After spending another night in Bachuan Villa, Zhou Jun said goodbye to Pang Gong on the last day of his leave, and agreed with Hua Yue to meet him again during the next ten-day break, and then embarked on the journey back to Chang'an.
After running around all the way, Zhou Jun entered Chunmingmen, went to Dongshi to eat some food, and then rushed home.
When passing by Qinrenfang South Street, Zhou Jun saw an old Taoist priest in tattered clothes, lying on his back on a stone platform.
Not far away, a group of children were laughing and throwing stones at the old man.
Zhou Jun couldn't see it, so he rode over and scolded him a few times.
When the young children heard the sound, they dispersed. When the old Taoist heard Zhou Jun's voice, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked over.
With just this glance, the old man never looked away again.
Zhou Jun sat on the horse and saw the old Taoist staring straight at him. He felt a little unhappy, so he just turned the horse's head and planned to leave.
After walking a few steps, Zhou Jun looked back and found that the old Taoist was still following him.
Zhou Jun was suspicious, maybe he met some madman?
Zhou Jun kicked the horse's belly with both legs, and accelerated his speed, intending to get rid of the old man.
After a quick ride, Zhou Jun looked behind him and found that the old Taoist had indeed disappeared.
Feeling at ease, Zhou Jun just turned around and saw the old Taoist stopped in front of the horse's head. He couldn't help but be startled.
Zhou Junqiang calmed down his mind, raised his hands to the old Taoist and said, "What do you do, Master Taoist?"
The old Taoist priest had a white beard hanging down his chest and a childish face with crane hair. His whole body was in shabby condition. A dead wood branch was used as a hairpin and inserted into his bun.
I saw him walking around Zhou Jun and Cheng Ma three times, lowering his head and pondering for a moment, and finally walked away without saying a word.
Zhou Jun watched the old man walk away, feeling vaguely uneasy in his heart.
This is another weirdo.
After returning home, Zhou Jun met his parents and quickly forgot about the strange thing he had just encountered.
After chatting with the two elders for a while, a servant's voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Alang, there are guests outside the door."
Zhou Dinghai heard this, took a sip of tea, and asked, "Who is it?"
The servant said: "My surname is Shao and my name is Chang. I am an old acquaintance."
When Zhou Dinghai heard this, his eyes widened and the tea in his mouth spurted out.
"It's Shao County Cheng! Please come in quickly!" Zhou Dinghai just finished speaking, thought for a moment, stood up again, and walked quickly to the door: "Jun'er, come with me to greet him!"
Zhou Jun responded and followed Zhou Dinghai to the concierge.
I saw Shao Chang holding a horse and looking at the Zhou family and his son with a smile.
Zhou Dinghai quickly bowed to him, but the latter just waved his hand and said, "I'm here to invite Mr. Zhou to a drink."
Zhou Dinghai was stunned after hearing this, and turned to look at Zhou Jun again.
Zhou Jun was also a little surprised. He heard Shao Chang say he was going to have a banquet a few times before, so he just thought it was a polite comment, but he didn't expect that he actually came today.
After packing up his clothes and saying goodbye to his father, Zhou Jun rode the horse brought by his servant and followed Shao Chang to the street.
Shao Chang said while riding his horse: "There are two other people at the banquet today, both of whom are court officials."
"A few days ago, they all went to see Romance of the West Chamber. They knew Erlang, so they wanted to meet him."
After Zhou Jun heard this, he also had some admiration for Shao Chang's social circle.
A fake young man who pretends to be a man, and a dissolute and passionate female Taoist priest. I don’t know what kind of characters these two are today.
The two rode horses into Jingshanfang and then followed the stone steps into Quxiang.
Zhou Jun heard the sound of silk, bamboo and laughter all around, which was quite different from the ordinary wine shop street.
Then I looked carefully inside the door and window, and saw prostitutes and prostitutes walking around, and people drinking wine constantly, but it was a place similar to the one with smoke and willows along the wall in the north.
Zhou Jun followed Shao Chang and entered a wine shop called "Wangyougu".
As soon as I entered the door, I saw a plump bearded girl wearing a gauze headdress and thin silk, twisting her waist on the store counter, attracting loud applause from the surrounding drinkers.
Zhou Jun glanced at Shao Chang, who just smiled bitterly and said, "Don't look at me, Erlang. I didn't choose the place."
The two of them entered the private room led by the servant.
As soon as Zhou Jun entered the door, he saw two men sitting at the table.
The two are about the same age, both in their late thirties.
One of them was slowly drinking the wine from the cup, his face was solemn, upright and polite; the other was hugging the drinking prostitute, chatting and laughing happily, and was very happy.
When they saw Shao Chang and Zhou Jun, they both stood up and bowed their hands in a ceremony.
Shao Chang first pointed at the man with a solemn expression and said: "This man, whose surname is Liu Mingzai and whose courtesy name is Yikuang, is the supervisory censor."
Shao Chang pointed to the smiling man and said: "This man, whose surname is Yuan Mingzai and given name Gongfu, is a judge for Dali Temple."
Liu Zai?
Yuan Zai?
Hearing these two names, Zhou Jun's brain was short-circuited for a moment.
These two men, with the same name but different surnames, were both famous prime ministers in the history of the Tang Dynasty.
Liu Zai lost his father and mother when he was young, and he aspired to study and live in poverty.
After becoming an official, he hated evil as much as his enemies and did not like the court. No matter whether he was the emperor or his ministers, he would point out any mistakes he made, so he made many enemies.
He was known to be talented and well-known, and he also had certain attainments in diplomacy and military affairs. He participated in several confrontations with Tibet. Not only did he force the other party to sign a peace treaty diplomatically, but he also expected that the other party would tear up the agreement and cancel the agreement in advance.
The border troops were reminded.
As for Yuan Zai, the reputation of this prime minister is probably even greater than that of Liu Zai.
He comes from a humble background and loves reading. He is shrewd, loves power, and is quite talented.
But he is most famous for marrying Wang Zhongsi's daughter Wang Yunxiu, who was a famous and strange woman in the Tang Dynasty.
Zhou Jun saluted these two people and sat down at the table.
Liu Zai and Yuan Zai were both looking at Zhou Jun. They were a little surprised to see that the Zhou family son who was rumored to be a young man who was not as good as a weak crown.
Yuan Zai patted the hand of the prostitute beside him and motioned for her to pass the dishes.
After the drinking prostitute left the room, Yuan Zai asked Zhou Jun: "I heard from the market that Heng Cai is also a popular figure. Is there any familiar prostitute in the market? Why don't we find one and come to have a drink with her?"
Zhou Jun cupped his hands and said, "It's just old memories of youth and frivolity."
Yuan Zai smiled and stopped trying to persuade him.
Liu Zai asked from the seat: "Have you watched Romance of the West Chamber and listened to the classical Chinese version? Did you find that the scenes and plots were all written by Hengcai?"
Zhou Jun replied: "I just heard it from others. I can't count it."
Liu Zai nodded and asked: "I have also heard that Hengcai has the method of measuring the mind and observing the physical appearance, which can distinguish truth from falsehood and detect lies?"
Zhou Jun said: "There is a method, but it is more complicated to use and has various limitations."
Liu Zai was very interested: "It's complicated and no problem, can you give it a try?"
Zhou Jun thought for a while, and then tested several questions based on the opponent's pulse and micro-expressions just like he had tested Yin Yu before.
After some testing, both Liu Zai and Yuan Zai were puzzled by Zhou Jundao, and couldn't help but secretly marveled.
At this moment, the prostitute who served the dishes also returned to the room with a food box.
The four people in the room were eating, drinking and chatting.
After getting along for a while, Zhou Jun discovered that his character during these two years was just like what was recorded in the history books.
Liu Zai has a calm temperament, is upright and correct, and will always answer his mistakes; Yuan Zai is quick-witted, good at eloquence, and has a reputation for quick wit.
Coupled with the fact that Shao Chang is a peaceful person and is good at resolving situations, the four people at the table got along well and the atmosphere was harmonious.
Yuan Zai drank a glass of wine and pinched the waist of the prostitute next to him, causing a burst of jealousy. With the strength of the wine, he said with a smile: "When a man is born in this world, he should be worthy of a BMW, a carved car, a Jade Tower and a golden palace!"
When Liu Zai heard this, he frowned and said: "As a minister, you should uphold the principles of the court; as a human being, you should maintain your integrity. How can you be greedy?"
Shao Chang turned around and said: "Study to understand the truth, and to be promoted to an official position is to reach the same goal, not in the opposite direction."
Yuan Zai nodded and said: "A certain Han Chuang studied hard, failed many times, and was looked down upon by the world. Fortunately, with the grace of the saint, he opened the policy test. Finally, his ability has been put to use."
"From now on, we should ride the wind and see who dares to despise someone!"
As soon as Yuan Zai finished speaking, he heard a woman yelling from outside the door: "Yuan Gongfu!"
Yuan Zai trembled when he heard the roar.
The next second, I saw him first pushing away the prostitute beside him, then lifting up his robe, holding the window sill with both hands, and jumped out of the window to escape without hesitation.
The whole set of movements moved smoothly without any hesitation or hesitation, leaving everyone in the room dumbfounded.
Not long after, I saw the door of the private room being kicked open with a bang.
A young lady in an underskirt with a sword in her hand, her eyebrows raised, and a murderous look walked in.
That girl was born Zhou Zheng, but she had a fierceness all over her body that made people intimidated.
She stared at Shao Chang and asked, "Where is Mr. Yuan?!"
Shao Chang stammered and replied: "Back to Madam Wang, I didn't see Gong Fu... maybe he went somewhere else?"
The young lady looked at the wine glasses and tableware on the desk, snorted coldly, turned around and left the room.
Zhou Jun looked at Shao Chang with a look of surprise on his face.
The latter smiled bitterly and said: "The one just now is the wife of Yuan Gongfu, Wang Yunxiu."
This chapter has been completed!