Today, Chen Qingtong was wearing a lilac embroidered jacket with gold thread embroidered with peony patterns. The color matching pattern is exquisite but not flashy, and it looks very elegant.

In addition, there was a maid wearing a light plain skirt standing beside Chen Qingtong, looking at Chen Yichen with curiosity.

"Sorry, I've kept you waiting for a long time."

Chen Yichen bowed his hand to return the gift. He really didn't expect Chen Qingtong to wait for him in advance, because this situation in later generations is indeed not very common.

"No, I just arrived."

Chen Qingtong waved his hand, but as soon as he finished speaking, the little girl next to him said, "Miss, have we been waiting for a long time?"

"Xue'er, who made you talk too much!"

Chen Qingtong whispered, but the little maid named Xueer next to her stuck out her tongue and did not show any fear. It can be seen that her relationship should be very good on weekdays.

"Since we've been waiting for a long time, let's go in first."

Chen Yichen smiled apologetically.

"Well, then let's go."

Chen Qingtong still looked careless, and pulled the maid's arm and walked into the corner gate quickly, which was completely different from the ancient Jiangnan woman in Chen Yichen's stereotyped image.

But it would be better to be natural like this. Otherwise, Chen Yichen would have to pretend to be a literary conversation in order not to reveal his flaws, which would be quite uncomfortable.

...

On the other side, there was a scene of a crowd of guests in Chengguo's mansion. Zhu Yong stood in the main hall and greeted several guests who came to the banquet. All those who could receive the personal hospitality of Chengguo's Duke were Lords of Nanjing and real power figures.

At this moment, standing on Zhu Yong's left hand, Xu Xianzong, the fourth generation of Duke of Wei. As a descendant of Xu Da, the founding sixth duke, and the Duke of Wei was the first hereditary duke of the Ming Dynasty. Xu Xianzong's status is naturally self-evident.

On Zhu Yong's right hand is Li Long, the second-generation Xiangcheng Bo. Compared with the founding auxiliary fortune and the hereditary Duke who was unlucky in Fengtianjing, the title of Earl is not too high, and in theory he is not worthy of standing in the right hand position of Duke Cheng Guo Zhu Yong.

However, in addition to being the title of Xiangchengbo, Li Long also held the position of garrison in Nanjing, in charge of the Nanjing Central Army Governor's Office, and theoretically controlled the forces of all Nanjing garrisons.

In addition, since the establishment of the Nanjing garrison position of Yongle Dynasty, it has always been the role of Xiangcheng Bo Li Long, and has served in the four dynasties, so it is not surprising that he is standing on Zhu Yong's right hand.

In addition to several lords stationed in Nanjing, two officials who did not have titles stood beneath Zhu Yong, namely the eunuch of Nanjing garrison Liu Ning, and the Minister of War Xu Qi.

Since the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, the Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, moved the capital to Beijing, the six cabinet teams in Nanjing have basically become excluded or retirement bases. However, as the administrative center in the south, no matter how hard they live, they have officials with real power, otherwise everything would have to wait until the capital made a decision, and with the efficiency of ancient times, the daylily would be cold.

The existence of these two people just interprets the power structure of Nanjing in the Ming Dynasty, namely the Nanjing garrison, the governor of eunuchs, and the counselor of the councillor (simultaneously served by the Minister of War).

Or in a sense, this division of rights structure also represents the three forces of the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom, including honorary relatives, eunuchs and civil servants.

When Duke Cheng Guo Zhu Yong was having a great time talking with everyone, he saw Chen Ying, the Marquis of Taining, walking over from the corner of his eyes. His steps were a little hurried and he looked around from time to time.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Yong bowed and apologized, then walked towards Chen Ying.

"Hara Taining hasn't arrived at my mansion for a long time, so he is a little unfamiliar, right?"

Zhu Yong smiled and joked, he and Chen Ying were in charge of the capital respectively, and the Governor's Office of the Later Army were considered old colleagues. In addition, Chen Qingtong went to school at the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion when she was young, so she had a very familiar relationship and had less fake politeness.

Facing Zhu Yong's teasing, Chen Ying shook his head and said helplessly: "It's not because of the little girl Qingtong, she came with me, but she got off the carriage early at the gate of the mansion. Now there are no people."

When Zhu Yong heard that it was about Chen Qingtong, he burst into laughter: "Qingtong is probably more familiar to me than in Taining Marquis' Mansion, so you don't have to worry about it."

"This is not a worry. You know that I am the only daughter, and I will be at the age of a celestial year next year. Now I am still like a little girl. How can this be done?"

Taining Marquis is different from other nobles. He has no other descendants, only his only daughter Chen Qingtong. Not to mention that he has to consider inheriting titles in the Duke and Marquis family, even if he is an ordinary family, it is a big deal to inherit the family business without a male.

Therefore, Chen Ying attached great importance to Chen Qingtong's cultivation, and even let her go to the Duke Chengguo's Mansion to study. He thought that even if the title was inherited from a hundred years, Chen Qingtong would have his own connections and ability to be independent, and would not be able to marry again, so that he would not be helpless in the end.

As a result, Chen Qingtong could even play at the banquet. She was really ignorant!

Zhu Yong, Duke Cheng, naturally knew the knot in his old friend, so he comforted him: "Qingtong was smart since she was a child. Maybe she went to the private school to meet her classmates first, so there is no need to worry too much."

As he was talking, a group of students from the inner courtyard and the figure of Chen Qingtong happened to be among them. So Zhu Yong smiled and pointed: "Look, I'm right? Didn't Qingtong come with his classmates?"

But soon the smile on Zhu Yong's face calmed down because he found that Chen Qingtong was not a classmate in the inner courtyard, but Shen Yichen!

How could he be here?

Zhu Yong's eyes suddenly became sharp, and he began to guess the motivation for Shen Yichen to appear.

A few days ago, at the private school of the outer courtyard, Shen Yichen finally refused to go to the inner courtyard to attach the school, which was beyond everyone's expectations. Zhu Yong did not see through what Shen Yichen wanted at that time, but for many years, he knew that there must be a reason behind it, but he was not interested in delving into it.

In addition to reminiscing about the old affairs of the honorary officials, this family dinner today also gives the students of the inner court a chance to show their faces.

You should know that the candidates for the imperial examinations will determine your final admission and ranking. Not only do you have absolute strength, but you also need certain luck and connections.

Take Shen Yichen's Tongsheng who has been taking the exam for several years as an example. The county exam only has the number and does not have the name, let alone the operation of copying to prevent the recognition of handwriting. This means that the examiner knows who the candidate is writing this test paper, and it is easy to operate in secret.

Even if the examiner is fair and honest, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. Everyone likes and prefers different styles of writing. If they have a good relationship with the examiner, or even have a relationship with teachers and students, the chance of getting favor will be greatly increased.

As the Duke of the Kingdom, there is naturally no need to cheat clearly, but it is not too much to invite officials such as the prefect of the prefect, the academic administration and other chief examiners to get familiar with the clan disciples in the palace.

In fact, let alone the college entrance examination, even if the measures to prevent cheating are strict, the relevant households can still be treated with preferential treatment even if they are promoted to the examination for juren and jinshi.

Even Zhang Juzheng, the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty's first cabinet, could not avoid such behavior. His sons were either the top scholar or the top scholar. Everyone knew the reasons behind it.

Chen Yichen appeared at the family banquet, and what Zhu Yong could think of was that it had something to do with next year's county examination. In fact, it was indeed as Duke Cheng Guo thought. Chen Qingtong pulled him over to attract the attention of the examiner who attended the banquet today.
Chapter completed!