Although it is said that the Xu family has long been thin, and Xu Liang was originally muttered behind the back of many side branches of the clan, but now seeing that Xu Xun's momentum is like Zhongtian, he has also been named an earl, and this night, a big banquet was held in the Xing'an Mansion, and there were many Xu Liang or Xu clan people who had heard or had not heard of it to congratulate.

In this kind of festive day, he didn't bother to care so much, so he ordered the head to be invited to the table. And because Xu Guangzuo, the Duke of Dingguo, Zhang Mao, the British Duke and so on, all came with a lot of children and nephews, and the first ten tables in front of Xu Yu were all full. The officers of the avant-garde of the government army, large and small, who followed closely behind, had to fill seven or eight tables in an instant, and even the last two tables, which were originally only reserved for emergencies, also occupied a table with the arrival of a group of civilian officials and scholars.

The first to come were Xu Zhenqing and Wen Zhengming Zhu Zhishan, followed by Wang Shouren and Zhan Ruoshui, who had just returned from Juyong Pass, and what made Xu Xun a little unexpected was that Zhang Cai actually came in person, and the congratulatory gift was a painting of Wang Changling's song "Out of the Stopper" in the Tang Dynasty that he wrote by himself. Among the many precious gifts, Xu Xun personally unfolded this scroll, and after admiring the words and phrases of the dragon flying and phoenix dancing for a while, he suddenly called Jin Liu over with a smile.

"Hang this in the main hall!"

Even though the Xing'an Bo Mansion has been silent for a long time, but after all, it is difficult to be honored, in this huge mansion, celebrity calligraphy and painting abound, among which the plaque of the main hall is the imperial pen of Zhu Di, the emperor of Yongle, and there are a lot of famous ink treasures such as Sanyang himself. Zhang Cai is now just a member of the Wenxuan Division of the Ministry of Officials, and Xu Xun actually ordered the words he sent to be hung in the main hall, which suddenly made Zhang Cai's face show an unconcealable excitement.

"In the Qin period, the bright moon and the Han period, the Long March has not been returned. But to make the dragon city fly will not teach Humadu Yin Mountain. ”

Wang Shouren, who sat down first, gently recited these four impassioned seven unique sentences, and finally couldn't help sighing: "It would be good if the bosses in the court and the middle of the court also thought the same." ”

Zhan Ruoshui saw that Wang Shouren was stupid again, smiled and didn't open his mouth to persuade him, but looked at Xu Zhenqing, who was also a Hanlin Shujishi with him, and said: "Today, the Hanlin Academy is not empty, I don't know what excuse Changgu is looking for to ask for leave?" ”

Hanlin Shuji Shi needs to be taught by a special person in the Hanlin Academy for three years, during which he is given three days off every month, and he is not allowed to go out without permission. At this moment, Xu Zhenqing heard Zhan Ruoshui ask, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "It's useless to make any excuses...... Lord Xu has a great kindness to me, so I directly said to Master Liu, the head of the college, and I came with my friends to congratulate Master Xu! ”

"Haha, you're honest!" Zhan Ruoshui couldn't help but smile, and then smiled, "To be honest, I was a little hesitant, and I just went to pick up Wang Bo'an, he said that if I think about it, I won't go back to Hanlin Courtyard to sell the fake, I will come directly after cutting first!" In any case, Lord Xu was knighted because of the great victory of Zheng'er Bajing, which is a gratifying thing. ”

"What's the first cut and then the play?" With this abrupt voice, a figure suddenly appeared behind Zhan Ruoshui. Wang Shouren looked back in amazement, and when he saw a young man with a strange face, he couldn't help but ask, "......Who is this brother Ren?"

"It turned out to be Yan Weizhong, I didn't expect you to come too!"

Zhan Ruoshui immediately recognized Yan Songlai, who was also a Hanlin Shuji with Xu Zhenqing, and immediately got up and said hello with a smile, and Xu Zhenqing also got up together to salute. After such a group of people met each other, before they could sit down, Xu Xun came forward with a small red wine cup from Xuande kiln, and for a while, everyone had to congratulate him for a while, such as Wang Shouren, who was familiar with Xu Xun, and immediately poured his wine without saying a word.

"It's all your adventure, and I tried my best to arrange it in Juyongguan, but I didn't see a Tartar, which made me complain for a while. Do you think you should be punished? ”

"Okay, okay, I should be punished, I'll punish myself for three cups, right?"

The seats were full of civil officials and scholars, naturally no more ferocious than the tables just now, and Xu Xun naturally simply accepted the punishment. Sure enough, after three cups, no one came to persuade him to drink, so he took the opportunity to smile and say a few words to everyone one by one. Although he expected that Xu Zhenqing and others might come today, he really didn't expect Wang Shouren to return to Beijing so coincidentally, and he also brought a Zhan Ruoshui. And Zhang Cai's arrival is even more unexpected, but if you think about people's bullish temper, it is easy to explain, it is nothing more than working against those noisy voices. However, Yan Song actually came to join in this kind of fun, he really didn't know what to say.

"The scholar's style is not the same as the crowd, I'm just one who came to join in the fun!" Yan Song generously stood up and toasted Xu Xun with a glass, and after drinking it all, he said, "I would like to use this cup to salute Lord Xu's courage!" ”

"Okay, then I'll accept this kindness!"

Only those who have a first- or second-class official residence will be called by their hometown, and Yan Song's reputation is not obvious now, and he is far from being able to refer to himself by his hometown. Hearing Xu Xun call himself like this with drunkenness, Yan Song, who had only drunk one drink, couldn't help but show a hint of excitement on his face, but after thinking about it, it was still difficult to continue the conversation, and he sat down after owing. And Xu Xun saw Jin Liu waving to him not far away, so he apologized and said that he couldn't accompany him for a long time, but he didn't go far before he heard a burst of footsteps behind him, and when he looked again, it was Wang Shouren who caught up.

"Brother Bo'an?"

"Dingzhen, there is one thing I hold in my heart and don't vomit unpleasantly. Since you have great ambitions and have the courage to do great things, don't get too close to those eunuchs, and beware of ruining your reputation because of them! These people know that when they welcome the emperor, they dare to do any messy things, and the upright and outspoken people in the DPRK and China are all hated by gritted teeth, why do you want to get involved with them? ”

"It's not that I want to mingle with them, it's that in the eyes of some people, I'm born with them." Although he knew that Wang Shouren had good intentions, Xu Xun still had to wake him up and said, "Besides, eunuchs are not without bold and capable outstanding people, and among the literati, they are not necessarily open-minded true gentlemen, which has been the case since ancient times. ”

"Alas, I knew that you were more stubborn than I was!" Wang Shouren shook his head angrily, hesitated and hesitated, and then he said in a low voice, "When Zhan Yuanming came to look for me today, I had just arrived home, but I had already been called by my father to call for an order...... You be careful, according to my father's wishes, the master of ceremonies and the others have joined forces with the bosses. ”

There is no need for Wang Shouren to report this news, Xu Xun has already gotten the news, not to mention that he can guess it casually. But Wang Shouren's kindness was not ordinary after all, and he hurriedly thanked him sincerely. When the people returned to the table again, seven or eight people were talking and laughing, and he even wanted to call Xu Jing and Tang Yin out for a while, but thinking about this abrupt and swaggering, he pressed his mind again, and only turned around and strode to the corner gate, and Jin Liu couldn't wait to rush forward.

"Young Master, why have you been so long! Wang Gongzi is here, and Xie Da Sicheng of Guozijian is also coming! ”

Xu Xun was still annoyed by Jin Liu's complaining tone, but when he heard that Wang Shikun was also accompanied by Xie Duo, the priest of the country, he was stunned for a moment and immediately rushed out. When he arrived outside the gate, he saw Wang Shikun carefully supporting an old man with gray hair standing at the door, he hurriedly walked a few steps forward, but respectfully called Mr. Xie.

Although he waited at the door for a while, Xu Xun came in person, and when he arrived in front of him, he didn't mention the lord or official, and called himself Mr. again, Xie Duo's face showed a little smile. Seeing Xu Xun stretching out his hand to invite him in, he said casually: "I received a letter from Brother Demao before the reason, I should have seen you, but at that time, your affairs were in an uproar, I thought about waiting to take a look, and the result was good, not only did you not stop for a while, but one by one it was a big thing." Brother Demao said that you have a good character, I think he still doesn't know enough after all, you are really bold. ”

Seeing that Wang Shikun smiled at himself when he heard this, Xu Xun couldn't help but glare at the other party, and then said to Xie Duo with a smile: "What Mr. Xie said is that I myself feel that I am really reckless in doing things sometimes. However, sometimes the rise of the moment can't be stopped, which really makes you laugh. ”

"Sir is complimenting you, don't you hear?" Wang Shikun finally couldn't help but interject, and seeing that Xu Xun was dumbfounded for a while, he snorted lightly, "Mr. has been drunk with unprecedented joy since he heard the news of the big victory. Otherwise, even if you rely on your face today, you may not be able to invite Mr. over! ”

Wang Shikun's voice was so loud that Xu Xun's heart moved, and when he saw that people were full of energy, he knew in his heart that there must be good things, but he didn't want to ask too much at the moment. As soon as Xie Duo was invited inside, Wang Shouren and others, who had just arrived, saw that this famous Confucian had also come, and they all got up and saluted, and the news reached inside, even the British Duke Zhang Mao and Dingguo Duke Xu Guangzuo, who had originally elected the chief and second seats, also came out to meet each other, and after a good humble, Xie Duo sat down at the head table, only when he arrived, the avant-garde officers of the government army, who were originally a little noisy, suddenly quieted down.

And Xu Xun only accompanied him for a while, then quietly left the table, and asked people to call Wang Shikun out. As soon as the two sides looked at each other, he said with a smile: "Prince Wang, I haven't seen you since I returned to Beijing, where have you gone?" ”

"Escape? You have at least made the Earl in a beautiful way, and pity me for copying the book for a month for my husband! complained in his mouth, but Wang Shikun's face was full of eyebrows, "There are many rare books, that is, Mr.'s house has a complete collection of books, I can be regarded as knowledgeable...... Hey, don't talk nonsense with you, Mr. agreed to concurrently serve as a bachelor of Hongwen Pavilion, and now a number of Hanlin have been gathered, which are the mainstays of the future. If you hadn't won, Mr. wouldn't have agreed! ”

Knowing that Xie Duo had agreed to go out of the Hongwen Pavilion, Xu Xun's eyelids jumped, and then he suddenly asked, "What about yourself?" ”

"Myself? What's wrong with me...... Wang Shikun originally wanted to sell Guanzi, but it can be seen that Xu Xun clearly didn't intend to let him go, so he said with a smile, "Mr. thinks that I have a good character and do things carefully, I heard that I am not married yet, so I plan to keep a big match, I have already asked people to go to Jinling to ask for my father's intentions!" ”

"Oh, which daughter is it?"

"It's the young niece of Mr.'s in-laws, and she has both good looks!"

You beast!

Xu Xun almost blurted out, but in all fairness, he was more happy for Wang Shikun. Thinking that he and Wang Shikun didn't know each other at the beginning, he borrowed Fu Rong's momentum, and very much provoked Wang Shikun to wade into troubled waters with him, but after arriving in the capital, Wang Shikun, who lacked a small foundation in martial affairs, was less useful, but he didn't want the east to be bright and the west to be bright, so he cast Xie Duo's eyes. So, when he gave Wang Shikun a punch in the chest, he smiled and said: "Don't talk about your father, even if your eldest sister knows about this, she must be very happy." ”

"That is, when the eldest sister sees me again in the future, she won't pick her nose and eyes!" Wang Shikun smiled triumphantly, but then his face drooped, "However, Mr. Xie said, after getting married, let my brother-in-law first ensure that I will study in the capital for a few years and accept the surname, and then let me take the exam." ”

What this test refers to, Xu Xun can guess with his toes. Therefore, seeing Wang Shikun's painful and happy appearance, thinking that he still said to himself that he had no hope of studying, but he must find a famous teacher for his son in the future, he couldn't help laughing: "You still expect your son to be successful, and now it seems that you have to count on your own success to pave the way for your son!" It doesn't matter, Xiucai can be tested every year, there will be a township test the year after the exam, and the year after the big year is the Ministry of Rites will take the test, if you are really lucky, you will be able to title the gold list in the year after tomorrow, and don't forget to put on a table of more than ten or twenty like me, I will congratulate you! ”

"Bah, what do you think this Jinshi is, and it's not that you, the bold Xu kills people like chopping vegetables!"

Wang Shikun scolded, knowing in his heart that if he had been able to follow Xu Xun to Xuanfu with one heart before, he would not be able to say anything about being promoted to three levels now. However, Xu Yanche and Qi Jiliang, who had followed out of Beijing before, stayed in Xuanfu, and even the twenty young soldiers were no exception, even if he followed, it was estimated that he did not have such a great determination to dare to fight with his life. is also the only son in the family, why is Xu Xun so bold?

"It's okay, a famous teacher is a high apprentice, even if you look at your name as a famous teacher, as long as you raise the level of eight shares, I am sure that no one will dare to brush your name down, and once you get through the Ministry of Rites test, the emperor will already write it down with your name, and I am afraid that the emperor will not be perfect?" Xu Xun said with a smile, and when he saw that Wang Shikun really said to himself, he patted the person's shoulder, "All in all, I will tell the emperor tomorrow that the prince has changed his ways, and everyone is waiting for your good news!" ”

"Thank you so much...... Hey, what to change the evil and return to the right, I can have you evil again! ”

After the two joked with each other for a while, one of them was not good to escape for too long as the master of today, and the other had to go back to take good care of Xie Duo, so they returned to their respective tables. Naturally, Xu Xun had to be fined more than a dozen glasses in a row. He was already a little drunk, and his face was as red as a boiled shrimp, and after he staggered to his feet, he raised the wine cup in his hand.

"Xiongguan Mandao is really like iron, and now we are stepping forward from the beginning! Today, I can't repay your kindness, so I drank this cup again! After drinking it all, he put down the wine glass with a full stomach of wine, and then said word by word, "I have today, thanks to the emperor's holy grace, all fathers, relatives, and friends to help each other!" From now on, I hope that you will continue to be the same, and I have nothing to say, but to repay you with sincerity! ”

Everyone thought that Xu Xun said this to demonstrate, but at the end of hearing this, he realized that it was actually a promise - there were promises to the lords and nobles, there were also promises to the robes in the army, and there were even promises like promises from friends and relatives - but when everyone heard this, their perceptions in their hearts were very different. A person like Qian Ning, who suddenly rose up, believed Xu Xun's words in his heart.

For his own people, Xu Xun is indeed too good to say!

And the few civil servants, most of them are chewing on the first two words. And Wang Shikun set off from Jinling and Xu Xun to the capital, and naturally knew his past well, and just returned to the table by Zhu Zhishan Wen Zhengming, who was at the same table, he was punished several glasses, so he said with the intention of drinking: "These two sentences are said to have been written by an old scholar who taught Xiao Xu back then. When he was in Jinling, he was still a child of the Xu family in Taipingli, and the long house coveted his family's property, and it happened that the sixth master of the sixth room was successfully added to the official ......"

Wang Shikun was very eloquent, and told the strange case in Jinling again in front of everyone, during which he was fined a few glasses of wine for selling Guanzi, and then said with a smile: "At that time, all the adults of Ying Tianfu felt that they could write such high-spirited words, and the old pedant who taught Xiao Xu must be extraordinary, but if you want me to say, whether there is such a person, I'm afraid only Xiao Xu knows." ”

Others only thought that Wang Shikun was joking with alcohol, but Xie Duo, who knew his surname well, was not at this table, so Zhang Cai on the side couldn't help but ask: "Why did Wang Gongzi say this?" ”

"Xiao Xu has always been a person who hides deeply, but do you know that he didn't write this word in the first place?" Wang Shikun narrowed his eyes with a smile, stretched out his index finger and shook it again, "Just like those adults in Jinling now, who would have guessed that he would be able to reach the current point when he entered the capital?" Therefore, people can't be good-looking, the sea can't fight, he has enough righteous brains, and the most important thing is not to pit his own people! It's not like some people who call you brothers and sisters in person, and stab you in the back without discussion! ”

Seeing that he came at the latest, his face was red, obviously drunk, everyone laughed, but they couldn't help but have their own thoughts in their hearts. It wasn't until after the curfew that the banquet came to an end. However, when everyone was about to disperse, Zhang Yong came to the door and sent a troupe, saying that it was the emperor's reward, but said that the emperor had a word first, and he hurried away without letting Xu Xun thank him.

With such a reason, it was lively for more than an hour, except for Zhan Ruoshui Xu Zhenqing and Yan Song of Hanlin Shujishi, who had to go back, everyone else stayed to see the difference between the Yuci troupe, and by the time Xu Xun drank the sobering soup and cheered up to the door to send off the guests one by one, it was already past Haizheng. Fortunately, there was no early court, so you don't have to get up early, and you can go back to sleep peacefully.

There were too many guests today, and even though it was a table set by the restaurant, it was still very busy from the kitchen to the tea room. Fortunately, everyone knows that the Xu family has not yet had a hostess, and the female dependents will not come to the door rashly, which saves a lot of trouble. Even so, Zhu Ying and Jin Liu's sister-in-law still led the servants and girls to be busy, the housekeeper Liu An's voice was hoarse, and Jin Liu's feet were floating and soft, not to mention other men and women who had not entertained so many guests for many years.

The guests were all delivered, and when they were busy cleaning up, Xu Xun passed the word that the steward would each be rewarded with ten taels of silver, and the steward and the following would be rewarded with five taels of silver, and everyone was happy for a while. And Liu An, Jin Liu, and so on were all red paper awards, Jin Liu took a heavy letter back to the room and opened it, and the mouth immediately turned up completely, especially when the daughter-in-law also flashed into the room with the same thing, his mouth smiled even more.

Twenty taels for one person, that's a full forty taels of silver, enough for three years of expenses for a medium family!

The flowing water on the table, the generous rewards, and the rewards Xu Xun got today were all cleaned before they were gone. However, he didn't feel the slightest distress. He can be regarded as a person who is used to losing his family, once the wealth of his family was scattered and Zhao Qin's bamboo basket was empty, but now he goes out of course he doesn't care about it. Because he drank too much at night, he rested on the bamboo couch in the courtyard to cool off, looked at the waning moon in the sky without blinking, and muttered to himself for a while.

"As soon as the waning moon ends, it's August......"

"Young Master!"

With this voice, Xu Xun raised his eyes to look, but found that it was Zhu Ying, who was holding a small box in his hand, who entered the door generously, so he nodded slightly. After Zhu Ying stepped forward and saluted, she presented the small box with both hands and said: "This is a congratulatory gift sent by Li Qianhu, the Fusi of Jinyi Weibei Town, just now, and it was just sent to the West Corner Gate, and he left without saying a word." ”

"Oh, put it down, I see."

Seeing that Zhu Ying was gone, Xu Xun went to get the box on the small table on the side. What happened to Li Yifeng that day, Jin Liu cleverly took precautions, and the insiders up and down were smart and kept silent and did not spread the rumors, so most people still thought that because the emperor had intended to let him take charge of Jinyiwei before, there was a rift between him and Ye Guang and Li Yifeng. Today, everyone came to congratulate him, and Li Yifeng only asked people to give a gift on this big night, which is proof of this.

However, when he opened the box and took out the thin piece of paper inside, Xu Xun just glanced at it, and a deep smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. It's such a piece of paper, compared to those painstaking gifts, is what he really wants!

Today, of course, he is in the limelight because of his knighthood, but there are two other people who have become the target of public criticism at the same court, that is, Ma Wensheng and Zhang Cai. I didn't expect that the old and the young of their ministry would make such a big turmoil, the former still has the reputation of the elders of the Five Dynasties, but the latter is in great trouble. Fortunately, Li Yifeng was reliable in doing things after all, and in just two days, he had already made a plan. Ma Wensheng and his little disgrace he didn't care about for a long time, but even if he made a move, the old man would not appreciate it, but Zhang Cai could take the opportunity to pull again!

(To be continued)