Chapter 20 Students from all over the world
"Master! Master!"
The servant at the door hurried over and reported breathlessly, "Many officials giving gifts gathered at the door. They said they wanted to see the young master and had important matters to discuss. Moreover, there were little secrets hidden under the gifts in their hands. Note!"
Fan Xian and Fan Jian exchanged serious glances. Fan Ruoruo, who was still laughing just now, immediately stopped smiling and asked worriedly:
Brother, they knew that you and His Highness the Second Prince were going to rectify the fraud in Chunwei, but they just... Isn’t it intentional to embarrass us by giving gifts to our family at this time? "
Fan Jian nodded in agreement with his daughter: "There were not many officials on the list of people who gave gifts before, and it was no abnormal compared to the spring of previous years.
But since you came back from the Second Prince, the number of officials coming has increased sharply. This must have been specially arranged by someone..."
Aunt Liu also asked worriedly:
"So what should we do now? Should we welcome them or reject them?"
Fan Xian frowned in thought. At this time, receiving the gift and taking the list was undoubtedly a slap in the face of His Highness the Second Prince, and also a slap in his own face.
But if he refuses the list sent by the officials in Kyoto, he will bear the resentment of the officials, and he may be retaliated one day.
"They didn't dare to send things to Li Chengze's house, so they had to send them to our Fan house."
Fan Xian decided to bear the grievances of the civil and military officials on behalf of the second prince.
He ordered his aunt to close the door of his house and announced that he would not see any guests today.
After hearing this, Aunt Liu immediately stood up and walked out of the inner palace with a graceful figure, preparing to close the door and thank the guests.
However, at this moment, she accidentally bumped into Li Chengze who appeared out of nowhere.
"Your Highness? Why are you here?" Aunt Liu asked in surprise.
"The door was not closed, so I came in." Li Chengze explained with a smile.
Aunt Liu suddenly realized this, and she quickly welcomed His Highness the Second Prince into the house with a smile: "Fan Xian, who do you think is here?"
Li Chengze saluted Fan Xian and Fan Jian and explained his purpose.
Fan Jian looked at Aunt Liu: "Why don't you prepare some fruits for His Highness?"
Li Chengze gave in humbly: "Xiang Fan, there's no need to bother. I'll leave as soon as I finish."
Fan Xian looked at Li Chengze and asked seriously: "Your Highness, should we accept the gifts and lists sent by the officials of the DPRK or not? If we don't accept them, everyone may be angry. "
Li Chengze shook his head: "What we are doing is to eliminate the long-standing abuses and restore fairness and clarity to the Chunwei Imperial Examination.
This will inevitably touch their interests and undermine the unspoken rules within the officialdom, so it is inevitable to cause public outrage. "
Fan Ruoruo frowned worriedly, hiding her little hands under the table and holding the hem of her skirt tightly.
Seeing how calm and composed the second prince was, Fan Xian couldn't help but wonder: "Does Your Highness already have a strategy to deal with it?"
Li Chengze nodded and looked at Fan Xiang: "Presiding over Chun Wei and fighting for fairness for the world's scholars is what everyone expects.
I have long understood the possible consequences of picking up the fraud in Chunwei, but even so I will do it without hesitation. "
In Tongfu Inn, a shopkeeper named Tong was busy taking care of the guests. They were all poor students who came to Beijing to take the imperial examination.
On weekdays, these students always lowered their heads and immersed themselves in reading in low spirits, but today, they seemed to be different people. They were all in high spirits, holding the sage's book in their hands, and speaking catchy words.
Even at night, the sound of reading can be heard one after another.
Shopkeeper Tong had been busy all day and didn't bother to listen to the rumors outside.
Seeing that this group of students looked completely different from usual, she couldn't help but be curious. She found a student who was sitting in the corner and studying, and asked in a thick native accent: "I want to ask, how did you become so different?" Are you working so hard?"
Yang Wanli was a little confused when he heard Shopkeeper Tong's accent.
At this time, Shi Chanli came over and explained: "Have you not heard about what happened today?
Our Second Prince of the Qing Dynasty severely criticized the Minister of Rites who neglected his duty in the Chunwei Examination Hall, and also spoke up for us poor students to clear the name of the Chunwei Examination! "
Shopkeeper Tong heard this and said "Oh" in sudden realization.
Hou Jichang even proudly showed off:
“We sat at the same table and drank from the same jar of water as His Highness the Second Prince!
We told His Highness the Second Prince about the inside story in the examination room. Such a strange experience, it feels like a dream when I think back on it!”
Yang Wanli raised his head and complained: "You showed off your detailed experience to no less than ten people today. This is not a dream. If it was a dream, you would have forgotten it."
Hou Jichang was speechless. He knew that Yang Wanli was very sharp-tongued and often made people speechless.
Shopkeeper Tong sighed with envy: "It would be great if the scholar was still here. The Spring Imperial Examination has become fair. Maybe he can do better." After saying that, she left strangely.
Shi Chanli sat down next to Yang Wanli. Hou Jifeng also approached Shi Chanli and suggested first: "We have an unusual fate with His Highness the Second Prince. Why don't we go find the Second Prince together?" Your Highness, will you renew your relationship?"
Yang Wanli curled his lips: "What do you call continuing the relationship?
Do you want to join someone else's family? you……"
Hou Jichang knew that Yang Wanli did not agree with his ideas, so he turned to Shi Chanli.
Shi Chanli touched his head and said with some hesitation: "But how can we, a few ordinary people from poor families, enter the palace? We probably can't even get close to the gate, let alone find the second prince..."
Hou Jichang sighed and thought: If he had not been afraid of being discovered, he had picked up stones to "kill the king"
After failing, it would be great if I could stand bravely and kneel in front of the second prince. He would definitely kneel down and worship the second prince as his disciple, even if he just recognized him as a godfather...
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Hou Jichang's mind: "Eh? If we can't see His Highness the Second Prince, then Mr. Fan can always see us, right?
Since there is such a fate, you can't miss it no matter what.
Whether it's the second prince or Fan Xian, he has to recognize someone important as his teacher, right? "
When Shi Chanli heard this, he thought the idea was a good one: "It doesn't seem impossible."
He looked at Yang Wanli who had been immersed in reading next to him, "Brother Yang, what do you think?"
Yang Wanli rejected their idea of going to find a big shot together: "No.
I have never thought about using this kind of heresy to join the big shots to ensure that I can be in the rankings. What is the difference between this and those cheating people who I despise? "
"Have you forgotten what His Highness said before?
He promises to fight for justice for us!
If we go to see His Highness or Mr. Xiao Fan with the idea of seeking an injustice, wouldn’t it be a discredit on their faces? "
Hou Jichang tactfully defended: "We just want to see Mr. Xiao Fan. After all, he is a great benefactor who saved our lives. It shouldn't be a problem to express our gratitude, right?"
Shi Chanli muttered to himself, but did not dare to nod in agreement. He thought to himself: Brother, don't you still know the little Jiujiu in your heart?
Yang Wanli said bluntly without hesitation: "The Chunwei exam has not started yet, and now is the critical moment for us to prepare for the exam.
If we visit at this time, wouldn't it make people mistakenly think that we have become the disciples of Mr. Xiao Fan and His Highness, and thus cast doubt on our motives? "
(End of chapter)