The Prime Minister's casual question scared Zhang Ling into a cold sweat. However, he should be thankful that he has a cold temperament and does not show any signs of fear. Zhang Ling smiled at him and said, "Perhaps the Prime Minister has forgotten that the competition in the palace was , I am among them, but I think it is Song Linjie and Mo Li who are too outstanding, and the others are simply not worthy of your attention."
The Prime Minister shook his head: "I remember the true identity of each of the academy disciples, but I was too far away that day and couldn't see my appearance clearly. Today, when I look carefully, I feel that you look like an old friend of mine."
Unexpectedly, Xiao Qin refused to give up. In order to dispel his worries, Zhang Ling said directly: "I once lived in Yu Changyu's house, and he said that I looked like the general's wife in the past. Your Excellency also felt the same way. ?”
The Prime Minister nodded: "What you said is indeed similar, but your temperament is nothing like that of General Mingze. I clearly remember the appearance you had when you blackmailed Shen Yunfeng. It was just like the one on the street. He’s almost like a rogue.”
Zhang Ling nodded in response: "Indeed, a student is only a merchant, how can he compare with a general!"
The Prime Minister patted Zhang Ling on the shoulder and chuckled: "Don't belittle yourself. I have never seen a mediocre student in the academy, and General Mingze also worked hard for more than ten years to get to that position. You are all still young and have made great achievements. It's just the right time."
After some verbal arguments, the three of them successfully entered the palace. Zhang Ling felt at ease. He had never been so nervous when meeting the emperor. But after all, he had a lot of plans. If he could really have a clear conscience, what kind of habitual criminal would be able to feel at ease? How many people Following the flow of people to the lobby, Zhang Ling observed all the way and was relieved after confirming that it was exactly the same as what Wu Zhi had given. The Prime Minister's Mansion was no bigger than the imperial palace and was not big enough to accommodate all the guests. Only high-ranking officials with the highest status were qualified to sit. In the lobby, the rest of the people could only sit at the banquet arranged outside. However, they did not want to climb high with just one birthday banquet. They took advantage of this banquet to get to know each other more, and in the officialdom If you have someone to take care of you, even if we are just friends, if we can seek common interests in the future, you can still talk about it. If I have ridden the dragon and you are still just a little loach crawling around in the mud, then Sorry, who are you? Can't remember.
There is only room for a few dozen people to sit in the lobby, and the people who sit here are at least officials of fourth grade or above. Except for Ren Pingsheng, a rising star who is proud of his career, and two disciples who are famous for their reputation in the academy, they are special. take care of.
The Prime Minister has not yet arrived, so the adults from all the families had to raise their glasses to celebrate. Song Linjie did not care about the strange looks. It was a rare banquet, so naturally he could not go home with an empty stomach. The other adults and his disciples all raised their glasses to drink, but Song Linjie raised his pot to drink. , and even directly opened the lid of the pot, just under the mouth of the pot, some people were rude, some people took it as a joke, and some people really admired it and couldn't help but come over and invite them to drink together. Linjie of Song Dynasty was pulled and pulled by each other, and finally fell into the hands of two generals, Zou Wu and Wei Liyang.
Zou Wu laughed and said: "Men, you have to be so bold when drinking. The way those guys drink is really petty. Boy, you want to have a good drink with me today, so your rejection of us will be ignored." I won’t argue with you anymore.”
While Wei Liyang was persuading him to drink, he looked around and saw Hou An, who was sitting across from him as soon as he came in. He shouted, "Old guy, why don't you come over with us? You're not tired of driving around like this all day long."
General Hou An ignored Wei Liyang's persuasion to go and drank and ate alone. When someone came over to offer a toast, he also offered a toast in return, which made him more harmonious with the civil servants.
Zou Wu said in a deep voice while feeding him wine: "Don't worry about him. It's not like you don't know he's like that. Let's drink ours."
A young man surrounded by a group of court officials like this is very eye-catching in the eyes of the officials' children. They also want to drink at the same table with these elders indefinitely, but they can't blend in at all after wandering around. It's like these In people's eyes, only the young man in the middle makes them envious. If they can be so valued by these elders, they will not be able to raise their tails in front of their friends.
There was only one young man sitting on the edge, because in order for Ren Pingsheng to advance smoothly in the officialdom, he also needed material resources and connections. He would not refuse wine talks from high-ranking officials or his children, and Zhang Ling had also been with him for a long time. Ren Pingsheng has said that what he wants to do is to change the entire imperial court. Relying on the influence of other adults, he will help one or two people come to his family, and then the helpers will support his own people, and the relationship between them will be disconnected. , it is not easy to notice, and the first person I met at the poetry meeting was Cao Minghua. His predecessor, Ban Yue, sent him to the clan mansion in his lifetime. Although he was just an insignificant official at first, ten years later, Twenty years later, he will definitely be in a high position in his life, and the people under his sect will be so impressive by then. If other officials know their motives, they will indeed hinder their development and growth. However, after the emperor Qian Zhong evaded the world and became a martial artist, The procuratorate is lax, and this is the time to take advantage of this evil trend to surge forward, and then break open the Golden Gate to open the door for more scholars. However, there are both pros and cons. If you are not careful, you will be thrown into the abyss by this evil trend. It is also unknown. For me, whether I can survive the mud for such a long time is the biggest test.
Zhang Ling looked around and saw people coming over to propose a toast, but they were all declined. In a blink of an eye, he saw a person sitting alone like himself. This reminded Zhang Ling of something that happened a long time ago. Zhang Ling picked up the wine pot, picked up the wine glass and walked towards the adult. Go, Zhang Ling poured himself a drink and said, "Shilang Li, can you please give me a drink?"
This official's name is Li Ya, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Li Yuan was stabbed to death by Liu Yuancheng at the Lantern Festival. Later, he went up the mountain. Zhang Ling asked, but Li Ya did not dare to investigate. There was no direct evidence for one thing, so he took the Academy The disciple had no choice, and secondly, his own hands were not very clean. He was afraid that if he didn't find out what he wanted to find out, or if he found out what he shouldn't have found out, then the gain would outweigh the loss, so he could only endure the pain of losing his son. Down.
Li Ya raised his head and asked, "Who are you?"
Zhang Ling cupped his hands and said: "Zhang Ling of Chengdao Academy, I think that Li Shilang must have a deep hatred for Liu Yuancheng, but I have no friendship with him. I just want to toast you with a glass of wine."
Li Ya tipped the wine glass upside down and snorted coldly: "Who doesn't know that the people in your academy are colluding with each other, pretending to be compassionate when a cat cries, and killed my son, and now you want to lie to me, do you really think I am a fool?"
Seeing that there was no way to mediate, Zhang Ling simply broke the jar and sneered, "Aren't you just a fool?"
Without waiting for Li Ya to reply, Zhang Ling turned around and walked away, making him feel even more uncomfortable as he held that feeling in his heart. Just as he was about to sit back down, he heard someone calling him.
