"Old Zhou is the backbone of the country, so it's normal not to know much about the younger generation," Rong Xia ticked off a few names on the list, "Since I have ascended the throne, the world is waiting to be revived, next year Enke will be opened, and the world will be embraced." Genius."
"Your Majesty is holy." Several courtiers saluted in unison. In recent years, many scholars have been persecuted because of the Jiang family's fuss. Now that His Majesty is open to Enke, the happiest person must be the literati in the world. The only problem is that the notices are now posted all over the country, and scholars in some remote places may not be able to reach the capital in time.
Zhou Bingan raised this question, and Rong Xia said: "Since the imperial examination is not held according to the rules, there is no need to stick to the time. It is convenient to set the time to the end of April."
"Your Majesty is benevolent and considerate of the literati in the world. I thank Your Majesty for your kindness on behalf of the students."
"In my opinion, you, Yao Peiji, and Liu Banshan will be in charge of this imperial examination." Rong Xia has long been used to the behavior of these old foxes who love to praise him when they have nothing to do. It is still up to the two of you to decide."
Let them take charge of the first imperial examination after the new emperor ascended the throne. This is a great face, and it also shows the new emperor's trust in them. Zhou Bingan and Yao Peiji are both smart people, knowing that His Majesty intends to train Liu Banshan, they immediately agreed and praised Liu Banshan by the way.
Liu Banshan is only in his thirties now, and he has already taken the position of Minister of Dali Temple. There is a lot of room for promotion in the future. Even for the sake of future generations, they don't want to offend this person.
After the courtiers left, Rong Xia looked down again at the list presented to him by Zhou Bingan and others. The Zhu Bi stopped on Xie Qilin's name for a long time, and finally crossed out his name again.
"Your Majesty, the empress is here."
"Please." Rong Xia stood up and wanted to greet him at the door, but looked down at the list, took a memorial and changed it on it.
"Rong Xia." Ban Hua walked in, holding a plate of dim sum in his hand, a bit like the one that Rong Xia had eaten at Ban's house. It's been a long time since I ate it, and I can't remember the taste clearly. All I know is this A plate of dim sum is worth more than such a plate of silver.
"I brought this cook from my mother's house, you can try it." Ban Hua put the plate on the table, twisted a piece and put it in Rong Xia's mouth, "Is it delicious?"
Rong Xia nodded.
"You stay in the temple all day to deal with business, don't tire yourself out," Ban Hua pushed him on the chair and sat down, pressing his shoulders for him.
Rong Xia grabbed her hand and reached out to pull her into his arms, "Tell me, did you go out and cause trouble?"
"Ah?" Ban Hua looked at Rong Xia inexplicably, "Why should I go out and cause trouble?"
Seeing her dazed and innocent look, Rong Xia fed a piece of snack to her mouth, and said while feeding: "A few days ago, you left the palace, you came back from playing very late, and you are so warm to me."
"It's as if I don't treat you well. After Banhua ate his snack, he bit Rong Xia's fingertips hard. Who knew that Rong Xia would not dodge or evade, so he just smiled and let her bite.
"Are you stupid?" Ban Hua saw that his fingertips had left his own tooth marks, feeling distressed and guilty, "Isn't it snowing outside? I want you to accompany me out of the palace to see the snow scene."
"Tomorrow?" Rong Xia thought for a while, "Okay, I'll accompany you after I stay."
"Okay, I can't change my words," Ban Hua kissed him on the cheek, "Hey, keep approving your memorial, and I won't bother you."
"Wait a minute," Rong Xia pulled her back, and kissed the corners of her lips twice, "You little heartless, just leave when you achieve your goal, and sit here with me for a while."
"Then you critique the memorial, and I'll read the storybook to accompany you." Banhua hugged his neck and said with a smile, "It's okay if I wash and grind your pen for you."
"That's all." Rong Xia picked her up and put her on the cushioned chair, "You just sit here with me."
He recruited Wang De, asked him to fetch two books of Ban Hua's favorite words, and prepared some melons and fruit snacks for her, before sitting back at the imperial case to do his own business. Although the two have different hobbies and personalities, they are inexplicably harmonious when they sit together.
After a while, Rong Xia saw Ban Hua falling asleep lying on the edge of the table, shook her head and chuckled, put the cloak on Ban Hua, picked him up by the waist, and walked out of the imperial study. Seeing this, the eunuchs and maids waiting outside hurriedly put up umbrellas and held pots to shield the empress from the cold wind blowing from outside.
"His Majesty......"
As soon as the female officer opened her mouth, she was frightened back by Rong Xia's cold eyes. He glanced at the wind and snow outside, and quickened his pace to carry Ban Hua back to the apse.
"You all retreat," Rong Xia sat on the edge of the bed, looked at Banhua who was sleeping peacefully, and asked everyone else in the room to retreat.
The room became quiet, and Rong Xia stared blankly at Ban Hua. She saw this face almost every day, but she never got tired of seeing it. Everyone in the world says that when parents look at their children, the more they look at them, the more they feel that their children are unmatched. But he is Huahua's husband, why every time I look at her, I feel that no woman in the world can compare to him?
The more he looked at it, the more he felt that his wife was better than anyone else, her eyes were brighter than others, her mouth was more moist than others, her eyebrows were more beautiful than others, and even when she was angry, she was so beautiful that it made his heart soften.
Can't it be said that he treats Huahua like his daughter?
He laughed at himself, and when he walked out of the inner hall, he saw several court ladies standing quietly outside, he stopped and looked at one of them: "Your name is Ruyi?"
"Your Majesty is as good as your servant."
"You have been serving by the empress's side?"
"Returning to Your Majesty, this servant has been serving Your Majesty since she was ten years old. She has been serving Your Majesty for ten years." Ruyi was a little surprised. His Majesty never said a word to the maids around Your Majesty, and he didn't care what their names were. When the empress was around, His Majesty could hardly see other women. Today... what happened?
Ruyi felt a little uneasy in her heart, but she didn't dare to show it, and could only wait for His Majesty to speak honestly.
Rong Xia wanted to ask her about Hannah and Xie Qilin, but he couldn't get the words out of his mouth. His brows twitched slightly, "I know, take good care of me."
"Yes." Ru suggested that His Majesty did not intend to continue asking, and bowed and stepped aside.
After Rong Xia left, Yuzhu asked curiously, "Sister Ruyi, what's wrong, Your Majesty?"
"You can guess what your Majesty is thinking?" Ruyi gave her a hard look, "If you don't suppress your curious temper, I would have sent you to the Duke's Mansion early, so as not to cause trouble and cause trouble to the empress."
Yu Zhu's complexion changed: "Sister Ruyi, I was wrong."
If she thinks that she is taught, her tone is a little better: "It's not that I am strict with you, it's just that Young Master is Your Majesty now, and we, as people around Your Majesty, should be more cautious in our words and deeds."
Yuzhu nodded obediently, she would not dare in the future.
"Your Majesty," Wang De walked with his umbrella in his hands, "I see that your complexion is not very good. Do you want to ask an imperial doctor to give you a pulse?"
"No need," Rong Xia shook his head and said to Wang De, "I'm fine."
Wang De hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Your Majesty, are you... after listening to Princess Anle's words, you don't feel very happy?"
Rong Xia stopped in her tracks and turned her head to look at Wang De.
Wang De was stared at with chills all over, handed the umbrella to the eunuch behind him, and knelt in the snow to plead guilty.
"Come on, I didn't blame you," Rong Xia put her hands behind her back, looking at the wind and snow outside the corridor, "You have served in the palace for so many years, is what Princess An Le said true or false?"
"How old was Your Majesty when she got engaged to Xie Erlang?" Wang De carefully looked at Rong Xia's face, and continued, "The servants serve in the palace. Although they don't know your Majesty well, The slave servant still knows about her temperament."
Rong Xia looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"I have a clear distinction between what I like and what I hate, and I will never wrong myself emotionally." Wang De bowed and saluted. I happened to get a copy, but none of the relatives and friends around liked these, so I gave it to Xie Erlang."
"Those princes and ladies who are on good terms with the empress, no one likes these things."
Rong Xia's expression was a little subtle, he raised his eyebrows and looked at Wang De: "Really?"
"Your servant is an eunuch, how can you know about children's feelings?" Wang Deqian said with a smile, "It's just inference based on what I have seen and heard."
"You're right, it's nothing to give away a collection of poems," Rong Xia raised her chin, with a slight smile in her eyes.
At the beginning, Huahua gave him so many rare and rare picture albums, but she was never reluctant. What's more, they were not fiancee at that time, Huahua was so generous to him. Xie Qilin has been Huahua's fiancé for two years, but he only got a collection of poems that Huahua despises most, so he really can't be called a liking.
Back in the imperial study, Rong Xia made a note next to Xie Qilin's name.
Send it to Ren Zhizhou in Xizhou.
Since he has some talents, and he doesn't want to see him, it's better like this.
That night, Xie Qilin received the letter of commission issued by the imperial court. Looking at the big seal on it, he was a little surprised and also a little unspeakable.
It was beyond his expectation that Rong Xia was willing to give him an official position.
Looking at the excited parents, Xie Qilin suppressed all his guesses in his heart. He walked out of the house and looked at the snowflakes fluttering down from the sky, with mixed feelings in his heart, whether he was happy or sad.
Maybe there are still some inexplicable emptiness, this sense of loss, even he himself doesn't understand what it is for.
Not to be ignored, a carriage drove out from Suzaku Gate, and the shaft of the carriage pressed a deep mark on the snow.
The carriage passed through the busy city all the way, and didn't stop until the ice rink in the suburbs of Beijing. This ice rink is built by a dude in the capital. In winter, it is fun to invite a few friends and beauties to play on the ice, or invite some ice play masters to play tricks for them to enjoy. .
This dude, surnamed Qian, has a moderate status in the capital, and high-level dudes like Zhou Bingan and Ban Heng basically don't take him to play with. So this time when I heard that Ban Heng, the uncle of the country, was going to borrow his ice rink, Mr. Qian was so happy that he didn't sleep all night. He asked the servants in the family to take care of the ice rink several times overnight. After the horses got on the ice, they were all stable, and then they were relieved.
Mr. Qian waited outside the ice rink early in the morning, and when Ban Heng, Zhou Bingan and others showed up, he hurriedly greeted them enthusiastically. However, he soon discovered that these aloof young masters did not immediately enter the arena to play, but let a group of personal guards surround the ice rink tightly.
These personal guards were all tall and burly, with knives on their belts, and their eyes were not angry but powerful, so scared that Mr. Qian's voice was a little fluttering.
"Don't be nervous," Zhou Bing'an patted him on the shoulder. "We have to wait for a nobleman to come, so the guards will inevitably be stricter. Please don't mind Mr. Qian."
"I don't mind, I don't mind," Mr. Qian quickly waved his hands and said, "It should be, it should be." He secretly glanced around, according to this posture, even a mosquito can't fly in, who is such a noble person? , even the dignified uncle has to be so cautious.
About half an hour later, a year's carriage stopped outside the ice rink, and Mr. Qian was about to step up and say that this is a private property and outsiders are not allowed to stay. Uncle Ban Guo trotted all the way to greet him, and picked up a woman in a red cloak from the carriage. He accidentally saw the woman's face, and he stayed where he was.
After he came back to his senses, he found that there was an equally outstanding man beside this stunning woman. He sighed with emotion, the stunning beauty was indeed accompanied by Mr. Ruyu.
Ban Hua took Rong Xia's hand, turned his head and looked at Rong Xia with a smile: "Play with me for a while?"
Rong Xia looked at the smooth ice surface, and at the smiling woman beside her, feeling a little lost. More than ten years ago, he also wanted to secretly play on the ice, and there happened to be a little girl who wanted him to play with him, so he pushed the boat down.
It's just that he had just walked a few steps on the ice when he was discovered by the palace servants, and he was punished once when he returned home. Since then, he has never played on the ice again. Now that Huahua suddenly brought him here, it brought back his childhood memories.
"I won't," Rong Xia smiled gently at Ban Hua, "I'll just stay here and watch you, okay?"
"It's okay, I'm still here." Banhua took off his cloak, put on ice shoes, and pointed to Du Jiu, "Du Jiu, change shoes for your master."
"Subordinate... this..." Du Jiu looked at Rong Xia and Ban Hua, entangled.
"Forget it," Rong Xia smiled helplessly, "I'll do it myself."
Upon seeing this, Ban Heng handed over a pair of shoes, and put on head protectors, knee pads, and wrist guards for Rong Xia. Although these things were a bit bulky to wear, they were good protection for those who had never played ice.
"Watch me slide around for you."
Rong Xia raised her head, her eyes fell on Ban Hua, and she almost froze.
Red plums on ice, witches in snow.
Rong Xia stared blankly at Ban Hua, until Ban Hua slid back in a circle and stopped in front of him again, he still hadn't recovered.
"Why, are you stunned by my beauty?" Ban Hua handed a white and delicate hand in front of him, "Come on, come with me."
Du Jiu and other guards looked at Rong Xia nervously, fearing that the Empress would accidentally throw Her Majesty down. If other courtiers knew about it, it would cause a lot of trouble.
Rong Xia handed Ban Hua his hand, but he didn't see the chicness he expected, because he staggered when he took the first step.
"Be careful," Ban Hua held his waist, "Don't panic, take it step by step."
"good."
Rong Xia smiled, and he followed Ban Hua staggeringly on the ice, sometimes the two of them fell together, scaring Du Jiu and the others into a cold sweat, but the two of them lay on the ice and laughed loudly .
Du Jiu stared at His Majesty in a daze. He had never seen such a clumsy side of His Majesty. Normally, His Majesty was always omnipotent and calm.
Like today, relying on the empress to walk a few steps forward, I have almost never seen the appearance of falling on all fours.
"Get up," Ban Hua got up from the ice and dragged Rong Xia up. "You are so stupid. I learned how to play on the ice when I was a few years old."
"Well, our Huahua is the smartest."
"I like to hear that," Ban Hua's cheeks were flushed, and the corners of his eyes and brows were full of smiles, "But even if you are stupid, I don't despise you. No matter how stupid your husband is, it's my own good."
"Huahua..." Rong Xia took Banhua's hand and suddenly pulled her into her arms.
The snowflakes fell, and the faint coolness overwhelmed the heat on Ban Hua's body.
"If the sky is not old, the love will never end." Rong Xia hugged Ban Hua even tighter, preventing the wind and snow from falling on her, "Hua Hua, don't blame me."
Ban Hua's heart trembled, she stretched out her hand to gently wrap around Rong Xia's waist, she was silent for a long time, when Rong Xia thought she would not speak for so long, she nodded slightly: "Okay."
Next to the ice rink, Zhou Bingan squatted on the ground, holding his chin and said to Ban Heng, "Your Majesty and your sister have always been like this?"
Ban Heng changed his ice shoes and said to Zhou Bing'an, "What's wrong?"
"No," Zhou Bingan shook his head and said, "I just think...it's pretty good."
Ban Heng snorted lightly, stood on the ice and said: "If you want to look at others, it's better to play with yourself." After finishing speaking, he turned his head to look at his sister's place, the two had already loosened up, and His Majesty was still walking around Turning west, but his sister let go of His Majesty's hand, and slid away beautifully like a flower.
Ban Heng looked away, His Majesty is so infatuated with a woman like his sister, what is he trying to do?
For a whole afternoon, Rong Xia barely learned not to fall on the ice, and knew nothing about the rest.
Banhua sat in the carriage with him, lay in his arms and poked his chest: "Your Majesty Tangtang, you are so stupid when you are playing in the ice."
Rong Xia hugged her tighter, and said with a smile: "But today I am very happy."
He finally experienced the joyful feeling of being on the ice, and no one scolded him for not being enterprising, indulging in fun, and having no manners. The woman next to him said that he was stupid, but every time he fell, she hurried over, like a child who didn't know what he was, and was protected by her.
"Just be happy," Ban Hua wrapped his arms around his neck, "I will secretly take you out every year and season in the future. But I can't just slack off government affairs. I don't want to be recorded in the history books in the future. Say what a disaster I am."
"Then what do you want to do?" Rong Xia nodded her nose.
"People in later generations will definitely praise you as a Mingjun. I will be a famous empress anyway. For example, the empress who is most loved by the emperor, the most virtuous empress, or... loved by the emperor for a lifetime, the emperor has never accepted a concubine. Queen." Ban Hua looked at Rong Xia with a half-smile, "I want people in future generations to think of you when they mention you."
"Okay," Rong Xia held her hand, "You are my only queen, the only patriotic woman, the only woman. If I can't do it in this life, I will die a terrible death, and the country will be lost in my hands."
Banhua closed her eyes and smiled: "I don't want the country to be lost in your hands. The people will suffer then. If you break your oath..." She slowly opened her eyes, staring at Rong Xia's eyes, "I will let you live forever Chitose, you will be lonely all your life, okay?"
"good."
Outside the carriage, Du Jiu pulled the cloak on his body, pretending that he didn't hear the conversation in the carriage.
A lifetime of loneliness is sometimes more painful than not having a good death.
As an emperor, it is more difficult for ordinary men to keep such an oath. His Majesty dared to make such an oath, did he have confidence in himself, or was he really infatuated with the empress?
In the winter of the first year of Cheng'an, the courtiers found that His Majesty's complexion was getting better day by day, and even his eyes were a little more lively. When winter turns to spring, when the second year of adulthood comes, a minister suddenly made a report, saying that the Queen Empress has been married to His Majesty for nearly three years and has no heirs. In order to win the world, His Majesty should take in the harem and spread it out.
The minister did not expect that after saying this, His Majesty lost his temper. He not only said that he was obsessed with women in front of all civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, but also said that he could not even manage his family well, so how could he be an official in the court? , directly ordered to take off his black hat.
After this incident, the courtiers no longer dared to mention the concubine to His Majesty, even those ministers who had the intention to send their daughters to the harem did not dare to mention it blatantly. If it was an ordinary woman, they could still insinuate that the queen was a disaster, but the queen was different. She fought the world with His Majesty and fought bloody battles for His Majesty.
But as courtiers, they didn't want His Majesty's most important person to be the queen, not their courtiers.
The courtiers could not see that the emperor doted on the concubines, nor could they see that the emperor valued the eunuchs. What they wanted to see most was that the emperor praised them the most and valued them the most. It would be even more perfect if they won the title of a famous minister and loyal general.
It's a pity that His Majesty acts with discretion, and the world is in order under his governance. If they want to find an excuse to say that His Majesty is fatuous, they will be suspected of rebellion.
Therefore, the emperor is too clear-headed and capable, and the courtiers are not so satisfied.
Since the issuance of Kai Enke's edict, Rong Xia's status among literati has become more and more high. As soon as the spring began, many candidates from all over the country rushed to the capital.
Some candidates came to Beijing for the first time and were very curious about the capital, so they often listened to some interesting gossip from the people in the capital. For example, if a minister wants to send his daughter to the palace, who knows that His Majesty will be very disgusted.
Another example is that someone wanted to please the father-in-law of the country, but the father-in-law directly sent out the door with gifts, and said that he was just a dude and never interfered in the affairs of the court.
Another example is that the empress is a very beautiful and powerful woman, who can mount a horse and kill the enemy. Although she is not very good at writing, she is very eloquent. It is said that a foreign envoy ridiculed the man who won the big win for being too weak, but was ridiculed from head to toe by the empress.
"The empress said to the envoy, you can't even compare to me as a woman in martial arts, so you have the nerve to mock my son who won a big victory? My son who won a big victory is good at literature and martial arts, how can a barbarian like you understand it? The blind bears and tigers in the mountains are not only powerful, they can also eat people, so can I say that they are stronger than all the men in the world?"
Several candidates listened with gusto, and urged the commoner to continue talking.
"How many young masters are here to participate in Enke?" The commoner took a sip of tea, looked at the several candidates, and said slowly, "Our Majesty values talented people the most, and all the young masters are handsome, I wish you the best of luck." Everyone, the title of the gold list, the top of the high school list."
The judges couldn't help but sigh with emotion, as expected of the capital, even ordinary people can talk like this.
Under the teahouse, a carriage stopped slowly, and a jade-like hand raised the curtain.