() Governor Tong lowered his hesitant gaze, stared at the unknown scroll for a moment, and nodded. couldn't help but glance sideways, and said with a slap of the ass: "Lord Bai, I just hope that this candidate can be used by the imperial court in the future." ”

He was right. There are many students in the world, and this candidate only got the other way to supervise the case, but even if he is a lifter, he may not be able to enter the top three in the Beijing examination, let alone talk about his career as an official in the future.

Bai Zhou glanced at it with clear eyes and then withdrew it lightly, and scraped the tea bowl with the tea lid in his hand. The tea was certainly fragrant, but from early morning to afternoon without resting reading the papers, his stomach was already hungry, he frowned two long eyebrows, and ordered outside: "Prepare some food to come in." ”

The attendants outside had been guarding the door, and they had answered the call and walked quickly.

At this point, everyone gathered and continued to review the papers. However, the papers that passed the written test were first placed on the tray on the left, and the papers that did not pass were directly discarded in the bamboo paper basket. Wait until all the volumes are reviewed, and then the pile of rolls on the left side will be unified to Bai Zhou's golden silk nanmu warped head case.

Bai Zhou will discuss with them as soon as he looks at it, and decide who is Xie Yuan and Juzi.

He sat upright and gentle, with a luxurious and outward appearance. I flipped through a few copies at random in my hand, and suddenly twisted my eyebrows to examine them, and said in surprise: "This one, and this one, although the handwriting is very different, why is the argument of the answer exactly the same?" Even the examples are not bad? ”

Seeing Bai Zhou's face sank, everyone hurried over to take a look. The two test papers were approved by two officials, and they were not observed. Now that it's in his hands, it's clearer.

- Someone is under his nose, openly cheating in the Gongyuan!

Tong Zhifu's heart fell, although this matter is common, it is not a good thing after all. He has always been cautious, and he doesn't even dare to silence his atmosphere at the moment. After Bai Zhou signaled, he carefully tore open the white strips of the two test papers, and saw that they were different names.

"Bastard!" Bai Zhou's eyes were awe-inspiring, and he slapped his palm heavily on the case, and said in a deep voice: "Master Tong, don't order someone to investigate quickly!" ”

The names of the students were written on the test paper, and one only had to look up the records of the pen officials of the Gongyuan to know where the two candidates lived.

Unexpectedly, the two were unrelated. A student named Guan Dong, a student of the official school, lives in the south of the city, and his father is the manager of the government room. The other is named Zhou Ming, who is a student of Yushu College and has a poor family.

After the master checked it, he immediately decided to take the person first. The head catcher shook the red spike saber at his waist, and the official messenger brought shackles and sticks, and rushed out of the yamen with a roar.

At this time, the moon had just emerged from the clouds, casting a faint cold light, and the floating lights illuminated the large areas of high and low roof ridges in the city.

In the autumn night, the air is cool, passing over the ears and pouring into the neck, arousing people's teeth to tighten. The people who were still wandering on the street walked with their heads bowed one by one, eager to have wind under their feet, so that they could go home early and soak their feet.

A wealthy family in the south of the city, just about to close the gate at this moment, was interrupted by noisy footsteps, only to hear a rough voice calling outside.

"Hurry up and open the door, we are the officials of the Yamen to handle the case! Quickly call your son-in-law Guan Dong out! ”

The subordinates didn't dare to slack off, and they were dumbfounded when they opened the door: it was really the poor master of the government!

Then he staggered under his feet, and he didn't dare to stop when he hit the railing, so he ran inside, shouting as he ran: "The master is not good, the official is here to arrest the son!" ”

Guan Jingcheng had just finished washing his face, and his eyes widened instantly when he heard the report, and he grabbed his subordinates and asked nervously, "Tell me clearly, what's the matter?" ”

The subordinate pointed out with trembling fingers: "Master, the official is here to arrest the son!" ”

Guan Jingcheng let go of his fingers, heard the footsteps and wailing and scolding outside, and hurriedly rushed to the courtyard. His son was being roughly pressed on his hands and back by the official stick, and his round body was wearing a satin shirt, and he was sitting on the ground struggling and scolding.

"You are blind, my father is also an errand boy in the yamen! I'm still a student this year, how can I make you treat you so recklessly! ”

The head catcher held the saber and chuckled disdainfully: "That's sorry!" Your father is not a child prefect. Besides, we're here to catch you! ”

Guan Jingcheng's eyes were red, and he hurriedly stepped up to stop him: "Colleagues, slow down!" I don't know what my son has done, do you know about it? Is there some misunderstanding? ”

The head catcher really turned his head, looked at him and said: "There is no misunderstanding, Lord Tong and the Lord of the Supervision Case are reviewing the test papers of the autumn examination, and they found that your son is suspected of cheating, so they specially ordered us to take someone back for questioning." By the way, the master said, this matter is also very likely with you, please go back together! ”

What Guan Jingcheng wants to say no matter what, it is useless. looked down at his son again, he really looked panicked, and his heart was clear, and he couldn't wait to go up and slap him.

"Turtle son, how did Lao Tzu give birth to you like this!"

It is said that the official is divided into two ways, and he is already on the way to arrest Zhou Ming.

In a dilapidated tiled house in the alley, only a candle was lit in the room, and the dim light flickered, illuminating a bowl of fresh chicken soup on the table.

Zhou Ming picked up his sick and weak old lady, put a soft pillow behind his back, and leaned on the bed rail.

He brought the chicken soup and exhaled to cool it, but when he fed it, his mother shook her head and waved her hand.

"Chicken soup is so expensive, buy pen and ink when you earn money, my mother is counting on you in this life, cough cough cough...... It's a pity that I'm not in good shape. ”

Zhou Ming paused, his eyes were faintly moist, he held back his breath, and pulled away a smile to comfort: "Mother, don't worry." I'll be able to take good care of you in the future, so let's drink the chicken soup first! ”

Mother and son depend on each other for their lives, and life is hard. Fortunately, Zhou Ming's brain is smart, and he reads and reads quickly. As long as he passes the autumn exam, even if he is not Xie Yuan and just an ordinary move, he is eligible to participate in the spring exam for entering Beijing next year. A bright future seemed to be in sight, but Zhou Ming was uneasy.

His mother looked at him with a calm expression, his cheeks were thin, and his eyes were blue. lamented: "It's my mother who dragged you down, hey!" ”

"No, how can I be without my mother...... Don't talk about it, drink it while it's hot! ”

The knock on the door was heavy and urgent.

"Open the door!"

Zhou Ming handed the bowl to his mother, and he walked over to open the door. "Who, it's been such an hour."

The door slammed open, and the official stood there in his official uniform.

Zhou Ming was like falling into an ice cave, his hands and feet froze, and his body trembled slightly.

What should come, still comes.

"Zhou Ming, the prefect has an order, you are suspected of cheating in the autumn test, follow me back to the yamen for trial!"

Zhou Ming was stunned, and immediately changed his face. He quickly ran to the next door and patted the door of his neighbor's house.

"Uncle and aunt, please help me take care of my mother for two days." As he spoke, he knelt down and kowtowed.

The official is not unkind, and he will leave only after he says goodbye to his mother.