Two days later, at the patio house, beside the Lingjia Bridge.
The attic window was pushed open, and four or five women stuck their heads out to look outside.
"come yet?"
"No, but let me tell you, Li Jieshuai really lives over there. I watched him go there at every hour and three quarters in the past two days. Wait a minute."
"Where is he going? Do you dare to chase him and look at him? I really want to look at him to death."
"I don't dare, those evil guards are scary to death..."
"I'm coming!"
"Hey, who is that next to Li Jieshuai?"
"Where is Mr. Yang, a son of a noble family? Have you forgotten? During the Mid-Autumn Festival, he won the first prize at the Pi Temple Cuju Competition. Who in Lin'an City doesn't know about him?"
"Yangzhen."
"Is it him? He plays Cuju very gracefully."
"I love to see these two handsome men walking together."
"Hey, didn't you rank a handsome man in Lin'an? If Li Jieshuai ranks first, where does Yang Langjun rank?"
"Thirty-eight, I call him Yang Sanshilang... Also, Li Jieshuai ranks second in my list."
"Is there anyone more handsome?"
"Hehe...I think Zhou Zhenyan is more handsome."
"Tsk, tsk, you can't be..."
"Speaking of which, tomorrow is the palace examination, do you want to go and see it..."
~~
In the pavilion opposite, two men were looking out through the cracks in the window.
"Whose spies are those women?"
"Xiu Yishe."
"It's so noisy... let's go and follow."
The two men went downstairs and followed Li Xia for a while to Yangzhen. When they turned across the long street, someone else took over.
They then returned to Shicaitang and told the information about what they had seen.
"At a quarter past midnight, Yang Zhen arrived at Li Xia's house. Around three quarters past midnight, the two of them went out together to have dinner at Lefeng Building..."
"Keep exploring."
The shopkeeper sitting there took notes and took notes.
Then more and more news came, and after being summarized, it was delivered to Liao Yingzhong.
At night, Jia Sidao returned home and talked about a few more important things before asking about Li Xia.
"Tomorrow, Zhou Zhenyan will become the number one scholar. We have made arrangements..."
"That's the arrangement. What did Li Xia do today?"
"..."
"Yang Zhen? How did these two people get together?"
"Last night at Xu's hour, Li Xia came out of Fenglian Tower and went to Qingwazi for a snack. He happened to meet Yang Zhen. The two of them talked about something unknown. Yang Zhen came to see Li Xia early this morning."
Jia Sidao shook his head and said: "It's not a coincidence. Li Xia never eats snacks. He just went to find Yang Zhen... The official family has changed the right-leading military guard general. Yang Zhen, a temporary honorary officer, has to find out whether the military morale is good for His Majesty."
There was a swing. He couldn't do it, so Li Xia, a man who knows military affairs, came to his door."
Liao Yingzhong said: "Yes, after the two of them went out today, they went to Lefeng Tower for breakfast, and then went to the Youling Army Guard Camp together and stayed there for an hour."
"Li Xia dares to enter the imperial guard station without permission." Jia Sidao chuckled.
"This... I didn't expect this." Liao Yingzhong said: "After coming out from the right leading army guard, they went to the Qiantang training ground to play Cuju."
"Cuju?" Jia Sidao shook his head, "The officials entrusted Yang Zhen with important matters, but he still refuses to change his old habits. He is a playboy who cannot be supported."
Liao Yingzhong said: "Yang Zhen said that it is enough for him to use the time he spends listening to music every morning for official duties. On the surface, he has a bit of Alang's style."
"Heh. If you look at it on the surface, Zhou Zhenyan also has the style of Li Xia." Jia Sidao was disdainful.
"Playing Cuju for half a day, they went..."
"Wait for nothing or kick for cover?"
"Qi Gai, I played with the Qiyun Society guys. Li Xia was quite talented and kicked Feng Liuyan seven times. But they still lost. Yang Zhen took three whips from Qiyun Society's ball head and his face was smeared white."
Jia Sidao smiled and said, "Let's play with him another day... Let's continue talking."
"Afterwards, they went to Lakeview Garden for tea. Our people hid in the darkroom and inquired about some of the conversations."
After Liao Yingzhong finished speaking, she took out a piece of paper and handed it to Jia Sidao.
Jia Sidao glanced at it.
"Li Xia is inquiring about the affairs of Empress Dowager Yang? Oh, if Empress Dowager Yang hadn't died more than 20 years ago, she could have saved him..."
At this point, Jia Sidao suddenly thought of something, vaguely.
Empress Dowager Yang is the empress of Emperor Ningzong, not the biological mother of the official family.
After the death of Emperor Ning Zong, it was she who single-handedly teamed up with Shi Miyuan to select current officials from the clan and stabilize the ancestral temple.
Once Empress Dowager Yang died, no other clan had any power except the official's biological mother, Mrs. Cixian, Mrs. Quan, as well as Prince Rong and Prince Zhong.
Why was it so difficult for Wu Qian to depose King Zhong?
Since the clan had no power to support him, what was missing was a figure like Empress Dowager Yang.
Li Xia also lacks such a person who has the power to protect him...
Thinking of this, Jia Sidao shook his head.
It's useless, Queen Mother Yang has been dead for more than 20 years, and Li Xia can't find another Queen Mother Yang.
Inquiring about these old friendships, are you just casually chatting with Yang Zhen?
Jia Sidao thought about this and said, "Go on, what did Li Xia do after that?"
"At a quarter of Xu, after saying goodbye to Yang Zhen, he went to Fenglian Tower alone." Liao Yingzhong said: "But at three quarters of Xu, Guan De also went to Fenglian Tower. After that, Guan De sent someone to Ding Qingpi's mansion.
"
"What did you say?"
"I can't find out." Liao Yingzhong said: "We are trying to arrange for people to sneak into Fenglian Tower, but it is difficult."
"Li Xia is out?"
"Still in Fenglian Tower." Liao Yingzhong added: "Dante Qingpi sent three carriages of boxes to Li Xia's residence at the fourth quarter of Xushi."
Jia Sidao stood up and murmured: "A loyal minister like Wu Qian is willing to protect Li Xia's life, but it is impossible to protect Li Xia's official position. The old guy can't even protect his own official position. Therefore, only Ding Qingpi can help
Li Xia, Li Xia also wants to save Ding Qingpi, Yan Li Dingdang... Yan Li Dingdang... have you found out? Concubine Yan, what is Dong Songchen doing?"
"The news from the palace has not yet come, so our people still have to find a chance to leave the palace."
Jia Sidao took a few steps and murmured: "Ding Qingpi is incompetent, but Li Xia is already helping him with suggestions."
"That……"
"It doesn't matter, Li Xia is no match for me, and he can't save Ding Qingpi. We will just get rid of him together tomorrow, and contact the palace informants as soon as possible..."
~~
The eighth day of September.
All exams for Enke will be held in August, and there will be a palace exam after passing the exam.
The palace examination is usually held in February of the following year. Dante Daquan proposed to move the palace examination to the day before the Double Ninth Festival on the grounds that Hanzhong was recaptured this year and the court had been selecting officials there, resulting in a large number of vacancies.
The imperial examination only tests policy theory and can be completed within one day.
In other words, another group of Jinshi will appear today, including a champion.
Jia Sidao did not interfere in this scientific expedition from beginning to end. He stayed in the public house on the grounds that the official affairs of the Privy Council were complicated.
After sitting for most of the day, he estimated that the time was almost up. He stood up, picked up a ball, and bounced it.
Jia Sidao's skills were superb, and the ball rolled over his feet, shoulders, and knees, beating constantly.
finally.
"En Xiang, news from the palace has arrived." Liao Yingzhong hurried over and said: "Li Xia asked Guan De to send a brocade handkerchief to the palace last night and gave it to Concubine Yan. After that, Dong Songchen came out of the palace in person to deliver it to Li Xia
Got the news once.”
Jia Sidao kicked the ball away and asked, "Where is the veil Li Xia gave me?"
"Still at Concubine Yan."
"They colluded, and the evidence is conclusive." Jia Sidao asked again: "What did Ding Qingpi give Li Xia last night?"
"Still checking, but it must be something heavy. This morning, before Ding Qingpi went out, Li Xia sent someone to Ding's house. I don't know what he said."
"Yan Li Dingdang is colluding and wants to fight with me... but he doesn't know how to leave evidence behind so that I can defeat these four people at once."
Jia Sidao said, walked a few steps, and asked again: "Do we still have the evidence in our hands?"
"The person who helped Ding Qingpi hand over the exam questions and the person who helped Zhou Zhenyan write the policy have all been captured; the women who committed adultery with Zhou Zhenyan have all been sent to keep an eye on..."
"Very good." Jia Sidao turned to look at the sky and murmured: "It's time to decide the ranking."
really.
Soon, the news arrived.
"Your Excellency, Your Majesty has already called the roll call at Linxuan...the number one winner is Zhou Zhenyan!"
Jia Sidao said "ha", with some sarcasm flashing in his eyes.
The number one scholar in the Song Dynasty, just pick a few at random, Feng Jing, Huang Shang, Zou Yinglong, Wu Qian, Liu Mengyan, Wen Yunsun... any one of them is not talented and will definitely be famous in history.
Zhou Zhenyan?
Selecting talents through the imperial examination is an important matter for the country! Later generations of young history commented that Your Majesty, the number one scholar in the imperial examination was obtained through fraud, and there is no way around it.
Your Majesty's achievements in civil governance have been tarnished by Ding Daquan.
~~
The next moment, the announcement sounded again outside the house.
"Enxiang! Zhou Zhenyan was taken to Chengbi Palace by the Empress."
"What?"
Jia Sidao was surprised for a moment.
He cooperated with the Queen, but he would never tell the Queen in advance that he knew about Ding Daquan's plan.
Unexpectedly, Ding Daquan moved so quickly.
Once the queen selects her consort, the officials will probably not pursue the case of fraud in the examination room for the sake of face.
"It's time for me to enter the palace, Qunyu has prepared the evidence."
"yes……"
Jia Sidao turned around and left the public room.
On the way, I saw a turtle, a crane, and a turtle rushing towards me.
"Alang, something happened."
"explain."
"Cui Xiangqing... was the man who agreed to help Zhou Zhenyan kill his wife. He was kidnapped halfway there. The three people we sent to follow him also disappeared, leaving only a few pools of blood."
Jia Sidao suddenly turned his head and took two steps.
"Li Xia took action, how could he know my plan? He only returned to Lin'an for three or four days, how did he know about it?"
"The villain doesn't know."
Jia Sidao was displeased and asked, "Where is Zhou Zhenyan's wife?"
"The villain has ordered someone to ride fast to Dangtu and escort his wife to Lin'an. They will arrive tonight."
During this delay, more and more news came.
"Enxiang, our people were beaten by the minions of Ding Mansion..."
"Speak clearly." Jia Sidao shouted: "Who was beaten?"
"People who stare at Zhou Zhenyan's adulterous women."
"Send someone over again."
"yes……"
There were so many trivial things that Jia Sidao realized that Li Xia wanted to take the lead again.
He thought for a moment, sneered, pushed aside these men, and walked forward.
Liao Yingzhong understood and hurriedly said: "Yes, this is in Lin'an, and Li Xia is definitely no match for us."
Jia Sidao didn't even look back, and said in a calm and confident tone: "Submit the evidence before tonight."
"Yes, don't worry, Alang, we can't lose this round..."