Chapter 280: Can’t bear to chop off your head

“Four hundred and sixtieth place, Yang Zhen, scholar from the Imperial College. Four hundred and fifty-ninth place, Li Zhuming, from Hushui County, Qingzhou ……”

The official standing under the “Wall of Merit” sang the list loudly, and at the moment he opened his mouth, the originally noisy waves of voices coincidentally quieted down.

Thousands of students listened with their ears open, and when they heard their names, they either wept with joy or threw up their arms in a frenzy.

“Jiro, why haven’t I heard your name yet?” The aunt was a little anxious.

“Mother, it’s only up to a hundred or so.” Xu Ling Yue soothed, “Didn’t you say that second brother is a Huiyuan.”

The aunt glared at her daughter, the dead girl actually dared to flirt even with her.

“Jiro, it’s not your turn yet.”

At the fiftieth place, the aunt became even more anxious, her brow furrowed.

“Wait a little longer.” Erlang Xu frowned.

When the singing list reached the top ten, the aunt blanched and felt that her son would in all probability fail the list.

Xu New Year’s eyes showed apprehension and some excitement, this is the trend of success or failure, remembering big brother’s song “difficult to walk the road”, as well as his usual accumulation, Erlang’s heart is still a little bottom.

Finally, when the chanting voice remembered, “This year’s Section Huiyuan, Xu Xinxin, a student of Yunlu Academy, a native of the capital city.”

Auntie ears “boom” sound, as if burnt thunder exploded, her whole body shuddered violently.

This “scorched thunder” also exploded in the ears of thousands of students, exploded in the ears of the surrounding night watchman, the first thought that comes to their mind is: impossible!

It was unlikely that it would be a scholar from the Yunlu Academy who would become a Huiyuan. The dispute over Confucianism’s orthodoxy had stretched over two hundred years, and it was an indisputable fact that the Yunlu Academy’s scholars had been highly suppressed in the official world.

Against such a backdrop, how could the Huiyuan be a scholar from Yunlu Academy?

The last Yunlu Academy scholar to become a “Huiyuan” was Ziyang Jushi twenty years ago. But what kind of person was Ziyang Jushi?

That’s a fourth-ranked great scholar.

Looking at it twenty years later, it is entirely reasonable for him to become a Councilor, or even a Scholar, and he was originally a potential dragon.

However, another way of thinking, the same origin Yunlu Academy of reading, in the thousands of troops killed a bloody road, become the Huiyuan.

Does it mean that he also has the qualities of a great scholar?

For a while, many people thumped their hearts.

These are the rich men who catch their son-in-laws under the list, or the scholarly class.

The list to catch son-in-law has been since ancient times, to the Dabong Yuanjing year, although not popular, but keep the apricot list to search for son-in-law of the family is still quite a lot.

Waiting for a scholar with outstanding qualifications and the potential of a dragon, such as the current “Huiyuan” Xu New Year.

Catch son-in-law under the list is a play on words, the big families keep the apricot list, see the scholar, then send someone to the home matchmaking, the competition is time.

Once the matchmaking is successful, the marriage is finalized, and if others want to grab it again, they can’t do so.

The era of etiquette and law is more important than the sky, is not with the division elders to pressure, give a grain of gas gathering powder, said to destroy the marriage. Unless one does not want a bright future.

“Which one is New Year’s Hsu?”

“Which one is Master Xu New Year Xu?”

From the crowd, there were occasional inquiries.

One of the students turned his head to look around and saw the dull-faced Xu New Year across the sea of people, and immediately shouted out, “Resignation, congratulations. There’s New Year Xu over there.”

Hula …….. The first ones to pour over were not the scholars, but the people who were interested in catching interference under the list, and brought their escorts to surround Xu Xinxin.

“Does Xu Huiyuan have a marriage partner? There is a daughter in my official’s family who is 28 years old and as beautiful as a flower. I am willing to marry you as my wife.”

“This official also has unmarried daughters in his family who are skilled in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting.”

Xu Xinxin retreated back and forth.

Chun Er padded his feet and looked for a moment, joyfully said: “list under the catch son-in-law is really interesting, Miss, I did not expect that will be yuan is that handsome scholar.”

The words fell, the curtains suddenly lifted up, the temperament of a gentleman, cheeks some baby fat, sweet and dark Miss Wang probed and looked for a moment, said:

“Springer, go back.”

On this side, Xu New Year, who had never seen such a battle before, frowned.

He was about to spit out the fragrance and drink away this group of uninterested things, when suddenly he saw a few jianghu people surging up with bad intentions, rushing against the “protective wall” formed by the retinue, intending to take advantage of his mother and sister.

The squire was forced back and forth, and his aunt and Ling Yue screamed in fear.

“Stop!”

Jiro Xu yelled.

But it was useless, he couldn’t stop so many people.

“Heh, this kind of shrewish scoundrel, no ability, but it’s great to be a fish in troubled waters.” The middle-aged swordsman saw this scene from afar and was quite disdainful.

But he didn’t care too much, this little chaos would soon be stopped by the night watchman and the officials, but the two women with the most beautiful postures, I’m afraid they would have to suffer some shock.

“Stop!”

Suddenly, a deafening sound exploded, this time it was not a psychological thunderbolt, but there was a real thunderbolt, shocking the more than a thousand people present with dizziness and tinnitus.

The commotion stopped for a moment.

On the wall of the Tribute Courtyard stood a young man dressed in the uniform of a night watchman’s errand, embroidered with a silver gong. He pressed his sword with one hand, his gaze sharply sweeping over the rowdy group of jianghu guests.

Meanwhile, the officers and the night watchman, squeezing through the crowds, finally arrived.

The moment she saw Xu Qi’an, her aunt was relieved, as if she had something to rely on, and the mother and daughter were relieved.

“Take those few troublemakers away.” Xu Qi’an pointed out the several jianghu people one by one, and the several gongs in the neighborhood immediately went up to take them.

The schoolchildren at the bottom recognized Xu Qi’an and were quite surprised, shouting, “It’s Xu Shikui!”

“Greetings to Xu Shikui!”

Many of the capital city’s scholars arched their hands in greeting, their attitudes respectful, as if they were performing a meet-and-greet with their seniors and teachers.

As a matter of fact, Xu Qi’an did deserve such treatment, just based on his several heirloom masterpieces, even the most arrogant of readers wouldn’t dare to show arrogance in front of him.

However, the foreign scholars did not know Xu Qi’an’s identity, and when they saw that he was a night watchman, they were originally quite disdainful, but the attitude of the scholars in the capital made them realize that this young silver gong had an unusual identity.

“Brother, who is this man? So ostentatious, he looks like a martial artist.”

“You don t know him …… Oh, you are not from the capital. This lord’s name is Xu Qi’an, the Xu Qi’an of the Dark Fragrance Floating Moon Dusk.”

“…… So it’s him, really a table of talent, extraordinary appearance, really a dragon and phoenix in the people, people look at it will have a heart of admiration.”

Now, the foreign students knew who he was. Xu Qi’an still had a lot of “private fans”, and with the poems he copied, he gained a huge number of fans in the Dafeng readers’ group.

For a while, countless students arched their hands in greeting, shouting “Xu Shikui”.

“That’s awesome ……,” Xu Lingyue murmured.

“That’s awesome ……”

In the distance, Miss Rong Rong looked at the young man on the wall, her gaze held admiration.

“Obviously I’m the main character ah ……,” Xu New Year muttered in a small voice.

…………

Xu Xinxin not only won the gongshi, but also the top of the gongshi: Huiyuan!

It was something the whole family didn’t expect.

Auntie was as happy as a female Fanjin, and almost fainted with a roll of her eyelids.

The second uncle was also very happy and decided that he would have a big banquet at his house, inviting his clansmen and colleagues over for a drink. Now that the Xu family is more generous, there is no pressure to hold a banquet for three days and three nights.

After finishing his lunch, Erlang Xu set aside his chopsticks and looked toward Xu Qi’an, saying, “Is big brother still going to patrol the streets today?”

Xu Qi’an shook his head.

He was a silver gong, and patrolling the streets was usually mood-dependent rather than mandatory. Moreover, now that the apricot list had been revealed and thousands of schoolchildren were going back to their own homes and looking for their own mothers, the pressure on law and order was not as great as it had been in the morning.

Xu Erlang nodded and got up, one hand raised on his abdomen, one hand pinned behind his back, and faintly said, “Then, big brother will work harder, and help me guard my home; there are bound to be obnoxious flies disturbing me in the late afternoon, and I, for one, will not see any of them!”

This pose is usually found on highly respected old men, or officials.

Hey, this little old brother is still pretending …….. The corner of Xu Qi’an’s mouth twitched.

Xu Qi’an’s arrogant personality was inherited from his aunt. However, the poisonous tongue attribute was his own creation, and his aunt’s scolding skills were very average, or else she wouldn’t have been exasperated by Xu Qi’an’s wailing.

Xu Qi’an returned to his room and sat at his desk, worrying about Xu Erlang’s future.

“Erlang won the Huiyuan, this is how I didn’t expect it, the next step is the Palace Examination in a month’s time. After the temple examination, the backhand I buried can be activated (Zhao Langzhong, Ministry of Mandarins, Department of Literature and Election) ………

“Staying in the capital is only the first step, if I want Erlang to become a useful person to me, then I have to find him a backer. Otherwise, with his status as a scholar of Yunlu Academy, he will be mixed up in a clear water government office for the rest of his life ………

“Wei Gong is now not the left royal inspector of the Capital Inspection Yuan, and I do not know if I can get back such an important position. However, Erlang can’t turn to Wei Yuan and can’t have anything to do with him, or else he will be branded as a “Clique” just like me.

“Eggs can’t be put in one basket, I must find a way to find a backer for him, so that our brothers can hope to double bitch and dominate the court in the future.”

Xu Qi’an had previously said that he wanted to train Xu Xinxin to become the chief minister of the Dafeng, which was of course a joke, but he did have the idea of “promoting” Xu Erlang.

After going through so much and offending so many people, the idea became clearer and deeper.

First of all, Xu Erlang’s own talent is excellent, walking the Confucian orthodox system, the heart and means are not bad, and after a few years of training in the officialdom, he is definitely a god teammate.

But the drawbacks of Confucian orthodox origins are also obvious – motherless children!

“Princess Huaiqing is a woman, and I suspect she has secretly cultivated power, but Jiro wants a solid backer, not to become an underground party.

“In the words of the Crown Prince, after the case of Concubine Fu, I broke with Concubine Chen, my mother-in-law, so the Crown Prince will not be considered. Moreover, the Crown Prince’s segment is too low to be worthy of my family’s Erlang. For the same reason, the Fourth Prince also passes.”

After going over it in his head, he realized that he couldn’t find a suitable backer in the civil government group.

Hoo……. Forget it, there’s no rush on this matter. After the temple examination, the matter of Erlang will come to an end for the time being, and the next thing I have to be vigilant about is the messenger group of the Buddhist sect, as well as the celestial dispute ……. between Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen. Ai, this kind of daoist dispute is the most troublesome, Xu Qi’an pinched his brow and said in a low voice:

“And for me, advancing to the Copper Skin and Iron Bone Realm as soon as possible is the most important thing.”

He washed his face and left the house, Xu Yinluo was in charge of Wanji day to day, how could he have time to show the door to a district Xu Erlang.

Mounting the small mare and carrying the two novels that Zhong Li had coded out, Xu Qi’an entered the imperial city quickly and took out the waist jade given by Lin’an, and came to Shao Yin Yuan under the lead of the feather guards.

For Xu Qi’an’s sudden visit, Lin’an expressed her delight and had the palace maid serve the best tea and the most delicious pastries to entertain the dog slave.

“How has His Highness been doing recently?” Xu Qi’an asked.

Lin An sighed, her peach blossom eyes were not flattering anymore, and she hung her head in shame: “Mother Concubine cried with me day after day, saying that she was bullied by the Empress in the Harem, and she saw that she could not live on.”

Chen Feifei behind the people it, not out to help it …….. Well, Princess Chen is a qualified little palace fighting, not so bad, should be deliberately in front of Lin An play poor, want to try to curve to save the country ……. Xu Qi An was surprised:

“The Empress has bullied people too much, Your Highness, and you’re just going to stand by and watch Princess Chen be humiliated in the Harem?”

“Then it’s not like I can’t fight Huaiqing, and besides, I don’t think Mother Consort is as miserable as she says.” She said accusingly.

“You’re looking for His Majesty.” Xu Qi’an tried.

“You guys go down first.” Lin An waved off the palace maid.

The hall fell silent, and no one spoke for a long time.

“The Dog Minion ……”

She gave a sheepish cry.

“Well, your highness you say.”

“When the Crown Prince’s brother was imprisoned in the Da Lisi, I went to beg Father, but Father didn’t see me, so I stood in the cold for two hours, or Huaiqing drove me back ……..”

Lin An sadly lowered his head, a little beast with some inferiority complex, “At that time, I thought that maybe Father didn’t love me that much. After the prince brother’s accident, my brothers and sisters stopped looking for me to play, and I realized that they didn’t really like me either ……..”

Her eyebrows were shrugged, those clear and charming peach blossom eyes were dull, and she hung her head slightly, where was she a princess, she was clearly an aggrieved and pitiful girl.

Xu Qi’an knew that this was the burst of trust that Her Highness Lin’an had in him, and that was why she had taken off her princess’s pride in front of him, revealing herself to be nothing more than a girl who wasn’t too stupid, but wasn’t smart either.

These things have been bottled up inside her for a long time, haven’t they …….. At least she recognized this reality after the prince’s accident ……. But she didn’t show it, still maintaining her princess pride.

It wasn’t until the end of the Princess Fu case that she tasted the truth behind the case as an afterthought …….. How did she feel at that time? Sadness, helplessness, disappointment?

This princess appearance savage capricious, in fact, is a ferocious appearance of the paper tiger, aggrieved will only yell, while the real heart-rending aggrieved, she silently bear.

Essentially a woman who is actually contrary, pretty, but also outwardly strong.

Lin An’s eyes gradually blurred, these words out of her heart is much better, although the dog lackey can not give her anything, even help her in front of Huai Qing to do justice are hesitant, but he can for their own to go to offend Huai Qing, Lin An’s heart has been very happy.

Suddenly, a hand pressed against her head and rubbed it.

Lin An lifted his head in surprise, only to realize that the dog lackey did not know when to walk to his side, his eyes had the helplessness of mourning his misfortune and hating him.

“Your Highness, I will stay with you.”

Lin An’s face reddened a little bit, fine as a mosquito said, “You, you don’t touch my head ……. I will be angry.”

Xu Qi’an treacherously disobeyed Her Highness’s orders and rubbed it so hard that it messed up her hair.

Lin An forcefully opened her peach blossom eyes wide and glared at him, as if she was using her princess’s majesty to force the dog lackey back. However, although her eyes were charming and affectionate, they were really not lethal.

Advent lowered his head again.

Well, the best way to deal with this kind of girl is to be appropriately overbearing and stalking …….. If I were Huaiqing, I would have been stabbed to death …….

Ambiguity festered between the two of them.

Xu Qi’an withdrew his hand in time, fished out the Love Heavenly Sage talking book from his bosom, placed it in front of Lin An, and laughed:

“This is a book that my humble servant got once in a while, it’s quite interesting, the princess likes to listen to stories, so I’m sure she’ll enjoy reading it as well. However, don’t say that I gave it to you.”

Advent’s attention was instantly drawn to The Great Sage of Love.

“If you find it boring to stay in the palace, you might as well move to Lin’anfu, so that my humble servant can look for you to play every day, and also secretly take you outside.”

After a few words, he excused himself and left.

“Xu Qi’an!”

Lin An called out to him, puffing out his cheeks and threatening fiercely, “Today’s matter shall not be publicized, or else, or else ……..”

I wanted to say “or I’ll cut your head off”, but I was a little reluctant to do so.

“Got it.” Xu Qi’an said.

………

Xu Qi’an left Shao Yin Yuan and said to the Featherwood Guard, “This official still has important matters to seek an audience with the Eldest Princess, you lead me there.”

“That’s out of order.” The feathered guard shook his head.

“I can go wait outside the palace city, so it’s in line with the rules.” Xu Qi’an didn’t move and stuffed over a ten taels of silver ticket.

The feathered guards obliged him and led Xu Qi’an out of the palace, telling him to wait outside the palace while he went in to pass on the message.

In less than an incense stick, the feather guards returned and said, “Princess Huaiqing has an invitation.”

The corner of Xu Qi’an’s mouth picked up and he reached out to press his hand on his chest, thinking, Huaiqing ah Huaiqing, see the power of a domineering female president and a silly sweet little scholar.

It’s sure to poke a chord.

………..

PS: Change before you change.