As Li Yi walked down the street, he casually flipped through the "leaked questions" scroll that he had spent five copper coins to buy.
The writing on it was already extremely blurred, and in some places, even the words could not be seen clearly. It was unknown how many editions had been stolen. Let alone ten taels of silver, Li Yi even felt that the five copper coins he had just spent wasn't worth it.
Across from him was a young man who was also holding a similar exam paper. After raising his head to glance at him, he put the exam paper into his bosom as if guarding against a thief and quickly walked away.
It seemed that taking advantage of the autumn wind of choosing a son-in-law, quite a few unscrupulous pirate merchants in the capital were going to make a fortune.
When Li Duan left the capital, he was still young and had forgotten many of his memories.
But some things had been engraved in the depths of his memory and could not be forgotten.
He looked at Li Yi and asked, "Father, can I go find Xiao Rui now?"
Li Yi patted his head and said, "Wait for another two days, then we'll go home first."
No one knew that they had entered the capital this time. Neither Li Xuan nor the old madam had informed them in advance.
They did not go directly to the Gyeong Of Silla manor but to the Li family.
In the capital, the rise and fall of a family was extremely short and without any pattern.
There was the Chen family from a few years ago, which was a duke and had been high and lofty for decades. But in a single day, it declined and was no longer mentioned by anyone.
There were also a few families that had risen in recent years, such as the Liu family and the Zeng family. Originally, they could only be considered second-rate, but in recent years, someone in the family had been promoted and entered the ranks of the imperial court, allowing them to rise to the first-rate.
Most of them rose and fell, just like the Li family, from prominence to decline, and then back to prominence …
Of course, in the entire capital, the number of families that were as prominent as the Li family's current position could be counted on one hand.
In front of the Li family's door, a young servant walked up and sized up the strangers in front of him. "Who are you looking for?"
These people looked travel-worn. It was obvious that they had been on the road for a long time. Over the past few years, many people knew that the Li family was prominent, so there were many bad guys who came to meet them. He had to ask them clearly.
Without waiting for the other party to answer, his butt was kicked, and he knelt on the ground.
"Which king …" He crawled up from the ground with a furious look on his face. However, when he turned his head, his expression melted like ice and snow. He said with a smile, "Butler Li, why are you …"
"Are you blind?!" The old man fiercely kicked his butt and quickly walked forward with an excited look on his face. "Young Master, you're finally back!"
Li Yi nodded and smiled, "Uncle Li, long time no see."
…
The Li family.
Li Duan stood upright in the hall and knelt on the ground. He kowtowed to the two old people several times and said, "Greetings Great Grandmother, greetings Great Grandmother."
"Duaner, come here quickly. Let Great Grandmother have a good look at you!" Madame Dowager was already very excited. Without waiting for him to get up, she stood up from the chair, took his hand, and looked him up and down.
"I haven't seen you for a few years. Duaner has grown so much …"
The two old ladies had always been healthy, and all their attention was on Li Duan.
When he left the capital last time, Li Duan had just learned how to walk. Now, he could easily jump over the wall and tear down the roof tiles.
After a long time, Madame Dowager held Li Yi's hand and said, "When Ruyi came back two days ago, I knew that you were probably coming back."
Li Yi looked at Madame Dowager and asked, "Where is Ruyi now?"
"She came back to take a look and left." Madame Dowager looked at him and asked, "How long will you stay in the capital this time?"
Li Yi smiled and said, "I'm not sure yet. But this time, I plan to bring Grandmother with me. Shuzhou is not much worse than the capital now."
Madame Dowager nodded and said, "Yes, I want to go and see my precious great-granddaughter. She has been in the capital all her life and has long been tired of it …"
She thought about it and said, "Do you want me to send someone to inform His Majesty and the Princess?"
Li Yi shook his head and said, "Don't inform them yet. In a few days, I will personally tell them."
Li Yi didn't want to make such a big fuss at the moment. Once the news of his return to the capital was announced, who knew how many people in the capital would not be able to sleep.
And at this juncture, it was not suitable to announce it.
The matter of the prince consort this time had already caused an uproar in the entire capital and even the Jing Kingdom. Shouning could not be married. The former Emperor had said that other than herself, no one had the right to decide her affairs. But now that things had come to this, even if the former Emperor was brought up, it would still be the royal family that would lose face.
He could also directly take Shouning away and let Li Xuan deal with this mess. After all, he was the one who caused the trouble. But this, in the end, was not the best choice.
After tricking Li Xuan for so many years, it was better to let him go this time.
Chang quietly came to his side and asked, "Tomorrow is the day of the written examination. What do you plan to do?"
Before the former Emperor died, he had given him three orders.
These three orders were for Yong Ning, Shouning, and MIngzhu.
Chang was the supervisor of these three orders.
"What do I plan to do?" Li Yi thought about it. Robbing and stealing seemed to be out of the question, so he could only rely on his own ability …
The Ministry of Rites.
The selection of the emperor's son-in-law was supervised by the Ministry of Rites. All the young talents participating in the competition had to first register at the Ministry of Rites.
At the yamen of the Ministry of Rites, an official looked at the young man and the old man in front of him. He frowned and said, "Tomorrow is the day of the written examination. The examination papers have already been printed and the venue has already been arranged. Now you are telling me to register? Where have you been?"
The young man looked at the official with a smile and said, "Sir, we came from the faraway Shu Province. We were delayed on the way and only arrived today. We missed the registration date. It was not easy for us to come here. I hope you can make an exception."
"Make an exception?" The official shook his head and said, "Missing the registration date means you are not fated with Her Highness. Go back to where you came from."
Li Yi took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve and secretly handed it over. He said, "Sir, please make an exception …"
The official glanced at it and estimated it to be a few thousand taels. His heart shook and he was about to reach out his hand when the old man next to the young man grabbed his wrist.
The old man looked at him and said in a cold voice, "As an important member of the Ministry of Rites, you dare to accept bribes?"
The official's eyelids twitched. He finally realized that these two people had come today to make fun of him.
His expression darkened. He said, "Which eye of yours saw me accept bribes? You two have missed the registration. Hurry up and leave. Otherwise, I will have people kick you out!"
Chang hooked his arm around the official's neck and pulled him to the side. When they walked out again, the official's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He looked at Li Yi and said in a trembling voice, "Young … young master … please wait a moment. I, I will immediately arrange for you …"
Seeing the official's expression, Li Yi knew that Chang was taking advantage of his position to bully people again.
He had created the Intelligence Bureau. Although he had completely let go of it, he still had countless methods to make a lowly official from the Ministry of Rites listen to him.
Of course, if it wasn't for the fact that Li Yi was wearing a mask today, his face alone would be enough for him to pass through all the yamens in the capital unimpeded.
When he came out of the Ministry of Rites, he had already received the number plate for tomorrow's written exam.
This written exam took up almost all the classrooms in the capital. The number plate in Li Yi's hand had already reached more than a hundred. It could be seen just how many people were participating in this written exam …
Chang was not worried about this. Although Gyeong Of Silla never knew how to be shameless when he boasted, he had to admit that no one could beat him in this kind of competition, whether it was in literature or martial arts.
After leaving the yamen of the Ministry of Rites, another few hundred meters was the palace wall.
Li Yi stood on the wide street and looked at the familiar palace wall in the distance. He turned his head and said to Chang, "You go back first. Lend me the plate just now …"
…
Morning Dew Hall.
MIngzhu was flipping through the memorials from the Ministry of Rites regarding the selection of the son-in-law. A palace maid came in from outside and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, it's time to eat …"
MIngzhu didn't raise her head and said, "Put it down first."
"Yes."
The palace maid responded and waved her hand. A few palace maids came in and placed the lunch that had just been sent over on the table.
She was used to finishing her work before eating. But this time, when she continued to flip through the memorials, her hands suddenly stopped.
She lightly sniffed and looked at the table to the side.
On the table, other than the usual dishes, there was also a golden plate of egg fried rice.
She hadn't eaten egg fried rice in five years, but she could never forget this familiar taste.
She put down the memorials and walked over. She picked up the spoon and took a small bite.
She combed a strand of messy hair in her hair and a smile appeared on her face.
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