Li Yi, the Prince of Chang 'an County, had always been a special figure in the imperial court.
He was highly favored by the Emperor. He was skilled in mathematics, Buddhism, and medicine. The Divine Punishment that he offered caused the Jing Kingdom to no longer be weak in terms of military strength. When faced with the powerful Qi Kingdom, they also had the ability to fight back.
But at the same time, he was the first to beat a prince in the Imperial Palace in front of all the officials, disregarding the rules of etiquette …
All along, the officials in the imperial court had different opinions about him. But this time, even the officials who were close to the King of Shu had to praise him sincerely, "Well done!"
Because the significance of this contest had already surpassed the contest itself.
After several defeats, the prestige of the imperial court among the people had dropped significantly. If the imperial court were to lose two battles in a row in this kind of competition between countries, it was likely that the people of the world would be utterly disappointed in the Emperor and the imperial court. This was also the objective that the people of Qi Kingdom wanted to achieve.
Now, Li Xianzi had slapped away their conspiracy with a resounding slap. Weren't the people of the Qi Kingdom good at writing poems? Now, even he admitted that he was far inferior to Li Xianzi. When he left, he even shamelessly asked the Emperor for one of Li Xianzi's original poems. Who would dare to say that the Jing Kingdom was weak in the future?
Outside the Imperial Palace, many people had been waiting in the distance since dawn.
There were old and young people, men and women, but most of them were young. Confucian scholars made up the majority. There were students from the capital, and there were also people who had come from the neighboring counties. This was because what was going on in the Imperial Palace today was not only a competition between two people, but also a competition between countries. It was closely related to each and every one of them.
They had lost a contest yesterday, so today's contest was particularly important.
Most of them looked solemn and didn't talk. Occasionally, they glanced in the direction of the gate of the palace. After the contest, the news would definitely pass through here, so they would be the first to know.
They didn't know how long they had waited. At a certain moment, a heavy sound finally came from the front.
The guards at the gate of the palace opened the gate, and all the officials came out.
They were in groups of three to five, talking and laughing. They looked very relaxed.
When the people who were waiting nearby saw this scene, they were slightly startled. Then, as if they realized something, a trace of joy quickly appeared on their faces.
Not long after, a few fast horses galloped out from the edge of the crowd. The news that the Jing Kingdom won the second round of the competition spread in all directions.
…
…
"How did the two of you get to know the Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom?" MIngzhu asked as she looked at Li Yi and Li Xuan without moving her chopsticks.
Li Xuan was a little depressed and said, "How would we know that the guy we met in the Jadeite Courtyard was the Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom? I thought he was a nice guy."
Princess Shouning took a big bite of rice. She raised her head and a grain of rice stuck to the corner of her mouth. She asked curiously, "What kind of place is Jade Courtyard? Is it fun? Take me with you next time."
Prince Jin, Li Han, didn't care about this. It was not easy to get a chance to eat with them. If he didn't seize the time to eat more, he didn't know when he would have the chance to eat again.
Li Yi remembered that he had said to Ruyi that he would go back for dinner in the morning. It seemed that he would have to wait until the afternoon. He put some food in Little Yongning's bowl and looked at MIngzhu and said, "That's the Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom. Why did he come to the capital?"
MIngzhu shook her head and said, "Although the Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom is the third prince, he is the most capable one among all the princes of the Qi Kingdom. He is deeply trusted by the king of the Qi Kingdom and has a high prestige in the hearts of the people of the Qi Kingdom. The series of things against the Jing Kingdom should be planned by him."
Li Yi nodded. The Third Prince of the Qi Kingdom did have his outstanding points.
He came to the Jing Kingdom with a few people with the envoy group of the Qi Kingdom and forced the old emperor and all the officials in the court step by step. It was enough for him to boast for the rest of his life when he went back.
Not to mention other things, if Li Han hadn't been lazy and read all the contents of the booklet, the old emperor and the officials would have jumped into the big pit they had dug. Thousands of years later, when middle school textbooks talked about the equal ratio of numbers, this would be an interesting example. The name of the old emperor would definitely be more famous than that of the founding emperor of the Jing Kingdom.
Of course, the most terrifying thing about the Third Prince was not this. Obviously, they were enemies, but Li Yi didn't feel much hatred or hostility toward him. Was this the legendary personal charm?
If he became the king of the Qi Kingdom in the future, the Jing Kingdom would be in danger. The King of Shu was an idiot who only knew how to hold parties. He couldn't be compared with that young man at all. If this went on, once the old emperor died, the Jing Kingdom would not be far from destruction.
"County Magistrate Li, His Majesty wants to see you."
The reason why Chang De wasn't well-liked was because he always appeared at the most inopportune time.
Li Yi put down his chopsticks, touched Yong Ning's head, and said, "I'll go out for a while. I'll be back soon."
Then he stood up and walked straight outside.
Chang De had never seen him so straightforward and straightforward. He was a little stunned for a moment.
"Let's go. What are you waiting for?" Standing outside the door, Li Yi looked back at Chang De and urged him.
…
…
"County Magistrate Li seems to be in a hurry this time." Chang De's voice was always gloomy.
"Why do you think His Majesty wants to see me this time?" Li Yi asked curiously.
Chang De said indifferently, "How can servants like us know His Majesty's thoughts?"
A eunuch who didn't know how to figure out His Majesty's thoughts was not a good eunuch. With Chang De's intelligence, how did he climb to the position of Chief Chamberlain? Could it be that he got in through the back door?
"Could it be that His Majesty is so happy that he wants to reward me with something after winning the competition with the people of the Qi Kingdom? I don't want money this time. If I can become a Duke, I can consider it …"
Chang De glanced at him and said, "Stop dreaming. Go in."
When Li Yi walked into the Hall of Diligent Government, Emperor Jing was not reading the memorials. Instead, he stood in front of a table and looked at something with interest.
"I …"
"All right, there is no one else here …" Emperor Jing waved his hand and turned to look at Li Yi. He asked, "How did you come up with this poem in such a short time?"
Li Yi glanced at the table and found that it was the first palindrome poem that he had just copied. The second one had been taken away by Zhao Xiuwen in front of the officials.
Li Yi thought in his heart that Great Layperson Su's coffin must be suppressed. He said, "Your Majesty, I don't know why, but when I saw the title, this poem suddenly appeared in my mind …"
Emperor Jing was stunned for a moment. He shook his head and said, "Forget it. Even Zhao Xiuwen said so. I think I have underestimated you."
"I promised you that if you can win this competition, I will allow you to take Yongning out of the palace for a month. An emperor does not go back on his words. When this matter with the Qi Kingdom is over, I will fulfill my promise."
The old emperor still kept his promise. This was a good deal. As Li Yi was thinking this, he heard Emperor Jing ask again, "Are you familiar with the scriptures? If you were to go and debate with the great scholar of the Qi Kingdom, how confident would you be? "
Li Yi was stunned for a moment and shook his head. "Your Majesty, you know that I only know a little about poetry. I really don't know anything about the scriptures. Otherwise, I would not still be a scholar. If Prime Minister Qin and so many great scholars could not do it, I would not be able to do it …"
Jing Di nodded his head. He was just asking casually. It would take at least ten years to deeply understand the meaning of the scriptures, and if one really wanted to master it thoroughly, one would need to exhaust his entire life's energy. If even the Grand Scholar of the Hongwen School could not do it, then no one could win.
In short, this time, he could not pin his hopes on Li Yi.
"You can leave first. I let Yongning out of the palace to treat her illness. I will not use this as a condition. When this matter is over, I will reward you."
"I will take my leave!"
Li Yi cupped his hands and turned to walk out of the hall.
Emperor Jing looked at his back as he left. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. He suddenly said, "Two months?"
Li Yi's footsteps stopped. After a moment, he turned his head and asked doubtfully, "Your Majesty just said … what scriptures?"
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