Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

Whether a person has a good impression of himself or not is often a matter of meeting each other clearly.

If Su Song is a man with a deep city and good at hiding his true thoughts, then that's all.

However, judging from the fact that he has been in the pavilion for many years and has not been promoted, it is not difficult to know that he not only has poor eyesight, but also has ordinary skills, and his bearing is not too great.

Lu Ci was not at all surprised that Su Song would make things difficult for him, but was a little surprised that the making things difficult came so quickly and so blatantly.

Even a nerd like Song Shou, who is addicted to books and has no understanding of the world, can see it, so what will those people think?

Although he didn't know exactly how he got in, it wasn't hard to guess that it was the result of the power struggle between North and South.

If he is the kind who has been in the pavilion for several years, has always been mediocre, and has not been promoted, no one will notice if Su Song wants to wear small shoes for him.

But he had just entered the cabinet with a high profile and was exempted from the examination. The heat has not yet passed, and his every move may still be under the noses of others. How can he not be discovered by these small tricks?

Naturally, Lu Ci didn't kindly remind Su Song, and just smiled inwardly, taking over the task assigned by Su Song calmly.

After he got the specific book list, he couldn't help raising his eyebrows.

No wonder Yan Shu is so 'notorious', he will undoubtedly be at the top of the list - in the past six months alone, this person has borrowed a total of 82 books from the library one after another, and has not returned them in arrears. All the people in the book returned home without a copy.

Lu Ci pondered for a while, then said goodbye to Song Shou, who looked worried, and walked out of Jixian Library at a leisurely pace under the vague gazes of the crowd.

Just when the official who sympathized with the number one scholar who had taken a break from his prestige as soon as he arrived, was eager to lead the horse for him, he saw Lu Ci walk up to the gloating official and asked politely : "Excuse me, I'm going out this time under the order of Academician Su of Zhijixian Academy to go to the private house of Yan Xueshi to collect the books that are in arrears. Since I am busy with official business, according to common sense, I should be a horseman. Although the third hall does not have official horses, there should be horses and millet to receive, please teach me how to get today's share of horses and millet?"

Shou Dangguan has served in this pavilion where countless scholars dreamed of and dreamed of. He has been in office for many years, and he is also in cahoots with Su Song, but he is the first to meet such a serious staff member who even asks for Ma Chusu's subsidy. , I don't know how to deal with it for a while.

He faltered a few words, simply asked Lu Ci to wait for a while, and hurriedly went to find Su Song.

After Su Song listened, he almost didn't doubt his ears: "Is this true?"

The guard smiled wryly and nodded.

Su Song frowned suspiciously for a while, and insisted that it was Lu Ci who couldn't refuse his appointment directly, but he didn't want to hit a wall, so he deliberately found excuses.

Not to mention Lu Ci's boldness in buying real estate with great fanfare and bringing his own good horses to work, the nine hundred guan that should be given to Lu Ci by the court as usual when he was dispatched was enough for him to stay in Beijing. I have lived comfortably in China for a long time.

"Then give it to him as usual." The more Lu Ci didn't want to go, the more Su Song wanted him to go, and immediately said: "If he wants to find some other excuses, give him more, and let him not delay any longer. Go now."

The officer in charge suddenly realized, and hurriedly took his orders and left.

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Ci sighed in disappointment, and wanted to find another reason, but was blocked by the sharp-eyed counterpart.

After hanging on the side of the horse's back a bag of horse millet that he had just brought, which was twice as much as usual, he went out with a sad face and reluctantly.

After hearing the official's report, Su Song thought he had guessed Lu Ci's little trick correctly, and stroked his long beard in satisfaction: "So what about Sanyuan Jidi? It's a bit tender after all."

What he never imagined in his dreams was that as soon as he got to the street, Lu Ci's sad face disappeared and he changed into his usual smiling expression, apparently in a good mood.

The reason why he made the request to lead Ma Chusu was just to leave a written record of his business trip openly and aboveboard, so as to prevent his boss from pretending to be ignorant afterwards and falsely accusing him of leaving without authorization.

As a result, it was undoubtedly a surprise to receive so much horse food subsidies.

For Lu Ci, who had read too much "The Book of Earth", as long as he compared this blueprint, it was not difficult to find Yan Shu's mansion.

After buying some things on the way, Lu Ci searched for the road according to the map, and he was close in front of him in a short while.

He got off his horse neatly, and smiled at the doorman who came up to him, "I'm the manager of Jixian School, Lu Ci, and I'm here on business. May I ask if Bachelor Yan is at home at this time?"

The porter was dazzled by Lu Ci's handsome smiling face, dazed for a moment, and then blushed slightly and said: "Ah Lang just came back from court, please invite Principal Lu to follow me into the side hall and wait for a while."

Lu Ci nodded: "Then I will trouble you to lead the way."

The concierge waved his hands over and over flattered, and hurriedly took Lu Ci to the side hall, and ordered the other servants to make a cup of tea before reporting to the housekeeper.

As soon as the butler heard that he was the manager of Jixian School, he immediately knew why he came here, and with the name he had never heard before, he knew that he was a new official in the pavilion, and said calmly: "You tell him, Alang is He is busy, please wait patiently."

Busy for sure.

As a scholar Yan who manages a lot of things every day, there is no time when he is not busy.

The housekeeper used this as an excuse to prevaricate the people who came to return the book from the pavilion supervisor, at least ten of them, so he had a lot of experience.

It has always been able to make them unable to wait any longer before meeting the master's face, and go back angrily.

Anyway, the tea was brewed well, and the servants served him respectfully and courteously, and there was nothing wrong with the etiquette.

When it was an hour after lunch, people still didn't see the road, so it was self-evident to refuse to see them.

Hungry, coupled with damaged face, most of these people will not be able to sit still and will leave without hesitation.

However, what the housekeeper didn't expect was that Lu Ci had already guessed that he would probably encounter a situation where "it's easy to get in but hard to see others", so he took out a book from his bosom that was related to gunpowder formulas. Books are not boring at all, and I read them with gusto.

When it was time for lunch, Lu Ci took out a large bag of snacks that he had bought along the way, and ate it leisurely with warm tea, as if he was anti-customer.

After the snacks were wiped out, Lu Ci calmly wiped the crumbs on his fingers with a handkerchief, put the half-read book on the table, and under the dumb gaze of a group of servants, Leisurely wandered around the front yard.

Even though Yan Shu was promoted very quickly, and was valued by the emperor and received some rewards from time to time, he was still just a moderate fifth-rank bachelor after all.

It is not easy to buy such a house that can accommodate more than a dozen people in Bianjing, where land is very expensive, but it is impossible to have a luxurious courtyard.

The "Xiaoyuanxiang path wandering alone" described in the poems memorized by later generations will not be seen for the time being.

But although the sparrow is small, it has all the internal organs.

While taking a walk to digest his food, Lu Ci strolled around the small courtyard a few times with great interest. After taking in the delicate layout everywhere, he had a general understanding of the host's personality and preferences.

I'm afraid he is not a full-fledged literary youth, a sentimental petty bourgeoisie.

Under the shocked gaze of the housekeeper, Lu Ci wandered around for a while, then leisurely returned to the living room, continued to concentrate on his studies, and became his stalwart.

Anyway, when he returned to the library, he was either studying or repairing books, there was no difference in nature.

Now that it's just a change of place, he has already expected it psychologically, so he can naturally take it easy.

But the housekeeper thought it was bad.

A Lang usually likes to read a book for a while after lunch, and then come down to the yard to enjoy the flowers and watch the fish swimming in the small pond.

Now that Lu Ci's place is facing the garden, wouldn't he be able to see it at a glance?

He knew that he might not be able to stop this person, so he had to go upstairs to the study and honestly explain to A Lang thoroughly.

"Jixian School Manager," the housekeeper forgot to mention Lu Ci's name, thinking it was not very important, but after hearing about the official position, Yan Shu immediately reacted, slightly surprised: "Lu Ci?"

The butler's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be A Lang's friend?

He didn't dare to lie to the master's family, and immediately apologized: "I don't know if it's Alang's friend, but I just think it's the pavilion who came to supervise the return of books, so I made arbitrarily assertive and stopped people, please don't blame Alang."

Yan Shu smiled and said, "What I expected is no different from what you expected. The reason why this Lu Sanyuan came to the door is probably to ask for books."

housekeeper:"……"

After all, Yan Shu became interested, stood up with a smile, and said as he went to the layman, "Go ahead and do your work. I'll entertain him personally."

The butler hurriedly responded, but Yan Shu remembered something again when he reached the stairs, and ordered with a smile, "By the way, quickly ask the kitchen to cook more good dishes and send them to the main hall."

To apologize to Taotie, how could he not show some sincerity?

housekeeper:"…………"

When Lu Ci was about to finish reading the book, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, so he unhurriedly clipped a sign to mark it, closed the book, and looked at the person with a smile: "Jiu Wenyan's name , I can see it now, but it’s just a wish.”

As for where it has been admired for a long time, it is naturally in those modern language and history books.

Yan Shu judged others by himself, and felt that Lu Ci had been left alone for so long, even if he complained, it was only reasonable.

Now the polite compliments are probably just irony.

But with Shang Luci's smile, Yan Shu's guess disappeared.

He coughed lightly, straightened his face, bowed his hands to Lu Ci, and said solemnly: "Leader Lu has been waiting for a long time. If I had known that it was you, I would have come to see you right away."

Another meaning of these words is that if the person who came was not Lu Ci, he still wouldn't meet.

Lu Ci frowned: "To tell you the truth, not only is the tea in Yan Xueshi's mansion much more elegant than that in Jixian Yuan, but the people are also more eye-catching than those in Jixian Yuan."

As soon as the words fell, Lu Ci and Yan Shu looked at each other for a moment, and soon showed a very similar, congenial smile.

Yan Shu suddenly said, "Pu Yu."

Lu Ci responded with a smile: "Uncle Tong."

The two changed their address tacitly, and their tone changed accordingly. Yan Shu smiled and said, "Have you seen the small courtyard I arranged with my own hands?"

"The shape is small and exquisite, but the bones are magnificent." Lu Ci said generously: "However, in my opinion, there are still a few flowers and plants missing to add color. I happen to have it, why not bring it tomorrow?"

"Then I'll be disrespectful." Yan Shu smiled understandingly: "I don't intend to trouble you either. As for those books, do you want to take them all away at once, or take some and keep some?"

Lu Ci smiled: "If you want the academician to be satisfied, it's better for me to return empty-handed today, with my head down."

Yan Shu laughed loudly: "Then I can only make Yu Yu work harder. In order to match the mood of the boss, I ran a few more times."

The author has something to say: Notes:

Horse Chusu:

I mentioned it in the previous comment, but I’m afraid you will forget it, so I’ll say it again.

According to the system of the Song Dynasty, "those who give millet to horses, ranging from [-] to [-], all seven grades", that is, "official vehicle subsidies" are divided into seven grades, with the highest subsidy for materials used by [-] horses and the lowest subsidy for one horse materials. ("Cultural History of the Song Dynasty")

However, this is generally the treatment only available to rank six officials and above.The status of the people in the pavilion is somewhat detached, so they should also be generous.