Zhou Hu's confident expression was not yet on his face, and when he heard Mu Ruqing say this, he was shocked in his heart, and immediately kowtowed to the emperor: "Your Majesty, how can this matter be decided, I have seen it with my own eyes, and Your Majesty does not care if you let the traitors cause trouble to the dynasty, if this is the case, I am afraid it will hurt the hearts of scholars all over the world!" ”

The emperor's face was lacking in interest, his eyes were not raised, he only turned the jade wrench in his hand and said, "Where is Zhou Gongzi's family, how many years have you been studying, and what books have you read?" ”

"It's... Back to Your Majesty, Caomin's family is in Hedong, and he started to study at the age of ten, and now he has been fifteen or sixteen years old, and he has read four books and five classics. Zhou Hu didn't dare to say anything else, and answered the emperor's question nervously, but he wondered why he refused to condemn Yipinxiang, but instead pulled the topic away, how can this work, it seems that it is necessary to add another fire, and the emperor can only make him angry.

"Your Majesty, although the grass people have little knowledge, but they also know that the imperial examination is an important way for the country to select talents, once the unfair things of the imperial examination are spread, the people will inevitably discuss it, and when the country has no loyal ministers and good generals, won't there be a big incident!" While speculating on the emperor's thoughts, Zhou Hu moved closer to the great cause of the country.

"I know that you are for my court and the world, since this is the case, I will reward you well, so let's write a reward for you, you can take a look." As he spoke, the emperor picked up a pen from the table in front of him and dipped it in cinnabar ink and wrote something on the paper, and then half-raised the paper in his hand and looked at Zhou Hu.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, it's just... The distance is too far, and the paper is facing away from the grass people, and the grass people can't see it clearly, so please make it clear to Your Majesty. Zhou Hu was happy in his heart, and his body was not honest, he looked at the emperor according to his words, but he only felt vague and couldn't see anything clearly, so he had to rub his eyes and couldn't wait for the emperor to say it.

"Tsk, you can't see clearly, how can I reward you?" The emperor slapped the paper with the dragon pattern on his hand on the table, there was no smile on his face, and the coercion belonging to the emperor's superior slowly wrapped Zhou Hu, making his joy also appear a little crack.

"You said that you saw Jin Jiaoyang take a note with your own eyes, and even the details are extremely fine, and you can even say what words are written, my desk is only three or five meters away from you, and you can't see it at the same distance, what do you dare to say with your own eyes?" The emperor snorted coldly and looked directly into Zhou Hu's eyes, "Today's matter, you'd better give me an explanation." ”

"No, Your Majesty, this... The lights in the hall are too dim, and the situation in the number room is different! Believe me, Your Majesty! Zhou Hu was a little panicked, he just wanted to increase the credibility of the matter, but he didn't expect that such a small mistake and omission was also noticed by Mu Ruqing and the emperor, and he still held on to it, if it went on like this, wouldn't what he said be overturned, and the consequences... Disastrous.

"The situation in the main hall is different from the number room? Could it be that Jin Jiaoyang took the paper not towards himself, but towards you? A finger-wide piece of paper, even if it is written, must be small, and it would be strange if you could see it on the other side. The emperor was obviously a little impatient, he fully understood that this was Zhou Hu taking the opportunity to make trouble, framing the person of Yipinxiang and that Jin Jiaoyang, this kind of thing naturally could not exist.

However, he pondered for a while, but he was more curious about what kind of character this candidate named Jin Jiaoyang was, he could be targeted like this, and he was not ordinary, but he was a little curious about him, if he felt good after seeing it today, then it was not impossible for him to come out and point to an official position.

"Say, who instructed you to come, how many benefits were promised to you, what things you were asked to do, tell them one by one, although your imperial examination career is hopeless, but maybe you can spare your life." Mu Ruqing spoke at the right time and asked the question he wanted to know the most. After all, he didn't threaten people with his future for no reason, and he didn't look like that kind of scheming person, even if something happened to him, he would solve it on the spot, and he would never make such a move suddenly.

It's just that the king of Qi is now seriously ill and bedridden in the palace and imprisoned, and the trees are falling and scattered, even if his people are still loyal, they are trying their best to preserve their strength, and they will not make trouble at this time, so who will it be? Yipinxiang's business naturally will not conflict with people, nor will it implicate Jin Jiaoyang, who he doesn't know yet, so there can only be people related to scientific research, and he is not on good terms with Yipinxiang, so the scope is greatly reduced, and the name is almost blurted out.

Jiang Xinyue and Mu Ruqing had a good heart, and they also dissected this layer, touched Ruan Mianmian who was in a daze with his arm, and asked quietly: "Mianmian, do you remember the eldest son of the prince of the Duke of Wei, who participated in the imperial examination this year?" ”

"Huh?" Ruan Mianmian was still a little stunned, shook his head, and then suddenly remembered, "I remembered, he has indeed reached the age, and he participated in the examination, yesterday when I looked at the name, I also saw that there was someone on the wall of 'Batche' who wrote his name, called... Wei Xunxin! ”

"Sure enough, it is estimated that it is the meaning of the lady of the waiter, if this matter is a big trouble, Yipinxiang's reputation will be damaged, and this year's hot candidate Jin Jiaoyang will also be implicated, but it is not to subtract a competitor from Wei Xunxin, and he will also suppress Yipinxiang, killing two birds with one stone." Jiang Xinyue said lightly.

"That lady squire, it's so bad." Ruan Mianmian pouted, obviously not looking down on her approach, and began to think about how to let the emperor know that it was the handiwork of the Duke of Wei without being deliberate.

After the emperor's debunking, Zhou Hu was already very unconfident in his heart, and he was trembling and a little overwhelmed when he knelt down, and after Mu Ruqing's direct interrogation, he was even more trembling, only repeating what "Your Majesty spares your life, Your Majesty forgives your sins" and the like, but never mentioned who was behind it.

Seeing that he had made up his mind and didn't say anything, Mu Ruqing added faintly: "Zhou Gongzi seems to be not very excited after hearing that he can't participate in the scientific examination, he wants to come to study for decades, and the final exam and fame are dispensable?" But it's also said that those who often do things in casinos naturally don't look down on the rules and regulations of these officialdoms. ”

"Oh? What do you mean by that? This sentence aroused the emperor's interest, looked at Zhou Hu twice, and didn't see what he had to do with the casino, but turned his inquiring gaze to Mu Ruqing, waiting for him to give an answer.

"As we all know, it is not groundless to have poetry and books in the belly, and people who read a lot naturally have a delicate sense of beauty in dealing with people, this Zhou Gongzi, although he deliberately used the etiquette of a scholar, but he also did not have that kind of natural charm, and the tiger was not an anti-dog. Speaking of casinos, His Majesty is often in the palace, so he must have never been to a ninth-rate place like a casino, right? Mu Ruqing smiled slightly, which meant obviously.

"There's just a couple of things to play in the casino, either rolling the dice or playing cards. If these gamblers often roll dice, the right wrist will be exceptionally strong because they are often excited and forceful, and if they like to play cards, the middle finger of the right hand will be calloused because of the long-term pinching of the top card, and the serious will become yellow and black, which are just some details. In my opinion, Zhou Gongzi is afraid that the dice and cards are not less played, and it is not a year or two. ”

Only then did the emperor show a suddenly realized expression, and exclaimed: "Sure enough, the Qing family still knows the subtleties, and knows that in the bottom of the affection, I have never understood the situation in these places, so I don't know these details, and I will have to go to the people to observe the people's feelings in the future." ”

Hearing the emperor praise Mu Ruqing like this, Jiang Xinyue's face was naturally bright, but as soon as the smug expression was revealed, she changed her appearance in an instant, her eyebrows were raised, her eyes were wide, she stretched out two fingers and pinched Mu Ruqing's arm, and slammed it, and Mu Ruqing, who was suddenly in pain, shrank back, and practiced to forgive.

"Say! Brother Huang doesn't know these because he rarely knows, why do you know so much! ”

Only then did Mu Ruqing know why she lost her temper, and hurriedly explained: "Yue'er, you let go of me first, in front of so many people, be lighter." The reason why I know this is because I went around with Anyang Hou last year, in order to understand the tastes of these low-level people, and I didn't spend a penny on it, I don't believe you go back to check the accounts. ”

Jiang Xinyue let go of his hand and let him go, clapped her hands and said to the emperor casually: "Brother Huang, go on, I'm fine." ”

The emperor saw it clearly above, and he liked it very much when he saw such a homely and loving fight, as if he remembered the flirting and scolding between himself and Concubine Lan when he was young, so he couldn't help but smile a little, but he still used his dragon robe to cover the pretending to be fine, and maintained the majesty of the Son of Heaven.

The other officials present also covered their sleeves and smiled for a while, knowing that the county lord of Jingshu and the prospective horse were very affectionate, but they didn't want to be a pair of enemies who jumped out like this, which was really cute.

"Ahem, they all say that if you gamble, you will owe debts, Zhou Gongzi has been gambling for so long, I think I owe a lot of debts, this county lord wants to know, how did this money be repaid?" Jiang Xinyue was a little embarrassed, blushing and deliberately diverting the topic.

Zhou Hu never expected to be dismantled little by little like this, he was already panicked and out of proportion, beads of sweat the size of beans on his forehead slid down, and he himself was paralyzed on the ground like a puddle of mud and couldn't move.

"Zhou Gongzi, let's say it, if you are instructed by others, you will be an accomplice at most, and the crime will not lead to death, but if you stop this matter yourself, then your family and relatives will have to pay for you with their lives within the nine clans, so is it worth it?" Seeing that the time was ripe, Ruan Mianmian also persuaded him bitterly, which was regarded as the last straw for Zhou Hu, who had collapsed.

"I said, I said! It's someone from the Duke of Wei's mansion! A kind lady asked me to come!