The Han Dynasty people had two meals a day and observed the habit of living and resting at sunrise. The meal in the morning is called a morning meal or a large meal, and the meal in the evening is called a feeding or a small meal.

After Liu Wei was reborn in this era, he has been focusing on changing the eating habits of the Han Dynasty, changing the two-meal system to three meals a day. However, apart from the changes in eating habits in the palace and the army, the implementation of the three-meal system had little effect among the people.

The reason for this is related to the lack of food in ancient times, and it is also the habit that people have developed over the years that is difficult to change.

However, Liu's efforts have not changed anything.

First of all, the dishes eaten by the people of the Han Dynasty were enriched. Liu Wei introduced a lot of modern cuisine, which was popularized to the people through the Diaoyutai Restaurant, which greatly enriched the dining table of the people of the Han Dynasty. Moreover, drinking tea after meals has gradually become a daily habit of people in the Han Dynasty.

At this time, the popularity of tea was not too common, and those who could drink tea were still high-ranking officials, wealthy businessmen and celebrities within the empire.

The best place for people to drink tea in the Han Dynasty was the typhoon shelter teahouse opened by the Xun family in Yingchuan. The source of tea in the teahouse mainly comes from the tea house opened by Liu Wei in the palace. And because of many factors such as transportation and storage, the supply of tea houses in the palace is not much, and basically all of them are supplied to the typhoon shelter tea house.

Therefore, the typhoon shelter teahouse is completely an exclusive monopoly operation, and only a few important ministers close to Liu Bian, such as Lu Zhi and Huangfu Song, etc., occasionally Liu Bian will give them the newly fried tea leaves of the tea house to them to drink at home. Typhoon shelters sometimes give away or sell tea, but basically they are some related households or the Xun family's family friends.

When Yuan Kui found Xun Shuang's house, it happened that Xun Shuang had just finished feeding and was drinking tea. Also with him were Xun Yu and Xun You, two uncles and nephews.

Xun Shuang is going to return to his hometown tomorrow, so he naturally has to call the two people who are most valued in the entire family to ask him.

The three of them were chatting, when they heard the waiter come in to report that Taifu Yuan Kui had come to visit.

Xun Shuang was stunned for a moment, and vaguely felt that Yuan Kui must have a purpose here, and ordered "please". The waiter went out to invite Yuan Kui in, Xun Shuang turned his head to Xun Yu Xun You and said: "Now that the Taifu Yuan Kui and the Son of Heaven have gradually become fire and water in the court, Yuan Taifu has come here with great intentions, Wen Ruo and Gongda, you two will dodge aside first, and listen to what Yuan Taifu says." ”

Xun Yu and Xun Yu hid behind the screen in the hall as he said, while Xun Shuang straightened his clothes and walked out.

The two sides met in the courtyard, and the two bowed their hands. Yuan Ji also gave Xun Shuang a junior salute on the side.

Yuan Kui warmly took Xun Shuang's hand and said: "Ciming is in trouble, Kui is busy with official business, and he has been visiting in the future, and I ask for forgiveness." ”

Xun Shuang put on a touched look and said, "Shuang is a remnant, how dare you bother the Taifu." Mrs. Yuan has a lot of opportunities, and she has really worked hard! ”

"Where, where." Yuan Kui said with a humble smile.

The two looked at each other and smiled, and walked back to the hall with their arms.

After the guests and hosts were seated, Xun Shuang ordered someone to bring the freshly fried tea leaves and brewed them for Yuan Kui. The two chatted for a while.

Yuan Kui didn't come to drink tea and chat this time, knowing that Xun Shuang was going to leave Luoyang tomorrow, and finally didn't want to waste time in a roundabout way, he asked bluntly: "Kui heard that Ciming Gong is going to return to his hometown tomorrow, but is there such a thing?" ”

Xun Shuang nodded and admitted: "Exactly." ”

Yuan Kui put on a look of regret and said: "If there is a big chaos today, robbers are swarming, the country is the time to employ people, Ciming Gong is a great Confucian in the sea, a pillar of the country, why don't you stay in the DPRK to help the society and help the Han family." ”

Xun Shuang shook his head and sighed: "Shuang Quan's talent is the end of learning, his knowledge is shallow, and he has been sick for a long time, so he is really embarrassed to take on a big responsibility." That's why he went to the official and returned to his hometown to end his life. ”

Without waiting for Yuan Kui to open his mouth again, Xun Shuang immediately said: "However, Yuan Taifu is a lonely minister entrusted by the first emperor, with extraordinary ability and excellent government affairs, my Han will inevitably reappear with the assistance of Yuan Taifu." ”

Hearing Xun Shuang say this, Yuan Kui said with a worried face: "Ciming Gong's words are wrong. Although Kui has the heart to support the society, the traitors in the DPRK and China are in charge, confusing the lord and flattering him, and oppressing his colleagues. And when today's son is young and does not notice, he not only condones the traitorous party, but also sees suspicion of Kui, and controls Kui in many ways. Kui Kong has a heart to serve the country but has nowhere to show it, he can't be trusted by the Son of Heaven, and there are no comrades around him to help. Now even Ciming Gong has to leave Beijing and return to his hometown, but it is a pity that my Han has one less righteous person, and the country lacks another pillar of talent! ”

The traitors in Yuan Kui's mouth naturally refer to Lu Zhi and other pro-imperial factions in the court. Lu Zhi, in particular, has been regarded by Yuan Kui as his biggest political enemy. A while ago, he poured a lot of sewage on him in the earthquake incident in Jingxian County, and then implied everywhere that Lu Zhi was a traitor who brought disaster to the country and the people without naming him.

Xun Shuang was quite surprised that Yuan Kui said so explicitly, Yuan Kui's words not only overflowed with the dissatisfaction of the imperial court, but also had a lot of disrespect in the defense of the Son of Heaven Liu. Lu Zhi didn't care whether Lu Zhi was a traitor Xun Shuang, but Yuan Kui's solicitation was heard.

Xun Shuang secretly wondered, with his understanding of Yuan Kui's character, Yuan Kui has always acted calmly, and the city government is very deep, how could he become so impatient and act without concealment. It seems that today's young son of heaven still puts a lot of pressure on him, and he has forced Yuan Kui, who has been up and down in the sea for many years, into chaos!

Xun Shuang sighed in his heart, and said quietly on the surface: "The Yuan family has four generations and three dukes, and has served the Han for a long time, after several dynasties, who doesn't know that the Yuan family is loyal to the country?" Although today's son succeeded to the throne at a young age, he was very intelligent. Although there is a slight misunderstanding at this time, I will know that Taifu is loyal over time! ”

Xun Shuang's words are not offended on both sides, and the mud is thin.

Yuan Kui also knew that it was impossible to let Xun Shuang choose to take sides with one or two sentences, and as a family, Yuan Kui knew what Xun Shuang was most concerned about.

Yuan Kui continued: "Kui's honor and disgrace are just a trivial matter, but the court decrees are chaotic, the Son of Heaven is young, he is not familiar with the ancestral system, and the governance is all based on will, which will cause chaos in the world and the people will be displaced for a long time. For example, the recent imperial examination is even more unheard of. In the past dynasties of our Han Dynasty, we have always been conscripted, inspected and judged, and paid attention to both ability and political integrity. ”

The so-called concern for the well-being of the community and the people just now is the opening remark, and the family is most concerned about the interests of their own family.

Yuan Kui brought the topic to the imperial examination, intending to remind Xun Shuang of the influence of the imperial examination system on their scholars.

However, Xun Shuang misunderstood that Yuan Kui wanted to unite with him to oppose the imperial imperial examination. He knew as well as the bigwigs of the court that anyone who objected to it would inevitably attract the wrath of the world's corporans, especially the Han scholars.

Xun Shuang will not touch this mold, they Yingchuan Xun clan and Yuan clan are different, the Yuan clan is four generations and three dukes, and the protégés are all over the world, relying on the network established by conquest or awareness. And Yingchuan Xun is different. It has always paid attention to talent and learning, made friends with talents, and there are no vain people in contact, and the knowledge of the children in the clan is more strict. The Yingchuan Academy, which was opened, is even more famous all over the world.

Therefore, the influence of the imperial examination on them is not great, on the contrary, it is not difficult for the children of a family with a strong background like Yingchuan Xun to be among the best in the imperial examination.

It was impossible for Xun Shuang to stand with Yuan Kui against the imperial examination, so he only replied in a cold tone to his words: "If there is a big chaos today, it is the time for the country to employ people, and Your Majesty may only open up the imperial examination to open up the road of virtue, and besides, Your Majesty has not canceled the expedition and inspection, and we can still promote the virtuous for the country." ”

Yuan Kui didn't really want to unite with Xun Shuang to oppose the imperial examination, the intention of what he said just now was to remind Xun Shuang that he didn't have good intentions towards them today.

However, Xun Shuang seemed very cold to his words, and he didn't know if he really couldn't see it, or if he was pretending to be confused to protect himself.

A look of disappointment flashed across Yuan Kui's face. Originally, I thought that Xun Shuang would be able to recognize the situation, share the same hatred with himself, and unite together. Now it seems that there is little hope.

The Xun clan is a new clan of scholars who have recently been on the rise, and not only enjoys a high reputation among the scholars, but also the children of their clan are all erudite and talented, and their abilities are extraordinary. If you can hold the Yingchuan Xun clan by your side, it will be of great help to the ambition of the Yuan family.

However, Yuan Kui's idea was very good, but he underestimated the loyalty of the Xun clan to the Han family, and ignored the entrapment of the Son of Heaven Liu Wei for them.

The name of the Yuan family, the fourth generation and the third prince sounds very good, but it cannot exist independently from the Han family. In the final analysis, no matter how powerful the Yuan family is, he is just a wage earner, and the real chairman of the group is still their old Liu family.

It is precisely because of Liu Wei's legitimacy and legitimacy that he won the favor of Xun. Not only Xun Yu and Xun Yu successively served beside Liu Bian, but Xun Yu became Liu Bian's confidant. Even Xun Yue, who has been living in seclusion, became an official under the persuasion of Xun Shuang, and was worshiped by Liu Wei as a waiter of the Yellow Gate, and he was by his side.

There is also a typhoon shelter teahouse jointly opened by Liu Wei and Xun's family, which makes money every day and makes a lot of money for Xun's family.

The two sides already have a deep entanglement of interests, although the Xun family has not been completely tied to Liu Wei's political carriage, but it is difficult to get the Xun family to stand up against Liu Wei, at least not for the sake of the Yuan family.

Yuan Kui tried his best to speak, but Xun Shuang was still unmoved, and he pretended to be confused and didn't understand Yuan Kui's explicit hints.

After a long time, Yuan Kui also felt discouraged, his face darkened, and even Yuan Ji, who had been silent on the side, was angry and indignant.

The children of the family always have a sense of pride and superiority that is different from ordinary people. The eyes are empty, and the self-respecting Yuan Shu is the ultimate in this kind of person. Although the gentle and elegant Yuan Ji does not have the arrogant character of Yuan Shu, he feels that his self-esteem has been greatly hurt in the face of Xun Shuang, who has repeatedly shirked and pretended to be confused. His family condescended to invite Xun Shuang out of the mountain, but he repeatedly shirked and did not know how to lift.

Yuan Ji said dissatisfiedly: "Ciming Gong is a famous Confucian in the world and is admired by thousands of people, but now that the country is treacherous, Ciming Gong is unwilling to stand up and support justice, which is really disappointing to my generation." ”

Xun Shuang and Yuan Ji's father Yuan Feng have a relationship with each other, and Yuan Ji is just his son and nephew, although Yuan Ji is a servant and one of the nine Qings, but in Xun Shuang's eyes, it is nothing at all. If you want to be it, the three princes are at your fingertips.

Now that Yuan Ji reprimanded, Xun Shuang's face was displeased, but Yuan Kui's face did not come out, but he just said coldly: "The old man is old and confused, not as good as Yuan Taifu's prime, Yingchuan Xun is just a small people in the mountains, and you Yuan are a famous family of the Han Dynasty." The revival of the Yan Han and the elimination of treachery and evil have a long way to go, and you Yuan can shoulder it, without the participation of our rural people. ”

The words are very clear, if you want to play your Yuan clan by yourself, we Yingchuan Xun clan will not accompany you.

The talks between the two sides have collapsed, Yuan Kui was surprised that Xun Shuang said so decisively, it seems that the two sides are really not all the way.

"There is no need for Ci Ming Gong to be angry, Ji'er is reckless and rash, and he has collided with Ci Ming Gong, and I will make amends to you on his behalf."

Although Yuan Kui felt hopeless, he still apologized to Xun Shuang, this is the inherent demeanor of the family, do not break up friendships, and don't have one more enemy if you can't be a friend.

Yuan Kui was full of fists, but he repeatedly refused, and Xun Shuang himself felt a little uncomfortable. Seeing Yuan Kui put down his posture and apologized, he also waved his hand and said: "Mrs. Yuan is loyal to the country and sincere, the old man is moved, how can he blame him." However, the old man is indeed old and unable to do it. Last year, a serious illness almost died, and the old man has been tired of paying attention to those chores since then, and he just wants to return to his hometown to retire and retire for the rest of his life. ”

Xun Shuang's words were sincere, and Yuan Kui didn't want to be entangled in the matter of wooing again. Just when he was completely disappointed by this, Xun Shuang changed his words, and suddenly said: "After the old man leaves, the Xun family still hopes that Mrs. Yuan will take care of him. ”

Yuan Kui's heart moved, is there still hope for the matter of uniting the Yingchuan Xun clan?

Xun Shuang continued: "The nephew Xun Chen is serving in Han Fu in Jizhou, and Yuan Benchu is also in Jizhou, so he can be asked to have more contacts with the two of them to get married to the good of the family." ”

To tell the truth, among the children of the Xun family, Yuan Kui is more optimistic about Xun Yu and Xun You's uncle and nephew, but it is not bad to get Xun Chen, at least it shows that the door of the Xun family is not completely closed to their Yuan family.

The two talked for a while before Yuan Kui left with Yuan Ji. As soon as Yuan Kui left, Xun Yu and Xun Yu turned out from behind the screen, and the conversation between his uncle and Yuan Kui Xun Yu heard it clearly in the back, as Liu Wei's own person, he was quite dissatisfied with his uncle and Yuan Kui's hypocrisy and grievances, snakes and rats at both ends, and said righteously as soon as he came out: "Yuan's ambition is very strong, and it is the trouble of the henchmen of the Han Dynasty, why does my uncle still want friends with them?" ”

Xun Yu is more loyal to the Han than Xun Yu, and he still attaches more importance to the interests of the family, although he does not approve of having anything to do with the Yuan family, but he still thinks that the Yuan family is difficult to become a big weapon, hearing Xun Yu's words, without waiting for Xun Shuang to answer, Xun You replied instead of Xun Shuang: "The Yuan family seems to be strong, but in fact, the outside is strong and the middle is dry, and Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are not successful people." It's just that now they are in the limelight, and the court has not been able to get rid of them, and my uncle just wants to avoid their edge and think about the family. ”

Not putting eggs in one basket is the inherent method of the family, even if Xun Shuang is not optimistic about the Yuan family, but for the sake of the family, he will still leave a little more preparation. Xun Yu is also from a family, so he naturally understands the joints, and he can't help but stand still.

Yuan Kui, Yuan Ji's uncle and nephew, who left Xunshuang Mansion, sat in a carriage and rushed back to the mansion. Yuan Ji said to Yuan Kui dissatisfied: "Why is my uncle so accommodating to the Xun family? ”

Yuan Kui was silent and thoughtful. After a long time, Yuan Kui opened his mouth and said: "The Yingchuan Xun clan can produce many people, and it is even more famous among scholars. If it can be used by me, it will definitely be like a tiger with wings, and great things can be accomplished. Besides......"

Yuan Kui suddenly stopped talking, and Yuan Ji asked curiously, "Uncle, what's the matter?" ”

Yuan Kui didn't answer, but looked out of the carriage in silence. In fact, that incident was just based on some news chasing after the wind and shadows, as well as some speculations about this news. Yuan Kui wasn't sure if it was true. But if it is true, then the world may change with it!

To be continued, stay tuned for the next chapter.