There is a grandstand set up at the back of the racecourse, and the platform covers the left and right sides with a thick curtain, leaving only the front uncovered, so that it is convenient for the people on the stage to watch Marseille.

Zhongxingli Yinzi Ji stepped onto the stage and sat down with him in front of the long desk in the center. There was a charcoal basin burning next to the desk, and after sitting down, a little maid carefully hugged a jar of wine. Zhongxingli took the wine jar, put it on the table, and said, "That is, when you came, I was willing to take out this jar of wine." ”

Ziji smiled: "What kind of good wine, worthy of such a treasure for you?" As he spoke, Ziji pulled the wine jar in front of him, pulled the stopper, and stepped forward to smell it. As soon as I opened it, a strong aroma of wine came to my nose, and it was really a good wine.

Zhong Xingli knocked on the table with his knuckles, laughed ostentatiously, and asked, "How is this wine!" ”

"The taste is pure and pungent, and it is a good wine!" Ziji praised.

"Chu has Xiling wine is famous all over the world, and my altar is not lost to Chu wine. This wine, named Gu Fen, has been hidden in the cellar for nearly twenty years, and was left to his disciples by the great winemaker Luo Huaizhong, with a total of only ten altars. In fact, I only got one altar, and after I got it back, I divided one large altar into three small altars, one altar to honor my grandfather, one altar to bribe my father, and the rest of the altar was specially kept for the two of us to drink. Zhong Xingli said, and personally poured the green jade ear cup for Ziji.

Zhongxing saluted himself again, and then raised his glass and smiled: "Cousin, I respect you." ”

Ziji smiled, raised his head and drank it all. After drinking, he praised again: "Good wine!" ”

"It's not good wine, and I'm embarrassed to take it out to entertain you, right?" BOC salutes.

Ziji smiled: "Okay, don't say these useless things, to be honest, do you have something to ask me?" ”

Zhongxingli asked, "Is it so obvious?" ”

Ziji nodded and said, "You are good wine and good words, say, what do I want to do when I bribe?" ”

BOC Lifu poured another glass of wine for Ziji, and said: "Actually, it's not a big deal, that is, there is something that I hope my cousin can cut your love and lend me." ”

"Oh?" Ziji raised his eyebrows slightly, raised his glass and took a sip, and said, "You talk about it first, see if I'm reluctant." ”

Zhongxing saluted: "I want to ask you for a horse." ”

Ziji's eyebrows moved, pointed to the field, and said, "You take that horse away." ”

"Cousin, you know I'm not talking about this one." BOC salutes.

"Nope." Ziji decisively refused.

"Cousin, cousin, you must help me. If I lose face again and lose to that little concubine of your own family, Qiuhua will not pay attention to me anymore. Zhongxing saluted to Ziji's side and prayed.

"You have so many good horses, why do you want my horses?" Ziji still didn't let go.

Zhongxing saluted: "My horses are not as good as your Xuanmo combined. Next month, Gongzi Zhaowen organized Marseille, I lost to that little concubine last year, Qiuhua thought I was embarrassed, and lost my temper and ignored me for several months, I can't lose again this year, lose again, maybe she won't pay attention to me for the whole year next year. ”

"Then you can't compare yourself to him this year." Ziji glanced at Zhong Xingli.

"That's not good, I'll come back with a game this year, how can I let the Zhao family win two years in a row."

"You know what to say to provoke me." Ziji Road.

Zhong Xingli grabbed Ziji's arm and asked, "Then cousin, you said, do you want your sect to win?" I've heard that the little concubine has recently gotten a good horse, and he is waiting to win the first place in the horse race of Gongzi Zhaowen, and is ready to lose the face of the princes of the royal city again. Can you bear it? ”

"I can't bear it." Ziji Road.

"If you can't bear it, lend me the horse."

"Come here with your ears." Ziji said and hooked Zhongxing's head and whispered a few words in his ear.

After listening to Zhongxingli, he said with a surprised and excited expression: "It is worthy of being a cousin." ”

Ziji raised his ear cup and said with a smile: "You wait and see, this year's Marseille will be lively." He remembered something and asked, "Is there any arrangement for what I said last time?" ”

Zhongxing saluted: "You still don't worry about my work?" I personally went to Fan's a few days ago and told him. With my relationship with Ah Ming, I will write a post to him and call him out to meet you. Ah Ming is simple-minded, as long as he has a deed of character and plays a few more times, he will soon be able to get acquainted. ”

After Zhongxingli returned from Pingshan, he sent a post to Fan Ming.

That night, Fan Ming had an invitation post from Xunli of the Bank of China, the post was written by Xun Li himself, and the content of the post was also straightforward, that is, three days later, he was invited to go to the Bank of China's mansion for a small gathering. He often goes to the Bank of China's mansion, and he does not doubt him, so he gladly responds to it. He was pressed by his mother at home for several days and didn't go out, and after receiving the post, he was very happy, and under high spirits, he planned to write a reply to Xun Li in person.

Fan Ming's attendant Nan Dong was grinding ink for Fan Ming on the side, and he said while moving his hand: "Gentleman, the year-end exam is coming soon, if you go to the Bank of China Mansion to play at this time, Madame will probably be unhappy, and besides, you haven't written the three policies arranged by Old Master Yan yet." ”

The pen in Fan Ming's hand paused, he said "ah", and thought: "Yes, there are still three policy theories, I haven't started writing any of them, what should I do, if my mother knows, she will have to beat me." ”

"Then the gentleman might as well start writing now, let's start with the simpler one." Nan Dong said, picked out a roll from a pile of bamboo slips on the bookcase next to him, opened it and put it in front of Fan Ming's eyes.

Fan Ming picked it up and looked at it, and then the corners of his eyes jumped slightly, and said, "Why is this so difficult, keep this one for the last write, you can bring another one to me to see." ”

"It's not that hard, gentleman." Although Nandong said this, he obediently hugged the other two volumes.

Fan Ming looked at them one by one, and then he found that none of them were easy, how could they all be so difficult. He held his head in both hands, made a bitter face, and said angrily, "Ah! He shouted, full of sorrow: "What should I do? The day after tomorrow I will hand it over to my master, but I can't write a word. ”

Nan Dong pondered for a moment and said, "Junzi, in that case, you might as well ask Cheng Xiaojunzi, his strategy is the best written, and even the clan elders in the sect are praising it." ”

"I don't ask him, he just reads well, and I annoy him when I see him." In Fan Ming's eyes, this cousin Cheng has no merit except for being good at learning, and he is weak and gloomy all day long.

Fan Ming felt a burst of irritability in his heart, swept the three volumes of books under the table with his forearm, and leaned on the bookcase listlessly, and said with some anger: "Don't write, don't write." ”

Nan Dong sighed, and then brought the three volumes of books to Fan Ming's eyes, and said, "When the time comes, you won't be able to hand it in, and Mr. will sue Mrs. again, and there will always be a good fight." ”

The corners of Fan Ming's mouth twitched, every time his mother beat him, he was a thief, and every time he was beaten, he still remembered it vividly, but he felt that he really couldn't write about this thing.

He looked at the shadow of the tree outside the window and sighed, "I really envy that Sister Yun is a girl, and girls never have to write strategies." ”

The outskirts of the royal capital, Yanbi Villa

As the night deepened, Mingyun sat on the couch with his forehead propped up, drinking a bowl of bird's nest porridge without a mouthful, looking preoccupied.

During the day, the people below came to report that the mother had returned to the royal capital, and the carriage and horse returned to Fan Di in a few moments or so. Since receiving the news, Mingyun has been waiting for her mother to send someone to urge her to return to Miaoyuan. But after waiting for several hours, no one came. She waited until late.

When the moon and stars came out, she knew that her mother would not call her back tonight. At the end of the day, she really wanted to be closer to her mother. What you can't get is always desired.

Fan Di

At this moment, in the back garden of Fan's Mansion, Fan Ji's sister and brother are walking slowly side by side, Fan Miaoshu is on the left, and Fan Jiji is on the right. A meter behind them, a group of respectful slaves and maids followed.

Fan Miaoshu was dressed in a crimson straight coat, her hair was simply tied in a bun, and only a silver hairpin with tassels was used to shape her hair. Although there was no wind, it was still a cliff in the winter night, and she wore an ankle-length fox fur, which was a light blue with dense silver needle hairs, which shone silver in the moonlight.

She carried in her hand a small four-cornered bamboo lamp with a rope pole, the size of two fists, hollowed out patterns, and a layer of beige hard silk cloth pasted on the outside, which clouded the bright firelight. Walking slowly, the lamp swayed slightly with her steps. Her expression was faint, and she looked a little cold in the moonlight.

Fan Ji walked aside wearing a sable fur, personally carrying a wine jug in his hand, looking at the moon, and said while walking slowly: "Tonight is really a good moonlight, a good moon with good wine, this pot of Zephyr brew is just dug out from under the tree, and it has been hidden for nearly ten years, my sister wants to give a face, drink a few more glasses in a while." This sentence sounded like emotion, but the tone made people feel weird, as if his expression at this time, although his face was smiling, but the undercurrent under his eyes was suppressed.

The half-string white moon hangs on the horizon coldly.

On the high pavilion hill in the back garden, only Fan Miaoshu and Fan Jishu sat facing each other. On a stone table in the pavilion is a small stove with hot wine, and wine is hot on the stove. The aroma of the wine is rich and wafting around.

Fan Miaoshu held the hot hand stove in her hand, sat on a woolen mat, did not speak, and looked at the moon in the sky with a faint expression.

Fan Jishu poured Fan Miaoshu a glass of hot wine and said, "Sister, come, how about tasting this wine?" ”

Fan Miaoshu turned her eyes back, didn't take the wine, just looked at him coldly and said, "Third brother, there is no one around, how good it is to get straight to the point." You and my brother and sister, why bother talking around the bend. ”