In the Manna Hall, many ministers of the court had been invited by the Holy Emperor one after another. Most of them were sitting at the banquet in the palace and chatting quietly. When Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui arrived, Meng Xinghe looked around the Manna Hall.
The decoration in the hall is not luxurious. It does not have the grandeur and splendor. It gives the impression that it is simple and unsophisticated. Except for some calligraphy, paintings and Tang color porcelain, there is nothing worth seeing. However, there is a square flower bed to the left and right of Ganlu Hall. There are actually many precious flowers and plants carefully planted inside. A white jade pool is built in the middle of the flower bed. Ding-dong running water emerges from the middle of the flower bed and is more than two meters high. It seems to play a role in regulating the temperature, making this Manna Hall Extraordinarily comfortable.
Such an ingenious design is really a work of art. Meng Xinghe admired it with a look of admiration. Wei Ming, who was leading the way, was more interested in introducing the champion at this time: "Mr. Meng doesn't know something. From then on In the two springs, the clear water that gushes out in summer is as cold as ice and snow, which can dispel the heat and reduce the temperature. But in winter, it turns into hot springs, which can dispel the cold and keep warm. Therefore, in the Manna Palace, the four seasons are like spring, and flowers are always in bloom. ."
"It is indeed always blooming." Looking at the blooming flowers in the distance, these two springs are simply natural air conditioners that regulate the temperature. No wonder it is hot summer, but there is a hint of coolness in this Manna Palace.
In the Manna Hall, all the ministers saw that this year's Jinke No. 1 Scholar had come. Most of them went up to congratulate them. Because they knew that the Holy Minister was entertaining the ministers at the Manna Hall today because of the influence of these imperial examination students. They also saw them in the court just now. The Holy One takes special care of this person. They are good at management. Of course they know that it will do no harm to them to make good friends with this number one scholar first.
Meng Xinghe received all the compliments from others and returned them humbly. He knew that most of the people who could enter the Manna Palace were officials of fourth rank or above. He was just the number one scholar in the area. He was only the temporary protagonist today. He would be granted official positions after the case was recorded by the Minister. At that time, maybe he was still working for someone else.
There were many old acquaintances of Meng Xinghe in the palace. Before the emperor came, Meng Xinghe came to greet them. The old prince who was sitting with Li Chengqian also came over at this moment. He congratulated him first, and then asked him why he said that day. He walked away quietly. At this point, Meng Xinghe felt that there was no need to hide it. He simply said that he didn't like fighting, let alone seeing bloodshed. The old prince didn't say anything. Now they are all officials in the same dynasty. He couldn't force it. Meng Xinghe stayed in the army on the right. He said a few words briefly and then went to chat with other officials. On the contrary, the prince Li Chengqian couldn't see what he was thinking. Standing next to Meng Xinghe, he said more interestingly: "Congratulations Meng Xinghe Sir, you can be named on the gold medal list."
"I don't deserve the title of sir. It's just a fluke that I got into high school." He didn't consider winning the top prize in the exam as a happy thing at all. Meng Xinghe was now thinking about returning to Jiangdu as soon as possible to walk dogs and raise birds to find a job. So he didn't take it seriously to Li Chengqian, the prince who was destined to fail miserably. Even his answers were simply to deal with household chores.
Li Chengqian did not hear the indifference in Meng Xinghe's words. He still said happily: "I don't know what brother Meng's plans are in the future. It just so happens that I still need a teacher in the palace. If Mr. Meng doesn't dislike it, I will give advice to my father later. How about asking sir to go to my place."
His words made the surrounding ministers look here secretly. They didn't say it, but they knew in their hearts that the prince's teacher would be the emperor's teacher in the future. It can be said that his official career is boundless.
After all, Li Chengqian was too impatient. He started to make friends with courtiers now. It was a big taboo in the court. Meng Xinghe didn't realize how glorious it was to be the teacher of this short-lived prince. He smiled and said: "The prince loves me so much. What's wrong with me, Meng Xinghe?" How can you be so virtuous? I might not be able to handle such an important task."
He didn't refuse or agree. Meng Xinghe didn't want to break up the relationship as soon as possible.
Li Chengqian's face darkened. Meng Xinghe's rejection in front of all the ministers was a direct slap in the prince's face. How could he establish prestige in the court in the future? But he was good at disguise. Otherwise, how could he gain praise in the court? He smiled awkwardly. He immediately felt relieved and said: "Look at me. It's a happy time for my husband to be the number one scholar in high school. As for the rest, Cheng Qian will hold a banquet in the palace another day and I'll invite you to discuss it in detail."
He pretended to be calm and tried to get rid of the current embarrassment. At this moment, a father and son walked over from a distance. Li Chengqian found the steps and immediately left Meng Xinghe and walked over to talk to each other.
Meng Xinghe looked sideways, but it was the Hou family father and son who had not seen each other for many days. Moreover, at this time, Hou Junji was staring at Meng Xinghe with a look that wanted to draw a knife to kill. He could not help but clenched his fists. It could be said that he Now he is neither male nor female. His feminine look is all thanks to Meng Xinghe. Now when he meets his enemy, he wants to skin and dismantle Meng Xinghe.
"Your Majesty has arrived." The palace attendant in charge of delivering the message loudly read in the inner hall of the Manlu Palace. The hall immediately became quiet. The ministers prepared to perform the courtesy of the emperor and ministers. Li Shimin, wearing a dragon robe inside, strolled out. He said lightly: "My lords. No etiquette is allowed at home. We will not abide by those red tapes in the Manlu Palace today. Everyone, the king and his ministers, are happy together."
"Long live thanks." the ministers said and each found a few familiar people to sit at the table.
And Meng Xinghe felt more pressure at the moment. No matter who the five people at the table he sat at were, Meng Xinghe had heard of their names in the boring history books in his previous life. He had never imagined that he would have people like them. opportunity to eat at the table.
Things are unpredictable. Meng Xinghe read this sentence in his mouth, and silently counted in his mind starting from his left hand side. Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Changsun Wuji, Qin Shubao, Li Jing. These famous names. Which one is not a celebrity through the ages? He was the only one who looked a little small, so he could only show a little wry smile.
Li Shimin sat on the dragon chair directly above the main hall. He first congratulated all the high school students this year. He drank a glass of wine and then sat on the dragon chair as if waiting for something. The ministers below knew it in their hearts and pretended to be indifferent. .Congratulations to the high school students with wine. The entire Manna Hall turned out to be a happy scene.
The wine was half drunk. Meng Xinghe was still busy toasting the old men at the table. It seemed that these old men deliberately wanted to make him, the number one scholar, drunk today. It seemed that everything would be brought to him. Even if Meng Xinghe occasionally spoke shamelessly .But these old men are all excellent people. Their thoughts and layouts are very meticulous. Meng Xinghe is hard to beat by four people. It is often a trivial matter. When you go to him, you can tell him the reason why he punished himself with three drinks. Still. That kind of thing cannot be refused. This makes Meng Xinghe have to admire in his heart that these people have been in the court for decades. Each one of them is more powerful than the other.
Fortunately, I had trained with the wretched old man. Drinking high-end wine like the palace is like drinking water. Fortunately, these old men are not the kind of coquettish literati. They are all people who have walked through the war. Even Fang Xuan, who looks like an old scholar Even though they are old enough to drink and fight, they are not weak at all. This is fine. If everyone drinks a lot, they will naturally fight together. This also makes Meng Xinghe go from being an adult at the beginning to being called an old man at the end.
Finally used the "division tactic". It is said among the people that Old Man Fang and Old Man Du have the reputation of having a conspiracy and making ends meet. I just don't know which one of the two is slightly better. Neither civil or military fights are suitable for this occasion. Meng Xinghe simply decided The two of them were asked to have a drink to decide the outcome. The two old men just looked at each other and smiled, and then started fighting in earnest. Meng Xinghe, who succeeded in his plan, of course avoided the limelight and finally had a chance to rest. Little did he know that he, a little It was a small trick that had long been discovered by the two old men. But why they wanted to fight for wine was probably not something Meng Xinghe knew.
Meng Xinghe took a rest and looked around. However, he found that Hou Junji was still staring at him with a fierce light in the distance. Meng Xinghe took a cup of tea and made a gesture of inviting him. Then he raised his head and drank it. It was quite a bit. It was extremely provocative. Hou Junji was furious. The veins in his clenched fists could be seen exposed. If he hadn't been in the Ganlu Palace, he wouldn't have dared to act so recklessly. He would have rushed over to fight Meng Xinghe to the death.
Meng Xinghe ignored him. He glanced at Li Shimin who didn't seem to be very happy above him. Before he could speculate on the holy intention, he, who was very sensitive to rouge and gouache, suddenly smelled a special fragrance. Then he I saw a woman walking out from the back hall of Ganlu Hall. She was dressed in elegant clothes. It made people feel a little affectionate. The woman had almond-shaped eyes and willow eyebrows. She had red lips and thin lips. On her face like white porcelain, her delicate facial features were painted on it, creating a picture of great beauty in the world. Such a divine painting. Such a fairy-like person is like a fragile white porcelain. Holding and pinching it, I am afraid of hurting her. It is really only for viewing from a distance and not for playing with.
"It's her." The woman walked over in a hurry. Her steps were like lotus flowers. Pingping and Tingting showed her unique nobility. Meng Xinghe's eyes were still staring at her, holding an empty tea cup. Her mind was already in a mess.
Is she Wu Meiniang or a real fairy? Meng Xinghe sighed in his heart. But he quickly determined that this woman was very different from Wu Meiniang. Although her appearance was very similar, Wu Meiniang did not have her. The kind of fairy spirit that makes people feel loving and loving, not to mention the calmness in her eyes like a clear spring in the mountains.
Such familiar eyes. Meng Xinghe stared at those eyes. Just like when he met Wu Meiniang, he fell in love with those spiritual eyes. It seemed like they had seen each other before.
Meng Xinghe's mind was filled with confused thoughts. The woman's beautiful eyes rolled her eyes at Meng Xinghe who was sitting in front. Then she sat next to Li Shimin. She saluted and said, "I'm late, I'm here."
"It's not too late, not too late." Li Shimin, who had a straight face before, immediately became happy: "My beloved concubine. That is Meng Xinghe, a student from Taoyuan whom I often mentioned to you."
Li Shimin pointed at Meng Xinghe and said as if coaxing a little girl.
"Greetings to the empress." No matter how surprised he was, Meng Xinghe bowed first.
Empress Xiao walked to Meng Xinghe. The unique body fragrance on her body stimulated Meng Xinghe. Good guy, no wonder she is so familiar. It turns out that she used my milk to bathe in white. Meng Xinghe thought coquettishly in her heart. Empress Xiao said calmly He smiled and said: "I heard that Mr. Meng is very fond of calligraphy. He is also the number one scholar this year. It just so happens that I am short of a couplet in the Manna Palace. Today I might as well ask the number one scholar to celebrate. I don't know what the number one scholar wants."
Maybe she felt the dishonest eyes of the No. 1 Scholar wandering around her body. Empress Xiao actually showed off her power when they met her. Seeing that Li Shimin and all the ministers were staring at her, Meng Xinghe didn't dare to spoil the fun. He naturally smiled and said: " Then the common people will show their disgrace."