An attendant hurried over and saluted the crowd.

"There are still a lot of officials who haven't arrived!" Li Loushang, the left attendant of the household department, glanced around, many people haven't arrived yet!

"Don't wait, the tribute courtyard is on fire, the emperor is furious, and he will immediately go to court."

Everyone looked at each other, and their hearts were uneasy for a while.

"Ridiculous, it's ridiculous, which minion was on duty last night? Such a major event was not reported immediately. ”

The emperor slapped the royal case and pointed at Xu Luo angrily.

Xu Luo was prostrate on the ground, and his body trembled like chaff in fright.

"Please forgive the emperor, it was Xiao Anzi who was on duty last night."

He mourned silently for Xiao Anzi in his heart, it's over! This time, even I can't protect him.

Originally, Xiao Anzi was quite clever, but he didn't expect to make such a big mistake.

"Why didn't he report it?" The emperor is puzzled, this Xiao Anzi is so ignorant?

"It was said that the emperor was too tired, and the imperial doctor told you to rest more, so he made his own decisions and did not report it."

In fact, Xu Luo knew in his heart that it was because the emperor rested on Song Concubine's side last night, and Xiao Anzi got the benefits of Song Concubine, so he didn't want people to disturb the emperor and Song Concubine.

Concubine Song has been extremely favored recently, how dare Xiao Anzi not listen to what she commands?

But this Xiao Anzi is also stupid, won't he ask what is going on? Compared to the fire in the Gongyuan, what is Concubine Song?

"It's ridiculous! What about the cheap minion? Give him a cup of poisonous wine, it will cheapen him, and I will break him into ten thousand pieces. ”

The emperor is extremely disgusted with those who make decisions without permission, and it is not enough for such a slave to die ten thousand times.

Xu Luo was frightened, "I have been imprisoned, Xiao Anzi is derelict in his duties, and he is waiting for the emperor to send him in person." ”

The emperor threw the pen wash on the ground, and the cinnabar splashed Xu Luo's body.

"What are you waiting for? Immediately divide the five horses into corpses and do it quickly, so as to eliminate the hatred in their hearts. ”

The emperor would never have thought that such a big event happened last night, and even a chamberlain dared to hide it.

"Did anyone come to the palace last night to hand over the sign?" The emperor was so angry that his chest rose and fell violently, and it was all wine bags and rice bags.

For such a big thing, he, the Ninety-Five Supreme, was kept in the dark and couldn't bear it.

"Lord Song, the left attendant of the Ministry of Etiquette, and Lord Su of Guanglu Temple, the fire broke out at the moment of the third watch, and Lord Song handed a sign to the palace. However, the sign was not handed to the palace, and Lord Song had no choice but to go back. ”

"Master Su came here for half an hour, and he also handed over the sign."

"Su Jinxun?" The emperor was a little surprised.

"Yes! This year, they have two juniors from the Su clan in Chunyu, which is in the Gongyuan. ”

The emperor nodded, thinking of this matter and still angry, "Go to the court!" ”

Su Jinxun was taken to the Taihe Hall by two officials of the Ministry of Rites, and he couldn't walk anymore.

Just now Su Huai came to report, the door of the Gongyuan finally opened, but the fire had not been completely extinguished, and the rescuers could not enter.

He could already predict the tragic situation in the Gongyuan, how many people could survive such a big fire?

"The emperor has arrived!" A promise was sung, and the hall was silent.

"Ministers welcome the emperor, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

Everyone bowed and saluted, and the emperor did not ask the ministers to calm down as in the past, but said sharply: "Where is Wang Deng, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites?" ”…

Wang Deng immediately went out of the ranks, and after he learned of the fire in the Gongyuan last night, he stayed awake until dawn.

"The minister is here!"

The emperor glared angrily, "There was a fire in the Gongyuan last night, do you know?" ”

The minister knew, so he immediately sent Song Shilang to come to the palace gate to hand over the sign. But the sign has not been delivered to the palace, and the ministers and the outside of the tribute courtyard are anxious. ”

When the emperor heard this, he was furious and asked, "Since you already know about the fire, why don't you open the dragon gate?" ”

"The minister and the tribute observed the fire outside the courtyard and found that the fire could be controlled at the beginning. Unfortunately, the wind suddenly increased, and the fire spread rapidly, and finally it became uncontrollable. ”

"Bastard! If the fire is spreading rapidly, why not open the gantry? The emperor pointed at Wang Deng and shouted angrily.

Wang Deng hurriedly knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty! Last night, the wind direction was from west to east, and if the dragon gate was opened and the wind passed through the hall, it would only help the fire spread. The east side is full of houses, and there are many people's and officials' mansions, and the scope of the fire is expanding, and it can even burn the palace, and it will be out of control at that time! ”

"Then you just watched those candidates die in the fire? They are still young, they are the pillars of the country! ”

Su Jinxun couldn't bear it, how could the two children of their Su family afford to lose in the Gongyuan?

Su Jinxun suddenly spoke, and everyone couldn't help but look at him. They can pay attention to Su Jinxun's mood, but this matter can only be like this.

"Su Siqing, everything should be based on the overall situation, how can you only care about personal feelings at this time? This is already to minimize the damage, and in the face of the overall situation, we cannot care about personal gains and losses. ”

Wang Deng frowned, he was also helpless, but he could only make this choice.

"What's more, the imperial court has ordered that after the examination is entered into the Tribute Academy, before the end, it is not allowed to open the dragon gate, otherwise it will be punished for favoritism. The official handed the sign into the palace overnight, wanting to ask the emperor, but he didn't dare to make his own decisions. ”

"Is this a personal gain or loss? There are a total of 531 candidates in this examination, and there are so many examiners and miscellaneous servants, these are all living human lives! ”

Su Jinxun was heartbroken, so many lives, so many officials watched them die in the fire.

He pointed at Wang Deng and said, "How good is your conscience?" ”

"Presumptuous! Su Siqing, this official can understand your feelings, but this is not a reason for you to speak wildly and be disrespectful to this official. ”

Wang Deng was also angry, in that case, he could only make such a trade-off.

This fire will indeed lose a lot of talents, but if the fire cannot be controlled and the people are implicated, how can he explain to the emperor and the people?

When the emperor thought of Xiao Anzi, who concealed it last night, his heart suddenly became even more angry.

But when he calmed down, he also knew that Wang Deng was right, and in the face of the overall situation, he could only minimize the damage.

"Last night, it was the chamberlain Yao An on duty, and this person actually concealed it and didn't report it, and I will divide his five horses into corpses."

The emperor patted the dragon head on the dragon chair, and he was also very heartbroken for the loss of so many talents.

Su Jinxun was only anxious at the moment, he wanted to know most if his two children were still alive.

"Your Majesty, the top priority at the moment is to send someone to submit the list of candidates for this examination, and report what the situation is in the Gongyuan and whether there are any survivors." Su Jinxun said immediately.

"I have already sent Dali Siqing to deal with it, and I am waiting for news from him at the moment."

The emperor knew that Su Jinxun was anxious, so he didn't blame Su Jinxun for being rude, and patiently explained.

"Wang Deng, and quickly sort out the list of candidates in the Tribute Academy and the location of the number building, and present it to me."

Now is not the time to hold accountable, and the matter must be dealt with quickly.

Wang Deng immediately said: "Your Majesty, the list and the corresponding number house have all been sorted out, and the minister has ordered someone to draw a general map of the number house. ”

"Hurry up!" The emperor hurriedly said.