The triennial scientific examination will soon begin.
At the same time, the secret guards of the East Palace have also checked all the people on the list.
"Your Highness, there is nothing wrong with these people. Moreover, they are all talented people in the local area and have a high chance of winning."
"The people they associate with are all classmates, and there is nothing wrong with those classmates' backgrounds."
"However, only the one named Gong Changming has a clean background, which makes his subordinates suspicious."
Mentioning the name Gong Changming, Li Yuze's mind immediately flashed back to Li Yuze's confused and confused face that day on the street when Prince Shun'an Hou Shizi grabbed his clothes and dragged him to see an official.
That face didn't look like someone with evil intentions at all.
He immediately raised his eyebrows and asked, "Do you think there is something wrong with Gong Changming?"
The secret guard lowered his head and replied respectfully: "Your Highness, no matter how outstanding a person is, his background cannot be without any flaws."
Just like that day on the street, he stepped on the foot of Prince Shun'an. If he hadn't been lucky enough to meet the prince and the eldest princess, he would have been taken to the Yamen long ago.
A student from a poor family like this, even in a place like Jizhou, is not without powerful local gentry. How could he have lived smoothly for so many years without some special skills?
Moreover, not only did his background and experience be simple, even his parents had never encountered any setbacks in their lives.
It's as plain as a piece of white paper.
Li Yuze's eyes darkened. Indeed, the background was too simple and clean, too clean to be realistic.
After a long silence, he ordered: "Send someone to keep an eye on him, so that no one can notice him."
The secret guard responded and retreated.
The restaurant opposite Gongyuan.
The floor is full of customers.
Zuo Qing and Li Huang were sitting in a private room. Through the window, they could see a row of invigilators in the Gongyuan sitting there under the scorching sun to invigilate the exam.
While cracking melon seeds, she sighed: "Fortunately, I'm not a boy. Otherwise, if I were to take the exam like this, I would have fainted before the exam was over."
I heard that the area where candidates took the exam was only a square inch, and they stayed there for nine days. Many of the weak ones fell down and were carried out directly.
Therefore, ten years of hard work is not the most difficult thing. What is more difficult is the few days of exams. Many people have stalled in their careers just because they cannot withstand this final hurdle.
"You asked me to come out today. Is it possible that your brother will also end up this year?"
Most of the people who come here to eat here these days are family members of those candidates. Because of the special location of this restaurant, they can first see the candidates coming out of the Gongyuan.
Everyone is anxiously waiting for the result.
Zuo Qing nodded with bright eyes: "Yes, although His Majesty has specifically approved that his brother can become an official without taking the scientific examination, he also wants to know whether he can become an official on his own without the family's influence.
"
Li Huang couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth: "A talented person has really unique ideas."
The two of them were chatting happily here when Mu Feng hurriedly opened the door and came in: "Your Highness, something big has happened."
Li Huang's eyes twitched and he frowned: "What happened?"
Mu Feng: "The Zuo family's old house was destroyed. Twenty or thirty children who were studying there died."
Li Huang: "!!!"
Zuo Qing's eyes widened even more: "How could you walk in the water in broad daylight?"
Moreover, the major exam that is held every three years is currently taking place, and almost everyone is concentrated in the main city. There should be no one visiting such a remote place as Zuo's old house, right?
"During the big exam, the main troops of the city inspection camp are at the Gongyuan side. The Zuo family's old residence is more remote. We don't patrol there much on weekdays. Now that we are short of manpower, some interested people must have taken advantage of the loophole.
"
Li Huang's face was solemn, he put down his tea cup, stood up and said, "Let's go and have a look."
Zuo Qing stood up and wanted to follow, but was stopped by Li Huang: "Go back to the palace and inform Mr. Zuo. Someone will definitely impeach this matter in the morning tomorrow. When I get the news, I will send someone to the Yushi Mansion to deliver a letter."
After hearing what she said, Zuo Qing nodded and hurried back to his house with his maid.
The house belongs to their Zuo family, and suddenly it was leaked. To be reckoned with this, the Zuo family is also responsible for the failure to protect it.
Half an hour later.
The carriage stopped a few hundred feet away from Zuo's old house.
"Your Highness, the fire has just been extinguished. Many people are gathering outside the house now. Let's go there at this time. If those people get excited, I am afraid..."
Once public anger is aroused, those people don't care who you are.
"Your Highness, why don't you stay on the carriage and let me go down and take a look?" Lingyuan said.
She wears an ordinary girl's clothes, even if she sneaks into the crowd, she will not attract the attention of others.
Li Huang nodded and warned: "Be careful. If someone recognizes you, use Qinggong to run away and never come back to the carriage."
Lingyuan responded, jumped off the carriage, and quickly got into the crowd.
The house had been completely burned. Because it was remote and there were few people living around it, when it was discovered that the house was flooded, everyone came to put out the fire more slowly.
By the time the people from the patrol camp arrived, the fire inside was already out of control.
It took a long time to save most of the children inside.
But casualties cannot be avoided.
After hearing the news, the parents of those children rushed over one after another.
At this moment, a large crowd of people had already gathered outside the house, shouting, crying, and cursing.
"Damn it, this is clearly an attempt to silence someone. How can the house be locked from the outside in broad daylight?"
"That's right. If there hadn't been a lock on the door, it wouldn't have taken so long to open the door and go in to save people."
"They are all half-grown children. Who is so cruel as to kill a group of children?"
…
Various comments penetrated Lingyuan's ears, making her frown.
Outside the gate, soldiers from the city patrol camp had already formed a human wall. After hearing the news, the people from the capital governor also rushed here quickly.
"What's going on? How can you walk through the water?"
The governor of the capital felt his head was pounding. It was the most critical moment for the students to take exams. He was on guard day and night, but he didn't expect that such a remote place would cause him some trouble.
He suddenly felt that his position as governor was about to come to an end.
Coincidentally, it was Ye Beichen who was responsible for bringing people to put out the fire.
He stepped forward and clasped his fists in greeting and said, "Master Fu Yin came just in time. This house was locked from the outside and the fire was started with dry wood from the outer wall."
"By the time the children inside discovered it, the fire was already very strong, and with their strength, they were unable to break through the door from the inside."
As he said that, he led people to the door. The lock, which had been broken by someone from the outside with a heavy object, was still hanging there.
When the governor of the capital saw this, he immediately became furious.