"The day after tomorrow, it's so urgent, can it be arranged?" Zhao Hao was slightly surprised when he heard it, and then he understood that others had already arranged it, but they just reported it to him because they couldn't act first and report later.

"How dare I report to you without thorough preparation?" Qi Jingyun is really good at speaking.

"Oh, then how many ladies are willing to come?" Zhao Hao asked with interest.

"There are nearly a thousand people who have signed up." Qi Jingyun said with a little pride.

"Wow, so many people?" Zhao Hao opened his mouth wide.

"The Jiaofang Bureau has been around for two hundred years, and there are already more than ten thousand musicians." Qi Jingyun explained, "Besides, the Jinling Ladies' Music Bureau has been in existence for a long time, and they always only support the most popular ones. No matter how outstanding the others are, if they are not the most popular, they will have no chance to stand out. This time we can set up a new situation, and they will naturally be more than happy to join us, and they will come in droves."

"You have contributed a lot." Zhao Hao couldn't help but admire: "Thousands of female historians, wow, this is quite a big event."

"It was mainly due to the efforts of the fellow members of the Red Mansion Poetry Society. This Lotus Terrace Fairy Meeting was jointly organized by us and the Red Mansion Poetry Society. President Xuelang made great efforts in particular. He found more than half of the female historians."

"Lotus Platform Fairy Meeting? Xuelang?" Zhao Hao was stunned. Last month, that arrogant monk resigned from the position of abbot of Huazang Temple and said that he would go back to Nanjing to handle some important matters and then go to Jeju Island.

I didn't expect that the "important matter" that the monk Lang mentioned was this?

But there doesn't seem to be anything wrong, he is a friend of Qinhuai Lady Historian...

"Yes, this is the name given by Master Xuelang. Jinling is known as the Immortal Capital. We will build a water platform in the lotus pond and evaluate the female historians on the platform. Isn't it the Lotus Platform Immortal Meeting?" Qi Jingyun smiled and said, "Master Xuelang will personally host the Lotus Platform Immortal Meeting and invite famous scholars from Jiangnan, officials from the secondary capital, and new candidates, a total of 99 examiners. All things are difficult at the beginning. If it weren't for the help of the master, I alone would not be able to hold such a grand event."

Master Zhao touched his nose. A monk was presiding over a prostitute beauty pageant and scholars were vying to be judges. It seemed that the Ming Dynasty was in trouble.

Moreover, he had a bad feeling that anything bad would happen to anyone who got involved with this monk.

But since things had come to this, he couldn't back down, so he changed the subject and asked, "Can the one thousand contestants come over for the judging the day after tomorrow?"

"That's definitely not possible. As a last resort, the examiners of the Flower List will conduct a preliminary selection tomorrow. Only the 9981 female historians who pass the preliminary selection can appear at the Lotus Platform Fairy Meeting the day after tomorrow." Qi Jingyun introduced the rules to him:

"At the Lotus Terrace Fairy Meeting tomorrow, it will not just be the examiners who have the final say. All participants can buy golden flowers to give to the female historians they support, and the number of flowers they get will determine the seat, and there will be no deception for everyone."

"Good fellow." Young Master Zhao took a breath of cold air. It was indeed the same China, the same character. No matter where you go, you can't avoid blasting rockets...

However, we have to admit that this set of rules is basically reasonable. First, an expert jury selects 81 beauties with the best looks and skills from a thousand applicants, which ensures the basic quality of the pageant. In the final selection stage, the public review is introduced, which increases the credibility of the ranking and allows the organizer to make a lot of money. It's perfect.

~~

At midnight, the flower boat docked at the Yulin River.

Gu Xiancheng just escaped from the brothel with weak legs, and the servant boy hurried forward to support him.

His younger brother Gu Yuncheng was almost going crazy waiting, and complained, "Brother, why is it taking so long?"

"I can't help it. It took too long... I was talking about the clothes." Gu Xiancheng patted his 17-year-old brother on the shoulder and said with endless aftertaste: "If it weren't for you, I could get off the boat tomorrow morning."

"You can brag, I saw the boat shook for a few times and then stopped moving." Gu Yuncheng didn't give him face and said, "They all say that you are the most famous boat in our hometown - Wuxi Express!"

"Don't talk nonsense. What do you know at such a young age? I am just saving time to study hard." Gu Xiancheng glared at him and walked towards the inn, holding the servant's shoulder.

"Oh, by the way, speaking of studying hard." Gu Yuncheng took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Gu Xiancheng, saying, "The one who asked everyone to come downstairs today is the famous Mr. Zhao. He also sent someone to send us a letter, inviting us to study at Yufeng Academy next year."

Nowadays, Yufeng Academy is definitely the best academy in Jiangnan. Gu Yuncheng was so excited to receive the invitation letter personally delivered by Mr. Zhao that he couldn't sleep at night, otherwise he would not have waited here so late at night for his brother to finish.

"Oh, there is such a good thing?" Gu Xiancheng was overjoyed. Although he was called a child prodigy since he was young, there were too many scholars in Nanzhili who were too fierce and too competitive. This failure made him lose all confidence. The name of Yufeng Academy was now well-known, and he also wanted to go there to study further and fight for the imperial examination again.

But there will be a lot of people signing up next year, and I may not be able to squeeze in. I was just worrying about it, but unexpectedly, the opportunity came.

He quickly took the letter and unfolded it in the light of the lantern in the servant's hand. It was indeed an invitation letter for admission, with his and his brother's names clearly written on it.

"I didn't expect that it was the famous Mr. Zhao. No wonder the Qi family came downstairs to greet him." Gu Xiancheng couldn't help but sigh, and then boasted: "I didn't expect that my brother is actually quite famous. Even Mr. Zhao knows him, and he also knows that I have a brother like you..."

The distress of failing the exam was immediately swept away, and he felt that he was back on the right track.

If he knew that Mr. Zhao just wanted to observe nearby to see if his brothers could be saved. If they were hopeless, he would send them to dig coal in the West Mountain, I wonder if he would still be so excited...

~~

The next day, the foot of Xiaocang Mountain was indeed very lively. Young Master Zhao stood on the glass balcony of Liuyun Mountain Residence, looking at the scene of beauties gathering by the lotus pond, and asked Qiaoqiao in his arms:

"Does your Lianli Company have any red lines?"

"I don't know." Poor Qiaoqiao was so distracted by his caress that she couldn't even speak a complete sentence. "I know, but I can't tell you..."

"Do you not know or can't tell?" Young Master Zhao picked on the weak and said, "Sister, just tell me. Otherwise, I will be worried all day long, afraid that I will make a mistake and bring disaster upon myself..."

"As long as you don't go out and flirt with other girls...Lianli Company will be as good as non-existent." Qiaoqiao said with a blushing face, biting her red lips.

"What will be the punishment if I break the rules?" Young Master Zhao lowered his brows and continued to play the piano casually, plucking, rubbing, and picking the strings gently.

"No, we won't cry, make a fuss, and then go up... Yo... Ah..." The oriole's chirping is slippery under the flowers, and the gurgling spring is difficult to flow under the ice.

"At most we'll just be sad and heartbroken together..." As she said this, her face flushed as she pressed his hand and collapsed in his arms, unable to stand steadily.

"That's all..." Young Master Zhao was secretly depressed. He was most afraid of this invisible iron curtain, which made people unable to use their strength and turned steel into soft silk. He said, "I will go to the Lotus Terrace Fairy Meeting tomorrow, it shouldn't be a big deal."

"Who dares to control what you do?" Qiaoqiao finally softened her heart and revealed a little information to Zhao Hao: "We... judge by the heart, not by the deeds..."

"Oh, I see." Young Master Zhao breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that he could participate with peace of mind.

He stopped talking and concentrated on enjoying this rare autumn romance with Qiaoqiao.

Just as the silver bottle was about to break and water was about to splash out, the cavalry rushed out with swords and guns, and suddenly a burst of hurried footsteps was heard outside the door.

Qiaoqiao came back to her senses in an instant and remembered that it was still broad daylight. She let out a quick moan, broke free from Zhao Hao's arms, and quickly hid in the inner room.

"What's the matter?" Young Master Zhao asked unhappily.

"Sir, Chief Chang wants to see you for something important." Ma Xianglan's voice rang out.

"Come in." Zhao Hao sat down on the sofa in a bad mood.

Ma Xianglan led Chang Kaiche, the general affairs section chief of the security department, in. Seeing Zhao Hao's unsatisfied look, Ma Xianglan suddenly realized that she had never expected that Qiaoqiao, such an honest man, would dare to cheat in broad daylight.

Secretary Ma poured a bowl of heat-reducing tea for Mr. Zhao and explained softly in his ear that according to the disciplinary regulations, even she could not stop the general affairs section chief in charge of intelligence transmission from meeting with the young master.

The implication is that I didn't mean to ruin your good deeds. If you are still angry, at most I will compensate you for one night...

Zhao Hao's expression calmed down a bit, and he glanced at Chang Kaiche and asked, "What happened? Why are you so anxious?"

Chang Kaiche is fat and has an ordinary appearance, but his small eyes are very bright. He is a native of Xiuning who was trained by the old man. He is politically reliable, capable, and has high blood lipids... He is the type of man that Mr. Zhao likes.

He hurriedly took out a secret letter from the folder under his arm, handed it to Secretary Ma with both hands and said:

"We received a letter from the capital via carrier pigeon. Mr. Zhang asked you to come to the capital within half a month."

The two capitals of the north and the south are two thousand miles apart, and even half a month by boat is very tight, so he has to notify Zhao Hao as soon as possible to avoid delays due to his own reasons.

Of course, I also wanted to take this opportunity to show off in front of the young master. But I didn't expect that I would ruin the young master's mood...

Zhao Hao was shocked when he heard the news, thinking that kissing and hugging wouldn't make her pregnant, right? He quickly recalled the days and nights he had spent with Xiao Zhuzi, and confirmed that there was no possibility of death. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and asked, "What happened?"

Chang Kaiche hurriedly handed over another secret report and said, "The capital is in chaos."

Zhao Hao took it and looked at it, and found that the wheel of history had already turned to the time when Altan Khan paid tribute.

Gao Gong threw a stone into the toilet this time, arousing public indignation. The Paw Patrol, which had been quiet for many years, started barking at him again. Even his student, Ye Mengxiong, a Jinshi in the 44th year of the Jiajing reign and a supervisory censor, submitted a petition to oppose the surrender and tribute, citing the fact that Altan Khan had been harassing the border for many years and killing and looting countless people.

In the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty, it was very rare for a student to openly oppose the master. Although the student would be despised, the master would also have a hard time.

Because it means that even your protégés are against you, which shows how wrong you are. Who else will support you?