Survival countdown

At dusk, two maroon horses galloped forward one after the other, and suddenly a person jumped out from the middle of the avenue, scaring the horseman to tighten the reins suddenly, the horses whistled, their front hooves were raised high, and they landed heavily. Dangerously passed by the person blocking the way.

Before the person running ahead could open his mouth, the house slave who was so frightened that his heart almost stopped angrily scolded: "Who is blocking the horse in the street?! Do you know who my husband is? If something goes wrong, it's not enough to pay for your whole family to be stripped alive!" !"

"Goro, it's me."

The young man who was comforting the horse turned his head when he heard the words, only to see that he was wearing a crimson narrow-sleeved riding and shooting uniform, a nine-ring belt, buckskin boots, a longbow on his back, a rein in one hand, and a riding whip in the other. The fluff of the hair is clearly visible under the setting sun, and the peach blossoms picked in the suburbs are worn on the ears, which are bright and gorgeous, and the fresh clothes on the side are angry horses and a young man in high spirits.

This person is Zhao Yuzheng.

Zhao Yuzheng looked closely at the people blocking the way, and suddenly raised a smile: "It's Senior Brother Chen? I haven't congratulated Senior Senior High School yet, and he's been named on the Gold List!" After a pause, his smile stopped abruptly, and he looked Chen Fangrong up and down: "Why does Senior Brother look so haggard?"

Chen Fangrong's cheeks were thin, his eyes were blue and black, and his energy was low, not as bright as before.

He took a deep breath, folded his hands and bowed deeply to Zhao Yuzheng: "Wulang, I really have no choice but to beg you to save my father."

Zhao Yuzheng got off his horse: "What's going on?"

Chen Fangrong clarified how his father was involved in the case of missing questions in the imperial examination, and then hurriedly assured that his father was upright and upright, and never accepted bribes, and asked Zhao Yuzheng to intercede more in front of Zhao Zaizhi, the prince, and the king of Qin.

Zhao Yuzheng showed embarrassment: "Missing questions in the imperial examination is a major case, even my father is excluded, and the crown prince and King Qin have no right to intervene... Well, let me tell my father and them that there is no guarantee that Chen will be saved. Minister."

Hearing Zhao Yuzheng calling his father the unfamiliar 'Chen Shilang', Chen Fangrong's eyes dimmed.

Chen Shidao used to be in the Imperial College to sacrifice wine. Zhao Yuzheng used to call his father respectfully 'Mr.

Although he understood that Zhao Yuzheng had only listened to his father's one or two lectures in the lobby, strictly speaking he was not his father's student, so there was nothing wrong with changing the name.Moreover, his father is now in prison, and it is too late for others to avoid him. On the other hand, Zhao Yuzheng is at least willing to help, which is considered kind.

Thinking like this, Chen Fangrong, who had nowhere to turn, knelt down on the ground: "Thank you."

"It's getting late, I'll go back home first, take care. By the way, I hope senior brother will call me Shiro in the future."

After Zhao Yuzheng finished speaking, he rode his horse away, and Chen Fangrong lay on the ground for a long time before walking back slowly with his spine collapsed.

Let’s talk about Zhao Yuzheng, who was galloping wildly on his horse, he had only galloped for two streets and almost bumped into a man in sackcloth, who narrowly reined in the reins.

Zhao Yuzheng saw that the other party was wearing sackcloth and filial piety, and the mansion behind him was hung with white lanterns. It was obvious that he was having a funeral. He felt unlucky for a while, so he didn't bother to scold him, so he waved his hands to make people go away.

The man in linen hurriedly got up to make way, a roll of paper fell from his sleeve, and a gust of wind blew it away to reveal the words written on the paper. Zhao Yuzheng took a quick glance, a white light flashed in his mind, and suddenly shouted: "What is this?"

The man in hemp was at a loss and panicked: "Yes, it's something that was packed out of my master's study, and it's about to be burned, so I'll give it to the master."

Zhao Yuzheng: "Who is your master?"

"Liu Congde, the eighth son, also called Liu Laoba."

Zhao Yuzheng stretched out his hand: "Give it to me."

After getting the paper, Zhao Yuzheng stared at the words on the paper: "Floating fee is wide."

It was the question asked by the scientific research policy, and it was clearly written by Chen Shidao from the font - the missing questions in the general examination were the questions missed from Chen Shidao?He takes bribes?

It's not like a human being.

When Zhao Yuzheng was full of doubts, he looked up and saw the wide open back door in front of him, and caught a glimpse of a middle-aged woman wearing white flowers on her head, her face was quite familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.

Frowning and thinking, suddenly his pupils constricted, he remembered who that woman was!

Pointing the horsewhip at the man in hemp, Zhao Yuzheng asked, "What is the relationship between the woman who passed by just now and your master?"

The Liu family servant was puzzled for a moment: "You are asking about the old lady? She, she is the master's foster mother."

Zhao Yuzheng's expression changed, he put the white paper into his sleeve, and hurried home without saying a word, and quickly told Zhao Boyong what he saw and heard.

"You mean that the prince's nanny is suspected of missing questions in the imperial examination?"

"Yes." Zhao Yuzheng took out a piece of paper and said, "I can recognize Chen Shilang's writing, so it must have come from Chen Shilang's study. Whether it is theft or Chen Shilang himself participated in missing the question, the crown prince will eventually be involved."

Zhao Boyong put away the blank paper, thought for a while, and said to Zhao Yuzheng: "Silang, you have done a good job, please don't say anything about this matter."

"I understand." Zhao Yuzheng thought of one thing, hesitantly said: "Father, Chen Shilang taught me at least, can you say a few words for him in front of His Majesty?"

Zhao Boyong shook his head: "If there is no piece of paper, His Majesty will spare Chen Shidao's life in the face of serving the three dynasties, but with this piece of paper, he must be the one who ends the missing questions in the imperial examination."

Zhao Yuzheng understood what Zhao Boyong meant, and when he thought of Chen Fangrong who was kneeling on the ground begging him for help, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He had no choice but to try his best, but Chen Shidao's luck was over.

Zhao Boyong wrote a letter and asked someone to hand it over to Zhao Dalang who was on business in Da Nei.

Zhao Changfeng got the letter, took advantage of his position, and knocked on the gate of the East Palace overnight to discuss with him.

***

East Palace.

The palace people stood with candles, the lights were bright, the gate was strictly guarded, and the courtyard was silent like cicadas.In the study room, the crown prince, fifth prince, Zhao Changfeng and others looked at the imperial examination questions on the table in silence.

The fifth prince suddenly slapped the table: "Hmph! That nanny is so bold, no matter how she got the test questions from Chen Shidao, she should think about the prince when she gets her adopted son to sell in the market! Fortunately, Shiro found out early, if You were found by Huo Jingtang and Dali Temple, and stabbed to your father, you will definitely not be able to get away with it, second brother."

The crown prince also had lingering fears, and his face was gloomy. When he only mentioned Zhao Yuzheng, his expression softened a little: "Fortunately, there is such a lucky general as Shiro."

Fifth prince: "Second brother, in order to avoid long nights and dreams, why don't you just silence me?"

Prince: "No."

The Fifth Prince was anxious: "What else are you worried about?"

Prince: "A few days ago, Dali Temple reviewed the case of missing questions in the imperial examination and submitted it to the Ministry of Criminal Justice for review. After reading it, I broke out in a cold sweat. Do you know why?"

The fifth prince shook his head: "I don't know."

Prince: "Half of the examinees involved in buying and selling questions and buying examiners are our subordinates! If the case hadn't been reviewed by the Criminal Department under my supervision, I really don't know how I would die!"

The crown prince is in charge of the Ministry of Punishment, and at the same time serves as the Governor of Kyoto, who has little real power, and the cases reviewed by Dali Temple need to be submitted to the Ministry of Punishment for review, so he knows the crisis of imperial examination fraud.

The fifth prince showed panic, and even Zhao Changfeng, who was silent, was secretly startled.

Prince: "Fortunately, the other half of the people are members of King Qin's faction. There are two waves of people involved in this fraud. If I guess correctly, the second wave is the people under King Qin who are responsible for matchmaking, bribing examiners, and collecting a lot of money. , and supported his own people. If you can make a fuss about it, maybe it will make King Qin suffer a lot."

The fifth prince showed joy.

Zhao Changfeng said: "To catch the thief and take the stolen goods, there must be someone to testify, and the crime can only be punished by death."

Prince: "I was also worried at first, and I dared not touch King Qin. But God is also helping me, and he sent this piece of paper to me!"

Fifth Prince: "What does Second Brother mean?"

Prince: "Wang Shangshu knows about the exam questions given by Chen Shilang."

Fifth Prince: "He is the chief examiner, he must know!"

The prince laughed: "Then give this piece of paper to Wang Shangshu and let him tell the truth about the nurse's omission. If he wants to save his family, he will know what to do."

The fifth prince was puzzled: "Isn't it? You, are you throwing yourself into a trap?"

Prince: "If I remember correctly, Chen Shilang used to serve as the Imperial Academy to offer wine, and was in charge of the Imperial Academy's teaching. In the third year of Yuanshou, the King of Qin Kaimeng, the imperial concubine asked his father to be the teacher of the King of Qin, but was rejected by his father. And ask Chen Shilang to be the teacher of King Qin Kaimeng. Although he has only taught for less than two years, he is also the teacher of King Qin."

The fifth prince was still a little dazed, but Zhao Changfeng had already understood and acted according to the truth.

***

At the same time, Zheng You hurriedly walked, took off his hood after entering a courtyard, looked at the people in the room, and slammed on the table: "Dali Temple found out you were caught cheating in the imperial examination? Who said something that shouldn't be said?" Of? Take the initiative to explain, don't let me check."

A group of people bowed their heads, not daring to speak.

The person in front took the initiative to stand up and said: "Master, we know that cheating is not a trivial matter, and our mouths are tightly sewn, so we dare not speak nonsense!"

Zheng You: "Really? Didn't you talk nonsense after drinking too much?"

Immediately hesitated, looking to the left and right, a person suddenly knelt down and begged for mercy: "Ye Ye, I was wrong, I didn't dare to say more! I know I was wrong, and I am willing to make up for my mistakes, please forgive me!"

Zheng You asked, "What did you say?"

The man explained anxiously: "I, I just said, I can help him pass the provincial examination. He...he is rich in money, well dressed, and his words and deeds are quite shameless. I thought he was an ignorant businessman who wanted to gain fame—but I told him that he can only be a scholar in the Jiangxi and Jiangdong provincial examinations, and the capital city should not even think about it—"

"Bastard!" Zheng You was furious: "Didn't you tell others that we dare to accept bribes and cheat for personal gain even in the provincial imperial examinations?!"

The man broke out in a cold sweat, and dared not speak again.

Zheng You calmed down and asked, "Do you know what the person who tricked you looks like?"

As the man recalled and described it, Zheng Youshi became more and more alarmed: "What Han sword? What bodyguard? It's the ring head sword! The Northwest Army's special saber! Damn, it's from the Prince of Lin'an!"

Zheng You looked at the man coldly: "I will give 1000 taels of resettlement fee to protect your family from death."

The man suddenly felt embarrassed.

***

After Zhao Baiyu finished his dinner and digested his food, he went back to his room and checked the previously approved cases habitually. He saw that a case that had just been completed happened in Huachafang.

Coincidentally, it was the restaurant where Li Yiru's girls were staying.

The name of the deceased was Liu Congde, nicknamed Liu Laoba, a wealthy family in the city. It was also recorded in the lower right corner that his adoptive mother was the wet nurse of the Prince of the East Palace.

Putting the files aside, Zhao Baiyu picked up another file and looked at it. Suddenly, the door of the study was pushed open. Qian said: "Wulang, Mr. Chen has been arrested and taken into Dali Temple!"

"Teacher? What happened?"

"Mr. Chen is suspected of missing questions in the imperial examination. He is the same examiner and one of the masterminds!"

With a buzzing sound, Zhao Baiyu became dizzy as if hit on the head with an iron rod.