The world of film and television begins from childhood

Zhou Chen stated his purpose: "I have my eyes on the girl from the Sheng family, and I want my father and mother to help me propose marriage."

"Sheng family?"

Zhou Yexiong had a bewildered look on his face. He was not surprised that Zhou Chen fell in love with someone else's girl and asked him to propose marriage. After all, Zhou Chen was already sixteen years old, and there were many men who got married at this age, let alone just proposing marriage.

But what surprised him was that he had never heard of the Sheng family.

"Which mansion in Tokyo City is the Sheng family from?"

Mrs. Zhou Xu was also very surprised, but she quickly figured out who it was because Zhou Chen had told her about the basic situation of the Sheng family.

"The Sheng family that Sanlang is talking about is not the one in Tokyo, but the one in Yangzhou City, my aunt's granddaughter."

"Your aunt?"

Zhou Yexiong was still confused, but then he thought of someone: "The only daughter of Marquis Yongyi back then?"

"Correct."

"Then what's so special about the Sheng family? How does Sanlang know the girl from their family?"

"Nothing special. The master of the Sheng family is the magistrate of Yangzhou, and he is the only one in their family who is an official."

Zhou Yexiong's expression suddenly changed: "Yangzhou Tongpan, the daughter of a sixth-rank official? No, absolutely not."

Then he scolded Zhou Chen: "Sanlang, I can't agree to this. You are my legitimate son. There are so many noble ladies in Tokyo. You can choose anyone. If you marry the daughter of a sixth-rank official, not only will she not help you in your career, but she will also hinder you. I will never agree to this."

Zhou Chen said calmly: "Father, I am not discussing this with you. I have made up my mind and will definitely marry Hualan as my first wife."

"Rebellious son, are you threatening me?"

Zhou Yexiong was furious. He always had the final say at home. He had endured Zhou Chen's questioning before. After all, he needed Zhou Chen to take over his power in the military.

But before he could explode in anger, Zhou Xu suddenly spoke.

"Sanlang, mother promises you."

"Madam, you..."

Zhou Yexiong felt a pain in his chest and almost couldn't breathe. He could only stare at his wife with angry eyes.

Zhou Xu's expression was flat and her tone was cold: "Sanlang is willing to give up his future and safety for you and the Marquis's Mansion, but you still want to use his marriage to strengthen the Marquis's Mansion. There is no such good thing in the world. I will go to Yangzhou in person to ask for Sanlang's marriage."

Zhou Yexiong's expression kept changing, he was indeed very dissatisfied. In his calculations, it would be best for Zhou Chen to marry the daughter of a nobleman. He did not dare to think about the only daughter of a Duke of England, but there was still hope for the legitimate daughters of other marquises, and at the very least she had to be the legitimate daughter of an earl.

As a result, Zhou Chen chose the daughter of a sixth-rank official. What help could she bring to Zhou Chen?

However, he could only suppress his anger as he looked at Zhou Chen's determined face. During today's conversation, he also realized that his son was no longer the obedient child who dared not disobey his orders. Now he dared to face him without fear.

If Zhou Chen really didn't go to the border, the only one that would suffer in the end would be the Marquis' Mansion, so no matter how dissatisfied he was, he had to compromise for the sake of the Marquis' Mansion.

"You can go if you want, but I won't go."

If he were asked to go to the home of a sixth-rank official to propose marriage, he would not be able to do such a thing.

…………

Zhou Chen followed his mother back to her room. Mrs. Zhou Xu held Zhou Chen's hand tightly with a sad face.

"Sanlang, I am sorry for you. This is all I can do for you."

"That's enough, mother. You really don't have to worry about me. Even if I go to the border, I'll be fine. I will protect myself."

Zhou Chen was really not afraid of going to the battlefield. He was a real veteran and had experienced wars involving hundreds of thousands of people. The strongest power in the northwest of the Song Dynasty was the Western Xia. Although there were frequent conflicts between the Western Xia and the Song Dynasty in history, they were only small-scale battles and there were basically few large-scale wars, especially in the later period of Zhao Zhen's reign, the Song-Xia wars were even fewer.

Moreover, he and Western Xia are old rivals. Although he had faced Western Xia decades ago, the current Western Xia is not necessarily much stronger than when the country was founded. The current Western Xia has a young ruler in power and there is no internal unity, so the threat is not that great.

Zhou Yexiong's injury can really only be regarded as his bad luck and bad luck.

At dinner, the family had a reunion dinner, but there were only five people including Zhou Yexiong and his wife, Zhou Tong and his wife, and Zhou Chen. The rest of the children did not come.

The meal was very depressing. Zhou Chen didn't say a word and just focused on eating. Zhou Yexiong was dissatisfied but didn't say anything either. Zhou Xu just kept picking up food for Zhou Chen.

Zhou Tong had an even stern face, and displayed the good qualities of not talking while eating or sleeping.

However, Zhou Cui, who joined the Marquis' Mansion and had her first reunion dinner, felt very embarrassed and awkward. She didn't dare to speak and kept her head down.

Whose family reunion dinner is eaten like this?

When it was almost over, Zhou Yexiong suddenly spoke.

"Sanlang, there will be a palace banquet tomorrow, you come with me."

"what?"

Zhou Chen looked surprised. There were no morning court sessions during the New Year holidays, but on New Year's Day, the government would hold a banquet in the palace and invite court ministers to attend. Only officials of the rank of red robe and above could attend the banquet.

There will be banquets in the front court and in the harem as well. The queen will also invite ladies of high rank to attend the banquet, so the palace will be very lively on New Year's Day.

Zhou Chen had participated in many similar banquets in the Menghualu world before. After he became emperor, he would also hold palace banquets during festivals, so he was not unfamiliar with it.

But he was surprised when Zhou Yexiong said he would take him there, after all, they had just had an argument.

Zhou Yexiong ignored Zhou Chen and continued, "Tomorrow we will go to the palace to see the emperor. We need to pay attention to etiquette. You just follow behind me and don't stand out."

As Marquis Zhongjing, he was qualified to bring his son to the banquet. Other noble officials would also make similar moves, mainly to allow their children to broaden their horizons and see the world. It would also be a good thing if they could become familiar with the emperor and senior officials in the court.

"okay, I get it."

After the meal, Zhou Tong took the initiative to find Zhou Chen and told him a lot of court etiquette. Zhou Xu also called him over and gave him a lot of instructions.

In their opinion, since it was Zhou Chen's first time entering the palace, they would definitely be nervous and afraid that something might go wrong.

Early the next morning, Zhou Chen dressed up under the service of the maids beside his mother. Today he was going to the palace to meet the saint, so he wore very formal clothes, and even his bun was neatly made, including the accessories on his body, such as The forbidden steps hanging around the waist are also carefully selected.

After getting dressed, Zhou Chen went out with Zhou Yexiong and Zhou Xushi.

Because Zhou Chen was going to the former dynasty with Zhou Yexiong, he rode in the same carriage with Zhou Yexiong, while Zhou Xu rode in another carriage.

The imperial palace of the Song Dynasty was relatively mediocre among all the dynasties, but it had gone through several generations of emperors, and the palace had been expanded a lot and renovated several times, so now it seems to be of a decent size.

When they arrived at the palace gate, the carriage was naturally not allowed to enter. Zhou Chen followed Zhou Yexiong, while Zhou Xu was led into the imperial city by the palace maids and went to the harem with other ladies.

Although it was a banquet, it was a formal banquet, so all the attendees were wearing official uniforms and imperial robes.

Zhou Chen took a glance and saw that there were not many officials waiting in front of the palace gate. They were wearing purple and red. Apart from them, there were a few people like Zhou Chen who were not in the officialdom, and they were all wearing formal clothes.

Although Zhou Chen was the eldest son of the Marquis of Zhongjing, he was not a playboy, but he knew some sons of nobles. However, among the people who came today, he only knew two or three of them, and because of the special circumstances, he did not go over to say hello.

After waiting in front of the palace gate for a while, the time was almost up and the imperial guards opened the palace gate to let everyone enter.

Zhou Chen followed Zhou Yexiong closely, and his main focus was not to fall behind or to attract attention.

Today's banquet is held in the Jiying Hall in the palace. The Jiying Hall is large enough to accommodate everyone and is also the main banquet hall in the palace.

Not all officials and nobles came today. Some officials had to be on duty and did not attend the banquet, so it was not crowded.

Zhou Chen sat behind Zhou Yexiong. Everyone had a separate table and dozens of palace maids stood behind to serve them.

After everyone had taken their seats, Emperor Zhao Zhen appeared. Everyone immediately stood up and saluted, and then the Emperor motioned for everyone to sit down.

Zhou Chen secretly looked at the emperor above. This emperor was one of the longest-reigning emperors among the many emperors of the Song Dynasty. After his death, he was given the temple name "Renzong". Even in the thousands of years of Chinese history, he was considered an extremely benevolent and loving emperor.

Although Zhou Chen thought that this official was a bit weak, it was undeniable that working under him would greatly guarantee safety.

Following the emperor's order, the banquet officially began, and the Jiying Hall soon became lively.

Where there is a banquet, there are naturally performances, dances, and music performances one after another, making the atmosphere in the hall even more lively.

After the performance, the emperor asked all the officials to compose impromptu poems and lyrics on the theme of today's festival.

The men who thought they had good literary talent were all in high spirits and composed poems and lyrics on the spot. No matter whether they were good or bad, as long as they were done, they would get praise from the emperor.

Zhou Chen sipped wine and listened to the poems and lyrics composed by the gentlemen in the hall, looking relaxed.

He looked around and found that their area was basically filled with nobles. They listened to the civil servants across the street composing poems and verses, and many of them looked confused.

There were many scholars among the nobles, but most of them were half-baked and rough men who were not good at writing poetry and verses, so no one stood up and they just toasted and drank with each other.

The official above suddenly looked towards the military generals and nobles and asked, "Is Zhou Qing, the Marquis of Zhongjing, here?"

Zhou Yexiong stood up immediately: "I'm here."

The emperor asked calmly, "Mr. Zhou, I heard earlier that your third son won the first place in the autumn imperial examination. I heard that you brought your third son here today?"

Zhou Yexiong replied: "Your Majesty, I did bring my son with me today."

As he said this, he winked at Zhou Chen, who immediately stood up and bowed down.

"Student Zhou Chen pays homage to His Majesty. Long live His Majesty."

In an instant, everyone's eyes fell on Zhou Chen. Everyone present had heard of Zhou Chen, the champion of this autumn's imperial examination.

"Get up and talk."

The official looked at Zhou Chen below and laughed, "What a handsome man! Mr. Zhou is worthy of being a pillar of our dynasty. Both of you are extremely talented."

"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. How can I be worthy of your praise?"

"I'm telling you the truth. I've read your Sanlang's article. It's very well written. He has real talent and knowledge."

The emperor seemed to like Zhou Chen very much and said, "Zhou Sanlang, since you are the champion of the autumn imperial examination, I believe that writing poems and lyrics will not be difficult for you. In this case, why don't you improvise one?"

Zhou Chen looked hesitant. He didn't expect that the government would ask him to compose poetry.

"Your Majesty, I am a student of limited talent and learning, and cannot compare with you gentlemen. I dare not embarrass myself in front of you and you gentlemen."

The emperor laughed and said, "You are quite interesting, kid. It's alright, just go ahead and write. I won't blame you no matter how you write. If you write a good poem or a good lyric, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

Suddenly, countless eyes fell on Zhou Chen again. Some were curious, some were there to watch the fun, some were disdainful, and there were also some who were as expectant as the officials.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 1109: Become famous early, be both civil and military, and please the emperor

If he were an ordinary teenager, facing the gaze of the most powerful people in the world, he would definitely be panicked.

But Zhou Chen was different. He was not panicked at all. His face was calm and his expression was natural.

"Then I have the audacity to show off my skills in front of your majesty and all the gentlemen."

The official Zhao Zhen, who was sitting on the high seat, had a smile on his face and a kind expression. He was not trying to embarrass Zhou Chen on purpose, but he really wanted to test him.

As the son of a noble family, Zhou Chen's success in passing the imperial examination caused quite a stir in Tokyo. He had also heard about it and even went out of his way to see Zhou Chen's answer sheet.

It has to be said that Zhou Chen's essay is very well written. Even if it were put into the imperial examination, it would be able to rank among the top few. He has the talent to become the top scholar.

A world-famous talent emerged among the nobles, so the official was naturally curious. He thought that since Zhou Chen could write essays and policy papers so well, his poems must be good too. So after confirming that Zhou Chen would also attend the palace banquet, he deliberately organized this test.

The civil and military officials on both sides of the hall were also looking at Zhou Chen. At this moment, he had become the focus of Jiying Hall.

As Zhou Chen's father, Zhou Yexiong's forehead was already sweating. In fact, he brought Zhou Chen here today because of the palace's order, but he never expected that the emperor would actually let Zhou Chen compose poems at the banquet.

Although he was a rough man, he knew that writing poems was not an easy task, especially in front of the emperor and the civil and military officials. If he did well, it would be fine, but if he did not do well, it would not only be embarrassing, but it might also cause dissatisfaction from the emperor, which would be bad for Zhou Chen in the future.

He was upset at himself for not thinking things through. If he had known this earlier, he would have made some preparations. After all, Sanlang was still young and certainly didn't have enough on-the-spot experience.

But now the arrow is on the string and has to be shot. He has no way to stop it and can only pray silently in his heart.

Zhou Chen stood gracefully without showing any sign of panic. If nothing else, he had a lot of foundation in this area.

Considering that it is the Song Dynasty now, when ci is most popular, writing ci is better than writing poetry.

So he began to think about which one to choose.

The emperor and the civil and military officials did not find it strange to see Zhou Chen in deep thought. Writing poems and verses is not an easy task. All the ministers before him had to think for a long time before coming up with them. There were not many people in the world who could compose a poem like Cao Zhi in seven steps.

Zhou Chen pondered for a moment, and finally chose a song, then said: "Your Majesty, I have thought of it."

The official encouraged: "Okay, let's get started."

Zhou Chen did not delay any longer and spoke fluently.

"The lotus leaks all the time in a year. The green well is filled with sweet wine and the frozen wine sinks. The chill of the morning is still deceiving, but the slenderness of spring comes to the willows first."

"The beauty advises a thousand years of longevity. The cypress leaves and pepper blossoms make her green sleeves fragrant. Deep in the land of drunkenness, few people know each other, only the God of Spring is an old friend."

This is a poem written by Mao Pang in the Northern Song Dynasty. However, at this point in time, Mao Pang should not have been born yet, so there is no problem for Zhou Chen to use it.

When Zhou Chen finished speaking, the Jiying Hall became even quieter, especially the civil officials, who all looked at Zhou Chen in astonishment. They did not expect that Zhou Chen could actually do it, and did it very well.

The official muttered to himself, repeating what Zhou Chen had just said, and suddenly he clapped his hands and laughed: "Good, good, good."

His praise was like turning on a switch, and the first to be shaken were the military generals. A group of people clapped their legs and cheered, one after another, the sound was so loud that it made the ears of the civil servants on the opposite side buzz.

The military officers were all very excited. What the hell, they had just been listening to you sour scholars reciting poems and composing lyrics, and they had been furious for a long time. Now Zhou Chen, as the son of a nobleman, has composed a poem that even the emperor praised. If they don’t make a fuss now, when will they make a fuss?