Nightwatcher

"The 460th, Yang Zhen, a student of the Imperial College. The 459th, Li Zhuming, from Hushui County, Qingzhou"

The officials standing under the "Wall of Fame" sang loudly, but the moment he opened his mouth, the originally noisy voices quieted down by coincidence.

Thousands of students listened with pricked ears. When they heard their names, they either wept with joy, or raised their arms and shouted wildly.

"Erlang, why haven't I heard your name yet?" Auntie was a little anxious.

"Mother, it's only over a hundred." Xu Lingyue comforted her, "Didn't you say that the second brother is Huiyuan?"

The aunt glared at her daughter, the dead girl dared to tease her.

"Erlang, it's not your turn yet."

When it was more than fifty, my aunt became even more anxious, her brows were furrowed.

"Wait a minute." Xu Erlang frowned.

When the singing list reached the top ten, my aunt's face turned pale, and she felt that her son would probably fail the list.

Xu Xinnian's eyes showed apprehension and a little excitement. This is the trend of failure or success. Thinking of his elder brother's song "The Road is Difficult" and his usual accumulation, Erlang still has some confidence in his heart.

Finally, when the voice sang, it came to mind: "Jianke Huiyuan, Xu New Year, a student of Yunlu Academy, a native of the capital."

There was a "boom" in my aunt's ear, like a Jiao Lei exploding, and her whole body trembled violently.

The sound of "Jiao Lei" also rang in the ears of thousands of students, as well as those around them. Their first thought was: Impossible!

It is impossible for the students of Yunlu Academy to become Huiyuan. The orthodox dispute of Confucianism has lasted for two hundred years, and the students of Yunlu Academy have been suppressed in the officialdom. This is an indisputable fact.

Under such a background, how could Huiyuan be a student of Yunlu Academy?

The last scholar of Yunlu Academy who became "Huiyuan" was Ziyang Layman twenty years ago. But, what kind of person is Ziyang Layman?

That is a great Confucian of the fourth grade.

Looking back twenty years later, it is completely reasonable for him to become the Huiyuan, or even the number one scholar. He is a hidden dragon.

However, in another way of thinking, this scholar who also came from Yunlu Academy fought his way out among thousands of troops and became Huiyuan.

Does it mean that he also has the qualifications of a great Confucian?

For a while, many people were shocked.

These people are all rich men who have caught their sons-in-law, or the scholar-bureaucrat class.

Finding a son-in-law under the list has existed since ancient times. In the first year of Dafeng, although it was not popular, there were still many families looking for a son-in-law on the apricot list.

What is waiting is a scholar with outstanding qualifications and potential talents, such as the current "Huiyuan" Xu New Year.

It is a joking name to catch a son-in-law under the list. The big family guards the apricot list, and if they like the scholar, they send someone to their home to talk about matchmaking, and they fight for time.

Once the matchmaking is successful, the marriage will be settled, and if others try to snatch it away, they will not be able to take it away.

In the era when etiquette is more important than the sky, it is not to bring pressure from the elders of the master's sect, give a Qi Gathering Powder, and destroy the marriage if it is said to be ruined. Unless you don't want a bright future.

"Who is Xu New Year?"

"Xu Nian, who is Master Xu?"

In the crowd, there were voices of inquiry from time to time.

A student turned his head and looked around. There was a sea of ​​people, and when he saw Xu Xinnian with a dull face, he immediately shouted: "Farewell, congratulations. Xu Xinian is there."

Hulala, the first ones to rush over were not the students, but the people who wanted to be caught, and they surrounded Xu Xinian with their followers.

"Does Xu Huiyuan have a marriage? I have a daughter in my official family. She is twenty-eight years old and is as beautiful as a flower. I would like to marry you as my wife."

"There is also an unmarried daughter in my official family, who is proficient in all kinds of piano, chess, calligraphy and painting."

Xu Nian retreated again and again.

Chun'er looked at it for a while, and said happily: "It's really interesting to find a son-in-law under the list, miss, I didn't expect Huiyuan to be that handsome scholar."

As soon as the voice fell, the curtains were lifted suddenly. The sweet and hidden Ms. Wang looked around for a moment and said:

"Chun'er, go back."

On this side, Xu Nian, who had never seen such a battle before, frowned.

Just as he was about to exhale and drink away this group of ignorant things, suddenly, he saw a few people from the rivers and lakes rushing up with malicious intentions, rushing into the "protective wall" formed by the subordinates, intending to take advantage of his mother and sister.

The servant was forced to retreat again and again, and his aunt and Lingyue screamed in fright.

"stop!"

Xu Erlang roared.

But it was useless, he couldn't stop so many people at all.

"Heh, such a naughty rascal has no skills, but fishing in troubled waters is amazing." The middle-aged swordsman saw this scene from a distance, quite disdainful.

But he didn't pay much attention to it, this kind of little chaos would be stopped by the watchmen and officers and soldiers soon, but those two beautiful women might have to be frightened.

"stop!"

Suddenly, a deafening sound exploded, this time it was not a psychological explosion, but a real thunder explosion, which made more than a thousand people present dizzy and tinnitus.

The commotion stopped suddenly.

On the wall of the Gongyuan, there stood a young man in a policeman's uniform, embroidered with silver gongs. He pressed the knife with one hand, and glanced sharply at the group of gangsters who made trouble.

At the same time, the officers, soldiers and watchmen finally arrived after pushing through the crowd.

The moment she saw Xu Qi'an, the aunt felt relieved, as if she had some support, and the mother and daughter breathed a sigh of relief.

"Take those troublemakers away." Xu Qi'an pointed out the gangsters one by one, and the surrounding gongs immediately went up to grab them.

The students below recognized Xu Qi'an, they were pleasantly surprised, and shouted: "It's Xu Shikui!"

"Meet Xu Shikui!"

Many students in the capital greeted each other with bowed hands, with a respectful attitude, as if they were meeting their seniors and teachers.

In fact, Xu Qi'an really deserves such treatment. With his few masterpieces handed down from generation to generation, even arrogant scholars would not dare to show arrogance in front of him.

But the foreign students didn't know Xu Qi'an's identity, and seeing him as a watchman, they were quite disdainful at first, but the attitude of the scholars in the capital made them realize that this young Yinluo's identity was unusual.

"Brother, who is this man? He is so flamboyant, he looks like a martial artist."

"You don't know him... Oh, you're not from the capital city. This lord is Xu Qi'an, Xu Qi'an who has a faint fragrance floating in the moonlight."

"...It turned out to be him. As expected, he is a handsome man with an extraordinary appearance. He is a dragon and a phoenix among the real people. It is easy to admire him when you look at him."

Now, the foreign students knew who he was. Xu Qi'an's "illegitimate meal" is still a lot. With the copied poems, he has gained a large number of fans in the group of Dafeng scholars.

For a moment, Wu Mathematics waved his hands and greeted him, shouting "Xu Shikui".

"It's so majestic..." Xu Lingyue murmured.

"It's so majestic..."

In the distance, Miss Rongrong looked at the young man on the wall with admiration in her eyes.

"Obviously I'm the protagonist..." Xu Nian whispered.

…………

Xu Nian not only won the tribute, but also the head of the tribute: Huiyuan!

This is what the whole family did not expect.

Auntie was as happy as Fan Jin in women's clothing, almost rolled her eyelids and passed out.

The second uncle was also very happy, and decided to hold a big banquet at home, inviting his family and colleagues to come and drink. Now that the Xu family is wealthy, there is no pressure to set up the running water mat for three days and three nights.

After lunch, Xu Erlang put down his chopsticks, looked at Xu Qi'an, and said, "Brother, do you want to patrol the streets today?"

Xu Qi'an shook his head.

He is Yingong, and patrolling the streets is usually based on mood, not mandatory. Moreover, now that the apricot list has been revealed, thousands of students have gone back to their homes, looking for their mothers, and the pressure on law and order is not as great as it was in the morning.

Xu Erlang nodded, stood up, put one hand on his stomach, and pinned the other behind his back, and said calmly: "Then brother, you have to work harder and help me guard the house. There must be annoying flies disturbing me in the afternoon. I will never see you!"

This posture usually appears on respected old masters or officials.

Hey, this little brother is still pretending. The corner of Xu Qi'an's mouth twitched.

Xu Nian's arrogant personality was inherited from his aunt. But the attribute of poisonous tongue was created by him, and my aunt's swearing skills are very average, otherwise Xu Qi'an wouldn't be yelling angrily.

Xu Qi'an returned to the room and sat at the desk, worrying about Xu Erlang's future.

"Erlang won Huiyuan. This is something I never expected. The next step is the palace examination a month later. After the palace examination, the backhand I planted can be used (Zhao Langzhong, Department of Wenxuan, Ministry of Officials)

"Staying in the capital is only the first step. If I want Erlang to be a useful person to me, then I have to find a backer for him. Otherwise, as a student of Yunlu Academy, he will spend his whole life in Qingshui Yamen

"Wei Gong is not the censor of the left of the capital procuratorate now, and I don't know if such an important position can be taken back. However, Erlang can't join Wei Yuan and have nothing to do with him, otherwise he will be marked as "eunuch" like me. Party" brand.

"Eggs can't be put in one basket. I have to find a way to find a backer for him. In this way, we brothers can hope to combine the two to dominate the court in the future."

Xu Qi'an said before that he wanted to train Xu New Year to be the chief assistant of the Dafeng. This was of course a joke, but he did have the idea of ​​"promoting" Xu Erlang.

After going through so many things and offending so many people, this thought became clearer and more profound.

First of all, Xu Erlang himself is very talented, he follows the orthodox system of Confucianism, and his scheming methods are not bad. After several years of experience in the officialdom, he is definitely a good teammate.

But the disadvantages of Confucian orthodox background are also obvious-children without mothers!

"Princess Huaiqing is a girl, I suspect that she has secretly cultivated forces, but what Erlang wants is a solid backer, not an underground party.

"For the prince, I broke up with the concubine Chen's mother-in-law after the Concubine Fu case, so the prince didn't consider it. Moreover, the prince's rank is too low to be worthy of my Erlang. For the same reason, the fourth prince also passed."

After thinking about it again, he found that in the civil official group, he couldn't find a suitable backer.

Forget it, there is no rush. After the palace test is over, Erlang's matter will come to an end. Next, I have to be wary of the envoys of the Buddhist sect, and the dispute between Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen. This kind of orthodox dispute is the most troublesome. Xu Qi'an squeezed his brows , whispered:

"And for me, the most important thing is to advance to the copper-skinned iron-skeleton level as soon as possible."

He washed his face and went out, Xu Yinluo took care of Wanji every day, how could he have time to watch the door for a mere Xu Erlang.

Riding on a small mare and carrying the two novels written by Zhong Li in his arms, Xu Qi'an rushed into the imperial city, took out the waist jade bestowed by Lin'an, and came to Shaoyin Garden under the leadership of Habayashi Wei.

For Xu Qi'an's sudden visit, Lin'an was very happy, and asked the maid to serve the best tea and the most delicious pastries to entertain the dog servant.

"How is Your Highness?" Xu Qi'an asked.

Lin'an sighed, her peach-blossom pupils were no longer charming, and she was dejected: "Mother and concubine cried to me every day, saying that she was bullied by the queen in the harem, and she was about to lose her life."

What about the people behind Concubine Chen, won't they help? Well, Concubine Chen is a qualified little expert in palace fighting, so she shouldn't be so helpless. It should be deliberately pretending to be pitiful in front of Lin'an, trying to save the country with curves. Xu Qi'an said in surprise:

"The empress is too deceitful, Your Highness, just watch Concubine Chen being humiliated in the harem?"

"Then I can't beat Huaiqing, and I don't think Concubine Mu is as miserable as she said." She said aggrieved.

"You're looking for His Majesty." Xu Qi'an tentatively asked.

"You go down first." Lin'an waved the maid back.

The hall fell silent, and no one spoke for a long time.

"dog minions"

She let out a weak cry.

"Well, tell me, Your Highness."

"When the prince's elder brother was imprisoned in Dali Temple, I went to beg my father, but my father didn't see me, so I stood in the cold for two hours, and it was Huaiqing who drove me back."

Lin'an lowered his head sadly, feeling a little inferior, "At that time, I thought, maybe my father didn't love me that much. After the prince's brother had an accident, my brothers and sisters stopped playing with me, and I realized that they didn't care about me either." don't really like me"

Her eyebrows were raised, her clear and charming peach eyes were dull, her head was slightly lowered, she was not a princess, she was clearly a wronged and pitiful girl.

Xu Qi'an knew that it was His Highness Lin'an's trust in him, so he let go of the pride of the princess in front of him, and what was revealed was a girl who was not too stupid, but not smart either.

These things have been held in her heart for a long time, at least she has realized this reality after the prince's accident, but she didn't show it, and still maintained her princess's pride.

Until the end of the Fufei case, she belatedly discovered the truth behind the case, what was her mood at that time? Sad, helpless, disappointed?

The princess looks delicate and willful, but she is actually a paper tiger with a fierce appearance. She only yells when she is wronged, but she silently bears the real grievances that hurt her heart.

In essence, she is a submissive woman, beautiful but also capable.

Lin'an's eyes gradually blurred, and she felt much better after saying these words. Although the dog slave can't give her anything, even he hesitates to help her to uphold justice in front of Huaiqing, but he can offend Huaiqing for himself, Lin'an's heart is full Very happy.

Suddenly, a hand pressed on her head and rubbed it.

Lin'an raised his head in surprise, only to realize that the dog slave had walked to his side at some point, and there was helplessness in his eyes mourning his misfortune and hating his indisputability.

"Your Highness, I will accompany you."

Lin'an's face turned red little by little, and said softly like a mosquito, "You, don't touch my head, I will get angry."

Xu Qi'an rebelliously disobeyed Her Royal Highness's order, and rubbed her hair vigorously, messing up her hair.

Lin'an forcefully opened his peach blossom eyes and stared at him, as if using his princess majesty to push back the dog slave. But although her eyes are charming and affectionate, they are really harmless.

Lin'an lowered his head again.

Well, the best way to deal with a girl with this personality is proper domineering and stalking. In Huaiqing, I might have been stabbed to death with a sword

An ambiguous atmosphere fermented between the two of them.

Xu Qi'an withdrew his hand in time, took out the script of "The Great Sage of Love" from his bosom, put it in front of Lin'an, and said with a smile:

"This is a book that I got by accident. It's very interesting. The princess likes to listen to stories, so I think she will like to read them too. But don't say that I gave it to you."

Lin'an's attention was immediately attracted by "The Great Sage of Love".

"If you feel that staying in the palace is boring, you might as well move to Lin'an Mansion, so that the humble staff can come to play with you every day, and even secretly take you outside."

After chatting for a few words, he said goodbye and left.

"Xu Qi'an!"

Lin'an stopped him, puffed his cheeks, and threatened fiercely: "Don't spread the matter of today, otherwise, otherwise"

I wanted to say "Otherwise I'll cut off your head", but I was a little bit reluctant.

"Got it." Xu Qi'an said.

Xu Qi'an left Shaoyin Garden, and said to Habayashi Wei, "I still need to see the eldest princess, you lead me there."

"This is against the rules." Habayashi Wei shook his head.

"I can go and wait outside the palace city, so it's in compliance with the rules." Xu Qi'an calmly stuffed a ten tael silver ticket.

Yu Linwei agreed to him, took Xu Qi'an out of the palace, asked him to wait outside the palace, and went in to communicate.

After a stick of incense hadn't arrived, Habayashi Wei returned and said, "Princess Huaiqing welcomes you."

The corner of Xu Qi'an's mouth twitched, he stretched out his hand to press his chest, and said in his heart, Huaiqing, Huaiqing, let's see the power of the domineering female president and the silly little scholar.

It will definitely hit your sweet spot.

PS: Change first and then change.