Just when everyone was waiting to see who Lu Zhi was going to catch in his second article, no one expected that Lu Zhi's second article severely criticized Zhang Jian, especially for Zhang Jian's escape from the fortress, saying that he had forgotten Huayi's distinction and was willing to fall. If Lu Zhi's criticism of Li Ying's celebrity habits is just a slight flaw in white jade, then criticizing Zhang Jian is equivalent to giving his character a surname, not to mention rehabilitation, don't want to raise your head in this life.

The people of Luoyang were in an uproar, and Buyun was lively, and people kept coming to the door to reason with Lu Zhi. Liu Xiu had been prepared as early as when he asked Lu Zhi to choose this topic, he held a public debate in the Taiji Daoist Hall, let Lu Zhi give a speech, and told Zhang Jian about fleeing from the fortress and being the master of the Xianbei people. This is not empty words, he has a witness, and among the people who arranged for Zhang Jian to get out of the plug was Mao Zong's father, Mao Qin, the outer Huang Ling of the year.

As soon as this matter came out, those who wanted to seek justice for Zhang Jian were immediately speechless and were devastated. No one dares to take sides with Zhang Jian anymore and take refuge in the Xianbei people, which is even more hateful than murder and arson.

What's more important is that Lu Zhi is eight feet tall, dignified, coupled with a good voice like Hong Zhong, with profound knowledge as a foundation, he is simply a natural orator, this speech is more moving than the article, everyone present, including his opponents, were impressed by his elegant demeanor and clear thinking, and lost convincingly.

Next, Lu Zhi's third article talked about Zhao Qi, Zhao Qi got his name because he offended the eunuch Tang Heng brothers of the year, was forced to flee for many years, and was later included in the party confinement at home, in fact, he has nothing to do with those famous party members, so Lu Zhi's article was written very smoothly, bluntly saying that Zhao Qi was framed. As soon as the article was published, the Son of Heaven quickly issued an edict pardoning Zhao Qi and recruiting Zhao Qi as a councilor.

Next, Lu Zhi wrote an article every three days, discussing the party members, not vain, not evil, in strict accordance with the principles agreed upon by Liu Xiu and him, discussing their actions realistically, and giving appropriate evaluations. With Lu Zhi's knowledge and insight, his articles are extremely solid, and there are many people who come to find trouble, but there are few people who can pick out the thorns in them.

What made him more and more famous was that the party members he admired were pardoned one after another, and even some party members who were seriously criticized by him were more or less forgiven by the Son of Heaven. During this period, Yuan Shao did not give up, and he also organized some people to write to ask for pardon for some party members, but the success rate was extremely low, although it cannot be said that there was no one, but compared with Lu Zhi's almost unsuccessful hit rate, the book he organized was almost blind. In order to regain the opportunity in the contest with Liu Xiu, he had to adjust according to Lu Zhi's style of writing, instead of just trying to be comfortable.

The angry public opinion was vented, watching the party members being pardoned, the scholars gradually calmed down a lot, and while they were waiting to see who would be pardoned next, they also got some inspiration from chewing Lu Zhi's article, and began to seriously observe the crisis of the Han Dynasty.

I have to say that the Han Dynasty's scholars have a sense of distress and political participation that can not be compared with later scholars, although they have respected Confucianism for nearly three hundred years, many people study just to seek officials, but there are still many people like Lu Zhi who really take the world as their responsibility, they slowly gather together, see with their own eyes, write with their own hands, and put forward all kinds of suggestions for the imperial court.

Liu Xiu breathed a sigh of relief, and began to prepare for the publication of Wang Fu's "Theory of the Hidden Husband" and Cui Yu's "Political Theory", he specially sent people to Anding and Zhuojun to ask for these two manuscripts, what surprised him even more was that as soon as the people of the Wang family and the Cui family heard that he was going to print these two books for the world's readers to see, to provide reference for the imperial court, they didn't even mention the pen, and gave it away directly, and they were very grateful, which made Liu Xiu very grateful.

At the same time, the matter of the draft in the palace has also reached the last level, before that, the Son of Heaven released more than 3,000 palace maids, all of whom are over twenty-five years old and have never been favored by the Son of Heaven.

Naturally, some gossip came out, saying that the reason why the Son of Heaven has never had a son except for the eldest prince is not that there are no women pregnant, but that He Guiren is very tough, once she finds out which palace maid is pregnant, she will use various methods, either to force the palace maid to beat the child out, or even to clean up the palace maid together.

These news have not been verified, and no one dares to spread them openly, but they are faintly spread between words and ears, making He Jin's family so angry that they are like thunder, and they are traced everywhere, but nothing can be found.

Wang Chu naturally heard such gossip, and he was even more worried about entering the palace.

The final screening finally began in late August.

Wang Yu sat restlessly outside the Hongdu Gate, Wang Bin accompanied him, Wang Chu and other women who had passed the primary selection had already entered, whether they could be selected or not depends on today's results.

"Ah Weng, I'm a little uneasy here." Wang Bin frowned and said softly.

"What's wrong?" Wang Yu sat in the car, glanced at his son dissatisfied, opened his mouth, but did not say the words of reprimand, because he was also very uneasy now. He also heard the words about He Guiren's strong taboo, thinking about Wang Chu's weak surname, it is probably not a good thing to really meet a butcher girl like He Guiren. It's just that when he thought of his father Wang Bao's expectations, he didn't dare to say anything.

"Ah Weng, have you heard the news from the Song family?" Wang Bin said hesitantly: "I have heard that Queen Song is very favored now, and Her Majesty often stays in the Jiaofang Palace, and even He Guiren is not as favored as her." If ......"

Wang Yu frowned tightly and did not say a word. He was also very worried, he was going to send Wang Chu into the palace at the beginning, because Queen Song was not favored, and He Guiren didn't even have a son after entering the palace for a few years, and now not only He Guiren already has a son, but also Queen Song is favored again, so is it meaningful for Wang Chu to enter the palace?

In the palace, Wang Chu sat between a group of young women with beautiful faces, gently stroking the strings, today is the final retest, as long as you pass the retest, you will become a female official in the palace, this year the Son of Heaven wants to advocate frugality, so the number of people selected has dropped greatly, and only two hundred people are taken in total.

Her fingers slowly tipped across the strings, and a string of smooth notes welled up in her mind, and the beautiful rhythm gave her the urge to play the notes, but she couldn't.

What she's going to play today is the Big Pheasant Song.

Before taking the retest, her grandfather Wang Bao and her father Wang Yu both raised their worries, saying that the big pheasant song was probably too ancient, very ugly, and it was difficult to give her extra points, but she said that there was a great drought in the world, and the Son of Heaven was now worried about the drought. Wang Bao and Wang Yu listened and didn't say anything more.

Of course, this is Liu Xiu's idea, Liu Xiuqian advised, Wan instructed, if you want to lose, you must play the big pheasant song, otherwise with your spiritual surname, you can't hide your piano skills by playing any common song.

Wang Chuming knew that this was Liu Xiu's flattery to make her happy, but she just liked to listen to it.

The female companions next to them couldn't help but be a little jealous when they looked at the joy between Wang Chu's eyebrows, although they were also selected among thousands of people, but standing with Wang Chu, they were still slightly inferior to Wang Chu. However, they are not worried about Wang Chu, because Wang Chu is probably due to a bad family situation, and she can't afford to hire someone who is good at makeup, and the makeup she painted made her beautiful face greatly reduced, especially today with a pair of straight eyebrows, which drew a pair of straight eyebrows that were originally quite good, and always gave a taste that was too tough.

Facing the contempt of the female companions, Wang Chu was secretly proud in his heart, since these female companions felt bad, it was really bad.

That's what she wanted.

"Wang Chu, Wang Chu, which one is Wang Chu?" Liu Yunshuang shouted at the top of her voice, Wang Chu hurriedly walked up with the piano in her arms, Liu Yunshuang wiped the beads of sweat on her forehead, and glared at her unhappily: "Hurry up, how many times do you want me to call, don't you see that there are so many people waiting?" ”

Wang Chu didn't dare to reply, followed in small steps, and entered the main hall of the retest. The Great Changqiu Cao Festival is said to have been exempted due to illness, so on behalf of the Changqiu Palace, it was Lu Qiang, who represented the Yongle Palace, who represented the Yongle Palace, who came on behalf of Zhang Rang, and the three of them sat side by side, glanced at Wang Chu, who rushed to the hall, and exchanged glances, revealing dissatisfaction, and then turned his gaze to Bi Lan, who was in charge of the preliminary examination, and the taste of reproach was very obvious.

This woman looks good from a distance, but how can she look so awkward up close, such a person can also pass the first test, how much money did you charge their family?

Bi Lan died unjustly, and he really didn't receive any money.

Wang Fu waved his hand unhappily and motioned for Wang Chu to show his talent quickly. Wang Chu opened the piano and tuned it, like the sound of the piano flowing out of the mountains. Wang Fu and the others suddenly lit up, this is a wonderful sound with a pluck, it seems that although this woman is not very good-looking, she has a good piano skill. The Son of Heaven loves literature and art, and may be able to take a fancy to her.

At this moment, the Son of Heaven, who was listening quietly in the back room, was also stunned, and his hand holding the wine glass froze in the air for a moment, and he involuntarily pricked up his ears to listen to the next performance. He is quite accomplished in the piano, and has always been very self-proud, but unfortunately there are many palace maids who are good at playing in the palace, but there is really no one who can communicate with him, although Queen Song is no longer so rigid now, but the piano is still very unfamiliar, not to mention He Guiren, it is okay to pick up sticks, and playing the piano is blind.

After listening to the talents of so many show girls today, this show girl was the first one that moved his heart, and he suddenly had hope. Because of financial difficulties, he had to accept Liu Xiu's suggestion, selected more than 3,000 palace maids from the palace and released them, and greatly reduced the number of places in the draft.

However, the hope that the Son of Heaven had just risen was immediately shattered, and the song played by the show girl outside was called an ugly one, not only did not have a trace of the ethereal just now, but there was not even a little happy feeling, as if she was not facing a show girl in the prime of life, but a witch with a cloak of hair, crazy for a while, and stupid for a while. After listening to less than two verses, the Son of Heaven could not bear it any longer, stood up, and glanced out through the window.

After just one glance, the Son of Heaven was dead, and he couldn't wait to arrest Bi Lan and beat him, do you dare to choose if you look like this?

"Tuk-tuk." Three taps freed Wang Fu and the others, and also freed Wang Chu. Wang Chu took a lot of effort to keep himself from laughing, and hurriedly ran out holding the qin.

"This woman's back is really beautiful, but it's a pity that she looks too angry." The Son of Heaven muttered, motioning for Jian Shuo to go outside and directly cross out the name of the woman who tortured his ears just now.

Wang Chu left the palace, very "sad" to tell his father and brother the news of his defeat, Wang Yu and Wang Bin glanced at each other, sighed, and said dejectedly: "Since this is already the case, it is useless to say more, let's go home first." ”

Wang Chu responded weakly, turned around and got into his car, and before the curtain was closed, he couldn't help laughing.

Yue Cavalry Captain Cao Poshi walked by the car with a few people, just heard Wang Chu's happy laughter, his heart couldn't help but wave, turned his head to look, but he couldn't see the people in the car, and then looked at it, and just saw Wang Yu with a bitter face, so he shouted: "Wang Sima, why are you here?" ”

Although Wang Yu is the Sima of the Changshui Camp and is not under the jurisdiction of Cao Poshi, his official rank is lower than Cao Poshi, and the relationship between Captain Changshui and Cao Poshi is very close, and more importantly, although Cao Poshi himself has no ability, his brother Cao Jie is a person who cannot be messed with, so as soon as he saw Cao Poshi, Wang Yu hurriedly stepped forward and replied and explained the situation.

When Cao Poshi heard this, he couldn't help but be a little puzzled, but he didn't pay attention, just made a joke: "Your daughter didn't make the cut, so it's better to marry me as a concubine." ”

Wang Yu was very embarrassed, but he didn't dare to refuse in person, so he had to make a vague perfunctory sentence, saying that there was still something at home, and he turned around and was about to leave. Cao Poshi didn't take it seriously, he was in a hurry to find his brother, and the two said goodbye.

With the previous psychological preparation, although Wang Yu was a little disappointed, he still couldn't accept it, but he was severely reprimanded by Lao Tzu Wang Bao, and felt that it was a mistake not to insist on letting Wang Chu replace Da Yan Qu at the beginning. According to the rules of the palace, once you are over the age of eighteen, you can't run for election, Wang Chu lost this year, and she will have no chance in the future, so it seems that she has to start choosing a powerful son-in-law for her.

As soon as Lu Zhi heard that the Wang family and the Mao family were related, and Liu Xiu and Wang Chu had a relationship, he didn't feel anything wrong, so he took time to rush to the Wang family. As soon as they heard that Lu Zhi was coming, Wang Bao and his son did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly came out to greet them. Although Lu Zhi is only a white body now, his reputation is well-known, and he has rescued several party members in a series of articles, and his prestige is now unparalleled, and he is the most famous celebrity in Luoyang.

It's just that they don't have a good impression of Liu Xiu, firstly, they have prejudices first, and secondly, the big pheasant song that Liu Xiu helped find is the culprit of Wang Chu's defeat, and now Liu Xiu is so anxious to come to the door to ask for marriage, they all feel that Liu Xiu is very suspicious. But these words are not easy for them to say, even if they say it, it is useless, the defeat has already been lost, can you still turn the tables? They shirked and said that Liu Xiu is indeed a talent, but he is still young, so he should put more attention to his studies, so that he can make contributions in the future, and don't rush to start a family. As soon as I heard this, I knew it was false, but the meaning was very clear, and the Wang family was still unwilling to marry Wang Chu to Liu Xiu.

Lu Zhi was also a little unhappy, turned around with a calm face and was about to leave, Liu Xiu was anxious, how could this go, the eighteen-year-old girl is an older young woman, as soon as I go out, maybe the Wang family will marry her immediately.

Liu Xiu got up from the seat, slowly walked in front of Wang Bao, took out the seal ribbon from his arms, and gently put it in front of Wang Bao. Wang Bao was stunned for a moment, not understanding what Liu Xiu meant.

"Dare to ask the prince, even if you are a child of the previous family, how many of them are at my age?"

Wang Bao was really shocked this time, and he didn't quite believe his ears: "You...... Now it's a waiter? ”

Liu Xiu nodded and said nothing, at this time, any humility is meaningless, it is better to come directly.

Wang Bao's father and son looked at each other, they always thought that Liu Xiu was a businessman, but they didn't expect that he actually had a pair of scarves hidden on his body. The servant is more than 2,000 stones, although he has no real power, he is a close minister of the Son of Heaven, and the children of non-powerful people cannot serve as him, and there are even fewer people like Liu Xiu who can serve at such a young age. And he is equipped with a scarf in the middle of the service, and he is not on duty in the palace, but he runs a Tai Chi Taoist hall outside the palace, what does this mean behind it, it is easier for people to think about it. Although Wang Bao is not a big official, he is old and proficient, although he is curious about how Liu Xiu did it, is it because of the clan, or because of the children of Confucianism? It doesn't seem right, but these don't matter, Liu Xiu can be in the service now, as long as he is released, at least he is a Taishou, needless to say in the future, it must be a thoroughfare, and it is an honor for the Wang family that he can look at Wang Chu.

The attitude of the Wang family immediately turned one hundred and eighty degrees, and they warmly entertained Lu Zhi and Liu Xiu, and the arrogance in their words disappeared, replaced by compliments and unreserved appreciation.

The family matter was settled, although Lu Zhi was very happy to do a big thing for Liu Xiu, but he still said to Liu Xiu, your parents are alive, you can't help but tell them about such a big thing, or send someone to take them to Luoyang immediately, you and Wang Chu are not young, handle the family affairs as soon as possible, and you can do things with peace of mind.

Liu Xiu responded, and immediately sent Liu Bei and Mao Zong back to Zhuojun to report the news, and at the same time brought his parents to Luoyang together.

After taking care of the family affairs, Liu Xiu put down a big stone in his heart, people are in good spirits when they are happy, and they walk with the wind. However, he was not happy for a few days before he encountered a trouble, the shopkeeper Luo Fu suddenly hanged himself, although he was saved in time, there was no danger to his life, but his mood has been unstable, and he did not come to work in the gym for a few days. Liu Xiu was shocked and found Luo Fu's husband An Quan to ask, An Quan said to Liu Xiu with a sad face that Cao Poshi took a fancy to his wife Luo Fu and asked him to give Luo Fu to him, but Luo Fu did not agree, and as a result, he hanged himself.

Liu Xiu became angry when he heard it, and scolded An Quan, you are still not a man, people want your wife, you are still embarrassed to come to me? Why don't you slap him with a shave?

An Quan was about to cry, and knelt in front of Liu Xiu with a plop. Dongjia, don't you know how powerful Cao Poshi is, he is my boss, he controls my life and death, and more importantly, his brother is the most powerful eunuch in the palace, Cao Jie, even the king of Bohai surnamed Liu can't get him, the Dou family back then was so majestic, wasn't it also defeated in his hands, and I dare to go against him as a little Wu Bo? He pinched me to death like an ant.

(To be continued)