After the examination, Li Chunfang rested at home for a night and then hurried back to the cabinet to work.

Although the days in the Imperial Examination Hall were relaxed and happy, leaving the center of power was like a fish out of water, a man could not see the woman he loved so much...

It was so uncomfortable that it was almost fatal.

After entering the palace, he first went to report to Emperor Longqing.

Although there was no teacher-student relationship between the monarch and his subject, Longqing liked this old man very much.

I often sigh in private and say that if there were officials like Mr. Li in the world, the Ming Dynasty would be so beautiful and harmonious.

So Emperor Longqing asked Li Chunfang to play a game of chess with him, and kept him for lunch, and then let him return to Wenyuan Pavilion.

Sitting in the sedan chair on the way back, Li Chunfang started muttering to himself.

Although he was a little silly, his brain was not made of silly things. How could he be so naive as to think that the emperor just needed someone to accompany him?

But is His Majesty trying to get close to me, or is he deliberately trying to disgust Lord Xu? Li Chunfang is a little confused.

"Eh, why would I have such a thought?" Li Chunfang was shocked by her second thought.

But once this thought popped up, he couldn't suppress it - thinking about how Zhang Juzheng had secretly sabotaged the young minister that day; and how those big eunuchs today had intentionally or unintentionally flattered Minister Xu in front of His Majesty, Li Chunfang's head began to buzz.

"Is something big going to happen?"

"Duke Xinghua!" Suddenly, a low shout startled him.

"Ah!" Li Chunfang looked up suddenly and found that the sedan chair had arrived at the gate of Wenyuan Pavilion.

Xu Fan was wearing a third-rank official uniform and standing on the steps with an expressionless face. It was he who shouted just now.

"It's the young minister. He scared you." The sedan chair came down, and Li Mao helped the deputy prime minister get off.

"Is it that Lord Xinghua is too absent-minded?" Xu Fan forced a smile and said with a cupped hand, "Thank you for your hard work this month."

"No, no." Li Chunfang also smiled warmly and said, "Compared to the busy work in the cabinet, it's like a holiday."

"It seems that Duke Xinghua is happy with it." Xu Fan walked into Wenyuan Pavilion with him.

Obviously, the young minister was waiting for him.

"I wonder how long this guy has been waiting? Seeing how angry he is, it should be an hour, right?" Li Chunfang couldn't help but wonder, could this be the intention of His Majesty?

The two men entered the courtyard. It was lunchtime and the cabinet was completely silent.

Xu Fan looked at him steadily, waiting for Li Chunfang to give him an explanation.

~~

Yesterday, Xu Fan received a report saying that six people from Zhao Hao's family were selected.

The young cabinet minister was immediately confused. What? Li Chunfang didn’t stop any of them and even sent one more?

As a result, Xu Fan spent the whole day yesterday in wild thoughts and anxiety.

In fact, whether he passed the science exam or not, it didn't matter to the young cabinet minister. But the attitude of the deputy assistant minister was really too worrying.

Don't you have any idea? Gao Gong was kicked out and you were made the deputy assistant, wasn't it because you are harmless, cute and well-behaved... Oh no, you are well-behaved and obedient?

Is it you, Old Li, who has been getting cocky lately, or do you think that my family, Old Xu, can't lift a knife anymore?

So he came to the cabinet early this morning, ready to hold the disobedient little white rabbit accountable for his father.

~~

Li Chunfang saw that Xu Fan couldn't even wait to enter the door, and wanted to explain himself in the yard.

I couldn't help but think of the violent and domineering Yan Donglou.

Prime Minister Li secretly complained in his heart, as expected, the young ministers are all of the same kind, dogs that specialize in biting people for their fathers.

He quickly pulled himself together and explained to Xu Fan in a voice that only the two of them could hear:

"I was just about to explain to the young minister that the articles written by the Four Scientists are really amazing. Originally, they were the four who would have been the top five. The first place would not have been Tian Yijun. Instead, it would have been between Wang Dingjue and Wang Zhoushao."

"Oh?" Xu Fan couldn't help but gasp. He hadn't expected that the strength of the scientific disciples would be so terrifying?

"The Prime Minister was also the chief examiner. He told the young minister that the chief examiner cannot do whatever he wants. If a paper that can obviously win the first prize is dismissed, the examiner will have to carry the sedan chair, which will be too embarrassing."

Li Chunfang bullied Xu Fan because he had never been to the Imperial Examination Hall and didn't know the hidden rules there, so he sighed and said:

"I have done my best to push down the rankings of those four people. Only one of the top five is left, and that's the fifth place. The other three are ranked 20th, 30th, and 60th. Even this has already caused a lot of criticism from the examiners. If I push them down further, my prestige as the chief examiner will be completely gone."

He smiled and said, "The chief judge of the palace examination next month should be the prime minister, right? Then we can put them all in the top three. What can a mere Jinshi do? They can still be defeated. What kind of science is that?"

"You..." Xu Fan's fists were clenched in his sleeves so hard that they made a creaking sound. However, Li Chunfang's words prevented him from getting angry.

The young cabinet minister can't say, "No, I won't do it. I just want you to do it. If you don't do it, you're a bad guy..."

He is the Second Prime Minister. It will be enough if things can be explained to him. If he wants to treat him like a slave, I am afraid he can't do it.

Xu Fan was about to say a few more words when Chen Yiqin came out of the duty room.

"Oh, Lord Xinghua, thank you so much." Chen Yiqun was very happy. His son was able to rank third in the exam. No matter how he passed the exam, it was a happy event.

"Mr. Nanchong, you have kept me in the dark for so long." Li Chunfang went to Chen Yiqin, pointed at him and scolded him with a smile: "If I knew that your son had passed the imperial examination this year, I would definitely give him a low ranking to avoid people talking about it."

"I was worried about this, so I didn't inform you in advance." Chen Yiqin said apologetically, "I didn't expect that I would still cause trouble for Nanchong Gong."

"Let them talk." Li Chunfang laughed loudly and said, "You and I have a clear conscience, and the rumors will be broken on their own."

"That's right, you and I have a clear conscience." Chen Yiqin also smiled and said, "I'll ask that kid to thank my teacher for me later."

"Hahaha..." The two university scholars looked at each other and laughed. You couldn't figure out whether there was something fishy or not.

Anyway, Jin Xuezeng, the runner-up of the Yijing, lost to Master Chen and missed out on the top five...

The two of them were so close that Xu Fan, who was standing by, felt annoyed. He thought, now that there is this additional layer of relationship, are you two going to stick together in the future?

"You two fools, just dream on! Zhang Juzheng alone can crush you to pieces. My father doesn't even need to do anything!"

Thinking of this, Xu Fan forced a smile and stepped forward to congratulate Chen Yiqin's son on his admission to high school.

As for settling accounts with Li Chunfang, there is still a long way to go and I will always find a chance to give him a taste of justice.

~~

Zhang Juzheng was sitting in his duty room, looking at the three people outside through the green gauze curtain, with a hint of sarcasm on his lips.

He thought to himself that this role of young minister had to be filled by someone else.

If it were Yan Shifan, Li Chunfang would have been slapped in the face for daring to be so disobedient!

Xu Fan doesn't have the ruthlessness to do this, nor does he offer enough benefits to use both kindness and force, but he wants to rely on his father's power to bully others and control a cabinet minister?

He was also blinded by thought.

Therefore, Xu Fan can only be regarded as a fake junior cabinet minister, not a real junior cabinet minister.

After giving his evaluation, Zhang Juzheng continued to work on his geometry problems.

He had a strong premonition.

Today, I will definitely be able to prove the last question!

ps. The fifth update, 9400 votes plus more, please guarantee the minimum monthly votes and recommendation votes~~~