"Examiner, this is the note I am going to draft." Jiang Chongjin handed the note in his hand to the examiner.

The examiner glanced at the note, which was empty, but a blank piece of paper.

The examiner looked up at Jiang Chongjin, and then ordered the guards beside him, "Give me a good search of this room!" ”

As soon as the order was given, the group of guards began to search Jiang Chongjin's room.

They searched from the examination basket to the tables and chairs, to every corner of the room, and also searched Jiang Chongjin's whole body.

In particular, Jiang Chongjin's book case has been searched several times.

As a result, they didn't find anything, so the examiner frowned and left with the guards.

On this day, Jiang Chongjin's exam went well.

At dusk, when the preliminary examination was over, he left the Gongyuan and returned to his own house.

After his wife changed his court clothes for him, he went into the inner room and removed his left thumb.

It was a fake finger cover, and during the day, he hid the note in the fake finger cover.

Now, he pulled the note out of it, threw it into the oil lamp, and burned it clean.

**

That night, King Kang, the Seventh Prince, and the Ninth Princes gathered in King Kang's Mansion.

"What? Failed again this time?! When King Kang learned the news, he was furious.

Nine Princes: "Our people obviously hid things in Jiang Chongjin's table and chairs, so how could the examiner not be able to search it?" ”

King Kang: "From entering the examination room to sending the papers, it didn't take long for Jiang Chongjin to destroy the evidence in a short period of time, someone must have sent a message to Jiang Chongjin in advance, so that he could take precautions in advance." ”

"Who could that be?" The Ninth Prince frowned, "This time, except for the examiner who hid the note in Jiang Chongjin's case, only the three of us know. ”

The Seventh Prince: "Could it be the examiner?" I heard that the examiner is an official of the Ministry of Rites, and the prince is not in charge of the Ministry of Rites? ”

King Kang: "The examiner accepted our money, it is impossible to expose this matter, what good is this for him, if people know, isn't it him who is harmed?" ”

The Seventh Prince said from a different angle: "I heard that Jiang Chongjin is quite knowledgeable about metaphysics, could it be that he calculated a hexagram for himself before the exam, and calculated that someone would harm him during the exam?" ”

Nine Princes: "I heard that they are this kind of hexagram teller, and it is very accurate to calculate the hexagram for others, but it is not accurate to calculate for themselves, just like the doctor can't heal himself." ”

The Seventh Prince's heart was so weak that he pretended to be puzzled on his face, "That's really strange......"

King Kang and the Nine Princes fell into deep contemplation.

Immediately afterward, the two brothers looked at each other, but did not mention the matter again.

King Kang: "Lao Qi, I have been living with Lao Jiu in your summer Zhuangzi recently, your Zhuangzi is really cool, even your sister-in-law has praised you for living in it, and such a good Zhuangzi has been brought to us to live, but you can't live by yourself." ”

Nine Princes: "My daughter-in-law also said that Zhuangzi lives comfortably, but now the summer is almost over, seeing that the weather is going to turn cold, my daughter-in-law is cold, and every year the charcoal fire in the house is not a big deal, and her hands and feet are still cold......

"What's there, this king has a few shelters in the capital." After hearing this, the Seventh Prince said angrily: "The ground is like the earth fire dragon in the palace, and it is warm. ”

"Ninth brother, when the time comes, I will let someone send the key to your house on the Zhuangzi, and you and your younger siblings will live in it, and you will live comfortably!"

"Then thank you Brother Seven." The Nine Princes had a smile on his face, but there was a hint of unusualness in that smile.

King Kang: "Seventh brother, last time you gave my father-in-law's "Snow Mountain Map", he liked it, and asked someone to frame it and hang it in his study. Let me tell you, he was so angry last time, he didn't have a good face when he saw me, but after receiving the painting, he finally had a good face. ”

"By the way, I heard him say... What kind of "Flowers and Birds" does the ancient painter have, you know, I am a rough person, I don't understand these, seventh brother, do you know what the price of that picture is? ”

Seventh Prince: "I know that picture, it seems to be fifty percent more expensive than "Snow Mountain Picture", what, do you like it very much, then I will change Ming'er to let people buy that painting." ”

Recently, the restaurant and the rouge shop have made a lot of money, and when he thinks that the silver was obtained by betraying the second brother and the ninth brother, he feels guilty and wants to make up for them.

"What? It's half more expensive than "Snow Mountain"? King Kang is too expensive, "This is too expensive, I'm afraid it's not the gold of the painting, seventh brother, I appreciate your kindness, but this painting is too expensive, forget it." ”

"What's this, my own brother, it's hard to buy my brother's happiness!" The Seventh Prince insisted on buying it, "When the painting is purchased, I will directly ask someone to send it to your house." ”

King Kang: "Since the seventh brother is so righteous, I will thank the seventh brother for my father-in-law." ”

**

After the prince learned that there was a problem with the examiner who searched Jiang Chongjin, he asked people to check the bad deeds of the official.

Who can guarantee that there will be no bad deeds in the official career?

The examiner was an official of the Ministry of Rites, and within two days, a bunch of bad deeds were discovered.

The crown prince directly dismissed the official, put him in a dungeon, and beheaded him after the autumn.

On July 21, the results of the preliminary examination came out, and the imperial court selected 300 people, and Jiang Chongjin was among them.

On July 22nd, the "Xuanjing Yin and Yang Branch" pavilion test began!

The pavilion test was held in the Baohe Palace, and the questions were made by Emperor Jianyuan.

The question is the outcome of the second battle in the west, and the candidates are required to answer the victory or defeat through divination.

As for the answer, Emperor Jianyuan had received a secret letter from the border pass yesterday, but it had not been made public for the time being, and only Emperor Jianyuan knew his secret.

Among them, there are those who are really talented and hard-working, and they have calculated that the western region has suffered a defeat this time.

Of course, there are also those who fill up the numbers indiscriminately and blindly touch the right answers.

After all, in addition to winning a war or losing a war, it is relatively easy to meet the right answer with only two options.

Jiang Chongjin quickly calculated that the western region had lost the battle and wrote a defeat on the exam question.

Since only one question is tested, the test results will be released on the spot.

It was an easy question in Jiang Chongjin's opinion, but more than 200 people were eliminated, and only more than 90 people entered the palace test!

The final temple examination was held on the 25th, and the examination was on the occult arts.

Each candidate chooses one of the best occult arts and competes!

At that time, in addition to Emperor Jianyuan, princes and nobles will also participate in this grand metaphysics competition!

On July 25, Pei Xuanling brought Jiang Shishi and Xue Liangdi to the Baohe Hall with a bowl of water, so that the two of them could meet their brother.

Although Xue Liangdi's brother did not participate in the subject examination, Xue Youcai attended the Baohe Hall and watched the metaphysics competition.

When they arrived at the Baohe Palace, Xue Liangdi's brother and sister saw each other, and both of them were teary-eyed and had endless words.

Seeing this, Jiang Shishi and the prince did not disturb the meeting of their brothers and sisters, but found a place in the hall to take a seat.

After about a stick of incense, the guests and candidates arrived one after another.

Xue Liangdi also sat down next to Jiang Shishi with red eyes, and smiled lightly at Jiang Shishi.

After everyone arrived, Emperor Jianyuan appeared and took a seat on the dragon chair at the top.

And, there was a middle-aged Taoist priest sitting beside the emperor.

The princes and ministers all sat at the bottom, and outside the hall, there were candidates who were about to perform occult arts.

With the sound of whips ringing outside the hall, the exam officially began.

First, a candidate came in with a torch in hand.

"Your Majesty, what you are performing below is a fire-breathing exorcism." After he saluted Emperor Jianyuan, he breathed fire at the torch, and the torch was instantly ignited.

Immediately after, he blew diagonally, on his back, on his back, on his back, and turned over to blow, and the fire in his mouth continued.

The firelight will be mushroom-shaped, and cloud-shaped......

At last, the flame was several feet long, and it soared over the temple like a fiery dragon.

The princes and ministers present were so frightened that they were afraid of being ignited by the fire he spewed, so they dodged left and right.

The key is that there has been no rain for two months recently, and even if there are many ice basins in the hall, they can't withstand his fire.

The already hot weather, coupled with the fact that he kept breathing fire, the temperature in the hall rose sharply, and many guests were too hot to stand.

"Quick, stop, but don't set the hall on fire!" An old minister spoke out to stop it.

And the candidate had already finished performing, retreated from the hall, and the next candidate entered.

The next examinees performed occult techniques such as "leaning forward but not falling", "dividing the human body", and "changing into a living person......

During this period, the middle-aged Taoist priest at the top came to the emperor's side to speak, as if commenting.

The princes and ministers in the palace were frightened, especially those female dependents, who were so frightened that they lost their faces, but they still had to maintain good manners and smiles.

One by one, they laughed worse than they cried.

There are a few squeamish concubines who go straight into the arms of their masters.

"Oh my God, this man is standing there leaning, and he won't fall......"

"And that human body is divided, the woman's head and feet are separated, and she is still alive?"

"This candidate, how did he conjure up a big beauty out of thin air? If I were him, I would turn myself into a beauty every day......"

Discussions like this resounded in the temple.

Pei Xuanling glanced at Jiang Liangdi beside him with his spare eyes, only to see the woman looking at all this indifferently, "You're not afraid?" ”

"I'm afraid, of course I'm afraid of the concubine, but there are many people in the palace, and the concubine must maintain a good demeanor and can't embarrass you." Jiang Shishi pretended to look scared, and then returned to normal.

I thought I could really see a grand metaphysical competition, but... Are you sure this isn't a big magic show?

I didn't expect it, I didn't expect that magic was already so popular in ancient times.

The honest Xue Liangdi was already frightened, "Sister Jiang, these mystical techniques are too bluffing, I may have a nightmare tonight......"

"Which demon are you being by... Scared by occultism? Jiang Shishi changed her words in time.

In her opinion, these magic tricks are flawed, and there is nothing to be afraid of.

Xue Liangdi: "It's the mystic technique of cutting a woman in half, the upper body and lower body of the woman are separated, there is still a smile on her face, and her feet can still move freely......

After Jiang Shishi heard this, she leaned over to Xue Liangdi's ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear: "I suspect that the woman was not cut, but there was a person in each of the two boxes, one was responsible for showing her head and the other was responsible for showing her feet." ”

I heard that Xue Liangdi's brother and Jiang Chongjin got along very well, so she said a few more words to Xue Liangdi.

"Really?" Xue Liangdi thought about it for a while, "Hearing you say this, it's really like that, so I'm not so scared." ”

Pei Xuanling saw that the two women around him were actually talking and laughing, and coexisting peacefully, which was a little unexpected.

There were more than 90 people who participated in this occult competition, and Jiang Shishi waited until the afternoon to see Jiang Chongjin enter the palace.

Fortunately, pastries and drinks were prepared at the banquet, so that Jiang Shishi would not go hungry.

I saw Jiang Chongjin wearing a cyan official robe and entered the palace, "Your Majesty, there has been no rain for a long time recently, and there is a drought in many places in Beijing, so Weichen wants to ask for rain." ”

As soon as these words came out, it caused an uproar in the hall!

"I heard... Only the disciples of the Xuanmen who have attained the Tao can perform the ritual of asking for rain, and whether they ask for rain or not is another matter. ”

"Last time, the emperor asked Daoist Jia to ask for rain, but Daoist Jia shirked it, it is estimated that the Tao is low, and he can't ask for rain, so he shirked it."

"Now that Lord Jiang is magnifying his moves as soon as he comes up, is Lord Jiang's occult art higher than that of Daoist Jia?"

“......”

Hearing these words, Daoist Jia's eyes beside Emperor Jianyuan turned slightly.

"I've been worrying about this matter recently, but I didn't expect you to ask for rain, so let's start!" When Emperor Jianyuan spoke, there was unconcealed expectation in his tone.

Jiang Chongjin: "There are a lot of sacrifices that need to be prepared for the rain ceremony, and a lot of preparations are required, so Wechen implores His Highness to let other candidates take the test first, and wait for Wechen to prepare everything properly, and then it will be Wechen's turn to ask for rain." ”

"As long as you can get rain, that's not a problem." Emperor Jianyuan was very happy.

With the consent of Emperor Jianyuan, Jiang Chongjin went out to arrange for rain.

Before leaving the hall, Jiang Chongjin saw Jiang Shishi in the hall.

The brother and sister gave each other a smile at the same time, which was a face-to-face.

Although the next metaphysical competition was very exciting, everyone was thinking about Jiang Chongjin's prayer for rain.

Especially Emperor Jianyuan, since Jiang Chongjin left the palace, he has been a little absent-minded.

Recently, there has been a drought in the capital and in the north, resulting in no grain harvest for the common people.

If it weren't for the imperial court's disaster relief and soup kitchen, I don't know how many people would have starved to death.

In some places, people don't even have water to drink.

If Jiang Chongjin can really ask for rain, he can let the people get through the difficulties earlier.

Also, it would be great if you could catch the autumn planting.

However, an hour later, there was no good news from Jiang Chongjin's side.

On the contrary, a guard entered the hall and bad news came, "Your Majesty, Lord Jiang's rain ceremony is ready, but there is no rain." ”

Emperor Jianyuan raised his eyebrows, "Are you sure that the relevant matters are ready?" ”

Guard: "Master Jiang prepared a lot of tribute and tools, and also found someone to burn a large amount of wood on a cliff in the palace...... These... We did what he said, but we didn't wait for it to rain. ”

"Since he failed to ask for rain, why didn't he come to report it in person, it shouldn't be that he has no face to see people, right?" The person who said this was King Kang, who has always been straightforward and fast-talking.

"......" Emperor Jianyuan looked disappointed, "Call Jiang Chongjin to me!" ”

Jiang Shishi didn't expect Jiang Chongjin's rain ceremony to fail.

In fact, it is also very common to fail to pray for rain.

Just looking at Emperor Jianyuan's face, it is estimated that he is not very happy.

According to this situation, Jiang Chongjin is estimated to be eliminated.

A moment later, Jiang Chongjin entered the hall sweating profusely and knelt down to Emperor Jianyuan.

Emperor Jianyuan didn't shout, but just looked down at Jiang Chongjin who was below, "I heard that you failed to ask for rain?" ”

"It's not a failure." Jiang Chongjin said truthfully: "Just now Weichen checked it, and there was something wrong with the sword and gossip mirror that begged for rain, so he didn't ask for rain, so I implore the emperor to give Weichen another chance." ”

For a time, the ministers of Wang Gong in the palace said anything unpleasant.

"I don't admit that I failed to ask for rain, but I still blame the tools, and it's the same as the real thing."

"I used to think that he was better than Daoist Jia, but now it seems that Daoist Jia at least knows how many catties and taels he has."

"Unlike some people, who are overconfident and don't want to recognize the facts......"

"It's just that there are so many sacrifices, and they are still setting fire to the cliff, and it looks like a bells and whistles, so just eliminate it......"

"......" Emperor Jianyuan's gaze fell on Jiang Chongjin, "If I give you another chance, you still don't ask for rain?" ”

"......" Jiang Chongjin paused slightly, and then made up his mind, "If you still don't get the rain, Weichen will be at the emperor's disposal!" ”

Emperor Jianyuan was silent for a few breaths before narrowing his eyes and saying, "Okay, I'll give you another chance!" ”

"Your Majesty." Jiang Chongjin thanked the emperor and hurried out.

Pei Xuanling instructed Huang Dechang, "You send some people to help Jiang Chongjin check the gates, and keep an eye on not letting people do anything in his things." ”

"Yes." After Huang Dechang responded, he secretly left the hall.

Jiang Shishi turned her head to look at the prince, and there was gratitude in her eyes.

Immediately afterwards, another hour passed, and more than 90 candidates had all finished their performances, and there was no news from Jiang Chongjin's side.

Therefore, many people in the temple were whispering.

"It's been a long time, so why hasn't Jiang Chongjin come yet?"

"I guess I failed again, I don't know which corner to hide, right?"

"Since he failed the first time, he will definitely not succeed the second time, no matter how many times he tries again, it's not like that!"

"Father, it's all time, wait any longer, the sun will go down." King Kang got up impatiently, "There's still something going on in the Erchen Mansion, so don't you wait?" ”

King Kang took the lead, and the rest of the princes and ministers also said that they didn't want to wait.

Emperor Jianyuan was also impatient to wait, so he opened his mouth to dismiss everyone, "Since the candidates have finished the exam, it's not too early, just wait and disperse!" ”

Jiang Shishi looked outside, and saw a few dark clouds suddenly appear in the sky, and hurriedly reminded everyone, "Look, everyone, there are dark clouds outside, maybe it will rain in a while!" ”