Zhu Yuanzhang sat high on the dragon chair, looking at Xiao Fan with an innocent face, his calm old face involuntarily moved, and then he regained his indifference.

"Xiao Fan ......"

"The minister is here."

“…… Officials above the fifth grade only use the fluorene board when they go to court, and they can not use it below the fifth grade. Zhu Yuanzhang reminded lightly.

"Huh?" Xiao Fan looked at the board in his hand, and couldn't help but feel a little sad and indignant in his heart.

You said it earlier! No one told me, how do I know? I reluctantly stole someone else's piece, and the one who was stolen was beaten at noon at this time, and how wronged I was by that beating! Xiao Fan is not worth ...... Huang Guan as a "minister...... Lost in honor! Saying that, Xiao Fan hurriedly inserted the refrigean board into the jade belt around his waist, and kowtowed in a remorseful tone.

"If you don't lose your honor, you can say another thing, I wonder how did the board in your hand come from?" Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and asked leisurely.

Xiao Fan's face did not change and said: "The ...... that the minister picked up outside the Chengtian Gate just now"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed, and he said in a calm tone: "Since I picked it up, I remember to return it to others after the dispersal of the dynasty." ”

"Minister...... Compliance. ”

Zhu Yuanzhang ignored Xiao Fan anymore, raised his eyes to look at the ministers, and said in a deep voice: "I have been in the Ming Dynasty since the founding of the country, it has been 30 years, thinking back to the past, I swept away the heroes, expelled the tyrannical Yuan, restored my Han people, and unified the world, I know very well the truth of establishing the country with military force and governing the country with literature, for 30 years, I have always been respectful to the literati, and I have been introduced as a national scholar. I treat scholars and literati like this, but I don't want anyone to cheat on such an important imperial examination, so that I miss the good materials of the country. Is it worthy of those scholars who have studied hard for ten years? Is it worthy of the people of the world? ”

The more Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, the more angry he became, his whole face unconsciously became red, his chest was panting heavily, and his hands were tightly grasping the armrests of the dragon chair, trembling with anger.

Although he did not name him, the ministers knew it, and suddenly everyone's eyes looked at an old man who looked older than Zhu Yuanzhang standing in the court.

This old man is Liu Sanwu, the chief examiner of the Ding Chou Ke examination, more than seventy-eight years old when the dynasty Hongru, Hongwu eighteen years, he was sixty-six years old, was recommended by Ru Yu to be promoted, won the respect of Zhu Yuanzhang, was appointed as a bachelor of Hanlin, and participated in the formulation of the etiquette system and the method of three scholars, is the oldest in the Hongwu Dynasty, the most learned Confucian minister.

The results of this examination were too surprising, although Zhu Yuanzhang respected Liu Sanwu, he had to openly point at him in the court.

Liu Sanwu stood in the court class and was silent, like an old monk, as if he hadn't heard Zhu Yuanzhang's insinuating words at all, and he couldn't find a trace of joy and anger on his face.

After Zhu Yuanzhang's words were finished, Liu Sanwu stroked his beard, raised his gray eyebrows slightly, walked two steps to the hall, knelt on the gold brick ground and said proudly: "Your Majesty, the minister has an internal cause, and he begs to listen!" ”

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Sanwu, who was trembling and trembling, and sighed in his heart, after all, this minister is upright and loyal, and he is deeply popular in the Confucian forest. ”

Liu Sanwu straightened his waist, but he didn't get up, he looked directly at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Thank you Your Majesty for your compassion, the old minister will still kneel this time." The old minister was edicted to preside over the imperial examination this year, and he was the main examiner of the examination, and he was entrusted by His Majesty, so he did not dare to slack off, which was contrary to the grace of God. Before the old minister opened the examination, he repeatedly inspected the Jiangnan Gongyuan, sent people to repair a number of rooms, feared that he would treat the scholars slowly, and personally invigilated the examination during the examination, and repeatedly admonished the examiners of each room and said: "The talented people have been cold for ten years, and today they will gather in the Gongyuan to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the three games. 'Your Majesty, the old minister did this, he did not dare to have the slightest selfish thoughts in his heart, the old minister is willing to guarantee with his family name, and during the examination process, no one will cheat for personal gain......"

“…… As for the fact that all the students on the list are southerners, this is also unexpected, but looking at the essays of students from the north and south for the examination, the articles of students in the south, whether it is broken, ideation, rhetoric, or rhyme, it is indeed higher than that of students in the north, and the old minister only evaluates the test papers based on the merits of the articles, never whether he is a southerner or a northerner......"

Zhu Yuanzhang saw Liu Sanwu Luoli talking a lot, and couldn't help frowning a little unhappily, but finally eased his face, and said softly: "Liu Aiqing is hard, I all know, what I just said was not aimed at Liu Aiqing, Aiqing can't be careful, don't mention this matter for the time being, let Jinyiwei check it first, no matter whether there is favoritism or not, Jinyiwei's results will definitely give an explanation to the world, and Liu Aiqing will also be innocent." ”

Liu Sanwu heard that although Zhu Yuanzhang spoke gently and friendly, the meaning of his words was still suspicious that someone had done something in the exam, and the meaning of his words was clearly not very believable to his confession.

Liu Sanwu raised his eyebrows, and swallowed his anger and bowed: "The old minister obeys the order, the old minister has passed the age of ancient times, and his body is sick, but the old minister's heart is righteous but has not diminished in the slightest, the old minister has a clear conscience, no matter who comes to check, the old minister is still this sentence, this department will try, there is no favoritism!" No matter how many times Jinyi Wei checks, the old minister is absolutely innocent! ”

Zhu Yuanzhang heard Liu Sanwu's words as if they were soft and hard, as if they were welcoming but refusing, he couldn't help frowning, the displeasure on his face became deeper, he waved his hand at Liu Sanwu, and said in a cold voice: "I am not afraid of shadows, Liu Aiqing said so, I naturally believe it, Aiqing and go back to class." ”

Liu Sanwu bowed, and then slowly stood back to the court.

Watching Liu Sanwu retreat with a cold look, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes narrowed slightly.

In the blink of an eye, he saw Li Jinglong and Xiao Fan who were still kneeling in the hall, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the two of them carefully, and saw that although Li Jinglong had a positive face, he still showed a look of scorn on his face after several years of prodigal life.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed with a faint disappointment, this nephew, after attacking his father Li Wenzhong's dukedom, said that the son was too ridiculous, not at all like his father's wisdom and courage, not like his uncle's ruthlessness and cruelty, he was completely a swinger who ate and waited for death, this Ding Chouke case is related to the northern scholars' attachment to the hearts of the imperial court, and the stakes are very high.

After expediency for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes swept to Xiao Fan beside Li Jinglong, and finally showed a little satisfaction, this young man is the minister he set for his grandson, although he has the ability, but he lacks training, this case may be just an opportunity to hone him, in the future, Yun Wei will take the throne, presumably he can become a famous minister.

After a pause, Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "Xiao Fan." ”

Xiao Fan was startled, and hurriedly bowed down and said, "The minister is here." ”

"I will hand over this case to you to lead the Jinyi Wei Tiqi to investigate with full authority, you have to find out the matter in the shortest possible time, see if there is anyone cheating in this test, whether there is any collusion between the scholar and the examiner, if so, find out the person! The eyes of the world's scholars are all staring at you, you must not lose me, lose the world! ”

"Minister...... Obey! ”

In the sound of Baiguan Mountain's long live, the early dynasty dispersed, Zhu Yuanzhang flicked the sleeves of his robe, and under the siege of the Han generals and eunuchs, he took the lead in getting up and walking to the Huagai Hall behind.

Zhu Yunwen followed behind Zhu Yuanzhang, and took advantage of people's inattention to glance at Xiao Fan.

Xiao Fan nodded knowingly.

When Zhu Yuanzhang's figure disappeared, the ministers stood up.

Xiao Fan just took two steps outside the hall with the ministers, and a trembling figure greeted him.

Xiao Fan turned his head to look, but it was Liu Sanwu.

Liu Sanwu stood in front of Xiao Fan, stood with his beard on his beard, and looked at him quietly, there was no expression on a face full of age spots, Xiao Fan looked directly into his eyes, and he found that the eyes of the seventy-eight-year-old man in front of him were very clean, very clear, without a trace of impurities, and looked as pure and flawless as a child.

Xiao Fan was a little surprised in his heart, he could find such a clear look in the eyes of such an old person, if this person was not a deeply hidden evildoer, he was an absolutely upright and kind person.

"Lord Liu." Xiao Fan bowed his hand as a courtesy.

Liu Sanwu replied: "Is Your Excellency Xiao Tongzhi of Jinyiwei?" ”

"Xia Guan is exactly."

Liu Sanwu was silent, his gray beard moved slightly with the wind, and after a while, he sighed: "The old man is dedicated to winning soldiers for the country, but he didn't want to provoke His Majesty's suspicions, and the old man is very heartbroken!" ”

"Lord Liu doesn't have to be like this, Jinyiwei will find out the matter, if Lord Liu is innocent, he can return your innocence." Xiao Fan gently comforted, for some reason, he had a good impression of Liu Sanwu, it can be seen from his eyes that Liu Sanwu is different from Huang Zicheng and Huang Guan, although this old man is old, but he is not very sophisticated, and he does not know how to be an official, he is a senior intellectual who is devoted to learning, he only has articles in his eyes, only learning, and nothing else, which can be seen from the fact that he circled the fifty-two Jinshi are all southerners, and it can be seen that such outrageous things can be done, and he is indeed a simple and cute stubborn old man.

Liu Sanwu looked at Xiao Fan with some suspicion in his eyes.

"The old man has heard about Jinyiwei's methods for a long time, and at this moment, he specially asked Lord Xiao, what kind of investigation method did you just say to find out the matter?" Liu Sanwu stroked his beard, meaningful.

Xiao Fan immediately understood what he meant, and hurriedly said: "Lord Liu, don't worry, this time the lower officials will investigate carefully, no perjury, no punishment, no involvement, no inference, everything is well-founded, no matter what the result is, people will have nothing to say." ”

Liu Sanwu stared at Xiao Fan with surprise for a long time, then shook his head incredibly, solemnly waved to Xiao Fan, and said: "In this way, the old man is not worried, he is worthy of the sky, he is not afraid of the ground, the old man is worthy of His Majesty, he is also worthy of himself, and he is even more worthy of the world." The candidates for the Spring Witch list, the old man was selected after careful consideration, and there was no favoritism, so Lord Xiao could let go of the inventory. ”

"Thank you, boss, for your understanding." Xiao Fan hurriedly saluted.

Liu Sanwu said goodbye to Xiao Fan again, and when he turned around, he only heard him muttering to himself: "I didn't expect that there were reasonable people in Jinyiwei, strange numbers, different numbers......"

Xiao Fan wiped his sweat, ashamed, ashamed...... It turns out that odd numbers can't be done, others pee on the ground, and odd numbers pee on the sky, such people are very annoying.

When Xiao Tongzhi, the outlier of Jinyiwei, walked out of the noon gate, he was immediately retaliated by a certain bitter and hateful minister.

"Bang!"

A soft-faced black-soled official boot hit Xiao Fan's head impartially, smashing Xiao Fan to a stumbling side.

"Who? Who dares to plot against me? Xiao Fan, who was hit, was furious.

"This official ...... Smash you, you ...... How are you doing? The dying voice came from behind itself.

Xiao Fan turned his head to look at it, and couldn't help but be surprised, and said in a lost voice, "Lord Huang!" How did you get beaten like this? ”

The person who plotted was the Yushi Huangguan, who had just lost his honor at the court meeting, and was driven out of the Golden Palace by Zhu Yuanzhang's order, and Shi Ting's staff was five notes.

It seems that these five court canes are beating very hard, Huang Guan can't move when he is lying on the ground at this time, his whole body is trembling with pain, the tears and snot on his face are muddy, and his fat ass is pouting high in the sky, and his posture is ugly.

Xiao Fan walked to Huang Guan and squatted down, stretched out his hands and said enthusiastically: "Lord Huang, the lower official will send you back to the house, go home and recuperate from your injuries, you will have to learn a lesson in the Golden Palace in the future, don't be surprised, it's so rude......"

Huang Guan waved his hand weakly, glared at Xiao Fan resentfully, gritted his teeth and said, "Get out...... Get out of here! This official doesn't need you to fake your kindness! Thief, you have to remember that this official and you will not stand apart......"

Xiao Fan didn't feel embarrassed at all, and still said enthusiastically: "Lord Huang, don't be polite, no one will send you back to the house at this time, and your family can't enter the noon gate, don't you want me to help you plan to crawl all the way home?" ”

While speaking, Xiao Fan was already very enthusiastic to help Huang Guan up, and then put one of his arms on his shoulder, and the two of them hobbled towards Chengtianmen.

Huang Guan didn't appreciate it at all, and scolded himself: "This official is polite to you!" I don't care about you! Don't touch me with your dirty hands, thief! This official would rather die than receive the slightest favor from the annihilators! ”

"Lord Huang, can you be reasonable? Where am I like a Destroyer? I didn't cause trouble to the court, second, I didn't frame my colleagues, third, I didn't do anything that hurt heaven and reason, I did my duty, I was an official and trembling, which eye did you see me like a minister? Xiao Fan patiently explained to him.

Huang Guan was forcibly carried away by him, and kept sneering in his mouth: "Are you embarrassed to say that you didn't frame your colleagues?" A few days ago, the dozens of ministers at the head of Zicai Market, didn't they die in the hands of your Jinyiwei? ”

Xiao Fan stopped, stared at Huang Guan tightly, and said, "Lord Huang, you are touching your conscience and telling the truth, do you think they died in my hands?" Is that really the case? ”

Huang Guan couldn't help but suffocate.

Everyone in the court knows that those ministers died in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang, and Jin Yiwei is at best a sharp knife in Zhu Yuanzhang's hand in this matter, and the crime of killing is all in Zhu Yuanzhang, the murderer, and the knife is innocent.

But who would dare to say such a rebellious thing?

Huang Guan stopped talking, he knew very well what the essence of the matter was, in the final analysis, it was indeed no wonder that Jinyiwei was in the end.

After a while, Huang Guan seemed to have found a reason again, and said sadly: "But...... You just stole my board from the Golden Palace, causing me to be scepter, this is not fake, right? ”

Xiao Fan's righteous expression suddenly turned into embarrassment, and he coughed dryly and said several times: "...... Lord Huang, it was a misunderstanding just now, in fact, I didn't steal your fluorene board, I picked it up on the ground......"

"Fart! You're still quibbling! Anyway, you're not a good guy! In the future, he will become a troublesome minister in the world, and this official would rather die than be with you, and will never accept any favor from you! Let go of me, let go of me! Huang Guan was so excited that he writhed all over his body, dancing with his hands, like a heroic and unyielding underground party.

"Lord Huang, can you be quiet? I didn't want you to be with me, I just sent you out of the palace, don't say it so seriously......" Xiao Fan helplessly pressed the jumping Huang Guan.

Huang Guan is like a child with a temper, still making a lot of noise, and constantly struggling.

Xiao Fan's patience has been exhausted, and he has never been a person with good patience.

"You really don't want me to help you?" Xiao Fan glared at Huang Guandao.

"Don't! I'd rather die than have the slightest favor from you, a thief! So as not to stain the name of the official! Huang Guan glared at him.

"Okay, that's what you said, if you don't help it, I still don't have to sweat, damn! Good intentions are not rewarded! ”

After Xiao Fan finished speaking, he turned around and walked back with Huang Guan.

"You...... You thief, why are you going back? Where are you taking me? ”

Xiao Fan ignored him, carried him to the place where he was lying just now, and stretched out his feet to measure.

"You just lay down here, didn't you?" Xiao Fan asked Huang Guan with a smile.

“…… Right! So what? Huang Guan said angrily.

"That's right!"

Xiao Fan made a move to sweep his legs, stumbled hard, and tripped Huang Guan on all fours.

"Ahh

Xiao Fan clapped his hands with a smile and said, "Since you don't have the slightest favor from me, a thief, then you can honestly lie here and wait for the Jinyi army to throw you out." ”

"You...... You vicious thief! Hiss-" Huang Guan gasped in pain.

After Xiao Fan finished speaking, he turned his head and left, and by the way, he shook his sleeves fiercely to express the dissatisfaction in his heart.

Readers, it's simply unreasonable! This kind of person is born with a lack of smoking, and if you want to scold people badly in the future, you will scold others for being readers, which is both happy and relieving!

Or more directly, "You are Huang Guan!" "You're just a yellow look! Your whole family is yellow! Your whole family is not only Huang Guan, but also Huang Zicheng! ”

Vicious, right?

No longer caring about the life or death of Huang Guan lying on the ground, Xiao Fan walked towards the palace gate without looking back.

He sighed a little in his heart, it seems that he and Huang Zicheng, Huang Guan and these Qing schools are destined to be enemies in this life, and they have been doomed since they first met, fate! Like who's that? …… Ximen Blowing Snow and Ye Gucheng? Xiao Li Feidao and Shangguan Jinhong?

If the relationship with the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty was like that of the Ximen officials and Jin Lian, it would be nice and harmonious.

"Slow...... Wait! You stop! ”

Just after walking a few steps, Huang Guan behind him suddenly stopped him.

Xiao Fan turned around and looked at him coldly: "What? Changed your mind? Are you willing to accept the favor of me, a thief? ”

Huang Guan was furious: "Phew! This official would rather die than die! ”

"Then why did you stop me?"

“…… This official's reubling board, return me! Huang Guan said angrily.

Xiao Fan suddenly had Alzheimer's disease, and his expression instantly became confused.

“…… Fluorene board? What fluorene board? ”

"What are you pretending to be stupid! It was in the Golden Palace that you stole my piece of stalk! Thief! Villain! Shameless! Huang Guan was so angry that he scolded.

"The board I stole from? I have to remember this well......" Xiao Fan's face was full of deep thought, and then he turned around, one step, two steps, three steps...... In the end, he groaned and left Huang Guan's sight...... "The misfortune of the country, this demon descended, woo hoo lament-" Huang Guan watched Xiao Fan's figure disappear at the palace gate, and then he lay in the middle of the noon gate square, looking sad and looking up to the sky......

(To be continued)