In the ancient imperial examination system, those who passed the examination of the imperial court of the central government at the last level were called jinshi, which was called the examination of the imperial examination hall and the first. Ancient scientific examinations were very difficult, not to mention jinshi, even xiucai and people were very difficult to test. Many students have taken the exam for a lifetime, but they can't pass the exam. The famous "Fan Jin Zhongju" in history, Fan Jindu was dozens of years old before he was lifted, which is enough to show how difficult the scientific expedition is. However, in the second year of the Northern Song Dynasty, there were actually 6 people in a family, and the whole government and the public were amazed.
Zeng Gong, one of the famous "Eight Greats of the Tang and Song Dynasties". His ancestors were scholars for generations, his grandfather Zeng Zhiyao was a Shangshu Hubu Langzhong, and his father Zeng Yizhan was Dr. Taichang. He is talented, has been known as a child prodigy since childhood, and has a very strong memory. At the age of eighteen, he followed his father to the capital, met Wang Anshi, and became a good friend. After that, Zeng Gong met Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan and others, and they discussed literature, current politics, etc. together, and they were not happy. By the age of twenty, his reputation had spread far and wide. Because he is good at strategizing, he is lighter than the time text, so he has repeatedly tried.
In the seventh year of the Celebratory Calendar, Zeng Gong's father died, and the life of the Zeng family plummeted, so he had to drop out of school and return to his hometown to serve his stepmother. He single-handedly raised four younger brothers and nine younger sisters when his family was in decline. The burden on the Zeng family was so heavy that no woman was willing to marry Zeng Gong. And he was also focused on raising his younger siblings, and he didn't have the heart to start a family.
Under the introduction of relatives, 35-year-old Zeng Gong married 18-year-old Chao Wenrou. The wife was born in the family, and did not dislike the poverty of the Zeng family, but instead started to serve the mother-in-law, the little uncle, the little sister-in-law, the little sister-in-law, contracted the family's housework, and took care of the younger brothers and sisters. She was often tired and had back pain, but she didn't complain half a word. All this, Zeng Gong saw in his eyes, he secretly made up his mind to take the meritorious name, so that a large family of people can live a good life. So he took his three younger brothers and two brothers-in-law to work hard and study hard, just for the title of the gold list.
Chao Wenrou contracted all the work in order to let them study with peace of mind and not be distracted by the chores at home. Zeng Gong and 6 other people did not live up to her expectations, and all of them passed the entrance examination. At that time, it was already remarkable that a family could produce a jinshi, so the matter of the 6 jinshi in the Zeng family became a national myth overnight, and everyone else was surprised at how they did it.
However, before Zeng Gong could let his wife enjoy the blessings, Chao Wenrou collapsed due to overwork. In her last days, Zeng Gong chose to accompany his wife and take good care of her, just as she took care of herself. In the end, Chao Wenrou passed away at the age of 26. Zeng Gong was very sad, and in the days that followed, he often thought of his gentle and virtuous wife, who worked hard and complained, constantly encouraged herself, without her, there would be no current self. To this end, he wrote many poems to mourn his wife.