Zhong'er didn't think twice and said hurriedly: "I'll do it."
Yu Qing immediately changed his smile, put his arm around his shoulders, and walked into the house together, "That's right. I said Chong'er, you seem to be very different from me. Why, you can't bear to leave Xu Fei, Do you feel wronged by following me?"
Chong'er shook his head again and said "No", but big tears had already popped out of his eyes and slipped down.
"Look at you, talk nicely, why are you crying? You cry all the time. No wonder others always misunderstand you as a woman. Okay, just live here with peace of mind from now on, and you can tidy up whichever room you want to live in." Yu Qing patted him on the back and pushed him out, "Put the things away so that you can eliminate your slave status."
After he put away his things, Yu Qing reached out and pinched the back of his neck and pushed him out as he looked uneasy and hesitant to move forward.
When they arrived outside the gate of Zhong Mansion, the people arranged by Butler Li were already waiting, and the carriage was ready.
After getting in the car, we went straight to the Dufu Yamen. The people in charge of relevant matters in the Zhongfu were also familiar with the journey. After all, the Zhongfu itself had many servants, and it was done not long after arriving. On the contrary, the appearance of 'Ashi Heng' shocked the relevant government officials. A group of people got wind of it and came to see what Hui Yuan Lang looked like with a perfect score.
At this point, Yu Qing was certain that Ashheng would never show his true identity again.
When he got in the car and returned, Chong'er seemed to remember something when he thought of the scene just now, and tried to say congratulations, "Congratulations, sir, for passing the Huiyuan exam!"
Yu Qing stared at him speechlessly, realizing that this boy really didn't like to pick up the pot. However, he felt miserable and could only sneer, "Maybe in the future you will understand whether you helped me or hurt me."
Chong'er is puzzled...
Late at night, with the stars and moon in the sky, a night rider, wearing a black cloak, was galloping alone on the official road.
There were lights on the road ahead, and as we approached, we saw the inn. A single column of horses slowed down and entered. A man came out to look around. A man in a black cloak jumped off his horse and threw the reins to the man before entering the house.
The shopkeeper behind the counter greeted me with a smile, "Do you want to stay in a hotel or eat and drink?"
The man in the cloak took out a piece of silver and pushed it to him, "I want to see the list of people checking in today."
"This..." The shopkeeper saw that half of the other person's face was covered and could not see his face clearly. He hesitated for a moment, but finally reached out and took away the money, and then moved the roster to him.
The cloaked man immediately looked through today's check-in list, and his eyes finally locked on a name that had only checked in at night. As soon as the list was closed, he turned around and walked directly in.
The shopkeeper immediately shouted: "Sir, please don't cause trouble. There are officers and soldiers staying at the inn today." He was deliberately trying to scare us.
The cloaked man turned his back and said, "You're overthinking this. I'm just here to see off a friend."
The person went straight to the backyard, looked around to confirm the location of the target concierge, and then ran up the stairs...
In the dimly lit room, Mr. Ming was writing at his desk.
"Tuk...tuk,tuk,tuk..."
A rather rhythmic and steady knock on the door suddenly sounded. Mr. Ming, who was writing, listened slightly and continued writing his own. At the same time, he said lightly, "If you came all the way from the capital, please come in."
The door bolt jumped open, and the man in the cloak pushed the door in, closed the door again, and looked at Mr. Ming, who had his back turned and lifted up his cloak. It was Yu Qing's junior uncle.
He called it a search along the way. Basically, he would ask about inns and inns when he saw them, and then he finally found them.
"Did you know I was coming?" Zhou Xinyuan was confused and looked around on high alert.
Mr. Ming, who was writing at his desk, said: "It came later than I thought. I thought it would come last night." After saying that, he put down his pen and turned around to sit down. He saw a face that he didn't recognize at all, but he still had an extraordinary bearing. , asked: "With Ash Heng?"
Zhou Xinyuan found that the teacher was a bit interesting. He walked to the edge and lifted his cloak and sat down. "I guess you must have guessed why I'm looking for you."
Mr. Ming: "What else can I do besides cope with the imperial examination?"
Zhou Xinyuan: "Can't it be murder and silence?"
Mr. Ming: "It's not ordinary people who can leak test questions before the exam. The country's affairs are so dirty, corrupt officials are intertwined, and the court has become a den of thieves. I can't move them even if I report it. Besides, I have no evidence. Why should I be silenced?" , is there something wrong with Huiyuan who wants to prove that the imperial examination is difficult to end? I just don’t understand why someone who obviously doesn’t want to pass the exam should take the exam, and why should he have to figure out the exam questions? "
Is it so obviously wrong? Zhou Xinyuan was a little speechless. Unexpectedly, even this person could clearly see that Yu Qing was just going through the motions.
Seeing that the other party didn't speak, Mr. Ming said, "So you really came to me because of the imperial examination?"
Zhou Xinyuan nodded: "Sir, could you please come with me?"
Mr. Ming: "Your Majesty will set the questions on the spot in the imperial examination. Can you still master the questions set by His Majesty in advance?"
Zhou Xinyuan: "That's our business."
Mr. Ming: "I know that now that someone has come to me, I have no choice, but I still want an explanation... If I am angry, I also want to try how hard my bones are to see if I can My blood will make you feel uncomfortable!"
After a while of silence, Zhou Xinyuan spoke up: "Sir, have you ever heard of Ajiezhang, the former doctor of the Ministry of Yu?"
Mr. Ming thought for a while, then nodded and said: "I know, I saw it in the capital back then... They all have the surname 'A'. Could it be related to Ash Heng?"
Zhou Xinyuan: "He is Ashheng's father. Even sir, you can check this at any time. Back then, Ajiezhang opposed the emperor's search for immortality. He was found guilty for his speech and was dismissed from office and expelled from the capital. He was intercepted and killed on the way. The whole family suffered a bloodbath, and only Ajiezhang and Ashheng were rescued and saved their lives. Ajizhang was disabled for the rest of his life and could never stand up again, and passed away a year ago."
Mr. Ming was stunned for a while, and finally let out a sigh.
"There are many things that I can't tell you in detail with my husband. In short, there are people in the court who want Ashheng to inherit his father's legacy, but Ashheng himself doesn't want to be taken advantage of anymore, so he has no choice but to have the situation that my husband mentioned arises. Obviously People who don’t want to pass the exam, why should they take the exam, and why are there exam questions..."
In the early morning, Yu Qing, who was drinking tea in the east courtyard, received the good news. It was delivered by Zhong Su and Wen Jianhui.
The couple asked someone to check the date, and one and a half months later it was an auspicious day.
"Shiheng, how do you feel about this day?"
Wen Jianhui, who was standing in the courtyard talking, asked with a smile, her attitude was naturally gentle and approachable.
The couple came here to seek Yu Qing's opinion.
Yu Qing didn't know what to say about these two people, and he didn't tell him in advance about the public engagement. If he had said it at that time, he could have found an excuse to stop it. Now the engagement between Ash Heng and Zhong Ruochen is already causing trouble. Now that everyone knows it, does it still matter to him whether he is living or not?
He could only try his best to pretend as if nothing had happened and said, "It's all up to my uncle and aunt."
Wen Jianhui chuckled, "Okay, then it's settled, I'll get you married in one and a half months."
Zhong'er, who was sweeping the floor next to him, moved softly. He listened to the conversation and secretly bit his lip.
Zhong Su: "We will take care of the wedding. You don't need to worry about it. Just don't worry about it and just prepare yourself for the imperial examination."
Wen Jianhui: "Yes, yes, the imperial examination is also a big event."
After rambling for a while, Yu Qing finally managed to get rid of these two people, and Yu Qing couldn't help but let out a deep breath.
Zhong'er, who was sweeping the floor, happened to come over and couldn't help but ask, "Sir, is Miss Zhong more beautiful than that Lady Tie Miaoqing?"
Yu Qing shrugged, "I don't know, I haven't seen it."
Chong'er whispered, "Congratulations to the young master."
"Humph!" Yu Qing smiled. He really didn't know where the joy came from. He hoped that the Zhong family would not fall out with him.
A few days later, what was supposed to come finally came, and the palace examination came as scheduled.
Early in the morning, more than two hundred tributes lined up waiting outside the magnificent palace, and the palace gates were heavily guarded inside and outside.
Yu Qing, who was neatly dressed and with his hair neatly combed, was very conspicuous. He led the charge alone and stood in front of all the tributes, attracting the attention of countless people. Even the guards on the palace wall wanted to see clearly. What does this perfect score mean look like?
Outside the large venue, there were people watching, and there were many failed exams. Now that they had come to the capital, they all wanted to see the opening scene of the palace examination, which would gain some insights.
Su Yingtao among the crowd asked: "The one standing at the front should be brother Shi Heng, right?"
It's a bit far away, so I'm not allowed to get close, so I can't see clearly.
Pan Wenqing said: "No need to doubt, it must be the case. No one except him is qualified to lead the way. What an honor it must be for more than two hundred tributes to lead the way into the palace!"
Fang Wenxian: "What a pity, we don't even have the qualifications to be included."
A few sighs, a few sounds of sadness.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhong Su, Du Fei and Butler Li all came, and they all watched happily in the crowd. With Yourong, Wen Jianhui really wanted to tell the strangers around that the leader of the group standing at the front was me. son in law.
Wen Ruowei also wanted to come and watch the fun, but this time his parents didn't let him go, and they became more and more strict, fearing that some people would say that the Zhong family's daughter was uneducated.
Yu Qing, who had endured countless envious glances, looked calm on the outside, but in his heart he felt extremely nervous, which was rare.
He was the only one who knew best that he might be risking his life by entering the palace this time. He didn't know what was going on in the palace. What if something unexpected happened at the palace examination and the junior uncle made a mistake? How should he deal with it?
But there is no way, as my uncle said, you are the one who caused the disaster. If you don’t take the risk, who will?
He wanted to look around, but he had been taught the etiquette of entering the palace before and was not allowed to look around.
Buzzing…
The palace door opened with a dull whimpering sound, and an old man wearing eunuch clothes walked out with authority, and two whips came out from behind him.
After the whip-holders each made three loud "wow-pop" sounds in the air, Lao Huangmenfang sang loudly with a high-pitched voice: "Jinkehui Yuan Ashiheng, leading the tribute scholars into the palace, the palace examination is in place!" Dragging After singing the long coda, he stood sideways and flicked his whisk, as if to invite him.
The sound of the whip sounded again, echoing in the air.
Ashheng immediately raised his hands, bowed towards the palace, and then stepped forward with his head held high.
A group of saluting tributes followed him into the palace in three columns.
Zhou Xinyuan, who was also watching in the crowd, couldn't help but raised his hand to cover his forehead, which was unsightly. He estimated that the previous masters of Linglongguan never dreamed that one of the younger disciples would actually do this.
