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"Tell the person who sent the greeting note that I will attend the appointment.

Shen Yichen said to his entourage, regardless of Ma Yu's status as the current chief minister of the cabinet, he had to give Ma Yu this face because he was a former seat examiner.

You must know that the Ming Dynasty's Master ranked first among the three divisions. Once there were rumors of "bullying the master and destroying the ancestors", it would be criticized by thousands of people, and despised by thousands of people.

Respecting teachers and respecting morality, placed in the officialdom, has become a double-edged sword in a sense. "Yes, proprietor.

Watching the entourage retreat, Chen Qingtong asked curiously: "Husband, what does Ma Yuanfu want to do when he is so anxious to help you?

"I guess we won't know until we go.

Shen Yichen smiled. Not to mention Chen Qingtong's curiosity, even he himself was a little confused as to what Ma Yu wanted to do when he took over Feng Xichen.

"The husband should take a shower and change clothes after eating. Don't keep Ma Yuanfu waiting.'

"You don't mind going to a brothel?"

Shen Yichen joked, but he could hear Chen Qingtong's jealousy earlier. "Don't be so good at taking advantage. If the other party wasn't Ma Yuanfu, I wouldn't be so easy to talk to.

Chen Qingtong said coquettishly. In fact, she knew in her heart that Shen Yichen was not that kind of person, and a man should focus on his career and achievements, so how could he be obsessed with his children's personal affairs.

"Madam is right!"

Shen Yichen quickly nodded and admitted. After taking two bites of food, he asked his entourage to prepare hot water for bathing and changing clothes.

After all, after more than half a month of sailing, it was almost a luxury to want to take a peaceful bath or something, and there was a faint smell on my body.

As night fell, Shen Yichen put on a green robe and rushed towards the "Agarwood Tower" promised by Ma Yu.

Originally, Shen Yichen was not very familiar with the romantic places like the capital. Not to mention that he had left for more than a year, it was almost like a country bumpkin entering the city. So sitting on the carriage, he opened a corner of the door curtain and headed towards the palace. The coachman asked: "Xiao Liu, do you know Agarwood Tower?

"Reporting to you, Master, Chenxiang Tower is a newly opened brothel in the capital a year ago. It defeated Xue Ling Pavilion in the oiran selection and has become the number one brothel in the capital now."

Yeah?

Hearing this, Shen Yichen became somewhat interested. He had met Qin Liushuang, the oiran of Xueling Pavilion, several times. His pure and charming temperament had indeed reached the standard of Chen Yuluoyan.

Even Qin Liushuang was defeated, and Xueling Pavilion also lost its title as the number one brothel in the capital. It seems that this Agarwood Pavilion has something good.

"Then what is the name of the new oiran?"

"It seems to be called Meng Yunyan.

Dream cloud smoke?

When Shen Yichen heard this flower name, his first reaction was to think of a line written by Li Qi in the Song Dynasty: Meng Yun Yan Shu, Yi Yue Jiangnan Road.

If nothing else, the oiran's flower name should have come from here.

Not long after the carriage swayed, it stopped in a lively street. Compared with the deserted canal pier, the fireworks place was not affected by the approaching New Year's Eve. On the contrary, it was more lively than usual, and it felt like a city that never sleeps in the future. .

At this moment, there was already a lot of traffic here, and there were a lot of literati coming and going. Shen Yichen finally squeezed to the door of Chenxiang Tower. The turtle man and the madam who were busy greeting the guests glanced at him and did not come forward to receive him, but continued. Win over other guests.

Faced with this kind of cold reception, Shen Yichen's expression was a little subtle. After all, he had been praised by others for his talent, but he had only been working on flood control in Shandong for more than a year, so he was not taken seriously like this?

What Shen Yichen didn't know was that he who had been patrolling the river embankment for a long time and was exposed to the wind and sun, and whose skin was rough and dark, was no longer the handsome gentleman he was before. Coupled with a very ordinary robe, in the eyes of Mr. Turtle and the Madam, he looked more like he was from somewhere else. The poor scholar in Shangougou went to Beijing to take the exam.

Now that Chenxiang Pavilion's business is booming, it is natural to give priority to the wealthy owners. If these Turtle Bustards have the ability to understand people, they will not be reduced to being Turtle Bustards.

No one answered her, so Shen Yichen had no choice but to walk in. Compared to Xueling Pavilion, which was more of a clean and elegant style, Chenxiang Pavilion was more similar to the euphemistic tenderness of a Jiangnan water town.

Especially the gauze curtains with various paintings and calligraphy made Shen Yichen wonder for a while whether he had walked into a painting boat on the Qinhuai River.

There was a lot of laughter and chatter in the hall. Maybe they found Shen Yichen looking curiously. At this time, a young maid came to Shen Yichen and asked him: "Does this young master have a table reservation?" Wing room?

Upon hearing the greeting, Shen Yichen looked at this maid. She was wearing maid clothes and carrying a tea and wine pot, but her appearance was above average. From this, it can be seen that Chenxianglou's "hard power" is not low. Even the maids were carefully selected.

"So there is.

"I don't know which room the young master has reserved. I can take you there."

"Mage Lao's wing.

When Shen Yichen said the words "Mage Lao", the expression on the maid's face was very wonderful.

She originally thought that this was just a poor scholar who came to the brothel for the first time and was not familiar with the rules and procedures, but she didn't expect that he was actually a crazy student!

Can the three words "Mage Lao" be said so openly? Let alone the respect of Mr. Ma Ge, who will meet this young poor scholar?

After all, during the orthodox period of the Ming Dynasty, it was not uncommon for literati and ministers to wander around the land of beauties. But compared with the Qinhuai Eight Beauties period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, they were far from the point where they could unscrupulously look for flowers, let alone be known by the world. It's a romantic affair.

When officials of the Feipao level in the capital come to the brothel, they are usually contacted by a special madam, and then enter the private room in a low-key manner without appearing in public. Even if there are some who are more flamboyant, it is impossible to directly deal with them like Shen Yichen. Tell me all your official titles.

Kuang Sheng may have been overestimating it, but Shen Yichen's behavior is no different from that of a fool...

Seeing the expression on the maid's face changing in front of him, it was Shen Yichen's turn to be confused. Did he say something wrong?

To be honest, although Shen Yichen is nominally in a high position, he really doesn't participate in many official interactions, let alone interact with officials at the level of the Imperial Palace.

The reason is that before leaving Shandong, his identity camp was quite special.

In the eyes of the civil servant group, he is an eunuch, in the eyes of the eunuch group, he is a kinsman, and in the eyes of his kinsmen, he is a civil official. The three forces have some connections, but they are not considered one of their own.

Even for a place with fireworks like a brothel, he had never been there a few times since he seriously discussed it. Naturally, he didn't understand many of the rules.

Just when the atmosphere was getting a little awkward, a middle-aged scholar in brocade clothes appeared at the top of the stairs and shouted to Shen Yichen: "Master Shen, I've been waiting for you for a long time, please come upstairs."

This maid didn't know Shen Yichen, but she knew very well about the middle-aged scholar in brocade clothes who appeared.

These are the people around Mr. Ma Ge. In the past, when they came to Chenxiang Tower, even the lady with the highest status had to be respectful before riding and behind the horse, without any slightest indifference.

But he said to the young man in front of him, "I'll be waiting for you for a long time"?

Shen Yichen did not know this middle-aged scholar in gilded clothes, but he probably guessed that he was a staff master or something like that. As the saying goes, the seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister's door, with Ma Yu's current status as the chief minister of the cabinet, the staff can barely reach that level. The status of a third- and fourth-grade official, and there is still room for further development.

The upper limit depends on Ma Yu's power.

"Okay, sir, please lead the way.'

Shen Yichen cupped his hands in response, and walked up the stairs to the second floor in the maid's extremely shocked eyes.

Compared with the hustle and bustle of the lobby on the first floor, the second floor is obviously much quieter. Moreover, there are strong and well-dressed guards standing at both ends of the stairs and at the door of the wing. Most people cannot go up without invitation and permission.

Following this middle-aged scribe, Shen Yichen walked to the deepest box. When he opened the door, he saw six or seven people sitting inside, and the person above him was Ma Yu.

Seeing Shen Yichen appear at the door, everyone in the room stopped talking and stood up. The leader, Ma Yu, even said with a smile: "Xiangbei, I haven't seen him for a long time, and now he has the style of a national scholar."

"The student pays homage to his teacher.'

Regardless of the relationship, Shen Yichen always did a good job in etiquette. He saluted Ma Yu and said he was his mentor.

"No need to be polite, just go north and come in and sit down.'

Maybe it was because he heard this voice, or maybe it was for other reasons. Anyway, the smile on Ma Yu's face became brighter and brighter, and he invited Shen Yichen to sit under his left hand.

After entering the house, Shen Yichen saw clearly the appearance of the guests. Sure enough, they were not ordinary people who could participate in a cocktail party of this level.

Present here are Zhao Xin, the right minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Zhao Lun, the left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Zhou Chen, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, and He Pingyan, Yang Hongze, Yang Shou and others who can be regarded as Shen Yichen's "old acquaintances".

Leaving aside He Pingyan and other young juniors, Zhao Xin and the six ministers actually have one thing in common, that is, they were all civil servants who were promoted by the "Three Yangs" back then.

And not just a few of them, but six people including Yu Qian, the minister of the Ministry of War, and Cao Hong, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment, were all promoted to the position in about five years of Xuande.

In addition to Ma Yu, Chen Xun, Cao Nai and others in the cabinet, it can be said that the "Three Yangs" have arranged all the follow-up personnel in the officialdom in the next few decades. I really have to admire the strategies and layout of these people, and they are worthy of the Ming Dynasty. The title of the strongest cabinet team.

It's a pity that God's calculations are not as good as those of God. The "Three Yangs" did not calculate that Wang Zhen, an anomaly, could really become a eunuch. The power of these civil servants who were promoted were defeated one by one, and they eventually became a generation of powerful eunuchs.

After Shen Yichen took his seat, Ma Yu introduced several guests to him as usual, and they exchanged various polite greetings.

Among the "old acquaintances" I met in the same year, He Pingyan was as calm and smooth as ever, and his politeness was impeccable.

Yang Shiqi's grandson, Yang Shou, inherited his father Yang Ji's arrogant and domineering character. He seemed to be indifferent to Shen Yichen, without the slightest awareness of the current status gap between the two parties.

At that time, the "Three Yang" cabinet headed by Yang Shiqi could be defeated instantly by Wang Zhen. As a result, many backup checks and balances were not used. The fundamental reason was that the son cheated on his father!

Yang Ji took advantage of his power and committed evil in the countryside. He was accused of being involved in dozens of murder cases, which triggered the successive impeachments of the imperial censor. Wang Zhen was behind it.

In order to avoid suspicion, Yang Shiqi chose to leave because of his old illness, which led to the collapse of the Optimus Prime of the civil service group. Yang Pu has always been cautious in character, far less tough and decisive than Yang Shiqi. Faced with Wang Zhen's pressing step by step, he could not stand alone and could only continue to appease.

Without an incident like Yang Ji's, Yang Shiqi would have been able to live in the court for a few more years, allowing the reserve forces to have higher decision-making power, and perhaps the direction of history would have been rewritten.

Who would have thought that cheating could produce such an effect?

But what surprised Shen Yichen the most was that Yang Hongze, who used to be full of "angry youth" attitude, was rare and did not show any false colors, and he was polite to him.

It seems that two years of official career have also polished some of his edges.

After the greetings, Ma Yu did not get straight to the point. On the contrary, he and Shen Yichen chatted about some past events as if they were meeting at home.

If he hadn't seen Zhao Xin and other six ministers present, Shen Yichen might have really thought that Ma Yu was here to catch up with him and reminisce about the past, or to strengthen the teacher-student relationship in the officialdom in the future.

But with these people present, it was obvious that the matter would never be that simple. Since the other party had no intention of telling him directly, Shen Yichen had no choice but to let it go.

This is different from the officialdom in Shandong, where high-ranking officials are everywhere in the capital. A small censor of Qiandu has no way to solve the problem in a simple and crude way, and can only return to that kind of intrigue environment.

After talking about the past and the political affairs of Shandong's flood control, Ma Yu seemed to have remembered something, patted his forehead and said: "Looking at my memory, I have traveled all the way back to the capital. I must have never met the new oiran of the capital. Bar."

After saying that, Ma Yu clapped his hands, and the guards outside the house opened the door.

"Invite a few of you to come over and keep us company."

"Yes, sir."
To be continued...