Spring and Jingming, the grass on both sides of the river grows and the warbler flies, the river is mighty, Ye Xingyuan and Tang Shiyan went down the river by boat, the road was very smooth, and the arrival time in the provincial capital was half a day earlier than expected.

Jiangzhou Prefecture, the provincial capital, is located at the intersection of water and land in all directions, and it is needless to say that it is prosperous and prosperous. When he abandoned the boat and landed on the shore, he entered the gate of the city, and saw that the streets were lined with people.

Ye Xingyuan took a few looks at the scenery of the city, and then discussed with Tang Shiyan to find a clean inn to stay in. But Tang Shiyan took a big deal and said: "Why should the virtuous brother break the bank? ”

When Ye Xingyuan heard this name, he knew that it was a fellow villager hall opened by the people of Hanjiang Prefecture in the provincial capital, which had both accommodation and friendship functions.

At this time, when people go out, the most reliable place is, of course, the hometown hall, which is much better than all kinds of unreliable inns. Although this place is a provincial capital, the probability of a black shop is very small, but the words "cars and ships are feet and teeth, and they should be killed if they are not guilty" always makes people mumble.

If you have face and status, of course, it is most appropriate to stay in the hometown hall, but after all, the number of people that the hall can accommodate is limited, so not everything can be accommodated, and generally only officials and nobles, or various celebrities.

Speaking of Xiucai, he can be regarded as the number one person in the township, but it is much worse in the prefecture, and it is even less in the provincial capital. And they often don't have a lot of money, so it's still very difficult to live in the hall.

Ye Xingyuan hesitated and said: "Although the guild hall is good, it is inevitable that there are many characters and many entertainments. Even if you can move in, if a noble person comes, I am afraid that I will have to move, which is not conducive to meditation and study, so it is better to choose another good place. ”

Tang Shiyan patted his chest and promised, "Brother Xian, don't worry, with my old Tang here, the people in the hall have to give us a few thin noodles, even if there is no vacancy, they have to move it out for us." As for the future, there is no need to worry. ”

Ye Xingyuan thought that Tang Shiyan was also an old man, and he was one of the four well-known talents in Hanjiang Mansion, so it was not surprising that he really had some preferential treatment. In this way, he had no doubts, and went around a few streets and alleys with Tang Shiyan to find the gate of the Hanjiang Guild Hall.

Ye Xingyuan looked at it a few times. However, I saw that the gold-lettered signboard of the Hangang Hall was dazzling in the sun, and there was an archway built outside the gate, which was very simple.

A guy at the door of the hall was napping in the spring light, his head was tilting up and down, and he didn't know what kind of sweet dream he was having. Tang Shiyan walked up to the guy. Cough heavily.

The young man opened his eyes, sleepy-eyed, and looked at Tang Caizi in front of him in confusion. Maybe he hasn't woken up yet, and he was speechless for a while. There is no indication of Mune.

Tang Shiyan felt that he couldn't hold his face, so he could only put on an attitude that adults didn't remember villains, and said proudly: "I am Tang Shiyan of Hanjiang Mansion, I should have written a letter with your family before, and I will come to move in today." ”

The man came to his senses, rubbed his eyes, looked back and forth, and saw neither the mule and horse convoy nor the palanquin. Although Tang Shiyan wears a square scarf on his head, he looks like a showman. But there was still something missing, so he shook his head and said: "This Tang Xianggong, now there is no room in the hall, I am afraid that I will have to trouble Your Excellency to find another place." ”

As soon as he came up, he ate a closed door, Tang Shiyan's face was a little red, and he said angrily: "Why are you so lazy guy? You go and ask your shopkeeper, and you will know my name Tang Shiyan, where will there be no empty rooms?"

Tang Caizi has not come to the provincial capital for several years, and the new people have replaced the old ones, and even the guards are not long-sighted. Before getting off the boat, he also played the conch with Ye Xingyuan. This is how he ends, he can only scold.

The guy was also stunned, listening to Master Tang's shouting, he stiffened his neck and said, "Whatever you are, Master Tang, Master Kang." If there is no vacant room, there is no vacant room, can you still conjure it up for you? You are a great minister, but what do you rely on with the villain? Hugh is going to lose the dignity of a scholar in front of his fellow villagers!"

Tang Shi was so angry that he was smoking, and he was pitiful that the old Tang Imperial Examination was disappointed again and again, and he was sad to not go to the provincial capital for several years, and he couldn't imagine this comeback. I was stunned just after entering the city.

When the shopkeeper of the hall heard the noise, he came out of the front hall, and saw that Tang Shiyan recognized him, so he quickly reprimanded the guy, and greeted him with a smile: "Tang Xianggong has not seen him for several years, and his heroic style has not diminished back then, but why bother to be angry with the villain? ”

Tang Shiyan was heart-open, and pointed at Ye Xingyuan and said with a smile: "It's still the shopkeeper who knows people, but there is more than one, and my little brother also needs to move in." ”

The shopkeeper had a difficult look on his face, and hesitated: "It's not a secret, there are a lot of people going out in the spring now, and there are indeed not too many empty rooms in the hall." For the sake of the face of the prime minister, one can still be vacated, but two rooms"

While the shopkeeper was talking, he was looking at Ye Xingyuan, seeing that this young man was only sixteen or seventeen years old, but he was wearing a Xiucai turban like Tang Shiyan, and he couldn't help but secretly fall in love.

In the Hanjiang Mansion, there are only a handful of such young talents, and the shopkeeper suddenly remembered a person, and quickly changed his tone and asked, "I don't know the name of this little minister?"

Seeing that the shopkeeper's attitude was quite polite, Ye Xingyuan also returned the salute and replied: "Ye Xingyuan is in the lower Yang." ”

The shopkeeper's eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily: "Why didn't Ye Xianggong report his name earlier? The Hanjiang Guild Hall heard that Your Excellency was going to take the provincial examination of Jinke, so I prepared a room and waited for it, and I wish Ye Xianggong Jinke to add glory to my Hanjiang Mansion!"

The shopkeeper greeted him warmly, and personally led Ye Xingyuan into the hall hall, forgetting to continue greeting Tang Shiyan for a while, and leaving Tang Dacai behind.

Tang Shiyan was left out in the cold, and he could only be secretly bitter in his heart, but he was an open-minded person, and he was soon relieved. Sure enough, today is no longer a few years ago, personnel metabolism, only the new people laugh, who only the old people cry.

He Tang Shiyan was also young, he was a proud show and a famous talent, but now he is just an old gang of people who have been fighting the streets in the imperial examination for many years.

And Ye Xingyuan, who is in the same company, is the popular fried chicken, first the head of the county trial, and then the head of the Xinkefu trial, which is already very revealing. Therefore, in the eyes of others, the future is naturally immeasurable, and the icing on the cake treatment will rise.

The shopkeeper led Ye Xingyuan to the west chamber of the last courtyard of the third courtyard of the hall, and said with a smile: "Ye Xianggong came here, he should have arranged the main house, but it just so happened that Lord Yuan in our Hanjiang Mansion returned to his hometown and lived in the hall temporarily, so it was really difficult to move his old man." ”

Ye Xingyuan knew that the guild hall would also receive some retired officials, and this was not fixed, and the main room was generally reserved for these people. As for the shopkeeper saying that he should have arranged for himself to live in the main house, it was all a beautiful scene, and it couldn't be taken seriously.

Although he has a good reputation recently, he is only a talent of Jiupin after all, and he has never brought his family. Monopolizing the West Chambers is already considered a high-standard treatment.

Therefore, Ye Xingyuan would definitely not think about the dove occupying the magpie's nest and plotting the main house, and said with a smile that understood the rules: "How can you do it in Xia, dare to work hard and bother, and the West Chamber is quiet and elegant." Very good, contented below. ”

The shopkeeper saw that he knew how to advance and retreat, and his demeanor was moderate, and he admired it even more. Xindao, this little minister, has a great reputation recently, and he is the head of the government test. The name of the talent shook the Hanjiang Mansion, but he was still so modest, and he did not have the flamboyant willfulness of the young man, and he would become a great weapon in the future.

He has been watching the guests coming and going from the south to the north for decades, and he has been honed into a sharp eye, and he thinks that he will not make a big mistake in looking at people, so he has even more thoughts about Ye Xingyuan, and even Tang Shiyan has been treated a little better.

That night, the shopkeeper also deliberately asked the cook to make a few more hot dishes for Ye Xingyuan and Tang Shiyan to wash the dust, and Tang Shiyan's unhappiness was swept away. After eating a few glasses of wine, he pulled Ye Xingyuan to talk about poetry.

When he was dancing with his hands, someone happened to send an invitation, saying that it was for Tang Xianggong of Hanjiang Mansion. Tang Shiyan took it and laughed: "I just arrived in the provincial capital today, and someone sent an invitation to the literary meeting, it seems that although my name Tang Shiyan has not been obvious for several years, I still have a bit of face!"

He was slightly drunk, shook the invitation and said, "Brother Ye Xian, although you are famous in this mansion, you are young after all. Time is short, and no one in the provincial city knows your talent, like a pearl hidden in your bag. This time, let Brother Wei take you to see and see, and you can also see the literary world of the provincial capital!"

Tang Shiyan was unsatisfactory in the imperial examination in the provincial capital. Although he is also famous, he was not angry and did not get into the exam, so he had to go back. Now as soon as I arrived in the provincial capital, there were invitations delivered, which was a bit of a puff.

Ye Xingyuan also knows a little bit about Tang Shiyan, and now he just wants to feel at ease in the imperial examination. I wasn't interested in anything else, so I shook my head and said, "Since I wasn't invited to this Wenhui, I won't go, and the seniors will go by themselves." ”

Tang Shiyan was drunk, seeing that the invitation was actually from Mu Mansion, he was even more proud, and said: "Virtuous brother, don't blame your brother for not bringing you, this is a banquet for Mu Mansion to enjoy flowers, probably to see the famous scholars in this province before the exam." ”

Since Mu Million wants to recruit a son-in-law with great fanfare, it is impossible not to make preliminary preparations, at least to find out the situation of the scholars in the province, and then after the provincial examination, he can be targeted.

Ye Xingyuan was still not interested in this matter, and said two more perfunctory sentences. As he was talking, he suddenly saw Tang Shiyan's face collapse. Because on the invitation, Tang Shiyan saw a name that he hated the most.

"How dare this person ask me out?" Tang Shiyan gritted his teeth, angrily put the invitation on the wine table, and sneered: "I can't imagine that I haven't seen him for a few years, he has become a guest in the Mu Mansion, it really stains my eyes!

Ye Xingyuan was stunned, looked down, and saw that the name was "Li Xin" written on the invitation, but he didn't know what kind of character it was, so that Tang Shiyan hated it so much?

Listening to Tang Shiyan's description, this person seems to be about the same age as Tang Shiyan, and his marital status is "widowed" and "single", and the difference in this aspect is not particularly big.

The shopkeeper knew about the inside story, and hurriedly persuaded: "Tang Xianggong is angry, since you left Jiangzhou, Li Xin's reputation in the provincial capital has become more and more famous in recent years, and he can be regarded as a famous provincial city." Mu Million is a vassal and elegant, and often holds him, and the post of this flower-viewing party is also sent by him. ”

Mu Million is a businessman after all, and although he is rich, he is almost forced to mix in the literary and artistic circles. If Li Xin is a well-known talent in the provincial capital, he will send the invitation on his behalf, and the style of this article will be much more elegant.

"He has the courage to invite me now, and he doesn't want to take it alone?" Tang Shiyan was indignant, and Li Xin seemed to him to be a complete villain.

At the beginning, Li Xin competed with him Tang Shiyan and suffered several defeats, so he has been secretly using small means to exclude Tang Shiyan from the provincial literary and artistic circle.

Therefore, Tang Shiyan didn't quite understand, this time Li Xin had eaten the bear's heart and leopard gall, and he actually dared to take the initiative to invite himself? He picked up the invitation again, looked at it carefully, and suddenly let out a cry, and his face was immediately full of sadness.

What's the matter? Ye Xingyuan leaned over and couldn't help but laugh dumbly when he saw the theme of this meeting. No wonder Tang Shiyan changed from complacent to depressed, this time the essay was not about poetry, but about the study of the world, and even the current literature of the imperial examination.

And Tang Dacai is good at wind and snow and literature and painting, and he is not very good at those, and he has abandoned economics for many years, so he is now in the stage of grinding guns, reviewing hard, and recovering his strength.

No wonder the enemy family will kindly invite Tang Dacai to the meeting, and there will be no good banquet! )