In late summer, the scenery in the courtyard of Yuzhen Temple is beautiful.
It is rare for a garden in Guanzhong to have a small pond, and it is even rarer that there are lotus flowers planted on the pond, which are in full bloom.
Today, Xue Bai did not see Li Tengkong.
He came here seriously for the drama, and Li Jilan came directly from the front hall to see him.
The wind blew across the pond, bringing the fragrance of lotus flowers. Xue Bai stood by the pond and read two parts of the play, nodding his head repeatedly.
"Ji Lanzi returned to Chang'an for a short period of time, but he actually wrote another two folds."
"Um."
Xue Bai noticed something strange in Li Jilan's voice and looked around, only to see her tilting her head and her eyes were red.
"What's wrong?"
Li Jilan was still holding back, but when asked such a question, tears welled up in his eyes, and then flowed down like raindrops.
She can still cry.
The more she cried there, the sadder she became, and she hid behind a tree to prevent Xue Bai from coming to see her.
"Teacher, this is ridiculous... Wuwu..." Li Jilan choked and said, "Just now, Master asked me if I would like to be a concubine in Baisunyuan..."
"King Guangping? Did he force you?"
"But I'm not the kind of vain and frivolous woman. Grandpa thinks I'm frivolous since I was a child... Everyone thinks I'm frivolous... Wuwu... Why did I fall in love with him? I don't know who it is...
After all, she is from a wealthy family, so anyone who wants to be a concubine in Baisunyuan... thinks that the female crown is easy to bully and shameless..."
What he said later became more and more vague.
After waiting for a while, she gradually calmed down, turned around, and asked worriedly: "Sir, if he keeps pestering me, how can I get married if my reputation is ruined?"
"Um?"
Xue Bai was stunned.
She is clearly a female Taoist priest, but all she wants is to get married?
Li Jilan looked at Xue Bai with watery eyes. Seeing him so surprised, she blushed and turned away.
"King Guangping is a man who won't get entangled, so you can rest assured."
"Yes." Li Jilan whispered: "Sir, you...you are bleeding."
Xue Bai raised his hand and wiped it, knowing that he had drank too much ginseng soup recently.
Thinking again of what she said just now, "shameless", he couldn't help but secretly thought that there were too many right and wrongs in this Taoist temple, so it would be better to come less frequently in the future.
~~
Today, he originally planned to meet the Du sisters, but after leaving Yuzhen Temple, Xue Bai thought of Li Chu's incident, so he drove his horse to Mrs. Guo's house.
Yang Yuyao was playing polo in her backyard. When she heard that he was coming, she was quite surprised and went out to welcome him without changing her clothes.
She always wears no makeup and shows off her face. She usually likes to dress up in men's clothing. Today she wore a round-neck narrow-sleeved robe with her hair tied up. She is both beautiful and sassy.
Xue Bai had never seen her like this, so he couldn't help but take a second look.
"What are you looking at?"
"Your robe is even more beautiful."
"It shows that you don't understand me at all." Yang Yuyao gave him an angry look, "People in Chang'an are used to making rumors about me. Did you know that when I was in Sichuan and Shu, people called me 'Mr. Fox'?"
"A fight?"
"Okay, I won't lose to you on the polo field."
…
After playing polo, she was sweating all over, and the two of them took a bath together, making Yang Yuyao even more happy.
"It's not that the annual exams are about to come, but you have free time to come here to play polo today. You must have something to ask of me again."
"It's better to say it's a request than a discussion." Xue Bai asked, "King Guangping wants me to marry the head of Hezheng County. What does Yu Yao think?"
"no."
The smile on Yang Yuyao's face froze.
It was expected that she would be angry.
If Xue Bai didn't want to offend Li Chu, he shouldn't have told her about this matter. After all, if you don't hit the smiling person, you can just refuse him in a dignified manner. How can you complain and harm the other person?
Obviously, Yang Yuhuan did not tell her sister about this matter.
Xue Bai just said it, and then said: "I already refused this matter, but King Guangping was determined not to give up, so he asked Zhang Liangdi to come to the imperial court and speak."
"It would be troublesome if Lord Hezheng County came to the imperial court to discuss this matter." Yang Yuyao muttered: "King Guangping is the eldest sister's son-in-law. I ask the eldest sister to come forward and warn him not to cause trouble."
"I didn't know he had this relationship with the Yang family."
"Caiping has been married for more than two years and has given birth to two sons."
"Really?" Xue Bai was a little confused.
"What's wrong?"
"When I met King Guangping today, he was trying to take a concubine from Yuzhen Temple."
Yang Yuyao was still suppressing her anger at first, but when she heard this again, her face suddenly turned cold.
~~
Baisunyuan.
Early in the morning, Li Chu came to Cui Caiping's house.
The youngest son was still crying, and the palace officials couldn't coax him well. Cui Caiping was sitting there with an unhappy face and throwing a tantrum.
"Who made the princess angry again?"
"What? You think I have a bad temper? No matter how bad-tempered a girl with the fifth surname is, she will never be as hot-tempered as you, the princess of the Li family."
Cui Caiping does feel a little uncomfortable sometimes.
The famous families with the Five Surnames privately looked down upon even the royal family, thinking that they were pretending to be the Li family of Longxi. There are so many talented people in the world who do not want to marry a princess but want to marry a girl with the Five Surnames.
And she is the legitimate daughter of Boling Cui's family. Her mother is a Korean lady, and she is the noblest among the five surnames. When she grew up, the heroes of her famous family admired her like crucian carp crossing the river.
As a result, he was given a marriage to an imperial grandson, and he stayed in this hundred-grandson courtyard all day long. In addition to giving birth to a son, he also raised a son. How could he be happy?
But she only complained once at this time. She also knew that only by giving up could she get something. This marriage was about the future.
Although her natal family is powerful now, she is still willing to share the joys and sorrows with him as his legitimate wife, have children, and raise children. When he ascends the throne and becomes emperor, she will be the queen and her son will be the heir apparent.
No matter how much effort you put in, it's all worth it.
"Okay, I don't want to get angry with you." Cui Caiping softened her tone slightly and said, "Why is Mr. Lang here today?"
Li Chu said: "I heard from the palace people that your mother-in-law is going to the palace to meet the saint today?"
"Yes." Cui Caiping said, "The saint invited my mother-in-law to enjoy the music together."
"Then can you take Sanniang with you? Then ask your grandma to help ask the saint for marriage."
"Still not giving up?" Cui Caiping couldn't help but curled her lips.
"This matter is quite important to the East Palace." Li Chu whispered.
"Okay, wet nurse, would you like to go and talk to my mother-in-law?"
"Here."
Cui Caiping's nanny agreed, turned around and left, but rolled her eyes when her back was turned to the emperor's grandson.
~~
Li Chu convinced his wife and immediately called someone to bring Li Yuetu.
The brother and sister had some heart-to-heart talk in the hall.
"You also met Xue Bai in Zongsheng Palace. What do you think?"
"I don't care." Li Yuetu said: "My little sister knows that she can't decide her own marriage, so looking at her carefully will only cause trouble. It's all up to my grandfather and brother to arrange it."
Li Chu smiled and said: "Of course your thoughts are also important. If you don't like it, just drop the matter."
Li Yuetu felt warm in his heart. He looked at his brother and said, "Brother's words are enough. My little sister is willing to marry."
"That's good." Li Chu said: "I have confidence in my vision. Xue Bai is not only talented and handsome, but also an interesting person. You will not regret it. I am not just thinking about the prospects of the East Palace. Look at the sidelines
Those dandy boys are simply disgraceful."
"yes."
Li Yuetu knew that this was all true.
It has always been difficult to marry a princess of the Tang Dynasty. Now that Xue Baigang is famous, it can be easily arranged. But when he becomes a Jinshi in the future, he will be even less willing to marry her.
"When you get in front of the saint, you just need to say that you are willing to marry and ask the saint to grant marriage, okay?"
"Thank you for your trouble, brother."
Seeing that his sister was so obedient, Li Chu nodded happily.
"Brother, can my little sister go and see Mr. Shen?" Li Yuetu asked.
Li Chu was stunned for a moment and said: "Okay, don't take too long, wait until Mrs. Han takes you into the palace."
Li Yuetu wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't. He got up and walked to the side courtyard.
"aunt."
"Cang Lang, where is your aunt?"
"Aniang is in the house, Cang Lang is going to help her out."
Li Yuetu looked around and saw five-year-old Li Shi turning around and running back to the house, supporting his biological mother Shen Zhenzhu to come out.
After seeing the gift, Shen Zhenzhu said softly: "Master Cang, you go and study while I talk to the county boss."
"Okay, grandma."
Li Yuetu quickly told Shen Zhenzhu not to be so polite, and said in a low voice: "Brother, I'm good at everything, except that I won't give you a reputation."
"Mr. Jun is busy with things, so he must have forgotten."
Shen Zhenzhu entered the palace as a daughter of a good family and gave birth to the eldest son. She should have been given a title, but now she is still just a concubine.
Li Yuetu couldn't bear to see this matter, and sighed: "Brother, everything is good, but I always forget you, forget this, forget that. I came today to ask you what difficulties you have?"
"My husband treats me very well, and my husband is also filial, so there is no problem."
Shen Zhenzhu recalled Li Chu's affection for her back then and thought to herself, he is in trouble now, but he will be kind to her in the future...
~~
Li Chu sat alone in the study for a long time, put down the book in his hand, and wondered that the Korean lady had not sent someone to invite Li Yuetu to the palace with her.
Suddenly, Cheng Yuanzhen hurriedly ran in.
"Your Majesty, Mrs. Korea has been in the palace for a while..."
"Um?"
Li Chu was a little surprised and asked: "Without Sanniang, can she ask a saint to marry her?"
"It's someone from the palace..."
Before Cheng Yuanzhen finished speaking, several eunuchs in red robes walked to the corridor.
"Prince Guangping, please receive the sage's instructions!"
"My grandson is here!"
Li Chu quickly arranged his clothes and carried out the ceremony to receive the order.
"The saint said, 'What a bastard, I ordered you to be grounded, but you still dare to jump up and down. I will ground you for another year. This time you will not want to go anywhere. Recuperate your body and mind at home, and treat your wife well.'"
After reciting the oral instructions in a solemn and solemn tone, the eunuch said again: "King Guangping, I'm sorry."
Li Chu was stunned.
Then, the eunuch stepped forward, stretched out his hand, and patted him gently on the face.
This time it wasn't heavy or painful at all.
But this was actually a slap from the saint.
"'Don't think you can hide your thoughts!' This is the last sentence."
After saying these harsh words, the eunuch in front of him smiled apologetically, turned around and left.
Li Chu was stunned for a moment, and quickly motioned to Cheng Yuanzhen to catch up and ask, no matter how many benefits were offered, he would ask the matter clearly.
…
"Your Majesty, this servant has asked."
"Why is this happening?"
Cheng Yuanzhen hesitated and whispered: "After Mrs. Korea entered the palace..."
"explain."
Cheng Yuanzhen actually felt that it was not good to say this, as it would damage the relationship between King Guangping and the princess.
But he still said it, saying: "The Korean lady filed a complaint against the king, saying that the king neglected the princess."
"I ignored her?" Li Chu was very surprised and blurted out, "You know how jealous she is, right?"
As soon as the word "jealous and fierce" came out, Cheng Yuanzhen was greatly frightened and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, be careful what you say."
Li Chu closed his eyes, took a long breath, and calmed down his anger.
Everyone said that he dotes on Ms. Cui and should not be laughed at.
"Do you know why Mrs. Korea filed a complaint? Could it be about Ji Lanzi? How did she know about it?"
Cheng Yuanzhen was shocked and said quickly: "Your Majesty, I am guilty, but I will never leak this matter."
"I understand." Li Chu patted Cheng Yuanzhen on the back and said, "You are the person I trust most, how can I not trust you? Now that I am grounded, please help me check."
"Here."
Cheng Yuanzhen was greatly moved and hurriedly stepped out.
He knew that his life's fate depended on King Guangping. When King Guangping soared into the sky, he would naturally be able to take his chickens and dogs to the sky.
~~
The whole thing was not difficult to find out. After asking several servants of the Cui family, Cheng Yuanzhen already knew the whole story.
"Before Mrs. Korea entered the palace, she met Mrs. Guo Guo."
"ha?"
When Li Chu thought about meeting Xue Bai in front of Yuzhen Temple, he immediately understood.
"Xue Bai? He doesn't want to marry Sanniang, that's all. I have good intentions, why did he harm me in turn?"
"Your Majesty treats people sincerely, but Xue Bai should regard Ji Lanzi as a forbidden wife, and that's why he dared to be so rude and presumptuous."
"he?"
Li Chu was a little surprised.
He had never thought about a white man competing with the prince for a woman.
My face felt faintly numb.
The gentle slap he received seemed to hit his heart.
No matter what, this time he tried to win over Xue Bai with a smile on his face, but got a slap in the face instead.
~~
"Snapped."
Before dawn, Du Wulang got up with a yawn and gave himself a slap to wake himself up.
Today is the annual examination of the Imperial College. Only those who pass the annual examination are eligible to participate in the imperial examination. It is equivalent to the tribute examination of the state and county, but of course it is much easier than the tribute examination.
Someone lit a candle in the room, and he was stunned for a moment before he remembered that he was not in the guest room of Xue House today, but in the Imperial College dormitory.
Xue Bai has also gotten up and looks energetic.
"Aren't you sleepy?" Du Wulang asked, yawning.
"I have finally waited for this day."
"Yes, yes, it's the yearly exam, spring, and joining the officialdom. Actually, there's nothing good about joining the officialdom. You see, my grandpa is already tired. Going to see things every day is boring."
"If you have ambition, you will never get tired."
Du Wulang was a little worried and said: "You have been in Zhongnan Mountain for so many days without coming to the Imperial College. Can you pass?"
"Don't say stupid things."
The two of them packed up, pushed out the door, and headed all the way to the Taixue Hall. They met Zheng Qian, the doctor of Taixue, and Su Yuanming, the secretary... Wei Shu, who was offering wine in the Imperial College, was sitting at the top, wearing a purple robe and a long gray beard.
floating in the air.
All the students were very nervous.
Du Wulang was actually nervous, but he could keep telling himself in his heart that these were friends whom he had never forgotten.
He was a scholar of Ming Dynasty. He was not with Xue Bai, but he met Yang Xuan.
"Hey, you're taking the annual exam too? Are you taking the exam next spring?"
Du Wulang was greatly surprised. He thought that Yang Xuan would study in the Imperial College for another twenty years.
"Otherwise?" Yang Xuan rubbed his eyes, "Idiot Du can take the exam, but I can't?"
"ha?"
After all, Du Wulang had been studying for many years. He was called a fool by Yang Xuan. He was speechless for a moment, but he could hold it back and asked: "You also take the Ming Jing test?"
"I originally wanted to take the Jinshi examination, but my grandpa said that would be too eye-catching."
Du Wulang asked: "How many percent of the scriptures can you get right after a while?"
"Your grandfather is a member of the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
"right."
"Haha." Yang Xuan clapped his hands and laughed, "My grandpa has been promoted to the rank of doctor, and he is wearing a red robe."
"well."
Du Wulang heard from Xue Bai that Yang Zhao, as Yang Zhao's cousin, was a rare member of Yang's party who got along well with all parties, so he would be promoted very quickly.
Although Xue Bai was friendly with Mrs. Guo, there were three Mrs. Guo in the Yang family. Yang Zhao never forgot to take care of them. During every year and festival, even the Du family and the Xue family received gifts from him.
Du Wulang's inkstone, saddle, silver bowl, etc. were all gifts from Yang Zhao. They are not expensive, but the metaphor of the gifts is very good, such as wonderful writing, rapid progress, and more than enough every year.
The Ming Jing examination is also divided into three sessions, the classics, the oral examination, and the current affairs policy.
Du Wulang still sat behind Yang Xuan, and the exam would start soon.
When he took a look, he saw that "Laozi" had been tested a lot. Sure enough, it was different when the saint went to Zhongnan Mountain. Xue Bai had already told him.
"What does it mean to be favored, humiliated, or frightened? To be favored is to be inferior. To be favored is to be frightened. To be favoured, to be frightened, to be frightened to be lost is to be favoured, humiliated, or frightened..."
Du Wulang felt strange that he had clearly memorized a sentence, but he couldn't remember it when it came time to use it.
He looked up and saw Zheng Qian sitting there with his eyes closed and meditating.
Suddenly, a group of officials strode in and said, "Dr. Zheng Qian, a doctor from Taixue, has privately written the history of the country. Please pay a visit to the Ministry of Punishment."
Du Wulang opened his mouth in surprise, somewhat surprised at this unheard of charge.
"Privately... privately writing the history of the country?"
~~
Xue Bai's first scene was also to post scriptures. At this time, he was writing in beautiful Yan Kai. When he heard the noise, he turned around and saw Zheng Qian being taken out.
"What happened?"
Su Yuanming ran out and said in a panic: "This is the Imperial College, the Emperor's Xiangxu!"
"Just because it is the Emperor Xiangxu, how can we allow someone who privately writes the history of the country to mislead everyone?!"
At this time, the Imperial College was in chaos.
Doctor Taixue was suddenly taken away by the Ministry of Punishment. Many students who were taking the annual examination stood up one after another. Some shouted to stop him, and some copied other people's scriptures.
"Why took away our doctor?!"
Some disciples followed from the Ming Jing Examination Hall and stopped the officials. The leader was Du Wulang.
What is surprising is that Yang Xuan did not copy the questions, but followed everyone to stop Zheng Qian, pointed at the nose of an official, and scolded: "Do you know who my grandpa is?"
Xue Bai put down his brush and stood up.
He didn't know if this matter had something to do with him, but he thought of the dream he had a few days ago, where many people pushed boulders and collided with each other.
It seemed that the boulder had been pushed, but I didn't expect that the first one to be knocked down was Zheng Qian.
The incident happened suddenly. As he passed by, he was thinking about the cause of the whole incident.
"Everyone, get out of the way. We are acting under orders. The evidence of the crime is solid..."
"How dare you get a doctorate from Taixue?!"
"Listen to me, in the 25th year of Kaiyuan, Zheng Qian was appointed as Xie Lv Lang. He collected and selected cases from that year, wrote more than 80 manuscripts criticizing current affairs, and privately wrote the history of the country..."
When Xue Bai heard this, he immediately turned to look at Su Yuanming.
I saw Su Yuanming's face change in an instant, with a look of fear in his eyes... I'm afraid this matter is true, and the Ministry of Punishment has not wronged Zheng Qian.
Thinking again about what could be said to be a privately written national history in the "Twenty-Fifth Year of Kaiyuan", Xue Bai was almost certain that this matter was related to the case of the Three Common People.
Was it caused by Princess Tang Chang and Li Cong meeting him in private? Or was it caused by his falling out with Li Chu this time?
"All the students in the Imperial College, please sit back for me!"
Suddenly they heard an old man shouting loudly, and everyone turned their heads to look. An old man in purple robes was still sitting there motionless. It was Wei Shu, the Imperial College's sacrificial wine.
I posted it late again, everyone, please forgive me~~ I also wrote 10,000 words today~~ I am asking for votes at the beginning of the month. I urge everyone who still has monthly votes to vote for me. Please give me monthly votes~~