When the Xie family was preparing for Xie Pu to go to Beiping, the Cao family was not idle.

The prince's choice of companions to read is finally about to begin.

In order to compete for a place that can be selected in the palace, the children of several heads of the Cao family fought for their heads. In the end, Cao Wentai crushed everyone with his strong family background, and unsurprisingly won the qualification; Cao Wenheng was not to be outdone, and squeezed into it with the power of his grandmother. But who will stay on the final list is still unknown. It's just that none of the children of the Cao family who are in the middle of the house can seize the opportunity.

Although some of them voluntarily gave up under the pressure of the Duchess of Chengen, there were also people who were injured for such and such inexplicable reasons a day or two before the election and had to retreat. As for what is so greasy here, it is really a testament to freedom.

Xie Xianzhi also wore new clothes, and followed Cao Wentai and Cao Wenheng to the imperial city by car. However, he didn't really go to the election, and when he arrived at the palace gate, he didn't go any further. The two sons of the Cao family entered the palace to be examined by the emperor and courtiers, but he had to stay in the carriage and wait for his cousins to leave the palace. Mrs. Pinnanbo sat in another carriage and waited with him, but the two were in a completely different state of mind.

Pingnanbo's wife Cheng is looking forward to her son being selected as a companion, so she wants to wait for the latest news in front of the imperial city.

And Xie Xianzhi, but when he prevaricated Xie Pu because of Pingnanbo's choice of companions, the Cao family also heard the promise he made. Ping Nanbo can fool Xie Pu with lies, but he can't confess to his own sister who loves his son, he is just lying to people. He still has a place to count on his sister's help.

Therefore, he came with Xie Xianzhi today, but Xie Xianzhi couldn't enter the palace, and the final result would definitely be "defeated". As long as Cao Wenheng helps Yuan Yiyuan lie, and the news of the Cao family, who is still pretending to be sick to evade Queen Cao's "remarriage" order, there is no reason to blame the elder brother.

However, Ping Nanbo's wishful thinking may not be as good as he thought.

The children of the eunuchs and magnates who came to study today who should be selected to be the prince's companion are actually not very many, that is, there are only about 20 people, most of them are the children of some nobles and royal families, and some of them are from the families of scholars and eunuchs, but they are not descendants of the descendants. Empress Cao was waiting for news in the apse, and listening to the list of people reported by the palace people, she was always a little dissatisfied.

At least half of the people here are from noble families who are in the middle of the road, and their fathers and ancestors have no real power. What does the prince need such a person for? I'm afraid that these people will still touch the prince's light, and expect the prince to support them.

Empress Cao was unwilling, and asked the palace people again: "Didn't anyone from the Zhao family come?" ”

The palace man replied: "There is a third young master, who is from the concubine." It's Miss Zhao's own brother. ”

The third young master of the Zhao family mentioned by the palace people is not small. During the reign of Emperor Taizong Yongle of this dynasty, the ancestor of the Zhao family has been the first assistant of the cabinet for nearly ten years, since then, the Zhao family has always been one of the most prominent official families in this dynasty, each generation has children into the imperial examination, often high-ranking officials, two or three hundred years, there have been five scholars, eight squires, more than a dozen scholars, three or four feudal officials, not to mention the rest of the official positions. To this day, the Zhao family is still a prestigious family among the Shilin civil officials.

The candidate for the crown prince and concubine initially selected by Empress Cao for the crown prince is the concubine of the Zhao family.

However, the Miss Zhao she fancied was not from the clan of the branch of the clan, but the daughter of the side branch. It's not that the Zhao family's descendants don't have daughters of the right age, but that the daughters of the descendants are not as beautiful as the side branches. After Wang Meiru's death, the prince has been depressed, and Empress Cao feels that if she wants her son to completely forget the Wang daughter, the candidate for the crown princess must have enough appearance, otherwise how can the prince empathize and say goodbye? That's why I picked a stunning one on the side.

Of course, this Miss Zhao is not only beautiful, but also has a good family background. Her own grandfather is a scholar, her father is a political envoy, and her uncle is a squire. Empress Cao heard that Lin Zhaoyi also intended to marry this lady for the second prince, and originally felt that Miss Zhao's family background was a little insufficient, so she immediately couldn't take care of anything, and the next day she opened her mouth to the emperor to decide on the candidate for the crown princess. Although the emperor has not yet issued an order, it is impossible for Lin Zhaoyi to cut off his beard again.

It's just that the Zhao family, after receiving the hint from Queen Cao, has not shown any intention of allowing marriage, and it seems that it is still under consideration. Yan Zhi originally intended to let his daughter choose the crown princess, but there has been no follow-up recently, and it seems that his interest in this matter has greatly decreased. Empress Cao was originally very dissatisfied, but seeing that the Zhao family's side branch had a positive attitude, she also sent her children to choose the East Palace to accompany her today, so she was a little relieved.

She thought: The side branch will be the side branch, anyway, as long as the power of the Zhao family can be borrowed, in the future, the crown prince will succeed to the throne, the throne will be stable, and there will be no need for the support of the Zhao family, whether it is to find an excuse to abolish the Zhao family's daughter, or let the Zhao family daughter "die of illness", it is inconvenient to directly confront the Zhao family's branch. The identity of the side branch of the Zhao family is just right.

Thinking like this, Empress Cao's mood calmed down a lot, and she also had the spirit to pay attention to the selection of companions in the front hall.

The emperor brought several important ministers and scholars, as well as the crown prince and princess, to examine and teach many young children who came to apply for the election, and to evaluate them in terms of knowledge, manners, conduct, and temperament, and then select the four best companions. Of course, whether the prince can get along with the other party is also an important consideration.

However, the prince doesn't seem to be in a good mood today, and he always looks a little absent-minded. When the emperor asked him, he answered. Taifu wanted him to communicate more with his peers, and he agreed, but he didn't take any practical action. Seeing him like this, the emperor was a little angry. When the news reached the apse, Queen Cao was also gritting her teeth, knowing that her son had not come back to her senses because of Wang Meiru's death, and it was all the slut's fault!

Among the many young talents who should be selected, Cao Wentai is the most prominent, and he seems to be able to answer all the questions raised by the examiners fluently. Although one of the ministers suddenly interjected into a somewhat difficult question, he answered a little hesitantly, not as fluent as before, but he was able to answer it anyway.

In contrast, Cao Wenheng, another representative of the Cao family, is not as outstanding as his cousin, and he can't answer many questions, or he is more outrageously wrong. Ping Nanbo, who was watching from the side in the hall, attracted everyone's attention, and everyone seemed to think that he had the courage to push his unqualified son up to be elected, isn't this looking for self-interest?

Ping Nanbo's heart was itching with hatred. Do these people really think he doesn't know? Cao Wentai can answer fluently, he simply knows the questions and answers in advance, and he is cheating! His family Wen Heng relies on real talents, so he won't use that kind of means that can't be put on the table!

The two brothers of the Cao family have received the examination and teaching, and it should have been the turn of the next family. Who knew that at this time, a minister suddenly asked: "I heard that Ping Nanbo brought his nephew over today?" Why don't you see anyone? ”

Ping Nanbo couldn't help but be stunned. He didn't tell outsiders, he also brought his nephew Xie Xian before, how could any minister know?

He carefully looked at the minister who spoke, and found that it was Jiao Wenying, the political envoy, and his heart suddenly chuckled.

Although Jiao Wenying is only a general envoy of the three grades, he is the emperor's confidant, an old man in the palace, and he is extremely trusted by the emperor. He rarely speaks in the court, but when he does, someone is bound to be unlucky. Ping Nanbo asked himself if he had never offended this person, why did the other party attack him at this time?

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