248. I am a good emperor (9) (1/2)

248. I am a good emperor (9) (1/2)

The news that Rongcheng was captured was quickly spread to the capital, and the officials in the court rushed to tell each other, all with smiles on their faces.

To be honest, when they decided to attack the Huns, they were actually very uneasy. Not only because they had been beaten by the Huns and almost lost their country, but also because in everyone's impression, the Huns were all brave and warlike. It was said that they had been There was a Huns who had half of his head cut off on the battlefield, and his blood flowed all over the floor. He had red eyes and killed more than a dozen of them along the way before he was willing to die.

No one knows whether these rumors are true or false, but every Liu people have a deep fear in their hearts for the Xiongnu who once almost destroyed the Liu Kingdom.

Under such rumors that became more and more demonized, it seemed that they were unwilling to have direct contact with the Huns.

It can be said that if the noble disciples in Beijing were not almost successfully assassinated during that time, the officials in the DPRK who were still hesitating would not have become furious and moved forward with all their strength.

But now, Rongcheng has been taken back.

What the late Emperor could not do, His Majesty did.

In the twelfth lunar month of winter, the news spread throughout Kyoto and is still extending outward.

Amidst the joy of universal celebration, their Emperor was hiding in the Prime Minister's house, dragging Zhao Shuqing to make money for him.

"In order to attack the Xiongnu, I spent more than half of the treasury's silver, and the Ministry of Revenue has no chancellor. Now I really have a headache. If there is no income, I can't even afford flowers."

Zhao Shuqing frowned again and again, holding his hands aside and chattering endlessly about the emperor's blessings. The most skillful facial expression he made now was frowning.

Although Zhao Shuqing is good-looking, he has had a paralyzed face since he was a child. When he frowns like this, it makes people feel that he is angry. If the servants and maids see it, they will be shocked and guess uneasily. Perhaps he had done something wrong to anger him, but who knew that the person frowning at him now was Wei Mingyan.

He also noticed Zhao Shuqing's frown, but he laughed, "Shuqing, your eyebrows are too delicate. When you frown, you don't look angry, but like you are coquettishly coquettish."

Zhao Shuqing: "...Don't bother me again, I can't help it."

"What are you doing with these books?"

Wei Mingyan shamelessly pretended not to hear anything, picked up the books on the side and flipped through them, "You don't want to take the imperial examination, these are useless."

Zhao Shuqing gritted his teeth, "Why don't I take the imperial examination?"

"You want to take the imperial examination??"

The emperor seemed to be very surprised, and then looked at Zhao Shuqing with a look of pity and clicked his tongue, while shaking his head and saying, "In the future, Shuqing will become a talkative person."

Zhao Shuqing took back his book with an expressionless face, and kept brainwashing himself in his mind: This is ancient times, this is ancient times, that one is the emperor, that one is the emperor, so he didn't directly turn his back and drive people away.

He stopped talking, but Wei Mingyan still didn't give up. As if he was thinking about something, he continued to encourage, "You can take the test. If you really pass the palace examination, I will select you as the number one scholar."

"By the way, what is your current position?"

Seeing that business was about to happen, Zhao Shuqing's face was no longer as cold as before. He held the book and replied, "I'm just waiting for the exam in three years."

Although he still had some headaches with obscure knowledge, fortunately he had a photographic memory, a temporary attack, and the help of his father, the prime minister, to help him with his homework, and he had successfully passed the examination as a scholar.

Now, I’m just waiting for the exam in three years.

Although it was a bit far away, Zhao Shuqing was not too anxious. Anyway, Jiu'er had just passed his eleventh birthday this year, and there were still seven years left, enough for him to pass the exam slowly.

Just thinking about having to kowtow and salute to the ancient emperor in front of me while waiting for the imperial examination gives me a bit of toothache.

After Zhao Shuqing finished answering, the handsome emperor who was wearing a green cloak today calmed down. He picked up the book that Zhao Shuqing had left on the table and read it for a while before standing up to leave.

Before leaving, Wei Mingyan paused as he looked at the various flowers that had been moved to the porch because of the snow.

Now that the weather is so cold, these flowers have naturally withered long ago, but they will definitely bloom again next spring.

"Shuqing, look at this pot of flowers..."

Before he could say anything, Zhao Shuqing, who was just looking at the sky and wondering what he was thinking, immediately stopped him, "This flower has not caught the cold..."

The emperor paused, then joked, "Of course I know that these flowers have been moved to the porch, how can they catch the cold?"

After Zhao Shuqing nodded with satisfaction, he added, "This flowerpot doesn't look very good. How about I help you get a new one?"

Get a new one?

He glanced at the flowerpot and saw that it looked a little shabby. With the mentality of not taking advantage of it, he nodded, "Thank you very much."

"No thanks, no thanks."

Wei Mingyan picked up the flower pot and left, leaving Zhao Shuqing alone to continue reading with his head down, not feeling anything wrong at all.

The boy who had been waiting on him watched His Majesty leave, and then he carefully went up to the corridor and moved the flowers around the pot of flowers to the middle.

His movements were very skillful, and he did not disturb Zhao Shuqing who was reading a book from beginning to end.

Zhao Shuqing had no time to think about how many pots of flowers he had lost.

Because of the great victory in Rongcheng, His Majesty Long Yan was delighted and opened Enke. The triennial examination was moved forward. Scholars who got the news began to rush to Kyoto, and Zhao Shuqing also had to prepare for the examination.

Although he had a photographic memory, he was still determined to study in seclusion, and then he reluctantly let Prime Minister Zhao nod.

I just say that if you are lucky, you will win. If you are not lucky, you will come back next time.

Zhao Shuqing was still a little dissatisfied, but Prime Minister Zhao was quite happy. It was considered too young to take the exam at Zhao Shuqing's age, not to mention that it had only been a long time since he had really started to study, and he had never been taught carefully before. It was an unexpected surprise to pass the provincial examination.

But now, this child is going to take the national examination, whether he passes or fails, at his age, it is not a bad thing.

This time he learned the lesson from the last time and did not spread his optimistic words about his son. Fan Yuancai seemed to have learned some truth after going to Lang's house. He even followed Lang Su to the door to apologize.

Prime Minister Zhao and Mrs. Zhao are both at this age, and it is not easy to argue with a child, especially Mrs. Zhao. When Fan Yuancai's biological mother was still alive, she had a few encounters with the Qiu family. Although they did not have a close friendship, they I have a deep affection for her.

When Qiu's father failed to defend the city and Rongcheng was destroyed, the late emperor was furious and blamed Qiu. Master Fan also didn't care about his old relationship, and didn't even care that his father-in-law took care of him and asked his old friends to take care of him. Today, after Qiu committed suicide, she quickly erased her name and married her stepmother, saying that she wanted to have a mistress to take care of her children, but look at what Fan Yuan has become like after being taken care of for more than ten years.

He was still younger at the time. If someone hadn't preached behind his back, how could he have understood the rumors that were not available in the public. Later, when Prime Minister Zhao came to cancel the engagement, it was clear from Master Fan's reaction that he also acquiesced in this matter.

The two families no longer interacted with each other. Mrs. Zhao was angry that her son was divorced and there were such gossips, while Prime Minister Zhao wanted to promote a child for the Fan family to bear all the infamy and did not want to be associated with him.

Although both of them sighed a few times after Fan Yuancai came to apologize and did not care about the child, they still kept this grudge against the Fan family in their hearts.

Until now, even if he was sure that his Qing'er would win the prize, Prime Minister Zhao still kept his mouth tightly closed, and would not say more words when he was drunk, so as not to provoke anyone again.

Just because he doesn't say it doesn't mean that people outside don't say it.

Zhao Shuqing, the prime minister's son who had been suffering from a strange disease for ten years and saw no hope, then suddenly recovered and learned everything very quickly, and finally fell silent again, was rumored to be a weirdo, and some people outside still paid attention to him.

After his biological sister Zhao Shujiu was elected as the queen of the middle palace, she gained even more attention.

And none of these people expected that he actually passed the exam all the way, and his grades were pretty good.

Because of Zhao Shuqing's rise, the rumors about him in Beijing gradually changed.

What? Brain problem? There is nothing wrong with your brain. Go and take the exam to show your talent to everyone.

Got a strange illness? Don’t they all say that miraculous doctors heal people?

If it was not cured, how could it be possible to pass the exam so smoothly?

As for the divorce between the Zhao family and the Fan family, everyone said that it was because Fan Yuancai, a dandy, was ignorant and made a fuss in the Prime Minister's Mansion after hearing some rumors. The Prime Minister was angry and broke off the engagement. Since Fan Yuancai followed Lang Su frequently in and out of the Prime Minister's Mansion, After that, the rumors became a little muddy.

Now Zhao Shuqing is also going to take part in the examination. Immediately, the reason why Fan Yuancai became close to the Prime Minister's Mansion seems to have been found out.

The second young lady of the Fan family has reached her flowering stage, but she has not yet been engaged. Mrs. Fan has never revealed in Beijing that she is looking for a good son-in-law. Presumably the two families have reconciled long ago and the marriage is still going on.

I don't know why this rumor spread. By the time the Fan family found out, it had already spread throughout the capital.

It is said that the second son of Prime Minister Zhao's family worked hard and passed the exam all the way because his engagement was annulled.

It is said that the second young lady of the Fan family has a noble character. Although her parents broke off the engagement, she still regards herself as the wife of the Zhao family.

These words may seem like praise, but if the Fan family really agrees, the second young lady of the Fan family will really have no one to marry except Zhao Shuqing.

When Master Fan found out, he really had some thoughts.

When he broke off the engagement, His Majesty ignored the government affairs. The Queen Mother was somewhat dissatisfied with Prime Minister Zhao, a minister who was left behind by the late Emperor. I wonder if he will sit in this position again in the future.

Because, after the eldest son of the family was encouraged to go to the prime minister's house and cause a scene, he seemed to be furious. He pressed the person down and beat him with a board, but when Prime Minister Zhao came to cancel the engagement, he didn't do anything. The meaning of persistence.

After all, the little daughter has gradually grown up, has a beautiful appearance, is even more beautiful than her mother, and has no shortage of scheming skills. Master Fan has some thoughts on sending her to the palace to gain favor.

It was a pity that the Queen Mother passed away when His Majesty reached his age. As soon as the mourning ceremony was over, His Majesty suddenly announced that the daughter of the Zhao family would be his queen.

Prime Minister Zhao has recently won the favor of His Majesty. On the other hand, he has always been tepid. Although the Queen Mother had no objections to him when she was there, she did not like to use him. When His Majesty was left, His Majesty could not think of him when he was not in court. Even when he was in court, he never looked at him.

The house of the Minister of the Ministry of Finance was confiscated before. Lord Fan was quite uneasy because he was close to him, so he prepared how to deal with it when His Majesty inquired about it. As a result, from the beginning to the end, not a word was heard in the palace.

Mr. Fan is not afraid of troubles, but is afraid of being too ordinary. If he really leaves the court at the age of so ordinary, the eldest son in the family is useless, and the second son is too young to see anything, wouldn't the Fan family be in trouble in the future? Decline.

But if there is another marriage with the prime minister's house at this time, everything will be different.

He became the prime minister's in-law. If the second son of the Zhao family passed the examination, passed the palace examination, and took an official position, the daughter would not be at a loss in marrying him.

What's more, the rumors among the people outside are also beneficial to the Fan family. At this time, it would be nice to push the boat along.

Mr. Fan had a good plan, but unfortunately he had just revealed a few words to his wife, and was pushed back by her soft words.

"I only think that the Prime Minister is loved and respected by Your Majesty now, but have you ever thought that no matter how much you love him, he is only His Majesty's minister. I can also see clearly what our daughter looks like. If she is sent to the palace, she will have another child. Second prince, our Fan family will be relatives of the emperor in the future."

Mrs. Fan is still favored at this age because of her beauty. No matter what happens, she always talks to Mr. Fan nicely and never loses her temper. No matter how uncomfortable she feels at this moment, she still Still gentle and gentle, he continued, "How can we continue the marriage as if nothing had happened after breaking off the engagement? The Zhao family was so offended by Yuan Yuan before. Even if we bring up the marriage again, they may not agree to it. Instead, they will make others laugh at us. No one wants my daughter when she comes to visit her.”

Master Fan was still a little hesitant, "But I just came in and out of the Prime Minister's Mansion before, and I didn't see the Prime Minister say anything."

"Yuancai is so young. Even if the Prime Minister is not happy, he will naturally not show it. Otherwise, if word spreads, people will say that he is narrow-minded."

Mrs. Fan secretly resented her stepson for being so shameless, and at the same time advised, "We specially invited the retired nuns from the palace to teach our daughter. Now she is far better than the nobles in Beijing in terms of appearance, figure, music, chess, calligraphy and painting." If a woman enters the palace, she can always win some favor from His Majesty..."

Although she had given birth to a son and a daughter, her face was still pretty. Even though there were a few wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, she did not hide her beauty at all. As she spoke, she leaned into Mr. Fan's arms and said coquettishly, "Master, don't you think so?" Don’t you want to be the prince’s maternal wife? Maybe you can think about that in the future…”

Mrs. Fan stretched out her slender jade finger and pointed at it, her eyes full of tenderness.

With the beauty in his arms and being spoiled again, Mr. Fan completely gave up on the idea of ​​continuing to marry the Prime Minister's Mansion and held Mrs. Fan in his arms.

In the early morning of the next day, Mr. Fan went to the morning court. Mrs. Fan slowly changed her clothes under the service of the maid, and then went to her daughter's courtyard.

After hearing her mother's words, Miss Fan's family sneered, "Zhao Shuqing must have realized that he couldn't pass the exam and spread these rumors just to get married to our Fan family."

She has a delicate appearance, but the expression she makes at this moment makes her look aggressive for nothing. Her clear voice is full of ridicule, "If you really have such ability, why didn't you take the exam a few years ago? I'm afraid it's too old to get married. That’s why my family forced me to become a scholar.”

Mrs. Fan and her daughter also had the same general idea, "The rumors are strange. Mother guessed that they were mostly released by the Prime Minister's Palace. We broke up with his son before, and there are rumors in the capital. The family who loves their daughter will definitely not marry him." The prime minister’s wife must be worried about getting married at home.”

Why did Fan Yuancai go to the Prime Minister's Mansion to say what he said in the first place, and why there were so many ups and downs in the capital overnight? The mother and daughter knew it very well. Even today, they still don't know. regret.

If Zhao Shuqing is not trampled under his feet, the reputation of the Fan family will be damaged by withdrawing from the engagement. Anyway, as the son of the Prime Minister's Palace, he must not fail to get married if he really wants to, but the woman's family background may not be that good. have what.

As they talked, mother and daughter began to talk about Fan Yuancai again, "I don't know how long he will be imprisoned in Lang's house. I previously promised to marry my niece to him this year. It's been a year, but it hasn't happened yet." Leave the house."

Miss Fan had always looked down upon her half-brother, and her expression was completely different from the gentleness she showed in front of Fan Yuancai. She mocked, "With his temperament, he will definitely not be interested in practicing martial arts, but that's okay, if he really is good at Lang." After being locked up in the house for the rest of his life, the only son left by his father's side is his younger brother. "

Mrs. Fan thought about it, and a smile appeared on her face. Looking at her daughter's beautiful face, her eyes were full of pride, "My son is so handsome, he might be able to win a concubine for my mother in the future."

"Okay, don't think about this anymore, mother will help you solve it."

Although she knew that Mrs. Fan would quietly reveal that the Fan family had no intention of marrying again with the Prime Minister's Mansion, Miss Fan still couldn't hold it back. She was also pampered by her family and stayed with several young ladies outside. When attending the poetry meeting, a young lady asked a few questions curiously, and then expressed with a cold face that she would not marry the Prime Minister's Mansion.

She was also afraid that these rumors would spread to the palace and make His Majesty displeased. After hearing what the young lady said, she said categorically, "Since we canceled the engagement in the first place, we will not mention it again."

The young lady seemed to be unable to see that her friend beside her was pulling her to stop talking. She still asked reluctantly, "What if the Young Master of the Zhao family is elected?"

Miss Fan's face had completely darkened, but she still maintained her dignity and replied, "Even if we win the top prize, our two families will never get married again."

The pretty young lady smiled with satisfaction and said, "Thank you, Sister Fan."

She left happily, and her friend quickly followed her, "What are you doing? Haven't you seen her face look so ugly?"

"I just want to ask clearly." The young lady's fair face turned red, and she refused to say anything if asked again.

Mrs. Fan and Mrs. Fan both said in public that they would not marry the Zhao family, and those rumors subsided. However, Mrs. Zhao's face was filled with anger after attending the banquet.

Originally it was the Fan family that felt sorry for them, but now it's better, as if their Qing'er is some kind of plaster that has been stuck on, they can't wait to get rid of them, just get rid of them, who can see the superiority on the faces of the mother and daughter? Not out in general.

She just looks better, so why look down on Qing'er like this.

Mrs. Zhao, who originally only wanted to keep her child safe, was very angry this time. When she got back to her house, she asked the kitchen to stew a body-building soup and sent it to Zhao Shuqing's yard.

Her Qing'er is so smart, she will definitely do well in the exam and slap the Fan family hard in the face!

Zhao Shuqing didn't know about this from beginning to end. He was now focused on preparing for the exam.

What? The fiancée who broke off the engagement? Who is that?

Zhao Shuqing had a somewhat aloof temperament, but when he really got serious, even Wei Mingyan, who quietly sneaked out of the palace to watch, had to sigh for his efforts. Prime Minister Zhao specially invited his friends to teach him, and waited until a torturous... After the examination, the capital calmed down, and everyone was quietly waiting for the ranking.

When Wei Mingyan took Zhao Shujiu out to watch a sideshow again, he saw Zhao Shuqing at the back door, with a familiar expressionless face and a pair of eyes looking at them quietly.

He looked at Wei Mingyan like an old father looking at the bad boy who kidnapped his daughter.

The happy smile on Zhao Shujiu's fair face was timidly taken away after seeing him, and she whispered, "Second brother..."

She also knew that her second brother didn't like her going out with His Majesty before they were married, but for Zhao Shujiu, who had lived in the courtyard since childhood and never left the house, he could always take her to see all kinds of fun things. Your Majesty, who can still make her happy, is too tempting.

Compared with his future husband, Zhao Shujiu felt that His Majesty was more like his elder brother.

At least now the two of them have never transgressed.

Compared to the future little queen, Wei Mingyan was much thicker-skinned. He stepped forward skillfully and patted Zhao Shuqing on the shoulder, laughing and saying, "Shuqing is blaming us for not calling you when we went to play? Don't be angry, next time We'll call you."

Zhao Shuqing looked at them silently and hummed.

Anyway, he couldn't stop this shameless abductor of his sister, so he might as well go along and treat it as a form of exercise.

"So, I am considerate this time, right? I am considerate of the cold winter, so I specially sent cotton quilts, and put pots and water in each room. Those scholars were almost praising me to the sky. "

Zhao Shuqing nodded, "Yes."

Compared with the exams in previous years where people froze to death and ignored them, this year's exams were much more humane. At least even the old scholars did not freeze to death, and almost no people were carried out because of illness. All of this made those scholars He blew the emperor in front of him into the sky.

As the saying goes, the pen is power.

And Wei Mingyan, who gained a lot of pens, suddenly transformed into a wise man who is considerate of public opinion.

Just when he thought of this, the emperor on the side said proudly, "I am doing this all for you. If you are frozen, who will give me something fun to do? Shuqing, don't worry, I will let you go when you enter the court." Come to the household department, and you’ll get more money-making stuff from now on.”

Zhao Shuqing: ...They actually thought this person was Mingjun. Ancient people were so easy to deceive.

The second day after the exam ends

While waiting for the release of the results tomorrow in Kyoto, the soldiers who went to Rongcheng returned to the court.

And they also brought news that shocked everyone in Kyoto.

They snatched back the princess of Liu who was married to the Huns! !

The author has something to say: The first ten little angels give out red envelopes, good night everyone