The author said: Keep updating daily!
——————————————————
A carriage and two horses turned from the wide street into an alley, and went along the alley until they reached the end of the alley before slowly stopping.
Zhou Cijing knew that he had arrived at the official residence of this high-ranking official who was highly valued by the King of Youyan. He leaned half of his body out to look around, but saw that it was just an ordinary red lacquered wooden door that was neither big nor small and inconspicuous. He couldn't help but feel a little angry: "Hey, He Jiu, where is this place? Don't tell me you've taken the wrong road!"
He Jiugong hurriedly said, "Master, please keep your voice down and take a look at the two stone lions by the door first."
It turns out that according to the Han system, stone lions could only be used to guard the residences of officials.
There is no regulation on the size of the lions. If the gate is wide, the rich will put a big one, and if the gate is narrow, the poor will put a small one. However, the bell carved on the lion's chest is very particular. The stone lion in front of the residence of a seventh-rank official can have a bell carved on it. For every level of official rank increase, the lion at the door of his house can have an additional bell.
The official Liu, the official of the Ministry of Personnel, whom Zhou Cijing had been longing to meet, was a fifth-rank official. The lion at his door could wear five bells. However, the lion at the door of the house in front of him, which was only about three feet tall, had a large string of bells on its chest.
Zhou Cijing counted the bells several times before he was able to count them all. There were exactly thirteen of them - these were the "Thirteen Guardians" that only officials of the first rank were qualified to place in front of the gate of their mansions.
Zhou Cijing's mind was calculating rapidly - the six ministers were officials of the third rank; the left and right secretaries who were qualified to draft imperial edicts were of the second rank; even the prime minister who commanded all officials was "only" a second rank; the first rank officials were no more than a few dukes and princes in Beijing...
Zhou Cijing seemed to have the answer in his mind. He staggered and almost rolled off the carriage. He walked to Qiu Yizi with very uncomfortable legs and feet and asked, "Are you going to visit the Third Prince, Prince Heluo, who is in front of the late emperor?"
Qiu Yizhi had already dismounted and stood by. When Zhou Cijing asked, he replied, "My uncle guessed wrong. My foster father asked me to go to the capital, and the first person I wanted to visit was Prime Minister Yang."
"Oh—" Zhou Cijing suddenly came to his senses.
The "Old Prime Minister Yang" mentioned by Qiu Yizhi is the old Prime Minister Yang Yuanzhi who retired home three years ago. He has assisted three emperors, served as Prime Minister of two dynasties, and served as the teacher of the current emperor. He holds the title of "Grand Master", a top-grade civil official. Of course, he can place the top-grade stone lions known as the "Thirteen Guardians" in front of his house. Although this old Prime Minister Yang is retired at home, his students and former officials are all over the court and the country. If he is willing to open his mouth, then donating a small matter of a mere Yuanwailang will naturally be a sure thing.
So Zhou Cijing tidied his clothes carefully, walked to the door, held the door knocker in his hand as if he was afraid of breaking the wooden door, knocked on the door very gently a few times, then shrank to the side of the door and waited quietly.
After waiting for a while, the wooden door opened a crack, and a face that looked to be in his forties or fifties poked out from the crack, and a trembling voice asked, "Who is it?"
Zhou Cijing hurried forward and said, "I am Zhou Cijing, a commoner, and I am here to pay my respects to Prime Minister Yang."
The middle-aged man inside the door raised his triangular eyes and said weakly: "Who is Zhou Cijing? I've never heard of him. You can go back." Then he was about to close the door.
Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi strode to the door in one swift step, handed in a palm-sized object through the crack in the door, and said, "When the old prime minister sees this, he will condescend to meet us. I'm sorry to trouble you to walk a few more steps."
The gatekeeper took the thing, rubbed it repeatedly, looked the young man up and down several times, and then said, "Okay, you wait here for a while." After that, he closed the door again, turned around and left.
Zhou Cijing sighed and said, "It is said that the prime minister's family members are seventh-rank officials. This is really true."
He Jiugong echoed, "It's easy to see the King of Hell, but it's hard to deal with the little devils. There are so many subordinates who rely on the power of their masters to bully others..." Halfway through his words, he remembered that he was also a servant who took advantage of the power of his masters, so he quickly shut his mouth.
After a while, the door finally opened, and the middle-aged doorman walked out and respectfully returned the items he had just received to Qiu Yizi, saying, "My old master invites you to the study for a chat."
Zhou Cijing took a peek at the thing and found it was a jade sceptre about four or five inches square. It was dark in color without a single blemish. There was only a line of tiny calligraphy written in gold lacquer on the upper right corner. Upon closer inspection, he saw the words "Zheng, Marshal of the Army and King of Youyan of Han Dynasty".
Zhou Cijing was stunned for a moment before he realized that this was the name card of Zheng Rong, the King of Youyan. With it, he could even enter the imperial palace, so his reputation would naturally be much greater than his own.
While Zhou Cijing was in a daze, Qiu Yizi had already followed the doorman into the house, so he hurriedly followed. Unexpectedly, the doorman turned his head and looked at him, saying, "Sir, please stay. Wait a moment and another servant will invite you to the lower hall to rest and have tea."
Zhou Cijing realized that this middle-aged doorman had regarded him as a follower like Zhao Chengxiao and He Jiugong. He was the head of the Zhou family, a large merchant family, and he had always been bossy to his subordinates, including the shopkeepers, escorts, and managers. Now that he had been humiliated, he was furious, but he could not vent his anger. He stood there with his face turning pale and blue.
It was Qiu Yizhi who said to the gatekeeper, "This Mr. Zhou is my... my elder. Would you like to go with me to pay respect to the old prime minister?"
The doorman glanced at Zhou Cijing again and said indifferently, "Then come with me."
Zhou Cijing finally found a step, and quickly took out a silver ingot from his sleeve, stuffed it into the man's hand and said, "Then I'll ask this old man to lead the way."
Unexpectedly, this person did not extend his hand to take it, but said: "We in the Yang Mansion do not accept bribes. This has been the rule for many years. Please don't be so embarrassed, sir."
After hearing this, Zhou Cijing's face showed embarrassment again. He had to forcibly put the silver back into his sleeve. He dared not say another word and walked forward with his head lowered.
Although Yang Yuanzhi's mansion is small, it is a different world inside - it has pavilions, towers, small bridges and flowing water, and even a large pond in the middle of the courtyard. This is not because Yang Yuanzhi, the former prime minister, lived an extravagant life, but because the three emperors, Xianzong, Shenzong and the current emperor, continuously rewarded him with houses, which gradually formed the current scale.
Qiu Yizhi followed the Yang family's doorman for a few steps and saw a small but elegant study. In front of the study, an old man was leaning on a cane and slowly came out to greet them. The old man had white hair and beard, and his face was full of wrinkles. Although his steps were a little staggering, he was energetic and his back was quite straight. Needless to say, this was the famous old prime minister Yang Yuanzhi.
Qiu Yi recognized the old man's identity at a glance, took a few steps forward, and bowed down to him.
Yang Yuanzhi stretched out his right hand and said, "Sir, please first perform the ritual of three kowtows and nine bows to this plaque." As he spoke, his eyes looked deeply at a plaque hanging high on the main door of the study.
Qiu Yizi followed the old minister's gaze and saw three elegant and graceful characters "Rui Zhi Tang" written on the ebony plaque. Knowing that the origin of this plaque must be extraordinary, she followed Yang Yuanzhi's instructions, knelt down and kowtowed three times, then stood up and repeated the above actions three times.
Youyan Prince Zheng Rong did not like empty formalities, and the etiquette in the palace was also relatively casual. Qiu Yizhi only performed the two-knock and six-bow ceremony on Zheng Rong and his wife's birthdays. After this unfamiliar ceremony, he was already a little dizzy. After calming down a little, he heard Yang Yuanzhi say: "This plaque was written by Emperor Xianzong himself and given to me. Civil and military officials, sons and grandsons of the emperor must perform the three-knock and nine-bow ceremony when seeing the plaque. This was also the rule when the Prince of Youyan visited my humble home. I hope you will forgive me."
"Of course. I am grateful for the old prime minister's reminder, otherwise I would have been guilty of disrespect." Yang Yuanzhi was well-known both inside and outside the court, and he was also the teacher of his adoptive father, Prince Youyan. Even someone as arrogant as Qiu Yizi had to restrain himself in front of him. "The old prime minister is highly respected and well-known. It is a great benefit for me to meet him and listen to his teachings. Please accept my greetings." After saying this, he bowed deeply.
Yang Yuanzhi watched Qiu Yizhi finish her greetings, then said with a smile: "My birthday is still a month away, why did Prince Youyan send someone to celebrate so early? I can't afford such a kind gesture!"
Yang Yuanzhi suddenly brought up this topic, which startled Qiu Yizi. However, he was a very smart man and he realized immediately that this was a cover-up statement made by the old prime minister.
So he said, "The prince often told me that the old prime minister is not only a senior official of the court, but also a leader of the Imperial Academy, and that he and the prince have a teacher-student relationship. Therefore, I am sending you here to celebrate the old prime minister's birthday in advance as a sign of respect." After that, he took out the letter that Zheng Rong had handed to him when they said goodbye that day from his sleeve and said, "This is the gift list. Please have a look, old prime minister."
Yang Yuanzhi took the envelope and did not open it, but said, "Today is sunny and not too hot. I am planning to go boating on the lake. I would like to ask you to exercise your muscles and help me row the boat for a few times, okay?"
After hearing what he said, Qiu Yizi had no idea what the old prime minister was up to and could not refute, so he had to agree very politely: "Junior is willing to serve the old prime minister!" After that, he supported Yang Yuanzhi and slowly walked towards the lake.
After walking a few steps, Qiu Yizhi remembered that Zhou Cijing, who came with him, had been left aside for some time, and hurriedly said to Yang Yuanzhi: "This Mr. Zhou is not only the elder of the younger generation, but also the friend of Prince Youyan. Today I have the opportunity to meet the old prime minister. I have some mundane matters to ask the old prime minister for help. I wonder what the old prime minister thinks?"
Yang Yuanzhi was so amused by Qiu Yizhi calling him "old prime minister" that he said, "Since you are the prince's friend, I cannot neglect you. However, this boat is too small to accommodate three people. Then please invite Mr. Zhou to the central hall for tea first, and I will have some fun before coming back to entertain you. Is that okay?"
Although Zhou Cijing had seen the world, he had planned to come to the capital to ask for an official position from the Ministry of Revenue, or even to rely on the power of the King of Youyan to meet one of the six ministries' assistant ministers or ministers. However, he did not expect that before he could get enough of the air of Luoyang, the capital, he would step into the residence of the old prime minister Yang Yuanzhi, who was like a leader in the officialdom. When he heard the old prime minister Yang asking him questions in person, he felt dizzy and confused. He did not know what he answered, and followed the doorman away. (To be continued)