At the end of the thousand-step corridor is the solemn and majestic Chengtian Gate, the Jinshui River outside the Chengtian Gate is sparkling in the morning sun, the five white marble bridges on the river are like five dragons across the river, Wu Daonan, the second assistant of the cabinet, and Liu Chu, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, walked first from the white marble bridge on the far right, and the Jin Wuwei who guarded the Chengtian Gate certainly recognized Wu and Liu, the two old men, but they still had to check the waist card according to the rules, and then let them go - through the Chengtian Gate and the end gate, the front is the noon gate of the south of the Forbidden City, and on both sides of the road between the end gate and the noon gate is the straight house in the six branches. Commonly known as the six department gallery, officials, households, rites, soldiers, criminals, workers, each section has two people on duty in the matter, to the matter of the attendant, the regulations, the supplement, the legacy, the inspection of the six departments of the hundred divisions, although the grade is low, the power is very great, Yang Lian today said that he is on duty in the household department, he has learned that Zhang Yuan ranked sixth on the list of examinations, with Zhang Yuan's art, high school is expected, not in the accident is an accident, last year Zhejiang Township test Yang Lian as the "Spring and Autumn" room official in the nine people only Zhang Yuan one person Li Lianjie, the imperial examination layer by layer selection, It's really not easy to get ahead - seeing Wu Ge Lao and Liu Shangshu walking in front of the straight room, Yang Lian said in his heart: "The two examiners are going to report on their work in the cabinet, and it is really hard to be an examiner, especially Wu and Liu, who are both nearly seventy years old, and their faces are as gray as a serious illness. ”

Wu Daonan really felt that he was going to fall ill, one night, only a nap on the sedan chair, and the hard work was just enough, what made him exhausted was the fraud case that framed Zhang Yuan, and he didn't expect Huiyuan Shen Tonghe to be so annoying, causing the crowd to be angry, presumably there were still omissions when reading the papers, the reason was that Zhang Yuan's first volume was cut off, which disturbed his judgment, he originally wanted to promote Zhang Yuan as Huiyuan, and now things have come to this point It is a mess, and he, the chief examiner, is facing strong pressure from the government and the opposition, At present, the only way to start with Zhang Yuan's cut ink scroll, even if the implication is widespread, it is necessary to tear open this black curtain - in the noon gate to verify the identity again, Wu Daonan and Liu Chu first entered the Forbidden City, enter the noon gate by the right is the Huiji Gate, the Huiji Gate is the system of the house, the cabinet and the edict room, the cabinet according to the convention in addition to the first assistant, there should be four to five other auxiliary ministers, but after 34 years of Wanli, the original cabinet ministers died, retreated, the first auxiliary Ye to Gao Zeng Shu more than 100 ways to make up for the ministers, but the Wanli Emperor just ignored it, The year before last, Ye Xianggao of the Donglin Party had to be attacked by the Zhejiang Party, and only Fang Congzhe was left in the cabinet, Wu Daonan only entered the cabinet in August last year, the party to which these two cabinet ministers belonged was relatively vague, although Fang Congzhe was a native of Zhejiang, but he had been living in the wild before entering the cabinet, and the relationship with the Zhejiang Party was not very close, but Qi Shijiao, the leader of the Qi Party, was his protégé, and he was a cabinet minister, and wanted to gain a foothold in the capital where there were many parties, how to do it without his own party connections, so Fang Congzhe also had to be involved in the whirlpool of party disputes, the same, Wu Daonan, who is a native of Jiangxi, originally did not belong to any party, but because he had a good relationship with Ye Xianggao and had a gap with Tang Binyin and Han Jing of the Xuan Party, he was pushed to the camp of Donglin by the Zhejiang, Qi, and Xuan parties to attack. This will be criticized, and this candidate is not unknown, and it is easier to tell the truth. ”

Wu Daonan said: "Take the first place, I don't know that it is Zhang Yuan's volume, it is only after the number is dismantled, the second and third examination papers are all here, Brother Zhonghan knows the talent of this life when he looks at this craft." ”

Fang Congzhe looked at Zhang Yuan's third question, and praised: "It is indeed a talent that has been applied to the world, and it is really rare to have such energy to discuss vertically and horizontally when you get to the third game." ”

Wu Daonan said: "I and Liu Shangshu can't bear to be dethroned because of this, "Spring and Autumn" room official Zhang Heming, the reading officer Xu Guangqi compared the handwriting of the Zhu scroll and the ink scroll, thought that the first question was secret, and proposed to verify it with a grass scroll, but Jukui Tang immediately caught fire, and the grass scroll was all destroyed, which is clearly to destroy the evidence, which shows how rampant the annihilation is. ”

Fang Congzhe asked: "Can you trace the person who set the fire?" ”

Wu Daonan said: "There are more than 10,000 soldiers, deacons, miscellaneous servants, and scribes in the Gongyuan, and it is quite difficult to track down. ”

Fang Congzhe said: "Then we will have to wait until the transcription student is caught before the truth can be revealed." ”

Wu Daonan pointed to Zhang Yuan's first scroll and said: "This volume is cut off, the technique is clever, although Liu Shangshu and I can't see the flaws in it, but there should be a master of framing who can crack it, and it is proposed that the internal official supervisor send two inner servants who are proficient in framing calligraphy and painting to test, so that the six departments can witness the matter." ”

Liu Chu said first: "Invite the promotion officer and the prison officer to witness together." ”

Wu Daonan added: "Please come with the sealing officer, the transcription officer, and the file receiving officer. ”

The ink scroll was cut off, and the responsibility and suspicion of the sealing officer and the transcription officer were the greatest-Fang Congzhe groaned: "Brother Huifu insists on doing this, in case it is not cut, Brother Huifu's face must not be good-looking, it is better to wait until the transcription student is caught." ”

Wu Daonan smiled bitterly: "I took the guilty papers, if I can't prove his innocence immediately, my face will be even more ugly, and the impeachment recitals of the officials will fly like snowflakes." ”

Fang Congzhe saw that Wu Daonan insisted, so he had no choice but to nod and say, "Since this is the case, then ask the eunuch Song Gonggong to send two people." ”

There are a few small chamberlains outside the cabinet room waiting to be in charge of passing the word at any time, Wu Daonan hurriedly wrote a post, and asked the little chamberlain to take it to the eunuch Song Jin, who is close to Bei'anmen, and is more than three miles away from the cabinet room, Fang Congzhe, Wu Daonan, and Liu Chu waited for half an hour, and saw a fat eunuch in his fifties with two younger chamberlains, and said with a smile: "Fang Ge Lao, Wu Ge Lao, ah, Liu Shangshu is also here, what are the precious calligraphy and paintings of the three old gentlemen who need to be identified by the internal officials and supervisors?" ”

Wu Daonan explained the situation, and the chubby Song eunuch put away his smile and said in surprise: "This kind of thing can still happen in the heavily guarded Gongyuan!" He turned around and said to a thin and tall servant in his forties: "Young Eunuch Wang, you are an expert in the appraisal of calligraphy and painting among internal officials, come and see, this matter is not small, you should be cautious." ”

This young eunuch Wang bowed to the two elders and Liu Shangshu: "The lowly Wang Tiqian, I don't know which ink scroll to investigate?" ”

Fang Congzhe said: "Young Eunuch Wang will take a look first, if you are sure that it is cut, if not, don't go to the Six Science Corridor to declare, what does Brother Huifu think?" ”

Wu Daonan nodded and said, "Then please ask Young Eunuch Wang to take a look first." Pointing to Zhang Yuan's ink scroll on the case -- Wang Tiqian, who was ranked among the top ten talents of the internal officials together with Zhong Benhua, wrote a good handwriting, was proficient in calligraphy and painting mounting, and he was in charge of the books, books, and handwriting of the internal officials and supervisors, and was quite talented, so he stepped forward respectfully and stood beside Wu Daonan to look at the ink scroll -- Wu Daonan did not say which roll of paper was cut, and the three ink scrolls were placed side by side on the bookcase, each of which had twelve main scrolls, Wang Tiqian stared at the first volume at a glance, looking at the words that were originally sealed at the frontispiece, and looking at the words of the first inscription. did not rush to speak, but carefully inspected the three thirty-six main scrolls, and then returned to the first volume, gently twisted the lower part of the frontispiece with the thumbs and index fingers of both hands, and his eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was enjoying it very much - the cabinet room in the noon gate was very quiet, Fang Congzhe, Wu Daonan, and Liu Chuxian stared intently at the hand of the inner servant Wang Tiqian, but the fat eunuch Song Jin pouted, and said in his heart: "You don't need to look with your eyes, but you touch with your hands, what do you touch, so intoxicated!" ”

Wang Tiqian withdrew his hand, opened his eyes wide, and said to another attendant who came out with Eunuch Song: "Eunuch Li, you also come to touch it?" ”

This Li Jian Cheng is not good at talking, and after touching the first volume, he only nodded to Wang Tiqian.

Wang Tiqian said to the other party: "Three old gentlemen, this volume is undoubtedly cut, and the technique is quite clever, it is indeed difficult to distinguish with the eyes, but you can still feel the subtle traces of connection with the light twist of your fingers. ”

Wu Daonan remained silent and asked: "Then can Young Eunuch Wang separate the cutting place again, so that people can understand that it is cut at a glance?" ”

"Yes." Wang Tiqian said: "I am fully sure of my humble position. ”

Wu Daonan nodded and said, "Then please ask Young Eunuch Wang to go to the Six Departments Corridor with me, and let the Six Departments give a witness to the matter." ”

Liu Chu first asked, "What other equipment do you need from Young Eunuch Wang?" ”

Wang Tiqian said: "A basin of clear water is enough." ”

The eunuch Song Jin went out of the noon gate to see the excitement together, and the twelve people on duty in the six departments all gathered under the corridor, and listened to Wu Ge Lao's explanation of the situation, and they were all shocked.

After waiting for a while, Zhang Wenda, the imperial historian of the right capital, and Zhou Shidan and Li Song, the two supervisors and supervisors of the imperial history, as well as Zhou Yingqiu, the sealing official, Ding Shaoshi, and the transcription officer Li Sicheng, all arrived at the Sixth Branch Corridor, and their expressions were solemn - Wu Daonan introduced: "This is the internal official and supervisor Wang Shaojian, who is proficient in calligraphy and painting mounting, and is going to separate this intercepted ink scroll to prove the innocence of the examinee Zhang Yuan, do you have any objections?" ”

No one said anything, and if he jumped out to stop the test at this time, wouldn't it be a sign of weakness of heart, and he had to hold on hard--Wu Daonan saw that everyone had no objections, so he said to Wang Tiqian: "Young Eunuch Wang, let's start." ”

Wang Tiqian asked the little chamberlain to bring a basin of water, first put an unknown medicinal powder in the water, and explained to Fang Congzhe and other officials: "This is to prevent the handwriting from blurring after the water soaks the rolls. ”

Wang Tiqian asked Li Jiancheng to be his assistant, very careful not to let the frontispiece and the handwriting on the page blurred, otherwise, the handwriting is confused and it will not become evidence, the master of framing can be the kind of old, broken, and broken ancient paintings as new, and can also lift the surface of the famous calligraphy and painting, a painting is framed into exactly the same two, and it can be said that they are all genuine, but there is a difference in spirit, what a meticulous work, so it is not difficult to separate the cut roll paper, this kind of splicing paper is most afraid of water, When it was soaked in water for less than a moment, the pulp that was temporarily fused decomposed, and the fibers of the paper were broken off in strands, and there was almost no need to use hands, and another piece of lead mangosteen paper with the same volume that was put down at the same time was soaked in water and softened, and when the two sides were torn off, the fracture was crooked and untidy - Wang Tiqian explained: "The paper has its own texture, and the texture will be broken after being cut. ”

Wu Daonan asked: "How long does it take to assemble such a volume?" ”

Wang Tiqian said: "Even if it is a master, it will take more than four hours. ”

Liu Chu shook his head first and said, "It seems that the master of framing is mixed in the miscellaneous servants of the Tribute Academy." ”

Wu Daonan looked at Fang Congzhe: "Brother Zhonghan, now that the truth has come out, and the examination papers have been cut off, I want to write a song to explain the experience to the emperor, and file a case for strict investigation." ”

Fang Congzhe sighed in his heart, this case is a case, and I don't know how many officials will be involved, and the storm is coming.

Zhou Yingqiu, the sealing official, calmed himself and said in his heart: "Even if the examination papers are cut off, Zhuo Xiaosheng and the framer have already left the Gongyuan, and there is no witness, so they can't track me down." ”

Although Zhou Yingqiu was so relieved of himself, he was still frightened, he knew that things would come to this point, how could he take this risk!

……

This is called dusk, after Yang Lian left the imperial city, he went directly to the Shang's courtyard in the East Fourth Archway to see Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yuan's brother Zhang Dai is also here, Zhang Dai is also in this subject, in the two hundred and twenty-seventh, three people from Shanyin Zhang's Jinke High School, and three uncles and nephews are on the list, which can be called a beautiful talk, and the members of the Han Society are also Huang Zunsu, Ni Yuanlu, Ruan Dacheng, Xia Qichang, plus the known Sun Jike, seven of the forty-nine candidates in the Han Society, Hong Chengchou is now also a member of the Han Society, that is, eight people, Compared with the 344 out of the 8,000 candidates, the Chinese style ratio of the members of the Han Society is very amazing, what makes Zhang Yuan regret is that the erudite Wen Zhenmeng and Jiao Runsheng failed to perform Chinese, Senior Brother Xu's disciple Sun Yuanhua also fell first, and Qi Huzi did not play well this time, could it be because he didn't get the number? The smell can be inspiring, Ni Yuanlu is in high school-Yang Lian said to Zhang Dai and Zhang Yuan with a solemn expression what he saw and heard in the Sixth Science Gallery, Shang Zhouzuo came back from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and was very happy to hear that Zhang Yuan's innocence had been proven, but at the same time he was extremely indignant at those behind the scenes who framed Zhang Yuan, Yang Lian was even more indignant than Shang Zhouzuo, Yang Lian couldn't see these cheating shady scenes the most, and hated this despicable and shameless practice that harmed people's future--Knowing that the cutting of the scroll had been clearly proven, Zhang Yuan's heart was a little wider, and at the same time, his anger also rose, and he asked:" I don't know how Wu Ge Lao should track down the person who committed the exterminator? ”

Shang Zhouzuo said: "The Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division has strictly investigated the people who left the city at the Nine Gates, which must be related to this case. ”

Zhang Dai said angrily: "It won't be wrong to just go to Dong Qichang and Yao Zongwen to check." ”

Shang Zhouzuo said: "This can't be done on will, it has to be reasonable." ”

Zhang Yuan said: "To pass the examination papers, and to find someone to cut it, I heard that I want to check the grass papers, and I can immediately order someone to set fire, which shows that there is a group of people in the Gongyuan who cooperate with the criminal department, and it is not easy to investigate one person who does evil alone, so many people conspire to always have flaws and loopholes in the eyes of others, so many people in the Gongyuan, it is difficult to avoid the eyes and ears, as long as you check, it is not difficult to find." ”

Yang Lian nodded and said: "It must be strictly investigated, this matter has a great impact on Wu Ge Lao, and Wu Ge Lao will definitely investigate it to the end." "Wu Daonan in the cabinet is pro-Donglin, if Wu Daonan is forced to resign because of the imperial examination case, then the Donglin people are completely speechless in the court, since the Li Sancai case in the forty-first year of Wanli, the Donglin party has been defeated and retreated to Zhejiang, Chu, and Qi, Ye Xianggao was forced to give office, [***] Xing, Gao Panlong, these Donglin leaders have not been used so far, so we must take advantage of the imperial examination case to make a strong counterattack.

What makes Yang Lian secretly happy is that because of Zhang Yuan's relationship, the Zhejiang Party has split, Shang Zhouzuo must support Wu Daonan to investigate and deal with the imperial examination case that framed Zhang Yuan, and Zhang Lianfang, a famous member of the Zhejiang Party who is Jiechun this time, is also very communicative, there is no reason to go against his own clan nephew - Zhang Yuan said: "Teacher Yang, it is rumored among the candidates that Shen Tonghe and the seventh Zhao Mingyang jointly cheated, this matter is now very big, and Wu Ge Lao must pay attention to it, don't be pointed at by the spearhead." ”

Of course, Zhang Yuan wants to stand on Wu Daonan's side, Wu Daonan is now his master who will take the exam, if it weren't for Wu Daonan's decision to admit him exceptionally, his situation would be very bad, even if he can find out that he was framed and cut the paper soon, he is afraid that it will be difficult to change the results of the exam, three years, he really can't afford to wait - Yang Lian said: "I know, the names of Huiyuan on the list have been smeared-Shen Tonghe is adjacent to Zhao Mingyang, but is it true?" ”

Zhang Yuan said: "The candidates in Suzhou Mansion are so rumored, whether it is true or not will be known by checking. ”

Shang Zhouzuo said: "Shen Tonghe is the son of Governor Shen, it is said that he is good at opera and singing, shorter than the eight-strand system, Zhao Mingyang is a distant relative of Shen, known as a talent, four years ago Ying Tianfu Township tried Shen Tonghe and Zhao Mingyang is joint number, there were rumors of cheating at that time, and then it was not done. ”

Yang Lianxin said: "Shen Jiwen has a good relationship with Mr. Jingyi, and the governor of Henan also has a political voice, why is his son so unscrupulous, if it makes trouble, it will be too chaotic, and it will also affect the investigation of Zhang Yuan's framed case." Said: "It is the business of the Ministry of Rites to number the candidates, because the candidates in the same province are all in the same district, and it is common for familiar fellow villagers to be adjacent to each other. ”

Zhang Dai said: "Shen and Zhao were joint numbers during the township test, and they were also joint numbers when they went to the meeting, is there such a coincidence?" Shen and Zhao's fraud should be the same group of people who framed Jie Zi, and one of them can be caught. ”

Yang Lian said: "Let's see how the emperor approves it." ”

Shang Zhouzuo said: "Such cases can be investigated first without pending approval, and the Five Cities Terracotta Division is already searching." ”

Yang Lian returned to the hall after dinner in the Shang Zhou Zuo Mansion, Zhang Dai also wanted to go back to the Baozi River, Zhang Yuan sent the eldest brother out of the South Archway, Zhang Dai said angrily: "If the Dong father and son have nothing to do with this case, the ghosts don't believe it, Jie Zi, do you want to catch a Dong servant and interrogate him like he did last time he dealt with Wang Ruqian?" ”

Zhang Yuan said: "It's not proper, the Dong family will definitely accept the lesson of Wang Ruqian last time, and will not let us catch people so easily, if we arrest people without authorization, we will fall into the other party's mouth, but it will disrupt the situation, but Uncle Bao Sheng and Dong Qichang live across the lake, the eldest brother can let the servants pay more attention to Dong's movements, Dong's framing of me is not successful, I will definitely panic, there will always be flaws, and also, the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division is arresting people, that person may hide in Dong Qichang's mansion, this has to be stared at, and then there is, let out the wind, It is said that Dong Qichang helped Shen Tonghe to commit fraud, so that Dong's father and son could taste the power of the angry masses who did not know the truth. ”

Zhang Dai said with a smile: "This is not a slander against him, Uncle Zhong said that Shen Tonghe is indeed very close to the Dong family." ”

Zhang Yuan said: "By the way, the clairvoyant mirror will not be useful at this time, and it will be more time." Let Wu Ling quickly run back and get the white copper binoculars, hand them to the eldest brother, and let the eldest brother arrange for two servants to monitor at night in a hidden high place near the Dong family's villa, and wait for the rabbit, whether it is useful or not, guard for a few days - send the eldest brother away, Zhang Yuan walked back, Mu Zhenzhen followed behind him, Zhang Yuan looked at Mu Zhenzhen sideways and said: "Zhenzhen, am I very wronged?" ”

Mu Zhenzhen said: "Yes, the young master is really wronged, such an unfair matter has been planted on the young master's head, and there are more than 8,000 children, and the young master is the most aggrieved." ”

Zhang Yuan said: "Very good, I will face the officials in the capital with this wronged and grieving face in the future, I am the victim, Dou E is the second, my radical behavior is understandable." ”

……

Today, when the list of exams was announced in the lobby of the Ministry of Rites, Dong Zuchang took a Qing passenger to take a carriage to Daming Gate to see the list, at this time it was already dawn, and most of the tens of thousands of people had dispersed, but there were still thousands of people gathered in front of the Ministry of Rites to shout noisily, Dong Zuchang did not dare to show up according to his father's instructions, only let the Qing guest go to see the list, just to see if there was the name of Shanyin Zhang Yuan on the list, Dong Zu often decided that Zhang Yuan would not be selected, because the framer had finished cutting the scroll when he was out of the Gongyuan Miscellaneous Courtyard, and he also asked people to send the framer to the merchant ship back to Songjiang- The Qingke came back soon, his face was a little strange, and he got into the car and whispered: "Second son, that Zhang Yuan is in the sixth place." ”

"Ahh Dong Zuchang was shocked and asked, "You read it right?" ”

The Qingke said with a bitter face: "In the second row, there is a big letter written on Zhang Yuan, Shanyin County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang, who is the sixth place, how can I be wrong." ”

Dong Zuchang was stunned at first, and then he was extremely angry, gritted his teeth, his face turned red, and ordered the coachman to immediately return to the Baozi River.

The carriage drove through the West Chang'an Street, turned south, and after a while, Dong Zuchang angrily entered his villa on the bank of the Paozi River, asked the slave where his father was, and went straight to Juyunxuan - Dong Qichang was copying the Song Dynasty Zhao Qianli's "Autumn Thoughts of the Mountains and Rivers" in Juyunxuan, and the title Du Mu poem was on it: "The water surface of Nanling is long, and the wind and clouds are tight and the clouds are about to change in autumn. It is the lonely place of the guest heart, whose red sleeves lean on the tall building? "Write, carefully scrutinize, I think that copying is better than the original, quite proud of my copying skills, and think: "The old man tried a small knife, imitating Zhang Yuan's clumsy little Kai, you must know that copying good words is easy, copying bad words is really embarrassing old man, although the eight-strand essay is urgent, but it is not bad, if it is not a mistake, the examiner can also take it——"

Just thinking like this, he heard the sound of footsteps heavy and urgent, and when he raised his head, he saw his son Dong Zuchang running in, his face turned red, and he said loudly: "Daddy, Zhang Yuan won the sixth place." ”

With a soft "click", Dong Qichang's pen fell on the "Autumn Thoughts of Rivers and Mountains" that had been copied, staining a large ink spot on the misty river of the scroll, which immediately destroyed the artistic conception of the whole painting.

"What's going on, tell me carefully."

Dong Qichang seemed calm, but his voice was already a little panting.

Dong Zu often said angrily: "How does my son know what's going on!" ”

Dong Qichang stopped talking, and the brush in his hand was drawn on the "Autumn Thoughts of the Rivers and Mountains" one by one, the ink lines were like knives, criss-crossed, and a good painting was ruined. ”

……

Zhou Yingqiu returned to the house near the Yaowang Temple in the south of the city, and it was already dawn, and the Dong family had been waiting in the entrance hall for more than three hours, and when they saw Zhou Yingqiu, they hurriedly crossed their hands and said: "Master Zhou, my master-"

"Shut up." Zhou Yingqiu had a gloomy face to stop the Dong family from talking, hesitated for a moment, and said, "You come with me." Entering the study, he wanted to write a letter to Dong Qichang, but he felt that it was inappropriate, for fear that the letter would fall into the hands of others, he was now a little suspicious, and said to the Dong servant: "Go back and tell your master, please ask him to wait at the back door of the Yaowang Temple at the end of the day, I will talk to him face-to-face, remember to take a carriage." ”

After the Dong servant left, Zhou Yingqiu wandered alone in the study, and a beautiful maid came over with tea, and said in a flattering voice: "The master has been in the tribute courtyard for a long time, and he will come out today, but he wants to buy wine to celebrate?" ”

This beautiful maid was sent by Dong Qichang a few years ago, named Lizhu, between the bed sheets is very charming, Zhou Yingqiu dotes on her, but when she saw this beautiful maid, she couldn't help but feel disgusted, and waved her hand: "Go out, don't come to disturb me." ”

The beautiful maid was taken aback, put down the teacup, and withdrew with tears in her beautiful eyes.

Zhou Yingqiu was thinking about the reason for the revelation of the cut-off test papers, then Xu Guangqi knew that Zhang Yuan's examination papers would be divided into the "Spring and Autumn" room, and he paid special attention to it, and he had to admit that Zhang Yuan was indeed talented, and he attracted the attention of the examiners with the two papers, and Xu Guangqi's insistence, which eventually led to the inspection of the draft papers, forcing him to make a decision to instruct his cronies to set fire to the grass papers, and cover up the old crimes with new crimes, just cover up the past, and if you can't cover up the past, it will be a crime on top of a crime, and the arson of the Gongyuan is more serious than the crime of fraud in the science field - "Master, Someone asked to see him. An old servant appeared outside the study.

"Don't you have a name, you don't see a name." Zhou Yingqiu said impatiently.

The old servant said: "It's a showman, saying that there is a matter of life and death to ask to see the master-"

Zhou Yingqiu's face changed color, he went out of the gate by himself, and saw that the transcription student Zhuo Xiaosheng shrugged his shoulders and shrunk his neck like a cold bird standing under the eaves of the door, Zhou Yingqiu was angry and shouted in a low voice: "Didn't you let you go to Dong Hanlin!" ”

Zhuo Xiaosheng said with a smile: "Late life and Dong Hanlin are not familiar with each other." ”

Zhou Yingqiu had no choice but to let Zhuo Xiaosheng come in and arrange for him to stay overnight, this night Zhou Yingqiu couldn't sleep, and the next time, he had breakfast and let Zhuo Xiaosheng ride in the carriage with him, Zhuo Xiaosheng was flattered.

The carriage drove to the back door of the Yaowang Temple under the plane tree and stopped, the cloudy day began to rain, falling on the newborn plane leaves, dripping, or in the middle of the day, the back door of the Yaowang Temple was deserted, Zhuo Xiaosheng was a little apprehensive, and asked with a smile: "Where is Lord Zhou going to take the late students?" I thought, "You don't want to take me to surrender, I don't dare." ”

Zhou Yingqiu said with a cold face: "Let Dong Hanlin pick you up, and Dong Hanlin will arrange for you to go out of Beijing." ”

Zhuo Xiaosheng said with a sad face: "Lord Zhou, this time I failed, the reputation of the late students will definitely not be guaranteed, and the capital will not be able to gain a foothold, the price is too heavy, where is the fifty taels of silver that the lord promised me enough to leave Beijing to live in the late life!" ”

Zhou Yingqiu said lightly: "I won't treat you badly, I will always let you spend the rest of your life in peace." ”

Zhuo Xiaosheng hurriedly said: "Thank you, thank you, thank you." ”

After waiting for a while, two carriages came from the north and also stopped by the plane tree, Zhou Yingqiu looked out, and the carriage window on the plane tree revealed half of Dong Qichang's face, so he turned his head and told Zhuo Xiaosheng: "Don't move in the car, wait for me to discuss with Dong Hanlin, how to send you out of the city." ”

Zhou Yingqiu got out of the car and sat on Dong Qichang's carriage, and saw that Dong's son Dong Zuchang was in the same carriage with his father, so he said: "Second son Dong, you go to another carriage first, I have something important to say to Ling Zun." After Dong Zuchang got out of the car, he cut off the exam papers and told Dong Qichang from beginning to end.

Dong Qichang's hands and feet were cold, and he asked for a while: "How to deal with the aftermath?" ”

Zhou Yingqiu asked, "What about the framer?" ”

Dong Qichang said: "It was sent out of Beijing ten days ago. ”

Zhou Yingqiu said: "It's urgent, try to kill it." ”

Dong Qichang exclaimed: "Extinguish, this-"

Zhou Yingqiu said: "The framer may not be in a hurry, but there is one person in the carriage over there who must be removed as soon as possible." As he spoke, he smiled at Zhuo Xiaosheng, who showed his face in the window of the carriage opposite, how did Zhuo Xiaosheng know that Zhou Yingqiu wanted his life, and nodded flatteringly to Zhou Yingqiu and Dong Qichang - Dong Qichang asked, "Who is this person?" ”

Zhou Yingqiu said: "It's the transcription student who escaped, it's a big disaster for this person to stay." ”

Dong Qichang's mouth was bitter and asked, "What is this person's background?" ”

Zhou Yingqiu said: "Please rest assured, in the next to find cheaters, they are all singles, there is no family involvement, and only this kind of person is willing to take risks for money, at that time I also promised him to come to the Ministry of Rites to be a clerk in the future, now the incident has happened, this kind of person can not be kept, as long as this person is removed, then there is no proof of death, and the officials will not let Wu Daonan take time to investigate and deal with this case, the impeachment will make him anxious, as long as Wu Daonan falls, this case will be closed, and I will be fined by the external curtain officials, although Brother Xuan Zai can rest assured, But this transcription student Brother Xuanzai still has to quickly find a way to deal with it, and he has to rush to the yamen to see what the emperor's holy intentions are for the Kechang case. He arched his hand, got out of the car, returned to his carriage, and let Zhuo Xiaosheng go to Dong Qichang's carriage.

Dong Qichang saw that Zhou Yingqiu threw such a hot poisonous taro over, and he couldn't help but accept it, he really couldn't say it, and he heard the deadly poison around him and asked: "I don't know how Dong Hanlin is going to send the late student out of the city, and the nine gates are all investigated strictly?" ”

Dong Qichang said in a sullen voice: "There will be a way to send you out." ”

Zhuo Xiaosheng said: "The late life lost his reputation for Dong Hanlin's affairs, and he had to go out of Beijing with his life, and he had to wander away for the rest of his life, so Lord Zhou said that Dong Hanlin would compensate for his later life——"

Dong Qichang asked, "How much silver do you want?" ”

Zhuo Xiaosheng said: "Wansheng is not the kind of person who has a lion's mouth, he doesn't dare to ask for more, just have a thousand taels of silver." ”

Dong Qichang said quietly: "One thousand taels of silver is really not much, I can give it to you-okay, leave here first." ”

Dong Qichang went to the back carriage and rode with his son, let the two servants and Zhuo Xiaosheng sit together, Dong Qichang's carriage was in front, the two carriages left the Yaowang Temple, Dong Qichang instructed the coachman not to return to the Baozi River for the time being, first walk around the Temple of Heaven, and suddenly thought of going to the Temple of Heaven to go out of the inner city Zhengyang Gate, if the poison in the back carriage was caught by the sergeant guarding the door, then the general trend had gone, and he changed his words: "Let's go back to the Baozi River." ”

Dong Zu saw that his father's face was even more ugly than before, and he asked anxiously: "Father, what did Zhou Langzhong say, who is the person in the car behind?" ”

Dong Qichang didn't want to be involved in a murder case, the gentleman was far away from cooking, but now it is difficult to ride a tiger, if this transcription student is captured and confessed, he Dong Qichang is indispensable to copy the family and fill the army, and briefly explained the origin to his son, and asked: "Zu Chang, what do you do?" ”

Dong Zuchang was surprised: "Father, Beijing is not as good as Huating, my son used to have the help of Wu Long, who was able to call the wind and rain, and he was not familiar with it in Beijing, and his son had never done anything to kill people." ”

Dong Qichang said angrily: "You haven't done it, haven't I done it!" ”

Dong Zu often said busily: "Daddy is angry, it's not difficult to kill this person, bring him back to the villa, let people strangle him, dig a pit in the back garden and bury it." ”

Dong Qichang stopped talking, and said for a while: "Be careful." After that, he sighed, feeling very helpless, very innocent, he had to do it, everything was forced, how could he, a famous master of calligraphy and painting at home, come to this road!

……

On February 27, the list will be released on a trial basis, and according to the usual practice, the falling curls will be returned to the people who fall to the first place, but because the ink rolls burned down one hundred and fifteen copies in the Gongyuan on the eve of the list, the official Li Sicheng was very embarrassed, and dragged on for a day. However, this group of people is still the majority of candidates from Suzhou Prefecture, Wen Zhenmeng and Fan Wenruo are among them, these Suzhou candidates were extremely dissatisfied with Shen Tonghe High School Huiyuan, and now they have not received the papers, they are even more suspicious to the end, they are justifiable, and they are even more fierce, the Yamen of the Ministry of Rites is completely unable to work, Liu Chuxian, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and He Zongyan, the right attendant of the Ministry of Rites, can't bear the pressure, and after discussing with Wu Gelao, Emperor Wanli asked for a re-examination of Shen Tonghe, the first Huiyuan, Zhao Mingyang, the seventh, and the one hundred and fifteen candidates whose examination papers were burnedIf Shen Tonghe and Zhao Mingyang fail to pass the re-examination, they will be dethroned and severely punished, and six more candidates will be promoted from the one hundred and fifteen candidates who have re-examined and participate in the palace examination together with other famous people on the yellow list -- the one hundred and fifteen candidates are overjoyed to learn this news, which is equivalent to advancing the examination after three years, and there is no need to wait for three years, and six out of one hundred and fifteen people will be taken to reach one out of twenty, which is a little more chance than eight thousand candidates taking three hundred and forty-four people, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

The other candidates beat their chests and scolded the arsonist for not burning the fire harder, burning all the papers, and retaking all the exams.

(To be continued)