The crowd asked, "If they are doing this nonsense, won't the court know about it?" ”

The shopkeeper said: "It's been a long time, how can you not know?" ”

Xiao Mo said: "Could it be that the imperial court just let them do what they do, and don't care about it?" ”

"Although the imperial court knows, because the power of these wealthy families is too great, they control the country's etiquette and economy, and the imperial court still depends on them, and it cannot be shaken at all. Even if these people are occasionally dismissed by the emperor because they make too much trouble, it won't be long before they will be reinstated. ”

Ge Shen said: "I was rated as the eighth grade, but I don't have any hope of becoming an official." However, since the world is like this, I do not disdain to work with these wealthy families, and to be held hostage by them, it is better to retire to the countryside. With that, I got up and packed up and went home.

Shu Yan looked at Ge Shen's back and was stunned for a long time. This man is tranquil and unyielding, but like his father's character. No wonder my father didn't want to be in the office all his life, and my grandfather didn't want our father and son to be officials, the wealthy family is really oppressive!

The shopkeeper sent Ge Shen and came back and said, "That Ge Gongzi is certainly not qualified to be an official. Even if you still have some hope, if you want to make a good job, if you don't have a way, you don't know how long it will take. ”

Shu Yan smiled: "It doesn't matter, one step at a time, even if you can't be an official, what is it!" ”

Xiao Mo nodded, patted Shu Yan's shoulder and said, "Yes, yes, one step at a time, why do you have to be a bird official and be angry with those families!" Brother Shu, if you want me to see, wouldn't it be nice for the two of us to leave this place now, wander with me, and be free? ”

"It's really said that the wind is the rain, and your crazy energy is coming up again." Shu Yan smiled helplessly, but he thought Xiao Mo's innocence was quite cute.

He also patted Xiao Mo's shoulder - but he felt that although he was also a man, Xiao Mo's shoulder didn't seem to be very strong.

Xiao Mo was slapped by Shu Yan in pain, rubbed his shoulders, pouted, and said, "Why use so much force!" Shu Yan didn't realize that between brothers, the greater the power of the shot, the more iron the relationship proves. How did he know......

Xiao Mo suddenly remembered something: "Brother Shu, do you know, now is the season when peony flowers are in full bloom. Luoyang's peony is very famous, is the best in the world, I know that there is a big peony garden in Luoyang City, there are a lot of peony flowers planted in it, and there are many varieties, no less than dozens of kinds, we will go there tomorrow to enjoy the flowers and relax? ”

"Okay, I've heard the name of Luoyang peony in Ruyin for a long time, and I have long wanted to take a look, so we invited Brother Ye and the three of us went together."

"Don't, don't!" Xiao Mo hurriedly stopped.

"What's wrong?"

"Uh-I mean......" Xiao Mo thought as he rolled his eyes, "Oh-Brother Ye may not be free. ”

"He has nothing to do here, how can he not be available? There must be my teacher in a threesome, what's the point of two people going, and only when there are more brothers are happy together? How could Shu Yan know that Xiao Mo just wanted to be alone with him.

"No, I, I mean to say, Brother Ye, after all, he is a few years older, and he may not have this Yaxing."

After hearing this, Ye Jian smiled and said: "Unfortunately, Brother Chengshu is very loving, and he should have gone." However, Brother Xiao Mo guessed very much, the foolish brother does have some private matters tomorrow, and he really can't accompany him, forgive his sins. ”

Thank you for it!

Early in the morning, Xiao Mo was wearing a brand-new butterfly white robe, and when he went out, he saw that Shu Yan had also changed into a white robe, so he smiled at Shu Yan and said, "Brother Shu, you are dressed like this, and you match me." ”

"Oh, I don't have any new clothes, just this one, and I'll change into it."

Two people happily hit the road. The early summer sun is very comfortable on people. Along the way, Xiao Mo jumped and jumped, very cheerful, and the butterflies all over his body seemed to be alive, fluttering and moving. Although he is the same age, Shu Yan seems much more stable. Today, he was also happy, grateful for the good times, and couldn't help but laugh when he saw Xiao Mo's childish performance - he suddenly ran forward, and ran back after being a little far away from Shu Yan; Suddenly, I picked a few wild flowers on the side of the road and wanted to wear them on my head, but I felt that it was inappropriate, so I had to throw them away helplessly; Suddenly, I saw a few cobwebs among the flowers, and a few butterflies were flying among the flowers, so I took a small wooden branch to destroy the cobwebs......

"What do you mean by that?" Shu Yan looked at his strange behavior and asked.

"Butterflies are supposed to be the freest." Xiao Mo replied to Shu Yan, but his eyes looked at the little butterflies shuttling among the flowers, "That's why I like them." I don't want to see anything in the world that binds their freedom. ”

"That's not right." Shu Yan smiled, "Although you have cleared the obstacles for the freedom of butterflies, have you considered for spiders?" ”

"Thinking about spiders?" Xiao Mo watched a black spider that had been smashed fleeing in a hurry, and then said unexpectedly, "Do you hate robbers?" ”

"Of course I hate."

"Why?"

"Because robbers sit back and enjoy their success, robbing passers-by, and even murdering others."

"Sit back and enjoy what you get, block the road and plunder, and murder your life." Xiao Mo smiled, "Based on these points, is there a difference between a spider and a robber?" ”

"Uh......" Shu Yan was dumbfounded by Xiao Mo's vivid metaphor. After a long time, he asked, "Are you so fond of freedom?" ”

"Do you want to be an official so much?"

I casually asked the other party a question, but the other party casually asked back. Shu Yan really didn't think about this question seriously. Yes, do you want to be an official so much? What exactly is being an official for? "I, I don't know why, I just think that the eldest husband was born in the world, and he should not do nothing, but should do something for the court and the people."

"Do you think your career will be smooth sailing?"

"Of course not, just like there are abundant debts in farming and losses in business, every line of business will not be smooth sailing."

"If—" Little Mer paused, looking up at the butterfly fluttering among the flowers, "if your career doesn't go well, will you be discouraged?" ”

"You mean, it hasn't been going well?"

"Yes."

"In that case—I didn't think about it that much, maybe, maybe, yes."

"And what do you do?"

"It's a big deal to go back to your hometown to farm, what are you afraid of?"

"When the time comes—" Xiao Mo suddenly looked at Shu Yan with deep eyes, "I want you to accompany me to the end of the world and take a look at the legendary sea, is it okay?" ”

"Accompany you to the end of the world?" Shu Yan smiled heartily.

Xiao Mo was stunned: "What, don't you want to?" ”

"Yes!"

Although the journey was smooth, when I arrived at the peony garden, I was disappointed. It turned out that the garden was surrounded by high walls, and the view from inside was not visible at all. When you go around to the gate of the garden, it is also closed and it is forbidden to enter.

This great scenery and good mood, how can Xiao Mo stop here. "Hmph, how can this little garden wall be difficult for us? Brother Shu, come, let's jump in, you jump first, and then pull me. ”

"You're going to jump off the wall?" Shu Yan shook his head, "No, no, no, how can it be done, it's a trespass." ”

"What are you afraid of, we just look at the flowers, and we don't steal, who told them to circle the good scenery and not let people see it!"

"That's not going to work, you can't do that. Although we are calm in our hearts, how can others know? The thief never had a word written on his face. Besides, this is a private house, in case there are female dependents in it, you and I are two big men, what if we bump into each other? ”

"What then?"

"I heard that in addition to Taixue, the imperial court has built a new Guozi School, which is nearby, why don't we go there and have a look."

"I went to Taixue last time, and today you want to go to that kind of place again, what's the point! Why don't we go out of the city, I heard that in the northwest of Luoyang City, there is a huge garden, which is hundreds of times larger than here, called Jingu Garden, where there are pavilions and pavilions, clear springs and lush bamboos, strange flowers and flowers, it couldn't be better. ”

"I've also heard of the Golden Valley Garden, it's the annex in the stone servant, but it's too far away, and you didn't ride a horse when you came out, how can you get there? Besides, it's a private pavilion after all, and you are definitely not allowed to enter it at will. ”

"No way!" Xiao Mo was very disappointed in his heart, "Otherwise, you go to the country to study by yourself, and I will go to Jingu Garden alone." ”

Xiao Mo was originally a tentative word, but he didn't expect Shu Yan to readily agree: "That's fine, brother Xian, you are used to going to the rivers and lakes alone, I can rest assured that you go alone, you go back to the inn to pick up the horse, and then go early and return early." ”

"You-"

Xiao Mo turned to the west angrily, and Shu Yan turned to the east and walked away. Shu Yan walked a few steps, suddenly stopped, and said in his heart: Xiao Mo started from Ruyin, accompanied me all the way to Beijing, and gave up free play. During this time, there were many turmoil, someone tried to assassinate me, and he saved my life. Today, his interest is so high, how can I not accompany him? After thinking about it, he turned around and wanted to chase Xiao Mo. Unexpectedly, Xiao Mo was also turning around at this time. Both people have the same idea, and both regret rejecting each other.

Shu Yan ran forward, and just as he was about to speak, he saw an ox cart slowly coming, and the ox driving was covered in golden hair, shining in the sun, and there was no trace of dirt on his body. It walked with square steps, its four hooves steady, unhurried, and the curtain of the ox cart was lifted, and it was not the old and weak women and children sitting on the cart, but three young men.

Shu Yan knows that the current wealthy families are pampered, only know how to enjoy life, only adapt to the slow and comfortable pace of life, and can't stand a little bumps, so in addition to attending formal occasions, they rarely take horse-drawn carriages for daily travel, and use ox carts instead, because the oxen walk slowly and steadily, which is in line with their requirements. They also came up with a high-sounding reason for this, that is, the ox cart was more important than the horse-drawn carriage. When it comes to ox carts, don't think of ox carts ploughing fields and pulling dung in the countryside, the two can never be compared. The cattle that pull the cart for the wealthy are the best cattle in a hundred, and these cattle enjoy the treatment of pets every day, their fur is clean, spotless, and there is no peculiar smell on their bodies. There is also this ox cart, which is also extremely gorgeous, no worse than a luxurious carriage, with a vermilion canopy, a brocade curtain, and a pink chariot curtain. This kind of ox cart is everywhere in Luoyang City, stealing the limelight of the carriage.

Because there are so many ox carts on the road, Shu Yan didn't care about this one. The ox cart stopped beside Shu Yan, and one of the teenagers said, "Isn't this my fellow countryman?" ”

Shu Yan turned his head and saw that it was Shi De sitting in the car, and the two next to him were Xiahoumen and Xun Bao. Shu Yan arched his hand: "Shi Gongzi." ”

Xun Bao and Xiahou Men also casually bowed their hands in the car: "Shu Lang, I have admired the name for a long time." ”

"Two sons, look up for a long time."

Xun Bao said: "Shu Lang, thank you for it." Last time I took the exam, I went late with Brother Xiahou, and you found that there was no Shi Gongzi in the field, and mistakenly thought that Shi Gongzi did not come, so you begged the examiner to wait for a long time, but I didn't expect it to fulfill us. Although it is a mistake to admit human affection, the two of us should also remember this kindness. ”

"It's a trivial matter, why worry about it."

"Well, then, all three of us should be grateful to him. He didn't help me, but he meant it for me. Now that the three of us have to have a bad beauty pageant, we should tell Shu Lang to have fun. ”

"Huh? Did the officials confer officials so quickly? What officials did the three sons award? ”

Xiahoumen said: "Brother Xun has to give the prince to wash the horse, I have to give the prince to give up people, Brother Shi is high, and he has to be awarded the secretary Lang." ”

The secretary Lang, the prince washing the horse, and the prince are all idle positions, all of which are beautiful.

"Congratulations to the three of you."

Shi De smiled: "Fellow villager, I also leaked a little news to you, you are not bad, I heard that the Ministry of Officials values your talents, and you have also awarded Lang Guan, you can go back and inquire." ”

Shu Yan was naturally happy to get the news, but Xiao Mo was taken aback when he heard it: Didn't the owner of the cold and summer inn say that it was still far away? How can it be so fast......

The ox cart moved slowly. Shi De rolled his eyes and caught a glimpse of Xiao Mo, so he felt uncomfortable and muttered: "This strange person has no masculinity, and he is crazy." ”

Xiao Mo listened to it and said angrily: "What a!" Do you have masculinity? I don't think the three of you are much better than me! ”

When Xiahoumen and Xun Bao heard this, they said angrily: "Hey, this person is so rude, why bother to bring us?" ”

This sentence hurt his self-esteem too much, and Shu Yan hurriedly stopped him. The car went a short distance and stopped. Shu Yan looked bad and thought that people were going to come to theorize. Xiao Mo shouted: "Come down to theorize and theorize, little boy, I have been in the rivers and lakes, who have I been afraid of?" You keep saying thank you to me Brother Shu, but you don't even get off the car, you don't know any etiquette, and you still come to me! ”

Unexpectedly, Shi De didn't pay attention to Xiao Mo at all, but said to Shu Yan: "May 6 is our twentieth birthday, and the rite of passage is essential, don't forget." ”

The rite of passage is a very formal and solemn ceremony that needs to be presided over by the elders of the family. Shu Yan has no father or mother, and even no relatives, who will host him? Shi De's words were ostensibly a kind reminder, but in fact he was deliberately sarcastic.

Xiao Mo heard this, and shouted at the ox cart that was getting farther and farther away: "Who is impatient with any coming-of-age ceremony, I was born on the same day as Brother Shu, we don't hold a coming-of-age ceremony, and we are still adults; And even if you hold a coming-of-age ceremony, what's the use, what a year! Xiao Mo shouted out all the unhappy mood today, and felt that he was in a better mood, so he and Shu Yan went back to the ministry to inquire about the news.