Chapter 6 Ancestral Instructions
It was just the beginning of spring and the weather was a little chilly. The weather in Fengyang changed as quickly as Zhu Gang's mood. It was sunny just now, but in the blink of an eye it was covered with haze again.

Deng Qianqiu returned to the Deng family's small house. As usual, Deng Er made Deng Qianqiu a bowl of vegetarian noodles. After Deng Qianqiu ate it, he went back to his room and went to sleep.

Life in ancient times was simple and monotonous. Once night fell, even with candles lit, it was still dark, making people feel sleepy early.

When Deng Qianqiu woke up, he was still in a daze, but he heard someone calling him softly: "Qianqiu, Qianqiu..."

Deng Qianqiu opened his eyes and found that the dawn light had already poured in through the poorly sealed window panes and door cracks!
At this time, a middle-aged man who looked like a scholar was looking at him with a smile.

The middle-aged scholar was holding a puppet in his hand, and the puppet was swaying in front of Deng Qianqiu.

The middle-aged scholar stared at Deng Qianqiu motionlessly, trying to find surprise on Deng Qianqiu's face.

Deng Qianqiu obviously had no interest in this broken puppet, it was childish.

But the middle-aged scholar in front of him was his father in this world... Deng Jian.

"father……"

Deng Jian and Deng Qianqiu look very similar, both have delicate features and slender figures, but there is a little more tenderness and warmth in Deng Jian's eyes when he looks at his son.

It can be seen that his son just glanced at the puppet and then looked away. Deng Jian's eyes, which were full of longing, seemed to be a little depressed.

But soon, Deng Jian smiled and said to his son, "Are you hungry? I'll go get you some dough and make steamed buns for you today."

Deng Qianqiu shook his head, stood up and said, "We will go to the Imperial City to take up duty later. There will be food there."

"Oh, that's good, that's good."

Deng Qianqiu then realized that Deng Jian looked exhausted and dusty, and it was obvious that he had rushed home overnight.

Deng Jian placed the puppet on the small table in Deng Qianqiu's room, and said with a sigh, "When your father is away, I worry that you won't have enough to eat."

Deng Qianqiu said: "Dad, I can't understand why the emperor gave our family some land and asked me to serve in the palace."

When Deng Jian heard the word "Emperor", his body felt like it was electrocuted. His movements began to slow down, but then he returned to normal. He lowered his eyelids, as if trying to hide the emotions in his eyes, but he said, "Who knows this?"

Deng Qianqiu knew that he would not get any more answers by asking any more questions, so he looked at the book box that Deng Jian brought back.

This bookcase is Deng Jian's treasure. It contains books that he has collected or copied. He carries it with him wherever he goes.

Although the emperor granted some land, the rent collected from these lands every year was barely enough to cover the family's expenses. Deng Jian was not good at managing money, so these books were particularly precious to him.

Deng Qianqiu's eyes lit up at this moment: "Got it, I finally thought of the goal."

Deng Jian asked in surprise: "Qianqiu, what is it?"

Deng Qianqiu stood up in his slippers and said excitedly, "Dad, these days, I have been on duty in the palace and had a feast. I realized that our lives in the past were really hard, so I secretly set an ambition to make a name for myself in the future and never let us father and son suffer again."

After hearing this, Deng Jian's eyes suddenly turned red, his nose felt a little sour, he sniffed, looked carefully at Deng Qianqiu in front of him, and said in disbelief: "Son...you have grown up, and you already have ambitions."

"Dad, please listen to me first."

"Okay, okay, okay." Deng Jian patted his son's shoulder, looking relieved.

Deng Qianqiu said, "Last night, I was still silently urging myself to work hard, but when I woke up in the morning, I thought again that I am lazy and greedy, and my brain doesn't seem to be very bright. Even if I want to work hard, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve anything. So now I have slightly modified my ambition. Now I have made a new ambition, which is to make my father a useful person, to urge him to work hard, to stand out, and to bring glory to our Deng family!"

The relief on Deng Jian's face gradually turned into a little embarrassment, and his gentle eyes slowly began to dodge: "..."

Deng Qianqiu was already very excited at this time, as if it was New Year's Day, and said cheerfully: "Dad, do you have confidence?" After that, he emphasized: "Tell me, do you have confidence!"

Deng Jian opened his mouth in silence. Deng Qianqiu said with great interest: "Dad, don't you love reading? If you love reading, have you ever thought about... taking the imperial examination?"

"Imperial Examination?" Deng Jian looked surprised: "The imperial examination has not been held yet in our dynasty."

It is now the third year of Hongwu, and as Deng Jian said, the imperial examination has not yet begun!
The current court officials were all those who had followed Zhu Yuanzhang in conquering the world, or they were old officials from the previous dynasty. However, Deng Qianqiu knew that the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty would probably begin soon.

And this... is also Deng Qianqiu's trump card.

This was equivalent to someone knowing the news before the college entrance examination was resumed! Moreover, Deng Qianqiu was also clear about the general content of the college entrance examination.

People in later generations all know that the imperial examination was based on the Four Books and Five Classics, and that it used Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucian annotations. You know, even if some people thought that the emperor might hold an imperial examination, it was actually difficult to guess what form the imperial examination of the Ming Dynasty would take.

For example, during the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination focused on poetry and prose.

During the Song Dynasty, there were many varieties of literature, including classics, history, and poetry.

Even within the same classics and history, in reality, there are huge deviations!
You should know that although people call it Confucianism, in fact, there are countless factions within Confucianism. From the opposition between Zuo Zhuan and Gongyang School in the Han Dynasty, to the emergence of Taoism School, Mathematics School, Qi School, Principle School, Mind School, Practical Studies School and Practical Learning School in the Song Dynasty, etc.

After the Yuan Dynasty, because the upper-class Mongolian nobles had an almost laissez-faire attitude towards Confucianism, there were many different Confucian schools in the world, and everyone had different understandings of Confucianism.

But Deng Qianqiu knew that the imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty would eventually adopt the Four Books annotated by Zhu Xi, and he also knew that the most important focus of the imperial examinations would be on policy questions.

This means that you know the content of the college entrance examination and the key points before everyone else, and you can also review earlier than everyone else!

Deng Qianqiu felt that as long as his father worked hard enough, he would be able to succeed.

Once he passed the imperial examination and got his name on the list of successful candidates, after all, that was the first imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty, and if he passed, Zhu Yuanzhang would set up a tree as a token of trust. Although he had a bad temper, as long as his father did not commit suicide, and he and his son did not form cliques everywhere, they should have a good life.

Deng Qianqiu became more and more excited as he thought about it, so he said, "Even if we don't hold the imperial examination now, the Ming Dynasty will have to hold the imperial examination sooner or later in order to attract talents from all over the world. What's wrong with Dad making preparations early? Besides, it doesn't matter what book you read. Dad, don't worry, I'll buy you some books tomorrow and you can review them well."

"Only those who endure the most hardships can become the best. Time is money, and a thousand dollars cannot buy time. From now on, this is the ancestral motto of our Deng family. Dad, you must remember it in your heart. Oh, it's getting late. I should go to work."

After saying this, he hurriedly put on his clothes and armor and went to report for duty.

Deng Jian was left standing there in a daze, dumbfounded.

He looked at Deng Qianqiu's back, shook his head with a wry smile, and sighed softly.

He seemed to be thinking about something, or maybe Deng Qianqiu's words reminded him of some old things, so he pondered for a long time and couldn't help muttering: "Imperial Examination... Imperial Examination... Hey... Is it really possible?"

…………

Two urgent letters from the imperial city of Fengyang were delivered to the Nanjing Tongzhengshisi by express horses from the express delivery station.

This was a letter from the prince. The Ministry of Public Security did not dare to neglect it and immediately delivered it to the palace.

In the majestic Forbidden City in Nanjing, the morning light shines on the golden glazed tiles that undulate like a sleeping dragon, emitting a dazzling light.

Under this light, there was a side hall. Inside the side hall, an eunuch was crawling on the ground, motionless.

The person sitting upright was a man with a slightly dark complexion and a dignified appearance. He wore a Yishan crown on his head and a red gauze robe with a cloud dragon pattern. At this moment, his thick eyebrows slightly frowned, and suddenly waved his hand: "Back."

"Yes, I will obey your order." The young eunuch stood up quietly and retreated in small steps.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up. He was a big man and walked like a dragon. He said, "Dingchen, children nowadays are really ignorant. If I don't punish those two boys, and they don't mend their ways, who knows what they will become in the future! If the sons of common people are naughty, at most they will harm their family. But if the sons of the emperor are naughty, they will kill all the people along the way."

The person who was called a loyal minister by Zhu Yuanzhang was Tang He, Marquis of Zhongshan.

(End of this chapter)