I, Jiajing, successfully cultivated immortality

At the same time, in the Forbidden City, in the room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

At this time, Feng Bao looked at Lu Fang who had come uninvited, and without caring about anything else, he quickly put down the brush in his hand and stepped forward to greet him.

"The child has met his godfather!"

"Ah."

Upon hearing this, Lu Fang looked Feng Bao up and down, responded in a subtle way, and then sat down on her own.

"Daddy, drink tea!"

After taking the teacup and taking a sip, Lu Fang put down the teacup in her hand, looked in the direction of Feng Bao, and asked, "Is it your turn to be on duty again tonight?"

As soon as Lu Fang finished speaking, Feng Bao immediately lowered his head and responded without hesitation: "Yes, godfather, the child is the youngest and has been in the ceremonial office for the shortest time, so it is natural for the child to be on duty. ”

Lu Fang was noncommittal about Feng Bao's words. After pondering for a moment, she warned: "Despite this, you should pay more attention to your health!"

When Lu Fang said this, he paused for a moment and then added: "Sooner or later, my godfather will retire from this position. When the time comes, I will have to count on you to take over!"

When Lu Fang finished speaking, Feng Bao's face was full of fear and anxiety, and he responded repeatedly: "Daddy, you are joking. From what I see, your body is still strong!"

After Feng Bao finished speaking, he immediately stepped forward and carefully rubbed Lu Fang's shoulders.

"Daddy, is the intensity still appropriate?"

"Ah."

Seeing that Lu Fang didn't raise any objection to this, Feng Bao breathed a sigh of relief, and then he rubbed Lu Fang's shoulders harder.

Suddenly, Lu Fang suddenly said this: "Feng Bao, if one day you inherit the position of godfather, don't forget to take care of Lu Bing's son Lu Yi."

When Feng Bao heard this, his pupils suddenly shrank, and his face was full of shock that could not be concealed.

It took a long time for Feng Baofang to react to the shocking news, and then he asked Lu Fang tremblingly: "God... Godfather, haven't Jinyiwei always been at odds with Dongchang? Why do you want to..."

After hearing Feng Bao's words, Lu Fang slowly opened her eyes and asked with a half-smile, "Who told you that Jin Yiwei and Dongchang can't deal with them?"

"All this is just to avoid suspicion. Remember, Jinyiwei and Dongchang are the same family. You are one of me, and you are one of me!"

After learning the news, Feng Bao's face was filled with a look of sudden realization. All the things that he could not figure out in the past had answers at this moment.

Then, Feng Bao suppressed the excitement in his heart, leaned down, and said in a deep voice: "Thank you godfather for your advice, I will remember it!"

The reason why Feng Bao was so excited was because Lu Fang really cultivated him as his successor.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have told him the secret behind it.

Seeing that Feng Bao listened to his words, Lu Fang's face showed a look of relief, nodded, and said slowly: "Yes, not bad."

……

At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps coming from outside the supervisor's room.

Not long after, several Dongchang factory guards wearing small pointed hats and brown clothes entered the room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

After the Dongchang factory guards entered the duty room, they knelt down on one knee, looked in the direction of Lu Fang, and said in a deep voice: "Eunuch Lu!"

Hearing this, Lu Fang glanced at the Dongchang factory guards, nodded, and said: "If you have any news, tell me!"

When the leading Dongchang factory guard heard this, he immediately looked embarrassed and looked at Feng Bao next to Lu Fang.

Seeing this situation, Feng Bao lowered his head at the right time, bowed his hand to Lu Fang, and said respectfully: "Godfather, I suddenly remembered that there are still things that need to be dealt with, so I'll take the first step!"

After Feng Bao finished speaking, he was about to leave. Unexpectedly, he was stopped by Lu Fang before he took a few steps.

"Stop, who asked you to leave!"

"But...but godfather..."

Lu Fang took in the expression on Feng Bao's face, shook her head, and said angrily: "You can stay here as long as you want, there's so much nonsense!"

After Lu Fang finished speaking, she looked at the leading Dongchang factory guard, waved her hand, and gave instructions: "There is no need to be shy, just say what you have to say."

"Yes, Eunuch Lu!"

After receiving Lu Fang's specific instructions, the leading Dongchang factory guard described the situation he had discovered.

"Eunuch Lu, according to your previous instructions, we are secretly watching Mr. Hu Ge. Not long ago, Mr. Hu Ge rushed to the Yan Mansion after receiving a letter from Mr. Xiao Ge. The two discussed it in the hall for a while. "

"After the discussion was over, Mr. Hu Ge said goodbye and left. Then, Dr. Li from Tai Hospital was secretly invited into Yan's Mansion."

Lu Fang, who was sitting at the top, couldn't help but frowning after listening to the report of the Dongchang guard. Her fingers tapped on the handle of the chair very rhythmically, making a "ta-da" sound.

"It seems that the previous news from the DPRK about Mr. Yan Ge's illness is true. During the day, Mr. Yan Ge seemed to be holding on."

"On weekdays, Mr. Xiaoge doesn't get along well with Hu Zongxian, but now, Mr. Xiaoge doesn't care about this. He personally wrote a letter to Hu Zongxian and invited him to come to Yan's Mansion to discuss matters."

"This shows that the situation has reached an extremely serious stage."

"Since Yan Ge is always ill, what Dr. Li said earlier was a lie. This ignorant person actually dared to deceive His Majesty!"

Thinking of this, the expression on Lu Fang's face suddenly became extremely cold and her breathing became rapid.

Just when he was about to send out the factory guards to drag Dr. Li, who dared to bully the emperor, to the east factory to clean up, Lu Fang suddenly calmed down.

"No, Doctor Li is usually very cautious. Even if you give him ten courages, he would not dare to commit the crime of deceiving the emperor."

"Besides, he is now at the forefront of the storm. If he dares to deceive His Majesty, he will definitely die in an ugly way."

"Assuming what Dr. Li said before is true, then there are only two possibilities left. The first possibility is that Dr. Li was not skilled in medicine and failed to discover the disease suffered by Mr. Yan Ge."

This idea was rejected by Lu Fang as soon as it came up, because Dr. Li's medical skills were among the best in the entire hospital.

"Then there is only the second possibility. When Dr. Li diagnosed and treated Mr. Yan Ge earlier, Mr. Yan Ge was not sick. But not long ago, Mr. Xiaoge discovered the disease that Mr. Yan Ge suffered. While inviting Hu Zongxian to come to discuss countermeasures, he also invited Dr. Li for diagnosis and treatment."

"In this case, it makes sense, but then again, what is the disease that Mr. Yan Ge is suffering from?"

"Mr. Yan Ge didn't cough much today. It doesn't look like he has a recurrence of tuberculosis at all, right?"

Time passed by slowly, and I don’t know how long it had passed. Lu Fang came back to his senses, looked in the direction of the factory guard in the East Factory, and said: "Okay, you don’t have anything to do here. Go down first." !”

When the Dongchang factory guards heard Lu Fang's words, they immediately felt as if they had been granted amnesty and responded in a deep voice: "Yes, Eunuch Lu!"

After that, the Dongchang factory guards didn't hesitate at all and immediately left the room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

Although Feng Bao looked very calm on the side, his heart was already turbulent and he could not calm down for a long time. This could be seen from his slightly trembling hands hidden in his sleeves.

"Speaking of which, why did my godfather send people to keep an eye on Hu Zongxian? Also, why did Xiao Ge ask Hu Zongxian to discuss something? Why did he invite Dr. Li to visit? Could it be related to the rumors that have been circulating in the government and the public recently?"

At this time, these doubts, like wool with no thread, were intertwined in Feng Bao's mind, making him confused.

Then, he plucked up the courage, looked in the direction of Lu Fang, and asked cautiously: "Fuck... godfather, what you said before..."

At this time, Lu Fang had no intention of clarifying Feng Bao's doubts. He just shook his head and said to himself: "Feng Bao, just watch, something big will happen soon." ”

After Lu Fang finished speaking, without waiting for Feng Bao to respond, she walked at a leisurely pace and left the ceremony supervision room.

……

These recent rumors in the government and the public have not affected the students who are about to participate in the palace examination at all.

Except for a few, most of the students are seizing this last moment, immersing themselves in desks all day long, studying hard, in order to get a good ranking in the palace examination.

And in the blink of an eye, it was time for the palace examination.

Since the questions for the palace examination have already been drawn up, Zhang Juzheng, as a fellow examiner, is only responsible for planning the related examination procedures in advance.

The general process of the palace examination is that officials from the Ministry of Rites serve as guides to guide the tributes who have passed the examination to enter the Huangji Hall, then line up north, and then the emperor goes to the Huangji Hall to preside over the examination.

After the tributes who came to take the exam saluted the emperor, the deacon would announce the board with the test questions in front of the candidates, and then the eunuch in the palace would hand the test paper with the test questions to the officials of the Ministry of Rites .

Finally, officials from the Ministry of Rites will distribute the examination papers to the candidates. After kowtowing to the emperor, the examination can begin.

There was only one test in the palace examination, which was about policy theory. Candidates who took part in the exam would discuss the policy questions proposed by the emperor. The emperor proposed the policy questions and the scholars wrote the policy essays.

The location for holding the palace examination was also set in the Huangji Palace just like the usual imperial examinations.

At this time, in the Huangji Hall, just like last time, dozens of tables were neatly placed. In order to ensure that the candidates could clearly see the questions on the test papers, all the candles in the Huangji Hall were lit, and the examination was carried out by specialized officials. Take care to avoid accidents.

In order to prevent water from escaping, the Imperial Guards have already been standing ready outside Huangji Palace. Not only that, there are also several large water tanks filled with water in the square outside Huangji Palace, equipped with buckets, rattan buckets, etc. Bamboo ladders, axes, saws and other tools.

Once a water leak occurs, the imperial guards waiting outside Huangji Hall can arrive as soon as possible and put out the fire.

Seeing that it was almost time, Li Chunfang immediately looked at Zhang Juzheng who was not far away, nodded, and said slowly: "It's almost time, let's get started!"

"Ah."

After Li Chunfang finished speaking, she turned around and nodded to the subordinates beside her.

"Yes, Lord Shangshu!"

The subordinate quickly understood and left quickly after responding.

Not long after, many students who came to participate in this palace examination entered the Huangji Palace in an orderly manner under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Etiquette.

The seats for the palace examination have already been arranged according to the results of the general examination, so Xu Shixing's seat is at the front.

At the same time, his location is also the closest to Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng. After sitting in his seat, Xu Shixing looked at Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng not far away, his face full of excitement that could not be concealed.

You know, Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng, one was the number one scholar in the 26th year of Jiajing, and the other was the Minister of the Ministry of War and a cabinet minister.

It is no exaggeration to say that these two people stood at the top of the Ming Dynasty's civil servants and were the goals that countless students dreamed of achieving.

Perhaps to relieve his own tension, Xu Shixing took a deep breath and began to look at everything around him.

For him, everything in front of him was so novel. Gradually, Xu Shixing felt that his restless heart gradually calmed down.

"Xu Shixing, you Han Chuang have been studying hard for so many years, isn't it just for today?"

"Don't have any regrets, just do your best!"

After consoling himself in this way, Xu Shixing's face was full of determination, and he clenched his fists unconsciously.

……

And soon, the test papers for this palace examination were also distributed. The students who participated in this palace examination couldn't help but feel relieved after seeing the above questions. The above questions were.

"It is a foregone conclusion that the imperial court will defeat the Tatars. How can we prevent the Tatars from rising again and eliminate the border troubles once and for all..."

After Xu Shixing saw the exam questions, he did not rush to answer them. Instead, he took up writing after pondering for a long time.

"The ancients often say that China is in good order, and the barbarians submit to themselves, stick to their ancestral heritage, and do not take territory outside the territory. However, the ministers believe that the barbarians fear power but not virtue. The barbarians are weak and will follow the strong. They will gather small countries to attack big ones. If you are in trouble, you will be humble, and if you are strong, you will be arrogant and rebellious. This is the temperament of the barbarians, and it is the result of nature..."

At this time, Xu Shixing had entered a state of concentration. He just wanted to express his opinions, but he did not realize that Zhang Juzheng and Li Chunfang's eyes were on him from time to time. Wander.

Seeing Xu Shixing looking confident and writing vigorously, a hint of approval flashed across Zhang Juzheng's face, and he nodded subtly.

Three hours passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time to hand in the paper.

Before that, Xu Shixing had checked his answer sheet many times. After the corresponding official collected his test paper, Xu Shixing breathed a sigh of relief.

Ever since he rushed to the capital to take this exam, Xu Shixing's nerves had actually been highly tense.

In addition to the heavy burden of studies, Xu Shixing also wanted to get the top score in the exam, and then have people from the Shen family come to his door, begging him to recognize his ancestors.

Since the examination papers were collected, Xu Shixing felt an invisible shackles breaking away from his body.

After the examination papers were collected, the end of this palace examination was also announced.

Subsequently, under the guidance of officials from the Ministry of Rites, these candidates who participated in this palace examination left the Huangji Palace in an orderly manner.

Before the results of the palace examination are announced, endless carnivals and banquets await these candidates.

After returning to the hotel where he was staying, he saw Xu Shixing slumped on the bed without any image.

Perhaps because his long-cherished wish came true, he didn't want to do anything at this moment, and there was always a feeling of emptiness in his heart.

"After the results of the imperial examination are announced, I will inform my father of the news as soon as possible!"

Xu Shixing thought as he looked around, looking at everything familiar in the room.

After so many years of careful care, Xu Shixing has long regarded Xu Shangzhen, the prefect of Suzhou, as his father.

And after he got the top prize in the exam, having people from the Shen family come to his door in person to beg him to recognize his ancestors was just to give an explanation to himself who had suffered so much suffering and discrimination in his childhood.

Just as Xu Shixing's thoughts were racing, there was a slight knock on the door, and not long after, Zhu Shunxian's voice was heard.

"Brother Rumo, Brother Wen and I are here to see you. Anyway, the palace exam is over. Let's go out and have a nice walk tonight!"

"Ah."

After Xu Shixing responded, he got up from the bed and opened the door.

……

After collecting all the answer sheets for this palace examination, the work of grading began in an orderly manner.

The specific rankings of the palace examination will be announced after two days as usual.

The officials who can participate in reviewing the palace examination answers are, without exception, officials with extensive knowledge and experience.

At this time, the room was extremely quiet, and the faces of many officials responsible for reviewing the answer sheets were full of solemn looks.

Everyone was silently reviewing the answer sheets in front of them, and no one spoke.

After all, with the lessons learned from the last imperial examination, no one dares to relax.

What if this time is like the last time, if some short-sighted candidates blatantly oppose the court's policies and discuss political affairs in their answer sheets, wouldn't they themselves suffer unreasonable disasters?
Since the last incident, in addition to the candidates, the officials involved in marking have been implicated to varying degrees.

Some were transferred to idle positions, and some saw no hope of official career and had no choice but to choose to become officials.

They all saw this scene, and no one wanted to be next.

Therefore, these officials frowned during the marking process and secretly prayed that everything would go well and that what happened last time would not happen again.

Perhaps it was the sincere prayers of these officials that worked. Until now, they have not encountered a similar situation.

All candidates' answer sheets are in accordance with the rules.

As the grading progress progressed, the atmosphere in the room gradually relaxed.

All the officials who participated in the evaluation were secretly relieved. It seemed that the candidates this time knew the rules very well and did not mess around.

At this time, Zhang Juzheng was seen putting aside the answer sheet in his hand. The answer sheet in his hand had just been rated as second grade by him.

"Alas, the solutions proposed are superficial. They dare not make bold innovations. They just want to get a stable official position."

"In that case, do as you wish!"

After finishing his emotion, Zhang Juzheng shook his head and continued to join in the process of reviewing the answer sheets.

At this moment, an official responsible for reviewing the answer sheet came to Zhang Juzheng after hesitating for a long time and said cautiously: "Mr. Zhang Ge, please take a look at this answer sheet!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Juzheng responded in a subtle way, then took the answer sheet from the official responsible for reviewing the answer sheet, and read the content on it with special concentration, only to see what was written on it.

"The ancients often say that China is in good order, and the barbarians submit to themselves, stick to their ancestral heritage, and do not take territory outside the territory. However, the ministers believe that the barbarians fear power but not virtue. The barbarians are weak and will follow the strong. They will gather small countries to attack big ones. If you are in trouble, you will be humble, and if you are strong, you will be arrogant and rebellious. This is the temperament of the barbarians, and it is the result of nature..."

After reading the article on the answer sheet several times, Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard gently, with a look of relief on his face, and commented: "Well, although this article seems a bit deviant, it is What an unexpected appetite for His Majesty!"

Seeing Zhang Juzheng giving such an evaluation, the remaining officials responsible for evaluating the papers also gathered around, their faces full of curiosity that could not be concealed.

They wanted to see what was written on the answer sheet that could make Zhang Juzheng give such an evaluation.

Seeing this situation, Li Chunfang on the side couldn't restrain her curiosity and came to Zhang Juzheng.

When Zhang Juzheng saw Li Chunfang arriving, he immediately handed the answer sheet to Li Chunfang's hand and said with a smile: "Master Li, take a look at it too!"

"Ah."

After Li Chunfang responded, she took the answer sheet from Zhang Juzheng and read it word by word.

When Li Chunfang saw the above content, he couldn't help but frowned, because in his opinion, the meaning of this policy was very simple, that is, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and one should not have any mercy towards the barbarians. heart of.

Even if the two sides want to talk, they have to convince the other side before talking. As mentioned at the beginning of this policy article, barbarians fear power but not virtue.

Soon, Li Chunfang browsed through all the contents of this policy article.

After that, a look of hesitation appeared on Li Chunfang's face. She looked in the direction of Zhang Juzheng and asked: "Mr. Zhang Ge, is this policy article too extreme? After all... "

When Zhang Juzheng heard what Li Chunfang said, he shook his head and said resolutely: "No, on the contrary, this policy article is very to your Majesty's liking!"

"After all, His Majesty did the same thing. Whether it was eradicating the Japanese pirates on the southeast coast or dealing with the Tatars, His Majesty has always practiced this principle."

"His Majesty has a very clear attitude towards the barbarians, which is to kill until they are frightened and until they no longer dare to invade my Ming Dynasty's borders. Look, isn't this very effective?"

When Zhang Juzheng said this, he paused for a moment and continued: "If your Majesty were to choose, he would definitely rate this policy article as the first place."

Li Chunfang saw that Zhang Juzheng was so sure, and after deliberation for a long time, she also expressed her agreement: "Since Mr. Zhang Ge thinks there is no problem, then it is decided, and this policy article will be tentatively ranked first!"

After Li Chunfang finished speaking, the officials present who were responsible for reviewing the answer sheets couldn't help but have a look of shock on their faces.

At the same time, they became increasingly curious about the content of the policy article.

At this moment, Li Chunfang seemed to suddenly think of something, and asked: "By the way, let's check, who wrote this policy article?"

"I obey, Lord Shangshu!"

A subordinate quickly left after responding. When he came back, his face was filled with shock that could not be concealed. He faced the direction of Li Chunfang and reported in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this policy is The article seems to be written by Xu Shixing!”

Everyone present was naturally familiar with Xu Shixing's name, because Xu Shixing had just won the first place in the examination not long ago.

"Hiss, this is two yuan in a row. This kid's future will be immeasurable!"

Soon, Xu Shixing's policy article spread among the officials responsible for reviewing the answer sheets at the scene.

"Well, this policy article makes sense. If you blindly extend favors to the barbarians, you will not only fail to achieve the intended goal, but you will lose more than you gain!"

"If you do this, it will inevitably chill the hearts of the people and soldiers!"

"Yes!" (End of chapter)