Li Yaonan was polite. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he smiled and said slowly, "I just don't like it. Everyone has preferences. Students like us, who can't write poetry?"
"Does the third place winner look down on poets?" Liu Guanghe said dissatisfiedly. This light sentence stirred up the emotions of many people.
The emperor just smiled without saying a word, watching their verbal battle from his high position. This kind of scene often happened in the morning court, it just depended on who had more sophisticated means. He didn't mind the people below fighting, it was a good opportunity for him to see the character of the students.
Li Yaonan kept smiling, his eyes were filled with indulgence, and he regarded Liu Guanghe as a child who was making trouble for no reason. He looked down on him and made people think that he was gentle and generous: "Brother Liu, what you said is wrong. Just as some people like crabapples and some people like chrysanthemums, compared with poetry and songs, I prefer beautiful articles. Brother Liu is narrow-minded."
Liu Guanghe was so angry that his face turned red. However, Li Yaonan's narrow-minded words did not contain any slander. They were just a simple instruction. So he could not get angry, but also thanked him. Otherwise, how would others look at him? He forced a smile and said, "Thank you, Brother Li."
Li Yaonan raised the corners of his lips, with an expression that showed that he was a teachable boy, and said with relief: "Brother Liu, you don't have to be polite." Liu Guanghe was so angry that he almost vomited blood.
The emperor nodded inadvertently, and Li Yaonan smiled slowly. In the history of this world, although there was no Song Huizong and no Tang Houzhu, there was a Wei Wenwang in the previous dynasty. As a scholar, Wei Wenwang might be a great Confucian scholar, but as an emperor, he was very unqualified, otherwise he would not have allowed the Jin Dynasty to occupy the country. According to Li Yaonan's guess, the current emperor worked hard to govern the country and was a rare wise monarch in a prosperous era. Then he would certainly not like poems and songs representing the king of a fallen country. His bet was right.
At this time, an adult sitting at the table interjected, his tone did not contain any praise or criticism, but one could hear the contempt: "I heard that Jingyang Marquis Mansion is the Yue family of the third place winner."
"Yes!" Li Yaonan bowed, his brows slightly drooping.
"I heard that you have never visited me since you came to Beijing?" Bian Tian's second sentence was more severe. Then he began to question: "The current emperor governs the world with benevolence and filial piety. How can an unfilial person have the face to stand in the court?"
The emperor frowned slightly and looked at Li Yaonan.
Li Yaonan was puzzled and asked, "May I ask who told you this, sir? As soon as I arrived in Beijing, I went to visit the Marquis of Jingyang's mansion. How could such a rumor spread?"
Bian Tianhe's face turned cold. He didn't like Li Yaonan's rebuttal and scolded him sternly: "Don't try to quibble, you little brat. I dare to ask you if you have ever visited Marquis Jingyang or your father-in-law. You are so dishonest, unfilial and full of lies. Do you deserve the title of Tanhualang?"
The surroundings suddenly became quiet. Everyone could see that this adult was looking for trouble. Some people were gloating, while others were extremely worried. Zhang Qixian was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. He wondered when his cousin had offended these people.
"It turns out that you are dissatisfied with the emperor's decision." Li Yaonan threw dirty water without any hesitation. Since they were destined to be enemies, why should he back down? He turned his head and looked at the emperor without making any excuses. He had already made up his mind that it would be better to rely on the emperor than to rely on anyone else, and the best strategy was to cling to the emperor's thigh.
"I dare not." Bian Tianhe knelt down hurriedly, secretly regretting his carelessness. The third place winner was indeed a silver-tongued man.
The prince smiled lightly and glanced at Chang Hehui. The top scholar was indeed an interesting person as Chang Hehui said.
The emperor did not call out, but said calmly, "Does the third place winner have anything to say?"
Li Yaonan walked out of his seat, lifted his robe, and knelt on the ground: "Reporting to the emperor, I believe that I have studied hard and must not lose the pride of a scholar. Although I am related to the Jingyang Marquis's Mansion, I dare not marry into a higher class. I think I am upright and well-mannered. I visited my father-in-law's house as soon as I arrived in Beijing, fulfilling the etiquette of brother-in-law. After that, I reduced the contact and stopped visiting. I am proud and upright, and I only want to serve the court and keep a clean name in the world. I resolutely refuse to accept the name of marrying the rich and powerful. The only way is to draw a clear line with actions. Moreover, although I have little contact with my father-in-law, I often visit my mother-in-law. The words of this lord are biased, and I don't admit it."
What Li Yaonan said made sense and didn't make sense at the same time. It was all fallacy. His image instantly became taller. He was able to avoid seeking power and wealth, which was good!
The emperor nodded with a smile: "Tanhua Lang, you have backbone."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Yaonan knelt down and kowtowed. He learned this from Lord Zhou. It was obviously a stone from a cesspool, smelly and hard, but Lord Zhou was able to rise to the top and gain a good reputation. Why couldn't he follow suit? Climbing up by stepping on the top of Jingyang Marquis's Mansion not only put aside his relationship with Jingyang Marquis's Mansion, but also gained a reputation of being noble and upright.
Since the emperor praised him, what else could others say? Smart people kept their mouths shut.
However, there were many people who were not convinced. Liu Guanghe rarely found a loophole and quickly retorted: "If the third place winner didn't want to seek power and wealth, why did he marry someone else's son?"
Really? Everyone came to their senses and thought about it. Li Yaonan always said that he didn't want to marry the rich and powerful, so why did he marry someone else's son? You have to know that in today's society, how many people who are willing to marry Shuang'er openly are here for the sake of wealth and fame
Li Yaonan looked cold and said calmly, "It's the parents' order and the matchmaker's words."
Fan Pengyi sneered: "You are such a filial son. I heard that you have never visited your grandmother and mother. You are such a person, but you obeyed your parents' orders and married Shuang'er. Tsk—"
The emperor frowned when he heard this. As for the matter concerning Marquis Jingyang's Mansion, he could say that he didn't care, but if the third place winner was really unfilial to his parents, then he would have to reconsider his character.
Everyone around had an expression of enjoying a good show, except Zhang Qixian who was furious. If it weren't for that bitch Ma Yulian, how could his good cousin marry Shuang'er and how could he be treated so badly.
Li Yaonan frowned and smiled slightly, just waiting for him to ask this question, but Li Yaozu seemed very surprised. It seemed that today's incident had nothing to do with him, but Ma Yulian must have contributed to it. It would take at least two months to go back and forth from Beijing to Yangzhou. Even if Fan Pengyi wanted to find out the news, it might not be that fast. The most important thing was that if Fan Pengyi really found out, with his intelligence, he would never use this as an excuse to make trouble.
Li Yaonan looked straight ahead, just waiting respectfully for the emperor to speak. All his words and actions were based on the emperor's priority.
The emperor's expression relaxed and he also wanted to hear how the third place winner would defend himself. He believed that anyone who could write an ancient romance should be of good quality. Today he also saw that there seemed to be someone vying for the third place winner. However, if Li Yaonan could not even solve this little trouble, it might be a bit risky for him to be an official. However, being a Hanlin scholar would not be bad, of course, provided that he did not let himself down.
The emperor nodded slightly, and Li Yaonan explained: "Your Majesty, my mother died early, and my brother and I are both legitimate children, but from different mothers. Last autumn, I married my husband, and half a month later, I was adopted by my uncle. Since then, I have cut off contact with my aunt. I hope Your Majesty will understand."
The emperor's face froze and his brows were twisted. The people around him were also confused. What did it mean that they were both legitimate children, but from different mothers? Since their biological mother died early, where did this legitimate brother from a different mother come from
Favoring a concubine and abandoning a wife, and having an affair with a woman? These eight words quickly came to everyone's mind, and there was no other explanation.
Li Yaozu looked extremely ugly. He never expected that Li Yaonan would say it so carelessly. His shameful life experience was exposed to everyone.
Fan Pengyi was not satisfied with his answer and said aggressively, "Even if he has been adopted, your aunt is still your biological father's wife, and your grandmother is also your biological father. I'm afraid that Tanhualang's excuse will not convince others."
The people around were silent, enjoying watching them fight each other. It would be best if they could pull one down, which would give them an opportunity.
Li Yaonan frowned, looking somewhat embarrassed, and waited respectfully for the emperor to speak.
The emperor was satisfied as what a superior likes most from his subjects is obedience. Li Yaonan's attitude showed that he would obey the emperor's orders, so the emperor naturally had to protect him. Besides, Li Yaonan had already explained that he had been adopted a long time ago, so it was understandable even if he didn't visit him. The emperor liked subjects with shortcomings, and he liked the third place winner even more if he could cut off ties with the Marquis of Jingyang's Mansion. He originally didn't dare to use him for fear of increasing the prestige of the sixth brother, but now he doesn't have to worry about it.
The emperor hated it when his subjects formed cliques. The third place winner was very sensible and the emperor appreciated it. He also looked at Li Yaonan with more favor.
The emperor immediately changed his address: "What's the problem with you, Mr. Li?"
Li Yaonan hesitated for a moment, then seemed to have made up his mind, his facial expression was very calm: "A son should not criticize his father. I did not want to refute, but I do not want the emperor to misunderstand me. I studied hard for the purpose of serving the court and being loyal to the emperor. I am unwilling to be buried, and I hope the emperor will take a look."
As Li Yaonan spoke, he took out a piece of thin paper from his pocket.
Everyone around was very curious and wondered what he took out.
The emperor nodded, and a eunuch came over and carried the paper up.
Li Yaonan continued, "I hope Your Majesty will keep it a secret. I really don't want to..."
The people around, including several princes, were all shocked. Was Li Yaonan so bold that he dared to ask the emperor for something
The emperor smiled faintly, not angry. This feeling was very new. He smiled and said, "Tanhua Lang, you are very courageous."
Li Yaonan smiled innocently and flattered him: "Your Majesty is a benevolent and wise ruler. I respect and believe in you."
The emperor felt very happy after being touched by him. It was the first time in his life that someone said they believed in him. He felt a little weird. Should he say that the third place winner had a heavy responsibility, or that he was ignorant and fearless
All the ministers wiped away cold sweats, as they all knew that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger.
The emperor unfolded the paper and immediately understood. Thinking about the miserable life of the top scholar, it was no wonder that Li Yaonan broke off relations with his biological father. His stepmother hired someone to kill someone and not only married Shuang'er to his stepson as his legal wife, but also instigated his biological father to adopt her. It would be better for his father not to have her.
Of course, the emperor would never say this. After all, he ruled the country with benevolence and filial piety, but the emperor truly sneered at the words benevolence and filial piety. His father doted on the imperial concubine in the past. If it weren't for his good luck and his mother's means, the imperial concubine's son would have been weak and sickly and died before he reached adulthood. It would have been hard to say who would have taken the throne of the emperor.
"How can a concubine be the legal wife? How ridiculous." The emperor put the paper on the table and snorted coldly.
The prince knelt down with a smile and shouted, "Father, your majesty is wise." Isn't it true? The empress dowager was also promoted from a concubine.
When the ministers saw the prince kneeling, they hurriedly shouted, "Your Majesty is wise."
Li Yaozu's face turned pale and he almost lost his balance, but he didn't know who to hate. It was obvious that his stupid mother must have contributed a lot to what happened today.
"Your Majesty is wise." All the students responded.
"Stand up, don't mention this matter anymore." The emperor said calmly, his eyes were sharp and bright, and he glanced at Fan Pengyi. It was not the time to touch him yet. He defended Li Yaonan not only because he valued the talent of the third place winner, but more because the third place winner and Fan Pengyi were not on good terms. The art of the emperor was to maintain balance. Fan Pengyi had Mingwei Academy behind him, and Li Yaonan had himself behind him. He hoped that this year's third place winner would not let him down.
Fan Pengyi probably doesn't know that his action has given Li Yaonan a ladder to climb to the sky.