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After the late autumn, even though there was no snowfall, the cold became increasingly severe. This could be felt from the long icicles hanging under the eaves of every household in Yujing city, thick as a child's arm, crystal clear, and sharp like swords or knives. These icicles were enough to make one feel the harshness of winter. Yujing is the capital of the Da Qian Dynasty. The Da Qian Dynasty is prosperous, rich in resources, vast and expansive, with a population of tens of millions, making it a superior celestial kingdom. And this year marks the sixtieth anniversary of its establishment. Sixty years have passed since the dynasty stabilized its rule over the world! During these sixty years, four emperors of the Da Qian Dynasty have strived for governance, leading the nation into a golden age of flourishing flowers and boiling oil.
The residence of "Wuwenhou" is located on the southeast side of Yujing City, covering an area of one hundred mu, with open terrain. At the entrance stands a pair of red-lacquered stone-carved qilins three men tall, vermilion doors adorned with shiny copper nails and rings, and at the gate stand the servants, dressed brightly, full of vitality, with sharp eyes, all displaying the status of Wuwenhou.
"Wuwenhou" is a prominent figure in the Da Qian Dynasty, surnamed Hong, named Xuanji. Not only does he hold a noble title, but he also holds a high position as a grand secretary in the cabinet and as a tutor to the crown prince. He is both a scholar and a warrior, capable in his youth of shooting strong bows and charging through hundreds of enemy soldiers as if strolling leisurely. {In the Da Qian Dynasty, one dan equals one hundred catties, so nine dan would be equivalent to nine hundred catties}. After achieving remarkable military success at the age of twenty-two, he abandoned martial pursuits for scholarly ones, achieving high honors in the imperial examinations and becoming a third-place winner. He was then granted an official post and involved in state affairs. He once received the highest ten-character evaluation from the four emperors of the Da Qian Dynasty: "Able to command troops when mounted, able to govern civilians when dismounted."
"Seeing the heavens is seeing the people, hearing the heavens is hearing the people..."
Early in the morning, reading voices came from a secluded courtyard in the northwest corner of Wuwenhou's mansion. Hong Yi opened half the window, lit a charcoal fire inside the room, and was studying by the table, preparing for the imperial examinations, pondering the classics. He wore a green robe, had clear features, was about fifteen or sixteen years old, and had a slightly slender build. The room was very simple; the pot used for burning was an iron pot, the charcoal was ordinary charcoal, not the finely crafted tripod-footed copper pots used by wealthy families for burning specially carved animal-shaped "beast charcoal." There were no book boys or maids around him while he studied, no one to grind ink or lay out paper. All this showed that Hong Yi's status in the Hou Mansion was not high, yet he still had time to read books and was not among the servant class.
"Whether I can restore my mother's honor depends on the grace examination in spring and the assembly examination in autumn. First, I must pass the provincial examination to become a junior graduate, then the metropolitan examination to become a senior graduate, achieve high rankings on the imperial list, and receive three generations of titles... The court will issue an edict to confer the title of 'Lady' upon my mother. My mother's grave can then be moved into the Hong family ancestral cemetery, and her spirit tablet can be enshrined in the ancestral hall."
Hong Yi flipped open a book, read a couple of sentences, but his thoughts turned to his mother who passed away when he was seven. Before marrying "Wuwenhou," Hong Yi's mother was a renowned talented woman in Yujing City, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and her poetry and prose overflowed with literary talent. She sold her art but not herself, meeting Wuwenhou during a banquet where they exchanged poems, leading to her marriage into the Hou family. Although she was known as a talented woman, she was actually registered in the "low-class" records of a brothel. Her status after joining the prestigious family was extremely low. Moreover, when Hong Yi's mother married into the Hou family, Wuwenhou already had a principal wife and secondary wives, so she entered as a concubine. According to the law of the Da Qian Dynasty, there is one principal wife, two secondary wives, and four concubines. The status of concubines is very low; some wealthy and noble families even exchange concubines as entertainment. Concubines cannot sit during meals; they must stand like servants. As the son of a concubine, Hong Yi has no right to inherit the title or property. His only way out is through the imperial examinations.
Hong Yi was well aware that if he could pass the metropolitan examination, not only could he leave the Hou Mansion to become an official and rise to prominence, but most importantly, he could bestow the title of "Lady" upon his mother. The Da Qian Dynasty places great emphasis on the imperial examinations, and once someone achieves high rankings, their three generations may be honored. The title of "Lady" is no trivial matter. Currently, there are three ladies in the Hou Mansion. This is due to the many achievements of Wuwenhou Hong Xuanji, special favors granted by the court. In general wealthy and noble families, only the principal wife holds the title of "Lady." Among high-ranking officials, having one's wife bestowed the title of Lady by the court is a great honor, even more valuable than promotions.
"If I pass the metropolitan examination, if I pass the metropolitan examination, the court will bestow the title of Lady upon my mother. By then, I wonder what kind of expression Zhao Madame, the principal wife, will have?" Hong Yi muttered twice, "Zhao Madame, Zhao Madame..." His eyes flashed with hatred. Hong Yi would never forget the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet held at the Hou Mansion when he was just seven years old. During the gathering, his father and guests recited poetry, and because his mother responded with a line, she was immediately publicly reprimanded by the principal wife for being "improper and lacking virtue, unable to abandon her brothel habits." That night, after returning home, his mother became so angry that her blood vessels constricted, causing her to spit blood and injure herself. She fell ill and died two months later. She was only twenty-five years old when she passed away from anger.
"The preparation for the upcoming examination after the spring is almost complete, but I still need to study further." Hong Yi thought, closed the classics and strategies, and opened a book called "Caotang Notes." The cover of the book was new, but the paper was old, clearly indicating it was an unread old book. Since "Caotang Notes" is not part of the standard classics, rites, or strategies for imperial examinations but rather a bizarre collection of ghost stories, scholars preparing for exams do not usually read such books.
However, Hong Yi read it precisely to prepare for the exam. Because this book was written by Li Yan, the prime minister of the previous dynasty, recording tales of ghosts, demons, Taoist priests, gods, talented scholars, beautiful women, immortal women, and fox spirits.
"Although this Caotang Notes is filled with stories of supernatural beings, foxes, and ghosts, each story is actually a fable, worthy of being written by the prime minister of the previous dynasty and the founder of the Li School."
"Now although Li Yan has passed away, most of the officials in the court who graduated from the imperial examinations are his disciples. The chief examiner for this test will certainly be a member of the Li School. Carefully studying the fables expressed by Li Yan through foxes and ghosts, catering to the tastes of his disciples, will surely lead to passing the exam."
"Even those students from the clan schools, even if they are excellent, only know how to study hard, but they don't understand human emotions and social graces. Even if your essay is beautifully written, if it doesn't align with the school of thought of the examiners, you will definitely be rejected."
Before the exam, understanding the school of thought, ideas, and preferences of the examiners and writing accordingly is extremely important. Although Hong Yi is young, his mind is clear.
"What a profound interpretation of 'Heaven's will is the people's will.' Originally, there was another explanation." Hong Yi suddenly saw a story, carefully read it, and was surprised. The story went like this:
One evening, a daughter-in-law and her mother-in-law were sleeping when the wall suddenly collapsed. The daughter-in-law, lying inside, held up the collapsing wall with all her might, allowing her mother-in-law to escape. She herself was crushed to death. After the daughter-in-law's death, the mother-in-law was heartbroken. So the villagers comforted her, saying they had dreamed that the daughter-in-law had been made a city god by heaven. At the time, Li Yan and a group of literati discussed this incident. Most of the literati thought the filial act of the daughter-in-law was commendable, but the language about her becoming a deity was merely the talk of commoners. However, Li Yan strongly disagreed, saying that the daughter-in-law had indeed become a deity because the sages' books say, "Heaven sees as we see, Heaven hears as we hear." If the people believe that the daughter-in-law has become a deity, then it is heaven's will, and thus she becomes a deity. All the literati laughed at Li Yan for being too rigid in his studies, but Li Yan presented a profound argument: "Actually, deities are merely manifestations of human thoughts. The deities and Buddhas in temples can repeatedly display miracles because they receive offerings and faith from the people. Originally, there were no deities in this world, but as more people believed in them, their thoughts gathered, and deities and Buddhas were born. To destroy deities and Buddhas is quite simple; just demolish their temples, make people stop believing in them, and stop offering incense and offerings to them. Over time, they will naturally disappear."
One of the literati nodded and asked, "If we destroy the temples of deities and Buddhas and make people stop believing in them, what if the deities and Buddhas punish us?"
Li Yan replied, "The sages' books say that the righteous and intelligent become deities. Scholars, as long as they maintain a righteous and strict mindset, their thoughts will naturally become as powerful as those of deities. How could deities and Buddhas punish you?"
"Scholars, with their righteous and strict mindset, possess powerful and pure thoughts, which are nearly akin to the yang deities and celestial immortals of Daoism. They are much stronger than the yin deities, who cannot manifest physically and can only communicate through dreams or punishments."
The literati, hearing Li Yan's eloquent speech, all admired him and asked about the Daoist practice of cultivating celestial immortals and yang deities.
Li Yan said, "Yin deities can leave their shells and wander unseen by human eyes, intangible and insubstantial, a bundle of souls that rely on external objects to display their miraculous powers. Yang deities, however, are no different from living beings, manifesting various divine forms, flying through the skies and diving into the earth, achieving immortality."
When the literati were about to ask further questions, Li Yan solemnly stated, "Scholars should only discuss the livelihoods of the people, politics, benevolence, and propriety, completely ignoring matters of spirits and ghosts. Today we have gone too far."
"Deities originally did not exist; they are created by the faith and thoughts of people. What the books say, 'Heaven sees as we see, Heaven hears as we hear, Heaven's will is the people's will,' has such an interpretation? Righteousness and intelligence become deities? Yin deities and yang deities?"
Hong Yi found this refreshing, as if this story had opened a mysterious door for him.
Bang bang bang! Just as Hong Yi was deep in thought, suddenly there was a knocking sound from outside the door. Someone was knocking, but the sound was loud, as if kicking with their feet.
Hong Yi frowned, got up, and opened the door.
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This novel can be described as shocking the heavens and moving the spirits, bringing tears to those who read it and sorrow to those who hear it, with a dramatic plot that is incredibly thrilling. It's quite good to read novels on -Reading Network-. The page is clean and free of pop-up ads. Members can use the bookmark function, which is very convenient.