Time flies, and in a blink of an eye, it has been four years since the Ming Dynasty was built. Zhu Yuanzhang and Liu Bowen have both been buried underground. And Zhu Yunwen has also succeeded to the throne for four years. At this time, the Lantern Festival has just passed, the sky is already bright, and the nascent yang energy is about to dissipate the chill little by little.

The gate of Tongji in the capital is not as lively as in previous years. The city gate is towering, and within the thick city walls, Jimen Street, which should be the most lively street market in Nanjing, has opened its doors at this time, but only half of the shops are ready to do business. Several other houses had a thin layer of ash on their doors, apparently closed for some time. There were few idlers on the long street, and occasionally a dog barking could be heard.

If it were a previous year, if you looked outside the city gate, the docks would be crowded with people in the early morning. But this year has been a bleak one.

From time to time, some ships docked on the river. Most of them were small boats, and the people who came ashore were scholars. The poor man carried a book bag on his back, and several people got off the boat together. If you are rich, you will have a boat to yourself, and you will have a scholar's servants to serve you. These scholars are all new people who are going to participate in the Spring Festival of the Present Branch.

It was the time for breakfast, and a few old men who were still a little shy in their pockets were not in a hurry to enter the city, but found a wonton stall on the dock and sat down, asking for hot wontons to eat.

The wonton seller was a short, stocky, red-faced man. Wearing a short jacket and rolling up his sleeves, he sweated in the cold. The fire is blazing, the water is bubbling on the cauldron, and the white wontons are somersaulting in the pot. The dwarf man copied it with both hands, filled it with a bowl of wontons, and handed it to the small table next to him. A young scholar gave up the wonton in front of the middle-aged scholar in the blue shirt opposite. The blue-clothed scholar thanked him and was not in a hurry to eat. When the young scholar also has a bowl in front of him, he uses a spoon to stir the soup bowl and blow the heat to dissipate the heat.

"When I went to Beijing this time, I was able to be in the same boat with Mr. Wu. What a blessing. The young man's cheeks flushed, and his eyes were full of excitement.

The middle-aged scholar surnamed Wu smiled lightly: "Brother Chen Xian is too polite. You and I are going to this Enke together, and it is likely that it will be the same year in the future. Isn't it afflicted that you call me sir? The foolish brother has been obsessed with you for a few years, and the virtuous brother will call me Brother Liantao. ”

"Brother Lian, Brother Lian Tao!" the scholar surnamed Chen laughed happily.

Wu Liantao is very famous in Jiangsu, and his literary style and calligraphy are excellent. It is rumored that the first emperor also had the heart of solicitation, and the prefect once sent someone to invite him to a banquet. How do you think that Wu Liantao's family said that he was drunk and didn't wake up after waiting for three days, which made the prefect's heart cold. Since then, Wu Liantao's name as a hermit has spread all over the south of the Yangtze River. Today, he can be called a brother and sister to Wu Liantao, and he will be a helper every day.

"Brother Ji Caixian. Wu Liantao smiled and responded, feeling slightly complacent in his heart. It seems that his reputation as Wu Liantao can be regarded as loud even when he arrives in the capital.

"Brother Lian Tao has been reluctant to go out for many years, and this time he must be out of the mountain to assist the new monarch and create a prosperous world. ”

"Brother Ji Cai is overrated. I'm used to it, and I'm even more talented in Beijing. Fang Gong, Xie Gong and others are all role models among scholars. Why do you need my assistance?" Fang Gong in Wu Liantao's mouth refers to Fang Xiaoru, and Xie Gong refers to Xie Jin. These two are both Su Confucians who are about to be used by the new emperor, and he then said, "I entered Beijing this time, but I only hope to repay the emperor's favor with my own modest efforts. Since he ascended the throne today, he has really been a good reader for us. ”

While the two were talking, there was a commotion at the city gate. A few healthy horses swept out of the door, followed by a few wagons and a few footmen, and lined up on the empty dock. These carriages were all dark brown, neither gilded nor embroidered, and the servants were mostly dressed in dark clothes, which were inconspicuous at a rough glance. But after all, Wu and Chen both came from the rich lands in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and they knew at a glance that the cloth on the carriage and the servants were all of the best materials. There was also a faint smell of incense powder wafting out of the carriage. If you look closely, there is a word "square" on the lantern of the carriage, could it be the carriage and horse of Fang Xiaoru Fang's family?

Chen Jicai smiled and asked the wonton stall owner, "Shopkeeper, what kind of battle is this?"

"If the two masters ask anything else, I don't know. The wonton stall owner kept working on his hands, and pointed to the carriage and horse formation with his chin and smiled. "I can guess which house this is. ”

"The two old men may not know when they just came to Beijing, but this New Year's Festival, there are cars and horses to pick up at the dock, and most of them are the family members of which adults come to welcome the Yanai son who has returned to his hometown to take the exam. ”

Chen Jicai hurriedly asked: "But Fang Xiaoru Fang's family?"

"There are not 10,000 people with the surname Fang in the capital, but you see that there are three high-headed horses empty at the head of the line? Among them, Fang Zhongjin Gongzi has won the Jieyuan, and this time he is rushing to the third yuan and the first. Which one of the gambling houses in the capital didn't press Fang Gongzi to be the champion?"

Wu Liantao only said lightly: "Remember that Fang Gong is from Ninghai." ”

Chen Jicai no longer talked about selling wontons, but both of them ate very slowly. In their hearts, they all thought about waiting for the three sons of the Fang family to go ashore to see who was sacred.

In the Ming Dynasty, every province could produce a solution, and it was not so unusual to sit down for more than a dozen solutions in a test. It's just that Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have always produced talents. And because the first emperor divided the north and south lists, among the students who can be admitted to the tribute, the south roll will take six-tenths and the north roll will take four-tenths. It is even more difficult for southern students to stand out in the imperial examination. You must know that the places covered by the southern scroll are all where the people are outstanding, and since the imperial examination, those who can enter the top three are eight or nine out of ten from the south. In the palace examination in the thirtieth year of Hongwu, the fifty-one people admitted were all southerners. This offended the anger of the northerners, and a certificate of name was handed to the Ministry of Rites, accusing the examiner of forming a party for personal gain. At this time, the first emperor was furious, killed a group and exiled a group. In August, another palace test was held, and all the northerners were taken, and this subsided. Since then, it has been used to roll up the scholars in the north and south. The southern bachelors, who originally accounted for eighty or ninety percent, can now only take sixty percent. In this way, who can still enter the Gongyuan to participate in the examination is not the best who rushed out of the tens of millions of people? Among them, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have the largest number of people. The students of the two places also secretly competed, and faintly regarded each other as the biggest opponent in their careers.

Wu and Chen were both students from Jiangsu, so when they heard that there was Xie Yuan from Zhejiang, they paid special attention to see where they were sacred.

The two of them and the convoy on the dock waited for a while, and finally a large ship slowly approached from the cold river. Seeing that the rest of the people on the dock were in good spirits, the two of them said in their hearts: "Here we are." ”

When the ship docked, the two of them knew that this was a big ship, although there were no carved beams and paintings, but they could not hide the grandeur and majesty of the whole body. A few servants first laid out the pedals, and when the boat came to a stop, a boy in his early twenties got off the boat first, followed by a boy of twenty-seven or eighteen. The younger one looks handsome, and the older one is also stable and generous. They were all dressed in fine silk cotton clothes, and draped in dark wool. The hair bun is inlaid with green jade and white jade, which is simple and solemn compared to those sons of families in Beijing. In the eyes of Wu and Chen, they are extraordinary, and they can't guess which one is Fang Zhongjin who has won the solution. When the scholarly servants of the two also got off the boat, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy stepped down from the boat. Although this person is young, he is tall and handsome, with sword eyebrows and starry eyes. The cotton clothes on the body are also of good quality, and the pulp is straight, but it can be seen that they are often worn. With a burden on his back, without the support of a servant, he walked down the pedal with a few steps, but it was as steady as the ground. Seeing that he is full of energy, no one dares to think that he is a subordinate.

The wonton stall owner was interested, and came to Wu Chen's side and said, "Two masters, according to their age, this should be Fang Zhongjin Fang's son." ”

The two of them looked at this Fang Zhongjin up and down, seeing that he was so young, good-looking, and well-born, and enjoyed a great name in Beijing, and they secretly felt contempt or jealousy in their hearts.

But seeing Fang Zhongjin's eyes suddenly turn towards them, their hearts jumped suddenly. Until he looked away lightly, as if his eyes were just casually skimming, and he did not notice the peeps of the two of them. He each picked up the spoon and scratched it in the bowl. It's just that I was flustered in my heart, and I couldn't slow down for a while.

The two sons who had come ashore earlier had already walked in front of several carriages. Say hello to each carriage in turn. None of these carriages lifted the curtains from beginning to end, only the faint response of a woman came from the thick wall of the carriage, obviously the female elders of the family.

Wu Chen and the others sat a little far away, and they could vaguely hear from the conversation that the young son was called Fang Zhongyu, the older one was called Fang Zhongjian, and Fang Zhongjin, who came ashore last, these three people were all young children of the Fang family.

At this time, Fang Zhongjin also saluted several carriages in turn, just like the previous two. When it came to the last carriage, a crisp and immature woman's voice suddenly came from the carriage: "Brother Jin really doesn't come to live?"

Fang Zhongjin replied: "Mother misses me very much, and I will serve her well at home when I come back this time." ”

With a hula, a small hand like a green jade tube lifted the curtain, revealing an angry little face, "Can't you invite your aunt to come to live at home?"

Fang Zhongjin was stunned, and said to the owner with the little face: "I have been back to my hometown for three months, and some of the furniture in my house is broken and no one has repaired it, so I want to take advantage of these days to repair the home, so that my mother can live at ease." ”

The woman also knew that she was wrong, put down the curtain and said, "Then you have to visit more." ”

Wu and Chen saw this scene in the distance, and they wondered in their hearts.

Chen Jicai first lowered his voice and said: "The scenery in Beijing is different, this little lady looks good, how can you say that when you lift the curtain, you will lift the curtain? It's really ...... to talk to men."

Wu Liantao said in a low voice: "After all, it is at the feet of the Son of Heaven, even the daughters of large families are more lively." I think they should be talking to cousins, but I think they are too young to avoid taboos. If not, it's really dirty. He laughed twice.

Chen Jicai said even more unscrupulously: "Hey, Brother Wu, you don't know. The story between this cousin is called Dona. Otherwise, where are there so many stories on the market to watch? Don't look at it as a little girl, the tricks and tricks on the wall are no less than those of the sisters. ”

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Fang Zhongjin turning to face them and taking out a pair of slingshots from his sleeve. Listening to the two more bangs, the two bowls in front of them burst open, and the cold wonton soup splashed on the faces of the two.

The two of them were angry, staring at Fang Zhongjin but didn't know how to attack. But seeing that he turned around and ignored him, the two wanted to question and had no object. Wu Liantao said, "Okay, good!" blushed, but he couldn't say anything else.

Fang Zhongyu and Fang Zhongjian, the two sons, felt troubled when they saw this, and they didn't want to recruit them. After a while, a person who looked like a steward stepped forward, bowed to the two, and said, "Two masters, the young master of my clan is young and ignorant, and he collided with the two. The small one is not here to accompany one. As he spoke, he took out two taels of silver from his sleeve, "Please ask the two masters to accept these silver coins and buy new clothes." ”

The steward didn't know the identities of the two, and seeing that they were wearing Confucian shirts, he guessed that they might also be lifted, and he felt a big headache in his heart. This Fang Zhongjin has a strange temper, and he got into trouble when he went ashore, and he didn't know how to report it when he went back. He held the silver in his hands for a long time, but no one came to pick it up.

Wu Chen and the others saw that Fang Zhongjin had always ignored them, and none of the Fang family's masters came forward, so they actually sent an old servant out to play a round, obviously looking down on them. Wu Liantao had no choice but to snort from his nose: "The Fang family is powerful, and Wu has learned it." "Leave with your luggage in your sleeves. Chen Caiji also glared at everyone on the shore, and followed Wu Liantao away. The two secretly swore in their hearts that after they got the title of the gold list, they were bound to take revenge.

The rest of the people on the shore also stepped on the horses, and the convoy slowly drove into the city gate. For a moment, only a dry-eyed wonton stall owner was left on the dock.

"Come on, my fine Jingdezhen porcelain bowl!" the stall owner sighed distressedly and resigned himself to cleaning up the mess on the table. But he saw that it was two copper coins that broke the bowl, which was enough for the bowl. Only then did his heart turn his anger into joy. Thinking about how to add fuel and vinegar to such a good story.