Chapter 20 Charity Shop

It was already a little cold in October in the capital. The people from the Hu family gave me a set of blue cloth cotton jackets, but Zhang Ning felt that wearing a cotton jacket was too thick and he had no upper body, and he was still wearing a moon white and square scarf.

When he woke up early in the morning, the lame cousin came and said to Zhang Ning: Mr. Hu is back. If Mr. Zhang has nothing else to do today, please go to the tea hall to see him.

Today I am quite free, so let's go.Zhang Ning bowed and said, "I am not only free today, but also very free every day."

Please, sir.Yàn said with a singularity, stretching out his hand and making a powerful move, which made Zhang Ning suddenly feel that this person has the temperament of a martial artist.

Under the guidance of Yàn, Zhang Ning went out and came to the tea hall along a corridor.

As soon as I entered the door, I saw a person in his fifties waiting inside, probably Hu Ying.

Hu Ying looked wide-faced and square-faced, burly, and had a strong and upright look.

His temples were already gray, his mouth was thick and gray beard, and he was wearing a linen sermon robe. He had no Taoist elegance, but his face was full of official spirit.

This person is straight and straight, and with Zhang Ning's eyes, he is not very good-looking, but he knows that such a face is a real and superior appearance in the Ming Dynasty.

Peace is here, sit down.Hu Ying pointed to the chair at the bottom of her head kindly.

Such words made Zhang Ning feel slightly flattered.

Like the minister of Mr. Hu, who lived in his house for more than a month, he didn't meet him. And when he met, he could feel the majesty and domineering attitude of a senior official. Suddenly, he spoke to himself as a commoner in a kind manner, and he felt very good.

Zhang Ning didn't dare to show off, and others had to pay attention to him, so he quickly bowed respectfully: Zhang Ning, a grass man, met Lord Hu.

Hu Ying sat down and nodded slightly, saying: You are no longer a commoner now. The commander of the Jinyiwei received the imperial edict yesterday and personally released your teacher, Shilang Lu, from the imperial prison, to restore his post.If Mr. Lu is not guilty, you will not be guilty of accepting bribes. The previous punishment for repealing fame and fame will naturally be recovered. Now you have at least the fame of a student, and then Mr. Lu will take out your provincial examination paper to re-examine it, and it is very likely that he will also restore the fame of a juren.

Zhang Ning was immediately overjoyed!

Hu Ying is the Minister of Rites, and his nominal teacher, Lu Zhen, is the deputy minister of the Ministry of Education. Zhang Ning is a teacher and student who was shot in the same ditch with him. Isn’t it a matter of minutes to restore his reputation as a juren?!

He was about to sit down just now, but before his butt was touched, he hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply: Please accept the students' salute, and I would like to thank Lord Hu for his mentor for justice.

Hu Ying waved his hand: No need to do this, the emperor is the one who presides over justice.Keshu and I served as an official in the same court, but I just submitted a memorial based on the facts.

After saying that, he looked at the cousin in the door. The cousin walked over slowly with his legs limp and placed a few ingots of silver on the coffee table.

Hu Ying said: When Ping An came to the capital, he would definitely leave urgently. You don’t have to refuse these silver coins. I’m a pity for giving each other.

Thank you Lord Hu.Zhang Ning did not refuse. He really didn't have enough money to live now. People say that, so he doesn't have to pretend to be polite and waste Hu Lao Chou's verbal talk.

Hu Ying asked again: There will be an examination in March next year. Should Ping An plan to go home or stay in the capital to wait for the exam?

Examination for the tribute and Jinshi?

As far as Zhang Ning knows, the admission rate for the juren exam is less than 5%, which means that twenty talented people who have already achieved fame and reputation can only pass one, and the competition for the southern region will be greater.

Zhang Ning used to be very arrogant, but now Zhang Ning is much more rational: Don’t say that the world’s top talent is the best. According to his 21-year-old cultivation, he also has luck in passing the imperial examination in Nanzhili. As for the Jinshi, it really depends on the ancestral tomb. According to previous examples, there are very few young people who immediately passed the imperial examination in the second year of the imperial examination. They are generally genius people. Even Zhang Juzheng, a genius from the Ming Dynasty, failed the exam several times. It is obvious that Fan Jin was a big shot at the age of the imperial examination.

Zhang Ning's judgment is that the chance of being on the list next year's exam is equal to zero.

It was originally close to zero, but because of this incident, the examiners in the exam must avoid suspicion. Besides, Zhang Ning and the others may think that it is normal for the first time to fail; then now I am not interested in studying the Four Books and Eight-Legends essays at all, and I am afraid I won’t be able to write any good Eight-Legends next year.

So he felt that there was no chance to pass the exam.

So he told the truth: The student has no intention of subject matter.

His temporary plan is to see if he can make some relationships with Lu Zhen, and then use his reputation as a juren to be a county magistrate, deputy county magistrate, etc. to make some use of fire and waste, and forget about life, but he can't pass the imperial examination anyway. He can't get a Jinshi exam anyway. It's nothing to take a step back and say he doesn't become an official. His hometown has property and land, and his reputation as a juren, so it's really not difficult to live a comfortable life.

oh?

Hu Ying was a little surprised when he heard this. Young scholars who had been working hard for about ten years were all rushing to the Jinshi with hope. Zhang Ning was a 21-year-old scholar. It was really not common for him to not continue the imperial examination.

Hu Ying couldn't help asking again: Did you really have any intention of the imperial examination?

Zhang Ning said calmly: Yes.Obviously, there is no possibility of joking when speaking in front of the Minister of Education.

Hu Ying touched her beard and said: Do you have any plans to become an official?

Zhang Ning said: If you have the opportunity to serve the country, will students dare not obey?

Hu Ying nodded with a smile and pondered for a moment: There are just a group of vacancies in the official position. The Ministry of Personnel will interview juren in a few days, so you can report it first.I said, "If Ping An is talented, it will be a big problem to make up for another position."

This... Zhang Ning was surprised and looked at the money on the coffee table. The student really didn't know what to do.

Hu Ying laughed: The money was given to you by me, not by you, so even if you make up for the vacancies, I can’t say that I sell official porridge.

Zhang Ning suddenly felt that something was wrong. Hu's cousin was not a relative or a good person, and it was even nonsense that he cherished his talents. There were so many juren in the world, and he didn't even find out where he had talent. This second-rank official was too enthusiastic about the unknown young master.

According to Zhang Ning's speculation, Hu Ying probably took a fancy to his relationship with Lu Zhen and even Yang Shiqi.

Although he is also an insignificant role there, it is precisely because of this that Hu Ying invests without risk, and it is a small cost investment. Twenty taels of silver, the words of the Ministry of Personnel are nothing to him...

It is not a fault for Zhang Ning to judge a gentleman with a villain's heart. Other second-rank officials do nothing to do charity all day long.

Zhang Ning hurriedly thanked.

Hu Ying said earnestly: Be safe and young, we must be cautious and impetuous, do something down-to-earth and practical for the country and the people.

Remember Lord Hu’s teachings.Zhang Ning bowed.

At this time, Hu Ying picked up the teacup, and Zhang Ning stood up and left at the right time.

When he returned to the room, he packed up his things and said goodbye to the cousin, preparing to move out of the Hu Mansion.

Giving money means being tangled, and even if you rely on it here, it will lose its meaning.

The cheating case in the imperial examination has come to an end for the time being. Now, no one is thinking about Zhang Ning anymore. Originally, the target of the person was Lu Zhen.

There was nothing to deal with. Zhang Ning was alone when he came to the capital. Now he had two sets of clothes and twenty taels of silver. He could leave with just a bag.

Find a place to stay first, inn is the best choice.

The civilized gate belongs to Dongcheng, not far from Jinyu Hutong, and is in the south, which is a region with more people. Consumer goods are of high quality and low price, so Zhang Ning went there to find an inn first.

Because there is an imperial city in the middle of Beijing City and there is no road between the east and west cities, it is impossible for everyone to pass through the palace, so it is actually quite a bit to go to the west city.

He went to Mingshifang and settled in an inn in Chuanban Hutong.

The room is not expensive, and you can live in a single room for 120 yuan a day, and you can also buy two meals in the morning and evening.

Hu Ying is not stingy to give twenty taels, he is an ordinary person with half a year salary.

At this time, one tael of silver could be replaced with an average old copper coin of 1,500 yuan, and one tael of silver could live for him for half a month.

The most important thing next is to visit my teacher Lu Zhen. He just came out of the imperial prison and had to greet him anyway. Of course, according to traditional etiquette, he would give some supplements or something, and the grade should not be too low.The Ming Dynasty could not help but give gifts. Sometimes local officials went to Beijing to pay filial piety and teacher and other things to give money directly. Some money could be collected, so some officials were indeed very honest but not poor at all. They were of power and grade and were so poor that they were so poor. Most of them were not those who were psychologically disabled like Hai Rui, who were definitely showing off... Moreover, Hai Rui could not be considered as raising a family alone. He might have been mainly for saving the exchange of courtesy.

Zhang Ning ran to a medicinal store to buy ginseng and found that the price of the top Shanxi Shangdang ginseng was sold for ten taels of silver every two, which was twice as expensive as gold at this time.

Of course there are some cheaper ones, but Lu Zhen is the Minister of Rites. How can others eat ginseng like radish?

Good things come in pairs, two ginsengs are packed, the price is more than 16 taels...

I gritted my teeth and bought it.

In an instant, he changed from ten thousand yuan to extreme poverty, but Minister Hu Ying is a person with a word of contentment, and Lu Zhen would not sit idly by, but he would become an official anyway.

As far as he knows, a new official can receive fifty taels of settlement fee at the Ministry of Personnel when he takes office, not counting his salary.

The Zhu family is relatively stingy. Compared with the previous dynasties, officials are not treated as low as those of the Song Dynasty. The scholars and officials who are just given an annual salary of hundreds of thousands or millions, but they are still relatively human and think very thoughtfully: they are usually small officials when they become officials, and many people are so poor that they spend fifty taels first, which is tens of thousands of yuan at least.

After buying ginseng, Zhang Ning planned to spend more than 100 yuan in the inn every day to eat, drink and wait for the money to settle down.