Oriole Line

Had a good meal with Tang Yu in the restaurant.When they returned to Pufu, Wang Wei was no longer there, and all their luggage had been taken away.Wen Tao thought of the past month, they had become confidants, but they left without saying goodbye when they didn't want to release the rankings.He sighed lightly, it seemed that the joy of winning No.1 just now cast a shadow.He thought for a moment and said, "Apu."

"Ok?"

"Let's not celebrate this time. If the rich and powerful invite you and me to a banquet, we will try our best to decline them one by one."

"Why?"

"Cooking oil over a fire may not be a good thing." Wen Tao clenched his fists.

91, 91.

Luoyang Palace, Mingzheng Palace.

This is where Zhou Yu handles government affairs daily.Yesterday, he had been busy for most of the day when the Wen Ju was announced, and today he was free to deal with the follow-up matters after the announcement.On his case are the family backgrounds and household registrations of the 50 people selected this time submitted by the Ministry of Officials. We are discussing the situation of these candidates.

Suddenly, a servant said, "Qi Sijian, please see me."

When he heard that it was Qi Sijian, Zhou Yu had an unstoppable look in his eyes. After all, Zhou Yu hadn't seen him for more than two months. He had been working in the south and finally came back today.

Compared with Zhou Yu's excitement, several court officials in the hall tensed up and retreated one after another.Si Jian is the mirror of all officials, and has the power of supervision by all officials. Entering and leaving Luoyang Palace is like a land without people.Baiguan didn't know who Si Jian was targeting, but they knew that the person Si Jian was targeting rarely died well.

Dressed in black, Qi Dai strode into the hall from outside the hall, his eyes fell on the face of Zheng Yong, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials who walked out, and paused for a moment.Zheng Yong felt a cold light passing over him, he couldn't help but flustered his steps, and left the Mingzheng Hall with his head bowed.

With a wave of Zhou Yu's hand, the servants in the hall had already retreated skillfully. Every time Si Jian came to report, it was all confidential and there must be no leaks.

Zhou Yu welcomed Qi Dai over, saw that he was busy in the world, his figure was thinner, and his complexion was also a little pale, so he blurted out: "Why did you lose so much weight? Did you not eat breakfast again? I asked someone to send another one." share."

Qi Dai hurriedly said: "Don't call anyone. I have something to report."

"what happened?"

"I just came from Dali Temple, so I'm afraid there may be something wrong with the list." Qi Dai raised his eyes and looked directly at Zhou Yu.

"What happened?" Zhou Yu was startled.For the past six months, Zhou Yu has been working on the imperial examination. From the examination of the candidates' identities, to the writing of the questions, and even the review of the essays of the selected candidates, he has personally gone through them.

"Twenty or so candidates from Bingzhou beat the drums in Dali Temple to express their grievances, accusing them of cheating in the examination. I just had a preliminary examination of these candidates in Dali Temple. They sued a candidate named He Pin, saying that He is a well-known dandy in Nanyang, walking around every day, illiterate, impossible to be selected."

Zhou Yu found He Pin's identity, household registration and examination room policy theory on the case, and reviewed it again: "He Pin, from the He family in Nanyang, how can he be illiterate? His article is also very good, insightful and everyone Qidu, if you don’t believe me, come and take a look?”

Qi Dai stepped forward and quickly scanned He Pin's article, but his brows were locked, as if puzzled.

Seeing him like this, Zhou Yu murmured: "Could it be that those candidates who were not selected were jealous and sued maliciously?"

Qi Dai shook his head: "Several of those candidates had been classmates with He Pin, and they all testified that he was exhausted since he was a child, and he didn't even recognize the complete "Analects of Confucius". I used to bet with people in a brothel to drink alcohol, because I lost to three fireworks girls in a row, I was ridiculed, I lost a thousand gold in one night, this is known to everyone in Nanyang."

Zhou Yu was open-minded by nature, and he couldn't help laughing out after hearing this person's behavior: "There is such a strange thing? Losing to the firework girl in the drinking order? Hahaha."

"Junwei!" Qi Dai said seriously.

Zhou Yu realized that his focus was off, corrected his face and apologized: "You continue to talk." He lowered his head and smiled slightly, as if he liked Qi Dai's address to him just now, and added, "Even if you are not in a hurry It's called breakfast, first take a sip of tea to moisten your throat." After saying that, he sent the half-drunk tea cup to Qi Dai's hand.

Qi Dai's face froze, seeing the traces of Zhou Yu's drinking on the rim of the cup, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated a few beats.He lowered his head and took a sip. The tea was lukewarm, not as hot as the freshly brewed tea, which slightly calmed his anxiety just now.He said slowly: "Now those candidates killed He Pin for cheating in the imperial examination, and said that he is not the only one. I am afraid that more than half of the list is suspected."

Zhou Yu's heart tightened, he took the list and wandered around the list for a while, frowned and said: "I checked this list for the purpose, half of the selections are children from aristocratic families and half of them are from poor families. To be honest, this time it is biased. It’s from a poor family. There are not a few children from a poor family who are proficient in Confucian classics or are good at literary talent, but this time the test is about political theory, and they need to understand the government. In this respect, the children of a poor family are not a star behind the children of aristocratic families, except for Wen Tao’s article Tops the list, the rest really lackluster."

"So, the final fifty selected are selected by His Majesty himself?"

"Exactly."

"There are more than [-] people who came here for reference this time. How many articles did Your Majesty read?" Qi Dai's eyes flashed suddenly.

"The two hundred articles were all selected by the Ministry of Officials. I read them for ten days."

"So, there are more than [-] articles that His Majesty did not personally handle, but were all determined by officials from the Ministry of Officials?" Qi Dai's eyes were burning.

Zhou Yu was startled suddenly: "You mean, there are ghosts in the officials?"

Qi Dai took the list on the case and carefully identified the candidates' names.He has been rooted in the court for several years, and the intricate relationship between the family is far clearer than Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu noticed Qi Dai's dignified expression, and asked, "Some of the sons and daughters of the aristocratic families selected here have served in the court. The official department has detailed records and has not concealed it, so I have no doubts. Is there a problem? ?”

"Your Majesty is not quite sure whether the selected family members have colluded with the officials. But, does your Majesty think that among the selected family members, there are more from Bingzhou?" Qi Dai pointed to the selected list. "In addition to the accused He Pin from Nanyang, this Chen Mao is the son of Chen Sui, the official minister, from the Chen family in Yingchuan. There is also this one, Hu Sen, who is second in the first class, from the Hu family in Jinyang. Nanyang He family, Chen family in Yingchuan, and Hu family in Jinyang, all of them were originally from Bingzhou’s aristocratic families.” Qi Dai paused, then stared at Wen Tao’s name. People, Da Sima is from the Pu family in Jinyang, and is also a big family in Bingzhou."

"Elder Sima is also involved?" Zhou Yu looked suspicious.

"That's not necessarily the case. Wen Tao's talented minister knows it, and he deserves to be listed at the top of the list. Only this time, the children of other aristocratic families are not prominent on this list. The top spot makes people suspicious. This is only what I remember after a cursory reading, and if I look carefully, I am afraid there are more."

Zhou Yu pondered for a moment and said: "You first check the backgrounds of all the people on this list. These aristocratic families experienced southward migration during the first emperor's reign. In recent years, some have returned to their ancestral home, and some have stayed in the southward migration. As for the relationship between the direct lineage and the offshoot of the clan after the war, the relationship between the direct line and the offshoot of the clan is even more complicated. At that time, the identity information submitted by the candidates to the Ministry of Officials may not be complete. You should check carefully to see how many people are related to the original family in Bingzhou It's about the clan."

"Yes." Qi Dai replied, as if worried, "Where are the officials?"

"The Ministry of Officials, I'm here to check!" Zhou Yudao, "Isn't it just [-] articles that I haven't read? I want to see if there are any ghosts in the articles submitted for the primary election of the Ministry of Officials!"

"More than 800 articles, are you... are you crazy?" Qi Dai was short of breath, and felt inappropriate as soon as the words came out.When Zhou Yufu came to the throne, Qi Dai stayed in Luoyang Palace almost every day, and was intimate with Zhou Yu, stabilizing all the officials, revitalizing the government, almost every government order was made by the two of them.But at the beginning of this year, under the repeated requests of the courtiers, Zhou Yu established a queen and two concubines, and the harem was initially established. This was a sign that the throne was stable, but the relationship between him and Qi Dai suddenly became delicate.On the surface, he is still a Si Jian, and he can enter and leave Luoyang Palace at will, but in fact, Qi Dai began to avoid suspicion more and more. when.Their relationship is becoming more and more like that of monarchs and ministers, the kind of monarchs and ministers who will never meet through invisible barriers.

At this moment, the word "you" blurted out, Qi Dai regretted it, and said in a low voice: "I made a mistake. Rong Chen is going to check the details of the fifty candidates on the list."

Qi Dai turned around and was about to leave, but was stopped by Zhou Yu: "Have breakfast here before leaving."

Qi Dai declined for a while, but saw Zhou Yu cast a look over, like the early sun in winter, looking warm, but if you look at it for a long time, you will get burned again.Qi Dai's heart seemed to be hooked instantly.

"Come to the side hall with me, I have ordered someone to make your favorite hibiscus cake." Zhou Yu's tone sounded very gentle, but there was a hint of majesty in it.

Qi Dai lowered his head slightly, and followed Zhou Yu into the side hall of the Mingzheng Palace. The Mingzheng Palace is where Zhou Yu handles government affairs on a daily basis. Because of his heavy government affairs, he put a bed and a table in the side hall to prepare for him. For rest.At this moment, there was a quilt on the bed, and Zhou Yu's pajamas hung on the wood, which showed that he had been resting here for several days in a row, and did not go to the harem to stay overnight.There was a food box on the table, Zhou Yu took out the porridge, side dishes and desserts one by one, and said to Qi Dai, "Eat it while it's hot."