Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 28 Help!

Qingfenglou.

Even as the third watch drum sounds, the lights are still on.

The prosperity of a place is reflected in its restaurants.

The largest and most bustling restaurant in Huaizuo was none other than Qingfenglou.

This building consists of four independent tall buildings connected to the east, west, south, and north, all built on a stone platform. Each building is three stories high, with flying eaves and bracket sets inside. The corridors are both open and closed, allowing people to move around between them.

The first floor is open to business travelers and individual tourists for drinks, and is relatively lively and noisy.

The second floor consists of private rooms, offering significantly more privacy.

The third floor also consists of private rooms, but both the size and decoration of these rooms are more luxurious, and the protection of privacy is much stricter. They are often used for small gatherings and entertainment by wealthy merchants or officials passing through Huaizuo.

This place has both the refined atmosphere of literati and the performance of songs and dances, and can accommodate thousands of people at the same time.

A restaurant of this size is bustling with people, and can entertain guests of all statuses. From the drunken ramblings of canal workers to the calligraphy of literati, from the complaints of merchants to the lamentations of minor officials, the occasional news that circulates is quite well-informed.

With such multiple uses, this building is no longer simply about making money; it is now jointly controlled by the Jiang, Chen, and Zhang families.

That night, in the main hall on the third floor.

Persian animal hides were laid out, and twenty-eight tortoise-shell lamps were embedded in the beechwood coffered ceiling, the candlelight making the room as bright as day.

The five-stringed pipa and shakuhachi, the musicians all with their hair in buns and adorned with plain silver hairpins, played "Three Variations on Plum Blossom" between the rise and fall of their fingertips. The rhythm was light and easy, relieving anxiety and adding a touch of proud elegance.

The guest tables stretched for hundreds of seats.

At a glance, the guests were either talented sons of officials or accomplished scholars from humble backgrounds, all gathered together, laughing and chatting.

At the host's table, Jiang Zhao gestured with his hand, and the conversation immediately ceased, leaving only the faint strains of a pipa.

Jiang Zhao raised his glass and stood up, smiling elegantly: "Five years ago, I left Yangzhou in haste and failed to fulfill my duty as a host. Now that we are gathered again, let's make up for it with this drink. Please."

"Jing Zichuan!" The slightly chubby Chen Fu immediately picked up his cup and stood up, his every move exuding composure.

He has emerged from the gloom of failing his first imperial examination.

After all, not everyone has the talent of Jiang Lang from Huaizuo. Failing once is the norm. He is still young and has many more opportunities.

"Come on, let's toast Zichuan." Zhang Ci also stood up and raised his glass, his face beaming with joy.

The sons of officials and the students from humble backgrounds all raised their glasses and stood up.

This was Jiang Zhao's first gathering in five years, and no one dared to refuse.

Or rather, everyone present was proud to be a part of this gathering, and many even turned down other engagements for it.

After all, everyone who participated in the gathering was either the eldest son of a prestigious family or a successful official's son. Even those from humble backgrounds were all successful candidates in the imperial examinations, and many of them had already passed the examinations and were about to embark on their official careers.

For such a high-quality gathering to be brought together, the organizer's reputation, talent, and family background are all indispensable.

Only Jiang Zhao, whose reputation and talent surpass the younger generation and who is almost like a king returning, can command a large following and gather people.

This is a small circle!
However, the quality of this small circle is exceptionally high, almost representing the next generation of Yangzhou!
Jiang Zhao, as the only disciple of a high-ranking official of the second rank and the top scholar in the imperial examination, is undoubtedly the absolute core.

One day, when the people in this small circle gradually become the heads of a clan or local officials, then this small circle can be called -- the local community!

Once Jiang Zhao becomes prime minister, if there is a conflict between the emperor's decrees and Jiang Zhao's decrees, then the emperor's decrees will certainly not be implemented in Huaizuo.

Below the prefecture and county levels, the power of some powerful local cliques even surpassed that of the emperor!
Just like the Han family of Xiangzhou, it would be no exaggeration to say that they were the "Kings of Xiangzhou" with a fiefdom of an entire prefecture.

This is what fellow villagers are like!
"We won't leave until we're drunk!" Jiang Zhao raised his glass and downed it in one gulp, laughing heartily.

"You won't come home until you're drunk!"

The voices of the hundreds of people were remarkably unified.

After one drink, the room became much more relaxed, allowing people to move around, raise their glasses, and chat. "Brother-in-law," Sheng Changbai approached and raised his glass.

Jiang Zhao and Sheng Hualan's marriage has reached the stage of betrothal, and the next steps are setting the wedding date and welcoming the bride.

Once a marriage has reached this stage, there is no such thing as breaking off the engagement. The marriage, which was previously kept secret, can now be officially brought into the open.

Therefore, even though Jiang Zhao and Sheng Hualan have not yet officially become husband and wife, Sheng Changbai can already call him "brother-in-law" and Sheng Hong can call him "son-in-law" instead of "nephew" when they were seeing each other off last time.

"Hey, Changbai." Jiang Zhao raised a glass of wine and drank it all in one gulp.

Anyone who knows him even slightly knows that he enjoys drinking tea and occasionally indulges in a little bit of chilled honey water.

Now that he is not only the top scholar in the imperial examination, but also famous throughout the country, and has top-notch teachers supporting him, no one dares to urge him to drink.

Drinking it all in one gulp is already a great favor.

Sheng Changbai walked closer, looked around, and nervously pulled out a gilded, openwork sachet.

Jiang Zhao had anticipated this, so he quickly reached out and took it, then casually hung it on his belt.

It has a light, refreshing, and gentle fragrance.

"Thank her for me." Jiang Zhao patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Phew!" Sheng Changbai let out a long sigh of relief.

He had never done anything like this before, and the pressure was immense.

"How did the autumn examination go?" Jiang Zhao asked, looking at his future brother-in-law.

The autumn examination, also known as the provincial examination, was usually held in August. Those who passed it became successful candidates in the provincial examination.

Sheng Changbai had already participated in the autumn imperial examination last August.

Jiang Zhao knew he hadn't won, but that didn't stop them from chatting about it.

Sheng Changbai sighed and shook his head: "My knowledge is too shallow; I failed the exam."

At thirteen, his knowledge was still too shallow; not everyone has the ability to remember everything they see.

Moreover, memorizing is one thing, but being able to understand and apply it in the exam is another.

"Don't be discouraged if you fail once," Jiang Zhao comforted. "Huainan is a place where talents gather and studies flourish. Many scholars have accumulated decades of experience. Even if you are exceptionally talented, you have only accumulated more than ten years of experience. It is not surprising that you cannot compete with them."

The autumn imperial examination only involved competition in Huainan East Road.

Like Sheng Changbai, he had to compete with students from Huainan East Road to pass the imperial examination.

Huainan was a place of great academic development, with dozens of academies. Even though the Ministry of Rites had a larger quota for admission than some less academically developed areas, the difficulty of passing the imperial examinations was by no means lower.

Some of these scholars, who had been studying for decades, taught while also taking the imperial examinations. Their knowledge was thoroughly ingrained, and their accumulated knowledge was exceptionally profound.

Sheng Changbai nodded; he understood this principle as well.

"Young Master." Just then, the pageboy Hesheng quickly approached and whispered, "Young Master, the Young Master Bai we met on the merchant ship last time requests an audience."

Gu Tingye?
really!

Jiang Zhao understood and was not surprised.

In fact, when he said "If you encounter difficulties, you can come to me" when they parted on the riverbank, he had already foreseen that this day would come sooner or later.

Once Gu Tingye survives an assassination attempt and narrowly escapes death, he will realize the ruthlessness of the Bai family and will surely come to them for help.

There was no other reason than that his existence prevented Gu Tingye from getting to know a seemingly unrelated but actually crucial figure.

Sheng Hong!

(End of this chapter)