When the rooster crows, the night is dark and the morning light is barely visible. There is still a thin layer of mist filling the Jinming Pond, and the atmosphere is rather cold. In the palace, after a night of burning, only a few ashes remained from the palace candles. The royal couch was hidden among the numerous palace tents, and a wonderful body lay across the couch.
Being an emperor is really a test of one's character. Besides the supreme power, there are too many temptations of all kinds. Female lust is only a small aspect, but it is the most representative aspect. Beauties all over the world can get whatever they want and enjoy them. Using yourself to judge others, sometimes Liu Chengyou can understand why there are so many lustful and stupid people.
Concubine Zhou Ehuang woke up from her sleep, opened her misty eyes, and saw that the place around her was empty, but her delicate body felt sore and weak. She was really tortured last night.
Thinking of those clouds and rain, a crimson color hit her cheeks, and Dazhou's red lips couldn't help but curve. However, soon the little woman's happiness completely dissipated. She sighed quietly, and her beautiful eyes showed a little sadness. .
Since the fifth year of Qianyou's reign, it has been almost ten years since she entered the Han Palace. She has also transformed from a young girl with spring in her arms to a mature woman and mother. Over the years, Da Zhou has always adhered to his father's teachings when he first entered the palace, not to fight or grab, and to stay calm and low-key, wandering among poems, articles, music, songs and dances, as if he had nothing to do with the world.
As the most talented woman among the concubines, Liu Chengyou still has a certain attraction to Liu Chengyou because of this characteristic. Although Liu Chengyou is not good at talking about the music of poetry and calligraphy, chewing peonies is also a special pleasure.
In the past ten years, Lady Zhou also gave birth to a boy and a girl to Liu Chengyou, namely Liu Hui, the seventh son of the emperor, and Liu Xuan, the fifth daughter of the emperor. Because of her achievements, Concubine Zhou Shu's position in the palace was relatively stable. Why do most of Liu Chengyou's children come from higher-ranking concubines? Because they are favored and visited by the emperor more often, the chance of pregnancy is naturally higher.
Compared with those beauties and court ladies who were favored by the emperor and then forgotten in a blink of an eye, Concubine Zhou Shu was lucky. In addition to her beauty and talents, the emperor's acceptance of her also had certain political significance. After all, she was a beauty born in Jianghuai.
However, the palace gate is as deep as the sea, and it is inevitable to feel lonely. Because she reads a lot and is talented, Concubine Zhou Shu still has some slight illusions about love...
But the emperor obviously could not satisfy her. She was just one of the many beauties in the Han Palace, although her status was not low. Just like recently, she was very favored. The emperor visited her many times and took her with him to entertain the generals in Qionglin Garden.
However, maybe it won't be long before the emperor changes again, and she will be forgotten again. I don't know how long it will take before she can once again bear Liu Chengyou's kindness. She has seen many such situations and has experienced them.
However, the sadness in her heart was quickly hidden. She was already a mature-minded woman. Taking advantage of this rare favor, she still had to work hard to please the emperor.
Waking up in the early morning is the most embarrassing time, and for women, it is even more embarrassing if they don't take care of themselves. Under the service of the palace maid, it took a certain amount of time to wash and dress up. There was no heavy makeup, just simple and clean. By the time Concubine Zhou Shu lifted the curtain and came out, she had already regained her usual aura. Her plain, light silk dress, in addition to highlighting her impressive figure, also added a bit of aura.
The genius was bright, and even though he was indoors, he could still feel the gloomy morning light outside. Under the illumination of a palace lantern, Liu Chengyou was sitting with his legs crossed at the desk, reviewing official affairs.
In recent years, among the people, people's lifestyles have changed subtly. This is reflected in the use of tables, chairs and benches, the invention of abacus, the transformation of ships, the development of cotton products, the improvement of textile machines, and the improvement of printing. upgrade......
Like inside the palace, there are also some updates of tables and chairs, such as the "Grand Master's Chair", "Eight Immortals Table", etc. Of course, these are indispensable for the emperor's "fantastic ideas". He just mentioned it, and someone made it and gradually spread it. .
Of course, perhaps because he is used to sitting on his knees, Liu Chengyou still likes to use long cases more often, such as this time. Maybe it's convenient to just lie down and rest when you're tired, without having to move.
"Officials, breakfast has been prepared. Do you want to enjoy it?" Concubine Zhou Shu took the initiative to sit next to Liu Chengyou, pressed her delicate body gently against him, and asked softly, naturally taking over Sun Yanyun's duties.
Liu Chengyou seemed to be in a good mood, with a smile on his lips. He glanced at the well-behaved beauty, and I saw how pitiful she looked. If today's schedule hadn't been arranged well, he would have stolen half a day and spent it on the bed. between.
"I'm feeling hungry in my belly. Order someone to bring it to you!" Liu Chengyou ordered.
In the past few years, Liu Chengyou's meals have been very simple, but each meal is simple, but rich in variety and dishes. Take the porridge he drinks in the morning as an example, he can go without eating the same thing for half a year. Today's Han Dynasty has an increasingly rich material foundation, especially among the people. The wisdom of the working people is infinite. Food, clothing, housing, transportation, and even all aspects have entered a period of rapid development. When the world is unified and transportation between the north and the south complements each other, perhaps it will enter an explosive period...
"Did the official family encounter any happy events?" Da Zhou couldn't help but curiously asked after noticing the smile on Liu Chengyou's lips.
"Today is the first day of the National College Entrance Examination. Talents from all over the world have gathered in Tokyo for me to choose. Isn't it worth being happy?" Liu Chengyou asked.
To this, Dazhou naturally nodded in agreement: "Of course it is a happy event, and the heroes of the world should join the official family!"
Liu Chengyou smiled, looked at his concubine Shu, and said, "In my opinion, my concubine Shu can pass high school even if she takes the exam!"
"The officials are joking! How can I have such ability?" Madam Zhou said hurriedly.
Of course Liu Chengyou was joking. Madam Zhou might be good at poetry, articles, classics, calligraphy, painting, music, etc., but it would not be that easy to take the exam. Of course, Ming Jing Ke may have some hope, but it is basically a matter of competing with academically accomplished literati, and the difficulty is not small.
Today's imperial examinations of the Han Dynasty are probably the most unfriendly to pure scholars. If you have little knowledge and no practical knowledge, it is really not easy to pass the examination.
Therefore, in the past two years, whether in temples or in the world, there have been many criticisms of the imperial court's employment policy. They say that the imperial court does not pay attention to morality, making officials full of villains who do not follow etiquette and observe morality, but only care about profit. This is not a big deal. A world of governance.
Although such voices cannot be said to criticize the imperial court (actually, the emperor) employment system, dissatisfaction is brewing and accumulating. However, opposition is useless. The new imperial examination system has been implemented for so many years without any problems, and it is still improving, trying to coordinate and consider various situations.
If it is said that the development of academic research was suppressed, that is not necessarily true. There were many literary greats in the official schools of the Han Dynasty, and there were also many erudite scholars gathered in the Third Hall and the Imperial College. The culture of the Han Dynasty has gradually moved towards prosperity. Under such circumstances, some voices were naturally ignored by Liu Chengyou.
In Liu Chengyou's view, being a scholar and being an official are two different things and cannot be confused. Of course, in the officialdom, there are indeed some people who only pursue fame and wealth and ignore morality, but they are in the minority after all. Moreover, there is no shortage of such people in any era. As long as the laws and regulations are complete and the law is strictly enforced, they can play a restraining role. Then there won't be any big problem.
After coming back to his senses, Liu Chengyou said to Mrs. Zhou: "However, what I find interesting is that I, the emperor's uncle, don't take stock of the prisons and check the case files, but always want to be an overseer. Do you think he is not doing his job properly?" ?”
Hearing what Liu Chengyou said, Zhou couldn't help but smile: "Did Uncle Murong suggest that the officials build a palace again?"
"No!" Liu Chengyou waved his hand and said meaningfully: "This time, he asked me to rebuild Luoyang!"
In fact, Murong Yanchao really didn't want to be the Minister of the Ministry of Justice. He wanted to be the Minister of the Ministry of Works. It seems that after supervising the construction of Kaifeng City once, he became interested in construction.
During his free time, he recruited some architectural talents to do research there, and he really came up with a lot of things and implemented them in Kaifeng City. There is a saying that Uncle Murong may leave a great reputation in the history of architecture. Although he may not be very knowledgeable, he has enough strength and resources for his development...
This time, Liu Chengyou didn't know if Murong Yanchao was guessing his thoughts and proposed to rebuild Luoyang. However, as expected, he only refused. The imperial court really does not have the energy or financial resources to do this.
On February 15, the 15th year of Qianyou's reign, the Renxu Scientific Examination was held, the second regular examination since the founding of the Han Dynasty. There were 2,500 scholars from all parties, and the emperor personally visited the Gongyuan to inspect it.
The top scholar in the undergraduate program was named Zhang Quhua.
