It's a cloudy day, maybe it's snowing outside, but in the imperial capital, it's raining and it's not cold. In the streets and alleys, there are lanterns along the steps.
As guests came in and out, umbrellas of different shapes folded and opened in the rain from time to time, listening to the greetings, conversations, and laughter of ordinary citizens.
Ye Qing took two girls, and Fu Chengshan traveled simply. He also took four maids and guards with him. The group walked slowly along the steps to enjoy the night market style.
"I remember how happy I was as a teenager, going up to the Cloud Tower with lights on late at night."
"When it rains, the business of artists in teahouses is much slower, but there are more people in wine shops. Even in the imperial capital, drinking and dining is better than drinking tea at this time of year."
Fu Chengshan's expression was calm, with a bit of melancholy in his eyes. He stared blankly, obviously recalling the past events here.
After a long silence, Fu Chengshan suddenly came to his senses and said: "Yunlou is the leading gold-selling cave in the city. It has all kinds of wine, sex, art, and literature. Brother Ye is young and romantic, so you can go and have a look..."
The wine is really fine wine, the color is really beautiful, the art is really superb, the writing is really elegant, they are all top-notch in the imperial capital.
Ye Qing knew that he was nostalgic for the past, so he smiled and said: "Tianjing Spring Dew is not available elsewhere, so I'd better buy a few bottles back, as long as I still have some."
Tianjing Spring Dew is brewed from Yuquan in Xishan, the imperial capital. It is used in banquets held at ministerial and imperial levels.
Fu Chengshan smiled: "Although Tianjing Spring Dew is good and unique, it may not be the best in the world. These three unique arts and literature may not be found elsewhere."
Ye Qing smiled and didn't say much. He just listened to the noise of drinking, talking and laughing. There were strings of silk and bamboo strings playing in the brothel, and clear and soft singing could be heard from time to time, rippling in the street with the wind.
I feel the plumpness on my arm, and the familiar faint fragrance floating in the air. I know it's Jiang Zinan without looking. I feel funny and warm in my heart. I can't help but think of Qianqian secretly telling Zhou Ling - the wild flowers on the roadside are not clean, don't let the young master pick them.
.
I could hear the black lines filling my head.
"This lunar eclipse has caused a faint tremor in the world. Many candidates who want to wait a few years before entering the capital have taken the exam. In the past, there were three thousand candidates, but this time I am afraid there will be seven thousand." Ye Qing pondered for a moment and stared into the distance: "
My qualifications are not high yet, and this time the Youth Ranking is twice as intense, how can I dare to be distracted?"
He said casually, half truthfully and half falsely, and stroked the blue hair on his back comfortingly.
Being half-hugged in public, Jiang Zinan blushed and did not dare to look at Zhou Ling, lowering her head deeply.
Seeing this, Fu Chengshan smiled knowingly and stopped talking about Fengyue. After hearing these words, he tightened his lips and said after a long time: "Yes, this time the world's heroes gather here, I'm afraid..."
Both of them were indifferent, but soon arrived at a Linhu tribute store.
When we arrived at Linhu Gongdian, the rain had subsided. There were six large lanterns hanging under the eaves of the facade. Looking up, seven stories high, the rain looked like clouds and mist under the light. The white marble steps and carved jade railings were faintly aura.
Ye Qing didn't realize it in his previous life, but now he had profound knowledge and knew that it was connected to the underground spiritual veins, which was a good place.
A pavilion was set up as a post under the stage, and four guards were stationed in front of the palace. They showed the dragon-patterned jade plaque and went in with their families and servants.
Several tribute buildings in the city are actually royal properties. It is impossible for the shopkeepers to use court civil servants, but not merchants. They are all female officials of high rank in name. In general, they do not show up. Only the deacons are responsible for daily life, which is not a high-ranking person.
Service officer.
At this time, a middle-aged deacon came up to him with a smile and wanted to lead the two of them upstairs to view the house. It should be said that the service attitude was still very good, but after two terms, Fu Chengshan still didn't know the secret, so he waved his hand: "These pigeon cages are
Don't show it to others, we are all here with you, is there an empty courtyard?"
"Yes, yes, you two are not late, and there are more than a dozen courtyards..." The middle-aged deacon narrowed his eyes with a smile, and never mentioned the free rooms again: "The entire Gong Lake is an imperial property, and the feng shui is excellent, sir.
Which side of the lake do you want to rent?"
Fu Chengshan ignored it and explained to Ye Qing with a smile: "The Gonglou was built in the early years of the dynasty. Taking into account the tiredness of the world and the poverty of the emperor, we specially provided a free room, with only one room."
"If we are alone now. There are many of us and we have to live for a long time, it is better to rent a yard for peace and quiet... and it is convenient for gatherings... Brother Ye, do you already know?"
Jiang Zinan and Zhou Ling looked at each other and remembered Ye Qing's words: "You will know it when you see it."
Looking at each other, they saw Ye Qing smiling and not explaining: "Just follow Brother Fu's arrangement."
"Okay." Fu Chengshan didn't think much and casually ordered: "Take us over to see these courtyards."
The deacon had already raised the lantern: "Please, be careful of the rain and the road being slippery..."
After shopping around, they were basically all good. Based on my opinions, I finally selected two small courtyards of my neighbor in Huxi. They were elegantly decorated, spotless, and had study rooms.
Three hundred taels of silver a month covers basic meals. If you want to have a banquet, you have to pay more.
Ye Qing readily paid six hundred taels and rented it for two months.
They had just tidied up and bowed, and the rain had stopped, so Zhou Ling and Jiang Zinan were allowed to take a bath - using the hot springs leading to the bathing pools in each courtyard.
At this time, the heavy rain stopped, and a fog-like smell filled the courtyard.
Seeing Ye Qing clasping his hands behind his back and looking up at the sky, Jiang Zinan stopped and smiled: "Sir, accommodation in this capital is really too expensive. In the county, you can rent a small courtyard like this for only twenty taels."
"Blessed land, hot springs, floor heating, imperial capital, all of which don't cost money? And if you're not happy here, does that mean it's not good to stay with me?" Ye Qing smiled, but he was laughing in his heart.
"No way, you know that I don't mean it..." Jiang Zinan's face turned red, and he felt unconvinced, and said plausibly: "The most important thing is, it is said to be free, but actually it costs us so much money, the court is really evil..."
Ye Qing burst into laughter and said: "There are still free private rooms, and the free meals are simpler, but they are all well-fed, with food and meat, and the treatment from the court is already very good - thousands of dollars."
"As for the rich, they don't actually earn much, they just make up for some free vacancies."
"Zi Nan, don't think about taking advantage of others."
After saying that, he touched her face, and the warmth in his palm gradually became hot. The girl became embarrassed and annoyed: "Young master, you are taking advantage of me... There is someone outside."
The second half of the sentence is the key point, Ye Qing couldn't help but laugh out loud, but at this moment, he heard a voice from outside: "Brother Ye, what's the point?"
"The music of thrush in the boudoir." Ye Qing recognized Fu Chengshan and opened the door with a casual smile. Jiang Zinan retreated into the room with a blushing face.
The person who entered was Fu Chengshan. He waved his hand and let out several moves. They were of different ages and had different colors. Ye Qing's eyes lit up. He didn't dare to look deeply with his heavenly eyes. He could only see the golden condensation of luck at a glance.
"Come on, Brother Ye, these are some old friends I met in the last term, Kong Zhi, Chu Yan, Tang Zhongchen. I heard about Brother Ye's talent and asked me to introduce him..." Fu Chengshan was quite helpless, but his tone was pleasant.
close.
"I don't want to be an introduction. If there are three of us traveling together, one of them must be my master. Qingzheng is going to ask for help from all the seniors." Ye Qing bowed deeply as he said this, thinking about these three names rapidly in his mind.
There are only a hundred people in each session of the imperial examination. I instantly remembered that according to history, these three people were all Jinshi in the third list of this session. I couldn't help but secretly rejoiced, thinking: "This is truly a case of birds of a feather flocking together. This Fu Chengshan
Although I haven't won the Jinshi and don't know the clairvoyance, my vision is very good. It's better to pursue it alone than not to communicate with each other. This has allowed me to further hone my literary talents in the past two months."
The three of them, Kong Chutang, saw the young man Pianpian. No matter what, his demeanor was really heartwarming. They looked at each other and humbly responded: "Brother Ye, what you said is the most kind, we should ask each other for help."
Everyone laughed and welcomed him into the courtyard. They entered the main hall and sat at the tea seats in front of a screen to chat.
Zhou Lingxin changed into a black dress, served drinks and then left. When she passed by Ye Qing, the girl bowed as usual, her steps were silent, her posture was supple, and you could even smell the fragrance on her moist long hair.
Fu Chengshan had already seen that Zhou Ling was good at martial arts, and combined with Jiang Zinan's cleverness, he smiled and said, "Brother Ye is really in good spirits with these two fierce horses."
Ye Qing smiled and said nothing. In this world, regular wives and equal wives are respected by others, but it is normal for concubines and maids to be given away at will.
Ye Qing did not have this mentality. Using the analogy of a man comparing a horse to a horse, even if he talked about his feelings in the boudoir, he would never talk about it outside. It was a waste of his own dignity as a woman.
But he asked: "It seems that brothers Qing and Fu arrived last. When did the other brothers arrive?"
The topic has been revealed here. We have just met each other for the first time, and because of the taboos of literati, we are not conscious enough to discuss poetry. Let me first talk about some things during the journey for fun.
Juren came from all over the world and had extensive knowledge and knowledge, and because they were of the same class, they all understood each other. After a while, the topic turned to the exam that everyone was most concerned about, especially the speculation about the examiner.
Fu Chengshan has passed the exam twice and has the most say. He pondered for a moment in the eyes of everyone, but still shook his head: "These are the ones who have the qualifications but are not in order. Su, Li, Zhang, and Jiang are all possible, but
The celestial phenomena have changed dramatically this year, and there may be urgent adjustments..."
Several people were silent. In fact, when they came to take the exam, they were all stimulated by the lunar eclipse.
Seeing this, Ye Qing's heart moved, and he skipped the memory of Su Zirong, the Minister of Rites, and the next one three years later. After thinking about it for a while, he made up his mind, and wrote a word on the table with his hand wet with wine.
"Tong?" Kong Zhi's eyes widened. With this person's intelligence, he never expected it to be this person: "Where did you get the news or judgment?"
Ye Qing was just thinking about it. Seeing that Fu Chengshan had some realization, he smiled and bowed his hands in courtesy: "Brother Fu, please speak first."
Fu Chengshan glanced at it, nodded his thanks, and when it came to business, the man stopped his smile, considered his words, and said with a straight face: "When it comes to the world, signs will appear in heaven and earth. Disasters will start from human affairs first. No trouble is greater than internal and external."
Attack both times."
"Although I don't know the number of days, but there is a lunar eclipse, it must be fulfilled. But according to reason, the imperial court only has three hundred years to live, which is far from the time when it loses its virtue. It is still the peak of the Spring and Autumn Period, so there is not much problem."
"Generally speaking, for the imperial court, internal troubles lie in the chaos of the people, external troubles lie in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and there are also internal and external troubles among the vassals. However, sporadic chaos among the people is not a problem, and the Northern Wei Dynasty may not be a problem - the vassals may not be a problem."