When Zhang Yue arrived at the Chen Mansion in a carriage, it was already after You hour.
At this time on the streets of Bianjing, many people have already rested early and are waiting for work tomorrow.
But for restaurants and bars, there are still many drinkers and diners gathered inside.
But seeing two lanterns lighting up in front of Chen Xiang's door, the old servant Zhongbo, who was familiar with Zhang Yue, happily introduced him: "Sanlang Jun, the master and his wife are waiting for you. They have all calculated that today is the day of liberation." The day of trial release."
Zhang Yue was both happy and ashamed at the same time and said, "Mr. Lienlei and Mistress have been waiting for so long. Thank you very much, Uncle Zhong, for leaving the door for me."
"There's nothing to be thankful for."
As soon as Zhang Yue entered, Chen Xiang heard the sound in the hall and stepped out and asked: "How did Sanlang do in the exam?"
As soon as Zhang Yue saw Chen Xiang, he immediately bowed down and said, "Student, thank you sir. My kindness is as deep as a mountain!"
Then the teacher's wife also stepped out, looked at Zhang Yue and said in surprise: "Sanlang, are you in high school?"
Zhang Yue bowed to his teacher's wife again and said: "To my teacher's wife, fortunately, the student has lived up to his fate and ranked third in the high school's Imperial Examination!"
Chen Xiang was overjoyed when he heard this and said: "This is good, this is good. I will say that your classic meaning is better than policy theory, and policy theory is better than poetry. I was worried about your poetry before, but now you can rank third, it really makes me understand. What a worry. Get up quickly!"
Chen Xiang wanted to help Zhang Yue, but saw that Zhang Yue did not move.
Seeing this scene, the master's wife said: "Now that you have passed, master and apprentice, let's have a drink. Uncle Zhong went to the alley to buy some fresh fish and fruits. Sanlang, don't leave tonight. I'll clean up the guest room. You can sleep here. I Let’s warm the wine first.”
The master's wife finished speaking and left first.
Chen Xiang looked at Zhang Yue and asked, "Do you have something to say?"
Zhang Yue said: "Reporting to Sir, the student's poems did not write '葑'."
"What?" Chen Xiang was a little surprised, "You mean you didn't write it?"
Zhang Yue lowered his head and said, "The student overestimated his ability and failed the gentleman's good intentions."
Chen Xiang was silent for a while after hearing this, then helped Zhang Yue up and said with a smile: "If you didn't write it, you didn't write it! Should I still blame you? Come in and talk."
Zhang Yue did not expect that Chen Xiang would be able to explain away what he had been worrying about for several days.
Immediately the two of them came to the hall and sat down. Chen Xiang said: "You will silently read all the poems, poems, poems, policies and discussions in the examination room in a while, and I will help you take a look."
"Yes, students have already agreed." Zhang Yue immediately took out the poem bag he carried with him.
Under a glass lamp in the hall, Chen Xiang began to read Zhang Yue's manuscript.
Zhang Yue was sitting in an orderly manner when he saw Uncle Zhong coming back carrying a fish weighing two to three kilograms and a lot of candied fruits.
The mistress took the fish and walked to the kitchen to cook it. Uncle Zhong turned around and locked the door. He turned back and smiled at Zhang Yue.
Soon the fire was lit again in the kitchen, and the fish was stewed in a large pot. The mistress mashed the ginger and garlic in a mortar, waited for the water to boil, and then put them into the pot to stew. This is a cooking technique that the mistress is familiar with.
The aroma of fish soup reached Zhang Yue's nose.
Chen Xiang said: "Your poetry writing this time is acceptable, and your strategy and analysis are excellent, so it is not surprising that you are ranked this way. However, your poetry ability passed the interpretation test, but was lacking in the provincial examination. If you want to save If you try to go further, you must guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and from today onwards, you must calm down and study.”
Zhang Yue said: "Students remember it."
Chen Xiang looked at Zhang Yue and asked, "Tonight is your moment of pride. Do you know the purpose of letting you study here and study articles?"
Zhang Yue said: "Sir, you are afraid that the students will get carried away."
Chen Xiang nodded and said: "That's right. You are only sixteen or seventeen years old now. Even if you are twenty-six or seventeen years old, you still can't make up your mind. At this age, it's easy to be happy and sad. If you are too proud of something, it's not a good thing. It's like having a sudden windfall, and it's hard to keep it. I've seen too many young talents who were once proud, but then fell to the bottom. After being praised for a few words, they became swaying, and from then on they didn't know how much they weighed. ."
"I'm not talking about you either. When I was young, I was very ambitious and didn't know how to measure things. I didn't realize this until I was thirty-five or six years old. Nothing comes for free. Once you get it, you must cherish it. The most important thing about studying is the energy , if this strength is slack, it will be extremely difficult to get it back in the future. I have said this to many people, many of whom are your senior fellow apprentices, but those who can hear it will understand even if I don’t say it. Can’t you hear it? If you go in, it’s all in vain.”
Having said this, Chen Xiang let out a long sigh.
Zhang Yue thought to himself, yes, what should be waved must be waved, and no one can stop it.
He kept Chen Xiang's words in mind and said, "The students have been taught."
Chen Xiang said: "Let me talk to you again about the deficiencies in the poems."
Zhang Yue immediately withdrew his attention and listened to Chen Xiang's lecture attentively.
Soon the mistress had stewed the fish and put it aside and said with a smile: "Don't open the lid yet, I will warm the wine for you. Three years old green and red wine."
Chen Xiang said: "There is no need to warm the wine."
The master's wife said angrily: "I've never seen you like this. The disciples all took third place in the examination. Outsiders would say you are so stingy."
Chen Xiang burst out laughing. The master's wife looked strangely and took off the lid. Suddenly, the aroma of fish soup filled the hall.
The mistress filled two bowls of fish soup and placed them on the table for two people. Chen Xiang raised the fish soup and said with a smile, "I will use this fish soup to congratulate you on your passing. Don't be too shabby."
Zhang Yue raised the fish soup and said with a smile: "Students like to drink the fish soup stewed by the teacher's wife the most. Sir, the teacher's wife is so kind that the students will never forget it."
Mrs. Chen Xiang laughed when she heard this.
Zhang Yue immediately took a sip of the fish soup. The shredded ginger covered up the fishy smell just right, leaving a sweet taste in his mouth.
For him, this bowl of fish soup is better than countless delicacies from the mountains and seas.
The wife looked at Zhang Yue's expression and asked, "I didn't add anything except ginger and garlic. It's very bland. I don't know if it suits your taste."
Zhang Yue thought of his feelings just now and couldn't help but said: "The taste in the world is pure joy."
The master's wife tasted it carefully and said with a smile: "What a saying, 'Taste in the world is pure joy'."
Chen Xiang thought to himself that although Saburo's poems and poems were difficult to compare with others, sometimes the beautiful lines he picked up by hand puppets were so superb that it was really puzzling.
Tonight.
The Zhangjia Hotel next to Zhouqiao is bustling with activity.
Sibo, who was standing in front of the hotel, came up to greet the drinkers.
There are also countless geishas dressed up in gorgeous costumes. Some of them wear low tube tops, revealing a large expanse of white.
There are also people with small feet wearing narrow socks and bow shoes. Many drinkers can't take their eyes off the narrow crest of the bow shoes.
Wang Kui and He Qi were also in the restaurant. Wang Kui is also very fond of small feet, but he doesn't like them as much as He Qi.
Now Wang Kui and He Qizheng are sitting with their friends.
Wang Kui is now Guo Ziyuan, and he has as many friends as he wants. But they will certainly look down upon those who are jealous or fair-weather friends.
The people they were socializing with tonight were all wealthy and idle people in the capital. In the yamen, as for the Sibo and the singers who were supporting them, they were not ordinary people either.
Sibo didn't do business on weekdays, he just stayed in the wine shop all day long, waiting for the rich.
Don't think this business is easy.
Ordinary servants just run errands for rich people and earn some hard-earned money.
The powerful Sibos are all human beings, and they are very articulate. They talk about people and ghosts, and so on. They usually attract these rich people, go wherever there is good food and fun, and let them corrupt a lot. money.
Si Bo also gained a lot of benefits from it.
Nowadays, in the Zhangjia Restaurant, the table where Wang Kui and He Qi sit is filled with fine food and a variety of dishes.
There are many dishes that Wang Kui has never eaten in his life, or even seen before. The wealthy people on the side are talking about Wang Kui in every word, and there are also a few servants pumping fists nearby to cheer up.
Two good-looking prostitutes wearing bow shoes sat next to Wang Kui on the left and right.
A servant said to the woman: "This is Guo Ziyuan. Do you know what Guo Ziyuan is? You must keep him company today."
The two prostitutes chuckled when they heard this, then looked at Wang Kui lovingly, and then lowered their heads shyly.
Wang Kui felt that the other woman's feet were constantly touching his calves under the wine table. After a while, another pair of women's feet came over and seemed to have taken off their shoes.
When Wang Kui's soul was wandering in the sky, the woman next to him handed a glass of wine to his mouth. A wealthy businessman smiled and said: "Wang Guoyuan is a huge amount, I need to drink three glasses in a row."
Wang Kui couldn't push it, and he didn't want to push it either, so he drank three cups in a row.
The prostitute on the other side seemed a little jealous, so she took a sip and held it in her lips, then moved it towards Wang Kui's mouth.
Wang Kui has never enjoyed such a battle in his life.
He had drank flower wine in his hometown before, but he thought it was very vulgar. They were not as charming as the Bianjing prostitutes.
He heard He Qi say that among the 1.5 million people in Bianjing, there were tens of thousands of official and civilian prostitutes. Including those who were good at work or who had given up their livelihood due to old age and sex, the number was at least more than 100,000.
When he first arrived in Bianjing, the prostitutes looked at his poor appearance and didn't even look at him, but now he can feel the enthusiasm of these prostitutes, which is half money and half his reputation.
This is such a wonderful feeling to become a master.
Wang Kui drank a little too much wine, so he let go of his reserve. At this moment, he felt the prostitute's feet next to him rubbing against each other. With a thought in his mind, he grabbed Yingying's jade foot in his hand and pinched it hard.
Seeing Wang Kui and the two prostitutes entangled together, everyone laughed, so they drank and ate each other, making it lively.
After all this effort, Wang Kui was already half drunk.
The businessman on the side said: "Guo Ziyuan is already drunk. You have all taken care of me and recorded it in my account today. It doesn't matter. Guo Ziyuan and Brother He are both my best friends."
Wang Kui felt so good at the moment, and He Qi also took a prostitute and left. He glanced at the two people beside Wang Kui and was very envious.
Autumn nights are cold.
Zhang Yue had finished drinking the fish soup and was carefully correcting his article in Liuli Deng following Chen Xiang's instructions.
He Qi and Wang Kui were each lying on the woman's embroidered couch.
Huang Lu went to bed early in Taixue as usual.
Fan Zuyu and his grandfather Fan Zhen arrived to thank the examiner Chen Zhu.
Han Zhongyan waited at home all night and finally informed Han Qi, who had just returned home, that he had passed the examination. Han Qi asked a few questions, but did not praise him. This disappointed Han Zhongyan, who had always longed for his father's approval.
As for Sun Guo and Huang Haoyi, the two frustrated men were tossing and turning on the bed.
Everyone spent the first night after the exam with various emotions.
