A trace of memory flashed on Zhao Jinyuan's face: "I remember that two years ago, the imperial court imposed heavy taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and we couldn't even eat, but none of them cared about our life or death, and they came to collect money every day, and you will never be able to pay all kinds of taxes." ”

"But one day, His Majesty's army entered the city and captured the imperial capital, and since then, all taxes have been paid, and the previous arrears of taxes have also been exempted, at that moment, I secretly swore in my heart that I must do things for the imperial court."

"But what I didn't expect was that there were too many corrupt officials in this court, and this time in the scientific examination, I was clearly able to enter the top three, but I didn't even have a chance to be on the list, and those children of the family who couldn't read big characters were firmly in the top three, which is really unfair.

Wang Xu asked: "Are you so sure that you can enter the top three?" ”

"Of course!" Zhao Jinyuan affirmed: "If I don't even have this bit of self-confidence, then I have been reading in vain for more than ten years."

Wang Xu's eyes lit up: "It's not a secret, I am also a scholar here, and I originally wanted to participate in this scientific expedition, but when I arrived at the imperial capital, the scientific expedition was over." ”

"Brother Zhao, can you resign from an article, so that I can study."

Zhao Jinyuan is not hypocritical, he is a cheerful person, he does what he says, and after tearing up a piece of paper, he writes seriously.

What he wrote was the article written by the Scientific Research Institute that day, which is equivalent to writing it once.

"Brother Wang, take a look, how about this article."

Wang Xu has also read a lot of good articles, such as Han Shushu and Murong Yuan, they are all handsome in the world, and the articles they write are first-class, so Wang Xu's judgment on the quality of the article is the most qualified.

The article written by Zhao Jinyuan is called 'Zhengxi', and this name was taken by Wang Xu himself, and the title of the article of all candidates in this session is called 'Zhengxi'.

Zhengxi, now it is just in Wang Xu's mood, and he is thinking about this all the time.

Written by Zhao Jinyuan. It is not so much an article as a fu, with gorgeous sentences and new content. It's much better than what the Wenyuan Pavilion students I saw in the imperial study during the day, and even the champion's article is not as good as it.

If this resignation appears in the imperial study, it will definitely win the championship, however, what makes Wang Xu puzzled. Zhao Jinyuan's article was not seen in the imperial study, that is to say, before the article arrived in the imperial study, it had already been dropped.

"This endowment has far-reaching artistic conception, and Wang Jiu is far from it."

Hearing this, Zhao Jinyuan sighed: "It's a pity that this resignation was not selected, and I didn't even have the qualifications to be promoted." ”

"Then it seems that the court is unfair, why don't you sue?"

"It's true. I have already gone to the Yamen of Shuntian Mansion this morning, but Lord Yin asked me to go tomorrow and give me an explanation. ”

........

The two were talking here, and on the side, Zhao Yan had already taken the food he bought out of the house to wash it, and then lit a fire to stir-fry the vegetables.

She was very fast, and after a while she walked in with a stir-fry, which was then placed on the table.

Two dishes and one soup, with meat; This is a hearty meal that the Zhao family can rarely eat.

To tell the truth, Zhao Yan's cooking skills are really good. It is very distinctive, and the dishes are also very fresh, but unfortunately, the Zhao family does not have too many seasonings. In particular, there are no newly developed spices in the palace, so these dishes seem very bland.

Although it couldn't be compared with the palace cuisine, Wang Xu still ate two large bowls to show respect.

After the meal, Wang Xu said, "Brother Zhao." If you had to choose, what would you want to be? ”

I didn't expect Wang Xu to ask like this, and after thinking about it, Zhao Jinyuan said: "If I had to choose, I would rather be a county magistrate." ”

"Prefectural order? Your requirements are not high, the county order is an official position with the status of the Holy Pilgrimage. ”

Zhao Jinyuan shook his head: "Although the official position is low, he can do what he can for the people, which is much better than those high-ranking officials." ”

"Well, that's right, that's what I thought."

Wang Xu said: "Your dream will definitely come true." ”

"It's easier said than done." Zhao Jinyuan sighed: "I've already fallen off the list." ”

"Don't be discouraged, didn't Lord Shuntianfu Mian say that he would give you an explanation tomorrow."

"I'll see again tomorrow..."

That night, Wang Xu slept at Zhao's house and slept in the same room with Zhao Jinyuan.

..........

Early the next morning, the three of them left the hut and went to the Shuncheonfu Mansion, and on the way they also met many candidates who went to Shuntianfu together, and finally, everyone went together.

At the entrance of the Shuntian Mansion, there were almost hundreds of people around, dozens of whom were candidates this year, and they were all waiting for Miansheng to give an answer.

The unfairness of the scientific examination made everyone angry, but at the same time, it also ignited their hope, so that the scientific examination was very likely to be invalidated, which was equivalent to giving them another chance.

However, today's Shuncheonfu seems to be very quiet, and even the soldiers guarding the door are not there, as if it is a bit of a close door.

This left everyone wondering.

"Why is there no one in this Shuntian Mansion today?"

Zhao Jinyuan said suddenly.

"They should have gone to the early court." Wang Xu said.

"You know?"

Wang Xu smiled: "I guess." ”

Zhao Yan was a little worried: "Will they be officials and officials to protect each other, now these officials only recognize money." ”

"You know?"

"Guess."

"Hehe, you're really guessing."

Zhao Jinyuan walked into the distance, went to contact a few candidates who had a very good relationship with each other for reference, and prepared to write a statement and sue again. He has made up his mind that he must resolutely resist the wind of evil and take back his own honor.

Wang Xu and Zhao Yan stood together, and everyone was waiting.

........

Half an hour later, about the time of the sun rising in the east.

A sedan chair came slowly from a distance, followed by more than 20 soldiers, judging from this posture, Lord Fu Yin came back from the next court.

Suddenly, all the candidates and ordinary people surrounded them, and Zhao Yan and Wang Xu also mixed in the crowd.

The sedan chair was very large, and there were two people sitting in it, one was Miansheng, and the other was Jia Hui!

Although Wang Xu said that he didn't have to worry about this matter, he still couldn't help it, he couldn't let it go, and finally decided to join in, and he must find out about this matter, after all, he was involved in this matter from beginning to end and had a direct relationship with him.

And the most important point, in this scientific examination, Jia Hui has the opportunity to be conscientious, keep an eye on the candidates, and preside over everything, now that something like this happens, he can't escape the involvement, to put it bluntly, he is one of the biggest suspects, and on the surface, he even has more motives than Wen Qing to commit crimes.

Inside the car.

Miansheng frowned: "Master Jia, what do you think of this matter?" ”

"Of the twenty lifters, three died, and two of them were in the top three, how can I explain this to Your Majesty."

As soon as Jia Hui finished speaking, Miansheng hurriedly said: "Yes, Your Majesty still asked me to take them to fight today, fortunately, Your Majesty is not here, otherwise I will be unlucky." (To be continued.) )