After a busy day in Xiyuan, there was nothing to do on the second day, and Wu Jie went to the teahouse as usual.

This tea house is elegant and chic, and it is already the favorite place for scholars in Beijing to take exams, and you can get a lot of useful information here.

Juren was the most basic component of the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty, and in many cases represented the will of the state and the guidance of public opinion.

Just before the Spring Festival, the most talked about by the scholars was the future Jinshi examination.

However, the grace of the wind and snow is also essential.

The gossip has grown wings, and after coming to the Ming Dynasty for so long, Wu Jie still hasn't figured out what the world relies on to spread information.

In just one day, the birthday banquet of the Li Mansion and the invitation of Caiyun to sing in the Mansion spread among the literati and writers in the capital.

Also invited was the new Oiran Xiangyue.

The old and new Oiran competed in the same field, no matter how you look at it, it is very lively and interesting.

When I heard the news that Caiyun was going to compete with Xiangyue, several scholars in the teahouse were all in the same place: "Caiyun, the former Oiran, I heard that it is already a yellow flower." Since her debut, she has heard calluses in her ears over and over those few tunes. How can it be compared to Xiangyue, there is a new song every ten days, and people are young. This time, he wants to make a comeback, isn't it self-inflicted? ”

The entertainment industry in ancient times was even more brutal than modern society.

Modern entertainers, even if there is a problem and the popularity drops, they can change their path, if they can't sing, they can go to filming, and no one can watch the filming, and they can also act in sketches. It's really not good, it's also a way to be a host on a few shows.

But the Qing people in the Fengyue Field, once they fall, it is much more difficult to get up again. No way, the plate of the entertainment industry is so big. New people are emerging every year, and the level of competition is not what modern people can imagine.

Qing people generally debuted at the age of fourteen or fifteen, and at most they had to retire at the age of eighteen, and their artistic life was only three or five years. But as long as they win the name of Oiran, many people choose to marry a good housewife at the most glorious time after obtaining a certain amount of wealth, which is the destination they should have.

Since Caiyun was deprived of the title of Oiran by Xiangyue, the court has gradually fallen into the cold, and it has reached the point where no one cares. Many people think that this former top brand of Fengyue Field has married in obscurity, but she doesn't want to suddenly kill a horse gun now, and will attend an important occasion like the birthday banquet of Li Mansion, does she think that she still has the strength to fight with the Xiangyue girl who is like Zhongtian?

Where does her confidence come from?

This has to make people curious.

Entering the Qinglou Chu Pavilion to have fun, ordinary people, peddlers and pawns pay attention to the hue, as long as the female plate is right, the figure is good, and the price is cheap, it is purely a kind of venting.

Speaking of which, in this era, those who can read, gain fame and be qualified to be officials, who are not children of rich and noble families. Although the imperial examination is open to the whole society, it is the only upward passage for the lower classes. It can be constrained by the economic base, and has evolved into a pure elite tour.

The rules and preferences of social elites are naturally different from those of ordinary people.

There is no shortage of women among the scholars, who doesn't have three or five beautiful wives and concubines?

For them, entering the Qinglou is nothing more than an elegant cultural activity. The quality requirements for the women inside are also high. First of all, you have to have a very high level of education, at least not lose to a talent, so that you can talk about a common language.

Therefore, this competition between Caiyun and Xiangyue, ordinary people are just watching a lively event, but for the scholars, it is undoubtedly a cultural event.

The reason why Xiangyue's recent story is so popular is because there is the character of Xiaoge Lao behind him, supported by a new poem every ten days.

And Yan Shifan, relying on his young words and talent, has kept his father Yan Song from falling for twenty years, which is no secret in the market.

Really speaking, Xiao Ge Lao's talent can at least rank in the top two in this era, perhaps second only to Hu Zongxian's chief staff Xu Wenchang.

In recent years, Xu Qingteng has focused on the war in the southeast, and few new poems and new words have come out, and the entire Ming literary world is supported by the old man of Xiaoge.

Could it be that Caiyun has a new wonderful poem, so that he has the confidence to be with Xiaoge?

Xiao Ge Lao's poems are so exquisite, who in the world can compare?

It can't be that the seventh son of Jiajing took action in person, right?

But none of the seven sons are in the capital, and a few others have died. Even if they happen to be in Yanjing, they have the heart to make a move. But these people are all a handful of ages, and poetry actually has a lot to do with people's age.

The so-called juvenile feelings are all poems, but when they are middle-aged, they are good at planning the layout of the article, writing poetry reviews or romances. When you are old and your ability to innovate is insufficient, you can only write essays and eight shares.

Even if the seventh son has itchy hands to make poems for a while, I'm afraid that he won't be able to write anything new.

So, what's going on?

Countless conjectures made the entire capital Shilin boiling, and it was very lively.

At this moment, it is the spring season, and the city is full of people, and it can be said that the cultural elites of the entire Ming Dynasty have gathered here, and Yanjing has become a real cultural center.

is so lively, naturally I can't help but take a look, and many scholars have decided to go to Li Mansion to have a lively time.

There are seven guesses, and some people even guess that Xu Wenchang has returned to Yanjing.

But no one guessed Wu Jie.

The current Wu Festival is just a newcomer in the Ming cultural circle.

His fame only spreads in the Chengdu area, and he is not yet known.

On the day of the birthday banquet of the Li Mansion, Wu Jie took the invitation sticker and calmly walked into Li Li's home.

Speaking of Li Mansion, it is an old mansion, which is said to be the house of Guo Xun, the first powerful man in the early years of Jiajing.

Guo Xun is the twentieth grandson of Guo Ying, the founder of the country, who committed an accident in the twentieth year of Jiajing, was taken to Beiya and imprisoned for a year, and died of illness in prison.

After Guo Xun's death, all the family property was confiscated.

When Lao Guo was alive, his surname was greedy, and he bought a lot of family businesses in the city, and there were thousands of houses and shops alone.

After his house was raided, his house was given to King Yu by the emperor.

Later, the prince transferred this room to Li Wei, Li Li's father and son who came to Beijing for refuge, which was regarded as a place for Concubine Li's father and brother.

I have to say that this house is really big, and its scale is not much smaller than that of the Lu family, and it is also one of the best in the north of the city, which is full of powerful and wealthy families. It can be seen from this that Concubine Li's status in King Yu's mind and the degree of favor.

Speaking of which, Concubine Li's father and eldest brother didn't mix well before.

There was a rule in the Ming Dynasty that members of the royal family could not marry the powerful people in the court, so as to disrupt the government in front of their relatives.

Therefore, whether it is the emperor or the prince and the prince, most of the women married are ordinary women from good families. The official position of the woman's father cannot exceed that of the magistrate, and no matter how high it is, it will be brushed down.

Of course, there are exceptions.

Concubine Li's father, Li Wei, is just a famous person, and after the middle lift, he took the exam for more than ten years, and he couldn't get into the Jinshi even if he was dead or alive. Yes, because it has nothing to do with it, and I have never been an official.

As for her eldest brother, he hasn't read a book for a day, and he's just a gangster.

Such a family was just an ordinary squire's level in the Ming Dynasty, and the Li family was poor before, and the production in the field was barely enough to eat.

But just a few years ago, the Li family was running at the right time, and since Li Caifeng was selected as the concubine of King Yu, it has developed since then.

Up to now, Concubine Li is pregnant, according to the doctor of the Tai Hospital, she is a dragon species, and it is estimated that she will give birth before the Chinese New Year.

In this way, Concubine Li became more and more favored.

Because of the difficulties in his family's life, King Yu had new support, and specially granted Li Wei and Li Li an official position, and awarded many projects with oil and water to the future Guozhang and Guoshu.

The Li family has prospered ever since.

However, Li Li is a person who has suffered after all, unlike his father, after all, he is a scholar, and he also pays attention to the physique of a scholar. Doing things has always been rampant.

This time, I took the opportunity of my father's 60th birthday to invite the powerful people of the Manchu Dynasty all over the world, wanting to receive some benefits.

For the Li family's thoughts, Wu Jie naturally knew in his heart that this kind of [***] method was not uncommon in later generations. Back then, Yuan Shikai's son held a birthday banquet as soon as he was short of money, and he actually passed four birthdays in a year, and his skin was outrageously thick.

After all, the Li family still takes care of Concubine Li's face, so it won't be so excessive. However, the heads of the cabinet and the six ministries have not made a post.

Of course, most of the cabinet elders and the officials of the six departments laughed at the post and didn't take it to heart. It's just a relative, it's too affectionate, it's inevitable to be criticized, and if you don't get it right, you'll be impeached by the imperial envoy. Ignore it, the Li family father and son are very difficult to entangle.

Therefore, most of them sent their family members or protégés to run and give some gifts at will, mostly twenty or thirty taels of silver, which is a meaning.

Therefore, the Li family's abacus was wrong.

However, other people came to raise people uninvited, but they were generous, and the number of people was also large, adding hundreds of people together. One is to come to this cultural event.

Moreover, there is a grapevine that King Yu will come over in person, which is a good opportunity to climb the high branches! If you can talk to the prince, it will be very beneficial to your future career.

Once the prodigal son on the street finds out that the family is doing a red and white wedding, he will come to the door with a few dollars and a cup of tea and food, and mix a meal of wine and food.

Therefore, for the uninvited lifters, the Li family naturally welcomes them with an open door. Besides, these people are also generous, most of them are fifty taels of red envelopes, which makes the Li Mansion earn a lot of money.

Wu Jie has an official position and is generous, so he is naturally regarded as a guest.

The night was already falling, and the entire Li Mansion had a banquet, and for a while, life was boiling and flowers were blooming.

Wu Jie looked around, but didn't find Caiyun, and was a little anxious, so he walked towards the courtyard behind to see if he could see her.

(To be continued)