"Why would Xu Ciold know how to write a poem? I could just write a few sentences and he would be ashamed. If not for the poem he wrote for his cousin, Xu Qi'an, Layman Zi Yang's jade pendant would have been mine. "
Zhu Tuizhi cursed as he recalled the incident that day.
"Could it be that he cheated in the imperial examinations?" Liu Jue probed.
"Nonsense!" The students of Yunlu Academy were infuriated when they heard this, and all of them glared at him.
Cheating in the imperial examinations … This phrase appeared in Zhu Tuizhi's mind. It seemed to answer all his questions and rationally explain why Xu Ciold was able to write a masterpiece that would be passed down through the ages.
Then, Zhu Tuizhi shook his head. "Impossible. A poem is not an essay. Knowing the exam topic in advance will give you time to prepare. Brother Liu, I'll let you use 'Spring Scenery' as the theme. I'll give you three days. Can you write a masterpiece that will be handed down for generations? "
Liu Jue shook his head. "I'm ashamed. I probably won't be able to write it even if you give me three years."
He took a sip of wine and revealed a meaningful smile. He lowered his voice and said, "But Brother Zhu, think about it. What if the person who wrote the poem was Silver Gong Xu Qi'an?"
The atmosphere fell silent. The Yunlu Academy students and the Imperial College students did not immediately refute him. Instead, they thought about it carefully in their minds.
Yes, if it was Xu Shikui, if he knew the exam topic in advance, he would probably be able to write it in a day, not to mention three days.
The farewell poem and the poem about plum blossoms, as well as the poem that was sung before the "sacrifice" in Yunzhou, were all composed at the last minute.
The Yunlu Academy students thought of the poem that was pasted on the academic wall. According to the great scholar of the academy, Xu Ningyan was able to compose a poem in ten breaths.
"Hmph, how did Silver Gong Xu Qi'an know the exam topic?"
Although they thought so, they would not admit it. The Yunlu Academy students questioned him.
"I don't know, I don't know." Liu Jue waved his hand and smiled. "It's just a guess. But that Xu Qi'an is Silver Gong. Rumors have it that he is deeply trusted by Wei Yuan … "
He did not continue.
After this episode, the students of Yunlu Academy were no longer in the mood to drink. After sitting for a while, they stood up and said goodbye.
Liu Jue, who was good at socializing, personally sent Zhu Tuizhi and the rest downstairs. He then took the initiative to settle the bill, and the group dispersed outside the restaurant.
A quarter of an hour later, Liu Jue returned and entered a carriage parked outside the restaurant.
Inside the carriage sat a middle-aged man dressed like a rich man. He wore a jade ring on his thumb, a walnut in one hand, and a teacup in the other.
"Steward Zhao!"
Liu Jue bowed respectfully.
The middle-aged man nodded, put down the teacup, and poured himself a cup of tea. He frowned and said, "You reek of alcohol. Have some tea."
"Thank you, Steward Zhao." Liu Jue held the teacup with both hands and finished it in one gulp.
"I found out some things. According to the students from Yunlu Academy, Xu Cijiu doesn't know how to compose poems at all, and his level is terrible. There was an eighty to ninety percent chance that the "Difficult Road to Travel" was written by someone else. Of course, I don't have any proof. "
The middle-aged man smiled satisfactorily and said, "I don't need proof. This is enough."
…
In a courtyard planted with willows in the outer city.
The Jinlian Taoist priest, who had just consumed the Blood Embryo Pill, bathed in the warm spring sunlight. He felt that his body was no longer cold, and he was no longer turning into an otherworldly item. However, there was still some Yin energy left in his body, which could be eliminated by the other Blood Embryo Pill.
"This body is not compatible with my Primordial Spirit, so it won't take long. Fortunately, Jinlian Creation is about to mature, and the lotus seed can help me reconstruct my body. It's time for me to leave the capital.
"I hope that nothing unexpected will happen when the time comes."
The Jinlian Taoist priest prayed in his heart.
…
"Dalang, that … that lady doesn't seem to be from Daibun."
The son of the gatekeeper, Old Zhang, thought for a moment and described, "She's an ugly dark-skinned lady with blue eyes. Her hair is ugly too, and it's curly. "
Number 5?!
What the heck, why did she come to my house? Did the Jinlian Taoist priest ask her to come? Then does she know that I'm Number 3?
When the Jinlian Taoist priest asked him to help find Number 5 instead of Number 3, he could use the excuse that Number 3's level was too low to cover it up. After all, the higher the level of the Confucian School was, the more terrifying its power would be.
However, in the early stage, the ninth to seventh rank were all trash. When one reached the sixth rank of the Confucian School, he could copy other people's skills and possess considerable combat power.
From Chu Yuanzhen and Hengy Yuan's point of view, although Number 3, Xu Ci, was extremely smart, his powerful cousin, Xu Ningyan, was more reliable when needed.
It seemed that he would have to skip work today … Xu Qi'an nodded and said, "I understand. After I ask for leave, I'll go back with you."
After asking for leave, Xu Qi'an sat on the back of the horse and trotted in the direction of the Xu Mansion. The gatekeeper's son, Little Zhang, trotted beside him.
After half an hour, they arrived at the Xu Mansion, which was not far from the yamen. Xu Qi'an handed the reins to Little Zhang and went straight into the mansion.
As soon as he entered the outer courtyard, he saw the kitchen maids carrying plates of hot dishes, steamed buns, and rice into the inner courtyard.
"Dalang is back …" The kitchen maids breathed a sigh of relief. As they spoke, they cast their gaze towards the inner courtyard.
"There's a girl in the mansion. She said she's looking for you. When I asked her about her relationship with you, she couldn't say it clearly either. She mumbled and I couldn't understand nine out of ten sentences."
I couldn't understand nine out of ten sentences. Number 5's Nanjiang accent was a little heavy … Xu Qi'an complained as he entered the inner courtyard with the kitchen maids. From afar, he heard Xu Lingyue's gentle voice coming from the inner hall.
"Miss Lina, you came all the way from the Nanjiang. Why are you looking for my big brother?"
"I'm not looking for your big brother. I'm looking for a few friends to train …" A voice with a heavy accent spoke half-baked Daibun official language.
However, the voice was like a silver bell, crisp and pleasant to the ear.
"So you don't know my big brother?"
"I don't know him."
Xu Lingyue had figured out her background in just a few words. This girl didn't look very smart and had nothing to do with my big brother … Xu Lingyue warmly entertained Lina.
Her aunt sat on a chair not far away. She frowned slightly and looked at Lina with slight hostility.
This foreign woman really knew how to eat. In just an hour, she had eaten three days' worth of rations. If it was converted into silver, it would be … a few taels?
Her aunt had specially asked the kitchen maids to prepare some rice, steamed buns, and vegetables. If it was fish and meat, how much would it cost?
Who could afford to raise such a girl?
"Miss Lina? What are you doing in my mansion? "
Xu Qi'an stepped through the doorway and looked at the little barbarian girl from the Nanjiang in surprise. Compared with her pale face from yesterday, her complexion was ruddy and her eyes were bright. It seemed that her injuries had healed.
"The Jinlian Taoist priest asked me to look for you. He said that I would stay here during my stay in the capital. Thank you, your excellency Xu, for saving my life. "
Lina quickly put down her chopsticks and swallowed the food. She looked at Xu Qi'an openly.
She thought that when she came to the capital, it would be either the Jinlian Taoist priest, Number Three, Number Four or Number Six who would receive her. Unexpectedly, she ended up staying in a strange man's house.
The Jinlian Taoist priest had already told her about what happened yesterday. Lina knew that this good-looking young man was her savior.
Since he was a trusted friend of the Taoist priest, Lina trusted him unreservedly.
She called me your excellency Xu, not Number Three … Xu Qi'an stared at Lina for a moment. He couldn't see any clues from her clear and innocent eyes.
Why did the Jinlian Taoist priest arrange her to stay with me? What's the deep meaning?
The old man didn't discuss with me before he did this. According to my experience in dealing with the old men, there's no plan if there's a discussion beforehand.
There must be a deep meaning if there's no discussion beforehand.
So, Xu Qi'an asked, "What else did the Taoist priest say to you?"
Lina took a bite of the steamed bun and said vaguely, "The Jinlian Taoist priest said that you're a close friend he met in the capital. He told me to stay at home."
After swallowing the steamed bun, she said with anger and grievance, "The Taoist priest said that I eat too much and can't afford to raise me."
Ah … Xu Qi'an's face was dull. So the reason why the Jinlian priest sent her to me was because she ate too much and couldn't afford to raise her?
This was really an impeccable reason. For the same reason, Number Six, who lived in a nursing home, and Number Four, who relied on his old friend for food and lodging, couldn't afford to raise the Southern Jiang girl either.
Damn it, it felt so uncomfortable to be treated as a rich person. When one was wandering in Jianghu, it was either you or I who freeloaded. Retribution … Xu Qi'an sighed, "I see."
"Ahem!"
The aunt coughed hard to show her presence as the mistress of the house.
But Xu Qi'an ignored her and said, "Okay, I'll get someone to arrange a room for you."
"Xu Ningyan!!"
The aunt shouted angrily and stood up from the chair. She put her hands on her waist and looked at him angrily, "I'm your aunt. You- haven't you thought about discussing it with me?"
As she said that, her eyes frequently glanced at the messy table, telling her nephew that this girl was a bottomless pit.
This … Xu Qi'an suddenly hesitated. The aunt's consideration was very reasonable. The price of goods in the capital was expensive. This girl ate so much, it was really a waste of money.
Moreover, my luck has changed recently. I'm no longer picking up silver, but accumulating reputation. Then, Wei Yuan deducted my salary.
"Brother, did you forget the chicken spirit?"
At this time, Xu Lingyue spoke. She calculated for Xu Qi'an, "Last year, the capital's salt transport office issued two thousand catties of salt and made a profit of five thousand taels. Brother took ten percent of it, so you got five hundred taels. You've never asked the Celestial Commissioner for this money.
"I asked the officials of the salt transport office. The court plans to open at least ten workshops to produce chicken spirit this year. At the end of the year, it will be an unimaginable amount of wealth.
"So, our family is no longer short of silver."
The 'salt' that Xu Lingyue mentioned was referring to the chicken spirit. Now, chicken spirit was like salt, an important strategic resource for the court. Last year, it appeared out of nowhere and couldn't be produced on a large scale. But after this year's production was expanded, the profits were immeasurable.
If you didn't mention it, I would've forgotten about it. It must be that old Supervisor blocking the chicken spirit so I couldn't remember. He wanted to cheat me of money.
Xu Qi'an was pleasantly surprised to find that he was actually this era's Father Ma.
Lina didn't understand at all, but she felt that it was amazing. She came all the way from the southern border to the capital. She knew what a copper coin could buy, and what a silver coin could buy.
At the same time, she also knew how difficult it was to earn money.
Subconsciously, she looked at "your excellency Xu" with pure worship in her eyes. It was like a little girl seeing her neighbor's older brother with instant noodle hair, wearing jeans, and a decorative iron chain hanging from his waist, dancing in her yard.
"How come I don't know about this?" Aunt asked suspiciously.
"Aunt, you don't know? I asked Lingyue to tell you." Xu Qi'an looked at his sister.
Xu Lingyue looked confused, "Mother must've forgotten."
Aunt opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. She wasn't sure if she had forgotten. She had no impression of such a big 'profit'.
At this time, Lina asked in a worshipful tone, "May I know your excellency Xu's name?"
She had learned this way of asking questions when she was roaming the world in Daibun.
"Xu Qi'an!"
"Xu, Xu Qi'an …" Lina tilted her head and thought for a long time. Suddenly, she screamed, "You are Xu Qi'an. Didn't you die in Yunzhou?"
Aunt and Xu Lingyue looked at her suspiciously.
This foreign girl claimed to know Xu Qi'an, but she didn't know about his resurrection. Then, what was she doing here?
"Let's talk somewhere else."
Xu Qi 'an pulled Lina out of the side hall and stopped at the side of the flowerbed.
He explained, "I didn't die. It was Li Miaozhen who made a mistake. Well, actually, I'm a peripheral member of the Heaven & Earth Society. Although I don't have the corresponding fragments of the Book of the Earth, I know everything about you. "
"No wonder the Jinlian Taoist priest asked me to find you." Lina smiled happily. She easily believed Xu Qi'an's words without any doubt.
So gullible … Xu Qi'an said seriously, "This is a secret. You can't reveal it to anyone, not even the members of the Heaven & Earth Society."
"Okay!"
Lina smiled and nodded. She looked very beautiful when she smiled. It was hot in Nanjiang. Lina's skin was a healthy wheat color. However, in the eyes of the Daibun people who advocated fair skin and beauty, she was a little tanned.
"Let's go eat."
If everyone in the world was as simple and naive as Number Five, how good would it be … Xu Qi'an looked at her lively back and sighed.
He still had a lot of things to ask Number Five. For example, how did she know that the person who picked up the silver was Number Three himself and not some random friend.
There was no hurry. Simple people were usually more stubborn. If they said it was a secret, they would definitely keep it a secret.
But when she ate at home for a few more days, as long as she had a bit of conscience, she would know that it was wrong to freeload.
…
The Cabinet.
Wang Zhenwen, dressed in a scarlet robe, bent over the table to read the memorials. He had been sitting there for four hours. He only went to the toilet a few times. The rest of the time was devoted to official work.
The Cabinet was equivalent to the Emperor's private secretary. It had great power and was much more powerful than the six ministries.
All the memorials of the court, and even the suggestions of the people to the Emperor, were compiled by the Office of Commissioner of Communication. The Office of Rites would report it to the Emperor and then hand it over to the Cabinet.
The Cabinet was responsible for drafting the opinions. The Office of Rites would then report it to the Emperor. The final decision on how to handle the matter would be made by the six ministries.
When it came to the Yuanjing Emperor's court, the Office of Commissioner of Communication would directly pass the memorials to the Cabinet. The Cabinet would draft the opinions and then hand it over to the Yuanjing Emperor.
There was a process omitted in the middle.
This was because the Yuanjing Emperor thought that the extra process in the middle would hinder his cultivation.
It was precisely this process that was omitted in the middle that was the most fishy. Because in this way, the Yuanjing Emperor would only see the memorials that the Cabinet wanted him to see.
Of course, although the Yuanjing Emperor was not a good Emperor, he was an Emperor who was good at using politics. In order to restrain the excessive power of the civil officials and overrule the Imperial power, he thought of a method that could satisfy both sides.
This method was called "Wei Yuan".
In the grand scheme of things, the parties and Wei Yuan's party were like fire and water. In the grand scheme of things, the fighting between the parties was fierce.
The Yuanjing Emperor sat calmly on the fishing platform, responsible for maintaining the balance and cultivating in peace.
Wang Zhenwen opened the last memorial. After reading the contents, he muttered to himself and sat in silence for a long time. Then, he took out a slip of paper, wrote down his suggestions, and stuck it on the memorial.
When he finished all this, it was dusk.
… …
At night, Xu Lingyin's mortal enemy was added to the Xu household's dining table.
Xu Lingyin loved and hated this big sister who had appeared out of nowhere. She loved it because after her "big sister" came, the food at home had increased several times.
She hated it because this big sister ate too much …
Her mouth was so small, she could not eat as much as her.
The second uncle Xu's face darkened as he examined Lina. He turned his head and asked his nephew: "Is she from the Southern Border's Gu tribe, the Power Gu tribe?"
Lina raised her head from the bowl, there was rice at the corner of her mouth. She said crisply: "I am from the Power Gu tribe, how did the second uncle Xu know?"
Who is your second uncle! Xu Pingzhi snorted coldly.
In the Battle of Shanhai Pass, he had personally experienced the war, and saw the terrifying strength of the Power Gu tribe's barbarians. Their specialty was their appetite.
It was normal for a strong Strength Gu tribesman to eat a cow in a day.
Wei Yuan never captured the people of the Power Gu tribe, he killed them directly to save on food.
"Big brother, I have something to tell you." Xu Xinnian suddenly said.
"I knew you had something to do, so I never relaxed. Tell me. "Xu Qi'an fought with Lina for the meat as he replied to his cousin.
"Miss Wang asked me to go to the lake tomorrow." Xu Xinnian said cautiously.
"What do you think?" Xu Qi'an said.
Xu Xinnian snorted and put down his chopsticks. He said with disdain: "There are only two reasons. One is because of personal grudges, and he wants to get revenge for the niece of the Ministry of Justice Minister.
"Or, Wang Shoufu doesn't want to let me go, and he's holding it in."
"Which one do you think is the reason?" Xu Pingzhi asked.
Xu Xinnian thought for a while, and said regretfully: "Although I may become a big problem for Wang Shoufu in the future, I don't think he would want to hurt me like this. I think Miss Wang is up to no good."
Hearing this, Xu Lingyue put down her chopsticks, and said seriously: "Second brother, you are not good at dealing with women, I will go with you …"
She quickly looked at Xu Qi'an, and corrected herself: "Although I don't know those messy fights, women know women best."
Xu Xinnian laughed at his sister's intelligence. "Who said I have to go? Miss Wang invited me to the lake, not Wang Shoufu. In that case, it is inappropriate for an unmarried man and an unmarried woman to go to the lake together, so I will refuse.
"The art of war says that when the enemy advances, we retreat. When we are weak, we can't fight them head-on."
"Not bad, it is handled well …" Xu Qi'an nodded: "You have already decided, why ask me?"
The family chatted while eating, and the atmosphere was harmonious.
…
The next day, the Yuanjing Emperor finished his meditation. He studied the scriptures for an hour, took the bait, and rested for half an hour. That was the end of the morning class.
At this time, he would take some time to read through the memorials. It would not take too long, because the cabinet had already prepared the "votes", and he only needed to approve them.
He opened the first memorial, which was from the newly appointed Imperial Censor of the Left. The content was to impeach the Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion, Zhao Tingfang, for accepting bribes and leaking the questions to the Yunlu Academy's student, Xu Xinnian.
The memorial also stated that during the provincial examination, the student's poetry was of the fourth grade (the lowest was the fifth grade). How could he have written such a masterpiece as "The Road Is Hard"?
Reading this, the Yuanjing Emperor did not care at first. Poetry was not an essay, and if the essay leaked the questions, it would be very serious. Poetry was lighter, even if you knew the questions, you would find it harder to find a poetry talent than to get the questions.
But then, the memorial mentioned that the student had a cousin, who was the silver gong of the Yamen, and his name was Xu Qi'an.
And as everyone knew, Xu Qi'an was Daibun's poetry champion.
After reading the memorial, the Yuanjing Emperor's eyes sharpened, but he did not express his opinion. Then, he took off the "votes" from the cabinet, and on it was the cabinet's suggestion:
"The imperial examination is for the imperial court to find talents, and since ancient times, it has been the most important. Cheating in the imperial examination is intolerable, and I hope Your Majesty will investigate. "
The Yuanjing Emperor pondered for a moment, picked up the brush, and approved it.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
