Ye Mingqing is a native of Zhenfeng County, Duanzhou, a sixteen-year-old talent and a twenty-year-old talent, and is regarded as a handsome talent. When the list was released, Rao Yongxi, who joined the army, dragged him to his home, married his second daughter to him, and gave him a set of mansions and 500 acres of fertile land as a dowry, which was praised as a good story by the people, and Ye Mingqing was envied by countless scholars and regarded as a role model.

However, Ye Mingqing's luck seems to have come to an end, and the next six times he went to Beijing to take the exam were all unsuccessful, and his father-in-law Rao Yongxi persuaded him to go to the state to be a small official, slowly boil his qualifications, and he is still expected to be a nine-grade petty official in the future. Ye Mingqing thinks very highly of himself, categorically refuses, concentrates on studying hard at home to take the exam, sits and eats empty, and does not know how to operate, the fertile land for marriage is sold to only 100 acres, and the old man who called him a virtuous son-in-law saw that his face was longer than the face of a donkey, and his wife talked about him all day long It was useless, compared to the eldest brother-in-law and the younger brother-in-law, he would neither be an official nor make money, he was useless, and he regretted not marrying him at the beginning.

Three years ago to Beijing to catch the exam, once again lost Sun Shan, Ye Mingqing was devastated, remembering the cold face of his wife at home and the ridicule of relatives, he simply found a tutor in the capital, and studied hard while teaching a few schoolchildren to wait for this year's imperial examination. After staying in Beijing for a long time, I heard all kinds of rumors, and I understood the difficulties of the imperial examination more and more, but I couldn't let go of the obsession in my heart.

Alas, Ye Mingqing sighed, this time he can only go home, let his brother-in-law's face be mixed with a small official, and put the hope of the first on his son. The father-in-law has retired from the position of Sihu joining the army, and his brother-in-law is a doctor of scripture in the government (from the eighth grade), there should be a way to do this, but it is really not possible to borrow some silver taels from his brother-in-law and send it to him, and if he is soft, his relatives will always help.

Picking up the residual wine in front of him and drinking it all, eating the pig's head meat in the small plate in front of him, Ye Mingqing staggered to his feet, left this roadside shop and prepared to go back to the private school to sleep.

"Brother Ming and Qing stay here." Someone beside him shouted.

Ye Mingqing stood drunk and hazy, recognized that it was a fellow villager He Deyi who called him, and hurriedly said: "Brother He, this has been a little greeting, and I can be fine recently." ”

He Deyi is his fellow villager, a native of Shengyuan in a neighboring county, four years younger than him, six years later than him, the two have met a few times, and they are old acquaintances. However, He Deyi won the middle three years ago, and found a way to do a record in the Chu'an Palace, although he was only a petty official from the eighth grade, but with the relationship between the palace and the palace, it was very popular, Ye Mingqing participated in the Duanzhou Association several times, and saw that many officials of the sixth and seventh grades were respectful to He Deyi.

He Deyi looked at Ye Mingqing's red cheeks, drunken eyes, the beard on his chin was sticky with a piece of oil, and the robe on his body was also a little wrinkled, and he sighed in his heart, when he first met this Brother Ye, how suave and calm and confident he was, and he failed the imperial examination several times and turned into this decadent appearance in front of him.

"Brother Ming and Qing, it seems that you have drunk a lot of wine somewhere, but you are free." He Deyi said with a smile, pretending not to know that Ye Mingqing came out of the small shop on the side of the road.

Ye Mingqing smiled awkwardly and didn't make a sound. He Deyi said: "I haven't seen you for some days, if Brother Ming and Qing have nothing urgent, you might as well accompany your younger brother to the front for a cup of tea, and your younger brother has something to ask Brother Ye." ”

There is a teahouse not far in front, He Deyi picked a private room, the two sat opposite each other, and Dr. Tea brewed this year's new tea. The tea in the room was fragrant, Ye Mingqing took a sip and said: "Ansan silver needle, good tea." "Ye Mingqing is a good tea, and when he was generous, he tasted all the top ten famous teas in Dazheng, but he was down-and-out for a year, not to mention Ansan silver needle, but even the old tea roots had to be thought about buying.

With a cup of tea in his stomach, Ye Mingqing's wine dissipated most of it, and he said with a smile: "Thank you for your kindness." ”

Ye Mingqing knew that He Deyi must have seen that he was very drunk, so he found an excuse to take himself to the teahouse to sober up, although the matter was very small, but it was enough to see the hearts of the people, compared to the two brothers-in-law who sneered at him, this He Xian brother did have a lot of heart.

He Deyi served tea for Ye Mingqing, and said with a smile: "Brother Mingqing, the younger brother really has something to look for you." ”

Coming out of the teahouse, Ye Mingqing and He Deyi said goodbye, the cold wind blew from the street, Ye Mingqing felt cool, and accelerated his pace to the residence. His body was cold, but his heart was hot, and the words He Deyi whispered to him in the teahouse echoed in his ears like thunder, shaking his heart trembling, but he was stupid and cute.

Yonghefang Qian Mansion, Ye Mingqing worked as a tutor in the Qian family and taught the Qian family's sect. The Qian family treated him well, let him share a small courtyard with the other two tutors, and there was a special person to serve, according to the rules of the government, he took a day off every ten days, and today was the twentieth day of the first month, so Ye Mingqing went out to drink.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Ye Mingqing greeted the two teachers who lived with him, and then went into his house. Sitting in front of the window with a book in his hand, his eyes were blank, and his head was reminiscing about what He Deyi said to him.

“…… Tomorrow, when Dali Temple will try Jiang Anyi, Brother He might as well go to the hall and shout two words like 'traitor' and 'killable'...... This year's imperial examination, King Chu'an will definitely be taken care of, and even if it is not good, Brother Ye will be able to go to the palace on an errand...... Brother Ye must not mention it to others, otherwise the disaster will be unpredictable, and even the younger brother will have to eat and be tired......"

The book in his hand was clutched, Ye Mingqing was so nervous that he couldn't breathe, he knew that every year in the imperial examination, there were powerful people who showed favoritism in it, and this kind of opportunity actually fell on his own family It was really like a dream. Tianci did not take the blame, Ye Mingqing slapped the book in his hand on the table fiercely, and spit out a word "go" as if cheering for himself.

Standing in the crowd, Ye Mingqing felt that his legs were a little trembling, and when he heard someone shouting "traitor" not far away, Ye Mingqing seemed to wake up, and shouted "The thief is hateful and killable", his voice trembled a little, and he was drowned in a shout. Ye Mingqing's courage suddenly became bigger, and he shouted a few more words, and the servants came out to reprimand them for shouting, and Ye Mingqing found that his legs were not trembling.

In the lobby, Liao Jianhui stripped off to show the scars on his body, and shouted angrily one after another, Ye Mingqing also felt angry, why did Jiang Anyi be the top student in high school at the age of eighteen and become a famous word immortal in the world, I, Ye Mingqing, am not necessarily worse than him, but I am unlucky, I failed to pass the exam six times, I have been stumbling for half my life, and I am cold-eyed.

Xin Fei listened to the people around her scolding Jiang Anyi with a grim face, and He Xigui said in a low voice: "Master, these people seem to be instructed by someone. "Xin Fei has been in the dark guard for many years, naturally

Clearly, he said softly: "Wait until you retreat from the hall, you and I will follow those few people who are shouting loudly, and see who is behind the instructions." ”

Seeing that the situation was out of control, Lu Liangzhen ordered to retreat from the court, and sent out to coax everyone away. Xin Fei and He Xi Guibing split into two ways, each following one person, and behind Ye Mingqing was Xin Fei. Ye Mingqing didn't know that there was someone behind him, and he was still immersed in the joy of Fang Cai, and the sullenness in his heart seemed to have dissipated a lot, remembering that He Dewen asked him to meet him in yesterday's teahouse afterwards. Ye Mingqing hurriedly came to the teahouse, and Dr. Tea had been instructed in advance, and led him straight to the back door to another street, not far from the street, He Dewen beckoned to him on the second floor of a restaurant.

Xin Fei followed Ye Mingqing into the teahouse not far behind, but found no trace of Ye Mingqing, and had to leave after drinking a pot of tea. When she returned home and saw that He Xigui was also full of frustration and had lost someone, Xinfei's heart sank, indicating that the person who dealt with Jiang Lang was well prepared and cautious. In the evening, everyone gathered, and when it came to the situation of today's public trial, everyone felt bad, the opponent was very well prepared, and many people were secretly mobilized, and Jiang Anyi's situation was not optimistic.

Li Laigao said: "Judging from the situation of today's public trial, Liao Jianhui intends to direct the responsibility for the defeat of the alliance to Brother Jiang, and use public grievances to create public opinion and create a general trend. Fortunately, Lord Lu did not favor him, and found that the spearhead was wrong, so he retired in time. There is still a turning point in this matter, the key is the prince and the Son of Heaven, we must take advantage of the fact that the matter is not a big problem, let the prince play the son of tomorrow as soon as possible, as long as the Son of Heaven makes the edict clear to the world, the rumors will naturally be broken. Today, Xiong Guozhang represented the prince to the trial, and he should be able to play the prince and make a purpose for Brother Jiang. ”

Xin Fei frowned and said, "I can't sit still, although I didn't catch someone secretly dealing with Jiang Lang, but I guess that it is King Chu An behind it." Tomorrow Shi will go to the prince, and he will come to Gao to find Xiong Guozhang, and he must get the truth from the prince's mouth; Brother Fan will find a way to go to the prison to meet An Yi and see what he has to say; I will take people to the streets tomorrow to see if I can find the person who fanned the flames, and send more people to the streets to say that I can't let others slander Jiang Lang. Mr. Li wrote to An Yong and asked him to contact an insider in the army to defend Jiang Lang; I also wrote a letter to Pingshan's hometown, asking Mr. Zhang to come to Beijing as soon as possible. ”

At the time of the lamp, Ye Mingqing hummed a small tune, and returned to the residence step by step, holding a silver ticket of fifty taels in his arms, carrying four braised vegetables packed from the restaurant in his left hand, and holding a jar of two catties of Mingyue fragrant wine in his right hand. ”

Watching He and Zhao diligently move the tables and chairs, Ye Mingqing smiled smugly, tomorrow he will do a big thing according to He Deyi's instructions, and He and Zhao will substitute for him, and a little sweetness will always be given. Ye Mingqing's eyes were a little confused, and He Deyi's words sounded in his ears, "Brother Ye, as long as this matter is done, the prince will guarantee you a seven-grade future."

Seven products, returning to his hometown, his father-in-law saw that he was going to be a virtuous son-in-law again, the cold faces of his wife and children were about to turn into a spring breeze, and the two brothers-in-law were going to come to the door overnight to congratulate, and those old friends and classmates were going to come to hear the wind again, and said flattering words around him, Ye Mingqing couldn't hide the smile at the corner of his mouth, and he fluttered up.