Chapter 202 The height of the temple (32)

Two sandalwoods exuded a mixed fragrance in the corner of the house. With the heat of the ground dragon, they filled the room. A few soft crys and a heavy breathing made the room warmer as spring.

When Liu Jiangqing opened her eyes, she appeared in front of her with a pair of bright and talkable eyes. This scared Liu Jiangqing and hurriedly turned over and sat up. "Who are you?"

Half of the breasts in front of the woman were outside the silk quilt, as white as lotus roots peeled off. "Tanhualang, Xiaoshu pour you a glass of water." The girl who claimed to be Xiaoshu raised her arms, gathered her long loose hair, scattered it slightly, leaned over and took a golden flower ornament from the table beside the bed, handed it to Liu Jiangqing, and said coquettishly: "Tanhualang, help."

Liu Jiangqing was awake at this time. Yesterday, the envoy of Xuanhui North Court, Zan Jurun, invited a new Jinshi to attend the banquet. There were more than a dozen court officials, including several ministers. After half of the wine, everyone began to lose their restraint under the influence of alcohol. They were a good person for drinking. Seeing that Liu Jiangqing had a great alcohol tolerance, they met Liu Jiangqing in succession, which was a great success. Amid the cheers, the young man from the Zan family also met Liu Jiangqing with Liu Jiangqing for six bowls.

After drinking, with the sound of silk and bamboo, a group of singers with pink breasts half-covered breasts were wearing the durian dance dresses of the palace of the Tang Dynasty, like butterflies wearing flowers, dancing among the crowd. Most of the new Jinshi came from civilian families, and how could they withstand such temptation? They were already blushing.

By the time the singer came out, Liu Jiangqing was already drunk. Looking at the spinning singer, Liu Jiangqing was dizzy and chanted: "The eyebrows were snatched the color of daylily, and the red skirt was jealous of pomegranate flowers." Then he lay on the table.

As for how to go to bed and how to share the bed with the woman who claims to be a little summer heat, Liu Jiangqing only has a very confused impression.

Xiaoshu was half naked and lifted a clay pot from the ground. The shell of this clay pot was extremely thin and placed at the junction of the two ground dragons. In this way, the water in the clay pot would be kept cold. After drinking wine, you usually have to be thirsty, so drinking a bowl of warm water is extremely comfortable. Xiaoshu poured the warm water into the celadon bowl, took an exquisite bottle, hooked some honey with a spoon in the warm water, and carefully held the celadon bowl to the edge of the bed.

A cup of honey water every day can make women's skin more delicate, which is a secret shared by singers. Therefore, these singers will put some honey for later use. For singers in high-walled courtyards, these honey water is also extremely precious and is quite saving in normal times. Today, for Tanhualang, Xiaoshu is also generous.

"What's your name?" Liu Jiangqing felt a little more comfortable after drinking honey water.

"My name is Xiaoshu. I asked me about Tanhualang last night." Xiaoshu smiled with a smile. She reached out to take the celadon bowl, put it back on the table, and then climbed onto the bed. Liu Jiangqing saw two circles of black handprints on a snow-white arm, just like two black bracelets, and took a look.

Xiaoshu said shyly: "Tanhualang is probably practicing martial arts. He had a lot of strength last night." She held a small wooden comb in her hand, kneeling behind Liu Jiangqing, carefully combing Liu Jiangqing's hair. Liu Jiangqing felt that two piles of soft sticks against her back. Liu Jiangqing has a wife in Shishan, and is no longer a shy young man. He knew the true taste of women, so he sat upright on the bed, enjoying the tenderness and delicacy of a woman.

The grand families of the ministers and nobles in Daliang City have more or less singing girls. These singers have extremely low identities, between the maids and prostitutes. Ji's original intention is a beauty. Ji, who is collectively called "maids" with concubines, mainly refers to Ji Shi, family prostitutes, domestic actors, etc. Most of them bought them, and also gave them and stolen ones. These maids have no personal freedom and have similar status to maids. However, maids are mainly engaged in housework and serving their masters.

The main task of singing girls is to provide entertainment for their masters. Although their lives are better than that of their daughters, they do not have to engage in heavy labor, and they also have good tea, food, and clothes. They usually practice singing and dancing. Ji's status is far inferior to that of the concubine. The concubine is exclusively for the male host, but Ji can entertain guests. Bai Juyi had a night banquet at Pei Shizhong's mansion, and there was a sentence "The twelve beauties in front of the nine candlesticks, and the master stayed drunk and let him enjoy the fun". From this point of view, Ji was close to a prostitute.

Although Liu Jiangqing lived in the stone mountains for many years, he read a lot of poetry and history and knew a little about the romantic affairs of the literati in the Central Plains. Liu Jiangqing always felt ridiculous and abnormal about the behavior of the literati in the Central Plains. On the one hand, he talked about the defense of men and women, paid attention to men and women's teachings and receiving, and paid attention to chastity, and paid attention to one's end. On the other hand, he often stayed in the brothels and was complacent, beauties, unrestrained, elegant, and could also be written into poetry and circulated widely.

Xiaoshu is the singer who was raised by Zan Jurun, the envoy of the Northern Court of Xuanhui.

After Liu Jiangqing finished combing, he would not go to the mansion to accompany Zan Xuanhui. Zan Xuanhui was in his forties and was well maintained, with no wrinkles on his face. Seeing Liu Jiangqing coming to accompany him, he stroked his long beard and laughed and said, "Why should I be punished? A young man is not romantic, haha." After that, he looked at Liu Jiangqing with unfulfilled feelings.

After leaving Zan Mansion and walking aimlessly on the streets of Daliang City, Liu Jiangqing suddenly remembered the grassland and desert at the foot of Yinshan Mountain, and felt like he was a different world.

On the day of the release of the chart, Liu Jiang went to see the list before dawn. He thought he was the first one, but he did not expect that the release of the chart was already a crowd of people, and thousands of people were still coming from all directions. At dawn, many royal relatives, ministers and ministers also rushed to see the list.

After the list was released, Liu Jiangqing did not immediately squeeze forward, but listened from a distance to the crowd chanting the names of the Jinshi who were listed on the list. When they heard "Tanhualang Liu Jiangqing", everyone in the Richie tribe jumped up with joy, especially Liu Jiangjie, who was dressed as a man, jumped up with joy.

Then, there were some overwhelming activities.

All new Jinshis who were admitted must go to Xingyuan to attend a banquet, which is called "Tanhua Banquet". According to Chen Yaowen's "Tianzhong Ji": "The meeting of Jinshi Apricot Garden is called Tanhua Banquet. Shaojun and the two of them were used as Tanhua envoys and traveled to the famous garden. If others first got the famous flower, the two of them were punished."

After the Tanhua Banquet, there was a Bianjiang meeting. During the Bianjiang meeting, the new Jinshi gathered together to have fun. His Majesty Chai Rong personally climbed the high-rise buildings by the river to watch. The nobles and nobles in Daliang City followed him, and many noble ladies accompanied him. They looked at the new Jinshi enthusiastically. While watching, they evaluated the appearance and behavior of these Jinshi. The noble ladies who had unmarried daughters usually had to take charge of their son-in-law at the Bianjiang meeting.

After the Bianjiang meeting, the new Jinshi also went to the high pagoda of Xianning Temple to engrave the title, which was called the "Title Meeting".

In addition to these activities, the new Jinshi were also constantly invited to attend a variety of banquets. Liu Jiangqing became a new Jinshi for one month. She may drink more wine than she had in Shishan for two years.

Liu Jiangqing walked on the lively street for a while, and his mind was trampled by horse hooves. Sometimes there were the blue sky and white clouds of Shishan, sometimes the bustling Daliang Street, sometimes the wife of Shishan, and sometimes the beautiful girl of Zan Mansion as soft as water.

After walking through several streets, Liu Jiangqing felt hungry in her stomach. Yesterday, she was just drinking. She basically didn't eat anything. After drinking a bowl of honey water this morning, she also didn't eat breakfast. When he saw a small shop selling millet porridge and big cakes, he ordered a bowl of millet porridge, three big cakes and a plate of braised pork. Sitting in a simple small room, drinking porridge slowly while thinking about his messy thoughts. Suddenly, he thought of his trading with Liu Tao, the tribute envoy, and he couldn't help but secretly called luck: If Hou Dayong hadn't stopped the transaction in time, at this time, he would have been implicated by Liu Tao, then the glory he had won and the trust of the fifth elder would all become a phantom.

The shop was extremely simple, with all the windows on all sides empty, and the cold wind was wandering in the shop. However, Liu Jiangqing thought of what happened, but she kept sweating. After Liu Jiangqing walked out of the shop, he observed the direction for a while and felt that all the roads seemed familiar. He asked the shopkeeper and found out the way back to the Lingzhou Guild Hall.

Yesterday afternoon, Liu Jiangqing visited Hou’s mansion to visit Hou Dayong. Hou Dayong rushed to enter the palace and asked Liu Jiangqing to arrive at the mansion this morning.

Most systems of the Five Dynasties followed the Tang system, and scholars passed the imperial examination and were only qualified to be an official. If they wanted to become officials in the court, they had to go through the re-examination of the Ministry of Personnel. This kind of examination was called the "Brown Examination". Only after passing this examination could the scholars who passed the examination could turn from a commoner into an official, take off their coarse cloth clothes and put on their official uniforms. Anyone who obtained the Jinshi but was not admitted to the re-examination of the Ministry of Personnel could call themselves "former Jinshi".

Liu Jiangqing will soon attend the re-examination of the Ministry of Personnel.

With the lesson from last time, Liu Jiangqing did not dare to take the initiative without authorization, so he had to pay a visit to Hou Dayong before participating in the "Shuobao Examination".

Liu Jiangqing was not worried about the re-examination of the Ministry of Personnel. The re-examination of the Ministry of Personnel was divided into four aspects: body, speech, book, and judgment. Liu Jiangqing had been practicing martial arts since childhood and was handsome. He was not a person with a crooked appearance. There should be no problems with his health. Moreover, Liu Jiangqing taught at Shishan Academy for many years, and there was no big problem with speaking, writing, and judgment.

What Liu Jiangqing is most concerned about is what official position he can get after receiving the "report"? Hou Dayong is the prime minister of the dynasty, so of course he has great say in this.

After Liu Jiangqing finished breakfast, he headed towards the Lingzhou Guild Hall. As soon as he turned a corner of the street, he saw a group of people surrounding him. The crowd kept cheering, and a pleasant voice came from inside: "I am Chen Ziteng, I am here to show my ugly appearance. If you think of the young actors and have any needs, I will wait here."

Liu Jiangqing separated the crowd and squeezed in. He saw that the person who spoke in the crowd was indeed Chen Ziteng. According to Liu Hongye, Chen Ziteng was a rare calligraphy genius in the Richie family in a century. He was a self-contained and natural.

Chen Ziteng used two wooden boards to lay a wooden table with several large pieces of rice paper on it. On the rice paper were written with poems, the dragons and tigers were hidden in Daliang City, and the people were also knowledgeable. At this time, there were three disciples who lost their brothers in the crowd. They were all Cangzhou students, and they were naturally lost after failing the exam. Compared with the joyful mood of the new Jinshi, "the spring breeze is proud and the horse's hooves are light, and the flowers in Chang'an are all seen in one day". In order to relieve the frustration, they pretended to be free and easy and wandered around the city. At this time, they saw someone selling words, so they squeezed in to watch the fun. Unexpectedly, when they saw them, they couldn't help but cheer with everyone.

Chen Ziteng smiled with a complacent smile, not at all depressed because he lost his brother. He bowed to everyone and said, "I am frustrated in the imperial examination and have no choice but to live. Just use this word to make a living, please give me a visit." The style is very similar to a person who is a performer in the world.

When the Richie tribe went south, they also brought some coins and jewelry. After Liu Jiangqing and Wu Ruogu became new Jinshi, they received some gifts. The Richie tribes were far from being unable to afford to eat, so they didn't have to go out to sell their names. Liu Jiangqing was a teacher at Shishan Academy and the leader of Richie's philosophers. Except for the funny Chen Ziteng and his younger sister Liu Jiangjie, the rest of the philosophers were all respected by Liu Jiangqing. Liu Jiangqing stared at Chen Ziteng fiercely. Chen Ziteng also saw Liu Jiangqing and made a face, but ignored Liu Jiangqing.

At this moment, a middle-aged man with a gentle appearance slowly walked to the table, looked carefully at the words, and high-five and praised: "Being straightforward, free and natural, a stroke of spiritual origin." The middle-aged man saw that Chen Ziteng was thin but not weak, with a slightly dark skin and bright eyes, and said with great meaning: "Please borrow a step to speak."

Seeing that Chen Ziteng was chatting with the middle-aged man, Liu Jiangqing ignored him, so he glared at him fiercely and turned around and left.

On the inside of the gate of the Marquis' Mansion, the two guards stroked their waists and stood straight like javelins. Liu Jiangqing walked past the two guards and felt a hint of chill behind them. Liu Jiangqing couldn't help but feel a sense of sternness. Only veterans of war could exude such murderous aura and walk through the courtyard. Liu Jiangqing met seven or eight soldiers who were tall and straight and looked at them. The entire Marquis' Mansion seemed very quiet. Liu Jiangqing was infected by this solemn atmosphere and couldn't help but calm down and straighten his waist.

Hou Dayong met with Liu Jiangqing, a new Jinshi in the living room. After giving up the ceremony, he talked politely for a few words, Liu Jiangqing explained his purpose. Hou Dayong pondered for a while and said, "The official positions firstly appointed by the Ministry of Personnel are not of high quality. Generally, only small officials with ninth rank or above, and among many positions, only a very small county magistrate can stay in the court. What are Liu Lang's specific ideas?"

Liu Jiangqing said respectfully: "Please give me some advice."

"Liu Lang's situation is a bit special. Liu Lang has always lived in Shishan and is not familiar with the society, economy, customs, etc. in the Central Plains. If he stayed in the court, it would probably be unfavorable for future development. I suggest that Liu Lang still serve as a county magistrate. A county is also a small society. Although the sparrow is small, it is complete with all the internal organs. However, Liu Lang is Tanhualang. There is no need to go to a remote small county. Wang Zhen, the Nanwei of Daliang City, was implicated in his death because of the abbot of Tianjing Temple, and has been resigned. Now the location of the Nanwei of Chengnan has been vacant. I wonder if Liu Lang is willing to hold this position?"

Liu Jiangqing was very clear about the arrangement and use of Jinshi. Being able to stay in Renchengwei in Daliang City was indeed an ideal position, and he felt a little happy.

Hou Dayong saw the faint smile on Liu Jiangqing's lips, his face suddenly sank, and said, "The Chengnan Wei is higher than the ordinary county magistrate. He is a six-rank official position. He is just a city magistrate in Daliang City, not comparable to other places. Daliang is the imperial capital, and the three religions and tribes gather here. There are both talented scholars, as well as giant thieves from all over the world, and the great families are like crucians who cross the river. If you can do a good job in the Chengwei, you will be a county magistrate, a governor or even a military governor, and the prefect of Kaifeng has always been the confidant of Your Majesty, you can go directly to the upper house. From the other side, this is also a double-edged sword. If the Chengwei does not do well, or if you accidentally offend the powerful and powerful, your future will be very bad."

Hou Dayong stared at Liu Jiangqing with Ling Li's eyes and asked: "Does Liu Lang have the confidence to be a good Chengnanwei?"

Liu Jiang was confident, so he raised his head and looked at Hou Dayong without any retreat, and said firmly: "If you want wealth and honor in danger, if you can't be a good person in the city, there is no need to stay in Daliang."

"Okay, I'm brave." Hou Dayong's face showed a smile, "After I passed the Jinshi, I will definitely have a lot of social engagements. This is a good opportunity to meet the heroes of the world. Liu Lang must also be good at dancing. After all, in the officialdom, he still needs the care of his colleagues. He just needs to pay attention to his sense of duty during the interaction. You new Jinshi are rare goods."

Liu Jiangqing remembered the ridiculous incident at Zan Xuanzheng Mansion last night, and then burst into cold sweats.

Liu Jiangqing returned to the Lingzhou Guild Hall with half joy and half sorrow. As soon as she entered Lingxiyuan, she saw her sister rolling her eyes at her, then shook her hair and left. When Liu Jiangqing was wondering, Wu Yuezhou and Wu Ruogu walked out with her side. Wu Yuezhou said with a smile: "Liu Lang, you are such a romantic talent."

Wu Ruogu also attended the night banquet at Zan Xuanzheng Mansion yesterday, but Liu Jiangqing was a Tanhualang, so he naturally became the target of the dinner. Wu Ruogu was mixed with many Jinshi and did not become the focus of the dinner. Therefore, when the singer danced, he was still clear-headed. Although the beauty was in her arms, she did not get confused. After the banquet, Wu Ruogu insisted on returning to Lingxiyuan. When he saw Liu Jiangqing back, he bowed respectfully and said, "The housekeeper in Zan Xuanzheng Mansion had just left and gave some things to Mr. Liu's room."

Liu Jiangqing is a teacher at Shishan Academy and once taught Wu Ruogu, who has always held the disciple's etiquette in front of Liu Jiangqing.

Liu Jiangqing had the highest status among the Richie's philosophers, so there was a single room. He walked into his room with some confusion and was shocked. There was a pretty beauty standing in the room, which was the little summer she was waiting for him in Zan's mansion. The two of them stood in the room with big eyes staring.

A red glow flew out from Xiaoshu's fair face, and he solemnly bowed.

After Wu Zetian became emperor in the Tang Dynasty, he changed the name of the country to Zhou, and at the same time he re-formed etiquette, changing the woman's bowing posture to upright, with both hands on her chest, slightly bowing her head, and bent her knees, which was called "women bowing". This etiquette was passed down to the Great Zhou Dynasty.

"Why are you here?" Liu Jiangqing came back to his senses for a long time. Xiaoshu stood up shyly and was about to speak. The manager of the Lingzhou Guild Hall came in and said, "Mr. Liu, Mr. Li from Zan Xuanzheng's mansion just arrived at the Guild Hall and left a letter to the teacher." Liu Jiangqing took out the letter, which contained Xiaoshu's identity document.

Xiaoshu obediently picked up a glass of water and whispered: "From the future, I will be Alang's people, but I will take care of it." A pool of watery eyes seemed to drip out of water.
Chapter completed!