admiration

Xiao Zhi's eyes dimmed, he didn't want to go out at first, but he was ill for a few days, and it's time to recover, if he doesn't show his face again, he might be accused of contempt of the royal family.

He motioned for Xing Yan to leave, went out by himself, followed behind all the examiners, and obediently bowed down to the eldest prince.

Calculating carefully, except for the second prince, Mo Yanchi, basically all the princes have been to this Linzhang Academy.

Xiao Zhijin thought of the rumors about Mo Yichi in Jingzhong and the scars he saw with his own eyes two days ago, and his mood was indescribable.

Back then, Mo Yanchi left and there was no news. Everyone thought that he was only interested in enjoying the glory and wealth, and forgot the Wangxiangtai where he was raised in a remote corner. Having been trapped in the quagmire for many years, it is difficult to move forward in the intrigues and schemes. This capital city is darker than imagined, and Mo Yanchi is deeply involved in it. Isn't it a bitter experience?

After all, there is no one in this world who is not suffering.

Zhu Qiming talked eloquently, and after hearing enough flattery from Xueshe's masters, he waved them to back down.

He cleared his throat, and said: "The king is grateful for the hardships of all the students rushing to the exam, and wants to comfort you. Since gold, silver and jade are also belongings outside of your body, I specially asked His Majesty for the Four Treasures of the Study to comfort you."

After saying that, the palace people who had been waiting outside the door filed in one after another, the things in their hands were covered by a roll of bright yellow brocade, and the shape of the finely carved inkstone could be vaguely seen.

The examiners thanked each other after receiving it, and couldn't help but feel grateful to the First Prince for his understanding and understanding of the hearts of the people.With the Four Treasures Bestowed by the Emperor, even if they lost their name to Sun Shan, they would be able to boast about it when they returned home, and the trip would not be in vain.

Zhu Qiming's way of doing this can be said to be clever, he not only won the hearts of the examiners, but also flattered Emperor Hongzhi, killing two birds with one stone.

The emperor at that time advocated literature, and often encouraged the princes to communicate more with people of insight. First, it could increase the prince's knowledge, and second, it also cultivated the character.

The eldest prince is good at winning people's hearts. He didn't run as hard as other princes, but he really walked into the hearts of the students.After some conversation, there are quite a few people who want to work for him, such as Qin Huilan who has always regarded Xiao Zhi as a competitor.

After ten years of studying hard, the former did not admire power and indifference to fame and fortune, but the latter was full of ambitions. Everyone present came to this point with a heart of chasing fame and fortune, and no one would relax easily.

Xiao Zhijin stood in the corner, unmoved by his classmates calling him to come forward, quietly watching everyone's flattering words and deeds.

Jiang Wan originally wanted to join in the fun, but due to her daughter's poor health, she was crowded with a group of men, so she gave up and went to Xiao Zhijin's side to load mushrooms together.

"I know, why don't you go talk to the eldest prince? It's good to show your face in front of him." Jiang Wan asked.

Xiao Zhijin said: "No need, there will be plenty of opportunities to show your face in the future."

Jiang Wan joked: "If it was the second prince who came today, you wouldn't say that."

Xiao Zhi glanced at her, and directly ignored this sentence.

Zhu Qiming recited poems and compose fu with the examiners, and after talking freely, he reluctantly left. Qin Huilan, who was appreciated by him, was even more proud, boasting of his intelligence in front of everyone.

Xiao Zhijin threw the eldest prince's reward to Jiang Wan without any hesitation, and returned to the room alone, not intending to "confide his heart" to the examiners.

After receiving the extra reward, Jiang Wan's first reaction was that it could be pawned. The two copies of the Four Treasures of the Study can be exchanged for a lot of silver.Thinking about it this way, Jiang Wan couldn't stop smiling.

Three days later, the palace test began.

Xiao Zhijin was woken up by Jiang Wan, he opened his eyes in a daze, and saw that she was wearing the uniform of candidates, and then he remembered that today was the imperial examination.

Seeing someone wake up, Jiang Wan complained, "Brother, can you be a little nervous for the palace test today?"

Xiao Zhijin stood up, pushed the person out of the door, and said when the door was closed: "I can't."

After he finished changing, he followed Jiang Wan downstairs, and after having breakfast, he and the others boarded the carriage sent by Emperor Hongzhi to take the examiners into the palace for examination.

Linzhang Academy was not far from Miyagi, and arrived at the gate of the city in a short time.Under the command of the invigilator, the examiners got out of the carriage, and the guards searched their bodies, and let them go after confirming that there were no hidden weapons.

Seeing that the person in front of him even took off his boots, Xiao Zhi couldn't help but worry about Jiang Wan. He looked back at her, and found that the person who was originally nervous was very calm now, and even gave him a "rest assured" mouth .

Xiao Zhi understood everything.

The palace city is fortified and magnificent. The deeper you go into it, the more you can feel the royal power of heaven.Coming here, even those who don't know the etiquette can't help but calm down, silently bow their heads and follow the palace man who leads the way.

After Jiang Wan accepted the search calmly, she followed closely behind Xiao Zhijin, looking around curiously.

Walking through the long corridors, you can see the palaces located in various parts of the Forbidden City, glazed tiles, cinnabar walls, neatly arranged, solemn and solemn.

Xiao Zhijin looked at every brick under his feet quietly, the road he traveled today was the one that Mo Yan trekked tremblingly three years ago.

Suddenly, Jiang Wan, who was behind her, poked him on the back hastily, and said in a low voice: "I know, look quickly, there are people over there."

It's not that Jiang Wan is rare, it's just that the man is standing on the city wall, looking into the wind, the black clothes set off his red lips and white teeth, he is clearly young and handsome, hard to hide his sharpness.

Xiao Zhijin's eyes turned red suddenly, and he clenched his fists under his sleeves.

That day and night when he visited the Second Prince's Mansion, he was focused on the injury behind Mo Yichi, but now seeing him under the bright sun, his calm heart was once again in turmoil, which could not be eased for a long time.

The young man stood alone, his sleeves rustling, he didn't know what he was thinking, and he didn't share his thoughts with the people downstairs.

Xiao Zhijin said in a hoarse voice: "He is the second prince of the dynasty."

"Isn't that..." Jiang Wan was astonished, and raised her eyes for a few more times. When she saw the man's slightly curled lips and a smile on his brows and eyes, she instantly understood the reason why Xiao Zhi would never forget that man. .

After a long time, when Mo Yichi looked away, there was no one below.

Jiang Wan could feel Xiao Zhijin's sadness, but she didn't care to understand the relationship between men and women, and she had never heard of the broken sleeve, so she didn't know how to speak for a while.

The invigilator walked ahead and brought the person into the Palace of Preserving Harmony. After the palace servants waiting inside confirmed the number of people with the invigilator, they went to report to Emperor Hongzhi who was still handling government affairs.

Emperor Hongzhi put down the cinnabar pen in his hand and moved to Baohe Hall.

Everyone knelt down and respectfully said, "Long live my emperor."

Emperor Hongzhi said in a loud voice: "Everyone is in peace."

The officials behind him received instructions from Emperor Hongzhi, and said, "Sit down, let's start the exam!"

The examiners moved to the desk one by one, raised their hands and began to study the ink. Emperor Hongzhi also read out this year's topic. The content was roughly the same as that of previous years.

Everyone thought about it for a while, and then began to write.

There is no time limit for the palace examination, and the paper can be handed in after finishing writing. This is a major matter related to one's own future. No one dares to be sloppy. Every word has to be considered and deliberated for a long time.

There is no sound in the hall, only the fragrance of ink is left.Outside the palace, however, disputes and quarrels abounded.

Zhu Qiming entered the palace to pay his respects to his mother, Concubine Jing. He was originally happy, but he didn't want to be reprimanded by Concubine Jing for no reason.

Mo Yanchi saw Zhu Qiming's group of people approaching from a distance, and wanted to make a detour to avoid it, but Zhu Qiming's sharp eyes saw it at a glance.

Zhu Qiming was getting angry, and said sarcastically: "Mo Yanchi, you are so bold, you don't care if you see the emperor's brother being rude, but you still want to pretend to be blind."

"Your brother dare not." Mo Yanchi cupped his fists and saluted, not wanting to argue with him.

Zhu Qiming saw that someone could vent his anger, so he would not let him go so easily, so he signaled the young man beside him to hold him down, and said: "Since you don't want to salute, then let's do it once today, and you won't have to do it in the future."

Mo Yanchi let the servant kneel down on the cobblestone road, and bowed his head without answering.

It's not that I haven't resisted before, it's just that I have nothing to rely on, and every time I resist, it will only cause more troubles. As time goes by, Mo Yichi keeps silent and allows the bullying.

Zhu Qiming saw his low eyebrows and pleasing eyes, and became more and more angry, and he didn't care about being in the palace, and said: "I don't know what my father thinks, but I took you back, a bastard of unknown origin, what do you want?" Sister-in-law, I'm pooh."

Today is the palace examination ceremony, Emperor Hongzhi has no time to pay attention to these matters, and the servants behind him do not stop him, and even add fuel and jealousy: "Your Highness, the second prince dares to turn a blind eye to you now, and I am afraid it will get worse in the future."

"Joke, does he dare? Could it be that he has to rely on his dead mother?"

The boy said with a sly smile: "It is said that the virtuous king and the former empress were close friends, maybe the second prince..."

The servant hesitated to speak, but Zhu Qiming understood.

King Xian is the younger brother of Emperor Hongzhi. He has known the late empress since childhood, and has admired the late empress for a long time. He even begged the late emperor to marry him in public. Later, for some reason, the late empress married Emperor Hongzhi, and the virtuous king also So disappear.

Mo Yanchi raised his head and glared fiercely at the boy. The boy who was still joking felt a chill down his spine, but when he met Mo Yanchi's eyes, he was so frightened that he dared not speak.

Seeing this, Zhu Qiming said, "Why, did you get poked in the sore spot?"

"The younger brother is just not ashamed of the dirty thoughts of the emperor." Mo Yanchi said.

"Don't be ashamed, back then the virtuous king had an affair with the former empress, why didn't you say..."

"Shut up!" Mo Yanchi roared, he got up and punched Zhu Qiming fiercely, and looked at Zhu Qiming, his usually cold eyes were full of anger at this moment, like an enraged beast.

Zhu Qiming involuntarily took two steps back, only then did he realize that he was beaten by Mo Yanchi, and suddenly became angry from embarrassment, and said, "How dare you beat Brother Huang!"

"Brother Huang, don't forget that my ministers come from the common people and have never been used to rules. If Brother Huang or others speak freely, don't blame me for being rude!" Mo Yanchi said seriously.

Zhu Qiming laughed back angrily, and said: "Okay, since there are no rules, then I will teach you the rules today. Come here, twenty sticks!"

"Yes!"

Mo Yanchi stared straight at Zhu Qiming. Seeing this, the servant behind Zhu Qiming hurriedly blocked him, fearing that Mo Yanchi would go crazy again and hurt him.