A stone stirs a thousand waves
That night, Lingzhi lay tossing and turning in the front room of the warm pavilion, unable to fall asleep. If she was the only one who bumped into what happened today, it would be a good thing to say, but the little Highness also saw it.
His Royal Highness is young and does not understand the benefits and benefits. The most terrifying thing is Tong Yan Wuji. If one day, after seeing the princess or the concubine, if you mention this matter, wouldn't you be ignorant of it
Lingzhi didn't dare to go to Xiancao to come up with an idea. He was worried all night with this secret in his arms. By the next day, he was lethargic and lost his mind several times.
When she was doing needlework, she was seen by Xiancao, and she was teased a few times by the other party.
Lingzhi said embarrassingly: "You do it yourself first, I remembered that His Royal Highness ordered something I haven't done yet, so I'll go back when I go."
After finishing speaking, she put down the messy Yingluo in her hand and went out of the warm pavilion. She went around the corridor a few times and finally decided to report the matter to Aunt Qiuju, the chief female officer of the Weiming Palace.
Lingzhi thought: I'm just a little palace maid, and my master is young and has no support and no support. When you encounter such a thing and shake it out, it is a sin of knowing and not reporting it. If you are known by others, you may be silenced. It's better to make a "first announcement" than that. According to the laws of Wei State, the merit of the first report can be avoided. And even if the imperial concubine and the concubine only met by chance, she said to Aunt Qiuju that she had found a "skilled person" to go to flee, as the saying goes: when the sky falls, there is a big man to go to the top.
The mood of figuring out Ganoderma lucidum here is much more relaxed, she unknowingly quickened her pace, for fear that this incident would be exposed in advance.
Arriving near the main hall of Weiming Palace, Lingzhi slowed down, turned his back and tidy up his appearance, even breathing carefully, for fear of committing any taboo.
Although Lingzhi was also a servant of the Weiming Palace, she was assigned to a remote warm pavilion as soon as she entered the palace, and she rarely left there. Therefore, to her, the main hall of the Weiming Palace is like the weight of the palace in the hearts of the common people: solemn and mysterious.
As the female official in charge, Qiu Ju only needs to serve around Nangong Jingnv. The gatekeeper is a third-class servant. Lingzhi swallowed and came to the door. : "The slave is a fairy grass serving in the warm pavilion. I have something important to report to Aunt Qiuju. I wonder if my sister can pass it on on her behalf?"
The palace maid glanced at Lingzhi, and seeing that the other party's clothes were still decent, she said lightly, "Is there a belt?"
Lingzhi quickly took out the waist card from her arms and handed it to the other party for inspection. The palace maid returned the waist card to Lingzhi, said "wait", and pushed open the corner door and entered the inner hall.
Lingzhi thanked him repeatedly, went down the steps and retreated for a while. After a while, the corner door opened again. Qiu Ju, the female official in charge of the Weiming Palace, came out. Qiu Ju was the most powerful assistant by Nangong Jingnu's side. Even though Lingzhi's identity was low, she remembered her appearance, and she smiled and came over and asked, "Why are you here? But what's the matter with your little highness?"
Lingzhi raised her head and glanced at Qiu Ju, and caught a glimpse of the palace maid not far away.
What kind of wise character is Qiu Ju? She smiled and said, "You come here with me."
With the movement of their footsteps, the two came to a secluded place. Before Qiu Ju could speak, Lingzhi knelt down in front of her with a "thump".
Qiu Ju's face sank, and she asked, "But something happened to Your Highness?"
Lingzhi hurriedly denied: "Your Highness is taking a nap in the warm pavilion, and it was the slave servant who came to find aunt on her own initiative."
Qiu Ju: "Oh? What are you doing?"
Lingzhi swallowed her saliva, and reported everything she saw yesterday to Qiu Ju, and finally slammed her head on the ground: "The slave and maid stayed up all night last night, all three souls and seven souls have gone, please ask my aunt to call the shots. "
Qiu Ju's expression instantly changed to kindness, and she lifted Lingzhi up from the ground: "How big of a deal do I think it is? It turns out that it's just this, and I'm bothering you."
Lingzhi looked at Qiu Ju in puzzlement, and the latter continued: "Although the inner courtyard of the palace is spacious, it is still that big. The concubine has lived in the Weiming Palace for a while. Yesterday, I asked His Highness for instructions to go to the imperial garden alone. Concubine. Ye is from the folk and has never been very ostentatious, and he is the most kind to our servants. The concubine Yagui is also a loner, and it is inevitable to encounter a few greetings in this spring-like imperial garden. You don't have to take it too seriously. ."
Seeing that Lingzhi was still a little uneasy, Qiu Ju continued: "But we are slaves in the inner court, it's always good to be cautious. I know about this, you can go back."
Lingzhi hit Wanfu deeply and resigned.
After Lingzhi left, Qiu Ju's expression became serious again. She thought for a while and returned to the main hall. Nangong Jingnu put down the brush in her hand, looked at the words she had written, and asked lightly, "What's the matter?"
Qiu Ju replied: "It was the maid next to the little highness who took the little prince to play in the imperial garden yesterday, and accidentally saw the concubine and concubine Yagui chatting a few words in the imperial garden, this girl is timid and came here to report. ."
Nangong Jingnu raised her head and asked, "There were only the two of them in the garden at that time?"
Qiu Ju: "According to the maid, yes."
Nangong Jingnu chuckled lightly and said lightly, "It's well known that Concubine Yagui doesn't like palace maids to follow the inner court, Qi Yan has never been around for many years in the palace, but she happened to say a few words, what is this important event in this palace? ."
Qiu Ju: "Your Highness Mingjian." From a certain point of view, Qiu Ju's thoughts are quite close to Nangong Jingnu.
Nangong Jingnu: "Which slave is it?"
Qiu Ju: "It's the eldest maid next to Yanyang County Master, called Lingzhi."
Nangong Jingnu pondered for a moment and remembered such a person. She had seen Lingzhi and Immortal Grass several times, but she felt that these two palace maids were always trembling and flustered when they saw them, and they were a little unhappy.
But seeing that the two of them serve Qi Yuxiao with all their heart, and they are also the youngest among the maids in the palace, maybe they didn't deal with Qi Yuxiao after getting along with them. .
Nangong Jingnu: "This year is the election year, right?"
The so-called small election year is the year in which the imperial court recruits the palace servants from the private households or officials' homes. Every five years, a batch of palace servants is released, which is called "Da Fang", and a batch is selected every three years, which is called "small election".
Qiu Ju: "Yes, I just selected a group of people to enter the palace last month. They are being taught at the Inner Court Division."
Nangong Jingnv: "In the afternoon, you can personally go to the Inner Court Division and pick four good ones to bring to the nuan pavilion. Two older ones are more sensible, and two younger ones with lively temperaments."
Qiu Ju: "Yes, what should I do with the original two of the warm pavilion?"
Nangong Jingnu picked up the brush again, and said lightly, "Send to Huanyifang as a rough envoy, and find someone to watch."
Qiu Ju: "Yes."
After lunch, Qiu Ju was ordered to do it.
Nangong Jingnu sat upright in the main seat but did not move her chopsticks, and another quarter of an hour later, Qi Yan was late.
Qi Yan: "Your Highness."
Nangong Jingnu: "Sit down."
Qi Yan: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Nangong Jingnu looked at Qi Yan and saw that the other party was pale and tired, and asked, "Did you take the prescription prescribed by the imperial doctor on time? Why is your complexion so bad?"
Qi Yan hooked the corner of her mouth and replied, "Illness comes like a mountain, and it goes away like a thread. Even if there is a good medicine, it will not be so fast."
Nangong Jingnu: "It's because your foundation is too poor. I will announce to the imperial doctor another day to ask if there is any way to adjust it... By the way, I heard that the hot springs in Tangquan Mountain have excellent effects on this kind of old disease. I heard that back then Taiwei Lu was unconscious from an old injury. Later, he went to Tangquan Mountain for half a year to recover and gradually recovered. In recent years, he has settled down in Tangquan Mountain, and he doesn't care about political affairs. Why don't you wait for some spare time? ?"
Qi Yan secretly said: Lu Quan is suffering from an old injury, but he was afraid that Nangong would ask him to submit the matter of returning the army to the Duke of Fuling Kingdom and go to the mountain to avoid disaster, but this old fox has been hiding in the deep mountains and forests and cannot come out, and it is difficult for himself. start...
Qi Yan: "Since it is such a miraculous minister, I really want to try it out in person. When the exams are released, the good candidates for 'Settling' will go."
Nangong Jingnu: "Let's eat."
Qi Yan: "Yes."
After lunch, after the afternoon tea, Nangong Jingnu asked casually, "Bengong has a lot of trivial matters today, and it has been a long time since I walked to the Imperial Garden. How is the scenery inside, are all the flowers blooming?"
The amber eyes flashed, Qi Yan said with a smile: "His Royal Highness almost forgot without mentioning the minister, there is one thing that happened to be said to His Highness."
Nangong Jingnu: "Oh? What is it?"
Qi Yan: "Yesterday, I met Concubine Yagui while walking, and we exchanged a few words. The concubine has something she would like to ask your Highness for help."
Nangong Jingnv: "Since you are looking for Ben Gong's help, why don't you come over in person."
Qi Yan didn't answer Nangong Jingnv's question, and said to herself, "Concubine Yagui said that she has been away from her homeland for several years, and she wants to return to Luobei for relatives in the near future. Because of His Majesty's health, she can't bear to disturb her, and she wants to ask Your Highness to replace her. She spoke to His Majesty."
Nangong Jingnu said without hesitation, "I heard that Concubine Yagui and the current Jiedushi Anujin of Kitakyushu are not the same mother and sister. Now that Erihe is dead, and Concubine Yagui's biological mother died early, what is she going to do?"
Qi Yan had to re-examine Nangong Jingnu. She didn't expect the other party to investigate Ji Ya's background, and she seemed to have placed her eyeliner to the north...
Qi Yan was still calm, and replied, "Maybe it's hard to leave the homeland. Although I have never been to Luobei, many people in Jinzhou have fled and returned. Some people have been to Luobei, saying that the customs and architecture there are. The B&B is completely different from the south side, maybe that's why Ya Fei wants to go back and have a look."
Nangong Jingnu nodded: "What do you mean?"
Qi Yan put her hands on the table, crossed her fingers, and replied, "According to the minister's opinion, if Your Majesty has no special will, this matter is right."
Nangong Jingnu: "Tell me your reasons."
Qi Yan: "One, according to the law, the position of the concubine can save relatives, and the request of the concubine Yafei is not inappropriate, it should be accurate. Second, the hometown of the concubine Yafei is far away from the capital. Identity... Fang Xian etiquette needs to be escorted by a prince, and Jiedushi of Jiuzhou shoulders the important responsibility of Luobei's safety, so it is not impossible to inspect it by the order of the provincial relatives."
Nangong Jingnu smiled: "As expected!"
Jingjia fifteen years · March.
On, read Nagus Giya, who has been in Beijing for several years and abides by his duties. She was granted permission to return to Luobei province, but Concubine Nianya had no children, so she ordered the third prince, Nangongwang, to serve as an escort, and went to Luobei together.
In the same month, the triennial examinations began...
Ji Ya is thoughtful, and it is not surprising for her to find that Nangong Jingnu is the one who is under the curtain. Qi Yan does not know why she can keep this secret for so long. Ya Fei has been in the capital for a few years. duty. Even Qi Yan hasn't guessed Ji Ya's real purpose until now. She doesn't believe that Ji Ya came to Wei Kingdom just to please an old man who is about to die.
Ji Ya is like a shadow hidden in the darkness, Qi Yan doesn't know whether she is holding a good medicine or a dagger, like a thorn on her back but she can't help it.
If you keep letting her stand still, Qi Yan's side will inevitably change when the time is right, so it's better to follow her wishes and see what her purpose is.
First, it can keep the secret of Nangong Jingnu's administration under the curtain, and secondly, it can take the opportunity to take Nangong Wang away, so that she can take the opportunity to finish the final arrangement.
This year is a big exam year. There are more than 100 people in the entrance examination than Qi Yan and the others. Fortunately, the examination hall is spacious and can accommodate up to 300 students.
Although the chief examiner finally fell into the hands of Qi Yan, the third prince Nangong Wang and the fifth prince Nangong Da did not give up the opportunity to win over talents. The two recommended a confidant to be the deputy examiner.
They are Zuo Pushe of Zhongshu Province, and the eldest son of Taiwei's residence: Lu Boyan.
Minister of Rites, the second son of Gongyang Mansion: Gongyang Huai.
According to common sense, in order to ensure the absolute authority of the chief examiner, the official position of the deputy examiner is slightly lower than that of the chief examiner, but these two examiners are not only from aristocratic families, but their official position is not lower than that of the chief examiner.
But fortunately, Qi Yan has the status of a royal family, and she can also decorate it, so as not to let the reference people see the abnormality.
After going through a series of procedures such as body check and name check, the door of the examination institute opened, and the students took their house numbers and walked to their respective trumpets.
These three examiners are all "newcomers" who are the examiners for the first time, and they have a common mission on their shoulders - attracting talents.
The three of them appeared in unison at the entrance of the examination academy, preparing to give the students a familiar face and leave a good impression in the future.
Qi Yan, as the examiner, of course, has to stand in the middle. In addition, she is the only one of the three without a beard, and she has a pair of flirtatious amber eyes. Many people are staring at the risk of offending. Eye.
At the bottom of the team, several young people who looked familiar gathered to discuss: "I heard that the three chief examiners this year are classmates of the first class."
"I've heard it too, and it's still the top three in the palace."
"It's really good luck, I hope we can join the Golden Palace together like these three adults."
"However, I think that the imperial court's move has a deep meaning."
"Brother Zilu, what do you say?"
"Look, these three adults all look so young. In previous years, the examiners were all virtuous Confucian scholars. Presumably, the court was at the time of hiring people, and it used young people. Half of the six Shangshu books were young people. It was me who waited. It's time to show off!"
"Brother Zilu is right, I really hope to be named on the gold list!"
Lu Boyan has a clear ear and eyesight, and heard the candidates' comments. Although he was the champion of the last scientific examination, he was beaten by Qi Yan in the meeting because he didn't get three yuan and one flower. Being able to be a foil for the assistant exam, this matter has become a thorn in his heart.
He coughed heavily and scolded: "Who is whispering in the exam center?"
Several candidates immediately fell silent and bowed their heads.
Gongyanghuai on the side has now become a political enemy with Lu Boyan, and he has always disliked Lu Boyan's "academic" nobility, and said with a smile: "Lord Lu is so angry, seeing how these few people are so arrogant. Young people must also be in the first test, and it is inevitable to feel novel."
Lu Boyan snorted coldly: "Entering this place is like stepping into the court with one foot. We have read the saints and sages for more than ten years before we have today. Naturally, we should set an example for the world. We should be cautious in our words and deeds, and be respectful. Yes, you can't be curious at the entrance of the examination academy."
Gongyanghuai sneered at Lu Boyan's remarks: You have been here for more than ten years of hard work, but you are just relying on your family background and enjoying the shade under the big tree. Dare to be ashamed here...
But even if he had the guts, he didn't have the confidence to say it.
Although Gongyanghuai still maintains the staunchness of his youth, he is no longer a flawless piece of white jade. He can stand in the position of the Minister of Rites. Although Gongyangfu has not done much, it is also the tenth that Qi Yan gave him. Wanliang Xuehuayin opened the door.
After all, he and Lu Boyan are half a catty.
I have mixed feelings when I think of it here.
He turned his head to look at Qi Yan, who was standing in the middle of the two, and didn't know that his old friend was "clean".
He touched Qi Yan and whispered, "Master Qi."
Qi Yan: "Master Gongyang, please speak."
Gongyanghuai raised his chin and gestured to those who had been discussing together before: "Look at them, do they look like when we were young? In Yunzhou..."
Qi Yan smiled: "Like, but Lord Gongyang's metaphor is slightly inappropriate."
Now it's Gongyanghuai's turn to laugh, yeah...
Back then, what he and Qi Yan were discussing was Ding Fengshan, the "Yunzhou leader". How could he be compared with the two of them
Gongyanghuai: "It's me who made a blunder."
Lu Boyan looked at these two people, and he was tickling his teeth with hatred. He had just said that he would respect the examination room, but Gongyanghuai openly pulled the examiner to chat, wouldn't he slap him in the face
But he looked at him with a pair of eyes, and it was not easy for him to have a seizure, let alone walk away, so he had to put back his serious expression and show a kind smile.
The exam questions for the general exam are given by the chief examiner alone every year, and even the two sub-exams do not know what the questions are before opening the paper.
The paper was sent, and there was a discordant sound in the silent examination institute.
Some Qiuzi gasped, some Qiuzi let out a low snort, some people applauded, and some people were so frightened that they dropped their pens.
The examination questions of the general examination are divided into three parts. The last major question is about politics, which is also the highlight. The answer sheet for this question alone has as many as three pages, which is evident.
The topic of this year's political discussion is very simple: On the old and new policies.
This argument, of course, is about national policy. Who issued the national policy? Of course the emperor...
But the title is very clear: on the old evil, that is to say, if you praise the merits, it will be regarded as a digression and hit the ranks of the third-class volume.
However, how can anyone in the past and present dare to openly question the fault of the Holy One? This is a big crime that is lightly decapitated and heavily blamed!
Lu Boyan: "Be quiet, be quiet!"
Gongyanghuai even walked down the high platform, went to the trumpet and took a test taker's paper to see what question Qi Yan came up with.
The whispers continued, Qi Yan glanced calmly, and caught a glimpse of Gongyanghuai hurriedly running back with a test paper, trying to pick up the Shang Fang sword on the imperial case and slam it on the incense cauldron. Knock: "come here!"
As soon as Shang Fang's sword came out, it was as if His Majesty had come in person.
All the guards holding weapons fell to their knees: "See Your Majesty."
Even Gongyanghuai and Lu Boyan had to kneel down, and the candidates in the trumpet also knelt down after realizing it, and the examination institute was dead silent.
Only Qi Yan, wearing a crimson official uniform and holding a sword of Shang Fang, stands proudly on the high platform, becoming the focus that people dare not look directly at...
Qi Yan: "This year's exam questions are given by this official. This official knows what you are talking about and what you are afraid of. It is also for this reason that Your Majesty personally bestowed the sword of Shang Fang. You don't need to say more, this official will give it to you. Take a stick of incense to think about it, right or left!"
Guard: "Yes!"
The guard immediately took out a fine incense and lit it in the incense burner.
Qi Yan: "This official makes an exception and allows anyone to give up their qualifications for answering the test paper within the time of a stick of incense. You can return the test paper directly without writing your name and place of origin. However, you cannot leave the test center for the time being during the general test. , the side hall has been cleaned up for you, go inside for three days, there will be special people to take care of your food and drink, and leave with everyone after three days. For those who abandon the test, this palace uses this sword as a guarantee: never ask your name, If you don’t file, you can leave on your own, and you can take the exam again after three years.”
One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the examination institute once again set off a wave of discussion.
The candidates were stunned, and even Gongyanghuai and Lu Boyan were dumbfounded...
Qi Yan, however, still stood motionless in the center of the high platform, holding the sword of Shang Fang, looking indifferent.