I embezzled 100,000 taels at the beginning, and the empress begged me to be more greedy

"Then when can the palace examination be held?"

Chen Qingyun asked.

Jiang Zuo thought for a moment and said, "About a month."

The imperial examination has just begun and there have been great harvests. As for whether these people are talented or not, we will only know the results in the palace examination one month later.

"Can this palace examination be held in advance? I can't wait any longer."

Chen Qingyun said, she was already feeling a little impatient.

The empress no longer wanted to keep any of the corrupt officials in the court.

Jiang Zuo said: "If we want to advance, we need to prepare a lot of work, at most ten days in advance."

The success or failure of this imperial examination will also determine whether Jiangzuo can be more leisurely in the future.

If a capable minister could be found for the empress, he could share the functions of Jiangzuo, the chief minister of the cabinet, and help the empress deal with the complicated government affairs of the court.

"If nothing unexpected happens, perhaps this Shen Ye will be the candidate for the top prize." Jiang Zuo said again.

It is not easy to achieve such results in the provincial examination. As long as the imperial court approves it, this person will be able to serve the court and become a court official.

"I would like to meet this Shen Ye, who is he?"

Chen Qingyun was a little curious.

Jiang Zuo also said: "I am also quite curious, how did he get almost full marks in the exam."

You must know that Jiang Zuo is personally responsible for the confidentiality of the test papers. If someone really cheats, Jiang Zuo will be the first person to be held accountable.

Now it seems that we can only hope that this so-called top candidate is actually someone with real talent.

……

Beijing.

Beicheng Street.

A carriage stopped in the back alley. One of the men looked around vigilantly and only let the man in the carriage get off after confirming that there was no one nearby.

The man who got off the carriage was the right prime minister Lu Jun.

The rather mysterious house in front of them is where their right party gathers secretly.

When we walked into the heavily guarded house, we saw many court officials already waiting there.

"Meet Prime Minister Lu."

All the officials present saluted Lu Jun.

This time, they naturally came to discuss an important matter.

"Is everyone here?" Lu Jun asked.

"Everything is ready." Xu Renyou said.

"Let's get down to business. All traces of the Xicheng Yamen case must be wiped out. Don't let us be implicated."

Lu Jun said with a serious look.

The frame-up of Jiangzhou’s relatives was related to their right-wing party.

This time they were guilty and did not want the empress to catch them again.

"Understood." The official in charge of this matter nodded repeatedly.

"I'm afraid His Majesty has already found out about us."

Xu Renyou said with a worried look on his face.

"Now that Your Majesty still has leverage over us, what should we do?"

Some people are also very anxious.

Now the empress still has evidence of their corruption in her hands, and she has an excuse to destroy them at any time.

For the right party, at this moment, it seems to have come to a point of life and death.

"I heard that the emperor has issued an order to start the imperial examination."

"The imperial examination held by the court this time is clearly intended to replace us old officials. We have served the court loyally and conscientiously, but this is the outcome."

Xu Renyou said indignantly.

"What do you think, Prime Minister?"

someone asked.

At this moment, Lu Jun stroked his beard and shook his head helplessly.

I have tried every possible method, but to no avail.

They have always regarded Jiang Zuo as their biggest enemy, but even after targeting him so many times, Jiang Zuo was able to escape perfectly every time and could not find any evidence against him.

Lu Jun had not encountered such a cautious and difficult opponent for a long time.

"The current situation in the northwest and southeast can no longer put pressure on the emperor. It seems that there is really no way out."

Lu Jun said worriedly.

"I thought the imperial court would suffer a loss in a battle with the State of Chen, but I didn't expect that the State of Chen was so vulnerable. The same is true for the northwest. The Uighurs are really unreliable!" someone also said.

In their eyes, their own interests are always the greatest, and they never consider the imperial court.

"Prince Liang has also been implicated. We can no longer count on him. If we act rashly again, the Emperor might find an excuse."

Lu Jun said.

Before this, they had been secretly contacting the King of the Northwest, hoping to use the situation in the northwest to divert the court's attention.

But Jiang Zuo led his army south to destroy the State of Chen at such a fast speed that those on the right had no time to react.

"But we can't just sit there and wait for death, can we?"

someone said.

"Prime Minister?"

Everyone was waiting for Prime Minister Lu's order. After all, the officials of the Right Party all followed Lu Jun's lead.

Lu Jun looked solemn and lost in thought. After a moment, he said, "If we can destroy the prestige of the imperial examination, wouldn't that destroy the so-called imperial examination?"

"How to deal with that?"

Xu Renyou asked curiously.

Lu Jun said: "Since the emperor wants to select new officials this time, then we can only start with those people."

After hearing this, others immediately understood.

Since the emperor wants to recruit new people so much, let these newcomers become stepping stones for the Right Party to consolidate its position.

……

Five days later.

In the capital city.

A handsome young man in white sat on horseback, scanning the street ahead.

In front of it, a servant boy was walking in front, pulling the white horse.

"What a handsome young man."

When others saw this person, they couldn't help but sigh.

"Mr. Shen, the palace examination is still more than ten days away. Why did you come to the capital so early? I heard that the prices in the capital are quite high. I wonder if the money we brought this time is enough."

The book boy asked doubtfully.

The man on the horse was Shen Ye, who was coming to take the exam.

Shen Ye said: "We don't have to worry about the travel expenses. We should come earlier so that we can get familiar with the capital and prepare for the palace examination."

This palace examination is a rare opportunity.

Many people place their hopes on Shen Ye.

Shen Ye's arrival attracted some people's attention.

At this moment, Jiang Zuo has already prepared everything for Shen Ye.

Upon hearing that Shen Ye was coming, Jiang Zuo went to greet him immediately.

This is a reserve talent for the imperial court, so Jiang Zuo naturally takes it seriously.

A moment later, Shen Ye got off the carriage and came to Jiang Zuo.

"Are you Prime Minister Jiang?"

Shen Ye gazed at Jiang Zuo with a look of great admiration.

Before this, Jiang Zuo had already sent someone to contact Shen Ye. This time Shen Ye came to the capital city early because of Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo nodded: "That's right."

"Meet Prime Minister Jiang."

Shen Ye bowed and said.

"You are Welcome."

Jiang Zuo returned the gift.

Shen Ye said: "It is my honor to meet Prime Minister Jiang today."

Jiang Zuo smiled and said, "That's too much."

When Jiang Zuo first met this candidate for the top prize, he felt that he had an extraordinary appearance and was also very polite, and he made a good impression on him.

However, whether he is really a talented person can only be revealed after waiting for more than ten days of palace examination.