The Favorite of the Court of Joy

"Back to the lord, Li Yaohui, who is under surveillance, has been holding a jade pendant and sighing all night, sometimes sitting and sometimes walking, and occasionally writing a few lines with a pen and then tearing them to pieces. What are people thinking?"

Zhao Minghan said: "He still has no great determination to sue the officials of the Ministry of Rites. Don't worry, he will come to me with the jade pendant in the end. I have already told Steward Wu what he will do after he comes. .You just have to watch what he does."

"Yes, my lord."

"Cold rain."

"Subordinates are here."

"Go and spread the story of cheating in the Ministry of Rites, especially the fact that Cao Bingyi is a relative of Li Taishi, and the fact that Zhou Bowen sued the officials of the Ministry of Rites. We must try our best to arouse the resentment of the examinees and let them support Zhou. Bowen sued the Ministry of Rites."

"Yes, my lord,"

"Cold frost and cold wind."

"Subordinates are here."

"You let the eyeliners in Jinzhou and Linzhou keep a close eye on the actions of King Guangping and King Guangkang, especially the actions on soldiers and horses."

"Yes, my lord."

Zhao Minghan explained everything, and it was already the third watch. He returned to Zhang Xiaoqian's bed lightly, and as soon as he lay down, Zhang Xiaoqian leaned over and said in a sleepy voice: "Where have you been? Your The location is icy, it’s been so long.”

"This king just went outside to have a rest. It won't take long. Go on to sleep."

Zhang Xiaoqian's sixth sense told him that something must be wrong. "Is something big going to happen?"

"No, there is no big deal. Even if there is a big deal, this king will take care of it for you."

"Okay." Although he comforted him so much, Zhang Xiaoqian suddenly felt a chill for some reason, always feeling that something big would happen soon. "You hug me to sleep."

"it is good."

..........................................

The next day, Li Yaohui came to Prince Rui's mansion as expected.He entered Prince Rui's mansion with the jade pendant, although he did not meet Prince Rui, Butler Wu received him kindly, and told him that Prince Rui already knew about their grievances, and he had already asked people to make some preparations for them, Let him and Zhou Bowen boldly go to the Beijing government office to beat drums and cry for grievances.

With Prince Rui's support, Li Yaohui's chest seemed to be filled with passion, and he immediately ran to Zhou Bowen to sue the officials of the Ministry of Rites with him.Zhou Bowen was curious about his change, and Li Yaohui told him that he really entered the gate of Prince Rui's mansion and received good hospitality. Although he wanted to meet Prince Rui, he was told to let them do it freely, and Prince Rui would be behind his back. support them.Zhou Bowen didn't care on the surface, but when he heard that Prince Rui was willing to help them, he felt even more angry in his heart.

At the gate of Jingzhao Mansion Yamen, Zhou Bowen took two drum hammers and vigorously beat the grievance drum. Soon, the police invited him and Li Yaohui in.

Shi Zhengzheng was sitting under the hanging mirror, he hit the wooden board, and asked: "Who is the name of the hall? Who should I sue? Why don't you kneel down?"

Zhou Bowen and Li Yaohui bowed slightly to Shi Zheng and said, "My lord, the name of the grassroots is Zhou Bowen/Li Yaohui."

Zhou Bowen went on to say: "We are the candidates who came to Beijing to take the exam this time. According to the laws and regulations of Dongyue Kingdom, those who submit a complaint do not need to kneel. The grassroots want to sue the many examiners in the Ministry of Rites for favoritism and fraud. Wait for the candidates to fail the exam innocently."

"There is such a thing?" Shi Zheng was greatly surprised, "It is not a trivial matter to sue the Ministry of Rites and other officials. I hope you and others will think twice, and don't ruin your own future?"

Zhou Bowen misunderstood that Shi Zheng was afraid and did not dare to examine the officials of the Ministry of Rites, so he was very disappointed. "Of course, Cao Min came to beat the drums and express grievances after a lot of deliberation. Cao Min didn't sue the wrong person, Cao Min just wanted to tell the examiners in the Ministry of Rites to cheat for personal gain and change the test papers."

"Do you have evidence for what you said? Don't talk nonsense." Shi Zheng repeatedly asked him to think clearly, and he was bound to confirm that he was not ordered by others, or was temporarily dazzled.

"Of course the grassroots have evidence. The No. 1 test paper on the list is written by myself. If not, you can take the papers of the grassroots and compare them. This is the evidence. I'm afraid that you dare not interrogate these people." Zhou There was distrust and disappointment towards Shi Zheng in Bowen's eyes.

Shi Zheng was not angry.In the scientific examination he participated in that year, he also heard that someone's test paper had been swapped, but there was no evidence, and he dared not speak out, and he complained that there was a checkpoint in the court to make his life difficult.Fortunately, he was not replaced by others, so he is now the Governor of Jingzao.He is not afraid of facing the powerful, but he is afraid of trying the wrong case. "As long as there is evidence, even if the emperor made a mistake, he should be as guilty as the common people."

"Okay, okay~~" Suddenly, a lot of men dressed as scholars gathered at the entrance of the lobby, and they all clapped and applauded.

Everyone in the hall looked outside, and a scholar named Ding Yishan stood up as a representative, saluted Shi Zheng, and said, "My lord, Ding Yishan, a grassroots man, is also a candidate for this exam. I am also very dissatisfied with the results of this exam, we are very suspicious of someone secretly cheating for personal gain, we strive for a fair and fair, hope that the adults will avenge our grievances and uphold justice for us."

Seeing Ding Yishan and the candidates outside the courtroom, Zhou Bowen and Li Yaohui felt more confident. It turned out that Prince Rui sent them so many helpers.With so many candidates having doubts about this exam, the emperor will definitely pay attention to it. By then, they will be able to file a lawsuit without beating Dengwen drum or rolling iron nails.

So many candidates unanimously reported the problems of the test results, which shows that there are big problems hidden in this scientific test hosted by the Ministry of Rites.Shi Zheng said: "This matter is of great importance. I want to report to the emperor. You can jointly write a pleading paper. I will help you pass it to the emperor, and let the emperor personally decide the matter. What do you think?" ?”

Let the emperor make a decision, that's fine. As long as the emperor investigates the matter thoroughly, there is no need to be afraid of those officials who will protect each other. Moreover, they have jointly signed a letter, and there are many people. If those people dare to harm one of them, they will be guilty of guilt.

Zhou Wenbo looked at many candidates, and everyone agreed with this method, and then he said: "Then do as your lord says."

"Come here, I will serve you with pen, ink, paper and inkstone."

The policemen prepared all the pens, ink, paper and inkstone, Zhou Bowen re-drafted the paper, and the examinees lined up one by one to write their names on the blank space.

After writing, put it on the ground to dry.

Shi Zheng looked at the five-foot-long shape on the ground, feeling heavy in his heart.If this matter is really a matter of favoritism and malpractice by the Ministry of Rites, it must be severely punished, otherwise the future of Dongyue Kingdom will be entrusted to those officials who have no real talents to guard, and there will be great troubles.

After the pen and ink were dry, Shi Zheng personally stepped down and folded his hands, and promised the candidates, "Don't worry, candidates, I will enter the palace now and deliver the pleading paper to the emperor in person. Everyone, go back and wait for the news. I believe tomorrow In the morning, everyone will hear the news you want."

All the candidates saluted and shouted in unison: "Thank you, sir."

Shi Zheng looked at the plaque on the high hall "Ming Jing Gao Hang" and said: "You don't have to thank me, this is what I should do."

Shi Zheng got into the carriage and asked the groom to drive to the palace at full speed.

It is impossible for Grand Master Li, including some people in the Ministry of Rites, to not know about Shi Zheng handing over the papers to the candidates, so they have sent someone to stop him at this moment.Fortunately, Prince Rui had long predicted that Li Taishi and others would kill him, so he lay in ambush early in the morning to protect Shi Zheng, so Shi Zheng was able to make it all the way to the gate of the palace.But even in the palace, it is not safe until you see the emperor.

First of all, he was intercepted outside the palace gate. Although he asked a guard to report to the emperor, the guard had already been bribed and left his post without reporting to the emperor.Prince Rui also considered this point, so he arranged for his own people among the gate guards, so Shi Zheng was allowed to enter the palace to face the saint.

Seeing that the scheme had been broken, Taishi Li's people came up with a new trick.

"Lord Shi, the emperor is not in the Palace of Qinzheng, so he ordered our family to lead the way for Lord Shi." A father-in-law said to Shi Zheng with a smile.

Seeing that he was not Eunuch An, Shi Zheng was a little puzzled, but at the same time felt that Eunuch An, as a big manager, could not do such a trivial matter in person, so he followed this face-to-face father-in-law with confidence.

But as he walked, Shi Zheng's heart began to feel a little numb. This place doesn't look like a place where the emperor works, but a place where concubines often come to play.If one of his courtiers bumped into that concubine unintentionally, that would be fine.

So scared that things are all in front of my eyes.Shi Zheng didn't know where a woman suddenly appeared, and he was about to bump into him, and he was about to get into big trouble, when suddenly someone grabbed the woman.Shi Zheng let out a sigh of relief, and finally escaped.

Then a dignified and noble woman appeared, and she said solemnly: "Li Cairen, why are you behaving so absurdly? Do you look like a talented person? I am ordered to be confined to the Chuxiu Palace for three months."

"The empress, please forgive me, the concubine didn't do it on purpose." This talented Li was none other than Li Mingzhu, the concubine daughter of the Li family who was sent to the palace not long ago in the name of accompanying the empress dowager.

"You said you did it unintentionally, so it doesn't mean that Auntie Xi didn't teach you the rules and etiquette." The queen continued, "Come here, please invite Auntie Xie, who is the most respected in the palace, to Chuxiu Palace to teach you every day. Li Cairen, teach until Aunt Xi is satisfied. What are you still doing, go back to Chuxiu Palace."

"Yes, empress." Li Mingzhu looked at Xue Yanru, her eyes were full of hatred and dissatisfaction, she must let the queen mother make decisions for her.

Shi Zheng on the side knew from their conversation that the noble woman in bright yellow dress in front of him was the current empress, so he immediately knelt down and saluted, "My minister sees the empress."

"Who are you?"

"Weichen Jingzhao Mansion Yin Shizheng."

"Since it's Mr. Fu Yin, why don't you work in the government office? Why did you come to this harem?"

"Returning to the Empress, Weichen came to the palace to face the saint. This father-in-law said that the emperor is not in the Qinzheng Palace and is elsewhere, so he asked Weiche to follow him."

"Oh~~" Xue Yanru drew a long voice, looked at the trembling father-in-law, and said, "Eunuch Qi, you are not serving the queen mother well, when did you come here to send a message to the emperor?"

Eunuch Qi knelt and said hesitantly: "Slave...slave...slave may have misheard, thinking that the Empress Dowager wants to see Master Shi."

Hearing this, Shi Zheng also realized that this Eunuch Qi was cheating.