Oriole Line

The rich and powerful.Wen Tao chose an inconspicuous seat in a corner and sat down. He only ordered half a roast goose and a few side dishes, and was waiting with great anticipation when he suddenly heard a voice say: "This is Mr. Silver Fox from Da Sima's mansion." ?”

Wen Tao raised his eyes, and saw that he was a young man in a fine attire, only about 20 years old.Wen Tao frowned. He came here very low-key this time, and he didn't want to cause extra troubles. However, it was true that he received courtiers for Pu Chen during Zhou Yan's reign. Da Sima, no courtier would dare to underestimate him.

Wen Tao nodded slightly, and the young man's eyes lit up immediately and he said: "It's really Mr. Silver Fox! I'm Chen Mao from Yingchuan. I met you once when I accompanied my father to visit Da Sima a few years ago."

Wen Tao thought that this person claimed to be from Yingchuan, and his surname was Chen, so he should be from the Chen family of Yingchuan.His father... should be Chen Sui, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and he did have contacts with him during Zhou Yan's reign.So Wen Tao politely said: "Mr. Chen."

Chen Mao said enthusiastically: "Mr. Yinhu is too lonely to eat alone here, and the dishes he ordered are limited. Why don't you gather with me in the private room inside, because you are all my friends." Walk.

Wen Tao cautiously evaded and said: "No need, I didn't come to Luoyang this time for the matter of Da Sima. Since I don't have official business, I don't need to meet privately with the court officials."

Chen Mao rolled his eyes and said, "Isn't it for official business? Is Mr. Yinhu also here to take the imperial examination?"

Wen Tao just wanted to deny the cover-up, but then he thought that his roster had already been handed over to the official department, and he would be seen sooner or later in the Luocheng Palace exam in a few days, so there was no point in concealing it, so he said briefly: "Exactly."

Unexpectedly, Chen Mao was even more excited. He clapped his hands and said, "Great! We are not court officials, but candidates for the imperial examination. Since Mr. Yinhu is also here for the imperial examination, let's get together!" Without any explanation, he pulled Wen Tao in.

Wen Tao's reason for not meeting the courtiers in private was rejected by Chen Mao just now, and it would be too blunt to find another reason to refuse now.Since I'm not a courtier, it's okay to meet him.Wen Tao followed Chen Mao into the private room, and saw a circle of handsome young men inside, and a table of delicious delicacies.Chen Mao introduced Wen Tao to everyone, and then introduced that circle of people.Wen Tao recognized one by one in his heart that this group of people came from aristocratic families in the north, and most of the families had fathers and brothers who served in the court.

Wen Tao entertained casually, but the chopsticks didn't stop. The roast goose he ordered himself didn't finish. Fortunately, there were plenty of good things on this table.Although he has been a counselor for several years, he still doesn't like socializing in his bones. Anyway, these people are not courtiers, so he just listens with his ears.After a few rounds of drinking, everyone became more relaxed, and their words became more unscrupulous.

One of the potbellied people was already drunk and complained: "What are you doing? In the Nanjing Dynasty, with my grandfather's status, I can get a fourth-rank official with my eyes closed. What else is there to take?" Try it?" This man is He Pin, from the He family in Nanyang, his ancestors have produced a great general He Jin, and a master of metaphysics He Yan.This person is ignorant at first glance, and his words are too exaggerated, which has attracted many people to give him winks.Wen Tao smiled and ignored it.

"Originally, I could rely on a thousand acres of family farmland to be a happy son, but now the farmland is gone, and to be an official...you have to take an exam, what is the world!"

Wen Tao thought in his heart that Zhou Yu's imperial examination system harmed the interests of the children of these aristocratic families.In the past, they could be officials in the court based on their birth, but now they have to compete with the children of poor families and participate in the imperial examination.Although many of them entered school at an early age, their literary talents and knowledge surpassed most poor children, and they were expected to do well in the exam, but there were also uneducated people like He Pin, who came from everyone but were illiterate. Failed in the exam.

After Wen Tao was full, his patience obviously declined, and he found an excuse to leave the table early.He packed the dishes he ordered, ordered the waiter in the shop to deliver them to Pu's house, and walked back contentedly.As soon as he left the intersection, he saw someone riding a horse on the road.Although the roads in Luoyang are wide, the population is denser than ordinary cities. The horse rider looks like an ordinary rider, but he is riding a fierce horse and rushing around. In an instant, pedestrians are running on the street, and there is a sound of screams.Wen Tao shook his head secretly, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a young gentleman who looked like a scholar walking slowly, not paying any attention to the fierce horse that was about to run towards him.Wen Tao made a decisive decision, took a light step with his light work, and pulled the scholar hard with his still powerful right hand. The horse rider suddenly saw a scholar flashing in front of him, and quickly restrained the strong horse, kicking over a man on the side of the street. The table and chairs of the peddler almost fell off the horse himself.

The man on horseback cursed, jumped off his horse, raised his whip and shouted at the young scholar who was saved by Wen Tao: "Why don't you have eyes when you walk?"

The young man on horseback was wearing a brocade cloak with a haughty expression on his face, and all the harness was of the highest grade. It seemed that he was either rich or expensive.Ordinary people are always careful to make amends when encountering such a thing, lest they get into trouble.The scholar fell to the ground, his face and lips were pale, and he was protecting his abdomen with his hands, with a look of pain on his face.When Wen Tao saw this, he was about to help him up, but he heard the scholar say: "There are eight laws of the Great Landscape. Those who are not scouts of court officials are not allowed to ride horses on the street during the day. Walking on Luoyang Avenue during the daytime is not at fault. " The scholar's voice was not loud, and he even felt a little out of breath when he listened carefully, but he was still calm and calm after being so frightened.

The noble young master who caused the trouble snorted coldly and said, "How do you know that I'm not a court scout? I came here today to work for the government. You offended me, and you still don't make amends?"

The onlookers whispered to each other, it is already a big trouble to bump into a rich and powerful son, if they bump into a court official, they might go to jail.Someone at the side whispered, "My lord, the government will not mess with you, please make amends."

Wen Tao looked at the young master who caused the trouble coldly, and already had a judgment in his heart.The scholar ignored the advice of the people around him, but calmly looked at the perpetrator, shook his head and said, "Young Master is not a scout from the court, why bother to lie in public? It must also be an official post station horse. The young master is obviously not. If it is a court official, today is exactly twenty-five, and every month on twenty-five, all court officials above the ninth rank in the capital must go to the court. Since the young master is not in Luoyang Palace at this moment, he must not be a court official. The young master is neither a scout nor an official of the court, riding a horse on the street during the day has already violated the law of the great scenery, and lying about his identity in public is an even worse crime."

"You..." The troublemaker's eyes widened, he was so angry that his hand holding the whip was about to fall.At this moment, a few noble sons came down from the Guiyun restaurant, they were Chen Mao and others whom Wen Tao had met just now. Hu Sen, the only son of Hu Yun's family, who was going to attend their party, hurried down.When they heard the scholar's words, they broke into a cold sweat. The scholar's words made sense, and if they looked into it carefully, Hu Sen had violated two major rules, so they hurriedly pulled the troublemaker over and said, "Misunderstandings are all misunderstandings. "

Chen Mao looked around and saw that the young scholar was standing next to Wen Tao, and he said to him as if he had met a savior: "Mr. Yinhu, this is our friend Hu Sen, who comes from the Hu family in Jinyang. Just now is a It was a misunderstanding, and we will pay for the overturned peddler. Is this young man not injured?"

Wen Tao shook his sleeves, seeing that Chen Mao and the others didn't have a fit, he just leaned over to help the young scholar on the ground, and asked, "What do you think, my lord?"

The young scholar shook his head: "It doesn't matter." He looked at the young master who caused the trouble again, and said solemnly, "Luoyang is the capital of Jing Dynasty, under the feet of the emperor, I hope that the young master will not be an example."

Hu Sen didn't express any anger in his heart, and he was still reconciled, but he couldn't stand the persuasion of the people around him, so he was pushed into Guiyun Restaurant, and threw a few pieces of silver to the peddler whose tables and chairs were overturned.

After everyone dispersed, the young scholar hurriedly bowed to Wen Tao and said, "Thank you for saving my life, my lord."

Wen Tao said: "It's a little effort. The young master's conversation is extraordinary, is he here to take the imperial examination?"

The young scholar nodded and said, "That's right, I'm Wang Wei, whose name is Chun Yu."

"Brother Chunyu." Wen Tao returned the salute.He was originally cold by nature, but just now this young scholar was indifferent, and he was neither humble nor overbearing in the face of power, and he was well-founded, so he felt good about him. Seeing that he was also here to take the imperial examination, he felt like the same way.

At this moment, there was a sound of "cuckoo" in Wang Wei's belly, and a sense of embarrassment emerged spontaneously.

88, 88.

Wen Tao saw that Wang Wei was tall and tall, but his face was thin, and the clothes on his body were also very ordinary mage. He guessed that he had suffered from cold and starvation, so he said, "Brother Chunyu hasn't had lunch yet?"

Wang Wei's expression was troubled, as if there was something hard to say.

Wen Tao said: "Brother Chunyu, don't be restrained. Brother Chunyu, if you have any difficulties, you can just tell them directly. If you go to the scientific examination together, you can be regarded as fellow travelers."

Wang Wei hesitated for a moment and said: "To tell you the truth, when I came down to Luoyang, the thieves ransacked all the coils I was carrying on my body, and there has been no water or rice for two days."

Wen Tao was startled: "It's all looted? Don't you even have a place to stay?"

Wang Wei looked shy: "I was kicked out by the store the day before yesterday, which made the young master laugh."

Wen Tao recalled that he had many similar experiences when he was young, and he felt compassion in his heart, and said, "Why don't you just stay in my place. You don't have to refuse, I can do it with little effort." Wen Tao didn't say much, but open tone