Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

After all, it was the first response, and because I was thinking about going to the temporary tribute court tomorrow, even the young and mature, introverted and steady Zhu said, I was a little sleepless, let alone secretly determined to fall on the shame of the provincial exam. Teng Zong forgives.

On the contrary, Lu Ci was very calm, eat what he should eat, and sleep what he should sleep.

Compared with the other two who studied and applied for the exam to save the country and the people, the imperial examination is just one of the ways for Lu Ci to obtain a stable and prosperous life.

Being an official in the Song Dynasty was a bright and comfortable future, but it was not the only way out.

The nervousness before was due to the uneasiness about his lack of strength. Now that the deal has been done, Lu Ci wisely put his mind at ease, and naturally there is not much pressure left for the exam.

For the first time, it is only used to learn from experience and lessons. At worst, it will come again in a few years.

He slept until he woke up naturally, after washing and changing clothes slowly, he just opened the door when he was startled by the two panda eyes standing quietly in front of the door waiting for him.

"What's there to worry about?" Seeing the fact that the two of them stayed up all night, Lu Ci couldn't help crying and said, "It's still an hour before the Gong Yuan opens."

"Too."

Zhu said that he smiled embarrassingly, while Teng Zongliang looked at the refreshed and calm Lu Ci in disbelief, and said sourly: "...If it wasn't for the clear writing on Brother Yu Yu's family certificate, I would still It's not me who should have been elected, but brother Yu Yu."

Lu Ci had already sat down in the living room, waiting for the envoy to bring a very sumptuous breakfast. Hearing this, he laughed and said, "I just slept a little better, so why do I have to be teased by you? Come and eat Right. After entering the Gongyuan, it will not be so easy if you want to eat a good meal."

Ever since his family was well-off, he hired a cook, and let people cook as he wanted, Lu Ci's mouth has been raised a lot.

Although it is not as luxurious and refined as in the previous life, if he is asked to go back to eating mustard cakes and pickles, it will be very uncomfortable.

But all the expenses in the Gongyuan are paid by the government, so how can they give them big fish and meat?

Lu Ci was already mentally prepared for this, and asked the cook to make more meaty snacks such as jerky, one for each of the three in their luggage.

As for Zhong Yuan, the Zhong family's parents must have prepared a little bit of love, so he won't do it for him.

Since Teng Zongliang established Lu Ci's lofty image of "concern for the country and the people" in his mind yesterday, he did not take Lu Ci's big truth of worrying about not eating enough food seriously at all, and even couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth in shame.

——Being calm in front of the battle, and deliberately explaining the two of them by joking, Brother Lu is the demeanor of a general.

"What brother Yuyu said is very true. Brother Zhu, don't be too polite."

He didn't want to live up to this kindness, and after reminding Zhu Shuo, the speed of chopsticks was not polite at all.

Zhu said that he wanted to recite the book again while eating, but when he saw the two chatting casually, he felt embarrassed to do so, so he simply hid the book again and concentrated on eating breakfast.

After finishing the meal, Lu Ci still didn't go out in a hurry, but ordered a cup of tea for each of the anxious two.

Since he wanted to pursue an official career, Lu Ci naturally learned this elegant skill that was very popular among literati in private.

It is the first time to show tea-ordering skills to others.

He first wrapped the tea cake in paper, hammered it into fine pieces with a small wooden hammer, then ground it into a fine powder with a mill, and sifted out the tea powder with a tea bag.

Put the powdered tea into the teacup of the fine porcelain tea set that Zhu Shuo gave him, brew with a little boiling water to make a fine and uniform tea paste, add more boiling water, and boil it into a tea with an elegant fragrance. tea soup.

That's not the end of it.

Lu Ci divided it into three parts, and finally tapped the tea bowl deftly with the tea whisk in turn, splashing the soup lightly, and patiently waited until the bright snow-white cloud feet rose slowly like the white mist of the mountain stream in the morning, and then smiled, elegantly Pushing it in front of the two: "Please use it."

The refreshing fragrance of tea, the rising mist of water, the clean and lustrous index finger and the clear porcelain complement each other. Just by looking at it, one can clearly feel the elegance and peace coming to the face, which is a complete enjoyment.

The two of them who just couldn't hide their anxiety and wanted to urge Lu Ci to go out but couldn't say anything, after watching this journey, their hearts unconsciously calmed down.

If the cow drank such a beautiful bowl of tea, it would be a waste of money.

After the three of them drank their tea slowly, and the breakfast in their stomachs had subsided a bit, Lu Ci listened to the distant sound of the monk telling the time on the street, and said with a smile: "You can go now."

Whether it is the examiner or the examiner, the day of lock-up is much earlier than the candidates like them.To prevent fraud, even family members are not allowed to see, let alone students.

The lockup lasted until midnight today, and it will end before the official exam tomorrow.

Even if you go in the first time, there will be no benefit except being squeezed by the crowd for a while, a little more time to recognize the structure of the Gongyuan, and increasing your tension.

When the three of them finally went out, Yi Shu and Zhong Yuan had been waiting for quite a while.

Zhong Yuan took Lu Ci and Zhu Shuo's luggage as a matter of course, and walked in the front immediately; Lu Ci smiled and walked alongside Zhu Shuo; Teng Zongliang also wanted to walk shoulder to shoulder with the two, but the road for pedestrians was not spacious enough. Only with Yi Shu.

Although Yi Shu regretted that he was one step too late, and asked Zhu Shuo to take the position next to Brother Lu, he was still very curious about this Baotou who was only famous but had never met, so he couldn't say anything wrong. willing.

Along the way, Zhong Yuan was so nervous that his face turned black and he didn't say a word; Lu Ci deliberately teased Zhu to talk more, so as to relieve the other party's nervousness; Yi Shu was a little reserved, but Teng Zongliang was generous, allowing him to ask questions , The two chatted very happily.

It's just that when they were approaching the gate of the Gongyuan, they suddenly heard a burst of laughter, all five of them paused and looked at each other, thinking that they had heard it wrong.

...Why are there so many women here?

Compared with the other four who were purely suspicious, Lu Ci suddenly had a bad feeling for some reason.

He couldn't help suggesting: "Why don't you just go through the east gate?"

Teng Zongliang was puzzled and said: "It will take a long time to travel. Even if the time is not urgent, but there is still a lot of luggage, so it is not necessary. Could it be that Brother Yuyu..." He smiled with great interest, and joked: "Is there still a lot of luggage?" Afraid that the little Jiaojiao will fail?"

Even if some inexplicable women went to the Gongyuan to watch the excitement, or some rich families wanted to find a son-in-law in advance, it could not be too much.

Especially when they are walking together, the other party has to restrain himself a bit.

Lu Ci didn't answer his words, but frowned, wondering if he was too sensitive and overreacted: "That's all."

The other three people, who had always followed Lu Ci's lead, continued to move forward when they saw that Lu Ci was relieved.

When we reached the gate of the Gongyuan, the answer to the mystery was revealed.

Near the gate, there were actually quite a few singing girls with peach faces, cherry lips, and leering eyes, all wearing gorgeous swirling skirts, huddling together intimately. The young gentleman who was supposed to be promoted with a delicate face, smiled coquettishly a few times, making people blush, and quickly slipped in like a ghost.

Lu Ci subconsciously took a big step forward, so that the strong Zhong Yuan could block him.

But he miscalculated a little - as early as a few months ago, he was taller than Zhong Yuan, which made Zhong Yuan feel resentful for a while.

This miscalculated move, not only failed to stop him, but exposed him more clearly to those prostitutes.

As expected, those few didn't miss him, their eyes suddenly lit up, and their reactions were even more enthusiastic than all the previous ones combined.

The smiles on their faces suddenly became extremely bright, and some were very bold. They directly winked at him, raised their hands again, and called out in a melodious and graceful voice: "What a handsome man~"

They clearly did not name their names, but simply waved in their direction, but whether it was Zhong Yuan or Zhu Shuo, or Teng Zongliang and Yi Shu, they all took a step back subconsciously, and then all looked at the expressionless Lu Ci.

"..."

Lu Ci didn't know that these people were completely plastic flower brothers. They sold teammates so tacitly, and immediately said angrily: "What are you watching? It has nothing to do with us, and it wasn't us who called them. They all went in."

Teng Zongliang's expression was delicate, Yi Shu was half-believing, Zhu Shuo nodded vigorously without hesitation: "Brother Yu Yu's words make sense."

It's a pity that the next moment, a familiar voice shattered his self-deception: "Hey! Brother Yu! Brother Yu! Brother Zhu! You are finally here!"

As soon as the words fell, those singing girls who pretended to be wronged raised their skirts and stood up, so as to make way for the handsome gentleman in white who had been surrounded by them.

Isn't the man who unfolded the folding fan and walked towards Lu Ci and his party with great vigor and vigor, attracting countless people's attention, with a very chic posture, isn't it Liu Sanbian who should be elected in Chong'an?

Successfully appreciating the rare Lu Ci's shocked expression, Liu Qi suddenly felt that it was more than worth it for her to keep it a secret for the past few days and endure the unhappiness of not coming to the door.

Instead of asking Liu Qi to show an extremely flattered look, Lu Ci restrained his shocked expression, frowned and asked, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be going back to your hometown for the exam?"

Liu Qi said triumphantly: "Brother Yuyu didn't know something. Just a few days ago, the Ministry of Rites issued an edict saying, 'Jinshi once went to the imperial examination, and this year I am exempted from taking it." , the solution test can be avoided. As soon as I get this news, I will come back immediately, attract a few beautiful prostitutes, and prepare some new songs specially, just to cheer for my two virtuous brothers before they go on stage, I don’t know—”

"What are you still doing in a daze? Let's go."

With a straight face, Lu Ci held Zhu Shuo's hand neatly, leaving behind Liu Qi who was still boasting endlessly.

Yi Shu and Teng Zongliang also recovered from their astonishment, held back their laughter, and followed Lu Ci to the Gongyuan.

Tu left Liu Qi behind, and called unwillingly: "Hey, brother Yu, wait a minute! I wrote a new lyrics and music specially for you two, "Send Lu Yu to the Examination Room", you haven't had time to listen to it yet! You wait-"

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. Order tea

Decocting tea leaves with boiling water is called 'sencha', and brewing powdered tea with boiling water is called 'diancha'.

Tencha is the powder, poured into soup, and whisked with a whisk"——for some tea. It is the ancestor of Japanese matcha.

The description of tea techniques in the chapter is used from "Yi Zhongtian Chinese History-Da Song Innovation" p36-37

The clever tea separation technology can use the reaction of tea powder and boiling water to punch out various lifelike patterns in the tea bowl."Qing Yi Lu" of the Northern Song Dynasty records, "In modern times, there are people who use soup to transport daggers, and don't use tricks to make tea grains and water veins into objects. The animals, insects, fish, flowers and plants are delicate and picturesque, but they will disappear in a moment. Change also, people at that time called it 'tea hundred opera'".Li Qingzhao is one of the masters of tea distribution.

In the Song Dynasty, "tea fighting" was also popular, that is, several friends who love the tea ceremony gathered together to boil water tea separately to see whose tea leaves and tea water were outstanding, and the tea art was more superb.Tea fighting is not only prevalent among literati and bureaucrats, but common people also love tea fighting. ("Song: The Dawn of Modern Times")

2. Exam time:

主考官的锁院时间基本是8月2-5日，8月15引试，9月初放榜。这个时间不是完全固定的，会有些微的变动。

3. Exemption:

Dazhong Xiangfu issued an imperial edict on October 7, 10th year, "Jinshi, all subjects have been to the imperial court...and also exempted from solution".

So it was indeed implemented in the year when Lu Ci and the others took the exam! "General History of China's Imperial Examination System - Song Dynasty Volume 166" p[-]

4. Geisha

Not only hotels will let prostitutes to recruit guests (not the kind of solicitation that sells their bodies), citizens' wedding ceremonies will also hire singing girls to celebrate.

"Gu borrowed official and private prostitutes to ride horses, and He Qianle officials preached, leading flower-eaves or zong-eaves rattan sedan chairs to the women's house to welcome the newcomer... welcome to the door of the man's house, the time will be right, the official prostitutes will be happy They read poems and poems to each other with tea and wine, and blocked the door for profit. ... When the newcomer was invited to get off the car, a prostitute turned towards the car dealer holding a mirror, and several prostitutes held lotus torches and candles to greet them."

It can be seen that in the life of Song people, "prostitutes" are not a discriminated group.The original meaning of prostitute is female music.

5. Spinning skirt: A popular skirt in the Northern Song Dynasty, with front and rear slits, which is convenient for donkey and horse riding, and is very popular among ladies.