Joy of Life: The melon-eating prince sees through Fan Xian's fake death

Chapter 73 Poems
Tongfu Inn.

A female innkeeper named Tong was taking care of the guests in the inn. They were all poor students who were going to Beijing to take the imperial examinations. Usually they would keep their heads down and concentrate on memorizing books in a low mood, but today they seemed to have changed. They were all in high spirits, holding the sage books and reciting aloud.

Even at night, the sound of reading can be heard everywhere.

Shopkeeper Tong had been busy all day and had no time to listen to the rumors outside. Seeing that this group of candidates who seemed to be full of energy had changed a lot from usual, he couldn't help but be curious and asked a student who had no money to sit at the table and was sitting in the corner to study:
"Um, I want to ask, why do you become so hardworking?"

Yang Wanli was confused by the strong rural accent of Shopkeeper Tong.

Shi Chanli came over and explained, "Haven't you heard about what happened today? Our Crown Prince of Qing criticized the Minister of Rites for his dereliction of duty in the Spring Examination Hall, and spoke up for us poor students, wanting to clear the name of the Spring Examination!"

Shopkeeper Tong said "Oh".

Hou Jichang boasted proudly, "We even sat at the same table with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and drank from the same jar of water. We also told His Royal Highness the Crown Prince about the inside story of the examination room. This bizarre experience is like a dream when I think back on it!"

Yang Wanli raised his head and complained:

"You boasted about your experience in detail to no less than ten people today. This is not a dream. If it was a dream, you would have forgotten it long ago."

Hou Jichang was speechless. Brother Yang was not only extremely talented, but also had a sharp tongue.

People who often argue are speechless.

Shopkeeper Tong sighed enviously, "If only the scholar was still here, the imperial examination would be fairer this spring, and he might do even better."

After watching the strange lady boss leave, Shi Chanli sat down next to Yang Wanli. Hou Jichang also moved closer to Shi Chanli and said, "We have an unusual fate with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Why don't we go to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince together to continue our relationship?"

Yang Wanli: "You call that a continuation of a relationship? You just want to become someone's disciple, you..."

Hou Jichang let out a sigh of relief, knowing that Yang Wanli and he had different ideas, and looked at Shi Chanli.

The latter touched his head and said, "How can we, common people from humble backgrounds, enter the palace? I'm afraid we can't even get close to the door, let alone find the prince."

Hey.

Hou Jichang sighed. If he had not been afraid of being discovered and had not tried to "kill the king" with a stone but failed, and had not hidden at the back of the crowd and had not let the prince see him when he knelt, it would have been great if he could kneel before the prince next time. He would have definitely knelt down and worshipped him as his teacher.

Once a teacher, always a father, even a godfather is fine.
"Eh? If we can't see His Royal Highness, then we can always see Master Xiao Fan, right?"

Hou Jichang thought that since there was such a fate, he could not miss it no matter what. Whether it was the prince or Fan Xian, they had to recognize a big man as their godfather, ah, master?

Shi Chanli thought about it and said, "It seems that it is not impossible."

He looked at Yang Wanli who was reading beside him:
"Brother Yang, what do you think?"

"No."

Yang Wanli flatly rejected their idea of ​​going together to find the big shot. He had never thought of using such unconventional means to serve the big shot to ensure that he would pass the imperial examination. How would this be different from those cheaters whom he despised?

"Didn't you hear what His Royal Highness said? He will fight for fairness for us! If we go to His Royal Highness or Master Xiao Fan with the intention of asking for an unfair treatment, wouldn't that be a slap in their face?"

Hou Jichang said tactfully: "We just want to meet Master Fan. After all, he is the benefactor who saved our lives. It shouldn't be a problem to thank him, right?"

Shi Chanli didn't dare to nod his head. Brother, don't you know what you are thinking?
Yang Wanli did not shy away from the question and said bluntly, "The Spring Examination has not started yet. It is the time to prepare for the examination. If we visit them now, wouldn't we become disciples of Master Xiao Fan and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and make people suspicious?"

"Your Highness is speaking for scholars all over the world, not just for us. There must be a lot of problems behind the Spring Examination. It has been a convention for decades, and officials have protected each other. Your Highness has shouldered all these heavy mountains for us, and I'm sure you are overwhelmed."

"We must not cause trouble for him at this time!"

Hou Jichang's true thoughts were seen through, and his old face turned red.

Shi Chanli nodded in agreement: "Yes! Even if we want to find Master Xiao Fan and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to express our gratitude, we have to wait until the Spring Examination is over."

Yang Wanli looked at Hou Jichang and said, "Brother Hou, don't forget what we said before. We didn't mind other people's business until we became officials. When we become officials and have the ability to mind other people's business, I hope you can remember your original intention and speak for justice like His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"I'm going to study hard, let's encourage each other."

Hou Jichang smiled awkwardly: "Brother Yang is right"

······
The next morning.

Li Chengqian did not rush to see the emperor, but went to his mother's bedroom first.

The queen was woken up and rubbed her temples with a headache. She felt really uncomfortable so she asked the servants to get her a glass of wine. After drinking it, she felt much better. Then she looked at the prince who was kneeling in front of her:

"I don't usually see you approach me on your own initiative, but you only come to me for help when you're in trouble!"

"You are joking, mother. I have been wanting to visit you every day, but you are too busy."

Li Chengqian smiled and came to her side with great courtesy, massaging her acupoints to relax the tense nerves in her temples.

The queen closed her eyes comfortably and rested her mind: "I have heard about your experience in the Spring Examination Hall. You are too impatient and always want to show off your achievements to others. Didn't I teach you before? Don't stand out unless it is necessary."

Li Chengqian used a little more strength: "Mother, I am doing this to comply with your majesty's wishes, not to show off."

The Queen rolled her eyes and said, "You are my flesh and blood. How can I not know what you are thinking? Also, if it was His Majesty's will, he should have summoned you to the palace to make his position known to the ministers. Why would he put you in danger?"

Right.

Compared to my father.

This mother is still more attentive to her son.

Although it was not much better. Li Chengqian knew that the queen also saw the situation clearly, so he flattered her and coaxed her into a happy mood. Then he showed his true colors: "Mother, please tell His Majesty to summon me to the palace."

"I'm afraid I can't help you."

The queen opened her eyes slightly: "Your Majesty, he hasn't wanted to see me for many years."

As expected, you are not willing to take the risk and ask for an imperial decree for me. Li Chengqian let go and stopped pressing her acupuncture points. He came close to her and said seriously, "Mother, maybe His Majesty has changed his mind?"

The Queen sneered: "How can you guess what he means? Why would he change his mind?"

"because I."

Li Chengqian stared into the queen's phoenix eyes and spoke bluntly without wavering.

The latter remained silent for a long time, and finally sighed, and was helped up by him:

"Forget it. After all, you are my child."

While the prince was asking for help, another leader was also seeking external help. Fan Xian knew quite a few officials in the court. Not only did he have a biological father at the pinnacle of power, but he also had several godfathers who held great power.

Oh, and there’s also a father-in-law.

Fan Xian came to the Lin residence, not to see Wan'er, but to find Lin Ruofu. Under Dabao's warm welcome, he came to Prime Minister Lin's study. Seeing that his adviser Yuan Hongdao was also there, he kept his words to himself:
"Uncle."

"Come, pluck my beard for me."

Lin Ruofu raised his chin and approached Fan Xian. The latter glanced at his father-in-law, then looked at Yuan Hongdao who was handling paperwork, and simply plucked out his father-in-law's beard, pulling out white beards one by one, making Lin Ruofu's eyes tear up. "Mask of Pain".
"The only way to cure this beard is to pull it out completely, but it still hurts to pull it out by the roots!"

Lin Ruofu covered his chin and gave his son-in-law a seemingly unintentional but meaningful reminder. Then he took Fan Xian to a nearby table, picked up a bag of hawthorns, and sat down to string the red fruits. Fan Xian was curious:
"Why don't you let the servants do it?"

"The servants are rough and Dabao is impatient. I'm afraid he will get hurt by the nugget."

Lin Ruofu smiled and shook his head: "Dabao loves to eat red fruits the most, I have to choose more for him."

Fan Xian's hands were not idle either, helping to pick the fruits. But when he was about to state the purpose of his visit today, Lin Ruofu spoke first: "I know what you want to talk to me about, and I also know what you are going to do, but I want to ask you a question." "Do you know what the Spring Examination is?"

Fan Xian responded:
"The Spring Imperial Examination is a way for the court to select talents for use and to serve as officials."

Lin Ruofu: "Not only that, over the years, before the names were copied, the selected people had already been decided, and then some means were used to make them pass the exam. They would definitely be on the list. This is the inside story of the Spring Examination."

Fan Xian was puzzled: "What if the article is not good? No one doubts it?"

Lin Ruofu shook his head: "There will always be a way. So all the officials and royal relatives will send the list to you. Those who send it to your house but dare not leave their names are not worthy. I have selected a list for you. Every name on it is important."

The list was handed to Fan Xian, who was unwilling to accept it:

"Uncle, since you know what I am going to do, why did you give me this list?"

Lin Ruofu sighed:
"A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. I knew about the prince's heroic performance in the Spring Examination Hall, which made hundreds of students kneel down and thank him. But he is the prince and you are a minister. You are different."

Fan Xian's face darkened.

Lin Ruofu advised him kindly: "Get through this and pass the Spring Examination, then your career will be on the rise. Accept this list. Being an official is different from being a prince. The most important thing for an official is to be humble and modest. No matter how much trouble the prince makes, nothing will happen, but you can't."

"Also, don't let the prince use you as a knife. He is not that simple."

Fan Xian's hand stopped in mid-air and he pushed the list back:

"Uncle, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has the same idea as me. He is indeed thinking about the scholars of the world and wants to make the Spring Examination fair. Even if he has other intentions, as long as he can do this, I will support him and stand on his side."

Anger appeared on Lin Ruofu's face:

"But if the ministers and officials, the royal family and relatives are dissatisfied with you and secretly resent you, they dare not do anything to the prince, but what about you? Are you sure you can withstand their revenge?"

Fan Xian shook his head, but said firmly:
"I can't bear it, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he would consult His Majesty on this matter. As long as His Majesty summons him to the palace, in the eyes of the ministers, it is His Majesty's will to rectify the cheating in the Spring Examination. Who dares to be dissatisfied? Who dares to retaliate?"

Lin Ruofu put the list on the table. Fan Xian originally thought that he would be furious, but for some reason, Lin Ruofu looked relieved and took the list back. When he looked at Fan Xian again, his eyes were full of tenderness and reluctance:

"If the prince is indeed as you say, then you can rely on him."

Fan Xian was a little confused, wondering what Prime Minister Lin knew or what he had guessed.
In short, they are all waiting for a result, can they win?

It depends on the actions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
·······
Miyagi.

While waiting for news from the Queen, Li Chengqian picked up his pen and wrote down four short poems, intending to use them to flatter Emperor Qing. Only by making his father happy could he let him take the blame for him and protect them from arrows, right?

After a while.

The queen returned to the palace with a bewildered look on her face.

Li Chengqian saw that she was unhappy, and the maids beside her lowered their heads and dared not speak. The result must be bad. Sure enough, the queen took a while to calm down, and then she said slowly: "Your Majesty, you still don't want to see me."

Oh my god, can’t you be a little more helpful?

Li Chengqian sighed without hesitation, "What should I do?"

"you"

The queen was very angry. Seeing her son sighing and complaining in front of her because of her poor performance, her already menopausal heart felt even more uncomfortable. She frowned and was about to teach her son a lesson.

Eunuch Hou came with His Majesty's oral order: "Call Crown Prince Li Chengqian to the palace to see His Majesty."

The Queen stood there in a daze, holding back the curse she wanted to say. Li Chengqian quickly patted his butt and left, going to the palace to meet the Emperor with Eunuch Hou. Before leaving, he just bowed to his mother without thanking her. They both knew what was going on.

This is not the Queen's credit, it's His Majesty who wants to see the Prince
Li Chengqian came to the imperial study and saw Emperor Qing covering his face and reading beside his couch. He was reading Fan Xian's poetry collection, which made his chances of flattering him successful even greater. He stepped forward and saluted: "Your Majesty, your son, pays respect to you."

Emperor Qing glanced at him from under his veil:
"Li Chengqian, you've been in the spotlight lately?"

It is not worth mentioning that one is a saint in front of others, and there are more pretentious ones to come. Li Chengqian did not kneel, but stood calmly in front of Emperor Qing: "Your Majesty once said that I have a gentle temperament, a kind heart, and everything I do is for the country of Qing."

"If there can be fewer things that harm the country, I, your son, can also be less likely to seek attention."

Emperor Qing put down the poetry collection in his hand, revealing a corner of the sixteen-line poem sandwiched between them. It turned out that what he had just read was not Fan Xian's hundred poems, but his own son's sixteen-character poem:
"Fan Xian inherited Zhuang Mohan's books and wrote hundreds of poems in the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. People say that Fan Xian is a poet who has descended to earth. But in my opinion, your literary talent is not inferior to Fan Xian. Otherwise, how could I let you co-host the Spring Examination with him?"

"Everything I have was given by Your Majesty."

On the surface, what Li Chengqian said was that Emperor Qing thought he had talent in poetry, which was an excellence inherited from him by Emperor Qing. But the second meaning was that the right to preside over the Spring Examination was also given to him by Emperor Qing, implying that he should take the blame, that his son was doing things for him, and he should take the blame for his son.

Emperor Qing snorted and laughed: "You are so bold. I have never warned you, but you dared to punish the Shangshu in the Spring Examination Hall, and speak nonsense, threatening to seek justice for the students of the world and restore fairness to the Spring Examination."

"Do you think that I haven't done these things, and only you can do them?"

Eunuch Hou was so frightened that his heart was beating in his throat.

The last person to speak to His Majesty like this.

He has long since died without a burial place.

But Li Chengqian just bent down and said: "I don't think so. On the contrary, I think that your Majesty's civil and military achievements will not only make our Qing Kingdom strong, but also clean up the accumulated filth in the Spring Examination. The literary world of our Qing Kingdom will surely usher in glory, with both civil and military achievements!"

Emperor Qing asked in confusion: "What did I ask you to do? Why do you praise me so much?"

"Then of course, I and Master Fan will co-host the Spring Examination with Minister Guo."

Li Chengqian didn't dare to say more, for fear that he would speculate the emperor's intentions and scare people!
Emperor Qing pulled down the veil covering his face, stared at Li Chengqian and asked, "That's enough."

"Stop beating around the bush with me. Tell me, what do you think?"

Li Chengqian then spoke:
"Your Majesty, I dare to believe that the Spring Imperial Examination must be fair and open, and that officials and noble families must not interfere. The Imperial Examination is the key way for Daqing to select talented people.

If we allow outsiders to fill the court with people and appoint trusted officials, it will inevitably form a chaotic political system within the court. These people who take shortcuts will be loyal to the bigwigs who help them, have ulterior motives, and be disloyal to Your Majesty, so they must not be appointed!"

Emperor Qing narrowed his eyes and said, "Go on."

Li Chengqian took a deep breath and said:
"Both the imperial examination system and the selection system must make it difficult for aristocratic families and powerful officials to take action. The children of aristocratic families can pass the examinations based on their real talents and knowledge, and then be selected by the Ministry of Personnel and sent out of the capital. This will gradually disperse the aristocratic families and eventually disintegrate them.

Those poor scholars with no background must be given fair rights to take the imperial examinations. Only by giving the lower-class people a chance will they harbor hope, work hard and strive for progress. Moreover, only by employing poor scholars with no background and from the market will they be loyal to Your Majesty and have no ulterior motives.

If everyone in the court is like this, loyal to Your Majesty and willing to sacrifice their lives for him, Your Majesty will surely be able to achieve great things, promote the great power of our Qing Kingdom, and unify the world. The following 100 words of flattery are omitted."

Li Chengqian stood up and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Emperor Qing's rare smile.

Lao Bi Deng said slowly: "Li Chengqian, you are worthy of being my crown prince, worthy of being my favorite son. If everyone can be as thoughtful and loyal to me as you are, then Daqing will be able to enjoy long-term peace and prosperity."

"Go ahead and do what you want to do. I will always be your strongest supporter."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

With Emperor Qing's words, Li Chengqian had the confidence to fight against the officials of the court. Unexpectedly, Emperor Qing agreed to this matter just by explaining the reason and without flattering him. It seems that he had planned to depose the prime minister for a long time, and it was imminent.
"Your Majesty, I admire your hard work and your efforts to promote good governance and make innovations."

Li Chengqian took out a scroll from his arms:
"I am deeply moved by your majesty, and today I have composed a new poem to praise your majesty!"

Emperor Qing smiled, "Let me see if your poetic talent is as good as Fan Xian's."

Li Chengqian presented the scroll.

Emperor Qing looked at the twenty words and four sentences above, and was overjoyed. He sighed three times and looked at his own prince with a look that showed that he liked him more and more.
(End of this chapter)