"Cousin, the dock has arrived!" A large ship arrived at the dock near the capital at this time. Someone stood on the bow of the ship and said excitedly behind him.
A young man came up from behind him. He was much calmer. It was none other than Yu Lu, who had studied with Su Ziji.
Fang Xi has always had an out-of-the-box personality. Even though she has gone through a lot and is now a few years older, she still looks a little lively.
Yu Lu had always been a gentle gentleman when he was a teenager, and now he was even more so. When they stood together, the cousin actually looked like a cousin, and the cousin looked like a younger brother.
Yu Lu's eyes fell on the river bank. It was dusk at this time, and he arrived outside the upper east gate of the capital. When he got off the boat, he felt the wind was biting, but he saw the outline of the upper east gate standing straight in the sky.
It was not dark yet, and lanterns were lit everywhere on the pier. There were boats everywhere in the water, and there was a constant flow of people on the shore, which was considered densely populated.
"As expected of the capital city."
Before entering the city, there are already many shops in the streets and alleys built along the pier, with hawkers and salesmen constantly selling. This place alone is much better than the county town where I live. Although this is not the first time, I am approaching the capital again.
Yu Lu couldn't help but sigh slightly.
This time, can they jump over the dragon's door?
"You two gentlemen, there is an inn near the pier. It is almost dark today. We are rushing to the capital from here. The city gate is probably closed. Why not stay one night and go to the capital early tomorrow morning?"
One look at the way they were dressed and the servants accompanying them revealed that these two people were probably wealthy scholars and candidates who came to Beijing to take the exams.
The general exam is on March 15th, and it's December now, so it's neither too early nor too late.
The reason is very simple. Traveling long distances is very hard. When you arrive in the capital, you have to recuperate for a period of time before taking the mental exam. Those who are sick need to be treated. If you arrive late, not only may your recuperation be delayed, but you may not even be able to rent a suitable house, so you can't even rent a suitable house.
It will arrive in November and December.
Such people generally don't save too much money when traveling, and it's still some time before the exam, so they won't rush into the city today.
Yu Lu and Fang Xi were actually persuaded. They really didn’t have a good rest on the boat and were very tired. It would be nice to have a night’s rest before heading into the city tomorrow. But Yu Lu thought about it and lowered his voice with a wry smile.
He said: "A letter from the king said that when entering the capital, he should go to Wanglufang and stay at the palace. Although we may not live in the palace, we still have to go and see him when he arrives."
Fang Xi understood and said, "Just listen to my cousin."
The people who followed were not only one person and a boy, but also two young and strong men. After all, compared to previous years, there were more and more unsettled things on the road. This was not a decrease in public security, but more ghostly things.
Fang Xi, who was once punished by the fox girl, has now become much more honest with women, and can even be regarded as an honest person among her classmates, just because she suffered a lot in the past.
Now that the world has changed, he is naturally more cautious and does not dare to make mistakes, for fear of offending another god.
"Alas!" Seeing the two insisting on entering Beijing, the recruiter could only sigh and was about to leave, but was stopped: "You are a local and familiar with them. Call a bullock cart and we will go to Wanglufang."
The waiter was startled and then smiled apologetically: "Two gentlemen, I am a clerk from the Su family's old store. I am not responsible..."
Before she finished speaking, Fang Xi laughed: "Don't push me first, you just want some wages. Come on, this is the money I rewarded. Except for the fare, it's all yours."
As he spoke, he threw a piece of broken silver. The clerk took it and saw that it was five taels of official silver cut in half. It weighed two taels. He immediately smiled and bowed: "Two gentlemen, I know someone in the Hu's Car Shop."
, Don’t worry, I’ll definitely deliver you two.”
Sure enough, in a short time, the group boarded two ox carts and entered the city before the upper east gate closed.
The capital city is even different. It can only be said that the streets and alleys are lined with rows of houses. Every other section has houses with white walls and green tiles shaded by bamboo trees. They are all the residences of wealthy officials.
Shops are popping up in a row, and now at night, they are all lit with lanterns and bustling with people.
"The capital city is prosperous and unparalleled in the world. Cousin, should we go directly to Prince Dai's Mansion?" Fang Xi opened the curtain and looked at it, admiring him, then shook his head and sighed: "It's a pity that Zhang Xiandi is just a scholar and can't come with him. Otherwise, we
Wouldn’t it be wonderful for a few people to gather together in this capital city?”
Yu Lu glanced at him with a bit of worry in his eyes, and thought for a moment: "Go and have a look first, and then decide whether to visit."
Back then, the three of them were classmates, and their friendship was really deep. But now, Su Ziji is the acting king, and the division between monarch and minister is as different as heaven and earth. More importantly, once they meet, they have past friendships, and they are afraid that they will immediately be labeled as "generation".
The brand of "royal party".
There may be a little more luck, or there may be catastrophic disaster immediately.
How could Yu Lu not be more distracted?
Just as she was thinking about it, the bullock cart stopped for a moment, and it started to snow again. Fang Xi asked, "What's wrong?"
The driver smiled apologetically: "Gentlemen, we have arrived at Wanglu Fang, but we can't go ahead. I'll tell you a place name and I'll see if I can get in."
"Why can't we go forward... Wow!" Fang Xi looked at it, shocked.
Wanglufang was originally a large square, where nobles lived. Not only were there many mansions, but the streets were also very spacious and could accommodate three rows of oxcarts.
But even so, I saw a lot of bullock carts blocking the road, and they were all official.
The roofs of cars of the third grade and above are made of silver, the wheels are decorated with painted carvings, the lids are green and the curtains are yellow, and a brazier is built in. The roofs of cars below the fourth grade are made of tin, the lids are yellow and the curtains are red, and the braziers are also built in.
Seeing the bullock carts coming in one after another, they can go as far as a mile from the entrance of the square to the east, and there are even more servants following them. Looking carefully, there are no bullock carts below the sixth grade, and they are all among the nobles. I can't help but be speechless.
"Two gentlemen, now you know why I stopped. This is a banquet for the king, and all the officials are here. If we bump into someone, we have to go around." The coachman made a sad face.
Yu Lu looked at it and couldn't help but gasped. He got out of the car and asked, "A banquet on behalf of the king?"
Is Dai Wang so powerful?
Both of them, who had never been to the capital since Su Zi became queen, were stunned and looked horrified. Even Fang Xi, who had always had an out-of-touch personality, changed his expression.
"Well, I understand." Yu Lu looked dazed and glanced around. He saw that the servants were not waiting for death, but were eating tea and snacks under the street shed, eating melon seeds and chatting: "You go back, the rest of the way is on my own."
Just walk over."
He threw another piece of broken silver and sent the coachman away. The two looked at each other in silence for a while.
It was already dark at this time, the lights were twinkling, the traffic was busy, and people were flowing in and out, almost like in a dream.
Yu Lu was attentive. When he saw this scene, he was horrified but also worried.
Although Su Ziji is now the acting king, he has been classmates for so long and was once a friend. His friend is now the acting king. He is so powerful, which always gives people a bad feeling.
Cooking oil in a fierce fire is actually not a good thing!
After a long silence, Yu Lu said: "You're already here, let's come and visit!"
As they said this, the two of them walked to the side door with the servant, already thinking that the visit was a must, and that they could forget about moving in.
Yu Lu arrived at the side door and found that there were also guards guarding it. He raised his hands and said, "This brother..."
"Is something wrong?" The two soldiers were obviously a little impatient, but their attitudes were not very bad.
Yu Lu sighed secretly, handed over the post, and said: "I want to see the king. This is the post. Please help me pass it in."
"You want to see our king? Look, these nobles at the door are all officials of no less than six ranks. They are all here to see our king. There are so many people who want to see each other. Wherever they come, some of them queue up early in the morning.
You may not even see it at night."
"This scholar looks like he is going to be promoted. I advise you to come back in a few days!" a soldier said, but he was sincere.
Yu Lu thought for a while, took out a silver ingot, which was five taels of official silver, and stuffed it directly.
"Please do me a favor. The two of us knew each other in the past, and we will understand once we talk..."
After stuffing the money, the two soldiers looked at each other, and one of them said, "Just wait here, I'll go in and deliver the message."
After taking a few steps back, Yu Lu and Fang Xi stood waiting below. Yu Lu felt a little regretful and said softly to Fang Xi, "I didn't expect that it would cost money to see Brother Su Xian now."
I also thought, did they do something wrong this time?
Then I thought about it, even for the sake of my former friends and classmates, I met him once and gave him advice. Being so public, even as a prince, I'm afraid it would be a disaster rather than a disaster.
Even more doubts linger.
Even if he is the son of a prince, a prince, and nobles gather, he is afraid that it will be late and waits to see him in the morning and evening. Isn't this too outrageous?
I'm afraid half of the capital has been moved, right?