After participating in the ceremony of sacrificing to the heavens, the envoys of the four directions did not return to their country, and these people were all resident in Dajin because they admired the prosperity of the Celestial Empire. In the past two days, they have been busy writing back to their kings, explaining to their king the grand ceremony of the Celestial Empire and the grand ceremony of worshipping the heavens.

In the past few days, Shu Yan is still on duty in Kecao, dealing with the affairs of Fanguo. In the afternoon, after finishing his business, Shu Yan was drinking the tea brought by the waiter, when he suddenly saw Xiao Mo and Biyu walking in at the same time.

"Ah, what's going on, why are you two here together?"

Xiao Mo sneered and said, "Who is with him?" He came from the Secretarial Pavilion and I came from the Treasures Bureau, which was not a trip at all, but it just happened. ”

Biyu grinned and said, "It's a coincidence, it's really a coincidence." ”

"Don't be hippie and smiley, you have always had little contact with my brother Shu, so why did you come here rashly?"

"Of course there are good things, I want to ask him to join me in teaching music and dance at this year's Yuanzheng Conference."

"What?" Shu Yan thought he had misheard, "Please ask me to teach music and dance?" ”

"Yes."

"You're kidding!"

"No, it's actually ......"

Xiao Mo looked at Biyu's anxious appearance, couldn't help but be vigilant, and said to Shu Yan: "Brother Shu, don't promise him this kind of inexplicable thing, you see his nervous appearance, it must be a weasel giving a New Year's greeting to the chicken, and he didn't have a good heart." ”

"How so? Actually, I can't help it, okay, there was such a big trouble in the sky suddenly...... "Biyu had no choice but to put down the shelf and tell the truth." Of course, he didn't mention the matter of the authentic review.

"When I encountered trouble, I was forced to be helpless, so I remembered that my brother Shu was here? Have you forgotten how you usually look down on people? Go back quickly, my brother Shu can't help you! ”

"What's the trouble? It's a great time to show off your talents. If it weren't for my fellow countrymen, I wouldn't have looked for him......"

"This great opportunity to show your talent is left to yourself, my brother Shu is not rare."

"Don't, it's just that no one can understand the Book of Music. That book was originally yours, and you still have to tie the bell to the bell, so only you can help me. ”

"It's not that I don't help you, although I did study the "Book of Music" a little bit and understand some music theory, but music theory is only a theory after all, and it is different from being able to guide and choreograph music and dance in practice. I'm not sure about this matter at all, the Yuan Zheng Conference is extraordinary, if you mess it up, will it be okay! ”

"You don't have to worry about this, didn't the emperor say that before the official appointment, you must pass the test. As long as the test is passed, it proves that we are capable, and even if something goes wrong, the emperor will have nothing to say. Then again, I know your ability, Xun Zhongshu is so clever, isn't he defeated by your hands? Besides, you are proficient in the Book of Music......"

Thinking about Biyu's domineering appearance on weekdays, Shu Yan didn't want to help him, but seeing him put down his body like this today and begged himself, his heart softened again, and then remembered that he had helped him when he was preparing to build Zhenxue, so he decided to promise him: "It's not that I don't agree to you, but there are three reasons." First, it is the emperor's will to let you teach music and dance, how dare I join on such an important occasion as the Yuanzheng Conference; Second, teaching the music and dance of the Yuanzheng Conference is not a matter of one or two days, and I have a position in Shangshutai, so I am afraid that I will not be able to take a break; Third, I don't know much about music and dance, and I haven't fully understood the Book of Music, so I still need to study and study it again. ”

Biyu heard Shu Yan say this, and said happily: "There are only three of them, no problem at all." The Book of Music is in my secretary's cabinet, ready to be given to you; As for the first point, I can find a way to start the emperor and add you to preside over this matter with me; After the emperor agreed, the affairs of Shangshutai naturally don't have to be taken care of by you. ”

Before Shu Yan could react, Biyu saw that he didn't explicitly object, so he hurriedly continued: "If you don't speak, you will acquiesce." You are a humble gentleman, and you must not go back. ”

Lest Xiao Mo say anything unfavorable to make Shu Yan regret it, Biyu's voice did not fall, and he didn't dare to stop, so he ran away in a hurry.

Although Xiao Mo didn't like Biyu very much, since Shu Yan agreed to him, he had to go with him. And, perhaps, as Biyu said, this is a good opportunity to show Brother Shu's talent. Xiao Mo was a frequent visitor to Shu Yan's place, either sending fresh food to Shu Yan or chatting with Shu Yan. There is nothing special for her to come today, just because she heard that the day before yesterday was unprecedentedly grand and very lively, but she did not have the opportunity to participate, and she was very curious, so she wanted Shu Yan to tell herself about the situation that day.

Shu Yan told Xiao Mo about the grand occasion of the ceremony. She was not very interested in the formal ritual of sacrificing to the sky, but when she heard Shu Yan say that there was a very huge elephant car in the Lu book, she became interested, and heard that the person driving the elephant car was still an old friend of Brother Shu, so she had to pull Shu Yan to see and see. Shu Yan also wanted to find Ruan Shan to catch up. After retiring, the two of them came to the Dragon Stable of Taifu Temple together. Taifu Temple is the official office that manages the country's chariots and horses and animal husbandry, and it has several subordinate institutions, which are basically related to chariots and horses, and the dragon stable is one of them.

found Ruan Shan first, and Shu Yan introduced Ruan Shan and Xiao Mo. After a few words of greeting, Ruan Shan took the two of them to visit. There are a lot of royal horses in the dragon stable, and they are all good horses in a hundred. However, Xiao Mo has no interest in them today.

Next to the many stables, there is a very unique tall shed where elephants live. Xiao Mo was very excited, she was an active person, and after seeing the elephant, her hands were naturally not idle, and she kept stroking the elephant's big ears, long trunk and huge tusks. I saw the elephant rarely, and I saw the huge elephant cart. Elephant carts are only used for major ceremonies, and the elephants contributed by South Vietnam are mainly used for recreation, not for pulling carts, so the giant cart is often blocked and useless.

Xiao Mo was accompanied by Shu Yan and Ruan Shan, watching the elephant and the elephant car with great interest, and suddenly saw a young woman running to Shu Yan excitedly and calling "Brother Shu" affectionately. When Xiao Mo heard this, he muttered in his heart: "Ah, it turns out that I am not the only one who is called Brother Shu." What kind of relationship do they have, they look familiar! ”

"Water girl." Shu Yan also responded happily, and then boasted, "It's really the eighteenth change of the female university, when I first met you in Ruyin, I was not as good as cardamom, I haven't seen you for a few years, and the water girl has been so slim." ”

Ruan Shui smiled shyly after hearing this, and turned his head away. Ruan Shan smiled and said: "It's not, you and I were both little teenagers back then, and now we are also crowned with a belt." Not only us, but even my elephant brother was young at that time, and now he is almost an adult. ”

Shu Yan looked at the elephant ear that Xiao Mo raised his hand to reach, and said, "It's really, this guy is really getting taller and more mighty." ”

"Don't just talk about our brother and sister and elephant brother." Ruan Shan said a little urgently, "I don't know your reason yet, why did you come to Luoyang and become an official?" Is Ling Zuke okay? And the two sisters and brothers of the Han family? ”

"It's hard to put into words. My grandfather is long gone. Three years after my grandfather's death, I was elected as the Ruyin filial piety of that year, and then did a few days as a literary scholar in the Ruyin Kingdom, and then came to Luoyang to participate in the examination, and was admitted to the middle school, and was selected by the Ministry of Officials as Shang Shulang. ”

"Oh, the death of the old man is not surprising; Brother Shu is a young talent, and it is natural to have today's achievements. It's just that the sister of the Han family and Brother Shu have been in love since childhood, and now the two of you must have become Qin Jinzhi, right? ”

Ruan Shui also turned his head and said, "Yes, where are Sister Zhixin and Brother Ruoxin?" In Ruyin's hometown, or did he come to Luoyang with you? ”

Back then, in Ruyin, several teenagers used to drive wolves together, and they got together at home and got along very well, how could the Ruan Shan brothers and sisters not inquire about the news of Sister Zhixin? Shu Yan knew in his heart that the brother and sister would definitely ask about this, but at this time he just shook his head and sighed.

Xiao Mo said bluntly: "Sister Zhixin is also deceased. ”

"What?" The Ruan brothers and sisters were shocked when they heard this, "This brother, why did you say that? She is young, how could she ——? None of them believed what this stranger said, and they were eager to ask Shu Yan for confirmation.

"What Xiao Mo said is true." Shu Yan then told the Ruan Shan brothers and sisters about where Sister Zhixin went to Luoyang, how Zhixin fell into the water and died, how her grandfather and aunt of the Han family died on the same day due to grief, how she met Xiao Mo on the way to Luoyang when she was selected as filial piety, and how Ruoxin became a teaching assistant at Shujiazhuang Zhenxue.

While listening, Ruan Shan couldn't stop sighing: "I didn't expect such a good girl to die early." You two talented and beautiful women, a natural pair, why doesn't God open his eyes, break you up, and let you be separated by yin and yang! ”

Xiao Mo is a warm-hearted person, and he was also moved by what he heard, and saw Ruan Shui rubbing his tears uncontrollably, so he took out a silk handkerchief from his arms and handed it to Ruan Shui. Ruan Shui saw that Xiao Mo was a strange man, so he was embarrassed to take this silk handkerchief.

Shu Yan took the opportunity to introduce Ruan Shui to Xiao Mo. Later, he asked about the past of their siblings. Ruan Shan recounted: Back then, the brother and sister were ordered by Jiaozhi Taishou to sacrifice elephants for the emperor, and after arriving in Luoyang, they were arranged to be managed by the dragon stables. Usually it is to take care of and tame this elephant. Because of the long distance from his hometown, his parents died, and his family didn't have much to worry about, he stayed in Luoyang for so many years and never went back. 33

After hearing this, Shu Yan regretted and said: "I thought that after your brothers and sisters finished offering elephants, they would go back after staying for a year and a half at most, who would have thought that you would always be here." It turns out that in Jingshi, in addition to my good brother Xiao Mo, there are also you two old people. ”

"Who's to say it's not, our brothers and sisters are also helpless here. I knew that Brother Shu had also come to Luoyang, and our brothers and sisters also had more warmth and less suffering. ”

Xiao Mo saw Ruan Shui for the first time, saw her beautiful appearance, and called "Brother Shu" so affectionately, she felt very uncomfortable, but through observation, she found that this girl and Brother Shu seemed to be very pure, so she was a little relieved, but she thought about it again: They had known each other before, and now they are all in a foreign land, helpless, and they are still complaining to each other about the pain of loneliness just now, who knows what will develop if this continues? I have to guard against it. So he said: "Why complain about this misunderstanding, since everyone is an old acquaintance, we will get together more in the future." But Brother Shu, they are both your friends and my friends, so you can't get together alone, you must call me. ”

After hearing this, Shu Yan smiled and said to Ruan Shan: "My brother is better to make friends, and he is honest by nature, don't laugh." ”

Ruan Shan hurriedly said: "How come? As the saying goes: many friends, many roads. In this huge Luoyang, interpersonal relationships are very complicated, and it is best to have a few more friends to help you gain a foothold. ”

After petting the elephant again, under Xiao Mo's urging, Shu Yan and the others said goodbye to the Ruan brothers and sisters, left the dragon stable, and went back separately.

Some people died, but not completely......