bastard returns

Ning Yuan frowned, these words sounded too much, and the situation in front of him was quite clear, Qi Muyun, who was about to take the exam, had broken his pen, and was too shy to buy a new one, while a rich man like Zhang Wei As many as you want, you will also carry several spares on your body at the same time, so Qi Muyun had a wrong idea, thinking that it would not matter to steal the last one, but in the end he was caught.

"You, you can just humiliate me, why are you scolding my mother!" Qi Muyun heard Zhang Wei's scolding, but he didn't know where the strength came from, stood up from the ground, and rushed forward to grab Zhang Wei's arm Clothes, "How can you scold my mother!"

"Crazy, get your hands away!" Zhang Wei immediately slapped him away, and at the same time, the two followers around him rushed forward and pressed Qi Muyun to the ground again, punching and kicking him.

Qi Muyun was beaten and screamed again and again, but unfortunately he was so thin that he didn't even have a chance to fight back. He could only crawl in the direction of Ning Yuan in embarrassment.

Ning Yuan didn't want to meddle in this nosy business at first, but he didn't have any bad impression of Qi Muyun, and Zhang Wei was too much, so he finally said lightly: "Stop."

Zhang Wei turned his face away, as if he had only discovered Ning Yuan now, and said with a smirk: "It turns out that Mr. Ning is also here, what's the matter, Mr. Ning can't blame me for teaching this petty thief, and wants to stand out bird?"

"Even if he stole something, there is a reason for it. Mr. Zhang, you beat him and punished him, and you are still so persistent on the street. Do you really not feel ashamed when you make a fuss?" Ning Yuan said lightly: "If anyone The bachelor passed by and saw Mr. Zhang's unreasonable and unforgiving behavior, if he happens to read Mr. Zhang's test paper again, he will give some discount in the evaluation, it is unknown."

Hearing this, Zhang Wei seemed unwilling to talk too much with Ning Yuan, snorted coldly, waved his hand to make the two servants stop, and at the same time left a sentence to Ning Yuan, "Midget your own business", before striding away with his hands behind his back up.

Qi Muyun was tossed like this, and fell to the ground long ago with only the strength left to breathe, but he still stood up with difficulty and thanked Ning Yuan. Ning Yuan shook his head helplessly, touched from his sleeve robe, and took Bring out a half-worn brush.

What he used recently was a Nuanyu Langhao brush that Gao Yu gave him, but he just put the bamboo brush that he used before on his body for emergencies. The pen is available, so you can tell the invigilator and ask them to give you one, so why do you need to do this sneaky thing." After speaking, he handed the pen to Qi Muyun.

Qi Muyun blinked, took the pen over in a daze after a while, and said in a daze, "This...is it really for me?"

"It's too late for me to give you money to buy a new one now." Ning Yuan put his hands back into his sleeves again, turned around and was about to leave, but Qi Muyun got up from the ground in twos and called out hastily: "Please, please wait a moment."

Ning Yuan turned around, thinking that Qi Muyun was going to say something else, but he opened a cloth bag on his waist, rummaged for a while, and handed out a very rough-looking sorghum flour steamed bun.Qi Muyun seemed very nervous, not only his face was stiff, but his fingers were also trembling, but he still said: "I, I don't have anything good, this sorghum noodle steamed bun is made by my mother, yes, there is a high school meaning in it... I brought two, if you don't mind..."

"Since you only have two, why don't you keep them for yourself? You'll have to sit for hours later. It's not good to be hungry." Qi Muyun's situation has always been known to Ning Yuan, and it's really unnecessary for him to bring dry food today. Received his things, and was about to lift his feet to continue walking, but Qi Muyun actually went around and blocked the road, with an eager and sincere expression on his face, "You, you better accept it, so I can feel more at ease..."

Seeing that he persisted and didn't want to waste any more time here, Ning Yuan shook his head and took it anyway.Seeing that Ning Yuan had accepted the things, Qi Muyun just stuffed the writing brush that Ning Yuan gave him into his bosom, and immediately turned around and ran towards the main entrance of the examination room.

Looking at the back of him leaving in a hurry, Ning Yuan's eyes flashed with suspicion. Suddenly, he suddenly remembered, wasn't that Zhang Wei accepted as a disciple by Bachelor Ma?And why did he get bumped into the dispute between him and Qi Muyun?Thinking about it again, Qi Muyun was not only nervous when he saw that he didn't want to take his things, but also seemed a little flustered in his eyes, and Huyan Yuanchen just told him yesterday that Ma Xueshi once carried Gao Yu on his back outside the study room, which was a little strange Action... Although Ning Yuan couldn't figure out the key and connection among these things for a while, it was really suspicious.He looked down at the sorghum flour steamed bun in his hand again, frowned, and tore it apart without thinking.

Although the steamed bun was cold, it was very solid, and it still had a rough texture unique to coarse grains. After breaking it apart, Ning Yuan was stunned.Then he took out his silver chopsticks, inserted them into the steamed buns, and pulled them out after a while. The silver chopsticks were still smooth and translucent, without any signs of changing color.

Putting away the silver chopsticks, Ning Yuan gave a wry smile, feeling that he was really too sensitive and always speculated about others with malice. Qi Muyun was such an honest person, he would blush when he said a few words to strangers on weekdays. How could it be mixed up with some conspiracies and tricks? I am so worrying about it, but it seems nondescript.

After handing over the name tag to the guard at the entrance of the examination room and asking them to check their luggage, Ning Yuan received a wooden sign with the test number and walked into the vermilion gate.

In the empty field, the compartments have been divided with wooden frames, and each compartment is separated by cloth curtains and gauze tents to prevent mutual peeping and cooperating to cheat. The room was full of people, and some bachelors who were in charge of the examination also checked the examination numbers of the candidates one by one to prevent anyone from stealing the picture. About two quarters of an hour later, as the last candidate entered the examination room, The gate was closed with the sound of a gong, and then another door was opened. Two golden canopy umbrellas were blown up by the wind. The emperor was dressed in a dragon robe and carried a group of officials into the arena.

The bachelors who were present in the field immediately bowed to greet them, but the candidates did not need to salute according to the rules because they had already taken their seats.Ning Yuan glanced sideways and saw that the emperor was surrounded by a group of elderly officials, so Huyan Yuanchen, who was very ostentatiously dressed, was quite conspicuous, and everyone said that he, Prince Yongyi, wanted to observe Chunwei, but he did not expect to come.

The emperor sat down on the chief invigilator's examination table and glanced at the chief eunuch who was accompanying him. The chief eunuch immediately took out a brocade box sealed with wax, and handed it to Gao Yu who was standing in front of a group of scholars. Gao Yu looked solemn. He quickly opened the brocade box, took out the file inside, and only glanced at it, with a hint of joy in his eyes, then sat down behind a desk, picked up a brush, and copied the test questions on the file on the white cloth that had already been laid out. .

But what Gao Yu didn't realize was that at the moment when his face showed joy, the emperor was also secretly looking at him, but his expression was not very friendly.

The copied test questions were quickly distributed, divided into several parts and placed in the examination room with bamboo poles to ensure that all candidates could see them. Ning Yuan looked at the test questions and found that the three questions seemed familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere He bowed his head and thought for a while, and quickly remembered that it was one of the many ancient books he had read before, The Withered Grass Collection.

Now that he has read the book, it stands to reason that he should be able to answer the questions at his fingertips now, and this is indeed the case. Ning Yuan had many exquisite answers in his mind, but unexpectedly he did not write a single word on the rice paper.

He always felt that there was something wrong, Gao Yu asked him to study those ancient books, the purpose was to understand the thoughts of our predecessors, and it was beneficial when writing articles, but there is no reason for these obscure things to really be included in the topic , but I have seen it myself, is this just a mere coincidence?

He raised his head, his eyes stayed on the white cloth with the test questions written on it, his brows were furrowed, and he was lost in thought.

On the invigilation table, the emperor lay back on the armchair, listening to the reports of the invigilators patrolling the examination room, while closing his eyes to rest his mind.

It has been almost an hour since the exam started, and the first policy theory exam will be over soon. So far, everything seems to be normal, and the candidates are answering the questions in an orderly manner. Some of them wrote quickly and even handed in the papers, including these Xie Changqing, the most famous candidate among the candidates.

Now Xie Changqing's test paper is held in the hands of a handsome young man. The young man nodded frequently while reading it, and said in admiration: "This Xie Changqing is really a genius, and the article actually gives people a sense of enlightenment. This life is in my life." Great Zhou, really is the blessing of Great Zhou."

Judging by what he said, it seems that Xie Changqing is praised so much that there is nothing in the sky.

Sitting next to the young man was another rich and well-dressed young man who was drinking tea, but he also put down the teacup when he heard this, and said in a somewhat reprimanded tone: "Fourth younger brother, in front of Prince Yongyi, be careful with your words, there is no need Let the guests from Daxia feel impolite."

"What the second brother said is that I was the one who spoke rudely." Sikong Xu nodded to Sikong Xi, superficially respectful, but in his heart he did not forget to slander him for putting on a pose. Xie Changqing has long been listed by Sikong Xi as one of his disciples, Xie Changqing A long face is to give him a long face, but Si Kongxi is acting good when he gets a bargain, it is really embarrassing for people to look at.

These two came to join in the fun not long ago, but they happened to meet Xie Changqing handing in the test paper, so it was like a bargain for the bachelors to get the test paper in their hands and observe it first.

"Master, back then you didn't accept Xie Changqing as your disciple, but you accepted Ning Yuan. You really misjudged." Si Kongxi shook out a folding fan, and said to Gao Yu with some pride and regret.

Gao Yu sat opposite him, but he didn't show any displeasure when he heard the words, but stroked the long beard on his chin, and smiled gently: "What the Second Highness said is that Xie Changqing is indeed a genius, but such a talented person can be accepted as an apprentice." Fate is a matter of history, but Ning Yuan has a more temper towards me, not to mention that Xie Changqing is now worshiped under the name of Tian Xueshi, Tian Xueshi's knowledge is not inferior to mine, and it is not considered as dust."

"It's just that Master, the closed-door disciple of Duiwei, seems to have not handed in the paper yet." Si Kongxi seemed to shake his head regretfully, "The time for the end of the first round is coming, he must not be late Just fine."

A few people were talking, and the first exam ended with the sound of drums. The invigilators began to collect the papers one by one, and the candidates could also have a quarter of an hour to rest, drink water and eat dry food, and recharge their energy. next exam.

At this moment, Gao Yu noticed that several servants in charge of cleaning the examination room were whispering together, as if they wanted to come in, so he said loudly, "What do you want?"

Those servants looked at me and I looked at you. Finally, a leader-like person bravely stepped over the threshold. Presumably, he knew the emperor was inside and didn't want to go any longer. A recent bachelor said: "You guys are in charge of cleaning. Just now, someone picked up a writing brush in the examination room. It doesn't look like an ordinary cheap thing. I thought it might be some bachelor in this yard. If your lord or your master drops it, I will bring it here." After finishing speaking, he took out a bamboo pen from his pocket.

Although the brush looks ordinary, but the hair on the front end is very good. It is really not something that ordinary poor family can afford. It is normal for these servants to pick it up and hand it over. Otherwise, if they offend someone because of it Juren is not affordable for people of their status.

"This pen looks a bit old, and it has a unique style. It shouldn't be difficult to find the owner." The bachelor who took the pen took a closer look at the pen holder, as if he wanted to see if his name was engraved on it.

"This pen looks familiar to me, show me." Ma Xueshi with a goatee walked over with his hands behind his back, held the pen in his hand, looked at it for a while, then smiled and said to Gao Yu: "I recognized it. This is the pen of your little apprentice Ning Yuan, Mr. Gao."

"Really." Gao Yu was also taken aback, and then laughed, "This kid doesn't seem like a careless person, why can't he even look down on his own pen, I'll leave it to him later." After finishing speaking, Gao Yu Yu stood up, wanting to take the pen back from Xueshi Ma's hand.

Ma Xueshi also handed out the brush very easily and naturally, but before Gao Yu took it, he let go of his hand in advance as if accidentally, and the brush just fell from between the two of them, with a click, and fell to the ground. On the polished slate floor, it was actually broken into two pieces.

"Oh!" Xueshi Ma squatted down in surprise, picked up the pen again, and said with a frown: "It's all my fault, this is troublesome, it's good to break someone else's things."

"It's okay, it's okay." Gao Yu waved his hand, "It's just a brush, I think that kid Ning Yuan won't care too much."

"But I did it accidentally, I have to give an explanation...Huh?" Ma Xueshi held the two broken pens, and seemed to want to put them back together, but at this moment, he let out a doubtful sound. The voice, through the eyes of the surrounding people, took out a section of the pen holder, and unexpectedly pulled out a thinly rolled paper tube.

There was a note hidden in the pen holder, and on such an occasion, the expressions of several bachelors turned cold, and even Gao Yu immediately frowned.Ma Xueshi shook his hands, unfolded the note, only glanced at it, his face changed drastically, and he wanted to hastily put the note into his sleeve robe.

"Scholar Ma, what the hell is it?" He did this, but the other onlookers couldn't understand it. Almost everyone thought of this scene as favoritism and cheating. There were also many bachelor's disciples taking the exam. , It is bound to affect the fairness of others, which is absolutely intolerable.

"This... this..." Ma Xueshi showed a embarrassed expression, but looked at Gao Yu, Gao Yu seemed to understand something, his face was very gloomy, but he still stretched out his hand to Ma Xueshi, and said: "I believe that Ning Yuan will never It is possible to do such a thing, what exactly is it, please ask Ma Xueshi to show it to everyone."

Seeing Gao Yu's insistence, Bachelor Ma slowly took out the note as if he had no choice.

****

A quarter of an hour, whether it is long or short, can be eaten with a sugar bag and a cup of barley tea.

The sugar bag is Tang's specialty, and it is also Ning Yuan's favorite food since he was a child. Even if it gets cold, the sugar inside will not solidify; as for the barley tea, it is made by Shu's mother. Exquisite, and the technology of making tea is also top-notch. Ning Yuan knows that the emperor likes to drink tea. Most of Shu's mother's crafts were practiced in the palace. The seemingly ordinary barley tea was cooked with pine needles, bamboo leaves, and wheat. The aroma is mixed with the sourness of pine needles and the bitterness of bamboo leaves, which is very refreshing.

After simply eating something to fill his stomach, the gong sounded for the start of the second round. Ning Yuan picked up his pen again and was about to start answering the paper, but the sunlight that originally fell on the rice paper was blocked by two shadows.

He raised his head, and what he saw were actually two palace servants in eunuch uniforms.

"The emperor wants to see you." The palace man fluctuated, and after finishing speaking, it seemed that he did not give Ning Yuan a chance to think about it. He put away the pen, ink, paper and inkstone in front of him, and then turned sideways to get out of the way, "Ning Yuan Juren, please."

Ning Yuan took a fixed look at the palace servants, stood up without saying anything, and followed them towards the only room in the examination room. Along the way, many candidates who were still answering the questions noticed their abnormalities. He started poking his head, and was immediately reprimanded by the invigilators next to him. At the same time, those bachelors did not forget to cast a sideways glance at Ning Yuan, their faces full of disdain.

Ning Yuan didn't know what happened, but his expression was very calm. When he entered the room, he found that the emperor was sitting on the highest place, slightly sideways with his eyes closed, and Sikong Xu and Sikong Xi were sitting beside him. The scholars stood in two rows, as if they were interrogating in a courtroom, but what moved Ning Yuan was that Gao Yu, a bachelor, was kneeling in the middle of the room with a serious expression, without saying a word .

Seeing Ning Yuan coming in, Gao Yu glanced at him sideways, didn't speak, but kowtowed in the direction of the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, I dare to guarantee my personality, Ning Yuan will never do such a thing. Someone must have made a false accusation, your majesty, please investigate!"

"Framed? Mr. Gao, you said that well. You can admit that the pen belongs to your apprentice, and the note was found from the pen under the eyes of everyone. It was stolen by others. Where did you start with the theory of framing? "The emperor hadn't spoken yet, but a bachelor who was watching the excitement choked out.

As soon as this person finished speaking, others immediately echoed him: "That's right, Mr. Gao, you have always been a strict official. Don't do anything stupid to cover up your apprentice. It's better not to be late."

"Shut up!" Gao Yu yelled, and the two sarcastic scholars immediately closed their mouths as if they were being choked.

"Your Majesty, that pen is indeed good from Ning Yuan, and the note is indeed good when it was discovered under the eyes of everyone, but your majesty knows that the person who can get in touch with that pen is by no means an idiot. If someone picks it up, it means that it was lost by the young student. There are many people who can make a fuss in the pen, and the Dragon Boat Festival may be the small student's malpractice!" Changing from "Ning Yuan" to "Little Student" just now, it can be seen that Gao Yu was really anxious.

"Yes, Your Majesty, Mr. Gao is right. After all, this pen was picked up by someone else. It is not known who did it. It is used to frame the blame." Ma Xueshi stroked his beard and smiled. He turned his eyes to the servants who were in charge of cleaning outside. Those servants shuddered and immediately knelt down on the ground, kowtowed like a dustpan, and shouted: "My lord, spare your life! The little ones are just a group of servants." How could he have the guts to frame Master Juren! Even if he had the guts to be ambitious, he wouldn't dare to have such an idea!"

"Enough." The emperor finally said, and his light words immediately made the whole room audible.

He opened his eyes, his eyes fell on Ning Yuan, and he said, "Are you Gao Yushou's closed disciple named Ning Yuan?"

"The villain Ning Yuan pays homage to the emperor, long live the emperor." Ning Yuan respectfully bowed and knelt down beside Gao Yu. Guessing the matter to a close, even though he was a little flustered in his heart, he didn't show it on the surface. Instead, he was quite calm and remained unchanged.

At the same time, at the edge of the examination room, Huyan Yuanchen was directing Xue Lihong with a whistle, having fun with several teenagers who were only seven or eight years old.

He originally came to see Ning Yuan for the exam today, but it was very troublesome to find people out from behind the curtains, and he didn't want to stay in the room with the rigid emperor and flattering officials In one place, I could only go out to wander around, and finally met some children who seemed to be the servants of the examination room. When I was interested, I used whistle to attract Xue Lihong, and played with these children.

Amidst the clapping and frolic of a group of children, Huyan Yuanchen was showing off, and suddenly saw Yan Fei running over out of breath, and hurriedly said: "My lord, something happened!"