Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

When the people in Fanlou had drunk for three rounds and their faces were slightly tipsy, Yan Shu took a moment when Liu and Zhu were looking out the window, and suddenly listened to him, and reminded Lu Ci in a low voice: "You are an official of the Eastern Palace, so you should not drink too much. Reward, otherwise it will be easy for the censor to bomb."

Lu Ci nodded: "This is a special case, if you can avoid it in the future."

Although officials and bureaucrats have obtained the acquiescence of the officials to hang out and drink in the Yanguan singing and dancing building, it is not an honorable thing to linger in the place of fireworks and singing and dancing.

This can be seen from the fact that other scholars or bureaucrats seldom left poems when they gathered in restaurants and song halls.

As a bureaucrat of the Eastern Palace, Lu Ci is more bound by etiquette and law.

Seeing that Lu Ci knew what was in his mind, Yan Shu nodded, and then said leniently, "However, all foreign officials will have a big banquet for their colleagues to show their congratulations. Since both of their colleagues are not in Beijing, you will act as their representative." Prepare a banquet, talk about the friendship of the same year, if you really want to talk about it, you can't pick up the mistakes."

If Yu Shitai refuses to let go of this, as one of the people attending the banquet, he can open his mouth to argue for Jiutong.

Lu Ci understood Yan Shu's unspoken meaning, couldn't help smiling, and didn't refuse. Instead, he raised his cup and lightly touched the rim of the other's cup: "Brother Yan, don't worry about it."

Yan Shu smiled knowingly: "It's nothing to do with a little effort."

The eyes of the two were shining brightly, so they raised the cup tacitly, and drank a cup gracefully.

This scene was precisely caught by Liu Qi who had just turned his gaze away from those glamorous singing girls, who wanted to take the flagon and add another glass.

The two have such a good understanding, obviously it can't be formed overnight.

Liu Qi took a deep breath with a feeling of toothache, and hated to think of Xiao Taotie's pitiful description of herself not long ago, coaxing his blood to rush, studying hard...

Lu Ci pretended not to see the black air of resentment constantly emerging from Liu Qi, and joked with Zhu who was still focused on looking out of the window with a smile: "Which rare beauty is it that has attracted Brother Zhu's heart? "

Zhu said that he just woke up from a dream, and left the window as quickly as if he had been scalded by boiling water. He quickly defended, "What I saw just now was not a singer."

Lu Ci raised his eyebrows, and Yan Shu smiled knowingly.

Liu Qi glanced at Zhu Shuo, who was almost flustered, with a look of "bystander's clearness".

From Liu Qi's point of view, even if Zhu Shuo was really attracted by the beauty of the singing girls, as long as he said it openly, the little Taotie would have nothing to do with them, at most he would just laugh it off.

On the contrary, Zhu said that the more coy and embarrassing he behaved, the more he would be chased and ridiculed by Qiao Tong until his face turned red.

Lu Ci really showed a look of interest, and asked maliciously: "Then what exactly is Brother Zhu looking at?"

Zhu said that he frowned, but he didn't have the slightest guilty conscience that the three of them expected, but after hesitating for a while, he finally told the truth: "I don't know why, I always feel that the little ladies in the tea house across the street have been Stare at Brother Lu."

Because his back was facing the direction of the window, he felt like a thorn on his back before, so he couldn't help but pay more attention to it, and then he saw the clue.

Hearing this, Yan Shu and Liu Qi suddenly regained their spirits.

They resisted the urge to go to the bedside to find out what happened, and they turned their heads in unison, with the same smirk on their faces at some point, and looked at Lu Ci fixedly.

However, Lu Ci, who was watched by his friends, had already got up, walked to the window in a leisurely manner, and calmly took off the bead curtains on both sides.

In the midst of the brilliant lights is the radiant golden bead curtain, which immediately blocks the scorching sight.

Liu Qi seemed to be able to hear the sigh of Jiaoniang faintly coming from the other end.

"Brother Zhu must have the strength of wine, and he misread it by accident." Lu Ci looked at Liu Yan and the two with a smile: "Isn't it?"

Who doesn't know that since Lu Ci came back to Beijing, he has been harassed by the enthusiasm of the Iceman and the young lady who is about to marry, and he has been extremely respectful and insensitive to this?

Liu Qi glanced at Yan Shu unconsciously, wondering if this person would admit frankly that they really wanted to see the little Taotie's joke.

However, Yan Shu smiled very wisely, opened his eyes and said nonsense: "Brother Zhu was only greedy for drinking, he was indeed drunk, he must have been dazzled."

The corner of Liu Qi's mouth twitched.

Sure enough, I shouldn't think highly of this person.

Zhu said that he was dubious at first, but when he heard Yan Shu's words, his eyes flashed a glimpse of understanding very quickly, so he sat down calmly, silently pushed the wine cup away, and replaced it with the hangover soup that he had called earlier.

After blocking Jiao Niang's sight, Lu Ci regained his ease, and when drinking with a few friends, he took the initiative to mention the affairs in the pavilion: "Although I haven't worked in the library for a long time, I know a few people who are upright and honest. , are worth making friends with, after you are officially selected, I will introduce them to you."

Without waiting for Liu Qi and Zhu to say thank you, Lu Ci changed the subject and pointed at Liu Qi: "Compared with magistrates, the post in the pavilion is much more leisurely, so the same house often has leisure time to get together, compose poems and sing for remuneration. Eating and drinking seems to be a trivial matter, but it causes many problems. Expenses are one item, damage to rumors is another item, embarrassment of morals is another item, and it is easy to talk about grudges when you are drunk... Especially you, Brother Liu, You must do it with caution, and then you will feel like a fish in water, but you will end up being impeached and resented, but you don’t know why.”

According to Lu Ci, the place of noble pavilions and pavilions has become a dangerous place where the frontier is hidden.

Liu Qi didn't know whether to laugh or cry and said, "Now my every move is under the eyes of Yu Yu, how can there be any outrageous behavior?"

Having said that, Liu Qi could clearly feel that his heart, which was gradually fluttering because of the too simple test questions in the morning, had calmed down a lot.

Zhu said thoughtfully, and asked for a while, "Is it necessary to go to those banquet invitations?"

Lu Ci smiled and shook his head: "It varies from person to person, so I seldom socialize."

Zhu said that he was completely relieved now.

Yan Shu listened quietly, and couldn't help interjecting at this moment: "There are many scholars in the pavilion who are obsessed with learning. If you can associate with them, you will definitely benefit a lot. Don't treat them all as scourges. If you are invited to his house If you go to the mansion to appreciate ancient books and famous paintings, you can go to the appointment, but those who linger around the wine pool, you don't need to bother."

Liu Qi, who was once the 'people who linger in the flower array and wine pool': "..."

Lu Ci smiled and said: "That's right. There are a lot of rare books stored at home, just for this purpose. After you start working, if you meet a colleague who likes you, you might as well invite him to your home so that I can meet him too. .”

Because his tone was so natural, Liu and Zhu, who were still immersed in the pavilion environment he described, hadn't noticed anything, but Yan Shu keenly caught it.

Yan Shu was slightly taken aback, and couldn't help but take a serious look at Liu Zhu and the others, reassessing the weight these two held in Lu Ci's heart.

According to what Lu Ci just said, it is not a temporary thing to take in two friends at home, but a long-term plan?

Otherwise, no matter how good the relationship is, how could they be willing to take out their own mansion and generously serve as a gathering place for several people to make new friends, and share those rare ancient books with others as a matter of course.

Otherwise, for most officials from poor families, if they want to entertain guests, they have to go to wine shops due to limited housing conditions and incomplete utensils, which will damage the rumors and be impeached frequently.

Because Lu Yan and Lu Yan are not resting and bathing tomorrow, they not only have duties, but also need to go to the court meeting, the four of them did not drink all night, but went back home together after their interest was exhausted.

What Lu Ci still doesn't know is that from today onwards, the rich collection in his room that can most invite scholars of the Qing Dynasty to come to the collection is no longer the ancient books he once thought, but the books he painted on a whim. After playing, I gave the prince a painting for appreciation.

After the morning court, it was rare to meet something of interest, and I studied it for most of the night when I was happy. At this moment, Zhao Heng, whose eyes were still black and blue, couldn't wait to send Kou Zhun to Lu Ci through Zhongshu. Road appointment.

At first, Kou Zhun thought it was Lu Ci's intention to control the water, but he accidentally let the prince know about it, which is why the official inquiry came about.

When he was about to answer that it was arranged, he was stunned when he heard the words 'painting'.

Paintings, what kind of paintings?

"Does Kou Xiang not know?"

Zhao Heng waved his hand excitedly, and Lin Neichen, who had been waiting for a long time, took the "Bianjing Wanhua Tu" on the desk in person, and then the officials laid it out with their own hands, and showed it to the bewildered Kou Xiang.

Kou Zhun: "..."

What the hell?

Even Kou Zhun, who is as knowledgeable as Kou Zhun, seemed dumbfounded by Zhao Hengjian, and his tone suddenly seemed a bit complacent: "Look at this ingenuity, this painting skill, if you don't let him use it Wouldn’t it be wasteful to collect all the scenery of Luocheng and draw it into the picture for storage?”

Kou Zhun's eyelids twitched wildly, feeling that the officials' jokes are very annoying.

Compared with Lu Ci's water control proposal, which can be called a rainy day, it seems too sensible.

Kou Zhun euphemistically expressed his objection: "There are many good painters in the museum. Your Majesty can choose someone to use."

Painting in your spare time can cultivate your sentiments, but where is the reason for sending the prince Zuo Yude appointed by Yikou to paint Bianjing?

It's just ridiculous!

Zhao Heng vetoed it without even thinking about it: "Since you have a feather, why should you settle for the second best?"

It's not impossible to find someone else to draw, but can it still be the fresh look he wants?

Kou Zhun couldn't help persuading him a few more words, but instead of changing his mind, the officials became impatient with him.

He was angry and helpless for the emperor who had returned to the attitude of doing whatever he wanted, so he simply refused to persuade him, and told the truth about Lu Ci's responsibility for water control.

Zhao Heng's first reaction was to be puzzled.

Lu Ci is obviously a promising official of the East Palace, so why does he have to do such dirty work as water control?

Kou Zhun reminded with a blank face: "Do the officials still remember the fire between Xia Locust and Prince Rong's Mansion?"

Zhao Heng was quiet.

After thinking about it, I thought it was a perfect arrangement: "It's so good. After winter, it's freezing and the dry soil is cracked, so it's not suitable for water control. Shouldn't he do a survey first? During the survey, he painted the painting along the way. .”

Kou Zhun had no choice but to agree.

When explaining to Lu Ci, his tone couldn't be better: "You have a bright eye, and you can find something to do when you have nothing to do."

Inexplicably, Lu Ci heard Kou Zhun say something angry, and then he was stunned by the newly added sketching task, speechless for a while, and watched Kou Zhun leave angrily.

For some reason, the first thought that came to Lu Ci's mind was——

After the wooden turtle Simon, the officials are probably addicted to snatching the little prince's toys.

The author has something to say: Notes: (Today’s notes are all from "Beyond the Chaotang: The Friends of Scholars in Tokyo in the Northern Song Dynasty" Chapter 3 Banquet, China Social Sciences Press, author Liang Jianguo. Because there are relatives in the front, I will not note the publishing house It’s not very meaningful, just make a note.)

1. As the prince's teacher, if the official of the East Palace wantonly goes to places like wine shops, it will obviously damage his good image in terms of morality.For example, Lu Zongdao went to a wine shop to drink without permission, and when he came back, he said to Zhenzong: "The minister is easy to obey, and the city people don't know the minister."Zhenzong said with a smile: "You are a courtier, and I am afraid that you will be bombarded by the censor." This shows that the officials of the Eastern Palace should not go to the wine shop to drink at will. p152

2. However, many officials had to go to restaurants to entertain guests due to their poor families, and even some scholar-officials who strictly abide by the etiquette were not spared.For example, Lu Zongdao explained to Zhenzong: "The minister's family is poor and has no utensils, and the wine shop has everything, and the guests feel at home..."

3. Although the style of drinking and banqueting is acquiesced, it is still regarded as a stain on personal conduct.Although, as long as you don't do it too extravagantly, it will basically not affect the development of your official career.The more extreme negative examples are Fan Xie and Shi Yannian in the early period of Renzong.They were impeached by Pang Ji, the magistrate of Kaifeng at that time, for disregarding customs and etiquette too much, and they were impeached by Pang Ji (the man in the same year as Lu Ci in the article), which led to the relegation from Yushi Zhongcheng to Ezhou Marching Sima), Shi Yannian He was dismissed from the collation of the pavilion and sentenced to Haizhou.

4. It can be seen from the comparison of the numbers in "The Poetry of the Song Dynasty", that the content of making friends in mansions, government offices, gardens, temples and other places emerges endlessly, while the content of wine shops and teahouses is now reflected.It proves that the scholars who went to these places were not willing to leave related poems to future generations.Some scholar-bureaucrats with serious family traditions keep their children away from these places, such as Lu Gong.

5. Compared with the busy department, the post of the Pavilion Bachelor is relatively leisurely, so fellow dorms often get together to drink and compose poems.