dressed as a scholar

It was already June when Fang Yu resumed his job, and it was the fifth yellow and June day, when the weather was the hottest.

The young couple came to Beijing for the first summer. The climate in the north and the south is different. The summer in the north is dry and hot. They hardly dare to go out at noon in the daytime. The land is scorched and cracked. sharp.

However, there are a lot of people in the capital who store ice, and even ordinary people store ice in the cellar in winter. If there is no accident, it will be enough for summer, but they came late, and they didn't think about it at the time.

I had to buy all the ice for daily use in the house, but fortunately, there were more houses with ice, and the price was not too high.

At night, the sun goes down, the night wind blows, and the temperature suddenly drops again. The temperature difference between day and night is huge. Qiao Hezhi was not used to it when he first came, and the clothes he added or subtracted inappropriately caused the hot wind and cold, which made Fang Yu anxious for several days.

At the beginning of June, Sanfang Yu was going to the palace to take up a post. He had a rest early the night before, and went to bed around eight o'clock. It wasn't because he had to save enough energy to take up the post. The reason was that the imperial court went to work really early.

After the long daylight hours in spring and summer, the palace announced the commuting time of officials.

Fang Yu read it thoroughly. The emperor held a court meeting at 45 o'clock in the morning in the Ji Dynasty, and the whole team had to enter the palace a quarter of an hour in advance, which meant that they had to wait in the side hall at 04:30 at the latest, and the Meridian Gate to enter the palace was at [-]:[-] Open on time.

Fang Yu is not very familiar with the journey to work. He only entered the palace twice, and the people in the palace led the way. , I'm afraid that going around the wrong way will cost time, it's better to be more diligent in the first few days to go to court, after all, the central government's work is not a child's play.

He got up at three o'clock, Qiao Hezhi was still sleepy, he said before going to bed yesterday that he would get up to see him out, Fang Yu laughed that he would not be able to get up, unexpectedly he lifted the quilt lightly and got out of bed , a hoarse voice came from behind: "Are you up?"

Then Qiao Hezhi struggled to sit up from the bed, and Fang Yu took the official uniform from the hanger and put it on his body: "I used to sleep very deeply, why do I sleep so lightly today, I make noise even if I move wake you up."

"I'm worried about sending you out, so I'm a light sleeper." Qiao Hezhi slowly got off the bed, took out his belt and gave Fang Yu to tidy up.

Fang Yu held his hand: "You are still sleepy, don't pay attention to me, go to bed and lie down."

Qiao Hezhi didn't agree, "I'll rest for a while after you go, it's okay."

"I want Siyu to prepare some breakfast for you. If you're in a hurry, you can eat it in the carriage."

Fang Yu shunned Qiao Hezhi's ink hair: "No need, after the court meeting, there is breakfast in the palace for officials to eat, so it's not a meal if you can eat it."

Qiao Hezhi chuckled, and patted Fang Yu's waist: "You can make calculations."

After changing the clothes, the girl brought water for washing, Fang Yu wrung out the handkerchief soaked in the water, he specially told the servants to add some ice cubes to the water yesterday, the handkerchief was wet with water , spread it on the face and apply it on the face for a while, the whole body feels cool, and the drowsiness also goes away.

You don't need to eat breakfast, you can wash up easily, and you can go out soon.

Before Fang Yu buried his head in the carriage, he turned his head and glanced at Qiao Hezhi who was seeing him off at the gate.Xiao Qiao hadn't washed and washed, but only put on a cloak over the plain white clothes. The morning breeze was fresh, and it was as cool as the night wind. He gently stretched out the long cloak, smiled softly, and waved it gently towards him. waved.

"Go back." He said to Si Yu who was holding a lantern behind Qiao Hezhi, "Take young master back and have a good rest."

The horse jumped its hooves and the wheels rolled. Qiao Hezhi looked away when he saw the carriage running away and disappearing around the corner.He looked up at the sky, the moon still had a faint arc in the sky, the sky was so dark that even the stars had rested in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, the lights are brightly lit everywhere in the capital, even during the fourth watch, but there are not many people in the market.Perhaps the outer city is more lively, and the farmers who sell vegetables from outside the city have already come into the city with their burdens, and green smoke came out of the shops earlier. The sound of wind-wrapped leaves.

Naturally, there was also the sound of galloping horseshoes and cart wheels pressing down on the cobblestone street, all of them were officials who had entered the palace.

Si Yu said: "My lord, go into the house, it's windy outside, if it gets cold, it will be bad for the young master."

Qiao Hezhi wrapped her cloak tightly, and covered her swollen belly tightly. With Si Yu's support, she turned back and walked back. Eat it."

Si Yu chuckled lightly: "Master, I'm afraid that I won't be able to get up to send the lord to court, that's why I'm sighing."

"You girl." Qiao Hezhi frowned and smiled. He really couldn't get up, especially after having a baby, he became very sleepy. If he wanted to wake up at this hour every day to send Fang Yu to court, he would have to complain: "Speaking of which, when my mother-in-law was here, I also got up so early and waited to serve, but now I feel that this is a matter of my previous life."

He shook his head lightly, people really can't get used to it, too many comfortable days, the hardships that could be endured before, but now they are unbearable.

"Go back and sleep for another two hours. The younger brother of the You family invited me to be a guest at noon."

Si Yu warmly said: "Okay."

Fang Yu went out at about 03:30. It would take two hours to walk from home to the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, but the road outside the Forbidden City can take a carriage. The Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City takes nearly half an hour, which means that the journey by horse-drawn carriage takes more than an hour.

Starting from home at 03:30, he spent more than an hour on the road. He was able to reach the Meridian Gate before [-] o'clock. By then, the Meridian Gate had opened, and he only needed to walk directly to the side hall of Taihe.

Holding the court card in his arms, he opened the curtain and took a look at the street scene. The carriages and horses in the lead were traveling extremely fast, and there was no congestion on the road at all. Most of the carriages and horses he encountered were heading for the imperial city. Quickly, it was much faster than expected, and he felt more docile in his heart.

Fortunately, he lived in the inner city. If he lived in the outer city or near the outer city, he might have to get up in the middle of the night to pack up and leave.Thinking of him, he shook his head for a while, no wonder Sheng Jia stayed in the capital even though he was a Jinshi, so he chose to be released without hesitation.

One is to fulfill his promise to get married in order to return to Fucheng, and the other is that he was born in a poor family and has no family business.If you want to work as an official in the capital, the salary is not high, the cost is high, and the house cannot be bought, so you can only rent a house to live in, and you can only rent a house in the outer city. click tongue.

Although exile is painful, but fortunately, the cost is not as high as in the capital, and he is used to life in a small place, so exile is the best choice. After a few years of accumulation and making some political achievements, it will be easier to transfer back to the capital many.

"Sir, here we are."

Fang Yu was in a trance when he heard the coachman stop his horse.

He opened the curtain of the car and got out of the carriage. It was really fast. It might have taken half an hour to get there.

The Meridian Gate is wide outside, with many lights, and there are palace people carrying lanterns everywhere. This time it is even brighter, even a bit like a light show, especially in front of the tall/quite solemn Meridian Gate.

At this moment, the Meridian Gate just opened, and even the palace people who opened the gate hadn’t left. What surprised Fang Yu was that many sedan chairs had already stopped around, and many officials were already waiting at the gate of the palace, and they were all quite old. My lord, there was no one to talk to this time, I just waited quietly for the palace gate to be fully opened.

Fang Yu muttered to himself, these old guys really didn't have any sleep, it's only 04:30, how come there are so many, and I don't know when it has already arrived.

He wailed secretly: Don't roll!everyone.

"Master Xiaofang."

Hearing the shout, Fang Yu subconsciously tilted his head, only to see Mrs. Lin, who was out of breath, got off the carriage and rushed over.

Mrs. Lin is an old friend of Mrs. Zhang. After Mrs. Zhang wrote the letter earlier, Mrs. Lin came to visit when she was taking a bath, and the two had a drink in the mansion.

Mrs. Lin is a kind person, and he and Mrs. Zhang are cousins. The two families have been exchanging letters. I heard that Fang Yu is Mr. Zhang's favorite student, and Mr. Zhang entrusted him to treat him as his own son.

Mr. Lin now works as the head of the Ministry of Rites. He is a sixth-rank official, two ranks higher than Fang Yu. His official position is not considered high, but he has spent most of his life in the capital, so he is considered an old Beijinger.When he first entered the official position, he was still a small official from the ninth rank, but now he has reached the sixth rank without any big connections, which is really not bad.

During the dinner at the mansion, Mr. Lin talked to Fang Yu about some miscellaneous matters in Beijing, such as whose family married with whom, etc., just like You Lian is the son of the Shaoqing family of Sipin Dali Temple, but he has to assist the son of the general's mansion Fancy gossip about marrying as the wife.

Fang Yu didn't have any contacts in the palace, and these news were precious even if they were gossips. He just wanted to drink with Mr. Lin often, but Lin's residence was in the outer city, so far away.

That's all, Mr. Lin is not like he is on vacation, the old man has to go to court at midnight every day, and it is already late when he arrives at the mansion, so he can have some food and check the homework of his children and grandchildren. Not much time left.

On the other hand, at Fang Yu's warm invitation, Mrs. Lin was greedy for their family's wine, tea and food, so when he came out of the palace, he parked the carriage directly at the gate of their mansion, and went back after eating the wine and food.Qiao Hezhi often sent some cloth, bacon, and daily necessities to the Lin family. The family members of the Lin family liked Qiao Hezhi very much. Although the two families had known each other not long ago, their frequent visits made them closer.

Fang Yu hurriedly saluted: "Master Lin so early?"

Elder Lin waved his hand: "It's getting late, Master Xiao Fang will enter the palace with the old man later, both sides must go to the side hall first, the road inside is not easy, I'm afraid you may make a mistake."

Fang Yu was a little puzzled, the road in the palace is the most flat, how can it be difficult to walk, it is possible to get lost, but with so many officials entering the palace right now, you can't go wrong if you keep your eyes straight.But he asked these words without being rude, it is a good thing for someone to lead the way, why should he look for trouble when he has nothing to do.

"Okay, but I'm going to bother Mr. Lin."

"It's okay, let's go in quickly." Elder Lin looked up and saw that some officials had already gone to the palace, and he was also in a hurry to leave.

Fang Yu honestly followed Elder Lin, and went together from the Meridian Gate to the palace. There was no one looking around or chatting on the road, and they all walked in quickly with their heads depressed.It takes about half an hour to travel from the gate of the palace to the side hall of Supreme Harmony, which is more than half an hour. Fang Yu walked by it when he came out earlier, and it was quite fast.

After entering the palace gate, he slowly figured out why these officials were waiting at the gate so early to enter.

It is true that old people walk slowly, not as fast as young people, which can be seen after entering the door.On the other hand, after passing through the gate of the palace, the road to court was so dark that there were no street lights to illuminate it, and officials were not allowed to bring their servants into the palace, and there was no one to turn on the lights.

Fang Yu's young eyes are bright, and under the light of the moonlight and the lanterns hanging under the eaves in the distance, he can see the road clearly.But the old man suffered from bad eyesight, so he could only slow down to listen to the footsteps of his colleagues and rely on his decades of walking habits to go to work.

Only later did he know that some officials had fallen into the pond carelessly in the dark and were in a hurry to go to the court. They were drowned in pitch black before anyone discovered it. Gong Lai is for the purpose of not being late even if he is dawdling on the road.

You need to know that if you are late for the court, you will be fined one month's salary. If you are late for many times in a row, you have not been held accountable and punished.

He once read: "Xu night is approaching the court, and they all sneak in secretly. When they meet, they can't be distinguished without examining them."

At first, I thought it was outrageous, the palace is so difficult that it only needs this little light money to make it?Now that he was really out of this outrageous situation, he was suddenly speechless.

The road is very quiet. Officials are not allowed to make noise, nor can they cough loudly and spit everywhere. There are people watching secretly.If any indecent behavior is found, the name will be recorded. If it is mild, it will be reported and criticized, and if it is serious, it will have to deduct money and be held accountable. One more.

Fang Yu respectfully followed behind Elder Lin. The old man walked steadily but slowly, and he also slowed down to follow others.

After walking for nearly an hour, Fang Yu finally saw the lights of the side hall of Supreme Harmony, and he was suddenly moved.It's too difficult, just the way to work is full of difficulties and dangers, and those who are not in a good mood may collapse in two days.

After entering the side hall, the lights are bright and you can talk, but there are officials waiting to go up everywhere, teammates are there, opponents are also there, there are too many mistakes, and a casual sentence is recorded by someone who is interested, and then appears In the entry book, for this reason, apart from greetings, everyone kept their mouths tight.

Mrs. Lin walked away with sweat on his forehead. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat on his forehead carefully. After tidying up his appearance, he met a few colleagues who had a good relationship with the department and greeted them in a low voice. Be careful how you behave.

"Fang Yu, this is Mr. Zhang and Mr. Wu from the Ministry of Rites..."

The official ranks of several people are not high. In fact, officials like Fang Yu have a very high starting point. The sea of ​​​​officials is ups and downs. It is the cadre academy and the emperor's talent pool.

Mr. Lin took the trouble to introduce the old seniors, and Fang Yu didn't think he was of the eighth rank or the seventh rank, so he tried his best to be courteous and courteous. But to be able to live in peace in the court and China for most of your life must be superior. It is true that a strong and high-ranking official is glamorous, but if you climb high and fall hard, it is better to have a good relationship with these low-level people.

"Master Xiao Fang, will you go to court on the first day today?"

The elders saw Fang Yu's thoughtful etiquette and had a good first impression of him, so they all expressed a few words of concern.

"I have been on leave for two months, and I just came back to renew my post today." Fang Yu continued his appearance of being petty at the Qionglin Banquet, wiped his forehead briefly, and said with trepidation: "The first day I went to the court, I was in awe. very."

"Don't be nervous, you'll get used to it after staying for a while, just be cautious in your words and deeds on weekdays, and just do things in a down-to-earth manner."

"Everyone came here like this..."

The adults kindly said a few words of relief. Obviously, Fang Yu's cautious and inexperienced appearance can draw the distance between these small officials more than the other new scholars who are shining brightly. Those who climbed up little by little, suffered a lot, and saw too many human relationships, and the young people who were too flamboyant made them reluctant to get close.

Not long after, he came in and hugged Fuchen's father-in-law: "My lords, we are meeting at the Supreme Harmony Gate today. The adults are ready and you can go to the Supreme Harmony Gate with our family."

The emperor’s court meeting is usually held at the Taihe Gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. When the weather is sunny, it is almost always in the Gate of Supreme Harmony, that is, on the square. When it rains and the weather is bad, it is only in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, that is, in the hall. There are eaves to shelter from wind and rain. of.

Hearing that all officials are separated from civil and martial arts, and stand in line according to the official rank under the strict hierarchy system, officials of the seventh rank like Fang Yu are already standing at the back. , and only officials of the fourth grade or above are eligible to speak to the emperor.

Fang Yu took a peek at the officials who filled the square. It felt like doing radio gymnastics between classes in high school.

After the whole team is assembled, it will be dawn at six o'clock in summer. The emperor is dressed in a golden dragon robe and sits on a luxurious dragon chair. Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, the uniform voice echoed faithfully in the Taihe Gate.

"If you have something to play, you will retreat if there is nothing."

If an official asked for leave, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, that is, the Minister of Personnel, would report to the emperor at this time. Obviously no one asked for leave today.

The old emperor's voice wasn't too loud, but he was full of energy. Fang Yu could hear it from behind. He didn't dare to look around and whisper to each other, so he listened carefully to the content of the court meeting.There were no major events at the court meeting today, except that the Taishi reported the progress of the war in the Northwest, and the minister of the Ministry of Industry reported that the stormy river in the south of the Yangtze River burst its embankment and submerged the crops.

In the follow-up, the officials gave a solution, how to relieve the disaster and so on...

In short, the court meeting is just such a mess, and after arguing for a long time, no definite solution was reached. The emperor has not made a decision. It is estimated that the court will call people for questioning before trying to find a solution, or the court will continue tomorrow.

Little officials like Fang Yu didn't have much sense of participation anyway, they just listened to this big guy's speech, and that big guy's speech, they were the foil of Tianwei.

A court meeting lasted for more than half an hour. After the court was over, the imperial dining room also prepared officials' court food, which had been sent to various departments. When the officials returned to the department, they had a fragrant time to rest and have breakfast.

The Imperial Academy is not far from the Hall of Supreme Harmony. I didn’t do anything all morning, but it seemed like I had done a lot of things. When I returned to the department, Fang Yu drank a big bowl of porridge and ate a few buns. The food in the palace was average. Officials, of course, cannot eat as well as the concubines in the palace.

The scholar of Hanlin assigned Fang Yu a position in the innermost corner of the pile of books. It wasn’t that the scholar made things difficult for him. The rest of the Jinshi came to renew their posts earlier than him, and the good positions had already been arranged. The so-called First come first served, nothing wrong with that.

"Today, you are familiar with it. After two days, I will assign you something to do. These days, you can learn more from Kong Xiuzhuan in front of you."

Fang Yu looked at Kong Xiuzhuan in front of him, who was drinking soymilk slowly at this time. Originally, this position was the number one scholar, but now that he has become the son-in-law, he will not work here. Go up.

I don't know what year he was a Jinshi, but Fang Yu is three or two years older than Fang Yu.

"Kong Xiuzhuan, please give me more advice."

Xiuzhuan waved his hand, and said to the Hanlin scholar: "Your Excellency, go and get busy. If there is anything Mr. Xiaofang doesn't understand, he will be sent down and let you know."

The Imperial Academy was also busy, so he said, "Fang Yu, go in and clear your place."

Fang Yu responded, and went to his work station to tidy up briefly. Usually, there are palace servants cleaning this side, and everything is clean, but there is not much to tidy up.

His back is against the Zangshu Pavilion, the left side is against the wall and the window, in front of him is Xiu Zhuan just now, and the right side is also the place of an adult, but at this time the seat is still vacant and no one is in sight.

"Master Kong, I wonder which lord is in this position?"

As soon as Fang Yu finished speaking, the editor surnamed Kong turned his head and started talking about breakfast with a young Jinshi next to him. He changed his enthusiasm for him when the scholar was there just now, as if he didn't hear what he said.

"The breakfast food today is pretty good. The steamed dumplings are stuffed with shrimp. I'm the most delicious seafood from the river."

"Master Kong likes to eat seafood from the river? It's no coincidence that Xiaoguan also likes this extremely fresh taste. You can try the crab-stuffed orange in Chunfenglou. It tastes very good."

"The courtyard is busy, and I haven't had time to go."

The Jinshi said very well: "The editor works hard for the affairs of the courtyard, which is really an example for us small officials, but the adults should also enjoy themselves appropriately, and don't get tired. Only in this way can we do more for the emperor. You might as well take a two-day rest and work as a petty official in Dongchunfeng Building, and my lord will give you a chance to show your face."

"It's fine, there's nothing important about Xiumu that day, and I'll talk to you about some errands in the courtyard."

The two chatted happily, and Fang Yu's eyebrows moved slightly. This hole compilation is really interesting.

"Hey, Master Xiaofang, you just called me the official? What's the matter?"

After the two of them finished talking, Editor Kong looked at Fang Yu who was standing behind with surprise again, as if he was surprised why he wanted to steal a conversation, but he still spoke in the gentle tone of a senior.

With a smile on his face, Fang Yu said: "There is nothing to do, the editor is just busy."

Editor Kong paused when he heard the words, his eyes flickered slightly, and he looked Fang Yu up and down, his face no longer looked like he was expecting a little when he asked the question, and said in a neutral way: "I also want to take you shopping. Going around the Hanlin, but the scholar told me to rewrite the translation, and I’m really busy, if you want to go for a walk, you can find a new scholar in the courtyard to talk to you, everyone is a colleague, it’s okay.”

Fang Yu looked at the compilation with a smile, but cupped his hands like a piece of wood and said, "Thank you for your trouble, sir."

"Oh... Mr. Fang, if there is something you don't understand, don't hold back and don't ask. It will be bad if you don't know when the bachelor examines."

After finishing speaking, the editor of Kong turned his head and talked with Fang Yu and the same group of Jinshi who entered the Imperial Academy about the food, drink and so on in the city, and never talked to Fang Yu again.