Li Zhenye called Wu Yunpeng to his side and ordered: "That Shanxi people Chen Jing, the imperial court prisoner, you have to be careful!" ”

Wei Xiangshu was listening, guessing that Li Zhenye seemed to be uneasy and kind, so he said: "Lord Li, the emperor's will is to let Chen Jing take the exam well." ”

Li Zhenye smiled: "Where did I say that I won't let him take the exam well?" Just tell them to be careful. ”

After that, he instructed Wu Yunpeng: "Every time you burn incense, you have to go to see Chen Jing, be careful of what happens to him!" ”

Wei Xiangshu said: "With such frequent interruptions, how can people take the exam?" ”

Li Zhenye smiled and said, "I know, Chen Jing is a fellow villager of Weida in Shanxi!" ”

Wei Xiangshu couldn't bear it anymore and said, "Master Li, don't go too far!" What about fellow villagers? Master Li didn't have a fellow villager to take the exam? With that, he brushed his sleeves and left.

Chen Jing carefully read the examination paper in the examination room, closed his eyes for a moment, and then dipped his pen in ink. He was about to put pen to paper to fill in the roles of the three generations, and suddenly heard Wu Yunpeng shout: "Chen Jing! You are in the murder case, be sure to introspect! If there is another incident, if you don't go out of the examination booth, you will take your life first! ”

Chen Jing was so frightened by this that his hand couldn't help shaking, and a bit of ink fell on the exam paper. It's over, the exam paper is defaced, and if you don't get it right, it will be invalidated and put into another book. Chen Jing's head suddenly swelled, and his eyes turned black. It took a long time to calm down, thinking that I would try to round the ink stain later, and maybe I could remedy it.

Zhang Wei was writing the exam papers, and suddenly wanted to check the source of the article, so he quietly looked around and picked up the inkstone. Just as he was about to unscrew the mechanism, he suddenly heard a broken drink. It turned out that Wu Yunpeng came over, and he saw that Zhang Wang was a little suspicious. Zhang Wang was stunned and didn't know what to do. Wu Yunpeng was even more suspicious, reached out and took the inkstone, and looked upside down. I finally realized that the cover was mysterious, and slowly unscrewed it. Zhang Wang almost collapsed, thinking that this life was really over, and it would have been good to listen to Chen Jing's words earlier. Zhang Wei was about to cry, but when he heard a bang, Wu Yunpeng threw the inkstone back and said, "There is nothing in it, but after all, it is a cheating thing." You are careful! Zhang Wang was simply stupid, looking at the dark box on the lid of the inkstone, thinking that it was the ancestor who appeared? The mouth kept secretly reciting the blessing of the ancestors, the blessing of the Bodhisattva. After being taken aback, Zhang Wang almost couldn't come back to his senses.

In the afternoon, Chen Jing was immersed in writing, and someone knocked on the window outside, which shook the test basket and fell to the ground. Chen Jing looked up and saw that there was no one at the window. As soon as he bowed down to clean up the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, he suddenly heard someone outside shouting, and it turned out to be Wu Yunpeng shouting: "Chen Jing, what are you doing?" ”

Chen Jing raised his head and said, "Go back to my lord, my exam basket has dropped." ”

Wu Yunpeng said: "Dropped the test basket? You're playing tricks, aren't you? ”

Chen Jing said, "Your Excellency, you can come in and search. ”

Wu Yunpeng pushed the door in, rummaged around, and cursed. Wu Yunpeng picked up Chen Jing's exam paper, nodded unconsciously, and said, "Yo, your handwriting is not bad." ”

Chen Jing said: "Thank you for your compliment! ”

Wu Yunpeng smiled coldly and said, "Just if the words are good, you may not be able to reach the first!" You've got to be more disciplined! ”

It didn't take long for Wu Yunpeng to come over and knock on Chen Jing's examination booth again. Chen Jing was not frightened and looked out calmly. Wu Yunpeng said: "Chen Jing, you are pretending to be cheating, right?" ”

Chen Jing said: "Lord Hui, you have come in and searched a few times. If you don't believe me, you can still come in and search! ”

Wu Yunpeng was annoyed and shouted: "Presumptuous! If you don't be honest, I'll let people stare at you and not leave! ”

Wei Xiangshu happened to pass by and asked Wu Yunpeng: "What is the reason for being so difficult?" ”

Wu Yunpeng leaned on the fact that there was someone behind him and said, "Lord Wei, the lower officials are acting on orders!" Lord Li and your Lord Wei are both the main examiners, but Master Li is the president of the exam. Xia Guan is really embarrassed, I don't know if I listen to Lord Li or listen to you Lord Wei! Wei Xiangshu was so choked that he couldn't speak, and walked away angrily.

The three exams are finally over. Only Chen Jing was not allowed to leave the Gongyuan these days, and he still had to stay inside after each handing in the papers. Everyone else brought charcoal in, but Chen Jing had nothing but the four treasures of the study, and he was so cold that he was almost dead inside. It's because of his young age that he would have lost his life long ago.

On the day the third game was about to end, Li Zhenye quietly asked Wu Yunpeng: "Is that Chen Jing honest?" ”

Wu Yunpeng said with a smile: "The lower officials follow Lord Li's orders, and go to see every other stick of incense." ”

Li Zhenye asked: "How did he do the question?" ”

Wu Yunpeng replied: "Xia Guan didn't read his article carefully, but only saw that he had a good hand, which really made Xia Guan admire!" ”

Li Zhenye said: "You are staring so closely, he can take the exam calmly, but he is a character!" ”

Wu Yunpeng said: "They are all readers, some pee their pants in the examination room, and some have knives on their necks without blinking!" ”

Li Zhenye saw that there was no one around, and beckoned Wu Yunpeng to come up and speak. Listening to Li Zhenye's whispers, Wu Yunpeng's face turned white with fright, and he said softly: "This is going to kill your head!" ”

Li Zhenye said with a smile: "It's none of your business, I'll be on top of the sky when the sky falls!" ”

Wu Yunpeng had no choice but to say: "The lower officials will do what Master Li wants!" ”

Wu Yunpeng said goodbye and went to Chen Jing's examination booth and asked, "Chen Jing, the time has come!" ”

Chen Jing said: "I was waiting for the papers." ”

Wu Yunpeng said: "Submit the papers? Okay! Outside there are heavy shackles waiting for you! ”

Wu Yunpeng took the exam paper and looked at it, and suddenly smiled: "It's a pity, your article is good, and the words are good, but the surface of the paper is filthy, which is equivalent to doing it in vain!" ”

Wu Yunpeng said, and shook the exam paper in front of Chen Jing, but saw that there were several stains on the surface of the paper. Chen Jing was stunned, and his tongue didn't work: "What...... How so? You...... Why did you harm me? ”

Wu Yunpeng said loudly: "Presumptuous! ”

Chen Jing wanted to argue again, but Suo Etu had already led someone here. Chen Jing shouted at Wu Yunpeng: "You framed me!" You framed me! "Needless to say, the shackles are on Chen Jing's shoulders in the morning.

Suo Etu scolded: "Don't talk too much! Whether you have a grievance or not, you can tell it clearly in the lobby! ”

Wei Xiangshu saw that someone had taken Chen Jing, and hurriedly stepped forward and said, "A scholar, why do you need to serve in a heavy flail!" ”

Li Zhenye also rushed over and said, "Chen Jing is a prisoner, and he should be brought with a flail according to the law!" ”

Suo Etu felt embarrassed and said, "Two adults, Suo Etu doesn't know who to listen to. ”

Li Zhenye said with a smile: "Chen Jing is a fellow villager of Lord Wei in Shanxi, so let's give Lord Wei face and go to the flail!" ”

Suo Etu instructed his subordinates to shackle Chen Jing. Chen Jing was secretly grateful, but Wei Xiangshu didn't seem to see Chen Jing, and turned his face to talk to Li Zhenye: "Lord Li, I only have a Japanese heart here, and I don't have a fellow countryman!" Li Zhenye smiled and didn't answer.

Chen Jing walked out of the Tribute Courtyard, but frightened Mr. Li and Yueyuan, who were waiting outside. It turned out that they saw Chen Jing followed by several officials, one of whom was still carrying a wooden flail in his hand. The one in the lead was none other than Suo Etu. There were many people around the outside of the Gongyuan as usual, and Mingzhu hid inside and watched the movements of Yueyuan's father and daughter carefully, and it was expected that Chen Jingtong would have something to do with this family.

Suo Etu led people to escort Chen Jing to Shuntian Mansion, but when he arrived in a secluded place, he suddenly killed four masked men, grabbed Chen Jing and ran away. Suo Etu was taken aback, and out of nowhere, three more masked people jumped out, and they flashed their knives straight at Chen Jing. Suo Etu quickly drew his knife and blocked a move. So, the three masked men wanted to kill Chen Jing, the four masked men wanted to rob Chen Jing, and Suo Etu and they wanted to protect Chen Jing. The three groups of people scuffled and made a mess. Chen Jing suddenly heard someone shouting, "Brother Chen, come with me!" It turned out to be Yueyuan, she took advantage of the chaos and quickly stepped forward and pulled Chen Jing into the small alley. When the three groups saw Chen Jing running away, they turned around and chased after them. They chased them halfway and fought again. Chen Jing ran away with Yueyuan and soon disappeared.

The masked men of the group of four ran ahead, and when they chased to the mouth of an alley, Mingzhu suddenly dodged out and whispered, "Don't chase!" You're just holding these two guys and getting out! Mingzhu hurriedly said and flew away. The other two groups chased after them, and the three groups fought again.

Seeing that Chen Jing had long since disappeared, Suo Etu looked up to the sky and said, "Tell me how to deal with the emperor in front of him!" ”

Yueyuan is so small that she can't run. Chen Jing shouted to Yueyuan's sister, but Yueyuan just shook her head, panting and speechless. After a while, Chen Jing said again: "Sister Yueyuan, I can't go to your house anymore, I'll find a place to hide by myself, you go home quickly." ”

Yueyuan said: "There is no place for you to hide in Beijing, my father said that you are a prisoner!" Without further ado, follow me! ”

Yueyuan was familiar with the road, and led Chen Jing to the door of the house quickly. Da Gui opened the door and said softly, "Miss, you can't enter the house!" Yueyuan couldn't help but say, pushed the door open hard, and ran in. The two turned around and were dumbfounded! It turns out that the pearl has been waiting here for a long time.

Yueyuan's face turned pale with fright, and Mr. Li came back at this time. Yueyuan ran away recklessly just now, and he couldn't catch up with him at his age to stop him. Although I was very worried, I had to look for someone all the way home. Unexpectedly, Chen Jing and Yueyuan had already gone home, and there were still people around the emperor.

Mr. Li guessed that the big thing was not good, so he didn't have time to speak, but he heard Mingzhu smile and asked, "Hey, isn't this Chen Jing, a person from Shanxi?" ”

Chen Jing was stunned for a while, calmed down, and said, "Chen Jing has seen the guard!" ”

Mingzhu looked kind and said, "Oh, you even know who is down there?" In the lower pearl, walk in front of the royal front. Ming was just a small guard in front of the emperor, and he didn't dare to call himself an adult. ”

Chen Jing said: "I know you are here to get me. ”

Mingzhu shook his hand again and again, and said, "No, no! You and I just met! Not long ago, I came here to enjoy the plum blossoms, and today I am fine, and I came to disturb the old man again. ”

Mr. Li knew that everyone was making a show, so he said, "It's okay, it's okay." It's cold outside, so let's go in and talk. ”

Mingzhu followed Mr. Li to the house, and said, "I know that the emperor decreed that after you leave the palace, you have to temporarily detain Shuntianfu." I wonder how you got here? ”

Chen Jing said: "I don't know how I got here!" ”

Mingzhu pretended to be surprised and said, "This is strange! ”

Yueyuan didn't know what was going on, her mouth came quickly, and she said, "You must be making trouble!" I saw that a few masked people ran out to rob Brother Chen, and then a few masked people ran out to kill Big Brother, and the people in the yamen dealt with each other! Three gangs of dog-eat-dog fight! ”

Mingzhu pretended to be confused: "Is there such a thing?" ”

Inside was still talking in the fog cover of the clouds and mountains, but Suo Etu led people to search in the alley, and he had already arrived outside the door of Li's house. A minion looked up at Lao Mei sticking out next to the gatehouse, and said, "Master Suo, isn't this the one you went to enjoy the plum last time?" Suoetu nodded.

The man said, "Don't go in this house." ”

Suo Etu said: "Search! Don't let any of them go, turn over the city of Beijing and catch Chen Jing! ”

Chen Jing was talking to Mingzhu in the guest hall about the things in the examination room, when he suddenly heard a violent knock on the door. Mingzhu said: "Who is so arrogant? ”

Mr. Li said: "It must be an official errand, otherwise who would dare to be so presumptuous?" ”

Mingzhu said: "Official errand? Chen Jing, you stay away for the time being, I'll deal with it. ”

Dagui opened the door, and Suo Etu led people in, but when he saw Mingzhu here, he was surprised: "Brother Ming, why are you?" ”

Mingzhu said with a smile: "The emperor is investigating with you, and I am secretly visiting, and each performs his duties!" Hey, how did you get here? ”

Suo Etu asked Mingzhu rhetorically: "Why did you come here too?" ”

Mingzhu said: "I'm here to enjoy the plum." Didn't the emperor ask you to take Chen Jing to Shuntian Mansion? How did you get here? I know that Brother Suo doesn't have this Yaxing! ”

Suo Etu said in shame: "Rong Suo will talk about it later." Leave! ”

Mingzhu smiled: "Brother Suo let's go first." This time to track down the case, Brother Suo has to make a contribution! ”

Mingzhu sent Suo Etu away and returned to the guest hall. Chen Jing asked, "Why didn't Lord Mingzhu ask them to take me to Shuntian Mansion?" ”

Mingzhu was not in a hurry to answer, picked up the teacup and slowly took a few sips before saying, "I want to save you." ”

Chen Jing couldn't believe Mingzhu's words, his eyes widened, and he said for a long time: "Arrest me and go to Shuntian Mansion, but the emperor's decree!" ”

Mingzhu smiled: "Don't talk about this yet. I know you're a talent. At the age of twelve, you took the boy's examination and won the first place in the state school; Last year, in the autumn of Shanxi, you were the top of the list, and you were in high school. With your talents, you don't need to give money to anyone. ”

Mingzhu said this, Chen Jing seemed to believe it, and said, "Lord Xie Mingzhu, it's too famous." ”

Mingzhu said again: "The emperor asked me to investigate the case of the department, and I have found out your origins and piles and piles." ”

Mr. Li said: "Although Chen Jing and I are fellow villagers, we are also new acquaintances, and I feel very close to each other. He talks to me all day long, and his literary talents, talents, character, and ambitions are all admired by the old man! ”

Mingzhu said: "I saw that you were so calm and comfortable in front of the emperor, so I secretly thought, this must be a person who can be of great use!" ”

Chen Jing said: "Lord Mingzhu is boasting! He shook his head and sighed, "It's all in vain!" The paper handed in today was deliberately defaced by the examiner, and it will definitely be included in a separate book! ”

Mingzhu said: "Is there really such a thing? If so, I have my own way. In fact, I guessed that you were not guilty, and I think the emperor probably didn't believe that you were guilty. ”

Hearing Mingzhu say this, Chen Jing immediately stood up and bowed to Mingzhu: "Wan Wangming, Lord rescue!" ”

Mingzhu shook his head and said, "You have to save yourself." ”

Chen Jing and Mr. Li looked at each other, not understanding the deep meaning of Mingzhu. Mr. Li said: "Let the old man say something." Since they all know that Chen Jing is not guilty, why do those who catch him arrest him, rob him, and kill him? ”

Mingzhu's face was very mysterious, and said, "This is for Chen Jing." ”

Chen Jing secretly thought to himself, he knew that it was Suo Etu who took him to Shuntian Mansion, and it must be the three people in Baiyun Temple who wanted to kill him, but who wanted to rob him halfway? Thinking that Mr. Li had already told him not to tell the truth, he said, "I really don't know!" ”

Mingzhu stared at Chen Jing for a long time, guessing that he must have a hidden intention in his heart, so he said: "If you refuse to tell the truth, the suspicion will not be solved, I will not be able to save you, and the emperor will not be able to save you." You happened to be in hiding on the night Li Jin was killed, everyone in the world knows about it, and no one will avenge you if you kill you! ”

Chen Jing lowered his head and sighed, but refused to spit out half a word. Mingzhu is very shrewd, and has already pondered this matter, and said: "Actually, I guessed that someone wanted to kill you because you knew a certain secret." And this secret must be related to bribery in the field. The person who dares to be so bold and wants to take your life twice, one is that he has a lot of power, and the other is that the secret you know can in turn take his life! ”

Chen Jing admired Mingzhu in his heart, but said: "Lord Mingzhu said that I am even more confused. ”

Mingzhu slapped his hands and laughed, "No, no, you're not confused!" You know it very well! But I don't think you'll be so old! ”

Mingzhu glanced at Mr. Li as she spoke. Chen Jing looked at Mr. Li, but still said, "I really don't know anything. ”

Mingzhu said: "I understand, you are afraid of attracting resentment, and you will not be able to stand up in officialdom in the future." Actually, you just told me what happened, and I don't dare to say that you told me! ”

Chen Jing looked at Mr. Li again, and asked "Why?" ”

Mingzhu didn't answer immediately, drank tea for a long time, and said slowly: "Why?" I have helped you hide here, and you have committed the great crime of deceit. Of course, if I want to exonerate myself, I can still take you to Suncheonfu now. But if you think about it, even if you are locked up in prison, someone will harm you at any time. If the case is not solved for a day, if the gangsters are not killed for a day, you will not be able to live in peace! ”

Yue Yuan suddenly said on the side: "You always say that you want to save Brother Chen, so it's your person who wants to rob Brother Chen in the middle of the way, right?" ”

Mingzhu looked at Yueyuan, laughed, and said, "Uncle, this daughter will definitely beat her husband in the future!" It turned out that the four masked men were Mingzhu's people, and he guessed that if Chen Jing went to the Shuntianfu prison, he would definitely be killed by gangsters, so he took the risk of this trick.

Mr. Li didn't care that Yueyuan was still here just now, and hurriedly beckoned Tian Ma to take her away, turned back to Chen Jing and said, "It seems that Lord Mingzhu is generous and trustworthy, and he really cherishes talents, so you can say it." ”

Only then did Chen Jing tell him in detail about how he heard someone collecting money outside Baiyun Temple that night, and how he was chased and killed, and how he ran for his life. It's just that Zhang Wangtuo Gao Shiqi didn't say anything about the silver, after all, he took into account the friendship of his fellow villagers. After hearing this, Mingzhu got up and said goodbye, "Okay, I'll go back to the emperor to secret." Chen Jing, you will definitely be on the high school list, wait for my good news. ”

Chen Jing sighed: "I'm just afraid that I won't be able to hit!" ”

Mingzhu said: "Are you worried about that exam paper?" I have a point! But you can't get out of here! Mingzhu instructed again and again and took his leave.

Suo Etu returned to the palace in fear, and saw that the emperor only knelt and trembled. When the emperor heard that Chen Jing had run away, Long Yan was naturally furious and scolded: "Suo Etu, you are really useless!" ”

Suo Etu cried: "In broad daylight, two groups of masked people appeared out of nowhere, one group wanted to kill Chen Jing, and the other group wanted to rob Chen Jing. Weichen wants to save Chen Jing's life, and he wants to fight the villains, and he can't resist it. ”

The emperor said angrily: "Dig him up three feet in the capital, sift him through a sieve again, and find out Chen Jing too!" Otherwise, you are a capital offense! Suo Etu knelt down and took a few steps back before he dared to stand up.

Suo Etu is back inside, and Mingzhu is already waiting to be called outside. Just waited for Suo Etu to come out with a disgraced face, and Mingzhu was announced. Hearing that Mingzhu had found Chen Jing, the emperor was furious: "Mingzhu, what the hell are you doing?" Why don't you play it early, it will make my lungs explode! ”

Mingzhu confessed his guilt on the one hand, and made up some words on the other hand, just hiding that he sent someone to rob Chen Jing. After all, Chen Jing had already been whereabouts, and the emperor was also a little angry, and asked, "You can tell me, why don't you take Chen Jing to Shuntian Mansion?" ”

Mingzhu played: "Weichen feels that things are too strange, and he is afraid that there will be mistakes. All strange things happened to Chen Jing, the night Li Jin was killed, he was hunted down; Today, Suo Etu took him to Shuntianfu, and was assassinated by masked men; His exam paper was deliberately defaced by the invigilator and may become a waste paper! ”

The emperor said: "I also heard a secret report, and Wu Yunpeng, the invigilator and the head of the Rites Department, went to disturb Chen Jing every other time he burned incense. I pondered this day and night, and guessed that Chen Jing might not be the murderer of Li Jin, and that there must be a secret when he escaped that night and did not return. ”

Mingzhu didn't dare to say that he thought the same way, but said to the emperor Shengming, and said: "Emperor Qiqi, Weichen observes, Chen Jingxing may be a talent, if people know that he reported the Kechang case, he will not have a good time in the future." Therefore, if you want to solve this case, you only need to take the invigilator first, and the truth will be revealed. ”

The emperor asked, "Are you planning for me, or for Chen Jing?" ”

Mingzhu said: "If Chen Jing is a talent, if he plans for him, he will cherish his talent for the emperor." Weichen had promised Chen Jing not to put him on the stage before he could tell the truth. But Weichen didn't dare to deceive the emperor. ”

The emperor lowered his head and pondered, and said, "So, this scholar is very scheming?" ”

Mingzhu said: "Weichen is clumsy, but he can also see that this talent, character, ambition, and city government are extraordinary. ”

The emperor said: "This person is either too tactful, or calm and old." Remember him. ”

Mingzhu said again: "Your Majesty, Weichen still has a word." ”

The emperor nodded, and Mingzhu said again: "The emperor might as well let Suo Etu continue to search for Chen Jing." As long as the people in this case don't know whether Chen Jing is alive or dead, they won't be at ease for a day, and they will have some movement. ”

The emperor looked at Mingzhu for a long time and said, "You and Suo Etu have been with me for many years, and I trust you." It's just that Suo Etu is reckless and has a rough mind. You're thoughtful and capable. I'm worried that if Suo Etu knows that Chen Jing has been found by you, the two of you will secretly get married in the future! ”

Mingzhu said: "Wechen is just trying to do his errands well, and he must not be able to account for the amount of money." ”

The emperor suddenly remembered where Chen Jing was hiding, so he asked, "What kind of family is that?" ”

Mingzhu replied: "The surname is Li, the former minister of the Ming Dynasty." ”

The emperor thought for a while and asked, "Is it the former Mingju person?" ”

Mingzhu played: "Exactly, the old gentleman's name is Li Zuwang, a native of Shanxi, and his family is a wang family in the former Ming Dynasty." ”

The emperor nodded deeply and said, "Sure enough, it's him, he was originally Wei Xiangshu and the imperial examination, and then he didn't take the exam again." Wei Xiangshu has recommended me many times, but this Li Zuwang just refuses to go out of the mountain. The edict of the first emperor, the former ministers of the Ming Dynasty, as long as there is no objection, they will be courteous. ”

Mingzhu said: "Weichen saw that Mr. Li was elegant, full of economy, square, and had no different intentions. ”

The emperor sighed for a long time, and instructed Mingzhu: "I have sent Sonny and Ao Bai to investigate the case of the department, and you, as the imperial guard, cannot pre-govern according to the system." Thou art eyes and ears to hear them. First take the head of the Ministry of Rites, Wu Yunpeng, and see who is behind him! ”

Mingzhu received the decree, and the emperor had announced that he would go down, but suddenly stopped him again and said, "You must remember what I said." That Chen Jing is so young and old, he will not be a capable minister in the future, he will be a big traitor! ”

Mingzhu couldn't help but panic and said, "Weichen remembers." ”

The emperor looked at Mingzhu and said coldly: "This is also for you!" ”

Mingzhu hurriedly knelt down, trembling all over: "Weichen swears allegiance to the emperor!" ”