"Old Zhou is the humerus of the country, and it's normal that he doesn't know much about the younger generation," Rong Xia ticked off a few names on the list, "Since I have ascended the throne, the world is waiting to be renovated, and I will open Enke next year and expand the world. Talent."
"Your Majesty Shengming." Several courtiers saluted in unison. In recent years, many scholars have been persecuted because of the Jiang family's tossing. Now that His Majesty has opened Enke, the happiest person must be the people of the world. The only problem is that now the notices are posted all over the country, and some scholars in remote places are afraid that they will not be able to rush to the capital in time.
Zhou Bing'an raised this question, Rong Xia said: "Since the imperial examination is not held according to the rules, the time does not need to be restricted to the past. It is convenient to set the time to the end of April."
"Your Majesty is benevolent, for the sake of the people of the world, Wei Chen thanked His Majesty for your grace on behalf of the students."
"In my opinion, you, Yao Peiji, and Liu Banshan are in charge of this imperial examination." Rongxia has long been accustomed to the behavior of these old foxes who love to give him a hand, and he never takes it seriously. It's still up to the two to decide."
The new emperor held the first imperial examination after he ascended the throne, and let them take charge. This is a great face, and it also shows the new emperor's trust in them. Zhou Bing'an and Yao Peiji were both smart people. Knowing that His Majesty intended to train Liu Banshan, they immediately agreed and praised Liu Banshan by the way.
Liu Banshan is only in his 30s now, and he has already taken the post of Dali Temple Secretary. There is a lot of room for promotion in the future. Even for the sake of future generations, they do not want to offend this person.
After these courtiers left, Rong Xia lowered his head again to look at the list presented to him by Zhou Bing'an and others. Zhu Bi stopped on Xie Qilin's name for a long time, and finally crossed out his name again.
"Your Majesty, the Empress is here."
"Please." Rong Xia stood up and wanted to greet him at the door, but looked down at the list, and took a copy of the memorial and changed it to it.
"Rong Xia." Ban Hua walked in, holding a plate of dim sum in her hand, which looked like the one that Rong Xia had eaten at Ban's house. A plate of dim sum is worth more than such a plate of silver.
"I brought this cook from my mother's house, you can try it." Ban Hua put the plate on the table, picked up a piece and put it in Rong Xia's mouth, "Is it delicious?"
Concealer nodded.
"You stay in the hall all day dealing with affairs, don't get tired out." Ban Hua pressed him on the chair and sat down, pressing his shoulders for him.
Rong Xia grabbed her hand, reached out and took her into his arms, "Tell me, did you go out and cause something?"
"Ah?" Ban Hua looked at Rong Xia inexplicably, "Why should I go out and cause trouble?"
Seeing her blank and innocent look, Rong Xia fed a piece of dessert to her mouth, and said while feeding, "You left the palace a few days ago, you came back late after playing, and you are so enthusiastic about me."
"That's right, it's as if I don't treat you well on weekdays." Ban Hua ate the snack and bit Rong Xia's fingertips hard, who knew that Rong Xia wouldn't dodge or evade, she just smiled and let her bite.
"Are you stupid?" Ban Hua saw his own tooth marks on his fingertips, a little distressed and a little guilty, "Isn't it snowing outside, I want you to accompany me out of the palace to see the snow scene."
"Tomorrow?" Rong Xia thought for a while, "Okay, I'll accompany you later."
"Okay, you can't change your mouth," Ban Hua kissed him on the cheek, "My dear, continue to criticize your memorial, I won't bother you anymore."
"Wait a minute," Rong Xia pulled her back and kissed her twice on the corner of her lips, "You little conscience, just go when you reach your goal, sit here and accompany me for a while."
"Then you approve the memorial, and I will accompany you with the words." Ban Hua hugged his neck and said with a smile, "It's okay if you let me wash and grind your pen for you."
"Forget it," Rong Xia picked her up and put her on the cushioned chair, "Just sit here and accompany me."
He recruited Wang De and asked him to fetch two books of words that Ban Hua liked, and prepared desserts for her before sitting back at the imperial office and doing his own business. Although the two have different hobbies and personalities, they are inexplicably harmonious when they sit together.
After a while, Rong Xia saw Ban Huan lying on the edge of the table and fell asleep, shook her head and chuckled, put the cloak on Ban Huan, picked him up by the waist, and walked out of the imperial study. Seeing this, the eunuch and the maid who were waiting outside hurriedly held an umbrella and a pot to shield the emperor from the cold wind blowing from outside.
"Your Majesty..."
As soon as the female officer opened her mouth, she was frightened back by Rong Xia's cold eyes. He glanced at the wind and snow outside, and quickened his pace to carry Ban Hua back to the apse.
"You all retreat." Rong Xia sat on the edge of the bed, looked at Ban Hua who was sleeping peacefully, and told everyone else in the room to retreat.
The room was quiet, and Rong Xia stared at Ban Hua in a daze. She looked at this face almost every day, but she couldn't get tired of it. It is said in the world that when parents look at their children, the more they look at them, the more they feel that their children are unmatched. But he is Hua Hua's husband, why does every time he looks at her, he feels that there is no other woman in the world who can compare to him
The more he looked, the more he felt that his wife was better than anyone else, his eyes were better than others, his mouth was more moist than others, his eyebrows were more beautiful than others, and even his angry appearance made his heart soften.
It can't be said that he treats Hua Hua as his daughter
He laughed at himself. When he walked out of the inner hall, he saw several palace maids standing quietly outside. He stopped and looked at one of them: "Your name is Ruyi?"
"Slave, if you have an opinion about Your Majesty."
"You've been waiting by your mother's side?"
"Go back to your majesty, the slave servants served by the maiden's side when they were ten years old, and have been by the maiden's side for ten years." Ruyi was a little surprised. His majesty never said a word to the maids next to the maiden, nor did he care what their names were. When the Empress was there, His Majesty could hardly see other women in his eyes. Today... What's the matter
Ruyi felt a little uneasy in her heart, but she didn't dare to show it, so she could only honestly wait for His Majesty to speak.
Rong Xia wanted to ask her about Hua Hua and Xie Qilin, but he couldn't get it out of his mouth.
"Yes." His Majesty Rujuan did not intend to ask any further, and bowed to the side.
After Rongxia left, Yuzhu asked curiously, "Sister Ruyi, what's wrong with Your Majesty?"
"Your Majesty's thoughts, you can also guess?" Ruyi glared at her fiercely, "If you don't suppress your curious temperament, you should have sent you to the Duke's Mansion early, so as not to cause trouble for the empress."
Yuzhu's complexion changed: "Sister Ruyi, it was my fault."
If you think she should be taught, your tone will be a bit better: "It's not that I'm strict with you, it's just that the uncle is now Your Majesty. As people around the empress, we should be more cautious in our words and deeds."
Yuzhu nodded honestly, she would not dare in the future.
"Your Majesty," Wang De bowed while holding an umbrella, "This old slave doesn't look very well at you. Do you want to ask an imperial doctor to give you a pulse?"
"No need," Rong Xia shook his head and said to Wang De, "I'm fine."
Wang De hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Your Majesty, are you... After listening to Princess Anle's words, you are not very happy?"
Rong Xia stopped and glanced at Wang De.
Wang De shivered from being stared at by this look, handed the umbrella to the eunuch behind him, and knelt in the snow to plead guilty.
"Get up, I didn't blame you," Rong Xia put her hands behind her back and looked at the wind and snow outside the porch, "You have been serving in the palace for so many years, is what Princess Anle said true or false?"
"When Niangniang was engaged to Xie Erlang, how old was she?" Wang De carefully looked at Rongxia's face, and continued to speak, "The servants serve in the palace, although you can't be called understanding Niangniang, but Niangniang The temperament slaves still know."
Rong Xia raised her eyebrows to look at him.
"There is a clear distinction between love and hate, and I will never wrong myself emotionally," Wang De bowed and saluted, "It must be said that the collection of poems for Xie Erlang was found through a lot of hard work, and there are a hundred slaves who do not believe, at most It happened that I got a copy, and no one around my relatives and friends liked it, so I gave it to Xie Erlang."
"Those young masters and young ladies who have a good relationship with Niangniang, no one likes these things."
Rong Xia's expression was a little subtle, he raised his eyebrows to look at Wang De: "Really?"
"Slave is a eunuch, how can you know about the feelings of children," Wang Decan said with a smile, "It's just inferences based on what I have seen and heard."
"You're right, sending a book of poems is nothing." Rong Xia raised her chin with a smile in her eyes.
Back then, Hua Hua gave him so many rare and rare picture albums, but he never gave up. What's more, they were not fiancées at that time, and she was so generous to him. Xie Qilin has been a fiancé for two years, and he has only obtained a collection of poems that he hates the most.
Back in the imperial study, Rong Xia made a note next to Xie Qilin's name.
Send it to Renzhi Prefecture in Xizhou.
Since he has some talent, and he doesn't want to see him, it's better than this.
That night, Xie Qilin received the letter of appointment issued by the imperial court. Looking at the big seal on it, he was a little surprised and had some indescribable feelings.
Rong Xia was willing to give him an official position, which was far beyond his expectations.
Looking at the excited parents, Xie Qilin put all the guesses in his heart. He walked out of the house and looked at the snowflakes swaying down from the sky, with mixed feelings in his heart, he couldn't say whether he was happy or sad.
Perhaps there are still some inexplicable emptiness, and this sense of loss, even he himself does not understand what it is for.
Before noon, a carriage drove out of the Suzaku Gate, and the carriage made a deep mark on the snow.
The carriage passed the bustling city all the way until it stopped at the ice rink on the outskirts of Beijing. This ice rink was built by some dude in the capital. In winter, it is a fun thing to invite some friends and beauties to play on the ice, or invite some ice play masters to play tricks for them to enjoy. .
This dude's surname is Qian, and his status in the capital is not high. On weekdays, high-level dudes like Zhou Bing'an and Ban Heng basically don't take him to play with him. So this time I heard that Ban Heng, the country's uncle, wanted to borrow his ice rink. Young Master Qian was so happy that he didn't sleep all night, and asked the family's servants to take care of the ice rink several times throughout the night. When the horse was on the ice, it was only after he was steady that he felt relieved.
Young Master Qian was waiting outside the ice rink early in the morning. After Ban Heng, Zhou Changxiao and the others appeared, they rushed to greet him enthusiastically. However, he soon discovered that these high-ranking sons did not enter the arena to play immediately, but let a group of guards surround the ice rink.
These personal guards were tall and tall, with swords on their belts, and their eyes were not angry, so scared that Young Master Qian's voice was a little fluttering.
"Don't be nervous," Zhou Changxiao patted him on the shoulder, "We have to wait for a noble person to come, so it is inevitable that the guards will be stricter, and I also ask Qian Gongzi not to mind."
"I don't mind, I don't mind," Qian Gongzi waved his hand hurriedly, "It should be, it should be." He secretly glanced around, and with this posture, even a mosquito wouldn't be able to fly in. Who is the noble person with such a big background? , even the dignified uncle has to be so careful.
About half an hour later, the one-year carriage stopped outside the ice rink. Qian Gongzi was about to step forward and say that this was private territory and that outsiders were not allowed to stay. Seeing Uncle Ban Guo trotting all the way to meet him, he picked up a woman in a red cloak from the carriage. He accidentally saw the woman's face, and he stayed where he was.
After he regained his senses, he realized that there was an equally outstanding man beside this stunning woman. He sighed with emotion, and the stunning beauty was indeed accompanied by Young Master Ruyu.
Ban Hua held Rong Xia's hand and turned to look at Rong Xia with a smile: "Would you like to play with me for a while?"
Rong Xia looked at the smooth ice surface, and at the smiling woman beside her, she was a little lost. More than ten years ago, he also wanted to play on the ice secretly, but a little girl just wanted him to play with him, so he pushed the boat down.
It was just that he had just walked a few steps on the ice when he was discovered by the palace staff and was punished once when he returned home. Since then, he has never played on the ice again. Now Hua Hua suddenly brought him here, which brought back memories of his childhood.
"I won't," Rong Xia smiled softly at Ban Hua, "I'll watch you right here, okay?"
"It's okay, I'm still here," Ban Huan took off his cloak, put on ice shoes, and pointed at Du Jiu, "Du Jiu, change your master's shoes."
"This subordinate... this..." Du Jiu looked at Rong Xia and Ban Hua, tangled.
"Forget it," Rong Xia smiled helplessly, "I'll do it myself."
Seeing this, Ban Heng handed over a pair of shoes, and put on Rongxia's head and knee braces. Although these things are a bit bulky, they are very good protection for those who have never played ice.
"Watch me slide around for you."
Rong Xia raised her head, her eyes fell on Ban Hua, her whole body almost froze.
The red plum on the ice, the enchantress in the snow.
Rong Xia stared blankly at Ban Hua, until Ban Hua slipped back in a circle and stopped in front of him again, he still didn't regain his senses.
"Why, you are stunned by my beauty?" Ban Hua handed a fair and delicate hand in front of him, "Come, come with me."
Du Jiu and the other guards looked at Rong Xia nervously, for fear that the empress would accidentally throw her majesty.
Rong Xia handed his hand to Ban Yan, but he didn't see the expected chicness, because he stumbled a bit when he took the first step.
"Be careful," Ban Hua supported his waist, "don't panic, take it one step at a time."
"it is good."
Rong Xia laughed, he followed Ban Hua staggeringly on the ice, sometimes the two fell together, scared Du Jiu and the others into a cold sweat, but the two of them lay on the ice and laughed .
Du Jiu stared blankly at His Majesty's somewhat embarrassed appearance. He had almost never seen His Majesty's clumsy side. His Majesty was always omnipotent and calm.
Like today, I can only walk a few steps forward with the help of the empress, and I have almost never seen the appearance of falling on all fours.
"Get up," Ban Hua got up from the ice and dragged Rong Xia up hard. "You are so stupid. When I was a few years old, I learned to play on the ice."
"Well, our family is the smartest."
"I like to hear this," Ban Hua's cheeks were flushed, and the corners of her eyes were full of smiles, "but even if you are stupid, I don't despise you. No matter how stupid your husband is, it is his own good."
"Hua..." Rong Xia held Ban Hua's hand and suddenly pulled her into his arms.
Snowflakes fell, and the faint coolness suppressed the warmth of Ban Hua's body.
"If the sky is not old, the love is endless," Rong Xia hugged Ban Hua more tightly, preventing the wind and snow from falling on her, "Hua, don't blame me."
Ban Hua's heart trembled. She stretched out her hand and gently embraced Rong Xia's waist. She was silent for a long time. When Rong Xia thought she would not speak, she nodded lightly: "Okay."
Next to the ice rink, Zhou Changxiao squatted on the ground, holding his chin and facing Ban Hengdao, "Your Majesty and your sister, have you always... been like this?"
Ban Heng changed his ice shoes and said to Zhou Changxiao, "What's wrong?"
"No," Zhou Changxiao shook his head, "I just think... it's pretty good."
Ban Heng snorted lightly, stood on the ice and said, "If you want to look at others, it's better to play with yourself." After that, he turned to look at his sister's place. The two had already let go, and His Majesty was still walking in a twisted way. Turning westward, his sister let go of His Majesty's hand and slipped away beautifully like a flower.
Ban Heng retracted his gaze, His Majesty fell in love with a woman like his sister, and was so infatuated.
For an entire afternoon, Rong Xia barely learned not to fall on the ice, and knew nothing about the rest.
Ban Hua sat in the carriage with him, lay in his arms and poked him in the chest: "Your Majesty, when you were playing in the ice, you were so stupid."
Rong Xia hugged her tighter and said with a smile, "But today I am very happy."
He finally realized what it felt like to be happy on the ice, and no one would scold him for not being enterprising, addicted to having fun, and having no manners. The woman beside him said he was stupid, but every time he fell, she hurried over, like a child he didn't understand, protected by her pain.
"Just be happy," Ban Hua wrapped his neck around his neck, "every year and every season in the future, I will secretly take you out to play. But it can't be because of slack in government affairs, I don't want to record me in the future history books, Tell me what a disaster I am."
"Then what do you want to do?" Rong Xia tapped the tip of her nose.
"People in later generations will definitely praise you as a Mingjun. How can I be a famous queen, such as the queen most loved by the emperor, the most virtuous queen, or... I have been loved by the emperor for a lifetime, and the emperor has never accepted a concubine. Empress." Ban Hua looked at Rong Xia with a half-smile, "If I want future generations to mention you, they will think of me."
"Okay," Rong Xia held her hand, "you are the only queen, the only woman I have ever loved, the only woman. If I can't do this in this life, I will die, and the country will be lost to me."
Ban Hua closed her eyes and smiled: "I don't want the country to fall into your hands, and the people will suffer. If you break your oath..." She slowly opened her eyes and stared at Rong Xia's eyes, "I'll let you live a thousand years. , is lonely for the rest of your life, okay?"
"it is good."
Outside the carriage, Du Jiu pulled the cloak on his body, pretending that he hadn't heard the conversation in the carriage.
Lifelong loneliness, sometimes more painful than not being able to die.
As an emperor, it is more difficult than ordinary men to abide by such an oath. His Majesty dared to make such an oath, is it because he has confidence in himself, or is he so infatuated with the empress
In the winter of the first year of Cheng'an, the courtiers found that His Majesty's complexion was getting better day by day, and even his eyes were a little more alive. When winter came to spring, when the two years of adulthood came, a minister suddenly made a play, saying that the Queen Mother and Her Majesty had been married for nearly three years and still had no children. In order to win the world, Her Majesty should expand the harem and spread its branches.
The minister did not expect that after the words were spoken, His Majesty lost his temper. Not only did he say that he was addicted to women's sex in front of the court's civil and military officials, but he also said that he could not even manage his family well, so how could he be an official in the court? , directly ordered to take off his black gauze hat.
After this incident, the courtiers no longer dared to talk to His Majesty about Concubine Tina, and even those ministers who had the heart to send their daughters to the harem did not dare to openly raise it. If it were an ordinary woman, they could still insinuate that the queen was a disaster, but after the class, she and His Majesty fought the world together, fought bloody battles for His Majesty, and was highly respected by His Majesty's close officials, who would dare to say a few more words.
But as courtiers, they didn't want to think that the person your Majesty valued most was the queen, not their courtiers.
The courtiers could not see the emperor favoring the concubine, nor the emperor valuing the eunuchs. What they wanted to see the most was that the emperor praised them the most and valued them the most.
It's a pity that His Majesty acts in a proper manner, and the world is in good order under his governance. If they want to find an excuse to say that His Majesty is incompetent, there will be suspicion of rebellion.
Therefore, the emperor's brain is too clear and his ability is too good, and the courtiers are not so satisfied.
Since Kaienke's decree was issued, Rongxia's status among the literati has grown even higher. As soon as the spring started, many candidates from all over the country rushed to the capital.
Some candidates are in Beijing for the first time and are very curious about the capital, so they often hear some interesting gossip from the people of the capital. For example, if a minister wants to send his daughter to the palace, who knows that His Majesty dislikes it very much.
Another example is someone who wanted to please the father-in-law, but the father-in-law directly sent a gift out of the door, and said that he was just a fool and never interfered in the affairs of the court.
Another example is the Empress Empress, who is a very beautiful and powerful woman. She can go on a horse to kill enemies. She is not very good at writing, but her eloquence is very good. It is said that a foreign envoy mocked the Da Ying man for being too weak, and was ridiculed from head to toe by the empress.
"The Queen Mother said to the envoy, "You can't even match my martial arts skills as a woman, so how dare you mock my son who won a big victory? My son who won a big victory is good at martial arts, how can a barbarian like you understand it? Blind bears and tigers in the mountains are not only powerful, but can eat people, can I say that they are more powerful than all men in the world?"
Several of them listened with relish, and urged the commoner to continue talking.
"How many young masters are here to participate in Enke?" The commoner took a sip of tea, looked at a few of them, and said slowly, "Our Majesty values talented people the most, all the young masters are dignified, I wish you all the best. The title of the gold list, the top of the high school list."
The students couldn't help but sigh, as expected of the capital, even ordinary people can speak like this.
Under the tea house, a carriage slowly stopped, and a hand like jade lifted the curtain.
The author has something to say: 寳寳: If you love him, take him to play~