Two days later.

At the main gate of Nankang Palace, Chen's mother got off the ox cart with a tired face.

She returned from the house of the lady who handed her handkerchief, and silently walked into the backyard, as usual.

As soon as Chen's mother sat down, she summoned Chen He and asked Zhou Youzi how he was waiting, what needs and actions he had, and who he had contacted.

Chen He said: "Mr. lives in a simple house every day, does not see outsiders, eats very little, and rarely moves the chickens, fish, meat and eggs sent, but eats a lot of melons and fruits." ”

Mother Chen nodded and said, "Send more fruits every day, but the food should not be less, if the husband does not move, bring it back, and you must not be lazy." ”

"Whoa!"

Mother Chen rubbed her forehead and asked again: "What happened to Erlang, who didn't make people worry? He neglected the distinguished guest, because of the words of the gentleman, it was not easy to punish, but the person went back, and dared to make a big fuss, alluding to the old body favoritism, I don't know the severity at all, and it has been spread, I don't know what others want to think of our palace!"

Chen He replied: "In the past two days, I heard that the prince is writing some articles, and asked the people in the palace to help distribute them, and he also recruited a few friends and distributed some of them. ”

"This rebel son is still delusional! He wants to fight with his brother! He doesn't know how dangerous it is behind the flowers of our family! When the gentleman leaves, he will be punished heavily!" Chen's mother showed anger on her face, "And those friends of his, all of them are fox friends and dog friends, why do you value him? It's not because of Da Lang! Respect him in person, laugh at him behind his back, arrange him, he is good, and he still humiliates himself, what kind of article does he write, do you really want to raise hope? When you are Lu worry, I don't know how thick the sky is!"

She shook her head, not wanting to continue talking about the second son, but said: "You continue to pay attention, don't let him really do anything stupid, and report at any time if there is a situation." ”

"Whoa!"

"Go and call Zhang Ju over. ”

Soon, Zhang Ju respectfully waited outside, calling him aunt.

"Come in," Chen's mother beckoned, asked Zhang Ju to come in and sit down, and turned to a pleasant face, "My Erlang is not angry, and when something happens, the old body can only discuss with you." ”

Zhang raised his hand and said, "Auntie just commands." Finally, he said, "The prince is not very old, and now that he has a knighthood, he will always be sensible when he walks inside and outside in the future." ”

"Don't talk about him," Chen's mother waved her hand and lowered her voice, "The key is my eldest man, he is the commander of the military of the nineteen states, and he is now a confidant, he should have made great plans and shared worries for the country, but what ......."

As she spoke, she sighed.

Chen Juli asked why.

"There are traitors and villains who are embarrassed by him everywhere," Chen Muden gritted her teeth, and then her face was full of worry, "I talked to a few people, and I heard the news that someone was spreading rumors and slandering in the court, saying that my son was wantonly plundering in the south, and he was a troublemaker, and now he intends to depose him.

Zhang Ju was taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Is this true?"

"I'm going to go and investigate the nephew to check the truth and falsehood, and my family can deal with it, whether to use money to dredge it up, or find someone to help talk, it's all good to do," Chen's mother's face was full of expectation, "Erlang can't succeed, I can only count on you." ”

"Aunt, rest assured, nephew will do his best!"

After making a statement, Zhang Ju left in a hurry under the expectant gaze of Chen's mother.

It's just that after leaving the palace, he sighed first.

He was actually not surprised by the news of King Nankang, and he still knew a lot about that cousin, Zhang Ju.

"In any case, if my Zhang family wants to make a comeback, without the help of external forces, I am afraid that it will not be possible, and the road of Nankang cannot be put down! ”

The Zhang family of Wu County, is a wealthy family in Jiangdong, the Han Dynasty has been prominent, the Eastern Wu, the two Jin Dynasty, the Southern Dynasties, but there is a bit of a decline trend, especially Chen Ba first from the slight cold, so that the trend of the cold door is rising, but also let the Zhang family face a crisis, no matter how high or low the children of the family are, are looking for a way out, close to the royal family, is undoubtedly one of the options, Zhang Ju is naturally attentive.

"Go to Fulin Tower first, Jiang Yi should have gone there today, just to find out the news. ”

With a decision, he immediately ordered to go down and go straight to the Fulin Tower.

That Jiang Yi is his friend, he was a colleague in the Book Bureau, but he has a good father - his father Jiang Zong, now a Zhongshu Shilang, governs Shizhong Province, has a high and powerful position, and even takes the Jiang family's sons and nephews to be prosperous.

Zhang Ju has the heart to revitalize the Zhang family, and he is willing to be friendly with him, and now he thinks about it and finds out a little news from his mouth.

Stop-and-go, there were more and more pedestrians, and finally arrived at the Fulin Building, Zhang Ju walked in quickly, and was greeted by the voice of the storyteller-

"Taiyuan Wang Sheng, go early, meet a girl ......"

"Hmm? I haven't heard of this ......."

Zhang Ju heard that it was a new article, and on weekdays, he might stop and listen, but he had something in his heart today, but he couldn't take care of it, so he went directly to the second floor, turned the stairs, and sure enough, he saw Jiang Yi with a high crown and a few people, pushing glasses with a few people, and some people were talking and laughing from time to time.

Zhang Ju recognized that the people at the same table as Jiang Yi were several literati in Jiankang City.

Seeing Zhang Ju, Jiang Yi beckoned and said, "Pengcheng, you came just in time, come and drink with us." ”

Zhang Ju put on a smile and walked briskly, and sat down and talked with him happily.

After a while, he tried to ask about the matter, but he just looked at the people left and right, it was not easy to say it too bluntly, and Jiang Yi did not answer after several attempts.

In the end, Jiang Yi said even more simply: "If you have something to say, you might as well say it directly, I ask myself frankly, there is nothing that I can't say in person, everyone here is also a gentleman, there is no need to shy away from it, if you don't say it, ask it in private, I won't answer." ”

Zhang Ju had no choice but to euphemistically inquire about the situation of King Nankang, but he did not dare to tell everything that Chen's mother said.

But even so, Jiang Yi frowned, and said unhappily: "We are all elegant people, talking about literary affairs here, you take the government affairs of the court to ask, it is really bad mood, don't say I don't know, even if I know, I won't say it!" After speaking, his sleeves flicked, and the intention of sending off the guest was undisguised.

Zhang Ju's face was embarrassed, looking at the sneering expressions of several literati, his ears were red, and he had to leave.

As soon as he left, there was a humane: "This person is a vassal and elegant, not really good at writing, and if you make friends with Brother Jiang, you must fancy your family's power." ”

Jiang Yi was noncommittal, just raised his glass.

The man touched a soft nail, smiled, raised his glass and took a sip, rolled his eyes, and said with a smile: "It is his family tradition to say that Zhang Ju is a vassal and elegant, and now there is a matter, I don't know if you know, it is related to the family of Nankang Wang that Zhang Ju asked......"

Before he finished speaking, he was reminded by the people on the side: "King Nankang is a clan, and he is in power, and he is very trusted by today, so don't say it lightly!"

The man hurriedly said, "How dare I talk about the county king? ”

"You mean the Marquis of Linru County?" Jiang Yi finally reacted, "What can he do?" Let's talk about Lu Wei's new article. ”

The man smiled and said, "This prince has an article that has been circulating in some tea shops in the past two days. ”

Jiang Yi finally became interested, and said: "Brother Zheng, I know that you like to comment on the tea shop the most, and you are also proficient in this way, the previous few articles were selected by you, and after I taste them, there is a lingering rhyme, is there still a high theory today? ”

"Don't dare to be," Zheng Sheng waved his hand and arched his hand again, "I'm just throwing bricks and leading jade, in front of Brother Jiang, who dares to say that he is proficient? What's more, I haven't read that prince's new article, but I've only heard a few of his past poems." ”

They asked, "How?"

Zheng Sheng shook his head and said, "It's mediocre." ”

The crowd was disappointed.

"Do you still have expectations? I said that his article is nothing more than because of this prince, the same vassal elegance," Zheng Sheng smiled instead, "Because of Lu Wei's talented people's Qingzhai talk, this Jiankang City is the time when Xuanqi is popular, so no matter which one, I want to write one or two articles, but I don't know that I often take humiliation on myself, for such people, Brother Jiang should be careful." ”

Jiang Yi just drank.

Seeing this, Zheng Sheng's face was as usual, and he continued: "Don't talk about mundane trivial matters, let's talk about articles, since they all talked about Lu's Xuanqiwen, then I dare to comment on one or two." ”

And all the people were interested, and asked him to get up.

"There are many writers in the city, but all of them are not more than Erer, and only three of them are on the stage and write about elegance and weather. ”

"Which three?"

Jiang Yi replied first: "This family is naturally Lu Jun outside the city, and others can't compare." ”

"It's Lu Jun," Zheng Sheng nodded, "Lu Wei Gongzi is talented, and the articles he writes are both physical and spiritual, often with a few numbers with profound meanings, and his writing is exquisite, even if the little things he sees on weekdays, after he writes, others can listen to them with relish, and the storytellers and singers in the tea shop like to talk about his ordinary things, listening to it briskly, but it is also catchy and fascinating." ”

Jiang Yi nodded and said: "Yes, his "Qingzhai" is still being written, saying that he wrote it, but in fact it is not right, Lu Wei just wrote it casually, and it was sorted out by the scholars around him, so there are more and more articles in it." ”

Someone asked, "What about the second one?"

Zheng Sheng glanced at Jiang Yi and smiled without saying a word.

The others burst out laughing.

Zheng Sheng then spoke: "Brother Jiang's anthology can't be missed, he took the opportunity of returning to his hometown and province a while ago to write many short stories, which are even more unique, each one is full of aura, especially a few articles that explain the mystery of the Buddha and use things to illustrate people!

Jiang Yi raised his glass and took a sip, laughed, and did not refute.

Someone else asked, "What about the third person?"

This time, it was Jiang Yi who said first: "Naturally, it is the one in the palace, but I can't say more." Speaking of this, he suddenly turned his head and said to the two people in the private seat next door, "You two, after listening for a long time, I don't know if you have any opinions? ”

When everyone at the same table heard this, they all stopped their movements and followed Jiang Yi's gaze.

The eyes were two men on the next table, two of them were dressed in Taoist robes, one was a young man in his twenties, and the other was still a teenager.

Seeing this, the two men raised their glasses and smiled, but did not respond.

Jiang Yi didn't insist, shook his head, turned his face, and continued to talk with several people, talking about several articles that were popular in Jiankang, such as Lu Wei's "Tree Planter", "Fish Farming" from the palace, and "Before the Buddha" just mentioned by Jiang Yi.

At this time, in the hall downstairs, cheers broke out for a long time.

Jiang Yi was puzzled and asked questions.

"Hui Gongzi, it is a new literary song in the museum, called "Painted Skin". ”

Jiang Yi narrowed his eyes and said, "Listening to the reactions of everyone downstairs, it should be good, it's better to listen." Just as he was about to get up with everyone, a young man in Tsing Yi came over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Jiang Yi showed regret on his face, and said to everyone: "If there is something at home, you have to go back first, and the new song will have to be listened to another day." ”

Everyone said it was out of the way.

Jiang Yi nodded and walked forward, and when he arrived at the staircase, he looked at the table next door, but he was slightly stunned.

The two Taoists have disappeared without a trace.

"Those two people have extraordinary temperament, and they wanted to make friends, but it seems that they have no chance. Jiang Yi was not annoyed, left slowly, and walked downstairs, and the people who listened to the text just dispersed.

On the other side, Zhang Ju had no harvest in Jiang Yi and returned disappointed, but he was not idle, on the way home, he asked people to send out invitations and invite the three best friends to his home.

His three friends are also well-informed, often mingling in teahouses and wine shops, and occasionally serving as guests of literati and ink, Zhang Ju thought, maybe he can get something.