Hou Yao was summoned by Princess Wenjun for questioning.
After the salute, Ji Wenjun did not speak for a long time. Instead, he looked at Hou Yao with interest for a long time before saying:
"Are you Hou Yao?"
Hou Yao secretly cursed that she was talking nonsense, but on the surface he still said respectfully:
"Back to Your Highness, the student is Hou Yao."
Ji Wenjun snorted and said:
"Have you ever offended a Juren named Ming Hongbo?"
Hou Yao's first reaction was that the princess was sending someone to investigate him, and he was almost scared out of his mind.
But then I thought again: If I was really found out, I would be ineligible to participate in the ‘Deer Ming Banquet’.
Since I was asked to come, there should be nothing found, maybe there are other reasons.
After thinking this, he calmed down again, and then said slowly:
"Back to Your Highness, the student did have some minor disputes with a scholar named Ming Hongbo.
These are all trivial matters, I don’t know why the princess would ask such a question."
Ji Wenjun sneered:
"Humph, a little holiday? You are really big-hearted. Do you know that if I hadn't helped you get the paper back?
Today's deer roaring banquet has no share of yours."
Hou Yao was really confused this time, with a blank look on his face.
Lin Lihui chuckled, shook his head and explained:
"Jieqiu, this matter has not been made public. The thing is like this. Ming Hongbo is one of the consort officials this time.
He stole your test paper and was discovered by the princess, who then helped you chase it back.
That’s why I was able to see your test papers and appoint you as Jieyuan.”
Hou Yao let out a stunned sound, and stood stunned on the spot for a moment.
He really didn't expect that he would have such a bizarre experience with a test paper, and it took him a long time to say:
"Let me ask you weakly, what will happen to Minghong Expo?"
Lin Lihui said dumbfounded:
"Because of personal grudges, the imperial court's favor was unfair. The criminals were not pardoned and the other three tribes were not punished. This was already an extrajudicial act of mercy.
What do you think will happen to him?"
Hou Yao sighed, feeling a little sad:
"Then he's dead. Oh, poor baby..."
Ji Wenjun said with a puzzled look:
"He almost ruined your future, and you actually pity him."
Hou Yao quickly explained:
"Back to Your Highness, I don't pity Ming Hongbo, I just pity his unmarried wife..."
As he spoke, he told the story of Yao Yingzhe and Wan Jun, but the true identities of the two were hidden.
"...That's the thing. Although Ming Hongbo is hateful, his fiancée is so innocent.
So just now the student immediately thought of that poor girl, alas..."
Ji Wenjun almost burst into tears when he was told this. Lin Wenhui nodded lightly:
"Jieqiu turns out to be a sweetheart, but I think this may be an opportunity given to your friend by God.
It allows him to restore the relationship between his childhood sweethearts, but we don’t know whether he will go or whether he dares to go.”
Hou Yao nodded:
"My teacher is absolutely right. If I have a chance later, I will definitely advise my friend.
It’s rare in life to be single-minded, and you can’t give up just because of a little difficulty.”
Ji Wenjun also recovered from his sadness:
"It's better to think about yourself first."
Hou Yao was a little confused and said:
"I wonder what your Highness Princess means? I'm sorry for my students' stupidity, but I don't know what's wrong with me?"
Ji Wenjun said dissatisfied:
"My master has helped you so much, don't you have any expression?"
Hou Yao understood now that he was asking for benefits.
But with the other party’s identity, if you give him too little, you can’t take action, and if you give him too much, it will hurt your heart. How can you deal with this? Just pretend to be stupid.
"Her Royal Highness is already rich all over the world, but the student doesn't have much money. I don't know how to express it?"
Ji Wenjun said with a look of disgust:
"Who wants your bad money? I heard that you are very talented in poetry, so just write a poem to praise me."
Hou Yao breathed a sigh of relief:
"Your Highness, please wait a moment while the student goes to get some paper and ink..."
Ji Wenjun interrupted:
"No, I have it here."
As he spoke and waved his hand, a palace maid came closer holding a blank fan and pen and ink.
Hou Yao smiled bitterly and picked up the pen. After thinking about it carefully, he wrote on the fan:
The most precious thing in the world, the Pearl of Daxia:
The country is beautiful, the city is beautiful, neither flowers nor mist, the spring breeze is everywhere.
It's more enchanting than Xizi, and even more muddy than Taizhen.
There is no way to control the lead. There is a lot of road, Wushan Luopu.
It seems to be elegant and has an unparalleled standard, locking the depths of the painting building.
Once by the wind, it is easy to send away. Once by the moon, it is easy to keep.
Like a flower turning to shame, like a willow letting the willow be jealous.
Don't teach singing and dancing. Fear of turning into colorful clouds.
I wrote to Cai Cai and was fascinated by Yangcheng. I read Song Yu's poems and poems.
As soon as Hou Yao finished writing, Ji Wenjun couldn't wait to grab it:
"Let the master look at how the first talent in Guangdong is praised, alas, the country, and the vulgar words ..."
Initially Ji Wenjun watched with interest, but halfway through, he suddenly blushed.
This poem not only praises her unparalleled beauty, but also contains the hidden meaning of unrequited love.
In this era of strict etiquette, this can be regarded as a naked confession.
How could a girl who had just begun to fall in love withstand this? She was immediately overwhelmed with shame.
However, if others look at this word and examine it carefully, it is suspected of being disrespectful.
So she immediately put the fan away after seeing it, without even showing it to Lin Lihui.
Just at this time, an official came up to report that it was an auspicious time and it was time to sing "Lu Ming".
"Xiaoya Lu Ming" is a song composed by the king of Zhou during his banquet with ministers and guests. It has developed into a complete set of etiquette today.
Women were not allowed to participate in the ceremony, so Ji Wenjun took the initiative to retreat to the inner hall with his chamberlain and maids.
The outside was left to Lin Lihui, the chief examiner, to lead the officials and scholars in singing.
The deer roars, eating apples in the wild. I have a guest, who plays the harp and the sheng. He plays the sheng and drums, and carries the basket. The good people show me how to behave.
The roar of the deer is like eating the wormwood in the wild. I have a distinguished guest, whose virtuous voice is Kong Zhao. He treats the people with disdain, and a gentleman is effective. I have an imperial wine, and the honored guest is Yan Yiao.
The sound of the deer is the sound of the wild food. I have a distinguished guest, playing the harp, drum, and harp. The harp, the harp, the harp, and the harp are harmonious and exquisite. I have a wine to drink with the heart of the guest.
While singing, it is supplemented by the music of harp and sheng. However, this music today is not the most ancient music. The ancient music has been lost.
Nowadays, the auxiliary music has been re-edited by later generations based on ancient books. It is a little less cheerful and a little more solemn.
Hou Yao felt the charm of classical music for the first time. After singing the song "Lu Ming", he felt both physically and mentally relaxed.
No wonder the traditional Chinese character for medicine starts with the word "乐" under the prefix "草". Good music is also a good medicine for treating diseases.
After the rituals and music were completed, the servants began to serve the dishes, but the princess would not come out to join everyone in the banquet.
At the end of the banquet, several elderly candidates came forward to propose a toast to the examiner, and then they all knelt down to ask for their leave.
This is also the tradition of the Luming Banquet. Some middle-aged and elderly scholars from poor families who have no intention of taking the imperial examination again will apply to the banquet host to fill their vacancies at the Luming Banquet.
Generally, the banquet host will prepare two or three not-so-good job vacancies in advance according to the situation, and assign them to these scholars according to their ranking in the exam.
Those who have received a real share are happy, while those who have not received a share can only lament their bad luck.
Lin Lihui looked at the Chief Envoy Zuo, who immediately understood and stepped forward:
“There are currently three magistrates in this province who need to fill their vacancies: Fengshun County in Meizhou, Dapu County in Meizhou, and Bao’an County in Guangzhou Prefecture. Those with higher rankings will be given priority.
Who wants to go to Fengshun County?"
An old scholar said loudly:
"The students are willing to go, thank you for your love."
Ambassador Zuo nodded and recorded it:
"Well, within three months, you can go to the county government to take office. Who in Dapu County is willing to go?"
A middle-aged scholar said loudly:
"The students are willing to go, thank you for your love."
Ambassador Zuo nodded again and recorded:
"You will also go to Dapu County to take office within three months. Finally, Bao'an County, who is willing to go?"
All the students were silent for a while. In fact, the positions filled at the banquet were the worst positions.
Dapu and Fengshun are both well-known poor counties in the province, and no one with any connections is willing to go to these two places to take office.
Most of these scholars who applied for jobs at the banquet were ordinary scholars with little connections.
Even if they are ranked in order, most of them can only be ranked in this place, so naturally there is nothing to be picky about.
However, Bao'an County is different. It was named because there is a treasure mountain in the territory and there are silver mines in the mountain. It has been an important county, an important county, and a major county since ancient times.
Its geographical location is extremely important. In Hou Yao's previous life, it had a name that shocked the world, Shenzhen.
Moreover, the area under the jurisdiction of Bao'an County is much larger than that of Shenzhen, including not only the entire territory of Hong Kong, but also part of Dongguan's territory.
The vacancy in such an important county should have caused a rush at the ‘Lu Ming Banquet’.
But the result was that everyone was collectively silent,
The chief envoy Zuo couldn't help but lament: Bao'an County is now so smelly that no one wants to go there, and he is afraid that a new magistrate will be forcibly appointed again.
Immediately, when he was about to announce that he was withdrawing his appointment, a voice suddenly sounded:
"The student is willing to work in Bao'an County. Thank you for your love."
Everyone looked for fame and found out that the person speaking turned out to be Xin Ke Jie Yuan Hou Yao.
This time everyone was confused. Xinke Jieyuan gave up the examination and directly filled the vacancies. This was definitely an unprecedented situation since the beginning of the imperial examination.
Yao Yingzhe hurriedly stepped forward and gave Hou Yao a hand, then whispered in his ear:
"Jieqiu, are you crazy? Not to mention the impact of giving up the exam, do you know where Bao'an is?
It is known as the magistrate's cemetery. In the past ten years, one magistrate has been sent away on average every two years, and no one can survive.
Are you going to die if you rush up to me when others are avoiding you?"
Hou Yao's move really caught him off guard. At this time, he was still thinking about how to introduce him to his father.
Once this official is accepted, it will be as difficult as climbing to the sky to recruit An Na.
Especially in a place like Guangzhou where even his father's power cannot penetrate.
Hou Yao really didn't know what was terrible about Bao'an County. In fact, most of the scholars in Nanhai Prefecture didn't know.
Nanhai Mansion lives overseas and has relatively little information. Except for a few well-informed people, most people are ignorant of the situation in the outside world.
"What does Yingzhe mean by this? Is Bao'an County a success or a dragon's pool and a tiger's den?"
When Yao Yingzhe heard that Hou Yao really didn't know the danger, he felt relieved:
"Jieqiu, there are four tyrants in Bao'an County today. None of them can be offended by a small magistrate.
When I am the magistrate of Bao'an, let alone promotion, I will be thankful to God if I can save my life...".