Su Ziji heard the wild Taoist's suggestion: "Mr. Jian happens to be here, why don't we set up a table later and let's have some fun together."
Of course I agreed.
But Su Ziji also thought that Jian Qu's residence was not a layman's garden. Although the possibility of winning was very small, people should not be like this - with the good news in the past, wouldn't he have missed it here?
The wild Taoist seemed to notice the hesitation: "Mr. Jian has left someone at the inn. Even if he is not there, he will not miss it. If you report the victory, you can change the route to Jushi Garden."
It makes sense, those who reported victory would not mind walking an extra mile in order to get the reward.
Su Ziji nodded in agreement. The next matter of setting up the banquet was taken care of by the wild Taoist without even having to give any instructions. He directly contacted the surrounding restaurants and ordered a table to be sent over.
In ordinary laymen's gardens, although meat can be used, it cannot be done with much fanfare, but now even the monks turn a blind eye and congratulate them repeatedly.
Still busy, he sent away several waves of people who reported victory one after another, and scattered dozens of taels of silver. Seeing that there were people from nearby coming, Ye Buhui moved out a bunch of copper coins that he had prepared in advance, and grabbed a handful of whoever came.
, everyone was happy and congratulated constantly.
"Congratulations to nephew Su Xian for winning the first prize!" Fang Wenshao also left people at home. After getting the news, he came by car and congratulated Su Ziji.
Although it was a banquet, it was just a meal with a few acquaintances gathered around. Fang Wenshao's arrival made the table lively.
While chatting, we were also waiting for the last few good news.
The good news will not be bad first and then good. The better the ranking, the bigger the bounty will be. Therefore, the good news will be good first and then the bad. Now one after another has passed, and there have been several more in the Jushi Garden alone, all for the few people living in the Jushi Garden.
Zi sent Jie off, but no one came towards this courtyard anymore.
It was obvious that the last few batches of good news were not shared by the two people present.
"Why!"
When everything returned to calm, Jian Qu sighed, picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all in one gulp. His mouth was full of bitterness, and his face was as pale as paper. Ye Buhui even saw that his hands were shaking.
Fang Wenshao also turned pale and smiled bitterly: "At my age, I really don't have the energy to travel to Beijing to take the exam. If I failed this time, I can only place my hope on Xi'er. In two years, everything will go well for him and it will be time to take the exam in Beijing.
It’s time to try.”
Then he forced himself to cheer up and asked Jian Qu: "Mr. Jian, do you want to go back to your hometown? If you want, we can take the Fang family's boat and go out of Beijing together."
Jian Qu also forced a smile: "I don't know when I will go back right now. Let's finish the matter first."
Fang Wenshao sighed again. Guan Jianqu was not young anymore. Thinking of changing the topic related to the imperial examination, he asked casually: "It's not easy to live in the capital for a long time. People like you and me should go back early so that they can settle down with their families."
so that they don’t have to worry about it.”
Unexpectedly, these words touched Jian Qu's sad story again, which made him feel heartbroken when he heard every word. He couldn't hold back the alcohol after drinking it all in one gulp. Tears filled his eyes unknowingly, and he hurriedly used his sleeves.
Wipe it off, and a mouthful will come out after a while
Angrily, he gave a bitter smile: "Yes, Brother Fang has family members who care about me, so he naturally has to go back to his hometown early. Like me, I once had a wife at home. Because I haven't won the election for a long time, she has passed away. Even if I think about someone caring about me, I can't.
Got it!"
Fang Wenshao choked and didn't know what to say.
Su Ziji saw them and hurriedly picked up some other things to talk to the two of them, which also made them feel a little better.
After three drinks, someone knocked on the door.
"Who are you interrupting at this time?" The Ye Taoist went out to open the door, and after a while he brought someone in. Although he was wearing casual clothes, his appearance looked wrong, and both the Ye Taoist and Su Ziji recognized him. He was a eunuch.
When he saw the eunuch standing at the door of the house and saluting him without saying anything, he knew that he was probably not alone.
"I'll go out first." Su Ziji rushed, already slightly drunk. The two of them held hands and went out first. When they arrived outside the gate, they saw Eunuch Zhao waiting in the bullock cart, also dressed in casual clothes.
He hurriedly stepped forward to salute, but Eunuch Zhao immediately stretched out his hand to support him and kept saying: "I can't do it, I can't do it."
"Su Ziji, you won the first prize today, and our family is here to congratulate you!" Eunuch Zhao said with a smile: "You have such talent, you must be in high school for the imperial examination, but..."
The voice changed and he said, "After you praise the officials and parade around, please go to the Marquis Huaifeng's Mansion to explain and check your bloodline."
The last few words were spoken closer and in a lowered voice.
"Do you want to check the bloodline?" Su Ziji felt trembling, knowing that this must have a purpose, but he couldn't refuse it, so he had to agree.
Seeing that Eunuch Zhao was about to leave after speaking, he invited him in for a drink but was declined. Su Ziji suddenly remembered what happened to Jian Qu and called Eunuch Zhao again.
"Eunuch Zhao, I have something I need your help with." I briefly explained that someone wanted to see Qian Zhidong.
When he went to see the court's repeat offender, Eunuch Zhao didn't hesitate at all and said with a smile, "It's easy. Take this token and you can take someone to visit him when the time comes."
He took out a token from his pocket and handed it to Su Ziji.
The very familiar Imperial City Si Baihu Token.
It is so easy, of course, because of his identity. At the same time, it is obvious that Qian Zhidong cannot turn over the case at all. This case has become a solid case, and it is not as strictly guarded as before.
When he and the young eunuch got on the bullock cart, Su Ziji looked away, the smile on his face was gone, and there was a shadow cast in his heart.
"The emperor still wants to check. Could it be that he noticed something?"
"Is there any special method?"
Su Ziji turned around and went back, only to find that in just a short while, Jian Qu and Fang Wenshao were both drunk. They didn't take a few bites of the food, but drank a lot of wine. They were lying on the table and talking drunkenly, although they didn't go crazy because of the drunkenness.
But Su Ziji was a little worried about sending them back like this.
The wild Taoist said: "Lord, I have a residence near the Jushi Garden. I have a few empty rooms. You can send them to my place to rest temporarily. When they wake up, I can send them back."
Su Ziji nodded and saw that the wild Taoist called for the bullock cart and was about to send the two of them there, but stopped again.
"Lord, what's on your mind?"
Su Ziji's eyes jumped and he said nothing. He stood up and walked slowly in the courtyard, while the wild Taoist stared at Su Ziji intently.
During these days, the Lord has always been confident and gave orders decisively. Today, he was pacing and thinking for a long time. It can be seen that there is something important in his heart. The wild Taoist was thinking about it when Su Ziji stood still and looked at the layers of clouds without saying a word.
Eunuch Zhao said this very casually, obviously thinking it was just a formality, but he felt guilty about being a thief, but he couldn't help but worry.
This went wrong. Not to mention winning the first prize, even if he won the first prize, he would end up being cut into pieces. Thinking of the empress's gaze not long ago, the muscles on Su Ziji's face twitched.
"[Panlong Mind Technique] has reached the tenth level, or there may be a qualitative change, which may be beneficial to this." Su Ziji also vaguely understood the reason why he was able to pass the level in the past few times.
"The level has actually been broken. The experience that was originally needed can be accumulated slowly, but now it is too late."
"To gain a huge amount of experience, you must win the first prize in the imperial examination. This is not enough. You have to find other sources. It seems that the Taixue Buwu is not feasible, but revenge for the prince has proven to be feasible."
A sneer flashed across Su Ziji's face, and he turned around and said, "How are the conditions of the remaining two people on the list?"
Without waiting for the wild Taoist's reply: "Go and investigate carefully and tell me."
"Yes!" The wild Taoist responded immediately without thinking.