In the Xia Mansion on Qianmen East Street, the guests gathered together, the lights were on, the stage was singing happily, and the guests were pushing their cups and changing the lamps, so happy. Xia Yan was rarely so extravagant, and he was so proud of this day.

By this time he was already five points drunk, and his tongue was slightly stiff. He could feel it himself, and he didn't speak very well, so he didn't speak much, but just sat there upright, or smiled, or brushed his beard, or nodded and waved at people, and the demeanor of the first assistant in his whole body was not diminished in the slightest.

Yang Qu and Wu Xuannan were also arranged to be seated, and both of them were on the main table, but the other Qing guests could only simply eat a few glasses of water and wine in the side courtyard, which was fundamentally different. It can be seen how much Xia Yan values these two people.

Life must be happy, don't make the gold bottle empty to the moon. Xia Yan has been rigorous all his life, but at this age, he felt for the first time what it was like.

Tonight should be the happiest night he has been an official for many years.

......

The guests were so drunk that they sang until midnight. A servant hurriedly walked from the corridor, stopped beside Xia Yan, he folded his hands, bent his body, and said in a low voice: "Master, someone from the corner gate has come, saying that he wants to see the adult." ”

Coming in from the corner gate, Xia Yan's first reaction was to be angry.

He nodded, and said to Qu Luan, who was clapping his hands and playing on the side, "I'll go back when I go." ”

Qu Luan arched his hand and smiled: "Pavilion Elder, please take it." ”

Xia Yan stood up, felt a little floating, shook his not very sober head, and walked towards the corner door with his hands in his hands.

Under the night, Lu Bing was wearing a black cloak and a hat on his head, this outfit was obviously unwilling to let people know his identity.

Xia Yan stepped closer, straightened his back, coughed lightly, and said, "You're here?" ”

Lu Bing raised his lips and smiled, took off the hat, sighed for a while, raised his eyes and smiled: "The elder of the pavilion is actually counted as coming?" ”

Xia Yan was stunned for a moment, and then, the smile on his face disappeared, frowned slightly, and asked, "Commander Lu, why are you?" ”

Lu Bing smiled and asked, "Who else can it be?" Angry? Although he rushed back to the capital, he would stay in the Fusi Yamen in Beizhen during this time. Ge Lao, I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to see him again. ”

Xia Yan's eyebrows frowned even tighter, gritted his back molars, and asked, "What kind of drunkenness did the old man commit, it is worthy of the Jinyi Guard's command to make the Lord personally arrest." ”

Lu Bing's smile gradually dissipated, and his face became nervous and cautious.

Word by word, he said clearly: "Your Majesty has assigned you to thoroughly investigate the Red Sleeve Move, Jin Xianxian, Gao Fu, and today's banquet. I have already reported some of the situation to Your Majesty. Xia Ge Lao is ready to deal with it. ”

When Lu Bing said this, Xia Yan didn't expect it. He looked at Lu Bing suspiciously, and asked in a cold voice: "The old man doesn't want to explain anything, since it has become a fact, please ask Your Majesty to make a judgment." ”

Lu Bing knew that Xia Yan had a stinky temper and didn't care about him.

He said slowly: "Three years ago, I was greedy for a while, and I took advantage of my position to spend a million taels of silver. His Majesty is almost insightful. I begged in front of the elder of the pavilion, and the elder raised his noble hand and let me go. Today I come to remind you that it is just to protect the grace of the year, believe it or not, and whatever you want. ”

After saying this, Lu Bing raised his cloak, turned around neatly, put the hat on his head, and walked out of the corner door with his head hanging without a pause.

At this time, Xia Yan woke up a little. At the juncture when Wang Ningfei and Concubine Cao Duan had just died, at the point when His Majesty had just left the inner court and moved to Xiyuan, what a stupid thing it was to make such a big show.

He believed Lu Bing's words.

Back then, Lu Bing knelt in front of him and begged him to let him go, but he was unwilling to help. Later, Lu Binghe confessed, wept bitterly about the reason for his corruption, and scraped together 300,000 taels of silver for a temporary settlement.

Although Xia Yan spoke coldly, he was actually soft-hearted, rejected him on his face, and secretly used the 300,000 taels of silver to plug this hole for him. Lu Bing did not thank him at the beginning, but he remembered this kindness to this day.

Xia Yan frowned slightly, turned around and returned to the front hall to greet guests. The moonlight shrouded the entire compound, and finally the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves, and the banquet dispersed.

He didn't show a trace of fear, but just invited Yang Qu and Wu Xuannan to the study and talked secretly all night.

......

Also on Qianmen East Street, there are still lanterns written by him outside the Yan Mansion, and "well-being" and "tranquility" are hung opposite each other.

Yan Song, who is already in his sixtieth year, sat quietly in the study, the wooden window lattice beside him was ajar, blowing down the Yuanjun incense in the room a little, and his white hair was combed meticulously, even if the wind blew, it was not half a point of chaos.

Incense was ethereal with the evening breeze, and he put down the thick guest list in his hand, and under the light, the list was circled with a few distinct names by cinnabar red pen.

Shen Liangcai, Wenyuange University scholar Qu Luan, household department secretary Li Dazhang, and Ministry of Industry secretary Qian Shufu......

Yan Song took a long breath, tonight, it's so quiet.

It's late at night.

In the depressed library of the past, there were more than a dozen students sitting, and a round bright moon outside the window sprinkled silver light on the world. The finches on the trees squeak non-stop, and the evening breeze blows through the tall and lush orange trees, rustling the green leaves against the silver glow.

There was silence in the library, except for the occasional sound of turning the pages or the tip of a brush falling on the paper.

Shen Kang flattened the pages of the book, sat upright at the table, held his sleeve in one hand and held a pen in the other, writing on plain paper.

At this time, Zhang Ge lowered his voice and asked, "How did you memorize that volume?" ”

Shen Kang raised his head slightly and said with a smile: "There are still more than a dozen pages left, what about Brother Zhang?" ”

Zhang Ge chuckled: "I'm still twenty pages away." After another pause, he continued: "Are you really trying to compete for the first place in the court trial?" ”

Shen Kang laughed sullenly: "Toads can want to eat swan meat, little brother think about the first case of the hospital test, it's not an exaggeration, haha." ”

Zhang Ge shook his head with a smile and said, "Okay, let Brother Wei see how you win the championship again." ”

Shen Kang raised his eyebrows slightly, thinking to himself, the head of this court test estimated that he would not be able to get it, but he had to work hard to be convinced. He deeply understands that with his own implication skills, he may not be able to defeat Wang Lucao.

However, as he himself said, the toad still wants to eat swan meat...... Right.

After thinking about it, he was in a much more relaxed mood, and he didn't have the tension before taking the government exam. Perhaps, after these few exams, he has become accustomed to the process of the imperial examination, or maybe his mentality is better than at that time, and the wins and losses are much less down, in short, it can be regarded as a good change.