To The Land of Nevernight

Tang Shen and Li Shu stood behind the Panlong White Jade Pillar on the left side of the dragon chair, and they bent down to salute. At this time, Zhao Fu had already walked up from their side.All Tang Shen could see was a small bright yellow corner of his clothes, his eyelids twitched, and after a while, he heard Zhao Fu say softly, "Excuse me."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Li Shu sat down and started to record, while Tang Shen stood behind him.

In the silent and cold Zichen Palace, the early court had already silently begun.

The center of power in the entire Great Song Dynasty stood behind that small Beaulieu White Jade Pillar.A courtier came forward to report on the recent border wars. Zhao Fu listened and said "discuss again".Li Shu wrote down these words in "Daily Notes".The ministers stepped forward to speak one by one, mostly reporting recent events.

Nothing major happened in the DPRK.

After half an hour, the early morning was over.All the officials faced the throne and sent Zhao Fu off first.After Zhao Fu left, they left through the two side doors of Zichen Hall.At this time, Tang Shen, Li Shu, and another housekeeper had followed Zhao Fu and left Zichen Hall.

Since the early dynasty, Qijulang and the two living roommates have been following Zhao Fu.Except for Chu Gong, they were inseparable.Until the evening when Zhao Fu went to Dengxiantai to practice immortality, the three of them were stopped outside the door, and only two Taoist boys were allowed to follow.

Tang Shen gave Li Shu a strange look, and Li Shu looked down at the ground without saying a word.

Tang Shen sighed inwardly.

The emperor is the emperor after all!

It stands to reason that the living man and the living man should follow the emperor all the time, from morning till night.From the morning to the evening when the emperor enters the harem, it is considered the end.But Zhao Fu never let them follow him when he was cultivating immortality, which was unreasonable, but no one dared to say no.

But this is still a rule-abiding emperor.

In the former dynasty, it is said that there was an emperor who exercised power arbitrarily. One day, he suddenly said that he wanted to read "Life Notes", and all the civil and military officials came up to remonstrate: "Your Majesty, no!" But the emperor refused to listen.He didn't listen to any persuasion, and the minister couldn't hold back the powerful emperor, so he could only let him watch.It's just that when the emperor got the "Daily Notes", it was revised a lot.

In later generations, this incident was also recorded in the history books, so the "Liuju Zhu" during the emperor's reign was considered by many historians to be insignificant.

Zhao Fu is fine, but he is not allowed to follow, and he has never interfered with the "Daily Notes".However, he did do a good job every day, not a generation of Mingjun, but a normal emperor with no problems.

After the emperor finished cultivating immortals, he had dinner and entered the harem.Only Tang Shen and the others hurried to leave the palace before the key was released in the dark.

This was Tang Shen's first day in office, and on the second day he didn't have to go to the palace, he just read in the yamen.

After going back and forth like this, the seven days passed quickly.

Tang Shen was still studying behind Li Shu, and he didn't really start working, but greeted someone first.

This day, Tang Shen was on vacation. Early in the morning, he and Yao San personally came to the canal pier in the west of Shengjing City, and stood on the pier overlooking the vast river.After waiting for half an hour, a passenger ship sailed from the horizon.The boat docked, and the people in the cabin came out one after another.When Aunt Yao and Tang Juan came out, Yao San recognized his mother at a glance, and shouted excitedly: "Mother, mother, I am here!"

When Aunt Yao saw her son, her eyes were red with joy.

Standing beside Aunt Yao was naturally Tang Juan, but Tang Shen stared at the slim girl and was stunned.When Tang Juan and Aunt Yao approached, he regained his composure and called out: "Don Juan?"

Under the blue sky and blue sky, the slender girl is wearing a lotus-colored wishful moon skirt and a white fox-fur jacket. She is delicate and chic. Standing on the surging water, she looks more beautiful than the girls in Shengjing. The gentleness and beauty of the water town in the south of the Yangtze River.

Tang Shen didn't expect that his younger sister would turn out like this in just two years!

But then he remembered that Don Juan was twelve this year. At the age of 12, in later generations, one would graduate from primary school, but now, three years later, one would be ready to marry.

But Tang Shen always felt that something was weird.

Seeing Tang Shen looking at his clothes, Tang Juan lowered his head and said in a low voice, "I heard from my aunt that Shengjing is colder than Gusu, so she asked me to bring more clothes. It doesn't seem to be particularly cold now." .” She was explaining why she was wearing a fox-fur coat.

Tang Shen looked at his younger sister, and after a while, his eyes became clear, and he said with a smile, "You've gained weight."

Tang Juan instantly raised his head and glared at each other, "I'm not getting fat!"

Tang Shen laughed: "You speak softly, you can't breathe well, is it because you are too fat to breathe, or what? Oh, your voice is getting louder now."

Don Juan said angrily: "Brother smelly, can't you say something nice!"

"Loyal words are harsh to the ear, and I am a brother for your own good." Tang Shen looked sincere.

Don Juan: "..."

The illness in my brother's brain has not healed for two years!

After such a commotion, several people laughed for a while, and then went back to Tanhua Mansion in a carriage.

Sitting in the car, Don Juan was relieved.

When Tang Shen had just left early last year, Tang Juan thought of his brother in his heart, and looked forward to going to Shengjing every day.But as the days passed, her mood gradually changed.Others told her that Tang Xiaosanyuan was admitted to Yayuan, and he was a master of Juren.Others told him that Tang Shen was actually a high school student, and he was a real high official.

Tang Shen's education for Tang Juan was in a semi-free range style. Unlike other parents, he never kept the female family members in the mansion and rarely went out.Tang Juan has a dedicated teacher, and he often goes out with other daughters of the Gusu Mansion.Someone told her that Tang Shen was admitted to Tanhualang and became an official, it was different, even if she was her own sister, she had to be cautious in the future, and she must not lose courtesy.

So before coming to Shengjing, I thought a lot.Stepping on the boat, Don Juan was a little scared.

But after seeing Tang Shen, Tang Juan took a reassurance: my brother is still that stinky brother who can only bully others.

When the four of them returned to Tanhua Mansion, Tang Shen already knew what happened to Gusu Mansion during the two years he left.

Yao Sandao: "When I first came to Gusu Mansion last year, I told my little boss about it. Alas, everyone pushed the wall down. When Xiaodong's family left Gusu last year, there were several restaurants and cosmetic shops that valued it. They lost our business. It was hard for them to grasp the mistakes of Zhenbao Pavilion and Xixialou, so they approached us Tang Shenliu and slandered our guys for stealing things. Until the news of you worshiping your master Daru spread to Gusu, Xiaodong, all these People disappeared overnight, the flags and drums died down."

Tang Shen asked in surprise: "Do you still know the word "suppressing flags and suffocating drums?"

Yao San blushed: "Little Boss, I've said so much, and you only heard this?"

Tang Shen smiled and said, "Brother Yao, have you ever thought about studying?"

Yao San quickly waved his hands: "No, no, I just want to help the little boss, that's enough."

Tang Shen sent letters back to Gusu every month to keep in touch with his family.Sometimes he would ask Wang Qin to send some things to the south of the Yangtze River through the Wang family's boat.However, many things are unclear in the letter.

Tang Juan beamed and said: "I heard that my brother was admitted to Yayuan, and our house is very lively. Rich merchants from Gusu who have interests in Xixia Tower and Zhenbao Pavilion, as well as some people who don't know, all come to our house Visiting. The newly appointed Governor of Gusu is also here.” After a pause, Tang Juan said: “But he wanted to visit brother a long time ago, but he just found an excuse.”

Tang Shen glanced at Tang Juan. He didn't expect Tang Juan to know that the new governor of Gusu came to visit the Tang family not because he was admitted to Yayuan, but because he had a relationship with Fu Wei and Wang Qin.

Tang Juan went on to say: "After the provincial examination, Uncle held a banquet for you in Gusu Mansion. It lasted for seven days and seven nights! When I heard that my brother had passed the test, it was even more serious. Tang family members from all over the Gusu Mansion They all came, and they set up a running water banquet for ten days and ten nights, and the whole Gusu Mansion came to eat. It’s a pity that you didn’t go back, brother. My aunt told you to go back when you have time, and opened a ancestral hall for you to worship your ancestors .”

Tang Shen thought to himself, it's not like I haven't opened an ancestral hall to worship my ancestors.But he said: "Got it."

After talking for a while, Don Juan remembered another thing.She had a strange expression on her face and winked at Tang Shen: "By the way, brother, do you still remember what happened when we left Zhaojia Village?"

Tang Shen was stumped by the question: "Did something happen when we left Zhaojia Village?" He thought for a while, "What happened?"

"Think again."

"Have we owed someone money and forgot to pay it back? Or is someone owed us money?"

"..."

"You can't think about it, if you are admitted to Juren, what did the village chief grandpa promise us!"

Tang Shen suddenly thought: "Huh? That matter?"

Aunt Yao smiled and said, "There is no Zhao Family Village for a long time. After you got into Yayuan, it will become Tang Family Village!"

Tang Shen couldn't laugh or cry.

Unexpectedly, a joke at the beginning turned out to be true.

However, behind the transformation of Zhaojia Village into Tangjia Village, some interesting things happened.At the beginning, the village chief just said casually that if Tang Shen was admitted to Juren, he would change the name of the village to Tangjia Village.But how can Juren be so easy to take the exam.As for Tang Shen's eldest brother, Tang Yun, Tang Juren's eldest son, he has not been admitted as a scholar until now!

However, the village chief never expected that after more than a year, Tang Shen would pass the exam and come back with a Yayuan.

The village chief suddenly found himself in trouble.

It is not easy to change the name, you have to report to the Gusu government office.Moreover, once the village name was changed, the genealogy of many families in the village had to be changed.From now on, they will not be "so-and-so in Zhaojia Village", but "so-and-so in Tangjia Village".The village chief hesitated, and this hesitation lasted until the new year, when Tang Shen came back with a Tanhua.

Now, everyone in the village hastened to urge the village chief to change his name.The village chief was also happy, so he went to change it directly.

Whether he is troublesome or not, no matter how troublesome it is, can it be more important than having a Tanhualang in their Tangjia Village?

Hearing what Tang Juan and Aunt Yao told about what happened at home in the past two years, Tang Shen's heart gradually warmed up.After coming to Shengjing for two years, he really felt the warmth of home for the first time, as if he had returned to the days in Gusu Mansion.

After dinner, Don Juan and Aunt Yao settled down.

Tang Shen called Yao San to his study and said, "When do you plan to leave for the north?"

Yao San: "I should have gone earlier, but it happened that my mother and Miss Ah Huang were coming, so it was delayed. I will leave tomorrow morning."

Tang Shen: "There's no need to be in such a hurry, Aunt Yao is here, you can stay with her for two days first."

Yao San smiled wryly and said, "Stop teasing me, I'm afraid you are more anxious about this matter than I am. It's okay, I'll leave early tomorrow morning."

Tang Shen smiled.

Yao San was about to leave when his eyes caught on to a book spread out on Tang Shen's desk.He asked strangely: "Hey, Xiaodong, have you been practicing... drawing talismans recently?"

"Talisman?"

Yao Sandao: "Yes, otherwise, what is that book on your table, isn't it a talisman?"

Tang Shen followed Yao San's line of sight, his eyes changed slightly, he put away the book calmly, and said with a smile: "Well, I have read a few Taoist books and learned a little bit. All right, you can go first. Go and accompany Aunt Yao."

"Yes."

After Yao San left, Tang Shen opened the book of "fulu" again and looked at it quietly.

If Yao San was lucky enough to travel to later generations and attended the nine-year compulsory education, he would probably be able to recognize this book full of Taoist talismans at this moment, all of which are in Chinese pinyin!

Putting the Hanyu Pinyin book into the dark compartment behind the bookshelf, Tang Shen blew out the candles and left the study.

Tang Juan and Aunt Yao have just arrived in Shengjing, and they are very curious about the prosperous imperial capital.Tang Shen went to the Yamen every day, so naturally he didn't have time to take them around, so he handed over this matter to Feng Bi.

After half a month as a householder, Tang Shen finally began to record the emperor's daily life.

This morning, he no longer came to the left side of the throne with Li Shu, but came to the right side of the throne alone.As he had practiced countless times every day, Tang Shen and all the officials met the emperor together, then sat down and took notes.

After the court, he and Li Shu came to the Imperial Study Room again.The emperor read books and memorials, and they didn't rest, they polished up the things recorded before today, and confirmed that they were correct.

After a whole day, even though he didn't write many words, Tang Shen's whole body was tense, and his back was wet a lot.

From the beginning to the end, Zhao Fu didn't even look at him, as if he completely forgot that he had personally ordered this Tanhualang in Zichen Palace.

At night, Zhao Fu entered Dengxiantai, Tang Shen and Li Shu were waiting outside the door.

This Mr. Li is not a good-tempered person in the mouths of other living people, but he is not particularly difficult to get along with.But Tang Shen followed him to learn, he was always amiable.Tang Shen knew it was because he was a teacher from a famous family and had "backing".For the others, even the number one scholar, Yao Ji, who is equal to Li Shu in the fifth-rank living man, Li Shu has never taken care of him like this.

The two stayed outside Dengxiantai, and it was estimated that the emperor would have to wait another hour before coming out.

Li Shu smiled and said, "On the first day, I was really on duty, Mr. Tang, how do you feel?"

Tang Shen pretended to be distressed: "Usually watching from the side, I still feel relaxed, but if I really want to do it myself, it is extremely difficult. I don't want to say anything else, just say that when the Holy Majesty talks to the courtiers, they speak too fast, I couldn't keep up for a while. But I dare not remember a word wrong."

Li Shu nodded and said: "You are right. Even if you don't write it down, we can look at each other's records later to make up for the gap. But if you remember it wrong, it will be a terrible thing."

The two talked in a low voice, and the sky gradually darkened.

Another half an hour later, I saw a man in a dark red official robe walking hurriedly along the palace road.Under the setting sun, this man was wearing an official hat, his face was like a jade crown, and his eyes were like peach blossoms.Both Li Shu and Tang Shen looked at him subconsciously, the man turned his gaze sharply, and shot straight at the two of them.

Li Shu saw the person coming, and complained in his heart: Why is it him!

Then he quickly lowered his head and stopped looking.

Tang Shen took a few glances, and seeing that Tang Shen was still looking at him, the young official raised the corners of his lips.After a while, he withdrew his gaze, came to the immortal platform, and whispered a few words to the Taoist boy who was guarding the gate of the palace.The Taoist immediately pushed the door open and entered the hall, but after a while, he came out and opened the door to let the young official in.

After the palace door was closed, Li Shu heaved a sigh of relief, and said in a low voice, "It can be regarded as seeing off this plague god."

Tang Shen asked, "Who is that?"

Li Shu looked around, and knowing that there was no one, he still lowered his voice even more: "The Shaoqing of Dali Temple, Su Wenyun, is not a character to be provoked. If you can avoid it in the future, you should avoid it. There are two people in Dali Temple. Shaoqing, he is only a fourth-rank official, but all the officials in the world who have committed crimes are under his control. And he can't stand the favor of the Holy One. In this place of Xiantai, apart from a few ministers of Zhongshu Province, the Marshal Zhengxi Li Jingde, Minister of the Household Department Wang Zifeng, and Su Wenyun can go in."

Tang Shen narrowed his eyes.

Su Wenyun!

"On the seventh day of August in the 24th year of Kaiping, the Holy One summoned Su Wenyun, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple.The emperor said: "Last night, I was afraid of a dream. I saw the common people crying in prison, with blood and tears on the railing." Su Qing replied, "Your Majesty is more merciful than a minister." ’ The emperor said: ‘If the world is mourning but I am mourning, is Su Qing mourning me?When the common people are rewarded and the common people are blessed, I am amnesty to the world! "It's the day that Emperor Song pardoned the sinners." 』

Su Wenyun is in charge of all officials who commit crimes in the world, so two years ago, Zhong Taisheng was in charge of him!

Just as he was thinking, the door of the palace opened again, and Su Wenyun came out from inside.

Tang Shen looked down at the ground, but this time he no longer looked at him.I saw a crimson shadow coming out of Dengxiantai, passing by Tang Shen and Li Shu, it seemed to stop for a moment.But maybe it was an illusion, he continued to move forward and walked away.

After that, after a few days, Tang Shen never saw other officials coming in and out of Dengxiantai.

He became more and more comfortable with the duties of living and caring for others.Yao Bang was worse than him. As a living clerk, Yao Bo was usually responsible for recording the emperor's daily life.But Yao Ji has been in the military for many years, and he is not as fast as Tang Shen in writing with a pen, and sometimes he can't keep up when recording the emperor's quotations.

In this way, it entered November.

At the beginning of November, when Tang Shen returned home, he saw Yao San wearing a fur coat, who had been waiting for him for a long time.Seeing Tang Shen, Yao San immediately came over and said, "Little Boss, what happened over there is a little different from what we had originally thought, and the letter didn't make it clear, so I can only come back. I heard that shopkeeper Lu has I have chosen the address of Xixialou, and the restaurant has been listed, but there is a mistake on my side." Speaking of this, Yao San showed a look of shame, "I am here this time, first, I want to Let shopkeeper Lu go with me, it's more convenient to have him here. Second...I want you to go with me in private."

Tang Shen frowned: "Go with you in private?"

Yao San smiled wryly and said: "Doing business with the Liao people is much more difficult than I imagined. I can't make up my mind on many important matters. Only you have that kind of courage and you can handle it properly. That place is not a bad place either. What a safe place, so I want you to pretend to be a servant and follow me and shopkeeper Lu, so as to protect you."

Tang Shen thought for a while: "How far have you talked now?"

"Thirty percent."

This was far lower than Tang Shen expected.

Yao San: "Thirty percent, it's because I don't dare to make a case for many things. If you go, that's ninety percent!"

Tang Shen thought about it again and again, and said, "Okay, I'll take a rest in three days, and I'll take a few more days off to go with you!"

On the second day when he went to the government office, Tang Shen reported to his boss Li Shu that he wanted to ask for leave. Li Shu didn't ask him anything at all, and directly approved the leave.Leaving the Zhongshu Provincial Yamen, Tang Shen said with emotion: "It's true that there are people in the court who are easy to handle, and it's so cool to have a backstage!"

He was leaving Shengjing in a few days, and Tang Shen realized that he hadn't visited his two backers for half a month.

As soon as he thought of it, he did it. After leaving the government office, Tang Shen immediately brought some special products that Tang Juan had brought from Gusu Mansion to Fu Mansion.Fu Wei was drawing a picture, when he saw Tang Shen, he said, "The scene is here, come, let's judge this master's masterpiece."

Tang Shen: "..."

Sir, your masterpieces are all praised by others, so there is no use in boasting yourself!

After delivering the gift to Fu Wei and the relationship between the teacher and the student, Tang Shen came to the Shangshu Mansion with the gift box.

What a coincidence, Wang Qin was not here this time. I heard that he went to the palace to face the saint, and he won't be back for a short time.

Tang Shen thought for a while and said, "I'll just wait here for Senior Brother."

The housekeeper said: "Yes."

When the moon was in the middle of the sky and the stars were densely covered, Tang Shen ran around for a day, and finally couldn't help but fell asleep on the chair.In a daze, he felt his nose itchy, and couldn't help reaching out to slap the thing that tickled him away, only to hear a crisp sound.Tang Shen woke up instantly. He opened his eyes, only to see Wang Qin bent slightly, looking at him in astonishment.

The two brothers stared at each other for a long time, and after a while, Wang Qin spoke first, with a trace of hurt and disbelief in his tone: "Little brother, you..."

Tang Shen was also dumbfounded.

He leaned back on the chair to sleep, felt itchy on his nose, and subconsciously slapped it away.But looking at the posture of him and Wang Qin now, it seems that Wang Qin looked down at him, his hair fell on his nose and tickled him, and he slapped...

He slapped Wang Qin on the face!

Fuck, he came here to give gifts today, and he slapped Wang Zifeng, whether this gift can be given away!

No, shouldn't he just slap his biggest backer away with this slap?

Tang Shen first went to look at Wang Qin's face, his skin was fair and elegant like jade, without any slap marks.But no one stipulates that if you slap your face, you will definitely be able to slap your finger prints.Tang Shen was frightened, stood up quickly, and said repeatedly: "Brother, I fell asleep just now, I don't know what happened. But what bad thing did you do?"

Wang Qin didn't speak, just looked at Tang Shen quietly.

Tang Shen felt guilty when he saw him, rolled his eyes, and picked up the gift box on the table: "Some time ago, my sister came from Gusu Mansion, and she brought some Suzhou-style dim sum, so I brought them to taste with my senior brother. "

Wang Qin still looked at him and didn't speak.

Tang Shen: "..."

Brother, please, please say something!

Finally, under Tang Shen's longing gaze, Wang Qin said: "I haven't seen you for a long time, I miss you so much. Seeing you fell asleep, I didn't want to disturb you, so I came in lightly. Unexpectedly, I didn't wake up. But he slapped me on the hand, as if he didn't want to get close to me..."

When Wang Qin said this, his expression was very hurt, as if he had been heartbroken by Tang Shen.

Tang Shen said regretfully: "Brother, I fell asleep at the time and didn't know anything, so don't take it to heart. I didn't want to get close to you, nor did I slap your hand away on purpose, I just fell asleep, no..." The voice stopped abruptly, Tang Shen opened his eyes wide: "Slap your hands away?"

Wang Qin held back his smile: "Yes, I saw my junior brother fell asleep, and gently stroked your cheek with his hair, getting close to you."

Tang Shen didn't care for a moment what it meant to be "close to you", he looked at Wang Qin, opened his mouth slowly, but couldn't utter a word.

Seeing his appearance, Wang Qin couldn't help laughing anymore.

Wang Qin knew that Tang Shen had misunderstood from the very first moment, but the appearance of the younger brother was so funny that he intentionally or unintentionally let Tang Shen continue to misunderstand.

Tang Shen slowly closed his mouth. Suddenly, he threw the gift box back on the table, turned and left.

Wang Qin's eyes froze, and he grabbed Tang Shen's wrist.

"Little Junior Brother."

Whoever gets tricked will feel better, Tang Shen said angrily: "Brother, the gift has been delivered, I should leave too." After speaking, he wanted to leave again.

Wang Qin firmly held his wrist.

Tang Shen looked up at him: "Wang Zifeng!"

Wang Qin's clear eyes fixed on Tang Shen, and he watched quietly. Tang Shen's anger gradually dissipated after being watched by him, and now he realized that his attitude just now seemed not very good.Regret and annoyance welled up in his heart at the same time, Tang Shen thought to himself, "Forget it, I'll bear him, I still need him now", he was about to take the initiative to apologize, but he heard Wang Qin speak shocking words in an extremely gentle voice.

"Jing Ze is angry today, because I made fun of you and frightened you."

"It's still angry that you are obviously angry, but you can't attack it, and you have to bear with me in every possible way."

"Or to say," Wang Qin lightly pulled Tang Shen's wrist, pulling him in front of him.Then he let go of his hand, no longer holding on to Tang Shen forcefully, but looked down at him, with a bewitching voice, and said word by word: "Or, you are even angry, why do you have to be frightened, why are you angry?" There’s nothing you can do about it in a position like this.”

Tang Shen opened his eyes wide and was speechless when asked.

Wang Qin looked at his appearance, logically speaking, he should find Tang Shen's behavior very interesting.But at this time, he was not at all interested, and even felt a little displeased, and there was a hint of distress that he could not ignore.After a long time, he sighed, raised his head and said to the butler outside the flower hall, "Let's prepare dinner and add another pair of chopsticks."