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Zhao Junchen's sudden appearance naturally surprised Xiao Wenxuan and Li Chunchen. 【Read full text】
Of course, Xiao Wenxuan recognized Zhao Junchen, but Li Chunchen did not.
Among them, although Xiao Wenxuan had some dissatisfaction and complaints against Zhao Junchen because of his failure in the general examination, he was still frightened and quickly got up to greet him - after all, Zhao Junchen was one of the only powerful officials in the court. One is a big shot that he can only look up to.
On the other side, Li Chunchen was a very intelligent person. After seeing the panic and awe in Xiao Wenxuan's expression, he immediately understood that the person in front of him was probably of extraordinary origin and noble status. As he looked thoughtfully, he also Get up and greet each other.
Then, after looking at it for a moment, Li Chunchen's eyes suddenly flashed with surprise, as if he had vaguely guessed Zhao Junchen's identity.
"A very smart person, with clear thinking and sharp reactions. He is a rare talent." Noticing the change in Li Chunchen's expression, Zhao Junchen secretly admired him.
You know, Xiao Wenxuan's temperament is a bit aloof, and now that there are more people in the city, there are not many people who can make him change his color, and among them, there are even fewer people of Zhao Junchen's age, and among them There is also someone who is somewhat related to Xiao Wenxuan. Looking at the current government and the public, Zhao Junchen is the only one.
It can be said that although Zhao Junchen appeared suddenly and did not introduce himself, his identity was not difficult to guess. However, it is very rare to be able to associate so many things in an instant.
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"It turns out that the young master has arrived. I didn't expect you to be dining here." After the initial panic, Xiao Wenxuan finally regained his composure slightly after a moment, and greeted Zhao Junchen with his hand.
Because Xiao Wenxuan knew that Zhao Junchen's identity was sensitive and valuable, he did it without Zhao Junchen's instructions. Naturally, he did not dare to take the initiative to introduce Zhao Junchen to Li Chunchen.
But the strange thing is that although Li Chunchen had vaguely guessed Zhao Junchen's identity, he still pretended to be completely ignorant, and did not inquire or ask Zhao Junchen or Xiao Wenxuan. At this time, he looked at Zhao Junchen. He just nodded cautiously.
Zhao Junchen saw this situation in his eyes. His evaluation of Li Chunchen couldn't help but be higher.
"You don't mind if I'm at the same table?" Zhao Junchen asked with a smile.
Although it was a question, Zhao Junchen had already sat down at the table before he got a reply from the two of them.
Then, it was as if he was the master here. Zhao Junchen raised his hand again and said: "You two, stop standing and sit down together to talk. The lively conversation you just heard made me want to talk about sex. Why don't we talk together? It's more lively when there are more people. .”
After hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, Xiao Wenxuan and Li Chunchen looked at each other and sat down with some restraint.
"Master Xiao and I have met once. We are old acquaintances." After nodding to Xiao Wenxuan with a smile, Zhao Junchen turned his attention to Li Chunchen and asked, "But I still don't know the name of this master." ? Can you tell me your name? I just listened to the young master’s talk, and his insights were extraordinary. It’s admirable, but it makes me want to make friends.”
Li Chunchen's expression was full of caution, and he replied slowly: "I don't dare to answer this young master's surname. My surname is Li, my name is Chunchen, and I am from Jiangsu and Zhejiang."
Zhao Junchen couldn't help but was stunned, and looked at Li Chunchen with more and more interest: "Oh? Is it Mr. Li Chunchen who is fourth on the apricot list today?"
"Exactly." For some reason, facing Zhao Junchen's gaze, Li Chunchen's attitude became more cautious, but he no longer looked as free and easy as before.
"Incredible, he is really a great talent." Zhao Junchen clapped his hands and praised in admiration: "You know, there are so many talents in this examination, and it is not easy for Mr. Li to be ranked fourth among them. If it were another examination, , Young Master Li might be able to become a member of the Hui Yuan. Looking at your appearance and demeanor, Young Master Li, I’m afraid your results will be even better in the palace examination in a few days.”
"Young master, I'm very complimentary. Although I ranked fourth on the apricot list, it was just a fluke. As the master said, there are many talents in the undergraduate examination, but I don't dare to have high expectations for the next palace examination. , as long as it can perform normally." Li Chunchen said modestly.
Zhao Junchen shook his head and said: "You can't say that. When I take the imperial examination, the ranking will be decided by His Majesty. In order to show the prosperity of civil society, in addition to one's own intellectual talent, the younger the age and the better the appearance and temperament, the better." The easier it is to get results. And with Mr. Li’s appearance, temperament, and age, once you fall into His Majesty’s eyes, it will be difficult even if you can’t get results.”
At this point, Zhao Junchen changed the topic and asked: "I just don't know, Mr. Li, after you take the imperial examination and become an official in the court, what plans do you have for your future?"
Zhao Junchen likes talents, and this Li Chunchen is also a talent.
Although Li Chunchen treats Zhao Junchen at a respectful distance and his background is not yet known, Zhao Junchen still has no intention of giving up recruiting.
"I don't dare." Hearing Zhao Junchen's words of solicitation, Li Chunchen said: "Even if he passes the palace examination the next day, when he first enters the court, he will naturally obey the arrangements of the court and the officials, and he will not dare to do anything on his own. idea."
It seems that since Zhao Junchen appeared, Li Chunchen behaved very low-key, and his conversations were quite orderly, deliberately restraining his sharpness, as if he did not want to attract Zhao Junchen's attention.
But the more Li Chunchen was like this, the more it aroused Zhao Junchen's curiosity.
Zhao Junchen vaguely felt that Li Chunchen in front of him was trying to hide something and should not be underestimated.
Zhao Junchen had never felt this feeling before even Zhao Shancai.
However, just as Zhao Junchen was about to continue testing, Li Chunchen suddenly stood up, cupped his hands towards Zhao Junchen and Xiao Wenxuan and said: "Since you two have known each other for a long time, I thought that when we meet today, we will definitely have a lot to talk about, and I also have some things to do, but It’s inconvenient to disturb you two, so I’ll take my leave.”
Xiao Wenxuan was slightly startled when he heard Li Chunchen's sudden farewell. He turned his attention to Zhao Junchen, and after Zhao Junchen took a deep look at Li Chunchen, he smiled and said: "Since Mr. Li wants to leave, I can't force him to stay, but I think there will be many opportunities for you and me to interact with each other in the future. When the time comes, But I need Mr. Li to give me more advice."
"Don't dare to take it seriously."
With that said, Li Chunchen saluted Zhao Junchen and Xiao Wenxuan again, then turned around and left quickly.
As for his previous deliberate recruitment of Xiao Wenxuan, he has never mentioned it since Zhao Junchen appeared.
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Looking at Li Chunchen's leaving figure, Zhao Junchen narrowed his eyes slightly and commented slowly: "There are very few people of his age and background who have such ambition and confidence."
"Ambition? Confidence?" Xiao Wenxuan on the side couldn't help but asked after hearing Zhao Junchen's words.
Zhao Junchen smiled and said: "Mr. Xiao, do you really think that...his meeting with you this time and his recruitment of you just now were just accidental? Mr. Xiao, you have a very good reputation among the candidates in the Jinke Examination. The situation is also well known to everyone. I am afraid that he has noticed you for a long time and has plans to recruit you... He has just entered the apricot list and started to recruit staff talents like Mr. Xiao. This is not ambition and self-confidence. What is it?"
After a pause, Zhao Junchen continued: "What's more, a talent like him didn't have a good reputation before the Jinke Examination. It's obvious that he was deliberately tolerant and low-key. Otherwise, no matter how withdrawn he is, He's not so famous. What's more, do you think he looks like a withdrawn person? And when he saw me just now, he clearly guessed my identity but pretended not to know. He kept a distance when faced with my solicitation, and deliberately kept away from me. Zang Feng is reserved and doesn’t want to attract my attention…”
After hearing Zhao Junchen's comments, Xiao Wenxuan pondered for a moment and then guessed: "You mean... Mr. Li doesn't want to get involved in the party forces in the DPRK too early and have himself branded as a faction?"
"Not only that." Zhao Junchen said thoughtfully: "No matter whether a newcomer in the officialdom is willing or not, as long as he enters the officialdom, he will inevitably be involved in the battles between various factions, and he will inevitably need to find a backer to stabilize his position. Like him A smart person would not know this. Unless... he is sure that he will stand out from the major factions when he first enters the court, so he acts in such a low-key manner, and does not want to have traces of factions on his body to arouse His Majesty's suspicion. That would explain why he recruited you at this time and didn’t want to attract my attention.”
At this point, Zhao Junchen's expression was full of doubts, and he said: "However, I am very curious, what kind of plan and ability does this Li Chunchen have? He is so sure that he can do it when he first enters the court. Stand out? No matter what, this person should not be underestimated."
While Xiao Wenxuan nodded thoughtfully, Zhao Junchen changed the subject again.
"Let's not talk about this Li Chunchen. The imperial examination is coming soon. We will know what kind of plans he has." Zhao Junchen looked at Xiao Wenxuan with a candid look: "I came to this Ford House this time, but... I’m here to see you, Young Master Xiao. You and I had a chance encounter last time, and although I deliberately concealed my identity at the time, I guess with Young Master Xiao’s intelligence, he has already guessed my origin, right?”
Xiao Wenxuan vaguely guessed the purpose of Zhao Junchen's visit, and he couldn't help but feel complicated, but he still replied: "You are the current Minister of Household Affairs, the Minister in charge of the internal transportation warehouse, and the director of the West Factory Zhao Junchen Zhao."
Zhao Junchen nodded with a smile and said: "As you can guess, the next words will be easy to say. Well, Li Chunchen has mentioned this to you before, and I will mention it again now... Mr. Xiao will take the exam now. Unfortunately, I failed, and it seems that I don’t plan to continue to take part in the examination in the future. What are my plans in the future? If you don’t give up, how about joining my government as a staff member?”
Although there were already speculations about Zhao Junchen's intention, Xiao Wenxuan couldn't help but trembled after hearing Zhao Junchen's invitation.
Compared with Li Chunchen's invitation, there is no doubt that the future of working as a staff member in Zhao Junchen's mansion is more promising.
However, upon hearing Zhao Junchen's invitation, Xiao Wenxuan's mood was even more hesitant than when he was invited by Li Chunchen before.
