The next day was also the day the results were originally scheduled to be released.
But it started to rain in Bianjing in the middle of the night.
The rain is not heavy, but it is the first rain since spring in Bianjing.
The continuous rain fell silently, and even the ground was not wet at all. People in Bianjing didn't realize that it had rained in spring last night until they left the house.
But soon the rain became heavier and heavier, and there was a sound of rain in my ears, and the tinkling of roof tiles made a pleasant sound of rain, while the people went one after another to announce the good news from house to house.
With this spring rain, the spring drought in Bianjing and near has finally been alleviated slightly.
Many people attribute this spring rain to the emperor and go to Taiyi Palace to pray for rain. Some people inexplicably attribute this merit to the joy of the provincial examination results.
This new scholar on the list made God happy, so he sent this spring rain to congratulate him.
Now in front of Zhang Shi's house, there is a different scene.
Because we lived in a narrow alley, the car stopped a long way away, and many people came to the door holding umbrellas. Most of them were women with yellow ribbons in their buns.
This kind of attire is a matchmaker.
Early in the morning, several matchmakers came to Zhang Shi's house.
The first one, Jiang Yan, is already married in his hometown.
Wang Kui, who is third on the list, is the grand-niece and grandson-in-law of Prime Minister Fu Bi. Some time ago, there were rumors of seducing a girl from a good family.
Zhang Yue, who was ranked second on the list, became the gold in the eyes of the matchmaker, even though the Zhang family had confided to them that Zhang Yue was already engaged.
One is young, only seventeen years old, the second is good-looking, and the third is a poor scholar.
The first two are easy to say, but why do poor people become an advantage?
Han Shi explained that his family status was not high before, so it was difficult to find someone who was well-matched for the so-called marriage contract. If Zhang Yue was a woman from a small family before and now ranks second in the provincial examination and is a future Jinshi, then this is the time when status changes.
Therefore, many matchmakers come here to try it unkindly, greedy for the bonus and thank you gift.
Zhang Shitui said that Zhang Yue was engaged, so they asked which girl it was from and whether she had received a Gengtie invitation.
Zhang Shi refused to say which girl was from the family, and also said that he had not signed the invitation, so they believed that Zhang Shi was trying to evade the marriage, so they refused to leave.
However, it is hard to tell the actual situation. Although there is a marriage contract, it is just a verbal agreement. After all, there is no Geng Tie.
When Zhang Shi came to Bianjing, Zhang Yue repeatedly told him not to tell outsiders.
Zhang Yue knew that Zhang Shi was a show-off person, and he thought that if he didn't tell him, the whole Bianjing City would know about the marriage, so he warned him again and again. Zhang Shi wasn't trying to trick his younger brother. Although he wanted to say it, he remained tight-lipped in the end.
Now the matchmakers came to ask which family the girl belonged to. Zhang Shi thought of Zhang Yue's words and couldn't speak directly. The matchmakers immediately thought that the engagement was a lie.
Therefore, Zhang Shi's trouble came when he was blocked by a group of matchmakers at his door.
After finally seeing off the matchmakers, Zhang Shi turned around and saw an ordinary-looking woman in her thirties sitting in the hall, but very smart and capable.
Zhang Shi saw the other party and said hurriedly: "Madam, as I said just now, my brother-in-law has really made an engagement, which is really unbearable. Madam, please come back."
But when he saw the other party, he smiled and said, "This official has misunderstood. I'm not here to be a matchmaker. I'm here to be a matchmaker on your behalf."
"Meet matchmakers for us?" Zhang Shi was stunned.
But when he saw the other party holding a round fan, he patted Zhang Shi on the shoulder and said: "You just said that you have made an engagement, but you haven't handed over the marriage certificate yet. So in that case, you didn't invite a matchmaker to come to arrange the marriage. Can you let the slave family do it for you?" ?”
Zhang Shi was stunned. Yesterday, Zhang Yue and Hou were so happy that they stayed up all night. Today, a matchmaker came and blocked the door. He really didn't expect this.
But Zhang Shi will inevitably be suspicious when he sees the other party. Can you propose marriage?
Then the matchmaker gently waved his fan and said: "The Nu family's surname is Zhuang. It was also a side branch of the popular surname at the beginning. Now it has declined, so I have to take care of this business. However, I often move around the dignitaries in Bianjing City, even if I have never been to some of them. , I also know that the door opens in that direction. I don’t dare to say it’s guaranteed, but most of the mistresses and ladies in the boudoir of the big families in Bianjing City have heard of my reputation as the eldest lady of the village.”
"Now, although I don't know what kind of engagement your Zhang family has made, there is a saying before. If it's a merchant family, then that's it. I won't say anything about it, so as not to ruin my reputation in the future."
Zhang Shi couldn't help but ask: "Why is this? There are quite a few of our officials marrying merchants."
Mrs. Zhuang smiled and said, "Others can do it, but your husband can't."
"Why?"
Mrs. Zhuang said: "Your husband is second in the provincial examination. His writing skills must be excellent. He will definitely enter the palace in the future, but it is best not to marry a woman from a merchant family."
Zhang Shi and Zhang Qiu looked at each other, and Zhang Qiu said: "I seem to have heard of such a thing, but I don't know where it came from."
Mrs. Zhuang smiled and said: "You don't know something, this is still a rule set by Academician Ouyang."
It turns out that this is indeed true. In the early Song Dynasty, officials coveted the money of merchants and had many marriages with them. There was even a case where two prime ministers competed to marry a rich widow, and the lawsuit was brought before the emperor.
Because of this, the officialdom has become somewhat corrupted.
When the imperial examination was held in the third year of Qingli, an official named Ling Jingyang passed the examination, but Ouyang Xiu stood up and said that you cannot enter the imperial examination.
The reason was that Ling Jingyang was married to Sun, a hotelier in Beijing. Ouyang Xiu said in his memorial: "From this section, we can see the rest. The discussion of things is noisy and everyone thinks it is ugly."
This means that the person you are marrying will know that your character is not very good.
This matter was later discussed in detail. In order to marry Sun, Ling Jingyang was afraid that the other party would think he was too old, so he lied about his age and hid himself for five years.
It wasn't until Ling Jingyang got married to Sun that he learned that the woman had also lied about her age. She even went so far as to hide her age by ten years.
This incident was passed down as a joke by people in Bianjing, and even Song Renzong laughed at it.
Listening to Mrs. Zhuang's detailed explanation, Zhang Shi and Zhang Qiu were greatly enlightened.
Mrs. Zhuang immediately said her goodbyes and left.
Zhang Shi and Zhang Qiu returned to the inner room and told Mr. Yu about the marriage proposal.
Zhang Shi said: "At the beginning, we agreed to get engaged after winning the Jinshi, but haven't the third brothers not yet taken the imperial examination? But I wonder if this matter must be settled early. If not, I see the matchmakers in Bianjing these days The threshold of our family has been broken, and when word spread like this, the Wu family thought we had other intentions, and finally complained."
"To be honest, our family is all honest people. We can't do things like eating from the bowl and looking at the pot, looking at the mountains. I think Mrs. Zhuang is quite good. Why don't we ask her to be a matchmaker for us? Come to Wu's house and say goodbye."
Mrs. Yu was also happy for Zhang Yuezhong's Jinshi. Now after hearing Zhang Shi's words, she said: "Mrs. Zhuang is a careful person, but it's hard for us to make a decision on this matter. We still asked the second aunt before making a decision. In addition, we also I need to ask uncle what he means."
Zhang Shi said: "Hey, third brother always listens to me, we can just decide this matter."
Yu said: "It was easy to say in my hometown before, but the third brother went all the way to Bianjing and took the third and second provincial exams. Now his knowledge must be much better than the two of us. How can we make the decision for him?" It’s better to ask him what he means.”
Zhang Shi said: "No matter what, he was brought up by me alone. The elder brother is like father and the elder sister-in-law is like mother. This cannot be changed, but we should wait until he comes back. Why doesn't Xi'er see your third uncle come back?"
Zhang Qiu said: "Third brother came second in the provincial examination. My classmates in Taixue must have a good time to congratulate me. I guess I'll have a drink somewhere."
Zhang Shi said: "Hey, why don't I go home early? I have to send someone to announce the good news to my hometown ancestral hall. I think because my family is from the Han tribe, the second brother and the third brother were not even allowed to enter the clan school. Now both brothers are among the students. After becoming a Jinshi, who among the same clan dares to look at us like this? When the news reaches our hometown, not to mention our old neighbors and relatives, the ancestors of our Zhang family are proud of themselves! It’s a pity that we can’t go home in person. ."
Mrs. Yu scolded: "Save it, fortunately you are in Bianjing. If you were in your hometown, you don't know how much money you would have to give away, and how many people would come to benefit from our family. Think about how many people came to our family when we left Pucheng." How many people you have supported in the past are thinking about your kindness. If you hadn't squandered all the money, would our family have been able to come to Bianjing to live under someone else's roof? If it hadn't been for the third brother's nomination, it would have been hard to make a living. Our family, our family... …”
Yu Shi started to cry as she spoke.
Zhang Shi felt a little guilty after hearing this and said: "It's my wife's happy day today. My third brother came second in the provincial examination. I should be happy no matter what. Why did you neglect me?"
"Is it okay if you don't say it? You still have the nerve to say what you said about taking care of the third brother. You also brought up the past kindness and said repeatedly that the family has been ruined. From now on..."
Zhang Shi immediately pulled away and said, "Xi'er will go shopping with me and buy some things to share with the neighbors."
Zhang Qiu's expression changed and he said, "Dad, you're still here."
"It's not worth a lot of money. Anyway, I don't care about this family's affairs, let your mother take care of them."
"So what if I don't care?" Mrs. Yu said, "Uncle has won such a great honor for us, so it doesn't matter if we do something for him. You have someone prepare a car, and I'll go find my second aunt to discuss it."
Zhang Shi and Zhang Qiu were overjoyed when they heard this.
Immediately, Mrs. Yu took a carriage and went to Zhang Mansion to meet Mr. Yang.
As soon as Mrs. Yang saw Mr. Yu, she smiled and cried: "My ancestors bless me, my ancestors bless me!"
Mrs. Yu accompanied her with tears and said: "Yes, I know that my third brother came second in the provincial examination. He was so happy that he didn't sleep all night."
Mrs. Yang smiled and cried: "Aren't you happy that my elder sister-in-law is like a mother? Now that Brother Yue has survived, I am also happy for my sister and brother-in-law. Our two sons have won the Jinshi. If they know anything, they don't know what to do." What a joy, what a pity, what a pity.”
Yu thought to herself, didn't you take one away now?
However, Mrs. Yu hurriedly advised: "Second aunt, you are not in good health, don't shed more tears."
Mrs. Yang wiped away her tears and said: "It's okay to be happy, but I didn't sleep a wink last night. If it weren't for my bad health, I would have gone to your house to sit there. If you came here today, tell me something important."
Yu nodded.
The two of them immediately sat down, and Mrs. Yu helped Ms. Yang beat her shoulders. Mr. Yang smiled and said, "You haven't mastered your skills yet."
While helping Yang to hang her shoulders, Mrs. Yu told the story about a dozen matchmakers who came to inquire about Zhang Yue's marriage early in the morning. She was worried that if this situation continued, the Wu family would think that the Zhang family had become rich and would reconsider the marriage. Now that Please give Yang an idea.
Yang laughed and said: "Brother Yue is second in the provincial examination, and no matter how high he is in the palace examination, he will be able to serve as a court official in the future, not to mention being an official in the capital. The most important thing is that Brother Yue is only seventeen years old, and his official career has been decades." It’s so long, no wonder you said you couldn’t push away these matchmakers even if you said you had a marriage contract. Unless the Wu family is moved out, no one will believe it.”
"But you blame me. I have been in poor health recently. Otherwise, I should be the one to intervene in this matter. I think since so many matchmakers come to our door now, if our family doesn't come up with an explanation, not only the Wu Mansion, but also Baoshan Bachelor Ouyang I can’t explain it. But you should be very careful when talking about a kiss..."
Yu said: "Second aunt has worried so much for our family. Our whole family is grateful to you, but we come from a small place. We don't know anything about the marriages of officials in Bianjing. If there is any negligence, it will cause a joke." ...Now it's up to you to make the decision regarding Brother Yue's affairs..."
Yang smiled and said, "Are you worried that I won't help you with Brother Yue's marriage? So you came forward to beg me?"
Yu hesitated and said: "Where can I have..."
Yang said: "Brother Yue is a child of the Zhang family after all. No matter what happens between him and Brother Dun, they are blood brothers after all. Even if they don't know each other, it doesn't matter. As long as Brother Yue wins the Jinshi and marries the Wu family, it will not only be We, our Zhang family and the whole clan can all benefit from it, not to mention that I still owe your family a debt."
Hearing this, Mrs. Yu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "What are you talking about, Second Aunt? How can you owe us anything?"
Yang said: "It's not that I don't care, but that's not what I'm worried about now. You're right, Bianjing officials have a lot of rules when it comes to getting married, and it's common for them to even discuss getting married for two or three years."
"Not to mention other things, just the amount of the betrothal gift and the amount of the dowry, there are many families who have collapsed because of this. And our Zhang family is about to become rich now, but the Wu family is even more noble, and they are still from the prime minister's family. Although The Wu family first took a fancy to our Yue brother, but when it comes to marriages between men and women, after all, we are the ones who have to propose to marry other people’s girls, so the etiquette cannot be wrong at all. If there is anything wrong, it will be easy for others to choose the gifts. "
Yu said repeatedly: "Yes, Second Aunt, I am so worried. I am afraid that if I do something wrong, I will let Brother Yue down."
Yang smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. After all, the Wu family really values Brother Yue. They also know exactly what our family background is. Even if some of us do something bad, they won't do anything about it. But for Brother Yue, we But the organizer should not think like this. You think the two families are a good match between Qin and Jin, a match made in heaven. The master of the Wu family admired Brother Yue Yu Hanwei, and Brother Yue lived up to his expectations and became a Jinshi. This is a good story. If it is because of everything, If something went wrong and the couple would have bad feelings in the future, it would be our fault."
Mrs. Yu said: "What my second aunt said touched my heart. It's not easy to be the mistress of the house."
Yang said: "Don't worry, I will help you if I can handle it, but there is only one thing, and that is the matchmaker who comes to propose marriage. I have never been able to decide on the candidate."
Thinking of this, Mrs. Yu told Mrs. Zhuang's story.
Yang laughed when she heard this and said: "I have also heard of Mrs. Zhuang's reputation. Although she asks for a lot of bonuses and thank-you gifts, she has talked about quite a few marriages. I was worried that she wouldn't be able to invite her before." She is really lucky now."
