Right Prime Minister's House Hall.

Cui Qiao felt more and more pressure, pondered, and said: "Right Minister, I have gradually felt that my strength is declining recently, can I resign from the position of the Ministry of Rites and ask for an idle position in the Eastern Capital?" ”

"You're prepared." Li Linfu said: "I'd rather give up the position of the great uncle than follow the arrangement of the prime minister." ”

"In this matter, Zhang Gong promised that he would be responsible for all the sage's questioning, and it had nothing to do with me." Cui Qiao's attitude was very sincere, and said, "But I have to give an explanation to the right minister."

Li Linfu closed his eyes and pondered, and after a long time, he asked, "Xue Bai didn't give up the exam?" ”

"Yes."

"Didn't give up the test? Perhaps he had forgotten his father's name. Li Linfu actually looked very kind, and sighed: "He was six years old, and he didn't accept his father's kindness for ten years." It was rare for the emperor to recognize each other, and Xue Ling fled in debt. There are extenuating circumstances, and you should not know about it. ”

When Cui Qiao heard this, he wiped his forehead and said in a low voice: "There is no special case to avoid it." As long as the test questions contain his father's name, he can only abandon the test. As long as you press him for a year and teach him a lesson, Zhang Gong will..."

"Do you want to say it a second time?" Li Linfu's tone was calm.

Since he promised to let Xue Bai and Ce, he will follow his promise.

"Don't dare, don't dare." Cui Qiao hurriedly saluted and said, "But if I appoint a person who commits a taboo as the champion, it is also a taboo." ”

Remember the URL

"If you want to go to the Eastern Capital, go there."

"Then I will do as the right minister commands."

Li Linfu waved his hand, in this matter, he could only "help" Xue Bai to this step, and the rest had nothing to do with the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.

Xue Bai returned home and was immediately summoned to Yan's house by Yan Zhenqing.

Yan Zhenqing has been moved to supervise the imperial history, and concurrently serves as the envoy of the Longyou Army in Hexi, and has just stepped down from his post as the lieutenant of Chang'an County recently, and is preparing to go to Longyou.

This matter is said to have been recommended by Ge Shuhan, or related to Yan Zhenqing's iron-faced law enforcement at that time.

"I've heard about the poem of Chunyu." Yan Zhenqing frowned and said,

"You give up the test, it's still too late."

"Students don't give up on exams."

"The practice is like this, and the only way to do this is to abandon the exam. Cui Qiao has used such despicable means to suppress you for a year, and he can still suppress you every year. ”

Xue Bai shook his head and said, "Between the future and Xue Ling, which one does the teacher think I will choose?" ”

"Which one do you choose?"

"I won't delay my ambition for a waste person like Xue Ling. For him, don't say that a year, a month is not worth it. ”

"You're too crazy, there is no reason in the world to change your father three times or twice, and no one will make trouble with you anymore."

"For I was never the son of anyone." Xue Bai said: "I have no parents in this world, and I don't need parents. It's that the imperial examination needs parents, and the officialdom needs parents, how can I put the cart before the horse? ”

"Enough!"

Yan Zhenqing interrupted Xue Bai's words and said, "Radical, like to take risks, how are you different from Xue Ling, a gambler?" Abandon the exam, pack your luggage, and follow me to Longyou for a year. ”

"No, students have their own measure."

"Then you are not my student, don't call me anymore" Teacher Yan Yan tiptoed into the lobby, looked inside, and saw Yan Zhenqing drop his sleeves and leave.

Xue Bai immediately spotted her and glanced back at her.

"I heard that the poem is wrong, and you have committed a taboo?" Yan Yan walked into the hall with her hands behind her back, pretending to be relaxed, and said with a smile: "But Brother is too young, so let's be a junior at the age of eighteen." ”

"Xue Ling has committed a taboo, I can change him."

Yan Yan immediately understood, and said mysteriously: "No wonder Grandpa is angry...... You come with me and show you something good. ”

Saying it's a good thing is nothing more than a small bottle of wine she buried under the swing.

"Zhuangyuanhong, this was stolen from the kitchen and buried on the day I taught my brother to write. You dig it and give you a drink, and you won't be angry with Grandpa. ”

"I haven't won the championship yet."

Xue Bai really dug it, it was the first time he had seen such a small wine bottle, and he was a little worried that it was vinegar and not wine.

"Sooner or later, I'm going to get it." Yan Yan glanced around reverently, not afraid of getting dirty, picked up the wine jar from the ground and smelled it, shook her head in disgust, and handed it to Xue Bai, "But seriously, isn't Xue Ling your grandfather?" Isn't ....... gambling family fake? ”

"The saints also know that it is false."

Xue Bai sat on the swing and took a sip of Yan Yan's champion red, which was really wine.

"The sage asked me to recognize Xue Ling's father and son, not because of the truth, but because I offered stir-fried vegetables, and he gave me a background.

The first iron law of Tang officialdom, whoever can coax the saint to be in a good mood, he will reward whomever he wants...... I know him better than my teacher. ”

Having said that, he also understood why Yan Zhenqing was against it, it was too radical and risky to repeatedly consume the emperor's patience, for the sake of a year, it was not necessary.

Yan Yan sat on the swing on the side, looked at him curiously, and asked, "Is it delicious?" ”

"It's okay."

"Brother has a very bad amount of alcohol, let's bury it after two sips." Yan Yan was a little proud, as if this wine was made by her.

"It's okay, I've improved my drinking." Xue Bai was a little drunk, and suddenly said, "Actually, I know my life experience.

"Really? Come to think of it? Found them? ”

"Hmm."

Xue Bai took a sip of wine, swayed leisurely with the swing, looked at the sky in the distance, and looked at the color of memory.

His father was a very small village official, and he always said that he would take his mother to a big place to see a doctor, but when the flood came that year, his father was swept away in order to hold a sow that was about to give birth, and he was still young at that time, and he always said that when he grew up, he would take his mother to see a doctor and see the best doctor, but unfortunately his mother could not wait.... In retrospect, he was only a few years away from being capable.

So, he didn't want to wait for a year.

"I always knew who my parents were." Xue Bai said again, "You don't need to look for it." ”

"So....... they're gone?"

"It's gone."

Because of this, Xue Bai muttered in his heart with a somewhat indifferent attitude: "Xue Ling, it's just a stepping stone." ”

In fact, he has also determined his life experience in this life, after talking to Princess Tang Chang, everything he needs to know is already known, there is not much suspense, and there is nothing to guess, just to see how to use it.

He has long made it clear in his heart who he is, and as for his parents in this life, they are like clothes.

It is strange that people sometimes don't care what they wear, and when they are in the house, they often strip naked or wrap themselves ugly. Clothes are such things as being worn for people to see.

Now that the dress is dirty, it's time for a change.

Just look at whether others are willing to see him change clothes...... For example, Yan Zhenqing was annoyed and didn't want to watch it.

"Brother, I understand." Yan Yan leaned closer and whispered a little excitedly: "Anyway, it's all fake, can you be the champion if you change to a grandfather?" ”

"It's hard to say, it's worth a try." Xue Bai said: "Look at whether they click on me or not." ”

Yan Yan clenched her small fists, as if she found it interesting. The little girl looked lovely, but she was a little bad, and said, "Grandpa doesn't support you, I support you." ”

"It's useless, but I'm thankful."

"Ah, how can it be useless." Yan Yan snatched the wine bottle from his hand and buried it again, "Your questions and assignments are all answered by me, and now I am only worried that your response poems will not be written well." ”

"It should rhyme."

"Show me." Yan Yan said.

Xue Bai nodded, took a branch, and wrote his test-taking poem on the ground.

Yan Yan read it, flattened her mouth with some disgust, and said, "But the test poem is almost like this, your last sentence is actually not bad."

"It's okay."

Xue Bai felt that it was very ordinary, although he was not good, after all, he had studied hundreds of years of famous articles, and he had seen too many sentences like not seeing anything and leaving something.

For example, there are no people in the empty mountains, but they hear people's voices; The lonely sail is far away and the blue sky is endless, and only the Yangtze River skyline is seen; The east ship and the west boat were silent, only the autumn moon in the heart of the river was white; But when he hears the bird's cry, he can't see the bird's cry and he will also have the idiom "the end of the song and the people are scattered", so he can still write a good sentence or two at the end of the writing.

For the world, this artistic conception is very novel.

Ministry of Rites.

The sound of marking the "sloppy" kept ringing.

Cui Qiao walked into the hall with a gloomy face, sat down behind the table, took out a list from his sleeve and glanced at it, and then said, "What are some good poems?" ”

Immediately, an official came forward with the test papers and said, "Gong Cui, please take a look, these are carefully selected by the lower officials." Li Jiayou, Li Qiyun, Bao He, Liu Changqing......."

Although it is a list drawn up in advance, these people do have real knowledge. It is precisely because of his good family background that he can read well and be famous. Cui Qiao has already seen their line scrolls, and everyone in the world has a scale in their hearts.

Of course, there are still some people who are not worthy of the name, such as Yang Xuan, the descendant of Hongnong Yang's family, who wants to compete for the top three in today's department, everything is done, but the poetry is very ordinary. There are also some poems that are unexpectedly well written.

"Cui Gong, please look at this volume again, Chen Ji, Wang Yong, Zhuang Ruone, Wei Huang...... And this, the money from the roll, is really amazing. ”

"Give me Xue Bai's scrolls too."

"Whoa."

Six volumes were placed in front of Cui Qiao, and he glanced at them first.

The poems for the exam, what everyone wrote were nothing more than the fact that Concubine Xiang played the drums; Choose one of the four rhymes of "Xiangling Guse", they either use "Xiang" rhyme or "spirit" rhyme; The words that appear are also the same, goddess, emperor, drum, Xiangshui, tune, Jingchu, Yunyu, Dongting, and Jiangshui.

The imperial examination poetry is like this, everyone uses the same rhyme, the same words, and the same content to make a dojo in a snail shell to see who can put these words together neatly, and the test is patience, carefulness, and obedience.

It is also for this reason that the family of Menyin looks down on Jinshi, and comments that "do not do articles on the world, and specialize in carving micro words".

But among them, there is still a volume that makes Cui Qiao's eyes light up, and he praises: "Qian Qi this last sentence.... A stroke of genius too! ”

"Cui Gong Gao saw. Qian Qi This poem, the first ten sentences focus on writing the grievances of the goddess playing music, and the last two sentences of "the end of the song is gone, and the peaks on the river are green" are like being born, where does the song of the goddess come from? It can be described as a 'ghost ballad'. ”

Cui Qiao nodded and sighed: "In the exam-taking poems, it is rare to see such a masterpiece." ”

With his love for talent, he picked up the pen and added the name of Qian to the list first, and then his eyes fell on the word "Xue Bai" at the top of the list, and he was a little hesitant.

"Cui Gong, please look at it again."

Xue Bai's scroll was handed closer, and Cui Qiao read the last sentence carefully, and muttered with a wry smile: "It is said that Xue Lang is talented, but it is not a false name."

The first ten sentences of Xue Bai's poem are different from Qian Qi, but the unfinished sentences are almost the same, and the artistic conception is also the same.

The official who spoke was an old pedant, probably because he had never heard of Xue Ling's name, and said: "If Cui Gong wants to make up the money to win the list, Xue Bai can really afford to be a champion, after all, his first two games and Wenfu are better." ”

"Really?

"Qian Qi is too inexperienced, and there are typos and stains in the first two games. Xue Bai not only sticks the scriptures and the articles are stable, but also makes people unable to find a trace of mistakes from the handwriting and answer sheets, which is very rare. ”

Cui Qiao muttered: "Master Zheng thinks that Xue Bai is the champion, but what?

"Yes!"

Immediately, another official's face changed, and it was difficult to say that Cui Qiao deliberately made Xue Bai commit taboos, and found a reason to object: "Xue Bai's poem is far worse than Qian Qi's aura." ”

"Qian started to rhyme, and used two 'no' words, from the perspective of the test-taking poem, it should be dismissed.

"Does Xue Bai rhyme? The first sentence is lonely. ”

The door of the mouth of the mouth: Zhu "No, this is an ordinary awkward sentence, and it ends with a voice, not a lonely peace." Xue Bai's whole poem is more regular, and the three test papers are all well-behaved, and he deserves to be a champion.

"He didn't rhyme, but he did a taboo, you know?! His father's name is Xue Ling, so he shouldn't answer this paper......

"Shut up!" Cui Qiao hurriedly shouted.

When Master Zheng, who suggested that Xue Bai be the champion, heard this, he quickly changed his tone and saluted: "In this case, when Xue Bai's test papers are deposed and destroyed, it will be a big deal, this is good for him and good for us." ”

Cui Qiao's face was grim and said, "This official has his own plans. ”

"But..."

At this moment, an official stepped forward with a roll,

said: "Cui Gong, please look at this high-quality volume." ”

"Gao Shi?"

Cui Qiao's eyes swept away, and his face became solemn.

This is the most distinctive volume today, and the rhyme of the word "Xiang" and "Ling" is finally not used, but the rhyme of the word "drum", and the writing is finally not the drum of the Xiangfei concubine, but the merits of Di Shun.

At the beginning, it was just mediocre, "Emperor Shun gave birth to Yaoqiu, and the temple is eternal", twelve sentences look down, but it is a sweep of the beauty of the previous poems, and the words used are also completely different, crops, cangwu, filial piety, diligence and thrift, and loyalty

Zheng Zhushu stepped forward to take a look, and couldn't help but say: "It's a majestic poem, but it is a rare thing to say in the exam-taking poem, wait for the lower officials to see if it fits the rhyme." ”

"Thirty-five is true." Cui Qiao admired in his heart, but said: "It's a digression." ”

"But it's really Xiangling Drummer...."

The next moment, Cui Qiao had already tore Gao Shi's roll.

There was a hint of pity in his eyes, but there was nothing to hesitate about.

"High thirty-five is off the list."

February 15 is the release day.

Xue Bai went out of the city three days before the release of the list, and after returning to the city, he spent the night in the Lady of Qiuguo's mansion, and only returned to Xue's house on February 14.

The atmosphere in Xue's house was a little strange, obviously, Liu Xiangjun also heard about the imperial examination poems, and always felt that Xue Ling had delayed Xue Bai, and his heart was panicked.

"Rokuro is back, hungry? Lamb stewed on the stove. ”

Xue Bai could see that she was very worried, but she was not as good at comforting people as Du Wulang, so she just shook her head and said: "If you come back after you are full...... you can start cleaning up, and you can move to Xuanyangfang together next month." ”

Liu Xiangjun was stunned for a moment and nodded happily.

"Okay, okay, it's all up to you."

The happiest is Du Wulang, although he didn't want to see Xue Sanniang before he got married, he still relied on the Xue family regardless of it, and at this time he pestered Xue Bai to get to the bottom of it.

"It's strange, you're not here for three or five days, and there is no movement at all from the Ministry of Rites."

"Of course, there will be no movement until the list is released."

"How?" Du Wulang was surprised: "You still want to take the head?" ”

Xue Bai thought for a moment and said, "Either depose my scroll, or give me a head." The former is to prevent me from entering the office, and the latter can make things bigger. ”

"What kind of thing could it be?"

"It's all possible. But I won't give up the exam when I'm in the exam room, and it's likely that they won't give me another chance to calm down, and it's more likely that I'll learn a big lesson. ”

"So, pointing at you is a big lesson for you?"

"You'll know tomorrow when the list is released....."

It's early spring.

As the night passed, the willow trees on the side of Chang'an Street sprouted buds again.

Not long after dawn, hundreds of people were already crowded under the walls of the south courtyard of the Ministry of Rites, and many of them came to catch their sons-in-law.

Xue Bai changed into a new dress, tied the belt that Du Shi gave him not long ago, went out with Du Wulang early, met Gao Shi on Suzaku Street, and went to the Ministry of Rites to see the list, this situation was similar to the last time, and before An came to the door, he had received a lot of colored notes.

At this time, he was a little distracted, thinking about what to do if he didn't get the right thing, whether to ask the emperor directly for an official position, or go to the border town to practice.

It's just that the way to get an official is different, and since you have done your best, you can calm down the result.

So far, what Xue Bai is thinking about is the agreement with Du Ling, and he said that he would accompany her on the unveiling day.

With this absurd thought in his head, he squeezed through the crowd and waited from a position where he could see the list.

After a while, the bells and drums were noisy, and some officials of the Ministry of Rites set up ladders to climb the high wall of the Ministry of Rites.

"Release!"

The short gold list was unfolded in this way, shining under the morning sun of early spring.

Xue Bai looked directly at the name at the top.

People like him, mavericks, take the biggest risk to get the biggest results, if they make the list, they should be at the top.

Sure enough, the two words at the top of the gold list are - Xue has been planning for more than a year, and Tianbao's seven-year champion has finally been in the bag...... For now.

"Xue Bai, Xue Bai! Shaped! ”

Du Wulang is a person who can purely enjoy the moment, and at this time, he doesn't care about whether he has committed a taboo or not, and he waved his hands and shouted.

"The five sons of Chunqiu, there are already four jinshi, and you are still the head! Shape the head! Hahaha......"

He didn't want to think about who the five sons and four jinshi were dragging their feet, but he felt honored.

"Got it." Xue Bai said: "Find out if the senior brother has been hit." ”

Gao Shi also smiled slightly, patrolling the list with expectant eyes, and looked at the names seriously.

Xue Bai, Yang Huan, Li Jiayou, Li Qiyun, Bao He, Liu Changqing....... there are only twenty-seven names, and the last one is Qian Qi, there is no Gao Shi.

He didn't believe it, his eyes swept again, Xue Bai patted him on the back, and said in a low voice: "I've tried, let's find a way again."

"It's okay, get used to it."

Although Gao Shi was disappointed, he actually expected this result, turned around and laughed: "Let's go, Zhuang Yuanlang should be a treat to drink." ”

"Okay." Xue Bai said, "But drink two glasses less, and then you'll be busy." ”

Du Wulang said: "You barely drink two glasses, and there are still a few glasses left after two less drinks." ”

The three of them did not dare to stay longer and left quickly.

Sure enough, after a while, the entire ceremonial department was boiling, "It's really Xue Lang!" ”

"Yikes! My Xue Lang is really the champion......

Such cheers are mostly from some women who admire Xue Bai, or some idlers who like to read his poems and stories.

Occasionally, someone else mixed in.

"Xue Bai has committed a taboo, and last year was the spring of justice.

The fifth son is an unfilial son today. ”

"Humph! That Xue Lang is also the champion! ”