After that, several days passed, and in a blink of an eye, it was the day when the official exam was held.

According to the previous practice, the night before the examination was held in the Gongyuan, the chief examiner of the examination had to be present in person to preside over the sacrificial ceremony.

This sacrificial ceremony is used to pay tribute to the souls who died in the examination room, in order to pray for the smooth conduct of the examination.

Yan Shifan saw that the time was almost up, so he immediately turned around, looked at his subordinates on the side, and followed the order.

"Well, let's get started!"

"Yes, Little Pavilion Elder!"

Soon, there was a sound of gongs and drums, and on weekdays, the unusually deserted tribute courtyard seemed quite lively at this moment, not only that, but there were also people who kept throwing yellow paper money into the air.

After doing this, I saw someone singing and saying: "Respect the sages, bless Weiyang, Mount Tai is firm, Su Si is long, the wind of the master, the mountains are high and the water is long......"

After the recitation of the memorial prayer, there was another sound of gongs and drums, and then someone repeated the previous action, constantly throwing paper money into the air to pay tribute to the souls who died in the examination room.

After completing the above steps, it was Yan Shifan's turn to appear as the chief examiner of the exam, and I saw him take a step forward and take three sticks of incense with curling green smoke from the hands of his subordinates on the side quite solemnly.

Then, I saw Yan Shifan step by step, stepping on the steps in front of him, and came to the long table covered with red cloth.

On the long table, there are three animals and six animals used to sacrifice to the heavens, as well as an incense burner.

Behind Yan Shifan are the many officials in charge of this exam.

"Bye!"

Hearing a loud voice, Yan Shifan and the officials behind him knelt down respectfully, and silently recited the earlier sacrifice in his heart, at this moment, everyone did not squint, and the expression on their faces was extremely reverent.

"Up!"

When the words fell, I saw Yan Shifan slowly get up from the ground, and solemnly inserted the three incense sticks with curling green smoke in his hand into the incense burner on the table.

After this, I saw Yan Shifan retreat back to the original position, with a solemn expression.

Then, there was a deafening sound of firecrackers, and when the firecrackers ended, it was announced that the sacrificial ceremony ended perfectly.

Not only Yan Shifan, but even the officials behind him couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the imperial court has issued a notice not long ago, saying that there are ghosts and gods in the Gongyuan, which is purely a rumor, it is undeniable that there are indeed six lives lost in the Gongyuan.

At this moment, I saw that the subordinates on the side cautiously came to Yan Shifan and proposed to him: "Xiao ...... Xiaoge Lao, let's go in and have a glass of wine and warm up! ”

"Hmm."

Hearing this, Yan Shifan nodded, and then entered the room under the leadership of the subordinate.

After entering the room, Yan Shifan only felt that the coldness that seemed to be about to penetrate into the bone marrow had subsided a lot.

"Well, let's not talk about anything else for the time being, the weather in this tribute courtyard is really weird!"

Yan Shifan thought so, so he came to the main seat and sat down.

The charcoal fire in the room was booming, and the sumptuous wine and food had already been prepared, and after Yan Shifan took his seat, the rest of the officials arranged their seats according to their respective ranks and qualifications.

Seeing that everyone had already sat down, I saw Yan Shifan smiling, picking up the wine glass from the table, and said in a deep voice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, since Your Majesty has entrusted us with such an important errand, then we can't live up to Your Majesty's trust!"

As soon as Yan Shifan's words fell, many officials in the room all looked solemn, raised their wine glasses, and answered in a deep voice.

"Yes, my lord, we will definitely live up to Your Majesty's trust and work hard!"

After that, I saw Yan Shifan drink all the wine in the cup, and after this glass of wine, the atmosphere at the scene was obviously a lot more relaxed.

Everyone is staggered, so happy, and their "friendship" is also heating up rapidly, perhaps in order to dilute the haze in recent times, the topics that everyone talks about are relatively light and interesting.

Some people talked about the customs and customs of various places, and some people talked about the anecdotes that happened in the capital in recent days, and even more so, they told the absurd things they encountered, which caused everyone to laugh.

During this period, Yan Shifan also interjected a few words from time to time to talk about the interesting things he encountered.

As the wine was drunk one by one, the atmosphere in the room gradually became harmonious, and the officials, who were originally unfamiliar with each other, gradually became familiar with each other and called each other brothers.

Later, I don't know who proposed it, the on-site chanting of poems, accompanied by the sound of shaking the head and chanting, the atmosphere of the whole banquet was gradually pushed to the highest point.

A drunken official stood up and proposed to the crowd.

"Come, let's toast Xiaoge Lao with a drink, how about it?"

The drunken official's words were unanimously agreed by everyone at the scene, and then, everyone got up from their seats and raised their wine glasses.

Seeing this, Yan Shifan's face was full of warm smiles, and he also got up to salute in return.

"Here, cheers, everyone!"

"Cheers!"

The atmosphere of the whole banquet also reached its climax at this moment, and after that, it gradually cooled down.

During the whole banquet, Yan Shifan didn't drink too much wine, because as the chief examiner, he definitely couldn't make a mistake, and besides, he also remembered Yan Song's previous advice to him.

Therefore, compared with those drunken officials, Yan Shifan was still a more sober person, and after the banquet, Yan Shifan refused the support of the guards and returned to the room where he rested.

In the room, Yan Shifan tossed and turned on the bed for a long time, still without the slightest sleep, after repeated attempts to fall asleep to no avail, Yan Shifan simply got up from the bed and re-lit the candles in the room with fire.

Then, I saw Yan Shifan withdraw his gaze from the night scene outside the window, sighed helplessly, and thought so in his mind.

"Alas, I am really unlucky, I was first pulled by His Majesty to be this thankless examiner!"

"Then, the Taoist priest I invited to exorcise evil spirits in the Tribute Courtyard died violently in the Tribute Courtyard for no apparent reason, which caused this series of incidents, and I was reprimanded by His Majesty!"

"And then, it's that damn Ouyang Yijing!"

When Yan Shifan said this, he couldn't help gritting his teeth and hating.

"This Ouyang Yijing, it's okay to hand over any notes to Your Majesty, just give your Majesty a note, but it still makes Your Majesty angry!"

"What's even more infuriating is that I can't catch your handle yet!"

After the matter calmed down, Yan Shifan and Yan Song immediately ordered Ouyang Yijing to investigate in detail.

But the result was very unexpected, even if the father and son racked their brains, they didn't find anything from Ouyang Yijing's body that could be used to make a fuss, so they had to give up for the time being.

"When this time passes, it should be fine!"

After comforting himself like this, Yan Shifan immediately blew out the candle, lay on the bed, and fell asleep.

……

The night passed in the blink of an eye, and when the sky was just dawning, Yan Shifan was woken up by his subordinates.

"Elder Xiaoge, the time is almost up, we should start preparing!"

"Well, the official knows, you go down!"

Yan Shifan opened his sleepy eyes and commanded.

"Yes, Little Pavilion Elder!"

The subordinate answered and left without any stop in the room.

This exam is different from the past, because the people who came to participate in this exam are all children of the clan and nobles.

Therefore, the defense near the Gongyuan was much stricter than before, and there were heavily armed soldiers everywhere, and there were even brocade guards lurking in the dark, observing every move on the scene.

The idle people have long been cleared, and even the places near the Gongyuan where people can be hidden have been turned upside down.

At this moment, the officials responsible for maintaining order on the scene are constantly communicating and preparing for the next exam.

Seeing Yan Shifan's arrival, everyone stopped communicating and bowed to him.

"Little Pavilion Old!"

"Hmm."

When Yan Shifan heard this, he replied imperceptibly, and after looking around, he followed up and asked.

"How's it going?"

"Little Pavilion Elder, don't worry, it's all ready!"

As soon as Yan Shifan's words fell, the official next to him who was responsible for maintaining order in the examination room immediately stood up and responded without thinking.

After this, I saw that the official who was in charge of maintaining order in the examination room had a sad face, turned his gaze to Yan Shifan, and asked cautiously.

"Little ...... Xiao Ge Lao, if the entrainment is found in the process of searching those candidates later, what should I do? ”

"You must know that the people who came to take the exam today are different from the past, they are all nobles and clansmen, and the lower officials can't afford to offend!"

When Yan Shifan heard this, he glanced at the official quite indifferently, and then ordered.

"Your Majesty said, everything is in accordance with the process of the imperial examination, that's it, and the official will be responsible for the search later!"

"Yes, Little Pavilion Elder!"

When the official in charge of maintaining the order of the examination heard Yan Shifan's words, a look of gratitude suddenly appeared on his face, and he immediately lowered his head and replied in a deep voice.

Just when everyone in the Gongyuan was busy for the upcoming exam, outside the Gongyuan, Yan Song, Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng were waiting quietly at the gate of the Gongyuan.

And waiting with them at the gate of the Gongyuan, there are many candidates who came to take this exam, most of these candidates are some side branches, judging from the clothes on their bodies, there is not much difference from ordinary scholars.

At this moment, their eyes were full of envy when they looked at the cabinet members.

Yan Song and the others, the reason for waiting here is very simple, because not long ago, Jiajing personally announced that he would come to the Gongyuan on the day of the exam.

And how many of the people who can enter the cabinet are easy people?

Therefore, except for Yan Shifan, who served as the chief examiner, the rest of the people came to the gate of the Gongyuan early in the morning to wait tacitly.

By doing so, you can not only show your Majesty your support for holding exams for the clan and nobles, but also be able to pull Your Majesty's favor and kill two birds with one stone, so why not do it?

At this moment, I saw Gao Gong tighten the clothes on his body and take the lead in provoking the topic.

"Anyway, it's this time, the weather is still foggy, and besides, this tribute courtyard is really cold enough, you know, we're still outside!"

Gao Gong's voice fell, and I saw Yan Song, who was closing his eyes and recuperating on the side, opened his cloudy eyes, and followed closely after his words.

"Yes, the weather in this tribute courtyard has always been so weird, and after the old man came out of the exam, he fell seriously ill!"

When Yan Song said this, his face was full of memories.

Seeing this, Xu Jie, who was on the side, also joined the topic.

"Well, the weather in the Gong Courtyard is indeed like this, when I was the chief examiner, it was the same, if there was no charcoal fire for heating, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night!"

While a few people were chatting, many candidates who came to take the exam appeared near the Gongyuan one after another, and from the clothes on their bodies and the slaves following behind them, it could be seen that their status was noble and their status was respected.

However, when these candidates saw the cabinet members chatting near the entrance of the Gongyuan, they lowered their heads and did not say a word.

At this moment, I saw that not far away, there were several palanquins of different colors, marching towards the side of the Gongyuan.

Seeing this, Xu Jie, who was on the side, couldn't help but squint, an inexplicable look appeared on his face, and immediately, he turned around, looked at Yan Song on the side, and then asked.

"Elder Yan Ge, that seems to be the sedan chair of the British duke, right?"

When Yan Song heard Xu Jie's words, he withdrew his gaze, shook his head imperceptibly, and said quite firmly.

"No, in addition to the British Duke, the Duke of Chengguo and the Duke of Dingguo are also here!"

"What!"

As soon as Yan Song's words fell, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng on the side were full of shock.

After all, the British Duke Zhang Rong, the Duke of Chengguo Zhu Xizhong, and the Duke of Dingguo Xu Yande are all the top clans, nobles, and ordinary officials in the Ming Dynasty, and they may never see them in their lifetime!

And today, these three top clans and nobles of the Ming Dynasty gathered at the gate of the Tribute Academy, and the meaning contained in this is very intriguing.

At this moment, Xu Jie, who was on the side, seemed to have suddenly thought of something, his face was full of horror, and he confirmed to Yan Song.

"Elder Yan Ge, do you think this will be ......?"

Hearing this, Yan Song glanced at Xu Jie, a bitter smile appeared on his face, and then spoke.

"Alas, Elder Xu Ge, you guessed it right, they are taking this opportunity to announce to the people of the world that the clan and the nobles have officially returned!"

After a while, the sedan chairs of different colors stopped not far from the Gongyuan.

Subsequently, the British Duke Zhang Rong, the Duke of Chengguo Zhu Xizhong, and the Duke of Dingguo Xu Yande got off the sedan chair and walked in the direction where Yan Song and the others were.

Yan Song and the others just wanted to bow down, but they only heard a kind voice sound.

"Elder Yan Ge, how are you doing lately?"

When Yan Song heard this, he raised his head suddenly, and found that the person who spoke was Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo.

"Thanks to Cheng Guogong's concern, the old man has been in good health recently!"

When Zhu Xizhong heard Yan Song's words, he nodded imperceptibly, and then spoke.

"Elder Yan Ge, you must take care of your health, you are the pillar of my Ming Dynasty!"

"Where, where, Chengguo is serious!"

When Yan Song heard this, his face was full of humility, and he immediately leaned down and responded.

At this moment, the British public on the side stood up, faced everyone, and explained with a smile.

"Don't get me wrong, let's come here today, mainly to stop by and have a look, there is no other meaning!"

When Zhang Rong said this, he immediately waved to a young man in a brocade robe not far away, and reprimanded.

"What are you doing there, why don't you come here quickly!"

When Zhang Yuangong, who was not far away, heard this, he immediately mustered up his courage, came to Zhang Rong's face, lowered his head, and said softly.

"Father!"

"Hmm."

When Zhang Rong heard this, he responded imperceptibly, and immediately looked in the direction where Yan Song and the others were, and said something about it.

"This is the dog!"

Seeing this, Zhang Yuangong immediately lowered his head and saluted respectfully to Yan Song and the others.

"I've seen Elder Ge!"

When Yan Song heard this, a look of relief appeared on his face, he stroked his beard, and immediately exclaimed.

"Well, it's not bad, it's really a talent!"

As soon as Yan Song's words fell, Xu Jie, who was on the side, also followed suit.

"Yes, there is a way that it is better to see than to hear, and when I see it today, it is really dignified, full of economy, I heard that you are very fond of reading on weekdays, and you will definitely be able to achieve a good ranking when the time comes!"

When Zhang Yuangong heard Xu Jie's words, a panicked look suddenly appeared on his face, and he followed closely with Ying Hedao.

Xu ...... Xu Ge praised it! ”

After that, Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Chengguo, and Xu Yande, the Duke of Dingguo, also introduced their sons Zhu Shitai and Xu Wenbi to Yan Song and others respectively, and the atmosphere between the two sides became more and more harmonious in this process.

……

Time passed slowly, and only a shrill voice was heard: "Your Majesty has arrived!" ”

Hearing this, Yan Song and the others quickly stopped greeting each other and lined up in line, and the candidates who came to take the exam at the scene were all silent and did not dare to make any sound.

Not long after, Jiajing's dragon was riding arrived at the door of the Gongyuan, and after the dragon was held, he was closely followed by a team of brocade guards, and then, Jiajing came down from the dragon with the support of Lu Fang.

As soon as Jiajing came down from the dragon, he found the British Duke Zhang Rong, Chengguo Duke Zhu Xizhong, Dingguo Duke Xu Yande and others who were present at the scene.

And the position where several of them are standing is clearly distinguished from Yan Song and others, one side is a civil official, and the other side is a clan and noble.

Seeing this, Jiajing's face couldn't help but appear in a trance, and his gaze stayed on them for a few more moments, and he quickly moved away.

"Weichen knocks to see Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

Then, under the leadership of Yan Song, the first assistant of the cabinet, everyone present knelt on the ground and bowed to Jiajing.

After looking around, Jiajing withdrew his gaze and followed the words of command.

"Well, get up!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After getting Jiajing's answer, everyone present slowly got up from the ground.

Then, I saw Jiajing with a warm smile on his face, came to everyone, and followed suit.

"I just came over today to see how things are going!"

As soon as Jiajing's words fell, Yan Shifan, who was the chief examiner on the side, immediately stepped forward and introduced the specific situation to Jiajing.

After listening to Yan Shifan's report, Jiajing nodded imperceptibly, and then spoke.

"Well, Yan Shifan, you did a good job!"

After that, I saw Jiajing turn around, turned around, looked at Yan Song and the others, and asked.

"By the way, has the weather in this Gongyuan always been so abnormal?"

As soon as Jiajing's words fell, Xu Jie, who was on the side, immediately stood up and said in response.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the weather in this Gongyuan has always been so abnormal!"

"Hmm."

When Jiajing heard this, he nodded imperceptibly, and immediately looked at the sky above the Tribute Courtyard, at this moment, the sky above the Tribute Courtyard was still foggy.

Seeing this, everyone also followed Jiajing closely and looked at the sky of the Gongyuan together, but even if they tried hard, they did not find anything abnormal.

And at this moment, from Jiajing's point of view, you can see a black gas shrouded in the sky above the Gongyuan.

"Could it be that this is the resentment accumulated by the candidates who died in the Gongyuan for so many years?"

"No wonder the weather in Gongyuan is so abnormal!"

Jiajing thought so, and suddenly his face showed a look of understanding.

"Okay, let me take you!"

Then, I saw Jiajing's mind moved, and the originally foggy weather was suddenly full of clouds, and even the faintly visible sun in the sky was covered by endless dark clouds, and the sky suddenly darkened.

In the dark clouds, there are silver-white thunderbolts flashing from time to time, brilliant and unfathomable!

"This ...... Is this going to rain? ”

Yan Song looked at the sudden change in the weather, and his face was full of surprise.

Seeing this situation, Lu Fang on the side, although he was very calm on the surface, judging from the trembling hand he hid in his sleeve, his heart was not calm at this moment.

"Is Your Majesty going to make a move?"

Lu Fang thought so, and then, only to hear a loud 'boom', which had been brewing in mid-air for a long time, and the silver-white thunder mixed with the aura of destruction finally cleaved.

'Boom' 'Boom' 'Boom'

The black qi that originally shrouded the sky above the Gongyuan completely disappeared the moment it came into contact with the silver-white thunder.

Immediately, I saw Jiajing's mind move, and the dark clouds that originally covered the sky and the sun quickly disappeared, and the originally foggy weather became clear and cloudless, and the sun came out!

Immediately afterward, everyone only felt that the cold that had penetrated deep into the bone marrow before was completely gone, replaced by the warmth of the sun shining on their bodies.

This sudden change shocked everyone present, and at this moment, they looked at Jiajing's gaze as if they were looking at a god.

"Could it be that it is precisely because of His Majesty's arrival that the weather in this tribute courtyard has returned to normal?"

"That's right, Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, maybe the heavens felt Your Majesty's wishes, so the thunder fell, so that the weather in the Gongyuan returned to normal!"

"Even the heavens support this exam!"

Subsequently, I saw Yan Song take the lead in reacting, kneeling on the ground with a 'plop', and said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

"Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!" (End of chapter)