The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 224 Volume Dowry
"How can Zhongda be so rude?"

Sima Fang scolded.

After a brief exchange, Sima Fang liked Liu Xie more and more.

Not only is he handsome, but he is also extremely talented and knowledgeable.

Having such a friend, one should naturally be happy. How could one be as rude as Sima Yi?

And Sima Fang didn't know why, he always felt like he had seen Liu Xie somewhere before, so he felt very close to him.
"Dad! He, he is..."

Sima Yi didn't dare to say it after all, so he could only sit there frustrated, but always kept the farthest distance from Liu Xie.

"father."

Sima Yi called out softly again, wanting to ask whether the official from the Secretariat had arrived. It was obvious that he still refused to give up.

Without waiting for Sima Fang to answer, Liu Xie said, "Don't wait, the officials from the Secretariat will not come."

Although he was prepared, Sima Yi's chest still skipped a beat and his eyes unconsciously went blank.

“I didn’t win?”

Sima Yi took a deep breath, but was still able to maintain his emotions. He bowed to Liu Xie and thanked him: "Thank you for coming to tell me, my dear brother."

"You're welcome."

Liu Xie pushed the roast chicken on the table towards Sima Yi and said, "Nine out of ten things in the world are not satisfactory. Why should Zhongda care so much about it?"

"Could it be that Zhongda is also a utilitarian person who just wants to enjoy the vanity of being surrounded by flowers?"

Sima Yi was shocked at the moment, but he couldn't help but defend himself -

"I am not a utilitarian person. It's just that my ambitions must be realized by standing at the center."

Liu Xie: "But now that you didn't win, does that mean Zhongda has no value?"

"of course not."

Sima Yi sighed softly: "Perhaps it is just that I am not talented enough to enter the hall."

Seeing Sima Yi so self-pitying, Liu Xie didn't want to tease him anymore.

Putting the package in his hand on the table, Liu Xie motioned to Sima Yi: "Open it and take a look."

"Did you bring a gift?"

Sima Yi was puzzled, but when he saw the items in the package, he was shocked again!

Among the items were naturally the ten gold cakes and the emerald feather and bronze vermilion bird head ornament that Liu Xie personally selected.

"You, what do you want to do by giving me such a valuable thing!"

Sima Yi was terrified, hiding behind Sima Fang and trembling: "Is this... a betrothal gift?"

Liu Xie nodded: "Everyone has it, and you are no exception."

And everyone has one!
Sima Yi felt extremely aggrieved at this moment!
Deceiving too much!

He actually came straight to my house to give me a betrothal gift?

Has the decadent atmosphere in Chang'an really reached this point?

"Boom boom boom!"

Just when Sima Yi was about to start cursing, there was another knock on the door.

Moreover, it was obviously getting lively outside at this moment, with many people wandering in front of the mansion. This undoubtedly revived Sima Yi's heart, which had just been dead!
Is he an official from the Shangshu Mansion?
Liu Xie also looked outside the door in surprise.

Didn't you agree not to come here? Why are you here at this time?
Sima Yi hurried forward and opened the door himself, but was disappointed again.

"I am Yang Xiu from the Taiwei Mansion, and you are Sima Yi from Henei?"

"Yes."

The person who came was Yang Xiu.

After learning that he was not the top scorer, Yang Xiu was furious. After finding out Sima Yi's address, he rushed over directly.

Yang Xiu's face was throbbing with veins, but he still asked cautiously, "Has the emperor been here?"

This question made Sima Yi even more confused: "Why would the emperor come to me?"

The emperor is not here?

That's good!
Yang Xiu went straight into the house and found the familiar face Liu Xie was also there. He immediately felt that there was something fishy going on.

"Okay! Okay! How dare you do such a thing!"

Yang Xiu came to Liu Xie and asked directly: "Whose son are you?"

"I am related to Lord Wen."

Yang Xiu frowned: "Your last name is Lu?"

"No."

"Then the last name is Dong?"

"Not at all."

When Yang Xiu heard Liu Xie deny Erlian, he immediately felt relieved.

As long as he is not a direct relative of Lu Bu and Dong Zhuo, who else in the current court can be greater than Yang Xiu?
Yang Xiu asked again: "Do you know why I came here?"

Sima Yi looked puzzled, while Liu Xie responded calmly: "I know."

"Now that you know, how dare you be so calm?"

"Do you know that what you are doing is deceiving the emperor! No! Not only deceiving the emperor! It is also shaking the national policy of the court! It is shaking the foundation of the Han Dynasty! How dare you do this!"

Yang Xiu sat on the opposite side of Liu Xie angrily: "It just so happens that the emperor is coming soon, I must expose your crimes in front of the emperor!"

It happened so suddenly.

Sima Yi and his son had no idea what was going on. They just kept hearing "Grand Commander", "Son of Heaven", "National Policy", and "Court". They were completely confused. "Uncle, just sit still. Young Master Yang is not here to see you."

At this moment, Liu Xie finally finished a roast chicken that he was going to give to Sima Yi. After cleaning the grease off his hands, he sat aside and looked at Yang Xiu with a playful expression.

Yang Xiu always felt uneasy when he saw Liu Xie staring at him.

In fact, Yang Xiu is not stupid.

After recovering from the previous moment, Yang Xiu also realized one thing -

What if there is no trick?
What if this scholar named Sima Yi is really stronger than him?

Although the probability is extremely small, it does exist!
If this is true, then I would be the one destroying the imperial examination system.

The arrogance that had been building up in the heat of the moment suddenly disappeared.

Yang Xiu felt a surge of fear in his heart.

Looking around, Yang Xiu still wanted to find a reason to escape.

But Yang Xiu's eyes suddenly fell on Sima Yi.

That's a bag.

The bag seemed to contain a luxurious crown and... ten official gold cakes?
Yang Xiu suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

He asked Sima Yi again: "Did the emperor really never come?"

"Really do not have!"

Sima Yi still couldn't figure out what happened: "Brother Yang's suddenness really confused me. Can you calm down and sort things out to avoid misunderstandings?"

Seeing that Sima Yi really knew nothing, Yang Xiu told Sima Yi that he had won the top spot and that the emperor would personally go to his home to congratulate him.

Sima Yi was also stunned.

"Brother Yang, what you mean is... I won?"

"Of course I won! And I'm the top scorer!"

Yang Xiu pointed at the gold cake on Sima Yi's desk angrily and said, "Each of the top ten candidates will receive a gift like this! Don't you know?"

"I really don't know!"

Sima Yi spoke quickly, pointing at Liu Xie: "He brought this to me, saying it was my betrothal gift..."

They both swallowed and seemed to realize something.

With their necks as stiff as wood, the two men turned their heads slowly in despair and looked at Liu Xie who was sitting quietly there.

thump!
Yang Xiu was smart and quick, and he fell to his knees on the ground.

Sima Yi followed suit and knelt on the ground. His body shook like a quail and his mind went blank.

Sima Fang was just wondering when he heard the two men shouting in unison: "I greet your Majesty! Please forgive me!"

His Majesty? !
Sima Fang stared at Liu Xie for a while, and suddenly realized something!
He remembered when he had met Liu Xie!

It was when I was serving as the magistrate of Luoyang!
At that time, Liu Xie was not the emperor, but the "Marquis Dong" beside Emperor Ling!
Sima Fang was also panicking and wanted to kneel down, but Liu Xie stopped him and told him to sit on the couch in peace: "I am an elder, and this is a private visit, so there is no need to perform such a grand ceremony."

Sima Fang was already old, and Liu Xie couldn't bear to see him kneeling down... But Liu Xie was not in a good mood towards Yang Xiu and Sima Yi.

The first target was naturally Yang Xiu.

"Yang Xiu, what a Yang Xiu. Even your father has never spoken to me in such a condescending manner like you did just now. You have defeated your father again? Hmm?"

Yang Xiu stuck his head on the ground, completely motionless, like a dead man...

"You also said that if you are not the first in this imperial examination, there must be some conspiracy?"

Liu Xie spread his sleeves and said, "Come, tell me, where is the conspiracy? Point it out so I can see it."

Yang Xiu continued to play dead, just like his father Yang Biao...

"There are always people who are better than you. You didn't even solve the last math problem, so why do you think you are the first? Do you think that if you can't solve the problem, others can't solve it either?"

Youthful vigor is a good thing.

But Yang Xiu was, after all, the son of a grand marshal. His starting point was too high and he had not experienced too many setbacks. Naturally, he could not say that he was in awe of some things.

If there is no reverence, there will naturally be no sense of responsibility. Therefore, no matter how smart Yang Xiu was, Liu Xie did not dare to entrust him with important tasks.

The few words of instruction given today were purely because Liu Xie wanted Yang Xiu to stop him from going astray.

It was unknown how much Yang Xiu had heard, but he was extremely respectful. He fell to the ground with his butt raised high, and said, "Your Majesty, I will remember your teachings today!"

"Sima Zhongda."

"The grass people are here!"

Like Yang Xiu, Sima Yi also held his butt high, waiting for Liu Xie's decision.

"First of all, I want to make it clear that the two scholars you saw walking with me that day were the Queen and Ms. Cai Qiao. Don't go out and ruin my reputation in the future."

"Grass people don't dare!"

The two of them spoke at the same time, fearing that Liu Xie would be dissatisfied.

"Secondly, I want to congratulate you on winning the first place."

Liu Xie took the green-feathered bronze Vermilion Bird head ornament in his hand, then personally came to Sima Yi and put it on Sima Yi's head.

"You said this was a betrothal gift, which is actually true."

"From now on, the Han Dynasty will hire you as a minister and ask you to protect the people of the court and defend the territory of the Han Dynasty."

"From today on, you will be a Han official for the rest of your life. No matter whether the Han Dynasty is glorious or desolate, strong or declining, you must remember today's etiquette and your identity as a Han official... Do you understand what I mean?"

Sima Yi felt the weight of the crown, and his heart was already filled with waves.

"Your servant Sima Yi will forever be a minister of the Han Dynasty, for eternity!"

(End of this chapter)