May 15, fine.

In the Hanyuan Palace, the prince Shi Chongwei sat on a high seat and personally presided over the palace test.

Looking down at His Royal Highness's new royal blue shirt, the rustling sound of the pen in the hall is like eating mulberry leaves, Shi Chongwei has a kind of farmer's mood when he harvests, these moves are like crops in the field, harvesting a batch every three years to enrich the court. To be able to step into the Hanyuan Hall are the lucky ones among the readers, and the excited faces are working hard to write, hoping to be among the best, and be favored by the prince, and then embark on the road of green clouds.

Of the three hundred and thirty-six tributes, the vast majority of them have real talent and real learning, and even those who buy joints are not necessarily mediocre. Xiang Kaijie took the path of the eunuch Tang Wenzhong, but he studied hard for many years, got the guidance of the Master, and the articles were full of flowers, and he was quite prestigious in today's imperial examinations.

The palace test is a policy theory, "The border of the court is restless, try to explain in detail the way of the whole army of the country", which is the topic formulated by Shi Fangzhen, the son of heaven. Two days ago, Shi Chongwei and the emperor's grandson Shi Shousheng went to Yanshan Beyuan for pilgrimage, and vaguely mentioned to the Son of Heaven the rumors in today's Kejing, where the wind came from Shi Fang's heart knows, but he is really powerless to ask. Listening to Shi Chongwei Chen absentmindedly, his eyes fell on his grandson Shi Shousheng from time to time, and the queen Wang Niangniang called "heart and liver baby", with a doting face.

After Shi Chongwei finished speaking, Shi Fangzhen asked Liu Weiguo to hand over the topic that had already been prepared to the prince, and advised: "The talent ceremony is a major event of the country, and it should not be neglected, I know that there are some shortcomings in this, this is a thousand years of accumulated shortcomings, I don't blame you, but you have to grasp the importance of it, and you can't let the world think that the imperial examination is unfair in order to win over the courtiers, and if you lose the heart of the scholar, the country will be unstable." ”

After dinner, he returned, and met the eunuch Tang Wenzhong at the foot of the mountain, Tang Wenzhong stepped forward with a smile to give Shi Chongwei and the emperor's grandson Shi Shousheng a salute, Shi Chongwei felt that the old eunuch seemed to be waiting for him. Among the four eunuchs in the palace, Shi Chongwei and Liu Weiguo are the closest, followed by Tang Wenzhong, after all, Tang Wenzhong is the eunuch who is in charge of the big and small chores in the palace, and the prince will inevitably deal with him.

Shi Chongwei knew that this fat old eunuch with a smiling face was desperately trying to make money, and this time he didn't know how many silver taels he sold for the two places. Shi Chongwei frowned secretly, no need to ask, this old guy is ready to hit his wooden clock directly.

"Old Tang, you are getting more and more wide-hearted and fat, and it is difficult for you to run up and down the ground to serve your father." Shi Chongwei said sarcastically.

Tang Wenzhong's heart sank, the Son of Heaven was seriously ill, and he had a wide heart and fat evaluation, then he should be killed, the prince's tone clearly revealed his dissatisfaction with himself, where did he offend him. Tang Wenzhong knew that the Son of Heaven was seriously ill, maybe he would be gone at some point, and if the prince was dissatisfied with him, he was afraid that he would not be able to die well after ascending the throne. During this period of time, he tried his best to please the queen and queen, just to think that in case he died one day, he could go home to support his mother, and it was better to give up some possessions than to go to the imperial tomb to guard the tomb.

"Your Highness, the old slave is waiting for long live in the other garden, and there are some small things to report to the prince." In a moment, Tang Wenzhong already had an idea, and told Shi Chongwei about King Chu'an's coming to meet and Concubine Huang Shu, Shi Chongwei listened quietly, and was really interested.

After Tang Wenzhong finished speaking, Shi Chongwei smiled and said: "Old Tang, you are the head of the palace, you can't hide anything from you, my father is recuperating in Yanshan Villa, don't disturb him in small things, if there is anything, you might as well send someone to the East Palace to send a letter, you can't forget your loyalty." ”

Tang Wenzhong secretly wiped the cold sweat, it seems that this catastrophe has passed, and he is hesitating in his heart whether to tell the prince to take care of Xiang Kaijie and Ai Xin, stepson Tang Changfu told the two of them what he meant, and both of them were willing to add more silver to achieve a good ranking, which made Tang Wenzhong regret a little, whether the price he gave was lower.

Shi Chongwei smiled first: "Old Tang, do you have anything to do, you might as well tell me, if you can do it, I will promise you." ”

Tang Wenzhong was overjoyed, this is the prince's reward for himself, it is not Tang Wenzhong's personality if there are benefits, he immediately reported the two names to the prince with a shy face, and said with a smile: "Prince, these two people are relatives of the old slave, they are both people with real talent and learning, and they are loyal to you, otherwise the old slave would not dare to recommend talents to you." Your Highness, the old slave has read the articles of these two people, but they are all the pillars of the top ten. ”

Shi Chongwei secretly sighed in his heart, Tang Fat Man is just a rough writer, can he understand the quality of the article? The top ten pillars, hehe, Tang Fatzi's heart is not small, I don't know how much silver he sold for the top ten rankings. Tang Fatzi has collected countless fortunes in the past few decades, and the eunuchs and maids in the palace hate him so much that his teeth itch, if it weren't for his father's nostalgia for the old feelings, he would have been unable to sit still in the position of the eunuch. Shi Chongwei thought to himself that if he could confiscate the property collected by Tang Wenzhong, he would be able to solve the urgent needs of the court.

In the third position of the second row on the left, Xiang Kaijie's seat, Shi Chongwei's eyes swept over this young man who was struggling to write. After returning to the East Palace from Yanshan Villa, Shi Chongwei specially asked the Ministry of Rites to submit the examination papers of the top 20 people in the examination, and there was actually the name of Xiang Kaijie.

After reading Xiang Kaijie's answer sheet, Shi Chongwei secretly praised that not only the articles are well written, the poems are good, the words are also well written, and there are indeed top ten talents. What satisfies Shi Chongwei the most is Xiang Kaijie's name, Kaijie, a good omen, this year's bad luck continues, if Xiang Kaijie's palace test plays well, you might as well use this name to rush to joy. ”

…………

May 17, Mandarin Palace.

Xue Zhiren, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, presented the results of the palace examination and submitted the top ten articles of the palace examination. In fact, Shi Fang really intended to establish authority for the prince and win over the sons of the current department, and these people will become loyal supporters of the prince's rule in the future.

Shi Chongwei's eyes swept over the list, and there was "Xiang Kaijie" among the top ten names, and I don't know if this Xiang Kaijie really has the ability or has bought the bachelor who has passed the papers. Shi Chongwei first took Xiang Kaijie's examination papers to read, and Xiang Kaijie "...... If the warehouse is empty and the money is insufficient, the country will not be able to hold on...... If the order is heavy, the monarch will be respected, and the monarch will be safe; If the order is light, the king will be humble, and if the king is low, the country will be in danger...... Whoever wins a soldier will be used by the people, and a soldier will win; Where the people are used, they must wait for the order, and the people are used to ......" Xiang Kaijie's article said to Shi Chongwei's heart, if you want the country to be stable, it lies in respecting the monarch's power, strict discipline, obeying the use of hundreds of officials, prohibiting the army's orders, and implementing the king's will, so that the country will be rich and the people strong, and the cause of the king can be achieved.

"Okay", Shi Chongwei praised, took a pen and drew a circle on Xiang Kaijie's article, hastily looked at the articles of several other people, and circled Lingzhou Juzi Guan Wenhua and Chenzhou Juzi Ma Fengqi as Tanhua, this Ma Fengqi is Mao Huacheng's disciple, Mao Huacheng has made a lot of efforts as the main examiner this time, and Shi Chongwei naturally wants to reciprocate. Li Donghong is also in the top ten, and Shi Chongwei thought about putting him in sixth.

On May 19, the gold list was posted, and Yongchang City was in an uproar. Among the three hundred and thirty-six tributes, almost all of them are from powerful families, and there is a lot of anger under the list, and some people threaten to beat the drum to sue the emperor, and some people say in frustration: "The imperial test is presided over by the prince himself, who to complain to, admit it." ”

The people who watched the excitement on the side were not afraid of big things, and they commented on the characters on the list, who was the nephew of the Hou Ye, which was the descendant of the uncle, and which was the son of the family, and the more they talked about those poor students, the more angry they became.

Xiang Kaijie is the champion Lang, his identity is naturally known quickly, the children of the official eunuchs, the scholarly family, compared to other magnates, it seems to be nothing, and finally makes those lifters a little comforted.

Xiang Kaijie learned that he was the top student in high school, the whole person was stunned, although he had dreamed many times of winning the champion scene, but when the annunciation person sent the wedding card to him, he still had to say "hehe" like a fool, and the steward with him was clever, took out the silver to send the annunciation, and arranged a banquet to thank those who came to congratulate and talk.

Secretly guarding the mansion, Huang Xi couldn't help laughing when he learned that Xiang Kaijie had won the top prize, and whispered to himself: "God help me, Tang Wenzhong's death is not far away." ”

Liansheng Inn, Xiang Kaijie was proud, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites informed him to go to Hanyuan Hall tomorrow to participate in the Golden Palace Roll Call Ceremony, and then he was a tour of the city and praised the officials, and enjoyed the honor in the cheers of the people in the capital.

In Chu'an Palace, Shi Chongjie looked at the list and sneered, and said: "The imperial brother has sold it so well, and all the fame of this science has been sold to the children of the powerful." This item Kaijie, 42,000 taels of silver, buy a top champion, good deal. ”

Huang Xi said softly: "This Xiang Kaijie took the path of Father-in-law Tang, Father-in-law Tang is the person next to the Lord of Long Live, and the prince gives him face, so he can't be unguarded." ”

Shi Chongjie was secretly in his heart, the eunuch was in charge of the affairs in the palace, and he couldn't hide anything in the palace, he colluded with the prince, and the concubine couldn't get any news in the palace, and every move would reach the prince's ears. The sword eyebrows darkened, Shi Chongjie's murderous intent stood up, and Tang Wenzhong could not stay.

Huang Xidong's actions were intended for Tang Wenzhong, and he said quietly: "The prince used this imperial examination to win over officials, if the prince does not have any reaction, I am afraid that the subjects will be disappointed." ”

Shen Wenqing also said: "Yes, the prince should raise his arms and shout, so that those courtiers who are watching, disappointed people, and ordinary people can see the prince's awe-inspiring righteousness." ”

Huang Xi said: "I will let people secretly reveal the fraud of Xiang Kaijie and others, and form a discussion in Beijing." Zhang Changlin and the others are still in Beijing, so they might as well go to the Yushitai to make a report, and let Dr. Huang come forward to play tomorrow and find out the truth. ”

Several of these people are from the Chu'an Palace, Shen Wenqing said: "Tomorrow, the Golden Palace will be roll-called, and hundreds of civil and military officials will gather, and the prince may wish to go to watch the ceremony." At that time, on the top of the Golden Palace, let Zhou Chongrui and others complain, the prince took the opportunity to preside over justice, and then went to Yanshan Villa to face the saint, and told the Son of Heaven about the disadvantages of this imperial examination, and by the way, he told the matter of Tang Gonggong to Long live, since Tang Gonggong fell to the prince, he couldn't talk about it. ”

Shi Chongjie hesitated a little and said, "My father is seriously ill, and there may be an accident when he goes to disturb him." ”

Shen Wenqing hurriedly said: "It's urgent, if the prince and Tang Gonggong collude, the prince will be separated from Yanshan Villa, rather than being caught, it is better to fight for a fish and a net." ”