cabinet first lady

Chapter 85

After the new year, it will be the sixth year of Xinde, which happens to be the year of the triennial examination.

After the new year, the Ministry of Rites and Shuntian Mansion began to prepare for the examination.However, the number of chief examiners, fellow examiners, and examiners for the imperial examination has not yet been determined.

In every session of the examination, many new students will enter the court, and they may be the ministers of the future court.As an examiner, you can recruit these students into your own sect and let them become your own disciples. This is a good opportunity to expand your strength, and you can also secretly promote people you value. Therefore, the Queen Mother Qiu's faction attaches great importance to the number of examiners in the general examination.

Naturally, Emperor Yuan would not compromise and let the students who were about to step into the court become Queen Mother Qiu's people.

Later, Zhang Anyi suggested: "Your Majesty, it is better to let Grand Master Sun hold the position of chief examiner."

This Grand Scholar Sun is a great Confucian who devotes himself to studying academics, and he is also loyal to the Holy Majesty.

Emperor Yuan thought for a while and felt that this proposal was good, and said: "Scholar Sun is also a great Confucian of the Three Dynasties, does anyone have any objections?"

In fact, Zhang Anyi's voice as the chief examiner was very high.

Zhang Anyi is the fourth and the youngest one in this dynasty. Since the reign of Emperor Wu, he has successively compiled "Guanghua Chongdi Shilu", "Guanghua Sacred Code", etc., and also served as the general manager of "Pingle Dadian". When it comes to editing, in terms of talent and learning, no one can match him except for some old Confucian scholars.And the reason why he is slightly inferior to those great Confucians is not because he is not talented enough, but because he is not young enough. Compared with those great Confucians who have passed their sixtieth birthday, he is still too young.

It would be perfect for a great Confucian who is intuitively academic and doesn't care about partisan disputes to be the examiner. The next examiner is Emperor Yuan and Queen Mother Qiu, who compete for places, almost half and half.

Among them, Shen Wei was also among the examiners.

Knowing that Zhang Anyi was not the chief examiner of this exam, nor was he among the same examiners, one person in the Zhang residence was very happy——Zhang Anchao.

He failed the ranking twice and avoided once. He has never been on the gold list.But he still had some thoughts in his heart, unwilling to give up like this, and wanted to continue the exam.

Ruan Muyang heard that Zhang Anchao was going to take part in the examination, so he didn't know what to say.

"The third brother seems to have been preparing for a long time without telling everyone in the house." When she mentioned this matter to Zhang Anyi, she said.

She subconsciously felt that Zhang Anchao and Chen Shi hadn't revealed any rumors before, and they were guarding against them.

Zhang Anyi smiled, gently stroking Ruan Muyang's bulging stomach and said: "Actually, he doesn't have to be like this. If he can really pass the exam with his ability, I won't stop him." When Ruan Muyang was pregnant with Zhang Qingshi, At first he wasn't by her side, but this time, as if he wanted to make up for it, he gave her all his tenderness and pampering.

Enjoying the warmth at this moment, Ruan Muyang hooked his lips.This time, Youxi started to take care of her body early on. Her complexion is better than usual, her face is slightly rounder than before, and her skin is fair and clear.

She knew that if Zhang Anchao could really pass the exam, Zhang Anyi would definitely not stop him.She knew that he was more tolerant of Zhang's family members than others.

The actions of Zhang Anchao and Chen's were too petty.

But when the test results came out, Zhang Anchao was still not on the list.

When Ruan Muyang heard the news, he sighed slightly in his heart.

The next day when she was looking for Zhang Qingshi to drink medicine in the mansion, she ran into Mrs. Chen.Zhang Qingshi is naughty, he doesn't like to drink medicine very much, every time he takes medicine, there will be a fight for a long time, and Ruan Muyang has to coax him personally.

"Second sister-in-law." Chen looked at Ruan Muyang with a little averted eyes, as if he was very embarrassed, and seemed to be mixed with other emotions.

Ruan Muyang saw through and didn't point it out, nodded, and didn't mention the matter of the test, but asked: "Did the third sibling see Twenty-one?"

Chen shook her head.

Ruan Muyang didn't say much to her, and went to Zhang Qingshi after saying hello.As she walked, she recalled the look in Chen's eyes just now. Besides embarrassment, there seemed to be a hint of resentment.

Could it be that she and Zhang Anchao blamed Zhang Anyi for failing the ranking?

This year's general examination and palace examination are particularly interesting.When the gold list of the final palace examination came out, everyone in the court was eagerly waiting.

Among the three in the first class: Wu Zhen, the champion of the new division, came from a poor family. After ten years of hard study, he finally made it to the top. The second place came from the Zhou family in Jinling. He was related to the Qiu family. He was obviously from the Queen Mother Qiu. Guozijian Jiansheng, a native of Yuyao, Zhejiang, is also a big family in the local area.

It has been more than half a month since all the students who won the gold list were arranged.

The first three were admitted to the Imperial Academy, and two of the second and third were admitted to the Imperial Academy.

The official department and the official department have been busy for half a month and finally relaxed.In the evening, Zhang Anyi and Shen Wei came out of Wenyuan Pavilion together, and chatted about the students who won the gold list in this subject.

"The second place among the first three is the Queen Mother Qiu. Now the Queen Mother Qiu is using various methods to win over these people who are about to become officials. As a fellow examiner, who do you think is more useful?" Zhang Anyi asked.

As a fellow examiner, she does know these people better than Zhang Anyi. Shen Wei thought for a while and said: "Wu Zhen has a honest and upright personality, and he will definitely not be used by the queen mother, but his temperament will definitely suffer some disadvantages at the beginning. Compared with him, I think that Tanhua with the surname Chu is more suitable for the officialdom. He is a supervisor of the Imperial College. He has a little more contacts in the capital, contacts with more people, and is more tactful. But whether he can withstand the bewitching of the Queen Mother is unknown. .”

"Then let's take a look again." Zhang Anyi looked up at the still dark sky, and said with some emotion, "It's too late, in the blink of an eye, it's been many years since you and I took part in the exam."

"Yes." Shen Wei was also emotional.The two of them should be the most glorious of their year and now.Some of the remaining people are still in court, and in the current situation, they either protect themselves wisely, or stand on their side, and some of them were drawn over by the Queen Mother Qiu, and some of them had long been in the court of Emperor Wu, Ling Ling, etc. During the turmoil of the emperor's two dynasties, people's heads fell to the ground and their heads were in different places.Those who have been dispatched all the time and cannot be reused are now the most leisurely and comfortable.

Shen Wei felt a little heavy because of Zhang Anyi's words, so he didn't speak on the way back to the official residence.

Back at the official residence, she found that the empty courtyard next door was bustling with activity.

Yin Ji used to live in that courtyard, but since Yin Ji had his own mansion, it became vacant.

"Who wants to live in next door?" Shen Wei called a steward and asked.She and Yin Ji, an official with an official position, lived alone in the same yard, thinking that she had only one room for a long time back then.After thinking about it, people who can live in a courtyard in an official house have mansions in the capital and will not live here.

The steward showed great respect to Yin Ji, and replied: "Go back to Lord Shen, the yard will be vacant after Lord Yin moved out, and it happens that the tributes of this year will move in, so let the four of them live in one yard."

"So that's how it is." Shen Wei nodded, "Empty is also empty, it's good for them to live in."

After finishing speaking, when Shen Wei was about to go back to his yard, he heard the steward yell "Chu Tanhua", and stopped in his tracks.

This person was Tanhua Chuqi who was the third one mentioned by Zhang Anyi when she left the palace at night.

"Students pay homage to Mr. Shen." Shen Wei was the same examiner this time, and Chu Qi claimed that there was nothing wrong with the students, and seemed a little close.

Shen Weicun had the intention of drawing him to the door, he curled his lips into a smile, and said, "Editor Chu."

Chu Qi glanced at the courtyard next door, and said, "I didn't expect Mr. Shen to live next door. In the future, if the students don't understand something, they may bother Mr. Shen." Although Chu Qi is a scholar, he is tall and wears There was an aggression that ordinary scholars did not have.

This strange feeling made Shen Wei retreat a little unconsciously.

"Editor Chu is being polite." She asked, "Where is Editor Chu from?"

"From Yuyao, Zhejiang."

Shen Wei's eyes moved slightly, and he said with a smile: "It's such a coincidence that my ancestral home is also Yuyao, Zhejiang. It seems that I am from the same hometown."

Chu Qi was obviously also a bit surprised, with a strong smile on his face, and a pair of eyes staring at Shen Wei: "It is indeed a coincidence, please take care of Master Shen in the future."

Zhang Anyi's facial features are considered sharp among scholars, but this Chu Qi is even worse, he can't see the bookishness at all.

Because he was from the same town, Shen Wei was a little more kind to Chu Qi, and also ignored the aggression emanating from him that made her feel uncomfortable.

"Okay." She nodded and left with her hands behind her back.

For some reason, she always felt that this Chu Qi looked at her strangely.

In this way, there were four more neighbors next door to Shen Wei, including this year's new champion Wu Zhen.

On the second day, due to some delays, Shen Wei came back from the palace a little late.When she was a little hungry, she passed by the next door and smelled a scent.She has lived in the official residence for so many years, but she has never smelled this kind of dish. It is obvious that these few newcomers are starting small stoves.

Still young after all.

Shen Wei pursed his lips very tolerantly, and went back to his yard.

After a while, someone came from next door, it was Chu Qi.

"Did Mr. Shen just come back? In order to celebrate the housewarming, some of the students specially set up a table of food and wine. I wonder if Mr. Shen will show you some face?"

As soon as Chu Qi stood at the door, he almost blocked the entire door, which made Shen Wei, who had just opened the door with his hands still on the door, take a few steps back involuntarily.After all, men and women are not close.

Facing him, Shen Wei wanted to refuse for no reason, but the glutton in his stomach was aroused by the fragrance of vegetables just now, and he was really hungry at this moment.

Chu Qi seemed to see hesitation on Shen Wei's face, and said with a smile: "Master Shen, the students won't eat you again."

This tone sounds really strange.

Feeling that he was at a disadvantage for no reason, Shen Wei frowned.Obviously she is a cabinet scholar and minister of the Ministry of Rites, and her grade is not known to be much higher than these young people who have just entered the Imperial Academy.

She put up her second-rank Dayuan airs, her delicate and fair face was serious and aloof: "Thank you very much."

When Wu Zhen and the others saw that Chu Qi had gone out for a while and came back, they brought Mr. Shen back, they were startled, they all stood up, and respectfully saluted Shen Wei: "See Mr. Shen."

Seeing their restrained appearance, Shen Wei was satisfied.This is the attitude that a student who has just entered an official position should have.

"Sit down, you don't have to restrain yourself." Shen Wei said.

Chu Qi at the side said: "Yes, Mr. Shen is very kind, please sit down and continue."

Wu Zhen looked at Shen Wei and then at Chu Qi, a blush appeared on her fair face.

The expressions of the other two looked back and forth between the two of them, and they also showed meaningful smiles, and then they looked at each other and smiled.

Shen Wei frowned, looking puzzled, and looked at Chu Qi suspiciously.

Chu Qi and the others not only prepared a table of food, but also some wine.

Shen Wei sat with the four of them without airs at all, and after a while they became less restrained and began to toast to Shen Wei.

Shen Wei couldn't drink much in the first place, plus he was hiding a big secret of deceiving the emperor, so he was extremely cautious. Most of the social gatherings on weekdays were with Zhang Anyi. Even if he couldn't drink as well as her, he would help her stop drinking. in case.

Feeling that it was almost enough for her, Shen Wei refused and said, "I can't drink anymore, I have to go to the cabinet tomorrow, you go ahead." She felt that if she sat down again, she would definitely get drunk by these students, she wanted to leave.

"Master Shen." Chu Qi stopped her with a smile and said, "Master Shen, at least finish drinking the wine toasted by the students before leaving."

Seeing Chu Qi's attitude of refusing to drink and refusing to let her go, Shen Wei thought for a while, and she would not be drunk after another glass of wine, so she nodded, picked up the glass and said, "Okay, then have another drink, I'll go back after drinking, you guys continue."

"Who said it's one cup?" Chu Qi's eyes fell on Shen Wei's face, and he said with a smile, "Master Shen, we are from the same hometown, and the feeling of fellowship requires three cups."

In the end, Shen Wei refused but drank three cups.

"Okay, you guys continue." She was still conscious, but her feet were a little floating.

She was already very fair, but now her face was flushed because of drinking wine, as if she had applied rouge. In addition, the aura that was forced on her body disappeared due to drinking too much, making her unmasculine. After arguing, he looks like a very feminine and delicate young man.

Chu Qi suddenly grabbed her arm.

Shen Wei was startled, the force she felt on her arm made her subconsciously uneasy and wanted to break free.

She turned her head and smiled at Chu Qi.

"Students send Master Shen back."

"No need."

"Master Shen's feet are not stable, anyway, it's next door, the students will send the adults off."

Chu Qi's strength was a bit strong, Shen Wei couldn't refuse, so he had to send him off.Several times on the road, she lost her footing and fell directly into his arms.

"Okay, I'm coming, you go back." Finally reaching the door of the room, Shen Wei felt a little strange.

Chu Qi smiled: "Why don't the officials send you in?"

Shen Wei was so keen that she couldn't let Chu Qi send him in. His aggressive gaze and occasional intimate and ambiguous movements made her feel alarmed. "No need, I'll just call the servant." As she spoke, she called the servant loudly.

"Then Master Shen will rest early, and the students will leave."

Shen Wei nodded.

Seeing Chu Qi leave, she breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned again.

This Chu Qi is a bit strange.

On the second day when he went to the cabinet to deal with affairs, Zhang Anyi saw the tiredness between Shen Wei's brows and eyes, and asked, "What did you do yesterday?"

Shen Wei rubbed his aching head, he really drank too much last night, not only did he wake up today with a dry mouth, but also a terrible headache.She put down the memorial, took a sip of strong tea and said, "When I went back last night, Wu Zhen and Chu Qi, who lived in the official residence, took me for a drink, and I drank too much."

"You should be more careful yourself." Zhang Anyi reminded in a low voice.

His reminder reminded Shen Wei of something, he hooked his hand towards Zhang Anyi, and asked in a low voice: "Tell me, do I usually see that I am a woman like this?"

Zhang Anyi frowned, with a cold and dangerous look on his face: "But has anyone discovered anything?"

Shen Wei shook his head: "It should be fine."

She has been disguised as a man for so many years in the court, and she has long lost her femininity in her behavior. Even a suspicious person like Emperor Wu didn't notice it. It is impossible for a young man who has just stepped into the officialdom to notice it.

"This is not a trivial matter. You still have to be cautious. If something happens, tell me as soon as possible so that we can discuss a solution." Zhang Anyi's tone was somewhat serious.

Shen Weinv disguised herself as a man to take the imperial examination, entered the court, and finally became a close minister of the emperor. If this was discovered, it would shock the government and the public and make it impossible to end.

At that time, not only them, but many people will be implicated, and it will be a huge disturbance, involving a wide range of people.

Shen Wei nodded and said, "I know."

Although it is impossible for a junior who has just stepped into the court to know her identity, she decided to send someone to thoroughly investigate this Chu Qi just to be cautious.

Not long after returning to the official residence that night, the guard guarding her yard came to report, and Chu Qi begged to see her.

Shen Wei's heart skipped a beat, in order to find out his reality, he still met him.

"Master Shen, the students are here to make amends. The students got carried away last night and asked Master Shen to drink a few more glasses of wine. Is there something wrong with Master Shen?" Chu Qi looked respectful, but his eyes flickered from time to time. Shen Wei lingered on his body.

This feeling made Shen Wei very uncomfortable, the look in her eyes seemed a little ambiguous, and it seemed that as long as she showed a little cowardice and retreat, he would push himself even further.

"It's nothing, it's just a headache, you go down first, I'm going to rest." Shen Wei decided to urge Cha Chuqi's people to speed up while chasing the passengers.

Soon, the results came out.

Chu Qi's background is nothing special, it is very clean, the only special thing is - he is actually a broken sleeve.

No wonder he looked at himself that way.

Shen Wei was already more delicate and slender than ordinary men. He was over 25 years old but never got married. The two concubines who were rewarded by Lingdi back then were also sent away by her with an excuse. No one has seen her for so many years. After he came into contact with female sex, the officials in the court suspected that she was a broken sleeve and liked men.

Shen Wei thought, Chu Qi probably regarded himself as a good person like Long Yang.

This made her breathe a sigh of relief, but at the same time a little headache.

She had no other choice, and started to leave early and return late, hiding from Chu Qi.

A few days later, Zhang Anyi remembered what he was worried about before, and asked, "Have you checked? Has anyone found out your identity?"

Shen Wei shook his head: "I was suspicious."

She didn't tell Zhang Anyi about Chu Qi's interest in her, because she felt that she would be laughed at by a Duanxiu, which was too embarrassing.

After hiding from Chu Qi for a few days, Shen Wei finally felt a little cleaner.

But after all, they live next door, and they always leave early and return late, so there are still times when they meet.

"Master Shen."

Hearing Chu Qi's voice, Shen Wei's heart skipped a beat.But fortunately, he just cut off his sleeve and didn't realize that she was a woman.Shen Wei took a deep breath, turned around and asked with a smile that was neither intimate nor alienated: "What's the matter?"

Chu Qi sized Shen Wei up and asked, "Master Shen seems to be avoiding the students these days?"

"What am I doing hiding from you? Editor Chu's words are somewhat inexplicable." Shen Wei was still very calm on the surface.Compared with Shen Wei who has been up and down in the court for so many years, Chu Qi is still a little tender.But she has almost no experience in love affairs, and the aura that Chu Qi exudes is also very aggressive. If a woman throws herself into her arms, she can still have some experience in dealing with it, but Chu Qi is a man, and he is still a man who likes men. , This is a situation she has never encountered before.

She lost a little bit of mentality.

Shen Wei didn't know that ordinary men are very disgusted when they are touched by men, but what she showed was not that kind of disgust, but panic. This performance, coupled with the rumors in the court, made Chu Qi feel like sitting still. It is true that she is as good as Long Yang.

Obviously, Chu Qi is a veteran in this field, and has a special skill.

Chu Qi smiled and changed the subject: "Master Shen, the students encountered some doubts when sorting out the materials of "Pingle Dadian" in the Imperial Academy today. Can Master Shen give some advice to the students?"

This Shen Wei had no reason to refuse.She herself is the associate editor of Pingle Dadian.

"What problem did Editor Chu encounter?" she asked.

"Master Shen, it's not good for us to talk about this on the road, should we go to Master Shen's place or the student's place?" Chu Qi's words were particularly ambiguous.

Shen Wei's heart was full of alarm bells, and he felt that no matter where he went, it would be very bad. If he decided that she was refusing to welcome, and made a move on her, she would not be able to resist, and would reveal her identity.

"I suddenly remembered that I still have something to deal with. I have to go back to Wenyuan Pavilion. You go back first. I will look for you when I come back."

This official house feels unbearable.

On business grounds, Chu Qi naturally did not dare to stop him.

After leaving the official residence, Shen Wei was walking on the street, suddenly not knowing where to go.

It was inconvenient to disturb Zhang Anyi, and she might be laughed at if she found out, but she was worried about other people's place, fearing that she would accidentally be discovered while sleeping.

After stopping for a while on the street where there were almost no people in sight, she suddenly thought of someone.

Yin Fu.

Yin Ji was listening to the person monitoring Yin Yue's report on Yin Yue's movements in the past few days, when suddenly a servant came in and said, "My lord, Master Shen is here."

"What is she doing here so late?" Yin Ji raised his eyebrows, "Master Shen, please come in."

After a while, Shen Wei came in.

She is at the same rank as Yin Ji, and her qualifications in the cabinet are even deeper than Yin Ji's.They had been political enemies for a long time before, and Shen Wei helped Zhang Anyi to secretly stumbling Yin Ji a lot. The two of them knew each other, so she was not polite when she saw Yin Ji, and she acted like she was in the court. look.

With some vigilance, Yin Ji subconsciously turned his mind quickly, and said: "Why is Mr. Yin visiting late at night?"

Shen Wei cut to the chase: "Master Yin, I'll stay overnight."

(End of this chapter)