novelaction Chapter 314 Do You Know? Lin Yitang 28
Chapter 314 Do You Know? Lin Yitang 28
In the courtyard of Wutong Pavilion, several fruit trees have been planted, along with seasonal flowers.
Lin Yitang looked at Zhao Huiyue with doting eyes, walking around the courtyard. It had rained a few days ago, and Lin Yitang had kept Zhao Huiyue at home and hadn't gone to the Imperial Garden.
The little girl had been sullen for the past few days, and her face looked quite melancholy.
The rain had just stopped, and the Imperial Garden was very slippery. Lin Yitang was worried about Zhao Huiyue, so she could only have the palace maids and eunuchs plant flowers and plants in the courtyard.
Two young ladies from the back room of Wutong Pavilion (similar to court ladies in the Qing Dynasty) came over to pay their respects. Normally, ladies did not need to pay their respects to the Empress, and since they were not favored by the Emperor, they could only spend their days in their residences.
There was a princess named Liu Moyue who was sold into the palace as a maid by her relatives when she was young. Because she was careful and cautious, she was noticed by the nanny of Funing Palace and transferred to work there.
She was later favored by the emperor, but unfortunately, Liu Moyue was too delicate and pretty. After the emperor favored her a few times, Liu Moyue was forgotten.
Another princess was named Ma Yurou, who came from Consort Yu's Chaolu Pavilion. It is said that Consort Yu was pregnant at the time, so she supported Ma Yurou. Like Liu Moyue, Ma Yurou was a palace maid without any background.
Later, the eldest prince born to Consort Yu died shortly after birth. Consort Yu was unhappy with Ma Yurou and suppressed her. Those years were truly worse than death for Consort Yu.
A few years later, Consort Yu became pregnant again. Taking the opportunity, Ma Yurou asked the emperor if Consort Yu needed to rest and recuperate. Only then did Ma Yurou leave Chaolu Pavilion and come to Wutong Pavilion.
"Consort Lin, may your attire be well." The two bowed.
"Get up!" Lin Yitang glanced at them, though she didn't usually have much of a relationship with the two of them.
"Madam Lin, we're going to stroll around the Imperial Garden. Would you like to come along?" Liu Moyue asked softly.
Lin Yitang put down the purse in her hand and said softly, "You all go ahead, I still need to stay with Huiyue."
Following Lin Yitang's gaze, the two saw Princess Fushou playing and their eyes were filled with envy. They didn't receive much favor and were not fortunate enough to give birth to children, making their lonely days in the harem increasingly difficult to bear.
After the two left, a young palace maid ran over excitedly, but Xiao Dengzi, fearing she might offend the nobleman, stopped her.
"Why are you in such a panic?" Xiao Dengzi scolded.
"Reporting to Lady Lin, this servant has something important to report."
Lin Yitang asked Xiao Dengzi to bring her up. The little palace maid laughed and said, "Good news, Madam Lin! Young Master Lin has passed the exam and achieved a commendable third place."
Lin Yitang stood there stunned for a moment, then raised her eyebrows and smiled slightly: "That's great, Lianyun. I remember the Emperor bestowed a Huzhou brush upon you. Also, take a tricolor hibiscus stone brush holder with cloud patterns and some tribute paper and send them to the Bai residence together."
"Yes, Madam Lin, I'll go right away," Lian Yun said happily. Of course, she wanted Lin Yitang to be better; only when Lin Yitang was better could she be better.
One month later, the palace examination will be held. This time, no one will be eliminated in the palace examination. As long as Lin Jingya performs normally, even if he does not pass the imperial examination, he will still be a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination).
Aside from the first few days, Lin Jingya met with several other students from this cohort and made a few like-minded friends.
In the following period, Lin Jingya stayed quietly at the Bai family to prepare for the palace examination, hoping to achieve a good ranking.
At the end of March, Lin Jingya entered Chongzheng Hall. Because he ranked third in the provincial examination, he was seated in the second row, while the first row was for the top scholar.
The policy issue was actually about reforms, and they were asked to choose one from governance, economy, agriculture, and military to explain.
Lin Jingya glanced at him and understood that there were probably many people who could be selected for official positions, but they had to be good at speaking.
After pondering the thoughts of the examiners and the emperor, I realized that military affairs were probably suppressed by the civil officials of the Song Dynasty, so if I chose military affairs, I definitely wouldn't get a high score.
After thinking for a quarter of an hour, Lin Jingya began to write, choosing agriculture as the foundation of the nation.