Although Xiao Zhaoling looked the same as always and did not show any airs of a high-ranking official in front of him, the threats he used to force him to compromise were actually gambles with the safety of the country!
Lin Zikui was angry and anxious, and hurriedly put clothes on him: "Go back to the palace first, go back quickly!"
"Then you have to promise me." Xiao Fu spread his hands and let him tie his collar. Seeing that he tied it crookedly, he tied it again. Xiao Fu tilted his head and looked at Lin Zikui, looking for his eyes and saw many emotions in his eyes.
He didn't know why Lin Zikui was so worried and asked, "Not talking again?"
"I, okay, I, I promise you, I promise you." Lin Zikui spoke incoherently.
Xiao Fu lowered his head and stared at him, his voice more serious: "Promise me, you are not allowed to return home, you are not allowed to hide from me, you can be upset but you can't ignore me, if you are afraid of me, just say, I will change, if you hear anything bad about me, I will stand in front of you, I married you in your old Lin family, isn't it more real than the rumors outside?"
Naturally, the ruthless Regent Xiao Fu was only living in the rumors that Lin Zikui had heard.
As for what kind of person Xiao Zhaoling is, Lin Zikui has already gained a deep understanding of him over the past year. However, he tells countless lies. Doesn't Lin Zikui believe him? No, he believed Xiao Zhaoling's words every time and took them to be true every time! Every time I never try to find out whether it is true or false - until the moment the truth is revealed.
If one day, the Regent told him that the marriage was also fake and that he was just a fun thing he discovered by chance, a gay game, Lin Zikui... he would be at a loss, he would not know what to do. If such a day really came, he would probably never trust anyone again in his life.
Lin Zikui silently put on his clothes. Xiao Fu held his hand tightly and asked, "Do you promise me?"
"Yes, I agree. You go back to the palace first and explain everything to the Empress Dowager before going to court."
Xiao Fu's mouth finally curved up. He got out of bed and shouted, "Yuanqing, go back to the palace and bring back the letter I asked Liang Hong to take to the Cining Palace this afternoon. If the Empress Dowager asks, tell her that I have changed my mind and will go to court as usual tomorrow!"
Lin Zikui refused to go to sleep and would not close his eyes until he saw the letter brought back with his own eyes. Xiao Fu happened to be lying with him, talking, asking him if he remembered this or that.
"Do you remember that last year you wrote my name on the tablet of the Xingzhi Temple, saying that you and I were in love and that you wanted to marry me and live in harmony with me."
“…I remember.” Lin Zikui was not old enough to be forgetful, but he remembered that it was clearly written that he was happily married to “Miss Xiao Zhaoling.”
Now Xiao is not Xiao, Langjun is not Girl, and even Zhao Ling is not her real name.
Lin Zikui turned his head away from him and said, "Your name is Xiao Fu, and your courtesy name is Zhao Ling?"
Xiao Fu could only look at the back of his head and could not see his emotions, and replied: "Yes, Zhao Ling, only a few people would call me like that. My name did not lie to you."
This is not a lie, it's just hiding part of the truth. Lin Zikui let out a heavy breath, his eyelashes drooped, his eyes fell on the clear moonlight on the ground: "What about Xiao Fu," the name sounded strange in his mouth, "is there anything else you are hiding from me?"
Xiao Fu was not happy: "Why do you call me by my full name? I have nothing to hide from you. I have said before that I have an older brother, an older sister, and a younger sister. My mother is brave and good at fighting, but my father is much more gentle. My father is a scholar with a somewhat pedantic temperament, but he can't control my affairs."
Lin Zikui recalled that he had met the Duke of Changguo twice, both in Prince Shuo's Mansion.
He had also met Zhao Ling's mother, Princess Minghua, but in such an occasion, Lin Zikui did not say a word to them, and the other party did not come up to make friends with him, a "Hui Yuan" who came from a humble family.
Lin Zikui doesn't like to associate with powerful people.
At that time, Prince Shuo reminded him: "Duke Changguo is the father of Regent Prince Xiao Fu and the Grand Empress Dowager. You should go to him and make yourself familiar with him. If you are appreciated by him, it will be of great benefit to you in the future."
Lin Zikui knew that there were benefits, but he was just that kind of person. He only glanced at the Duke of Changguo's family three times at most and ultimately couldn't move his legs.
Never mind, he can't take this shortcut.
Xiao Fu explained, "If I had brought you home earlier, he would have known that you were a candidate for the imperial examination and would have doubted your knowledge, which would have made you uncomfortable. Now that you have passed the imperial examination and have an official position, I will say that I fell in love with you at first sight during the palace examination because I saw that you are good-looking and well-educated. What else can he say? He can only blame me for being a lustful person who had evil thoughts when I saw the beauty of the young man and ruined a pillar of the country."
Lin Zikui listened carefully, crushing every word he said.
Xiao Fu only explained but did not apologize. Perhaps he felt sorry but just couldn't say it out loud.
Lin Zikui sighed, feeling sorry for him, and felt the warmth of his embrace from behind, which spread to her whole body, and even her hands and feet seemed not to be so cold anymore.
Xiao Fu leaned over to him and asked, "Lin Lang, do you remember when was my birthday?"
"I remember you said that the reunion dinner on August 15th during the Mid-Autumn Festival was your birthday, so you were always unhappy when you were a child, wondering why you always had to eat mooncakes on your birthday."
"Yes, it was on August 15th. I didn't like mooncakes at that time, and later I didn't know what mooncakes tasted like. My mother also said that I was born on the Mid-Autumn Festival, and I was the reincarnation of Hou Yi, and I wanted to marry a woman like Chang'e in the future. But I won't marry her. To be honest, my little man is the moon in the sky that I picked, and he is more beautiful than Chang'e."
Xiao Zhaoling didn't study, but he was better at speaking than scholars. Didn't Lin Zikui fall for his looks and sweet words in the beginning? Now, it's not that he didn't appreciate what he said, but it was just that there were too many other things accompanying it.
When Yuanqing came back, Lin Zikui read the letter, which read:
"Eldest sister, starting tomorrow, I will no longer be the regent. I'll trouble you to take the trouble to govern the country from behind the scenes."
This handwriting is definitely in the childish style of Xiao Zhaoling. It is not forged by Yuan Qing. He really wrote it, but did not write the reason. Just this one sentence.
Lin Zikui tore up the letter and set it on fire on the spot, then turned around and warned him: "Don't write such a letter in the future. Wait until your majesty grows up, the country is stable, and the world is at peace, then you can unload your responsibility."
"Okay, as you command. Can I go to bed now?" Xiao Fu said after glancing at the moonlight. "It's already midnight. I have to get up at dawn to attend court."
Lin Zikui lay down, his shoulders still a little stiff.
Xiao Fu pulled his body closer and said, "You still don't want to look at me?"
Lin Zikui opened his eyes without wearing a spectacles, and the outline of Xiao Zhaoling was not clear in his sight, hazily covered with a layer of moonlight.
"You didn't... choose me to be the top scorer," he asked.
"I don't know what the little emperor ordered."
Lin Zikui somehow breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that it wasn't chosen by Xiao Zhaoling.
Lin Zikui was unable to calm down for a long time, and Xiao Fu pulled her into his arms. He whispered, "Do you want to sleep?"
"Yeah." Lin Zikui responded. Xiao Fu held his head with one hand and circled his waist with the other. The sound of his fluctuating heartbeat echoed. Lin Zikui closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.
Daybreak at the hour of Mao.
Xiao Fu got up and changed his clothes, then woke up from a dream. Lin Zikui finally realized that it was not a dream, and he also knew what he was going to do that made him get up so early.
Lin Zikui stood up, but was pushed back by Xiao Fu: "No, just go to sleep. It's cold outside, don't get up." Xiao Fu put on his coat and stood by the bed. "Going to court is so tiring. Sometimes I don't want you to be an official. You only have a day off every ten days. It will be hard for you."
Lin Zikui shook his head and said nothing. After a while, he asked, "Where's Xun'er?"
Xiao Fu glanced at the door of the wing room and said, "Let him sleep. You can wake him up for breakfast later." After that, he buttoned his collar, bent down and kissed Lin Zikui on the face, and said sweetly as if there had been no conflict, "I'm leaving. I'll be back at noon. Please save some food for me."
After saying that, he lowered the curtain, and Lin Zikui's eyes fell into darkness again. He heard the creaking sound of Xiao Fu leaving the door.
Lin Zikui lay flat on the bed, raised his hand and touched his cheek.
At noon in the morning, Lin Zikui got up to eat. Xun'er ate three big buns. Mo Liu hurried out: "Sir, how long does it take for the results of the palace examination to come out? Is it today? I'll go to the Imperial Examination Hall to take a look!"
Chen Yuanqing knew about this and said, "I heard that in previous years, there was a delay of several days. This year, in order to prevent favoritism and fraud, the palace examination did not use the questions submitted by the cabinet. Instead, it was changed to the emperor's questions in the court. It is not impossible that the yellow list will be released today."
Lin Zikui put down his chopsticks and said, "I'll go too."
Yuwen Yan raised his chopsticks: "Yun'er, come too!"
Although he didn't know what was so fun, since everyone was going, he wanted to go too.
Lin Zikui was afraid that taking him out would affect his safety, so he hesitated for a moment.
Yuan Qing said: "It's okay, I'll just hold the little prince."
Mo Liu: “?”
What little prince?
Yuwen Xun refused: "I want the Master, I want the Master to hold me."
Lin Zikui bent down and picked him up: "Let's go, follow the master to the Imperial Examination Hall."
Jinzun was the one who protected Lin Zikui personally. Because Yuwen Yan was also there, Xiao Fu left Chen Yuanqing behind to have one more person to look after him.
When we arrived outside the Imperial Examination Hall, it was already crowded with people.
"The Yellow List is out! It's out!"
Mo Liu stamped his feet: "Why are there so many people? There are only about 300 Jinshi candidates in total, and there are so many people watching the fun that the whole street is packed with people! How can we even check the rankings!"
"I'll go and see!" Jinzun flew up, tapped his toes on Mo Liu's shoulders, and climbed to the front of the list by riding on the heads of passers-by.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites have just posted the yellow notice.
Jinzun took a look and saw the first name of the Jinshi degree holder.
"The champion, Lin Zikui, Lin Zikui? Isn't this the champion?" Someone said, "I heard that he was also the champion of the provincial examination in Huainan Prefecture. What a strange man! He won three prizes in the first place!"
"I've never heard of such a talented person!"
"The number one scholar is from Huainan, and I am his fellow villager. Hehe, I am the number one scholar's fellow villager! With the help of the special examination next year, I will also be a Jinshi!"
"I am from the same hometown as the number one scholar and I was admitted to the imperial examination on the same list. His words in the palace examination yesterday were truly earth-shattering and soul-stirring! He is truly a prodigy! The number one scholar deserves to be recognized!"
At the same time, a notice was posted that the imperial court had set up a special imperial examination, which would continue in February of next year.
From a distance, Lin Zikui could vaguely hear the various discussions.
Mo Liu: "They are calling for the top scholar, Lin... Lin Zikui? Is that you, young master!" He was overjoyed, "Are they calling you?"
Jinzun tore off the yellow list.
Ministry of Rites official: “?”
"Hey, what do you do!"
Jin Zun ignored him, stepped on the shoulder of a passerby with one foot, and returned in the blink of an eye. He threw the yellow list to Lin Zikui: "Here."
Lin Zikui opened his mouth slightly and said, "Why did you take down the list? To take down the list means to beat the drum to protest one's dissatisfaction with the ranking on the list."
Yuanqing shook his head: "You."
Jinzun: “Look!”
Mo Liu spread out the yellow list and pointed at the first row of successful Jinshi candidates: "Number one, Lin Zikui, Lin Zikui! Number one! Sir! You really won! Three top prizes in a row!"
"You are truly the top scholar." Yuan Qing smiled and returned the yellow list to Jin Zun. "Return it quickly and post it up. Don't cause any trouble for the Ministry of Rites."
Lin Zikui was still a little unsteady on his feet.
I got it...
But I was not ecstatic in my heart.
Instead, I have a myriad of thoughts that are complex and difficult to describe.
Yuan Qing saw this and said, "Mr. Lin, your number one scholar is genuine. The master has not tampered with him. There is no need to doubt yourself or belittle yourself."
Mo Liu was the most excited. He was so happy that he was stunned. He hugged Lin Zikui and cried bitterly.
"Master, Madam, the young master has won the exam. Your spirits in heaven can be relieved!"
Lin Zikui gave a bitter smile. He was willing to believe Yuanqing's words, but the doubts and grudges in his heart were difficult to eliminate.
He hugged Mo Liu and patted him: "Okay, stop crying, let's go home."
Mo Liu wiped her tears and said, "When will the imperial edict from the palace come? The number one scholar will be paraded through the streets on horseback, right? Then, will the clothing bureau make clothes for the young master? There will also be rewards, a mansion, and gold..."
As soon as Lin Zikui returned home, the imperial edict from the palace arrived.
Wei, the chief steward of the Metropolitan Prefectural Office, said: "The imperial edict has arrived, Lin Zikui, please accept it!"
Lin Zikui lifted the corner of his robe and knelt down.
"Are you Lin Zikui?"
"yes."
Eunuch Wei nodded and said, "You are really young and capable."
Everyone knelt down. Eunuch Wei spread out the imperial edict to read it, when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the commander-in-chief of the imperial guards also kneeling in front of him.
He looked very surprised, but he still finished reading the imperial edict: "Lin Zikui is extremely talented and speaks out frankly, which has won my heart. I order him to appear in the palace at noon tomorrow to see me. Congratulations, number one scholar. Why don't you thank me for the order?"
"Student, thank you for your grace." Lin Zikui kowtowed and stretched out both hands to receive the order, trembling slightly.
Eunuch Wei smiled and said, "Then I will call you Lord Lin first. Lord Lin, you are the top scholar. Tomorrow when you go to court, His Majesty will personally confer the title on you. This is your crown and hairpin. Wear this when you enter the palace tomorrow!"
"Thank you, father-in-law."
Mo Liu tactfully took out silver ingots as a bribe. Eunuch Wei saw Commander Chen was there, as he was a favorite of the Regent, so he was hesitant to accept the money. Commander Chen just turned his face away, pretending not to see it. Eunuch Wei smiled and put the money in his sleeve. He took a look at the mansion where the top scholar lived. It was really nice. It seemed that the top scholar came from a noble family.
Eunuch Wei: "How come Commander Chen is here too? What a coincidence!"
Commander Chen nodded indifferently: "Yes, Eunuch Wei."
Mo Liu: “…Ah?”
Eunuch Wei: "The number one scholar is the commander..."
Commander Chen glanced at him, and Eunuch Wei laughed a few times, covering his mouth and said, "I'm sorry for talking too much. Commander Chen, please continue with your work. I'll take my leave now..."
The visitor from the palace put down his crown and clothes and left.
Mo Liu stared at Chen Yuanqing in disbelief: "You..."
"Sir, he, what is he, a commander? Sir, why aren't you surprised at all!"
Lin Zikui put the imperial edict back into the box and put it away: "I just found out about this too."
"No, what's going on." Mo Liu was like a pot of boiling water, shouting: "You are, why... why are you the commander!"
Yuan Qing glanced at him and said, "Bookboy, you are too noisy." Even though Master Lin had a good temper, anyone would not be able to stand such a bookboy.
Fortunately, Mo Liu was loyal and had real intentions for Lin Zikui. When Master Lin won the top spot in the imperial examination, he burst into tears and said that all the hard work had paid off and he would finally live a good life with the master.
In fact, it has been a good day for a long time.
Lin Zikui was very content. With such a nice yard and his own savings, how could it not be good? He asked Mo Liu to calm down, put away the imperial edict and the top scholar's crown and robes, then took Xun'er to the kitchen and asked him what he wanted to eat.
Xun'er asked, "Master, are you cooking?"
"Okay, Master, do it." Lin Zikui rolled up his sleeves.
"What does Master like to eat? What I like is the same as Master's."
Lin Zikui smiled and patted his head. The cook helped him burn firewood, and Yuwen Yan sat beside him: "Master, how did you do it?"
"What and how?"
"Let my father listen to my orders. Master, do you know that my father is a very fierce person and everyone is afraid of him?"
Lin Zikui paused while holding the spoon: "Why aren't you afraid of your father, the emperor?"
"Xun'er was afraid, but mother said that the more Xun'er feared the emperor, the more he disliked him. Xun'er couldn't let mother be bullied again, so she mustered up her courage and tried not to be afraid of the emperor."
Lin Zikui heard this and said, "Master, I don't know who your royal father is, so I'm not afraid of him."
Yuwen Yan held his face and watched the firewood burst into sparks, and said, "Now that the Master knows, are you afraid?"
Lin Zikui was silent for a while and said, "If it's in the court, I think no one will not be afraid; if he takes off his python robe, I won't be afraid of him for now." Lin Zikui knew that he could only accept this matter slowly. No matter what the final result was, he could only bear it himself and had no way out.
Lin Zikui cooked a pot of porridge and roasted some sweet potatoes on the stove. Before noon, the Regent's carriage came out of the palace and slowly stopped at the gate of the mansion.
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