On the second day after Zhang Yue became the champion, the matchmaker Mrs. Zhuang went to Wu's house with a draft post to propose marriage.
The Wu family also changed their posts.
After changing the post, according to the custom of Bianjing, the man can send a female family member to visit the future bride.
At that time, my sister-in-law Yu was entrusted to go to the Wu Mansion to see her in person.
Yu was also born into a wealthy businessman's family in Jianyang, and his family was a tea merchant. When he first married the Zhang family, he married into the Zhang family because they were from a scholarly family and were from a wealthy family in Pucheng.
Therefore, the Yu family can be considered to have seen the world, but when they arrived at Wu Mansion, they were still shocked by the magnificence of his mansion.
After Mrs. Yu was invited into the inner courtyard, she sat quietly and breathlessly. She saw that the screens, tables, chairs, lanterns, and lanterns were each exquisite in their own way, and the maids and servants in the house behaved in a well-behaved manner.
Yu thought to herself that she was also Zhang Yue's eldest sister-in-law, and she was half a mother. She still had to put on some airs in front of her future sister-in-law.
Just as Yu sat down to drink tea, she heard the curtain move and saw a sixteen or seventeen year old woman coming out.
Yu put down the tea cup, stood up calmly, raised his eyes and thought, Sanlang is so lucky to have found such a person.
Although Yang and Yu had said that Seventeen Niang was beautiful, after taking a closer look, Yu still felt that using the word 'beautiful' to describe her was too simple.
The Yu family has been in charge of the family for more than ten years and can be said to be virtuous and has a strong temperament both externally and internally.
But seeing that the other party had already bowed to Mrs. Yu and said, "I have met Madam Zhang."
Mrs. Yu smiled and stepped forward to help Qi Niang and said, "Don't be too polite."
The Seventeenth Mother sat down in front of Mr. Yu. She was very polite and considered herself a junior.
Mrs. Yu looked at it and praised her sincerely. She was worthy of being from a noble family, and the women she brought up were indeed extraordinary. But would a woman from such a family be like that in the future...
Yu thought for a while and decided that some things should be said in advance.
So she said: "Seventeenth lady, our two families have changed their posts, and I don't treat you as an outsider anymore. You are of noble birth, and you are well-dressed and well-educated..."
Seventeen Niang heard what Yu said and already guessed what he said. After he finished speaking, the Seventeenth Niang said: "Madam Zhang, I read a little bit of the Book of Changes at home. My female teacher taught me that masculinity in men is Qian, and femininity in women is Kun."
"Qian is at the top and Kun is at the bottom, and yin and yang can also change and complement each other. There is no solitary yang or solitary yin. Women should regard gentleness as virtue when dealing with others, and do not regard forceful arguments as beauty."
Yu nodded after hearing this.
When they met for the first time, Yu was very satisfied with Shiqi Niang. If she married such a woman, she could live in a comfortable home.
Although the post has been made public, the man and woman are still adjusting to each other and can stop the marriage discussions at any time.
Mrs. Yu drank tea and left. When she was leaving, Mrs. Yu took off the golden hairpin from her head and handed it to Seventeenth Niang, "A little thought."
Seeing this, the Seventeenth Mother lowered her head and thanked her with a smile.
According to the rules of Bianjing, if the man is satisfied with the woman, he will leave a gold hairpin; if he is not satisfied, he will leave a piece of colored silk to express his abandonment.
The Yu family gave the gold hairpin to Qi Niang to express her approval.
The next day, Mrs. Zhuang came to the door again with a detailed post, which listed Zhang Yue's birth date, betrothal gift, etc., while the detailed post returned from the Wu family needed to be even more detailed, such as the dowry.
As for Zhang Yue, he is also very busy now, busy with matters related to Qiji.
Qiji is a legacy left over from the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty.
In the Tang Dynasty, after a person became a Jinshi, he had to rent a house next to the examiner's house for a period of time, and then invite the examiner and fellow Jinshi students to eat and drink, which was actually to build official connections.
Eating and drinking may seem like a casual thing.
But it is very important for Jinshi. Since the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty, the most important thing after becoming a Jinshi is to eat and drink well. Official relations are established at the wine table.
For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there were banquets that were attended by those who became Jinshi.
First acquaintance, second acquaintance, minor acquaintance, wedding, small banquet after court, apricot garden banquet, cherry banquet, Yue Deng Pavilion ball club, peony banquet, Buddha Tooth Relic banquet, Qujiang Conference, Jinshi Guan Banquet.
As for not having a clear purpose, that's more.
Where does the money come from for all the banquets?
Then the Jinshi should come out themselves.
According to records, "one spring costs more than ten thousand guan", which equals several hundred guan for each Jinshi.
Therefore, in the Tang Dynasty, the Jinshi and the Yue family had to chip in money for their son-in-law to pave the way for banquets, which was later called paving money. Few Jinshi in the Tang Dynasty came from poor families, but even so it caused a heavy burden.
In the Song Dynasty, the wedding banquet given by the emperor was mostly held in April and May. Before the wedding banquet, there was a period gathering for the Jinshi to attend on their own. The imperial examinations of the Song Dynasty witnessed what it means to be selected regardless of family background, and to get married without asking for qualifications. However, how did poor scholars raise money to participate in the examinations? This became a problem.
Only then did Zhang Yue wake up, and Huang Lu came to his home.
Zhang Shi felt happy again when he saw Huang Luzi.
Zhang Yue and Huang Lu were sitting drinking tea.
Huang Lu said: "The first three groups of Jinshi games are always included in the Jinshi period. Who do you want to arrange to join the game?"
Zhang Yue said: "They are all promoted at the same time. This is where I am in trouble. Please help me plan."
Huang Lu smiled and said: "I don't think it will be long before someone comes to ask for your help, and you will be overwhelmed."
Zhang Yue also understood that although the annual gathering was very expensive, many Jinshi still wanted to participate. The Song Dynasty was different from the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, there were only a dozen or dozens of Jinshi, but in the Song Dynasty, there were two to three hundred Jinshi in one subject.
How can a banquet accommodate so many people?
So it is up to the No. 2 scholar to select Jinshi and Yan, which is called entering the game.
Therefore, many people will come to ask for help, or even ask for connections. This is where Zhang Yue is in trouble, as he may offend others.
In addition, how to distribute the money raised in the period is also a difficult problem. Collecting money on a regular basis is called 鵵钱, also known as 酺. In the past, it was customary for Xinke Jinshi to collect the money by themselves according to their ranking in the first year of study and use it as a fund for the banquet.
Cai Que didn't have much money, and he had to attend the issue collection, so he borrowed a large sum of money from the bookstore. Finally...
Huang Luyan said: "Yes, what I heard about Han Yanei and I having a drink in Fanlou yesterday was about Wang Junmin?"
Zhang Yue asked: "What?"
Huang Lu said: "I heard that Wang Junmin swore before that he would win the top prize, so many wealthy businessmen and gamblers in Bianjing bet on him as the top pick. Now, although he has won the sixth place, these wealthy businessmen and gamblers have lost money, and some even After losing all their savings, everyone blamed Wang Junmin, and some even threatened to take his life."
Zhang Yue said: "Wang Junmin will be an official of the imperial court soon. These people will not really take action, they are just spreading rumors."
Huang Lu said: "Who knows, I also heard that the reason why Wang Kui was so sure was because an eunuch from the Royal Medicine Academy leaked the test questions to him. But the ridiculous thing is that even so, he didn't take the top prize from you. "
"Yes, do you know the inside story of the imperial examination?"
Zhang Yue listened to what Huang Lu said and found out that he and Wang Kui were competing for the top prize. Wang Anshi recommended Wang Kui, while the other officials unanimously recommended him. In the end, the officials appointed him.
Zhang Yue said: "So, I took away Wang Junmin's first prize. Doesn't he hate me deeply?"
Huang Lu asked: "Is Sanlang afraid?"
Zhang Yue smiled and said: "I can't ask for it."
