After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Shuncheon Township test finally ended.

Standing silently on the Minglun Tower, watching the tired candidates rush out of the Yimen, he couldn't help but smile with relief.

Zhang Siwei stood behind Shen Mo and said with relief: "It's great to be able to go out freely." He has been worried these days, when the Gongyuan opened, it was the imprisonment of these examiners, and now the candidates are almost gone, and he has not seen the eagle dog of the Beizhen Fusi to take people, so he put his heart in his stomach.

Shen Mo glanced back at him and smiled, "How could Ziwei have such concerns? ”

"Although you haven't revealed the truth," Zhang Siwei said with a dry smile: "But we are not stupid, we know that there must have been a big case, although you have taken on the burden of a sea of blood, but I and Lu Yusuo, as well as the eighteen house officials, know that once this matter is not handled well, we will all have to pay for it." ”

"That's right," before he finished speaking, Lu Tiaoyang's voice came from not far away, and he silently heard the prestige, only to see Lu Tiaoyang and Hu Yingjia, who were fellow examiners, all standing downstairs, saluting him from afar: "Thank you for your kindness, we will remember it." ”

Shen Mo hurriedly turned sideways and said, "It's just that you guys are confused, this official has nothing to bear, but is just doing his duty...... Since the exam questions have been leaked, I, as the chief examiner, have to expose them, this is a matter of course, what does it matter? There is no way to talk about the grace of reciprocation. ”

Everyone didn't see it that way, Lu Tiaoyang said: "Although we don't have the responsibility of adults, we also understand the reason, we all know what kind of consequences you will cause in this way, my lord, please rest assured, if something happens in the future, we will never stand idly by." Then he bowed again, and then turned and went out in turn.

He bowed silently and returned the salute until everyone was gone, then he straightened up, shook his head with a complicated face, and said to Zhang Siwei: "Let's go back too." ”

Zhang Siwei smiled and said softly: "Seriously, I really admire your reaction at the time, if I was in your position, I would definitely be stupid if I encountered this kind of thing." ”

"No, it won't." Shen Mo shook his head and smiled: "In his position and in his government, if you do the main exam, you will definitely have your own decision." ”

"My decision ......" Zhang Siwei said softly: "I guess I will stop the exam and report it to the imperial court." Shaking his head and sighing, he said: "At that time, I thought that your actions were really redundant, but in the past few days, I have pondered it repeatedly, and I realized that you have thought too deeply and too far, and I can't look at you at all...... Maybe that's the difference between a caged bird like me and a world-honored bird like you. ”

Shen Mo shook his head and smiled: "Brother Ziwei, don't wear a high hat for me." ”

"I'm serious." Zhang Siwei said in a deep voice: "I have fully understood you in the past few days - the emperor has put the heavy responsibility of the imperial examination on the shoulders of the chief examiner, and the chief examiner should take on the matter with loyalty to the emperor, not just thinking about exculpating himself, but to fully maintain the decency and fairness of the ceremony, and eliminate the adverse impact of the incident as much as possible. As he spoke, he arched his hand towards Shen Mo and said, "Brother Humble Yan, you have taught me a lesson, I finally understand what it means to be a capable official!" ”

As he spoke, he had already walked to the side of the sedan chair, shook his head silently and smiled: "Brother Ziwei, I've been busy for so many days, let's go home and rest." As he spoke, he lifted the sedan curtain, walked in and said, "Let's talk later." And he went straight away.

Zhang Siwei was still unsatisfied, and when he saw that Shen Mo ran away, he had to shake his head helplessly and said: "Alas, it seems that no matter how much progress is made, what you say will be annoying." So I made up my mind, and when I went back, I found a way to go out and learn to practice silently.

After finishing the township exam, Shen Mo took a few days off, and wanted to rest at home, but suddenly remembered that after he returned to Beijing, he had not visited Lu Bing, and the senior brother was afraid that he would be unhappy.

He hurriedly asked people to make some gifts, and did not submit a post, and went straight to Lu Bing's mansion in a sedan chair, no matter whether he was at home or not, even if he ran in vain.

It turned out to be lucky, just in time for Lu Bing to take a vacation at home. Hearing that he was coming, Lu Bing happily greeted him, and when he saw him, he smiled heartily: "Haha, stinky boy, I thought you had forgotten my poor senior brother." ”

Shen Mo hurriedly said: "Look at what you said, how can I dare to forget my senior brother for a moment, it's really ......" said and scratched his head and said: "It's really ......"

Lu Bing looked at him funny, and when he made up a reason, who knew that Shen Mo finally burst out: "I really can't find a reason." Lu Bing was stunned for a while when he heard this, and then he looked at each other silently and laughed, making the people on the side confused, and they didn't know what kind of nerve they had.

There are some words and things that only the person concerned knows. The reason why Shen Mo has not come to see Lu Bing is because Lu Bing accompanies the emperor in the palace all day, but Jiajing is not completely occupying Lu Taibao, he will always give him a few days off every month to let him go home to meet his wife and children. If you want to see him, you will always find an opportunity.

Therefore, Shen Mo did not come to see Lu Bing, it was purely an ideological problem, because he fought too fiercely with the Lu family in the south, which not only ruined Lu Ji's reputation and wiped out, but also caused the Lu family's reputation to be discredited, and his status in Jiangnan plummeted.

This kind of mood, both sides actually have some feelings, or according to Lu Bing's surname, they would have sent someone to call Shen Mo to come over for a drink, how could they have been silent, and they had to wait for him to take the initiative to come to the door.

But as soon as the two met, those knots and awkwardness in their hearts disappeared at once, because they found that compared to those insignificant things, it was the other party who was the most important. So the intimacy is better than in the past, and it is really like a relative.

When he entered the house, Lu Bing ordered to watch the tea, and asked people to call his two sons and ask them to salute Shen Mo.

In the backyard, his two sons, Lu Gang and Lu Lun, were learning martial arts with Lu Xiu.

After a while, only to hear the sound of 'boom', Lu Xiu pulled out the sword on the wall, and was about to go to the front yard to find him to settle the account.

Her two cousins hurriedly stopped and said, "Sister Shao'an, don't be impatient, let's solve this matter for our men." ”

Lu Xiu glanced at them and said, "Do you two dare to drive him out, or dare to cut him with a knife?" ”

The two were embarrassed when they heard this, and said: "If my father is not at home, it is okay to cut off his ears and drink to my sister, but isn't this old man at home......?"

"Phew, two cowards." Lu Xiu sneered: "Ping Yue is always ashamed, saying how powerful he is, how powerful he is, and now that the matter is coming, he is in his original form, right?" Don't be a hero like me anymore! ”

When the two of them heard this, they felt that their faces couldn't hold back, so they gritted their teeth and said, "You wait here to see how we teach him a lesson!" As he spoke, he strode towards the front yard.

Lu Gang and Lu Lun arrived at the front hall, Lu Bing asked the two of them to salute Shen Mo, and the two looked at each other, stiffened their necks and did not salute, and their eyes looking at Shen Mo were also full of provocation.

Lu Bing suddenly became angry, and shouted angrily at his two sons: "Kneel down for me!" The two sons had to kneel, but the shame on their faces was obvious.

Lu Bing was so angry that he taught them a lesson: "Lu Gang and Lu Lun, is this how you treat your elders?" Is my Lu Bing's son so uneducated? ”

"Of course we have to respect our elders." His eldest son Lu Gang said in a sullen voice: "But this person, he is one year younger than the second brother, what kind of old qualifications do you have?" ”

"Bastard!" Lu Bing was almost dizzy, and barely suppressed his anger and said: "Your uncle's seniority is here, you are seventy or eighty, and you have to be called uncle!" ”

"If it's someone else, just call it." Lu Gang stiffened his neck and said: "But he can't, Dad, you just beat me to death, and I won't call this enemy of our family uncle!" ”

"That's it!" The youngest son, Lu Lun, said on the side: "He has harmed our Lu family so badly, what is the difference between recognizing this kind of person as an uncle and recognizing a thief as a father?" ”

Lu Bing finally couldn't help but erupt, slapped his palm on the table, and shouted angrily: "Come on, put these two little beasts in a cell for me, and starve for three days first!" ”

was silent on the side, and hurriedly persuaded him: "Forget it, the tempers of the two nephews are very cute, I like them very much, for the sake of my face, don't punish them." ”

"Phew! Who wants you to be fake! Lu Lun took a sip and said, "Be careful of your dog's head, sooner or later it will kill you......"

"I'll tell you to say it again!" Before the words fell, Lu Bingfei kicked him up and kicked him to the ground, this kick was really ruthless, and he directly kicked him to the ground and rolled, obviously not acting.

Seeing that he was going to fight, the soldiers in the house hurriedly 'arrested' the two young masters, for fear that if they were one step too late, the master would kill him.

"I'm, at me!" The two have been arrested for a long time, and Lu Bing is so angry that he trembles: "How did I give birth to such two evil seeds? After being silent and comforting for a long time, he was a little relieved, and said to Shen Mo apologetically: "In normal times, I am always busy serving the emperor, either sitting in the Jinyi Guard, or drinking and having fun with a group of officials, and I am really negligent in disciplining the next generation." Originally, I only knew that they were stubborn, and I thought it would be good if I grew up in a few years, but who knew that now they are almost thirty years old, and they are becoming more and more useless! As he spoke, he sighed and said, "Lessons from the past, humble words, don't learn from me!" ”

Thinking about his two precious sons, he said in his heart that I don't just think about officialdom, I have to educate two little things. He nodded deeply and said, "I see." ”

At noon, there were two people, Shen Mo and Lu Bing...... In fact, when that kind of thing happened, Shen Mo didn't want to stay for dinner anymore, but Lu Bing insisted on staying, so he had to invite him to a drink.

This meal was used in Lu Bing's study, and when Colonel Jinyiwei put the wine and food on the table, they all retreated, not even leaving anyone to wait, obviously under Lu Bing's orders in advance.

Lu Bing personally filled Shen Mo with a cup, picked it up and said, "Brother, I respect you for this cup brother, thank you for everything you have done to the Lu family." ”

Shen Mo's face was a little strange, and he said in his heart: 'This can't be sarcastic about me, right?' But seeing that Lu Bing's face didn't seem to be fake, he smiled and said: "I can't drink this wine without merit or bribes." ”

"No, you're drunk!" Lu Bingzheng said: "Brother, I really thank you. Said with a sigh and said: "I was born in Anlu, Huguang, and when I grew up, I escorted His Majesty into Beijing with my father. Later, after meeting Guangzu, I thought they were a kind family of poetry and book heirlooms. ”

Shen Mo laughed in his heart when he heard it, and said secretly: "Honoring you millions of taels of silver every year is also a kind person, so in the eyes of your Lu Taibao, what else is not kind?" ’

Lu Bing also felt that he lacked confidence, and quickly changed his words and said: "But later I learned that they have really done a lot of excessive things under the guise of me over the years, and what is especially intolerable is that they treat the laws of the imperial court as nothing, collude with the Japanese and smuggle them on a large scale. ”

Shen Mo knew very well that it was impossible for Lu Bing to be unaware of the Lu family's smuggling, and even without his protective umbrella, it would be impossible for the Lu family to make such a big deal. Silence remembers the performance of those people in the 'food crisis' vividly. Good guy, he can mobilize four or five million taels of silver at will, and it is not an exaggeration to say that he is rich and rivals the country.

But the past has become a cloud of smoke, let Lu Bing comment, Shen Mo knows that he is clearing up, but he will not expose it, anyway, he is bored and listens, and he should give his teacher and brother a psychological counseling.

"Later, I found out and wrote many times to tell them to stop." Lu Bing shook his head helplessly and said, "But in such a big family, there are many self-righteous guys who don't listen to me at all." As he spoke, he said to Shen Mo: "Our brothers don't talk about it, you also know the attitude of His Majesty and the imperial court towards those who collude with the Japanese, if you are obsessed, sooner or later you will have to pull the list." ”

Shen Mo nodded, didn't speak, and listened to Lu Bing continue: "It's impossible for the Lu family to turn back by themselves, because more than ten years of good weather have made many people get carried away, and they really think that they are invincible in the world." He said in an accentuated tone: "You have to use external forces to wake them up, beat them up, and wilt them, so that they can come to their senses. ”

"Senior brother is serious," Shen Mo smiled and said, "With you here, who dares to touch a single hair of the Lu family?" ”

"What if I'm gone?" Lu Bing said in a deep voice.

"You're in your prime, it's too early to think about it." Shen Mo shook his head and smiled.

"Okay, to put it another way," Lu Bing said quietly: "Do you know that the leader of the Jinyi Guard has always been a son of heaven and a courtier, and when the new emperor ascends the throne in the future, it will be the end of my career." ”

"Your Majesty has succeeded in cultivating immortals," Shen Mo still smiled: "At least you have to live a long life, there is still time, senior brother doesn't have to worry, the boat will naturally go straight to the bridge." ”

"Maybe we won't have time!" Lu Bing's voice was low and deep: "Let me tell you the secret of losing your head, Your Majesty has a lot of sores on his body, and there are no scabs all over the body. He knew that Shen Mo was a tight-lipped guy, so he didn't hide Emperor Jiajing's illness.

"What......" Shen Mo said in surprise: "Is it ......?"

"It's all uncertain," Lu Bing said worriedly: "But in my opinion, it has come time to make preparations, otherwise when the time comes, there may be some kind of chaos." ”

There was silence for a while, and then he nodded slowly, "What do you mean, Senior Brother?" ”

"Look at it, if ......" Lu Bing said softly: "How will the situation develop?" Said with a reluctant smile: "Although I want to fade out, in order to have a peaceful old age in the future, I have to give a big gift to the new master." ”

Shen Mo nodded and said, "Then I have the courage to judge that if the new monarch ascends the throne, Elder Xu Ge will quickly defeat Elder Yan Ge." With that, he stopped. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he had completely answered Lu Bing's question - his answer was that King Yu won and King Jing lost; XU Jiesheng; Yan Song is defeated!

Lu Bing didn't ask how Shen Mo came to his conclusion, so he said, "Do you say that I helped King Yu defeat King Jing, or did I help Elder Xu Ge defeat Elder Yan?" He didn't want to be involved in two battles at the same time, because he knew that if he helped either of them, he wouldn't have to worry about his safety in the future.

Shen Mo suddenly felt that Lu Bing was really pitiful, although he was ranked as the third duke, he was the highest-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty, and his power was monstrous, and he was invincible. But all of this is attached to Emperor Jiajing, and once the emperor collapses, everything he has will immediately come to naught. That's why Lu Bing is so unconfident, so eager to find his backer, and even he, a low-level petty official, is really sick and rushed to the doctor.

Thinking of this, he said slowly: "Let's help Prince Yu, he was squeezed by King Jing enough, if you find a way to help him turn it around, he will definitely miss you for the rest of his life." ”

(To be continued)