Tao Mo's body trembled, not knowing whether it was cold or startled.
Someone questioned: "Didn't the official arrive in the next year? Where did you get it?"
The clerk said: "The new official moved into the county government office yesterday. His butler is still looking for a toothmaid to buy someone to come into the house today."
The man was relieved, "It turns out that this is how the painting came about."
Old Tao expressionlessly led Tao Mo to find an empty table and sit down.
It was the busiest time in the teahouse, and the two had to get a seat near the stairs, which was quite close to the yelling guy.
Tao Mo couldn't help but poked his head to look, but was held back by old Tao, so he had no choice but to flirt.
The business of three copper coins is actually patronized.
A voice called: "Come on, let me see if you are fat or thin, tall or short."
There is a faint sound of unrolling the picture scroll.
"Ha!" laughed the voice. "A sick chicken!"
The clerk said: "I heard that the county magistrate fell ill as soon as he entered the county seat. Maybe he won't be able to go to court."
The voice said: "It's good to dare to be affectionate. The ears are quiet! Every minister in the province has to pretend to be tossing around. They are not too tired, but I am too old-fashioned."
The clerk said, "Young Master Lu is joking. Has your trick ever been serious?"
This flattery seemed to make the man very comfortable, the man laughed twice and squeezed out from the crowd.
Tao Mo looked sideways. I saw that the man had sparse eyebrows and bright eyes, he was actually a handsome scholar.
The scholar seemed to have noticed that someone was watching, so he took advantage of the situation.
Tao Mo hurriedly turned his head.
Lao Tao bowed slightly and his back suddenly straightened.
A fan was knocked on the table, and the scholar's laughter was close at hand, "Hey, I didn't expect that the three copper plates can not only see the painting, but also the deity." He said, suddenly saluted, "Student Lu Zhenxue met the county master."
His voice was loud and eye-catching, and immediately aroused a lot of surprise.
Tao Mo had no choice but to stand up and say, "Excuse me."
The surrounding voices gradually quieted down, and all eyes focused on the two of them.
Tao Mo couldn't help being embarrassed, not knowing what he wanted to do.
Lu Zhenxue said with a smile: "I wonder if my lord would mind sharing the table with me?"
Tao Mo looked at Lao Tao.
Old Tao had already stood up. As a servant, it is naturally not suitable to sit at the same table with the master.
Tao Mo said, "Then sit down."
Hearing his reluctance, Lu Zhenxue snorted coldly in his heart, and said to himself: You don't bother to sit at the same table with me right now, I'm afraid you won't be able to invite me if you want to invite me in the future!
Tao Mo said, "What do you want to eat?"
Lu Zhenxue was slightly taken aback, and said casually, "A pot of Longjing."
Tao Mo nodded, and said to the waiter, "Two vegetarian dishes, two bowls of rice, and a pot of Longjing."
After Lu Zhenxue waited for the waiter to leave, he said, "Haven't your lord eaten yet?"
Tao Mo shook his head.
"Why don't you go to Xianweilou, but come to Mingcuiju? The Xianweilou is a place to eat seriously. Although the tea in Mingcuiju is good, the food is not very good." Lu Zhen learned.
Tao Mo said: "I'm here for the first time, I'm not familiar with you." Seeing that Old Tao was still standing, he said, "Let's sit down together."
Only then did Lao Tao say: "Master Xie." But he didn't dare to sit all the time, his buttocks only touched a small area of the bench.
Lu Zhenxue said: "It's cold and windy in the severe winter. Why did your lord insist on taking office before the year? Could it be that...you're thinking about those charcoal and silver?"
Tao Mo said, "What is carbon silver?"
Lu Zhenxue blinked, "Your Excellency, you really don't know?"
Tao Mo shook his head.
"It seems that the adults regard money as dung. In the future, I will definitely become a first-class and upright official." He said mockingly.
Tao Mo said, "I don't want to be an upright official."
Lu Zhenxue's expression froze. None of the magistrates who came to Tanyang County wanted to be honest officials. Who doesn't know that Tanyang County is a hard bone, but anyone who knows how to do it is unwilling to come. And the imperial court will not send truly capable officials. Ask why? Because there is no need. There are many litigators in Tanyang County, some are good and some are bad, but none of them are as bad as Yurou Township. A literati can talk all over the world with one mouth, which is really annoying, and he dares to go to Beijing to sue the imperial court. Therefore, there are no major events in Tanyang County, and the performance evaluation is excellent every year. But it was the first time he met someone like Tao Mo who said he would not be an upright official from the very beginning.
Could it be that she fell in love with him the first time she saw her, and confided her heart to him
Lu Zhenxue was dumbfounded, not knowing what kind of demeanor he had that made the other party admire him so much.
Tao Mo continued, "I want to be a good official."
Lu Zhenxue put away his surprise and said with a smile: "A good official is not an honest one?"
Tao Mo said: "A good official is an honest official, but an honest official is not necessarily a good official."
Lu Zhenxue nodded in agreement, but had no urge to continue. There are big talkers every year, how many of them keep their promises? To be honest, if he really dared to say that I would become a corrupt official instead of being an honest official, maybe he would think highly of him. These days, there are really too few people who dare to act.
It's time to serve the food, so the topic ends here.
Lu Zhenxue took a sip of tea and wanted to excuse himself to leave. He has already figured out the bottom line of the new county magistrate. He is just a hypocrite with empty words, which is meaningless.
There were footsteps on the stairs.
There are urgent and slow.
But Lu Zhenxue's waist straightened up all of a sudden. He looked at the stairs that were only three feet away from his forehead, and felt uncomfortable, but standing up now was too deliberate, so he could only resist moving.
Seeing that his expression was different, Lao Tao couldn't help turning his head to look up.
Five or six people dressed as scholars are leisurely walking down from above.
Since the lobby was quiet again, Tao Mo, who was eating, couldn't help but look at it.
With this look, his eyes were glued to the last person, and he couldn't move away.
Snow-white fox fur, thick hair like ink, even standing behind people, can't stop the luxurious aura of her body. As if feeling his gaze, his eyes swept over lightly, as lazy as a cold star, and then moved away lightly, as if dismissive.
"Brother Lu!" The scholar who was walking in the front suddenly stopped, looked at him in surprise and said, "Since Brother Lu is here, why don't you come up and talk about it?"
Lu Zhenxue said nonchalantly: "You were about to go up, but you came down."
The man smiled and said, "That's not a coincidence." He rolled his eyes and looked at Tao Mo, "This is..."
Lu Zhenxue said: "You can't miss this one. He is the master of Xinlai County, Mr. Tao."
The man let out an "oh" and stopped paying attention.
Tao Mo was left out in the cold, his cheeks felt slightly hot. It's not that he hasn't been neglected before, and he's used to it long ago, but this time he happened to be ahead of that person...but maybe he doesn't care at all.
He saw that fox fur standing proudly at the top of the stairs, as if everything that happened under his feet had nothing to do with him, and he felt an indescribable discomfort in his heart.
Those people chatted and laughed with Lu Zhenxue for a while and then left.
Lao Tao noticed that Lu Zhenxue's face was obviously gloomy after they left.
"My lord, if there is nothing to do, the student will leave first." When meeting this group of people, Lu Zhenxue lost his interest and got up directly without even being perfunctory.
"Stop." Tao Mo hurriedly said.
Lu Zhenxue turned around in a daze.
"I have something to ask."
Lu Zhenxue pretended to wait patiently.
Tao Mo whispered, "Do you know the name of that young man in fox fur?"
Lu Zhenxue's complexion changed slightly, he looked at his shyness suspiciously, and then suddenly, the disgust in his eyes disappeared, and a smile slowly formed at the corner of his mouth, "Are you asking Gu She?"
"Gu She?" Tao Mo read out lightly, and the appearance of that person appeared in his mind.
Lu Zhenxue said: "He is Mr. Yichui's closed disciple. My lord wants to make friends with him."
Tao Mo's eyes lit up visibly, reflecting his entire face vividly, and said, "Do you have a solution?"
Lu Zhenxue felt upset, "I'm a disciple of Master Lin, and I don't know them very well, so I'm afraid I can't help them much."
The brilliance in Tao Mo's eyes dimmed instantly.
Lu Zhenxue was even more upset, and left with a shake of his sleeves.
At this time, the owner of the teahouse came to make amends with a waiter and a portrait of Tao Mo in his hand, explaining that the painting was only for consignment, and it would be divided into 37 and so on.
Tao Mo didn't care much at all, seeing that he returned the painting, he promised not to pursue it.
Old Tao suddenly said: "What is the origin of this Mr. Lu?"
The boss said: "The Lu family is a well-known local family. There was a minister and a grand tutor in the ancestors. I heard that there are also two masters who are officials in the capital, which is very remarkable. Mr. Lu is a famous talent. As a litigator. His teacher is the famous Lin Zhengyong."
Hearing his words, Lao Tao frowned frequently.
Tao Mo asked, "Then, where is that Young Master Gu She?"
The boss said: "Young Master Gu is Mr. Yichui's high-achieving apprentice, but he never enters the officialdom. I heard that Mr. Yichui dotes on him very much, and his brothers also take good care of him."
Tao Mo heard little news and was a little unhappy.
Seeing the inquisitive eyes of the boss, Lao Tao hurriedly paid the bill, and dragged Tao Mo back to the county office to avoid further trouble.