Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Zhao Heng forgot to return Zhao Zhen's little turtle, which was obviously purely unintentional.

But to him, it was just an insignificant and unintentional act, and to Zhao Zhen, who finally got his favorite object, it was an out-and-out bolt from the blue.

However, Zhao Heng forgot to pursue him for playing with things and losing his ambition during his study time, he should be thankful, no matter how wronged Zhao Zhen was, he would not dare to ask his father for it.

It was inevitable that he would feel a little depressed.

It wasn't until Lu Ci promised him, dumbfounded, that he would be the same little turtle as Sinan again in a few days, that his mood changed from cloudy to sunny, and he cheered up again.

It was just that he had been lying on the table for too long before, his nose was red and his eyes were wet - even if he was listening to lectures and reading seriously at this time, Lu Ci only felt cute from the bottom of his heart, but he didn't feel that he was mature and prudent.

After being stared at by Lu Ci with a smile for a while, the redness on the tip of Zhao Zhen's nose gradually spread along his pale cheeks, dyeing his ears and neck all red.

After he made his wish, he realized his shameful behavior just now, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Lu Ci sneered in his heart, pretending he didn't see anything, and calmly averted his eyes, and continued to teach, which made Zhao Zhen's embarrassment fade away naturally, and he was able to ask questions stumblingly.

When the lecture was over, Lu Ci packed up his things and was about to leave. Zhao Zhen, who had been resisting asking questions, finally tugged on Lu Ci's robe with a small force, and asked in a very low voice: "Remake only How long is the appointment, little turtle?"

Lu Ci was stunned, and said with a smile: "There are still materials left, since they are ready-made, at the latest, they can be given to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhao Zhen blinked, pursed his lips happily, and couldn't help showing a cute smile with gaps in his teeth: "I'm really bothering Lu Zuoyude."

Lu Ci smiled: "It's a trivial matter, why worry about it? Your Highness just wait in peace."

Zhao Zhen nodded seriously, then slowly returned to his seat, calmly waiting for Sun Shi, who was about to teach next.

But after seeing his depressed appearance just now, this pretentious demeanor basically lost any convincing power in Lu Ci's eyes.

Lu Ci held back his laughter, and after resigning again, Xu Bu left Zishantang under Zhao Zhen's reluctant gaze.

As he promised the little prince, it didn't take too long to simply copy a wooden tortoise, Simon, and it took only two hours to make the basic wooden model.

Then, Lu Ci painted the little turtle himself, dotted two dark eyes, drew a flat mouth line, painted auspicious patterns on the back shell, and painted toes on the short feet...

When it is completely completed, it will be a little green turtle with a lively expression and naive movements.

Satisfied with holding it in the palm of his hand, Lu Ci put it near the window sill to wait for it to dry after admiring it for a while, and then concentrated on reading the books related to the canal borrowed from the pavilion.

Since he ceased to work in the pavilion, Lu Ci cut off contact with his former colleagues when he went to Fenzhou. When he returned to the capital, he chose a day to visit Song Shou and others.

After the two sides came and went several times, the strangeness brought about by the separation was swept away, and the intimacy of the past was quickly restored.

Lu Ci's intention to maintain his friendship with Song Shou is not just because of his habit of having many connections and multiple paths, but mainly because the other party treats himself sincerely, and he is also willing to treat others sincerely.

Having said that, when Lu Ci first started to read books related to water conservancy, he suddenly heard from his servants that Song Shou didn't even bring a servant with him, and was wearing an unremarkable shirt. He rented a donkey and was mysterious. When he walked to the door, he was still slightly taken aback.

He hastily put on his coat, and personally greeted the person through the gate into the hall: "If you want to come, why don't you let me know in advance, so I can prepare something?"

Song Shou waved his hand and said with a smile on his face: "I heard some good news by accident when I was leaving, and I came to tell you the good news. Since I wanted to surprise you, if I told you in advance, why would you be so surprised? "

Lu Ci raised his eyebrows and was about to speak when Song Shou interrupted him.

Song Shou shook his head leisurely, and joked: "Everyone is Lu Sanyuan is extremely smart, so I will test you, what will this surprise be?"

Lu Ci smiled and said: "For me, the biggest surprise is that Song Lang came to visit me and didn't want to wait for a call."

Even though Song Shou knew that Lu Ci was joking, he was still amused to hear it, and said with a smile, "As expected of Zuo Yude, who is well-educated, ordinary words spoken by others can be said so nicely."

While the two were chatting and laughing, Lu Ci had already focused on two things, and made a cup of tea for Song Shou.

He doesn't like drinking, so he patiently studied tea art. In addition to his dexterity, he also took advantage of the knowledge of later generations, so he learned it with half the effort.

Although it is not self-contained, at least it is worthy of a smooth and pleasing evaluation.

From the moment Lu Ci started to stir the tea foam, Song Shou's attention was attracted, and he couldn't take his eyes off it. He didn't even notice that the topic was broken.

After Lu Ci was finished, he took it as if he had just woken up from a dream, held the tip in his hand, looked at it carefully, and nodded appreciatively.

Then, he brought the rim of the cup to his nose, took a deep sniff, and took a sip cherishingly. After savoring it carefully for a while, he couldn't help but say: "I really should call those teahouses with the banner of Sanyuan outside. Come and taste this bowl of tea soup, it's much better than the ones in their shop."

Lu Ci smiled: "Song Lang's kind words, I have the audacity to accept them. And for the sake of this sentence, I want to give you another drink later, what do you think?"

"Did you mistake me for a polite person who wants to lose face?" Song Shou has always had a straightforward temper, and immediately responded with a smile: "I can't bear to refuse the tea made by Zuo Yude himself no matter what. refused."

At this point, Song Shou finally remembered the purpose of his visit, couldn't help but slapped his head, and said with a smile: "You are so confused, can you guess it? Or is this question difficult for me?" ? You have to admit it honestly."

Lu Ci said helplessly: "What's the point of guessing? You are in the pavilion all day long, you can be said to be inseparable, you can be related to me, it can be called a happy event, and you can 'accidentally know'," Song Shou was dissatisfied He gave him a serious look, "It can be seen that the news is not being kept secret... Ninety-nine percent of the time there is a list of candidates for the post of the library, and among the three friends I recommended, someone happened to be among them?"

Song Shou was stunned from the moment when Lu Ci was in the middle of the analysis with only a few words, and sighed after a long while: "If I were thirty percent as sharp as you, I wouldn't have spent more than ten years in the pavilion, taking every step. No promotion."

Lu Ci said, "People have their strengths, but they also have their weaknesses. Song Lang's ability in collation is something I can only admire. Besides, isn't Song Lang the most fond of burying his head in books, working with paper and ink? Like a library staff When I leave such a noble place, I am so reluctant to part with it, even if you really have a chance to be promoted, you may not be willing to leave that precious place."

Listening to Song Shou, it was much more comfortable than the simple words of consolation he got when he complained with his friends on weekdays. He couldn't help laughing and said, "I'm not as good as Lu Lang, but I'm not as thorough as Lu Lang. Come on, since If you guessed it right, then I won’t be fooling around anymore and tell you which two were selected.”

Lu Ci was slightly surprised: "You actually won two prizes?"

Song Shou nodded: "One's surname is Liu, and the other's surname is Zhu."

This was a real surprise.

Lu Ci knew that his recommendation was only a stepping stone for the three of them, and that they could really get this opportunity would depend on the performance evaluations they had left in the Ministry of Officials in the past two years.

This clearly means that during the time they were apart, Zhu Shuo and Liu Qi worked very hard and worked hard so that they could be appreciated by their superiors.

Of course, the reason why Teng Zongliang is slightly inferior is not necessarily that he is not diligent enough, but that his ranking or official position has always been the lowest among the few people, and the authority he has access to has also been subject to more You can't play as you wish.

After finishing speaking, Song Shou suddenly remembered that he had brought a small backpack, so he quickly untied it, put it on the table, and explained: "I have been working in the pavilion for so many years, even if I have no right to recommend it, I still have the right to recommend it. In previous years, there were still a few ways to get the exam questions. There is a reason for the expansion of the library position this time, and the conditions must be relaxed, so you can show them these as a reference."

For Lu Ci, who was thinking about how to help the two prepare for the exam, it was really timely.

After completing the task of this trip, Song Shou didn't even have a second cup of tea, but hurriedly bid farewell to him because he was thinking about the book he hadn't finished reading in the house.

Knowing his temperament, Lu Ci insisted not to keep him. He just made an appointment with him to visit him next time, and then he sent him out without hesitation.

In the next few days, apart from submitting a few documents about water control and canals one after another, he waited peacefully for Kou Zhun to snatch food from Lin Te and get the approval, while concentrating on research. Starting from the range of questions given by Song Shou in previous years.

After going through the three major examinations of the scientific examination, this can only be regarded as a further selection library examination, and the experienced Lu Ci can easily understand the content.

While reading, he wrote down his thoughts one by one, and explained them to Zhu Shuo and Liu Qi when the time came.

Ten days later in the blink of an eye.

If Wang Qin has to be recalled to Beijing, his mentality will be quite different from last time.

He knew very well in his heart that if he wanted to gain a firm foothold, the key only fell on His Majesty.

As for the court, it's not that he, who is not clear about his job and doesn't understand the situation because of his long absence, can control it in a delusional way.

Wang Qinruo has always been very knowledgeable about current affairs. With his old opponent Kou Zhun in full swing, after returning with Lin Te and others, he wisely chose to avoid the edge temporarily.

Kou Zhun was also a little more cautious than usual, and his attitude towards His Majesty was also much gentler. After a while, Wang Qinruo couldn't find a suitable time to strike.

Seeing this, Lu Ci knew that he would have to wait at least a while longer for the funding and ministry he wanted.

But it doesn't matter.

The best time for water control is spring and not winter. In winter, the canals freeze and the dams are full of frozen soil, which is not suitable.

Afterwards, Liu Qi led a convoy full of gifts from Mizhou folks and elders who insisted on giving Lu Ci, and arrived in front of the long-lost Bianjing city gate.

When it was heard that Liuzhi County was going to Beijing, if he was lucky enough to be selected by Queping, he would never have to come back and could stay in Bianjing for a long time, Mizhou was once boiling.

At first, Liu Qi thought it was her many actions dedicated to the people, which made them very reluctant. Just when she was about to be moved to tears, and when she wrote a poem, she was dumbfounded when she learned that the threshold of her family would be broken down next. Nothing to do with him.

Knowing the close relationship between Liu Qi and Lu Ci, people from Mizhou came to ask for help one after another, and wanted Liu Qi to bring Xiaoli.

So it was sent to Lu Ci, the pride of Mizhou who made them brag about it for two years.

After checking, Liu Qi found that they were all dried foods and dipping sauces, or some weird and small prices, so that Lu Ci would not be suspected of accepting bribes, so he agreed to accept them.

At this time, while waiting in line for inspection, Liu Qi raised her head, looked up at the majestic city with longing, and secretly made up her mind.

No matter what happens in the library test this time, you must pass it.

As for who is capable, and who will be willing to give him this precious opportunity to return to Beijing early or work in a holy place like Pavilion, he knows who it is without even thinking about it.

Besides Xiao Taotie, who else is willing to spare no effort to support him?

Even in order not to waste this expectation and heart, he must not fail the test in the library.

It's just the thousands of emotions lingering in his chest. After seeing Lu Ci's familiar gentle smile, a thick stack of study materials that seem to be familiar to him, and an extremely familiar and densely packed itinerary...

The smile on Liu Qi's face slowly disappeared unconsciously.

It turned out that before entering Beijing, he and Zhudi had already been arranged clearly.