In the winter of the forty-third year of Kangxi, the snowflakes fell early in the capital, dense and continuous, and it was several days at once, and the people hid at home and did not go out in order to avoid the wind and snow, and there were few traces of pedestrians on the street, and even the vendors who set up stalls were less than usual.

In a small courtyard on the southern edge of the city, a woman in her forties, dressed in a light purple flag suit, walked up and down the hall with an anxious face, glancing at the closed courtyard door from time to time.

"Madam, don't go, I'm about to be stunned by you." The man sitting on the side stroked his forehead and looked at the purple figure helplessly.

The woman's feet eased a little when she heard this, but she was still anxious, and the handkerchief between her fingers was about to be wrenched by her, "Master, why haven't you come back after so long, could it be that something happened?" Either you go up and inquire, or you can ask your colleagues, anyway, you are also from the four rituals, and it doesn't matter if you ask about the results of the palace test, right? ”

Ling Zhu patted the slightly old robe on his body and got up and smiled bitterly: "You will also say that I am just a fourth-grade ritual, just a false title, and I have no real power at all; Besides, I accidentally offended Shi Shilang last time, and now I am being excluded everywhere in the Ministry of Rites, and even this year's Bing Tan Jing has been harshly detained......"

As soon as she spoke, the Fucha clan knew that she had said the wrong thing, and she knew best what Ling Zhu's situation was in the court over the years, and it could really be called difficult. That Shi Shilang not only deducted the ice charcoal from the filial piety of officials from other provinces, but also changed his method to provoke thorns, as long as he caught a little mistake, he would be fined silver, so that the dignified court officials could not even burn the silver charcoal in winter, and they had to move to the suburbs to live, but if they were exported, they could not collect it back, so they had to apologize and say: "Master, the concubine body does not mean this, the concubine body ...... it."

"Okay, you and I have been married for many years, and I still don't know about you? I'm just whining casually, don't talk about it! Ling Zhu could see it, and quickly adjusted, patted Fucha's hand and comforted: "Madame, be patient, there will be news soon, and if Ruo'er has already gone to see it, as long as there is news, she will come to tell us immediately." ”

Before the words fell, a "bang" sound was heard, and the courtyard door was pushed open, and a petite and delicate figure rushed like a swallow, leaving a series of small footprints in the snowy courtyard.

"Amma, Eniang, here, here, the people who report the good news are coming to us!" The person who came took off the sky-blue cloak and hood, revealing a beautiful and delicate and picturesque face, and joy hung on the corners of his eyebrows and eyes, it was the eldest daughter of the two, Niu Hulu Lingruo.

"Really?" The person who had been looking forward to the good news just now came, and when he was about to come, the Fucha clan couldn't believe it.

"yes, it's coming soon." Ling Ruo nodded vigorously, his eyebrows and eyes curved like the moon on the horizon.

"Great! That's great! Seeing that his daughter had repeatedly affirmed, Fucha no longer had the slightest suspicion, and tears suddenly appeared in his eyes, and their family had waited for this good thing for too long.

"Master, do you see me dressed like this? Wouldn't it be too simple, and the hair would be messy? Do you want to re-groom? Hearing the gradually clear sound of gongs and drums, Fucha asked nervously, lest his demeanor be inconsiderate and lose his official status,

Ling Ruo smiled at his father, stepped forward and grabbed Fucha's arm and said with a smile: "Eniang, don't worry so much, I guarantee that you look very decent and generous from head to toe, more like a noble lady than those so-called noble ladies, only the ladies in the palace can compare with you." ”

Fucha was amused by her exaggerated words, and the tension in his heart diluted a lot, and he smiled at her forehead and said, "Just your girl's sweet mouth." ”

While speaking, the official messenger who reported the good news had arrived outside the courtyard, and Ling Zhu and his wife hurriedly dressed up to meet them, only to see the two officials in dark red messenger clothes bowing their hands with a smile on their faces: "Congratulations to Lord Dianyi, Linggongzi Ronglu Palace's former high school, was elected by the emperor as the seventh place in the second class, and was born as a jinshi!" ”

Seventh place in the second class!

This achievement made Ling Zhu overjoyed, the imperial examination once every three years, first to obtain the qualification of Xiucai, and then after the township examination, the examination, from which more than 300 people were selected to participate in the palace examination, by the emperor personally put out the questions, and finally ranked out.

Although it is not the top of the list, but this result is also enough to be proud of the group, you must know that anyone who can enter the palace examination is a masterpiece, the best of all, and it is not so easy to occupy the first few among them.

According to the example, it is not a problem to enter the Hanlin Academy as a Shujishi with Ronglu's achievements, only when he becomes a Shujishi will he have the qualifications to win the peak of the empire's power in the future, and the most important thing is that Ronglu is still young, only twenty-two years old, and his future is really limitless.

Ling Zhu was overjoyed, and hurriedly took out the red envelope that had been prepared early in the morning and handed it over, which was five taels, as far as the reward was concerned, although it was not much, it was not a small amount.

Who would have thought that the thin and tall official took it in his hand and showed contempt, smiled and squinted his eyes weirdly: "I have only earned a few taels of silver after running such a long way, and it is not enough to even go to Sanyuan Building to drink, it is really unlucky." ”

"That's it, I knew that our brother wouldn't go on this trip, there are people in the city who have won the Jinshi, and any one of them will give more than this amount of silver." The other person echoed in unison, sneering bitterly at Ling Zhu and the others.

"Forget it, brother, let's be unlucky." The thin and tall official pretended to persuade him, and then glanced at Ling Zhu, who was speechless, and sneered: "Some people deserve to be a powerless and powerless ceremonial for the rest of their lives!" From the four pins? Phew! It's not bullshit in this Jingshi! ”

"What nonsense are you talking about? Believe it or not, I'm going to Shuntianfu to accuse you of insulting the imperial court?! Hearing that they talked more and more, and openly insulted Amma, Ling Ruo still held back and reprimanded each other.

"Imperial court officials?" When the two of them heard this, they were not only not afraid, but also openly laughed, and unscrupulously pointed to the small courtyard and sarcastically said: "If you are an official of the imperial court, you will not live in such a wilderness, and you have such a humble life, you don't even have a sedan chair, it's really a joke." ”

"Have you said enough?" Fucha looked at the two of them expressionlessly, and pointed to the courtyard door and said: "If it's enough, please leave, otherwise don't blame me for being polite, although the Niu Colu family is down, it's not something you clowns who can slander at will." ”

"Let's go, who rarely stays in this place." The two took a sip and walked away nonchalantly.

was originally happy about one thing, but was stirred up by these two hooligans dressed in official clothes, how can there be any joy of the family's high school jinshi.

"Amma, why didn't you say a word and let those two villains insult you?" In Ling Ruo's impression, although his father is an honest man, he is by no means without a temper, as the saying goes, the clay man still has three points of anger, not to mention a living person, and everyone can see that the two of them are deliberately making trouble, especially the thin and tall one.

Ling Zhu slowly retracted his gaze, a trace of essence flashed in his eyes, and said in a condensed voice: "Do you know who that thin and tall man is?" ”

He? Fucha and Ling Ruo glanced at each other suspiciously, hearing this meaning, there seemed to be another hidden meaning in this matter?

"I've seen this man before." Ling Zhu sat down on the chair slowly, his fingers tapping lightly on the edge of the table, "When he first came in, I only felt a little familiar, and I didn't remember where I saw it, until I ...... it just now," he paused and continued: "I saw him when I first went to visit Shi Shilang in the Ministry of Rites four years ago, and he was a distant cousin who had just come down from the countryside to join Shi Shilang and wanted to mix a bowl of rice. ”

"Ama means ......" Ling Ruo vaguely understood something.

"If I expected it to be true, he was deliberately arranged by Shi Shilang to humiliate me, if I went toe-for-tat with him, I just fell into Shi Shilang's arms, in case he said something that shouldn't be said in excitement, then he can naturally refer to me, and if he doesn't say it, I'm afraid that I won't be able to live the rest of my life." Ling Zhu slowly said this surprising fact.

"This surname Shi is so vicious, the old man just argued with him a few words because of disagreement, and it turned out that he was wrong later, he actually holds a grudge to this day, and it doesn't count as forcing us to this step, and he came up with such a vicious idea to humiliate the master, it's really too deceitful." The more Fucha spoke, the more angry he became.

Ling Zhu smiled bitterly: "That's why I refuse to let it go, Shi Shilang is not a big-hearted person, what's so strange." Also, madam, don't forget, his daughter is the crown princess of the dynasty, and she has always only been flattered, how can she ever be bumped into like this, and she is also a person with a much smaller official position than him. ”

He let out a long sigh and his gaze fell on Fucha and Ling Ruo, "I don't regret contradicting him, because that incident was indeed his fault first, but it only affected his wife and a few children, and I am really upset." ”

"Master, we are a family, how can we say that it is even more burdensome, as long as the family is neat and happy together, what is the difference between food and housing? ! Besides, the concubine believes that life will always get better, you see, Rong Lu has won the Jinshi, Ruo'er has someone he likes, and he can prepare for marriage as soon as the draft passes, Yilan and Rong Xiang are gradually growing up and sensible, everything is developing in the direction of good, maybe it won't be long before it will be bitter. ”

"I'm glad to have you!" Ling Zhu held the hand stretched out by the Fucha clan and said with emotion, he really didn't know if it was a blessing for him to have such a good wife in this life, and because of this, he had never thought of taking a concubine for more than 20 years.

Ling Ruodi looked at her loving parents like newlyweds, and was stunned, until Ling Zhu's generous palm stroked her smooth green silk like flowing water.

"What are you thinking?" Ling Zhu asked with concern.

Ling Ruo smiled lightly, like a plum blossom blooming in the wind and snow, "It's nothing, I'm just wondering if my daughter will also have the blessing of a mother in the future, and she can get a man like Ama to accompany her until she grows old." ”

"E-Niang believes that Rong Yuan will treat you well." Fucha never doubted this.

Hearing Eniang mention the name of her sweetheart, Ling Ruo couldn't help but have a fever on her face, and stomped her feet and said, "What is he doing, I haven't even scratched the eight characters." ”

"Silly girl, what's there to be shy about?" Ling Zhu said with a smile, "It is normal for men to marry women, Rong Yuan grew up with us, no one knows better than us what his character is, although he is an ordinary family, but Ama Zhilu said that your ambition is only to 'wish to be a one-hearted person, and the white head is not separated.'" 'Glory and wealth, brocade clothes and jade food have never been your yearning, so Rongyuan will definitely be your best destination. Quietly stroked away the crystal that seeped out of the corners of Ling Ruo's eyes at some point, "After the draft is over, Ah Ma and Eniang will definitely do a good job for you, although they can't do the scenery, but at least let you marry decently." ”

Fucha shook his head happily with tears in his eyes: "Yes, our family hasn't had a happy event for many years, so we will definitely have a good time this time." ”

"Hmm!" Ling Ruo nodded vigorously, her lips pursed tightly, she was afraid that tears would fall as soon as she let go......

Heaven is fair, although it has not given her the fate of great wealth and wealth, but it has given her the family that cares for her wholeheartedly, which cannot be bought with any amount of money.

When other parents were trying their best to push their biological daughter into the palace for the sake of their own or the family's glory and wealth, her parents supported her to pursue the happiness she wanted. At this point in life, what do you want?

As soon as you enter the palace gate, it is as deep as the sea, and life and death are difficult to see again.

The world only sees the scenery on the surface, who knows the bitterness behind the scenery, there are three thousand beauties in the harem, how many people can be favored by the emperor to be concubines and concubines? And who is not stepping on someone else's bones, the harem battle is the most cruel.

More women have never even seen the emperor until they die, and they can only sit in front of the bronze mirror and watch their flower-like faces gradually grow old, from blooming to withering, and finally die of old age in the deep palace, turning into a pile of white bones, no one cares about them, no one reminisces......

This kind of life is something she would never want to set foot in!

She just wants to stay with Rong Yuan for the rest of her life, just like Ama and Eniang, ordinary and happy, a couple for the rest of her life.

A beautiful smile blooms on her lips, piercing the haze and turning into the most dazzling scenery in the winter snow......

[Author's digression]: Hehe, I haven't written a book for a long time, it's a little rusty, don't be surprised, I'll try harder