In the early morning, another magpie chirped outside the window, seeming to remind: "Get up early, get up early."
Pei Ziyun woke up and felt a little headache. Yesterday, Fu Juren was very happy when he saw that he was the winner of Xie Yuan. He insisted on dragging him to drink. The scholars also toasted one by one. He had no choice but to drink. He felt a little tired early today. pain.
Someone knocked on the door, and Pei Ziyun stood up and opened it.
A servant was smiling, holding a gift box in his hand, and he was very talkative. When he saw Pei Ziyun, he said: "Master Pei, my master knows that Mr. Pei has just been elected, so he has not made any preparations yet. He has prepared a gift for Mr. Pei to pay his respects." Master."
Now the person reported the gift list very smoothly and handed over a gift list.
Pei Ziyun took a look and saw that there was a famous inkstone and a scroll of paintings by famous artists from the previous dynasty. They were all suitable gifts, so he wanted to refuse.
The man then said, "Master Pei, my master has prepared an ox cart for you. Master Pei is a newly promoted official, and he is not from the state capital, so with a little care, Master Fu also let him go."
Pei Ziyun wanted to refuse, but after hearing what Fu Juren said, he knew it might be an unspoken rule and was not being pretentious, so he accepted it with a smile. When he went out, he saw Chen Jinchun and Yu Guangmao following others out. The three of them looked at each other and laughed. A hello.
"This is it?" Pei Ziyun asked.
"These are all taken care of by the senior candidates. Some of the new candidates come from poor families and may not be able to collect gifts, so the seniors will take care of them."
"These are nothing, just a little care."
Pei Ziyun understood and wanted to build some connections, so he got into the oxcart. The driver shouted at the oxen and headed to a certain place.
Hu Yingzhen is the president of this provincial examination, and according to convention, she is the chairperson.
Fu Juren had already inquired about Mr. Hu's residence. When the driver brought Pei Ziyun there, there were soldiers guarding the small courtyard in front.
Pei Ziyun came down and came forward with Chen Jinchun and Yu Guangmao to deliver the invitation. A servant came out to lead him into the courtyard. The courtyard was very quiet, surrounded by corridors, and in the middle was a patio with a large water tank. central.
As they entered, Hu Yingzhen was drinking tea in the hall. The three of them hurriedly went up to meet him and presented the gifts.
Hu Yingzhen glanced at Pei Ziyun twice and said: "I saw your paper, and it's really impressive. Your current level is already extraordinary, and you are young. As long as you work harder, you will definitely stand out, so this is the reason." I made an exception and ranked you first, do you understand?"
Pei Ziyun was flattered and said immediately: "Thank you very much, teacher. This kindness and kindness will be remembered by the students throughout their lives!"
This kind of private meeting was actually very short. There was another meeting at noon, so Hu Yingzhen said some words to Chen Jinchun and Yu Guangmao. There was another voice outside the door, and Pei Ziyun led the two to leave.
At noon, there was a wedding banquet, which was held in the Gongyuan to show the court's favor. This was Xu's important banquet.
When the new recruits arrived at the Gongyuan, they saw the sergeant with a sword hanging from his waist, standing like a nail, and an official led them in. When they arrived, they felt the solemnity of the Gongyuan again.
An academic official loudly said: "The new imperial examination candidates have arrived, enter the palace!"
The new imperial examination candidates bowed their heads and walked forward. They saw the main hall of Gongyuan opened on the steps. In the main hall, Confucian saints and wise men were enshrined. On the case was a dragon tablet with the words "Long live Xu, long live Long Live". This dragon tablet was made of gold. It is completed, engraved with a flying dragon, one foot and five inches high.
Throughout history, sages sat or stood with different expressions. They paid homage to the sages. The newly elected people were in awe and breathed quickly. It is a lifelong dream of a scholar to enter this hall.
"A big salute!" the academic officer shouted, and all the officials bowed down together.
"Goodbye"
"flat body"
When you're done, retreat to the lobby in front of the palace.
"Greetings to the master!" This time there was more than one master. The president, deputy examiner, and house officer were all present, and thirty-three people saluted together.
Then came the speech. After the words were spoken, music suddenly started. Amidst the music, the newly invited people came to the banquet. Everyone at this banquet was seated. The dishes were dazzling and fragrant. Everyone was full of energy. I don’t know how many years of hard study, and at this time, finally After gaining the qualifications to be an official, the carp jumped out of the dragon gate.
After a while, the president of the Provincial Examination smiled: "When I joined here, I was young and frivolous. To be successful in life, you must have fun, so you don't have to worry."
After saying that, he left the venue. As soon as he left the venue, the atmosphere suddenly became lively. Everyone bowed their hands to each other and everyone toasted. The venue was filled with joy and joy. From time to time, bursts of laughter came from time to time, and some people shed tears.
Pei Ziyun was Jieyuan, so he was the core of the field. Many people talked and talked with each other. It took a while before things calmed down. Seeing everyone laughing and chatting, he couldn't help but think of his own past.
Time flies, and even the world is different.
At this time, someone brought the wine. When he passed by Pei Ziyun, he glanced at Pei Ziyun. Pei Ziyun was startled and looked back at the man who was far away, a little surprised. The man who looked over just now had something special in his eyes.
Shaking his head, Pei Ziyun raised his glass to another person.
The man put away the empty wine bottle and went back to the kitchen. A man came out to greet him in the kitchen: "How was it?"
The man who delivered the wine just now shook his head: "You can't check at all in the Gongyuan. If you want to check, I think we should do it on the street at the door."
The man listened to what this man said and left in a hurry.
Ox cart
After hearing that the wedding banquet was held until the afternoon, Pei Ziyun went out of the gate of Gongyuan and looked for an ox cart. He said that Xu did not use sedan chairs and did not regard them as humans or animals. Only the emperor and empress used people to carry them.
Pei Ziyun was drunk, and when the autumn wind blew, he regained his consciousness. He called for the bullock cart, and the driver helped him get on, smiling: "Master, the wind is cold and it's going to rain again. Where are you going?"
Pei Ziyun was stunned for a moment and sat down, opened the window and said, "Let's go to Fu's Mansion. It's very close, but don't leave. I'll say goodbye and take your car to the dock."
The driver happily responded and shouted. The ox cart started moving, and the ox hooves stepped on the road. Pei Ziyun was about to take a rest when suddenly he sat upright and said, "Who is it?"
After the oxcart stopped for a while, the driver asked, "Sir, is something wrong?"
Pei Ziyun glanced around with gloomy eyes and saw a middle-aged Taoist looking over with a mirror. He suddenly frowned: "Could it be that Zhang Jieyu knew that he had killed Li Wenjing and sent people to attack him?"
At this thought, he pressed the hilt of his sword, but in the blink of an eye, the man turned around and left.
Zhoucheng·Gaochuiguan
People would come in and out from time to time, delivering news. Zhang Jieyu was in a bad mood. He received a report on the location of Taoists in the county, saying that he was checking the latest news, and there were not many conflicts.
Zhang Jie frowned deeply and just remained silent.
A bearded Taoist about forty years old came up. This was sent by Zhang Jieyu to investigate Taoist Pei Ziyun. Seeing this Taoist coming back, Zhang Jieyu frowned and asked, "Brother, is this Pei Ziyun suspicious?"
The Taoist has checked and said: "Young Master, I have found out that Pei Ziyun does not have Taoism in him. I used a Dharma mirror to see that this person is incapable and should not be the person who planned to murder the military advisor."
"I found out that on the day the military advisor was killed, Pei Ziyun and a group of scholars drank at Zuixian Tower. They got very drunk. They did not go back to Fu's house that night and stayed in an inn for one night. They were woken up at noon the next day."
Listening to the Taoist's report, Zhang Jieyu took a few steps and always felt something was wrong: "This boy is a bit suspicious. He was saved by someone from the Songyun Sect at Yinlong Temple last time. He may have been shielded. Please give me a closer look, senior brother." Check!”
"By the way, where is this person going now?"
"After hearing about the wedding banquet, this person has left the state city and taken a boat down. According to the speed, he may arrive at Dong'an Mansion tonight." The Taoist said.
"Huh?" After Zhang Jieyu heard this, a flash of inspiration flashed through him, but when he thought about it carefully, he couldn't think of anything for a moment, so he waved his hand and said casually: "By the way, can you look up some information at the Honshu Daozhengsi?" ?”
"Sir, it's difficult. Think about it, the Imperial Dao Lu Department and the local Dao Zheng Department are both agencies of the imperial court that supervise the Taoist sects. Although there are people from the Taoist sects joining them, the ones in charge are some casual cultivators."
"The imperial court oversees Taoist sects all over the world. There must be some sources of information, but we obviously can't get them."
"Yeah, but we can't be soft on this matter." Zhang Jieyu stood up, eyes shining, and stared out the window: "Our sect has not had much time to rise, and its foundation is not deep. If we are weak, wouldn't it be like letting others be our sect?" A weak persimmon?"
"So when it comes to Li Wenjing's personal affairs, it's actually not a big deal, but its symbolic significance is great."
The Taoist thought for a while and said, "This makes sense."
"Hey, I thought about it, come here, bring me the map!" Zhang Jieyu shouted, and a man came in a moment later and brought the map over.
To be honest, this map was taboo in ancient times, but Taoists can also get it.
"Look!" Zhang Jieyu's eyes were excited when he was waiting for someone to go back, and he pointed to the path: "What you just said made me think of it. It only takes one day to go from Zhoucheng to Dong'an Mansion along the river."
"And Li Wenjing's home is relatively close, at least thirty miles away."
"If someone goes down the river at night, is it allowed to kill someone and return the same night?"
The Taoist was also shocked and said in deep thought: "Young Master is right. It is possible. However, the person who killed Li Wenjing was wearing a pure light. Li Wenjing's soul cannot see people. This is not a martial arts achievement."
Zhang Jieyu smiled: "It's not difficult to solve the time problem. Even if Pei Ziyun really doesn't have any magic power, he can just wear a magic weapon and there is a way to get around it."
"That shows that Pei Ziyun has a deep relationship with Songmenyun. Although this magical weapon is not too rare, it is not that easy to obtain." The Taoist frowned.
"We'll talk about it later. No matter what, let's investigate along this line - can you mobilize official inspectors along the way to help with the investigation?"
"Sir, the Luo Gang has some influence on the river. You can investigate whether this person is on board the boat."
"As for the officials along the river, Master, you also know that not only us, but all the Taoist sects have not penetrated the government very deeply."
"Dragon Qi is taboo, and there is no hope of promotion. Only those who no longer expect to be promoted will become familiar with us."
"It's just a connection, I can give it a try."
"Then go check it out." Zhang Jieyu said firmly.
(End of chapter)