In the afternoon, Zhu Ping'an had just finished eating the meat buns sent by the future Empress Dowager Li when a drizzle began to fall outside the window. Then an east wind gradually rose, sweeping the raindrops against the window frame. Then the rain became heavier and heavier, with clouds rising like smoke and heavy rain.
In the heavy rain, Zhu Ping'an received an invitation, which was sent to Prince Yu's Mansion by his teacher Xu Jie.
"This is a great day to set up a veil, the sky is bright..."
When Zhu Ping'an received the invitation sent by Master Xu, he opened it curiously and started to look at it.
When people reach fifty, they prepare wine to celebrate their birthday.
Today is Mrs. Xu Jie's fiftieth birthday, and she invited herself and a group of her disciples to her residence to eat birthday noodles.
It’s my master’s wife’s 50th birthday, so of course I have to go and celebrate.
After reading the invitation, Zhu Pingan respectfully put it into his sleeve and said to the person who sent it, "Please tell Master Xu that I will go there on time after the office is over. I hope Master Xu will not mind that I am bothering you."
"I will definitely convey your words."
The person who delivered the invitation replied respectfully, then said goodbye and left. He still had to deliver invitations to Zhang Juzheng and others from the Hanlin Academy.
When the court was dismissed, the heavy rain outside did not abate at all, and the dense rain was like hemp, interweaving the sky and the earth together. Zhu Ping'an, wearing a straw raincoat, accompanied by Liu Dadao, rode to the residence of his master Xu Jie.
"Haha, Zihou, you're a little late today. Zhongfang (Yang Jisheng's courtesy name Zhongfang) and Shuda (Zhang Juzheng's courtesy name Shuda) arrived long ago."
Xu Fan, the eldest son of the Xu family, was welcoming guests at the door. When he saw Zhu Ping'an, he came up to him with a laugh and joked.
"Haha, Brother Shi. Ping'an is late. I will punish myself by drinking three cups of wine later." Zhu Ping'an replied with a smile.
"Okay, this is what you said. I will check it later." Xu Fan smiled and patted Zhu Ping'an on the shoulder, pushing Zhu Ping'an into the yard. "The old man asked me to welcome the guests here, so I won't see you off. Anyway, you are familiar with the house."
After Xu Fan pushed Zhu Ping'an into the yard, he turned to Liu Dadao and said with a smile, "Dadao, there is a banquet in the guest house, you can go in too."
The banquet in the guest house was specially prepared for followers like Liu Dadao.
"Thank you, Master."
Liu Dadao and Zhu Ping'an had been here several times and were quite familiar with Xu Fan, so they were naturally not polite. They thanked Xu Fan with a smile, then handed the horses to the servants of Xu's mansion and followed him into the mansion.
After Zhu Ping'an entered the banquet, he found that he was indeed late. Many people had already arrived, such as Yang Jisheng and Zhang Juzheng.
The birthday banquet at the Xu residence was arranged according to ancient etiquette, using the separate dining system. There were two tables and chairs in the middle for Xu Jie and his wife to sit on, and fifteen tables were set up on each side. Eighty percent of the seats were already occupied.
"Zihou, here, here."
"Zihou is here."
Zhu Pingan heard two familiar calls as soon as he entered the scene. He looked up and saw Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen waving at him. The two were sitting in the back and were blocked by a pillar, so Zhu Pingan didn't see them at first. Now they stood up and waved, and Zhu Pingan saw them.
The two of them had already reserved a seat for Zhu Ping'an, right in front of them.
"Ziwei, Wensheng." Zhu Ping'an walked over with a smile and sat down on the seat that the two had reserved.
"Why didn't you ask me to come along?" Zhu Ping'an asked after sitting down.
"We heard that you were summoned by the emperor to the Western Garden for a ceremony. We thought you would come back with your teacher today." Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen explained with a smile, "Otherwise, we would have gone to Prince Yu's Mansion to look for you a long time ago."
"Okay, I forgive you." Zhu Pingan said with a smile.
"Zihou, stop. You have forgiven us, but we haven't forgiven you yet. Since you have returned from Xiyuan a long time ago, why didn't you come to find us on the way?" Zhang Siwei knocked on Zhu Ping'an's desk, looking like he was going to accuse him.
"Uh, my head hurts a little..." Zhu Ping'an touched his forehead with a painful expression.
"What's wrong, Zihou?" Wang Shizhen asked with concern.
"What happened at noon? I seem to have lost my manners. My mind is blank and I have a headache thinking about it..." Zhu Ping'an said innocently.
"Pfft... Zihou, your excuse is too convincing..." Wang Shizhen couldn't help laughing.
Zhang Siwei looked at Zhu Pingan speechlessly, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Okay, I admit my mistake. I'll drink three cups of wine as an apology later." Zhu Ping'an apologized with a grin.
"Come on, it's enough that you have this intention. With your alcohol tolerance, after three glasses of wine, I guess Vincent and I will have to carry you home." Zhang Siwei rolled his eyes and was not optimistic at all about Zhu Ping'an's alcohol tolerance.
"That's right, Zihou, your alcohol tolerance is now known to everyone. If you really want to apologize, why don't you write two couplets for me and Ziwei." Wang Shizhen continued.
"Well, that's right, Wensheng, this is a good suggestion. Zihou, we heard about the couplets you wrote during the fasting ceremony today. The couplets you write to apologize to us can only be better than that, not worse."
Zhang Siwei wholeheartedly agreed with Wang Shizhen's proposal, and required that Zhu Ping'an's couplet must be better than the one he wrote for Emperor Jiajing.
"Yes, sir."
Zhu Ping'an agreed with a smile. With hundreds of years of historical experience under his belt, he said he felt no pressure at all.
While Zhu Ping'an was chatting with Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen, Zhang Juzheng, who was sitting in the front row, was also chatting with Yang Jisheng. Both of them were from the same batch of Jinshi, and they sat relatively close to the front, one in front and one behind.
At this moment, the two were chatting.
However, compared with Zhang Juzheng's constant smile, Yang Jisheng was much colder, or to be more precise, lukewarm, and didn't want to pay attention to Zhang Juzheng.
"I've heard for a long time that brother Nian studied music with the Nanjing Minister of Personnel Han Bangqi, and mastered the essence of it. He even made the Twelve-tone musical scale himself, and the sounds are extremely harmonious when played. Today happens to be your teacher's wife's birthday, and I wonder if Juzheng will have the honor to hear brother Nian's heavenly music." Zhang Juzheng leaned slightly and said to Yang Jisheng with a smile.
"Unfortunately, Sheng is fasting and is not allowed to entertain." Yang Jisheng replied indifferently and flatly refused.
"Oh, that's because Ju Zheng didn't have the blessing of hearing it."
Zhang Juzheng was not at all surprised by Yang Jisheng's rejection. He knew that Yang Jisheng was very disappointed with him after his visit yesterday. He felt that he was a cowardly, cowardly wimp and not the same kind of person as him, so it was normal for him to be sarcastic towards him.
"Besides, music is a minor art, and Shuda is a national talent. How can a national talent indulge in minor art? Wouldn't it damage the reputation of a national talent and tarnish the body of a national talent? Brother Shuda, you should take care of yourself for the sake of the country and avoid disaster and this minor art."
There was a strong sense of sarcasm in Yang Jisheng's words. After he finished speaking, he picked up the teacup and drank tea, no longer paying attention to Zhang Juzheng.
Serve tea to see the guests off.
The sarcasm and alienation were so obvious that Zhang Juzheng was speechless for a moment and the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
but
In my heart
Zhang Juzheng was happy. Yang Jisheng was too dangerous and he just wanted to draw a clear line between himself and Yang Jisheng.