One, two, one, the flowers are as white as a ping

said goodbye to the boss, and as soon as he went out, Sun Yuanqi saw Lao Zheng and Lao Zhao standing together, and felt strange: when he was at school just now, Lao Zhao also said that he met him, how did he arrive in the capital in a blink of an eye? Could it be that there is something going on at school?

He immediately asked, "Lao Zheng, when did you enter the city?" What's the matter? ”

Before Lao Zheng could answer, Lao Zhao preemptively said: "Lao Zheng came in front of the master, saying that he was in the city to rent a sedan chair for the master." ”

Only then did Sun Yuanqi see a sedan chair with a green cover and a green curtain parked under the shade of a tree on the side of the road. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the sedan chair was divided into a cool sedan chair and a warm sedan chair, which were used in different seasons. The sedan chair is used in summer, the sedan body is relatively large, the yarn is used as a curtain, light and fast, ventilated and cool; The warm sedan car is used in winter, the sedan body is larger, the thick tweed is used as a curtain, the door curtain is hung in front, and the brazier is placed in the sedan car. Now what Sun Yuanqi sees is a sedan chair.

On the side of the sedan chair, there are two middle-aged husbands, who are supposed to carry the sedan chair.

He was a lively young man, but he had to be carried by two middle-aged sedan chair men, which really made Sun Yuanqi feel a little uncomfortable, so he said, "Don't we have a carriage?" How to rent a sedan chair again"

Lao Zheng said: "The master doesn't know anything. In the capital, civil officials have always had to take a sedan chair to go to the yamen. If it's a carriage, then it's out of order, and it's going to make people gossip."

In the eyes of Lao Zhao and Lao Zhao, it is completely blood that can be shed, heads can be broken, and the rules cannot be messed up.

"And this rule?" Sun Yuanqi didn't believe it.

Lao Zheng smiled: "Of course." There are many rules for this sedan chair, it is also this sedan chair, like the old lady, it is a big man, the top of the sedan chair is silver, and the outside is covered with a soap-colored cover, and the sedan chair driver can use four people in the capital; And the lord you are from the fourth grade, the top can only be tin, the cover is a cyan cover, in the capital sedan chair can use two people. There is no mistake in this, and if it is wrong, it is trespassing."

Seeing that Sun Yuanqi frowned and didn't speak, Lao Zheng thought that Sun Yuanqi disliked the sedan chair, so he explained: "Master doesn't have to care. There is a saying in the capital, 'Once washed through the ages, you can't make up summer.' That is to say, the Hanlin official is the fastest to be promoted. Like the master, you are a bachelor, within three years, if you don't enter the cabinet to be a bachelor in Beijing, you will be transferred to the ministry hall and the Beijing hall; If it is released, a provincial school administration will not be able to escape. You must know that most of my Zaifu in the Qing Dynasty have been Hanlin officials; It is the six ministries and nine qing, the feudal officials, and most of them are from Hanlin. Therefore, sir, you will inevitably sit in a four-lift sedan chair within ten years."

Sun Yuan said in his heart: I'm not thinking about the sedan chair. Besides, within ten years? There are still six years left in Daqing at most, and you will have to burp and catch a cold

Since you have rented a sedan chair, you will have the right to use it again tomorrow Sun Yuanqi thought. So he said: "Lao Zheng, you let them go back first, we will carry the sedan chair, and we will use it tomorrow morning." ”

Lao Zhao also said: "Yes, we brought eight people, even if we use it again, it is enough."

Lao Zheng said: "This sedan chair is also learned, ordinary people can't carry it, for example, the footwork of the two sedan chair drivers must be the same, otherwise the person sitting in the sedan chair will be uncomfortable; Another example is to change shoulders when lifting a sedan chair, but you won't change your shoulders, and you have to rest for a while if you can't go far. Therefore, these few people we brought with us will not be able to be sedan chair drivers for a while. ”

Lao Zhao suddenly thought of a question: "Since the master will use a sedan chair in the future, do we also have to prepare one at home?" ”

Sun Yuan waved his hand: "Forget it." After ten days and half a month, I will only go to the yamen once, why do I need to spend so much trouble? ”

The next morning, Sun Yuanqi took a few academic journals, sat on the cyan sedan chair, and swayed to the yamen of the Hanlin Academy on Funan Street. Before getting off the sedan chair, Lao Zheng, who was accompanying him, had already stepped forward and shouted: "The attendant of the Hanlin Academy, Master Sun, has arrived."

The soldier guarding the door was stunned for a moment: Lord Sun? I didn't hear of such a person in the Hanlin Academy

Seeing Sun Yuanqi coming over in an official uniform, the soldiers hurriedly came over to say goodbye. Sun Yuanqi waited for them to get up, and said: "The big guy may not know me, so let me introduce myself first: My name is Sun Yuanqi, the word Baixi, a native of Huai'an, Jiangsu, half a year ago, I was just promoted to a bachelor's degree, and then I was ordered to go to the northwest on business, and today this is the first time to return to Yamen." Thank you for your continued care."

The soldiers were even more stunned: Huh? How come you are a bachelor at such a young age? are all bachelors, why don't they have a bit of an official stand? Could it be an imposter?

Although he was suspicious in his heart, the complement on the official uniform of the person clearly showed that the person in front of him was from the fourth grade as if he were fake. The soldiers didn't dare to slack off, after all, in the Hanlin Academy, in addition to the bachelors who rarely saw each other a few times a year, plus the three bachelors of the Manchu and Han dynasties, the official in front of them was counted. At the moment, he even said "don't dare".

Sun Yuanqi said again: "It's my first time here, and I'm not familiar with the inside of the yamen, so you can find someone to help me guide me."

The person who had already had a spirit stood up: "Huang Sanfu will lead the way for the master"

Sun Yuanqi followed this Huang Sanfu to the courtyard. There was no imaginary solemnity in the courtyard, nor the sound of Langlang reading, and there was silence everywhere. Am I here at a bad time and it's the weekend? Oh, and the Qing Dynasty yamen doesn't seem to use the day of the week. It is said that the Hanlin Academy does not need to be ordered every day, so everyone is absent from work to do private work?

Thinking of this, Sun Yuanqi asked in a low voice: "Huang Sanfu, who are the adults in the yamen today?" ”

Huang Sanfu said: "Back to the master's words, today I will serve the bachelor Master Xu and Master Yun, serve the master Weng, revise the old man Liu, edit the old man Wu, the old man Chen, and the old man Zhu are here." ”

"Then you lead me and visit them one by one first."

Huang Sanfu is really exquisite, so he didn't need to be specially instructed, so he led Sun Yuanqi to visit in accordance with the rules of the Hanlin Academy and according to the Dengke order. Among them, Xu Zexin, a bachelor, and Weng Binsun, both of whom were Jinshi in the third year of Guangxu (1877), were the earliest. According to the age, the son of Sun Yuanqi was only one year old when he was in Dengke

Sun Yuanqi went to the reading hall under the leadership of Huang Sanfu, and saw two middle-aged and elderly people carefully exploring a few pieces of black paper. After receiving the famous thorn sent by Huang Sanfu, the younger Weng Binsun took a general look, and then beckoned: "Come here, come over Baixi and take a look, do you say this rubbing of "Crane Ming" in the previous book of Shui Qian is true?" ”

As for Xu Zexin, who is in his fifties, he didn't even raise his eyelids, and he was still looking at the black paper.

Sun Yuanqi entered the house and called out respectfully: "Meet Senior Xu, Senior Weng"

"Are you proficient in the study of gold and stone?" Xu Zexin spoke at this time.

“…… I don't understand" Before he went to Gansu to meet Ye Changchi, Sun Yuanqi didn't know that there was still this kind of knowledge in the world.

Zexin didn't speak anymore, just gestured with his hand to the handwriting on the rubbing, carefully figuring out the meaning of the strokes.

Weng Binsun pointed to the word "heavy" on the rubbing and said: "Brother Xu, my brother remembers the Ming tuo book hidden by Duantao Zhai, and the pen at the end of this word seems to be undamaged. Half of this has been desilted and is barely recognizable. From this point of view, it's probably not appropriate to say that it is a water front book, right? My brother thinks it's Xibei goods."

"Otherwise, Brother Xian, you look at the word 'Xiang' and the word 'Sui', the left half is far more than the extension during the Kangxi period, at least it was expanded in the Ming Dynasty. It's too early to say it's a fake, right? Xu Zexin's fingers are still sketching.

Their words were like Chinese students who suddenly broke into a quantum mechanics class, and they could understand every word, and they didn't know what every sentence meant. After sitting for a while, Sun Yuanqi quickly got up and said goodbye. The two of them did not force any longer, still engrossed in studying the shabby and black pages of paper.

Immediately afterwards, Sun Yuanqi went to visit Yun Yuding, a bachelor named in the gold list in the fifteenth year of Guangxu (1889). After asking a few words, he picked up the scroll again, and Sun Yuan withdrew with interest.

As for Chen Botao and Wu Shijian, who entered the branch in the eighteenth year of Guangxu (1892), the two were playing chess in the Yingzhou Pavilion, and the situation had entered a white-hot mid-game fight. "A true gentleman who doesn't say anything about chess", Sun Yuanqi glanced at it a few times, and after saying that he didn't know anything about Go, he put down his famous thorn and left.

Finally, I saw last year's champion Liu Chunlin and Zhu Ruzhen. One of them was frowning and thinking, and the other was walking around the room restlessly. Huang Sanfu naturally understood what was going on: "The two masters are chanting poems in rhyme"

Sun Yuanqi didn't dare to disturb, put the famous thorn on the case at the door, and asked Huang Sanfu to find a secluded place for himself to read the magazines he brought. I had already made up my mind: by noon, I would lift my legs and leave

I haven't finished reading a magazine yet, and see if the sun is already overhead. Sun Yuanqi stretched and got up to go back. As soon as he left the house, he collided head-on with a person. When you look closely, who else can Liu Chunlin be if it is not the champion? followed by Zhu Ruzhen, the leader of the list.

Sun Yuanqi hurriedly bowed his hand: "Brother Liu, Brother Zhu, Brother Sun Yuanqi is polite, I went to visit you just now, and I saw that the two of you were chanting poems, so I didn't bother." I hope you will forgive me."

Liu Chunlin said with a smile: "It's rude that we also hope that Lord Sun will have a lot of Haihan."

Zhu Ruzhen said: "Come to think of it, you are the new waiter Master Sun, right?" I heard that Master Sun is the first overseas graduate of my Qing Dynasty to be born as a scholar and appointed to the Hanlin Academy, and I have admired him for a long time, and it is really a blessing to see him today."

Why does this sound a little weird? Sun Yuanqi read the boss's entrustment, and said with a smile on his face: "The two of them were born in the first class, but they are also very envious."

"Since everyone admires each other, why don't we find a time to get together?" Liu Chunlin proposed, "After all, they are all colleagues, and they should communicate with each other, and it is inevitable that there will be places to borrow in the future." ”

Zhu Ruzhen stroked his palms and smiled: "Why bother to find another time? It's better to choose a day than to hit the day, I think it's noon today."

"Lord Sun will be fine, right?" Liu Chunlin said.

Sun Yuanqi had already smelled a hint of conspiracy, and just wanted to say "something". Zhu Ruzhen replied disdainfully: "Brother Liu's words are wrong, you think, who will come to the yamen if something happens?" ”

"......" Sun Yuanqi had no choice but to swallow the word "something" back into his stomach.

"Look, Lord Sun didn't object, did he? That's good, Brother Liu, you accompany Master Sun, I'll call the others, let's Guangheju at noon today."