Chapter 482: Robbery at the City Gate
Xi Mu, who was standing by, touched Su Yongzhang's head and spoke with a hint of melancholy in his tone, "This is the imperial capital. Mr. Chu and I came here with high aspirations, but we almost died in this dilapidated temple.
No matter how talented you are, if you don’t have a background, no one will look you in the eye. When you come here, you have to put down your attitude and accept this gap.”
"Mr. Xi is right. The imperial capital is full of nobles, and the thing that is most lacking is power. When you come here, you must keep a low profile if you don't have any background!" The imperial envoy rarely spoke to remind them.
In fact, he didn't want to meddle in other people's business, but he also really valued talent. These people had made their mark based on their real abilities and would be the future pillars of the court. He didn't want their careers to end before they even began.
As they were talking, a carriage stopped beside the team.
The imperial envoy looked up and hurriedly dismounted to salute, "Your humble servant Yang Yu greets the Grand Tutor."
The Grand Tutor glanced at Yang Yu, then his eyes fell on Chu Heng and the others, and asked indifferently, "Are these the candidates who achieved top scores in the imperial examination in Zhaohua County?"
"That's right." Yang Yu bent down and lowered his head, his attitude very humble and respectful.
The Grand Tutor ordered: "After all the travel, take them to my house to stay for a night first, and then bring them to the palace to see the emperor tomorrow."
Yang Yu's face turned slightly pale, and he felt somewhat embarrassed.
Just at this moment, another carriage arrived. Liu Laosan got off the carriage and walked straight to Yang Yu.
Yang Yu was confused. It was a cold day, but he was so nervous that he almost sweated. "Your humble servant greets the Marquis of Yong'an."
The Grand Tutor also got off the carriage and stood opposite Liu Laosan, his expression unchanged, "What is the purpose of your visit, Lord Marquis?"
"What is the purpose of your coming here, Master?" Liu Laosan asked calmly.
The Grand Tutor sneered, "I am the one who eats the salary of the emperor and worries about the emperor. I just came to see the talents selected in this imperial examination! What? The Marquis is also interested in them? If I remember correctly, the Marquis does not need to take care of the affairs of the civil servants! It's not good to overreach!"
"Hahaha. It seems that the imperial examination is not under the jurisdiction of the Taifu! Since the Taifu wants to share the emperor's worries, he should help the emperor find a way to solve the disaster in Pingzhou. It is not right to waste time on these people!" Liu Laosan said with three parts sarcasm, three parts mockery, and four parts seriousness.
Yang Yu was so nervous watching the two gods fighting that his face turned pale. He was about to say something, but he saw the Grand Tutor laughing angrily and waving his sleeves. He ignored the Marquis of Yong'an and directly ordered him, "Take them away!"
"yes"
"What is it?" Liu Laosan glared at Yang Yu unhappily, then looked at Shen Congrong, "You bastard! Come here quickly!"
Under everyone's gaze, Shen Congrong walked forward with Su Yongzhang and four followers, bowed and said, "Grandson greets Grandpa."
Yang Yu's eyes widened instantly, "You, you, you are the grandson of Yong'an Marquis?"
Liu Laosan raised his chin towards the Grand Tutor with pride, "If it weren't for my beloved grandson, who would care about these trivial matters? I thought everyone was like you! How ridiculous!"
"Marquis Yong'an! Don't push your luck!" The Grand Tutor was furious!
Liu Laosan didn't intend to give him face at all. He lowered his head and said calmly, "Let's go! Grandpa will take you to the palace to meet the emperor now."
Having said that, Liu Laosan stuffed the two children directly into the carriage, completely ignoring the tutor's gloomy face.
Yang Yu looked at the departing carriage, then at the Grand Tutor, and asked weakly, "Master Grand Tutor, are they..."
"Everyone has been taken away by that bastard Liu Laosan. Do you still need to ask? Just do what you need to do!" The Taifu got on the carriage in anger and asked the driver to leave immediately.
Yang Yu watched the Grand Tutor's carriage leave, secretly relieved, turned around to look at Zhou Ran and the others, and solemnly warned: "We just entered the imperial city and something happened. Don't talk nonsense when you enter the palace later."
The fact that the Grand Tutor was so eager to form cliques showed that the Second Prince was in a bad situation. If these people got involved at this time, they would just be cannon fodder. Fortunately, Shen Congrong was the grandson of Marquis Yong'an, and he helped them solve a major crisis.
Zhou Ran didn't understand, but when he saw Chu Heng and Xi Mu looking pale, he knew something had happened.
The eyes look at the nose and the nose looks at the heart, and I dare not ask any more questions.
The group quickly caught up with Marquis Yong'an's carriage.
Under the leadership of Liu Laosan, they finally entered the palace smoothly.
In the imperial study.
As soon as Liu Laosan saluted the emperor, he couldn't wait to mutter, "Your Majesty, I was waiting for my grandson at the city gate early today. I didn't expect to run into the Grand Tutor. The Grand Tutor was also very interesting. He asked Lord Yang to take these candidates to his house to rest for a day, and then go to the palace to see the emperor tomorrow.
I wondered when the Grand Tutor had become so kind. If it had been a step later, my grandson would have been taken away by the Grand Tutor."
The emperor pondered for a moment without making a sound, and looked at Liu Laosan with interest, "If I remember correctly, you are still alone, so where did you get your grandson?"
Liu Laosan was anxious, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that I have a godson? He is my savior, and his father also died to save me. Shen Yi is not my biological son, but he is better than my biological son! His son is my grandson!"
The emperor laughed in silence, "I am confused. Bring your grandson here so I can take a look."
Liu Laosan immediately went out and led Shen Congrong into the hall.
"Your humble servant Shen Congrong pays his respects to His Majesty. May the emperor be blessed with good health and longevity." Shen Congrong followed Liu Laosan's instructions and saluted the emperor in a proper manner.
The emperor asked in surprise, "How old are you now, standing up and talking?"
"I am ten years old."
The emperor and his attendants were shocked again.
My father-in-law praised him, "You got top marks at the age of ten. You are truly a rare genius!"
The emperor nodded repeatedly, "I remember that among this batch of top-scoring candidates, the youngest was ten years old."
"Your Majesty has a good memory, that's him!" the eunuch quickly agreed.
The emperor was amused, and looked at Shen Congrong carefully for a few more times, and asked in a gentle voice: "What books do you usually read?"
Shen Congrong replied calmly, "When I was first learning, I read Hundred Family Surnames, Three Character Classic, Analects, Mencius, Book of Songs, etc. Later, I also read some leisure books, such as ancient books, classics, history, water conservancy projects, travel notes and miscellaneous studies. As long as it is a book, I will read it."
The emperor nodded in satisfaction, "Yes, you are a studious person! Although you have achieved excellent results this time, you are still young and I cannot give you an official position, but I don't want to miss such a good opportunity. Therefore, I will give you a seventh-rank civil servant position in the Broad Academy. You can read all the books in the Broad Academy, as well as the books in the library. You can read whatever you want. Learn more and ask more questions. I will make arrangements when you are over 15 years old."
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Liu Laosan pulled Shen Congrong to express his gratitude.
He smiled so proudly.
The emperor couldn't bear to watch and waved his hand speechlessly, "Step back! Let others come in."
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