After hurriedly saying goodbye to Zhou Qian and making an appointment to meet again the next day, Li Yaonan quickly returned home.
It seems that he, the new third place in the imperial examination, has blocked the way of many people.
Li Yaonan pondered over the matter in his mind, and thought carefully about the Zhou Mansion, wondering how he could stand on the moral high ground and turn the tables. He originally had a vague concept in his mind, and after going to the Zhou Mansion today and seeing Censor Zhou, this idea became clearer.
Of course, this is not his praise for Censor Zhou. No matter what kind of person Censor Zhou is, since he can reach the position of third rank, no matter how old-fashioned or pedantic he is, there must be things we can learn from him.
After figuring it out, Li Yaonan felt relieved and returned home in a good mood. The first thing he did was to ask his husband to produce the evidence of Ma Yulian's murder. Fortunately, he had made all the preparations. As for Jingyang Marquis Mansion...
Li Yaonan smiled faintly, perhaps he could learn from Censor Zhou.
Seeing that her husband was confident, Lin Yixuan said no more. He had been busy recently. Since the Sixth Prince dared to take action against her husband, he must bear the consequences. You know, he knew all the arrangements and plots of the Sixth Prince. Even if he was weak and could not cause great harm to the opponent, it would not be a problem for him to cause trouble for the Sixth Prince's lineage and delay the retreat.
The main trouble now is that he has to keep it secret and he has to be very cautious. He thinks his husband is right. It is so much fun to stab people in the back.
The husband and wife both have bad intentions and are busy with their own things. They are really a perfect match.
Li Yaonan just thought that his husband was obsessed with money again, and did not ask any more questions. His husband only had this hobby, and as a good husband, he naturally wanted to show his strong support.
The fact is that Lin Yixuan opened several shops in Beijing, first brought goods from Beijing to Yangzhou, and then brought goods back from Yangzhou. All procedures were normal. As for what happened during the trip, who cares! He acted uprightly.
Two days passed in a flash. On the day of the Qionglin Banquet, Li Yaonan packed up and went to wait outside the palace gate with Zhang Qixian in a sedan chair early in the morning.
At the same time, many people were waiting outside the palace gate. They were all successful candidates in this year's imperial examination. After greeting each other, Li Yaonan found a corner to stand in and carefully observed the expressions of the people. He couldn't figure out who else wanted to deal with him except Li Yaozu.
However, perhaps everyone was pretending to be too good, Li Yaonan watched for a long time but could not figure out what was going on. He only saw Zhang Qixian chatting happily with others. People like him seemed to be able to make friends with anyone. He didn't know whether this was a good thing or a disaster. He was just glad that even though his cousin was not very decent, he kept his mouth shut. Otherwise, he would really not be at ease letting his cousin work alone in the officialdom.
Not long after, the palace gate opened and a eunuch called them in to wait. The emperor would go to the imperial garden only after attending the morning court.
The layout of the imperial palace of the Jin Dynasty is different from that of the Forbidden City, but the imperial garden is equally beautiful. Now is spring, and the flowers in the imperial garden are in full bloom, which is a beautiful sight. The faint fragrance floats in the air, inspiring many talented people to write poetry. They are overwhelmed and linger on the surrounding scenery, their eyes are almost staring straight.
The seats in the imperial garden had been set up long ago. Since the emperor had not come, they naturally could not sit down. Instead, they gathered in groups of three or five to appreciate the flowers and discuss papers. Sometimes they talked loudly, sometimes they recited poems, and everyone showed off their most beautiful feathers.
Li Yaonan was daydreaming and suddenly remembered a TV drama he had watched before. It seemed that the concubines used the same trick to seduce the emperor.
"Tanhualang, why are you here alone?"
Li Yaonan turned around and saw that it was Chang Hehui. They had become somewhat acquainted since the last parade. Li Yaonan said with a smile, "It turns out to be the runner-up. My apologies, my apologies."
Chang Hehui's eyes twitched. "Brother Bangyan, what kind of address is that? It's disrespectful. It's not like we haven't seen each other for a long time. If he were a modern person, he would definitely know a word. His current expression is called 淉
Chang Hehui recovered quickly and smiled meaningfully: "I heard that the third place winner has great literary talent. I want to show it to everyone today."
Li Yaonan smiled broadly, pretending that he didn't understand the deep meaning of his words, and said with a smile: "Brother No. 2, you are too modest. In terms of talent, I am no match for you."
Chang Hehui just smiled without saying anything, while Li Yaonan also curled up the corners of his lips.
"I wish that the third place winner will be favored by the emperor today."
"I wish my brother, the second place, will be promoted step by step."
Chang Hehui's mouth twitched and he stopped playing Tai Chi with him. Ever since the last parade, he had discovered that this third place winner was very careful in his words and deeds. It was a pity that he was the son-in-law of the Marquis of Jingyang.
Chang Hehui shook his head and walked away slowly, his leisurely posture as if he was strolling in the garden.
Li Yaonan narrowed his eyes slightly, his smile not reaching his eyes. It seemed that Chang Hehui must know something, so he came to remind him. No, it would not be right to say it was a reminder. Chang Hehui did not remind him. If he did not know about it in advance, how could he guess the meaning of such obscure words? Chang Hehui was just testing and doing a favor. If he passed this level, then this sentence was a reminder and also a favor. If he was reduced to dust, Chang Hehui actually said nothing. He was really cunning. No one knew who he belonged to.
"The Emperor has arrived—"
As a shrill voice sounded, everyone knelt on the ground in a hurry: "Long live the emperor."
"Gentlemen, please stand up." The emperor's tone was very friendly, giving people a casual feeling.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The students kowtowed in thanks and tried their best to keep their faces calm. They were now considered the emperor's disciples and could dine at the same table with the emperor. How could they not be excited
The emperor called out calmly, "Please take a seat." The people who came with him took their seats first. Judging from their attire, they should be the princes and ministers. Then it was the turn of the Jinshi of this year's imperial examination. Li Mingzhang sat in the front row, followed by Chang Hehui, then Li Yaonan, and the rest were the second-class Jinshi, and they sat in the next row.
"What were you talking about, my friends? You seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation just now." Perhaps because he had just left the court, the emperor did not look so majestic at this moment.
Hearing the emperor's question, everyone was eager to try. The Qionglin Banquet was the place where this year's successful candidates could display their talents. If they missed today, they didn't know when they would get the emperor's favor again. How could they give up this opportunity? It was also the only chance to make the emperor remember them as soon as possible.
"Your Majesty, we were just talking about the beautiful scenery of the Imperial Garden. Young Master Hua just wrote a poem. I am humbled to hear his words." A student answered respectfully. Although he was praising Yun and Hua in his words, it was obvious that his willingness to be defeated made people like him even more.
"Oh! Tell me about it." The emperor smiled faintly. The scholars wanted to show their talents, and he also wanted to see their abilities. Otherwise, what would be the point of the Qionglin Banquet.
Yun Hehua was respectful, and his smug look could not be concealed: "Your Majesty, I am sorry to have failed you.
On a fine day, I went to the banks of the Si River to look for flowers. The boundless scenery was brand new.
You can easily recognize the face of the east wind, and the myriad colors of spring are always in full bloom. "
"Good, not bad." The emperor stroked his beard and shouted, "Reward!"
The eunuch immediately brought a tray over. Yun Hehua's face was filled with surprise. On the tray was a crystal clear jade pendant. Many people looked envious, but it was only the beginning, so they were not in a hurry, as they would always have a chance to show off.
Yun Hehua quickly knelt down to express his gratitude: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor nodded and stopped looking at him. His eyes were attracted by another Jinshi. It turned out that the Jinshi had obtained pen and ink from somewhere and was painting in the imperial garden.
At the Qionglin Banquet today, the students showed off their talents, but the top three candidates seemed very quiet.
Li Mingzhang smiled as he watched the students perform indifferently, as if it had nothing to do with him. In fact, it really had nothing to do with him, but he could not show any dissatisfaction, so he could only smile.
Chang Hehui was like a wooden stake, sitting there calmly, not in a hurry and not moving. Unfortunately, Li Yaonan saw with his own eyes that he exchanged a glance with the prince in bright yellow clothes on the seat. It was a very subtle look, but unfortunately, Li Yaonan had been studying the other person's expression today and naturally would not miss this detail. No wonder Chang Hehui was not in a hurry, it turned out that he had a backer behind him.
Each one of them was not easy to accept. Li Yaonan tasted the wine and shook his head with emotion. The wine in the palace was indeed good.
"Why are you shaking your head, Mr. Tanhua? It's because I don't write well." A student asked.
Li Yaonan was stunned, then slowly began to laugh. He had waited for most of the day and almost thought that Zhou Qian's intelligence was wrong, but he didn't expect it to come. He asked in confusion: "Brother, what do you mean? I am far away from you, so I really don't know what you wrote?"
Liu Guanghe obviously didn't expect this and was stumped by Li Yaonan's question. However, since he was able to pass the imperial examination and had support behind him, he was not a fool. He hurriedly said, "Just now I saw Brother Li shaking his head and thinking that his literary talent was not good. I misunderstood. I hope Brother Li will not blame me."
"No problem." Li Yaonan talked and laughed freely, looking calm and generous, instantly outshining others.
"This must be the third place winner of this year's imperial examination. He is indeed a handsome man." An adult at the table praised with a smile.
"Thank you for the compliment, sir." Li Yaonan smiled slightly and said nothing more.
Liu Guanghe smiled and said, "I've heard that the third place winner has great handwriting. Why don't you write a poem today so that we can see it?"
Li Yaonan burst out laughing. This person probably knew from somewhere that he didn't like poetry, so he made things difficult for him. He first praised his calligraphy and then asked him to write a poem. If he couldn't write it, no matter how good his calligraphy was, it would be embarrassing.
The emperor smiled and looked over, and asked the eunuch to bring the writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone: "I have also heard about the excellent handwriting of the third place winner."
Li Yaonan raised his eyebrows. It seemed that this was a case of forcing someone to take a risk. He was just a third place winner in the imperial examination, but he didn't expect that even the emperor had heard of his calligraphy.
Li Yaonan thought carefully for a while, but did not write down any magnificent poems. After all, poetry was not his forte. If he wrote too well, he would have to write better in the future. He did not have that much energy to focus on unimportant things. After thinking for a while, he wrote down in modern cursive script:
The famous garden is built with majestic momentum, so I should not be ashamed of my shallow knowledge when I was ordered to do so.
It is so exquisite that it is beyond words, and indeed all things are shining.
This is a poem of flattery, a poem that is impeccable, and a poem that the emperor likes. Even though he knows that it is flattery, the emperor likes it in his heart. After all, who doesn't like to hear good words
"Very good, very good. The third place winner indeed has excellent calligraphy." The emperor was in a good mood. He did not praise his poems but only his calligraphy.
Liu Guanghe's face darkened, and Li Yaonan smiled back. It was he who gave him the opportunity to succeed, so how could he let him down
"I didn't expect that the third place winner is also good at poetry. I used to think that..." The person who said this was Fan Pengyi. Li Yaonan just discovered that this guy has connection with the prince above, and he is the sixth prince.
Li Yaonan quickly blamed the Jingyang Marquis's Mansion for the reason why he was investigating. The Sixth Prince was the son-in-law of the Jingyang Marquis's Mansion and would help the Jingyang Marquis's Mansion. It was understandable that he bullied a mere third place winner. Anyway, it was not the Sixth Prince who came forward in person. As a descendant of a royal family, he only needed to show the slightest dislike for him, and people would probably rush to deal with him.
Jingyang Marquis' Mansion was caught in the crossfire, but they originally wanted to teach this brat a lesson to prevent Li Yaonan from being ignorant of his own limitations, so he was not innocent.