Pawn Crossing the River

Since he had passed the examination, he had already stepped into the imperial court and would not leave the capital for a while. Therefore, Yin Zhengxin asked Huang Rong to find a house to rent in Beijing for long-term residence. Yin Zhengxin did not dare to spend too much energy on worldly affairs and concentrated on studying.

In a blink of an eye, May came, and it was the day of the palace examination. The Ministry of Rites specially sent people to practice etiquette in advance, for fear of losing etiquette in front of the emperor.

Before dawn the next day, the tribute scholars gathered early and then drove to the palace together.

When they arrived at the palace gate, they stood in order according to the ranking of the three lists, and waited until the palace gate was opened, and led by the eunuchs to the Taiji Palace.

Then they worshiped according to the etiquette rehearsed in advance by the Ministry of Rites, and finally met the Yongli Emperor of the Wei Dynasty.

The current Wei Emperor is old and in his sixties. Perhaps for those who practice Taoism, this age is not too old, and it can even be said to be in their prime. For example, Taoist priests in the Taoist sect can only reach the peak of power in this life after suffering to this age, and it is the time to show their strength.

But for the emperors under the framework of Confucianism, this is already an advanced age. Many emperors died young in their thirties, or even baby emperors, just because young emperors are relatively easier to control.

Confucianism is not like Taoism. Taoism likes to put things on the table. If you want to control the court, let the second Taoist priest be the emperor, clearly. Confucianism likes to put things under the table, be the emperor's teacher, hide behind the emperor to control the world situation, and any infamy is the emperor's. If the emperor is "stupid and stubborn" and does not listen to teachings, then change another one. So the weaker the emperor, the better, it is easy to control and replace.

In this case, it is not easy for an emperor in his sixties. It can be seen that the emperor's balancing skills are quite good, and he can only walk the tightrope by taking advantage of the contradictions between Confucian factions. Or maybe this emperor meets the standards of Confucianism, so he is reluctant to replace him easily.

Qi Xuansu looked at the aura and found that the emperor's aura had become a real dragon, invulnerable to all kinds of attacks, even an immortal like Qi Xuansu could not do that. He was just old and decadent, and even had a faint smell of decay, just like the last dragon aura.

Before the palace examination, the tribute students of the Ratexing Hall of the Imperial Academy had been summoned by Emperor Yongli, and Li Zhixing was among them. He was granted the position of county magistrate and would go to Liaodong to take up his post soon.

Although the county magistrate was only a seventh-rank official, Li Zhixing was not very old and had just come of age. A 20-year-old county magistrate could be said to be in high spirits.

It is worth mentioning that Li Zhixing had not yet been engaged. In the Taoist system, it was natural to get married after the age of coming of age, but in the Confucian system, people could get married at the age of fourteen, so Li Zhixing was considered relatively late.

The reason for this is that Li Zhixing was too naughty, useless and frivolous in the past. Naturally, families of equal status were unwilling to marry their daughters to him. As for those of lower status, they were willing to marry him up, but the Li family was not very willing, so it was delayed until he reached adulthood.

In this way, it was a bargain for Qin Lingge.

This time, he went to Liaodong to take up his post, essentially going to the territory of the old Qin family. In the Confucian world, although the Qin family was not a royal family, they had been in Liaodong for generations and had tens of thousands of servants under their command, which was really not to be underestimated. The Li family and the Qin family were old friends, and this did not change because of the death of Xuansheng. Li Zhixing just took advantage of his family background to get close to them.

If he could marry the noble daughter of the Qin family, it would be a great help.

The people watching the chess game had gradually seen Qin Lingge's layout.

"Mr. Qin's surname is Qin, and he uses the Li family. Finally, a Qin-Li marriage will be replicated. It is really a good thing that the water does not flow to outsiders."

"Qin Lingge wants to follow the old story of King Xiao and use the power of the Yue family. The Yue family on the side of the little master is not comparable to the Qin of Longcheng. After all, they are just scholars. Maybe they can help a little in the imperial examination, but when they compete for the world, I am afraid they will be of no use."

"I thought the little master could easily win, but now it seems that the little master has fallen into a disadvantage."

"The court came prepared after all, and it is reasonable for the little master to fight hastily."

"I don't know how the little master plans to turn the tables? You know, the outcome of this chess game does not matter what will happen thousands of years later. After I die, I don't care about the floods. As long as I seize the world first, even if I die in the second generation, this chess game is won."

"I think the little master has his own plan, so let's wait and see."

Turning back to the palace examination, Qi Xuansu has already started answering questions.

It is said that the imperial examination depends on luck. What kind of luck? To put it bluntly, it depends on whether you can meet a chief executive officer who is on the same path as you.

Let's take the simplest example. The question is: Is zongzi sweet or salty? The school of the examiner believes that it is salty. If the examinee thinks it is sweet, then no matter how brilliantly he writes, he will fail in the end. But if you agree with the examiner's point of view and write to the examiner's heart, you will naturally be on the list.

The examiner of the palace examination is the emperor himself. In essence, it is to figure out the emperor's mind. Yin Zhengxin studied with Huang Mei. Huang Mei was the Minister of Rites who had been in front of the emperor for a long time. He had a lot of experience and did relevant homework for Qi Xuansu.

This is also Qi Xuansu's hope for a comeback.

After the palace examination, the cabinet ministers first reviewed the papers and divided them into three classes, and then the emperor personally reviewed the papers.

The tribute scholars went back and waited.

Yin Zhengxin returned to his residence. He did not go anywhere for the past few days and did not try to make friends. After all, there was a slight difference between Gongshi and Jinshi. It would be better to visit after passing the Jinshi exam.

On the day of the announcement of the results, a clerk from the Ministry of Rites came to Yin Zhengxin's residence with gongs and drums, and shouted, "Does Master Yin live here? Congratulations to Master Yin for passing the second place and becoming the 17th Jinshi!"

Although he failed to pass the first-class Jinshi exam and was only a second-class Jinshi, it was still good for Yin Zhengxin, better than being a Jinshi. After all, Yin Zhengxin's qualifications were there, and Qi Xuansu was not very proficient in Confucianism. It was too difficult to pass the three top prizes in a row. Being a Jinshi could be considered to meet the requirements.

There was another person who passed the three top prizes in a row, Zhao Yan, who was the champion of the imperial examination and was also selected by the emperor as the champion. Yin Zhengxin was only the champion of Wuzhou, and Zhao Yan was the champion of Jiangzhou. They did not affect each other, so Zhao Yan was still considered to have passed the three top prizes in a row.

At five drums the next day, the new Jinshi lined up in a long queue under the stars, led by the officials of the Ministry of Rites, to the palace to meet the emperor. Zhao Yan was the champion of this year's exam, so he naturally had to walk in front, and the Jinshi behind him were arranged in order according to their rankings. After crossing the Jinshui Bridge and entering the palace gate, you will see the majestic Taiji Hall, with the imperial guards lined up on both sides like nails.

The cold wind at five o'clock in the morning blew a hint of chill on the faces of the new nobles, and they couldn't help but feel nervous and even lightened their steps. Everything they saw was so solemn and solemn, which made them feel the solemnity of the nine-layered palace.

The Jinshi who came here couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in their hearts. When they thought about the hard work of ten years under the cold lamp, now there is finally a result, and the upcoming grace and honor after the audience, who wouldn't be excited?

After several twists and turns, and repeated. Some people returned home sadly, and some had a bright future. Some people returned home without passing the exam, and some people passed the imperial examination. It seems that there is a god helping them in the dark. All living beings are just chess pieces in the hands of immortals.

Looking at the new Jinshi who were shouting and worshipping at the bottom of the steps, the emperor finally showed a rare smile.

The audience of the newly-appointed Jinshi by the emperor was a major event that all dynasties attached great importance to. Because from then on, these people would shoulder the heavy responsibility of the country, serve as officials, or benefit the people and be recorded in history, or make great achievements and be famous for generations.

All the important officials of the current dynasty were ordered to come and watch the ceremony.

When the emperor looked down at the Jinshi, he didn't know that the two chess players sitting high in the clouds were also looking down at them.

It was natural for Qi Xuansu to observe the chess game here, but Qin Lingge expected that Qi Xuansu's chess piece would be among the newly-appointed Jinshi, so he paid special attention to the Jinshi this time.

However, Qin Lingge never expected that Qi Xuansu's chess piece Yin Zhengxin would make a mistake, but he was only a second-class Jinshi, and was not very impressive. Qin Lingge took it for granted that Zhao Yan, the newly-appointed champion who had won three prizes in a row, was Qi Xuansu's chess piece, so he paid special attention to him.

At this time, Zhao Yan's luck had already formed a small snake, which was really not to be underestimated.

On the other hand, Yin Zhengxin's luck was just a mud loach at this time, not worth mentioning, so it was reasonable that he could not attract Qin Lingge's attention.

This time, it was a blessing in disguise. Qi Xuansu's mistake concealed himself and caused Qin Lingge's misjudgment.