Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 101 Contact
Cold Food Festival.

Today, smoking is banned, only cold food is eaten, the Imperial College has no homework, the Du family plans to go out of the city to worship, and they have invited Xue Bai a while ago.

Xue Bai didn't really want to go, because the Du sisters didn't go, and Lu Fengniang kept asking him to see the daughter of the Lu family.

"Do I want to go?"

Du Wulang arrived at Xue's house early, sat in the study and yawned: "Aniang has been preparing for a long time, so I can only go. I also asked the three of them, and said that the re-examination is coming soon, and today I have to go to the Qujiang Wenhui. If you have time, go and find them."

"Go ahead, let me go to the teacher's house first."

"Hey, who wrote this?" Du Wulang suddenly looked at it, a little surprised. "You wrote it? The level is no worse than mine. What kind of article is this? Interesting."

"Let's go."

Xue Bai didn't bother to talk to Du Wulang, so he packed up the copybooks and went out.

The two walked to the front yard and saw several children of the Xue family packing up the carriage there, preparing to go to the outskirts of the city together.Du Wulang then stopped and said, "Go to the teacher's house, I'll wait for you here."

"If you do this, how can you improve your calligraphy?"

"Hey, don't imitate Dr. Zheng's tone. It's rare that you don't have any homework today." Du Wulang walked away and said to Xue Xin: "I have a cat in my yard. Do you want to go see it at night?"

"What's so good about that? Brother Wu is too childish."

……

The Yan family did not have a sweep today, but Yan Zhenqing went to attend to the matter early.

When Xue Bai arrived, Yan Yan was sitting in the lobby wrapped in a thick blanket, yawning and talking to Wei Yun.

"Here? I'm going to Yuzhen Temple today, when will brother take me there?"

Seeing the sly look in her eyes, Xue Bai suddenly thought of his promise to Li Tengkong in prison, and was stunned.

I don't know if Yan Yan knew something and reminded her on purpose.

Wei Yun said: "You child, as a mother, I will go with you. Why does your brother always go to the female Taoist temple?"

"Oh."

Yan Yan answered honestly, then turned to Xue Bai and asked, "Brother, today's strange novel... no, what about calligraphy and writing?"

Recently, she not only taught him calligraphy, but also pointed him at writing prose.

Xue Bai once didn't know what to write, and when he thought of Pu Songling's "Wolf", he tried to write it in classical Chinese according to the outline of the story he still remembered.Yan Yan looked at it and said that before he could learn parallel prose, this strange story was just for practicing his pen, so he asked him to write a strange story and send it to him every day.

He knew that this little girl actually wanted to read the story, but every time she could point out the problems in the choice of words and sentences, it greatly improved his writing skills.

Today she just woke up, so it's rare for her to slip up.

"Hey, A Chinese Ghost Story."

Yan Yan took the scroll and opened it, she was very interested in today's prose just by looking at the title, but she shook her head when the scroll was drawn to the end.

"Brother, I only write these few words every day. When will I be able to improve? Spring is over. As far as my little sister knows, autumn is the year of the National Academy of Sciences, right?"

She knew that Xue Bai was smart, but she was satisfied with letting such a smart man have nothing to do with her.

In the end, before he finished speaking, Wei Yun tapped him lightly on the head.

"It's not big or small, who taught you to speak like this?"

"Grandpa taught me."

Having said that, Yan Yan still took out yesterday's "Painted Skin" and handed it over.

Xue Bai took it and opened it, only to see that there were many annotations on it.

If any character he wrote was too ugly, Yan Yan would cover it with a red pen and re-write it so that it was easier to compare the characters.The grammatical inadequacies are written aside in beautiful lowercase letters.

For example, what he wrote "the door is not bolted" was changed by her to "the doors are not closed".

Looking back, the word "become a couple" was changed to "May Xiuyan be good", but Xue Bai was stunned for a moment, feeling Wei Yun's gaze, he subconsciously lifted the scroll.

Yan Yan proudly put away today's story scroll, raised her head, smiled obediently, and began to point out.

"Brother's handwriting is still too sharp. The so-called "drawing the silk and reflecting the belt", there should be a return to the front when there is a setback, so that the strokes will be relieved..."

Xue Bai wrote it down carefully, then bowed to his wife and took his leave.

Yan Yan looked out, and whispered: "Aniang, I want to take a few scrolls from my study to Yuzhen Temple."

~~
Back home, Xue Bai put the scroll away first, while Qing Lan packed the cold food for today.

Du Wulang dug a small tree from nowhere and wanted to plant it in the courtyard of Xue's family. Xue Sanniang and Xue Xin were helping at the side. Xue Xin complained from time to time: "Fifth brother, you will affect my sword practice."

"I've never seen a courtyard that is emptier than yours. Where can I not play? This tree grows and can separate the boudoir of my daughter's house from your east chamber."

"When the tree grows up, my sisters and sisters will all get married."

"Don't talk nonsense." Xue Sanniang blushed and taught Xue Xin a lesson.

"Let's go." Xue Bai said.

The men rode horses, and the female relatives rode in cars, heading east all the way to Jingshanfang, Zhuque Street, where they joined the members of the Du family, and then walked south.

Du Wulang walked side by side with Xue Bai, and asked, "Is your third sister named Yunniang?"

"It seems so."

"You don't even know that?"

"Usually only call the ranking."

Knowing that they are not biological sisters, Xue Bai has always avoided getting too close, so there is indeed some kinship.

Seeing that he was indeed a self-respecting gentleman, Du Wulang was a little admired, and asked, "Hey, do you think about it? What will happen later? My cousin's daughter is very arrogant, and she is not as good-looking as Miss Zong."

"Your mother clearly said that everyone is a lady, dignified and decent."

"Of course she is dignified in front of her." Du Wulang sighed, "I also have to find a way to prevent the little lady of the Pei family from looking at me."

"Do you have a good idea?"

"too difficult."

~~
After sweeping the offerings, everyone went to the Pei family's Qingxu Bieye.

Xue Bai came here once when he was investigating the case with Yan Zhenqing, and when he came back today, he saw the Pei family's carriage, so he could appreciate Wenxi Pei's illustrious family even more.

Pei Kuan has eight brothers, all of whom are Jinshi, Mingjing and Jidi, and serve as local officials.Their houses in Luoyang are connected together, and there are hundreds of children, all of whom are talented.

According to the information Du Jin asked Xue Bai, it was said that "everyone in Hedong hopes that Pei Kuan will pay homage to the Prime Minister", which means that Pei Kuan made a lot of contributions in serving as Fan Yang's Jiedu envoy, and even the Yidi in the north were grateful for his kindness.It is understandable that the sage was afraid of his prestige and transferred him back to court, but many people were dissatisfied with not worshiping the prime minister.

It is not a matter of embarrassment for him alone to be a representative of the prominent family in Hedong.

From Xue Bai's point of view, it is impossible for Pei Kuan to give in even if he is framed to this extent...

With such an analysis, what he wanted to see the most when he came today was Pei Kuan.

"Today's Cold Food Festival, I will treat you all with cold food at noon."

"Pei Gong is too polite."

"I introduce to Pei Gong, this is the dog Du Chuan, this is the dog's friend Xue Bai, I also treat him like a nephew."

"Hahaha, I have met Xue Xiaolangzi before, and I have also read his scrolls. The poems are well written."

"Ah Lang, the Lu family is here too..."

Everyone in the front hall of the manor was talking, while Lu Fengniang took the female relatives to the backyard, and whispered to the little ladies of Pei and Lu with a smile.

Pei Liuniang and Lu Siniang blushed a little when they heard this, but they still followed their advice and looked at each other.

They are the marriageable age of women in the Tang Dynasty, and they are actually very beautiful.If you have to pick some flaws, Pei Liuniang's neck is a little forward, and Lu Siniang's front teeth are a little bit wide.

Climbing up to the small attic and standing by the bead curtain, you can see the front hall clearly.

"Those two are enough."

Pei Liuniang just went upstairs when she was attracted by a figure, and then looked in the direction pointed by the maid, her eyes lit up, and she said with joy and shame: "Is that Du Jiawulang? I heard Aniang said many things about him , Running around to save his father, run a restaurant, enroll in the imperial academy, and maintain the examination room, he is really a heroic young man."

The maid beside her was also delighted and asked, "Is Liu Niang satisfied?"

"Yes." Pei Liuniang immediately lowered her head and replied shyly.

"Is Si Niang satisfied?"

"Ah."

Lu Siniang also bowed her head in response.

At this time, the mistresses and wives climbed up to the attic and asked with a smile, "Did you see them?"

"My lady, I've seen them all, and Liu Niang said she's satisfied."

When Pei Liuniang looked at Lu Fengniang again, her attitude changed; Lu Siniang also secretly looked at Liu Xiangjun.

This happy scene did not last long.

When Lu Siniang said in a low voice, "Xue Lang is more handsome than I imagined", Pei Liuniang was stunned for a moment, and looked at the "Mr. , should not be called handsome.

"Si Niang, can't you make a mistake?"

"How could I be mistaken? Don't I recognize my aunt's Fifth Brother? I didn't expect you to be satisfied at first glance. He is very nice..."

Pei Liuniang burst into tears immediately.

Fortunately, she didn't feel sad for a long time. Not long after, Lu Siniang's mother arrived and took her daughter away.

"Who asked you to come to see me? Your grandfather said that it was the face of Mrs. Guo Guo, who returned to his aunt, but pushed him into the fire pit..."

"Me?" Lu Fengniang said angrily: "After the imperial banquet, who came to talk to me first?"

The sisters-in-law had only quarreled a few words, and Lu Siniang was already crying.

Pei Liuniang thought about it, and cried, "Wuuu, sister Lu's family won't marry, and I won't marry either!"

"Who said I'm not going to marry? I'm going to marry, I'm going to marry, woo woo..."

~~
Xue Bai had already left the front hall, and was led by his servants to relieve him, when he came out, he happened to meet Pei Kuan at the Yimen.

"Pei Gong."

"How about a cup of cold tea?" Pei Kuan asked with a smile behind his back.

Xue Bai responded, "Don't dare to ask for your ears, but stick to your wish."

The old and the young sat down in the yard beside them in a tacit understanding.

Pei Kuan said slowly: "Old man, I heard that you also have a teacher named Han Yu?"

Xue Bai responded with a smile: "I thought Mr. Pei wanted to know something more useful."

Pei Kuan didn't expect him to be so forthright. After pondering for a while, he asked, "You're young, you've been involved in too many things..."

"The time has come to defeat Li Linfu." Xue Bai didn't wait for him to continue probing, and went straight in. "I exposed the water transportation in full view, and the saint didn't blame me. Instead, he kept me as a servant and gave me a generous reward. Why?"

Pei Kuan smiled, and said, "We still have wet breasts."

"Because the sage is dissatisfied with Brother Nu, he needs a huge amount of money to open up frontiers and expand the Huaqing Palace. However, Brother Nu is greedy for ink, and the Saint has become suspicious. I have already told Donggong about this. Does Mr. Pei know?"

Xue Bai expected that Li Heng would not tell Pei Kuan these things.

Li Heng is a son, he can bear everything, and it is impossible for Xue Bai to instigate him to take the initiative to trouble Li Linfu.In particular, Xue Bai's idea of ​​the two-tax law for Fang Guan is simply useless.

But Pei Kuan was different. Once he learned of Li Linfu's flaws, he would definitely attack.

However, Pei Kuan is close to the East Palace, and the saint will think that he is the envoy of the East Palace.

really.

Pei Kuan twirled his long beard and muttered deliberately: "No wonder...Fang Guan has recently been seeking to 'supervise the repair of Huaqing Palace'."

"I told him." Xue Bai said, "Didn't he tell Mr. Pei?"

"You idiot." Pei Kuan was still trying to dominate the situation.

"It seems that Dong Gong is forbearing, is he planning to find a favor for Pei Gong? Then Pei Gong can consider us."

Having said this, Xue Bai was not in a hurry to speak, stopped talking, and took a sip of the cold tea on the table.

Today, he spoke bluntly, as if he had no city at all.

Because in the face of Pei Kuan, there is no need to make detours, the interests are clear, and the enemy and the enemy are clear.

In fact, Li Linfu also knew of Pei Kuan's threat to Xiangxiang. Now that Li Shizhi had been relegated, Pei Kuan must be at the top of the list of enemies in the Right Prime Minister's House, but where did Xue Baicai rank?

In fact, Pei Kuan was anxious to death, the more straightforward the words, the more effective.

really.

"who are you?"

Now that Pei Kuan didn't talk about "wethead" and "Zhuzi", Xue Bai was not in a hurry, and calmly asked: "Pei Gong asked about this, is it because he wants to tell Donggong?"

"You can't trust the old man?"

"Believe in Mr. Pei, otherwise I won't come today." Xue Bai was very self-conscious, and said in a deep voice, "Let's put it this way, a while ago I offered the method of salting to Uncle Guo, brother slaves are very vigilant against this, and strictly guard against it. Pei Gong looks at the current situation again, if someone can help Guojiu, what will happen?"

This "uncle of the country" is not Yang Zhao, but Yang Guifei's elder brother Yang Zhen, who is an official worshiper of Hongluqing and Shangzhuguo.

Sure enough, Pei Kuan raised his eyebrows, leaned forward, and said in a low voice, "You guys have plans?"

Xue Bai smiled without answering, drinking tea with his head down.

"You child." Pei Kuan sighed, "I still can't trust the old man."

"Pei Gong once guided me to write poems, so I have a few small reminders." Xue Bai said: "I heard that Pei Gong is close to Li Gong, the prefect of Yichun?"

Mentioning Li Shizhi, Pei Kuan's eyes were really sad, and he couldn't hide it.

Since he entered the court, he wanted to recruit Donggong to deal with Li Linfu, but Donggong had a hard time protecting himself, so he never made a move.

Xue Bai said: "I also heard rumors in Chang'an that Brother Nu had a dream not long ago, in which a tall, handsome man with fair beard and beard approached him, stuck to him, and couldn't push him away. After he woke up, he said to his subordinates, 'He looks like Pei Kuan, and that's why Pei Kuan conspired to replace me'!"

Pei Kuan immediately felt a chill down his spine.

He knew very well that after Yan Tingzhi, Zhang Jiuling, Wei Jian, Huangfu Weiming, Yang Shenjin, Li Shizhi and others, it was his turn.

Trying to calm down, Pei Kuan hid his hands in his sleeves, squeezed them hard, and asked, "Really?"

"Pei Gong actually asked each other like that?"

"Where did you hear that?"

This was what Daxi Yingying inquired about at the Right Prime Minister's Mansion, but Xue Bai would not tell the truth, only said: "I have my connections."

"What do you want to do when you contact the old man?"

Xue Bai murmured, "A few of my friends are going to have a re-examination in Chunwei soon. I wonder if Mr. Pei can make a move?"

Pei Kuan frowned slightly.

All eight of his brothers are ranked first, so there is no shortage of contacts in this area.Moreover, he is the official censor, and he actually has more power to supervise and test than Wang Chi.

"If I let the old man guess, three of Chunwei's five sons went to the exam, probably one of them passed the first to calm the storm, and the two were deposed to be punished lightly."

"The three of them are all talented."

Pei Kuan first twitched his beard and muttered, a little embarrassed, but finally he smiled and stroked his beard and said, "I heard from you earlier that you plan to take the exam this autumn and start the provincial exam in spring?"

"Yes."

"Your poems are well written. If the old man can preside over a Spring Festival, I will nominate you as the champion."

Since Pei Kuan decided to agree to Xue Bai's request, he simply made another promise and asked the people behind Xue Bai to find him the position of prime minister.

But this promise is not equitable at all.For example, if Pei Kuan can help Xue Bai pay homage to the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Xue Bai can also easily appoint Pei Kuan as the number one scholar.

Hearing this, Xue Bai was a little disappointed. He felt that Pei Kuan was not good at power, and that he had high-mindedness and low-handedness. Like Yang Shenjin, he also had the faults of a nobleman. He was afraid that it would be difficult for him to survive under Li Linfu's attack.

Now is not the time to be disgusted, he showed joy and said: "So, thank you, Mr. Pei."

Pei Kuan stroked his beard and smiled, with a personable demeanor, and asked, "When will I introduce the old man to see Uncle Guo?"

"How about talking after the retest?"

"Alright."

This is not an opportunity for a long talk, the two looked at each other and smiled, got up and walked through the huge Bieye Manor.

　I drank two cups of coffee today and kept writing, and finally caught up with the release time~~Thanks to the new leader, usually too late, thank you again at the end of the month~~I feel that the ranking has been dropping, please ask for a monthly ticket, please subscribe~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)