Xie Daoqing sat at the top and glanced at the new top scholar in front of him, feeling extremely satisfied with his appearance.
She knew what the officials were thinking. Princess Rui was about to be sixteen years old and it was time to get married. Naturally, she had to choose the best husband.
The officials thought that the other ministers were stuck in old customs, so they left the selection of the prince-in-law to Ding Daquan, who knew his best.
Ding Daquan did not disappoint and chose Zhou Zhenyan.
Xie Daoqing has read the copied policy statement. Zhou Zhenyan's article is excellent, eloquent, quoting from classics, and talented.
With such talent, good looks, and being the number one scholar in a new field, he is still willing to give up his official career to marry a princess... The more Xie Daoqing looked at it, the more he nodded.
"How old is the No. 1 pick?"
"Back to the Queen, I was thirty and two years old when I was a student."
Xie Daoqing was slightly stunned, pondered for a moment, and asked: "In his thirties, he is also a young and talented man. Has the number one scholar ever married a wife?"
Zhou Zhenyan saluted and said, "Students study too hard, so they delay getting married."
"well……"
Xie Daoqing asked a lot more questions. He turned to look at the screen behind him and found that there had been no movement for a long time. He couldn't help but be confused.
She asked Zhou Zhenyan to be taken out of the palace, and when she personally looked behind the screen, there was only one palace official standing there, looking helpless.
"Where's the princess?"
"Queen, I don't know this. The princess only looked at it...and then left."
Xie Daoqing was surprised and secretly thought that with Zhou Zhenyan's appearance, which daughter's family could not be tempted.
She couldn't help but shook her head again.
The daughter of Concubine Jia was spoiled by the officials and was not enlightened.
"Go and invite the princess."
"Queen, the princess said...said..."
"explain."
"The princess said, don't call her over again, saying 'it's boring'..."
~~
"The imperial chariot came out of the Daqing Palace just after Xianggong Jia asked. Now he is in the water hall. Let Xianggong Jia go there alone to have an audience. Princess Rui is also here, so don't bring any foreign ministers..."
Jia Sidao pointed to the distance, winked at his two officials, and asked them to go find out the news.
In case His Majesty has decided on a candidate for his consort, he must ensure that the news will not spread out of the palace and there will be a chance to regret it.
Walking through the palaces and pavilions all the way, he was a little worried that he was a step too late and would be self-defeating by choosing such a prince-in-law for his niece...
When I arrived at the water hall, I saw the princess's ceremonial driver coming out.
"Hey, uncle, please ask dad to agree to let you take me to beat balls, kick balls, and fight crickets!"
Jia Sidao smiled, stepped forward and bowed.
"I have met Princess Rui... don't be in a hurry to play. I heard that your Majesty is choosing a son-in-law for the princess?"
"Yes, the queen also said that the man is so handsome, but I can't see it anyway. She gets annoyed when she sees him. The queen just wants to annoy me to death... um..."
At this point, Zhao Jin gave a long "hmm" and finally said: "Anyway, I don't agree."
Jia Sidao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled more comfortably.
"Good vision, really smart."
"right?"
The uncle and nephew looked at each other, both of them a little cunning.
"I still want to meet with Your Majesty."
"Okay, uncle... forget it, let's talk about it next time. If you want to come and play with me."
Jia Sidao gave Princess Rui a gift as a gift and quickly walked into the water hall, only to see Zhao Yun looking at something.
"I have met with Your Majesty and I have an urgent matter. I heard that someone leaked the test questions in the current imperial examination."
"Really?" Zhao Yun asked, "How did you learn about this?"
"Today Lin'an Prefecture got a scholar who committed adultery. After careful examination, it was found that this person was carrying a piece of paper with the same title as today's policy paper..."
Zhao Yun suddenly interrupted Jia Sidao and asked, "Did you learn about this today?"
"Yes, Lin'an Mansion just now..."
In the middle of Jia Sidao's words, his heart suddenly trembled.
In an instant, he had a flash of inspiration and understood one thing...
~~
Liao Yingzhong walked around outside the palace for a long time, and finally saw Jia Sidao leaving the palace.
"Alang."
"Let's talk about it after we get on the sedan chair." Jia Sidao smiled, quite free and easy.
Liao Yingzhong breathed a sigh of relief and led Jia Sidao onto the sedan chair.
"The evidence has been sent to Lin'an Mansion. I just saw several groups of people from the Imperial City Division leaving the palace... Did Alang win?"
"Won."
Jia Sidao nodded, but then said: "But we also lost."
Liao Yingzhong was stunned for a moment, and the smile on her face gradually froze.
"Ding Qingpi is finished." Jia Sidao murmured, "Finally, I have brought down this villain... The phase is already in my possession."
"That……"
"But, I also lost. I couldn't get rid of Li Xia, Yan Fei, and Dong Songchen."
Jia Sidao turned his head and looked at Liao Yingzhong, feeling a little annoyed.
"They are not trying to save Ding Daquan, but they are stepping on Ding Daquan to climb back up..."
~~
Shouli Hall.
Yan Rong lowered her head and tried hard to suppress the proud smile on her lips.
Soon, she put on a sad expression, slowly knelt down on the ground, and watched the figure of the king approaching.
"I pay my respects to Your Majesty."
"You are so brave. I ordered you to shut yourself up and think about your mistakes, but you still dare to collude with foreign ministers."
"I am guilty."
Two lines of clear tears fell from Yan Rong's beautiful face, and she cried: "Your Majesty, please give me the death penalty..."
"That's enough. Stop showing off in front of me. Didn't I give you death? You dare not drink my poisonous wine and coax the princess to protect you. You will deserve to die."
"It's not a pity to die for my concubine... Wuwu... It's not a pity to die..."
Yan Rong burst into tears.
"But I don't want to die with your majesty's misunderstanding... Your majesty said that I kept Ji Xixi for... for the 'false emperor's heir', how dare you? I don't dare to give you a hundred courage..."
Not to mention courage, I have never thought of such a thing... I am just jealous of her... I am so jealous of her that I want to kill her, but I have never killed anyone before..."
"That's enough. I ask you, why do you still dare to collude with foreign ministers?"
Yan Rong closed his eyes and shook his head gently.
"The year when I entered the palace... Concubine Jia had just left, and your Majesty gave the princess of Rui to my concubine to raise... Your Majesty said that you can only trust me..."
As he spoke, tears were still rolling down his face.
She seems to be made of water.
"I wish I could die, so as not to suffer in this cold palace... The only person I can't worry about is this child... She doesn't know the world and doesn't know how bad people can be... She wants to choose a husband, how can I not be worried?
I feel heartbroken just thinking about someone daring to say a harsh word to her..."
At this point, Yan Rong shouted emotionally: "This is the only child in my life! Even if she dies, I have to know who she married in order to feel at ease..."
She talked for a long time.
She said that she held Zhao Jin's hand for the first time, and how Zhao Jin hated her before...
Zhao Yun turned his head, with a rare look of guilt in his eyes.
He knew that although he could be a good emperor in this life, he had not been a good husband. Today, he had not been able to be a good father...
A piece of brocade handkerchief slowly fell in front of Yan Rong.
There are a few lines on it
——"Zhou Zhenyan hired a friend to kill his wife..."
Yan Rong only glanced at it and kowtowed heavily.
"I plead guilty. Ding Daquan sent someone to tell me that he wanted to choose Zhou Zhenyan as his consort, and hoped that I would convince Princess Rui... I was worried and secretly ordered Guan De to leave the palace and let Li Xia go find out about Zhou Zhenyan... Concubine
Manipulating the palace and making friends with foreign ministers is an unpardonable crime. Please grant death to your majesty... I only ask that your majesty please screen the candidates for your consort..."
Zhao Yun said nothing, turned around and walked out.
Yan Rong knelt and climbed two steps forward.
"Your Majesty, please give me some more poisonous wine. I will not dare to disobey you."
"I didn't let you die."
Zhao Yun gave another instruction without looking back.
"Go and take the princess back to Shouli Palace..."
~~
Liao Yingzhong looked at Jia Sidao in astonishment and murmured: "Alang, our people...are in Li Xia's hands."
"Um."
"Cui Xiangqing, the person we sent as a pawn, Zhou Zhenyan's wife, the person who was taken down by Shuntian Mansion today because of the fight... they can all prove that you knew that Ding Daquan had chosen such a thing, Alang..."
Jia Sidao nodded and said: "This is what Li Xia did to me. He did this not to protect Ding Daquan, but to plot against me."
"Your Majesty already knows that you, Alang..."
"My only weakness is that I am too smart. I am too smart and see through everything too early. Every time Li Xia deals with me, he accuses me of 'knowing but not reporting' in front of His Majesty. My only weakness, my only crime
, will make me lose the Holy Family."
"But it can still be saved. The person is still in Li Xia's hands. As long as Li Xia doesn't hand over the witness to His Majesty, Alang can still tell His Majesty... It was just speculation before." Liao Yingzhong said: "We have to do it as soon as possible. If Li Xia is in hand,
Those people inside witnessed the killing, or talked to him..."
Jia Sidao was still laughing and asked, "Isn't he making rapid progress?"
"Alang taught him everything. The most urgent task now is..."
"Why are you anxious? What Li Xia wants is profit, not mutual destruction. Where are the others?"
Liao Yingzhong was stunned, opened the sedan curtain, and asked in a low voice.
Immediately there were people running across the long street.
After a while, someone outside the sedan said: "Alang, Li Xia is in the house..."
"Fuchu?"
"Yes, he came to see Alang, and the housekeeper has asked him to wait for him in the living room."
Jia Sidao sighed.
"Send someone to Xianju County to take Tang An'an back to Lin'an..."