Jizhou, the capital of Chang'an...

At the end of September, the weather turned cooler, and Wang Xu went north to Chang'an with the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Located in the hinterland of Kyushu, Chang'an was the ancient capital of the Ten Thousand Dynasties and the political center of the Great Wu Dynasty.

There are palaces, cabinets, two courts, six ministries, five temples, nine eunuchs, and thirty-six divisions, and three people are thrown into a brick, two of them may be Beijing officials above the seventh grade, and the remaining one is also a relative of the emperor.

There are hundreds of poems about the wine of talented people, and there are princes and princes sleeping in the restaurant.

There are heroes who climb the wall, Lori who is waiting to be married, monks who walk the streets and alleys, and scholars who aspire to be marquis.

The theater is non-stop all day long, the oiran competes for incense, and the shed supported by the roadside may not be a place to drink tea but a casino, and the pawns of the peddlers who pick up firewood and sell their salaries will always have faster news than the government.

There is a tofu seller named Sai Xi Shi in the east of the city, who is actually an ugly girl who has not married in her thirties.

There is a Thanksgiving Temple in the west of the city, the monks in it wear gold and silver, and wear wigs at night, and they are the most bold in the green building.

There is a chess king in the south of the city, it is said that he plays with the sky and wins the sky, but no one has ever seen him play chess.

There are hundreds of large and small casinos in the north of the city, and most of the gamblers are military men and eunuchs.

This place is called Chang'an, and you can see princes and generals on the street, and you can see princes and vassal kings.

The one who plays marbles with the naughty boy on the side of the road may be the former Shousuke, and the fisherman who fishes by the river can also be the current uncle.

This is the foot of the Son of Heaven, if you love someone, please send him to Chang'an, where there are countless glory and wealth.

If you hate someone, please send him to Chang'an, this is a place where you are drunk and dream of death, and you don't believe in love, how many people's dreams are broken here.

"Chang'an, I'm here!"

Sitting in the carriage and looking at the majestic ancient city in front of him, Wang Xu couldn't help but smile.

This is Chang'an, and it is also the place where his dream began, where he will cultivate himself, build his family, govern the country, and level the world.

"It's Jinshan Mansion here, Young Master of the Wang Family?"

The carriage entered the city gate, and a servant dressed as a subordinate stopped Wang Xu's carriage.

Wang Xu lifted the curtain and asked, "Who are you?" ”

The person who came came up with a flattering face, nodded and said, "Little Lai San, the subordinate of the Xue Mansion, has been waiting for the son here for a long time." ”

"Oh, it turned out to be sent by the teacher."

Wang Xu nodded, and said, "What does the teacher command?" ”

Lai San stepped forward to hold the horse and replied, "My lord said, let the son go directly to the house, there is a place to live in the house." Even if you want to move out, you have to familiarize yourself with the place first, Chang'an is not as good as Jiangnan, where dragons and snakes are mixed, and if you are not careful, you will suffer a big loss. ”

Xue Mushan knew that Wang Xu would come, but he didn't know the specific date, Lai San had been here for five days.

According to Xue Mushan's meaning, he wanted Wang Xu to live in Xue's mansion, after all, Wang Xu was not familiar with this place, and no one would say anything if he lived in the teacher's mansion.

"Lead the way."

Wang Xu did not refuse, and directly asked Lai San to lead the way, but he couldn't live in Xue's mansion, and he had to discuss it with the teacher.

Along the way, Wang Xu and Lai San chatted, and the most asked questions were the owners in the mansion.

Xue Mushan is a northerner, born in a big family, and has a full family of descendants.

Unlike in Jiangnan, Xue Mushan in Jiangnan is a seclusion, alone, and there is no one around.

In Chang'an, he is an official, as the so-called seven-grade official in front of the prime minister, as a cabinet candidate, there will be no fewer people who come to defect.

With the chatter, Lai Sanzhi answered everything, and Wang Xu also had a general impression of the Xue Mansion.

Among the Xue Mansion, the biggest is of course Xue Mushan, followed by Xue Mushan's wife, Wang Xu's wife Jia.

The Jia family is also from a big family, and he is fifty-five in his sixties this year, and because of his advanced age, he is not very concerned now.

The person in charge of the Xue Mansion is the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xue family.

The second generation of the Xue family has two boys and three girls, the daughter has already married a wife, and among the two men, the eldest is in the Ministry of Rites as a member of the sixth grade, and the second is in the Inspectorate, serving as the capital of the seventh grade.

With the age of the two of them and the authority of Xue Mushan, the petty officials of the sixth and seventh grades are simply not worth mentioning.

It can be seen from here that the second generation of the Xue family is a little unlucky, and there is no one who can take the lead.

Otherwise, there is a father in the cabinet, and his son will not talk about his success, so he will have three or five grades.

The sixth-grade foreigner in his fifties and the seventh-grade in his forties are all in charge, and on the day he returns to his hometown, I am afraid that he may not be able to go to the fifth grade.

The third generation of the Xue family is also not very reliable, the old family has a year to stand, every year in the exam, every year to fail to lift people, the second family is simply a group of gentlemen.

The only good news is that the eldest girl of the second family of the Xue family was selected as a show girl three years ago, and this year because Xue Mushan successfully held a Wansuo banquet, she won the eyes of the queen mother and was mentioned to the position of Jiubin, and she was only one step away from being a concubine.

"Childe, you don't know, on the day of the Wansuo banquet, tens of thousands of people over sixty years old gathered in the capital to celebrate the birthday of the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother was very happy. The queen mother is happy, and the current saint is also happy, and he praises the old man for his neatness and neatness, and he is a capable minister! ”

Talking about the Wansuo banquet, Lai San's face was full of red light.

Speaking of which, Xue Mushan's position in the court is very embarrassing, as the third-in-command of the cabinet, there are the first assistant and the election assistant on it, saying that the manager can also manage things, and it is useless to say that it is useless.

In addition, as an important minister of the Zhu Party, he is not liked by the saints, and it is inevitable that he will be restrained over the years, and he will almost be an echo worm.

This time, the longevity banquet was held, so that the saint and the people celebrated together, and left a strong mark in the history books, and finally made a turnaround, and he could eat a few more bowls at dinner.

"It's not easy to be a teacher!"

Hearing Lai San's statement, Wang Xu couldn't imagine that Xue Mushan was embarrassed in the court.

Fortunately, he didn't have the idea of becoming an official in the court, otherwise Wang Xu would have a headache when he thought of the deceit in the court.

"Prince Wang, we've arrived."

Turning around, the carriage entered the northern city, and the Xue Mansion came into view.

Because the imperial palace is in the north of the city, most of the residences of dignitaries and nobles are concentrated in the north of the city.

The same is true of the Xue Mansion, the big red Zhu Gate, the two stone lions at the door, and the official style is coming to the face at a glance.

However, the official palace in Chang'an is magnificent, but the luxury is not as good as that of the Jiangnan scholars.

This is also inevitable, at the feet of the Son of Heaven, if you have money, you have to restrain it, otherwise it will be too wide to write a movable type on the door.

One day, someone in the palace will take a look, good guy, more luxurious than the palace, you must be a corrupt official.

Therefore, the mansions of the official eunuchs in Chang'an are generally not based on luxury, unless it is a house rewarded by the saints, otherwise the area will not be too large.

The same is true of Xue Mansion, the house is three in and three out, if you really want to compare, it is not as good as the Wang family of Jinshan Mansion.

There are not many people in the family, the east courtyard is the eldest son's, the west courtyard is the second son's, Xue Mushan and Jia's live in the backyard, the front yard is used to receive guests, and the vacancy rate is very low.

In the entire Xue Mansion, there are only dozens of people who are full of fights, and there is no singer and dancer.

On average, there are only two or three people waiting for the master of the Xue Mansion, you must know that in the big family in the south of the Yangtze River, a child who has not been weaned has to wait for seven or eight people, not counting the rough mother-in-law who carries water and sweeps the floor.

"The teacher is still as simple as ever."

Entering the Xue Mansion and looking at the scenery inside, Wang Xu said to Lai San with a smile.

Lai San replied again and again: "Today's saint is simple, and the master can't stand the luxury of the Shangjia family, otherwise the officials and the imperial historians should chew their tongues again." ”

Speaking of this, Lai San took Wang Xu to the living room, and while beckoning the maid to serve tea, he said: "The master has not come back yet, please wait for a while." ”

Wang Xu smiled slightly, bowed his head and drank tea without urging.

After half a pillar of incense, the teacher did not come back, but the teacher's wife Jia Shi walked out.

Jia Shi was full of white hair, but he looked in good spirits, and he didn't need the help of the people around him, and led an eight or nine-year-old child in.

"Disciple Wang Xu, I have seen the old woman." Seeing Jia Shi come in, Wang Xu quickly stood up and saluted.

Jia Shi looked at Wang Xu, with a look of liking, and said: "Good boy, your teacher has not mentioned you less, and praised you as rare in the sky, difficult to find on the earth, and today I saw you really a talent." ”

Wang Xu couldn't answer this question, so he could only smile.

Standing beside Mrs. Jia, the child who was brought in, said in a childlike voice: "Grandma, this is the big brother that grandpa often praises, I heard that he is very good at reading, can I ask him to be my husband?" ”

Mrs. Jia was stunned when she heard this, and her eyes were a little more moved.