Yingtian Tower is located in the geographical center of the imperial city and is also the dividing line between the imperial city and the palace city. To the south is the palace city, which is the place where saints live and live, also known as the Forbidden Palace. To the north is the imperial city, which houses the provincial government offices with six ministries, one, five prisons and nine temples.
In the entire imperial city, Yingtian Tower is the second tallest building with five floors and 20 feet, second only to the observatory in the palace. The most famous attraction on the upper floor is the Dawn Drum. Wei rang the first sound, waking up the entire eastern capital city.
It is the Lantern Festival, and lights and colorful lights are hung on the Yingtian Tower. Looking from a distance, the Minghua is shining and colorful. Lin Sui'an couldn't help but feel a little dazed, as if he was seeing a tourist attraction illuminated by modern neon lights.
The Jinwu Guard guarding the gate was in high spirits, his golden armor was polished to a shine, and the light couldn't stay on, sliding down and spreading all over the ground. The blue brick floor had just been swept with water, and the moist atmosphere was still filled with the fragrance of flowers. Female officials in plain green official uniforms stood on both sides to welcome the new candidates.
Seventeen Jinshi, two of whom are acquaintances, the first is Bai Ruyi, the last is Su Yiyun, and a few others look familiar. They seem to have seen them at Minister Lu's banquet. They are all wearing white robes and wearing white robes. Leather boots and a futou on their heads. At first glance, there is no difference in style, but if you look closely, you will find that each has its own differences.
Bai Ruyi's white robe is indeed a white robe, simple and elegant, without any fancy decoration.
Hua Yitang's robe was a lot of work, with nine layers covering the inside and outside. Thanks to his tall figure, wide shoulders and narrow waist, otherwise it would definitely look bulky.
The sleeves and cuffs are embroidered with clan emblems in white silk, layered one on top of another, which can absorb light and reflect light, and glow faintly in the dark. Mu Xia said this is called "hiding the stars and embracing the moon." The material of the gauze is also very special. It is elegant when walking, neat when standing, and wrinkle-free when standing up after sitting down. It can be called a non-iron material, which is really surprising.
Compared with Hua Yitang's "low-key arrogance", Su Yiyun today can be described as "bright and showy". There are also several layers of gauze covering the white robe. It is not clear how many layers it is. It feels like it is worse than Hua Yitang's. More than anything else, the waist, cuffs, collar, and placket are also rusted with white lines, but there is no reflective effect. The fabric is lighter and more floating than Hua Yitang's. When the wind blows, it dances like transparent wings. Coupled with Su Yiyun's increasingly fair and handsome face, there is a sense of indisputable charm.
This was not the first time for Lin Sui'an and Hua Yitang to see Su Yiyun like this. They were still a little uncomfortable with it when they saw it today, not to mention the other Jinshi. They all looked at Su Yiyun with strange and confused eyes. Some are disdainful, especially Ding Rui, who is fourth, and Wan Feiying, who is fifth. Both of them are women. Ding Rui is about ten years old, and Wan Feiying is dressed as a military general. I heard that he is from the Wan family in Qingzhou.
Lin Sui'an was very curious when he saw a female Jinshi for the first time and couldn't help but take a second look. The two female Jinshi were also a little surprised when they saw Lin Sui'an, but it was not appropriate to talk because the female officials were nearby.
According to the regulations, the female officer first led the newly promoted Jinshi into Yingtianmen, walked around Huichangmen, and took a short rest in Wensi Hall. Later, they went to Yingtian Tower to enjoy the moon and feast with the saints and officials of the six ministries. The earth dragon in Wensi Hall was burning hot. Fresh melon and fruit snacks, hot tea and soup were prepared, and everyone was given a small hand warmer.
The female officer exited, the door of the palace was closed, the heat was suffocating and the tea was drunk, everyone's tense nerves relaxed and they couldn't help but start chatting.
The first topic to discuss is naturally Lin Sui'an. Seventeen people are all newly ranked Jinshi, and only Lin Sui'an is white. This is not surprising.
Wan Feiying is the youngest, and her voice is bright and crisp, like a frozen white radish. "I heard that there are only two women among the new scholars this year, me and Sister Ning. I wonder who this lady is?"
Mrs. Lin was a little embarrassed, "My name is Lin Sui'an, and I am -"
"So you are Lin Sui'an!" Wan Feiying was overjoyed, "I heard from my cousin that your sword skills are superb, and he also said that I would have a good spar with you if I had the chance."
Lin Sui'an was stunned: "...who is your cousin?"
"Wan Lin Wan from Jingzhao Mansion joined the army. You guys investigated the case together, the one from the Taiyuan Tigers."
Lin Sui'an laughed dryly, "It turns out that she is Wan Canjun's granddaughter. I have admired her for a long time."
Wan Shenjun's seniority is high enough.
Everyone had an impression of the murder case of Jiang Dongyi, the Taiyuan Jiang family. There were also a few people who met at Lu Shilang's banquet, and they all got close to Lin Sui'an. It was so shameful that I kicked Hua Yitang secretly, trying to get him, a social cow, to come out of the siege. Unexpectedly, he not only refused to help, but also drank with a cup of tea in hand.
"The saint is indeed very kind to the Yangdu Hua family. The fourth son of the Hua family came to Yingtian Tower for the Shangyuan Banquet and even brought a guard with him." Su Yiyun said with a strange expression.
There was silence in the hall, and the atmosphere became a little awkward.
Hua Yitang blew the peppercorn shells on the surface of the tea and said, "Lin Sui'an is not Hua's bodyguard, but Hua's partner in solving several serious cases."
Su Yiyun: "This is the first time I've heard someone describe a confidante in such a fresh and refined way."
Bai Ruyi said angrily, "Su Shilang, don't talk nonsense."
Su Yiyun squinted, "Baijuro, don't think that just because you won the first place, you are a head above me. We still don't know the outcome of tonight's dinner!"
Bai Ruyi was startled for a moment, "Could it be that you really think -"
"Today, the saint personally issued an order to invite Lin Sui'an to go to Yingtian Tower together," Hua Yitang interrupted Bai Ruyi, "We cannot tolerate some villains with pink eye disease."
Su Yiyun felt like a rooster had been stepped on, "The saint declared her to ascend the Yingtian Tower together, why?!"
Hua Yitang gave Su Yiyun a very sullen smile, "It's none of your business!"
Su Yiyun's face turned green, and everyone lowered their heads to drink tea, pretending not to notice.
There was a knock on the door. A female official opened the door and saluted, saying in a loud voice, "Is Lin Sui'an here?"
Lin Sui'an quickly stood up and returned the greeting, "I am Lin Sui'an."
"The sage ordered Madam Xuanlin to go to Yingtianlou to accompany her."
Lin Sui'an was greatly surprised and glanced at Hua Yitang. Hua Yitang stood up with a somewhat surprised expression, "Dare I ask this female official, does the saint only declare Lin Sui'an?"
The female officer smiled and said, "Jinshi, please wait a moment. Madam Lin, please."
Under Hua Yitang's anxious gaze, Lin Sui'an bravely followed the female officer out.
Today I went to the palace for a banquet. I didn't bring Qian Jing with me. I felt empty in my waist and empty in my heart. When the night wind blew, the hairs on my back stood up.
Lin Sui'an went over every detail of her meeting with the saint, and confirmed that she had indeed done nothing disobedient or rude, and then her heart in her throat relaxed a little.
I hope it's just like what Mr. Jiang said, just chatting in a normal way and saying thank you by the way.
If you can reward me with some money, that would be even better!
Yingtian Tower is higher than expected. After hundreds of steps and going back and forth seven times, I finally reached the top of the building. The flaming dragon-like palace lanterns hung out in the air along the black eaves, gently blowing in the dark blue night wind. Shaking, a bright moon hung high in the sky, cloudless and silent.
Under the moonlight, there was only one person, wearing a bright yellow court dress and a golden crown in a high bun, standing with his hands behind his hands, looking at the Dongdu City, which was as bright as a sea of stars.
The female official who led the way quietly retreated. Lin Sui'an's heart began to rise again. He took a step forward, knelt down and kowtowed: "Lin Sui'an kowtows to see the saint."
The empress turned her head. The moonlight in the sky and the starlight on the ground condensed on her beautiful face. She was holy and gentle. "No need to be polite. Come and see the Eastern Capital City with me."
Why does this plot direction feel so weird?
Lin Sui'an's heart was pounding. He stiffened his limbs and moved a foot away behind the saint. The vast and shocking scenery that came into his eyes made his pupils shrink.
The 100 Squares of Dongdu City are like more than a hundred square astrolabees, connected as a whole by bright star belts. They are the four rivers and nine canals that run through Dongdu City, where light boats, sightseeing boats, and pleasure boats gather like fireflies. The light overflows from the water, spreading happiness and hope, and is sucked in by the lamp towers, lamp cars, and lamp wheels on the street, repeating the cycle with infinite brilliance.
"The Eastern Capital City is like this. It seems to have a special gravitational pull that attracts people to look at it forever. It makes people feel moved." There was a smile in the empress' voice.
"What the saint said is true." Lin Sui'an said.
Tonight's style was so cool that the facial muscles atrophied.
The empress's smile became even bigger, "On the Yunshui River, you saved my life. What reward do you want?"
"As long as it's rewarded by a saint, anything is fine."
"Tell the truth. Don't be as glib as Shiro."
"...Give me some money..."
"What? Are you still short of money after following Huajia Shiro?"
"No one in the world will complain about having too little money."
The empress looked sideways, her eyes moving as if she were hiding thousands of stars, "What do you think of the scenery here?"
Lin Sui'an was so nervous that his calves almost twisted, "Very good."
"The source of the night order that Jiang Dongyi used to travel through two villages to kill people was traced to Jiang Hongguang, the right general of the Jinwu Guard, a member of the Jiang family in Taiyuan."
"The sage understands everything clearly, and the sage is wise."
"I dismissed him from his post and sent him home to farm. Now, the position of Jinwu Guard Right General is vacant. Are you willing to be this general?"
"!!"
Lin Sui'an was shocked and speechless. His facial muscles suddenly tightened and wrinkled like a steamed cake.
Jinwuwei! Right General!
What grade of official? How much is the salary?
No, no, no, these are not important. What is important is that this is an offer given by the emperor himself, directly hired by the boss!
This is no longer a "flat rise", but a "one step to the sky" huge shit luck——
Wait!
This shitty luck doesn’t fit her “unlucky” persona!
Something must be wrong!
Lin Sui'an curled up his fingers, digging his nails into his palms. The stinging pain cooled down his overheated brain cells, and carefully observed the empress opposite him. She tilted her head, her eyes were bright, and she looked like a little girl who was curious about everything. However, Hua Yitang said that everyone in the Xuanyuan royal family looked much younger than their actual age.
She was the empress of the Tang Kingdom. The Tang Kingdom had stood for hundreds of years and was more prosperous than any dynasty Lin Sui'an knew. How could someone who could become the king of such a magnificent empire give the official position of General Jinwu Guard to a commoner?
This is unreasonable.
Could it be that the empress was testing her!
Why test?
What are you trying to test her for?
Because of Hua? Or is it because of Hua Yitang?
Or is it because of Qian Jing? Clean door? Ten Pure Sets?
A mess of thoughts poured into Lin Sui'an's head, and then dispersed, leaving only a clear answer.
You can't be the right general of Jinwu Guard!
Lin Sui'an felt that she had been thinking about it for a long time, but in fact she only had one breath. She suddenly knelt down, cupped her fists and said, "Lin Sui'an is a martial artist with no virtue and talent. I can't stand it! I hope the saint can take back his life!"
The empress let out a long "Huh——?", "Rejected so quickly? Didn't you think more about it?"
"The right general of the Jinwu Guard has a high and powerful position, and Lin Sui'an deserves it!"
The empress remained silent, and time passed by. Lin Sui'an was sweating on her forehead. She even began to think about her body's reaction ability, what were her chances of surviving after jumping from the Yingtian Tower, and traveling back to the original place. What are the odds in the world?
After a long time, the empress sighed and said, "Lin Sui'an, do you know the rumors circulating among the major families about the day-to-day examination?"
Lin Sui'an raised his head suddenly, and the empress looked at her quietly, her eyes deep and unpredictable.
"I heard a little bit." Lin Sui'an whispered.
The empress nodded and helped Lin Sui'an up, "As a woman, you must also feel the same way. It is very difficult for a woman to make a career in this world, especially for the king of a country."
Lin Sui'an was silent.
The empress turned around and looked far away at the intersection of heaven and earth. "Those noble families are just a chronic disease attached to this land. They have been aloof for thousands of years. In their eyes, the country, the country, the people, and the century-old Tang Kingdom have long been gone." They are just naive children. They cannot see women becoming officials, they cannot see women becoming emperors, they cannot see poor students in the same court with them, and they cannot even see ordinary people living better day by day. They think these people are only worthy of crawling on the ground and doing Ants, like dung, are only worthy of looking up to them who are above us. If this disease is not eradicated, the Tang Dynasty will fall in just one day."
Lin Sui'an nodded: "The saint is wise."
The empress glanced at Lin Sui'an's expression, "You don't seem to be surprised by what I said?"
"This is true."
From a historical perspective, it was only a matter of time before the powerful gentry declined.
The empress smiled, "At first glance, I felt that you were different from ordinary people. Sure enough, you can see much further than others."
Lin Sui'an's head jumped and he hurriedly arrested someone to take the blame, "I heard Hua Yitang say something similar."
"The maverick Hua family," the empress said, "I really didn't choose the wrong person back then..."
The bright yellow robes were blown up by the wind, whistling, and the crown bead flags were gently colliding in the moonlight, which was a little lonely and a little cold.
"Lin Sui'an, do you really not want to stay with me and look at the scenery from this high place?"
Lin Sui'an lowered his eyes and sighed secretly in his heart.
It's not that she doesn't want to, accompanying you is like accompanying a tiger. She doesn't have the guts to challenge this hellish difficulty.
“Even though the scenery from high places is beautiful, the foundation is important when building a building a hundred feet high. When a tree is a hundred feet high, the roots are important. I believe that only by being rooted in the land and the people can we keep this big tree of the Tang Dynasty standing. ." Lin Sui'an knelt down on one knee and raised his fists above his head, "Lin Sui'an is willing to plant deep roots in the earth and safeguard the foundation of the Tang Dynasty."
The empress was silent for a long time, "What do you want in your life?"
"Be open-minded and take things as they come."
Translated: I have no ambitions and just want to lie flat. It’s really not the material to be an official! Please let me go!
"Okay! What a magnanimous and free-spirited person!" The empress laughed, and her laughter echoed loudly between heaven and earth, shaking the Eastern Capital City in the night. This laughter made Lin Sui'an deeply feel for the first time that what she was facing was indeed He is the well-deserved emperor of the country.
The next moment, the empress' expression changed, and her voice lowered again, like a little girl's coquettishness, "This is difficult to handle, so what can I reward you for?"
Lin Sui'an noticed that the empress said "I" instead of "I", which was not a good sign.
"Protecting the saint is the duty of all people of the Tang Dynasty. The safety of the saint is the greatest reward for me!"
"That's not possible, I have to reward you with something." The empress pouted, "Otherwise those arrogant historians will definitely say that I am stingy and stingy, and they might even write it down in the history books. .”
"..."
Lin Sui'an lowered her head, her neck muscles stiffened, and she felt that the ominous premonition was getting heavier and heavier, making her shoulders ache unbearably.
"Ah, I thought of it." The empress' sleeves rustled, she took out something and handed it to Lin Sui'an, "I'll reward you with this."
It is a black iron plate without any words or patterns. The moonlight shines on it, giving off a thin layer of light, as if the power of shattered stars is scattered in it.
Lin Sui'an swallowed hard. She had seen this thing in Yangdu. Ling Zhiyan had an identical piece, which made the governor of Yangdu wet his pants on the spot.
The empress rolled up her big sleeves, squatted down, and brought her head close. The red bead on the golden crown hit Lin Sui'an's forehead. She passed the black iron plate in her hand forward, "This is the order of the censor from the censor's station." Card, the person holding this card is like a saint personally present, and all officials above the sixth rank will know him."
Lin Sui'an looked at the empress with a trembling face. The empress smiled like a flower and said mysteriously, "The secret censors are all appointed by me personally, regardless of their origin. This has been the rule of the Tang Dynasty since the founding of the country. Don't worry, no one will gossip. . Moreover, the identity of An Yushi is usually kept secret. No one knows except me and the Yushitai doctor, so it is very safe."
Lin Sui'an: "..."
Sounds more dangerous!
"The secret censor has the responsibility of supervising the officials, inspecting the public sentiment, and upholding the rules and regulations. He can act secretly. You can do whatever you want. It's fun. You can try it."
"..."
Having said all that, I’m afraid it won’t work if I don’t try.
"There is a salary of one hundred thousand dollars every year." The empress continued.
Lin Sui'an closed his eyes and took the token with both hands, "Lin Sui'an will obey the orders of the saint!"
The empress nodded with a smile and patted Lin Sui'an on the shoulder, "If there is anything for you to investigate in the future, I will send someone to contact you. Work hard, do well, and there will be better rewards!"
"Thank you saint!"
The empress stood up happily and stretched a lot. Lin Sui'an stood up immediately, put the token in her hand, and turned her stiff ankle. Sure enough, her calf cramped, and she was sweating from the pain.
The female official appeared from behind like a ghost and said in a low voice, "Sage Qi, the officials of the six departments and the new scholars have been waiting downstairs for a long time."
The empress turned around in her robe, put on her dignified imperial face, and said, "Let's eat!":,,