The north gate of Shengjing Prefecture.
An army of two thousand soldiers came from afar.
These soldiers were all wearing full armor, riding war horses, and holding spears.
Majestic and solemn, full of murderous intent.
In the middle of the army was a man wearing black armor and riding a tall horse.
His face was covered by a visor and his features could not be seen clearly.
But the two flags flying high, one with the huge word "Zhao" and the other with the word "Zhenbei", all revealed his identity.
Marquis of Zhenbei, Zhao Jingzhou!
"Zhenbei Army! It's the Zhenbei Army!"
"The Marquis of Zhenbei is back!"
"It seems the Northern Di army has been repelled."
The city gate was crowded with people watching the excitement and talking about it.
When the Zhenbei Army arrived at the city gate, Zhao Jingzhou waved his hand and everyone stopped immediately, in unison. No one made a sound, and the horses did not neigh. Only the flags in the air fluttered in the spring breeze.
"What an elite army!" someone exclaimed.
"These are the elite troops trained by the Marquis of Zhenbei himself. There are a total of 5,000 of them, and only 2,000 have arrived."
Someone who knew the situation boasted: "These 5,000 elite soldiers can fight the Northern Di army head-on. With equal strength, they are not afraid of anyone."
"So powerful?"
Everyone around was amazed.
Because of the provincial and palace examinations, many people from other places are here.
Many people have only heard of the Zhenbei Army, but this is the first time they have seen it.
They all looked at Zhao Jingzhou with awe.
Zhao Jingzhou whispered a few instructions and entered the city with a guard of two hundred men, while the others went to the military camp outside the city.
If he really brought two thousand people in, the emperor would have to wonder whether he was planning a rebellion.
But even with two hundred people, wherever they passed, everyone looked sideways and dared not look directly at them.
"Zhao Jingzhou is back!"
Yun Zhiyi found Zhao Lin and asked worriedly, "Will his return at this time affect the master's palace examination?"
Zhao Lin frowned slightly, then relaxed and said, "That's fine. Although I also want to be the top scholar, not being the top scholar won't affect the rest of the story. But isn't Zhao Jingzhou stationed at Zhenbei Pass to resist the invasion of the Northern Di? Could it be that the Northern Di have withdrawn their troops?"
Sudi said: "The news from my family is that something seems to have happened to the Beidi royal family, so they don't want to cause trouble."
"I see."
Zhao Lin thought for a moment and said, "Aside from the struggle for the throne, the only thing that could make them give up their invasion is the dispute over the throne. Could it be that something has happened to the Northern Di Emperor, Wanyan Jing?"
Sudi was startled and said, "Wanyan Jing has a very high reputation in Beidi. Everyone trusts him and he always keeps his word. What could go wrong?"
Zhao Lin laughed and said, "How would I know? But the only problem a person like this could have is his own body."
Sudi pondered, "Wanyan Jing just celebrated his sixtieth birthday last year, so he's not too old. However, Wanyan Jing has been fighting with the founding emperor of the Northern Di Kingdom since he was a child, and he's been afflicted with injuries, so it's normal for him to have problems."
Zhao Lin nodded and said, "Never mind him. These things have nothing to do with us. The issue now is the palace examination. If Zhao Jingzhou really wants to interfere..."
Zhao Lin's face darkened.
The palace examination is not like the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination. The ranking of the palace examination is decided by the emperor, and the emperor's opinion is the most important.
If Zhao Jingzhou went to the emperor to ask for the top spot for his son Zhao Chenhan, the emperor would really give it to him given his trust and respect for Zhao Jingzhou.
The main reason is that Zhao Chenhan is also very good, only slightly worse than Zhao Lin.
Yun Zhiyi said, "Zhao Jingzhou seems to have a good reputation. He wouldn't do such a thing, would he?"
"Fame? He has a reputation?"
Zhao Lin scoffed and said, "Even though we can't do anything about him now, we can't just do nothing."
Zhao Lin ran to find Li Xingye, Zhu Zhongyan and Li Weibai. All three of them promised to be present on the day of the palace examination. If the emperor obviously favored Zhao Chenhan, they would step forward to stop it.
Only then did Zhao Lin feel relieved.
…
Zhao Jingzhou first went to pay a visit to the emperor, and then returned to the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion.
The whole family was already waiting at the door.
Sisters Zhao Mingzhu, Zhao Mingyue and others and their husbands also came early.
Even Prince Yu Li Jingzhong came.
This shows Zhao Jingzhou's status.
"Dad, you're back."
Zhao Chenhan rushed over first and said with tears in his eyes, "Dad has lost weight and suffered a lot."
Zhao Jingzhou was very pleased and jumped off his horse and said, "My son is so good."
"That's right, no one is as obedient as Han'er." Han Yuehua said proudly.
Zhao Jingzhou said, "He made that old man Fu Chengwang change his mind and got second place in the imperial examination. Not bad, he is worthy of being my son."
Han Yuehua said: "It's a pity that it's not first. It should be first."
After the whole family entered the mansion, Zhao Jingzhou said calmly, "Tell me, what happened to Zhao Lin?"
Han Yuehua became angry whenever Zhao Lin was mentioned: "Do you think a loser like him, who crawled out of a beggar's den and only studied for a few years, can surpass Han'er, who won the first place in the imperial examination?"
Zhao Jingzhou frowned: "Cheating?"
"What else is there besides cheating? Those idiots in the Imperial Examination Hall were not even caught." Han Yuehua complained.
Zhao Jingzhou thought for a moment and said, "It's okay. There's still the palace examination. You can't cheat in the palace examination."
Han Yuehua said, "That's hard to say. We suspect he got the exam questions from that old eunuch Zhu Zhongyan. What if he also got the questions from the Palace Examination?"
Zhao Jingzhou nodded and said, "That's possible."
Zhao Mingya said, "Dad, you don't know how harsh Zhao Lin's curses were. He cursed our whole family to death. If he wins the top spot again, who knows what he will say."
Zhao Jingzhou said: "I understand."
"Dad, what do you have in mind?" Zhao Mingzhu asked.
Zhao Jingzhou thought for a moment and said, "The powerful eunuch Zhu Zhongyan is deeply trusted by His Majesty and cannot be provoked for the time being. Send people to keep an eye on Zhao Lin and investigate everyone who comes into contact with him. As long as he is prevented from contacting Zhu Zhongyan, he won't be able to cheat."
"Good idea. Dad is really smart."
Zhao Mingya smiled happily: "If he can't get the exam questions, we'll see what he does during the palace examination. Finally, we can expose his true colors."
The sisters also breathed a sigh of relief.
Only Zhao Mingzhu felt uneasy: "What if Zhao Lin didn't cheat?"
"impossible!"
Zhao Mingya said confidently, "He only studied for three years and didn't even have a teacher. He was lucky to pass the exam, but he kept getting first place. Don't you find it strange?"
Zhao Jingzhou said, "There is indeed a problem. Just keep a close eye on him and you'll know after he passes the palace examination."
Prince Yu, Liu Zhengyan and Guo Changda, the three sons-in-law, looked at each other, all feeling puzzled.
Yes, Zhao Lin won the first place and surpassed Zhao Chenhan.
But you don't have to do that, right?
Who says orphans are not worthy of taking the imperial examinations and winning the top prize?
The three of them always felt that the entire family of Zhenbei Houfu was a little strange.
It's just an imperial examination.
Li Jingzhong pondered, "Father-in-law, it's just Zhao Lin. There's no need to take him so seriously, right? Even if he wins the top spot, his lifelong efforts are only the starting point for Chenhan."
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