Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

For other people who don't understand Di Qing's appetite, this "special care" from the government is somewhat intriguing.

Di Qing looks tall and thin, and he is still a young man who has not reached the weak crown, how can his appetite be so big?

However, the extra meals specially given by the emperor are for the sake of grace, so it is not easy to thank him, no matter how difficult it is, he can only force himself in.

Looking at the solid big bucket of rice, and the steaming table full of wine, meat and fruit... secretly peeking at Di Qing's other behaviors, one can't help feeling sympathetic.

Especially seeing that everyone else is at a small black table, with Qingdun on one, only Di Qing has a big black table, and there is a mat under the rice bucket beside it, all of which were prepared early.

I don't know whether the officials deliberately made things difficult, or did bad things unintentionally with good intentions.

Under the sympathetic and gloating gazes of the crowd, Di Qing, who had a 'forced smile', thanked him, and then swept away the astonishing amount of dishes in front of him without haste.

Under the stunned gaze of a group of people, he also dug out half a spoonful of the big bucket of rice with a calm face, and finally made it ninety percent full.

The little emperor, who had been secretly watching him, confirmed that the little master's foster brother was full, and he pursed his lips and smiled contentedly.

He no longer stayed here, but after a few simple words of encouragement to everyone, he returned to the Royal Palace calmly.

As soon as the official left, the tense officers gradually relaxed. Gao Jixuan and Yang Wenguang quickly stepped forward. Gao Jixuan took the lead in patting Di Qing on the shoulder, and whispered enviously: "The official has really treated you well!"

Both he and Yang Wenguang have lived with Di Qing in the same camp for a long time, so naturally they will not have misunderstandings like the others.

And he could guess without having to think about it, that it was obviously only the credit of Lu Jiedu, who was in the emperor's heart, to let His Majesty, who had never met Di Qing, know how much he eats.

At this moment, Di Qing was feeling sweet, but also he couldn't laugh or cry because he was taken care of by the officials who were two years younger than him. He only nodded slightly when he heard the words, worried about revealing something, so he couldn't speak too much.

Gao Jixuan was very clever, and of course he would not leave any excuses for nothing in front of everyone. Following his low voice just now, he suddenly recovered his normal volume, and said with a smile: "Anyway, it can be regarded as the end of the exam. Before the list is released and the family is still waiting for you When Ken takes me as a treasure, why don't you make an appointment in the next few days and go out together?"

I can finally reunite with my grandfather, what can I do to get better with them?

Di Qing shook his head without thinking, and was about to speak when Gao Jixuan stopped him leisurely: "Brother Di, don't be in a hurry to refuse, I know without asking, the one who makes you stay at home is not to think about anything but Lu Jiedu. It's just You would rather be bored at home and not go anywhere, but Jiedu has friends all over the world. As far as they are concerned, it is rare for them to meet him back to Beijing in the past few years. reason?"

Di Qing: "..."

Gao Jixuan said it like a joke, but it turned out to be a prophecy.

When he hurried back home from the palace with a bad premonition, what he faced was indeed the vacant room that Kou Zhun 'abducted' away from his master.

And in the next ten days, the number of times Lu Ci was invited away by his friends from home fully confirmed his excellent popularity: King Kou Zhun and Li Di once each occupied a day and asked about the situation in the Northwest War thoroughly; The old colleagues who worked in the pavilion such as Shou spent two days reminiscing about the old days, during which time he was invited to two elegant fairs; In his free time, he forced Lu Ci to go to the suburbs of Beijing for sightseeing; not to mention Qi Luo and others who had a relatively shallow acquaintance but also had a good impression of Lu Ci. Enough to carve up the remaining days.

And because there were a lot of servants, and Liu Qi, who was always particularly sensitive to weird timing and often interrupted, Di Qingrao wanted to sneak into Lu Ci's bedroom like he did when he was in Qinzhou. wishful thinking.

While he had no choice but to stay alone in the vacant room, struggling through the days, soon came the day when the rankings of the imperial exams of the department were released.

Lu Ci uprightly rejected everyone's appointments, and dragged Di Qing out early in the morning to watch the list.

In order to make up for Di Qing's recent 'snubbing', Lu Ci deliberately made light movements and did not wake Liu Qi up, just to create an environment for the two of them to be alone.

But he didn't want Liu Qi to be thinking about Di Qing's announcement, so he slept very lightly, and even a slight movement woke him up.

Seeing that little Taotie was dragging Di Qing to go out, as if he was going to abandon his posture, Liu Qi didn't care that his clothes were disheveled and he didn't have time to wash, so he just put on his clothes, kicked his shoes, and put on a pair of sleepy clothes. Sleepy Eye stumbled out after him, and kept calling out, "Wait, wait for me!"

Di Qing who just got his sweetheart: "..."

Even though he was helpless, he could only silently let go of the hand he was holding in resentment, turned around and said, "Brother Liu."

Lu Ci had already stopped when he heard the sound, and said with a smile, "I'll just take the young brother to see the list. Brother Liu slept late last night, why don't you sleep a little longer?"

"Unfortunately, I'm still worried about your bad relationship, but in the end you left me as a puller." Liu Qi complained casually: "Brother Qing has called me Brother Liu for many years, and today the list is released. How can I be a brother?" Why are you still sleeping soundly in bed?"

The speaker has no intention, the listener has the heart.

Lu Ci boasted that he was very thick-skinned, even if he kept everything from his friends to death, he could still act calmly.

Di Qing heard Liu Qi, who knew nothing about the inside story and had really worried about him, feel so guilty, and felt guilty, and didn't want to think about the lost time alone, and said slightly: "Thank you brother Liu .”

"What's this?"

Liu Qi held her head high, and in the blink of an eye, with the help of Lu Ci, she had tidied up her messy clothes, and said arrogantly, "Let's go!"

Lu Ci looked at Di Qing with a smile, shook his head and followed.

When they rushed to the place where the list was released, although the list had only just been posted, it had already been surrounded by a group of people who either watched the excitement or were related to the candidates.

Hearing the yelling from the crowded crowd made Liu Qi, who was still some distance away from the ranking list, even more anxious. However, his body was thin, and it was difficult to squeeze in even if he tried his best. The strong and other common people were reintroduced.

He fought more and more bravely, and soon sweated profusely. Before he approached, he turned his head inadvertently, and was pissed off by the two people who were still standing and chatting calmly: "Okay, you two, how did you end up with me?" I'm so anxious, but you don't seem to have anything to do with yourself?"

"It's clear that brother Liu is too impatient."

Lu Ci smiled and said: "The system of examinations is different from the tribute examination. Even if they are all admitted, there will be at most ten people, which is far less lively than the hundreds of people. Besides, the ranking will not change if you watch it early or late. Why worry about it for a while Kung Fu?"

When the irrelevant people see enough excitement, they will leave contentedly, why bother to crowd so embarrassingly.

Taking advantage of the crowd, Di Qing took advantage of the opportunity to hold Lu Ci's hand again, feeling elated, who cares whether to see the ranking sooner or later?Just nodding densely like pounding garlic.

Liu Qi also belatedly recalled that when Lu Ci left the stage by himself, he never looked at the leaderboard in person. He procrastinated for a while and caught up with the team that came to announce the good news before going out.

He couldn't help rolling his eyes: "I shouldn't have counted on you."

That's what he said, but even Di Qing, a candidate for the exam, was not in a hurry at all, and he calmed down unknowingly.

Just as Lu Ci expected, the crowd who came purely for fun dispersed quickly. Before the new batch came up, the three of them stepped forward in time to see the list clearly.

This time, four people were dismissed from the Imperial Examination, and a total of six people were admitted. Compared with the four or five hundred admissions in the Gongju Entrance Examination, it is undoubtedly pitifully small, but compared with the system opened by the former emperor when he was in power, It is almost the sum of those who have been admitted several times.

Lu Ci saw Di Qing's name and hometown at a glance, all of which were high on the top of the list, and a heart that had been hanging for a long time fell to the ground in an instant.

——Di Qing did not live up to his expectations, nor did he live up to Di Qing's trust.

Lu Ci smiled happily, feeling unprecedentedly relaxed and relieved. After a while, he turned around and congratulated the petrified Di Qing: "Although it is expected, I still have to congratulate you for being named on the gold list."

With a flick of his ear, Di Qing caught the words 'expected', tasted the intimacy and trust in it, and the sweet taste instantly filled his heart: "... Xie Gongzu."

"It's unbelievable, young brother is only 16 years old, and he has already won the top spot!" Liu Qiman smacked his lips enviously, and said with a smile: "Hurry up and go to Fanlou to celebrate while I am resting today. One time!"

Di Qing hurriedly said: "How can I let Brother Liu spend money? This time it's me—"

Liu Qi interrupted him involuntarily: "Why, why don't you let your elder brother be the host to celebrate the great event of the younger brother's nomination on the gold list? I'm with you, Brother Lu, but it's not your turn to pay for it yourself."

"Brother Liu said so."

Lu Ci didn't leave in a hurry. When Liu Qi grabbed Di Qing, he leisurely read the rest of the list.

Although he didn't know the one immediately under Di Qing's name, he was no stranger to that surname.

—— Zhong Shiheng.

Lu Ci raised his eyebrows.

Caste is really not very common, plus the place of origin, the first thing he thought of was the so-called 'hermit' who passed away a few years ago, whom he hated all the time, and who he thought was a first-class swindler.

The little emperor Zhao Zhen is actually very clear that the auspicious scriptures used by the first emperor to enshrine Zen are just a farce that harms the people and the court, so he is naturally tired of a lot of slander and self-enrichment in this regard.

Under the same preconceived conflicts as him, he was still willing to include Zhong Shiheng among those who made the examination, which is enough to witness the latter's ability.

It is worth meeting for a while when you have time.

Thinking of this, Lu Ci quickly turned his mind away from Zhong Shiheng. When he saw the names of Yang Wenguang and Gao Jixuan hanging at the bottom of the list one after the other, he frowned slightly and said with a smile: "The Let's invite the two young brothers' friends as well."

"Those two little friends are also on the list, it's incredible." Liu Qi naturally couldn't have any objections, and joked: "It seems that the trip to take them to your study really got a lot of talent .”

Lu Ci replied calmly: "According to Brother Liu, should I strike while the iron is hot and sell that talented mansion for a high price and buy a better one?"

Liu Qi thought about it seriously, and said with a smile: "If you intend to sell it, this is really a good time. It's just that the number of wealthy families who are willing to buy your mansion is far less than the number of families who want to recruit you as their son-in-law. If you really want to be talented, why don't you recruit people into the door and let the future generations get involved?"

Di Qing kept silent.

One brother Liu is not enough, do we need two more?

When in the bustling Fanlou box, suddenly knocked on the door and came in a disguised little emperor who bravely slipped out of the palace for the first time, with an excited face...

Di Qing, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, was left with a numb face.

The author has something to say: Zhong Fang is Zhong Shiheng's uncle.I mentioned this person in the previous article a long time ago, and I estimate that 99% of readers have forgotten to chat.

Zhong Shiheng is very interesting and will be described in detail later.

Notes:

1. There was no roll-call ceremony in the Song Dynasty, but Shi Brown had to be recommended by the emperor himself. ("General History of China's Imperial Examination System Song Dynasty Volume II" p728)

2. In the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system was adopted. If it was worn by ordinary people, it would be granted official positions and dispatches according to the tribute examination rules. ("General History of China's Imperial Examination System Song Dynasty Volume II" p729)

3. Imperial test: "The emperor came to the pavilion, and there was a policy, with a limit of more than 718 characters."Fifty sheets of form paper and fifty sheets of straw paper for the test paper. '("General History of China's Imperial Examination System Song Dynasty Volume II" p[-])

4. Although the imperial edicts of the Song Dynasty were often promulgated, the imperial examination was only held 22 times, and only 40 people were admitted. ("General History of China's Imperial Examination System Song Dynasty Volume II" p730)