Just in time for rain [恰逢雨连天] - Chapter 41

[41. Chapter Forty]

This is the anti-theft badge. Tomorrow is the palace test. Ren Xuan checked the list of tributes for the day at the government office, and it was twilight when he returned home.

At the beginning of the spring rain, the scorching glow shrouded the sky and the earth. He could tell from a distance that the person standing outside the mansion was Su Jin. He guessed her intention in his heart, and was overjoyed for a while, so he ordered someone to invite him to the hall and serve it with good tea.

Su Jin took out the secret post: “Please take a look at Xiaohou Ye.”

Ren Xuan had read Su Jin’s article five years ago. At that time, she had entered the Hanlin, and she was quite famous.

He grinned and said: “Your article is too good, just leave it to His Royal Highness, he can’t use it. I will make some changes in the wording later, don’t worry, don’t let the old Hanlin see it. The clue.”

Su Jin said: “It’s all up to the young marquis.”

Ren Xuan carefully took the secret message, thought about it and asked, “You are willing to take this risk, but you can’t stay in the capital’s yamen? I have acquaintances in the official department. , It is said that there is a shortage of records in the Zhan Shifu, although it is only a ninth grade, anyway, working under the East Palace is much more respectable than the capital Yamen, do you want to?”

Su Jin was silent for a while, and then he said: “Since Xiaohou is here The Ministry of Rites must know about Chao Qing’s disappearance.”

Ren Xuan said yes, and Su Jin continued: “Chao Qing and Xiaguan are old friends. I went to Gongshi’s office to ask about him. On the day of his disappearance, the third son of the Grand Master Yan came to look for him. He has a jade seal of the Yan family as proof, and the two have had disputes. But when Mr. Shaozhan left, Chaoqing was still there, and he could not find out about Shaozhan. If I can’t get to the Taifu’s mansion, I just ask the young marquis to let me and the third son of Yan meet, so that we can discuss it face to face.”

Ren Xuan did not expect Su Jin’s troubles, because it was someone else. Thinking about it carefully, Yan Ziyan is now a young man in the Zhan Shifu. The Yingtianfu yamen probably doesn’t want to offend anyone, so he wanted to put the case down. The government is here.

This is also self-denial.

Thinking of this, Ren Xuan expressed some respect in his heart, and his words were also kind: “Don’t hide Su Xian brother, because of a private matter for my brother, it is really inconvenient to bring Xian brother to the Taifu’s house to visit. Why don’t you do this, tomorrow morning, you pretend to be Zuo’s attendant and Wei-xiong enter the palace together. Yan Ziyan must pass by the Jinshui Bridge at the fifth watch every day, and Wei-xiong will help you stop him, so you can ask more clearly.” That

night, Su Jin relied on Ren Xuan’s words, Rest in Houfu nearby. The next day, he got up at the fourth watch, hurriedly had breakfast, and got into the carriage. Ren Xuan asked again, “In this court, apart from the old Hanlin, who the virtuous brother no longer knows?”

Su Jin replied: “At that time in the Hanlin Academy, I only devoted myself to writing articles on Xiushu, and I had few contacts with people, and I only had a few months, so no one would recognize the lower official.”

Ren Xuan said: “That’s good, you don’t know the newly appointed Zuo Du. Lord Censor Liu, his discipline is very strict, if you let people see the clue and find that my virtuous brother Gangji and I are not in good shape, it will be difficult to clean up.”

Su Jin was stunned for a while, seeing that the imperial city was close to him, he made a move. The pair of eyes looked at the nose, and the nose looked at the posture of the heart: “Oh, I have never heard of this person.” In front of the

noon gate, the carriage and horse stopped. In order to eliminate fire hazards in the palace, the lights of the ministers were prohibited, and only senior officials of the second rank and above could enter by car with lanterns.

Before the fifth watch, there were a few people standing by the Jinshui Bridge, all waiting for the waiter in charge of the lamp to come and lead them into the palace.

Ren Xuan led Su Jin to wait at the bridge, and at the fifth correction moment, Yan Ziyan came with a bang.

Ren Xuan went up to greet one or two, and led Huatou to the palace examination, and said: “I checked the list of tributes yesterday, there should have been eighty-nine, but I didn’t think that one was missing. I went to the yamen to ask. The corpse. The Ministry of Rites has to deal with errands, and the report is to return home in a hurry, but you also know Luo Shangshu’s scrupulous temperament, and when you look back, you are afraid that he will ask, and you have to walk down to the Gongshi’s office to inquire. Now, the military guard said that you had been there before this Gong Shi disappeared.”

Yan Ziyan hummed, “nonsense.” Then he narrowed his eyes and asked, “Young master asked me what I was talking about. What do you mean? Do you suspect that I robbed people?”

He was born with long eyebrows and phoenix eyes, and he also wore a court dress with a wide-sleeved long coat, just like the famous Wei and Jin scholars in ancient paintings. It’s just that a great hero can be true to his true colors, a true celebrity is self-righteous, and Yan Ziyan’s eyes are higher than the top.

Ren Xuan smiled and said, “If I doubt you, I’m here to ask you what you are doing? Are you tipping off the news?”

Yan Ziyan lowered his brows and thought for a while, and thought it was true. Has someone changed?”

Ren Xuan said, “Ali was ill, so he brought another one at random. Coincidentally, he was sent to ask Gongshi yesterday.”

Su Jin stepped forward and bowed: “Little man Jia Su, see Lord Shaozhan.”

Yan Ziyan didn’t answer, looked her up and down, and didn’t look away for a while, Su Jin said again, “Sir Shaozhan is probably the one who forgets things too much, but what Gong Shi has done Wu Wei is not without evidence, they say that Shao Zhan has been there, and there is a jade seal of the Yan family as proof.”

Yan Ziyan shook his sleeve robe, thinking he was listening to a joke: “A group of reckless men spread their words, and the jade seal of the Yan family is the identity of the Yan family. It symbolizes that this official has always cherished his life and never took his side, so how can it fall into the hands of others?”

Su Jin looked up at Yan Ziyan and spread his right hand: “Then according to what Shaozhan said, what is in the hands of the villain? This jade seal is fake.”

There is only moonlight at the end of the sky, and the seal made of suet jade is bright and shiny, Yan Ziyan’s face changed instantly, and he reached out to grab the jade seal, but Su Jin took it back one step before him. Holding his hands, he said lightly, “It doesn’t look fake.”

Yan Ziyan said angrily, “What are you, you dare to hold this official accountable!” But under the moonlight, Su Jin stood alone, indifferent and calm, Make him feel a hint of déjà vu, “No, I seem to have seen you before, you are—”

A star of light shone from the other side of the Jinshui Bridge. All scattered as birds and beasts.

Since there is no need to wait for the lights for the second-rank and above officers, there are not many who come early. The only ones who can arrive at the Noon Gate at five watch are probably the newly appointed Tie Mian Bodhisattva of the Ducha Yuan.

Ren Xuan’s heart was not good, and he only hoped that the bodhisattva’s sedan chair could separate the whole world, so that he could not hear any movements. However, the Bodhisattva dropped off the sedan in front of him, and the attendant with the lamp in front of the sedan greeted him in a friendly manner: “Mr. Hou, it’s early for you, Mr. Shao Zhan.”

Su Jin heard the sound familiar, raised his eyelids and glanced at him. It was the one who gave her the umbrella at Dali Temple that day. There is no need to guess, the other person who made the world quiet as soon as he appeared was Lord Liu Chaomingliu, the censor of the Zuodu capital.

Liu Chaoming didn’t say anything, even his expression was calm, and the waiter on the side of the lamp said again: “I heard from a distance that the little prince and Shao Zhan are in high spirits. I don’t know what to talk about, so I asked the villain to join in the fun.”

Ren Xuan is very modest: “Brother An Ran is joking, Shao Zhan is just looking at me with a new face and asking a few questions.” After that, he gave Yan Ziyan a wink, meaning it was a big deal Small.

How could he know that Yan Ziyan would not like this, so he said coolly: “Miansheng? I think the noodles are very familiar.” He took two steps forward and stood in front of Su Jin, “I already remember who you are, Jing Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Yuan Dynasty, but Su Shiyu?” In the

past, Yan Ziyan and Yan Ziyan only had a relationship at the Qionglin Banquet, and they didn’t even say a word, and it didn’t occur to him that he remembered himself.

Right now, there are hundreds of officials, and there is also a censor of the Zuodu, who is an inspector, who pretends to be an official to attend.

Su Jin just thought he was a taller, looked at Yan Ziyan calmly, opened his mouth and asked, “What is Su Shiyu? Did your lord forget it?”

Yan Ziyan sneered: “You can not Yes, but don’t think that I’m the only one who remembers you!” With a flutter of his sleeves, he turned his head and bowed in front of Liu Chaoming: “Master Liu, Enke in the eighteenth year of Jingyuan, you went to Qizhou to handle the case, and after returning to Beijing, At the Poetry Ceremony, the local Jie Yuan Su Jin Su Shiyu was mentioned, and he said that his article has the talent of the champion, and he is the person in front of him!” In the

night there was only one star of light, reflected in the depths of Liu Chao’s bright eyes, flickering gently, as if Quiet water.

After a long while, he said indifferently, “Really?” He took the lantern and held it in front of Su Jin and looked at it for a while. She is eloquent and stubborn, just like the one she saw in the wind and rain at Dali Temple that day.

Liu Chaoming handed the lantern back to An Ran, turned back to the sedan chair, and said indifferently, “I don’t know this person.”

Ren Xuan did not expect that this stubble would fall under Liu Chaoming’s eyes and be taken by a stroke. After the luck of the rest of his life, he hurriedly pulled Yan Ziyan to bid farewell to the official sedan chair of Lord Censor.

Yan Ziyan took another look at Su Jin, snorted, and flung his sleeves into the palace.

Ren Xuan turned his head and stared at his back, and waited for the others to walk away before saying to Su Jin: “Yan Ziyan has a bad temper, but he is still a daredevil, I see his reaction just now, it really doesn’t look like he has been to tribute. Shi’s office, but the jade seal in your hand is clearly real.”

Su Jin said, “Yes, I also suspect this.”

Ren Xuan took a few steps back and forth and said, “In this case, you wait here first. I will send the secret message for my brother later, and I will take the time to go to Zhan Shifu to inquire about what Yan Ziyan did on the day that Chao Qing disappeared.

” With one eye closed, how can you not talk to people?

Xu Yuanzhe said, “If he doesn’t want to say it, I won’t be able to ask questions. From the beginning to the end, I don’t even know which Hefang he went to or who he met.”

Chao Qing disappeared on the ninth day of the fourth lunar month, which means that , He disappeared a few days after he went to Hefang.

But Yan Ziqi is the daughter of the Grand Fu’s mansion. If the jade seal left by Gong Shi was really her, how could it have anything to do with the land of fireworks and water workshop?

Su Jin nodded: “I understand.” He looked up at Ri Ying, it was already half an hour, and he said, “You go back first.”

Xu Yuanzhe hesitated for a moment, and took out a booklet from his arms. Gao”.

In the 14th year of Jingyuan, the sage promulgated the decree “The Great Letter”, ordering every household to keep it.

Xu Yuanzhe said bluntly: “This volume was originally copied by Brother Yunsheng for Mr. Yunsheng, but unfortunately he only copied half of it. It will be passed on tomorrow to hear the seal. Yuanzhe has a leg problem and will not be able to stay in Beijing. I will help Yunsheng in the second half. If my brother copied it, it can be considered that before I leave, I will do something for him and my husband.”

There was a sense of despair in his words – he has a stubborn illness that makes it difficult for him to be an official, and his lameness is a problem that can’t be hidden. Not a good ranking.

However, Su Jin said: “You are diligent in your studies, and others are not involved. If you don’t know what others are, you don’t know others, and the sage has a good eye, so you may not be able to ascend the armor.”

Xu Yuanzhe thanked himself, bowed his hands again, and returned the tribute. The sergeant went.

The clouds on the horizon covered the sun, and the back alley was darkened. A wall outside is the backyard of the Gongshi Institute, and there are faint voices, which is probably the rule of the people from the Ministry of Rites to teach the missionaries.

This tribute house was built five years ago for the officials who were taking the exam.

It was also that year, when Su Jin went to Beijing to take the exam, was startled by the galloping officials and horses, and accidentally knocked over a pen and ink booth.

The stall owner is a white and clean scholar. Su Jin wanted to compensate him for money, but he said with confidence: “This place’s calligraphy and painting are the next three days of hard work. Gold and silver are easy to find, but hard work is hard to buy.”

Su Jin did not want to entangle with him, and put the Throwing all the money into him, he turned around and left.

Unexpectedly, this stall owner is really a dignified person, holding the calligraphy and paintings on the ground in his arms, following him all the way, and shouting all the way: “Return your money, I can’t ask for it.”

Su Jin was so troubled that he arrived at the Gongshi’s place and met with him. Wu Wei gave a nod and said, “There is

a liar in the back of the river and lake, holding a bundle of calligraphy and painting, specializing in forced buying and selling. If you see it, you can immediately drive it away to save trouble.” clean.

On the other hand, she put her luggage away, and was slapped on the back without paying attention.

The scholar stall owner bent his eyes: “Oh, you are Qizhou Jieyuan Su Jin.”

Looking around, the courtyard was silent, and Su Jin asked dumbfoundedly, “You climbed over the wall and came in?” In

early spring, Xing Xing Flowers adorned the branches, knocked down the eaves.

Under the raised eaves, the scholar’s eyes were like the moon, and his smile was about to overflow, and he handed the name post with both hands: “The next name is Chao, the name is clear, the word Yunsheng, unfortunately, and Xiongtai are the same imperial examination students.

” , I wonder if I can exchange posts with Xiongtai?

Su Jin remembered the old things, leaned against the wall in the back alley and was startled.

Chao Qing should have taken the same subject with her, but unfortunately his father passed away after the Spring Festival that year, and he returned to his hometown Dingyou for three years.

By noon, the sun’s head was a hedgehog with its thorns plucked, and the poisonous awns were all put away, and hung lightly behind the clouds.

Zhou Ping came to the back alley to find Su Jin and asked her to go back to the yamen together.

Su Jin asked: “Have you and the Ministry of Rites inquired about it?”

Zhou Ping sighed: “It is the same set of rules for people to sing and sing, and I won’t be able to ask anything again. Let me go back and think about it, and wait until I think of what is inappropriate. It’s not too late to think about it carefully.” After an hour of free time in the

afternoon, Liu Yichu held a teacup and stood at the yamen’s door looking up at the sky. Out of the corner of the eye, he glanced at Su Jin, who came back from “Dai Jian’er”, and winked desperately.

Su Jin will feel sorry, turn around and leave, but it is too late.

[End of This Chapter]