The tribute students standing around Lin Zikui panicked for a moment and scattered: "Hey! What's wrong with you?"
The eunuch leading the way turned around.
A tribute student said: "He, he fainted!"
Xiao Fu, who had been watching, suddenly stood up.
Little Emperor: "Father?"
Then Xiao Fu strode out of the Fengtian Hall and called Liang Hong, "Go and call the judge!"
"The judge of the Imperial Hospital?" Is it worth asking the old judge to make a trip just because a tribute student fainted?
Lin Zikui lost his balance and suddenly fell down, his eyes still open, powerless.
Xiao Fu plucked off a few inconspicuous pearls from the crown and flicked them lightly with his fingertips. His speed was so fast that only the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guards guarding outside the Fengtian Palace saw it.
The pearls randomly bounced onto the sleeping positions of ten candidates.
Commander Han:?
All I heard was "dong, dong, dong..."
Candidates fell one after another!
Eunuch Liang opened his mouth wide: "What...what is going on!"
The Regent King said: "The majesty of the Fengtian Palace is so great that it shakes people's hearts and minds. The tribute students have studied hard and are exhausted. Someone, send these tribute students to the Imperial Hospital for treatment. This king loves the virtuous and must cure them all."
Lin Zikui's eyelids were half closed when he saw the Regent walk out of the Fengtian Hall and stop in front of him. In full view of everyone, the Regent just stood there without bending down, and his jawline was as sharp as a hook.
Immediately, the Regent ordered the eunuchs to lead all the tribute students out of the palace, except those who collapsed due to exhaustion.
Xiao Fu stood so close to him, yet so far away, appearing bizarre in Lin Zikui's sight. He looked at Xiao Zhaoling, as if he was having a lucid dream, extremely lucid, yet extremely absurd.
Lin Zikui moved his lips as if he wanted to call his name, but in the end no sound came out.
Lin Zikui was sent to the Imperial Hospital. Xiao Fu asked Liang Hong to have Zhang Yuanpan take his pulse personally. Liang Hong thought to himself, "It seems that Lin Huiyuan will be the top scorer. He is so bold that he dares to say anything in the palace examination."
After reading it, Zhang Yuanpan looked at the Regent who had come to the Imperial Hospital to check his pulse. "Your Highness, there is nothing wrong with the candidate. He is just restless and needs to take some tranquilizers. I will prescribe a prescription for him. He will be fine after taking one tablet."
Xiao Fu remained calm, only looking at Lin Zikui's eyes, with a hint of worry in his eyes: "When will he wake up?"
Judge: "One hour at most. As for the other candidates..."
Xiao Fu didn't listen, but turned his head and asked Liang Hong: "Eunuch Liang, do you agree with what Lin Huiyuan said in the palace examination just now?"
Liang Hong, who was suddenly called, said: “…………”
"I, my slave, dare not make any irresponsible comments."
Xiao Fu: "This prince loves talents very much, and I still have something to ask this student. He will wake up soon, right? If he wakes up, please send him to this prince's palace."
With so many examinees fainting outside the hall, Lin Zikui seemed inconspicuous.
When the examinees woke up from the Imperial Hospital, they were dazed and confused as to how they fainted. They were worried that they had lost their manners in front of the palace and their ranking would be affected. So they quietly gave a eunuch some silver and asked, "Did His Majesty and the Regent say anything when we fainted just now?"
The eunuch said, "Don't worry. Chief Steward Liang personally sent someone to bring you to the Imperial Hospital. The Regent King has spoken very highly of you and has told the Imperial Doctor to treat you well. I believe there will be no problem."
On the other side, when Lin Zikui woke up, he saw a pale-faced eunuch standing in front of him, saying, "Lin Zikui? Awake? Then fix your hair and come with us."
Lin Zikui stood up silently. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, the bricks and tiles were red, and the palace walls were deep and thick.
He didn't know whether he was dreaming or if what he saw really happened, so he asked out loud: "Grandpa, where are you taking me? Just now... just now, did I make a fool of myself?"
Eunuch Liang glanced at the candidate and said, "You are too bold. When you meet the Regent later, remember to keep your mouth shut. You should know what to say and what not to say. Be careful of your own..." He raised his neck.
Lin Huiyuan seemed to be favored by the Prince Regent, who actually wanted to summon him personally. If he survived the disaster, he would definitely be given an important position. Eunuch Liang gave him face and gave him some advice.
Lin Zikui looked even more stunned: "Yes, I am going to see him..."
Eunuch Liang immediately lowered his voice: "Lin Zikui, that's the thousand-year-old master!"
Lin Zikui nodded, but his face was pale and he looked dazed. There are so many complicated emotions in my heart that I can't sort them out at all.
Zhao Ling often got up at dawn, went out, and came back for lunch at noon.
In the past two months, he has disappeared without a trace.
Yuan Qing has the temperament of a military commander and stands out from the crowd. Yuanwu hasn't been seen in recent months. Yuanqing said that he went out of town on business.
Jinzun was a Turkic person, and the regent used to lead troops inside the Great Wall.
All of these things seem to have the right answers at this moment.
He is the Regent...
It was the Regent...
At this moment, Xiao Fu was in the imperial study, with the little emperor beside him. The list of tribute students was spread out in front of him, and the little eunuch had memorized everything that each candidate had said. Because there are so many people, they are numbered according to the Thousand Character Classic.
Almost all the tribute students answered the questions. Some were good and some were not. The poor ones were ranked in the third place, the good ones were first mentioned to the second place, and only the extremely outstanding ones could be selected as candidates for the first place Jinshi.
The little emperor seemed to have his own considerations and wrote a few names on the rice paper.
"What do you think, Father Emperor? Who will be chosen as the top scholar, the second and the third place?"
Xiao Fu was still thinking about Lin Zikui. Even though he sent Chen Yuanqing to watch secretly, he still couldn't let go of his worries.
Why did you faint?
Seeing that he remained silent, the little emperor asked, "Father?"
Xiao Fu raised his eyelids: "What do you think, Your Majesty?"
"These candidates all have their own unique qualities. Gu Yuanyou is quick-witted, has meaningful words, and is thoughtful. He cannot be faulted. And this Lin Zikui..."
If you want to find fault, every word is wrong.
But every word he said was true.
Xiao Fu: "Your Majesty, have you ever thought about what Lin Huiyuan said from the bottom of his heart?"
The young emperor nodded and replied, "I have thought about it. The saying that the people are more important than the emperor does not mean that the people are more important than the emperor. It means that the people are more important than the emperor. But the people in the north have not harvested any grain yet. The grain released by the court has been cut down layer by layer. The people are not getting full. Isn't it getting less and less?"
Xiao Fu asked again: "What did Candidate Gu say?"
Yuwen Xuan paused, looked at the words recorded by the eunuch and answered. There is no fault in the answer. He has his country and the world, but no warning. Nowadays, it is harder than climbing to the sky to find an official who dares to tell the truth!
Xiao Fu: "Who will your majesty choose as the top scholar?"
The little emperor glanced at Xiao Fu's face, picked up the imperial pen, and circled Lin Zikui's name: "What do you think, father?"
"Your Majesty, please make the decision," Xiao Fu stood up, "Father, please return to the palace first."
The little emperor jumped down from his chair and asked, "Will Your Majesty not eat with me?"
"Not today. Let Scholar Zhao come over to help you check the imperial edict." Xiao Fu said and left. He had a Xuanji Palace in the imperial palace, not far from the Fengtian Palace, which made it convenient for him to get up early and attend court.
After Eunuch Liang brought Lin Zikui here, he saw Commander Chen was also in the Regent's Palace. He immediately greeted him and used his whisk to remind Lin Zikui.
When Lin Zikui saw him, his pupils shrank, and he was so stunned that he followed the salute a beat late: "Greetings... the commander-in-chief."
But Yuanqing just glanced at him, without a single mistake in his expression. Immediately, he sent Eunuch Liang away: "His Highness has instructed that you don't have to wait in Xuanji Palace."
Eunuch Liang hesitated: "Then the tribute student..."
"Your Excellency knows how to handle things properly. Eunuch Liang, please step down."
"Yes, Commander Chen, I will take my leave now."
Xiao Fu didn't like pomp and circumstance, so there were very few people cleaning the Xuanji Palace, and there were many spies there, so Yuan Qing had already cleaned them up. At this moment, there was no one else except the three of them. Lin Zikui looked at Chen Yuanqing, pursed his lips and said nothing.
Yuan Qing nodded to him and lowered his voice to invite him in: "Master Lin, the master is inside, and there are many people in the palace, so I have no choice but to do this."
Hearing this, Lin Zikui took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
It really is him.
It's not a dream.
He thought he had passed the imperial examination and was finally worthy of admission into the Xiao family.
Zhao Ling didn't dare to tell his family about his homosexuality, but he had the confidence and he dared to do it!
He thought that he had become the top scholar and had a mansion granted by the emperor. He and his wife moved in, and it was a poetic and picturesque place with flowing water under small bridges.
Now it seems like a huge joke!
In the quiet and green palace in late summer, the palace gate was hidden and the fence door was pushed open. Lin Zikui walked slowly, and every step was extremely difficult and he was in fear.
He lifted up the corner of his robe and was about to kneel down to salute, but Xiao Fu held him with both hands and said, "Lin Lang, what kind of salute do you want to show me?"
Lin Zikui was trembling a little and slowly looked up at him.
Xiao Fu smiled at him with familiar eyes: "Is this a surprise?"
Yuanqing closed the door behind them without saying a word and stood guard at the door dutifully.
Lin Zikui said nothing. He tried his best to suppress his trembling, but he couldn't.
"Regent." Lin Zikui pulled his arms out of his shackles and knelt down with his knees bent.
"Student Lin Zikui," he gritted his teeth and bowed down with a tingling back, a perfect courtesy between a subject and a monarch, bowing three times, curling up his limbs and speaking in a deep voice, "I kowtow to the Regent."
Xiao Fu's expression froze in an instant, and his temperature gradually dropped.
I've thought of ten thousand different reactions from Lin Zikui, but I never thought it would be this one.
"Lin Lang, don't you recognize me? Just because I'm wearing this dress?" Xiao Fu was still wearing the dark ceremonial court robe and a jade belt around his waist. He reached out his hand from his wide sleeves and tried to pull him up, but Lin Zikui stood still with his head buried.
Xiao Fu did not move either, his expression was unfathomable: "I will no longer be the regent if I take off this dress." After saying this, he went to untie his jade belt. Lin Zikui suddenly looked up and looked at him in disbelief.
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