Chapter 78: Flowers and Growing Hate

The news of Xiao Fan becoming an official spread throughout Jiangpu County almost the moment the imperial edict was read.

The whole of Jiangpu County was in full swing.

It was not so easy to be an official in this era. The imperial examination system sets one obstacle after another for students who are determined to be an official. First, they must obtain the qualification of a child, and then take the examination of a scholar in the county college. The status of a scholar is not enough. It is only the lowest level of the literati class. You can only say that you have fame and fortune. You don’t have to kneel down when you meet the magistrate. If you want to go up a level, you have to take the provincial examination and examine the juren. Only when you want to go further, you have to take the examination of a Jinshi. Only when you pass the Jinshi can you officially become the qualification to be an official by the court, and you have a very high reputation among the people and respected by the people. The so-called "golden list title" among the people refers to the Jinshi list. Of course, the top scorer, the second scorer, the second scorer, the Tanhua, etc., were personally appointed by the emperor after participating in the palace examination.

Look, how difficult it is to be an official. The scientific examination is a war without gunpowder, but its cruelty is no less than the real battlefield battle. Countless students studied hard for ten or even twenty years, but they could not even be on the list of the golden list that literati were rushing towards.

But Xiao Fan became a senior official. After the 23rd day of the first lunar month, he was appointed as a scholar. Today, he was given an order to be a Jinshi. At the same time, he was given a forbidden palace to walk and accompany His Royal Highness to study...

Where is the Forbidden Palace? In the hearts of the people, the Forbidden Palace is the Heavenly Palace! It is the legendary place where the emperor lives. The emperor has decreed that this boy born in the farmer can actually walk in the Heavenly Palace, meet the emperor at any time and report to the state affairs. Who is the crown prince? That is the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Xiao Fan studied with the future emperor and lived together day and night. What a deep affection does this have to be saved. In the future, His Royal Highness the Grand Prince ascended the throne to the emperor. As the eldest minister of the emperor's residence, Xiao Fan went to the Jin Palace with the merit of the dragon. How great will his future be?

Xiao Fan respectfully praised the imperial edict, and still stood in front of the Yimen Gate of the county government, still smiling faintly, but when the onlookers looked at him, their eyes gradually changed, becoming respectful, fearful, respectful...

Since ancient times, the people have respected officials in their hearts. In their eyes, officials are unattainable people. Many people don’t even know what the county magistrate looks like in their lives, let alone Lord Xiao is the grandson who is a great man who will be highly valued in the future and is in a turbulent manner in the court.

Talent is talent, not something in the pool. Once the times are used, it will always soar into the sky. In the small pond of the Chen family, this golden dragon cannot be left behind.

Behind Xiao Fan, Cao Yi showed a happy expression. He was sincerely happy for Xiao Fan. Xiao Fan's official career was as expected. From the emperor's order to take the exam for scholars, he knew that Xiao Fan's career was about to begin.

Xiao Fan's expression was very plain and he didn't see any joy. If he had known the result of some things, his joy would naturally dilute a lot.

Under the awe of many people, Xiao Fan glanced at Xie Jin beside him. Xie Jin looked unhappy and still looked at him with hatred. It seemed that the two beats he had been beaten have left an indelible shadow in his heart.

Seeing his appearance, Xiao Fan suddenly remembered the purpose of the emperor sending him to promulgate. He couldn't beat him for nothing if he beat him. He had to apologize to others. Besides, this was also what Zhu Yuanzhang meant. The emperor had a fate, so how dare his ministers not follow him?

Intimately, he hooked Xie Jin's shoulders, Xiao Fan said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work in the long journey of Xie Xue, go to the yamen to have a drink. From now on, everyone will be officials in the court. I hope Xie Xue will take care of you..."

Xie Jin was staggered by Xiao Fan's actions and became more and more angry: "You evil thief! What kind of friendship do I have with you? Why should I drink with you? Don't go! I want to go back to the capital to retaliate..."

Xiao Fan still smiled and said, "Master Jie is really a person with temperament. I admire you very much. If I were you, I would definitely drink this glass of wine..."

Xie Jin thrust his chest and a tampered with his neck, and said angrily: "Why?"

"In order not to be beaten."

Xie Jin was suffocated, and his awesome momentum suddenly became weaker. His handsome face, with a bruised nose, turned blue and white, and he looked at Xiao Fan's gaze a little more fearful. Facing such a gentle-looking but a handsome colleague in the court who was like a good-looking man, Xie Jin was really grieved and sad, and a feeling of depression from a scholar meeting a soldier...

After stomping his feet hard, Xie Jin said with a stern look and timid voice: "You... dare you threaten me? I am an angel who declares the order..."

"Only those with wings are called angels. You don't even have feathers, and you can't even be considered a birdman..." Xiao Fan pulled Jin to the yamen without saying anything, just like a brothel who forced a prostitute in a brothel.

He plans to sincerely apologize to Jie Dazi later, and well, apologize with the order.

Xie Jin struggled hard while slashing the door frame of the county yamen gate. His official robe was torn to pieces and was so messy that he cried: "No! I won't go! I won't go even if I die. You must want to find a place where no one continues to beat me..."

"Go and go, Lord Xie, I can guarantee that he will never beat you..." Cao Yi made a fuss, and then gently beat Xie Jin's hand that was lying on the door frame...

"Help--"

Xie Jin's frightened cry for help gradually faded away.

The Jinyi's personal army accompanied him looked at each other. They really didn't understand how a simple promulgation turned into a farce. They wanted to intervene, but Xie Jin was an official, Xiao Fan had just become an official, and Cao Yi was even the official of Jiangpu's parents...

Finally, the Jinyi's personal soldiers reached a very correct conclusion: This must be the cruel power struggle in their officialdom, so we soldiers should not get involved.

Xie Jin's shrill voice floated out of the yamen: "...Meng Shengyun: We cannot bend,... I only drink one cup. I dare to ask me to drink more, and I will hit you and die in front of you!"

"Master Xie is really noble and loyal, unyielding. I admire you. Come, Brother Cao, put your big bowl out. Master Xie only drinks one cup, and you must let him enjoy this cup..."

The Eastern Palace attendant is under Chunfang, with a sixth rank in the official position, and has no power or power. His only identity is Taisun’s classmate, who attends class with Taisun and does homework after school...

But there are only such a small sixth-rank official who has no power, and many students from all over the country, who have been fighting for the blood and cannot compete for it. Why? Because the potential of this sixth-rank official is infinite.

The Taisun is the future emperor, the legal heir to the throne of the Ming Dynasty. He is a classmate with the Taisun. As he gets along day and night, the deeper the friendship becomes. In the future, the Taisun ascended the throne. As the old team of his residence, he is afraid that he will not be able to become a high-ranking official or take over the power?

Xiao Fan also understood this very well. When he became this official, he had countless eyes staring at him in secret, some envious, some flattering, and some jealous and resentful...

In short, since you step into the court, you must be mentally prepared to welcome everything.

Taking a light breath and slowly exhaled, Xiao Fan's heart was quiet. Looking at the simple and warm mountain temple, his eyes showed a little reluctance. The days of the house is like a temple and the clouds of servants are right in front of him, but what he cherishes is this small abandoned mountain temple. He spent the lowest point of his life here. In the future, he may have high officials and generous salaries, fresh clothes and angry horses, but the days spent here have become the most unforgettable memory in his heart and will never be erased for the rest of his life.

"I have to say hello to Brother Cao and help me keep this small temple. If I have time in the future, let's come back and stay for a few more days. It is very important to remember the bitterness and sweetness..." Xiao Fan murmured to himself.

Xiao Huamei's little face was also full of reluctance to leave, and he nodded vigorously after hearing this.

Taixu hummed impatiently: "You are a cheap man! Master Dao has lived enough of this life."

There is no property to take care of, and the three of them are all poor. Xiao Huamei cleaned up in the temple for a while before collecting a small baggage.

The three of them were about to stop and got on the carriage sent by Zhu Yunwen to pick them up, and drove to the capital.

This year was the early spring of the 30th year of Hongwu, and Xiao Fan officially entered the court.

Chen Siliu Mansion, Jiangpu County.

Xiao Fan's departure brought a huge psychological impact to the Chen family, but it did not have a great impact on the Chen family's career. After Xiao Fan left, he still said hello to Cao Yi very hard and asked Cao Yi to take care of the Chen family on weekdays. With the help of the county magistrate, the Chen family's career is now becoming more and more prosperous.

In the boudoir in the inner courtyard of the Chen family, a quiet and peaceful sound of piano echoes inside and outside the boudoir.

Chen Ying'er's eyes were half-closed, and she caressed a guqin with a calm face. A thin sandalwood was burned in front of the zither, and the faint smoke swayed in the elegant sound of the zither, dancing gracefully, and then drifted invisibly.

She still had that cold face, neither sad nor happy, as clear and pure as enlightenment, just like the sound of the piano she caressed by her simple hands, high and indifferent, quiet and natural, like a snow lotus on a lonely mountain, blooming quietly in the cold wind and snow, quietly withering, and no one except herself could appreciate her peerless beauty.

She jumped up to the attic with her zither in her arms. Her little face turned red, her small breasts undulate rapidly, and her face was filled with excitement: "Miss, Miss, son-in-law...ah, no, Xiao Fan, Xiao Fan...he has become an official!"

The elegant piano sound was paused, and then it continued to ring slowly.

"So what?" Chen Ying'er's tone was faint, and her pretty face was as cold as ever.

"He... he passed the scholarship, and then the emperor personally sent a high-ranking official to pass the imperial edict and gave him the title of Jinshi. I heard that he was also appointed as an official who accompanied the grandson to study..." Baoqin was like a tireless little bird, chirping constantly.

Chen Ying'er still caressed the strings calmly and said calmly: "What's up to me?"

Hu Qin's little face suddenly dimmed and he said quietly: "Miss..."

The sound of the piano turned in vain and suddenly became rapid and manic, like heavy rain, like a mountain collapse, like a tsunami, like a wave of thunder, and like a galloping horse. The simple and elegant tune suddenly became murderous, like millions of sharp steel knives, slaughtering creatures on the battlefield...

"when!"

The simple and elegant guqin seemed to be unable to stand the turbid and dirty killing aura. The fragile strings immediately broke, the manic sound of the zither stopped immediately, and the attic returned to tranquility, and the ray of burning sandalwood had already quietly extinguished...

On the slender fingers, a drop of bright red blood dripped on the guqin, so dazzling and so terrifying.

Baoqin said anxiously: "Miss, you..."

Chen Ying'er raised her jade hand lightly, as if nothing had happened, and her voice was as cold as usual: "Hold the Qin, clean up, let's go to the capital and tell her father that I will go to the capital to take care of Huibin Tower in person."

Baoqin said carefully: "Miss is going to find Xiao Fan...?"

Chen Ying'er sneered: "Look for him? Humph, he will come to me, no, he will come to beg me!"

Even if a person who is unfaithful is still a person who is unfaithful, he will have to pay the price!

Yingtian, the capital.

The Chunfang lecturer Huang Zicheng's mansion.

Huang Zicheng, Huang Guan, Qi Tai, and the Minister of War Ru Wei, four people gathered in the inner hall of Huang Mansion.

Huang Zicheng frowned and said in a deep voice: "All the Lords are the mainstay of the court. Recently, the emperor asked for the court because of the assassination of His Royal Highness the Grand Prince, and gradually recovered the situation of the Hu Lan case being implicated in the world. All the six ministries and nine ministers of the court were in turmoil. In the long run, who can still share the worries of Your Majesty? Do you have any way to deal with it?"

Huang Guan had a gloomy face, sighed a long time, and said sternly: "I have only had a few more contacts with the magistrate of Jiangpu. His Majesty was relieved of my position as Minister of Rites, and he almost lost his life because of this. What else do you mean by this?"

Qi Tai lowered his head and stared at the teacup in his hand with his eyes ecstatically, but he didn't know what he was thinking.

Ru Rong was slightly fat, with a smiling face, like a Maitreya Buddha, looking a little slick. She seemed to have never heard Huang Zicheng's words at all. Her small eyes looked around and focused all her attention on the arrangement of the Huang Mansion inner hall.

Huang Zicheng saw everyone's expressions and sighed heavily in his heart.

"Donalds, the court is in turmoil and the emperor is furious. I wonder how many people will be implicated. For the peace of the country and the country of our Ming Dynasty, I hope that the emperor can join the official and ask the emperor to report together, asking the emperor to temporarily stop the thunder and turn the wind and rain into auspiciousness. Otherwise, if this continues, it is difficult to guarantee that the court will be empty and there will be no one available when the Hu Lan case occurs. What do you think?"

Huang Guan and Qi Tai looked at each other and nodded. Qi Tai said in a deep voice: "For such a purposeless connection, there will indeed be many people who die in unjust prison. If the officials are not talented, they are willing to report together with Lord Huang."

Ru Wei smiled and shook her head, saying, "Mr. Huang may have thought things too seriously. The so-called will of heaven is unpredictable. The emperor acts like this and has his own principles. As a minister, it is fine if we can't guess the emperor's deep meaning, but we should not intervene randomly, so as not to ruin the emperor's plan. This move is not a way to be a minister. Haha, Lord Huang's request, but I do not agree with it..."

When the three of them secretly despised him, they were an old man in the officialdom, and they would not offend anyone or interfere with anything. From the seventh year of Hongwu to the present, they have become officials as slippery as loaches. What’s strange is that after so many times, others died, but he was a successful official career and rose to prominence. He became the Minister of War at the age of 40. It was really God’s eyesless.

Ru Wei didn't care about the contempt of the three of them, shook her fat big hands and laughed: "Mr. Huang, I'm hurrying out today. There are still many official documents in the Ministry of War. Haha, I'm so busy that I can't even spare time to chat with my colleagues. Let's talk slowly, I have to go back to read official documents. In the beginning of spring, the Tartars in the north may be coming again. If the border is in a hurry, it will be a pain to the soldiers in the front and even more so that I, the Minister of War. Let's talk slowly. This official will take the lead, accusation, and accusation..."

Ru Wei said, her fat body retreating. When he finished speaking, the person had arrived at the front hall. As soon as he finished speaking, he disappeared.

"A cowardly and courageless despicable villain!" Huang Zicheng cursed fiercely.

Huang Guan said in a hatred: "This guy ran very fast except when flattering the emperor, how could he have ever been tolerated?"

Qi Tai shook his head and smiled bitterly. He was the left minister of the Ministry of War, and Ru Wei was his immediate superior. Although he didn't like this boss very much,... others said Ru Wei, and he felt that he was blind.

Huang Zicheng looked at Qi Tai's embarrassing face, coughed twice, and said with a gloomy face: "Have you heard that? The emperor issued an edict yesterday that the emperor, who was named Xiao Fan, had just passed the imperial examination for scholars in Jiangpu County, and gave him the title of Jinshi, and also gave him the title of attendant of the Eastern Palace, and he will study with His Royal Highness the Grand Prince..."

Huang Guan slapped the table hard and said angrily: "Xiao Fan! It's this Xiao Fan! The Jiangpu County Magistrate seized the power of the magistrate, the prince was assassinated, and the emperor cleaned the court. Many matters are related to Xiao Fan! If this person enters the court and becomes an official, he will definitely become a treacherous minister of my Ming Dynasty!"

Huang Zicheng sneered: "A mere scholar was actually given the same Jinshi. What is Xiao Fan's ability to make the emperor favor so much?"

Qi Tai couldn't help but say, "Two lords, I don't know about other matters, but Xiao Fan reported to the emperor that day and proposed a disaster relief method. The lords thought it was quite reasonable. Did the two lords have some misunderstandings about him?"

Huang Zicheng shook his head and said, "It seems reasonable, but it is actually a big mistake. Disrespect for the ghosts and gods of heaven and earth is a way to cause disaster. If it makes the heaven angry, what is the use of disaster relief? Although Xiao Fan is a good person, his words and deeds are not right. I am worried... He studied with the Grandson. His Royal Highness is such a kind and righteous person. If he lives with such a treacherous and slanderous person day and night, he doesn't know what he will look like..."

Huang Guan sneered: "Mr. Huang is a Chunfang lecturer and a grandson's teacher. At that time, Xiao Fan will be taught by the master. The saint's words can educate the barbarians from all directions. Are you afraid that you can't teach a mere inferior student?"
Chapter completed!