Zheng Rong scolded him, "Zheng Sen, what do you know? I think this table of food is very good. You are also a leader in the war. Do the soldiers always have such rations when they are on the battlefield?"
Zheng Sen didn't expect that his flattery would backfire, and he was scolded by his father until he kept saying "yes" to him.
Zheng Rong continued, "I will take this opportunity to set a rule. From now on, all my descendants must not have more than four dishes per meal. Otherwise, it means that we have forgotten the hardships we went through in Youyan, a bitter and cold land, to defend our country. Have you all taken note of this?"
Zheng Xin and Zheng Sen quickly stood up and agreed.
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Qiu Yizi smiled and said, "Yizi is the son of his adoptive father, so of course he must obey this order. Four dishes are already a lot, but I'm afraid you'll get thirsty halfway through, so why not add some soup?"
Zheng Rong glanced at Qiu Yizhi and couldn't help laughing: "Haha, you Qiu Yizhi are good at bargaining. Okay! Then add one more soup. From now on, each meal of yours will be limited to four dishes and one soup. I will set an example myself. Do you understand?"
After Qiu Yizi's jokes, the atmosphere at the table finally became a little more lively, so these people talked about military affairs and philosophy, and it took them about an hour to finish their conversation.
From that day on, Qiu Yizi followed Zheng Rong's orders and often went to the Ministry of Rites to check on the progress of the enthronement ceremony.
He was not familiar with etiquette, but seeing that the Minister of Rites Shi Liangzhi was spending day and night in the imperial city and the Taimiao, meticulously adjusting the details of the hall, he also knew that Shi Liangzhi was a criminal and was counting on handling the matter perfectly so as to obtain Zheng Rong's pardon.
Qiu Yizi then felt a little relieved, and apart from recording the daily progress in detail and reporting it to his adoptive father Zheng Rong and his master Zhong Li Kuang, he no longer interfered.
Qiu Yizi also did not forget to keep the preparation for the imperial examination in mind.
Although he was extremely intelligent, he was a complete layman when it came to official career and economics. Thinking that his master Zhongli Kuang was well-versed in both ancient and modern knowledge, he brought a folding fan specially collected by famous artists of the previous dynasty and paid a visit to him, wanting to inquire about the imperial examinations.
Zhongli Kuang was so busy every day that he was exhausted. After hearing Qiu Yi's intention, he said unhappily, "Your master is just a failed official. If he knew how to write those pedantic articles, how could he have the honor of being appointed as prime minister today?"
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi realized that he was in big trouble, and quickly said, "Yizi came here not to inquire about the imperial examination matters, but mainly to find a good fan, and would like to ask the master to appreciate it." As he said this, he handed over the folding fan.
Zhongli Kuang took the folding fan and knew its value after rubbing it twice. He was in a good mood, but he still said with a straight face: "The capital city of Luoyang is rich in natural resources, but after this war, it is not easy to find such a treasure..."
Qiu Yizi took over the conversation and said, "When I first came to Beijing, my adoptive father gave me tens of thousands of silver. After squandering it all along the way, I still have more than ten thousand left. I used it all to buy this folding fan and was about to present it to my master to repay his teachings."
Zhongli Kuang really liked this folding fan. He unfolded it carefully and fanned it a few times despite the cold weather. Then he took a deep breath, as if he wanted to absorb all the essence emitted by the fan into his body.
After a long while, Zhongli Kuang finally calmed down and said, "The prince has told me all about your situation. It is rare that you can think of a way to retreat when things are going well. Even your master cannot compare to you in this respect."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Yizi quickly spoke a few humble words.
But Zhong Li Kuang said, "As for the secrets of the imperial examination... I am not completely ignorant of them. I will only tell you one thing: the imperial examination is not entirely based on essays!"
Zhong Li Kuang took a sip of tea and continued, "I believe you already know that the prince has issued an order: saying that this time the special examination will be conducted by Prince Heluo as the chief examiner and I as the deputy chief examiner. The prince is used to being idle and may not be willing to take care of such mundane affairs. I am afraid that this matter will fall on me. In this way, you have the prince's guarantee, Prince Heluo admires you very much, and we have a master-disciple relationship. Are you still afraid that you will not pass the imperial examination?"
"Master, do you mean..." Qiu Yizi asked tentatively.
Unexpectedly, Zhongli Kuang had no reservations and said, "Electing people who are unlearned and unskilled is called partiality and corruption. You have real talent and knowledge, so I chose you. Although I am selfish, I am also selfless; although I am unfair, I am also fair. This is the true way to serve the country."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi nodded continuously and said, "Master, I don't dare to accept this compliment. But my adoptive father has already revealed the exam questions to me. If I write this article in a crap way, it will inevitably damage the reputation of my adoptive father and master, and I won't be able to hold my head up among the talented people in the world!"
Zhong Li Kuang said, "You can say these few words, which is worthy of the experience you have gone through in the past few months. Let's do this. Write an essay on the topic in the next two days and I will help you revise it when I have time. Although this may not necessarily make you the first or second place in the imperial examination, it is still a sure thing that you will pass the imperial examination."
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi quickly bowed to express his gratitude, and after saying a few words about the preparations for the coronation ceremony, he left.
Because Zheng Rong had not yet ascended the throne and became emperor, he could not live in the imperial city. He ordered his people to tidy up his palace previously located in the capital city inside and out, and then moved in.
This palace was very large, and Zheng Rong had many family members and servants, so some of the houses were vacant. Qiu Yizi chose a courtyard with a separate entrance on one side to live in.
After hastily swallowing a bowl of wontons bought in the city as dinner, Qiu Yizi locked himself in the study room, working late into the night, wanting to finish writing this essay on the imperial examination.
Unexpectedly, although Qiu Yizhi was always eloquent and eloquent, he didn't know where to start when he picked up the pen. He quickly flipped through several essays written by top scorers in previous imperial examinations, and seemed to have some inspiration in his mind, but he stopped writing after writing a few words. After several attempts, it was already dark, but he had only written a few lines on a piece of rice paper.
Qiu Yizhi read these few words over and over again, but he couldn't write any more. He smiled bitterly and sighed, "It turns out that scholars are good for nothing. However, it is not easy to write this pedantic article well!"
Qiu Yizhi was feeling distressed when he heard the door being pushed open. He didn't know who would come to visit him late at night, and he didn't know the etiquette of knocking on the door when visiting, so he looked up and saw that it was Princess Yiran who came to visit him in the middle of the night.
Qiu Yizi asked in surprise: "Why are you here in the middle of the night?"
"Why? Is this your place a dangerous place? I can't come?" Yiran said, picking up the paper that Qiu Yizi had spread on the table, and said, "You are also up late at night, I wonder what kind of brilliant article you are writing here."
Qiu Yizi scratched his head and said self-deprecatingly: "What kind of brilliant article is this? It's not even nonsense. I've been writing for two or three hours, and I haven't finished it yet!"
"Alas!" Yiran suddenly sighed, "Do you really want to be a small official?"
Qiu Yizhi was still thinking about how to tell Yiran about this news someday, but she didn't expect that she already knew it. She hurriedly said a few perfunctory words: "The imperial examination is not that easy. Maybe I won't pass the exam and won't be able to go out and become an official!"
Yiran turned his eyes away from the paper, stared at Qiu Yizhi and said, "I know everything, and you still dare to lie to me. Prince Youyan has already agreed to this matter. With your merits, the prime minister, general or prince would be reluctant to give you a mere county magistrate, isn't it? Didn't they just give you the position?"
Qiu Yizi raised her eyes and just made contact with Yiran's fiery gaze, then she moved aside in fear, staring at the swaying light on the table, and said, "I have no choice. The court is full of intrigues and oppression. Although I am young, I have seen a lot and experienced a lot. If I don't think of a way to get out of this, I am afraid that my life will be in danger!"
"Are you willing to give up all your relatives and friends to become a minor official? Are you really willing to... willing to leave me?" When Yiran said this, his throat tightened and he choked a little.
Qiu Yizi was sweating all over after hearing this. Finally, he mustered up the courage, looked Yiran in the eyes and said, "Of course I don't want to leave you. How can I bear to leave you? But... but I'm timid, I'm afraid of death... If I stay in the court, if something happens to me, not only will my life be in danger, but I'm afraid it will also implicate you."
"How about this, you come with me to the grassland. Every day you can watch the white clouds floating and listen to the river flowing. When you are bored, you can ride your horse wildly and forget all your worries!" Yiran described the wonderful life and couldn't help but smile.
Qiu Yizhi listened, but sighed and said: "Alas! You don't understand! I might as well tell you straight. I know that my adoptive father has too many secrets. If it weren't for the father-son relationship here for more than ten years, my adoptive father might have killed me long ago. Even if he showed mercy, he would always be on guard against me, wishing to keep me under his nose. It is a great favor for him to let me be an official in the local area, so how could he let me run away?"
Yiran also sighed softly and said, "You people in the Central Plains are full of tricks. How can you compare to the people on the grasslands, who are straightforward and straightforward. Let me ask you one question, do you, Qiu Yizi, like me, Yiran?"
Qiu Yizi was startled when he heard this, his face flushed with shame, and he didn't know why he thought of Wen Lingjiao, the saint girl of Tianzun Sect, at this juncture; but he changed his mind and realized that he really had deep feelings for Yiran and there was no way he could avoid her, so he nodded vigorously.
When Yiran saw this, a relieved smile appeared on her face. She then raised her hand and pulled out the hairpin from her hair, letting her naturally curly long brown hair fall down.
When Qiu Yizi saw Yiran's snow-white face glowing red under the swaying lights, and a pair of big blue eyes looking at her affectionately, she couldn't help but feel distracted.
But Yiran still had a smile on her face. She slowly untied the belt around her waist, took off the cotton robe she was wearing outside, revealing the small silk skirt she was wearing underneath.
Qiu Yizhi was horrified when he saw this, and tried to lower his voice and asked, "Yiran, what are you doing?"
Princess Bohai Yiran did not answer, but took off her clothes one by one.
Qiu Yizi didn't dare to look, nor did she dare to raise her hand to stop him. She quickly turned her head away, saying, "Yiran, you can't do this. I can't afford to hurt your reputation."
Yi Ran said, "Women on the grassland don't have so many rules. Can you... can you look back at me?"
Qiu Yizi finally plucked up the courage and slowly looked back - she saw Yiran standing naked in front of her. Her plump breasts and toned thighs all exuded the charm of a mature woman, which continued to attract Qiu Yizi.
"I... I'm cold!" Yiran said with her lips slightly opened.
Qiu Yizi's remaining rationality was finally defeated by the most primitive desires deep in human nature. He no longer hesitated, stood up and rushed forward, opening his arms and hugging Princess Yiran tightly in his arms.
… … (To be continued)