wZhu Shiyong’s residence in the south of Yuemaqiao, starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year every year, people come and go here like a market..)
Officials of all sizes in Luzhou, as well as county officials and minor officials, as well as gentry and gentry from all towns and villages, will come to visit Zhu Shiyong one after another from this day on. As if they have agreed upon an order, these people will also consciously stagger their itineraries according to the difference between closeness and proximity.
From the second day of the Lunar New Year until the Lantern Festival, this place will still be like the old days of swimming in Shangyuan, with cars flowing like water and horses like dragons.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, according to past practice, it was the day when officials from Luzhou City and the gentry came to pay their respects. In addition to the officials in Luzhou, guests such as the three giants of the Chamber of Commerce were naturally indispensable;
There was an endless stream of people coming to see them, all different in height, fat and thin. Without exception, the entourage behind these people were picking up or carrying various gifts. Under the welcome of the Zhu family butler, they were noisy with each other.
After exchanging pleasantries, he was invited into the house.
The grand main hall of Zhu's house was already full of guests, sipping tea and snacks, waiting for the magistrate's arrival; generally speaking, by the end of the day, all the guests for the day would be considered here, and no one would dare to trust the magistrate.
If you postpone your visit until after the hour, the earlier you come, the more pious you will appear.
The sun was rising high, and the carriages and horses in front of the door gradually disappeared. When Master Wu's sedan arrived as the last one, it heralded that today's guests had officially arrived.
Some of the people present here are old faces, some are new faces, some were there last year but have disappeared this year, and some have not been seen last year but are among them this year. Although the Zhu family hall is not big, it is a small one.
However, the hall has already reflected the changes in official positions and promotions and demotions in the past year, as well as the changes in familiarity and distance.
Amidst the noise, a clear cough came from outside the back door. As if they had received an order, everyone closed their mouths, put down the teacups, stood up, straightened their clothes and stretched their necks to look at the back door like a nest of curious meerkats.
"The prefect is here!" the Zhu family's maid who was serving tea called out sweetly. Immediately, the thick velvet curtain at the back door of the main hall was opened, and Zhu Shiyong walked in with a smile on his face. Before he could speak, everyone in the hall had already bowed loudly.
Said: "See Mr. Fu Zun."
Zhu Shiyong cheered and waved: "Sit down, sit down, we are all old acquaintances, why should we be formal."
Following Zhu Shiyong was Zhu Tianshun, who was chubby and rolled his eyes. He was wearing a purple satin robe and a hairpin. If you didn't look at his white eyes, he looked elegant.
What a handsome young man.
"Young Master Yameni is in great spirits today. With his bearing, he is worthy of being the top student of Yingtian Academy."
The clever man lost no time in sending complimentary words, and the one who was snatched the lead quickly followed up and said: "Yes, yes, Mr. Zhu was originally very noble. After half a year of training in the academy, he became more and more gentle and gentle like a gentleman, and he was obviously the son of his father."
Elephant."
Everyone secretly admired this flattery, and the father and son did it together. This level is not ordinary high.
"This is called having poetry and calligraphy in one's belly. Jin Su was taught by the magistrate, and the scholarly fragrance was passed down to his family. When he comes to the Ya Nei Gongzi, he will naturally be better than the blue in the future. It can be predicted that after the autumn of this year, we will come to the Ya Nei to drink.
It’s the young master’s wedding.”
"Indeed, when the time comes when father and son both become pillars of the imperial court, it will be a good story for the ages..."
Everyone was talking flattering words, and the faces of the Zhu family's father and son were smiling. Zhu Shiyong naturally understood how important his son was, but he was such a single Miao Miao. Even though he was a piece of shit, his food was still more delicious than other families' food.
, as a father, I am always very happy to hear these words of praise.
Zhu Tianshun was so happy that he laughed and said: "Dad, you always said that your son is useless, now you see it? These people are more accurate than you. They say that I am full of poetry and calligraphy, and I am full of abilities, but why?
You just don’t believe it.”
Zhu Shiyong said softly: "Shut up!" He turned to everyone and said: "Sit down, at the beginning of the new year, you all will come to visit Mr. Zhu. Mr. Zhu is very grateful. Come and put on the rain that Mr. Xia from the capital sent me.
Let me give you some scented tea, how do you treat guests with this old tea?"
A maid hurriedly stepped forward and said softly: "Sir, the fourth lady took all the Yuhua tea to the room and hid it. I can't get it out."
Zhu Shiyong's smile froze in embarrassment, and he said softly: "Go and get some, just say I want them."
The maid had no choice but to turn around and walk back to the inner hall. People who were sitting close to her and had good ears could hear clearly already. She hurriedly said: "Master Fu, there is no need to bring any new tea. We are here to pay New Year greetings to Mr. Fu."
, and also take this opportunity to get together with colleagues and friends.
, I’m not here to drink your lord’s good tea; I heard that the Yuhua tea was produced from the famous geothermal mountain and is extremely precious. The gift given to Lord Fu Zun by Lord Xia was given to me and others to taste the tea. I couldn’t afford it at first, so I came here.
It is also a waste of a good thing by chewing peonies."
Everyone agreed: "Yes, yes, Lord Fu, you don't need to be polite to me."
Zhu Shiyong borrowed the donkey from Poxia and knew that his fourth wife, Ming Cui, was famous for being stingy and unruly. If she put her away and went to get it himself, he might not be rewarded, so he smiled and said: "If that's the case, let's leave it for now, next time
Come and drink again; it is said that the tea becomes more fragrant as it ages, so there is no need to worry about losing its taste."
Everyone rolled their eyes. They had only heard that good wine becomes more fragrant with age, but they had never heard that tea becomes more fragrant with age. It is true that it becomes moldier and tasteless the longer it is kept. However, the prefect said that the more it ages, the more fragrant it becomes. Naturally, it must become more fragrant with age. This is true.
There's nothing to argue with.
"Everyone, thank you for your respect for me and for coming to see me every year. I am very pleased. What do people want in life? Not glory and wealth, not promotion and wealth, but full of friends and friends all over the world. Every year I ask you not to bring me with you.
Gifts come here. When people arrive, they express their feelings, but you just don’t listen. When you go back, take all the gifts back. Why should we be so tacky?"
"Your Majesty, your words are serious. We just bring some greeting gifts. According to the customs of the Song Dynasty, no one comes empty-handed after the New Year's Day. Doesn't this mean I'm being rude?" Wu Tongpian laughed.
Everyone agreed: "Yes, how can we be rude? It's not that we don't know that Mr. Fu Zun is honest and righteous, but these are all etiquette, and etiquette is indispensable."
Zhu Shiyong chuckled and said: "Old Wu, Old Wu, you are not allowed to take the lead in making noises, but what everyone said is reasonable. I, the Song Dynasty, value etiquette the most, but I can't teach you to lack etiquette; in this way, courtesy should be reciprocated.
Later, I will ask the butler to each pack a bag of Tongyang Hema cakes for you to take back. The cakes are very high. I wish you all to rise to the top this year. It is best that all of you will be favored by the emperor and become one of the pillars of the Song Dynasty.
material."
Everyone applauded continuously and said with cupped hands: "I also wish the master of the palace to advance further and further this year and all his wishes will come true."
Everyone was talking lively, but they were slandering in their hearts: "Damn it, I came here with a big gift, but you old dog just gave away a bag of two cents worth of sesame cakes. You don't even want to feed the dog to eat it, and you said
What kind of courtesy should be reciprocated? I'm afraid it's just that I don't want to be blamed for accepting gifts.
Everyone sat down again in a lively manner. They were all people who hung out in the official circles. Naturally, they all had a lot of tongues. The official and unofficial history was particularly interesting in their mouths. When they talked about other people's favorite things, everyone laughed, and the atmosphere was great.
Very enthusiastic.
Zhu Tianshun felt bored after hearing this. He ate several pieces of cakes and drank several cups of tea. He felt more and more boring. He was yawning on the left and yawning on the right. He felt very bored. He secretly stretched his hand to the buttocks of the maid standing beside him.
He pinched his penis randomly through his pants; the maid blushed and did not dare to hide or make a sound, so she had no choice but to let him be frivolous.
Some of the guests saw this and snickered secretly; the mature and prudent judge Wu Tong was afraid that Zhu Tianshun would make Zhu Shiyong look ugly, so he asked Zhu Tianshun, "Young Master Yameni has been studying at Yingtian Academy for the past six months, right?"
?”
Zhu Tianshun was getting excited when he was interrupted by this person. He quickly retracted his claws and said dissatisfied: "Yeah, what's the matter?"
"What a blessing. I have dreamed of studying at Yingtian Academy all my life, but unfortunately I have never had this opportunity. Is the mountain leader still Qi Weng?"
"Isn't that the old... old gentleman?" Zhu Tianshun almost cursed the word 'old man'.
"If there are any interesting anecdotes in the academy, Mr. Yanei might as well tell us about it, and it will also open our eyes." Vice President Huang, who had been unable to intervene in the conversation between officials, finally intervened.
"Academy is the most boring place. There is nothing interesting except studying." Zhu Tianshun rolled his eyes and disagreed.
"You bastard! Uncle Huang is so quick to answer questions when he asks you. How can you be so perfunctory? Yingtian Academy is my number one academic institution in the Song Dynasty. How can it be boring? I'm afraid you don't have enough time to study every day, so you will naturally find it boring." Zhu Shiyong scolded.
road.
Zhu Tianshun frowned and said, "It's nothing interesting to begin with, but there are quite a few things that are not interesting to me."
Vice Chairman Huang smiled and said: "I have nothing to do, so I just picked two pieces and talked about them."
Zhu Tianshun rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling, thinking for a while, then suddenly clapped his hands and said, "Yes, there is something quite interesting."
Everyone hurriedly said: "Let's talk and listen..."
Zhu Tianshun said: "A month ago, seventeen students died in our academy and more than thirty people were injured. The dead were lined up at the door, all of them missing arms and legs..."
Everyone was startled and looked around in panic. Someone asked in a low voice: "So many people died? Is this...is something big happening?"
Zhu Tianshun pointed at the man and laughed and said: "Look at your timid appearance, aren't you just going to kill a dozen people? Are you even afraid of dead people?"
Zhu Shiyong said angrily: "Don't talk nonsense, why didn't you tell me this?"
Zhu Tianshun said nonchalantly: "Isn't this too late? I have only been back for seven or eight days, and I was busy visiting relatives and friends, so I forgot about this busy task." mdd