Shi Chongjie left, and there was a silence in Hanyuan Palace. Shi Chongwei sat back on the throne heavily, gasping for breath, and the ceremony of the title award could not continue.

Xue Suren, the Minister of Rites, was the presidency. He had to say nothing without saying anything. He gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, this ceremony of singing title..." Kong Sheng interrupted him and said, "The ceremony was suspended. King An of Chu went to Yanshan Villa. Your Highness also needs to set off as soon as possible."

Shi Chongwei woke up and stood up and said, "Prepare the carriage, horse, Kong Xiang, and horse Xiang, you two will go with me. Xue Shangshu, you will go together, bring the top ten test papers of the imperial examinations for the father to take a look."

The Golden Palace was in a mess. Deng Huaisu, the Minister of Rites, directed the group of new Jinshi out of the hall to go to the Ministry of Rites for news. Zhou Chongrui was also taken with him, but he was surrounded by an official party alone. The imperial examination in the seventh year of Jianwu was covered with thick shadows from the beginning.

At the second hour of Si Zheng, Shi Chongjie came to Yanshan Villa to invite the emperor to visit the emperor. Qilongju, the eunuch told Liu Weiguo about the news of King An of Chu'an's visit. Liu Weiguo was a little hesitant. During this period, the Empress Wang ordered that except for the emperor who ordered the emperor to summon her, all other pilgrimage personnel would report to her first, and then decide whether to let the audience meet after asking the reason.

King An of Chu was the prince, and the rules that should be followed must not be missing. When Queen Wang heard the words King An of Chu, she frowned first and asked, "What are he here to do?"

"King An of Chu said he would come and ask for peace." Liu Weiguo said respectfully. He knew that the prince was fighting with King An of Chu. As the eunuch of Bingli around the emperor, Liu Weiguo was impartial and kept his duty.

Queen Wang thought for a while and said, "Long live to take medicine and go to bed, let King An of Chu wait a moment, and then talk about it after Long Live wakes up." Liu Weiguo knew that Queen Wang was intentionally delaying, so he respectfully responded to "yes" and came out to invite King An of Chu to the side hall to drink tea and wait.

Two quarters of an hour later, the prince brought Kong Sheng, Ma Suizhen, Xue Suren and other major ministers. When Liu Weiguo saw this move, he knew something was wrong. Something big happened in the court. When Queen Wang heard that her son was coming, she hurriedly called him in first. The mother and son discussed for a while. The matter was a big deal and could not be hidden. Fortunately, Shi Chongwei chose Xiang Kaijie as the top scholar because he was interested in his articles, and he was not afraid of Shi Chongjie's attack.

Liu Weiguo did not dare to delay such a major event. After waiting for a while, he went to the palace to report that Shi Fangzhen was not sleeping, so he leaned on the bed and listened to the palace visiting the eunuch Lu Mingli to study for him.

This Lu Gonggong lived in simplicity and was the most low-key among the four eunuchs. There were not many court officials who had seen him. When Shi Fangzhen was in the Eastern Palace, Lu Mingli served him to study. Shi Fangzhen had not yet understood this Lu Gonggong, so he knew first. Chen Pinxi, the Grand Secretary of Jixian Hall who taught the prince to study, liked this clever little eunuch very much. Although he did not explicitly accept him as his disciple, he deliberately cultivated him. Lu Mingli seeks to improve himself and spends his spare time reading books. Even Shi Fangzhen sighed that Lu Mingli's knowledge was above him. After Shi Fangzhen ascended the throne, he gave Lu Mingli to be the eunuch of the palace, and handed over the matter of archiving the imperial edicts and orders in the palace to him. Sometimes when he encountered questions, he would ask him secretly. He rested in a different garden and had few entertainment. Shi Fangzhen gave Lu Mingli to read books every day and talked about some interesting stories in the book to pass the time.

Liu Weiguo issued a report to the prince, and King An of Chu and ministers of the court came to meet him. Shi Fangzhen knew that something big happened, otherwise all the people would have come to the villa. Lu Mingli put away the book and bowed to retreat. Shi Fangzhen called him and said, "Liu Weiguo, change my clothes for me and carry me to the main hall. Lu Mingli, stand by and listen. Promote their meeting."

A mess, stone

Fang Zhen was carried to the outer hall and sat in the middle. Shi Chongwei and others entered the hall to bow and bow, and shouted long live the mountain. Liu Weiguo and Lu Mingli stood on the left and right, standing behind the emperor, while Queen Wang hid in the door of the bedroom, listening quietly.

When everyone stood up, Shi Fangzhen's eyes swept over the faces of the ministers with majestic eyes. Although he was skinny and bone-thin, his cheekbones were protruding and his eye sockets were deep, his eyes were as sharp as a knife, and Shi Chongwei felt his skin hurt.

Shi Chongjie took the lead in cheating on the imperial examination. The prince reported the favoritism. Shi Chongwei shouted for injustice and presented the test papers of Xiang Kaijie and others for the emperor to see. Shi Fangzhen opened Xiang Kaijie's test paper and looked at it twice, feeling dizzy. The black words on the paper were flying in front of his eyes. He closed his eyes and gasped for a moment, and ordered, "Lu Mingli, come and read it to me."

"... The generals are strict and powerful, the people are dedicated, the formation soldiers use their lives, and the soldiers will win..." Lu Mingli's voice echoed in the hall. Shi Fangzhen nodded frequently with his eyes closed. Shi Chongjie had never read Xiang Kaijie's policy theory. Listening to Lu Mingli, he really criticized the current problems. If he had something to say, it was not under Zhou Chongrui's article.

Shi Chongwei saw the emperor nodding frequently, and felt very calm. After reading the road, he took the lead and said, "Father, my son's favorite sentence, "The most important weapon of a king and a country is more important than orders. If the order is serious, the king will be respected, and the country will be safe; if the order is mild, the king will be humble, and the king will be in danger," this sentence was deafening and shocking, which made people alert, so he chose Kaijie as the top scholar. The son's minister was determined to seek scholars from public opinion, but he did not know who the second brother believed in, and thought that the son's minister had committed favoritism and fraud, so he scolded the son's minister in person on the Golden Palace, saying that he would come to Yanshan Villa to complain. The son's minister was afraid of being shocked to his father, but the second brother did not listen to the dissuasion of Kong Xiang and Ma Xiang, and insisted on his own actions, asking his father to observe clearly."

The lawsuit was both tricky and ruthless. Shi Chongjie had been forced to the edge of the cliff. If he took a step back, he would fall into the abyss and could not stand up any more. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed, "Father, Xiang Kaijie's strategy is indeed exquisite, but it is also a fact that he bribed the eunuch of the ministerial affairs, Tang Wenzhong, and the imperial examinations are full of evil deeds. The children of powerful people occupy the forefront. The Beijing stroke was full of discussions. The Ministry of Rites was surrounded by more than a thousand sons. The report letters were blocked in the bronze arch. The censors sued the emperor in a constant stream. Please ask the father to investigate."

Shi Fang was stunned. He had read the list of examinations and knew that the current examination was more favorable to the test. He also warned the prince not to indulge himself too much to offend the scholars of the world. Unexpectedly, there were actually encirclements of the Ministry of Rites in the capital. The news submitted by the Dragon Guards were mostly trivial matters. Why did such major events not be reported? Shi Fangzhen was panicked. It seemed that he was recuperating in Yanshan Villa, and the news was blocked. Could it be that the prince was doing things?

Shi Fang was really suspicious, and his two sons seemed to have become unfamiliar with each other, shouting, "Where is Feng Zhong, let him come to see me."

Feng Zhong was in Yanshan Villa and rushed over after hearing the news. Shi Fangzhen said coldly, "Feng Zhong, I asked you to take charge of the Beijing Issues. Why didn't you report the news when the students surrounded the Ministry of Rites? There is also the fraud in the current imperial examination. Is it true that Tang Wenzhong received a bribe?"

After a series of questions, Feng Zhong saw sweat on his head. These memorials were all reported. Huang Xi sent someone to deliver them every day, but Empress Wang asked him to choose before the memorials, so as not to affect the emperor's recovery. Therefore, Empress Wang had read the memorials submitted to the emperor in advance, and she ordered them to release them temporarily. The emperor was seriously ill and the prince was in charge of the country. If he did not obey the orders, the time when the prince ascended the throne was his death. After thinking about it over and over again, Feng Zhong decided to obey the orders for his future.

At this moment, the emperor asked,

Zhong knelt on the ground and said nothing. The sweat from the bean head rolled to the ground and soon moistened it. A chill arose from the heart. Shi Fangzhen didn't expect that his most trusted eunuch was also deceiving him. It seemed that he had become a deaf person and a blind man in the Yanshan Villa.

As his eyes swept across everyone, Shi Fangzhen felt more and more uneasy. He suddenly stood up and ordered, "Transfer the order and return to Beijing."

…………

The emperor was still driving to the capital city, and the people were cheering along the way. The emperor returned from the northern expedition and moved into Yanshan Villa. There were constant rumors in the capital. Some people said that the emperor was seriously ill, and he must have recovered from the illness. Since Shi Fangzhen ascended the throne, he has been living with the people, and has reduced the luxury of the previous dynasty, so the people naturally supported him. The emperor returned to the capital. After hearing the news, the people who came to take the opportunity to line up from the Jinguang Gate to the Zhuque Gate.

Sitting in the chariot and listening to the tide of cheering "Long Live" outside, Shi Fangzhen was both happy and sad. He worked hard to govern himself, and was supported by the people. Although the Northern Expedition failed, the historical books were still a wise ruler in Zhongxing. It was sad that time was too late. He was seriously ill at the age of fifty-three. I don’t know how long he could live. Wei'er and Jie'er were in the same situation, and the government was unstable and there were many hidden dangers. Shi Fangzhen leaned depressedly on the soft pillow. If God gave me mercy and gave me ten years of life, I would definitely be able to eliminate the hidden dangers and pass on a country with a strong country and a rich people to future generations.

The ceremonial guard entered the Zhuque Gate, and all officials who received the notice were waiting in the square in front of Hanyuan Hall. However, Shi Fangzhen did not go to Hanyuan Hall to receive worship and went straight back to the study. It was only fifteen miles from Yanshan Villa to the capital, but Shi Fangzhen felt exhausted. The imperial doctor nervously took his pulse and applied acupuncture for him. After nearly half an hour, Shi Fangzhen felt that he had recovered his strength.

In the morning, it was the hottest time of the day. The sun shone directly on the square without any obstacles. Some older officials were already shaking and dizzy. At this time, Liu Weiguo came out to issue an order, and let the officials go back. The Secretary of the Sixth Ministry of Xuan and Jiuqingqing were visiting the imperial study room to meet.

All officials have been in the officialdom for many years and are well-informed. Naturally, they know that the emperor's return to Beijing this time was not due to his illness and recovery. It is probably related to the attack of King An of Chu at the Hanyuan Hall Famous Ceremony. The court is in a season of internal and external troubles, and the court is unstable.

In the imperial study, Shi Fangzhen had already transferred the secret guards' archives. The more he looked, the more he looked, the bluer his face became. He didn't expect so many things to be concealed. Although Feng Zhong just begged for guilt and did not say who was instructed by him, Shi Fangzhen knew in his heart that it was Empress Wang who was hiding from him. In addition to letting him rest assured, the purpose of Empress Wang was also helping the prince.

After hearing Xiang Kaijie's argument, Shi Fangzhen was already ready to scold King An of Chu and deal with the matter with the mud. When the water was clear, there would be no fish. Every imperial examination was injustice, and this matter was difficult to be complete. But now his idea has changed. The secret guard's spies listed dozens of bribery candidates one by one, involving as many as one million taels of silver. Tang Wenzhong received 42,000 taels of silver from Xiang Kaijie, and Ai Xin ranked second this time and gave him 22,000 taels of silver.

Tang Wenzhong was greedy for money and Shi Fang had heard of it. He also knew that Feng Zhong ran a gambling house. These people were close friends to him. Greeding in some money was just a trivial matter for him. If someone reported it, he would be fined some silver or a few words of scolding him.

But Shi Fangzhen became suspicious, suspecting that the people around him were deceived by him. The prince was in charge of the country for a year and was deliberately or unintentionally imprisoned. Even his son would never tolerate it. Shi Fangzhen made up his mind to use the imperial examination corruption case to clean up the government affairs and take the authority back into his hands.
Chapter completed!