Infrastructure masters in the red building

"Someone is coming." Shui Xian reminded.

Only then did Jia Fang hear footsteps on the floor, followed by the voice of the clerk from Wanqing Building just now: "It's this room."

Jia Fang quickly shut his mouth tightly, so as not to hear the movement from his side.But Shui Xian patted him on the shoulder lightly, pointed to the copper pipe on the wall, then shook his head, it should be to indicate to Jia Fang that the sound in this room cannot be heard over there.

At this point, Jia Fang has fully understood: the copper pipes installed on these walls are an ancient wiretapping device, that is, "listening pipes".The other end of these copper pipes should be installed on the wall of the next room, but the surface may be covered by wallpaper, decorations, etc., so it is not easy to be noticed.As long as the other party doesn't put their ears on the other end of the "listening tube", it will be difficult to hear what's going on between him and Shui Xian.

Obviously, Wanqing Building has taken preventive measures against the students who participated in the examination. As long as people come to order, some staff will lead them to the room where the listening tube is installed, and arrange people to monitor.

As for Jia Zheng, probably because the guy knew about Jia Zheng's relationship with Jia Fang, he rushed to report to Shui Xian, and Shui Xian notified him.

Even though Shui Xian said that they couldn't hear their voices next door, Jia Fang didn't speak because Jia Zheng and another person spoke.

First, Jia Zheng stood up, bowed to the visitor, and at the same time asked solemnly: "I dare not ask your Excellency Gao's name."

He only heard the other party reply: "Gao Shida, Minister of Rites."

There was some movement on the floor next door. It seemed that Jia Zheng was next door. He was as surprised as Shui Xian and Jia Fang here, so he took a step back.

Jia Fang and Shui Xian looked at each other, both of them were clearly surprised.Jia Fang originally thought that the second brother might have made a public statement in some public place, revealing his identity as a candidate for the examination, so he attracted charlatans who wanted to sell him the examination questions.

Who would have thought that the other party's self-reported family name turned out to be the servant of the Ministry of Rites.

One must know that the imperial examinations are always administered by the Ministry of Rites. This time Xia Shengshen, the crown prince and Taifu, is the chief examiner himself - the other party is Xia Shengshen's subordinate?

Things don't seem to be that simple anymore.

Over there Jia Zheng seemed to be busy saluting, Gao Shida said, "Second Young Master, don't be so polite."

Jia Zheng asked: "Master Gao called the students here this time, what can I teach you?"

Jia Fang heard it from the side and thought to himself: Sure enough, the other party called Jia Zheng to meet here... Jia Zheng was left here for so long before, it should be deliberately staggered to enter the Wanqing Tower.

But Shui Xian waved his hand and made a gesture.Jia Fang guessed that he was saying that he was still not sure that the other party was really an official from the Ministry of Rites, so he nodded immediately and continued to listen attentively.

I only heard Gao Shida say: "Accepted by the crown prince and Taifu, Mr. Xia Shengshen, I am here to deliver the test questions for this meeting to the second young master."

The movement over there was even bigger. Jia Fang guessed that Jia Zheng was overly frightened and knocked over the seat or something, or simply sat on the chair and fell over.

Over there, Gao Shida said coldly: "I knew that the second son would be surprised by this, but I didn't expect the second son to be so surprised." There was a hint of sarcasm in his tone, as if mocking Jia Zheng, the dignified son of the Rongguo Mansion, who was so restless when encountering troubles , and it seems that this kind of operation is so common that Jia Zheng doesn't even know it.

Jia Fang glanced at Shui Xian, and saw the other party nodded slightly, guessing that the other party should be the same as he thought, and had a little doubt about this Gao Shida's identity--onlookers can tell, the more ordinary this Gao Shida said, the more it sounds like a kind of deception.

But the question was that Jia Zheng was the only one next door, could he also realize that this might be a scam.

"In this box are the test questions for this exam, which were sealed by Mr. Xia himself with wax." Gao Shida continued to speak coldly, "Don't you think the second son will accept it?"

Jia Zheng gulped his saliva in the next door, calmed down his emotions, and then asked solemnly: "Dare to ask Mr. Gao, the student and Mr. Xia have never met, and have no chance to meet. Why, Mr. Xia..."

Jia put it in his stomach to help his second brother make up: why did he leak the question.

Over there, Gao Shida slowed down his tone: "This is naturally because Master Xia has been secretly paying attention to the second son's studies, knowing that the second son has always been diligent, and he is a pillar of the court. I am afraid that the questions asked in this exam are too much. Lonely, Master Xia is worried that it will affect the result of the second son, so he specially ordered this official to send this box."

Jia Zheng still didn't believe it all, he just stammered and asked: "Master Xia is serious, really..."

Gao Shida sneered, and said: "Do you know why I arrived so late? I just went to Dingguogong Mansion, Jinxianghou Mansion, Shenwu General Mansion and other places before, and came here in a hurry because the Second Young Master was waiting for me here. It's the last box, what if the Second Young Master doesn't want it?"

Jia Zheng made another "gumble", swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and said after a long while, "Thank you, Mr. Gao!"

He immediately followed up and asked again: "Master Gao, this box, is it possible... that's it, for the students?"

Gao Shida laughed: "What if it's not like this? It's obvious that Mr. Xia has a good eye for the second son, and he intends to support the second son like he supports the sons of Guijie from other prefectures. However, the second son always doesn't believe it and is always suspicious This, suspect that, I think it's better for me to take this box with me!"

Jia Zheng immediately panicked: "Don't, don't...don't do it!"

He paused for a while, and thanked Gao Shida again: "Little Xie Yi, thank you for making this trip..."

Gao Shida probably declined, and said: "What is this? Lord Xia is selecting talents for the country. What do you think of me as an official? Are you bragging about the imperial court and selling titles to make money? If I accept your article today, In the future, it will be justified and it will not be clear... these things must not be done."

Jia Fang felt that the suspicion in Shui Xian's eyes on the opposite side was getting stronger, and he couldn't figure it out: If the other party wasn't out for money, then what was it for?Could it be that he really took a fancy to Jia Zheng, a nerd's talent, and wanted to recruit scholars for the country?If you really want to get a scholar, why don't you just take it during the test, and you have to come to the question at this time?

"In addition, Master Xia ordered that this matter is no small matter. Second Young Master, please store this box properly. Please do not disclose today's matter to others, even parents and brothers, absolutely not..."

This Gao Shida spoke brilliantly, that is, he spoke very fluently, as if he had said the words countless times to many people, and when he came to Jia Zheng, he could hardly recite them.This made Jia Zheng believe that Gao Shida had gone to several places, and his place was really the last one.

In short, Gao Shida said while Jia Zheng responded nonchalantly. At the end of the answer, Gao Shida pushed the table and stood up, and said in a deep voice: "Remember, remember! I am here to bid farewell to the second son of Jia. The next time we meet, it must be after the palace examination. Flower Banquet." Even after leaving like this, the sound of the door opening and closing came from the next door.

As soon as Shui Xian heard Gao Shida leaving next door, he immediately got up lightly, went to the corner of the room, and ordered softly, as if asking the waiters in the restaurant to keep an eye on Gao Shida who had already left.

Jia Fang just sat there.The same should be true of Jia Zheng next door.Neither side said a word, just sat in silence.

Shui Xian came back at this moment, sat down beside Jia Fang again, and whispered: "It is indeed Gao Shida."

This official from the Ministry of Rituals should have been to the Wanqing Building, and someone in the building knows him and can confirm his identity.

Could it be that officials from the Ministry of Rituals were ordered by Xia Shengshen to go to Beijing to "distribute" the exam questions before the exam?

This is absolutely impossible - this kind of nonsense is afraid that only a bookworm like Jia Zheng will believe it.No matter how keen Xia Shengshen was on "selecting talents for the country", as long as he wanted his life and the head on his head, he would never make such a move at this time.

Jia Fang remembers one case of fraudulent cases in which chief examiners leaked questions in historical examinations. The fraudulent case of Xu Jing in the Ming Dynasty involved a general examination, a cold test paper, and two candidates who answered satisfactorily—among them was a great talent from the south of the Yangtze River. Tang Bohu.Perfectly answered the most obscure question, Tang Bohu and his partner Xu Jing were considered to have obtained the "leaked questions" from the chief examiner Cheng Minzheng beforehand. Cheng Minzheng, Tang Bohu and Xu Jing were all sent to prison and tortured to testify.

The case in the examination room finally ended with no factual evidence, but in the end Cheng Minzheng died of illness immediately after being released from prison, while the two candidates, Tang Bohu and Xu Jing, missed the examination for the rest of their lives.Tang Bohu is especially regretful that a generation of gifted scholars lost their reputations and lost their reputations. From then on, they spent the rest of their lives as a career in calligraphy and painting.

If Jia Zheng believed Gao Shida's nonsense, what awaited him would definitely not be Changong Zhegui High School, but the imminent prison disaster.

Jia Fang didn't speak, but Shui Xian sighed in his ear, and said: "In this way, for the safety and reputation of your family, it is best for Brother Ling not to participate in this meeting."

Jia Fang also thought so, and now he felt more and more that this was a hole dug by others, and that Gao Shida was the pawn who came to lure Jia Zheng into the hole.But what makes Jia Fang particularly uncomfortable is that he always has a premonition that it is because of himself that others are eyeing the Jia family and using this method to lure the Jia family into the trap.

Just thinking about the expectations of the entire family for Jia Zheng's participation in the test, Jia Zheng's hard work over the years...but because of this little temptation from others, he must be thrown away...

It was already late, and there was no light in this quiet room, so it was extremely dark.And Shui Xian was sitting beside Jia Fang, only his eyes were bright in the darkness and silence, looking at Jia Fang silently.In the quiet room, only the breathing of the two of them could be heard.

Jia Fang didn't notice the people around him at all, and his heart was full of disappointment and guilt.

Shui Xian sighed and said: "The matter has come to this..."

Unexpectedly, there was a sudden noise from the next door: after Gao Shida left, Jia Zheng sat next door motionless, so that Jia Fang and Shui Xian basically ignored him.Unexpectedly, Jia Zheng pushed the table and stood up at this time.

Jia Fang could imagine that he must be staring down at the box on the table at this moment, perhaps thinking about how to take it back: Should the box be opened, the contents taken away, and the box kept?

Unexpectedly, Jia Zheng laughed hahaha.

This is the situation in high school, so you get carried away?

Jia Fang's face changed, and he got up impulsively, wanting to rush to the next door to question Jia Zheng: "Second brother, you have read the sage books for so many years, why do you forget the word "honesty" at this moment, and never think about it again?" stand up?

But Shui Xian grabbed Jia Fang's wrist, held him firmly, and whispered in his ear: "Wait a minute, listen to what Brother Ling said..."

Jia Zheng laughed loudly from the next door and said, "It's been ten years since no one asked me, and I became famous all over the world in one fell swoop. So that's how I feel!" It was exactly the same as Zhang Youshi's tone before he left Taoyuanzhai.

"However, is the fame gained in this way really what Jia Zheng wants? If so, what is the difference between me and those who are despised and despised... How can I say that I have read sages? The book, isn't this, isn't it..."

Jia Zheng murmured "Isn't it" twice, didn't say what it was, but suddenly laughed three times, then turned around and went out of the next room. A waiter hurriedly came to greet him outside the door, only to hear Jia Zheng said with a smile: "Thank you!" you--"

Then the buddy exclaimed in surprise, and then thanked him. It must be that Jia Zheng generously rewarded the buddy of Wanqinglou.

When the sound of Jia Zheng's footsteps disappeared at the far end of the floor, Shui Xian pulled Jia Fang out of the dark room, and the two of them came to the private room next door.

On the Eight Immortals table where Jia Zheng sat earlier, apart from the traces of drinking tea, there was also a black lacquered box upright.

Surprised and delighted, Jia Fang turned to look at Shui Xian.Shui Xian let go of Jia Fang's hand, stepped forward quickly, inspected the lacquer box a little, then lightly twisted the copper buckle on the lacquer box, and the lacquer box opened with a "snap".

I saw a bunch of paper notes inside, but it was tightly sealed with wax paint.

Jia Zheng, who just sat here silently for a long time, faced the temptation of "becoming famous in one fell swoop", but forcibly defeated the little monster in his heart and resisted the temptation—the box sent by Gao Shida, Jia Zheng Zheng didn't even move, and the "test questions" inside were still sealed with wax? !

At this time, Jia Fang was full of joy, so happy that he wanted to laugh out loud: Jia Zheng... this second brother with a lot of shortcomings and few advantages, the second brother who is full of rigid words, he is superficially moral and sympathetic in private The second brother actually... really insisted for a while, he didn't open the box at all, but left the box here directly.

Shui Xian coughed, and the man who had brought Jia in just now immediately entered the private room, and bowed to listen to Shui Xian's orders.

"General Qi, please come here."

Jia Fang thought that Shui Xian was talking about "an old man", but who knew that the person came after a while, but he was only about 50 or [-] years old. After asking Shui Xian, he found out that the other party's surname was really old—and it seemed that he was a senior official. A master of wax.

"After unpacking, can you seal it back as it is?"

Qi Lao respectfully took the bunch of papers from Shui Xian's hands, looked at them carefully, nodded and said yes.

Shui Xian disassembled it, scanned it at a glance, and smiled while reading: "It's really a rather remote scripture."

Jia Fang also poked his head over to look, but was stopped by Shui Xian: "Zi Fang, if you believe me, I will handle this matter with full authority. I guarantee that your brother, Rongguo Mansion... will pass this time without any damage to his reputation." Storm."

He looked at Jia Fang seriously, and said softly: "It might be better if you are completely ignorant of the above content."

Jia Fang then sat back.Shui Xian scanned the contents of the note in twos and twos, knowing what was on it, and immediately handed the note to Qi Lao, who was already lighting the wax to melt the paint. After a while, he sealed the wax again, and used a Gently stamp the shape with the copper tweezers on the wax.In Jia Fang's view, the resealed note is exactly the same as the one in the box earlier, and there is no difference at all.

"Ziheng, why do you always help me at the most critical time?" Jia Fang asked mutteringly.

Shui Xian didn't speak, he was thinking about something, and after a while, he looked up at Jia Fang: "I'll have someone take you out in a while, and when I go out, I'll take you to the car and send you to Baigongfang. You are from Baigong Fang Fang slowly returned to Rongguo Mansion, don't let others know that you have stayed with me for so long today."

"After you leave, you also forget about it, at least don't show in front of Brother Ling that you heard about it." Shui Xian explained to Jia Fang one by one, "Leave the rest to me!"

The two parted immediately, and Jia Fang was led by the man who had ushered him into the Wanqing Building earlier, and walked through the narrow and dark passage again. When he got there, the man asked him to sit down.

As soon as Jia Fang sat down, he felt his body move, followed by the sound of horseshoes, Jia Fang realized that he was already in the carriage and left Wanqinglou directly.

The guy was also in the car, and at this moment he stretched out his hand and slightly opened the curtain covering the car window.At this time, it was completely dark, and the light from the houses on both sides of the road shone on the inside of the cart.

Jia Fang followed the gap raised by the car curtain and looked upstairs at Wan Qing.He couldn't see the lights all over the building, and he only saw a figure floating in the dust in his eyes, standing upstairs at the moment, watching his car slowly leave.

A few days later it was the day when Jia Zheng would end.Before dawn, Jia Daihua, Jia Daishan, Jia Amnesty, Jia Fang, and Jia Min all gathered in front of the Rongfu gate to send Jia Zheng to the examination room.On the contrary, it was Mrs. Shi who sent a message, saying that she got up late, so she would not come out to see her off.

But Jia Fang guessed that Mrs. Shi was afraid of being sad when she sent Jia Zheng to the exam, so she deliberately hid in Rongxi hall.

Later, Mrs. Shi's reddish eyes and slightly swollen eye circles also confirmed this point.

It is said that this test is divided into three sessions, and one session is held every three days. Candidates have to stay in the dormitory for two days for each session.

In the first scene, Jia Zheng went there in good spirits the first day, and came back the next day like a frost-beaten eggplant. When he came back, he knelt down in front of Jia Daishan and Mrs. Shi, saying that there was no hope for this subject, and begging his parents to forgive him. He fought again three years later.

Jia Daishan frowned when he heard Jia Zheng repeat the exam questions, "So lonely?"

Jia Zheng immediately showed a look of remorse. Jia Daishan asked, but Jia Zheng said that he had opened the book before the exam, and he had already seen a sentence that was tested in the exam, but he couldn't read it down.

Jia Fang was also there when Jia Zheng said this, and he couldn't help laughing secretly in his heart, thinking that even Jia Daishan said out-of-the-way scriptures, how can Jia Zheng just flip through them and see them?

Jia Zheng was obviously regretting this: Someone once put the leaking question in front of him, but he didn't cherish it.

But since Jia Zheng chose to be honest, this is the price that Jia Zheng must bear, the price of honesty.

Jia Fang was sincerely happy for Jia Zheng's choice. Regardless of whether the second elder brother won the test this time, Jia Zheng's image in his heart has been reversed, and he has become quite "bright and upright".