All rivers and mountains are safe

When he returned to Beijing yesterday, Eunuch He said that Lu Qingshi was very worried about his safety and was anxious to see him. Shen Mingan agreed at that time, but yesterday when Lu Qingshi wanted to talk to him, the queen called him over again. One after another in the past two days, Shen Mingan forgot to go to the East Palace.

He guessed that Lu Qingshi might be in a hurry to see him because he couldn't make up his mind about something, but he didn't expect to see Lu Qingshi walking up and down anxiously as soon as he entered the front hall, and saw himself kneeling straight When he got down, tears filled his eyes, "Sir, help me."

"Your Highness..." Shen Mingan was shocked. Lu Qingshi knelt down in front of him as the crown prince, but he could only lift his robe and knelt down, "What happened? Your Highness, don't worry, get up first."

Lu Qingshi had no choice but to get up first, and then help Shen Mingan, and said carefully: "Sir, more than half a month ago in Chunwei, many people came to Beijing to take the exam, and then, the emperor asked me to be in charge of this year's Chunwei. Invigilate the exam, I went, and the exam room was also arranged by me..."

Seeing that he couldn't get to the point for a long time, Shen Mingan comforted him: "This is a good thing, it shows that His Majesty values ​​you."

The spring examination is the general examination. Only those who passed the provincial examination in the summer and autumn of the previous year will be eligible to participate in the second year's general examination. The general examination is divided into three sessions, and each session is held at intervals of three days. The last is the palace examination, which is hand-picked by the emperor. The top three are the No. [-], No. [-] and Tan Hua.

"But something happened in the third test this year. A candidate brought a cheat sheet into the test room, but I didn't notice it." Lu Qingshi looked up at Shen Ming'an's face, swallowed nervously and continued: "He During the exam, Xu Hanlin took out the cheat sheet and was found out by the invigilator Xu Hanlin. His father was very angry and sent him to prison. Everyone's answer sheet in the two tests."

Chunwei's cheating is a very serious matter. It is not only unfair to other candidates, but also a provocation to the court.The review of the Chunwei test site is very strict, there are very few such things as cheating, and there are very few people who risk being imprisoned to carry a cheat sheet.

In previous years, Shen Ming Anquan was responsible for the test questions and invigilation of Chunwei, and nothing happened. This year, Shen Mingan was trapped in Dongyang Village when he came back from Yizhou, and he didn't have time to return to Beijing during Chunwei.

Seeing Lu Qingzhi's bewildered look, Shen Mingan sighed, "Then let Wei Boran conduct a thorough investigation, so as to give an explanation to other candidates, and then hold another general examination to complete the rest of the process. , I think the emperor won't blame you too much..."

"But there is a candidate named Du Le in the examination room, who is my wet nurse's younger brother." Lu Qingshi saw that Shen Ming'an was not angry, so he boldly spoke again: "In the third test, he is sick, and the wet nurse will take care of you." Such a younger brother, she begged me, and I had to agree, so I arranged for someone to take the exam for Du Le, but now Wei Boran is investigating this matter thoroughly, sir, I am so scared, you and Wei Boran The relationship is good, you go talk to him and tell him not to check, okay?"

"Are you looking for someone to take the exam for him?" Shen Mingan looked at him incredulously, "You can postpone the exam if you are sick. You are the invigilator, and your duty is to ensure the fairness of the exam. Why do you ask someone to take the exam for him?!"

Lu Qingshi's eyes dodged, "Duler...he can't read."

"What?" Shen Mingan couldn't even understand what he was talking about for a moment, "Then how did he pass the exams in the first two rounds?"

"In the first two exams, I gave him the questions and asked him to enter the exam room with the pre-written test questions. The third exam questions were uncertain, so I had to arrange someone to take the exam for him... ..."

"I have been teaching Your Highness for more than ten years, so why not teach His Highness how to take advantage of his position and power to bend the law for personal gain?!" Lu Qingshi was hesitant and lacked his own opinions. Shen Mingan always knew it, but he never thought that he had taught him for so many years A student, the crown prince of a country, is so indifferent to black and white.

"No, sir..." Lu Qingshi's face turned pale when he said, "If Wei Boran finds out and tells Father, Father will be angry. As long as Du Le's matter can be concealed this time, he Then you can take part in the palace examination. I am in charge of the palace examination. There must be nothing wrong with it. I have already agreed to the wet nurse. Sir, please help me find a way..."

"I can't help it! You have to bear the consequences of what you do." Now that the incident has happened, Lu Qingshi still wanted to make Du Le an official. Shen Mingan was so angry that he even forgot to mention his honorific title and began to reprimand him: " Do you know what the purpose of Chunwei is? It is to select talents for the imperial court, to find a responsible parent official for the people, so that the people can live in peace, and to have someone who can uphold justice for them when encountering injustice. The people with the highest priority are all going to be important ministers in the court, and you actually want a person who can't read to take such an important official position?!"

"It's not that Du Le doesn't want to study, it's just that he doesn't have the opportunity to study, but his heart is good, and he will definitely be a good official in the future." Lu Qingshi dared not look at him, "Just give him a chance..."

"Why should you give him a chance, just because he is the younger brother of the crown prince's nurse?" Shen Ming'an scolded, "When I came to Beijing to take the exam, I met a candidate. He took the exam for 36 years before passing the provincial exam. To be qualified for the examination, he brought his family to make money for him a month in advance, and came to Beijing early. The prices in Beijing are high. Three days before the start of the test, he received a letter from his family saying that his mother had passed away. On the one hand, he was given the opportunity to take the test after studying hard for 36 years, and on the other was his mother who raised him since he was a child. In the end, he rushed back to the village overnight. , for three years for mother Ding You, but he is nearly 60 years old, how many three years are left to wait, who will give them a chance?"

As a scholar, Shen Ming'an had experienced the words of studying hard for ten years. He escaped from the Wang family and read at night in Jihua Temple. He blinked, but there was no way, there was no oil lamp in the temple, so he could only carefully protect the cluster of candles with his hands and continue reading.

Shen Mingan knew very well what the three-year examination meant to a scholar. Many scholars scrambled to take the imperial examination not only to display their talents and ambitions, but also because it was the only way to change their destiny.

If even the most basic fairness cannot be guaranteed, what is the point of their hard study for so many years.

"You go to see the emperor with me, and confess all these things you have done to the emperor."

When Lu Qingzhi saw that Shen Mingan not only didn't help him hide it, but also wanted him to take the initiative to confess the matter to Lu Chengjing, he panicked and knelt on the ground begging him, "No, sir, I don't want to see Father! He will be angry, he will scold mine."

"Get up! You are the prince, how can you kneel to me!"

When Lu Qingshi was yelled at by him, he stood up with his head down in fright.

"Your majesty values ​​you. If you go and plead guilty to the majesty now, at most you will be punished, and you will be able to keep your crown prince." Shen Mingan was angry at him for being stupid and unaware, and even more angry at his cowardice and incompetence for not taking responsibility, "This It is impossible not to investigate this matter thoroughly, otherwise the other students will make trouble, and the emperor will be the first to abandon you in order to pay them justice. Even if I want to hide it for you, I won't be able to hide it for a long time. I really don't know when it comes How many courtiers will want to impeach you!"

"I won't go! Father has finally entrusted me with a heavy responsibility this time. I can't mess it up. I can't let him know. I won't go!"

"I'll go with you, I'll intercede for you and the emperor, you admit your mistake." Shen Mingan resolutely dragged him to go out, Lu Qingshi panicked and broke his hand.

It just rained in the morning, and now the weather is gloomy, and the wind is so overwhelming that people can't open their eyes, and the clouds in the sky are moved quickly by the wind.

Lu Qingshi got out of the carriage and was almost dragged all the way to the entrance of Huaxing Hall by Shen Mingan.

The white banner at the entrance of Huaxing Hall was ostentatious and eye-catching. Lu Chengjing paced at the entrance of the main hall with his hands behind his back, looking into the main hall anxiously from time to time, his eyes were out of focus and bloodshot.

Lu Qingshi tried to break Shen Ming'an's hand away all the way, begging Shen Mingan not to take him to see Lu Chengjing.

After seeing Lu Chengjing, Lu Qingshi's legs softened and he knelt down in front of him.

Lu Chengjing's cloudy eyes slowly focused, staring at them with displeasure, his voice was sharp, "What are you guys doing here?"

"It's for this year's spring affairs." Shen Mingan let go of Lu Qingshi, "His Highness said it himself."

Lu Qingshi just knelt without saying a word, shaking like chaff all over his body.

Shen Ming'an hated iron for being weak, so he spoke for him, "In the spring of this year, there was a candidate named Du Le. During the first two exams, he bribed the examiner to reveal the questions and brought the pre-written test questions into the exam room. In order to be safe in the three exams, I found someone to take the exam. This person is the younger brother of His Royal Highness' wet nurse. Because the wet nurse is kind to His Highness, His Highness knew it before, but acquiesced in his behavior. It is because I didn't teach him well, and I am willing. I will be punished together with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Lu Qingshi, isn't it like this?" Lu Chengjing's face was distorted and thin, his eyes protruded, he stopped, stood sideways with his eyes wide open and shouted at Lu Qingshi, "I want to hear what you say."

Lu Chengjing's appearance was too terrifying. Lu Qingshi had been held in his father's hands since he was a child, and he seldom heard even serious words. He had never seen his father treat him like this. It was blank, he was afraid that Lu Chengjing would scold him and punish him, so he shouted, "I didn't do it! I didn't want to do it!"

Lu Qingshi secretly glanced at Shen Mingan who was kneeling beside him, and said in a panic, "Mister ordered me to do this, and Mr. taught me to do this!"

"...Your Highness?" Shen Mingan never thought that Lu Qingshi would say such words in a hurry. He seemed to have never known Lu Qingshi, and he couldn't understand why he held his hand sweetly when he was a child. The child who calls him Mr. will become like this.

Incompetent and cowardly, erroneous and unrepentant, full of lies.

He stared blankly at Lu Qingshi, and suddenly Lu Chengjing kicked him on the shoulder, and there was a hint of fishy sweetness in his throat.

"Shen Ming'an, you've got some patience. Just now Yang Che came to ask me to cancel the marriage. You were the one to tell him." Lu Chengjing looked at him coldly, but his mind was tied in Huaxing Hall, and said impatiently: " To push the crown prince and disobey the imperial decree, I don’t think you should do this as a tutor, just the Hanlin Academy is short of a copyist, go back to your Shen residence, don’t block my eyes here.”