Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 301 Enter the palace for an audience!

Hanlin Academy.

Early in the morning, as soon as Liu Sanwu arrived, he heard a clerk report: "Master Liu, there was news from the palace just now that Grand Secretary Xia has returned."

"Grand Scholar Xia? Which Grand Scholar Xia?" Liu Sanwu was still a little confused.

The clerk asked anxiously, "Sir, who is the other Grand Secretary Xia in our Hanlin Academy? It is naturally Grand Secretary Xia Zhibai."

"Xia Zhibai!" His cloudy eyes suddenly became clear, and he was startled. Liu Sanwu looked over and asked in a serious tone, "Tell me again, who is back?"

"Sir, Scholar Xia is back." The clerk had to repeat it again.

"Impossible." Liu Sanwu said with a look of disbelief, "He was ordered to go south to reform the salt administration. Now things in the south have not been sorted out yet. How could he come back so soon? Did you hear the wrong news?"

The clerk said, "Sir, I could be wrong about anything, but I can never be wrong about this."

"Master Xia is really back."

"It is said that they are on their way to the palace to meet His Majesty."

"Can this be false?"

Liu Sanwu's body swayed slightly, but was caught by the clerk.

"Hurry, hurry, help me into the house." Liu Sanwu said hurriedly. He seemed to have thought of something and his voice became hurried.

The clerk did not dare to neglect it and hurriedly helped Liu Sanwu into the house. After entering the house, Liu Sanwu looked around and quickly went to his desk. He ordered again: "Go find a few clerks right now, and hurry up to sort out the textbooks that I have compiled in the past few months."

"I need to check everything carefully."

The clerk said quickly, "Yes."

After the clerk left, Liu Sanwu was still a little uneasy and asked, "Why did he come back early? This shouldn't happen. He shouldn't come back now."

Not long after, the clerk called a few more people and started to organize the teaching materials that Liu Sanwu had prepared over the past few months.

the other side.

Li House.

Li Shanchang did not attend court today.

As the weather got colder, Zhu Yuanzhang changed the three court sessions a day to one court session every three days.

Li Shanchang had just gotten up and was sitting in his study, wearing a fox fur coat, processing some documents. Suddenly, his eyes fixed and he carefully brought the document in his hand closer to his eyes.

"Xia Zhibai is back?"

"So early?"

"If I remember correctly, the situation in the south has not been resolved yet, right? Although I gave some instructions in advance and asked the officials in the south to hold back, neither the establishment of the large salt factory he proposed nor the relocation of the stove households can be resolved in a short time."

"Why did he come back so soon?"

"Has there been any change in the south?"

A hint of suspicion flashed across Li Shanchang's eyes.

He put the document down and shouted to the outside, "Butler, send someone to investigate immediately. What happened in the south? What do you do every day? How come you didn't know that Xia Zhibai came back early? Do you need others to remind you?"

"If you continue to be like this in the future, you don't have to stay in my house anymore."

"Check it for me right now."

"Check carefully."

"Let's find out why Xia Zhibai came back. Did something happen in the south, or did he end it early? Or did Xia Zhibai encounter some difficulties that forced him to return to the court? I must find out for you."

Li Shanchang's eyes were cold.

Xia Zhibai's sudden return caught him off guard.

He has always been wary of Xia Zhibai. He always feels that His Majesty is standing behind Xia Zhibai, but he can't guess His Majesty's thoughts for the moment, so he has been on high alert in various ways.

indoor.

Li Shanchang paced back and forth. He hesitated for a moment, but decided to stay in the house.

Now that Xia Zhibai has just returned, if I rush to ask about the situation, wouldn't people think I'm guilty?

Li Shanchang said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is becoming less and less trusting of me, and Xia Zhibai's series of actions have caught us off guard. I'm afraid that his return will cause unrest in the court."

"I don't know why your majesty trusts Xia Zhibai so much."

"What's so special about him?"

Li Shanchang couldn't figure it out.

In his opinion, Xia Zhibai was an opportunist who was not worthy of being a decent person. He always relied on jokes to do things. If it weren't for His Majesty standing behind him, nothing Xia Zhibai wanted to do would be accomplished.

Even if he succeeded, he would just treat it as a joke.

But no matter how funny it was, he didn't dare to take it lightly.

He knows His Majesty too well.

This person is very cruel and really wants to kill. Li Shanchang rubbed his brows and felt a headache. He felt that he was becoming more and more passive. Many things seemed to be concealed. Even if he had a plan, how could he make a good plan if he didn't know what was going on?

He is not a god.

It is impossible to predict the future, and it is impossible to calculate what will happen next.

The only thing he could do was to be careful in what he said and did, and avoid getting himself involved in unnecessary trouble.

When the day dawned, officials of Yingtian Prefecture, big and small, had heard the news of Xia Zhibai's return, and they were all shocked, wondering why Xia Zhibai came back at this time. But what happened in the south? Many officials secretly sent people to inquire.

While the officials of Yingtian Prefecture were asking around, Xia Zhibai had already put his luggage away and walked towards the palace alone.

He didn't bring anything.

There is only one thing.

It is still the same book "The Great Edict".

When Xia Zhibai arrived at the palace, the servants guarding the city gate seemed to have known that Xia Zhibai was coming and did not try to stop him. They just did a routine check and let Xia Zhibai enter the palace. As soon as he entered the palace, Park Gouer was already waiting by the side.

Pu Gou'er smiled and said, "Grandmaster Xia, when His Majesty heard that you were back, he asked me to wait at the palace gate."

"You said you had just returned and must go to the palace immediately."

"At that time, I thought that Your Majesty had guessed wrong, but I never thought that you, Xia Daxueshi, really came. Your Majesty is as clear as a candle. This servant has always been wrong."

Park Gouer said with a smile.

The attitude is very respectful.

Xia Zhibai smiled. He would not take Pu Gou'er's words seriously. Having been with Zhu Yuanzhang for almost ten years, Pu Gou'er was well-versed in guessing his master's intentions. He was just pretending to be stupid and confused.

He didn't expose it either.

The two men walked towards Wuying Palace, one in front and one behind.

Soon.

The majestic Wuying Palace appeared before our eyes.

Pu Gou'er's thin and sharp voice sounded again: "Grand Scholar Xia, please wait outside the palace for a while. I will go into the palace to report."

"Thank you for your help, eunuch." Xia Zhibai said.

"It's my job." Park Gou'er said with a smile, then took two quick steps and entered the hall.

Not a moment later.

Park Gouer's voice sounded again.

"Your Majesty has ordered that Xia Zhibai, the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Academy, be summoned to the palace for an audience."

Xia Zhibai retracted his gaze, patted the snowflakes falling on his body, and quickly walked into the hall.

(End of this chapter)