After King Wei left, Cui Weizhen returned to the Zen room to paint.
He has been staying at Xiangguo Temple for more than ten days. Ye Zhenzhen was worried about disturbing him, so she only sent a letter once. However, the words in the letter could not tell everything, and she did not know how she was doing now. She would have to let Hong Zhiyuan go home to see her later.
one look.
The messy thoughts in his head didn't stop him from painting, but when he came back to his senses, he discovered that there was a jewelry design drawing somewhere on the rice paper. It was clearly a half-drawn fire avoidance drawing.
The man and woman in the picture are naturally him and Ye Zhenzhen. The scene recorded is exactly the scene of the two of them lying on the bed with their clothes half undressed before they parted.
Cui Weizhen: "..."
Even though he knew there was no one around, he was still startled. He looked around and then hurriedly put away the half-finished painting. His face was extremely hot - it was all King Wei's fault, if he hadn't been talking about the fire avoidance picture.
, there is no such thing anymore.
Cui Weizhen sat quietly to calm down. He picked up a Buddhist scripture and read it. The scene in the painting was still replaying in his mind. He began to fidget and glanced uncontrollably into the painting tube. There was obvious struggle in his eyes.
After a long while, he took a deep breath, put down the useless Buddhist scriptures in his hands, took out the half-finished painting and spread it on the desk. With a flourish of pen and ink, the lifelike painting slowly spread out on the rice paper.
Ye Zhenzhen didn't know that Cui Weizhen had crossed the bottom line and painted erotic pictures. Today Hong Zhiyuan was ordered to come back for a visit. She was very happy and asked him to take home the newly made pastries. After all, the food in the temple is not as convenient as at home. If you are hungry, you can eat some pastries to fill your stomach.
abdomen.
Cui Weizhen didn't come back, so Ye Zhenzhen didn't stop inquiring about the news. Unexpectedly, she actually found out a strange thing - although the rumors of scholars' fraud did not spread, almost everyone who was well-informed knew about it.
People all over the capital behave in a low-key manner, but the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Minister's Mansion have become high-profile.
Today's imperial examinations are not as strict as those of later generations. There is no anonymous system. Officials who serve as examiners and graders do not have to be isolated. They can travel between Gongyuan and their residences every day, and they have considerable freedom.
It is also true that countless scholars visit the Xiao family and other residences of chief and deputy examiners every day. In order to avoid suspicion, the marking officers will refuse to see the candidates, but the Xiao family is an exception.
The Xiao family not only received the visiting candidates, but also reportedly received gifts!
Ye Zhenzhen raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Yuyuan, how come you don't even know if someone has received a gift?"
That's right, today is another tea party for four people. I heard that Ye Zhenzhen has researched a new style of snacks. The three people who were impressed by her cooking skills heard the news and met at her house to eat and drink. All these gossips were just chatting.
It shook out when.
"What's so strange about this?"
Qin Yuyuan wiped the snack crumbs from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, took a slow sip of tea, touched her belly with satisfaction, and then said, "My personal servant's cousin's nephew is setting up a stall in front of Xiao's house to do business. You can see clearly
It is clear that those scholars went in with their hands full and came out empty-handed. What else is it if they are not accepting gifts?"
Since Qin Yuyuan could know about this behavior of accepting gifts in public, it is likely that other people would not miss the news. Everyone in the capital must know about the bribery accepted by the Minister of Personnel.
Ye Zhenzhen was amazed and asked her doubts, "The Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs has such a high position. He should be a cautious person. How could he do such a stupid thing?"
You don't say anything when you meet a scholar, but you still accept bribes. Is this because you think the official position is too hot?
Mo Qingwei knew better, and a look of contempt flashed in her eyes, "Xiao Yan has to mark test papers every day. How can he go out early and come back late to meet the candidates? The person who met him was his son Xiao Mingli. Xiao Mingli was a gambler. In the past few days,
Tian owed a huge sum of money in the gambling house. If he did not pay back the money, his hands and feet would be chopped off by the banker. He had no money, so he accepted bribes in the name of his father. Those scholars were also willing to befriend the son of the minister, and a wish
Fight as hard as you like."
In an era where joint sitting and father-son integration are important, regardless of whether it was Xiao Yan who did it or not, just based on what Xiao Mingli did, the stigma on him will never be cleared away.
Ye Zhenzhen faintly smelled the smell of conspiracy.
Especially after knowing that Xiao Yan was a member of Wang Ke's party, I had a vague suspicion in my mind. If not, why would Xiao Mingli be in debt sooner rather than later?
He is afraid that he will become a pawn used by those in power to fight for power.
Ye Zhenzhen shuddered and showed her face in front of the three people without hesitation.
Chu Ningyan was very calm. She didn't know whether it was because she was arrogant or because she was in the imperial capital. She was used to such conspiracy methods, so she said very naturally, "This is just an appetizer. After the test results are released, the Eight Immortals will cross the sea and show their magical powers."
Well, just watch, something big is going to happen in the capital again."
Qin Yuyuan echoed, "Yes, the atmosphere in Beijing has been strange recently. My father-in-law won't let my husband go out. If the results are released earlier, the truth will be revealed sooner or later, whether he is a human or a ghost. At least we can relax a little bit."
"Isn't it? The one in my family is going crazy at home."
Chu Ningyan nodded with deep feeling. She couldn't tell whether she was disgusted or sweet, "You have endless energy every day, so you just torment me and make me extremely annoyed. So you only come to Zhenzhen here to get some rest for a while."
Relaxed."
Ye Zhenzhen: "..."
The topic changed unexpectedly. Why did he start to spread the dog food so smoothly? I wonder if she is now alone in the empty boudoir and is about to become a resentful woman?
However, she must not lose face in front of the little sisters. She also complained very sweetly, "Weizhen was painting Buddha statues in Xiangguo Temple, and he didn't forget to design jewelry for me. He just asked the book boy to send it back the day before yesterday. I asked the people from the jewelry shop to
I'll call it as usual and it will be delivered in a few days."
This wave of hatred value is really full.
The three of them looked at each other with envy and jealousy. It would be great if their husbands remembered to give them jewelry, let alone design them themselves.
The most enviable thing is that the jewelry designed by Cui Weizhen is really beautiful!
So the four of them could not help but turn around again and began to discuss the style and matching of jewelry. They even excitedly picked up the charcoal pencils to design it themselves. They all learned simple drawings from Ye Zhenzhen, and they also designed the jewelry in a pattern.
It worked, and in the end I was very happy and said that I would take it to a jewelry store to have it made.
A woman's tea party is nothing more than this. Talking about gossip, chatting about her men, and comparing clothes and jewelry are enough to last the whole day. It's not boring to kill the day like this.
However, Ye Zhenzhen still remembered that she was thanking guests behind closed doors. Even though getting together with close friends could make people feel happy, she did not indulge too much. Chu Ningyan and the others also knew the current situation, and they quickly fell silent after the gathering.
After all, as the time for the announcement of the Apricot List approaches, the atmosphere in the capital becomes increasingly restless.