My name is Chang An, your name is Gu Li

At 3 p.m., Chang An, who was sitting on the bed reading a book, suddenly heard a knock on the door. He was startled and looked at Gu Li who was taking a nap. He was relieved when he saw that she was still asleep. He put down the book, walked to the door quietly and slowly, opened the door and went out.

When he went out of the room, he found that it was Chang Wenmeng, so he greeted him, "Father."

"What were you doing in there just now? You didn't say a word." Chang Wenmeng complained first.

"Mother Gu is sleeping, and I don't want to wake her up." Chang An said, "Father, is there anything wrong?"

"It's nothing. I'm just going to the palace to pay my respects soon. Your Aunt Qing will come back for dinner soon. It's rare for her to come back, so remember to treat her well. Make some of your food for your Aunt Qing." Chang Wenmeng said.

"It's about this matter. I know. Don't worry, father." Chang An assured.

"That's good." Chang Wenmeng nodded, straightened his official hat, turned and left, and Chang An also returned to the room and continued to stay by Gu Li's side.

After leaving Chang Mansion, Chang Wenmeng got on the carriage and headed towards the imperial city.

Chang Wenmeng's carriage arrived at the gate of the imperial city. Since the carriages of officials and civilians could not enter the imperial city, Chang Wenmeng had to get off the carriage and walk in alone. On the way to Daming Palace, he would occasionally meet three or two of his colleagues. After greeting each other, they would go to Daming Palace together.

Arriving at the Hanyuan Hall of the Daming Palace, there were already many officials chatting inside, and the two people standing closest to the main seat in the hall were Song Jing and Su Qiang. As soon as Song Jing saw Chang Wenmeng coming in, he hurried to him.

"Prime Minister Song." Chang Wenmeng bowed and greeted Song Jing.

"Doctor Chang." Song Jing simply returned the greeting. "Do you know how much Yonghe contributed to this evil money issue?"

Chang Wenmeng was stunned for a moment, then laughed and said, "Prime Minister Song, you are joking. How could my son contribute to this matter?"

"I'm not kidding. If you don't believe me, go ask Censor Zhang and the others. Last time I asked Yonghe to come, I wanted him to learn from us and discuss how to deal with bad money." Song Jing explained, "But I never thought that Yonghe would come up with a really good idea for us old guys. Even the current emperor agreed, and we have already started to try it out."

Chang Wenmeng was a little surprised when he heard this, and quickly confirmed: "Is Prime Minister Song serious?"

"Of course it's true," Song Jing said with satisfaction, "I have to say that Yonghe has taught us a lesson. The young are indeed formidable."

Chang Wenmeng could only smile, and then he heard Song Jing continue to say: "Just based on the fact that Yonghe came up with the plan, if this method succeeds in the future, he will be a first-class hero. When it comes to rewarding merits in the future, he may be on par with you, Dr. Chang."

"If that's true, then I have nothing to say. After all, he earned it with his own ability." Chang Wenmeng replied with some pride at this time.

So the officials chatted for an unknown amount of time before an eunuch came out and shouted:

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, all the officials hurried to the front of the hall, lined up neatly according to their rank, saluted with both hands, bowed their heads, and waited quietly for Li Longji to appear.

After a while, all the officials heard Li Longji's voice: "My Lords."

All the officials knelt down and saluted, shouting in unison: "Your Highness, long live the emperor."

"My dear ministers, please don't be polite and take your seats." Li Longji's voice came again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

At this time, all the officials stood up and sat down in order of their ranks. At this time, all the officials looked at the main seat: Li Longji and Queen Wang were sitting on the main seat, and below them were Li Longji's eldest son Li Cong and the crown prince Li Ying, who was just over thirteen years old. The younger Li Heng and Li Yao were not old enough, so they did not need to attend the court celebration.

Li Longji raised the wine jar and raised his glasses towards all the officials sitting below. The officials also raised their glasses and stood up to toast Li Longji.

After sitting for a while and eating something, the officials began the first ceremony. They raised their wine glasses to salute Li Longji and drank it all. Then they returned to their seats, chatted for a few minutes, ate something, and then raised their wine glasses to salute Li Longji again.

Then Li Longji said: "Today is the winter solstice, my dear ministers, don't be restrained, just drink and eat as you please."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

As a result, all the officials present began to talk to the officials around them, and some even toasted other officials across their seats.

Chang Wenmeng was also the one being toasted. A Zhongchengling held a wine glass and toasted Chang Wenmeng with admiration in his eyes. At this time, an official who was also a doctor of the Imperial College and sat next to Chang Wenmeng said:

"Dr. Chang, this is Zhou Chengling. He also admires your son very much."

Chang Wenmeng was stunned for a moment, and asked tentatively: "What about the issue of dealing with evil money?"

"That's right." The doctor nodded.

Chang Wenmeng's mouth twitched at this time. At this time, another official who was sitting closer to the front came to toast him from a distance. He couldn't help but become curious, and kept muttering in his heart, what idea did Chang An give to Song Jing and the others, so many people toasted him.

He suddenly saw the main seat, and when Crown Prince Li Ying noticed Chang Wenmeng's gaze, he also raised his glass to toast him. Chang Wenmeng immediately sat up straight and raised his glass with both hands to toast him back.

At this time, the doctor beside him said: "The prince has read your poems and articles, and he is very envious and admires your talent."

Chang Wenmeng felt even more incredible at this time. He himself didn't know that his son was so famous and his poems and essays could even reach the ears of the prince.

He drank the wine in the cup silently, and then it was time to pay respects again. He could only ignore all these things and stand among the officials to toast Li Longji.

During the dinner, Chang Wenmeng was mostly silent, occasionally responding to others' toasts. Then he thought of something else:

Although the governance of the evil money has the support of ministers such as Song Jing and Su Ke, this kind of thing will definitely shake the interests of some ministers. Even if few people know about it now, when it comes to rewarding merits in the future, Chang An will definitely be the first to receive the credit.

In addition, with the favor of the prince, if he passed the imperial examination and entered the court in the future, he would definitely be noticed by some officials. At that time, Chang An would certainly be excluded or targeted, and it would be difficult for him to work in the court. Thinking of this, Chang Wenmeng couldn't help but feel a little worried.

With such anxiety, Chang Wenmeng and all the officials toasted Li Longji again. After about the tenth toast, Li Longji allowed the officials to move around and talk with other officials face to face. It was at this time that Crown Prince Li Ying left his seat and walked in front of Chang Wenmeng.

"Dr. Chang." Li Ying raised the wine bottle and saluted to Chang Wenmeng.

"Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Chang Wenmeng quickly returned the greeting respectfully.

"I wonder if your son will participate in the next year's spring exam?" Li Ying asked. "If he does, I can come forward and tell my father to let him take the first place."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. My son has not yet completed his studies at the Imperial College and does not plan to take part in the imperial examination next year," Chang Wenmeng replied.

"Then I wonder if your son has ever told you when he plans to take part in the imperial examination?" Li Ying seemed a little disappointed, but then asked.

"My son said that the earliest would be next year," Chang Wenmeng replied.

Li Ying nodded and said, "Doctor Chang, please don't blame me for being presumptuous. In fact, I admire your son's talent and want him to enter the court as soon as possible to serve my father."

"Especially the poem about climbing a mountain that your son wrote on the Double Ninth Festival, which made me admire your son's broad mind."

Although he was in the midst of congratulations, Li Ying's tone was filled with unstoppable admiration.

"Your Highness, thank you for your compliment." Chang Wenmeng didn't know how to respond, so he could only say it modestly.

"That's not an exaggeration. I'm telling the truth." Li Ying smiled, "Remember to say hello to your son for me."

"I will."

Li Ying moved his glass closer, and Chang Wenmeng understood and raised his glass, bowed slightly, and then drank the wine in one gulp.

"My father has given me a banquet today, please enjoy it, Doctor Chang." Li Ying said politely again, then turned and left.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After Chang Wenmeng watched the prince leave, another official came up. He was the official who participated in the discussion in the Prime Minister's Mansion that day.

"Dr. Chang," the official greeted.

"Wu Shaoqing."

"Recently, your son has become quite famous here." Wu Shaoqing said with a smile.

"It's all because my son is young and frivolous." Chang Wenmeng replied somewhat embarrassedly.

"He is young and frivolous, but he has the qualifications." Wu Shaoqing said, "I heard that some old guys are suppressing their wives and not letting anyone come to propose marriage."

"What does Mr. Wu mean?" Chang Wenmeng was a little confused. What does it have to do with his son if those high-ranking officials don't marry their daughters?

"Dr. Chang, you can't think of this?" Wu Shaoqing smiled, looked around, and explained with a smile: "Didn't your son marry a merchant's daughter a few days ago? Those assistant ministers and censors wanted to put their wives' marriages on hold first, and then send people to propose marriage to your son after he passed the imperial examination."

"This..." Chang Wenmeng was a little embarrassed at this time, "What virtue and ability has my son possessed?"

"Doctor Chang, think about it. The evil money issue has troubled our Tang Dynasty for many years, and your son has come up with a very effective method. In the future, the emperor will reward him according to his merits. In addition, your son's talent is unmatched." Wu Shaoqing said, "So, those old guys have already started preparing for their daughter's marriage."

Chang Wenmeng had previously devoted himself to the study of the classics and generally did not care about such matters. But after hearing so much about Chang An today, he understood a lot. He smiled and shook his head:

"My son will never remarry."

"Even if it's a granted marriage, my son won't agree."

This time it was Wu Shaoqing's turn to be stunned for a moment and asked, "Why is this?"

"My son's affairs are a matter of life and death." Chang Wenmeng smiled and replied.

Wu Shaoqing wanted to continue asking questions, but he had no choice but to perform the ceremony and then accept the emperor's reward.

At this time, the time outside was 2:00 p.m., and after all the officials had received their rewards, it would be the hour of Hai, just in time for the last drinking party. If Wu Shaoqing wanted to ask Chang Wenmeng about these things again, he would probably have to wait until the next time he was free.