Xu Zhen was excited by what the maid said, but it was too late today, she waited for Xun Qianchun to come back, and said what the maid said today.
I went straight to work the next day.
The court lady who taught etiquette came to pick her up, took her through the long stone road of the palace, passed through the vermilion palace gate, greeted the six divisions and several Lang officials in the palace, and left at the end Go to the Ministry of Rites.
The office of the Ministry of Rites is located in the east palace, close to Luoyang Gate, surrounded by various classical instrumental music. After entering, there are four large rooms, the main seat is higher than the next three, and the golden tiles are shining.
The door of the main room is open, revealing the spacious living room inside and several men and women already sitting. The tables and chairs inside are lined up on the left and right. The people sitting on the side of the table are wearing round-neck robes, holding pens in their hands, and bamboo slips in their right hands. What the finished books are copying.
The maid made footsteps after entering the hall.
These people looked up and saw Xu Zhen, put down their pens quickly, and ran to the door to greet her.
Xu Zhen was not used to this lineup, so she waved her hand and told them to go straight back and continue working.
Everyone bowed and retreated.
A delicate-looking woman wearing a soft head scarf and a blue official uniform stepped forward, told the court lady that she could leave, and then told Xu Zhen that the minister and the servant were going out these few days, and that Xu Zhen might not be familiar with the procedures of the Ministry of Etiquette. Let her be your guide.
Xu Zhen expressed her sincere gratitude: "Thank you."
The woman smiled and said nothing, and led Xu Zhen to her seat.
As Yuanwailang, Xu Zhen's status is only lower than Shangshu and Langzhong, and she sits in the second position on the left. There are pens, ink, paper and inkstones on the table, and a pile of books under the low table.
The woman said: "Yuanwailang has just arrived, so he only needs to copy the books."
Xu Zhen really had a psychological shadow on transcribing the book, and hurriedly asked: "Can I not transcribe the book?"
Woman: "What does Yuanwailang want to do if he doesn't transcribe books?"
Xu Zhen asked, "Is there anything else I can do?"
The woman thought for a while and said, "There is, but Yuanwailang doesn't seem to be able to do it."
Xu Zhen asked hopefully, "What's the matter?"
The woman said: "Manage the funeral of the palace people, and evaluate the academic content submitted by the academy."
… too professional.
Xu Zhen resigned to her fate and began to copy the books honestly.
Most of the books that need to be transcribed are the books of the former dynasty, with a variety of contents, most of which are novels, prose and poems.
The first book that Xu Zhen copied was a novel. Although there were no punctuation marks in this dynasty, when writing novels, the sentences would be blanked out, and the new plot would be blanked by a new paragraph, so that a half-assed Xu Zhen could understand classical Chinese. novel.
She transcribed halfway, put down her pen and read the novel.
The writing is actually similar to the manor farm farming article of Dream of Red Mansions! It's amazing!
Xu Zhen sighed.
I read a few more books, some of which described war and medicine, and they were all wonderful. Xu Zhen picked up a pen and quickly copied them.
The woman was also transcribing books, and when she saw Xu Zhen approaching, she asked in a low voice, "Yuanwailang, what's wrong?"
Xu Zhen said: "I finished copying one copy, where should I put this? How is the work divided? Is there any performance requirement? How many copies should each person copy at least every day?"
The woman said: "I didn't ask too much. The Ministry of Rites changes frequently. All those who come here just need to keep copying the books."
Xu Zhen was a little surprised: "Frequent replacements? How could this be? Isn't it normal that they don't change people once they're in the palace?"
The woman said, "Shang Shu has a bad temper."
Xu Zhen understands that the boss is making things difficult.
"Does Shangshu have the right to change people?" Xu Zhen asked.
The woman said, "Yes, but it needs to be approved by the Holy Spirit."
That's no wonder.
Xu Zhen thought to herself, if she wants to keep her job, she must please the leaders well and try to survive the terrible environment of state-owned enterprises.
She set a small goal for herself, hoping that she can survive at least a year.
The woman was about to lift her pen, when she looked up, she saw Xu Zhen holding the transcribed rice paper in her hand.
She reached out to ask for it.
Xu Zhen handed it to her and commented: "By the way, I read the above content. Who wrote this article? It's too good-looking, isn't it? Is this carrier called a novel? Why didn't I know much about it in the bookstore before?" see?"
The woman said, "It's a novel. It exists now, but no one writes it."
Xu Zhen asked, "Why?"
The woman said: "The novel is not a history book or a reference book. Read it once and be refreshed. After you buy it, you can sell it to others soon, or copy it yourself and sell it for money. Those who write the book can't make money at all. I won't write any more."
Xu Zhen nodded and was about to speak.
Seeing the words on the rice paper, the woman asked after a moment of silence, "Yuanwailang, where did you learn from?"
Xu Zhen didn't know the purpose of the woman's question, so she said bluntly, "I learned it by myself."
The woman contemplates: "This word..."
Xu Zhen asked, "What's wrong?"
The woman said, "It's kind of ugly."
Xu Zhen was hit hard immediately.
She also knew that her handwriting was ugly, so she didn't like copying books very much. In the past, she had to copy books several times in order to sell them, and later she copied the imperial examination exercise booklets.
These two times, the requirements for the beauty and ugliness of the characters were not high, so no one told her so bluntly that the characters were ugly.
Xu Zhen was a little sad, and she forced herself to hold her respect: "Actually, it's fine if you can understand it. Why do you need beautiful writing? Look at Mozi in the Warring States period. The writing is simple, and the writing on banana leaves is not very beautiful. , is looked down upon by many people, but the ideas conveyed in it are very good."
After hearing this, the woman glanced at Xu Zhen. She didn't expect Xu Zhen to make up a story. She was a little shocked and a little disdainful.
Mozi's articles are indeed simple, but where they are written and what kind of characters are written are all recorded in unofficial history, and the official history does not know.
Moreover, this book was not written by Xu Zhen. What she needs to do is to transcribe. The most basic requirement for transcribing is neat handwriting. This person's handwriting is really unsightly.
The woman poured tea for the two.
Xu Zhen felt that her ugly handwriting was really bad, so she took the rice paper back and said, "I'll make another copy."
As soon as he got to his seat, another person walked by and chatted with Xu Zhen.
This person is also a woman with a round face and dimples when she smiles. She is wearing a turquoise round-neck robe and a turban, which looks very formal.
She was very enthusiastic, and asked Xu Zhen with a low voice: "You are the Mrs. Jiangling who saved the Princess, right?"
Xu Zhen remembered that the Holy Majesty asked herself the same question a few days ago, so she nodded and said, "It's me."
The man asked, "How did you save it?"
Seeing that a colleague was willing to chat with her, Xu Zhen was a little excited, and said in a low voice, "Provocation."
"Provocation? How did you provoke it?" The man was curious.
Xu Zhen told her how she did it in detail.
The man was shocked when he heard this: "Are you a Legalist?"
Xu Zhen hurriedly said: "No, no, I have read a little of all theories of a hundred schools of thought, and I don't have a theory of fixed beliefs."
The reason for both reading is to cope with the college entrance examination.
The man said: "But you are completely the Conspiracy of the Legalists. It is really too powerful. Do you know the tricks recorded in "Warring States Policy" and "Han Feizi"?"
Xu Zhen said honestly: "I read about this, so I came up with this strategy. In fact, the success is quite beyond my expectations. I thought it was just a matter of theory."
The nose-covering plan is about the wife of the king of Chu, Zheng Xiu, who knew that the king of Chu liked a beautiful woman, so she ran to the king of Chu and said, that beauty dislikes the king of Chu, you have bad breath, so you always cover your nose.
Then he ran to the beauty to provoke her, saying that although the king of Chu likes you, he doesn't like the mole on your nose, so you'd better cover the mole on your nose with your sleeve, so that the king of Chu will like you more.
Later, the beauty did as she did, and every time she saw the king of Chu, she would raise her sleeves to cover her nose. The king of Chu really thought that the beauty disliked her bad breath, and was so angry that she asked someone to kill the beauty.
Xu Zhen read this story a long time ago, and also read a lot of in-depth analysis, so she dared to give it a go. The success depends on luck and the books she read in her previous life.
The woman praised Xu Zhen a lot, saying that Xu Zhen is smart and courageous, no wonder she can directly become a member of the family.
Xu Zhen was very embarrassed.
Xu Zhen was in a good mood to meet such an enthusiastic colleague on the first day, and this person was really too enthusiastic. The enthusiasm reminded Xu Zhen of a student she met in Qinglongshan Academy before.
what do you say that is…
Xu Zhen couldn't remember clearly, she asked the person she was chatting with: "What's your name?"
The man said, "My surname is Tang, so I don't know my name."
Xu Zhen nodded and wrote down, and said her name.
Tang Yan knew: "We already knew Yuanwailang's name. If Shangshu was here, he would definitely go to a restaurant to drink and greet you, and introduce everyone to you. It's just that he is not here at the moment."
Xu Zhen said: "It doesn't matter if you're not here, there are too many, I can't remember."
Tang Yanzhi thought about it, and introduced to Xu Zhen a few people who were still in the Ministry of Rites.
The one who led the way for Xu Zhen before, named Zhong Mei, was in charge. From the seventh rank, the highest official among this group of people, she has been there for three years. If there is no such variable as Xu Zhen, she will be promoted to Yuanwailang immediately. .
Xu Zhen suddenly felt her little heart tighten.
Tang Yanzhi then talked about other things around him.
Most of those who are transcribing books are from poor families who have entered the imperial examination and served as local officials before being assigned to the central government. There is another one who came from the border and worked as a counselor and military adviser, so he has a different understanding of today's rituals, music, and books.
The more Xu Zhen listened to it, the more she felt that she was a related party through the back door.
She sighed deeply.
Tang Yanzhi was still there to introduce.
Xu Zhen suddenly thought of her little beggar, and asked Tang Yanzhi: "Since we are the Ministry of Rites, can we arrange for some people to go to the Taixue?"
Tang Yanzhi's eyes widened: "What do you want?"
Xu Zhen laughed and said, "There is a child in my family who hasn't reached the age..."
Tang Yanzhi said: "Although we are in charge of the school, Taixue is still beyond our control."
Xu Zhen was a little disappointed after hearing this.
Tang Yanzhi said: "But I happen to be going to the academy tomorrow. If you go with me, you can ask the curator about it."
Xu Zhen's original plan was to study in a school or an academy. After all, the Taixue was under the eyes of the Holy One. If the little beggar really went to the Taixue to study, it would be too dangerous.
In contrast, the academy is much better.
She nodded and said, "Then I'll go there together tomorrow, please."
Tang Yanzhi said: "No trouble, no trouble." Then he said, "There will be a banquet with the six ministries in another day. Both the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Officials like to hold banquets, although according to the rules, officials cannot collude in private and hold banquets It’s okay to eat together.”
Xu Zhen's eyes lit up: "Free food and drink?"
Tang Yanzhi said: "That's right! It's usually to give some gifts to the host to cover the meal expenses."
Xu Zhen's expression was calm: "... I may have to go home to take care of the children, it's not convenient to go."
Tang Yanzhi enthusiastically expressed that Xu Zhen could take the child with her, but Xu Zhen still refused honestly.
Xu Zhen's first day at work was very uneventful, she didn't make things too difficult for her colleagues, and she made a good friend.
She happily goes home with her backpack.
Walking out of the palace in the direction most people left, most of the officials on the way walked slowly with their heads bowed, occasionally talking in low voices.
Xu Zhen leaned over to listen, and heard that they were talking about the autumn exam and the state banquet after the autumn exam.
She was not interested, walked around a few people and left quickly.
After she left.
In the room of the Ministry of Rites, there were still two people who did not leave, copying books under the afterglow of the setting sun.
One of them seemed extremely angry, and as he was writing, he dropped his pen and got up and cursed: "What is the origin of that person! Obviously Zhong Mei is the one who should be Yuanwailang! Why give it to this person!"
Someone nearby persuaded coldly: "This is the person who saved the princess, saved Guannan, and was kneeled by the emperor's teacher. These three things alone are enough for her to be a sixth-rank official."
The cursing person was still upset: "Why! Why come to the Ministry of Rites!"
The person next to him said again: "Who let the test questions of our autumn test be leaked, which offended the Holy One."
After finishing speaking, the man put down the small pen, put it on the inkstone and continued: "And you feel uncomfortable, why didn't you just say it when she came today, and it's only now?"
The cursing face flushed and he didn't speak.
The person next to him continued: "Speaking of which, I thought he would be a fairy, but I didn't expect it to be so different from what I imagined."
The cursing scolded: "Yes! It's too mediocre! Did she really do the good thing? Could it be a false claim?"
The person next to him said, "I don't know."
Cursing: "Anyway, as long as she continues to be Yuanwailang, one day, she will show her feet!"
The person next to him glanced at him, blew on the rice paper he had copied, leaned back on the back of the chair and laughed softly: "If you can do it, do it, but don't do it too hard."
Xu Zhen has successfully walked out of the palace. She looked up and saw golden and red clouds hanging in the air, and she could only vaguely see a little bit of blue.
She walked back, and saw her official uniform while her footsteps were shaking, she was still in a daze, she didn't expect that she would become an official, a Yuanwailang from the sixth rank
In the Three Kingdoms, the position of Yuan Wai Lang is a horse-riding follower accompanying the lord, and if he is not careful, he will be beheaded. Fortunately, the era of overhead that he wears is still peaceful.
Xu Zhen was engrossed in thinking, walking on the road and saw a person ahead.
This person has a familiar figure, she is a short little girl, a bit like her own little beggar.
Xu Zhen walked up quickly to look, and regretfully found that the little girl was not a beggar, but her eyes were very beautiful. If the peach blossoms were in full bloom in April, it would make people feel better involuntarily.
Xu Zhen looked at it for a while.
The man came over and called out in a low voice, "Sir."
Xu Zhen was stunned.
The man shouted again: "Sir, it's me."
Isn't that the voice of a little beggar
Xu Zhen finally realized slowly, it turned out that the little beggar had changed her appearance!
After the two met, they walked home hand in hand.
Xu Zhen bought some meat at the market, and someone who was setting up a stall saw her wearing a round neck dress, and warmly gave her three meat pies.
Xu Zhen was very happy, she asked the little beggar: "Where did you go to play today?"
Xun Qianchun didn't speak, but turned his eyes to the distance, it was the west, and the setting sun was like fire, which made people's pupils red.
Xu Zhen followed to look to the west, but saw nothing. She guessed for no reason that the little beggar must have returned to her hometown, and she didn't know what the Xun family looked like now. To sell, it was demolished and rebuilt.
For the little beggar, Chang'an was ultimately a sad place.
Xu Zhen thought for a while, and told the little beggar about her work today, about going to the school tomorrow, and asked the director of the school if she could go to school, and about what she saw today. That former dynasty novel.
Xun Qianchun's face was still calm, and the coldness in his eyes gradually faded away where Xu Zhen couldn't see them, turning into soft water.
After the two arrived home, Xu Zhen took the official seal and began to study.
Xun Qianchun came over.
Xu Zhen touched the official seal, leaned over and asked, "Do you know how to use the official seal?"
Xun Qianchun nodded.
Xu Zhen hurriedly took out another one from her pocket, and put it on the table. It was the same dark gray as the one she was fiddling with in her hand, with the traditional Chinese character "Celebration" on the head, and the engraved "Secretary of the Ministry of Rites" on the bottom. One has Xu Zhen's name written on it.
Xun Qianchun seemed to be very familiar with the affairs in the palace.
She said: "The Ministry of Rites is divided into four departments, and the Ministry of Rites is the main department with the greatest power."
Xu Zhen asked: "Then when am I going to strike the seal? The court lady didn't tell me."
Xun Qianchun said: "The Ministry of Rites will have schools, come to ask for instructions on academic affairs and studies, and the approval and implementation requires three official seals: Shangshu, Langzhong, and Yuanwailang."
Xu Zhen was a little shocked that she had so much power.
After the shock was over, she leaned over excitedly and asked the little beggar: "How do you know so well? Didn't you know how to write Chinese characters before? Did you lie to me before?"
Xun Qianchun said, "No."
Xu Zhen didn't let her go: "You really didn't lie to me? Then why do you know so much about the affairs in the palace?"
Xun Qianchun said: "My mother told me."
When Xu Zhen heard that the little beggar mentioned her family, her heart skipped a beat.
She was about to avoid the subject.
Xun Qianchun said: "Sir, it doesn't have to be like this."
Xu Zhen was stunned: "What?"
Xun Qianchun said: "Mr. thinks of me every time and doesn't mention my family. I am very touched." She looked at Xu Zhen, and after a while, she leaned forward and kissed Xu Zhen's lips.
The warm feeling penetrated from the lips to the limbs, reminding Xu Zhen of that precarious cave, and there seemed to be the sound of a violent storm in her ears.
She was startled.
Busily pushed the little beggar away, his mind was blank.
After a long time, she asked awkwardly, "Why are you kissing me?"
Xun Qianchun looked at Xu Zhen: "I feel bad."
Xu Zhen was a little dumbfounded: "Why is it uncomfortable? Isn't it moving?"
Xun Qianchun said, "I don't know."
Xu Zhen asked a few more words, but Xun Qianchun didn't say much, so Xu Zhen could only try her best to correct her: "I can only kiss on the face, kissing on the mouth...is not very good."
Xun Qianchun looked at Xu Zhen, his heart skipped a beat, then he lowered his head slowly and hummed in a low voice.
Xu Zhen asked again: "Why don't you kiss me on the face? Other people's children always kiss on the face. What does it feel like to kiss, I don't think there is any difference."
Xun Qianchun said: "I will be happy."
"Happy? Why don't I feel that." She felt bad the previous time, but this time it will only remind her of the last time.
Xu Zhen was already a little sleepy.
She lay on the bed and read to the little beggar. While reading, she remembered the little beggar's illness.
She looked up at Xun Qianchun.
Xun Qianchun was also looking at her.
Xu Zhen asked for no reason: "You—you haven't had any trouble recently, have you?"
Xun Qianchun didn't understand why he looked at Xu Zhen.
Judging by the little beggar's reaction, it should be no.
Xu Zhen smiled and felt relieved: "It's fine if you don't have one."
She sat up and flipped through the book for Xun Qianchun, talking about the way of governing the country, talking about internal laws and foreign Confucianism, talking about things after the Tang Dynasty, and talking about Cheng Zhu's Neo-Confucianism and Xinxue in the Song and Ming Dynasties.
After talking a lot, she asked Xun Qianchun: "You understand the rules of the palace so well, do you really want to be an official?"
Xun Qianchun said: "I just want to know more."
Xu Zhen asked, "Understand what?"
Xun Qianchun said: "Anything is fine."
Xu Zhen said: "If you are given a chance, do you want to take the imperial examination and become an official?" Even emperor.
Xun Qianchun was silent for a moment, looked up at Xu Zhen, her lips moved, as if she had said something, Xu Zhen turned her head to listen, but she couldn't hear clearly, she felt that the little beggar had a serious problem of not being able to speak clearly, and she would have seizures from time to time .
She asked again: "If you are allowed to continue to go to school, will you go?"
Xun Qianchun said something softly.
Xu Zhen smiled and said, "Don't be so shy all the time."
"I'm not shy." Xun Qianchun said in a low voice, "I'll listen to my husband. I'm willing to go wherever my husband asks me to go."
Xu Zhen couldn't help laughing, and after laughing, she went to Xun Qianchun's side and said, "Then I'll go to the academy tomorrow, and if the headmaster agrees, you can continue studying, and you don't need to take the imperial examination, as long as you know more about it like you said. .”
Xun Qianchun nodded.
The lights outside the window were bright, and the warm wind with the scent of fireworks was blowing. Xu Zhen was a little sleepy. She yawned as she spoke, squinted her eyes and fell asleep. She slept peacefully and peacefully.
Xun Qianchun looked at Xu Zhen, reached out to grab Xu Zhen's shoulder, but found that he couldn't do it.
She lay down on her side, leaning against Xu Zhen's side, looking at Xu Zhen's sleeping face.
There were many unanswerable words, which she could only put back in her stomach. All her thoughts and thoughts finally turned into an action of pulling the quilt, covering everything under the quilt.