Rui Hegui

Three days later, when the time for passing on the cohort arrived, Emperor Ping Chong announced the rank of the palace examination in the Changtai Hall, and the Ministry of Rites took over the pass to the lower steps in front of the hall, where the guards shouted and passed the name in unison.

"The first voice of the Jindian Biography, the number one scholar in the Sanyuan Company, Wang Yuncheng."

"The second voice of the Jindian Biography, the second place in the Eryuan Lian, Zhao Liangyue."

"The third sound of the Chuanlu of the Golden Palace, the first flower hunter, Xiang Mian."

Zhao Liangyue and all the Jinshi entered the palace one after another wearing blue robes, and the officials on both sides were all dressed in flowered robes, and the drums and music shook the sky, and the court was full of festive colors.

After Chuan Lu finished singing, the top three Jinshi all went to the hall to bow three times and bow nine times to Emperor Ping Chong.

I don't know if it's fate or what, when Zhao Liangyue got up and got up, he noticed that Bandit Chu was standing very close to him, wearing an official uniform of peacock and scarlet robe, a bit more awe-inspiring and murderous than usual, not angry Self-prestige, it seems to be the Raksha style of the Ministry of Justice, which is particularly eye-catching among the ministers.

Chu Bandit seemed to have a tacit understanding, Zhao Liangyue just glanced at it hastily, but it happened that the eyes of the two met across the air, Chu Bandit's peach blossom eyes immediately curved, and smiled.

Zhao Liangyue calmly withdrew his gaze, and resolutely stopped turning his head to that side.

"Libi!"

After all the cumbersome ceremonies, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials came out of the palace with the decree, and led all the new subjects and ranks out of the Meridian Gate eastward.

When Zhao Liangyue left the hall, he turned around and was able to catch a glimpse of the sickly Emperor Ping Chong from a distance, as well as a few first-rank officials around him, such as the mighty Prime Minister Han, although he was nearly seventy years old, he was hale and hearty, with eyes like Eagles and falcons all reveal the arrogance and sternness of the upper-level power holders, which are in stark contrast to Emperor Ping Chong who is standing side by side and has to be close to each other to help him.

If the tiger is the minister and the dog is the king, the world will surely suffer from it.

All Jinshi followed the list and left the Meridian Gate along Zhengzhongyong Road, all the way eastward to Donghua Gate. The mat shed had already been prepared, and the gold list was hung in it.

"Second Prince Wang really is a Wenqu star who has won three yuan in a row. He is indeed Dr. Tang's favorite student."

"Yes, yes, but our No. [-] Scholar is not a blockbuster. Who doesn't know his fame since Xiaojing? No. [-] Scholar deserves his name."

"Tomorrow at the Qionglin Banquet, I will ask Zhuangyuan Lang for advice, and then I will reward him with face."

In front of the gold list, this group of proud talents chatted with each other, naturally centered on Wang Yuncheng, the number one scholar from a prominent family, Zhao Liangyue didn't care, and retreated to the side with a few congratulators, Xiang Mian also followed after seeing this .

"I still think that Brother Zhao is the well-deserved number one." Xiang Mian looked at Wang Yuncheng's obviously overly complacent and pretending to be modest, and couldn't help leaning over to talk in a low voice.

Xiang Mian is the son of Xiang Ming, Minister of Rites. Zhao Liangyue has heard about it before. It is said that he left the Jinxiu Land of Kyoto when he was ten years old. Beijing.

It's just that Zhao Liangyue didn't expect that Xiang Mian would come to visit him the next day after he returned to Beijing. After some conversation, he called himself brother and brother on the spot, which was quite heroic.

Zhao Liangyue smiled and said: "It doesn't really matter, it's all for the imperial court."

Xiang Mian shook his head: "I'm afraid I'm not the only one who is dissatisfied, although I have never seen Brother Zhao hurt Wang Yuncheng's arrogance in Feixia Tower, but after I returned to Beijing, many people mentioned this matter and supported Brother Zhao. And above the imperial examination, Brother Zhao's policy questions all pointed out the current disadvantages, hit the nail on the head, and we all saw it."

"Brother Xiang has neglected himself. He has been staying at the border to do things for the court. If you come back in a hurry, you can go to the Changtai Hall and you will be able to enter the high school. If you come back earlier to prepare for the exam, don't we need to be too strong?"

"Oh, I'm talking about business, but Brother Zhao started making fun of me, and I was just wandering around with my uncle at the border, so I can't really make a contribution to the court." Xiang Mian clicked his tongue, changed the subject and asked , "Brother Zhao, ten days will be the selection test for the Ministry of Officials, where do you think the Sixth Department will be?"

"House Department."

"Coincidentally, I'm also from the household department, so I'll have someone to take care of me in the future!"

"I didn't expect Brother Xiang to be in the Ministry of Households. He originally thought that he would go to the Ministry of War if he had military experience in the frontier."

"I do think, but my father is only my son, and he wants me to go back to Beijing to find a free position to serve his knees. No matter how I try ten days later, he has already prepared for me the free position in the household department." It's gone." While Xiang Mian was speaking, he saw Jing Zhaoyin bringing people to the street with robes and guards of honor, and motioned Zhao Liangyue to look over.

"Brother Zhao, did you see the wound on Jing Zhaoyin's face?"

Zhao Liang looked over and saw that although Jing Zhaoyin deliberately covered up the scar, the scar was still very obvious from the eyebrow to the jaw.

Zhao Liangyue said: "Although I have been in Beijing all the time, I really haven't heard of any major incidents that even injured Jing Zhaoyin."

"It's not a big deal. It's a shameful private matter. It happened not long ago. It's normal for Brother Zhao not to know about it." Xiang Mian gossiped slightly, "Brother Zhao must have heard of Han Ting, a famous dude in the circle of princes in the capital. Yesterday, Jing Zhaoyin saw a young lady in Bili Pavilion and wanted to present it to the Fifth Prince, but the young lady had the guts to disagree. Jing Zhaoyin didn't care, and was directly kidnapped. It happened to be nearby, and he beat Jing Zhaoyin in a fit of anger, and accidentally scratched his face with a brass wrench in his hand."

Zhao Liangyue frowned slightly, and asked, "Is it resolved later?"

"He, how can we solve it? His father is the prime minister on the spot. He can only say that it is Jing Zhaoyin, so he has to give some face. His brother, General Han, personally led him to apologize to Jing Zhaoyin and gave him a bunch of thing."

"Then the second son of Han will go home, so the prime minister will inevitably teach him a lesson."

"Him? It's said that I'm not afraid anymore. If I get beaten in the morning, I can find someone to fool around with again in the afternoon." Xiang Mian said, thinking about it, and said, "Speaking of it, I haven't seen him for more than ten years. When I was young, I saw him still It's a dumpling made of powder and jade, very cute and cute, I guess it has become a greasy fat man by now."

Zhao Liangyue was about to explain for Han Ting that Jing Zhaoyin had already started to preach the emperor's will to allow the parade, and then let three first-class Jinshi enter the next room to wear robes to catch the auspicious time.

When the three changed their robes, Jing Zhaoyin personally and the coordinating officials inserted golden flowers for them, and then the three mounted their horses, the sound of gongs and drums blared to the sky, green fans and red umbrellas were set up, and the street parade officially began.

The upstarts of imperial examinations are always eye-catching, both sides of the long street are crowded with people, the carriage cannot move at all during the period, and the three of them this time are all handsome and personable, and they have never been married. They are much better looking than a bunch of old men in previous years , it was even more loud, and many brave girls even threw flowers and fruits at them in the street.

Then there was a camellia flower that landed on Zhao Liangyue's skirt impartially. It was as white as snow and had a light fragrance. Compared with the other hibiscus and peonies that were thrown over, it made people admire too much.

This must be an ingenious woman.

Zhao Liangyue couldn't help smiling, looked up towards the direction where the camellia was thrown, and saw that Chu Gui had changed back to his usual ostentatious clothes, was smiling at himself, and held up the same camellia in his hand hint.

Zhao Liangyue: "..."

When the three of them paraded through the street and exited Nanping Gate, and then walked southwest to Heng'en Temple and got off their horses, they had flowers and fruits in their arms.

Wang Yuncheng was the first to get off the horse, and threw the flowers and fruits casually. Looking back, he saw a camellia in Zhao Liangyue's hand, and said cheerfully, "I think brother Zhao is a good-looking talent, why is there only one girl to give you something? Still, it's so shabby."

Zhao Liangyue sighed lightly, thinking, not only is there only one, but it's not a girl either.

"Brother Zhao is unwilling to accept the kindness of the girls. I am afraid that there will be no fate to delay other girls. I rode behind Brother Zhao and saw many girls holding things on it. When you passed by, they didn't move. Wait until Brother Zhao After passing by, tsk tsk, that scene is not too much for throwing fruit and Pan An." Xiang Mian turned over and got off his horse, and walked over to answer for Zhao Liangyue.

Wang Yuncheng laughed, and said displeasedly, "I said Xiang Mian, you are really a martial artist, you just returned to Beijing, right? I don't know that the situation in Beijing is also normal, but don't regret it in the future."

Xiang Mian raised his eyebrows, and said: "Joke, a person who steals other people's things and shows off, I have nothing to be afraid of."

Wang Yuncheng immediately seemed to be stepped on the tail: "You!"

Seeing that the two of them did not deal with each other, and neither side would be easy to offend, the officials waiting nearby hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile: "The auspicious time has come, and I hope the three of you will come to Heng'en Temple to offer incense."

The other officials also responded: "Yes, yes, this street parade is really tiring, it's better to end it earlier, or go back to the mansion to rest, right?"

Zhao Liang took two steps forward, gestured to Xiang Mian with his eyes, and then decided that Xiang Mian let go first.

The three climbed up the stairs, and Master Mingwu was already waiting in front of the temple with all the monks.

After entering the temple and offering incense, Wang Yuncheng obviously didn't want to go with the two of them anymore, so he mounted his horse and left before the officials finished speaking.

Xiang Mian was not in a hurry, seeing the weather was still early, so he and Zhao Liangyue had some tea and snacks in the temple to accompany him, Ming Wu naturally accompanied him.

Zhao Liangyue came here as a fortune teller before, and he knew that this eminent monk was involved in government affairs privately, that he was not specialized in Buddhism, and his Zen mind was not calm, but now talking with him, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion. He is also a set of people, and I really can't compare with him.

For example, Xiang Mian is now taken aback by what Ming Wu said.

"The three karmas of the body, speech, and mind that the master just said, the mind karma is the most important. Can you explain in detail the specific subtle meaning?"

"If one's mind comes first, one's body and speech will be free from problems."

"Then, if the hand is broken, the foot is also broken, it's only the mind that won't work, right?"

Ming Wu was stunned for a moment, obviously he didn't expect Xiang Mian to ask such a question, so he smiled and said: "What the poor monk said is the state of Zen. Take the wish as the first, and draw the wise wisdom; the wish comes true, hence the name May wisdom."

Xiang Mian shook his head and said: "It seems that I still don't understand, so how about it, I will think about it when I go back, and then I will ask the master for advice."

After speaking, Xiang Mian got up and invited Zhao Liangyue back to the city for a drink, and Ming Wu stood up to see him off.

The two went straight out, and when they reached the gate of Heng'en Temple, Zhao Liangyue saw a little monk cleaning the house, thought of something, walked over to the little monk and said, "Before I had a friend come to the temple to offer incense, and I met a little master named Xuan, I asked my friend to bring him candy, but my friend and I forgot this time, so I asked this little master to tell me that I must remember to bring the candy next time."

When the little monk heard this, a look of fear appeared on his face.

Zhao Liangyue felt bad, leaned over and asked again: "Can this little master tell me the story?"

The little monk shivered a bit, and said, "I can't tell you, he's gone."

Zhao Liangyue questioned: "What do you mean by disappearing?"

"Last fall, it rained heavily and the road was slippery. He fell into the water and drowned...and died."

Zhao Liangyue couldn't help sighing, thinking, how could this be a slippery road?I'm afraid that the child didn't know the severity of his mouth and was pushed down.

Xiang Mian saw the sad look on Zhao Liangyue's face, and when the two of them got out of the mountain gate and boarded their horses, he asked, "Brother Zhao knows that little monk named Xuan?"

Zhao Liangyue nodded, heaved a long sigh, and said: "When I first came to the capital, I met by accident, a strange child, but he knew something he shouldn't know, and said something he shouldn't say."

Xiang Mian also sighed, and asked: "Is it related to enlightenment?"

Zhao Liangyue was stunned for a moment, and said: "Indeed, but how did Brother Xiang know about it? I thought Brother Xiang respected that Master Mingwu."

"Come on, I did intend to stay here today to ask for advice after hearing about his reputation before, but I turned out to be a hypocrite."

“How come you see?”

Xiang Mian thought about it for a while, and said: "I should have seen a real eminent monk. In the border area where my cousin is, there are also many monks who worship Buddha, but they don't stay in the temple, but among the people in the border area." Traveling to practice medicine, guiding farming, all doing good deeds to help the world and the common people, but looking at this one, I can't help but look very ruddy, well-maintained, and at first glance, I don't have the slightest thought of worrying about the country and the people. These are useless words, it’s okay to fool the nobles in Kyoto, but not me.”

Zhao Liangyue couldn't help smiling when he heard the words, bowed his hands to Xiang Mian, and said: "Brother Xiang's broad-mindedness and courage, Zhao admires him!"

Xiang Mian shook his head with a smile. While the two were talking, they had already reached the gate of the city, and then stopped tacitly.

Xiang Mian looked up at the words Pingmen in the south of the city, and sighed: "When I left Kyoto, my mother sent me here, but now that I am back, I am in high school, and she is already gone."

Zhao Liangyue said: "My condolences, Lingtang's spirit must have seen it."

"I hope, I don't know if there is really such a thing as Naihe Bridge and reincarnation in this world." Xiang Mian turned to look at Zhao Liangyue, and said, "My uncle's youngest son got smallpox a few days ago, unfortunately died, and is preparing for it." For the funeral, it is better to set up a tomb next to him for the little monk Liaoxuan, so that he can accompany him, and the two children will not be alone when they walk together."

Zhao Liangyue sincerely admired this kind of behavior, so he solemnly cupped his hands and said, "Thank you."

Xiang Mian waved his hand, sighed softly, and was about to say something more when his stomach growled suddenly.

The two looked at each other awkwardly, and then burst out laughing.

"Five grains are the most important thing for a person." Xiang Mian cupped his fists to say goodbye, "We are waiting for a banquet at home, I will go ahead and see you at the Qionglin banquet tomorrow."

"Goodbye."

Zhao Liangyue watched Xiang Mian leave, and went back to the small courtyard in the south of the city.

Youbai sat at the door with a displeased face, saw Zhao Liangyue coming back, and led the horse in for him without saying a word.

Zhao Liangyue smiled and said: "What's the matter, who messed with you?"

Youbai didn't answer, but quickened his pace and led the horse into the backyard, violently picked up a pile of hay and threw it to the horse, then angrily sat down on the stone steps in front of the hall, and then made a sullen face.

Zhao Liangyue naturally knew why Youbai was unhappy, so he lifted his robe and sat next to Youbai, and said, "Whatever it is, I'm also second in the list, I'm under one person, but above ten thousand people."

Youbai snorted, and said: "It's because they don't know Mount Tai! And..."

"And what?"

"And I made a bet with Xing Shuo. Now that I lose, I will practice martial arts with him."

Zhao Liangyue laughed when he heard the words, and said: "Isn't this a good thing? There are not many people who can accompany you to practice martial arts seriously. He should be the best choice in the capital. You must be happy in your heart and really sad. It’s just that I didn’t get the champion.”

The pomelo white flame that was seen through became weaker, but still angry: "You were taught by the emperor's teacher, how can the one surnamed Wang compare..."

Zhao Liangyue blocked Youbai's mouth, and said helplessly, "It's not something you can talk about casually, not even in your own courtyard, what if the walls have ears?"

Youbai quickly bowed his head to admit his mistake, and Zhao Liangyue let go.

"By the way, what happened to the matter that asked you to check?"

Youbai moved closer to Zhao Liangyue's ear, and whispered, "The kind of pigeon with a light blue tail is used by Uncle Song to communicate, but son, you definitely can't think of who Uncle Song is?"

"Really, who is it?"

"Just the one from the Ministry of Punishment, Chu Shangshu."

Zhao Liangyue was stunned for a moment, then thought of something, smiled lightly, and told Youbai: "Go and catch a few, and then let Uncle Song roast them for you, saying that you caught them by accident."