Ever since he heard from his father that the candidates who came to Beijing together were robbed one after another, Zhao Hao couldn't help but think of the knight who was chased by a group of people; and those strong-dressed men who checked the carriages and horses entering the capital under the banner of Yingtian Prefecture...

Everything that happened that day was unusual. Could the fate of the candidates in Yingtian be a sequel to that day?

Zhao Hao's heart skipped a beat when he thought of this. He thought to himself that he couldn't let his guard down just because he was living in Zhao Jin's house. He had to have Gao Wu and the others be on high alert just in case.

"By the way, did you hear any progress when you went to Prime Minister Wu's house today?" Zhao Shouzheng asked him.

"Not so fast. Everyone is very busy before the New Year, and it's not good to rush people." Zhao Hao shook his head and buried his speculation in his heart, trying not to affect the psychological state of the candidates.

"Well, okay. This trip to Beijing was not smooth. I have made an appointment with my classmates to go to Baiyun Temple to burn incense and pray for blessings another day." Zhao Shouzheng said and then asked, "Are you going?"

Zhao Hao shook his head. He had never been interested in burning incense or worshipping Buddha. He would rather tease Hai Gangfeng if he had that time.

Wang Wuyang and Hua Shuyang no longer believed in gods and Buddhas after the lesson they had on Yuhua Terrace, so they naturally shook their heads as well, even calling it serving the master at home.

Wang Yongji was a candidate from Fujian, so it was not convenient for him to hang out with candidates from Yingtian, so he declined.

Zhao Shouzheng had no choice but to curl his lips and said, "Then I'll go with them myself."

~~

At the same time, in the meditation room of Anhua Temple in the outer city.

The chief steward, Damazi Chai, had a gloomy face as he listened to his men report on the progress of the search.

"Manager, our people have searched the residences of twenty-six of the thirty candidates that day, but still haven't found the thing." The subordinate reported in a trembling voice.

"What about the other four? Why don't you search them all together before reporting?" Butler Chai said with a thick nasal tone, suppressing the urge to kill.

"Those four are a bit tricky. Three of them live in the house of Guanglu Qing. There's another one named Wu, who is the nephew of Shuntian Prefecture Minister and lives in Wu Prefecture Minister's house. We dare not act recklessly." The subordinate said, glancing at the man in plain clothes next to Chai Zongguan.

The man was the Shuntian Prefecture prosecutor who had set up a checkpoint outside the city that day. Hearing this, he said with a chuckle, "This is indeed a difficult situation."

"You have to find it for me, no matter how difficult it is!" But Chai said without hesitation: "If we can't find the thing, no one can escape!"

The magistrate secretly cursed his bad luck and had to patiently persuade him: "I know your men are very capable, and it is useless no matter how strict the defense of their official residences is. But once the homes of these third- and fourth-rank officials are robbed, there will be a lot of commotion. Especially our Shaofu, who has already noticed that the candidate was robbed. If this time, the nephew living in his house is also robbed, Shaofu Wu will definitely connect the two things. He is not easy to fool, and I am afraid that he will find out about our affairs..."

After a pause, he continued, "Besides, these days have passed, and the thing has not been leaked. This means that the thing may not be with them, or they don't even know about its existence. If we act rashly, we might alert them and be exposed..."

"Hmm..." After much persuasion from the magistrate, Chai finally stopped talking. He nodded and said in a low voice, "Okay, don't make any moves on Wu Fuyin for now. Focus on Guangluqing's home and wait for the right opportunity to strike."

"Okay." As long as he didn't offend his immediate superior, the magistrate would not be so panicked, so he nodded without objection.

~~

The next day was the winter solstice, and officials had a day off.

Speaking of which, the poorest welfare benefits for officials in this dynasty are the worst in all dynasties.

No salary, only vacation. Initially, under the workaholic Zhu Yuanzhang, officials had only three statutory holidays a year - New Year's Day, Winter Solstice and his birthday.

Later, Zhu Di could not stand it anymore and ordered the winter solstice holiday to be extended to three days, and the Lantern Festival holiday to be another ten days. His grandson Zhu Zhanji extended the New Year's Day holiday to five days, and together with the emperor's birthday, these nineteen days became all the legal holidays for Ming officials.

After a busy winter, the officials in Beijing finally got these three days off. They seized the time to invite friends, have banquets and relax.

The door of Hai Rui's house was still closed.

Seeing that Mr. Hai would not go out today, those fans who had been waiting outside the door were about to disperse reluctantly.

But then a young man in brocade clothes walked over leisurely, as if visiting someone else, and knocked on the closed door of Hai Rui's house.

"Alas, Mr. Zhao is useless. He won't let you in." Wang Yongji was also in the crowd. He naturally recognized the young man and said with a sigh.

Everyone nodded. If knocking on the door worked, why would they have to wait outside the door all day?

At this time, the door of Hai Rui's house opened a crack, and the old servant half showed his face. He looked at Zhao Hao and said, "What can I do for you, sir? If you just want to see my master, please go back. My master does not see guests."

"I'm not here to see your master." Zhao Hao smiled and said, "I'm here to see your master as a doctor."

When the people outside the door heard this, they couldn't help but boo. They saw Hai Qingtian in good health yesterday, so how could he be sick?

"Sir, don't joke around." The old servant also frowned and wanted to close the door.

But Gao Wu had already taken a step ahead and pressed his hands on the two door panels, and the old servant couldn't close them even if he tried his best.

Zhao Hao then calmly took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to the old servant, saying, "This is your master's symptoms. You might as well show it to him to see if I am wrong."

The old servant couldn't close the door, so he had to let go. He took the manuscript paper and glanced at it. He couldn't help but stand there in a daze.

After a while, the old servant finally woke up from his dream at Zhao Hao's urging and quickly turned around and went in.

The people outside the door then believed that Zhao Hao was really capable. They stopped and waited anxiously for what would happen next.

Although not all of them were as perceptive as Wang Yongji, seeing the old servant's reaction, they couldn't help but worry whether Lord Hai was really sick.

After a long while, the old servant came back, opened the gate and said, "Sir, my master wants to see you."

Zhao Hao nodded and said to Gao Wu with a smile, "You stay here, you don't have to follow me in."

Gao Wu nodded, and when Zhao Hao followed the old servant in, he stood at the door of Hai Rui's house like a door god.

In fact, Zhao Hao was worrying too much. These people outside were people who truly admired Hai Rui, and there were no illegitimate fans who broke into his house. They now thought that Hai Rui was really ill, so they would only pray sincerely outside for Hai Rui's speedy recovery. Why would they break in and disturb his treatment?

~~

After Zhao Hao entered the house, he saw that it was just a small three-sided courtyard, similar in layout to his old residence in Caijia Lane, but only half the size and not in a regular shape.

After taking a closer look, he discovered that it was a wall that separated a complete courtyard into two houses on the left and right. No wonder it looked so awkward.

Seeing him looking at the abrupt wall, the old servant explained for some reason, "The Dali Temple is short of official housing, so this is the only way. Otherwise, my master can't afford to live in Chunsong Hutong."

Zhao Hao nodded to show his understanding and followed the old servant into the main room.

The curtains in the main room were drawn and there was no stove on, so it was as dark as an ice cellar. Zhao Hao shivered as soon as he entered, feeling that it was even colder in here than outside.

But even colder was the look in Hai Rui's eyes.

Zhao Hao saw him sitting upright on the chair, holding the paper in his hand, looking at him intently.

At that moment, Zhao Hao finally realized that there really are murderous gazes in this world.

He actually had the urge to turn around and run away...

"Who wrote this poem?" But it was too late, because Hai Rui had already started asking.

"I." Hearing the exhaustion and heartbreak in Hai Rui's voice, Zhao Hao finally calmed down and said with a faint smile:

"That day, I saw Hai Gong was like a walking corpse, so I wrote this humble poem as a gift to him."

As he said this, he pushed the two doors open as wide as possible to let the sunlight from outside in.

The sunlight shone on Hai Rui's patched robe and also on the piece of paper in his hand.

I saw that the paper read:

'A lone wild goose flies high in the sky, and the setting sun of Ezhu is blood-stained. Why is the bright pearl sunken in the blue sea, and the bright sun covered by clouds? The west wind is bleak and the autumn sound is intense, and the passing wild geese are in a state of panic as the dusk falls.

I only want to eliminate the evils of the holy dynasty, how can I cherish my life for the sake of my position? It is hard to find the Phoenix Palace connected to the sky, I look at the North Star with tears in my eyes. The emperor's carriage has passed away, and the saint's face is far away, reflecting the hearts of loyal officials and filial sons.

The two sons died, and the crows and magpies mourned the old forest. I can't die to show my loyalty, and there are still white-haired people in the hall. Right and wrong, merits and demerits will be judged by the public, why bother asking ghosts and gods?

ps. The second update is here. Also, this poem is not copied. I wrote it and asked Brother Qingheng to polish it. Although after Brother Qingheng revised it, I can no longer find the original trace... Brother Qingheng is awesome, please give me a monthly ticket! Recommendation ticket!