novelAbuy Chapter 59 He needs to experience life
Chapter 59 He needs to experience life
Yang Zhengdao left the Lizheng Hall and returned to the Wude Hall.
A warm breeze blew along the palace path, penetrating his outer robe and pressing his sweat-dampened inner garment against his back, making him feel a chill.
When he boldly expressed his feelings, Empress Zhangsun only said one sentence: "We'll talk about this another day."
Does this mean she's given up and tacitly accepted him as her future son-in-law?!
It seems my previous assumptions were correct.
Once the Li Tang imperial family ascended to that position, the first thing they had to guard against, restrict, or even suppress were the Guanlong aristocratic families that had propelled the Li family to power and the Shandong gentry who had remained powerful for centuries.
The main contradiction at present is that the new Tang dynasty wants to centralize imperial power, while the Shandong gentry want to maintain autonomy.
Therefore, Li Er's current strategy is to rely on the powerful families of Guanzhong and Longxi to suppress the Shandong gentry.
However, it is absolutely impossible for Li Er not to be wary of the Guanlong aristocratic families becoming the next uncontrollable force.
Li Er's test of not allowing marriage between close relatives illustrates this point.
The prohibition against marriage between close relatives may seem to be aimed at the Shandong gentry, but it also adds another layer of restraint to the Guanzhong aristocratic families.
Win one faction over another, then win the other over again.
Politics is the art of balance.
What politicians need is to look at the next three steps ahead.
The group that was pulled in next consisted of children from poor families.
Historically, this was also the case. Emperor Taizong appointed military generals from the Guanzhong region, civil officials from the Shandong aristocracy, and censors from humble backgrounds, ultimately forming a tripartite balance of power in the Zhenguan court.
Therefore, Empress Zhangsun's suggestion to let him take the imperial examination was probably three parts out of personal motives and seven parts out of following the general trend.
As for why Empress Zhangsun made him take the Xiucai examination, it was naturally because of the difficulty of the Xiucai examination.
The imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty was not perfect; the exam papers were not anonymously written down or copied; and the examiners were not locked up or isolated.
The fairness of the imperial examination system was not guaranteed by any corresponding system.
Therefore, by the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, when imperial power was declining, cheating was rampant in the imperial examination system, which almost became a mere formality.
If he were to pass the imperial examination, others would only see it as a political show orchestrated behind closed doors.
However, this was not the case for the Xiucai degree.
The difficulty of the Xiucai examination is so high that it makes cheating impossible!
First of all, the Xiucai examination was highly regarded throughout the country. The examiners would rather not admit any than dare to show favoritism. Any essay that could pass the examination had to be a masterpiece recognized by the students.
Secondly, the imperial examination for scholars focused on national strategy and current affairs. Even if the questions were leaked in advance, they would not be able to find the standard answers or write a treatise on national governance.
Finally, in the fifth year of Zhenguan, there were only a handful of scholars still alive, all of whom were famous for their time. Their essays were easy to identify, so it was impossible for them to have someone else write them for them.
In this way, if a former imperial grandson, whom everyone dislikes, were to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar in the new dynasty, it would surely cause a sensation throughout the land.
This can serve as proof of Emperor Taizong's magnanimity and civil administration, and also inspire the poor and needy to pursue their studies and make progress.
After thinking it through, Yang Zhengdao couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.
Wanting to live a life of happiness and prosperity is too difficult!
I was just about to hand my father-in-law the knife handle when I had to decorate my mother-in-law's house.
However, if he were to marry Chang Le, he would probably feel quite embarrassed when he thinks back on what happened today.
The mother-in-law discovered the little story her prospective son-in-law had written. Who was more embarrassed? Probably the one with the thin skin!
Yang Zhengdao recalled the expression on Empress Zhangsun's face when she was lost in thought, and couldn't help but let out a wicked laugh.
This caused the young eunuch leading the way to turn around in astonishment.
Yang Zhengdao returned to the front of the Wude Hall. Changsun Chong only glanced at him before continuing to practice archery with his head down, no longer as distracted as before.
Yang Zhengdao didn't say much, but went to get the hard bow and stood in front of the target on the other side.
The two occupied their respective corners and did not exchange any further words until the sun set and the others returned from the Imperial Horse Garden.
This time, Yang Zhengdao naturally learned from the lesson of the previous day. Today, he had practiced shooting about five hundred times and completed his goal, so he no longer pushed himself.
When he saw Xu Shiji, he put down his bow, rubbed his sore arm, and walked up to Xu Shiji.
"I hereby report to Duke Cao that I fear continuing archery practice may strain my arm and delay tomorrow's training. Therefore, I request that the punishment of archery practice be postponed until tomorrow."
Xu Shiji nodded, indicating that it was approved.
Changsun Chong's arm was already aching and trembling slightly, but he was surprised to see that Yang Zhengdao had taken the initiative to resign today.
He then glanced sideways at Yang Zhengdao, let out a disdainful snort, and continued to endure the pain as he practiced archery.
Yang Zhengdao thought Changsun Chong's cold snort was extremely childish.
What's the point of arguing about this? I really don't understand.
Don't you have any idea how many times you can ejaculate in a day?
You insist on competing with me in stamina?! You'll see how much I enjoyed yesterday by tomorrow.
Since you're working so hard, as your future cousin-in-law, I should naturally give you a good encouragement.
Yang Zhengdao walked back to Changsun Chong's side with a smile.
"Young Master Changsun, the other day I practiced shooting over a thousand times with a 1.5-stone bow. How many times did you practice shooting with a 1-stone bow today?"
Upon hearing this, Changsun Chong glared at Yang Zhengdao, gritted his teeth, and continued to draw his bow.
"No way! No way! You haven't even done it 500 times today? You'd better work harder!"
Yang Zhengdao left after speaking, leaving Changsun Chong behind, feeling ashamed and angry but unable to vent his anger.
But as soon as Yang Zhengdao turned around, he saw Li Hui walking quickly toward him.
Without a doubt, she would invite him to Pingkangfang.
As Li Hui approached, he smiled mysteriously, then tugged at Yang Zhengdao's sleeve, lowered his voice, and spoke as they walked.
"Ah Dao, I didn't have a chance to tell you this morning, but I've found out whose property that is. Shall we go together and make some plans?"
Yang Zhengdao paused, though he did want to go, but ultimately gave up.
Thinking of Yingluo's slender waist, her fragrant and soft lips, and her eyes that looked like she had been bullied, it was just too alluring.
If you can look at something but can't eat it, it's better to just refrain from looking at it.
Thinking of this, Yang Zhengdao coughed lightly: "Ah Hui, why don't you come back to Xingdao Lane with me? We can have hot pot and chat, how about that?"
"Rumeng also has hot pot!"
"Huh!?" Yang Zhengdao looked at Li Hui's smug expression and couldn't help but ask, "Where did you get the hot pot base!?"
"You don't know this, but yesterday a restaurant in the East Market that hasn't even opened yet started selling its family's secret soup base to the public. They even delivered samples to the embroidery courtyard in Nanqu for tasting. I think the soup base is pretty much the same as the hot pot base you mentioned, so today I had a servant deliver the copper pot and ceramic stove to Rumeng."
How could Yang Zhengdao not know? This must have been the work of Tun Qiaoqiao.
I just didn't expect her to act so quickly; it's only been three days.
Moreover, they began secretly laying out their plans before the restaurants even opened, giving them a head start.
As expected of a character bound to the system's gacha pool, she is both beautiful and capable.
Seeing that Yang Zhengdao was distracted, Li Hui assumed he was still hesitating and reminded him:
"If you really marry into Chang Le's family, you'll have even less chance to go to Ping Kang Fang in the future, and there's another place available tonight..."
He drew out the last syllable, gave a sly smile, and then leaned close to Yang Zhengdao's ear: "And there's the Zhezhi prostitute."
Upon hearing this, a whole host of poems describing the courtesans of Zhezhi instantly popped into Yang Zhengdao's mind.
At that moment, he hesitated.
After all, art originates from life. There are still two volumes of "Spring in the Curtain Screen" that are not yet finished, and he needs to experience life.