Daming, Shaanxi Province, Weinan County, Xi'an Prefecture.

The sky was overcast and drizzling, and on the official road outside the Yamen of the Weinan River, hundreds of officials and officials stood in two rows, patiently waiting for the arrival of the officials.

Because Emperor Tianwu suddenly appeared in Weihui Mansion in Henan Province and punished a corrupt official in the county, the officials of the surrounding provincial governments panicked.

In particular, in Shaanxi, last year's flood caused hundreds of thousands of acres of land, and some people were worried that the Son of Heaven would come to Shaanxi to personally inquire about the matter, so officials of the Shaanxi River began to take action.

Today is the day when Ma Jixiang, the eunuch and river supervisor of Xijing Town, inspects the river yamen.

Outside the yamen of the river, the officials stood in the mud with their heads downcast, they were all soaked, sometimes shivering, and from time to time they stretched out their heads to look at the end of the official road.

Behind the officials were hundreds of officers and soldiers in uniforms, holding guns in their hands and propping their feet on the ground in turn, as if they were escorting the approaching town guard eunuchs.

At the front of the greeting procession, there was Bi Yuntao, a fellow acquaintance of Zhengwupin River, who was in his forties, with a fat face, compared to the figure of the soldiers around him, he was like a standing pig!

There are many advantages of the official university, such as the current Lord Bi, there are two officers and soldiers around him who hold an umbrella for him (an umbrella can't cover it), which is a treatment that other officials do not have.

Bi Yuntao squinted his eyes slightly at the end of the official road, glanced at the pocket watch issued by the imperial court, and said with a frown: "The upper head said that the time has arrived, it's almost fucking noon!" ”

The surrounding river officials lowered their heads, maintained a friendly smile, and echoed one after another.

I waited in the rain for an hour and a half, and no one was upset.

Could it be that this old eunuch is waiting for the three o'clock in the afternoon when the yang energy is at its peak? That point doesn't suit his physique!

It didn't take long for everyone to regain their harmony and continue to wait patiently in the rain.

After another quarter of an hour, a servant of poor physical fitness fainted on the spot, causing a commotion.

He Tongzhi frowned and scolded: "Isn't it just a little soldier?" What has become of them one by one, they are all ready for this official! ”

The river chief next to him was full of eyes, took the words of his boss, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Everyone hold on, Gonggong Ma is the eunuch of Xijing Town, that is a big man from the palace, representing the royal family!" The fact that his old man can come to see us is equivalent to the emperor's visit, which is a blessing that we have cultivated for eight lifetimes! ”

After talking for a long time, the atmosphere of the scene was finally brought up again, and the huge silk banner on the ground was also re-picked up and laid across the official road.

The banner bears a welcome slogan in large gold thread embroidered in large letters: "Welcome to Ma Gonggong, the eunuch of Xijing Town, to inspect the river." ”

It wasn't until the early afternoon that Ma Gonggong was finally expected by them!

"It's coming! Ma Gonggong is here! ”

For a while, there was a small commotion at the welcoming scene that had been prepared for a long time, and the officials were shouting in a panic.

"Quick! Red carpet ready! ”

"Whoever sneezes, don't do it again!"

Not long after, the brand-new red carpet has been paved on the official road of Wangu Road, fortunately, this road is built with Banzai mud, there are no potholes of mud on rainy days, and the effect is very good with the red carpet, but the color is darker by the rain print, like brown blood......

This welcome event is like the day of the wedding, in addition to the red carpet, there are also firecrackers.

On both sides of the road, several teams of officials picked up eight groups of firecrackers with long bamboo poles, ready to be set off when the guard of honor came, creating a scene of firecrackers ringing in unison and welcoming the road.

Seeing that Ma Gonggong's guard of honor was approaching, the officials of the river yamen lined up neatly.

As soon as the guard of honor stepped on the red carpet, I saw the official in charge of directing the firecrackers wave his arm, and eight groups of firecrackers exploded at the same time.

The sound of firecrackers is the signal, and the welcoming team immediately beat gongs and drums, straightened the banners, and erected two signs, which read: The emperor's grace is vast, and the world is peaceful and prosperous.

The honor guard of the eunuchs in the town was very large, the chess and card banners were opened, and there were thousands of officers and soldiers escorting them before and after, and the official sedan chair in the center was also full of eunuchs and palace maids.

"Xiaguan Hedao knows Bi Yuntao, greeting Ma Gonggong, Ma Gonggong is for the country and the people, and he came in the rain without hesitation, which is really a model for my generation!"

Master Bi stood in front of the sedan chair, and his mouth was flattering, and when he talked about the scene, his posture was also very low.

The door of the sedan car opened, and an old eunuch in his fifties walked out from inside, he was wearing a python robe and a three-mountain hat, and he didn't look at the officials when he got off the sedan chair, but coughed slightly.

The little eunuch who came with the sedan chair immediately tied a brocade and gold silk cloak for Ma Jixiang, while the old eunuch enjoyed it slowly and methodically, and did not care about the greetings of the officials.

The smile on the face of Dao Tongzhi never disappeared, he continued to lower his posture, and said, "Grandpa Ma, the lower official has prepared a few local specialty dishes, and please enjoy your face and move into the house to taste!" ”

Ma Jixiang straightened his cloak slightly, and mumbled in his mouth, the preparations made by the river yamen made him quite satisfied.

Surrounded by officials, Ma Jixiang put on a full shelf and entered the living room of the river yamen.

The decoration of the living room is very luxurious, full of festive ribbons and other things, which are obviously carefully arranged by Master Bi to welcome Ma Gonggong.

Ma Jixiang hummed in response to the situation, smiled with his chin on his head, and then glanced around the banquet.

This glance made his face gradually gloomy, and there were really a few special side dishes on the table, all of which were usually common!

Ma Jixiang snorted coldly, turned his face, and the little eunuch beside him understood, and immediately shouted: "Do you understand, just use this thing to entertain my godfather?" ”

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding!"

Tongzhi Bi Yuntao hurriedly stood up and waved his hand to explain: "This dish hasn't been served yet!" ”

He turned his head and glared at the official who was preparing the dishes: "What are you still doing in a daze?" Serve! ”

After a while, several young women dressed in the Western Regions came in with their buttocks and dishes.

They served a total of eight dishes, according to the official who prepared the dishes, these eight dishes are: dragon liver, phoenix marrow, leopard fetus, carp tail, owl burn, scarlet lips, bear paws and crispy cheese cicada, that is, the Ming Dynasty version of eight treasures.

Looking at the fragrant and mouth-watering eight "special dishes", Ma Jixiang subconsciously licked his lower lip.

Bazhen is not something that anyone can eat if they want to, ordinary people can only listen to the name, and those who are not rich or expensive may not be able to eat it, many of them are imperial meals in the palace.

Of course, Zhu Cihong didn't eat these, and he also canceled most of the imperial food varieties.

He felt that in addition to reflecting the extravagant life of the feudal rulers, these things were actually not a healthy diet.

For example, the dish of dragon liver is actually snake liver or white horse liver, and it is also said to be the liver of pangolins; The phoenix pith is the cerebral marrow of the golden pheasant, and the owl is the roasted owl......

What's so good about this? Maybe you can eat something wrong!

However, Ma Jixiang, an old eunuch from the palace, didn't think so, he felt that these dishes used to be imperial food, and they were of high grade! It's definitely delicious!

He tasted a mouthful of dragon liver first, and immediately let out a tone of enjoyment, and nodded frequently with taste, making a high evaluation.

This "special side dish" was eaten for a total of an hour, and some dishes were specially heated twice.

After eating and drinking, coupled with the fatigue of the whole way, Ma Jixiang soon became sleepy, and he didn't care what he was doing, so he stayed and rested in the backyard of the river yamen.