As the sun rose, the snow on the eaves gradually melted.

Snow drops fall on the stone slabs, making a brisk sound of "dripping and dripping".

Meng Jing and Xiaozhu walked on the spacious avenue of King Xin's Mansion, the sun shining on their bodies, warm.

But Meng Jing is getting colder and colder, he doesn't like the sun, because under the sun, the purple light in his body will be suppressed, and at the same time, Meng Jing will become extremely weak.

Meng Jing wrapped the black big rice tightly around his body, barely feeling some warmth, and from a distance, he looked like a huge zongzi that could move.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and according to the custom, the officials of the government will come to report on their work.

Meng Jing wanted to go to the government to have a look and learn about the current situation of the officials in Pingzhou City, so he turned to Xiaozhu and said:

"This king wants to go to the government office, you can go back alone first. ”

Hearing this, Xiaozhu nodded vigorously, reached out and tossed in his clothes for a while, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper.

She happily tidied up her clothes, and then handed the paper to Meng Jing.

Meng Jing took it carefully, the paper was still a little warm, he opened the paper suspiciously, and what was drawn on the paper was actually a map.

"Lord, this is the map of the palace, the slave drew it a few days ago, the prince is always lost, with the map, he won't get lost, don't dislike the slave and maid for drawing ugly......"

After speaking, Xiaozhu lowered his head and pinched his fingers, waiting to see Meng Jing's reaction.

Meng Jing had mixed feelings in his heart, even this little girl knew that he was a road idiot, so wouldn't the entire palace know about it, it was too embarrassing.

However, it is indeed much more convenient to have a map, and it is still my own girl who is sensible.

Meng Jing couldn't help but reach out and rub Xiaozhu's little head, and praised:

"Xiaozhu is really capable, the map is very good, but there is no place name. ”

Xiaozhu blushed and was a little embarrassed, and she murmured, "The slave is illiterate." ”

In the entire Central Plains, reading and writing has always been the privilege of the scholars, and the children of the poor family rarely have the opportunity to go to private schools to study, and it is even more difficult for a lowly maid like Xiaozhu to learn to write.

Meng Jing smiled and comforted: "It's okay, this king will teach you to write in the future, go back." ”

After listening to Meng Jing's words, Xiaozhu's face immediately regained vitality, she nodded happily, and then turned around and left.

Looking at her little back, Meng Jing smiled lightly, ready to continue checking the map.

At this time, Xiaozhu suddenly turned around and trotted back, like a nimble kitten.

She ran to Meng Jing, took a few breaths, and directly stuffed the stove into Meng Jing's hand.

Looking at Meng Jing's puzzled expression, she turned her head and ran away, without looking back.

I only heard the sentence "It's cold, the prince should pay attention to his body".

Half an hour later, Meng Jing finally walked to the door of the mansion.

The government is the place where the state guards and subordinate officials work, and the Pingzhou government and the prison are located in the Xinwang Mansion, so it is said that the Xinwang Mansion is a symbol of the power of Pingzhou.

At this moment, the gate of the government is open, but there is not even a guard to guard the door, and it is very desolate at a glance.

Aren't all the subordinate officials coming to the government office today to report on their work? Why are they so deserted?

Meng Jing was a little surprised, he walked in quietly, bypassed a few small buildings, and finally heard some noisy words.

He followed the sound and came to the backyard of the mansion, and as soon as he entered the door, the strong aroma of wine and meat came to his nose.

I saw more than a dozen people in light cyan official uniforms sitting drunk, their faces flushed, and there were various kinds of wine and meat delicacies on the table in front of them.

These people should be the subordinate officials who came to report on their work, and Meng Jing had a little headache.

The subordinate officials were still indulging in drinking and eating meat, and they didn't notice Meng Jing, an uninvited guest.

Only an official sitting on the top with a mustache noticed Meng Jing, and he recognized the brown python robe on Meng Jing's body at a glance.

In the Central Plains, only the prince was eligible to wear a brown python robe.

The eight-character bearded official instantly guessed Meng Jing's identity, and he immediately pretended to cough a few times, wanting to remind his companion who was still drinking.

However, those officials were already drunk, and they didn't understand the hints of the bearded officials, and they were still having fun and playing drunk.

The Bazihu official was a little anxious, so he had to run down quickly, waved at Meng Jing, and said respectfully:

"The next official is Guo Dongtai, the chief secretary of the government, to welcome the prince. ”

Meng Jing waved his hand, wanting to dispel the strong smell of wine in front of him, but he was smoked.

"Master Guo, today is the day of the debriefing, why are you holding a banquet here?"

Guo Dongtai heard the dissatisfaction in Meng Jing's words, he rolled his eyes, and saluted:

"The prince has ascended the throne for the first time, and we have not congratulated him, so today I specially prepared a banquet for the prince to celebrate, and invited the prince to take a seat. ”

With that, he waved his hand towards the seat of the upper seat.

Although this explanation is full of loopholes, Meng Jing did not plan to delve into this matter, he is new to the city, there is no need to make enemies everywhere.

He took a seat and gave Guo Dongtai a favor.

Guo Dongtai understood what Meng Jing meant, and was overjoyed, and hurriedly took a cup to toast.

Guo Dongtai is in his fifties, his hair is slightly gray, his body is thin, like a broken firewood, he is a fine person, and he has always pursued the principle of "sailing carefully for ten thousand years", and he must never offend anyone.

Even for Meng Jing, who now only bears the name of a prince, Guo Dongtai does not dare to slack off in the slightest.

Everyone has a time when they gain and lose power, maybe one day this prince will hold great power, and it will definitely not hurt to follow him now.

"The prince is magnificent, a talent, at a glance, it is the dragon and phoenix among the people, Pingzhou must be smooth under your governance, and the next official respects the prince with a cup. ”

Flattery is always pleasant, and Meng Jing is no exception, but his experience since childhood has made him always alert, and he will not be fluttering under the praise of a few words.

Meng Jing raised the wine cup, signaled, and drank it all.

The main reason why he came to the palace this time was to find out the details of these subordinate officials and prepare for him to take over the Xinwang Mansion in the future.

"Master Guo's face is a knowledgeable scholar at first glance. ”

Meng Jing found a topic to talk to Guo Dongtai and wanted to put some useful words.

Although Guo Dongtai was more sober than the others, he was still a little drunk after drinking so much wine, and his face was slightly red.

"The prince is really accurate in looking at people, Xia Guan is indeed a cultural person, and there is a little ink in his stomach. ”

Guo Dongtai spoke with a sense of pride, and he was quite confident in his own knowledge.

Meng Jing was a little happy when he heard this, and finally met a talent who could be of great use, and he then asked: "Then how did Master Guo do in the imperial examination that year?"

Meng Jing also wanted to confirm Guo Dongtai's details, and if his judgment was correct, he could be entrusted with important tasks in the future.

Ordinary people who want to enter the examination to become an official basically have to take the imperial examination, and only after the title of the gold list can they enter the officialdom.

Guo Dongtai raised his head and said, "Xiaguan has not participated in the imperial examination. ”

Meng Jing was shocked when he heard this, and secretly said powerfully.

In addition to the imperial examination, there is another way to enter the office, that is, to get the recommendation of contemporary celebrities, but there are very few people who are recommended to be officials, so far there are only more than ten people, but each of these people has the talent to govern the world and has made achievements.

If Guo Dongtai was recommended to join the office, then Meng Jing could be regarded as picking up a treasure.

He asked excitedly, "Master Guo, who recommended you to be an official?"

"No one recommends. ”

"No way, think about it. ”

Guo Dongtai raised his head and thought hard for a while, his eyes lit up, and he said:

"When it comes to recommendations, I really think of someone. ”

"Who?"

"The second sister-in-law of Wang, who sells steamed buns on Xiaoshi Street, was the one who told me that the Xinwang Mansion was recruiting, so I came to sign up to try it, but I didn't expect to have a master book. ”

Meng Jing rubbed his forehead, a little dizzy, and asked again, "Didn't you just say that you were a cultural person?"

Guo Dongtai immediately explained: "This is the truth, before the letter to the palace, Xia Guan has been setting up a stall on Xiaoshi Street to tell fortunes, proficient in all kinds of hexagrams, knows astronomy, knows geography, and is very accurate, and people give him the nickname Guo Shen's ......."

Meng Jing: "......"