Today's Chen Qingtong is wearing a lilac-colored embroidered jacket, which is embroidered with gold thread and a peony pattern, the color pattern is exquisite but not flashy, and it looks very elegant.

In addition, next to Chen Qingtong, there was also a maid in a light plain skirt, who was looking at Shen Yichen with a curious face.

"Sorry to keep you waiting."

Shen Yichen returned the salute, he really didn't expect Chen Qingtong to wait for him here in advance, because this situation is indeed not common in later generations.

"No, I just arrived."

Chen Qingtong waved his hand, but as soon as the words fell, the little girl next to her spoke: "Miss, haven't we waited for a while?" ”

"Cher, who made you talk too much!"

Chen Qingtong reprimanded in a low voice, but the little maid named Xue'er next to her stuck out her tongue and did not show a scared look, so it could be seen that the relationship should be good on weekdays.

"Since we've been waiting for a long time, let's go in first."

Shen Yichen smiled slightly apologetically.

"Well, let's go."

Chen Qingtong still had that big grinning appearance, and walked quickly into the corner door with the maid's arm, which was completely different from the ancient Jiangnan woman in Shen Yichen's stereotypical image.

But it's good to be natural like this, otherwise Shen Yichen would have to pretend to have a crepe dialogue in order not to show his flaws, and he would be quite uncomfortable.

……

On the other side, in the Chengguo Mansion, there was a scene full of friends, Zhu Yong stood in the main hall, greeting several guests who came to the banquet. Those who can be personally entertained by Cheng Guogong are all Lord Nanjing and powerful figures.

Standing on Zhu Yong's left hand side at this moment is the fourth generation of Wei Duke Xu Xianzong, as the descendant of Xu Da, the sixth duke of the founding of the country, and the title of Duke of Wei is the first hereditary duke of the Ming Dynasty, Xu Xianzong's status is naturally self-evident.

And Zhu Yong's right hand is the second Xiangcheng Bo Li Long, compared with the founding of the country and the hereditary prince of Fengtianjing, the earl's title is not too high, and theoretically it is not worthy of standing on the right hand seat of Zhu Yong, the duke of Chengguo.

However, in addition to the title of Earl of Xiangcheng, Li Long also held the position of the garrison of Nanjing, in charge of the Governor's Mansion of the Chinese Army in Nanjing, and theoretically controlled the strength of all the guards in Nanjing.

In addition, since the Yongle Dynasty established the post of Nanjing garrison, it has always been Xiangcheng Bo Li Long, and it has been deeply rooted in the four dynasties, so it is not surprising that he stands on Zhu Yong's right hand.

In addition to several lords stationed in Nanjing, there were also two officials without titles standing below Zhu Yong, namely Liu Ning, the eunuch of the Nanjing garrison, and Xu Qi, the secretary of the Nanjing Military Department.

Since Ming Chengzu Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing, the cabinet of the six ministries in Nanjing City has basically become a base for being excluded or pensioned. But as the administrative center of the south, no matter how you mess around, there are officials with real power after all, otherwise everything will have to wait until the Jingshi makes a decision, and the daylilies are cold with the efficiency of ancient times.

The existence of these two people just explains the division of the power structure of Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, which are the Nanjing garrison, the town guard eunuch, and the counselor (concurrently served by the military department).

Or in a sense, this division of power structure also represents the tripartite power of the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom, eunuchs, and civil officials.

When Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, was chatting happily with everyone, he saw Chen Ying, the Marquis of Taining, coming over from the corner of his eye, his steps were a little hurried, and he looked left and right from time to time.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Yong apologized, and then walked towards Chen Ying.

"Taining Hou hasn't been to my mansion for a long time, so it's a little strange, isn't it?"

Zhu Yong laughed and teased, he and Chen Ying were in charge of the Central and Houjun Governor's Mansions in Beijing respectively, and they could be regarded as old colleagues. In addition, Chen Qingtong studied in the Chengguo Mansion when he was a child, so the relationship is very familiar, and there is less fake politeness.

Facing Zhu Yong's ridicule, Chen Ying shook his head and said helplessly: "It's not because of the little girl Qingtong, she originally came with me, but she got off the carriage in advance at the gate of the mansion, and now she hasn't seen anyone." ”

Hearing that it was about Chen Qingtong, Zhu Yong laughed heartily: "Qingtong is here with me, maybe more familiar than in the Taining Hou Mansion, so you don't have to worry about it." ”

"This is nothing to worry about, you also know that I am my only daughter, and I will be the age of Ji Lu next year. Now she still looks like a little girl, how can this work? ”

Taining Hou is different from other nobles, he has no other heirs, only his only daughter Chen Qingtong. Not to mention that in the princely family, there is still a need to consider the issue of succession, even if it is an ordinary family, it is a big deal to have no male to inherit the family business.

Therefore, Chen Ying attached great importance to Chen Qingtong's training, and even let her go to the Chengguo Mansion to study. I thought that after a hundred years, even if the title was inherited to the side branch, Chen Qingtong would be able to have his own connections and be independent, and marry a good home, so that he would not be helpless in the end.

As a result, I didn't expect Chen Qingtong to disappear even when he went to the banquet, he was really too ignorant!

Cheng Guogong Zhu Yong naturally knew where his old friend's knot was, so he comforted: "Qingtong was smart and clever when she was a child, maybe she went to the home school to meet her classmates first, so she didn't have to worry too much." ”

As he spoke, a group of students from the inner courtyard walked towards the main hall, and Chen Qingtong's figure happened to be among them. So Zhu Yong smiled and pointed out: "Look, I'm right, isn't Qingtong coming over with his classmates?" ”

It's just that soon the smile on Zhu Yong's face sank, because he found that the person standing next to Chen Qingtong was not a classmate in the inner courtyard, but Shen Yichen!

How did he end up here?

Zhu Yong's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he began to speculate in his heart about Shen Yichen's motive for appearing.

A few days ago, Shen Yichen finally refused to go to the inner courtyard to study, which was beyond everyone's expectations. At that time, Zhu Yong didn't see through what Shen Yichen wanted, but after years of ups and downs in the official sea, he knew very well that there must be a reason behind it, but he was not interested in delving into it.

Today's family banquet, in addition to the old deliberations, is also to give the students of the inner courtyard a chance to show their faces.

You must know that what determines your final admission and ranking is not only absolute hard power, but also a certain amount of luck and connections.

Take Shen Yichen's child who has taken the exam for several years as an example, the county exam only has a number and will not be confused, let alone transcribe this operation to prevent the recognition of handwriting. This means that the examiner knows who the candidate is writing this paper, and it is easy to operate it in the dark.

Even if the examiner is fair and honest, there is no first in the text, no second in martial arts, and everyone has different preferences and preferences. If you have a good relationship with the examiner, or even have a teacher-student relationship, then the chances of getting preference will be greatly increased.

With the respect of the Duke of Chengguo, there is naturally no need to openly cheat, but it is not too much to invite chief examination officials such as the prefect and the governor of the school to mix with the disciples of the clan in the palace or something, right?

In fact, not to mention the college examination, even if it rises to the examination of people and jinshi, no matter how strict the anti-cheating measures are, the related households can still have a way to get preferential treatment.

This kind of behavior is not even exempt from the first cabinet of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng, several sons are either champions or head armor, and the reasons behind it are well known.

Shen Yichen appeared at the family banquet, and all Zhu Yong could think of was that it had something to do with next year's county exam. In fact, it is indeed as Cheng Guogong thought, Chen Qingtong pulled him over just to win the attention of the examiner who went to the banquet today.

But there is one thing that Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, still can't understand, that is, since Shen Yichen wants to take advantage of the family banquet to seek an opportunity, why did he refuse to let him go to the inner courtyard to study before, wouldn't it be too much?