A cart and two horses turned into an alley from the wide street, and followed the alley until the end of the alley, and then the carriage and horses slowly stopped.

Zhou Cijing knew that he had arrived at the door of the official residence of this imperial court official who was highly valued even by King Youyan, and leaned out half of his body to look around, but saw that it was just an ordinary vermilion lacquered wooden door that was not big or small, and was inconspicuous, and he couldn't help but be a little angry: "I said He Jiu, what kind of place is this?" Don't tell me you're on the wrong track! ”

He Jiugong hurriedly said: "Boss, you be quiet, first look at the two stone lions by the door." ”

It turned out that according to the Han system, only the front of the official palace could be guarded by a stone lion.

There is no regulation on the size of the lion, it is just that if the door is wide, a large one will be placed, and if there is no money, a small one will be put in, but the bell carved on the lion's chest is very particular. The stone lion in front of the door of the Qipin official's mansion can carve a bell, and every time the official's grade increases, the lion at the door of his house can wear one more.

Zhou Cijing thought in his heart that Lord Liu was a fifth-grade official in the Ministry of Officials Wenxuan Shilang who wanted to meet, and the lion at his door could wear five bells. However, at the door of the house in front of the house, the lion, which was only three feet high, wore a large string of bells on his chest.

Zhou Cijing counted several times before he counted the bells, no more, no less, exactly thirteen - this is the "Thirteen Taibao" that only officials of the first grade are qualified to place in front of the mansion.

Zhou Cijing's mind was rapidly calculating-the six Shangshu were the officials of the third grade; The left and right written decrees that are qualified to draft the decree are from the second grade; Even the prime minister who commands hundreds of officials is "just" just a second grade; To say that the first-class master is nothing more than a few princes and princes in Beijing......

Zhou Cijing seemed to have an answer in his heart, staggered and almost rolled off the carriage, walked up to Qiu Yizhi with his legs and feet extremely uncomfortable, and asked, "The virtuous nephew is going to visit the third prince of the first emperor, Prince Heluo?" ”

Qiu Yizhi had already dismounted and stood aside, and when he heard Zhou Cijing ask, he replied: "Uncle guessed wrong, after my father-in-law asked me to enter Beijing, the first person to visit was Prime Minister Yang. ”

"Oh-" Zhou Cijing came to his senses as if he had been empowered.

The "Yang Lao Prime Minister" in the mouth of Qiu Yi is the old Prime Minister Yang Yuanzhi who went home three years ago, he assisted three emperors, was the prime minister of the two dynasties, and was the teacher of today's saints, and was awarded the title of "Taishi" as a civil official, of course, you can place the best stone lion known as the "Thirteen Taibao" in front of your home. Although this old Prime Minister Yang is retired at home, but his protégés and former officials are all over the government and the opposition, if he is willing to open his golden mouth, then the trivial matter of donating a district member is naturally a sure thing, and it will be a matter of course.

So Zhou Cijing carefully tidied up his clothes, walked to the door, held the knocker in his hand as if he was afraid of breaking the wooden door, knocked on the door a few times very gently, and then shrank to the side of the door and waited quietly.

When he waited, a crack opened in the wooden door, and a face that looked to be forty or fifty years old poked out of the crack, and his voice trembled slightly: "Who is it?" ”

Zhou Cijing hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Zhou Cijing, a grass citizen, came to meet Prime Minister Yang." ”

The half-old man in the door raised his triangular eyes, and said weakly: "What Zhou Cijing, I haven't heard of it, you can go back." "It's going to be closed.

Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi stepped to the door with an arrow, handed in a palm-sized object through the crack in the door, and said: "When the old minister sees this thing, he will bend down to meet us and others, and Uncle Lao has taken a few more steps." ”

The janitor took the thing, rubbed it twice, and looked the young man in front of him up and down several times, and then said, "I know, you can wait here for a while." After saying that, he re-imprisoned the door, turned around and left.

Zhou Cijing sighed and said: "It is said that the prime minister's family is a seven-grade official, which is really true." ”

He Jiugong echoed: "The king of Hades is easy to see, but the little ghost is difficult to pick. The people below rely on the power of their masters, and there are more people who are powerful outside......" When he said this, he remembered that he was also a fox and a fake tiger waiter, and quickly closed his mouth.

After a short time, the door finally opened, and the half-old man walked out of the door, and returned the object he had just received to Qiu Yizhi very respectfully, and said: "My old master invited the son into the study to talk about it." ”

Zhou Cijing peeked at that thing, it turned out to be a piece of four or five inches square jade, dark in color and without the slightest flaw, only in the upper right corner with gold paint written a row of fly-headed small letters, and when I looked at it, it was the words "Han Youyan King Marshal Zheng".

Zhou Cijing was stunned, only to know that this thing was the name of Zheng Rong, the king of Youyan, with it, even the palace could enter, and the face was naturally much greater than his own.

Zhou Cijing was in a daze, and Qiu Yizhi had already walked into the door with the door, so he hurriedly followed. Unexpectedly, the man turned his head to look at him, and said, "This gentleman, please stay, wait a while, and someone else will invite you to rest and have tea in the lower hall." ”

Only then did Zhou Cijing know that this half-old disciple regarded himself as an entourage like Zhao Chengxiao and He Jiugong. He is the head of the Zhou family, a big businessman, and he has always been arrogant to those shopkeepers, darts heads, and stewards, and now he has suffered this humiliation, and his chest is already angry, but he can't attack, his face is blue for a while, and he stands in place for a while.

It was still Qiu Yizhi who said to the gatekeeper: "This Zhou official is under the ...... It is the elders below, can you go with the next to visit the old minister? ”

The man glanced at Zhou Cijing again, and said indispensably: "Then go with the villain." ”

Zhou Cijing finally found a step, and hurriedly took out a silver ingot from his sleeve, stuffed it into the doorman's hand, and said, "Then I will ask this old family member to lead the way." ”

I didn't think that this man didn't reach out to pick it up, but said: "Our Yang family doesn't accept bribes, this has been the rule for many years, and I ask this master not to look like this, it's hard to make a small one." ”

When Zhou Cijing heard this, his face was filled with embarrassment again, so he had to forcibly put the silver back in his sleeve, didn't dare to say more than half a word, and walked forward with his head down.

Although the lintel of Yang Yuanzhi's mansion is not big, there is a hole in the inside - there is no shortage of pavilions, small bridges and flowing water, and there is even a small pond in the middle of the courtyard. This is not that Yang Yuanzhi, the former prime minister of the extremely popular minister, lived an exaggerated and luxurious life, but that Xianzong, Shenzong, and the current three emperors continued to reward residences, which gradually formed today's scale.

Qiu Yizhi followed the door of Yang Mansion and walked a few steps, and saw a study room that was not large but very elegantly built, and there was an old man on crutches in front of the door of the study, slowly greeting him out. This old man's beard is white, his face is full of wrinkles, and although his steps are a little staggering, he is in good spirits, and his waist is quite stiff - needless to say, this is Yang Yuanzhi, the famous old prime minister in the government and the opposition.

Qiu Yi had already seen the identity of the old man at a glance, grabbed a few steps, and was about to bow down.

Yang Yuanzhi stretched out his right hand and said, "Son, please pay three buckles and nine bows to this plaque first." As he spoke, his eyes glowed with a deep gaze as he looked at a plaque hanging high at the main entrance of the study.

Qiu Yizhi followed the old man's gaze, and saw that the plaque made of ebony was written with the three big characters "Ruizhi Hall" written on it, and knew that the origin of this plaque must be extraordinary, so he obeyed Yang Yuanzhi's order, knelt down and bowed three times, and got up to repeat the above actions three times.

Youyan King Zheng Rong does not like to be polite, and the etiquette in the palace is also more casual, Qiu Yizhi only performs two deductions and six bows on the birthdays of Zheng Rong and his wife. After the end of this unfamiliar ceremony, he was already a little dizzy, and he calmed down slightly, but he heard Yang Yuanzhi say: "This plaque is given to the old decay by Emperor Xianzong's handwriting, and the civil and military officials, dragon sons and phoenix grandchildren have to perform three buckles and nine bows when they see the plaque. ”

"That's nature. Thanks to the old minister's reminder, otherwise the younger generation will commit the crime of disrespect. "Yang Yuanzhi has a good reputation inside and outside the court, and he is also the teacher of his father-in-law, Youyan Wang, even if he is arrogant and arrogant, he has to be restrained in front of him, "The old prime minister is highly respected and famous, and the younger generation can meet and listen to a few words of teaching, and it is inexhaustible to benefit from it in his life." Please be worshiped by the juniors. After that, he took a deep seat.

Yang Yuanzhi watched the completion of Qiu Yi's salute, and then said with a smile: "The old man's birthday is still a month later, why did Prince Youyan send someone to congratulate him so early?" I can't afford to be old enough to do this! ”

Yang Yuanzhi suddenly raised such a topic, and Qiu Yizhi was stunned, but he was an extremely shrewd person, and he reacted as soon as his eyes rolled, knowing that this was the old minister's rhetoric.

So he took the opportunity to say: "The prince often said to the younger generation that the old prime minister is not only a veteran of the court, but also a leader of the Hanlin Dynasty, and he also has a teacher-student friendship with the prince, so he sent the younger generation here to congratulate the old prime minister on his birthday in advance to show respect." After that, he took out the letter that Zheng Rong handed to him when he said goodbye that day, and said, "This is a gift list, and I invite the old prime minister to take a look." ”

Yang Yuanzhi took the envelope and didn't open it, but said: "Today is sunny and not very hot, the old man is deliberately boating on the lake, and he also asks the son to work hard and help the old man row a few times, okay?" ”

Qiu Yizhi heard him say this, and he didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in the gourd of the old prime minister, and he couldn't refute it, so he had to agree very politely: "The younger generation is willing to serve the old prime minister!" With that, he helped Yang Yuanzhi and slowly walked towards the lake.

After walking a few steps, Qiu Yizhi remembered that Zhou Cijing, who came with him, had been left hanging aside for a while, and hurriedly said to Yang Yuanzhi: "This Zhou official is not only the elder of the younger generation, but also a friend of the prince Youyan. ”

Yang Yuanzhi was called by Qiu Yi's "old prime minister", and said: "Since you are a friend of the prince, you can't be lazy, but this ship is still small and can't sit three people." Then invite Zhou Daguan to drink tea in the middle hall first, play with the old decay, and then come to socialize, I don't know if it's okay? ”

Although Zhou Cijing has also seen the world, he originally planned to enter Beijing to ask for an official from Hubu Langzhong, or even rely on the power of King Youyan to see which of the six departments of the squire or Shangshu, but he didn't expect that he hadn't sucked in the air of Luoyang, the capital master, so he stepped into the mansion of Yang Yuanzhi, the old prime minister of Taishan Beidou, who was like Taishan Beidou. When he heard Yang Laocheng ask him personally, he felt dizzy in his head, and he didn't know what he answered, so he followed Fang Cai's door and walked away.