After the general examination is over, it’s time to rank in the palace examination.

In the early days of the Republic of China, the imperial examination was held on the first day of the third lunar month, and later on the 15th day of the third lunar month.

So, on the fifth day of the third lunar month, the Ministry of Rites read the scrolls and passed them on, the palace tasted wine and food, and the reading officer gave a banquet and other ceremonies.

The emperor agreed and issued an edict.

To test the world's tributes, the great scholar Zhang Juzheng, Gao Yi, Lu Tiaoyang, Wang Chonggu, Shangshu Wangguang, Zhu Heng, Ma Ziqiang, Zhang Han, Shi Maohua, the minister Shen Shixing, Wen Chun, Ge Shouli of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Ni Guang, the general affairs secretary

Recommendations include Chen Dong of Dali Temple, Wang Xilie of the Hanlin Academy, Tao Dalin of the Imperial Academy, etc., as reviewers.

On the seventh day of the third lunar month, the Qingming Festival, Zhang, the concubine of Yishi Temple, passed away and had to stay away from court for three days.

On the same day, the Imperial Academy offered wine to Tao Dalin and asked him to report his illness.

…

It rains heavily during the Qingming Festival, and pedestrians on the road feel like they are dying.

The emperor left the palace again.

Surprisingly, no one tried to stop me this time.

Even though Empress Dowager Li had some complaints, with the full support of the cabinet, she silently allowed the emperor to leave the palace.

Because Tao Dalin, a former minister of the East Palace and a former prince, was about to die.

After ruling out the risk of infectious diseases, the courtiers all had a positive attitude toward the emperor's personal visit.

Zhu Yijun waited for Xu Wenbi to arrange the guards around Tao Mansion, and then walked into the gate of Tao Mansion with the Tao family members looking flattered and frightened.

As soon as he walked to the door, the medical officer was released by the royal guards.

"Your Majesty, Taojijiu has been cold for several days and has not improved. Now it is an emergency caused by cold poison attacking the heart. I'm afraid..."

The imperial doctor stated the cause of the disease to the emperor and shook his head tactfully.

Zhu Yijun listened silently.

When cold poison attacks the heart, it is a heart disease such as myocarditis. In this era, it is indeed difficult to cure it with medicine or stone.

He did not blame the imperial doctor, he just waited for him to finish speaking and asked him to step aside.

Seeing that the emperor wanted to enter the house, Zhang Hong persuaded him: "Your Majesty, you are a rich man, so you can just visit him outside the door."

The door is not closed, but is blocked by a screen.

Since the medical officer said that Tao Dalin's medicine was useless, he must not be alive for a few days.

Even if it is not contagious, it is still somewhat unlucky, so Zhang Hong gave some advice.

However, the accompanying civil servants remained silent, neither admonishing nor refuting.

Accompanying the emperor on this trip were Minister Ma Ziqiang, Minister Zhu Dashou and other officials from the Ministry of Rites.

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "Tao Qing is my daily lecturer and my teacher. He is full of righteousness. How can there be evil spirits lingering in the house?"

After that, he followed the Jin Yiwei who opened the way and stepped directly in.

Once inside the house.

Zhu Yijun felt the smell of herbal medicine coming to his face.

The bottles and cans on the table were all put away, but traces of water stains on the medicinal soup were still everywhere.

Zhu Yijun's eyes moved from the desk to the bed.

They saw Tao Dalin looking pale, holding his chest with one hand, being supported by his family, and saluting with difficulty.

"His Majesty."

"Meet Your Majesty."

Tao Dalin came from a family of officials, and everyone in his family knew the rules.

In particular, his elder brother was the governor of Guangxi, the right capital censor, and had become an official. Faced with the emperor's sudden visit, the arrangements were very orderly.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun stopped him and said, "If you are seriously ill, don't be rude. Just help the teacher lie down."

That is to say, teacher, otherwise, outsiders would really not be qualified to let Zhu Yijun come to visit.

After saying that, Zhu Yijun faced Zhang Hong and nodded Tao Dalin with his side face.

Zhang Hong understood immediately and stepped forward to help the person to the bed.

Tao Dalin was now suffering from palpitations and chest tightness. He was already severely weak and might faint at any time.

He did not expect that the emperor would come to visit him in person. As soon as he lay on the bed, tears flowed down his cheeks. He breathed weakly and said: "How dare you receive so much love from your Majesty that you actually care about your despicable body in person."

Zhu Yijun quietly looked at Tao Dalin's appearance at this time, completely losing the cleverness and cunning that he had hidden behind him during the court meeting.

This is the dying of man...

Tao Dalin is only fifty-nine years old this year. He is in good health and has no senile diseases.

Who would have expected that a respiratory infection caused the cold to attack his heart, and he was about to become the first acquaintance of Zhu Yijun to die in this life.

The emperor sighed in his heart and gave some words of encouragement - Zhu Yijun was a very humane emperor when conditions allowed.

What about getting well soon, taking medicine on time, bringing sheep wine to the teacher for a little warming, etc. Anyway, the auspicious words came out like no money.

Of course, these are all nonsense. Everyone present knows that there is an emergency that attacks the heart, and there is no cure in itself.

But even so, both Tao Dalin's family and the ministers of the Ministry of Rites behind Zhu Yijun were touched by this scene.

Tao Dalin suddenly sat up and waved his family to go out first.

Then he looked at the emperor: "Your Majesty, I had difficulty breathing last night, and I have fainted twice today. I know my own affairs best. I will definitely not survive."

Zhu Yijun felt pity and refused to answer.

Ma Ziqiang couldn't bear it, so he tried to persuade him: "Don't be discouraged when it comes to offering wine to people. There is no end to the road."

Tao Dalin smiled relievedly: "Uncle Zong, I'm afraid the Ministry of Rites has already written my obituary, right?"

Ma Ziqiang was speechless.

Tao Dalin looked at the emperor again: "Your Majesty, can I hear how the obituary is written?"

The one who dies like a lamp going out is Guizhou.

Before most civil servants died, few did not care about their posthumous names.

When Tao Dalin was lying in bed these two days, what he feared most was not that he would die soon.

Rather, I am afraid that I will be as light as a feather in the history books and will be forgotten by everyone before long.

On the contrary, if you can have a good reputation, not to mention building ancestral temples and enjoying incense, you can at least pass on your name. Maybe when future generations write novels, you can still live in books.

Therefore, it is really important for civil servants to finalize the coffin.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and asked his entourage to wait outside.

The eunuchs withdrew without saying a word, and everyone in the Ministry of Rites hesitated for a moment before following them.

Only the monarch and his ministers were left in the room.

Zhu Yijun sat down beside the bed and said slowly: "I wrote the teacher's obituary myself. If it is not needed, then forget about it. If it is, the Ministry of Rites will not change it."

He could see that the dying man was able to see the emperor again, and his desire to express himself at this time had reached its peak.

Zhu Yijun was very tolerant when facing a dying person, and simply spoke to the old minister about himself.

Tao Dalin did not shy away from the fact that he was about to die, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I want to hear it."

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment and recited: "Dalin, a native of Kuaiji County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, a Jinshi of Jiajing Bingchen, was awarded the title of Editor of the Hanlin Academy, Li Shidu, Nanjing Hanlin Academy Shidu Bachelor, in charge of academic affairs, the Imperial Academy of Wine, Shao Zhan

thing……"

He paused and said, "He is a man of resoluteness, a man of few words and smiles, and a Qingjie who holds a bow."

Tao Dalin twitched his lips: "It's hard for Your Majesty to find good words for me."

This means that he has no performance, no outstanding ability, and his only advantage is that his personal integrity is okay.

This comment made Tao Dalin look a little complicated.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and replied seriously: "Teacher always retreats bravely when encountering difficulties. Isn't this the final conclusion that the teacher wants in his heart?"

He is also a Japanese lecturer.

Chen Dong recommended himself in the matter of Nanzhili; Yu Youding was sent to Shandong to assist in the salt administration; Chen Jingbang lowered his status and went to supervise the martial arts examination.

Compared with these people, Tao Dalin's subjective initiative is much worse. Whenever he encounters trouble, he protects his colleagues. It's not like Zhu Yijun can't see it.

Tao Dalin took advantage of the emperor's speaking time to gasp for air and breathe rapidly.

After the emperor finished speaking, he slowed down his breathing and said with difficulty: "Your Majesty's lesson is correct. I have indeed betrayed your Majesty's trust."

Zhu Yijun asked curiously: "Does the teacher have a problem with me?"

He is simply curious.

As an emperor, he did a good job, but Tao Dalin never completely returned to his heart, and he didn't know what he thought.
To be continued...