HLnovel Chapter 294 Xiu Hanlin
Chapter 294 Xiu Hanlin
Chapter 294 Xiu Hanlin
"Oh? What happened to the Left Prime Minister's lackey?"
Chen Tianjian raised an eyebrow and said with a smile.
"You may not know this, but this year, locusts have swarmed, and the people have suffered greatly. Moreover, the lord of the neighboring city tried to bury and burn locusts, but to no avail. The locusts continue to spread rampantly."
"Then, the Left Prime Minister's lackeys started spreading rumors that the locusts in their city were all from our Purple City, and demanded that we capture locusts from other places. Tell me, isn't that absurd?"
Zhao Mingcheng shrugged, a look of disdain on his face.
Clearly, he knew that this was a deliberate attempt by the Left Prime Minister and his associates to attack him, but the method was obviously quite unscrupulous.
"That's pretty shameless."
Chen Tianjian laughed heartily; he certainly knew such common sense.
"I have a plan, but I don't know if it will work."
At this moment, Ye Ru spoke up.
"Who is this person?"
These words made Zhao Mingcheng frown, and then he looked into the distance.
"Student Ye Ru greets Lord Zhao."
Ye Ru quickly bowed and said.
"Ye Ru? That name sounds familiar. Could you be Ye Ru, the top scholar in the imperial examination?"
Zhao Mingcheng pondered for a moment, then widened his eyes and said.
"It's down."
Ye Ru said calmly.
"I've heard from Minister Wu that you are incredibly talented. I'd love to get to know you, but it's a pity I haven't had the chance yet. Today is the perfect opportunity. What brilliant plan do you have? Tell me about it."
Zhao Mingcheng walked in, patted Ye Ru on the shoulder, and then said with a smile.
"How about I write a poem and you give it to the Left Chancellor to appease the public's discontent?"
Ye Rudao.
"Poetry and prose? Your poetry is unparalleled, and your calligraphy is something others would kill for. You just gave it away to the Left Prime Minister's men like that?"
Chen Tianjian joked from the side.
"This poem doesn't have any ranking system."
Ye Ru smiled.
"Alright, I'll get you paper and pen. It'll be a good opportunity for me to see your talent."
Zhao Mingcheng sent someone to bring out pen and ink, which were handed to Ye Ru. The latter pondered for a moment, then took out paper and pen and began to write and recite:
"Locusts are flying creatures, sent by heaven as a calamity for the people. If our city can drive them away, then your city should fight them back."
As Zhao Mingcheng listened, he thought about it with great interest. After a moment, the worry on his face disappeared completely, replaced by an extremely bitter smile:
"Everyone says that Ye Anshou is highly learned, but his cursing is also unique. This time, I'll see what that old dog of the Left Prime Minister has to say."
After saying this, he picked up the Xuan paper, solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ye Ru, and said:
"Thank you for your hard work, Chief Ye. Since you've come and brought me such a fine wine, I must do my best to be a good host. Otherwise, people outside might think I'm stingy."
"Lord Zhao, there's no need for such formalities."
Ye Ru shook his head.
"Brother Zhao, we've come here because we need your help."
Chen Tianjian also spoke seriously.
"What's the deal?"
Zhao Mingcheng frowned and said.
"Ye Ru is going to take the imperial examination. Originally, it was scheduled to be held at Yingtian Academy, but I brought him here. Therefore, I would like him to take the imperial examination in your Zicheng. What do you think?"
Chen Tianjian said.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Mingcheng frowned, which also made Ye Ru ask a question.
"Does Lord Zhao have some unspeakable difficulty?"
"If this had happened during the last imperial examination, I definitely could have done it. But this time, we have a particularly difficult examiner. No one can get any advantage from him, so I'm a little worried that he won't agree."
Zhao Mingcheng sighed, then slowly said, as if he was powerless to do anything about it.
"Oh? Then who should we go to?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Ru slowly replied.
"Within the Purple City, there are four mirrors and three bright halls. I can take you to find the whereabouts of that chief examiner, but whether you can participate depends on your abilities."
Zhao Mingcheng looked at Ye Ru and said in a deep voice.
"Are you confident you can succeed?"
Chen Tianjian frowned and asked.
He had only just learned about this matter. He originally thought that as long as Ye Ru's materials were submitted to the Holy Academy, the Holy Academy would approve them, but now it seems that there are still such great obstacles.
"Not really. This examiner has a rather volatile temper and acts differently from ordinary people. I have dealt with him before. His main characteristics are that he hates evil and is not afraid of power."
Zhao Mingcheng said.
"Then you take us there. As for whether we can succeed, that depends on Ye Ru's abilities. So, are you confident?"
Chen Tianjian turned his head and asked.
"Let's give it a try. It will take at least seven days to get back to Yingtian Academy and Qingyun County from here. Even if we travel at full speed, it will still take five days. There's simply no time. Now we can only ask that chief examiner for help."
Ye Ru sighed. Clearly, the only solution now was to find the examiner. If that didn't work, they would have to wait until next year's imperial examination, and their trip to Jin would be ruined, leaving 100,000 heroic souls unable to return home.
Without saying another word, the three of them headed toward the Hall of Four Mirrors and Three Brightnesses.
After passing through a series of narrow paths, a tall building came into view before the three of them.
This Four Mirrors and Three Brightnesses Hall is more magnificent and larger than the Four Mirrors and Three Brightnesses Hall in Qingyun County.
Moreover, the atmosphere here is even more conducive to learning, and scholars who come here to study will achieve twice the results with half the effort.
"This is the Four Mirrors and Three Brightnesses Hall of Zicheng. Logically speaking, the area of the Four Mirrors and Three Brightnesses Hall of a county, prefecture, and city is different, but this one is much better than the county's."
Zhao Mingcheng explained, then infused his voice with his talent, shouting towards the Four Mirrors and Three Bright Halls:
"Is Xiu Hanlin here?"
The sound lingered in the sky, never fading, before Zhao Mingcheng spoke again:
"Is Xiu Hanlin here?"
"What business do you have with Xiu Hanlin?"
At this moment, a page came out and spoke to Zhao Mingcheng and the other two.
"I have important matters to discuss with Xiu Hanlin. I wonder if this young man could pass on a message for me, saying that the City Lord of Zicheng, Zhao Mingcheng, and the Military Minister, Chen Tianjian, have come to pay their respects. I would be extremely grateful."
"The master said that this is a sensitive period for the imperial examinations, and he will not see any high-ranking officials or nobles, nor will he listen to anything related to the imperial examinations. Please go back."
The page hesitated for a moment, then said.
"This……"
Zhao Mingcheng opened his mouth slightly, then turned to look at Chen Tianjian, only to find that the latter had the same expression as him, and couldn't help but laugh and cry.
Although Xiu Hanlin's literary rank was not as high as Chen Tianjian's, he was directly under the Holy Academy and not subject to the court's jurisdiction, so Chen Tianjian's status was of no use to him.
At this moment, Ye Ru pondered for a moment, then spoke:
"Just tell me that I, Ye Ru, have a way to answer the questions that Xiu Hanlin is pondering."