Ink Burns

Chapter 75 The best examination in the world

The ashes in the pipe were cleared away, and the dark fire was burning brightly again.

After Lord Liu finished his criticism, he turned back to look at Shan Yue with a relaxed expression: "Cheng Jia, did you tell me about 'Qing Feng'?"

Let’s get to the point.

Shan Yue lowered his head and said softly, "Yes, Madam mentioned it to me casually. I know that the name 'Qingfeng' is my great fortune."

Lord Liu nodded: "You are indeed lucky."

Lord Liu turned slowly, and in the smoke, he squinted his eyes and pulled out a crimson post from the low eucalyptus drawer beside him and threw it in front of Shanyue: "Look for yourself."

Shan Yue took it with both hands.

That's the post.

As Duan said, it reads "honest temperament and beautiful appearance, quick-witted and intelligent but also gentle and timid, good at painting but of humble origin." The last line of words was crossed out and covered by ink.

Shan Yue had a bad memory, but she remembered the following words: "Like an invisible shadow, once you die suddenly there will be no one to look for you."

This was the first time Shanyue saw Qingfeng’s post in person.

There are three butterflies of different shapes hidden in the colorful silk paper engravings.

There are two seals printed on the top of this crimson paper. One is a round red seal with the word "Zhao" written in small seal script; the other is a large square seal with the word "Xue" printed in black.

Shan Yue bowed and presented the note to Lord Liu with both hands: "All women meet the requirements."

Master Liu smiled and used his pipe to point at the most important words: "Honest, docile, cowardly, and lowly. You don't fit any of the above descriptions except lowly."

Shan Yue didn't even blink: "Beauty, intelligence, and good painting skills are impossible to fake; being solid, docile, and timid is effortless to fake."

She acted in front of Lord Liu in order to put Cheng Xing to death. She was not docile, cowardly or timid at all.

In that case, let’s try a different way of acting.

"You called me here today, it must mean that there has been some progress, and it is good progress."

Shan Yue lowered his eyes and pointed at the two seals, "The one who issued the invitation was the Zhao family, and the one who did the initial screening and acceptance was the Xue family - this invitation was issued by the Xue Mansion in the capital."

The "Qingfeng" mentioned by Duan is divided into five grades: gold, black, crimson, indigo and blue. The red round seal should be the middleman who distributes the posts, and the color of the seals of each grade should be the color of their corresponding grade - Xue Mansion, Xue Yushi?
Could it be that Censor Xue is the killer god that Cheng Xinghe described as "coming from a prominent family but with a solitary and eccentric personality"?
In a capital city, would there be many Xue Mansions of black rank?
As Shanyue was thinking, the figure with a fierce look just now suddenly appeared in his mind.

A person with such a broad mind would never allow others to manipulate his marriage.

Lord Liu leaned against the Eight Immortals Kang table, his long eyebrows were messy and messy, with an indescribable old man's taste, he raised his eyebrows: "Pretend? Can you pretend for a lifetime?"

There is no need to pretend for a lifetime.

The sentence "sudden death" at the end of the post has already determined the ending of this "Green Phoenix".

Shan Yue lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly: "In this world, who doesn't always wear a mask to show others? I am a humble girl, and I only need to pretend to be cowardly and stupid, and I can marry into a rich family as the wife. This is already a great fortune that my ancestors have accumulated a lot of merit."

Lord Liu nodded in agreement and smiled, "Shang Gong Liu said that you have never inquired about the other party's family - the Cheng family only knows a rough outline, and even Duan has asked me several times in an indirect way, but as someone in the game, you can hold back?"

Shan Yue bit her tongue and said, "No matter which noble family in the capital, it is the good fortune of my ancestors' good deeds. I am not worthy of asking."

Lord Liu was amused by Shan Yue's frankness: a lower-class person who sees things clearly and does not have the pedantic backbone is quite interesting. He honestly admits his desires and expresses his ambitions in a simple manner.

Their great hopes were just a snap of the fingers of the powerful. "You are indeed thorough." Lord Liu was kind enough to tell Shanyue: "You have passed the initial screening. In ten days, you will be selected for the final selection."

Then he asked, "When you entered the mansion, did you meet a man wearing a pine green coat?"

"If they meet, grandma told me to turn my back so that he wouldn't see my face clearly."

Lord Liu hummed lightly and said casually, "He is the other person involved in this post, the current censor of the Imperial Censorate, Xue Xiao, a third-rank official."

Shan Yue raised his eyes, the shock in his eyes undisguised.

Master Liu was in a good mood. His eldest son's disobedience gradually calmed down. He smiled and tapped his pipe again. He joked in a rare relaxed manner: "Are you feeling ecstatic as if you have hit the jackpot?"

ecstasy?

Shanyue sneered in his heart.

As expected, how can good things come from people who come from powerful and wealthy families?

He planned to burn corpses, distribute food and meat in Songjiang Prefecture, and thoroughly investigate this group of Jiangnan parasites. It was nothing more than a factional dispute, right? Where was the ambition to speak up for the people? Not to mention the feelings and dedication of working hard for the people of this long street!
You are willing to get entangled with this dirty and soul-devouring thing like "Qingfeng"!
It's all acting! It's all business!
Shanyue suddenly became a little angry, and inexplicably felt angry and ashamed of being deceived.

Shan Yue quickly lowered his head to hide the emotions in his eyes, and asked in a deep voice: "How could such a talented man fall to the point of being paired with a commoner girl?"

Lord Liu smiled and said, "What's wrong with you? He is a third-rank official. If you are finally selected, you will become my niece, Liu Hezhou, a legitimate daughter of the Liu family in Huating. Your biological father is my cousin who works in the clerk's office in my hometown. Your eldest uncle is the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Your second and third uncles are both the chief officials of a prefecture. According to the rules of 'Qingfeng', the Liu family will be responsible for your background."

"She is from the clean Liu family, and is more than qualified to be his match!"

"A star of misfortune?" Shan Yue frowned.

"He was born with his mother dead. When he was two, his uncle's family was investigated for a major crime, and the entire family was exiled to southern Fujian. When he was three, his father fell off a cliff and broke his leg. Master Li Zhen of Baochan Temple in the capital read his fortune and found out that he was the reincarnation of Fengdu's ghost messenger and a star of misfortune. Anyone who came close to him would die a miserable death. His father sent him to a Taoist temple in the mountains, and the Xue family escaped the disaster."

When Lord Liu mentioned Xue Xiao, he looked at him with disdain, without any sign of respect just now, and he was not afraid of his words of "thoroughly investigating the Duzhou dike breach" - after three years, who would admit it? Besides, was it him who wanted to investigate this case? Or was it the saint who wanted to investigate? It was still unknown!

"Then how did he climb to his current high position at such a young age?" Shan Yue asked hesitantly.

Lord Liu took a puff of cigarette, passed it through his lungs, and exhaled the white mist: "He took the imperial examination under a pseudonym all the way, and passed the Spring Examination at the age of sixteen. During the palace examination, he gave his real name and reported in front of the saint that one of the examiners, the Minister of Rites Lin Chang, who he worshipped as his mentor before the exam, had accepted bribes and cheated in the examination."

Since ancient times, in the civil service, classmates are more important than fellow townsmen, and mentors are more important than biological fathers.

Many candidates would try every means to worship one of the examiners as their nominal mentor before entering the capital to take the imperial examination. Once they pass the exam, their bet on the mentor is considered successful. From then on, a vine will grow with thousands of roots, climbing and interweaving, like another form of "Green Phoenix".

Exposing your mentor in the throne room is no different from killing your father.

"He exposed his mentor, so he can forget about his grades, right?" Shan Yue frowned, "How can he pass the palace examination?"

Master Liu's face was inhuman in the smoke: "Lin Chang cheated by giving money or asking for money before the exam, or leaking similar questions to candidates who had already made a name for themselves."

That is to predict the topic in advance.

Lord Liu continued, "The examination that year consisted of twelve small questions and three large questions, which were mixed with classics, history, etiquette, astronomy, and mathematics. Lin Chang only gave one large question, which was about mathematics related to water conservancy and embankment construction—"

Master Liu exhaled a long breath of white mist and said in a long voice: "And Xue Xiao didn't do this question."

Shan Yue was slightly surprised and opened his lips.

If you don't do the exercises, you won't be suspected of predicting the questions before the exam.

But, in the Imperial Examination, the most prestigious exam in the country, Xue Xiao didn't answer a whole question, yet he was selected as the champion! ?
(End of this chapter)