Shen Garden is located in the suburbs of Beijing, covering an area of nearly 100 acres. It is more like a village with beautiful scenery than a garden.
However, it is unique in that it can be used by the mighty general's palace to attract followers and be named after the clan's surname.
No, as soon as the fifty selected candidates got off the carriage, they were shocked by the wonderful sight in front of them.
The Peach Blossom Crossing is lined with colorful fallen flowers, and the Taiwan Pavilion on the other side can be vaguely seen, with the undulating corridors making everyone who stops in front of the Peach Blossom Crossing long for it.
"Playing in Ziwei Jiangque, Yaochi Langyuan, how can I envy the world, gardens and countryside? The handiwork of this mighty general's mansion is really extraordinary. We are really going to learn a lot today!"
"It's wonderful. Such a fairyland is the first choice for a gathering of elegant people. As General Shen said, our trip today will be worthwhile!"
"Who will lead us across the river? I can't wait to have a glimpse of Shen Garden!"
…
Amidst the admiration of all the scholars, a solid wood painting boat that had been prepared for a long time came and made waves in the river.
The leaders of the group rushed forward, all eager to occupy the best seats on the boat to watch the scenery on both sides of the Taiwan Strait after the boat sailed.
Only three people in simple clothes were left behind, and they did not move until all the others boarded the boat.
However, even though they had not competed with those romantic talents for their seats, when the three of them boarded the boat to find their seats, the talents who still had empty seats around them still looked at them with unkind eyes.
It was obvious that no one else on the boat wanted to sit with them.
The reason is very simple, that is, most scholars are decent. Even if they are born in a peasant family, they will find ways to pamper themselves. Not to mention how rich their clothes are, at least they should have a calm demeanor, right?
However, the three people in front of me are not so much dressed in plain clothes as they are extremely poor!
Why?
For such a grand event, no matter how poor you are, you should still find a way to spend some money to decorate yourself. Let's wear a Tsing Yi gown, right?
But these three people were covered in dust from head to toe, and the long gowns they wore were obviously second-hand items that had been worn over and over again. One of them even had a small patch on his shoes.
This kind of clothing is the poorest even in any state capital, let alone on this solid wood painting boat, among a group of talented and famous coquettish people?
"Tsk, I don't know what means these people used to get into this painting boat. They are at the bottom of the list of poems and have no respectability. They really embarrass us scholars..."
"Brother Lin, please don't say that. He comes from the North, and his family just suffered a big disaster. Didn't General Shen also say that? The quota in the North was specially allocated for that person's sake."
"Oh? Is Brother Mo serious about what he said? May I ask who is..."
"Who else could it be? It's the one who went to the Northland to provide disaster relief before!"
…
The scholars were talking to each other, seemingly chatting, but in fact every word was poking the backs of the three people in the corner.
It was okay that the person named Mo didn't reveal the inside story before, but once he revealed it, everyone looked at the three people even more teasingly.
However, no matter how crowded these talented people were, none of the three people in the corner was angry. They were even chatting in low voices.
"Brother Wang, can we really see the princess this time? If we can, can we represent the princes from the north and express our gratitude to the princess for sending us to Beijing for reference?"
"The princess has so many things to do, why should I ask to see her casually? Hu is not talented, so he thinks that the day when we get the title is the day when we come to see the princess."
"What you two said is good, but I always feel that the poetry and poetry of the three of us are actually at the bottom of our peers. Even if the major general treated me preferentially for the sake of the princess, that's why It shouldn’t be just you and me..."
Wang Li, the leader of the three, was puzzled. But at this moment, the boat had sailed into Shenyuan, and everyone was quickly fascinated by the scenery on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. It was hard for him to think.
Most of these fifty candidates are quite talented, but when it comes to the status of those attending the banquet today, they are certainly the lowest class.
Therefore, until the boat was completely submerged in the Shen Garden, a large number of servants dressed no less than Juzi arrived in front of the Peach Blossom Ferry. The tea house specially renovated by the ferry was filled with the fragrance of tea, just waiting for people to come.
I don't know how long it took, but a group of junior officials from small aristocratic families or those attached to big aristocratic families came one after another.
Riding horses, riding in chariots, men with dashing looks, women with grace and refinement...
However, this group of people did not dare to stay in front of Peach Blossom Ferry for a long time. Almost as soon as they landed, they were greeted by the Shen family's servants on the painted boat to make room for the nobles who came later.
Of course, not everyone comes according to their status. People with ordinary family backgrounds cannot arrive late, but people with prominent family backgrounds can arrive early.
"Wan Yin, I know you are always punctual, but why are we here so early? In the name of the Xie family, we should be among the last batch."
In front of the teahouse, Su Wanwan, who was wearing a pink skirt, was holding Xie Wanyin's hand, showing a bit of arrogance in her anger.
On the other hand, her brother Su Daolin, who was standing aside, smiled, patted her on the shoulder and said:
"Wan Yin has her own plans. Besides today's grand event, if we come earlier, we don't have to be stuck in the official road. What's wrong with having a smooth journey?"
Su Wanwan thought about it and felt that what her brother said was not unreasonable.
Seeing this, Xie Wanyin also nodded to Su Daolin, which was quite useful for the other party's rescue.
The Xie family has a very high family status, definitely one of the best in Dazhao.
Therefore, as soon as the teahouse steward saw Xie Wanyin, he hurried over and welcomed the three of them to the private room upstairs.
Since the three of them arrived early, everyone in the private room could choose at will except those who stayed on purpose.
So in order to have an unobstructed view of the scenery below, Xie Wanyin directly chose the position by the window on the second floor, facing the Peach Blossom Crossing.
About half an hour later, when some well-known officials and officials from well-known families gradually boarded the boat, the carriage of the host family of this gathering, the Mighty General's Mansion, arrived.
Followed closely by the Fang family, the Chu family, the Qi Bohou Mansion, and other noble families.
Except for some nobles who boarded the ship first, everyone else unanimously chose to enter the teahouse.
Since Xie Wanyin and the others were in a good location, a young lady who was familiar with them even came to share a table, which made the originally deserted private room lively.
In this way, all the children of the great official families of Jokhang have arrived, and the next ones to arrive are the children of the royal family except the main family of General Weiwei.
To everyone's surprise, the first person to arrive was the eldest prince Feng Yunxuan who never left home and was said to only serve flowers and birds.
But everyone thought about it, isn't this the specialty of the Prince of the People's Congress?
After waiting for Feng Yunxuan to go upstairs and join Feng Yuan and his wife for a long time, bursts of exclamations finally sounded from the teahouse.
Because at this moment on the official road, there are actually three parties driving together. Looking at the carriages, they should be from the Prince's Palace, the Fourth Prince's Palace, and the Princess Protector's Palace.
