Chapter 294 A Special Gift
The situation was awkward for a short while, but soon returned to normal.
After all, this was a banquet granted by His Majesty the Emperor himself to celebrate with the people, so there wasn't such a strong official atmosphere.
The ministers who knew him kept silent, and the officials who didn't know him just thought he was another nobleman of status and never thought of him as the current emperor.
Emperor Chengtian found a seat next to King Huai and sat down, and asked, "How far have you progressed? Go on, I'll just sit down somewhere and watch."
"Fourth brother, it's time for the people to celebrate your birthday." King Huai covered his mouth and coughed a few times, then spoke in a very casual tone.
Since Emperor Chengtian just called him fifth brother, he would also call him fourth brother.
There was still a certain distance between them and the other people on the platform. As long as they didn't deliberately amplify their voices, the people below wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.
"Then continue. I'd also like to see what the rules are for people to celebrate birthdays." Emperor Chengtian showed great interest.
In his memory, he had been here before, but that time he came with the emperor's full guard of honor, and he came and left in a hurry.
I have never seen the process of people celebrating birthdays.
"Okay, I'll follow your instructions, Brother Four." King Huai said to his confidant who had already been stunned behind him, "Why don't you make arrangements quickly!"
After saying that, he couldn't help but cough a few times.
It looks like he is not in good health.
The confidants who were stunned by the Emperor's personal presence finally came to their senses and hurried down to make arrangements.
At this moment, Shan Li and Song Qingci were sitting in different seats for men and women, watching everything on the stage.
Their general's mansion also received an invitation from Prince Huai's mansion.
It's just that they sat at different seats for men and women.
At Shan Li's table were all officials of similar rank, while at Song Qingci's table were officials' wives. They were all seated very close to the main table.
When they looked away, they both looked at each other, their eyes clear.
The first person to come on stage to present a gift was an octogenarian. The birthday gift he presented was a fifty-year-old ginseng.
Fifty-year-old ginseng may not mean much in the eyes of officials and nobles, but who doesn’t have a few hundred-year-old ginsengs in their storehouse?
In the hands of some aristocratic families, it is not difficult to find items that are hundreds of years old, let alone those that are even older.
But the octogenarian who came on stage looked like an ordinary person. This fifty-year-old ginseng was probably the best thing he could offer.
The chief steward of Prince Huai's mansion accepted the gift on behalf of Prince Huai and also gave the old man a generous gift in return.
The old man went down very happily, touching the return gift given by King Huai in his hand, with a look of joy on his face.
The next one came was a merchant, who presented a lost prescription for medicine, which was mainly used to strengthen the body.
Don't underestimate this piece of yellowed paper. But this piece of paper cost the merchant several thousand taels of silver.
Merchant families have always been looked down upon, and there are not many opportunities to show up in front of the prince, so he naturally wants to do his best.
The person who sold him the prescription said that as long as he drank it according to the prescription, his body would be restored to health in a year at most.
The butler still accepted the birthday gift and gave a thank you gift in return.
More and more people came to offer birthday gifts, and the gifts were all kinds of strange. An old man even presented a large cabbage.
Everyone watching below was amused.
The atmosphere is unprecedentedly good.
At this moment, a Confucian scholar wearing a mask came up and performed a Confucian scholar's salute in the direction of King Huai.
Then he presented his birthday gift with both hands.
"What is this?" The butler looked at the stack of papers in the scholar's hand and wondered what it was. Could it be another prescription?
But why is the prescription so thick?
This looks more like an article written by the Confucian scholar himself.
"This is a test question that I have learned. I would like to take this opportunity to read it to you all and everyone present."
As soon as these words were spoken, the scene fell silent.
What does it mean?
In the past, even if the old man gave cabbage, it had a very good meaning. Cabbage means wealth, which is the common people's expectation and symbol of a better life.
But what does the test question this Confucian scholar bring out mean?
Is there any explanation for this difficult question?
As everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, only Shen Qingshan, who was sitting below, began to sweat coldly.
Others might not be able to recognize him, but he recognized who this masked Confucian scholar was at first sight.
After all, he had observed him and imitated him very carefully.
It can be said that he would be able to recognize him even if he turned into ashes, let alone just wearing a mask.
He really wanted to call someone to arrest him and keep him there.
However, today, not only King Huai and other officials at all levels are present here, but also His Majesty the Emperor!
He didn't know whether others recognized the emperor, but he, Shen Qingshan, had just finished the palace examination not long ago, and he was the third place winner personally awarded by the emperor. How could he not recognize him?
Therefore, even though he was sweating profusely, he didn't dare to move, let alone shout. He could only glance around, hoping to find someone who could help him.
King Huai was also very surprised at this moment. This birthday gift turned out to be a test question?
What does that mean? He didn't understand.
The masked Confucian scholar is the real Shen Mozhu. He received a tip before going on stage that the person sitting next to King Huai is the current Emperor Chengtian. His success rate today has risen sharply.
Without waiting for anyone else to say anything, he handed the paper in his hand to the butler, and then began to recite the contents of the paper aloud.
After two sentences, Emperor Chengtian's eyes moved, and his body, which had been sitting lazily, suddenly straightened up.
The officials sitting below and the adults who participated in the marking of this year's special examination papers also immediately noticed that something was wrong.
The topic that this Confucian scholar recited was exactly the topic of the Enke Palace Examination, and the content he recited was exactly the content of Shen Tanhua's test paper.
Now, all the people who knew the situation looked towards Shen Qingshan.
I don't know if I don't see it, I'm startled when I see it.
At this moment, Shen Tanhua's face was pale and beads of sweat appeared on his face.
The people sitting on his left and right also felt something was wrong and moved their bodies slightly, trying to stay away from him.
I have heard that this year's Shen Tanhua has some character flaws. He had a falling out with his colleagues right after entering the Hanlin Academy, and also messed up a very important task. Now he has been kicked out of the Hanlin Academy.
Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that there was something wrong with his current appearance.
Although I don’t know what happened, it’s always better to stay away from it.