After the story of killing the monster was finished, the wine and food came up, and two seats and three shifts of sixteen people began to drink and eat happily.
Soon they began to chat about all sorts of things, including stories of ancient sages, affairs of current officials, experiences of killing monsters, secrets of the imperial examinations, and interesting stories in the literary academy. The atmosphere was excellent, without any sense of oppression or hatred.
Fang Yun listened carefully to these stories to gain more knowledge. At the same time, he observed these people and found that although they could not be said to be perfect, they all had good sense. People like Liu Zicheng were a minority after all.
Soon they talked about this year's provincial examination for Juren. All the people from Class 3 would participate, but only two people from Class 2 wanted to participate, and only one person from Class 1, Li Yuncong, who ranked first among the scholars last year, wanted to participate.
Then everyone began to discuss the meaning of classics, policy essays and poetry. The provincial examination no longer tested the sacred words.
Speaking of poetry, these people asked Fang Yun to talk about it. Fang Yun couldn't refuse, so he found some key points of writing poetry in Qishu Tiandi, and combined with what he had learned in the past few days, he mentioned a few points that they might not know.
These scholars did not eat or drink while listening. Some of them even took notes while listening for fear of forgetting.
After Fang Yun finished speaking, no one spoke. Some continued to write down and take notes, while others strengthened their memory.
Around seven o'clock in the evening, there was a knock on the door, and then three people pushed the door open.
The scholars in the room thought it was a waiter from the restaurant. Some looked over and some didn't look at the door. As a result, all those who looked at the door stood up nervously, and those who didn't look back hurriedly turned around and then stood up one after another.
Fang Yun also stood up. He remembered seeing these three people in the cafeteria, but he was sitting far away at that time and didn't pay much attention. Three tall young men wearing black scholar robes stood at the door, and there was a pine tree embroidered on the cuffs of all three.
The leader had a resolute face and a very bright gaze. He bowed and smiled, "Ye Feng from Lishan Society, nice to meet all my classmates."
"Hello, Brother Ye." Everyone bowed in return.
"I'm having dinner at Xiyue Tower with a few friends from Lishan Society. I heard you were there too so I came to see you. I didn't expect Fang Shuangjia to be here too. Could you please let us have a moment to talk about poetry with my favorite young poet?"
When Chang Wanxu saw that the other party was here to invite Fang Yun, he immediately said with a smile: "Then I'll give it to you. But if you force Fang Yun to drink, be careful that our fifteen scholars will come over and compete with you in drinking!"
"Haha, of course I wouldn't dare! Fang Shuangjia, can we talk?"
"Brother Ye invites you, so I will accompany you," Fang Yun said.
Ye Feng said: "Please."
The four entered the next room, which was empty.
The four of them sat down, and Ye Feng introduced two scholars, one was Huang Yusheng from Changqu Prefecture, and the other was Xu Jingxian from Dayuan Prefecture.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Fang Yun smiled and said, "Brother Ye, since you are the head of the Lishan Society, poetry is naturally a piece of cake for you. Is there something else you want me to do this time?"
Ye Feng smiled and said, "Fang Shuangjia is really quick to speak. I'll be frank. I hope you can join our Lishan Society. I will leave Jiangzhou in August this year and go to Beijing to participate in the Beijing exam. The position of the head of the society will be given to Yusheng. In two years, you will be the head of the Lishan Society."
Fang Yun said, "As far as I know, the motto of the Lishan Society is: Heart to the saints, ambition to stabilize the country. Your real goal is not to be a saint, but to be in the court. Is what I said true?"
Ye Feng said calmly, "All of us aspire to become a saint, but the path is too difficult, so we might as well settle for the next best thing and cultivate our reputation, name, and talent in the court. If there is an opportunity, we will definitely step into the path of sainthood. If there is no opportunity, we will become an important official in the court."
Fang Yun nodded and said, "This is the best way, but I am not interested in the court, so I may not be able to stay in Jiangzhou or Lishan Society forever."
"I know you have great ambitions and are a rare talent. We have talked about you many times. You will become a great scholar and may even be canonized as a saint. If you only wanted to serve in the imperial court, the three of us would not have invited you so solemnly. If you are willing to join the Lishan Society, I will immediately give you the position of the head of the society."
Huang Yusheng and Xu Jingxian looked at Ye Feng in surprise. They didn't expect him to be so decisive. They didn't object because if Fang Yun joined Lishan Society, it would be of great help to them.
"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Ye. However, after I pass the examination for the title of Scholar, I will go to Yuhai City to study, so I will not be able to stay in the State Academy for a long time."
"I'm from Yuhai Mansion." Ye Feng said with a smile.
"Then I will go to Yuhai City, and I hope Brother Ye can help me."
"How can you say that? Not to mention that General Fang Shouye is in Yuhai, and that Commander Zhang Poyue appreciates you very much, just as you are a half-friend of Lord Jianmei, you can walk around Yuhai City with your head held high. Lord Yuanjun has many old friends in Yuhai City. If you go to Yuhai, they will probably come out of the city to welcome you, and it will not be my turn to help you."
"Brother Ye, you are too modest." Fang Yun continued to speak politely.
Ye Feng said, "How about this? We hire you as a guest of Lishan Society, and pay you 100 taels of silver per month. You can do everything that the head of the society can do, and we will also do our best to promote your literary reputation. How do you think?"
Fang Yun knew that the guest member was similar to the honorary leader, and his status was higher than that of ordinary members. Most of the officials who came out of Lishan Society were honorary leaders of Lishan Society.
Fang Yun was hesitating, and Ye Feng said, "We know that the small pond of Lishan Society cannot support a big dragon like you, but as you rise to prominence, you will eventually need capable subordinates, and your fellow townsmen and fellow societies are always the most trustworthy. I wanted to use your power to suppress Ying Society, but today I understand that this Jing Kingdom is too small, and you will go further than us, and the small Ying Society is nothing. You can treat Lishan Society as a post station and an inn along the way. It will not hinder you from going to the big society of Shengyuan, which is your final destination."
Fang Yun looked at Ye Feng and asked with a smile: "You are very eloquent, are you a minor in Zongheng?"
"No, I minored in military strategy. I kill enemies with my talent and do politics with my heart." Ye Feng's eyes became brighter.
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Since the Ying Society and I are already at odds, I will temporarily join the Lishan Society. I hope that children from poor families like us can support each other."
Ye Feng and the other two were overjoyed.
The four of them talked for a long time and decided on the time for Fang Yun to join the society. Only then did Fang Yun return to the room of the scholar class.
Pushing the door open, Fang Yun discovered that there were four more people in the room.
Like Ye Feng, these four people were all wearing juren uniforms and were having a great time chatting with these scholars.
Seeing Fang Yun coming in, everyone stood up. One of the very burly young men smiled and said, "Are we a step late?"
"You are..."
Next, Chang Wanxu introduced these four people to Fang Yun one by one. All four of them were related to famous families. The burly young man turned out to be Zhang Ruhai, the son of Zhang Poyue, the governor of Jiangzhou. The Zhang family itself was a famous family in Mizhou, but Zhang Ruhai's school record was in Jiangzhou.
"Would you consider coming to our British Society?"
Fang Yun said: "I have offended the Liu family, so how can I join your noble family's Ying Society? I have already agreed to become a guest of Lishan Society."
Zhang Ruhai said helplessly: "You are Uncle Fang's nephew, you should have joined the Yingshe. It's all Liu Zicheng's fault. But don't worry, this Yingshe is not his Liu family's Yingshe. Since you are a member of the Fang family, you are one of us. You can come to me if you have any problems in the future."
Fang Yun smiled and said, "Then I would like to thank Brother Zhang first."
Although Zhang Ruhai was a juren, he was as heroic and unconcerned as his father. He pulled Fang Yun to drink, and the atmosphere in the room was extremely tense.
They drank until nine o'clock in the evening before leaving the restaurant. Fang Yun had drunk a lot and was a little unsteady when he walked, but his mind was still clear.
When he returned home in the carriage and opened the door, the little fox ran over quickly and threw itself into Fang Yun's arms, whimpering, as if complaining that Fang Yun hadn't come to see it all day.
"I might not be at home often during the day in the future. I'll go kill monsters in a few days, and I'll be gone for ten days or half a month. You have to get used to it." Fang Yun said while rubbing Nunu's little head with his hand.
There was a flash of worry in Nunu's eyes.
The new house is very large. In addition to Mrs. Jiang and Fang Daniu, there are two more maids and a doorman than before. Tan Yu and Nie Shi do not live here.
After Fang Yun entered the house, he chatted with Yang Yuhuan for a while, drank a bowl of sobering soup cooked by Mrs. Jiang, and continued studying.
Today Fang Yun did not study until four in the morning and went to bed in the late night.
The next day, Fang Yun continued to study at the State Academy of Arts.
The whole morning was peaceful. Mr. Wang’s first lesson was about the language of the demon tribe. Fang Yun could hardly understand it, so he decided to let Qishu Tiandi "eat" some books on the language of the demon tribe in the evening.
After that, we will talk about the meaning of scriptures and poetry.
At noon, Mr. Wang finished his afternoon speech and left.
Fang Yun was about to go have lunch with his classmates when he heard a voice in his ears.
"Come to my Mirror Hall."
Fang Yun didn't expect it was the voice of the court master Li Wenying, so he said to them: "You go eat first, I have something private to do, you don't have to wait for me."
Fang Yun walked to the front of Yuanjun Wentang, looked up and saw the plaque with the words "Mingjingtang" written on it, and knocked on the door three times.
"come in."
Then a strange wind pushed the door open.
Fang Yun bowed outside the door and said, "Student Fang Yun greets His Excellency."
Li Wenying was sitting on the armchair behind the big desk. He looked at Fang Yun and said with a smile, "Come to the table and talk."
Fang Yun walked to the desk and found nothing special, just the four treasures of the study and official documents. The middle of the desk was very clean, with only a piece of wool felt used to pad under the white paper.
"I wonder what your Excellency has ordered."
Li Wenying smiled and said, "I wrote a poem last winter. It was just one step away from being accepted by the government. If it could be accepted, it would have a great chance of being published in the "Wen Dao". I asked a few friends to help, but none of them could make the poem better. The flowers blooming outside today reminded me of the plum blossoms blooming last year, and also of the poem "Early Plum". Your literary talent is the best in Jiangzhou, and I am not as good as you. Are you willing to help me?"
Fang Yun said: "If you are not afraid of my lack of talent and knowledge, I can give it a try, but if I don't do well, please don't scold me."
Li Wenying laughed and scolded: "Don't pretend to be honest in front of me. Why don't you fear my scolding for using my reputation to sell books? By the way, how are the books selling?"