Chapter 216 What! I have to retake the exam
At the same time, the Chen State delegation also successfully contacted the Queen Mother.
The messenger pigeons from the Chen State delegation flew outside the city, while the messenger pigeons carrying the Queen Mother's reply letter flew over the palace wall.
The secret guards in charge of waiting quickly caught the pigeons and decrypted the information on them, while quickly deleting the valid information. At the same time, they added some "official greetings" and then tied them to the legs of the pigeons and let them go.
This also led to the Chen State delegation and the black-clad eunuchs cursing at the same time.
——I have never seen an idiot who passes on coded intelligence and asks ridiculous questions like "Have you eaten?"
While they were cursing, the messenger pigeons continued to deliver messages.
Because there were too many carrier pigeons flying that night, the night watchman who passed by the palace wall of the Great Xia Palace was frequently attacked by bird droppings. Finally, he could not hold back any longer and went back to wash his hair, cursing angrily.
These pigeon messages were gradually delivered to the palace.
The emperor, wearing a middle-aged robe, stood up again and walked out. He lowered his eyebrows and looked at the pigeon message from Chen Guofang. He said coldly: "In order to win the negotiation, you would rather give away the territory of Chu for free? Boring."
Afterwards, the emperor flipped through the message from the empress dowager, read it for a while, and suddenly frowned: "Why are you always asking about Jiu'er? Do you have any plans for the imperial teacher?"
The emperor looked at Song Wei who delivered the message and said, "Go and investigate further."
Song Wei said quickly, "Yes."
The emperor yawned, turned over and prepared to go back to sleep.
Unexpectedly, when he pushed the door open, he saw the queen holding a large quilt with an expressionless face.
The emperor secretly thought that it was not good, the queen was in a very bad mood when she woke up.
He whispered, "But why not..."
"Long live your majesty." The queen drooped her eyelids and saluted casually. "I dare not disturb your majesty's official duties, so please stay in the side hall." After saying that, the queen walked out without looking back, turned a corner, and closed the door.
The emperor followed subconsciously, and when he was about to enter the study, he pushed the door, but failed to open it.
emperor:……
The eunuch who was serving nearby tiptoed back two steps and hid himself in the shadow of the pillar next to him.
The emperor raised his hand to knock on the door, and at this moment, he heard hurried footsteps.
The emperor turned his head and saw the shadowy guard. He retracted his hand and said to the chief eunuch, "Go and clear out the study in Kunning Palace."
After being beaten up by the eunuch and locked outside, why didn't you go back to the Yangxin Palace?! Wait, these few days are the fixed days to come to Kunning Palace. Is Your Majesty afraid of losing face for the Queen?!
The eunuch did not dare to think about it any further, and said, "As you command."
…
The next day.
The emperor and the crown prince came together to welcome Yuanruan.
Yuan Ruan flew towards the emperor early as usual, and the emperor held her firmly, but did not lift her up. Instead, the emperor implicitly guided her to the prince.
Yuanruan:?
Yuan Ruan: [Tong'er, brother doesn't value me anymore? ]
System: [Let me see... Haha, no, the Queen wanted to sleep last night, but your brother kept bothering her, so the Queen got irritable and kicked your brother out, and he slept in the study all night. He sprained his waist.]
Yuanruan's face turned yellow: [Oh...]
The emperor blushed: There is something wrong with this statement!
The prince's expression suddenly became strange. He quickly picked up Yuan Ruan and walked forward, not daring to listen to his parents' private conversation.
Soon, the three of them walked into the morning court together.
Today we mainly discussed the structure of the "Imperial Examination System". The military generals had little say, and the civil officials had seen the templates of the Imperial Examination System of the Tang, Song and Ming dynasties, so they only made certain adjustments based on the characteristics of the Xia Kingdom, so there was no need to get too embarrassed.
This was a rare peaceful court meeting in recent days.
System: [Aruan, it seems you don’t need to wear earplugs today. I’ll ask the maid to help you take them off later.]
Yuanruan: [Hmm.]
The corners of Xia Guo's courtier's mouth twitched slightly: ...
After half an hour, the framework of the imperial examination was basically agreed upon. The emperor asked the crown prince to coordinate and set a date for the first major examination to be held after the spring of next year.
Yuan Ruan was shocked: [Wow, brother is so powerful. ]
System: [As expected of a tyrant, this is so cool. ]
The court officials were also shocked by the emperor's request.
Prime Minister Wang could not help but come out and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the exam will be held after next spring. Isn't that too early?"
"No," the emperor replied, "there are still a few months left, enough time for the Tongshi, Yuanshi, and Xiangshi, and then the Huishi and Palaceshi in the spring of next year."
Prime Minister Wang said, "This book has not yet been popularized, and the students are not fully prepared."
The emperor waved his hands and said, "Let them do it on their own merits. Oh, and let all the officials who have passed the recommendation system in the past five years take the examination. I want to see their abilities and the level of the people who recommended them."
The civil officials were heartbroken: !!!
Although there were only a few court officials who could become sixth-rank officials within five years, they did not have to worry about the examination.
But who hasn’t recommended a relative, classmate, or fellow countryman? Who hasn’t given them some slack because of a little affection? What if the person they recommended slacked off and didn’t do well in the exam?
The feeling of not being able to control one's own destiny is so helpless.
System: [Hahaha! Ah Ruan is dying when she sees their expressions that look like they lost their parents.]
Yuan Ruan: [Pfft. If this happened in the future, it would probably be a hot topic on Weibo. Who in my family would understand? I have been an official for many years, but now I am back to the days before liberation and have to take the exam again.]
Yuanruan and the system were having fun, but some court officials could not stand the pressure anymore.
At this time, an official stood up and said, "I am not feeling well..."
Yuan Ruan analyzed: [Tong'er, look at this guy's face, it's rosy, but his forehead is sweating. I guess he's not feeling unwell, but is afraid of being embarrassed in the exam, so he wants to take sick leave to go home and find an excuse to hide for a few months.]
The official, whose thoughts were exposed, shuddered and changed the subject dryly: "...but I am willing to contribute a little to the imperial examination selection."
Other court officials: You are quick to react.
Yuan Ruan was somewhat surprised: [This person is physically disabled but mentally strong. ]
With this person as a precedent, other court officials who wanted to escape did not dare to speak out. But similarly, those who knew that the person they recommended had some flaws, or those who knew that the person recommended by their political enemies had some minor flaws, all thought deeply.
At this time, the emperor said: "My dear ministers, please recommend a few more officials to assist the prince in conducting the first imperial examination in Daxia."
The court officials were in no hurry to show up.
The emperor randomly picked the most handsome one in the front, Shao Zhanshi.
The Junior Secretary was helpless. He thought for a moment and stepped forward, clasping his hands and saying, "Your Majesty. I recommend the Shuntian Prefecture's Experience Officer, Prince Yalin. He has been an official for six years, is diligent and conscientious, and is fair and just in his dealings."
The Grand Secretary, who had a bad relationship with Shao Zhanshi, thought to himself, "It's a good thing you came. You thought you could avoid trouble by skipping the imperial examination, right?"
The Grand Scholar stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I have a different opinion."
The emperor said, "Speak."
The Junior Secretary said, "I heard that Wang Yalin, the Minister of the Shuntian Prefecture, beat a strange woman to death last night. He refused to admit his fault."
Courtiers: !!!
Is there such a coincidence?!
They all looked at Shao Zhanshi.
The Shao Zhanshi was nervous, but soon he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I know Wang Yalin is a humble gentleman with a good character. He is friendly to his neighbors and helps the lonely old people every year. How could he beat up a strange woman? There must be..."
"What! That woman has already written the complaint!"
The Grand Secretary looked at the Junior Secretary with full preparation: "Shuntian Prefecture or the Ministry of Justice must have accepted the case."
Shao Zhanshi said anxiously: "Your Majesty, he is really not that kind of person..."
Yuan Ruan's gaze also fell on the Shao Zhanshi. Isn't this man Rongpin's brother?
Yuan Ruan: [You can judge a person by his appearance but not by his heart. I have seen people who appear to be honest but are actually cat abusers. Rongpin is a generous person and the look in her eyes when she looks at her brother is also very clear.]
System: [Let me take a look... Well, how should I put it about Brother Rongpin's matter? I think he is right. ]
The bachelor who was about to strike Shao Zhanshi froze:...
How is that possible? Could it be that the person who reported the case was deceiving him?
The Shao Zhanshi also showed a grateful look. That’s great. Fortunately, there is a system!
Yuanruan was also surprised: [No one was hit? ]
System: [Yes. ]
The smile on Shao Zhanshi's face froze.
The rest:?