Chapter 215 Hehehe~
The old Emperor of Xiling was not blessed and had only two sons.
The eldest son, Prince Xin, was ignorant and stupid and easily believed in other people's slander. In the end, because of this shortcoming, he was deceived into treason and died at the hands of the old emperor.
The father killed his son, but he had to kill him.
The old emperor's second son, Prince Rui, was much stronger than the eldest son, but he was so obsessed with beauty and indulged himself too much that his body was even worse than that of the old emperor.
The concubines in the backyard were making a lot of noise, but he didn't care about any of them. From time to time, the bodies of concubines were carried out from the back door, causing the old emperor to scold them but he didn't dare to really punish them.
I only have this one son, so no matter how useless he is, I have to raise him well.
However, everything slowly changed after Princess Rui gave birth to the first son of the Rui Palace eighteen years ago.
The emperor's eldest grandson was canonized as the crown prince, surpassing his biological father.
That year, I was just ten years old.
The day before the ten-year-old prince was enthroned, he killed his father and his father's concubine, and then skinned the concubine and draped it over the body of King Rui.
Rumors were rife, but no one knew what the reason was.
The old Emperor of Xiling only had this one bloodline, so naturally he was reluctant to let it die in vain in Dayu.
After all, he was suppressed for murdering his father and was enthroned as the crown prince.
This time, the remnants of the previous dynasty will definitely be sent out by the old emperor.
Emperor: "You have done a great job on this matter, but I cannot reward you in public. After the matter of the remnants of the previous dynasty is resolved, I will hand over the Western Suburbs Camp to you."
He Zhiyu immediately knelt down and said, "Thank you, father."
"Get up. The Queen mentioned your marriage to me not long ago. What do you think now? I am not that old-fashioned. If you like someone, I will still give priority to your wishes."
The emperor asked about family affairs in a meaningful manner, just like an ordinary father worrying about his son's marriage.
But He Zhiyu knew in his heart that even so, he must not act rashly.
But the one who wants to marry...
"Your son..." He Zhiyu didn't know how to start.
The emperor said, "You have told me many times that you would marry no one but the eldest daughter of the Qiao family, even if it means giving up everything. This has been known to everyone in the city. Now the eldest daughter of the Qiao family is in trouble. If you marry her, you will marry a joke. If you don't marry her, your previous oath will also become a joke."
No matter what you do, you are in trouble because of a woman.
He Zhiyu suddenly fell silent and didn't say a word for a long time.
His mind went blank, and the next moment he recalled the scene when he first met Qiao Yihuan.
She is pure, beautiful, and has a whiteness that is not tainted by this world.
The first time I saw her was on the long street.
She stood in front of a little beggar who took the risk of stealing buns because he was hungry, and stopped the stall owner from beating the little beggar.
After paying for all the buns, he gave them to the little beggar to eat, and distributed the remaining buns to the poor people who could not afford to eat.
At that moment, he had the urge to understand her.
Later, when they met again by chance at a banquet, she was ostracized and isolated by those noble ladies, just like herself when she was a child, always doing everything alone.
No friends, no family love.
At that time, he swore in his heart that he would make her the most noble woman in Dayu and take good care of her and love her.
He had thought so before, and was working hard for it. He made it known to everyone in the city, leaving no way out for himself.
Outside the door, a palace servant came in and reported respectfully.
"Your Majesty, the Grand Tutor requests an audience."
The emperor said calmly: "You go out first."
He Zhiyu stood up, took two steps back and turned to leave.
On the day of the imperial examination, the whole capital was looking forward to who would be the champion of this year's examination. The examination was divided into three sessions, one every three days. Candidates entered the examination hall one day in advance and exited the examination hall the next day.
Body searches and door locks before entry ensure fairness and prevent cheating.
This year's examination was hosted by the Ministry of Rites with the assistance of the Crown Prince, so it was more rigorous than usual. A cold and solemn atmosphere spread, and all the candidates began to get nervous.
March 15th was the third examination. The Minister of Rites walked up to the Crown Prince and presented him with the list of outstanding candidates from the previous two examinations.
He Zhiyu flipped through the books and saw Xu Shujian's name on the last page.
The family was somewhat famous in the early years, but gradually fell into obscurity.
Later, he performed well in the Tongshi and Xiangshi examinations, and could be considered a noble son from a poor family.
The Minister of Rites said, "This Xu Shujian is really not simple. He performed very well in the first two exams. His poems are ornate but not exaggerated, with profound artistic conception and beautiful rhythm. He quotes classics and makes a lot of use of them. Even the Imperial College's chief priest couldn't stop praising him!"
He Zhiyu didn't say anything, but just looked at Xu Shujian's message a few more times.
The Minister of Rites has been an official for many years. The Crown Prince never participated in the imperial examinations in the past few years, but he participated in the joint examination this year. He had also pondered about it privately.
Now that Prince Jing has returned to the capital and holds military power, he is no less powerful than the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace.
It is not certain who will eventually sit on the throne of the emperor.
Looking across the nine provinces, I'm afraid no one can figure out the emperor's intention.
Now that the prince was presiding over the imperial examination, he guessed that he probably wanted to select a few good candidates from this examination and secretly support them to become his advisers, and train them to be his helpers in the court in the future.
Xu Shujian was the best among the candidates, and there was a high chance that he would be able to catch the prince's eye. It was nothing for him to recommend him.
He Zhiyu closed the list and said, "Take me to see these candidates."
The Minister of Rites nodded in agreement and took the princes there one by one in the order on the list.
The first nine candidates looked at the prince in a dragon robe and felt a little nervous, not daring to breathe.
Although they had seen many officials who presided over the imperial examinations after entering the capital, this was the first time they had seen the crown prince.
Although he was young, even about the same age as some of the candidates, his aura was so overwhelming that people didn't dare to look him in the eye.
But when it came to the last candidate on the list, the Minister of Rites clearly saw that although Xu Shujian was a little surprised, he was not as flustered and nervous as the previous candidates.
He just glanced and nodded before continuing to do the questions. He secretly admired her for her stable mood.
He is so young yet so calm, he will surely become a great man in the future.
There is a high probability that he will be the top scorer this year.
He Zhiyu's eyes gradually moved down to his paper, and he glanced at the pen in his hand and felt that it looked familiar.
Looking at the writing brush, inkstone and inkstone in the upper left corner again, his calm expression just now was suddenly covered with a layer of frost.
He recognized this set of writing brushes, ink and inkstone.
It is the treasure of Mobao Bookstore.
Xu Shujian was still writing with his head down, but he could clearly feel a shadowy and sharp gaze falling on him.
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