Chapter 28 Jia Zheng feels guilty
Yesterday, when he left the government office and just entered the mansion, he heard two maids talking about how Third Master Cong had bought a few more books. When he heard that it was about Jia Cong, he immediately called them over to inquire.
The old woman replied that she had heard gossip from the maids in Jia Cong's courtyard, saying that their Third Master had just bought another set of the Four Books and Five Classics to copy!
Jia Zheng was puzzled. In Mengpo Zhai, there were numerous versions with annotations by great scholars. Why would he need to buy it?
Suspicious, he called Shu Mo over to ask him about it. Shu Mo didn't dare to say anything at first, but when Jia Zheng angrily scolded him, he finally told the truth in bits and pieces.
It turned out that Jia Cong had come to Mengpozhai every day in the past few days, but he was always turned away by the maids and servants in the lady's room, and this had been going on for several days. Until these two days, Jia Cong had not come anymore.
He immediately called over a group of maids and old women and asked them in detail, feeling extremely furious and humiliated.
If this method of suppressing the younger generation were to get out, would Jia Zheng still be able to gain a foothold in the literati circle?
He returned to the courtyard angrily and had a big quarrel with Wang! That night he went to Aunt Zhao's room to rest. When he woke up today, he felt so ashamed that he sent someone to ask for leave from the government office and came to Jia Cong's courtyard.
"Hey!" Jia Zheng held Jia Cong's hand, "It was your uncle who raised that evil woman, and I am sorry for you!"
Jia Cong was stunned for a moment, then he smiled and said, "Second uncle, please don't say that. It's just that the Second Madam has something to do these days and needs to use Mengpo Studio. My nephew should stay away for a few days, so that he can concentrate on writing some articles in his room. What's the delay?"
Looking at Jia Cong's 'serious', 'kind' and 'simple' demeanor, Jia Zheng only felt more guilty. How could he have the nerve to tell the truth?
He held Jia Cong's hand tightly and said, "Don't worry, Cong, you can go to Mengpo Zhai anytime. If anyone dares to stop you, just tell me. Also, as long as you need to study, no matter what, just come to me! Second uncle still has some ability, and I will do my best to help you!"
Jia Cong thanked him first, but then hesitantly said, "Well... actually, there is something I want to ask my second uncle for advice!"
"Hahaha!" Jia Zheng was delighted to hear this. "Brother Cong, just tell me what you want to say."
"I dare not deceive you, uncle. I have been studying hard all day long. I have memorized most of the books and annotations I need!"
"These days, I have been picking up some sentences and trying to write some articles. But in the end, no one has given me any guidance, so I have not made any progress!"
"I respect my second uncle's talent and want to ask him for advice from time to time, but my second uncle not only has to be on duty, but also has to take care of the mundane things in the mansion. I dare not bother him easily. Therefore, I want to find a well-educated person to be my disciple!"
Jia Zheng stroked his beard and thought, he knew his own affairs, he had some knowledge, how could he not know? Therefore, he usually just read Jia Cong's articles, but did not dare to give advice easily. Now that Jia Cong mentioned this matter, it was necessary.
After a moment, Jia Zheng's eyes lit up, "Brother Cong, you are really going far away! The Jiangning County Magistrate Wei Qi is extremely knowledgeable!"
"He is a second-class Jinshi in the third year of Longxing, and his teacher is the minister of the current emperor, Fang Yaofang, the Minister of Personnel! If you can take Wei Qi as your teacher, not only can he guide you in your studies, but you will also have someone to help you in the officialdom in the future."
"This... nephew has just entered the imperial examination, I am afraid he will not be worthy of Lord Wei's eyes!"
"Hahaha! That's wrong. You were chosen by Wei Qi on the spot, and he even took the first place. It's obvious that he admires your knowledge very much. How could Wei Qi not be willing to have such an outstanding junior like you! Don't worry about this matter. Second uncle will ask someone to pass a message to Wei Qi. If he is interested, then Second uncle will personally take you to his house to become his disciple. If he is not interested, then it will be better to avoid being abrupt!"
Jia Cong hurriedly thanked him, "It is my nephew who has caused you so much trouble!"
"Hahaha, you are my nephew. If you can pass the imperial examination in the future, how can your uncle not be proud?"
"You should study hard. I will send someone to inform you if there is a reply in the next two days!"
After sending Jia Zheng away, Jia Cong smiled slightly! The matter of those maids was naturally designed by Jia Cong. He just asked Qingwen to give up a few taels of silver and let Jia Zheng know about the Mengpo Zhai incident. The subsequent development was indeed as expected.
As for becoming a disciple, Jia Cong did not do it on a whim! A hero needs three helpers, which is the same at any time, especially in the ancient officialdom.
Why were civil officials so powerful at that time that even the emperor sometimes had to give in? These civil officials had family heritage, students, and fellow townsmen. If you touched any one of them, you would affect the interests of a group of people.
However, although Jia Cong was the first in the county examination, he was still a boy after all. How could he find a suitable person? It would be most appropriate to rely on Jia Zheng.
Sure enough, two days later, Shu Mo came and said that Jia Zheng wanted to see him.
After Jia Cong arrived at Mengpozhai with Shumo, he saw Jia Zheng chatting with several retainers. After he went up to greet them, Jia Zheng smiled and said, "I have asked someone to find out, and Wei Qi thinks highly of you! Take a bath tomorrow morning, and I will personally take you to Wei Qi's residence to pay a visit. As for the gifts and gifts, they have already been prepared, so you don't need to worry about it."
After Jia Cong thanked him, he talked about some poems and articles with him and then returned to the courtyard.
The next morning, after Jia Cong got up, Xiao Que'er helped Jia Cong wipe himself, Qingwen brought clean Confucian clothes for Jia Cong to wear, and then he ate something simple and went to wait for Jia Zheng to arrive outside Mengpo Zhai.
At 3:30 in the morning, Jia Zheng walked out of Mengpozhai and led Jia Cong out to the carriage! The gift of the groom was not expensive, just the most common lotus seeds, red beans, longan, bacon, etc. Civil officials valued a good reputation, and if the gift of the groom was too expensive, it would be bad. Moreover, even if they wanted to give something expensive, they could have sent it when they visited on another day, but there was no need to bring it on this day to make it an eyesore.
The carriage traveled for half an hour and finally stopped in front of a two-story house.
"This Lord Wei Qi is from Shandong. After he was elected as the magistrate of Jiangning County, he sold his family's land and bought this small house!"
"He has an old mother who is also taken care of by his side. He also has a wife and two concubines in the back house, but he has no children for the time being! The housekeeper in the family is the most loyal of the several generations of old servants. He was also given the surname Wei, and Lord Wei treats him as his own father!"
Obviously, for Jia Cong's sake, Jia Zheng put a lot of thought into it and found out the situation in Wei Qi's family.
"In addition to the gift of tuition, I also asked Brother Lian's daughter-in-law to prepare two rolls of the finest cloth. Since you have successfully become my disciple, you will naturally have to go to the backyard to meet the female family members. I will give them to you as a token of my appreciation!"
Jia Zheng usually hates worldly things, but this time he felt guilty towards Jia Cong, and also valued Jia Cong's apprenticeship, so he took the trouble to make arrangements.
