Chapter 110: Imperial Examination Questions Leaked
After returning to the Eastern Palace, Zhao Xing sent Gu Tingye away.
When he returned to the main hall, he was stunned to see two eunuchs each holding a dozen storybooks. He frowned and said, "I only selected a dozen books, how come there are so many?"
"Your Highness, the other ones were picked for you by Commander Gu." Sanshui said.
"Show it to me." Zhao Xing said.
Upon hearing this, Sanshui hurriedly took what Gu Tingye gave him and gave it to Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing saw the cover of the top book had "The Secret History of Zhao Ji" written on it, so he picked it up and started reading.
The above content tells the story of Lu Buwei and Zhao Ji.
In fact, some of the ancient vernacular books were fabricated stories about ancient celebrities, which are the so-called unofficial histories.
Some are fictional characters.
Zhao Xing initially thought that this was a wild history, but after reading it for a while he realized that something was wrong. This was not a wild history at all, but a romantic history.
Some key paragraphs are also accompanied by pictures.
Zhao Xing looked through the rest and found that they were all of this kind.
"Take all these books and burn them for me." Zhao Xing said angrily.
As an upright person, how can I watch such unhealthy things?
"Yes!" Sanshui was shocked. He didn't know why Zhao Xing was angry, so he quickly stepped forward and took the books away.
Zhao Xing rubbed his brows, feeling a little distressed. His father and Queen Cao were really worried about him.
In fact, Zhao Xing also understood that it was very common for men in ancient times to have maids in their bedrooms.
There is a big difference between maids and concubines. These maids were basically sent away after the man married his wife.
Some would be kept and continue to serve as maids. If they had children, they would be promoted to aunt, that is, become concubines.
Just like Sheng Changbai, when he married Hai, he also had several concubines in his room.
After Hai came in, she sent them all away, and in order to show her virtue, she specially left one for Sheng Changbai.
Zhao Xing knew that if this problem was not resolved, there would be many similar incidents in the future.
Although he considered himself to be firm, he might not be able to resist the temptation.
After thinking for a long time, Zhao Xing came up with a solution.
That night, a piece of news spread among the eunuchs and maids in the East Palace.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince left the palace maid Xia Chan to sleep with him.
Upon hearing the news, the palace maids were all envious.
If Xia Chan knew that everyone envied her, she would probably be so sad that she could not even cry.
At first, she was very excited when Zhao Xing kept her.
However, Zhao Xing did not favor her at all and just let her sleep on the floor in the bedroom.
He also asked her to act unnatural when she walked when she got up the next morning.
Zhao Xing had no other choice but to use this method to reassure his father and Queen Cao.
The next morning, after Zhao Xing woke up, he called Xia Chan and asked her to quickly tidy up the bed on the floor. He gave her a few more instructions out of concern, and then called in the person who was waiting outside to help him wash up.
After washing up, Zhao Xing went out to eat.
After Zhao Xing left, Nanny Feng came in and asked about Xia Chan.
After hearing what Zhao Xing had said, Xia Chan naturally did not dare to say it out loud. She blushed and gave an ambiguous reply to Nanny Feng.
In ancient times, when getting married, a purple scarf would be laid on the bed. The next day, the scarf would be checked to see if there was any blood on it to determine the woman’s chastity.
But Xia Chan was just a palace maid, and Zhao Xingliu's decision to sleep with her was spur of the moment, so naturally she had no preparations.
So Nanny Feng asked a few questions and asked her to walk a few steps.
Although Xia Chan followed Zhao Xing's instructions and acted unnatural, Nanny Feng was an old nanny in the palace. She had a sharp eye and saw the problem at a glance. She said seriously, "Tell the truth. Did the Crown Prince favor you last night? This matter must be reported to the Emperor and the Empress. If you dare to tell a lie, you should know the consequences."
Upon hearing this, Xia Chan knelt down and told him the whole story.
After hearing this, Nanny Feng glared at her fiercely and walked out.
... Zhao Xing didn't know that his lie was exposed in an instant. After breakfast, he went to practice martial arts with Gu Yan.
When she saw Gu Tingye, she glared at him fiercely.
While lying in bed last night, the contents of the Secret History of Zhao Ji that he had read during the day emerged in his mind. In addition, there was a summer cicada in the room, which made him toss and turn and unable to sleep.
If Xia Chan wasn't still young, he would have been unable to control himself.
Even so, I dreamed of Zhou Gong's daughter last night.
When Gu Tingye saw Zhao Xing glaring at him, he shrank his neck. He was also helpless.
……
Nanny Feng left the East Palace and went to the Imperial Palace to meet Empress Cao, and told her what had happened last night.
After hearing this, Queen Cao became even more worried. Zhao Xing knew that since he asked Xia Chan to pretend to walk unnaturally, it was obvious that he was not completely ignorant.
But she could just hold it in, which made her think more.
You know, the powerful and wealthy in ancient times were very extravagant. There is an idiom called "Longyangzhihao", which refers to male homosexual activities.
Many nobles even had affairs with both men and women and secretly kept some handsome men.
Fortunately, Queen Cao thought about it carefully. Although Zhao Xing was very close to Gu Tingye and others, he did not let them stay overnight in the East Palace or anything like that. It did not seem like he was a homosexual.
However, Empress Cao was still worried, so when the emperor came over in the evening, she told him about the matter.
After hearing this, the official pondered for a while and then burst into laughter.
"Your Majesty, I am almost dying of anxiety, why are you still laughing?" said Queen Cao.
"Haha."
The emperor laughed for a while before stopping and saying, "Why are you worried about Fu'er's homosexuality? Didn't Fu'er often ask the Duke of England's daughter and Yu Xianggong's granddaughter to chat with him at the polo match? I am laughing at Fu'er's ability to control himself. Fu'er kept the maid but didn't favor her. It's obvious that he knew our concerns and wanted to reassure us. Confucius said that food and sex are human nature, but Fu'er has such perseverance. I am very pleased. Shouldn't I laugh?"
"It's a good thing that Fu'er has perseverance, but what about the continuation of the bloodline? The Duke of Yingguo's daughter will reach the age of 15 this year, how about letting them get married next year?" Queen Cao suggested.
"No." The emperor shook his head and said, "If the marriage is completed, the concubines that were previously arranged for him will almost all be of age, and they will all be taken into the palace at that time. Fu'er is still young after all, and lust will harm her health."
Sometimes being a parent is like this, worrying about everything.
The emperor is worried that Zhao Xing is not interested in women, but the emperor will still be worried if he is too interested in women.
"What should we do then?" asked Queen Cao.
The official pondered and said, "Let's do this for now. The girl from the Yu family will soon be of marriageable age. When she reaches marriageable age, let her go to the East Palace to serve Fu'er."
"Will Mr. Yu have any objections to this?" Queen Cao asked worriedly.
Before the Crown Princess enters the palace, he certainly cannot take in concubines.
The girl from the Yu family went to the Eastern Palace, but she had no official status for the time being.
It would be fine if the Yu family was of lower status, they would be eager for such a good thing and would not have any complaints.
But Yu Xianggong is a minister in the court, holding a high position and power, so naturally we cannot ignore his feelings.
"I will ask Mr. Yu about this matter." said the emperor.
……
Zhao Xing didn't know that his plan had been exposed, and he was almost mistaken by Empress Cao as a homosexual.
After Nanny Feng returned to the Eastern Palace, she gave Xia Chan a lot of instructions. Xia Chan did not dare to tell Zhao Xing that the matter had been exposed.
Zhao Xing attended classes every day and occasionally went to the Ministry of Rites to listen to the arrangements for the imperial examinations. Every few days, he would let Xia Chan stay in his palace for a night and continue to perform the play.
On this day, Zhao Xing was reviewing documents when Yin Hanzhang came to ask for a meeting.
Zhao Xing originally thought that the slaves of the Gu family who were sold were sent to Bianjing. After hearing what Yin Hanzhang said, he was stunned: "What did you say? The examination paper questions were leaked?"
Although he had already decided on the essay questions for the imperial examination, he had not submitted it to the Ministry of Rites. So far, only he and Wang Anshi knew about it.
Could it be that Wang Anshi leaked it?
With Wang Anshi's temperament, it is impossible for him to do such a thing.
And to be honest, the test questions he set wouldn't have much impact whether they were leaked or not.
(End of this chapter)