Chapter 454: Lord Qin was punished to kneel
"Good boy, he is arrogant but not annoying. He has something. I am really looking forward to the end of the palace examination. It must be very interesting to make friends with such a little brother."
The high-profile social elites are having fun in the front, while the embarrassed social phobics are huddled together in the back.
Zong Wenxiu looked at the red ropes and red ribbons flying all over the sky in front of him and withdrew his gaze with a tingling scalp. He was really glad that his brother did not force him to go out, otherwise he would never dare to go out in his life.
Even Xu Wan swallowed her saliva: "I had no idea they had prepared these... and those tall horses, why do they look so familiar, are they military horses?"
Zong Zhao silently told the truth: "It was sponsored by Luo Jingfeng."
Xu Wan: “…”
It's too crazy.
One is crazy, the other is spoiled.
The four little dandies successfully transformed into four little talents, and traveled back home in a high-profile and arrogant manner.
In the carriage, Zong Wenxiu kept looking outside from time to time, but his eyes were not at Jin Cheng and the others.
Xu Wan asked, "Wen Xiu, who are you looking for?"
Zong Wenxiu said honestly, "I didn't see Qin Shi and Qin Ye on the list this time. I'm a little worried about Qin Shi. It seems he didn't make the exam."
He and Qin Shi are both older brothers and have similar personalities. They are both bound by their status as older brothers and don't want to be that far behind their younger brothers.
But Qin Shi's situation was even worse. He was two years older than Qin Ye. His younger brother passed the imperial examination, but he didn't even make it into the top 366.
Xu Wan frowned and replied, "Qin Shi's ranking in the autumn examination was relatively low, so he should have expected to fail the examination."
Zong Wenxiu nodded, but still felt sorry for Qin Shi.
At the beginning, Qin Shi's performance was not as good as Qin Ye's, but he was also the second-ranked person in the Hanlin North Courtyard, and his performance was better than Zong Wenxiu.
But later, with the help of his aunt's key class, Zong Wenxiu quickly caught up with Qin Shi's progress. Not only did he pass the imperial examination for a young man a year earlier than Qin Shi, his ranking in the autumn examination also surpassed Qin Shi by a large margin.
The Qin Dynasty was a bit like a benchmark, witnessing his growth.
But he and Qin Shi were good friends, and he felt sorry for Qin Shi's failure in the exam.
Xu Wan patted his shoulder and soothed him, "Don't think about it. Qin Shi can take the exam next time. When Qin Ye has explored a new path in his career, he can go. This may not be a bad thing for him."
Zong Wenxiu thought about Qin Shi's character and felt that this was indeed the best outcome.
He nodded and replied, "Thank you for your comfort, Auntie. I understand."
I never saw the Qin brothers along the way.
Zong Wenxiu thought that there were too many people and he missed it, but in fact the two brothers did not go to see the list.
Because their father, Lord Qin, has not come out since he entered the palace last night, the whole family is extremely worried.
Imperial Palace, inner court.
There was an endless stream of eunuchs and palace maids coming and going, and anyone passing by could not help but take a look over there. It was heard that an adult had committed a mistake and was summoned into the palace by the emperor to be punished and made to kneel.
It's been eight hours.
Qin Yian knelt here, thinking about the work he had done in the past six months, but he couldn't figure out where he went wrong.
Today was the day for the announcement of the results of the imperial examination. He had wanted to accompany his two children to see their scores, but things turned out like this. It was estimated that the children did not bother to see the list. Qin Ye's results were very good, and even if he did not win the first place, he was still among the top. However, his eldest son was... worrying.
"Sir Qin, the emperor has summoned you, please come with us." Eunuch Huang helped him up with a worried look on his face.
Qin Yian hurriedly thanked him: "Thank you, Eunuch Huang."
Lord Qin stood up suddenly, his legs were a little weak, and he had to rely on Eunuch Huang to support him all the way. When he arrived at Yu's study, he knelt down again and said, "Your Majesty, I am Qin Yian. I wish you the best of health."
The emperor sat on a high platform, majestic without even being angry.
He waved his hand and even Eunuch Huang retreated.
After the door of the study was closed, Lord Qin began to feel scared again. It is said that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger, and he finally realized it now.
It's really scary.
The emperor said in a dangerous voice: "Qin Yian, do you know that you are wrong?"
Sure enough, I made a mistake!
Lord Qin said in panic: "Your Majesty, I don't know. Please tell me clearly..."
The emperor threw down the memorial with the ranking of the imperial examination, and it hit Lord Qin directly.
Qin Yian was so frightened that he shuddered all over. He opened the list with trembling hands and saw that his youngest son's name was at the top of the list. Qin Ye had ranked first in the imperial examination...but so what?
The emperor said he had made a mistake. What was wrong with his son getting first place in the exam? The court had not prohibited the children of officials from taking the imperial examinations, so why was he the only one called in to kneel down?
Qin Yian thought about it and reflected on Qin Ye's age.
He lowered his head and explained: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Although it is incredible that he passed the imperial examination at the age of eleven, my son does have real talent and knowledge. He started to learn at the age of three and got up early to study with me. He passed the imperial examination at the age of nine and the imperial examination at the age of ten. He passed each step with his own ability. If Your Majesty does not believe me, I can call my son and let the great scholar or even Your Majesty personally test him. There is no falsehood!"
The emperor became angrier and angrier as he listened, but Qin Yian was still playing dumb.
He said angrily, "Where was your son Qin Ye yesterday afternoon?"
Qin Yian was stunned for a moment, and quickly replied: "At home! Because I thought he should be able to pass the exam, I talked to them about the palace exam at home, and all the servants in the house can testify to this!"
The emperor frowned and asked, "Didn't he go to the Ministry of Rites with Luo Jingfeng to make a scene yesterday?"
Qin Yian raised his head in shock, his pupils gradually dilated, and his voice could not help but rise several degrees: "Your Majesty, please understand! My son is a taciturn person. Not to mention making a scene in the Ministry of Rites, he rarely even goes out! And it is even more impossible to talk to the Protector of the Country. Not to mention my son, even I have never spoken to the Protector of the Country!"
Lord Qin suddenly understood why the emperor was so angry.
The Ministry of Rites was in an uproar, and He Luo was shocked.
Any one of these charges would make the emperor angry, let alone the fact that they were both charged at the same time.
The emperor narrowed his eyes and said, "Not your son? Then who went to the Ministry of Rites and raised your son's ranking to first place?"
Qin Yian: “!!!”
Luo Jingfeng and his people recommended Xiaoye to be the first in the exam???
Another heavy hammer hit him, almost making Lord Qin vomit blood.
He kowtowed and admitted his fault: "Your Majesty, I am innocent. I had no idea about this matter!"
Qin Yian's confession made the emperor feel puzzled. The man in front of him had worked in the Hanlin Academy for many years and had an honest character. He did not seem to be lying.
The emperor asked again: "Look carefully at the list and see if there are any friends of your son on it."
"Yes, yes, yes." Qin Yian flipped through the booklet in a panic, carefully checking the list of everyone.
At this time, Eunuch Huang came in from outside, hurriedly stepped close to the emperor and whispered, "General Zong's legitimate son, Zong Jincheng, has passed the imperial examination and ranked second. He is leading people in the street to celebrate by dancing lions and throwing money."
The emperor raised his eyes slightly, frowned and asked, "Zong Jincheng? Isn't he just a child of ten years old? I remember that the prince once took him to investigate the dance hall case, and I also gave him a purple brush."
Eunuch Huang replied, "You are not mistaken, it is that child, he is eleven years old this year."
"Eleven years old..." The emperor mentioned this age and met the eyes of Qin Yian who was kneeling below.