There are no fireworks today, only cold food will be eaten, and there are no classes in the Imperial College. The Du family plans to go out to the city for a memorial ceremony, and they have invited Xue Bai a while ago.
Xue Bai actually didn't want to go because the Du sisters didn't go and Lu Fengniang kept asking him to see the Lu family's daughter.
"Do I just want to go?"
Du Wulang arrived at Xue's house early, sat in the study and yawned: "My mother has been planning for a long time, so I have no choice but to go. I also asked three of them and said that the reexamination was coming soon, and we had to go to Qujiang Literary Society today. We will go to Qujiang Literary Society this afternoon.
If you have time, you can go and look for them."
"Go ahead. I'll go to the teacher's house first."
"Hey, who wrote this?" Du Wulang suddenly looked over and was a little surprised. "Did you write it? Your level is better than mine. What kind of article is this? It's interesting."
"Let's go."
Xue Bai was too lazy to talk to Du Wulang, so he packed up his copybook and walked out.
The two walked to the front yard and saw several children of the Xue family packing their carriage and preparing to go to the outskirts of the city together. Du Wulang then stopped and said, "You go to the teacher's house, I will wait for you here."
"How can I improve my writing and calligraphy in this situation?"
"Hey, don't imitate Dr. Zheng's tone. It's rare that I don't have any homework today." Du Wulang walked away and said to Xue Xin: "I have a cat in my yard. Do you want to go see it tonight?"
"What's so good about that? Fifth brother is too childish."
…
The Yan family did not have a funeral today, but Yan Zhenqing went to attend to matters early.
When Xue Bai arrived, Yan Yan was sitting in the lobby wrapped in a thick blanket, yawning and talking to Wei Yun.
"Here you come? I'm going to Yuzhen Temple today. When will brother send me there?"
Xue Bai saw the cunning in her eyes, and suddenly thought of what he had agreed to Li Tengkong in prison, and was stunned.
I don’t know if Yan Yan knew anything before deliberately reminding her.
Wei Yun said: "You child, as a mother, I will go with you. How come your brother always goes to the female Taoist temple?"
"oh."
Yan Yan responded honestly, turned to Xue Bai and asked: "Brother's novel today... No, where is the calligraphy and prose?"
Recently, she not only taught him calligraphy, but also taught him how to write poems.
Xue Bai once didn't know what to write. He thought of Pu Songling's "Wolf" and tried to write it in classical Chinese according to the outline of the story he still remembered. Yan Yan read it and said that he had not yet learned parallel prose, and this strange story was quite interesting.
It was just used to practice writing, and he was asked to write a strange story every day and send it to him.
He had known that this little girl actually wanted to read a story, but she could always point out problems in choosing words and sentences, which greatly improved his writing skills.
Today, she had just woken up, so it was rare for her to spill the beans.
"Hey, A Chinese Ghost Story."
Yan Yan took the scroll and opened it. She was very interested in today's poem just by looking at the title. But when she pulled the scroll to the end, she shook her head.
"Brother, I only write these words every day. When will I be able to make any progress? Spring has passed. As far as I know, autumn is the time for the Imperial College Examination, right?"
She knew that Xue Bai was smart, but she felt satisfied that such a smart man could not do anything to her.
As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Yun lightly knocked him on the head.
"No matter how big or small you are, who taught you to talk like this?"
"Grandma taught me."
Having said that, Yan Yan still took out yesterday's "Painted Skin" and handed it over.
Xue Bai took it and opened it, only to see many more comments on it.
If any of his characters were too ugly, Yan Yan would cover them with a red pen and rewrite them to make it easier to compare the glyphs. Any deficiencies in grammar would be written on the side in beautiful small regular script.
For example, he wrote "the door is not bolted" but she changed it to "the door is ajar".
Looking further, the four words "get married" were changed to "May Xiu Yan be well". Instead, Xue Bai was stunned for a moment, feeling Wei Yun's gaze, and he subconsciously lifted the scroll.
Yan Yan proudly put away today's story scroll, raised her head, smiled obediently, and started to give instructions.
"Brother, my writing is still too sharp. As the saying goes, there should be a response even if there are setbacks, so that the strokes will be relaxed..."
Xue Bai wrote it down carefully, then bowed to Master Xiang and left.
Yan Yan glanced outside and whispered: "Auntie, I want to take several scrolls from my study to Yuzhen Temple."
~~
When he returned home, Xue Bai put away the scroll first, while Qing Lan had already packed the cold food for today.
Du Wulang dug out a small tree from somewhere and planned to plant it in the courtyard of the Xue family. Xue Sanniang and Xue Xin were helping. Xue Xin complained from time to time: "Fifth brother, this will affect my sword practice."
"I have never seen an empty courtyard than yours. Where can't I play? This tree has grown and can separate my daughter's boudoir from your east wing."
"When this tree grows up, my sisters and sisters will get married."
"Don't talk nonsense." Xue Sanniang blushed and gave Xue Xin a lesson.
"Let's go." Xue Bai said.
The men rode horses and the women rode in cars, heading east to join the Du family at Jingshanfang, Zhuque Street, and headed south.
Du Wulang and Xue Bai walked side by side and asked, "Is your third sister's maiden name Yunniang?"
"It seems so."
"You don't even know this?"
"I usually just call the rankings."
Since Xue Bai knew that they were not biological sisters, he had always avoided getting too close, which was indeed a bit strange.
Seeing that he was indeed a self-respecting gentleman, Du Wulang was a little impressed and asked, "Hey, have you thought about it? What will you do in a while? My cousin's daughter is very overbearing, and she doesn't look as good as Mrs. Zong."
"Your mother-in-law clearly said that we are all ladies, dignified and decent."
"Of course I should be dignified in front of her." Du Wulang sighed: "I also have to find a way to prevent the Pei family's young lady from falling in love with me."
"Do you have any idea?"
"It's too difficult."
~~
After sweeping the ceremony, everyone went to the Pei family's home to celebrate and say goodbye.
Xue Bai came here once when he followed Yan Zhenqing to investigate the case. He came here again today and saw the Pei family's carriage, which made him realize even more that the Wenxi Pei family had a prominent family background.
Pei Kuan had eight brothers, all of whom were Jinshi, Mingjing and Mingjing, and served as local officials. Their houses in Luoyang were connected together, and they had hundreds of children, all of whom were talented.
According to the information Du Jin asked Xue Bai, "Everyone in the east of Hedong hopes that Pei Kuan will worship him as prime minister." This means that Pei Kuan has made great contributions in the appointment of Fan Yang Jiedushi. Even the barbarians in the north are grateful for his favor. The sage is afraid of his prestige.
It is understandable to transfer him back to the court, but not paying homage to the prime minister has made many people dissatisfied.
For a representative of a prominent family in Hedong, with such fame and qualifications, he entered the court as a border commander but did not become prime minister. This was not a matter of humiliation for him alone.
In Xue Bai's view, it was impossible for Pei Kuan to give in even if he was pushed to this point...
It is precisely because of this analysis that when he came today, what he wanted to see most was Pei Kuan.
"Today is the Cold Food Festival. I will treat you all to cold food at noon."
"Mr. Pei is too polite."
"I will introduce you to Mr. Pei. This is Quanzi Du Qi. This is Quanzi's good friend Xue Bai. I also regard him as my nephew."
"Hahaha, I have met Xue Xiaolangzi and read his scrolls. He writes good poems and essays."
"Alang, the Lu family is also here..."
Everyone was talking in the front hall of the manor, while Lu Fengniang took the women to the backyard and smiled and whispered to Pei, the young lady of the Lu family.
Pei Liu Niang and Lu Siniang blushed a little, but they still followed the instructions and looked at each other in the front hall.
They were just at the marriageable age for women in the Tang Dynasty, and they were all very beautiful. If we had to pick some flaws, Pei Liuniang's neck was slightly tilted forward, and Lu Siniang's front teeth were a little wide.
Climbing up to the small attic and standing by the bead curtain, you can see the front hall clearly.
"Those two are the ones."
Pei Liu Niang was attracted by a figure as soon as she climbed the stairs. She looked in the direction pointed by the maid, her eyes lit up, and she said with joy and shame: "Is that Wu Lang of the Du family? I heard A Niang said many of his deeds.
, he ran to save his father, ran a restaurant, enrolled in Imperial College, and maintained the examination room. He was really a handsome young man."
The maid next to her was also delighted and asked, "Are Liu Niang satisfied?"
"Yeah." Pei Liuniang immediately lowered her head and responded shyly.
"Are you satisfied, Fourth Mother?"
"Um."
Lu Siniang also bowed her head and responded.
At this time, the housewives and women climbed up to the attic and asked with a smile: "Have you seen them?"
"Madam, I have seen it all, and Liu Niang said she is satisfied."
Pei Liu Niang looked at Lu Feng Niang again, and her attitude changed; Lu Siniang also secretly looked at Liu Xiangjun.
This happy scene did not last long.
When Lu Siniang whispered, "Xue Lang is more handsome than I thought," Pei Liu Niang was stunned for a moment and looked at the person she thought was "Xue Langjun". She felt that even though his face could be called blessed, he was cute.
, shouldn’t it be called handsome?
"Si Niang, can't you make a mistake?"
"How could I be wrong? Don't I recognize the fifth brother of my aunt's family? I didn't expect you to be satisfied at first sight. He is a very good person..."
Pei Liu Niang burst into tears immediately.
Fortunately, she didn't feel sad for long. Not long after, Lu Siniang's mother-in-law arrived, took her daughter and left.
"Who asked you to come and see me? Your grandfather even said that it was the face of Mrs. Guo Guo. When she returned to her cousin, she pushed her into a pit of fire..."
"Me?" Lu Fengniang asked angrily: "After the royal banquet, who came to tell me first?"
The two sisters-in-law only had a few words of quarrel, and Lu Siniang was already crying.
Pei Liu Niang got the idea and cried out: "Ugh, if the Lu family's sister doesn't want to get married, I won't get married either!"
"Who said I won't get married? I'm going to get married, I'm going to get married, woo woo..."
~~
Xue Bai had left the front hall and was led by his servants to relieve himself. When he came out, he happened to meet Pei Kuan at the Yimen.
"Pei Gong."
"How about a cup of cold tea?" Pei Kuan asked with a smile on his hands.
Xue Bai responded: "I don't dare to ask my ears, but I just want to do it."
The old and the young sat down in the yard beside each other in a tacit understanding.
Pei Kuan said slowly: "I heard that you also have a teacher named Han Yu?"
Xue Bai responded with a smile: "I thought Mr. Pei wanted to know something more useful."
Pei Kuan didn't expect him to be so straightforward. After pondering for a while, he asked: "You are too young and have got involved in too many things..."
"The time has come to defeat Li Linfu." Xue Bai didn't wait for him to continue testing and went straight in. "I exposed the water transport matter in front of everyone. The saint did not blame me. Instead, he kept me as a servant and gave me a generous reward. Why?"
Pei Kuan smiled and said, "You're still young."
"Because the saint is dissatisfied with Ge Nu, he has made great achievements and expanded the Qing Palace. The money required is huge. However, Ge Nu is greedy, and the saint has become suspicious. I have told the East Palace about this matter. Does Mr. Pei know?"
Xue Bai was certain that Li Heng would not tell Pei Kuan this.
Li Heng was a son and could tolerate everything. He would not take the initiative to trouble Li Linfu because of Xue Bai's instigation. In particular, the idea of the two-tax law that Xue Bai gave Fang Guan could not be used at all.
But Pei Kuan is different. Once he learns of Li Linfu's flaws, he will definitely take action.
However, Pei Kuan was close to the East Palace, and the saint would think that he was the envoy of the East Palace.
really.
Pei Kuan twirled his long beard and pondered, and murmured deliberately: "No wonder...Fang Guan has been planning to 'supervise the construction of Huaqing Palace' recently."
"I told him." Xue Bai said, "He didn't tell Mr. Pei?"
"You're such a jerk." Pei Kuan was still trying to dominate the situation.
"It seems that the East Palace is forbearing and is not planning to seek a position for Mr. Pei? Then Mr. Pei can consider us."
Having said this, Xue Bai was not in a hurry, stopped talking, raised the cold tea on the table and took a sip.
Today he spoke bluntly, as if he had no sense at all.
Because when facing Pei Kuan, there is no need to beat around the bush, the interests are clear, and the enemy and ourselves are clear.
In fact, Li Linfu also knew about Pei Kuan's threat to the prime minister. Now that Li Shizhi has been demoted, Pei Kuan must be at the top of the list of enemies in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, but where does Xue Bai rank?
Pei Kuan was actually anxious to death, and the more straightforward his words were, the more effective he would be.
really.
"Who are you...?"
Now that Pei Kuan no longer talks about "young boy" and "Shu Zi", Xue Bai is not in a hurry and asks calmly: "Mr. Pei is asking about this, does he want to tell the East Palace?"
"You can't trust me?"
"Trust Pei Gong, otherwise I won't come today." Xue Bai was very considerate and said in a deep voice: "Let's put it this way, I presented the salt method to my uncle a while ago, and Genu was very vigilant about it and guarded against it. Mr. Pei looks at the current situation again, what would happen if someone could help my uncle?"
This "uncle of the state" is not Yang Zhao, but Yang Guifei's brother Yang Zhuo, who was worshiped by Hongluqing and went to Zhuguo.
As expected, Pei Kuan raised his eyebrows, leaned forward, and whispered: "You have a plan?"
Xue Bai smiled but did not answer, lowering his head to drink tea.
"You kid." Pei Kuan sighed, "You still can't trust me."
"Pei Gong once guided me in writing poems, so I have a few small things to remind you." Xue Bai said: "I heard that Pei Gong is close to Li Gong, the prefect of Yichun?"
When Li Shizhi was mentioned, Pei Kuan's eyes were really sad and he couldn't hide them.
Since he entered the court, he has wanted to recruit Dong Palace to deal with Li Linfu, but Dong Palace has difficulty in protecting itself and has never taken action.
Xue Bai said: "I also learned that there are rumors in Chang'an that Genu had a dream not long ago, in which he dreamed of a fair-skinned, bearded, tall, and handsome man approaching him and sticking to him, unable to push away. After he woke up, he said to his subordinates, 'He looks like Pei Kuan, it's because Pei Kuan wanted to replace me'!"
Pei Kuan immediately felt a chill running down his spine.
He knew very well that after Yan Tingzhi, Zhang Jiuling, Wei Jian, Huangfu Weiming, Yang Shenjin, Li Shizhi and others, it was his turn.
Trying to calm down, Pei Kuan hid his hands in his sleeves, squeezed them hard, and asked, "Really?"
"Pei Gong asked you like this?"
"Where did you hear that?"
This was what Da Xi Yingying found out in the Youxiang Mansion, but Xue Bai would not tell the truth and only said: "I have my own way."
"What do you want from contacting me?"
Xue Bai pondered and said: "Several of my friends are about to re-examine in the spring. I wonder if Mr. Pei can take action?"
Pei Kuan frowned slightly.
All eight of his brothers had passed the exam, so he had a lot of connections in this field. Moreover, he was appointed as a royal censor, so he actually had more power to supervise the examination than Wang Zhi.
"If I were to make a guess, out of the five Chun Wei disciples, three of them would take the exam, and probably one of them would pass to calm the situation, while the other two would be dismissed and given a light punishment."
"All three of them are extraordinary."
Pei Kuan first twirled his beard and pondered, looking a little embarrassed, but finally smiled casually, stroked his beard and said, "I heard you said before that you plan to take the annual exam this autumn and the provincial exam in the spring?"
"yes."
"You write poems well. If I could host a spring wedding, I would definitely nominate you as the leader."
Since Pei Kuan decided to agree to Xue Bai's request, he might as well make another promise and let the people behind Xue Bai find him the position of prime minister.
But this promise is not equal at all. For example, if Pei Kuan can help Xue Bai become prime minister, Prime Minister Xue Bai can easily nominate Pei Kuan as the number one scholar.
Upon hearing this, Xue Bai was a little disappointed. He felt that Pei Kuan was not good at political power, had a high vision and a weak hand, and had the same problems as Yang Shenjin, a noble son of a noble family. He was afraid that it would be difficult to survive under Li Linfu's criticism.
Now was not the time to feel disgusted. He looked happy and said, "So, thank you very much, Mr. Pei."
Pei Kuan stroked his beard, smiled gracefully, and asked, "When will I be brought to see my uncle?"
"How about we talk about it after the re-examination?"
"That's fine."
This was not the time for a long conversation. The two of them looked at each other and smiled, stood up and walked through the huge Bieye Manor.
I drank two cups of coffee today and kept writing, and I finally caught up with the publishing time~~Thank you to the new leader, I usually rush too much, I will thank you again at the end of the month~~I feel that the ranking has been falling, please vote for me, please subscribe~~