Naturally, the whispers in private rooms were mostly disgusting nonsense. To make a long story short, the two of them agreed at night that Du Qingshuang would not accept any new invitations to perform. She only had the list in hand and had to perform until April or May next year. She took advantage of this time to train Xiao Du
She took over the song and dance troupe so that the girls wouldn't have nothing to rely on after she quit.
Du Qingshuang told Chen Ke that during this period, the relationship between the two should not be exposed to avoid unnecessary trouble. This is true for her, and even more so for Chen Ke... After all, from now to March next year, it is Chen Ke's critical moment.
.So Du Qingshuang urged Chen Ke: "Young Master, during this time, you should concentrate on your studies, and the best thing to do is to win consecutive exams. If you indulge in the boudoir and miss the Young Master's career, Qing Shuang will become a harmful vixen.
I can find a stone and hit him to death."
What she said made sense, so Chen Ke agreed. For the next period of time, he ignored what was going on outside the window and only read the books of sages. He waited until autumn was over before he could meet her again.
Having said that, the two of them had just fallen in love and had a passionate affair. When they thought about it, they had not seen each other for more than a month in the blink of an eye. Even a cold-feeling woman like Du Qingshuang felt lost. Not to mention Chen Ke, who knew the taste of the marrow. So that night
, the two of them stayed up all night, entangled to death, Du Qingshuang also threw away her reserve and tried her best to please her lover. It wasn't until the rooster crowed outside that she suddenly woke up and urged Chen Ke to leave quickly so that no one would catch him.
Chen Ke reluctantly got up, found his shorts and put them on, gave Du Qingshuang a hot and deep kiss, and then reluctantly climbed out of the window. He swam back the way he came...
Although she urged her hard, but when he left, Du Qingshuang suddenly felt empty. Looking at the window where Chen Ke disappeared, she quietly shed tears...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the next few days, Chen Ke stayed at home, concentrating on reading. He was preparing for the autumn coming in a month... The rain that lasted all summer finally stopped. The water level in the city began to drop. According to Jia Quan's observation, at most half
Within a few months, the floods in the city will basically recede... So although many people are rumoring that the autumn examination of this subject will be postponed, Chen Ke thinks it is unlikely. The imperial court attaches great importance to culture and education, and will definitely make every effort to ensure the progress of the imperial examination.
, with the administrative efficiency of Kaifeng Mansion, half a month is enough for them to repair the Gongyuan to a great extent.
Ms. Cao started busy preparing for the wedding. She and Chen Xiliang planned to get married after Qiu Wei and end this long-distance love affair. But Chen Xiliang still had no time to spare and still had to go to court every day, rain or shine.
This day was another regular court, and before five o'clock, Chen Xiliang put on his court clothes. He got on his horse, and a family member held a lantern. He rushed from his home to the imperial city. Although the water receded on the streets leading to the imperial city, there was still a lot of water.
The streets were muddy and the horses moved slowly. It took a lot of effort to reach the gate of the imperial city.
In front of the Imperial City Gate, there was naturally no mud, and the stone road was washed clean. Chen Xiliang got off his horse, and walked to the Dailu Courtyard outside Xuande Gate with several colleagues who had arrived at once. Outside Xuande Gate, on the left and right
There are more than ten rooms in total, which are the so-called "waiting courtyard" to provide shelter from the wind and rain for the officials who are waiting for the imperial city to open after the fifth watch.
The Dailu Courtyard is divided into different rooms according to rank. The prime ministers and princes are naturally close to the Xuande Gate, while officials of the sixth or seventh rank like Chen Xiliang are in the outermost room. The conditions and supplies in the rooms are naturally different.
The Song Dynasty was really considerate of its officials. In order to appease the bureaucrats' emotions while waiting for the court, the Hanlin Department, which managed the Imperial Academy, would provide officials with wine, fruit and food... The Hanlin Department was an inner court agency, and the eunuchs worked hard, which was the same as the Imperial Academy in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Opposite the courtyard, in the Song Dynasty it was the pavilion.
Wine is the royal wine, and the officials praised it. Dried and fresh fruits, and various meats are also supplied to the palace. When Chen Xiliang and others entered the room, an official came forward and said: "Today we have mutton, snacks and wine."
The influence has not been eliminated, even in the palace, no one can eat any fruits.
Chen Xidian nodded, ordered some snacks and a corner of wine, and carried them inside. At this time, there were still two quarters of an hour before the court, and by the time there were already seven or eight people sitting in the courtyard, the officials were eating and drinking in a polite manner.
While chatting in a low voice, because from this moment on, they have fallen under the surveillance of the supervisory censors. Any unbecoming behavior may be impeached, ranging from being named and criticized, to being fined and demoted, so everyone
Don't dare to be careless.
In sharp contrast to the solemnity in the courtyard, the lights in front of the courtyard are bright and the people are noisy. The vendors selling breakfast actually set up a stall in front of the imperial gate of the Song Dynasty, serving more followers than the officials.
They sell rich breakfasts such as liver-stuffed rice porridge, braised duck eggs, and seeds. Many officials don’t like to eat the jade food provided by the hospital, so they also buy snacks outside and bring them in.
A thousand years later, can you imagine setting up a stall at the gate of Zhongnanhai? In fact, officials in the Song Dynasty couldn't accept it. The noisy traffic outside this solemn place made many officials frown and hate it, saying, 'It's really the same as this...
'However, the officials of the Song Dynasty never thought of evicting these unsightly people. Because the law did not prohibit setting up stalls outside the government offices, the scholar-bureaucrats' cultivation of "tolerance is great" also allowed them to maintain restraint.
, will not abuse their power to destroy people's livelihood just for their own comfort.
This is in sharp contrast to other dynasties, where officials were eager to keep the doors of their private houses clean.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today in the waiting hospital, Chen Xiliang felt something was wrong. The peaceful and elegant atmosphere of the past was gone. The officials could not suppress their voices. Excitement, restlessness, and worry were written on their faces. It seemed that something big was about to happen.
occur.
He couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. He had been busy with his own marriage recently, so his attention to the court was inevitably reduced. At this moment, he was naturally confused. I really felt sorry for his status as a remonstrator. So he asked his colleagues in a low voice: "What's going on?
"
"Yesterday, Ban'er went to see the official, and the emperor and his ministers actually talked for a whole day." The colleague beside him smiled and replied softly: "I guess the result has been reached. I will go to court today and just watch the show."
"I'm afraid it's not that simple. I saw Mr. Jia actually came today." The colleague on the left whispered again: "This old gentleman has not been to court since he returned to Beijing. You said he showed up this time.
What’s the plan?”
"What's your plan?" said a colleague in front of him: "Just stare at Ban'er's vacant seat."
"Then don't you want to have some overt and covert fighting with Mr. Han?" The latter colleague exclaimed: "These two are ruthless characters."
"It's just what Wen Xianggong wanted." The first one sneered.
Seeing that what they said became more and more outrageous, Chen Xiliang really regretted what he said. If the imperial censor heard this, he would have to interfere with their careless words...
Fortunately, at this time, the melodious bell rang from the city gate tower, and the fifth watch was over. The officials all stopped talking, filed out to wait for the courtyard, and lined up in groups outside Xuande Gate. Under the leadership of the censor,
Enter Xuande Xiao and pass Daqing Hall, enter Danfeng Xiao and pass Zichen Hall.
In the Zichen Hall, the furnishings have been arranged. The censor Zhongcheng led his subordinates to the west veranda of the palace. The supervising censor, wearing a scarlet robe, called and urged all the officials to go to the palace according to their rank. After the order was completed, the officials were promoted to their seats.
, all the officials paid their respects.
Zhao Zhen wore a red round-neck robe and a black gauze rectangular bun on his head. He sat upright and did not speak. Instead, the eunuch next to him spoke nonsense and said in a sharp voice: "Ping Shen!"
When all the officials stood up, Hu Yandui asked again: "What matters do the various yamen have to report?"
According to the series of memorials, the yamen such as the Secretariat, the Privy Council, the Third Division, and the Shangshu Province should be arranged in order. But today the order was disrupted. Zhang Boyu, the censor of the Yushitai, rushed out to report before the prime minister: "Your Majesty.
There is a memorial!" In this case, there is only one possibility, that is, his memorial involves the prime minister, and he thinks that the prime minister is no longer qualified to speak in the court...
The officials present, who had come to see the Privy Council's show, couldn't help but gasped when they saw this.
Wen Yanbo was obviously also in the dark. He couldn't help but be slightly surprised at the moment, but he calmed down in a blink of an eye and waited to see what happened.
"Play." Hu Yandui said sharply.
"As a royal censor, I have the power to supervise all officials and make reports on rumors. Today I heard that the deputy envoy of salt and iron, Guo Shenxi, exposed Li Shen, the transfer envoy of the Hebei capital, and sent someone to present a piece of "River Map" to the prime minister of the dynasty, Wen Yanbo...
"
Originally, the officials thought it was just ordinary bribery and they could keep quiet. Now, when they heard that the property they received was the legendary "River Map", they immediately buzzed.
The supervisory censor quickly scolded: "Quiet!" All officials fell silent. Zhang Boyu continued to read his memorial. In the memorial, Zhang censor only characterized this kind of accepting behavior as "collusion between friends and evil, and collusion between friends and evil."
The petition was not put on the line, accusing Wen Yanbo of taking sacred objects privately and concealing them without repaying them... However, everyone knew what he meant.
When he heard the words "River Map", the official's expression changed as expected. He looked deeply at Wen Yanbo and saw Wen Xianggong's expressionless face, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.
The official's eyes turned to Guo Shenxi, deputy salt and iron envoy, and asked in a low voice: "Is this true?"
"It is indeed true. When I was in Hebei, I heard that there was a "River Map" in the world, but I never saw the actual object, so I didn't dare to report it rashly." Guo Shenxi hurriedly came out and said: "I heard later that the "River Map"
"River Map" has been secretly given to Wen Xianggong by Li Shen. Please ask your Majesty to ask Wen Xianggong, I am willing to confront him."
"Wen Qing's family," the official nodded, turned his eyes back to Wen Yanbo's face and said, "What do you have to say?"
"Reporting to your majesty, there is absolutely no such thing." Wen Yanbo said categorically: "Guo Shenxi is purely making up rumors, and Zhang Boyu is trying to catch the wind. I ask you to come up with evidence, or your majesty can immediately send someone to search my house. If there is any so-called "River Map"
