Chapter 240: Imperial Examination Case (2)

Zhao Yue was led into the mansion by Li Linfu's housekeeper, passed through several corridors, and was led into a small hall. "Master Zhao has something to do, please wait for a while," the housekeeper left after a sentence.

On April afternoon, the sun was abundant, the air was a little hot, and the surroundings were quiet. Several peach trees in the yard were lush and the fruits had been bent on the branches. It was almost time for dinner. Zhao Yue was still waiting boredly. No one came to greet him, and naturally there was no fragrant tea to entertain him. The long wait made him impatient.

Zhao Yue walked into the yard and picked two hairy peaches to play with. Suddenly, footsteps seemed to be heard. He threw away the hairy peaches and walked towards the yard gate. He saw Li Linfu's housekeeper leading a person to flash past the yard gate. He walked too fast, and Zhao Yue didn't see clearly, but from the side, the person looked very familiar. He hurried to the yard gate and looked at it. At this moment, Zhao Yue was stunned. The person's back was his immediate boss Miao Jinqing.

Isn't Miao Jinqing a tough princeling? When he was at Li Linfu's side again, Zhao Yue was puzzled. He shook his head and was about to throw the matter away, but after taking two steps, he suddenly remembered something again. Miao Jinqing was the deputy chief examiner of the imperial examination. What does it mean to come to Li Linfu at this time? Is it

The cold sweat suddenly wet Zhao Yue's large back. He suddenly realized that he was becoming a knife for Li Linfu, and the knife was aimed at Yang Guozhong, the upstart of the dynasty.

"Menwailang, my master ordered you to see him." The housekeeper sent Miao Jinqing away, and then appeared at the gate of the courtyard with a cold face.

There was still a hint of sour taste left by Miao Jinqing in Li Linfu's study. The powerful prime minister of the Tang Dynasty had passed the peak of his power. Since the Liu Sheng case was demoted the previous year, Li Shizhi began to decline day by day. The princelings collapsed, and his prime minister and the Kuomintang were also severely damaged. Li Longji weakened him through various means, silently without any trace. Chen Xilie lost the left prime minister and promoted him to the Shangshu Pushe who had no position and power; Wang Gong, the chief censor who had just returned from Nanzhao, was promoted to the subordinate minister and the chief censor for his merits. This meant that Li Linfu had lost his voice in the Censorate; Yang Shenjin, who turned against him, wanted to establish his own family.

All signs show that Li Longji is step by step eradicating his foundation, "If you want to break the main trunk, you should first remove the branches." This is Li Longji's usual method, and he is still confusing him. For example, promoting Li Daofu, who has a criminal record, gave him a Feng Shui treasure land as a house. It seems to be favor, but it is actually the dusk before the darkness comes.

Li Linfu felt that he had to take action. He had to protect his and his family's destiny. He had been waiting for this imperial examination opportunity for a long time. For this reason, he reached an agreement with Zhang Qiujianqiong to exchange for their silence in this matter with support for the Salt Administration and the Guanfang. The person he was going to move was Yang Shenjin, who was in charge of the real power of the Ministry of Personnel, and Yang Guozhong, who was extremely tough in the backstage, but had not yet had time to gain a foothold.

"Master, Zhao Yue has brought it." The butler knocked on the door and whispered in a low voice.

"Yeah! Let him in."

Zhao Yue was a secret stake that Li Linfu placed beside Yang Guozhong. His original purpose was to help Yang Guozhong deal with Li Qing, but his status as the top scholar made him the eldest son of Yang Guozhong, and he became a key pawn in Li Linfu's plan.

The curtains in the room were closed and the light seemed very dim. As soon as Zhao Yue entered the room, he felt two eagle-like gazes sweeping towards him, as if two sharp arrows shot through his heart. Zhao Yue felt weak in his heart, his legs became weak, and he actually knelt down.

"Subordinate to follow, see the ethics."

Li Linfu didn't speak for a long time and suddenly snorted coldly, "I forgot my original name as soon as I became a minister. Does Lord Zhao just want to be a minister of the Ministry of Personnel in his life?"

The title of "Master Zhao" made Zhao Yue feel as if he was stepping on the air and fell into a deep abyss. He was so shocked that his heart almost stopped beating. He lay on the ground, trembling all over his body, and did not dare to raise his head. He stuttered: "The officials of his subordinates are given by kindness. The subordinates, and the subordinates, dare not forget their roots."

"Don't forget? Hum!" Li Linfu snorted again, his huge nose made the cold snor look extremely explosive. "How did I tell you? Do you want me to come to your mansion every day to listen carefully?"

Zhao Yue's body shook again, and then he remembered that the Enxiang had told him to report it every three days, but later he was negligent and slowly left this pretext behind.

"It's not that my subordinates don't want to report, it's really nothing."

He suddenly couldn't explain anymore. The coldness in Li Linfu's eyes made the entire study room solidify. Zhao Yue's lips trembled, and finally his face was filled with regret. He begged in a low voice: "I know my mistake, I'll spare me once!"

Seeing that the suppression was enough, Li Linfu's face slowly eased and his tone became gentle, "Forget it, I'll let you go this time, if there's a next time."

"I swear, there will be no next time." Zhao Yue snatched Li Linfu's words and expressed his determination to regret with the sound of "bang!bang!"

"Get up and sit down!" A smile began to appear on Li Linfu's face. He waved his hand, "Sit down and talk, what do you have to report to me today?"

Zhao Yue stood up timidly and didn't dare to sit, but his legs were as weak as noodles. He couldn't stand, so he had to sit on Hu's bench and tell him all the things about how Yang Guozhong got the exam questions in the past two days. He wanted to give all his heart to Li Linfu, for fear of missing out. Finally, he said: "My subordinates have done some homework according to Yang Guozhong's instructions, but his son is really unbearable to support him. My subordinates think he is unable to pass the top ranking."

Finally, Zhao Yue added, "When he was descending, Yang Guozhong also got up to go to Prince Qing's Mansion at the same time, and I'm afraid he was not sure."

"Test question, King Qing?" Li Linfu fell into deep thought. If this matter involves King Qing, it would be difficult to deal with it. He had to find a way to make King Qing and Yang Guozhong collapse.

Seeing that Zhao Yue was still looking at him, like a begging dog, Li Linfu put the matter aside first, and then his signature smile appeared on his face, and in a tone that he could only talk to his son, he said indisputably: "Yang Guozhong's son must be a high school Jinshi, and his ranking must be higher. I will leave this matter to you, have you heard it?"

Zhao Yue felt Li Linfu's fatherly sternness. He was so excited that he burst into tears. He slowly slid from the chair and knelt on the ground. His eyes were red and he choked and said, "I will live up to my trust and will do this well!"

When Zhao Yue vowed to do his best to help the eldest son of the Yang family, Yang Guozhong was also working hard for his son's affairs. Of course, there was something more important to him when he found King Qing.

King Qing Li Cong has been in almost all fear for the past month. Li Qing, who was assassinated by his son, suddenly appeared on the streets of Chang'an again. Then 200,000 stones of stolen official salt arrived at the Wei River. It was not until Li Chengshi was killed by a stick that Li Cong breathed a sigh of relief. This was passed, but his interests in Yangzhou were also lost. He believed that this was all caused by Li Qing. Not only did Li Cong not thank Li Qing for covering up the crime of stealing official salt for him, but on the contrary, he hated him even more. He seemed to be a evil wolf hiding in the dark, waiting for the opportunity to devour people.

In the secret room, two ambitious people with common enemies naturally met together.

"Prince, I have carefully considered this plan, so there should be no problem." Yang Guozhong's plan was to persuade Li Cong to spend a huge amount of 100,000 yuan to deposit it into the official cabinet, and then withdraw cash and run it, thus discrediting the reputation of the official cabinet and eventually losing its function as a cabinet shop.

But Li Cong was a little hesitant, one was that he didn't want to spend such a huge sum of money to show his wealth; the other was that he couldn't see where Yang Guozhong was playing the chess point, even though he patted his chest to ensure that this would make Li Qing unable to raise his head in front of the emperor.

Yang Guozhong saw Li Cong's hesitation, he smiled, leaned over and lowered his voice in the secret room made of big bluestone and explained: "I am the Minister of Taifu Temple. No one knows the family of the imperial court better than me. Now I am the Zuozang, no! It should be called a treasury now, and the money is less than 200,000 yuan."

"Wait!" Li Cong interrupted Yang Guozhong's words, and he said in surprise: "Didn't there just one million guan of salt taxes to be put into the treasury? It's less than a month, why is there only less than two hundred thousand guan now?"

"Hmph! Humph!" Yang Guozhong sneered, "The money was naturally spent. 300,000 guan was allocated to the palace, and 700,000 guan made up the military expenses owed in various places. This is far from enough. Li Qing established an official cabinet in Chengdu and Suzhou counties, and allocated a part of the capital. Originally, there was little money in the court. In this way, how much more money can be left in the vault? Your Highness, listen to me, save 100,000 guan and set a three-month deposit period. He will definitely use it first. The rules of the official cabinet say that you can withdraw money at any time? In a few days, you will bring out the money and we will release the wind in the capital. If the wind is running, he will not be able to take out the money at that time. I want to see how he explains to the emperor at that time!"

Yang Guozhong began to get excited. He thought it was a seamless plan. If Li Qing took out his own money to replenish the treasury, he would be charged with public and private affairs, or even stealing official money. Seeing that Li Cong was already quite moved, he finally gave him a reassurance, "As long as you don't come forward, who would know that this money was from King Qing. Besides, save money and withdraw money, the way of heaven is fair, what is the crime?"

"Okay! I'll listen to you." Li Cong's fist and palms hit him, and finally made up his mind. He gritted his teeth and said, "As long as Li Qing looks good, why bother me to take out all my belongings?"

The two discussed some details again. Seeing that it was getting late, Yang Guozhong said goodbye and returned home. Before leaving, Li Cong patted his chest and assured him, "The imperial examination that will start tomorrow will definitely bring Yang Xuan high school."

Not long after the night fell, the area around Pingkangfang quickly became quiet. Tomorrow is the imperial examination, and most scholars go back to the inn early to rest, to accumulate energy, and prepare for tomorrow's life test.

This is the case every year on the eve of scientific examinations. The merchants in Pingkangfang have already figured out the rules. Most pubs and brothels close early to maintain their energy. After the exam is over, we will welcome the more turbulent tide of scholars.

But the Yixin Building, the largest brothel in Pingkangfang, was not closed, and a group of big customers had not left yet. These were a group of scholars who were drinking wine, all of whom were in their early twenties, mostly from the powerful and wealthy children. Among them, they were thin and tall, with lion nose and crab eyes, and dark faces were Yang Guozhong's eldest son Yang Xuan. The other white-faced young man who called him brothers and drank with him was Zhang Shi, the son of the Chief Censor Zhang Yi.

Yang Xuan has been living in Yixin Tower for three days and is happy. He doesn't care much about tomorrow's exams. That's his father's business. As long as he appears in the exam room, the rest of the problems will be solved by his father or master Zhao Yue. In his opinion, it is of course good to pass the exam. It is more convenient to pursue women with the status of a Jinshi. If he fails, he will go to the palace as a guard. He has a role model. His father Yang Guozhong doesn't understand anything. He will sit in a high position even if he doesn't.

"Brother Yang, you still have a brain. If you don't show any voice, you will make a lot of money. If you can beat the test questions tomorrow, your strategy topic will definitely sell out the day after tomorrow." Zhang Shi pushed the pink head sitting in his arms outward, and attached it to Yang Xuan's ear and laughed in a low voice: "This time my father asked Miao Jinqing, and Brother Yang's test questions were backed up. Not to mention the top scorer, it shouldn't be a big problem to get a Tanhualang."

Yang Xuan was already blushing with his face. He touched Mei Ji in his arms and laughed: "Brother Xun said this very much. These days, you rely on favors. Even if you have great knowledge, you will still lose your reputation if you don't have a backstage. My father's path to King Qing, Da Xi Xun has promised me to be on the list, so I am not in a hurry. I will leave Tanhualang to my brother Xun, so I will be reluctant to be the top scholar." The two looked at each other and laughed to the sky.

"Mr. Yang, someone is looking for him at the door, it seems to be your family." The brothel's madam smiled and stretched out her two white hands to massage Yang Xuan's shoulders and neck for a while. Then she pressed her whole body on Yang Xuan's back and laughed in a coquettish voice: "Mr. Yang, come often in the future!" In the past three days, Yang Xuan spent nearly 500 taels of silver here. Of course, she hoped that such a generous customer would come often.

"Miss Sun, your two jade balls are too heavy, I can't bear it!" Yang Xuan teased and stood up. He stretched his waist long. It's time to go back and come back after the exam!

"Everyone, I'll take a step first!" He bowed his hand, walked out of the gate of the gate of Yixin Tower, but saw someone standing at the door, holding his hands, looking at him coldly. It seemed that he was his master Zhao Yue.

Yang Xuan shook his head vigorously, and when he saw it again, it was indeed Zhao Yue. He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Master, aren't you a good person in this building? Why are you waiting outside to drink the northwest wind?"

Zhao Yue's face darkened and said hatefully: "Stop talking nonsense, get in the car quickly. If I don't come and call you, you must hand in the blank paper tomorrow!"

At this moment, at a turn of a house about twenty steps away from the gate of Yixin Tower, a black shadow lies beside the wall, staring at Yang Xuan and Zhao Yue at the gate. Behind him, several others were escorting a middle-aged man with a frown face. When the man saw Yang Xuan, he immediately whispered excitedly: "It's him! He sold the test questions to me first, and I'll resell them to others."

The man in black by the wall seemed to know Yang Xuan and Zhao Yue. An incredible look appeared in his eyes and said in his heart: "How could it be him?"

He looked back at the man and confirmed again: "Maybe you must be him?"

"It's definitely him. His eyes are very distinctive and bulging like crabs, so I can remember it."
Chapter completed!