Zhang Zheng, the Five Officials Guardian of the Imperial Observatory, was a minor official of the eighth rank, lower than Mu Yunchuan's current position.
Logically speaking, he has nothing to do with Mu Yunchuan.
However, even ordinary people nowadays are well aware of the functions of the Imperial Observatory. It is an official office responsible for observing celestial phenomena, calculating the solar terms, and predicting good and bad luck.
Mu Yunchuan was about to be sent out to do tiring work like disaster relief.
Before traveling, it seemed normal to communicate with officials from the Imperial Observatory and ask them to help calculate the astronomical phenomena and solar terms at that time, or to ask about the good or bad luck of the trip.
So after Lao Buyu informed Lord Cao of the relevant situation of his family, he didn't say much. He thought so too.
But Shen Cui didn't think so, because in the original book, Mu Yunchuan was not a believer in ghosts and gods. Just imagine the genius protagonist in the imperial examination, who got the top six places in the imperial examination and spent three years to gain experience. He was about to go on a business trip to show his talents, but he actually had to ask the officials of the Imperial Observatory for information about good and bad luck. How embarrassing was that? It will immediately make readers feel that the male protagonist is not that powerful.
So this is just what Mu Yunchuan wants the outside world to think.
As for his real purpose, it is of course closely related to supernatural things.
What kind of weird thing made him so nervous? He didn't hesitate to let outsiders think that he was not so confident about the upcoming mission.
It must be those two 'appearances' of the Law.
It's funny to say that Chen Cui was very cautious in front of Mu Yunchuan. She wanted to show that she was different from yesterday, but she also couldn't let him know that she had changed her mind, so as to avoid him getting hold of the evidence and treating her as a demon.
Unexpectedly, after so many twists and turns, what Mu Yunchuan now regards as a demon or evil spirit is actually the plane law that has supported him for so long.
The Son of the Planes asking someone to deal with the laws sounds both funny and satisfying!
Chen Cui was in a very good mood. She first informed Zhou of the situation of Lady Cao's family and asked her to prepare the New Year gifts. Later, while listening to the young men reviewing their lessons, she said to the system with some concern: [The laws can sense everything. At the moment, Mu Yunchuan did not follow his arrangement to detain Zhou at home. He then went to the Imperial Observatory to try to deal with it. We all know that no matter whether the Imperial Observatory has real ability or not, it will not be able to play any role and can only attract the attention of the law. I am not worried about anything else. After all, Mu Yunchuan is the son of the plane, his biological son. According to the law, this kind of small behavior is just like a parent looking at a rebellious child. They will not really do anything to him. But it will not be so kind to our students. 】
[Host, don't worry. We have an academy here. In your words, our academy is like a shield. 】
[Of course I wasn't worried when they were in the academy, but I wasn't in the academy when the end happened. 】
[I said before that the energy I have collected now is not enough to compete with him, but he will also take me into consideration and will not kill me. 】
Chen Cui thought for a while and asked: [Is it possible that it will not kill them all, but will influence others, such as the emperor or the examiner. After all, they are the ones who really hold the power. Even if our students perform well, at their command, they will not be able to make the list and we will not be able to pass. 】
[This won't happen. Host, don't forget that this is the world of imperial examinations. Mu Yunchuan took the path of the imperial examinations to change his fate. If it can't even guarantee the most basic fairness of the imperial examination system, then the rules themselves will collapse. 】
The logic here is a bit confusing. Chen Cui pondered it for a while and thought that if the law really wanted to wipe out so many students, there would be no need to go through the trouble of designing so many defects and obstacles for them.
Just let them take the exam casually, and then let the examiner directly dismiss them.
There's no need to go through so much trouble.
It turns out that they want to ensure the fairness of the imperial examination, which only tests real talents and knowledge, but also suppress them and prevent them from getting ahead. Isn't it the only way to make a fuss about other things?
Chen Cui, feeling a little relieved, couldn't help but sigh and said jokingly: "Fortunately, you didn't tell me the real purpose of the system. Otherwise, I would have been a cannon fodder stepmother at the beginning, and I would have been frightened for a while when I found out that the real goal was to fight against the laws of the plane. 】
Just the presence of Mu Yunchuan, the son of the plane, in front of her made Chen Cui tremble with fear. She could not take it lightly or seriously. If she had known from the beginning that the real enemy was the laws of this plane - it would be almost equivalent to traveling to the world of cultivating immortals, and telling the cannon fodder at the beginning that you cannot cultivate immortals yourself, you can only train cultivators, and then compete with the way of heaven.
It’s easy to imagine that it takes a lot of effort just to overcome psychological barriers.
The system spoke with a hint of laughter: [So some things are not better to understand sooner rather than later. Anyway, the host has come this far step by step, and is only one step away from clearing the level. 】
He has recently been fond of giving Shen Cui this kind of encouraging chicken soup, which shows that he is also very anxious to gain energy for the last big exam.
Shen Cui was too lazy to respond to his words. No matter how anxious she was, she couldn't convey her feelings to the teenagers, so as to avoid the burden being passed on to them and becoming a burden to them.
…………
With only a few days left before the New Year, Zhou had already prepared the New Year gifts for the Mu family.
There was only one matter on which she couldn't make up her mind, so she went to discuss it with Chen Cui again.
This matter is nothing else but whether or not to send New Year gifts to Pang Ci Fu's family.
Pang Ci Fu's reputation in the court was second only to that of old ministers such as Shen Ge Lao and Wang Shang Shu. The fact that he was the chief examiner of the new imperial examination was no longer an inside secret in the capital.
The more capable candidates have already started taking action.
Cuiwei has never given gifts to the examiner. The only person who has done so was Liu Xuezheng.
However, the small gift they sent at that time was because the college entrance examination had been over for a long time, and they were thanking Liu Xuezheng for taking care of them, the students of the prefecture, during his tenure.
Lao Buyu happened to be there, and after hearing what Zhou said, he also said, "I've heard a lot of news about this recently, but I didn't mention it because I thought the headmaster didn't like it. But now I see that everyone else is taking action. According to this trend, after the New Year, our family may be the only one that hasn't taken action."
Shen Cui nodded to show that she understood, but still said: "It's still a few days until the first day of the new year, let's wait and see."
It's not that Shen Cui has to create some unique personalities for the children in the academy, but in the plot of the original book, the current Pang Ci Fu has not yet become a black-eyed chicken. Although he is also trying hard to gain power, his idea at this time is to keep his duty and wait for Elder Shen to retire before taking over his position as the Prime Minister.
Especially since this was his first time presiding over the imperial examination, how short-sighted must a person be to make a fortune at such a critical moment?
Sure enough, as Chen Cui had thought, at the last court meeting before the New Year, Pang Ci Fu reported the matter to the current emperor and took out a gift list, detailing the candidates who had given him gifts recently and the gifts they gave him.
After reading it, the present emperor did not get angry, but only praised Pang Ci Fu for his integrity.
But the news soon spread throughout the capital, and those candidates who had spent all their wealth and given generous gifts were frightened out of their wits. They had already lost half the battle before they even finished the game.
However, honest candidates like Cuiwei who were just waiting and watching felt refreshed!
In a blink of an eye, it was the first day of the first lunar month. The New Year in the capital was extremely lively, with the sound of firecrackers and the streets crowded with people and noisy.
The customs here are more open than those in Linnan Prefecture. Regardless of whether they are young girls or wives, they will go out with their families at this time.
The new Cuiwei site is usually quite quiet, but at this moment you can hear the loud laughter of children outside from time to time.
On the first day of the new year, before dawn, you can hear the sound of firecrackers and fireworks outside, one after another, without stopping.
There is nothing that can be done about it. After all, the people here are richer than those in other places. They have more money, so they will not be stingy when celebrating the festival.
According to etiquette, Mu Yunchuan was going to come to Chen Cui to wish her a happy new year early in the morning on the first day of the new year.
But the two sides are now getting along with each other with some respect, and Chen Cui knows that he will be sent away soon and will not be back until more than half a year later. She wants to let the young couple be reunited more, so she says there is no need to go back and forth, because her own academy has nothing prepared anyway and cannot offer anything for entertainment.
The boys didn't sleep well, so they simply got up earlier than usual and went into the classroom to study.
It was really difficult to concentrate on studying in such an environment, especially after being in the capital for so long. In order not to attract attention, the young men almost never left the house. Only Wei Shu and Wei Xi went home twice. Chen Cui simply gave everyone half a day off and took everyone out for a walk.
Anyway, it’s New Year’s Day, and there are a lot of people walking in groups on the streets. No one will notice them if they blend into the crowd.
In the past, when young people went out, they usually went to study shops and bookstores. These shops are closed on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so for a while they really didn’t know where to go.
At this time, it was Lao Buyu who took the lead and said that there was a Taoist temple nearby that was full of incense and worshipped Emperor Wenchang.
Emperor Wenchang is in charge of the world's literary fortune and has been worshipped by scholars and students since ancient times. The imperial examination is approaching, so paying homage is also a good omen.
When Cuiwei's people went there, the Taoist temple was also crowded with people, with sleeves spread out to form a shadow.
Almost all of them are scholars or their families.
Everyone was dressed similarly, so when people from Cuiwei mingled in, they really didn't have to worry about attracting attention at all.
After waiting in line for half an hour, everyone was finally able to enter the hall.
Chen Cui and Lao Buyu were at the front, and the young men were at the end. Everyone had roughly the same wishes in their hearts, so the wishes they made were also similar.
What Lao Buyu kept saying was, “I hope all the students in the academy will be on the list.”
Others said: "I hope all the students in Cuiwei can get into high school."
Cui Fei was different from the others. He also hoped that everyone would pass the exam, but at the end he added, "I don't dare to hope for the first or second place, I pray that the emperor will bless me to get the third place."
It's both laughable and ridiculous.
…………
The new year passed quickly, and before the end of the first month of the year, candidates from all over the country gathered in the capital to begin registration procedures.
At this time, Mu Yunchuan also officially received his mission to go out and provide disaster relief.
I heard that the weather in Linnan Prefecture was abnormal last year, and in places further north, it hasn't rained since the Dragon Boat Festival.
He would not be able to return for a year or so. Before leaving, Mu Yunchuan came to Cuiwei again and solemnly entrusted Zhou to Chen Cui's care.
Then he turned around and saw Mu Erpang standing beside him. He wanted to say something, but in the end he just looked at him deeply.
Mu Erpang didn't think about it. He patted his chest and smiled, saying, "Don't worry, big brother. I'm old enough. When you're not around, I'll naturally support the family, be filial to my mother, take care of my sister-in-law, and I'll definitely do my best in the February exam."
Facing his innocent smile, Mu Yunchuan couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips. Finally, he asked Chen Cui to step aside so that he could talk to him alone.
Chen Cui thought he was still worried about Zhou, so she said directly to him: "When you were studying surgery, Zhou stayed by my side for several years. You know how I feel about her. I can't guarantee that she will recover in half a year, but I won't let her be like before. You can rest assured."
Zhou hasn't continued to lose weight rapidly recently. Mu Yunchuan knew this and nodded to indicate that he knew everything.
Then he suddenly said something completely unrelated: "Who is better, a teacher or a businessman?"
Before Shen Cui was confused and had yet to react, he left Cuiwei.
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