Today, Chen Qingtong is wearing a lilac-colored embroidered jacket with intertwining peony patterns embroidered with gold thread. The color scheme is elegant but not flashy, making it look very elegant.

In addition, standing next to Chen Qingtong was a maid in a light plain skirt, looking at Shen Yichen curiously.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting."

Shen Yichen returned the gift with his hand. He really didn't expect that Chen Qingtong would wait for him here in advance, because this kind of situation is indeed not common in later generations.

"No, I just arrived."

Chen Qingtong waved his hand, but as soon as he finished speaking, the little girl next to him said: "Miss, haven't we been waiting for a while?"

"Xue'er, who told you to talk too much!"

Chen Qingtong reprimanded in a low voice, but the little maid named Xue'er next to her stuck out her tongue and did not show any fear. It could be seen that they usually have a good relationship.

"Since we've been waiting for a long time, let's go in first."

Shen Yichen smiled slightly apologetically.

"Well, let's go then."

Chen Qingtong still looked carefree, holding the maid's arm and walking quickly into the corner door. She was completely different from the ancient Jiangnan woman in Shen Yichen's stereotyped image.

But it's good to be more natural like this, otherwise Shen Yichen would have to pretend to be polite and conversant in order not to reveal any flaws, which would be quite uncomfortable for him.

…

On the other side, the palace of Duke Cheng Guo was full of guests. Zhu Yong stood in the main hall, greeting several guests who came to the banquet. Those who were personally entertained by Duke Cheng were all Lord Nanjing and the real power figure.

Standing on Zhu Yong's left hand side at this moment is Xu Xianzong, the fourth generation of Duke of Wei. As a descendant of Xu Da, the sixth Duke of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and the title of Duke of Wei was the first hereditary Duke in the Ming Dynasty, Xu Xianzong's status is naturally self-evident.

The person on Zhu Yong's right hand is Li Long, the second generation of Xiangcheng Bo. Compared with the hereditary princes named Fu Yun and Feng Tianjing, the earl's title is not too high. In theory, he is not worthy of standing next to Cheng Guo Duke Zhu. Yong's right hand seat.

However, in addition to the title of Duke of Xiangcheng, Li Long also held the position of Nanjing garrison with real power. He was in charge of the Nanjing Central Military Governor's Office and theoretically controlled the strength of all the garrison posts in Nanjing.

In addition, since the Yongle Dynasty established the Nanjing garrison position, it has always been Xiangcheng Bo Li Long. He has been deeply rooted in the four dynasties, so it is not surprising that he stands on Zhu Yong's right hand.

In addition to several lords stationed in Nanjing, there were two officials without titles standing below Zhu Yong, namely Liu Ning, the Nanjing garrison eunuch, and Xu Qi, the Minister of War in Nanjing.

Since Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, moved the capital to Beijing, the six cabinet teams in Nanjing have basically become a base for being squeezed out or for retirement. However, as the administrative center of the south, no matter how you mess around, there will always be officials with real power, otherwise everything will have to wait until the capital. Make a decision, with ancient efficiency day lilies are cold.

The existence of these two people just explains the division of power structure in Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, which are Nanjing garrison, garrison eunuch, and counselor machine maintenance (concurrently held by the Minister of War).

Or in a certain sense, this division of power structure also represents the three forces of the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom, eunuchs, and civil servants.

When Zhu Yong, Duke of Cheng, was chatting happily with everyone, he saw Taining Marquis Chen Ying walking over from the corner of his eye. He was walking in a hurry and looking left and right from time to time.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Yong bowed his hands and apologized, then walked towards Chen Ying.

"Marquis Taining has not been to my residence for a long time, so he is a bit unfamiliar, right?"

Zhu Yong smiled and joked that he and Chen Ying were in charge of the capital and the military governor's mansion respectively, so they could be regarded as old colleagues. In addition, Chen Qingtong studied in Chengguo Gongfu since he was a child, so they were very familiar with each other.

The network is also less fake and polite.

Facing Zhu Yong's teasing, Chen Ying shook his head and said helplessly: "It's not because of my little girl Qingtong. She came with me, but she got off the carriage early at the door of the house, and she hasn't seen anyone yet."

Hearing that it was about Chen Qingtong, Zhu Yong laughed heartily: "I may be more familiar with Qingtong here than at the Taining Marquis Mansion, so you don't have to worry about it."

"This is nothing to worry about. You also know that I am an only daughter and will be old enough next year. But now I am still acting like a little girl. How can this be okay?"

The Marquis of Taining is different from other nobles. He has no other heirs, only his only daughter Chen Qingtong. Not to mention that in a noble family, there is still the issue of inheriting the title. Even in an ordinary civilian family, there is no male to inherit the family business.

A big thing.

Therefore, Chen Ying paid special attention to Chen Qingtong's training and even asked her to study in the Duke of Chengguo. He thought that after a hundred years, even if the title was inherited by a side branch, Chen Qingtong would be able to have his own connections, be independent, and marry well.

, so as not to be helpless in the end.

As a result, I didn’t expect that Chen Qingtong could disappear even when attending a banquet. He was really too ignorant!

Chengguo Gong Zhu Yong naturally knew where his old friend was concerned, so he comforted him: "Qingtong has been smart since she was a child. Maybe she went to the private school to meet her classmates first, so don't worry too much."

As he was talking, a group of students from the inner courtyard school came towards the main hall, and Chen Qingtong's figure happened to be among them. So Zhu Yong smiled and pointed: "Look, what I said is right, isn't Qingtong here with his classmates?"

?”

But soon the smile on Zhu Yong's face sank because he discovered that the person standing next to Chen Qingtong was not a classmate from the inner courtyard, but Shen Yichen!

Why is he here?

Zhu Yong's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he began to speculate on the motives of Shen Yichen's appearance.

A few days ago, in the outer courtyard's private school, Shen Yichen finally refused to study in the inner courtyard, which was beyond everyone's expectations. At that time, Zhu Yong did not see through what Shen Yichen wanted, but after years of official affairs, he knew that there must be a reason behind it, but he didn't

Just interested in investigating.

Today's family banquet, in addition to reminiscing about old affairs, also gives the inner courtyard students a chance to show their faces.

You must know that the imperial examination determines your final admission and ranking, not only your absolute hard power, but also a certain amount of luck and personal connections.

Take the child student Shen Yichen took the exam for several years as an example. The county exam only has a number and does not reveal the name, let alone the transcription operation to prevent the handwriting from being recognized. This means that the examiner knows who the candidate is who wrote this exam paper.

, it is very easy to operate in the dark.

Even if the examiner is fair and honest, writing is not the first, and martial arts is not second. Everyone prefers different writing styles. If you have a good relationship with the examiner, or even have a teacher-student relationship, then the chance of getting preference will be greatly increased.

With the dignity of Duke Cheng, there is no need to cheat openly, but it is not too much to invite examiner officials such as the prefect, superintendent of academic affairs, etc., to become familiar with the disciples of the clan in the government, etc., is it not too much?

In fact, let alone college examinations, even if you rise to the level of examiner or Jinshi, no matter how strict the anti-cheating measures are, related households can still get preferential treatment.

Even Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the first cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, was not immune to this kind of behavior. Several of his sons were either number one or first in rank. Everyone knew the reasons behind it.

When Shen Yichen showed up at the family banquet, all Zhu Yong could think of was that it had something to do with next year's county examination. In fact, as Cheng Guogong thought, Chen Qingtong pulled him over just to win the attention of the examiner who was attending the banquet today.
Chapter completed!