook her head slightly, “Gu Lin is different.”
Mrs. Fang said, "A young man from the countryside with no one to rely on, yet he was able to come to the capital to do business with me in just a few years. For that alone, I admire him."
"Secondly," said Madam Fang, her expression complex, "my husband and father-in-law are officials in the court. The capital is not like the local area. There are many people watching our Fang family. Moreover, the situation is not clear now. It would be fine if we just did some small, inconspicuous business. The soap and shower gel business is making a fortune every day. It is not a good thing to continue like this."
"Moreover, my husband is an official who speaks out against wrongdoing. If someone finds fault with him and submits a memorial, it would be an even more serious crime to knowingly break the law. Gu Lin is straightforward and honest, unlike other merchants who are treacherous and cunning. We'll see how he handles things from now on. If he can establish himself in the capital, we can collect profits without using our own people. We can get away with it cleanly and also get some money for free. Why not?"
The maidservant said admiringly, "Madam is very insightful and far-sighted."
Madam Fang lowered her head slightly, stroked her belly, and thought that it wasn't because she was far-sighted, but simply because the situation forced her to act.
The reason she treated Gu Lin so kindly was not only because of the reasons mentioned earlier, but also because she was mindful of Zheng Jieyuan in his family.
She had heard about Zheng Hao's reputation from a conversation between Fang Jiyue and her husband. Not to mention that there had never been a seventeen-year-old top scholar in the entire Daqian Dynasty, he had only studied for six years and yet he had overcome all obstacles to reach the metropolitan examination.
Such a gifted person, though from a humble background, is not someone to be feared, but also not to be easily offended.
Yuexiu, who was trained in political literacy by his father, the Minister of Revenue, from a young age, was not afraid of offending those from humble backgrounds, but was worried about provoking the court officials who belonged to the faction of those from humble backgrounds.
With the help of people sent by Madam Fang, Gu Lin quickly bought a shop that wasn't too remote, and then arranged for people to decorate it according to his ideas. In his spare time, Gu Lin went to look at houses.
Three days passed in this way, and Gu Lin went to the examination hall to pick up Zheng Hao at the time when the imperial examination ended.
Imperial Examination Hall.
As Gu Lin stepped down from the carriage, he saw a group of pale-faced scholars walking out of the examination hall. Their expressions were haggard and lifeless, and some of them were even trembling as they walked out, whether from the cold or for some other reason.
"careful!"
Gu Lin heard a gasp from the side and turned to see a man with a pale face and purplish lips lying unconscious on the ground. People around him gasped and backed away. Soon, the man's family surrounded him and carried him away.
Seeing this scene, Gu Lin's heart sank, and he became even more worried about Zheng Hao, who had been inside for three days and two nights, wondering how he was doing.
Suddenly, Niu Qiang, who was standing next to Gu Lin, pointed in a certain direction ahead and said, "Boss Gu, Scholar Zheng has come out."
Gu Lin immediately craned his neck to look ahead, and sure enough, in the throng of people, he saw a tall and straight figure walking toward him.
When the other person got closer, Gu Lin could see the boy's condition clearly. Compared to his usual fair and rosy complexion, Zheng Hao's face was slightly pale. His lips were a little better, with a hint of red, but there were faint dark circles under his eyes, and his brows were filled with a faint weariness.
It should be noted that since the age of fifteen, Zheng Hao has only rested for a maximum of three hours a day. The rest of the time he is either reading or busy with other things. Under such a high-intensity schedule, he can still maintain his energy. When has he ever looked so haggard?
Gu Lin quickly said, "Hurry up and get in the car. I've prepared some food for you to eat. We'll have a proper meal when we get back to the inn."
The slight frown between Zheng Hao's brows relaxed, and he felt the fatigue of the past three days disappear instantly. He lowered his eyes and said to Gu Lin, "Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Gu."
The handsome young man smiled gently, standing out among the group of weary and aged candidates who looked more than ten years older.
Even though he, like the other candidates, had not changed his clothes for three days, fate was exceptionally kind to him, allowing him to maintain a presentable appearance and demeanor.
Only Gu Lin looked at his own child and felt more and more sorry for his child's suffering. He didn't notice that among the candidates who walked out of the examination room with weak bodies and trembling legs, Zheng Hao's steps were particularly steady.
Back at the inn after the exam, Gu Lin was about to ask the waiter to bring up the food he had ordered before leaving when Zheng Hao stopped him.
"Uncle Gu, please allow me to go back and take a shower and wash up before having a meal."
In the examination hall, everyone had to buy their drinking water from the officials who were supervising the examination, not to mention bathing and washing up.
Even so, Zheng Hao still used the medicine powder he had prepared in advance to clean his teeth, but he really couldn't take a shower, so as soon as he left the examination room, Zheng Hao smelled a mixture of various odors on his body.
On the way back to the inn, Zheng Hao deliberately avoided sitting with Uncle Gu in the carriage. Now that he was back at the inn, he couldn't possibly dine with Uncle Gu while still smelling of him.
Knowing that the other person was clean, Gu Lin did not try to dissuade him. If he had to stay in the cramped examination room for three days, eating, drinking, and relieving himself there, he would want to take a shower as soon as he left the examination room.
Zheng Hao went back to his room to take a bath and wash up, and Gu Lin went to tell the waiter to put the food in his room later.
After an incense stick's time, Zheng Hao finished his bath and, still damp from the water, came to Gu Lin's room, where steaming hot food was laid out on the table.
Gu Lin looked up at Zheng Hao who had walked in, and pointed to the food on the table, saying, "I only prepared some light dishes. We'll have a big meal after you recover in a couple of days."
Knowing that Zheng Hao ate cold, hard dry food and porridge cooked with dry food in the examination hall, Gu Lin did not dare to let him eat too much oily food immediately after he returned. He was afraid that Zheng Hao would not have suffered from water and soil incompatibility when he first arrived in the capital, but would become unwell because of this.
With his eyes slightly lowered, Zheng Hao looked at the simple yet thoughtfully prepared food on the table and said to the young man, "Uncle Gu's meals always suit my... tastes."
Zheng Hao glossed over the middle word, so Gu Lin didn't hear it clearly. However, he was usually thick-skinned in certain ways, so he didn't pay any attention.
Having grown accustomed to the boy's tendency to praise himself so readily, and noting that his behavior was always different from others when he did praise him—though his expression was indifferent, one could see the seriousness and sincerity in his eyes—Gu Lin smiled and served him some food.
After the meal, seeing the slight fatigue between Zheng Hao's brows, Gu Lin did not linger to talk to him, but urged him to go back to his room to rest.
Zheng Hao did not refuse and turned to go back into the house.
The imperial examination lasted only three days. Although it seemed like only a few days, for the candidates, it was like being skinned alive. Even Zhen Cheng and others could not escape this ordeal.
In the box.
The four of them gathered together. Peng Zhizhi shook his head and complained to Zheng Hao and the other two with lingering fear, "You guys don't know how incredibly unlucky I was this time. As soon as I entered the exam room, I found out that I had been assigned to a bad number. To make matters worse, my seat was right in the wind. When I was writing the paper, I was blowing my nose while writing, afraid that my snot would accidentally fall onto the paper. I couldn't sleep well at night either. I was crammed into such a small space, and the wind kept blowing in and getting into my sleeves and collar."
"This isn't going to take the imperial examination, it's practically torture for me!" Peng Zhizhi complained.
Listening to the other person's description, Zhen Yuan frowned, revealing deep disgust, but his desire to watch the show didn't stop him from teasing and provoking the other person.
Zhen Yuan raised an eyebrow and glanced at Peng Zhizhi, saying, "When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it will first test their will, strain their muscles and bones, starve their body, leave them destitute, and thwart their endeavors, so as to strengthen their resolve and increase their abilities."
Zhen Yuan's eyes and brows held a wicked smile that seemed to be amusement: "Brother Peng, this is a test from heaven for you."
Peng Zhizhi glared at him and said, "You talk a good game, but I still remember that as soon as you left the examination hall, your legs were like a shrimp with weak legs. If your servant hadn't caught you in time, you probably would have collapsed."
From the moment they met, the two argued incessantly. Zheng Hao and Zhen Cheng ignored them and instead sat aside discussing the questions for the imperial examination.
Zhen Cheng asked, "Brother Zheng, what are your thoughts on the policy question in this imperial examination?"
Among the four, Zhen Yuan was good at poetry and prose, Zhen Cheng was good at classical studies and policy questions, Peng Zhizhi was good at all three but had no outstanding skills, while Zheng Hao was the opposite, excelling in everything from classical studies to policy questions, with policy questions being Zheng Hao's forte.
He pondered for a moment before answering Zhen Cheng's question: "According to past practice, the policy questions in the imperial examination should have asked us about the policies implemented last year and offered suggestions and improvements. However, this year's policy questions asked us candidates how to quell the Red-Clad Army in the South."
Zheng Hao continued, "Does this mean that the army sent by the imperial court failed to suppress the Red-Clad Army, or even that the enemy is unstoppable?"
When Zhen Cheng asked Zheng Hao a question, he didn't intend for Zheng Hao to tell him the answer. However, when he heard that Zheng Hao had the same guess as him, Zhen Cheng's cold expression froze.
Seeing Zhen Cheng's expression harden, Zheng Hao still had something to say, but he figured the other party had probably already guessed it.
Since the establishment of the imperial examination system, the policy questions have always focused on current affairs, especially the metropolitan examination and the palace examination, which have always tested the most pressing issues facing the court.
Now that the Southern Red Army rebellion is being tested in the provincial examination, does that mean there are even worse things waiting to be tested in the palace examination?
Unlike Zheng Hao and Zhen Cheng, who were either deep in thought or burdened with worries, Zhen Yuan turned to them and said, “Don’t worry. No matter what happens, given our current status and position, even if we manage to secure a position in the court after the palace examination, we will have no say in the matter.”
"It's better to live in the present." Peng Zhizhi is also a person who lives for the moment.
It's not that he and Zhen Yuan didn't care about national affairs or the people's livelihood, but rather that they had seen through the true faces of those in power and aristocratic families. If they had gotten angry and indignant about these things every time, they would have stopped at the level of Xiucai and Juren and settled down to be rich young men at home.
However, Zhen Cheng genuinely cared about national affairs and the people's livelihood. Zheng Hao lowered his eyes slightly; although he would pay attention to these matters, he wouldn't devote too much of his energy to them.
He was ultimately cold-hearted by nature. All he sought in his journey of studying and passing the imperial examinations was fame, fortune, and the ability for Uncle Gu to live a life free from the whims of others and above everyone else.
However, he never revealed these thoughts to anyone. Even Uncle Gu and the meticulous Zhen Cheng did not discover the cold-bloodedness hidden in Zheng Hao's bones.
What I never expected was that someone who could write articles expressing concern for the country and its people had no regard for the nation and its people, and was completely unlike a scholar who had been taught by Confucianism.
They seem to be born for power.