Han Changmu took a clean handkerchief and slowly wiped the oil on his fingertips, with a hint of disgust in his brows: "Do you know who did this?"
Yao Yao lowered his head, feeling guilty but not frightened: "From picking vegetables to chopping stuffing to making meat and steamed buns, the officials have checked everything. They are all clean guards and nothing unusual has been found."
Han Changmu did not delve too deeply into this matter.
There are many people and things in the kitchen, and others may make omissions, but if someone tells him that Yao Yao can't keep an eye on him, there will be omissions, and he won't believe it even if he is beaten to death.
He raised his eyes and glanced at Yao Yao lightly: "Really?"
This sounds like a question, but it is actually stating a fact. This fact only has four words. Don't lie to me.
The suspicion was undisguised and obvious.
Yao Yao was stunned for a moment, then looked into Han Changmu's deep eyes, and quickly recognized him: "This is a low-ranking official who neglected his duty."
"Really?" Han Changmu still said the same two words. He looked at Yao Yao's eyes, which were so clear, pure, and flickering, but why were they so untrustworthy.
Yao Yao also gave up trying to convince Han Changmu that she had really made a mistake this time.
In fact, she was a little confused. There were only a few people in the kitchen, how could she not keep an eye on them?
Could it be that I have been staying up late recently and my body has been exhausted?
That's all, it's still the same as before, no one always believes her when she tells the truth.
Seeing that Yao Yao didn't say anything, Han Changmu stopped pursuing it. He just thought about it secretly and still held the handkerchief to wipe his hands. His fingertips were slightly red from the rub and the oil stains were almost invisible. He lowered his head slightly. , but the oily smell still stubbornly entered the nostrils.
Finally, he gave up and threw the dirty handkerchief aside.
Yao Yao pursed his lips and laughed dumbly.
Sure enough, the flavor of meat bun stuffing is an enduring biochemical weapon from ancient times to the present.
Han Changmu smiled meaningfully and curled up his hand slightly on the food table: "Yao Canjun hasn't used Mu Shi yet. Let's sit down and use it together."
Yao Yaoxiao's gorgeous face, and the delicacies on the dining table immediately offset the feeling of disbelief, and her words were filled with more sincerity: "Thank you, sir. You'll be welcome, then."
Han Changmu curled his lips and smiled, then said to Meng Sui: "Go get another pair of bamboo chopsticks."
The candles in Mingyuan Building have been used a lot recently. The doors and windows in the official hall are wide open. Thick white smoke floats out along the doors and windows. There is quite a fairy atmosphere in the hall, and between the clouds and mist Revealing diligent heads.
The hair on these heads is visibly balder than in the past few days.
He Zhenfu walked past the official hall and clicked his tongue when he saw the heads half-covered in the thick smoke, but still shiny.
With such a bright head, why are you still burning the lamp? It's not a waste.
In the past few days, everyone had sunken eye sockets, their eyes were full of numbness and exhaustion, and the hair on their heads was thinning day by day.
They are obviously all good young men in their prime, but looking at the backs of their heads, they all look like bald old men of half a century.
If this continues, it's not just the thinning hair that will be saved, but the person with long hair.
Seeing that a large number of officials would suffer from overwork injuries or die from overwork if they could not make it through the end of the provincial examination, Jiang Shen thought carefully and after the guards searched the rooms on the second floor of Mingyuan Building and apparently found nothing, He asked these people to move back to their respective rooms.
As a result, the inspection scope of He Zhenfu and other internal guards was much larger than before, and the manpower seemed to be slightly insufficient.
As more and more exam papers were transcribed, the desks of the eighteen fellow examiners became increasingly full.
These eighteen fellow examiners were in charge of grading the provincial examination in another slightly smaller public office.
Two Imperial Guards, one tall and one short, carried the transcribed examination papers and walked through the corridor towards the official hall.
The sky was already completely dark, and the dark sky and dark clouds covered up the flickering moonlight and starlight.
A dim lamp hung at intervals in the corridor, and the night wind blew in through the half-open window, causing the lamp to sway.
The tall Imperial Guard was walking when he suddenly stumbled and with a "crash" sound, all the examination papers in his hands fell to the ground.
A gust of night wind blew in unexpectedly, and the examination papers on the ground tumbled and floated all over the floor.
The two Imperial Guards exclaimed. The short Imperial Guard hurriedly put aside the examination papers in his hands, and together with the tall Imperial Guards, hurriedly chased after the examination papers that were flying like snowflakes in the sky.
The test papers were flying lightly in the wind. I caught this one, but another one flew away.
Even the pile of examination papers that the short Imperial Guard had placed on the ground had been blown up by the wind.
The Imperial Guards who were patrolling not far away heard the commotion and hurried in. When they saw the white examination papers spread out on the ground, they were all stunned for a moment before they came back to their senses and hurriedly picked up the examination papers together.
There were so many helpers, and the test papers that were flying all over the floor were quickly collected.
The two imperial guards thanked him again and again, neatly coded the examination papers, and carried them into another official hall.
The Imperial Guards who had just helped pick up the examination papers also exited Mingyuan Building and continued to patrol outside.
One of the Imperial Guards turned his head and glanced at the direction in which the two men disappeared, and raised his lips into a strange smile. The sense of success in his smile was fleeting.
He Zhenfu stood in the dark. When he saw this scene, he squinted his eyes, turned around and walked towards the third floor.
As soon as he walked to the door, he smelled the aroma of the food. He pushed the door open and saw the food table full of food and a jug of wine. He immediately felt sour.
He worked tirelessly patrolling and watching, but these people were enjoying themselves here.
Forget it, Mr. Han. Who wants someone to be an official? But why are Yao Yao and Meng Sui separated?
Because of their beauty, because of their young age, and because of their ability to curse! !
He had never been good at concealing his emotions, and all his emotions and desires were on his face. At this moment, he was feeling aggrieved, which was revealed in his words. He smiled hypocritically and unwillingly: "Sir, they took action."
Han Changmu saw the indignation on He Zhenfu's face and laughed in his heart, but the expression on his face was indifferent, and his eyes were as dark as night: "What's going on."
He Zhenfu kept his eyes on the food table full of food. He kept a careful eye on it, but before he even bothered to use the food, his already empty stomach became even hungrier.
He swallowed hard twice and replied absently: "Two Imperial Guardsmen escorted the transcribed examination papers to the official hall. One of them was injured in the leg by the concealed weapon of the Imperial Guards and fell down, and the examination papers were disrupted."
Han Changmu's eyes darkened: "Have the North and South exam papers been disrupted?"
He Zhenfu nodded: "Yes."
Han Changmu's face was as dark as a pool. Although there was no wave at all, there was hidden anger in his calm brows.
There are two things in this world that cannot be calculated.
The lives of the soldiers who defend our country cannot be counted.
The future of scholars who care about the world cannot be calculated.
He nodded on the other side and said to He Zhenfu: "You don't need to eat at night, sit down and talk while eating."
He Zhenfu's unhappiness immediately disappeared when he heard that there was food to be eaten. He exclaimed, picked up the bamboo chopsticks Meng Suigai handed over, and took a few bites of the vegetables.
When Yao Yao and Meng Sui saw He Zhenfu picking up food, they immediately felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy. They also let go of their hands and feet and went straight for the hard dishes with all their strength.
Just kidding, a chicken only has two legs. In this case, you can only use hand speed.
Han Changmu was originally filled with depression, but in the blink of an eye he saw a group of his arrogant men, all focused on grabbing food. He suddenly shook his head helplessly and laughed dumbly: "Do you know who belongs to the Imperial Army who took action?"
He Zhenfu was eating happily. When he heard Han Changmu's question, he suddenly felt that he had eaten a little too much and was a little overwhelmed.
He swallowed hard and said: "I checked the humble job. The details are clean and innocent. I can't tell whose manpower it is."
Yao Yao raised his head in surprise, feeling that the feng shui today seemed not to be very good, why were everyone stumbling forward one by one.
Han Changmu frowned slightly: "The provincial examination is the best opportunity to train and recruit disciples, and the only two people who are qualified to recruit disciples this time are Jiang Gelao and Mu Rongjun."
Yao Yao was a little confused. She knew that the Jinshi who passed the provincial examination were all the so-called disciples of the emperor, but in fact they always had to have a rock-solid official in the court as their mentor, so that their future career would be more stable. Smoother.
And this division is usually one or two of the most senior among the four examiners who preside over the provincial examination.
This choice is either active or passive, but the right to choose is in the hands of the examiner, and the scholars can only be selected.
What Yao Yao couldn't figure out was, what does this have to do with disrupting the exam papers?
With this thought in mind, she asked: "Sir, I don't understand. The examination papers have been sealed and transcribed again. How can it affect the examiner's selection of students if they are disrupted?"
Han Changmu put down his bamboo chopsticks and explained very patiently: "In the previous dynasty, when the provincial examination was used to select Jinshi, there was a huge difference in the number of Jinshi between the south and the north. Most of the Jinshi came from the south, while there were very few from the north. Later in this dynasty, After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the late emperor re-established a rule. When the provincial examination papers were sealed, the papers were divided according to the north and the south. When selecting Jinshi, a corresponding proportion of Jinshi was selected according to the number of scholars in the north and south to balance the number of Jinshi between the south and the north. gap."
Yao Yao suddenly realized.
There is an extreme imbalance in educational resources between the north and the south, resulting in a huge difference in the cultural level of scholars between the north and the south.
A scholar who is known as a leading scribe in the north would probably only be called a middle-class scholar in the south where talented people are everywhere.
In this dynasty, which lacked clothing, food, and heating, most celebrities and scholars abandoned the north, which had long and cold winters, and chose to stay in the south, where the temperature difference between the four seasons is small, the scenery is picturesque, and the people are outstanding. The south has always had more people than the north. The base of scholars that can be cultivated is large, so the number of talents will naturally be astonishingly higher than in the north.
