Chapter 889: Follow-up

This sandstorm on the afternoon of the fourth day of March left an indelible mark in the hearts of the people in the capital.

The yellow sand started to blow from early noon (eleven o'clock noon) until the sun was about to stop, and it took three or four hours. When the wind gradually became smaller, the capital was covered with a layer of yellow sand.

Even if you are ordinary small families, half a shovel of soil will be swept out, like the large courtyard of the powerful and noble families. You can clean and transfer the house and get half a car of yellow sand. This is a later story, so I won’t mention it for now.

When Cao Yong returned from the Ministry of Revenue, the wind and sand had not stopped. The consequence of his return against the dust storm was the sand covered with his head and face.

It was not until he returned to the mansion and took a shower and changed his clothes that Cao Yong was more at ease.

Fortunately, in this Kangxi Dynasty, sandstorms were strange and never encountered in a century. Otherwise, like later generations, it would be really unbearable to have a sand all over the spring without any trouble.

"Mr., the birthday gift for the Wanbeng Festival has arrived. Should I send someone to the Ministry of Internal Affairs tomorrow?" Chu Yu asked when he saw her husband change his clothes.

"Only half a month, let's go to the warehouse first. I'll wait a few days to see the limelight of other mansions." Cao Yong thought for a while and replied.

Kangxi's preferences are becoming more and more confusing. This annual birthday ceremony is also a time to test people's hearts. Following the crowd will make people feel uneasy; if you are prominent, you don't know which one to offend.

Chu Yu took a towel, helped Cao Yong dry his hair, braid his braids, and said, "The fifth uncle is the first, the second old lady is holding wine in the East Courtyard. The old lady has already brought Tianyou and the others over, and told me to wait for my master to come back and go there together."

After hearing this, Cao Yong looked at the clock on the ground and said, "It's getting late, let's go there."

The wind outside had already stopped, only the shoes fell on the ground and the dust raised at the feet witnessed this "distorted phenomenon".

There is a corner gate in the middle of the East Mansion and the West Mansion, so you don’t need to take a detour to the front yard.

When Cao Yong and Chuyu arrived at Jiaomen, there was already an old lady from Zhaojia's house waiting here.

"Master, Madam, our old lady has asked the old slave to wait for a while." The woman smiled and leaned over and said.

Cao Yong waved his hand and told the woman to get up. The couple went to Zhaojia's yard.

*

Zhaojia's yard, upper room.

The women were in the inner room, and Cao Fu took his nephews in the outer room, and laughed inside and outside the room.

Although the wind and sand were blew evilly in the afternoon, in the eyes of women and children, this matter of God is not something that ordinary people can worry about, but it is better for each family to take care of each family.

It was Cao Fu's side that only listened to Xiaoman's good news, and only listened to the follow-ups before the Ministry of Rites. He knew that the wind was too strong and he just blew the list off.

He was already filled with joy. He listened to his nephews asking about the imperial examinations and answering the children's questions patiently, without any annoyance.

Tianyou is ten years old this year, and is much taller. He has inherited his parents' good looks. He is much more handsome than Hang Seng, Zuo Cheng and others.

In addition to being on the list of uncles, Meng Shi Qian Chenqun is also on the list of masters. Tianyou said, "Uncle Fifth, Mr. Xu has also passed the exam. Is he just like the fourth uncle who wants to be an official in another place and never go back to our house in the future?"

Cao Fu nodded and smiled, "Your gentleman is a great talent, and it's time to win. With his talent, even if he doesn't get the first grade, he will still get the second grade. Most of them stay in the capital and enter the Hanlin Academy."

When Tianyou heard this, he couldn't help but smile.

When Hang Seng and his friends heard about their previous master, they said, "I haven't seen you for a long time. Can you pay me a greeting?"

This said: "Sir is living outside the city, but it's far away. The adoptive father will not allow us to go."

While talking, a maid said, "Master, Madam!"

It was Cao Yong and his wife who arrived. Cao Feng and the children both got up and met them.

"Congratulations to Xiaowu." Cao Yong was in a good mood and said to Cao with a smile.

Chu Yu also said congratulations. Cao Fu felt a little embarrassed and said, "It's all luck."

Cao Yong said a few more words to the child, and then followed Chu Yu and Cao Feng to go into the inner room to pay tribute to Zhao Jia.

Zhaojia and Li sat on the kang and talked about family matters. Others sat or stood beside each other, and the room was filled with flowers.

Because Jinghui and Su Xin were also on the side, Cao Yong, the eldest uncle, was not good for him to stay in the inner room for a long time. He had met Li and Zhao Jia, so he came out with Cao Fu.

In the inner room, Zhao Jia was already talking about treating guests and drinking.

Three years ago, the concubine's son was defeated by Tanhua and the legitimate son was defeated, which was the most embarrassing thing for Zhaojia. Now, the youngest son is half a step away from the Jinshi gate. How could she not be happy?

In addition, the Cao family has not had any happy events in recent years. The two palaces have been silent for a long time, so she also wants to take advantage of this and lively.

Cao Fu was a little helpless and complained to his cousin in a low voice: "Since I got the news, our old lady has been talking about it. There is also a palace examination. Now I will do it, and it is a joke."

When Cao Yong heard this, he remembered what Jiang Jian said in the afternoon that he was "unstable in his picking up his son" and asked, "Which room does it seem that there are any candidates who are inappropriate?"

"Is the candidate not right?" Cao Feng heard this and said a little strangely, "There is nothing wrong. Someone who wants to take it privately, but he was found by the officers before he left the scene. I just had an empty house. I don't know if it was delayed by another or something prohibited, but there was no end anyway." He paused and said, "Brother, when Mr. Zhang was patrolling the field, my younger brother saw him... I still remember seeing him when I was young... but now he is not old... I heard that he is not proud now, and my uncle mentioned him a few times before his life, so he feels guilty..."

This is about Zhang Boxing, which involves old cases.

Cao Yong also heard his father mention it in his early years that because the Gali case was involved in the Li family, Cao Yin had no choice but to watch and knew that Zhang Boxing was wronged, so he did not speak for him.

On the surface, he was concerned about the Li family. In fact, Cao Yong knew that there was only one person in the world who could make his father go against his original intention, that was the one on the dragon throne.

Cao Yin and Kangxi's monarchs and ministers have been doing most of their lives, so how could they not know the emperor's fear of Han officials?

Zhang Boxing's defeat was not due to his tit-for-tat confrontation with Gali, but due to his "fame".

Thinking of this, Cao Yong secretly rejoiced that his father quit the Jiangning Weaving errand before his death. Otherwise, if the father and son inherited it, the Cao family would have a great end.

If the capital city is a pool, with dragons and tigers standing in the depths and no bottoms; then the officialdom of Jiangnan is a pot of oil, cooked with harsh oil, and it is hard to grasp the scale.

"How can you do everything in the officialdom? You are getting older and you are about to enter the officialdom now. Remember to do something on the premise of protecting yourself. Greed makes people crazy, and without desires, you will be strong. This greed is not only greed for money, but also greed for fame. Gali greed for money and loses his body, while Zhang Boxing is greedy for fame and losing his heart. They are all lessons of the past." Cao Yong thought for a moment and said to Cao Feng.

After Cao Feng heard this, he thought carefully about his cousin's words and his eyes gradually became clear.

Cao Yong smiled, but he still had hidden worries in his heart.

Not to mention others, even those censors, who are forced to catch up on the wind and start looking for "sinners" because of this yellow sand.

God is "warning". No one dares to push the fault on the emperor, so the ministers need to take the blame. I don't know which unlucky guy will catch up with this...

*

Inside Andingmen, Prince Yong’s Mansion, and living room.

The Seventh Prince came to pass the oral order, and the Fourth Prince knelt down and listened, saying that "the minister received the order" before he stood up.

Kangxi had issued an order to order the third prince and the fourth prince to lead the other six people to investigate the original paper.

Although the Aisin Jueluo family is now in the world, the emperor ruled this country not by clan relatives or by the force of the Eight Banners, but by scholars.

The court cherished his face and would not make a big fuss about the "Imperial Examination Fraud Cases"; Kangxi also loved fame and did not want to make a "silly" decision in history books.

In this examination, we must also conduct strict investigations to ensure the hearts of all the students in the world.

"The only one is me and the third brother? Where is the seventh brother?" The fourth prince heard that he and the third brother took the lead, and was a little puzzled: "The seventh brother happened to be in charge of the Ministry of Rites, why didn't the emperor call the seventh brother?"

The seventh prince smiled bitterly and said, "The Ministry of Rites was the chairman of the Ministry of Rites. Now that this incident happened, my younger brother is also responsible. The Emperor Ahma has not been asked for any crime now, so why would he allow me to interfere in this matter? Not only me, but the Ministry of Rites has no one to do with the original paper of this investigation exam."

The fourth prince was shocked when he heard this.

This shows that the emperor's father not only doubted several examiners, but also the officials of the Ministry of Rites.

The seventh prince ran for an afternoon, not only was he covered in dust, but he had not yet entered the water for half a day. After passing the order, his stomach was already "gurgling".

Seeing this, the fourth prince said, "Seventh brother hasn't eaten yet? Just use it here, I just happened to finish my work."

When the Seventh Prince heard this, he was about to say he was not polite, so he would go back to the mansion first, but when the words came to his mouth, he remembered the Fourth Prince's sacrifice to the tomb last month, and then he thought that he had been rejected and asked to sign a memorial. He changed his words and said with a smile: "Since that's the case, I'll bother the Fourth Brother. But I have to worry about the Fourth Brother who is going to pour some water first and let my brother wash the sand on his face..."

*

The next day, when Cao Yong arrived at the yamen, he heard the hall leader coming to pass the message, and the Fourth Prince invited him.

When Cao Yong arrived at the Fourth Prince's office room, several ministers had arrived and were standing there, listening to the Fourth Prince's speech.

Cao Yong stepped forward, greeted the Fourth Prince, and retreated to Zhang Boxing's head.

The fourth prince was looking up at Cao Yong, and just saw Zhang Boxing standing shaking with a hunched body. He frowned and ordered: "Show the seat to Lord Zhang!"

The head of the hall standing beside him, after listening to the orders of the Fourth Prince, he brought a small stool and placed it behind Zhang Boxing.

Zhang Boxing kept saying "I dare not" and finally sat down carefully under the gaze of the Fourth Prince.

"The two ministers have not arrived yet? Let someone urge me?" The fourth prince was impatient and ordered.

Before he finished speaking, he heard the footsteps of "Dingdeng" and the two ministers came together.

Seeing this, Zhang Boxing stood up from the stool. The Fourth Prince waited for the two ministers to see the ceremony and asked someone to press the seats for them. Then Zhang Boxing sat down again.

"I have received the emperor's will. I will go to the Ministry of Rites to review the original paper of the current examination tomorrow. It will take several days to do it. I will have to worry you for a while," said the fourth prince.

After hearing this, several sitting officials stood up and said, "I dare not!"

The atmosphere in the room was a bit strange, Zhang Boxing's expression was a little dull, and the other people also had different expressions. Only Tian looked at the nose and the nose, and he didn't know what he was thinking.

The so-called Mokan Original Book is to check the scholars on the current list one by one.

Cao Yong felt heavy in his heart, not afraid of anything else, but because he was afraid that his cousin would be implicated for no reason. No matter whether there was a person who really "frauded" in this subject, at this point, two princes and two grand scholars came forward and always had to make some splashes.

At this time, ordering people to investigate thoroughly. Although they can temporarily appease the disciple and give them an explanation, it is also a kind of fuel to promote the fire.

Not to mention the candidates who were in the pilot, the failed juren is afraid that seeing the court's arrangement, he will increasingly believe that there is a "fraud" incident and will be in trouble.

After the Fourth Prince finished the responsibilities of the Ministry of Revenue, the next day, together with the Third Prince and several other officials appointed by the imperial edict, a total of eight people went to the Ministry of Rites to review the papers.

While comforting his cousin, Cao Yong asked him to stay at home recently and not go out for social events; while he was staring at the guild hall outside the front door where the crowds of students gathered.

Cao Yong also made a special trip to Xiaoman to tell Qian Chenqun. Qian Chenqun is from Zhejiang, has a wide range of talented people among scholars, and has known many relatives and friends, so Cao Yong was afraid that he would be involved.
To be continued...