While Li Hao and the Zeng brothers were still studying hard, the court finally confirmed that Ouyang Xiu would preside over this examination.
After Yan Fu learned about this, he immediately came to tell Li Hao the news. When he entered Li's house, when Li Hao saw Yan Fu, he first introduced the Zeng brothers to Yan Fu.
After hearing the accurate news from Yan Fu, everyone put down their mental arithmetic. Although the test papers would be sealed, transcribed, and proofread before they were handed over to the examiners during the exam, they were familiar with Ouyang Xiu's required style. As long as they could ensure that they did not go off topic, The probability of passing is very high, so there is no need to think about cheating.
So the two parties sat down to chat, and Yan Futi said: "Since this matter is confirmed now, why not I invite you all to have a drink at Guangyuntai tonight and then come back, which can be regarded as a pre-wishes for you to be named on the gold list."
Li Hao and the Zeng brothers listened. When Li Hao saw that the Zeng brothers didn't speak, he answered: "That's good. It's time for those who have been studying so hard for days to take a rest. Just after the easy break, we still need to combine work and rest." Well."
After hearing this, Yan Fu said: "Yes, that's the truth, and Wei Xingshou will also come out of Guangyuntai today. This is rare, you have to go and experience it."
When Li Hao heard this, he immediately became energetic. He didn't even know where Guangyuntai was. But Wei Xingshou was not the oiran of the brothel and Chu palace. In this era, one can still go to a brothel legally and openly, unlike in later generations where it was easy to get caught. Do you want to go and see it? It’s a bit exciting to think about it.
But before Li Hao could answer, Zeng Gong said: "If you want to have a drink, go to another restaurant. After all, it's close to the meeting. It's not good to go to Guangyuntai."
Li Hao thought to himself, Zeng Gong seems to be a serious person, and he seems to have been to a brothel. But then I thought about my age and let it go. After all, I can't do anything. Moreover, not long before the examination, he took all four brothers of the Zeng family to the brothel Chu Palace. He was afraid that Ouyang Xiu would not let him go if he knew about it. So he said: "Forget it, Guangyuntai. It is indeed not far from the National Examination. It is not good to go to that kind of place. Let's go to Fanlou. I have always heard that the food in Fanlou is excellent, but I have never been there. Today Let’s go and see it together.”
Then he looked at Zeng Gong. As long as he didn't object, the other three members of the Zeng family had no objections. Seeing that there was no problem, Yan Fu led everyone towards Fan Tower.
When he arrived at Fanlou, Li Hao was a little surprised by the bustling scene. Just because although this building is not as tall as the high-rise buildings of later generations, its wealth is hundreds of times better than the hotels that Li Hao saw in later generations. I saw three floors of Fan Tower, a total of five buildings side by side. Between the buildings, there are flying bridges and sills, connecting the light and darkness. There are various private rooms in the building, all with beaded curtains and embroidered foreheads. As dusk is approaching at this time, the interior of the building is brightly lit with candles.
Yan Fu and Zeng Gong should have been here before, so they looked normal, but Li Hao and the three brothers from the Zeng family really entered with their mouths wide open and their faces looking astonished.
When he sat down inside, Li Hao looked at the menu and was in a daze. There were too many dishes. For example, the soup before eating included Baiwei soup, first soup, new method quail soup, three crispy soup, etc. There were no less than twenty or thirty kinds. . The other main dishes include cooked lamb, stewed lamb, naoting lamb, roasted kidneys, steamed goose and duck steaks, lychee kidneys, Huanyuan kidneys, etc. There are no less than a hundred kinds, and there are even various braised meats and roasted poultry sold on consignment from outside. Chicken, roast duck, lamb feet, nodding sheep, crispy ribs and so on. In addition, there are various spicy vegetables stored in white porcelain jars, various dried and preserved fruits such as chestnuts, ginkgo, pear strips, and dates in small plates, various fresh fruits, and various pasta snacks, such as pork Sheep purses and steamed buns of various colors.
Li Hao was dazzled by what he saw, and then asked the Zeng brothers what they wanted to eat. Zeng Gong said that he had not been to Fanlou for many years and did not know what to eat. As for the other Zeng brothers and Li Hao, they had never been there. . So Yan Fulai was asked to help order the dishes.
Yan Fu called over the boy and ordered more than twenty dishes here and there to fill the table. Then Li Hao saw the tableware made of gold and silver from Fanlou that Mrs. Wang mentioned in the play. It was indeed an eye-opener.
Of course, after finishing the meal, Li Hao did not let Yan Fu pay the bill, but went to pay the bill himself. He ate more than ten taels of silver in one meal, but it was still worthwhile in Li Hao's heart, because he did not expect that ancient meals could also be good. So well done.
Thinking about it, Ming Lan had never been to Fanlou before marrying Gu Tingye, so I thought she could bring her cousin here to try it out next time.
When everyone left Fan Tower, it was already Xushi. Yan Fu wanted to go to Guangyuntai to sit, but Li Hao and the others refused and went back to their respective homes. Of course, we don’t know whether Yan Fu really returned home or went to Guangyuntai.
When Li Hao got up again the next day, he saw that Zeng Gong was already studying with the four Zeng brothers. Li Hao admired this, at least in terms of attitude, Zeng Gong was much better than him. After all, after learning that Ouyang Xiu was taking the exam, he relaxed somewhat. When he was reflecting on himself, he saw Fu Deng coming to send a message, saying that Sheng Hong of the Sheng Mansion and Mrs. Wang were here and talking to the Wei family in the main hall, and asked Li Hao to hurry over.
When going to the main hall, Li Hao roughly figured out the purpose of the two coming. It was just that he knew that Ouyang Xiu was in charge of this scientific examination and that he had studied there for a period of time, so he came to inquire about the situation.
After entering the main hall, Li Hao had just met Li, but he hadn't spoken yet. Then Mrs. Wang came over enthusiastically and said, "I haven't seen you in the past few days. Brother Hao seems to have lost a lot of weight. It seems that he has worked hard at studying. Your uncle Sheng has been talking about you these days, saying how you are doing." You haven't visited since then, and you said you were afraid that I was neglecting you, so you should give me a good punishment."
Li Hao quickly replied: "No way, the eldest lady has taken good care of me. It's just that I have been a little busy with schoolwork these days, so I didn't bother you. I ask my uncle for your forgiveness."
Sheng Hong then said: "That's right. Now that the examination is approaching, we are indeed a little busier, and so are your brothers Chang Bai and Chang Feng. By the way, the court has arranged for Bachelor Ouyang to preside over this examination. It turns out that you studied under Bachelor Ouyang, were you affected by it?"
Li Hao replied: "Since Mr. Ouyang was appointed as the examiner, in order to avoid suspicion, I have never asked him for advice. Moreover, Mr. Ouyang has always been strict. He probably won't let this year's examinees enter the government these days, so I just wait. I’ll visit after the scientific examination.”
Sheng Hong said: "In that case, why don't you spend these days studying alone at home? Why don't you go to my uncle's home to attend a private school? It just so happens that you and your two brothers can exchange experiences and complement each other's strengths. And Mr. Qi Erlang of the Gu family is here too, you are all young people, you can chat if you want."
After hearing this, Li Hao thought to himself, you asked me to help you to understand the style of the examiner, as if you were helping me. Then he said, "There's no need to go to such trouble. Now Senior Brother Zeng lives in my house. He is very knowledgeable. If I have any questions, I can just ask him for advice. There's no need to bother me by going to my uncle's house."
After hearing the name, Sheng Hong thought for a while and said, "Senior brother of the Zeng family, this is Zeng Gong and Zeng Zigu."
"Yes, it's Senior Brother Zeng, and my uncle knows him." Li Hao replied.
"Zeng Zigu has an outstanding talent and reputation. How could he not recognize him?" Sheng Hong thought for a moment and then said, "Brothers Changbai and Changfeng also admire Zeng Zigu greatly. Why don't you let them come to your house one day?" Come on, it would be nice to ask Zeng Zigu for advice."
Li Hao thought in his mind that it was possible for Sheng Changbai to admire Zeng Gong for his temperament, but it would be strange for Sheng Changfeng to admire Zeng Gong for his temperament of singing about the wind and the moon. But he still said: "Now that Senior Brother Zeng is studying, I will ask Senior Brother Zeng later. If Senior Brother Zeng has no objection, I will send someone to my uncle's house to let him know."
Sheng Hong responded enthusiastically, and after chatting with Li Hao for a few words, he said he would not disturb Li Hao's study and left.
When Sheng Hong and Mrs. Wang got on the carriage, Mrs. Wang said to Sheng Hong: "Nowadays, those who study in Changbai are afraid that they don't have enough time. Why do you come here to ask for advice?"
Sheng Hong said: "Zeng Zong was Ouyang Xiu's disciple, and he has been studying with him for who knows how many years. It is naturally for Changbai's good to ask Changbai to ask him for advice. We can just talk to Changbai about this matter when the time comes. He knows What to do?"
After saying that, the two of them had nothing to say, and the carriage suddenly became quiet.
Li Hao, who had seen off the two of them, went to find Zeng Gong. They happened to be resting, so he went over and said, "Senior Brother Zeng, I have two children from a relative who is also a reference for this year. I would like to come to you for a few days of advice." , I don’t know what to do.”
Zeng Gong said: "That's natural. Anyway, we have to read every day and discuss it together."
Li Hao heard this and replied: "Okay, then I will tell them." He turned around and thought for a while and then continued: "These two are brothers. One of them is Sheng Changbai. He is a decent man and his writing style is like a senior brother. I will like it. As for the other person, Sheng Changfeng, he likes to show off his literary talents and likes to recite poems and write poems, so he may need to take care of him more. There is no need to do anything specifically for them, everything will be fine as before. , if they have any problems, just explain them to them, and you don’t have to worry about changing anything.”
When Zeng Gong heard this, he heard that there seemed to be something in the words, but he left with the three brothers without saying anything.
Li Hao sent someone to Sheng Mansion to inform him of the matter, so that Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng could come over at any time.
