Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 889 Temple Etiquette

"Father! There are distinguished guests coming!!"

Wang Yuan yelled, and pulled Liu Liang into the courtyard.

This courtyard is not big, but it is very exquisite. The walls of the courtyard have just been painted, both inside and outside. It is very clean and beautiful. The soil in the courtyard is pressed very flat. There is a dog kennel at the entrance. There were actually three dogs inside, the warehouse on the other side was locked, and on the opposite side were three tall and grand houses with glass windows and brand new wooden doors. The flowers form a natural shade.

The inner side of the courtyard wall was dug into a vegetable garden. Liu Liang saw all kinds of vegetables growing well.

The bleating of cattle and sheep can be heard from behind the house.

Wang Yuan led Liu Liang in, and immediately yelled at the chickens in the vegetable garden, stomping their feet vigorously, scaring them away.

"Why did you run out again? It was locked in the backyard! It's a disaster for our vegetable field all day long!"

Wang Yuan cursed and shouted again: "Father!! Mother!!!"

"Father is not here!"

Hearing a person shouting, he walked out of the side room impatiently. The one who came out was a young man who looked exactly like Wang Yuan, but much younger than him. He was dressed very unusually. The hair was combed shiny and clean, without any trace of suffering.

Wang Yuan glared at him and scolded: "Didn't you see that there are guests? Why don't you meet Mr. Lu soon?!"

Then the young man saluted Liu Liang slightly, and it was regarded as a greeting.

Wang Yuan scolded again: "Drive the chicken back to the backyard!"

As he said that, he looked at Liu Liang who was at the side, and explained: "This is my younger brother Ze. This Zhu Zi is studying at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and he just happens to be on vacation today."

Lu Liang nodded, and Wang Yuan dragged him to the wooden frame in the front yard, let him sit on the upper seat, and moved the Hu table from somewhere, and the two sat facing each other, Wang Yuan called out again : "Then! Butcher a chicken to entertain the guests!"

Wang Ze, who was driving the chicken, looked aggrieved, "I can't. You can do it yourself."

"Fart! What's wrong with that?! I've started butchering pigs at your age!! Go in and kill chickens now!!!"

Liu Liang hurriedly grabbed Wang Yuan's hand, "It's okay, it's okay, there's no need to be like this."

Wang Yuan looked at his brother who was motionless, and was extremely annoyed. He stepped forward and kicked, "Didn't you hear me?!"

Wang Ze was kicked by his brother, his eyes turned red, and he raised his head and shouted, "Mother!!!"

The sound of clicking, clicking, clicking in the inner room suddenly stopped, and a woman came out in a hurry, "What's the matter? What's the matter?"

Wang Ze hurriedly ran to the woman's side, "Brother beat me up!!"

The woman looked at Wang Yuan, and was about to scold something, but noticed the guests beside him, and immediately put on a straight face, "Are you making your elder brother angry again?!"

Wang Yuan said helplessly: "Mother, I have a good friend here, I asked this guy to butcher a chicken, and he dare not call him a real man, how decent is he!"

The woman looked at Lu Liang, and immediately laughed, "This gentleman is so handsome, come on, come on, sit down, you sit down, I'll go, I'll kill."

Wang Ze still wanted to say something, but the woman slapped his hand suddenly and cursed: "Go back and read your book!"

Wang Ze walked into the inner room aggrieved.

Liu Liang stood up hastily, "How dare you trouble your lord."

The woman smiled, "There is nothing to worry about, just sit down!"

The woman walked to the backyard very quickly, Wang Yuan looked disdainful, "The young people now are really different from us at the beginning, they are very big, a head taller than me, but even Even a chicken would not dare to kill you. Look at his appearance. He knows how to dress up all day long. He makes himself look like a woman. He has to wash his face six or seven times a day! What else did he buy? He said it was soap? There are face washers, There are those who wash their feet, and those who wash their teeth. I don’t understand.”

Liu Liang smiled lightly and said, "It's a good thing to know how to be clean. Besides, the child is still young now. When he gets older, he won't be like this."

"My younger brother, he has never experienced hardship since he was born. He studied in the county school and went to the national school after graduation. The family's intention is to let him study in the Taixue. If he puts his mind on his studies, he will soon Just study too!"

"Most of the children nowadays are like this. My father often said that everyone has a love for beauty. It's understandable."

This person who came from ordinary people moved his father out, and Wang Yuan didn't dare to refute immediately.

While the two were chatting, they saw an old man wandering into the courtyard, holding a bag with his hands behind his back, humming something, Wang Yuan hurriedly got up, and Liu Liang also got up.

The two met this person together in worship.

Seeing that there were guests at home, the old man was quite happy, and returned the gift with Liu Liang.

"Father, where did you go?"

"Oh, I went to play chess with Lao Zhou and the others. It just so happened that I saw a man selling fruit on the way. They were all fresh, so I bought some. Come, come, put them on!"

The old man was very enthusiastic, and hurriedly put all the fruits he brought in front of Liu Liang.

Immediately the old man also sat aside, looking at Liu Liang in front of him with a smile.

"What a handsome young man. What do you do at home?"

"It's a farmer"

"Hahaha, no matter how you look at it, you don't look like a child of a farmer's family. Then your family must have thousands of acres of arable land?"

"Here."

Wang Yuan cleared his throat, "Father, eat some fruit!"

The old man was still reluctant, "What's your father's name? Is he a local? Maybe I still know him!"

"My father's name is Lu Chang. He's not from the local area. He moved here from Tang."

The corner of Wang Yuan's mouth twitched, and he took a deep breath, but the old man continued: "Then I don't know each other anymore, have you ever married?"

"Not yet."

The old man shook his head, "It's getting late for you young people to start a family. Back then, we had already started a family since the 20th and [-]th. Yuan is my third son. When he was born, I was only in my [-]s. years old!"

"Yuan is in his 20s now, but he hasn't married yet."

Wang Yuan scratched his head, "Father, don't talk about that anymore today."

Liu Liang was a little curious about the old man, he asked: "What did the old man do in the past?"

The old man was immediately turned into a chatterbox. He recalled the past and said seriously: "Three generations of my family are all local carpenters. I remember that when I was young, my family was very poor, so I could only work from house to house. Looking for business, repairing people, but still not getting any money, I can only get a bite to eat, and only some big people can make furniture and so on, and I can get a lot of income. I don’t even have clothes to wear at home. They are all naked, haha, I only had a set of clothes before I got married, and I used to wear grass clothes before that, do you know grass clothes? Have you never seen them?"

"String up hay and hang it around your waist to keep birds out. This is the kind of clothes."

"Later, when the Holy Son of Heaven came to the throne, the days changed suddenly. Every family became richer. More and more people asked me to make furniture and tools. I also took in many disciples and taught them carpentry. There is also a lot of income. I made a spinning wheel for my wife at home, and the two of them worked together. Life is good now. These two sons have grown up. One is in the county government and the other is in the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Unfortunately, I haven’t hugged him yet grandson."

As the old man spoke, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Where's your mother?"

"She's slaughtering chickens in the backyard. My friend came over and I asked her to kill a chicken."

"Bullshit!"

The old man said with a straight face, "Who is enough for a chicken? You must get a lamb!"

He got up and was about to walk towards the backyard, but Liu Liang hurriedly stopped him, "Old man, you don't have to do that, you don't have to do that, the chicken is enough, don't do that."

However, Liu Liang obviously couldn't persuade the old man. Although Liu Liang refused in every possible way, the old man still stubbornly walked into the backyard. Liu Liang looked helpless, "Yuan, your family is too warm, and I won't do it again." dare to come"

Wang Yuan shook his head, "We people in Chang'an have always been like this. At first glance, Mr. Lu has never been to ordinary people. Ahem, I don't really like to go to other people's mansions."

The old man still killed a lamb to entertain the guests, which made Liu Liang feel flattered.

Everyone ate meat together, and the old man kept urging Liu Liang to eat more.

Wang Ze just ate two mouthfuls and was about to go back to study, but was reprimanded by Wang Yuan again.

The old man explained with a helpless face: "When this was born, both the mother and the child were almost unable to keep it. Fortunately, they went to the hospital in time, so his mother has always loved him."

Liu Liang nodded, "The youngest child in the family is usually very pampered."

"My younger brother has also traveled far away recently, and everyone in the family misses him very much. Although my father didn't say it clearly, he often looked at me in a daze, and my mother was even more so. She washed her face with tears all day long. Sigh, in fact, I also miss him a lot. Brother's."

"Oh, how many children are there in your family?"

"Five children, I have two older brothers, one younger brother and one younger sister."

"Five children, that's great. It must be very lively at home."

"Well, it's not very lively. My elder brother is very busy. He works outside all day and rarely comes back. Besides, he has already married. The second brother has gone to other places, and the fourth brother has also gone to other places. In another year, I will Probably leaving too."

Hearing what he said, the old man shook his head immediately, "Well, although the food and clothing are good today, it is still different from the past. In the past, children were unwilling to go far away. It’s a narrow escape, it’s not like now, everyone is going out, and few people stay with their parents anymore.”

Liu Liang has eaten meat many times, but he has never eaten such delicious meat. He didn't eat much, but today he ate a lot, and almost swallowed all the bones. The old man even took out the treasured meat Drinks, three people sit down and eat wine together.

The old man was very happy, "This is the first time Yuan brought his friends here. This kid has a dull personality and doesn't want to make friends. When he was in the county school, he was always bullied. I am very discerning." At that time, as soon as the county school was mentioned, I sent the children there, even if it cost money. Hahaha, in the whole county school, only my children were from common people, and the rest were rich and powerful, and then those people bullied Yuan, what kind of craftsman's son he is, he doesn't even want to go to school, he hugs his mother and cries all day long, no matter what he doesn't want to go!"

"At that time, there were very few people who sent their children to county schools. It was all because of my good vision. I knew this was an opportunity!"

"His mother advised me all day long, saying don't let the child go, don't let the child go, and let him learn carpentry from me."

"I was angry at the time, so what about the rich and powerful? The more they look down on them, the more they want to go. This is an opportunity to change themselves. Do you want to be looked down upon for the rest of your life? I send him there every day, and he keeps running , as soon as he ran away, I chased after him. Hahaha, just let him finish the county school. What a pity. There is no way to get into Chinese studies, so let him come back and learn carpentry from me."

"At that time, people around me laughed at me, saying that I let my children go to school, spent so much money, and finally followed me to learn carpentry."

"But, now they don't dare to speak anymore. Although this Zhuzi is stupid, he can read. He went to take the yamen servant test and passed it. Hahaha, now no one dares to provoke my family easily. People still salute me when they see me!"

The old man said happily, but Wang Yuan's face turned red.

Liu Liang listened very seriously, "Does this kind of bullying still happen in county schools now?"

The old man shook his head, "Probably not anymore. Now there are a lot of people who send their children to county schools. My youngest son has never been bullied like this. He gets along very well with his classmates. He often takes them with him. Come to the house, and now the national studies exam seems not as difficult as it used to be. We still want him to enter the Imperial Academy. If he enters the Imperial Academy, it will be blessed by the ancestors. official."

When he came out from here, Liu Liang was a little drunk and staggered, but Wang Yuan was fine, he was fine with supporting him.

"Lu Jun, you are drunk, why don't you just stay at my house for a day and don't go back."

"It's okay, I'm fine!"

Liu Liang waved his hand, "I haven't been so happy for a long time. Another day, I must invite Father over here, let him sit here, and chatting with him will definitely make him happier. Even more"

Looking at Liu Liang who was already drunk, Wang Yuan smiled wryly, what should we do?Send it directly to the palace? ?
The entrance of the Ritual Department was still full of people coming and going, which seemed very lively.

Lu Gong has already returned home, but the newly appointed Zhidu has not come for a long time. It is said that he returned to Chang'an very early, but for some unknown reason, he has not come to the Ministry of Rites so far.

Suddenly, a group of soldiers came rushing from a distance, and quickly surrounded the entire Ministry of Rites. A man in armor walked out from among the soldiers and walked directly into the Ministry of Rites mansion.

The official hurried forward, "this general"

"Get it for me!!"

Zhidu gave an order, and immediately a soldier pressed the official to the ground. The person who came was Zhidu, and Zhidu stared at the officials around him. Dare to speak.

Zhidu looked at them one by one, and saw the familiar figures back then.

At this moment, someone came out from the inside. The man had a long beard, and he didn't have any fear when he saw the soldiers in front of him.

"Who are you? What do you want to do?!"

Zhidu looked at him, "Who are you?"

"Zuo Cheng Hu Wusheng, who are you?"

"I'm Zhidu."

As soon as he opened his mouth, the officials suddenly realized, but then they were very surprised. They all knew that Zhi was going to take over Duke Lu, but why did they bring soldiers here?Arresting people as soon as they come, what exactly is this going to do?
Hu Wusheng bowed to Zhidu, and then asked the same doubt, "Why is this, Mr. Zhi?"

Zhidu sneered, "There are many temples and mansions, and the affairs are lax. As the head of all the departments, the Ministry of Rites should not only lead by example, but even supervise other institutions. However, after I came to Chang'an, I found that the Ministry of Rites is so unbearable. , For several days, you have been discussing how to welcome me, but you have not done anything, is it because Lu Gong is too lenient to you?"

Hu Wusheng pursed his lips immediately and did not speak again.

Ever since Lu Jia fell ill, the officials of the Ministry of Rites had already put their minds on how to welcome the new officials, and were no longer interested in government affairs. Although Hu Wusheng had rectified many times, the results were not obvious.

Zhi Du squinted his eyes, "Today, the whole temple needs to be reorganized from the Ministry of Rites. The temple is set up for doing business, and it is here to talk and do empty things all day long. How can such a person deserve a salary?"

When the officials saw Zhidu's attitude, they immediately mustered up their courage, and someone shouted: "We have been busy these days. How can we not do practical things?"

Zhidu signaled to the soldier beside him, who rushed in immediately and rummaged through it.

Soon, the soldier came to Zhidu with a piece of paper, and Zhidu showed the paper to everyone, with only one line written on it, "If you can check it in time, you will not be killed, Zhidu."

Zhidu said indifferently: "This piece of paper was written by me myself. It has been here for more than ten days, has anyone come to read it?"

The officials turned pale with fright, and the official who made Zhidu record that day also suddenly remembered this person, his legs gave way, and he almost fell to the ground.

"Come here, take away these people who are negligent in government affairs. Send them to the Ministry of Punishment and let them investigate carefully!!"

Hu Wusheng hurried forward and said helplessly: "Gong Zhi, they are at fault, but they are all capable ministers of the Ministry of Rites. You can't take them all away. If they are all taken away, who will come?" What about the Ministry of Rites? Please forgive their sins once more.”

Hearing Hu Wusheng's words, Zhidu immediately sneered.

"In this world, is there still a shortage of people who want to be officials?"

"The Ministry of Rites sets the rules of etiquette for the world, and the rules of etiquette in temples are to do things seriously and work hard for the king!!"

"People who can't even do it themselves, what kind of etiquette are they talking about! Take them all to me!!"

"Officials of the Ministry of Rites, change to another batch!!!"

(End of this chapter)