Obviously, no one believed that Pei Ziyun represented an individual. Buying an official position or even asking an exam question was not worth the money.
The eldest princess stretched out her fingers and tapped on the table with some hesitation. Some trivial matters were done as soon as they were done, but when it came to the big affairs of the court, even she would inevitably get angry with His Majesty.
The grace of the Holy One is the basis of one's self. If one does not look at the emperor's grandson, a county prince, and does not have many holy relatives, it is an exaggeration to say that he can barely make a living, but if he is not allowed to participate in politics, it will be like that.
"Mom, when are you going to see the Lantern Festival this year? Last year you promised to take me to see it, but you didn't accompany me when you went to the palace. You can't cheat this year." A girl's voice sounded, and then a fifteen or sixteen year old girl came in and pulled The princess said coquettishly.
The eldest princess laughed when she saw her youngest daughter acting coquettishly like this: "Good daughter, you guy, if I didn't go to the palace more for your sake, how could you still have your uncle's favor, fine clothes and fine food?"
"I don't, I don't, you must go with me this year, you must go with me this year." The girl couldn't stop her from being coquettish, so the eldest princess had to agree: "Okay, okay, I will accompany you. "
The little girl stepped forward and kissed the eldest princess on the face: "Thank you for the kiss, mother."
The eldest princess stretched out a finger and tapped her forehead lightly: "You are just naughty."
Then he thought for a moment and then told the housekeeper: "Go and prepare a post and post it to Pei Ziyun, so that he can participate in the lantern festival together and relieve my daughter's worries."
"Yes!" the housekeeper responded, knowing that he knew that this matter had to be asked in person.
Pei Ziyun left the princess's house and did not go home directly. He went to a bank and found a bank. It didn't look big, but it had a big courtyard. When he entered the money shop, he said, "I have gold, and I want to exchange it for silver." ticket."
The shopkeeper stuck out his head and said, "Take it and take a look!"
"This is it." Pei Ziyun threw a gold bar, and the shopkeeper took it. He looked at it carefully and said, "According to the rules, you have to cut it open and look at it."
"Cut it!"
After cutting it open and checking the quality, the shopkeeper said: "The quality is ninety-seven, ten taels."
"Ninety-eight!"
"I know it's ninety-eight, but it's the bank's rule to subtract one." The shopkeeper raised his head and said, "You are just trying to raise people, but the whole world is like this. I didn't bully you."
"Okay, let's exchange it for a banknote."
"One hundred and eleven taels of official silver, off ninety-eight."
It is said that Pei Ziyun tried the water and continued to go to other houses. From noon to afternoon, he asked about the bank's situation.
I just had something to eat and went back. It was almost dusk when I saw a servant at the door holding an invitation. As soon as he saw Pei Ziyun, he stepped forward and said, "Sir, this is an invitation for the Lantern Festival Lantern Festival."
This servant was gorgeously dressed, respectful, very polite, and had a touch of Confucianism. He seemed to be a scholar. He took the post and it was very gorgeous.
Pei Ziyun took the post and pondered. Did he let himself participate in the lantern festival to confirm things
The Lantern Festival falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month every year. It is one of the most important festivals. Lanterns are hung everywhere in Kyoto. The royal family, government, civil society and individuals have invested in the construction of large-scale lantern festival decorations such as lantern wheels, lighthouses, lantern towers and lantern trees. , for fun.
In addition to traditional lantern riddles, the Chamber of Commerce also organized dragon lantern performances, lion dances, parades of gods and ghosts, stilt walking, and Taiping drum performances, pushing the carnival atmosphere to a climax.
I heard that even the emperor and his concubines sat high on the Chengtian Gate to watch the lantern festival with thousands of people in the city. These are memories from previous lives.
Since he was going to this lantern festival, he had to be prepared, Pei Ziyun thought, got off the oxcart, moved the four boxes in and put them away, lit the candles, and pondered - it was impossible to fight with martial arts, but most likely to take the literary test.
I was grinding when I suddenly heard a sound outside the yard. I frowned, was someone attacking me? He took the sword and looked close to the door.
There was a sneaky man climbing over the wall outside. Pei Ziyun held his breath and looked. The man was crawling on the wall with his hands and feet. He was sneaky. When he saw that there was a light inside, he stopped moving.
"Thief?" The thief sneaked towards the house. When he got close, he poked the window paper with his finger, trying to see what was going on inside the room. As soon as Pei Ziyun opened the door, the man jumped into the room and showed his appearance under the light.
It turned out to be Zhang Cheng. Pei Ziyun sneered: "You refuse to obey during the day and enter the Juren's mansion at night. Do you know that this is a serious crime? You sold the house for 450 taels of silver. I only need to file a lawsuit and you will have nothing left. Do you believe it?" "
After listening to Pei Ziyun's words, Zhang Cheng was still unconvinced and shouted: "Why, this is my house."
It was also the first time for Pei Ziyun to see such a rogue, and he was secretly afraid: "I'm really lucky. He just came now. If I went out and he came earlier, wouldn't he be discovered again?"
"Such a rogue must be dealt with severely."
Thinking about it, I asked someone to report to the official and submit the candidate's post. Not long after, a police officer came.
When the arrester came, Zhang Chengcai was a little scared. Usually when something happened, it was the government officials who came. Zhang Cheng knew a few government officials, thinking that the matter was not serious, and he didn't want the arrester to come in person, so he became a little scared.
Pei Ziyun stepped forward to explain the matter, and then said with disgust: "You have to cure this kind of naughty guy. At least you can't let him disturb me and I will try."
As he said that, he threw in five taels of silver. When the catcher heard that the rogue had sold his house just the day before and had hundreds of taels of silver, and got the silver reward, he laughed ferociously: "Don't worry, I will treat him honestly." .”
With that said, Zhang Cheng was dragged away. Only then did Zhang Cheng realize that something was wrong, and he screamed, one after another. The catcher was impatient and hit him with one foot.
"Ah!" Zhang Chengzhen screamed, and his face immediately became swollen.
Looking at this, Pei Ziyun sneered. If the estimate is correct, this piece of money will only be released after a little hardship. With these hundreds of taels of silver, even the good ones will have to peel off their skin. If they are not good, they will be killed directly. He was beaten to death and the money was secretly divided among these government officials.
This is the fate of money over status in this kind of society.
If he wasn't greedy, he would be fine, but now he might be in danger of being killed.
Back in the room, Pei Ziyun checked the gold. This man sneaked in during the day, and the two thousand taels of gold must have been exposed. But if he went to the bank to exchange for silver now, maybe the eldest princess would investigate. It would be better to wait, but the gold should be hidden.
The past few days have passed by in the blink of an eye. During the Lantern Festival, I could only hear the loud sound of firecrackers outside early in the morning. Ever since Zhang Cheng was presented to the official, it had been quiet.
Someone knocked on the door, and a guard held a wolf mask and knocked on the door: "Sir, the invitation has been changed tonight. I want to use this mask."
Pei Ziyun was a little confused. The guard just handed over the invitation. It was exactly the same as before. Pei Ziyun gave up his doubts when he saw a pig head mask handed over.
This mask was a flowered pig mask. It was very delicate and seemed to have been graffitied by a woman. He couldn't help but smile and took the mask and put it on.
There was the sound of firecrackers outside, and every household was setting up lanterns of various colors. Many people were wearing masks and preparing to go out.
The guards were in front and Pei Ziyun was behind, squeezing their way into the crowd.
There are masks everywhere, both men and women, there are many lanterns on the side of the road, scholars are guessing lantern riddles, and some small vendors are selling lanterns, it is very lively.
The wolf guard continued to move forward and soon met a group of people. A woman and a girl, wearing Chang'e masks and cute fairy shapes, the two were meditating on lantern riddles in front of a very beautiful lantern.
Pei Ziyun felt a shiver in his heart when he saw that several people around him were wearing wolf masks. They looked like they were having fun but were actually protecting them.
The wolf guard accompanying him stepped forward and said a few words with a wolf mask. It seemed that the lady also said a few words before the guard came over: "Master Pei, please come forward and speak, madam."
As soon as Pei Ziyun heard this, he understood that this lady was the eldest princess. He stepped forward and said, "Pei Ziyun is in Xiayingzhou, see the eldest... madam."
Chang'e's mask was so lifelike that it seemed to have been painted by someone. Seeing Pei Ziyun step forward, he said through the mask: "I can't figure out this lantern riddle. Come and guess it for me."
"You're really hiding from outsiders. You just order people after you meet them!" Pei Ziyun secretly cursed. He followed the eldest princess's finger and looked over. There was a riddle written on the octagonal lantern: "Half drunk and half awake at midnight."
When Pei Ziyun saw him, he accepted the talents and learning of several Jinshis and answered without thinking: "Think three times and measure three times to pass the three tests."
An old man came out and smiled: "Congratulations, sir, you guessed it right. This lamp is yours."
As he handed the lantern up, the girl on the lady's side chuckled, took the lantern, and kept it happily.
The Chang'e woman couldn't see her expression clearly at this time, but there was a smile in her words: "Pei Jieyuan, you are indeed somewhat talented, but what do you want from this heavy gift?"
Chang'e asked, gently lighting the remaining lanterns with her fingers.
After listening to these words, Pei Ziyun understood what the eldest princess was worried about. It must be that she had given too much gold, and the other party was worried that what she asked for was too big.
I was still inexperienced and didn't know how to measure it. After listening to Ji Shilang's talk about a large sum of money, I offered a thousand taels of gold. I'm afraid the other party thought that I wanted to get involved in political affairs.
After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, "Madam, I don't ask for much. I don't want to take the exam or be an official. I have entered the Tao and want to recommend the founder of our sect to become a true king. The governor has already won the certificate, and it will be handed over by Ji Shilang , I also hope that Madam can give me a little help."
After listening to Pei Ziyun's words, the eldest princess smiled, it turns out that this is the matter, this reward matter, if the title of the living person, especially the Spyker, is something she can't say, but for the gods, it is easy to say simple and troublesome, but as long as It's a formal ceremony, and there are officials who can give me a discount, so I can speak for myself. This is not a big deal. In fact, with 600 taels of gold, I can agree to it.
The eldest princess thought for a moment and then smiled: "This can be considered, but simply agreeing is not enough. I heard that you have great talent. If you write a poem about this lantern festival, it is a small matter if I am satisfied."
Pei Ziyun laughed after listening to the eldest princess's words. At this moment, someone was dancing a dragon. The dragon was red and shone in the reflection of the surrounding lanterns.
In the distance, there are fireworks on the square avenue, with clusters of silver light flashing. Not far away, there are fairies, and the crowd in fairy masks is performing forward.
Pei Ziyun pointed and said, "Why is it so difficult? I can do it in three steps."
As he spoke, he took three steps and chanted: "The east wind blows thousands of trees and flowers at night. Stars fall like rain. BMWs and carriages fill the road with fragrance. The phoenix flutes sound, the jade pots spin with light, and fish and dragons dance all night long."
"The moth is like a golden wisp of snow and willow. His laughter is full of hidden fragrance. People are looking for him thousands of times. Suddenly looking back, he is there, in a dimly lit place."
Pei Ziyun's last finger pointed at the two people who looked like Chang'e and the fairy in the dim light. As soon as this word came out, the eldest princess in Chang'e's mask choked up for a moment and made no sound. It was as if she saw the deceased consort looking at her and she was crazy at the moment. After being silent for a long time, he said: "It took three steps to achieve this unique poem. Only today did I know that there really is a heavenly being!"
"You take off the mask and you are qualified to let me remember you." The eldest princess paused for a while and said.
Pei Ziyun hesitated for a moment and then took off the mask. In the distance, the lights dimmed and fireworks bloomed. Under the lanterns, Pei Ziyun looked calm. When the girl under the fairy mask saw her, her exposed ears immediately turned red.
(End of chapter)