Wangdu, Nangong Mansion was surrounded by officers and soldiers, ten steps a post, they all had cold faces, exuding an aura that strangers should not enter. The people in the vicinity all took detours when they passed by, so that the street at the main entrance of Nangong Mansion was empty and deserted.
Da da da…
A green-covered horse-drawn carriage approached from one end of the street, which immediately attracted the attention of the officers and soldiers.
The carriage gradually slowed down, and finally stopped at the main entrance. One person stepped forward and asked angrily, "Who is here?"
The curtain of the carriage was pulled open from the inside, and a maidservant in green clothes leaned out half of her body and said politely: "Brother, our wife is the second aunt in this mansion, please trouble the elder brother to let us in."
Several officers and soldiers looked at each other in blank dismay, and one of them went to report to the superior, and finally opened the main gate of Nangong Mansion, and the carriage slowly entered the mansion under the yelling of the coachman...
The arrival of Nangong Yan once again caused an uproar in Nangong Mansion.
As soon as Nangong Yan entered the mansion, he didn't go directly to Rong'an Hall, but first went to Qianyun Courtyard. Nangong Sheng and Liu Qingqing also came after hearing the news.
She didn't look very well, her face was so pale that there was no trace of blood, but she calmly stated the reason why she returned home in one sentence—
Divorce.
Rao Nangong Cheng has always been mature and prudent, but his complexion changed drastically, and he raised his voice with anger, "It's unreasonable! Li Chengen, why should he abandon his second sister? The second sister didn't commit any crimes, and the Li family didn't know about it before they divorced their wife." After meeting us, this letter of divorce should be invalid."
What's more, if the Nangong family is really accused of crimes, Nangong Yan, as a married woman, can be exempted from all difficulties.
The room was silent for a moment, Nangong Mu and Lin exchanged a look, and the eyes were a little dignified. Of course they disdain Lifu's behavior, but at this time, they can only choose the lesser harm.
Nangong Mu said to Nangong Yan in a deep voice: "Yan'er, your elder brother is right... Listen to the second uncle, you go back to Lifu."
As long as Fanli Mansion has a little reputation, Nangong Yan must be allowed to go back.
Nangong Yan showed a bleak smile, revealing one point of disappointment, two points of thoroughness, and three points of determination. She shook her head and said, "Second uncle, my niece doesn't want to go back. Since he can't wait to abandon his wife, this husband-in-law Not worth mentioning."
No matter how respectful and affectionate the husband and wife used to be, they can't resist the cruelty of reality.
Nangong Yan looked up at Nangong Mu, without blinking, and firmly said to everyone present: "Second Uncle, Second Aunt, Eldest Brother, Elder Sister, I am willing to share weal and woe with the whole family."
A family that cannot share adversity cannot be called a family at all; those who cannot share happiness and adversity cannot be called relatives at all.
Nangong Mu secretly sighed in his heart, his second niece usually seemed to be submissive and reticent, even when her marriage was snatched away by the fourth niece, she didn't cry, but she didn't want her to be so strong and decisive.
Lin's said in a warm voice: "Yan'er, no matter what choice you make, there will always be a place for you in the family. You can live in peace of mind. Second aunt will let someone clean up your house..." After Nangong Yan got married , her yard is still kept, and there is also a little maid to clean it, so it can live in directly.
"Thank you, Second Aunt." Nangong Yan bowed respectfully.
Looking at Nangong Yan who had made up his mind, Nangong Cheng also gradually calmed down, and smiled bitterly in his heart: The Nangong family is not yet at the point of desperation, and there are people who are in a hurry to get rid of the relationship. The surname is Li, and my father still misunderstood him at the beginning. !
The atmosphere in the main room was a bit heavy and sad, and everyone didn't speak for a while.
At this time, Ruyi, Lin's maidservant, came in hurriedly, and after saluting, she presented an envelope to Nangong Mu and said, "Second Master, just now Eldest Uncle sent someone to quietly deliver the news, saying that today's At the student gathering at Laiyun Tea House, some articles written by Mr. Yuan Huang and Tai of the Jinkehui in the academy in Jingzhou half a year ago came out, and the elder uncle specially copied a copy."
While she was speaking, both Nangong Mu and Nangong Cheng's expressions froze, and they exchanged glances.
Nangong Mu said, "Cheng'er, follow me to the study."
Lin gave her husband a relieved look, telling him not to worry about Nangong Yan, she and Liu Qingqing will take good care of Nangong Yan.
Soon, the nephew and uncle left Qianyun Courtyard in a hurry, and came to Nangong Mu's study room. After dismissing the servant, only the nephew and uncle were left in the study room.
As soon as Nangong Mu sat down, he almost couldn't wait to open the envelope, took out one of the densely written letter papers, and quickly browsed through it, his face sinking like water.
Seeing Nangong Mu's expression, Nangong Cheng knew that something might be wrong... When he took the letter paper, his heart sank even more.
With the level of this article, it is absolutely impossible to be on the list, let alone the top Huiyuan!
Unless, this Mr. Huang suddenly became enlightened in a short period of time and made leaps and bounds.
But there is no shortcut to this study, otherwise, why would so many thousands of students have to spend ten years in poverty, it is easy to read the Four Books and Five Classics once, but it takes a lot of hard work to read them thoroughly.
Nangong Cheng put down the article in his hand, and looked at Nangong Mu with a wry smile. The hearts of both uncle and nephew sank to the bottom of the valley, full of worry.
Of course, they didn't believe that Nangong Qin would leak the question. One could imagine how meticulous this trap was against the Nangong family.
When it came time for the imperial examination, the emperor would write the questions himself, and hundreds of pairs of invigilators and examinees would stare at him. It was absolutely impossible to hide how many weights this Young Master Huang had.
For a moment, Nangong Mu felt as if Nangong Mansion had been escorted to the guillotine, and just waiting for an order, the high hanging knife would suddenly fall down...
At this time, in Laiyun Teahouse, Huang Hetai's article had already been circulated among the students.
The crowd was excited.
A student surnamed Yu said indignantly: "You can still win the first prize at this level. You must have bought the test questions in advance and asked someone to catch you!"
"Brother Yu is right. It is because of such people that talented people will fail in the examination. It is really unwise for Dayu not to select talents based on merit!"
"Brother, don't be in a hurry to make a conclusion." A blue-robed student sitting at another table slightly raised his voice, and said to the students in the entire lobby, "The truth will be known after the palace examination."
"Brother Cheng's words are wrong, this Enke's injustice is already in front of us..."
The others were also talking in a hurry, and the more they talked, the more excited they became...
The voices of these arguments inevitably spread to the private seats on the second floor. Two young people who looked similar looked at each other and smiled. These two were handsome and extraordinary, and they were Han Lingfu and Han Lingguan.
Han Lingfu took a sip of the hot tea, and praised: "Good tea! Brother Erhuang, it is indeed the new Longjing tea this year. It is mellow and sweet."
Han Lingguan responded casually, glanced sideways at Han Lingfu, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile: "Brother Sanhuang, I happen to have some excellent Biluochun at my brother's place. Since ancient times, BMWs have been paired with heroes, and this good tea should also be paired with Sanhuang." My brother is someone who understands tea."
"Then I would like to thank Brother Two Huang." Han Lingfu also thanked him with a smile on his face.
In fact, the two brothers knew well that Han Lingfu might not dare to drink the tea that Han Lingguan gave him.
During the conversation, the debate in the lobby on the first floor became more and more intense. You spoke one after another, and it seemed a bit noisy.
Han Lingfu felt a dull pain on his forehead, and frowned slightly. Without his order, Xiao Lizi immediately closed the two half-open windows in the private seat.
In the private seat, it was immediately quieter, and the hustle and bustle was isolated from the outside.
"Brother Sanhuang," Han Lingguan said with a smile, "I see that the current momentum is good. With the promotion of these students, there is no need for us to add fuel..."
Han Lingfu forced a smile, his eyes darkened, and said: "Continue like this, and when the results of the palace examination come out, even the emperor will not be able to protect the Nangong family!"
This time, the Nangong family will definitely not be able to stand up!
Thinking about it, Han Lingfu's eyes flashed with joy, and he felt that his recently depressed mood was finally relieved a lot.
"Thanks to your plan this time, Brother Sanhuang." Han Lingguan held up the teacup with both hands, "As a brother, I will replace wine with tea, and toast Brother Sanhuang."
He raised the teacup high, but seeing that Han Lingfu hadn't moved, he couldn't help but froze his smile, and slightly raised his voice, "Third Emperor..." Han Lingguan felt displeased, and thought, "Third Emperor, what do you mean? You are absent-minded when talking to yourself!" I don't take myself too seriously.
Han Lingfu, whose eyes were half-closed, was startled, and suddenly came back to his senses. He hurriedly picked up the tea, and the two toasted, then both took a sip of the tea, and put down the teacups again.
Han Lingguan suppressed the dissatisfaction in his heart, looked at Han Lingfu, and said, "Third emperor brother, you look unwell, but you are not feeling well?"
The four words "unwell" pierced Han Lingfu's heart like a sharp sword, causing him to gnash his teeth in pain.
On that day, after a big quarrel with Bai Muxiao in the Xinghui Courtyard, he left in a huff and ordered Bai Muxiao to stay in the Xinghui Courtyard. Of course he wished he could kill Bai Muxiao, that bitch, but he didn't do it after all. Bai Muxiao was just a lowly life, as light as a feather, but he himself was a son of a dragon. Taking risks, he must leave a way out for himself...
The power of Wuhe ointment was really terrifying, and Han Lingfu knew from the bottom of his heart that he was afraid.
That night, his addiction broke out, and it was more painful than during the day, making his life worse than death!
He endured and endured, and finally couldn't bear it any longer, and went to Xinghui Academy tired and hungry. At that time, Bai Muxiao was too lazy to put on a show, she didn't stand up to greet her, she didn't speak softly, she just sneered. Even so, Han Lingfu still did not leave, he almost eagerly got the Wuhe ointment, and then...
He knew he couldn't escape!
Can't escape the magic power of Wuhe Gao, can't escape Bai Muxiao's control!
Now, on the surface, outsiders think that he loves Bai Muxiao as before, and that the two are still inseparable, but they both know that they are already at odds with each other, and in the end, everything is just for Wuhe. That's all.
However, he has already made an appointment with Kui Lang to meet tomorrow, although he and Kui Lang are also seeking skins from tigers, and he does not know when this wolfish and ambitious Kui Lang will stab him in turn, but as long as Kui Lang is not restored, he will ask him for a day.
When I have enough Wuhe ointment, this bitch Bai Muxiao will die suddenly! He's going to cut her into pieces!
In just a blink of an eye, Han Lingfu was already thinking about it, his eyes were as deep as a bottomless black pool, he tried his best to act as if nothing had happened, and smiled reluctantly: "Thank you, Brother Erhuang, for your concern, but I just didn't sleep well last night. , nothing serious."
After a pause, he immediately changed the subject and said, "Second Brother, after the imperial examination, I still need to trouble you, Brother, to put more effort on your side. Make sure to gather our strengths in the court and give Father a push..."
Their father, who wants Mingjun wholeheartedly, will force him to "follow the trend" once "the general trend follows".
This point, the most clear is that they are sons.
Now everything is ready, only the east wind is owed!
This "Dongfeng" is naturally the palace test!
Suddenly, there was a commotion and noise outside, even the closed doors and windows of the lounge could not stop the noise from the lobby downstairs, like the raging waves in a storm, each wave was getting stronger and stronger.
Xiao Lizi pushed open a corner of the window, glanced down, and said: "My lord, it's Jinkehuiyuan who has come."
Hearing this, both Han Lingfu and Han Lingguan were unavoidably surprised, they got up and walked to the window, looking down.
I saw a man of medium height in his twenties striding into the lobby on the first floor of the teahouse. He had a plain appearance, loosely wrapped in a white robe with wide sleeves and long sleeves, and a kerchief on his head. Stepping on wooden clogs, the body exudes a strong smell of alcohol.
He walked forward casually, the wooden clogs under his feet made a "da da" sound, and his clothes fluttered as he walked, looking wild and unruly.
At this time, all eyes in the hall were on Huang Hetai, and the student surnamed Yu got up angrily, and said loudly to Huang Hetai: "Huang Hetai, you know how you got this academic talent, you know it yourself. How dare you have the audacity to show off here!" He looked Huang Hetai up and down in disgust, "Look at what you are wearing, you are so unrestrained and degrading!"
Then, the student surnamed Liu taunted with a half-smile: "Brother Huang, if I were you, I should hide in the room and hug Buddha's feet quickly, and read more books. Tomorrow is the imperial examination."
Many people laughed mockingly, thinking that Mr. Liu's words were really funny, but that's not true! With the ink in this idiot's stomach, I'm waiting to make a fool of myself in the palace exam tomorrow!
Everyone's expressions were either mocking, disdainful, expecting, or gloating.
But that Huang Hetai didn't care at all. He raised the white wine bottle in his right hand, took a big sip directly at the mouth of the bottle, wiped the corners of his mouth with his cuff, and said contemptuously: "My son is really talented and has a clear conscience. Don't be afraid." People say! No matter what, this young master is the master of this discipline, and the number one scholar of this discipline must also be in my young master's pocket!"
"Well, you brazen Huang Hetai, you dare to utter wild words!" Another student couldn't help standing up, "If it wasn't for cheating in this subject, you would still want to win the Gongshi?!"
"Whether I can be named on the gold list is not something that you can judge by yourself!" Huang Hetai laughed loudly, and said in a free and easy voice, "Only fools with no skills would just gossip here, I don't think so." If you have time to waste your tongue here, I advise you to go home and study! Maybe you can get a fellow Jinshi in the next exam!"
Tong Jinshi is like a wife, and this life is doomed to a limited career. For most of the student candidates, they would rather fail the rankings and try again in three years, rather than being Zhongtong Jinshi. Huang Hetai's words are clearly cursing them.
In an instant, the hall was noisy again, and the students couldn't help but attack it together.
Han Lingfu and Han Lingguan in the private seats on the second floor couldn't help sneering, completely relieved.
"What an idiot!" Han Lingguan closed the window again and curled his lips mockingly.
"Second brother, it should be said that this is God helping my two brothers!"
During the conversation, the two brothers sat down again, drank tea, exchanged a few words, and their minds were already flying to the palace examination the day after tomorrow.
Huang Hetai's wild words in Kufengyuan were quickly spread to ten, ten, hundreds, and hundreds of thousands. Many students swore that this person must be cheating, and they all waited to see what he said in Kuifengyuan. He made a fool of himself in the imperial examination, but some people felt that this person was quite arrogant and hard to beat. If this is an ordinary person, no matter whether he has real talents or not, he would have already collapsed after being accused by thousands of people. Could it be that Huang Hetai still has to deal with other people's malice? If you can't greet each other with a smiling face, so what if you say a few lies!
These stories spread wildly, and by the next day, everyone from literati to ordinary people was discussing about it, and Huang Hetai's name suddenly became known in the streets and alleys, and even the common people began to pay attention to the upcoming palace examination, and These news naturally spread into the palace, and into the ears of the emperor...
This night was destined to be a sleepless night for most Gongshi. When the dawn sun illuminated the eastern sky, it meant that the palace examination had finally arrived in the eyes of everyone.
Hundreds of tributes gathered in the imperial palace, all dressed in blue silk and blue tribute tribute uniforms, wearing carved gold tribute tribute crowns, looking energetic.
Huiyuan, who has always been the top name, is naturally the focus of everyone, but this time, the gaze projected on Jinke Huiyuan seemed a little strange, without envy or jealousy, but with disdain, ridicule, and gloating in anticipation of a good show.
In this weird atmosphere, the examinees entered the Golden Luan Hall. Eunuch Liu whispered something in the emperor's ear, and pointed at the man of medium stature standing in the center of the front row with his whisk.
The emperor's eyes followed Eunuch Liu's pointing, and his sharp eyes narrowed slightly.
It turned out that he was Yuan Huang Hetai from the Jinkehui.
Today's Huang Hetai is dressed like other tributes, standing with his head held high and his hands behind his back. Compared with the fearful students around him, this person seemed to be a bit arrogant.
The emperor not only heard the rumors on the street, but also read Huang Hetai's article on taxation. The article was written so empty, if he met a pragmatic examiner, he might not even be able to pass the exam...
Thinking about it, the emperor's eyes were a little complicated.
It can be said that the emperor hoped that this case of favoritism and fraud was nothing more than anyone else, and hoped that this turmoil could be calmed down as soon as possible. Since he took the throne, he has been conscientious and diligent in government affairs. Such a dirty pen of imperial examination fraud is written on the political achievements.
But after reading Huang Hetai's old work, even the emperor has to hesitate to suspect that there might be something really wrong with Enko this time...
Thinking of the coming storm, the emperor woke up in the middle of the night for several nights, looking rather haggard.
"Students see the emperor, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"
The densely packed candidates occupied most of the Golden Luan Hall, kneeling down to salute the emperor in an orderly manner, their voices were resounding, but there was a trace of depression.
Originally, when he was named on the gold list, it was the first of the three happy events in life.
But now the fraud case has cast a heavy shadow over this happy event. No one knows how the emperor will deal with this matter after the palace examination.
After all, in the history of fraud cases, winning fame is the lightest thing, never being admitted in the future, or even losing his head, that is too numerous to count.
The emperor sitting on the throne looked around the examinees, and said loudly: "Excessive taxation has hurt the common people since ancient times. Looking at the history of the Central Plains for thousands of years, most of the change of dynasty was caused by those in power. .”
Both the examinees and the several officials in charge of the examination had read Huang Hetai's article, but no one thought that the emperor would use it as a topic.
Those examinees were afraid of getting into trouble, they all lowered their eyebrows, kept their eyes straight, and suppressed the shock in their hearts. As for the officials, they were more casual, exchanging glances with each other, with different thoughts.
Afterwards, the examinees sat down in front of the desk, calmed down, and then spread paper and rubbed ink... With the movement of rubbing ink, most of the people's hearts calmed down, and their expressions were solemn.
Soon, some candidates began to write pens one after another, shaking their pens straight.
After most people started to write, Huang Hetai was still grinding ink slowly. His leisurely appearance attracted a lot of attention again. Even the emperor looked at Huang Hetai several times, his face sinking like water. As for the invigilator Several officials have begun to sigh and shake their heads, and some even secretly rejoice that they are not the chief and deputy examiner this time. No matter who leaked the question, this time someone is destined to be implicated for no reason!
Unknowingly, half of the time for the palace examination had passed, and when some people almost doubted whether Huang Hetai was going to hand in a blank paper, he finally started to write, and his writing seemed to flow smoothly.
At this time, candidates in the back row had already collected their pens one after another, and some couldn't help but look up at Huang Hetai with a sarcasm on their faces, thinking: I don't know what "high opinion" this Huang Huiyuan will have this time, Shouldn't it be a cliché again
Time passed little by little... When the incense in the cauldron was burned out, Huang Hetai took his pen and began to collect the papers without any haste, while the examinees temporarily retreated to wait for the emperor and several academicians and Hanlin to mark the papers .
The hundred or so examination papers had to be judged on the same day as the first and second ranks. Of course, the emperor could not have time to read all the examination papers carefully. He just picked out the beginning of each paper and roughly browsed a few sentences. If the article was mediocre, Also do not look down.
Therefore, in just over half an hour, the emperor had already read twenty or thirty papers, most of which were mediocre, but not too unsightly. I feel something is wrong.
The emperor's lips were pursed into a straight line, and his heart could not be said to be happy or angry.
He casually flipped through another paper, glanced at the next paper, and was about to flip through it in a dispirited manner, when suddenly he paused with the hand holding the paper, his eyes seemed to be attracted by something, and he read this sentence with piercing eyes. Paper...
Although the emperor didn't say anything, based on Eunuch Liu's understanding of the emperor, he immediately guessed that the emperor must have discovered some kind of talent, so Longxin was very happy.
Wonderful!
Whether it is literary talent or insight, this article is the number one scholar.
The emperor finished reading the paper in one go, slapped the desk in a good mood and said, "Okay! Well written!"
Several academicians and Hanlin present were reading other papers, but they all looked at the emperor when they heard the sound.
The emperor was so refreshed that even the previous fatigue was swept away, and he immediately ordered Eunuch Liu to circulate this article.
A test paper was first passed from the royal case to the case of Grand Master Chen. When he saw it, his eyes lit up, and he looked down eagerly.
This article proposes to combine taxes, servitude, and taxes into one, and to collect them uniformly; it suggests re-measurement of land, and equalizes the tax on each field, which will help prevent some powerful officials from forcibly annexing land and evading taxes by concealing land. Change to the number of people and the number of acres of land; after the combination of tax, service and tax, all of them will be paid in silver, so as to simplify the collection items and procedures, which can reduce the burden on farmers to a certain extent, and the tax and service in silver can also promote commercial prosperity...
Naturally, it is impossible to go into detail in such a short article of a thousand words, but the ideas he put forward are already refreshing.
After Master Chen, several other officials read it and said it was wonderful. They discussed in whispers whether the method of folding silver mentioned in this article was feasible, and the Golden Luan Hall was excited.
The emperor looked around the crowd, feeling more relaxed, and said loudly: "Uncover the name, and let me see who this top scholar is."