1-10 VOLUME 3

Chapter 1 Returning

They arrived at the dock in the town, met up with Lu Zhishu and his party who were waiting here, and then took a boat to Nanyang.

The big ship traveled on the water for two days, and it would take another two or three days to reach Nanyang.

There was white water on all sides, and the big ship broke a path in the water and sailed in the water. The journey to Nanyang by water is half faster than by land. However, you have to stay on the boat all the time and can't go anywhere. You have to live and eat in a small and cramped cabin. You can't get off the boat until you get there.

In these years, Li Wen often traveled between Nanyang and Qingping Town. He had crossed this big river countless times by boat. In the past, he only had a book boy with him, but this time he took his little brother with him to the capital. He was also protected by his friends and Zhao Xiangyi, so the journey would not be too boring.

"Brother." The eyes of the child who left home for the first time showed uneasiness and fear of the unfamiliar environment. He clutched his brother's sleeves tightly and nestled against his side. The little cub who was usually happy and noisy at home was now wilted, and his little face looked a little pitiful.

Li Wen touched the child's head and responded, "Well, my brother is here, don't be afraid. If you feel sleepy, just take a nap. We will be in Nanyang in two days. That's where my brother used to study. You haven't been there yet. When you get there, my brother will take you to see it." Now he doesn't dare to mention his parents and relatives at home, just for fear of making the child cry again.

"No." The child shook his head, meaning that he had never been to the place where his brother used to study. He looked at his brother with a bit of curiosity, curious about where his brother used to study.

"Well, brother knows. When the time comes, brother will take you to Nanyang for fun." Li Wen kissed the boy on the forehead and said, "Don't be afraid, brother is here, and he will always be by your side."

He can understand children's fear and uneasiness about unknown things. When a child leaves home for the first time, he must be afraid of the unfamiliar environment and reluctant to leave his parents. Their children are already pretty good. Except for crying for a while on the first day on the ship, no matter how uneasy and scared they were, they no longer cried for their grandma.

The year he passed the scholar examination at the age of nine, his mother-in-law gave birth to a younger brother, who was nearly ten years younger than him. Over the years, he and his relatives at home have been together less and more apart, so he doesn't spend much time with his family. For this only biological brother, Li Wen likes and cherishes him in his heart. He is just such a biological brother. How can you not love and protect.

They coaxed their little one to sleep in the cabin for a while. Li Wen breathed a sigh of relief, "You watch here, I'll go out and come back in a while." Li Tong was left watching his brother in the cabin so that he could run out and take a breath.

When he went out and saw Zhao Xiangyi standing at the bow of the boat, Li Wen walked over to the man.

When he heard the footsteps, Zhao Xiangyi knew who was walking towards him, even without looking back. Li Wen and Zhao Xiangyi stood side by side on the bow of the boat, looking at the river in the distance. He turned to look at the man beside him, smiled helplessly and said, "It seems that I overestimated myself."

"How do you say this? ,' Zhao Xiangyi asked.

"I thought that my brother could take my little brother to the capital smoothly. After I got on the ship and saw him crying, I realized that my brother was actually unable to take care of him on his behalf. he. I was actually asking myself, did I do something wrong as a brother? I shouldn't have taken such a young brother away from my parents, and I should have allowed him to grow up carefree by his parents' side. "Li Wen said to Zhao Xiangyi.

This was the first time he saw the boy Li Haopeng shed tears. Usually he just howled twice when it was thundering but not raining. This time it seemed that the child was really sad, with big tears. Tears fell down, and he cried silently, which made people feel distressed.

But there was nothing he could do now, not to mention that they had already boarded the ship and could not turn back, and he would not send the boy back to his hometown. Now that they have decided to take the child out, they will not send the child back again.

In the past few days, Li Wen would also ask himself whether he had done something wrong and whether he should not have taken his brother out . , the child is still young, he should be allowed to stay with his parents for a few more years, but there is a voice in his heart telling him that the child is not young anymore, and it may be too late to delay for another two years, so he should take advantage of it. At this time, you should seize the time to educate your children well.

Zhao Xiangyi was born in a family of generals like the Zhao family. He has never known what it means to be carefree since he was a child. The children of the Zhao family have known since they were born that they were born to guard the border and protect their family. country, so when he saw Li Liuyuan getting along with his parents and brothers, and seeing the ordinary life of an ordinary family, he also felt envious in his heart.

"It is not human to be reluctant to leave home, to be reluctant to leave parents. Is it normal? When you left home for the first time, didn't you feel a little bit reluctant to leave your parents and relatives at home? Zhao Xiangyi asked in a calm tone.

After hearing this, Li Wen nodded and remembered that when he left home for the first time to go to Nanyang, he was actually very reluctant to let go, but at that time he still had to stay in Nanyang to study, otherwise there would be no He

is today.

"You have done a good job, so you don't have to blame yourself too much. In the future, he will understand the intentions of your brother and your parents." Everyone should have his responsibilities when he is born, Zhao Xiangyi said to Li Liuyuan said, "Have you done anything wrong? I believe you have the answer in your heart."

Well, what you said makes sense. I hope this little kid can understand the intentions of my parents and me when he grows up. "Li Wen looked at Zhao Xiangyi and smiled. He knew that he could not replace his parents' position in the children's hearts. All he could do as an elder brother was to try his best to fulfill his responsibilities as an elder brother, take good care of his younger brother and tutor him. Reading and educating him on the principles of life will help him avoid mistakes on the road to growth and become an upright and useful person to society.

The two stood on the bow of the boat and blew the wind for a while and said a few words. Afraid that the children in the cabin would be scared when they woke up and couldn't see him, Li Wen stood outside for a while and then entered the cabin.

Zhao Xiangyi, who was standing behind, watched the boy leave this time. , Li Wen, his younger brother and the book boy lived in a makeshift cabin. The number of cabins on the ship was limited, and there were many people in their party, so they all had to make do with living together

after traveling by water for four or five days before they arrived . Nanyang.

After arriving in Nanyang, the carriages and horses they left in Nanyang were still here. After taking a boat for a few days, their team had to rest for a while and replenish food and various supplies before continuing on the road to Nanyang

. Here, Li Wen also wanted to say goodbye to his teacher, "Teacher, after this disciple left, I don't know when I will come to visit the teacher next time. "It's a long way to the capital. After arriving in the capital this time, he will go to the imperial court as an errand. It may not be so convenient to come back in the future, so he really doesn't know when he will come back next time.

He knows that Dean Fu doesn't like to come to the capital. Go, so he can't ask the teacher to go to the capital whenever he is free.

"A man should put his family, country and career first, why should he care about his mother-in-law. Just go to the capital. The teacher is in Nanyang. When will you come back? Come and stay at the teacher's house for two days. "What Fu Yihan wanted to say before has already been explained to his disciple. After personally teaching this disciple for so many years, Fu Yihan not only treats this disciple as a student, but also as half a son.

So regarding the disciple's departure, Fu Yihan After all, there is reluctance in my heart, but Dean Fu's usual style is to always say what he means, and no matter how reluctant he is, he won't show it with his mouth.

However, Fu Yihan was worried about his disciple being an official in the capital. He handed a letter he had written to his disciple and said, "After you arrive in the capital, find a time to give this letter to Zhan Youwei. After you arrive in the capital, No relatives or friends, that old man knows that you are my disciple, so he will not embarrass you, and will take good care of you. "

It's not like Fu Yihan didn't know that His Highness the Crown Prince has wanted to win over Zhan Youwei for many years. Fu Yihan has been an official in the same dynasty for many years. You don't know what kind of temper that old guy is. He is an old guy who is harder than the rocks in the pit. Not to mention that Dong Xiang and His Highness the Crown Prince are trying to win over him, even his friend Bo Mian, who has not seen him for many years, has not seen him. He will definitely give some points.

After leaving the capital for so many years, Fu Yihan only felt a little emotional when he occasionally thought of the past. But after leaving the capital, he didn't think about those things anymore. Now that the disciple has won the first prize and entered the court as an official, Fu Yihan will not stop this disciple from becoming an official and doing what he wants to do.

His disciple is no worse than his teacher. He is better than his master. Maybe his disciple can really be an official in the capital and get along like a fish in water.

He had many old acquaintances in the capital, but the one he could truly call friends with was the old guy Zhan Youwei. Fu Yihan hoped that the old man would take care of his little apprentice for his sake, "The water in the capital is murky. When you are in the capital, you must have a balance in your mind about what you should do and what you should not do."

S.0

"Yes, the disciple knows that the disciple will always remember what the teacher said. "Li Wen took the letter handed over by the teacher. He did not ask what was written in the letter, but he could roughly guess that the content of the letter was nothing more than his teacher asking Grand Master Zhan to take care of him.

To him When the teacher came here, Li Wen also brought his little brother to Dean Fu, and brought the child over to give Dean Fu a look. When Dean Fu saw this kid, he just made a pertinent comment, "This kid seems to be honest and stupid. , In fact, the mind is flexible. Since you keep people by your side, you must teach them well so that they can make a difference in the future.

Li Haopeng followed his brother, sitting there upright, and his behavior was considered decent. Hearing that his brother and the others mentioned him, the child looked at his brother and Dean Fu with a little curiosity in his eyes.

After arriving in Nanyang, Li Wen was so busy that he didn't have much time to take his little brother around. It was only in the evening that he had some time to take his kid out for a walk. Even so, the children are very happy

. With their brother by their side all the time, the uneasiness and fear after arriving in a strange place slowly disappears.

Early the next morning, they would leave Nanyang and continue on their way to the capital.

"Teacher, please take care of yourself. I will come back to visit you when I am free someday." On the day of departure, Li Wen said goodbye to his teacher.

"Well, let's go." Fu Yihan waved his hand and asked people to get on their way earlier.

After Li Wen said goodbye to his teacher, he went out and got into the carriage waiting for him at the door. The carriage slowly left, getting further and further away from Fu's house.

After leaving the city gate, they headed towards the capital.

Knowing that he seldom rides a horse, he is not used to riding on a horse for a long time, so Li Wen stayed in the carriage with his brother.

The days on the road were very boring. Li Wen would stay in the same carriage with Lu Zhishu and chat, or play games with his little boy. He specially asked the carpenter to make several sets of chess, such as airplane chess, backgammon, etc. Everyone has a pair of military chess, and everyone can play chess in the carriage to pass the time.

Taking advantage of this time, Li Wen still needs to give tutoring lessons and lectures to his children. After arriving in the capital, he must choose an academy for his children to study in. Otherwise, if you fall behind in your homework, your husband may not accept you.

With his brother by his side on the road, Li Haopeng gradually adapted to the absence of his parents and regarded his brother as his only relative, relying on and trusting him. They were in a hurry all the way, and there was nothing to do on the way. Li Wen spent more time with his little boy to calm his uneasiness and fear. But when he saw a smile slowly appearing on the child's face, he My heart is still very happy.

The results of the palace examination were released in April, so they traveled back and forth from the capital to their homes at the end of April. Now more than a month has passed, and it is already mid-June. At this rate, they will be able to return to the capital in early July.

Zhao Xiangyi and his entourage were escorted by soldiers, and they didn't encounter any blind bandits on the road. When they saw them, they all stayed away, and only those who were impatient dared to provoke them.

Their carriages and horses went very fast on the way back to the capital, with little rest on the way. They were always rushing on time. They stopped to rest for a while when the horses got tired along the way.

Chapter 2 Back to the Capital

The carriage was getting closer and closer to the capital, and they could see the gate of the imperial city in the distance.

The carriage was swaying, and the child who was just looking forward to entering the city fell asleep in the blink of an eye. Li Wen didn't hear the child's voice and wondered why it was so quiet. When he lowered his head and saw that the little kid was asleep, he couldn't help but smile, "Sure enough, he is still a kid."

It was a day in late June and July . During the hottest time of the year, the closer you get to the capital, the hotter the weather becomes.

The sleeping child was so hot that he was sweating. Li Wen reached out and touched the child's back and felt the sweat on his hand. He took the silk to wipe the child's sweat, and held a fan in his hand to fan the child from time to time. The child sleeps more peacefully and won't get hot.

On the way to the capital, during this half month, he learned how to take care of children.

Fortunately, when Li Haopeng reaches the age of seven or eight, he can take care of many things in life by himself and does not need anyone to take care of him. Just give him food when he's hungry, and a place to sleep when he's sleepy. He won't cry and fuss around on weekdays, so he'll be easy to take care of. Otherwise, he really doesn't know how to raise a cub.

They arrived at the foot of the imperial city, with towering city walls in front of them.

"Young Master, we have arrived in the capital." Li Tong, who was sitting on the carriage shaft, stretched his head in and said.

"Yeah, okay." Li Wen nodded. When he heard the noise outside, he knew they had arrived in the capital. I touched the child's forehead and felt the sweat on his hand. The child has enough yang energy and body heat. He sweats easily when he is hot.

Returning to the foot of the Imperial City, he no longer felt the shock and excitement of coming to the capital for the first time. After living in the capital for half a year, this was a place for him to start over. After returning this time, he may have to live in this city for a long time.

They arrived in the capital at sunset and dusk. There were many people leaving the city at this time, but not too many people entering the city. When the officers and soldiers guarding the city saw the token shown by Zhao Xiangyi, they let them pass without even looking inside the carriage.

After entering the city gate, Zhao Xiangyi drove his horse to the carriage window and knocked on the wall with his bent fingers.

Li Wen, who was in the carriage, heard the sound, lifted the curtain, stretched his head out to look at the man on horseback, and asked, "Brother Zhao, are you leaving?" At this time, they arrived in the capital. Parted.

Thanks to Zhao Xiangyi and his escort along the way, they encountered no danger along the way.

"Well, I was just about to tell you this. I'm leaving here, so I'll take you here." Zhao Xiangyi, who was riding a horse, lowered his eyes and looked at the young man in the carriage. From his corner, he could see the young man. With a smooth forehead and a handsome face, the young man always has a smile on his face. He is gentle and polite to others, making people feel very comfortable getting along with him.

The child in the carriage fell asleep. Li Liuyuan was busy taking care of his younger brother along the way, so he stayed in the carriage most of the time. He was riding a horse all the way, so they only talked when they stopped to rest. The last two sentences are usually about being busy on the road.

When he heard Zhao Xiangyi say he was leaving, Li Wen wanted to get off the carriage and say goodbye to Zhao Xiangyi.

Seeing that the young man wanted to come down, Zhao Xiangyi said, "You don't have to come down. I just need to tell you and let's say goodbye." After bringing Li Liuyuan back to the capital, he also completed his mission and wanted to return to His Highness. Return there.

He has been away from the capital for such a long time, and he doesn't know if anything has happened in the capital recently.

After hearing Zhao Xiangyi's words, Li Wen stopped going and said to the man, "Brother Zhao, you guys have worked hard on this trip. Let's get together another day, brother Zhao. Then I'll treat brother Zhao to a meal."

Anyway, they all In the capital, it is not easy to meet.

"Okay." A smile flashed in Zhao Xiangyi's eyes. He nodded to the young man and drove away. Xie Yunfei and the others followed. Li Wen looked at the group of people leaving, lowered the car curtain, and said to the people outside, "Let's go back."

At this time, there were fewer pedestrians on the street and the roads were wide. He returned to the alley and separated from Lu Zhishu. Returned to the front door of his small courtyard.

As soon as the carriage stopped, the children who were sleeping in the carriage woke up, rubbed their eyes and sat up, confused as to where they were.

"Xiaobao is awake, right?" Li Wen touched the child's messy hair, arranged his clothes, and said to the child who had just woken up and was still confused, "We have arrived in the capital. We're home in Beijing, we're coming down."

The child snuggled into his brother's arms and called out, "Brother."

People in the courtyard heard the sounds outside and figured that her brother was coming back. Li Jinwan ran out of the house and opened the door to the courtyard. Li Wen happened to get off the carriage and was carrying the child down. The kid had just woken up and was very sticky, making it difficult to do anything with him.

"Third brother!" Li Jinwan shouted in surprise when she saw her brother, "You're back."

"Haha, am I back now? Didn't I tell you that I won't be back until about this time?" Li

Wen turned around. He looked at the little girl who ran out. He just picked up Li Haopeng, turned sideways, exposed the child's face, and said to Li Jinwan, "Look who this is."

"Xiaobao." Li Jinwan glared. With eyes wide open, she looked behind her but didn't see her uncle and aunt, so she asked her brother, "Brother, are it just you and Xiaobao?" Where are the uncle and aunt? Did her brother just bring Xiaobao with him? Why didn't you bring your uncle and aunt with you?

"I'll tell you about this later." Li Wen didn't dare to mention his father and mother in front of the child, and gave Li Jinwan a wink to tell her not to ask this question again. Li Jinwan understood and saw that her brother had only brought Li Xiaobao over, not his uncle and aunt.

Li Wen said to the child, "Xiaobao, who do you think this is?"

"It's the fourth sister." Seeing the familiar fourth sister, Li Haopeng showed a smile on his little face and shouted.

"Hey, it's the fourth sister. The fourth sister is so happy to see Xiaobao^' Li Jinwan stepped forward and hugged the boy. She was very happy to see Xiaobao. She has liked to run to her aunt's house since she was a child. She is like watching She has watched this younger brother grow up, and she loves this little cousin even more than her biological sister.

"Young master, it's great to see you back. We have been waiting for so long for him to finally come back. This, this is the young master, right? "When Mrs. Wu saw the eldest young master coming back, she also brought the young master to the capital, but she didn't see the madam and the master.

However, this is not something that their servants should ask, so Mrs. Wu will not ask about it randomly.

"Well, yes. Ah, this is our young master. "Li Wen introduced the servants at home.

"The servants have seen the young master. "Wu took the lead, and everyone greeted the young master.

I had seen this kind of rules in the family's little bully. He stood there unmoved and reached out to grab his brother's sleeve. Li Wen lifted He raised his hands and said, "You all, please get up. We don't have so many rules in our family. You don't have to kneel down when you have nothing to do. "

"yes. "Wu and the Spring Festival magpies stood up with smiles on their faces.

"Brother, Xiaobao, you guys have worked hard all the way. Let's go inside quickly. Aunt Wu, go to the kitchen and cook some vegetables. Brother and the others haven't eaten anything along the way, so they should be hungry by now. "Li Jinwan hurriedly asked Mrs. Wu to go to the kitchen to make some dishes. Mrs. Wu responded and hurriedly went to the kitchen.

Li Jinwan asked someone to take down the luggage from the carriage, and Achen took the horse to feed it.

On the way from Qingping Town to the capital, although they didn't have any food or sleep on the road, the food and accommodation they had along the way were not as comfortable as at home. Now that he arrived in the capital and returned to the small courtyard where he lived, Li Wen breathed a sigh of relief.

It happened that the room next to his house was still vacant, so Li Wen ordered someone to clean it out, "Yingchun, you clean up the room next to my house, and the young master will temporarily live in that room.

The emperor gave it to me." His No. 1 Scholar's Mansion must not be repaired so soon. I'll go over there some other time and have a look. It would be nice if it can be repaired before they can move in.

"Yes. "Yingchun responded and went to work.

The food in the kitchen was ready and served. After they had dinner, it was already dark.

Li Weng had just taken a bath in the house and was wearing thin clothes. His long hair was still dripping, and there was a knock on the door. The child standing at the door had red eyes, rushed over and hugged his waist, and said with a cry in his voice, "Brother, I want to be with you." Sleeping

"Xiaobao doesn't dare to sleep alone, does he?" Li Wen knew that children usually sleep alone at home. He was afraid that the children were not used to it when they went to a strange place, so he did not accuse the children of being timid.

The child remained silent, obviously embarrassed to admit that he was afraid to sleep alone.

"Little boy, go to bed. I'll be here." Li Wen asked Li Tong, who was following him, to rest. He knew that Li Tong had also worked hard along the way. Li Tong said "yes" and stood at the door without following him in.

Li Wen took the child's hand, led the child into the house, and said, "Xiaobao can sleep with his brother if he wants to. But our Xiaobao is a little boy. Is it okay to learn to be strong on his own? No matter what happens in the future You can't cry about anything. A man's head can bleed, but he can't shed tears whenever something happens. This is not what a man does."

He put the child to sleep in the bed to prevent him from killing him in the middle of the night. Kicked to the bottom of the bed.

Li Haopeng wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, stopped crying, ran to the bed, sat cross-legged on the bed, and asked his brother, "Brother, what is a real man?"

"A real man is a man who is responsible and upright." Li Wen patted the bed and asked the child to lie down and sleep. His hair was not dry yet and he had to wait until it was dry before he could sleep. After the child lay down, Li Wen explained to the child what it means to be a real man and what it means to be a real man and what he should do and not do.

Listening to his brother's soft voice, the child fell asleep soon.

After the child fell asleep, Li Wen got up, opened the window, and stood by the window blowing the night breeze.

The moonlight is clear tonight, and a full moon hangs in the sky. The young man standing by the window looks up at the full moon in the sky. The moon waxes and wanes, and people have their joys and sorrows. They leave their parents' side and come to the distant capital. They don't know when they will wait until the next time they go back to their hometown to visit their relatives...

Chapter 3 Show off

After returning to the capital, Zhao Xiangyi went to the East Palace to meet the prince.

"I see His Highness the Crown Prince, His Highness is a thousand years old."

"Get up, it's just you and me here, so there's no need to be too polite." Yang Shaomu left all the servants who were waiting around him out of the study, and he was the only one left in the study. When Zhao Xiangyi and Zhao Xiangyi saw Zhao Xiangyi saluting him, Yang Shaomu said,

"Yes." Zhao Xiangyi stood up. Even the prince often asked him not to be polite when there were only the two of them, but this salute could not be discarded. He Stubbornly follow the principle that there is a distinction between king and minister.

The king is the king, and the minister is the minister. He cannot go beyond the king without practicing the etiquette that a minister should have.

The two of them are about the same age and have known each other since childhood. They have been companions and friends for more than 20 years.

It is said that the Zhao family once had a daughter who entered the palace as a concubine. Zhao Yueyan, the third sister of Zhao, was born like a fish and a wild goose. When Emperor Zhaozong left the palace, he met Zhao Yueyan. He fell in love with Zhao Yueyan at first sight and insisted on accepting Zhao Yueyan into the palace and named her Noble Concubine Zhao.

At that time, Concubine Zhao was the most beautiful in the harem and was the emperor's favorite concubine.

Queen Shangguan Wanqing and Concubine Zhao were cousins. They were good friends before entering the palace. The queen entered the palace first, and Zhao Yueyan entered the palace later. After entering the palace, they often visited each other, and their relationship remained the same. All the aristocratic families in the capital are connected to each other, and they are all more or less related to each other.

And Zhao Xiangyi is the legitimate son of Concubine Zhao's eldest son, so Zhao Xiangyi calls Concubine Zhao his aunt. At that time, Concubine Zhao liked her nephew very much, so when she first entered the palace and was lonely, she often invited her sister-in-law and nephew to the palace to accompany her. It was also at that time that Zhao Xiangyi and Prince Yang Shaomu met.

It's a pity that beauties have always had bad luck since ancient times. God is jealous of beauties. Within three years of entering the palace, Concubine Zhao had received all the favor from the emperor. It was probably the emperor's favor that made her attracted the envy and jealousy of others. So at that time Concubine Zhao was already seven months pregnant. She accidentally ate a poisoned pastry, and the poison sealed her throat with blood. When the imperial doctor arrived, Concubine Zhao had already died, and the fetus in her belly had already died. Death is a formed baby boy.

Concubine Zhao refused to close her eyes, her eyes bursting open.

Because of the death of Concubine Zhao, the emperor was furious and killed everyone related to the matter. The harem was filled with blood.

Therefore, from that time on, Zhao Yueyan's name became a taboo in the harem, and no one dared to mention it. There were many dirty things in the harem, and these dirty things must not be disclosed to others. Therefore, the cause of death announced by Concubine Zhao was that she died of a sudden illness. As for what the disease was, no one knew.

To this day, the Queen Mother still eats food and chants Buddha's name in Ci'an Palace. She is not allowed to step out of Ci'an Palace without any reason, and outsiders cannot easily see the Queen Mother.

But this is all in the past.

There is no longer Zhao Guifei in the palace, and there is no Zhao Yueyan. The emperor is surrounded by countless beauties every night, and there are three thousand beauties in the harem. The emperor is never lonely. Nowadays, the young and beautiful Concubine Dong is deeply favored by the emperor. She gave birth to a dragon son for the emperor and is the most favored woman in the palace.

Yang Shaomu met Zhao Xiangyi when he was young. Later, he chose Zhao Xiangyi as his companion. Zhao Xiangyi became the closest person to him and his best friend. Yang Shaomu never regarded Zhao Xiangyi as an outsider, and only in front of Zhao Xiangyi, Yang Shaomu would call himself "I" instead of "I".

"You just returned to the capital today, right? Li Liuyuan has also returned to the capital. Is your journey going smoothly?" Seeing Zhao Xiangyi return to the capital, Yang Shaomu knew that Li Liuyuan must have come back with him, so he asked.

"Well, we just arrived in the capital today. We escorted Li Liuyuan all the way back, and nothing happened on the way." Zhao Xiangyi nodded and said.

Yang Shaomu sat down on the chair and said to Zhao Xiangyi, "No need to stand, sit down."

Zhao Xiangyi sat down on the nearest chair. He hurried back to the capital after a dusty journey and changed his clothes when he returned home. I put on clean clothes and went to the East Palace to see the prince. Xie Yunfei led a group of soldiers back to the camp on the outskirts of Beijing.

As the prince of a country, Yang Shaomu cannot leave the capital at will, so for matters outside the capital, he can only be brought to him by others. The prince's first concern was the people of this world. Yang Shaomu asked about some things that happened when Zhao Xiangyi escorted Li Liuyuan back to his hometown, and asked about the people's livelihood and how they were living.

Hearing Zhao Xiangyi talk about the drought and lack of rain in many places this year, not to mention the lack of rain elsewhere, even in the capital in recent months, Yang Shaomu was very worried.

Natural and man-made disasters cannot be stopped by ordinary people.

The two talked about the people for a while, and Zhao Xiangyi mentioned some of Li Liuyuan's views on the people. After hearing this, Yang Shaomu thought for a while, couldn't help laughing, nodded and said, "He is indeed the first Liuyuan talent from our Dacheng. Only Li Liuyuan can say such a thing."

Yang Shao Mu had read the article written by Li Liuyuan during the palace examination. He still remembered some passages in the article. The first time he read it, he felt enlightened. The second and third time he read it, he felt enlightened. I realized some

truths from it that even he, the prince, did not understand before.

Their great achievements require such officials to really do something for the people. Yang Shaomu couldn't help but look forward to Li Liuyuan joining the court as an official.

"Li Liuyuan has returned to Beijing and will be on duty in the Hanlin Academy soon." Yang Shaomu said.

"Well, it should be." Zhao Xiangyi nodded. There was something wrapped in cloth on his hand. Zhao Xiangyi mentioned that he and Li Liuyuan went to Nanyang and met Mr. Fu. Li Liuyuan learned that he and the prince were students of Mr. Fu.

"I don't know if I, the senior brother, want to invite my junior brother out for a cup of tea. I wonder if the junior brother will give me, the senior brother, the face." Yang Shaomu originally had no intention of hiding this matter. Last time he showed off the jade pendant. He gave it to the young man. He had been waiting for the young man to come to him with the jade pendant. Yang Shaomu still wanted to tell the young man about it then. There was still this relationship between them, but the young man never came to him with the jade pendant. .

The young man didn't come to him with the jade pendant, which was what he expected, so Yang Shaomu didn't know whether he should be disappointed or whether it would have been like this, so there was nothing to be disappointed about.

Yang Shaomu naturally knew that the eldest prince Yang Shaoyong had sent people to look for Li Liuyuan. He was afraid that not only Yang Shaoyong would look for Li Liuyuan later, but the third prince and Dong Xiang would also take action. It takes three years to produce a top scholar, but a hundred years does not produce a Liu Yuan. A Liu Yuan talent is really rare, so no matter which faction they belong to, they will definitely want to win over Li Liu Yuan for their use.

With such a relationship, he, the prince, had a legitimate reason to go to Li Liuyuan for tea. As for other things, they could not mention them for the time being.

Zhao Xiangyi did not say that Li Liuyuan wanted to invite him to dinner, and he had no intention of taking the prince with him.

Yang Shaomu had not seen Li Liuyuan since the Qionglin Banquet, but it did not mean that he had forgotten such a person.

It was Yang Shaomu's idea to let Zhao Xiangyi escort Li Liuyuan back to his hometown. There was nothing important happening in the capital at the moment, and he, the prince, did not need a chaperone to be by his side all the time. It would be better to send him to protect Li Liuyuan when he returned home, lest Li Liuyuan return home. If something unexpected happened on the road, I also went to Li Liuyuan's home to see what kind of place it was, so that I could raise a Liuyuan talent.

So now I saw Zhao Xiangyi escorting Li Liuyuan back to Beijing. Yang Shaomu asked about his companion sending Li Liuyuan back to his hometown. He saw where Li Liuyuan's hometown was, who was in Li Liuyuan's family, and who were his parents and elders?

"As far as I know, Li Liuyuan's parents are ordinary farmers. However, Li Liuyuan has been smart and studious since he was a child. He was selected as a scholar at the age of nine. Later, he was accepted as a disciple by Master Fu and taught him personally." Zhao Xiangyi asked Xie Yunfei to touch it. As for the location of Lijiacun, we know from Xie Yunfei's words that the small village of Lijiacun is indeed a good place with outstanding people, and it was only then that Li Liuyuan was raised.

During the time when Xie Yunfei was in Lijia Village, on the order of their boss, he led his men to visit the area near Lijia Village and even the ancestral graves of the Li family. Of course, it was Military Advisor Xie who touched the ancestral graves on his own out of curiosity. It was not Zhao Xiangyi or His Royal Highness who ordered him to do it.

It is really incredible that an ordinary farmer's family has raised a six-yuan talent. However, I heard that Li Liuyuan was smart and studious since he was a child, and later became a master of Fu University, so it is not surprising that he was able to win the top three in the university and become the first six yuan in Dacheng.

"Xiang Yi, what is this thing on your hand?" Yang Shaomu had already noticed what Zhao Xiangyi put on his hand, so he asked curiously. Zhao Xiangyi opened the package. Inside was a crossbow. He handed it to the prince and said, "This is a three-shot crossbow given to me by Li Liuyuan. One shot can shoot three arrows in a row. I'll bring it here for you to see."

"This is a triple crossbow." Is it something Li Liuyuan made?" Yang Shaomu took it and looked at it. He didn't know how to use it, but it didn't affect his interest in it.

"Well." Zhao Xiangyi took it and said to the prince, "The place here is small. Let's find a spacious place and I will give you a try."

"Then let's go to the martial arts training ground." Yang Shaomu said to Li Liuyuan The crossbow that came out was very curious. For some reason, he felt that as long as it was made by Li Liuyuan, it must be a good thing.

The prince stood up and walked out of the study first, followed by Zhao Xiangyi.

The two of them went to the martial arts training ground together. The prince asked the guards to guard the entrance and not let anyone in.

"Suddenly -"

Zhao Xiangyi stood at the furthest place, holding the crossbow in his hand and aiming it at the archery target hanging in the distance, buckled the buckle, and fired three arrows in a row. One hit the red heart, and two arrows went down. All fell on target.

The feathers of the arrow were still vibrating, showing how powerful it was.

When Yang Shaomu saw the arrow on the target, his pupils widened slightly, with shock on his face. After the shock, the prince's face showed surprise, and he said, "I really didn't expect it." This is really a good thing, and it deserves to be Li Liuyuan really surprises people everywhere!

"How could Li Liuyuan come up with such a thing?" Yang Shaomu stretched out his hand and asked Zhao Xiangyi for a crossbow, wondering how Li Liuyuan, a scholar, could come up with such a destructive weapon.

"Li Liuyuan used it to go up the mountain to hunt rabbits." Zhao Xiangyi was right. Li Liuyuan made a small crossbow to go up the mountain to hunt rabbits. But he didn't say that Li Liuyuan also had a sleeve arrow for self-defense. Zhao Xiangyi was also curious about why Li Liuyuan knew these things.

But thinking that it was Li Liuyuan, there was nothing surprising.

Just to hunt rabbits? Yang Shaomu was speechless.

"Li Liuyuan said he would like to thank me for sending him back to his hometown and specially gave me a gift." The prince asked him for the crossbow in his hand. Zhao Xiangyi held the crossbow and did not give it to him. He said seriously, "Your Highness, this thing is dangerous. I am afraid that Your Highness will not give it to you." I know how to use it, but I accidentally hurt myself. I'd better take this thing back."

General Zhao specially emphasized that it was given to him by Li Liuyuan, and he came here specifically to show off to His Highness.

At this time, Yang Shaomu also saw his thoughts on accompanying the readers.

"..." Yang Shaomu, why didn't I see you say that just now?

What is Li Liuyuan's gift to you to thank you? After all, he should have half of this! If I hadn't asked you to send Li Liuyuan away, would you have gotten such a crossbow? !

But it's obvious that Zhao Xiangyi doesn't think so.

"Tonight is late, if your highness is fine, I will go back first." Zhao Xiangyi wrapped the crossbow in cloth. Anyway, the meaning was obvious. He did not intend to give this thing to the prince, even if the other party was the prince.

"Oh, yes, I shamelessly asked for the drawings for His Highness. If Your Highness wants a crossbow, I believe that there are many capable craftsmen there, and someone will definitely be able to make it for Your Highness." Zhao Xiangyi said from his arms. He took out a drawing and took it to His Highness the Crown Prince.

Yang Shaomu subconsciously took the drawings, and while His Highness the Crown Prince lowered his head to read the drawings, Zhao Xiangyi ran away with the crossbow given to him by Li Liuyuan.

He really just ran away without looking back!

"..." Yang Shaomu.

Yang Shaomu, who was standing behind, gritted his teeth angrily. Even though His Highness the Crown Prince was kind-hearted and rarely got angry, if this was not his companion, Yang Shaomu would have wanted the guards to catch him and beat him. This is really unreasonable! But for the sake of this drawing, I'll spare you this one time!

The sun sets, and twilight is late.

Zhao Xiangyi, who left the East Palace, returned to the General's Mansion and opened the door. There were several wine jars on the table in the room. Before leaving Lijiacun, Xie Yunfei led people to find the place their boss mentioned, dug out a lot of wine jars, and quietly brought them back to the capital.

"Put them all away and put them away. Be careful not to damage them." Except for the jar of wine given to Xie Yunfei, the rest are all here. Zhao Xiangyi waved his hand and asked someone to take the wine and put it away.

When General Zhao went to the East Palace to meet the prince, he was reluctant to give a jar of wine to the prince. This shows that between wine and the prince, wine is more important.

"Yes." The servant stepped forward and carefully took down the wine jar.

Of course, after Zhao Xiangyi asked Xie Yunfei to dig out the wine, he did not leave it empty with nothing. He asked Xie Yunfei to replace the original wine with another purchased wine and put it back. It must have been buried for another ten or eight years. , the taste of the buried wine will become more and more mellow, becoming a good wine. 9

At this time, Li Liuyuan didn't know that all the wine his master buried had been replaced with other wines.

Li Wen blew the wind by the window for a while, and after his hair was dry, Li Wen went to bed.

At this time, the little kid on the bed was already asleep and snoring. He reached out and pinched the kid's face. Li Wen's lips curled up into a smile, he closed his eyes, and fell asleep soon...

This night was full of moonlight. It was clear and the sky was filled with stars.

□Author's gossip: Li Liuyuan: Who stole my wine? !

General Zhao: It's not stealing, it's exchange.

Li Liuyuan...

Li Liuyuan: What's the difference?

General Zhao: Yes, I gave you the wine in exchange.

Li Liuyuan: Do I agree?

General Zhao: What's yours is mine, and what's mine is yours.

Li Liuyuan, who had always been articulate, was unable to refute.

Chapter 4 Trivial Matters

On the second day, I slept until three o'clock in the morning before waking up. This sleep was the most solid sleep I had had in a long time. As soon as Li Wen opened his eyes, he glanced at the little cub in his arms that was holding on to him like an octopus. One leg was still across his stomach. No wonder he felt haunted all night long. The feeling of being pressed against the bed turned out to be the brat pressing down on his

clothes that were not on his chest, making a piece of his clothes wet. Needless to say, it was also the brat's saliva.

The child is still sleeping at this moment, and the child who is asleep is quiet and well-behaved. Knowing that the child was exhausted from following him to the capital, Li Wen did not bother to wake the child up so that he could sleep a little longer.

Gently pushing the little boy away, Li Wen sat up from the bed, got up, took the clothes hanging on the shelf and put them on himself.

Unexpectedly, after he got dressed, the little boy on the bed also woke up.

The child was sitting on the bed with a dazed look on his face, his sleepy eyes open, and he didn't know if he was awake or not. Li Wen looked at it and found it funny. He went over to touch the child's head and said to the child, "Xiaobao is awake, right? We will get up when he wakes up."

"Brother." Li Haopeng's eyes fell on his brother's. On his face, he shouted.

"Yes, brother is here." Li Wen responded. After the child woke up, he took the clothes to the child and let the child wear his own clothes. Usually his mother had to go to the workshop to work and had no time to take care of the children at home, so Li Haopeng learned to dress and eat by himself at a very young age. He could do these things by himself without anyone's help.

"Young master, young master, you are awake."

The child outside the door heard the sound in the room and knew that their young master had woken up, so he came in with water for washing his face.

"Xiaobao, come over and rinse your mouth and face." Li Wen asked the child to brush his teeth and wash his face. Li Haopeng followed his brother obediently. They used tooth powder to brush their teeth, and he had people mix it with salt. Brushing with salt can reduce inflammation, kill bacteria, prevent cavities, and whiten teeth.

While wiping his hands with a towel, Li Wen was thinking about finding an academy for his children to study in. There are many academies here in the capital, and there are too many large and small academies to count. However, after considering various factors, one still has to choose an academy that is most suitable for their children before sending them to study.

The sun is rising in the east. The two brothers are walking from the other end of the corridor. There are two elongated shadows on the ground

. They are the last ones to get up after sleeping in the family. By the time they get up, the rest of the family will have already Get up.

"Brother, Xiaobao, you guys are up. I saw you weren't up. I know you must be exhausted after traveling for so long, so I didn't ask anyone to call you." Li Jinwan saw her brother He and Xiaobao got up and asked Xingque and Yingchun to bring breakfast over.

"Yes." Yingchun and Xiyun responded, and they quickly went to bring breakfast.

After breakfast was served, the three of them sat down around the dining table to eat together.

There is no rule in their family about not speaking before eating, so you can say anything you want during meals.

"Oh, brother, I have something to tell you." While eating, Li Jinwan mentioned to her brother that she had brewed a batch of soap in nearly two months, and also made rouge and perfume. thing. She used to work with her aunt, so Li Jinwan knew how their soap was made, and she could do it too.

The weather was nice during this period, so the soap she made was placed in the yard to dry, and then she collected it piece by piece and put it away.

This is what Li Wen meant. Instead of waiting for them to transport goods from home to sell in the capital, they can produce them directly here in the capital, saving the intermediate freight and labor costs, saving costs, and the profits they can earn. The space is even larger.

Li Wen did some calculations and found out that the monthly living expenses of living in the capital were not a small amount. If they want to live in the capital in the future, they will definitely not be able to support the people in this house just by relying on the salary he earns from working for the emperor, so he must find other ways to make money.

He has many ways to make money here, and it is not too difficult to maintain a life here in the capital. But for now, instead of trying a new industry, they might as well go back to their old business. This is easier to get started and they don't have to start from scratch. Plus, with the fourth girl following him in the capital, some things can still be done. It's better to leave it to his girl to do it than to hire someone else to do it, and outsiders may not believe it.

"Okay, let's go over and have a look after dinner." Li Wen nodded and said.

The two of them were discussing about finding a shop while eating. Li Wen still had some money in his hand, but he didn't have much silver. Shops here in the capital were expensive, and it was impossible for him to buy a good shop, so They have only two options. One is to rent a better shop temporarily, and the other is to buy a smaller shop in a more remote place.

However, renting a better shop here in the capital is not cheap. The annual rent would be over a thousand taels

, so after the two of them decided to buy a smaller shop, they thought it would be better to temporarily buy a smaller shop. When they made money later, they could sell the small shop and start a new business. Change to a larger store.

A spare room in the backyard was used as a warehouse. After dinner, they came here to look at the products.

"The first batch of soaps I made had a small problem, but the soaps that came out later had no problems." "Li Jinwan took the soap and showed it to her brother. There was something wrong with the first batch of soaps, so there were some minor flaws, but there were no problems with the later ones.

Li Wen took it, looked at it, and said, "Well, just pick out the defective ones and keep them at home." Naturally, defective products cannot be sold to customers, otherwise they will ruin their own brand.

"Oh, okay, that's exactly what I meant." Li Jinwan nodded and said.

"Brother, I made the perfume based on what you said. This bottle contains perfume." Li Jinwan uncorked a small bottle, handed the bottle to her brother, and said, "Brother, would you like to smell this?" No."

The bottle contained concentrated spices, and the fragrance was a bit strong. When Li Wen took a whiff, it was a bit pungent.

"Brother, when you take a bath, put two drops of the perfume in this bottle into the tub. After taking a bath, your whole body will still be fragrant." Li Jinwan used it to take a bath because she felt that the perfume in this bottle was When used to take a bath, the scent will be more fragrant and lasting than putting flower petals in the water after taking a bath.

In the nearly two months since her brother was away, she had been tinkering with these things.

"The flavor of this one is a bit strong, you can try to dilute it...that is, when you are cooking the spices, don't put too many flowers, and readjust the proportion to see if you can get a lighter flavor. Perfume." Li Wen smelled several perfumes one by one, and without exception, he felt that this fragrance was a bit too strong.

A lighter flavor would probably be better.

Being able to successfully brew a perfume for the first time is already very good, but he not only wants to successfully brew a perfume, but also wants to make a perfume with better quality and smell. Many people in later generations are very fanatical and obsessed with the pursuit of perfume. Once you fall in love with perfume, you cannot give up.

No matter in which world, women earn the most money. Otherwise, a certain treasure in the next generation would not be so prosperous. A group of women are desperately throwing money into it to buy things. Rouge, gouache, perfume, these things are women's favorites. I believe no woman can refuse them no matter what era they are in.

Li Wen had sent someone to find a shop before. He had been back in his hometown to visit relatives in the past two months, so the shop was delayed. There are two shops over there that are okay. Li Wen planned to leave this matter to Li Jinwan to handle, and said, "I have asked people to find two shops over there that are okay. Wait for you and Ah Chen to go over tomorrow and take a look. If they are suitable, If so, you make the decision."

"This..." Li Jinwan was a little hesitant. She didn't know how she could do such a big thing when her brother asked her to make a decision as soon as he came.

"Everything is difficult at the beginning. When you get familiar with it later, you will know how to handle these things. I plan to leave all the store affairs to you, so you have to learn to make your own decisions on small things. If you encounter something you don't understand, Ask me again." Li Wen said with a serious look on his face, "You know it's inconvenient for me to go out and deal with these things, so if you think you can't do it yourself in the future, you can do it now. Said, I will find someone else to do it for you."

The status of merchants is low among scholars, farmers, and merchants. Although the court did not explicitly prohibit officials from doing business, many officials from the court opened shops here in the capital. However, it is not easy for them to do business openly, so after he enters the officialdom in the future, it is best to leave these things to others, and it is not easy for him to do it himself.

I wonder if the people here in the capital have forgotten his face after a period of time.

"No, brother, I can do it. If you ask me to do it, I will do it well." Li Jinwan clenched her fists and said to her brother.

If she couldn't do such a small thing well, she might as well go back to her hometown. If she wants to stay with her and stay here in the capital, she must use her actions to prove that she can stay here without becoming a burden to her brother.

"That's good. Remember what you said today. If you do well, I won't treat you badly. Your future dowry will be prepared here for you." Li Wen had a smile on his face, but he said this I'm not kidding.

Regardless of whether his sister does well or not, he still has a dowry for his sister.

"Brother, what are you talking about! I want you to talk about serious things." The little girl looked shy and stamped her feet.

"Haha..." Li Wen couldn't help but laugh.

It's not in vain that he taught the little girl to read, read, and learn arithmetic all those years, and it finally came in handy at a critical moment. Most people in the world are mediocre and do not know why they are born and why they die. A woman's fate is full of twists and turns. Li Wen doesn't want Li Jinwan to spend her life in confusion like most women in this world. It would be best if she could find her own life goal and work hard for it.

If a person wants to change his destiny, he must rely on himself, not others. Others can only help you at critical

moments. The most important thing is that you must seize the opportunity and be able to work hard for it.

Most of the goods produced in my family's workshop are mid- to low-end. The goods are cheap and the profits are small but quick to sell.

But now their situation is different here in the capital. People here in the capital have a lot of money, so Li Wen plans to take the boutique route in the shop here in the capital, make the products high-end in packaging, and sell them at a high price. When their products are branded in the capital, and more people know about their products and feel proud to buy their products, I am afraid that there will be many people rushing to buy their products in the future.

After deciding on the shop floor, they would slowly do the rest step by step.

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Chapter 5:

After Songbai Academy returns to the capital, they have to go to the Ministry of Etiquette to cancel their leave. The Ministry of Etiquette is in charge of matters related to officials' requests for leave. If they ask for leave, they must cancel it. Otherwise, their vacation will continue. This is a process, and they must follow it. Process service.

Now that they have returned to the capital, Li Wen and Lu Zhishu have to go to the Ministry of Rites to cancel their leave. "I still have something to go out. You are at home. If you go out, let Ah Chen or Ah Wu follow you out." He has never restricted his family. When a girl goes out, the environment here in the capital is complicated. When women or children at home go out, it would be safer if a man goes out with them.

Li Jinwan nodded and said, "Brother, I don't have to go out because I have nothing to do. If you want to go and do some work, go ahead. I will keep an eye on Xiaobao while I'm at home."

Li Haopeng looked up at his brother and shouted, " Brother."

Li Wen touched the child's head and said, "You and Fourth Sister are at home. When I come back from outside, I will take you to the academy to meet your husband. We have to choose an academy to study in. He will be studying in the capital from now on, you know?"

In two days, he may go to Hanlin as a errand, so he'd better find an academy for his children to study in these two days, otherwise there may not be any later. time.

He has rarely gone home in recent years, and the two brothers only get together for a few days a year, so he has no time to take care of his younger brother's studies. Now that he has brought people to the capital, he still has to arrange for the children to study first. thing so that you can get busy with other things.

"Yeah." Li Haopeng looked at his brother eagerly, he knew.

"Be good, brother. I'll be back soon after I go out. Your fourth sister is at home. If you need anything, just ask your fourth sister." Li Wen knew that the child had just arrived in the capital and was not used to the environment here, but he was used to it. Growing things, you gradually get used to it. Now that they have arrived in the capital, they have to get used to the life here in the capital. They will be here for a long time in the future.

Leaving his brother and sister at home, Li Wen went out with only a little book boy by his side.

Yesterday, I made an appointment with Lu Zhishu to come to the Ministry of Rites today. They first went to the Ministry of Rites to cancel their leave, and then also went to the Ministry of Personnel. The six government offices are all on this street, so they don't have to travel too far and can get things done quickly.

Now more than two months have passed since the end of the palace examination. Most of the candidates who failed the examination have packed up their bags and returned to their hometowns. Some of them stayed in the capital to find other ways out, or continued to prepare for the scientific examination three years later. .

However, those who have passed the Jinshi exam are not necessarily able to get ahead. There are still many people who have passed the Jinshi exam but have not yet been assigned official positions and places. These people are still waiting in the capital, or running around looking for a way out. The top three in the first class were relatively lucky. They were awarded official positions as soon as they passed the palace examination, and they could go home to visit their relatives with peace of mind. Now they are all back.

Some of the people ranked higher in the second class will stay in the capital. Most of the people in the lower second class and the third class who are also Jinshi will be transferred to local places to serve as officials. The Ministry of Officials arranges personnel according to their ranking, from top to bottom. The arrangements before the ranking test will be faster. As for those ranked lower, if you don't have the connections and money to manage, you don't know what to expect. Only when the time comes can we wait for the court's arrangements, which can be as fast as three to five months or as slow as one or two years.

The imperial examination is held every three years. Three years later, a new batch of candidates will enter the capital, and another batch of Jinshi will enter the court. If someone has not been assigned an official position in the past three years, after three years, he still doesn't know where the official position will be arranged. This situation has not happened in previous years.

They went to the Ministry of Personnel to register. After hearing a few casual remarks from the officials of the Ministry of Personnel, Li Wen roughly knew something.

This is just like modern times. Graduates from prestigious schools do not necessarily have high vocational and high salary. During the graduation season, all college students from colleges and universities will face the problem of difficulty in finding a job. It is not easy to find a good job. By the same token, in this world, those who pass the Jinshi exam may not necessarily get a good official position. In addition to personal talents, it also depends on whether they have connections and whether they have money. The two are essentially the same. of.

After the official affairs were completed, the two people walked on Changchun Street, talking as they walked.

After walking out of Changchun Street, there was a carriage waiting for them at the street corner.

"Zhishu, since you have something to do, let's say goodbye here. You go to see Mr. Lu, and I will go back and take Xiaobao to see Mr. Lu." Li Wen knew that Lu Zhishu was going to see his uncle, Lu Changping, and he wanted to go back He took his younger brother to the academy to meet his husband. The two of them went in different ways, so they didn't go back together.

"Okay." Lu Zhishu nodded. Now that they had returned to the capital, he was going to see his uncle.

"Let's meet again when we go back." The place where the two of them live is separated by a lake. Going around to the other side of the lake is where the other person lives. It's not that far apart. Li Wen often goes to Lu Zhishu's place to check the door.

"Okay, see you later." Lu Zhishu nodded and said.

Li Wen got into his carriage, and the two of them got into their own carriages, separated at the intersection, and walked in different directions. There are countless academies in the large capital of

Mu Shui Shui Nuo. The people in the capital are complex. Most of the students studying in the capital are the children of officials or wealthy families.

The highest school in the capital is the Imperial College, and most of the people who can study in the Imperial College are the children of princes, nobles and ministers of the court.

At this time, Li Wen did not have the ability to send his children to study in the Imperial College, but even if he had the ability, he would not consider sending his children to study in the Imperial College at this time.

First of all, their children are still young, and most of the tests they took before the government exams were basic knowledge of the books they have read. They can lay a solid foundation by studying in a slightly better academy outside. Furthermore, they are from civilian backgrounds. , the child has just arrived in the capital, he doesn't understand anything here, and he doesn't have the ability to deal with complicated interpersonal relationships.

So they might as well find an academy with a relatively simple environment and a good reputation, and send their children to study for a few years to let them adapt to the environment here in the capital.

At this moment, Li Wen felt like a parent choosing an elementary school for his children. With so many academies in the capital, where should he send his children to study?

Of course, he cannot completely place the responsibility of children's reading well on the academy and his teacher, but a good environment can still play a positive role and have a good influence on children's reading.

After some selection and comparing the advantages of several academies, Li Wen settled on an academy not far from their place, Songbai Academy.

Songbai Academy is a small academy with a good reputation. The gentleman's surname is Gao and he was born as a Jinshi.

"Li Wen has met Mr. Gao." Li Wen brought his younger brother to the academy to meet Mr. Gao. Mr. Gao seemed to be in his forties, with a beautiful beard and elegant appearance. His first impression was quite good. .

Li Haopeng followed his brother and saluted his husband in a dignified manner.

When Mr. Gao heard the name Li Wen, he felt it sounded familiar. Looking at the young man who came with his son, he was still young and named Li. He asked, could this be the Li Wen and Li Liuyuan that the people and scholars in the capital talked about? Mr. Gao looked at the young man in front of him and asked with some excitement on his face, "Are you, are you the top scholar in this year's scientific examination, Li Liuyuan?"

"Haha, sir, I am laughing at you." Hearing Mr. Gao's words , Li Wen admitted a little embarrassedly.

Will he be so famous in the capital? Just tell him his name and the other party will know who he is?

Li Wen left the capital during this time and went back to his hometown to visit relatives, so he didn't know that for a long time after the imperial examination, he was the most talked about among the people and scholars in the capital.

"The younger generation is to be feared, the younger generation is to be feared. It turns out that talents are born in young people." Mr. Gao stood up excitedly and went to personally invite Li Liuyuan to take a seat and said, "Li Liuyuan, please sit down."

"Thank you, sir, sir." Li asked and thanked Mr. Gao. , invite the other person to take a seat.

The two sat down together, with a small table in the middle. Li Wen said to his husband, "I came to see you today to bring my younger brother to see him. I heard that he is very knowledgeable and a rare good person." Sir, I came here today because I wanted to bring my brother over to show you. I wonder what the conditions are for admitting students to your college."

"Don't dare, I can't be called knowledgeable. Hearing Li Liuyuan's praise for him, Mr. Gao said with shame, "I have only read a few books and learned a few words. Now that I am a gentleman, I have to read more and learn more." Only by hyphenating words can we teach students, so as not to mislead others."

Li Wen knew that these ancient people liked to be self-effacing and like to speak in roundabout ways. He often had to twist their words to understand them.

The two exchanged compliments on each other's business before turning to the main topic.

"Our academy does not have very strict requirements for accepting students. Firstly, it is best for them to have read at home and know a few words, and secondly, the students must have good conduct and have no bad habits. Does your brother study at home?" Mr. Gao Just now I noticed that the child standing next to Li Liuyuan behaved in an orderly manner, and I felt a little satisfied with the child.

Li Wen nodded and said, "My brother started studying when he was five years old, and now he has read the Three Character Classic and The Analects of Confucius..."

Mr. Gao nodded, looked at the child and said, "I will now test you on a few of the books you have read. If you answer the article correctly, I will allow you to study in the academy." The teacher did not exempt the child from the assessment because he is Li Liuyuan's younger brother, and he was also curious about how Li Liuyuan's younger brother studied.

When the child heard what the teacher said, he said, "Okay, sir, please ask me a question."

Mr. Gao picked out a few passages from the book that he had read and asked the child what they meant. The child answered them one by one. . The teacher asked a few symbolic questions, and the child's answers were acceptable and correct. Mr. Gao nodded and

said, "Yes...,

this means that the child is admitted to the academy.

" "Thank you, Mr. Li Wen stood up and said to his husband happily. Seeing the child standing still, Li Wen turned to his younger brother and said, "Haopeng, Mr. Gao has agreed to admit you to the academy. Mr. Gao will be you from now on." Sir, why don't you salute him quickly? "

Student Li Haopeng, I met Mr. "Li Haopeng listened to his brother's words and bowed to his husband in a polite manner

.

"Okay, okay. "Mr. Gao had a smile on his face, obviously very satisfied with this new student.

Chapter 6 Raising a Cub with Your Own Hands

The summer night wind blew in through the window, and the two brothers were lying on the same bed.

Tomorrow he will report to the Hanlin Academy, and their children will also be sent to the academy to study. At this time, Li Wen, like most parents in the world, was worried about whether his children would be able to adapt to the new environment on their first day at the academy. He told his children, "When you go to the academy tomorrow to study, you must listen to the teacher and be the same as the new students in the academy." Do you know that the children should get along well?"

"Brother, Xiaobao knows." The child was playing with his feet and heard his brother's words.

"But when you go to the academy to study, if other children bully you, don't stand still and let others bully you. We don't take the initiative to stir up trouble, but we can't be afraid of it." Li Wen was worried that his children would come to the capital to study. Will be bullied by other children.

"Brother, if anyone dares to hit me, I will hit him back." Li Haopeng waved his fist and said. When he was studying in the academy, no one dared to bully him. If anyone dared to bully him, he would fight back.

"..." Several black lines flashed in front of Li Liuyuan's forehead and he said, "Brother, I'm not asking you to fight. We are civilized people. Fighting is what barbarians do. We are civilized people, not barbarians." "

Brother, what? "Civilized people, what are barbarians?" Li Xiaobao asked.

"Civilized people are..." Li Wen then spent a lot of time explaining to their children what civilized people are and what barbarians are. It would not work to correct the children's constant thinking about fighting.

"When we know that we can't beat each other, we should not confront each other head-on. Fighting with fists is always the stupidest way. We must learn to use our own brains." Li Liuyuan, a good brother, began to instill evil intentions in his younger brother. Learn how to deal with problems when you encounter them.

People should be kind, but not too kind. Being too kind can easily lead to bullying.

Blindly giving in and forbearing will make others think that you are weak and can be bullied. When you are strong, be strong, and when you are weak, be weak. Brains are a good thing sometimes. Solving problems with fists is never as good as solving problems with brains. The person who hits you will still feel the pain. What doesn't come out is called pain.

Instead of worrying about your child being bullied by other children in the academy, it would be better to teach your child how to handle this situation when it happens. Teaching children to deal with problems on their own is always better than following around and wiping their butts.

"Well, my brother is right..." Li Haopeng felt that his brother's words made sense. He opened his mouth and yawned, and slowly closed his heavy eyelids.

Li Wen babbled a lot more. Thinking that the child would have to come to him to sleep every night, he said, "Xiaobao, you are seven years old this year. You can't sleep with your brother all the time, so you After sleeping at my brother's place tonight, you have to go back to sleep in your own room starting from tomorrow night, okay

? Seven years old. Children of this age would still be in kindergarten age in modern times, but based on the fact that people in this era get married and have children at the age of fifteen or sixteen, they should be able to be sensible at the age of six or seven.

If you want to take the scientific examination and become an official, you should be able to read and write from the age of three, and take the boy student examination when you are about ten years old. Their child is six or seven years old, so it is quite late for him to start. But now that he has taken the child with him and taught him personally for two years, it is not difficult to pass the child examination. He strives to get it within three to five years. The qualifications of the students are the best.

After waiting for a while, he didn't hear the child's response. Li Wen looked down and found that the child was asleep. His belly was bulging and he was snoring softly. He didn't know that after he said so much, the child was sleeping. He couldn't help but laugh without listening.

The capital was quiet at night, the city gates were closed, the shops on the street were closed, and there were no pedestrians on the road. Occasionally, a carriage or sedan would pass by in a hurry. The two watchmen who were doing the watch, one holding a gong and the other holding a mule, were knocking as they walked, "Tuk, Tuk, bang, late, one."

The watchman shouting as they walked, "The sky is dry and things are dry, be careful of the candles." "

Slightly--Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The watchman knocks five times a night, once every hour, and it is the fifth time. After the fifth watch, it will be dawn soon. After the last watch, the watchman can go back to sleep.

After staying up all night, at this time when people are most tired, the two watchmen yawned as they walked and said to another person, "After the last watch tonight, we can go back to sleep."

At this time, the emperor Already got up and prepared to go to court.

The officials who were going to court had to get up earlier, go out early, get on sedans and go out. The small sedans went to the palace gate one after another, like small fish gathering together in the river. Same.

Small sedans stopped in front of the palace gate. Officials in court uniforms got out of the sedans and stood in front of the sedan door to tidy up their clothes before walking towards the palace gate. The ministers met, said

hello to each other, and then found a place to stand and wait.

Before Mao hour, the ministers will arrive and wait outside the Meridian Gate.

When the drums on the Meridian Gate tower sounded, the palace gate opened, and hundreds of officials entered one after another. The ministers passed through the palace walls and walked a long way to reach the Baohe Hall, waiting for the arrival of the Holy Lord, and then Start the morning morning.

There is no way to rank officials in the previous dynasty, because officials in various departments have different levels.

In Dacheng, generally when going to court, cabinet ministers, prime ministers, and six ministers are all first- and second-rank officials. Six ministers are third-rank officials, but among six ministers, they are only seventh-rank officials. The censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate can also go to court. The censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate are generally only six or seven grades. For local officials, only those with fourth-grade clothes can go to court. The fourth-grade is the governor, and they can only go to the capital to attend court after they have important reports and listen to the imperial edict.

There are actually very few officials above the third rank in Dacheng, with a total of just over a hundred. In addition to the cabinet ministers and prime ministers, as well as the six ministers and ministers, there are also the first and second leaders of various departments. Their official positions are all above the third rank. During the Dacheng Dynasty, unless there are special circumstances, the morning dynasty usually starts at Chen hour, and is attended by cabinet ministers and prime ministers, as well as six ministers, ministers, and censors of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Most of their official positions are above the fourth rank.

In addition, there are the ministers who serve in daily affairs, who are close ministers who often serve the emperor. However, the rank of these officials is not high, most of them are around the sixth or seventh rank, and they are all qualified to go to court. Princes, marquises, princes, princes, princes, princes, etc. in the capital can all participate in the morning court, but there are no hard and fast rules. Princes and princes are generally qualified to attend court and participate in political affairs after they reach the age of sixteen.

In addition, the length of the court meeting depends on the circumstances of the matter. If there is something to do, it will be longer, and if there is nothing, it will be shorter. This

day

was Li Wen's first day as an errand at the Hanlin Academy, and it happened that it was also the first day that their children went to the academy to study.

There are hundreds of officials, large and small, in the capital, so not all officials in the capital are qualified to go to court. As a young Hanlin from the sixth rank, he did not need to go to the morning court unless there was a special exception made by the emperor. Therefore, Li Wen did not need to get up in the middle of the night to go to the court. He only needed to go to Hanlin before Chenshi to go to work. When

he thought about going to court, he would have to get up in the middle of the night and go out to go to the morning court. Li Wen wondered whether he should consider staying in the Hanlin Academy for the rest of his life, or whether he could stay in the capital for two or three years and then apply to be transferred to a local official. Not bad, as it would avoid having to get up at midnight every day to go to court.

So it's quite relaxing now that he doesn't have to go to morning court.

At the Hanlin Academy, work starts at midnight, which means work starts at seven o'clock in the morning. He only needs to go to the Hanlin Academy to report before this time. The academy was for reading at Mao hour, that is, he would go there to study at five o'clock in the morning. It happened that there was still an hour before he went to Hanlin at Mao hour, so Li Wen sent his children to the academy first.

Songbai Academy is not far from the small courtyard where they live, and it takes about two-quarters of an hour to walk there. However, if they move to Zhuangyuan Mansion, it may be a little further to go to school, but it will only be a slightly longer journey. At worst, they will be sent here in a carriage.

Early the next morning, Li Wen personally sent his child to the academy. On the way, he told the child to listen to his husband and said, "My brother is going to the Hanlin Academy to report today. In the future, he will go to the Hanlin Academy as an errand. He may not be able to attend school in the future." I have to pick you up from school in person, so after you get out of school, your brother will ask A Chen or Brother A Wu to pick you up. Only when you see your family members come to pick you up after school, can you follow them back. You can't just follow strangers. People leave, do you understand? "

The academy has a lunch break at noon. The place they live is close to the academy. They can also have someone pick up the children for lunch and a nap at noon, and then send them to the academy to study in the afternoon.

It's just that when he goes to Hanlin to work on errands in the future, he won't be able to pick up and drop off the children in person during the noon and afternoon periods, so he can only have someone at home pick him up.

"Brother, I know that you are going to be an official. If you don't have time to see me off, just ask Brother Achen and Awu to see me off. When I study well in the future, I will be like my brother and win the first prize in the exam. A high official." The child seemed to understand everything, as if he had grown up all of a sudden. His brother sent him to the academy to study. Li Haopeng didn't cry or make trouble, and he was many times better behaved than at home.

Hearing the child's words, Li Wen couldn't help but smile and encouraged the child, "Okay, Xiaobao will study hard and come back with a top score in the exam. We will have two top picks, two brothers."

"Go in ."

"Goodbye, brother." "

Goodbye."

Li Wen sent the child to the entrance of the academy and watched the child walk in.

The child turned around and waved to his brother. Li Wen, who was standing outside the door, looked at the child who walked in. He felt an

unspeakable . He finally understood his father's feelings when he sent him to the academy.

Thinking back to those years when his father took him to the academy to study every day, now that he thinks about it, those were probably the most unforgettable days in his life. Thinking of his parents at home, Li Wen found that he was starting to miss home again, missing his grandma, missing his parents and relatives, and missing his home.

Chapter 7

On the day they entered the Hanlin Academy, Li Wen, Lu Zhishu and Tong went to the Hanlin Academy to report. The person who received them was an old Hanlin with a round figure and a smile like an Amitabha Buddha. His surname was Cao. As newcomers to the Hanlin Academy on their first day, the two were not familiar with the place. Cao Hanlin, who received them, took them to see the chief of the Hanlin Academy.

The old Hanlin who received them was very talkative. He told them some of the rules of the Hanlin Academy and introduced the Hanlin Academy to them on the way.

In front of the Hanlin Academy is the official office, and there is a large library at the back. The place is not small.

The headmaster's surname is Xu and his given name is Xu Zhi. He has no white beard on his face and has a dignified look on his face. He looks like a serious-minded person. From the outside, he looked to be in his forties or fifties, a little younger than the old Hanlin who received them. Those who could take the position of director at this age must be someone with some ability.

"Your Majesty, Li Wen/Lu Zhishu, have seen Zhang Yuan." Li Wen and Lu Zhishu saluted Xu Zhang Yuan.

When Xu Zhangyuan saw Li Liuyuan, he obviously didn't expect that the first Liuyuan from Dacheng would be so young. Xu Zhangyuan looked at Li Liuyuan with a hint of surprise in his eyes, but he quickly put it away.

On the first day they met Li Liuyuan and Lu Zhishu, Xu Zhangyuan was not too enthusiastic towards the two newcomers. He simply told them the rules of the Hanlin Academy, assigned them positions, and then ordered someone to lead them. They went to get acquainted with the work of the Hanlin Academy.

"Thank you, Master." The two people thanked the Master and followed the person who led them.

The responsibilities of the Hanlin Academy are to compile books and write history, write edicts early in the morning, become a member of the imperial family, serve as a scientific examiner, etc. In modern terms, it is equivalent to the boss's secretarial department. In addition, the Hanlin Academy is also a place for talent reserve. According to Dacheng's previous practice, the top three in the first class will directly enter the cabinet, and the top three in the second class are also eligible to enter the Hanlin as errands, so non-Jinshi scholars will not enter the Hanlin.

Cabinet ministers, bachelors and prime ministers all come from the Hanlin Academy, so there is a saying that "non-Hanlin people cannot join the cabinet." The position of Hanlin is clear and responsible, and it is known as the stepping stone for senior ministers and even local officials.

I don't know how many top picks and top picks in the past years have all entered the Hanlin Academy as errands. Those who can enter the Hanlin Academy as errands are all Jinshi, and those who are not Jinshi will not enter the Hanlin. But in this Hanlin Academy, there are many Jinshi who have spent half their lives here and still have a sinecure in this Hanlin Academy. There are only a few people who can hold high positions.

The old Hanlin who received them just now, Cao Hanlin, might be the number two among the top three in the first-level science examination in that year or the third-highest-ranked scholar. Therefore, it is not that you can rise to the top in one step after entering the Hanlin Academy. Being able to stand out depends on your own luck. The Hanlin Academy seemed to be a clean place, whether it was noble or not, Li Wen didn't know yet. Seeing the old Hanlin who had grown up from black hair to gray hair here, Li Wen couldn't help but sigh.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Qingshui Yamen is the Hanlin Academy. Most of the people here are idle.

Although they are the emperor's secretarial office, the important affairs of the court are handled by the cabinet ministers, prime ministers, and six ministers. What falls to them are simple affairs. When they are busy, they may have something to do. I usually have more free time. Moreover, the Hanlin Academy is not a place that really has real power. The power in their hands is not great. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Hanlin Academy is a clean water yamen. There is not much profit and water to be gained here.

Most of the people working here in the Hanlin Academy are sinecures. , does not have much real power.

Li Wen was assigned to be a historian of the sixth grade, and Lu Zhishu was assigned to be an editor of the seventh grade. Both of them were idle. He and Lu Zhishu were assigned to work under different people, so they went to different places.

It is less than a hundred years since the founding of Dacheng. Every three years, a group of Jinshi are sent to the Hanlin Academy to compile history. How can there be so much history to compile.

So when he arrived at the Hanlin Academy on the first day, the Shangguan who led him just asked him to get familiar with the place first. He told him a few words and then left without arranging anything for him to do. Li Wen didn't know if Lu Zhishu had anything to do. He just sat there all morning, and there was no one else around. He didn't even have anyone to talk to.

After sitting all morning, I finally made it to lunch break. The Hanlin Academy had a one-hour lunch break and provided them with a lunch.

There was a place for them to eat in the Hanlin Academy. Cao Hanlin, who led them in, told them where the dining hall was. Li Wen roughly knew the direction and went over to meet Lu Zhishu.

On the way, Li asked about Lu Zhishu and found out that he had also been sitting around all morning with nothing to do. Li Wen said helplessly, "Me too." If he was so leisurely every day in the Hanlin Academy, he would really have to consider whether to change his place.

Lu Zhishu planned to be transferred to a local place for duty. He had to submit an application here and wait for approval from the Ministry of Personnel. According to normal procedures, it would take three or two months at the earliest to get the result. If Mr. Lu Changping could help, it might be faster.

Li Wen didn't know what Zhishu Lu said to Mr. Lu the day before, but it was hard for him to ask now. He could ask him later when he

got back .

In addition to the first three people who entered the Hanlin Academy, the top two people also entered the Hanlin as errands, and the others had already arrived at the Hanlin Academy. The two of them only returned to the capital recently after returning to their hometown to visit relatives, so it has been two months since they came to the Hanlin Academy as errands.

The two of them went to the dining hall to eat together, where they met Zhang Suhui, who had arrived at the Hanlin Academy earlier than them.

"Brother Zhang." After finally seeing a familiar face in the Hanlin Academy, Li Wen smiled and greeted Zhang Suhui. The three of them rode horses and swam through the streets together, and they could be considered to have experienced the joys and sorrows together and had a revolutionary friendship.

Lu Zhishu nodded to Zhang Su as a greeting.

"Brother Li, Brother Lu, I have never seen you here. Did you just arrive at the Hanlin Academy today?" Zhang Suhui is from the capital. He entered the Hanlin Academy two months ago and was on duty. He has never seen Li Liuyuan and Li Liuyuan. Lu Zhishu came over and only saw them today.

"Yes, we just arrived today." Li Wen touched his nose and said a little embarrassed.

He and Lu Zhishu were the only two people with such big hearts. If others could enter the Hanlin Academy as errands, they would be eager to report to the Hanlin Academy the next day. However, the two of them even made a trip to their hometown and arrived at the Hanlin Academy after two months. Come to report, they are probably the last people to come to the Hanlin Academy to report.

"Haha, it's okay. It doesn't matter whether you come a few days early or a few days late. Your home is far away from the capital, so it takes a lot of time to go back and forth." Zhang Suhui knew that the two of them were coming to the dining hall. After eating, he was already familiar with the Hanlin Academy, so he volunteered to take them to the dining hall to receive meals.

The dining hall provides them with two vegetarian dishes and two meat dishes every day. There is not much meat, but only clear soup and little water.

To put it bluntly, it has only been less than a hundred years since the founding of Dacheng, and the country has little foundation. At that time, Emperor Wu led his troops to fight for so many years, and the whole country was devastated. How many people would starve to death. After Emperor Zhaozong ascended the throne, he had to rest and recuperate for more than ten years before Dacheng slowly recovered, and the people lived a good life.

However, as Emperor Zhaozong grew older over the years, he became less involved in affairs. Prime Minister Dong controlled the government, and the officials in the government Corruption, coupled with the continuous natural and man-made disasters in recent years, the court has been providing disaster relief year after year, so the little money and grain saved in the treasury in the early years has been used up. Now the court cannot even provide money and grain for disaster relief from various places, even the border areas Tens of thousands of soldiers have been in arrears with their food and salary payments for three years.

If this continues, the entire Dacheng may be in danger.

So under such circumstances, it is already very good that the Hanlin Academy can provide them with a lunch here.

At this time, everyone came to the dining hall to have a meal, so here they met their seniors who had entered the Hanlin Academy earlier than them. Zhang Suhui entered the Hanlin Academy before them, so he was somewhat familiar with the elders here. When greeting others, he would introduce them to them by the way.

"Oh, this is our Xiao Liuyuan. I have long heard that our Dacheng has a Xiao Liuyuan, and I just got to see it today." There are many top picks and top picks in the Hanlin Academy, but Liu Yuan is the first one, everyone. They all regard Xiao Liuyuan as a mascot.

Li Liuyuan bowed his hands to several old Hanlin officials and said, "Hello, gentlemen." He was young, had a good-looking face, and a pair of peach-blossom eyes with a natural smile. In addition, he was a lover. A smiling person greets everyone with a smile, has a sweet mouth and is good at talking, shouts like an adult every time, and treats his seniors with humility and courtesy, so he quickly won the favor of these old Hanlin officials.

At this point, Lu Zhishu was far inferior to Li Wen.

Of course, this is also due to the different personalities of each person. Some people are naturally not good at communicating with others, so we cannot expect everyone to be perfect. Everyone always has their own strengths and weaknesses, and no one is perfect.

Li Wen had a smile on his face, but in fact he was also carefully observing everyone in the Hanlin Academy, so he quickly discovered that the Hanlin Academy seemed like a simple place, but in fact it was divided into several factions. Wherever there are people, there are factions. People with different views will not work together. Only those who share the same goals will come together.

The Hanlin Academy is a Qingshui yamen, and the monthly salary is not enough to support the family. Most of the people who study are pedantic and aloof, looking down on yellow and white things, and would rather live a life of poverty than be contaminated by the secular world. Therefore, most people in the Hanlin Academy live with a little salary every month, and most of them live in poverty, so most people will have lunch here in the dining hall.

Only a few Hanlin families with better conditions would have their servants bring food to them, otherwise they would just have a meal here.

"Let's sit here." Zhang Su has been here for two months and has met a lot of people. After they received their meals, they found a place to sit down and eat together. The old Hanlins like to sit in a group, and the new scholars who entered the Hanlin Academy sit together.

The food at Hanlin Academy was not very good. The rice was yellow and there was little oil or water in the vegetables, so the taste was naturally not very good.

Even for a person like Li Wen who is not picky about food, he is not used to the food here in Hanlin Academy. Fortunately, he took two steamed buns. The steamed buns were made from coarse grains mixed with fine grains, and they could still be swallowed with the clear soup.

Seeing that Lu Zhishu didn't use his chopsticks very much, they had known each other since they were children. Li Wen knew that this person was a picky eater, so he stuffed a steamed bun into Lu Zhishu's hands and said, "Eat it." Let him eat something, otherwise they won't be able to eat until the afternoon. Go back, if you don't eat something, you will be hungry until the evening.

Lu Zhishu glanced at Li Wen, took the steamed bun and started eating it.

There was no talking during eating or sleeping, the entire dining hall was quiet, almost no one spoke, everyone was eating quietly. Li Wen was sitting there eating, thinking in his mind whether to ask his family to send him food. With his current appetite, he really couldn't get enough of just such a small amount of food and rice at noon every day.

However, he saw that Zhang Suhui and the others did not ask for food to be sent from home, so he felt that they, a newcomer who had just entered the Hanlin Academy, should not be too obvious, otherwise others would think that they could not endure hardship, and they were given as soon as they came in. A bad impression on others. This made Li Wen feel a little worried. It seemed like he would have to bring some dry food over tomorrow. At least he could eat some dry food to fill his stomach if he was hungry.

There was an hour's break at noon. After lunch, the old Hanlins sat together in twos and threes and chatted. Li Wen heard that the old Hanlins, like ordinary people, sat together to cheer on their parents and talk about their families. My son is studying, getting married, whose grandson is one month old, getting a wife, etc.

Li Wen overheard a few words where some old Hanlins were visiting the parents. After eating, people feel sleepy. He covered his mouth and yawned. He was really sleepy, so he found a place to take a nap. . I squinted my eyes for a while at noon, and then I had the energy to do things in the afternoon, even though there was nothing to do here in the Hanlin Academy.

There was nothing else to do in the afternoon, so Li Wen ran to the library to read.

There is a large library here in the Hanlin Academy. There are all the unique books that cannot be found outside. Seeing so many, Li Wen's eyes lit up, so he simply stayed here and read. Anyway, his current job is to compile history books, and reading more books will be helpful to his job, so it is not considered that he is not doing his job properly. Reading more books will help to compile history.

Li Wen spent the whole afternoon reading in the library, and he was fascinated by it as soon as he read it. When he finished flipping through the last book in his hand, it happened that the Hanlin Academy had also released the yamen, and they could go to the yamen.

"Well..." Li Wen stretched. The day passed really fast, and the day passed in the blink of an eye. He returned the books in his hands to their original places before leaving the library.

Chapter 8 Socializing

is still after the results of the palace examination were released. Zhang Suhui said that he would invite them to have a meal together, but in the meantime he and Lu Zhishu went back to his hometown to visit relatives. They only returned to the capital recently, so they really didn't have a chance. Had dinner together.

Until today, when they arrived at the Hanlin Academy as errands, they all met. Zhang Su replied that he would go down to the Yamen and invite them to have a meal, so Li Wen couldn't refuse, so he had to agree.

"Go back and tell Jinwan Xiaobao and the others that my colleagues and I are eating outside. Let them eat first without waiting for me to go back." After leaving the Hanlin Academy and seeing the boy waiting for him outside, Li asked He said to Li Tong, "You don't have to come to pick me up for a while. I will go back with Zhishu later."

"Okay, young master." Li Tong said, still a little worried after hearing this, " Master, why don't I go over and wait for you in a minute?"

"No, just go back." Li Wen wanted them to go have a meal and go back soon. He didn't think they had eaten yet. Finally, there is after-dinner entertainment.

"Oh, okay then." Li Tong then went back.

If Li Qiao agreed to go, Lu Zhishu would naturally go with him.

In addition to inviting him and Lu Zhishu, Zhang Suhui also invited two colleagues who were on duty in the Hanlin Academy, Guan Qingyu and Pan Yunyang, who were both Jinshi in the same discipline as them. Li Wen had met Guan Qingyu and Pan Yunyang before, but he was not familiar with them, so he could not be called acquaintances. He could only be said to have met them.

Guan Qingyu is a little older, in her early thirties, mature and steady. Pan Yunyang was a few years younger, around 25 or 26, with a more cheerful and talkative personality. Li Wen and Pan Yunyang quickly became familiar with each other along the way.

Zhang Suhui took them to a famous restaurant here in the capital for dinner.

On weekdays, the private rooms upstairs in these restaurants are not reserved in advance, and you may not be able to get a seat when you arrive. However, in the capital, this is a place where you can show off your reputation. As long as your reputation is big enough, there is no place you can't go to.

"Is there a private room upstairs?" Zhang Suhui was a well-known talent in the capital. His father was the imperial tutor of the dynasty. Many people in the capital had seen and recognized his face.

"Yes, Mr. Zhang, there are a few other gentlemen please come in." The waiter who greeted the guests recognized Mr. Zhang at a glance. Mr. Zhang often brought his friends to their building for dinner, so the waiter saw him. A great talent.

They all know that Zhang Dacai has now entered the Imperial Academy as an errand, but he already has an official position. Therefore, the former "Mr. Zhang" will change his name to "Master Zhang".

"Masters, please come in." After entering the restaurant, the waiter led them to the wing upstairs and invited them in.

The sky is getting late in summer, and in the west is a bright red sun, as strong as a flame, dyeing half of the sky red. There are red clouds in the sky, and the wind is blowing the clouds, moving towards the west.

A large table was set up in the wing, and they sat down on the chairs.

"Go, bring some of your famous dishes here, and bring a jug of good wine." Zhang Suhui is a regular customer here. He ordered some of the famous dishes in the building and asked for a jug of good wine. Bring the wine. The waiter in the shop said hurriedly, "Yes, I will go and have some good wine and food delivered." Then he went out.

The boy in the room poured tea for them, then stepped aside and stood quietly.

After a while, the waiter in the building brought food and wine.

"It's your first day at the Hanlin Academy, are you still used to it?" Zhang Suhui asked Li Liuyuan and Lu Zhishu about their first day at the Hanlin Academy. Li Wen smiled, nodded and said, "It's okay, it's okay."

It's just that I'm too busy, I have nothing to do, and I'm not used to it!

"Haha..." Zhang Su replied and laughed. It had been more than two months since he went to the Hanlin Academy. The Hanlin Academy was like that anyway. After staying there for a few days, they all understood.

Entering the Hanlin Academy is just a springboard for them. Within three to five months, some of them will be transferred to the Sixth Department or elsewhere to work as errands. Compared to the Hanlin Academy, the Sixth Department is a place with real power and a place where people can really do things. Therefore, if there are connections above, most people will choose to work elsewhere instead of staying in the Hanlin Academy.

Just like that day when Lu Zhishu and his uncle Lu Changping talked about wanting to be transferred to a local government as an official, Lu Changping also wanted to transfer his nephew to the Ministry of Rites as an errand, so that his nephew could help his uncle when he went to the Ministry of Rites, instead of hoping that his nephew would be transferred to the Ministry of Rites. He wanted to become an official somewhere, so the uncle and nephew had different opinions on this matter.

Zhang Suhui picked up the wine in front of him and said, "I would like to toast everyone. It is our fate that we can work together as colleagues in the Hanlin Academy."

"Yes."

Everyone picked up their glasses one after another and clinked their glasses. .

Li asked clearly that he was not a good drinker. He picked up the cup and took a small sip to taste the taste.

In the past, I was absorbed in studying and ignored what was going on outside the window. I had only three or five close friends, and I could refuse social gatherings I didn't like. Now that you have entered the officialdom, you will definitely have a lot of various entertainments in the future, some of which you cannot refuse, and the people around you will be more complicated, because you don't know who is around you, even if you are friends at the moment. , I don't know if I will still be on the same interest faction in the future.

There are no permanent friends, but there is no permanent place, only ultimate interests.

Their table was by the window, and Li Wen was sitting by the window. Looking down from the window, he could see the people walking on the street. By this time, there were not many people on the street. The street vendors were cleaning up their stalls. Getting ready to go home

, a gorgeous carriage passed by on the street. The people on the road gave way one after another, and the carriage passed smoothly.

Most of the people in the imperial city are princes and princes, and those who can sit in such a good carriage are either rich or noble. Therefore, even if they don't see anyone sitting in the carriage, the common people know to get out of the way. If you are accidentally hit by a carriage, if you meet a good person, you will be compensated with a few silver taels, but if you meet a bad person, you will not get a penny, and you will have to pay for the medical expenses yourself, so you can only admit that you are unlucky.

Ordinary civilians try their best to avoid any conflicts with princes and nobles, because they are always the ones who suffer.

This is the time when the business of restaurants in the capital is at its best. When the government offices are closed, the officials and officials in the capital will invite their colleagues and friends to have dinner together in the restaurant. There was an endless stream of cars and horses coming in front of the restaurant door. The waiter who greeted the guests smiled and led the guests inside.

It is getting late and the city gate has been closed. Those leaving or entering the city have to wait until tomorrow to enter or exit the city gate. The stalls selling goods on the street were all put away, and there were no people on the road. The shops on both sides of the street were closed one by one, and they would not open for business until the next day.

After they had dinner in the building, it was already dark outside.

As night falls, the Hualou Tavern on Hua Street opens its doors. A red lantern is hung in front of the door. A seductively dressed woman stands in front of the door to solicit customers. The face of the madam in the building is as thick as the wall, and her hair is as thick as the wall. Wearing a big red flower on her pin, her fragrance grabs everyone's attention.

"Mr. Liu, please come in."

"Senior gentlemen, please come in..."

The old crow who was greeting guests at the door lit up when he saw Mr. Zhang and his group. He rushed forward and grabbed Mr. Zhang's hand, exaggeratedly. He said, "What kind of wind is blowing today? It has brought our great talent Zhang here. He hasn't come to our Wanhua Building for a long time. The girls in our building are looking forward to him day and night." Can you come to our place?"

"Haha, aren't I here? I haven't seen you for a few days. Mom Hua, you are getting more and more beautiful." Zhang Da Caizi praised Hualou's old mother with a smile. It seems that Zhang Da Caizi praised her He is a frequent visitor to Wanhua Building, and he greets my old mother in a familiar manner.

"Mom, how can I be as beautiful as the girls in our building?" Hua's mother covered her mouth and smiled.

"This is the first time for these gentlemen to come to our Wanhua Building. Let the girls in our building serve you well today." The old lady has a good eye for recognizing people. As long as she has been to their Wanhua Building, All the guests and mothers in the building can remember that these young men looked unfamiliar at first glance, and it must be their first time to come to their Wanhua Building.

"Xiao Cui Xiao Hua, come and take the gentlemen upstairs." The old madam called some girls and ordered, "You entertain us gentlemen well."

"Yes, Mom." The girls covered their mouths and said with a smile. .

"You ask someone to call Yan Niang and tell her that Zhang Da Cai is here. Ask Yan Niang to dress up well and meet our Zhang Da Cai and the other men." Yan Niang is the number one in their building, and the old madam asked her to Go and call Yan Niang to come and serve you.

"Yes." The little girl responded and turned around.

"Masters, please come upstairs."

The group of them went to the wing upstairs. With a calm smile on his face, Zhang Da Caizi sat down in his seat, with two young girls waiting on him on the left and right. Pan Yunyang was teasing the girl, but Guan Qingyun didn't say anything to the girl, but sat there quietly.

"Young master, this is your first time coming to our Wanhua Building. It's Xiao Cui's first time meeting you. She has never seen him come to our Wanhua Building before." Sitting next to Li Wen was a fifteen or sixteen year old The little girl is wearing tulle, revealing her fragrant shoulders.

"Haha, yes, yes." Li Wen asked the woman to hold his hand, and his hand touched the woman's soft breasts. He tried to pull his hand back but failed. After two lifetimes, this was his first time visiting the Flower House.

Apart from hugging his mother-in-law and grandma, Li Wen had never been so close to another woman in his life, which made him

feel a little embarrassed. After dinner, Zhang Su replied and invited them to go to Flower Street for a drink. He followed him out of curiosity.

Lu Zhishu was not much better. Two women entangled him, calling him "young master" on the left and "young master on the right". He frowned. He didn't like strangers touching him, and he didn't like strangers pestering him. Li asked, which made him feel a little unhappy.

If Li Wen hadn't wanted to follow him to Hualou, Lu Zhishu wouldn't have followed him. He didn't like this kind of place.

"Haha, Brother Li and Brother Lu, since we are all here, let's relax a little. Why don't we just come to have a glass of flower wine." When Zhang Su saw Li Liuyuan and Lu Zhishu's appearance, he knew that it was their first time to visit the flower wine. When he came upstairs, seeing the two people looking uncomfortable, he laughed loudly and said, "I can invite you to Wanhua Tower today. You are giving me face."

"Haha, where can I come with Zhang Dacai ? It's an honor for us to come to Hualou to see the world." Li Wenpi said with a smile.

Who can help him pull these two women apart!

Chapter 9 Visiting the Flower House

"Master, why don't you have another glass of wine..."

"I'm going to the toilet."

Unable to stop the girl's enthusiasm, Li Wen found an excuse to escape and ran outside quickly, and stayed inside again. , he must be drunk.

The flower house is the busiest at night. Li Wen ran out of the box and saw people everywhere outside. A greasy middle-aged man dressed like a dog was hugging the little girl and kissing her. The little girl wanted to welcome him but refused. , half pushed and half pushed, the people watching really wanted to step forward and punch the man twice.

But in this kind of thing, people are willing to do it, and he really can't destroy other people's business.

Although he sympathized with these promiscuous women in his heart, Li Wen also knew that no matter which world he was in, since he had chosen this path, he could not blame others. Of course, Li Wen also knew that there may be many women here who were forced to take this path. If they had a choice, every woman would choose to live an innocent life, find a good man to marry, have several children, and live a happy life. days.

But often times, life is not the one you choose.

In this era, the fate of women is very rough and difficult. Women have no status at all and are mostly dependent on men. Many times they cannot choose their own destiny. Their destiny is in the hands of others. Their fate is determined by others and not by me. That's it.

I just made an excuse to go to the toilet, but when I ran out, I found that I really needed to pee. After asking others where the toilet was, Li Wen went there and found the toilet. He went in, took off his pants, poured some water, and breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, Wanhua Tower was full of people, and it was almost impossible to squeeze through.

When he had dinner at the restaurant earlier, he drank two glasses of wine. In addition, the girl drank two glasses of wine in the box. After going outside to enjoy the wind, Li Wen felt that he was a little drunk. Although he was not drunk yet, seeing so many people here made him feel more dizzy, so he wanted to go back.

The center of Wanhua Building is circular, with several stairs on both sides to go up.

"Which floor did I lift up from just now?" Li Wen stood at the top of the stairs and said to himself. Li Liuyuan would definitely not admit that he was a bit of a road nerd. Looking left and right, he randomly chose a staircase to go up, thinking that he could go up no matter which floor he went to, just any one.

After going upstairs, he saw a road ahead and walked forward.

Which wing were they in just now? Li Wen scratched his head, as if he was in the front direction, "Forget it, let's look over there first." If it's a big mistake, turn back. With this thought in mind, he continued to move forward.

There seem to be fewer people here. I haven't seen so many people. There is no buzzing in my ears, and the world feels a little cleaner.

He planned to go back to the private room and talk to Zhang Suhui and then go back with Zhishu. There is nothing interesting to see here. After satisfying his curiosity, Li Wen has no interest in this place. He is not good at buying wine. It's not like he doesn't have some confidants to meet here or wants to sleep with other girls. Just come over and see what the flower building looks like. After seeing it, it's time to go back.

"Who are you?"

Li Wen was about to move forward when someone stopped him.

Um? Could it be that he made a mistake? Li Wen subconsciously apologized, "I'm sorry, I may have gone the wrong way." Seeing the man blocking him in front of him, Li Wen realized that he had gone in the wrong direction. No wonder he was wondering why there was no one here. It turned out that there was no one here. You can't come. Maybe some big shot came to Hualou looking for a girl? He also specially asked the guards to guard here to prevent anyone from coming.

He understands, he understands!

The man glanced at Li Liuyuan and saw that he was just a young boy. He thought he was a young master from some family in the capital. When he heard that he had gone to the wrong place, he let him go without embarrassment.

Just at this time, the door of the box opened from the inside. Zhao Xiangyi walked out and saw the young man who turned to leave. He frowned and shouted, "Li Wen."

Hearing the familiar voice, Li Wen's back I froze, not knowing whether to pretend not to know him or move on and get out of here quickly.

In such an instant, his mind made several turns. Knowing that his martial arts skills were no match for Zhao Xiangyi's, he seemed to be guilty of being a thief by running away, so after thinking about it, Li Wen turned around and pretended to be relaxed and greeted Zhao Xiangyi. He laughed twice and said, "Zhao Xiangyi." Brother, I didn't expect you to be here."

"Why are you here?" Zhao Xiangyi knew that Li Wen was on duty at the Hanlin Academy today, so he didn't expect that he would show up at Wanhua Building on his first day there. Come. Taking two steps forward and approaching Li Liuyuan, Zhao Xiangyi smelled the smell of alcohol on the young man's body and the smell of rouge powder from the woman, which made him feel

unhappy.

As for why he was unhappy with Li Liuyuan's visit to the flower house, General Zhao might not even understand the reason himself.

"Haha...that's what." He couldn't say that he was here to see the world, right? Li Wen didn't know what to say. He didn't even dare to look up at Zhao Xiangyi. At this moment, he felt like he had been caught by his family for doing something bad.

It was the first time in his life that he visited a brothel, and he was caught by an acquaintance. This acquaintance was a man he treated as half a brother.

What should I do?

He couldn't confess his accomplices at this moment. Li Wen had the illusion that if he dared to confess others, General Zhao would make others miserable. But at the same time, he was thinking in his mind that Zhao Xiangyi was not his biological father. He just went to a brothel and didn't go whoring or gambling. He just came here to meet the girl and drink wine. Was he feeling guilty? What's up?

But thinking so, Li Wen still felt very guilty when Zhao Xiangyi caught him visiting the brothel.

Seeing the young man's head lowered, Zhao Xiangyi didn't get angry at the young man even though he was unhappy.

"Your Highness is here. His Highness said he wanted to see you a few days ago. Since you are here, go in and see His Highness.

" Zhao Xiangyi saw Li Liuyuan's guilty conscience. He grabbed Li Liuyuan's hand and did not give Li Liuyuan a chance. Run away and drag the person towards the box door.

"Hey..." When did he agree to see His Highness the Crown Prince?

At this moment, Li Wen just wanted to go back to their box, ask Lu Zhishu to go home with him, and then go home to sleep. He didn't want to see the Crown Prince. If you want to see me, I must go to see you!

The guard guarding the door opened the door to the wing, and Zhao Xiangyi pulled Li Liuyuan into the room.

In the room, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was lying on a soft bed, listening to the beauty playing the piano. There was a glass of wine on the table in front of him, and a beautiful lady in red was sitting there playing music to His Highness the Crown Prince. Seeing Zhao Xiangyi coming in with Li Liuyuan, Yang Shaomu waved his hand, and the sound of the piano suddenly stopped. The Yanniang who was playing the piano got up, bowed her head and went out.

Seeing His Highness the Crown Prince looking at him, Li Wen had no choice but to step forward and salute His Highness the Crown Prince, saying,

"I have seen His Highness, His Highness is a thousand years old."

Seeing Li Liuyuan appear here, Yang Shaomu's heart flashed. After a moment of surprise, he didn't show any surprise on his face. He looked at Li Liuyuan with a smile in his eyes and said, "Come on, you don't need to call me Your Highness when you are outside. Just call me Mr. Huang."

"Yes. Li Wen stood up and said.

"Sit down, you don't have to stand." Yang Shaomu said.

Zhao Xiangyi sat down on the chair he had just stood up from. He glanced at Li Liuyuan, who was still standing.

"Yes." Li Wen had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit down opposite the prince. When he met the smiling eyes of His Highness, he saw in his mind a vast grassland with a group of grass and mud horses galloping past.

It was the first time in my life that I visited a brothel and met General Zhao and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!

Seeing Li Liuyuan's appearance, Yang Shaomu thought he was a shy boy and said, "Li Liuyuan, you are six out of ten this year. You have reached the age where you should know about men and women." He had his first child at the age of fifteen. A woman. Li Liuyuan is also a normal man. At this age, he should know about men and women.

They are all students taught by Master Fu personally, so in this way, Li Liuyuan can be regarded as his junior brother. Yang Shaomu had taken a liking to Li Liuyuan and wanted to draw people to his camp. The relationship between having a master and a fellow sect was stronger than anything else. If he could win over Li Liuyuan to his camp, it would be like indirectly getting help from Grand Master Fu.

At this moment, the prince noticed Li Liuyuan's discomfort. Yang Shaomu looked at Li Liuyuan with a joking smile in his eyes and said, "Don't worry, I won't tell Mr. Fu what happened to you here." "It's just that there are a lot of unclean women in brothels. I'll have someone pick out two clean women and send them to you later."

"..." Li asked, should he thank His Highness the Crown Prince for helping him hide it, or should he thank His Highness the Crown Prince for giving it to him. What about giving it to a woman? Finally, Li Wen looked at His Highness the Crown Prince with a smile on his face and said expressionlessly, "Thank you Mr. Huang for your kindness. I don't need it anymore. You can keep it for yourself."

"Haha... you are quite interesting. "Very much." Yang Shaomu couldn't help laughing, and asked Zhao Xiangyi to pour a glass of wine for Li Liuyuan, and said, "Since you don't want it, forget it."

Li Wen hurriedly asked Zhao Xiangyi not to pour him a glass of wine, and said, "Brother Zhao, you don't have to pour me a drink. I just drank two glasses of wine and I'm a little dizzy now. If there is tea, I would like a cup of tea."

"Why do you drink so much wine?" Zhao Xiangyi said with a hint of laughter. While blaming him, he knew that Li Liuyuan was a light drinker and would get drunk after just two drinks. Zhao Xiangyi saw the young man's blushing face and knew that he was half drunk. He didn't like the young man to come to such a place to drink.

"I didn't drink much, just two glasses." Li Wen touched his nose. Of course, it was more than two glasses.

All the tea had been removed from the room, and there was only wine on the table.

"Ayi, go and ask someone to bring a pot of tea." Yang Shaomu asked Zhao Xiangyi to ask someone to bring a pot of tea. Zhao Xiangyi got up and walked towards the door. Knowing that Li Liuyuan passed by Nanyang on his way back to his hometown to visit relatives, Yang Shaomu asked, "Did you go to see the teacher when you passed by Nanyang on your way back to your hometown? Is the teacher's health okay?"

" The teacher is in good health." Li Wen nodded.

After a while, a slave brought tea in. Zhao Xiangyi waved people out and poured a cup of tea for Li Liuyuan with his own hands. Li Wen said "Thank you." He picked up the tea and took a sip. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, who was sitting in the middle, saw the two people getting along with each other and wondered when the relationship between the two had become so good.

Later, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked him how his first day at the Hanlin Academy was as an errand, and Li Wen only said that it was okay. Although he should call His Highness the Crown Prince, he is a senior brother, but there are differences between monarchs and ministers. Even though His Highness the Crown Prince treats him in an amiable manner, Li Wen still finds it difficult to get close to His Highness the Crown Prince for a while, so he answers whatever the other party asks. Neither.

Seeing that His Highness the Crown Prince had nothing to ask, he was worried that Lu Zhishu and Zhang Suhui would be worried about him after seeing him go out for so long and not come back, so they sent people out to look for him, so after staying with His Highness the Crown Prince for a while, Li Wen proposed to leave. .

"Well, go ahead." Yang Shaomu nodded and did not stop Li Liuyuan from going back. It was inconvenient for him to come forward, so he asked Zhao Xiangyi to see Li Liuyuan off.

When he got out of the door, Li Wen asked Zhao Xiangyi not to see him off.

"Do you know where to go?" Zhao Xiangyi asked.

"..." Li asked, he really didn't know.

So in the end, Zhao Xiangyi sent him back to the box where he just came out, and then he left.

Seeing that Li Wen had not come back for so long, Lu Zhishu was worried that something might happen to him, so he sent someone to look for him. When he saw Li Wen coming back, Lu Zhishu took Li Wen's hand and asked, "Where have you been?" "Why haven't you come back after being gone for so long?"

"Oh, I just went to the toilet and went in the wrong direction, so I took a long time to get back here." Li Wen did not tell Lu Zhishu that he saw the prince here. As for His Highness, His Highness must not want others to know that he is here at Wanhua Tower.

Judging from the appearance of His Highness the Crown Prince, he might even be a regular visitor to Wanhua Building, Li Wen complained in his heart.

Although the imperial court did not prohibit officials from visiting flower houses, everyone knew about it and did not publicize it everywhere. There were few officials in the court who had never been to the brothel tavern for a drink. As for the rest, it was other people's business, and he had no intention of paying attention to it. But Li Wen always felt that His Highness the Crown Prince would appear in this Wanhua Building, and it was obviously not as simple as meeting a lover or drinking a glass of flower wine, but this was not something he should care about. 9

"My little brother is too drunk, and his head is a little dizzy. Let's go back. I'll treat some of the older brothers to a drink someday." At this moment, Li Wen felt a little headache and wanted to go back. They had to go to the Hanlin Academy for duty tomorrow, so they wanted to go back to bed early. He is too drunk to get up tomorrow.

"Haha, you said you were drunk after only two glasses of wine. You are not good at drinking. You need to practice more." Zhang Su replied with a smile.

"Yes, I will practice drinking more when I go back." Li Wen complained.

Among them, Li Liuyuan was the youngest. Seeing that Li Liuyuan was drunk, Zhang Suhui did not stop him and let him go. They would not go back so early. Li Wen and Zhang Su went back to say hello to them. Lu Zhishu said that they would send him back, so the two of them left together.

Chapter 10: After making a special trip to wait for him to

leave office the next day, Lu Zhishu asked the domestic slave sent by the Lu family to go away, and Li Wen took the child back alone. After walking for a while, he saw Zhao Xiangyi standing on the roadside with a guard. When he saw him, the other party also saw him. Li Wen even suspected that Zhao Xiangyi had made a special trip to wait for him here.

Li Wen walked over, stood in front of Zhao Xiangyi, and called out, "Brother Zhao." Thinking of what happened last night, he lowered his head and touched his nose.

After returning home last night, he couldn't sleep because of this incident, so he went to bed very late last night and got up very early this morning. Fortunately, there was nothing to do in the Hanlin Academy. Today he spent another day reading in the library and took a short nap, but no one cared about him.

Shangguan, whom he met yesterday, was nowhere to be seen today, and Li Wen didn't know what he was going to do. If he hadn't known that there really wasn't much to do in the Imperial Academy at this time, he would have suspected that the other party was deliberately leaving him out. But now he has only been in the Hanlin Academy for two days. If he has nothing to do, he will first familiarize himself with the Hanlin Academy. When he has time, he will go to the library to read books. Some things cannot be rushed for the time being.

"Let's go together." Zhao Xiangyi glanced at the young man and said.

"Oh, okay." Li Wen followed Zhao Xiangyi, and the two of them walked on the road together. Zhao Xiangyi turned his head slightly, looked at the young man beside him, and said, "Don't go to that kind of place again. It's not the place you should go. You have just entered the officialdom now. If someone sees you going to that kind of place, It's not good for you."

Zhao Xiangyi was worried that Li Wen would be imitated by others after he entered the officialdom. After all, the boy was young and his temperament was not yet stable, so Zhao Xiangyi was worried that after Li Wen entered the officialdom, he would not be able to stand the various people in the officialdom. This temptation led him to go astray.

"Well, I understand what you said. I won't go there in the future." Li Wen nodded, understanding that Zhao Xiangyi was doing it for his own good. He did not ask why Zhao Xiangyi and His Royal Highness were there. This was not what he should ask, so he did not ask.

"That's good." Zhao Xiangyi felt relieved at the young man's words.

Li Wen raised his head to look at the man next to him. Due to his height, from his angle, he could only see the man's cold and hard chin. Now that the two have known each other for a long time, Li Wen found that this man was cold on the outside and hot on the inside, so he did not find this man difficult to get close to.

Li Wen was actually quite moved when he thought that this man was waiting here just to say this to him. Li Wen had a smile on his face and said to Zhao Xiangyi, "Brother Zhao, you haven't eaten yet. Let me invite you to have a meal with me."

"You call me brother. I should be the one to treat you to the meal. How can you let me Treat me." When Zhao Xiangyi saw the smile on the young man's face, the corners of his mouth curled up and he said with a slight smile.

It was a holiday for all the government offices at this time, and the officials were all sent home. There were many people everywhere in the restaurants outside.

Thinking that when the young man entered the court for the first time, he must be the target of everyone's wooing, Zhao Xiangyi was not worried about the princes and Prime Minister Dong. He was just worried that the emperor would know about the close relationship between Li Liuyuan and His Highness the Crown Prince. The emperor would be suspicious of Li Liuyuan, so he would not worry about it. Li Liuyuan will be reused, so it is best not to let the emperor know about the prince's private meeting with Li Liuyuan.

In this capital, no one knew that he was the prince's companion, and naturally he belonged to the prince, so Zhao Xiangyi deliberately kept a distance from Li Liuyuan.

Zhao Xiangyi chose a restaurant with a small family and the two of them went in and sat down together.

"Send a pot of good wine and some good dishes." Zhao Xiangyi said.

"Hey, the two guests are seated. I'll ask someone to bring the food here."

The waiter in the store wiped the table with a rag on his shoulder, poured tea for the two guests, and then went to have the food delivered

." I still have the wine I brewed last time, and it will taste better after being stored for a while. When you go back, you can bring two jars of wine back to my place to drink." Li Wen originally wanted to take Zhao Xiangyi to the small courtyard where he lived for dinner. If he didn't go back to eat his meal, it would be left over, which would be a waste.

I just thought that he still had a girl at home who had not yet left the court, so he couldn't bring men home all the time. What if a jackal happened to snatch his girl away?

According to modern people's standards for dating partners, Zhao Xiangyi is actually a good partner. He has good looks and a good background. He is also a good and motivated young man. He holds real power at a young age and his future future is boundless. . However, in this era where it is important to be well-matched, even if he was admitted to the top prize, their family was still far behind General Zhao's Mansion. General Zhao's Mansion was not a family they could reach, so Li Wen would not be too arrogant. He wants to marry his sister to Zhao Xiangyi.

The more noble the family, the more wives and concubines there are in the backyard, so Li Wen doesn't want to marry his sister into a high

family. It would be best if he can find an ordinary and well-off family for his sister, so that she can live the old life. Better, it would be best to be a couple who love each other and stay together for the rest of their lives.

Seeing the young man looking straight at him, not knowing what he was thinking, Zhao Xiangyi asked, "Why are you looking at me like this?"

The wine Li Liuyuan brought him last time tasted pretty good, but it was different from him. The wine brought back from Lijiacun was still a lot worse. He was usually reluctant to drink the wine he brought back and hid it in the cellar.

"Haha..." Li Wen realized that he had been staring at others for a long time. He laughed dryly and said, "No, I just thought of the girl at home

." Huh? "Zhao Xiangyi didn't understand. He waited for the young man to continue.

"My girl has reached the age of marriage, and I'm thinking about what kind of family is better for my girl. "But he doesn't have a suitable candidate now. All his friends and classmates are from wealthy backgrounds, so Li Wen has never thought of introducing his girl to the people around him.

In fact, Li Wen said that the woman is fifteen or sixteen This age is not old at all, but in this era, most women start proposing marriage when they are fifteen or sixteen years old. Some may do so as early as thirteen or fourteen years old, but they have not yet promulgated marriage after seventeen years old. After the age of eight, you are an old girl.

"You are not very young yourself, but you start worrying about your sister's life-long affairs? "Hearing the young man's words, Zhao Xiangyi understood why Li Liuyuan was staring at him. Was he trying to match him up with the girl in his family?

Zhao Xiangyi had met the girl in Li Liuyuan's family, so he had no other ideas in mind.

At this time, in the store The waiter brought wine and food, and the two of them chatted while eating. Li Wen said,

"There's nothing we can do about it. The fourth sister followed me to the capital alone. If I don't worry about this matter for her, no one will." She arranged it. If she wants to stay at home and become an old girl, and she cannot get married in the future, I am worried that she will blame me as her brother for not thinking about her in the first place. "

Zhao Xiangyi thought for a while and realized the same thing. He asked, "What kind of family do you want to find for your girl? Tell me, maybe I can help you."

But he is Knowing his own situation, he didn't want to harm the girl in Li Liuyuan's family, and Zhao Xiangyi had no extra thoughts about Li Liuyuan's girl.

In the past few years, his family had proposed several marriages for him, but none of them were successful. No family in the capital dared to marry his daughter to him. The previous marriages were not settled. For some reason, Zhao Xiangyi felt relieved in his heart. He was not too willing to marry an unknown person. The strange woman he met was his wife, but his hair turned gray because of his marriage.

When Li Liuyuan mentioned this, Zhao Xiangyi wouldn't mind helping him if he could.

It would be best if Zhao Xiangyi was willing to help his sister introduce a partner. He had only been in the capital for half a year and was not very familiar with it. He was far less familiar with the capital than Zhao Xiangyi, a native, so Li Wen listed his conditions. Said, "First, it doesn't matter if the family is a little ordinary, but it shouldn't be too bad. It's best if the conditions are a little better and the life can be lived. Second, of course I can't be too bad. I must be motivated, responsible, and able to raise people." A wife and children support a family,'

"Third, the mother-in-law is easy to get along with and will not make things difficult for the daughter-in-law. The fourth point is that there can be no cousins ​​or intercourse, no concubines, no going out to find girls, no illegitimate children..."

"..." Zhao Xiangyi heard Li Liuyuan list a basket of requirements, and there can be no intercourse or intercourse. There are not many people in the capital who can't take concubines.

After he finished speaking and saw the man opposite looking at him dumbfounded, Li Wen realized that his request was a bit too much and asked. , "Haha, did I say a little too much? "

You also know that you talk a bit too much? Zhao Xiangyi didn't know what to say for a while.

"Isn't this about finding a partner for your sister? Of course you need to find a reliable man. Li Wen blinked his eyes and said matter-of-factly, "You see, my girl is so nice. Although her temper is a little bit not too gentle, she is also reasonable and has her own opinion." He is hard-working and can do any work. He is not afraid of hardship or tiredness..."

"Haha..." Zhao Xiangyi held his forehead with one hand and couldn't help laughing.

"Brother Zhao, don't laugh, I'm serious. You see my girl is so good, of course she needs to find a man who can match her. "Seeing Zhao Xiangyi smile, Li Wen became anxious with him and said.

"It's so hard to find a good man in this world. " At this point, Li Liuyuan couldn't help but sigh and said, "Forget it, my girl is not very old anyway, so we should take our time in finding a partner. "

The two of them had a meal in a small restaurant.

The sun was setting, and by the time they had eaten, the sun in the west had already set, and it was almost dark. Zhao Xiangyi personally sent Li Liuyuan back to the small courtyard where he lived. Li asked He asked the boy to go into the house, bring two jars of wine over, and put it on the horse himself. He said, "Thank you, Brother Zhao, for sending me back. Let's drink together some other time when we are free." "

Li Wen touched Benxiao. He liked Zhao Xiangyi's horse very much. When Benxiao sleeps on the mare's belly

, it would be best if he can give him one if he has a cub.

"Okay. "It was getting late, so Zhao Xiangyi did not go to Li Liuyuan's house to drink tea. He sent the young man home and got on his horse.

While riding on the horse, Zhao Xiangyi glanced at the young man and said, "Drive--" He rode on the horse. Let's go.

"Brother Zhao, walk slowly. "Li Wen waved to the man. When he saw the man riding away, he turned around and went into the yard and asked someone to close the door.

Li Tong pulled the door and closed the yard door.

"Brother, why are you coming back now? I've been waiting for you for a long time. "When Li Haopeng saw his brother coming back, he happily threw himself into his arms. Li Wen put his arms around his brother and said, "My brother left the office and had a meal outside with his friends. Have you been waiting for your brother for a long time? "

Li Haopeng nodded. He returned home from the academy early and didn't see his brother back until this time.

"Brother, why do you go out to eat every day? No one eats the food cooked at home. " Knowing that her brother came back after eating outside, and no one ate the food left at home, Li Jinwan became anxious with her brother. The weather is hot, and the remaining food will go rancid the next day and cannot be eaten. Isn't it a waste?

Li Wen came back very late yesterday and went to bed as soon as he came back, so the food left for him was spoiled the next day, so he had to throw it away.

"The child hasn't eaten yet . , let the children eat. "Li Wen knew it was his fault and said.

"There are some at the kid's place. "Li Jinwan looked at her brother with a resentful look and said.

Everyone at home had eaten at this time. Li Wen's stomach was really full at the moment and he couldn't eat, so he had to say, "I'll go eat later. Bar. "Because he didn't know in advance whether he would eat out or come home to eat, he didn't tell his family in advance that if they didn't cook for him, they would leave food for him.

But he couldn't let his family not leave food for him . After all, he doesn't go out to eat every day, so the family must make food for him.

They come from ordinary families and grew up hungry, so they know how valuable food is and cannot waste it outside. I don't know how many people have no food to eat, but they throw away the good food. This behavior is a sin.

After hearing her brother's words, Li Jinwan snorted and was worried that her brother would eat it outside. If you eat too much, you'll be full, so she said, "I'll help you eat some later." "

The two people sat down on the stools in the courtyard, and a pot of tea was placed on the table.

The two people chatted about the shop. The shop has been found and the location is not bad, but the store is not too big. After comparing a few After moving home, they decided that this store was more suitable, so they finally decided to buy it. They were hiring people to decorate the store. After the decoration was completed, they could open a store

like this in Beijing by putting up the shelves. The small shop almost cost Li Wen all the money he had. However, it was a highly profitable business, so as long as the shop opened and started making profits, they would have money back, so Li Wen was not worried

. Now, I'll go back to my room and take a shower. If there's anything else, let's talk about it tomorrow. "Li Wen said.

"Yeah. "Li Jinwan nodded and did not stop her brother from returning to his room.