Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

People always say: rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, the wedding night, and getting one's name on the list of successful candidates are the four greatest joys in life.

In the fifteenth year of Zhaoming, the results of the spring examination were announced, and Du Xingzhi, a native of Ming'an County, Guangnan Prefecture, won the first place and became the top scholar.

The day of the announcement of the results happened to be the day when cherries in Chang'an were ripe. The emperor personally attended the cherry banquet to celebrate with the new Jinshi. After three rounds of drinking, the emperor left the table. Du Xingzhi, as the top scorer, followed the custom and led the other Jinshi to toast the ministers.

When he came to the desk of the Left Prime Minister Pei Zhe, he looked at the tall and graceful Du Xingzhi with admiration in his eyes. He stroked his beautiful beard and said, "It is true as the saint said, the number one scholar has an extraordinary appearance." He picked up the wine cup and drank a glass, with a loving look on his face like an elder, "I wonder if the number one scholar is married? I have a little daughter, who is quiet and gentle, and can be a good match."

Du Xingzhi bowed and was about to speak, but the Regent Xiao Zhen, who was sitting opposite him on the left, smiled and said jokingly, "The Saint just left, and the Left Prime Minister is thinking of competing with the Emperor for disciples, right?"

The left prime minister's smile remained unchanged, but his face was more loving, "How dare I, how dare I, I just saw Du Lang as a beautiful orchid and a jade tree, and I wanted him to grow in my courtyard."

"Oh, I think the third place winner is also a handsome man. Why doesn't Lord Left Prime Minister ask him a thing or two?" Xiao Zhen sneered, his slender phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, sneering at the Left Prime Minister's words, not giving him any face at all.

Seeing him being so aggressive, the smile on the left prime minister's face was a little hard to maintain, and he couldn't help sneering in his heart: Everyone in the officialdom knows that the top three in the first class must be from aristocratic families, and the second place is selected from the children of officials, and only the top place comes from a humble family.

The sons of officials from aristocratic families have been influenced since childhood. Although they may not be well aware of the situation in the court, they have already divided into factions. It is not his turn to win over at this cherry banquet. Cen Shi, the third place winner pointed out by Xiao Zhen, was from the Guangning Marquis Mansion, and the Guangning Marquis Mansion has always been close to his regent. However, Xiao Zhen asked him to talk to him. If he was not deliberately looking for trouble, what could he be?

The Left Prime Minister was displeased and wanted to scold Xiao Zhen to death, but considering that the emperor's ears and eyes were everywhere in the palace, he had to endure it. He put down the wine cup in his hand heavily, snorted coldly, and ignored Xiao Zhen.

The other officials present seemed to be used to the confrontation between the two and were not greatly affected. However, most of the new scholars were admitted from prefectures, counties and localities. Although they had heard a little about the current situation in the court, it was the first time they faced the confrontation between the two most powerful people in the Daqing Dynasty. For a moment, they lowered their heads and dared not speak.

When Du Xingzhi saw this situation, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart at Lin Xi's foresight.

The night before leaving for Beijing, Lin Xi had a serious look on her face and explained everything to him in detail, "Sister Xiao Miao told me that Xiao Tingye is the son of the Regent King Xiao Zhen, and now the Left Prime Minister and the Regent King are competing against each other in the court. Cousin, whether you pass or not when you go to Beijing to take the exam, you must not get involved in the dispute between the two factions."

Du Xingzhi was stunned. He never thought that the ruthless man that day was actually the prince regent. He heard that the prince regent was the uncle of the current emperor, and that the late emperor had entrusted his son to him before his death, and appointed him and three senior ministers to assist his younger brother.

At that time, Daqing was in turmoil, with several neighboring countries eyeing it covetously and Empress Dowager Wei's family intending to steal the country. The regent was appointed at a critical moment and with a series of drastic measures, he not only repelled the foreign enemies but also stabilized the country's internal affairs. He devoted himself to the cause for more than ten years, which made Daqing the prosperous country it is today.

However, as time went by, the prosperity of the country also brought with it the fear of the emperor. The saint feared the growing power of the regent, so he supported the left prime minister's faction to check and balance the regent's dominance. The two parties fought happily in the court, and Xiao Tingye was the most courageous general under his father. It was just unknown why he, who was supposed to be guarding Mobei, appeared in this remote mountain village and was so close to Lin Xiaomiao, which was very unreasonable.

If Lin Xi knew Du Xingzhi's inner thoughts, she would definitely pat him on the shoulder and tell him, "Young man, what happened between the hero and heroine is not only against common sense, it's good enough that it doesn't violate the laws of nature."

Du Xingzhi was well-versed in history books, so he naturally knew about the conflict between the two factions. If a poor student with no foundation or background like him got involved, he would definitely end up in pieces. But even though he knew it in his heart, he was still very happy to see Lin Xi's attentiveness, and he also admired her foresight.

"Don't worry, my daughter. Once you have learned the literary and martial arts, you can sell them to the imperial family. I have studied hard for many years and will never let my knowledge get bogged down in the quagmire of party struggles," he replied.

Therefore, facing the cold atmosphere at the banquet, Du Xingzhi first bowed to the left prime minister and said respectfully, "Thank you, Lord Zuo Xiang, for your kindness. However, I already have a wife. She never abandoned me when I was down and out. I will never let her down in this life. Your wife has noble character and should be matched with a gentleman."

After that, he bowed to the Regent and filled the cup in his hand. "Your Highness has devoted all his life to Daqing. The subjects of the world follow your example and are loyal to the emperor and love the country. This is why Daqing is peaceful and prosperous. I dare to raise a toast to you on behalf of the subjects of the world."

Xiao Zhen did not drink, but looked at Du Xingzhi carefully with his phoenix eyes. If it were someone else, he would have been trembling with fear at his majestic aura, but Du Xingzhi just held the wine cup and met his gaze with clear eyes without dodging at all.

After a long time, he suddenly stretched out his hand, and without pouring the wine into the cup, he directly picked up the wine pot and drank the wine in the pot. Some of the wine spilled on his face and neck, and finally slid down to wet his chest, but he didn't care, "Well said! You are worthy of being the number one scholar chosen by the saint. Being loyal to the emperor and patriotic is exactly what my heart desires. Today's banquet was not in vain." After speaking, he suddenly stood up, laughed towards the sky, and walked out past the crowd.

After the Cherry Banquet, the Saint personally summoned the newly crowned No. 1 Scholar to the Qianyuan Hall. No one knew what the two talked about. Only the servants outside the hall clearly heard the Saint's joyful laughter. But just when everyone thought that the youngest No. 1 Scholar in the history of the Daqing Dynasty was about to soar to fame, news came that the Saint had sent him to Yuzhou Prefecture.

Since ancient times, the top three in the class have all entered the Hanlin Academy, or became Hanlin editors, participating in the compilation of documents; or been granted the position of editor, drafting the emperor's edicts; and those who were deeply favored by the emperor were appointed as attendants by the emperor, serving beside the emperor. In short, no matter which one it was, it was an extremely noble and respectable position.

And this Du Lang Du Zhuangyuan, who seemed to be the kind of person who won the emperor's favor, was demoted to a local prefecture by the emperor. Although Yuzhou Prefecture has been known as the Central Plains since ancient times, floods are frequent and difficult to manage. Many officials have spent time and energy on it, but often found it thankless and ended up losing their positions and titles.

There were ministers who saw potential in Du Xingzhi and submitted memorials to the emperor, advising him not to waste the talent of the number one scholar. However, their suggestions were rejected every time. Over time, no one cared about him anymore. With Du Xingzhi taking up his post in Yuzhou Prefecture, people in the capital gradually forgot about him.

At night, Lin Xi went to the deck to get some fresh air because the cabin was a bit stuffy. After a while, she rubbed her fingers which were a little cold due to the breeze from the river. When she was about to turn around and go back to the cabin, she suddenly felt her shoulders sink, and a blue cloak with cloud patterns was draped over her shoulders.

"Why are you standing here in the wind?" Du Xingzhi tied her cloak and took her hands in his own to warm them.

"The cabin is a bit stuffy, so I came out to get some fresh air. Are we almost in Yuzhou?" Seeing his gentle movements and a slightly red face, Lin Xi spoke softly.

"It's almost there. We'll be there the day after tomorrow at the latest. You're weak, so let's go in."

"it is good."

The two of them embraced each other and entered the cabin, leaving only the bright moon and the gentle breeze on the river.