dressed as a scholar

It stands to reason that there is no need to go to greet the Tong judge who is higher than the county magistrate, but the Tong judge has governed Yuncheng for many years, so he is undoubtedly the host.The new county magistrate went to the county seat, and since he was not familiar with the place where he was born, he should also do his best as a landlord, so that we can work together more harmoniously in the future.

When Qian Wuzhang left, he took with him his assigned teacher, and the remaining servants in the county government office included the master secretary, the censor, the deputy inspector and a staff of government officials. Early in the morning, these people packed up and went to the gate of the city to welcome the newcomers. magistrate.

The notice was put up in advance in the city yesterday, and the people got wind of it and wanted to see the magistrate's demeanor. The gate of the city was more lively than usual, especially after the beginning of winter when the weather was getting colder day by day. Originally, they loved to set up stalls at the gate of the city. The street vendors couldn't bear the cold, and there were a lot fewer vendors. Today, knowing that Xinzhi County has taken office, the vendors know that the gate of the city must have had a larger flow of people than in the past, so the two links are really lively.

The old women who went out to buy vegetables in the house in the early morning did not go to the vegetable market, but went to the gate of the city to buy vegetables. Sure enough, the fruits and vegetables were very fresh. Luodou went straight to the city gate, the frosted cabbage was really sweet.

The guards felt that the city gate was bustling with people coming and going, and the abundance of people buying and selling could show the prosperity of the city. Today, they never drove them away on the grounds of disturbing the order of the city gate, and the narrow aisles for carriages and horses could easily cause accidents.

When I heard the news, Fang Yu and Qiao Hezhi were having breakfast in the warming room. Qiao Hezhi hadn't gone out for many days and wanted to go see the excitement, but Fang Yu was going to the county government to do some errands and didn't have time to accompany him. Feeling tired every day, I contracted the wind-cold after I woke up, and the illness disappeared like silk. I took a lot of medicine and the pain disappeared, but I still coughed all the time.

When the seasons change, Fang Yu also suffers from a severe cold. These days the weather is hot and cold, so he doesn't let Qiao Hezhi go out, for fear that the wind blowing outside will make him sick again. Unopened, it is very tasteless.

It's okay when the academy is on vacation, Fang Yu can be at home and Qiao Hezhi won't notice the boredom, if he's in the academy, he thinks the time is too slow to look through the books.

Seeing that people's hearts were drifting away, Fang Yu put a steamed dumpling stuffed with lotus root and pork into his bowl: "I'm about to eat a dumpling, and I haven't eaten two bites today. Didn't I eat breakfast with you, don't you always eat breakfast well?"

"I've eaten three of these dumplings. The steamed dumplings are greasy. I don't like to eat too much now."

"If you don't like dumplings, then drink two more mouthfuls of porridge."

Qiao Hezhi said again: "I have to take medicine soup later, how can I presume medicine if I drink too much porridge."

Today was neither this nor that, always finding something to talk about, Fang Yu put the dumpling in the human bowl into his own mouth, and drank the soup and porridge in two mouthfuls.

He didn't speak, just stared at the people beside him, Qiao Hezhi pursed his lips: "Are you trying to lose your temper with me?"

"What did I lose my temper with you?"

Fang Yu shook his head, just thinking about going out, like a child.

"Drink the medicine obediently. I'll take you to the county government later, okay?"

Qiao Hezhi raised his eyebrows when he heard the words: "But it's not a banquet. I'm afraid it would be impolite for me to go when it's so important to meet the county magistrate."

"It doesn't matter. The judge is just settling down today. I will meet with the county magistrate earlier. The handover is still to come. I don't need to go."

It's not easy for the academy to have a holiday today. Qiao Hezhi originally wanted to stay with Fang Yu, but Master Tongju arranged an errand for Fang Yu, so the two of them couldn't stay together for a whole day, which was no different from going to the academy. difference.

He owed it in his heart, and now Fang Yu asked him to go out together, so he was naturally happy in his heart.

After drinking the medicine honestly, Fang Yu went into the house to find a thick cloak made of rabbit fur for someone to wear, and then went out.

With the help of Lord Chengtong, you don't need to wait at the gate of the city once, the two of you just need to wait in the county government office.When I arrived at the county yamen, there were not two people in the yamen, only two maids who cleaned and did sundries.

"Fang Yu, did you take your husband out today?"

The two were about to go to the county government office when they heard a voice behind them. Qiao Hezhi hurriedly saluted: "Mr. Tongju."

"There is no need to be too polite." Ji Congyong said with a smile: "Young people should come out more often."

The ones who came here were late, but they didn't wait long. Around noon, there was a commotion outside the county mansion: "My lord, Fang Jieyuan, the county magistrate has arrived!"

"Yo, I just said it, and now I'm here, let's go, the county magistrate is new, he must pay a lot of salutes, let's go out and have a look."

Fang Yu followed Ji Congyong, secretly pulled Qiao Hezhi's hand, and the two went out of the county together.

The county magistrate must stay in the place of office for at least three years, unless there is a major fault or the imperial order of the capital calls for promotion and demote. The county magistrate will take a longer official position than the stable one. Therefore, when the new official takes office They will always bring a lot of family servants and capable people, such as hired masters, and of course they will be hired again when they arrive at the place of work.

Fang Yu saw the mighty chariots and horses from a distance at the gate, and it seemed that they were coming for a big move.

He has been busy with the affairs of the academy these days, but in fact he didn't pay much attention to the news of the new county magistrate. He only knew that he was a Jinshi of the new department. Anyway, he didn't have anything to do to cater to Xinzhi County, so he had to work hard to do his homework in advance.

When the carriage approached, a young man with a plain gold black gauze hat on his head and a four-claw python blue robe got off the carriage. Before he could see his facial features clearly, Fang Yu's eyes were attracted by the familiar dark complexion.

"Magistrate?" Fang Yu tilted his head and looked at the familiar face carefully. He was both surprised and happy. When he looked back, he happened to meet Qiao Hezhi's eyes. The two laughed at the same time: "Brother Sheng!"

When Sheng Jia got off the carriage, he caught a glimpse of his old friend who was still facing the wind at the gate of the county government office. He was also stunned for a moment, and when he recovered from his expression, he immediately ignored the people around him and rushed over. The two of them hugged each other first. Head outside the county government office.

"Didn't you say that you came to visit Yuncheng as a guest? Why didn't you say in your letter that you came to Yuncheng for a job this time, so I can come to greet you at the gate of the city!"

Sheng Jia held Fang Yu's hand and his face flushed with joy: "I wanted to give Brother Fang a surprise, and waited for this end to be settled before visiting the house, but I didn't want Brother Fang to come to greet him today."

Ji Congyong laughed but said nothing. When he got the news that the new magistrate of Yuncheng was Sheng Jia, he also felt that there was a lot of fate.

He met Sheng Jia at the banquet of the magistrate's adult group during the provincial examination. Although he didn't talk deeply at that time, he also knew that the two got along very well.

This time when he learned that Sheng Jia came to work, he also had a lot of emotion. He thought that he was quite neglected at the banquet. Although he was No. 2 in Fucheng, he had neither family background nor talent appearance. Sheng Jia is not like a scholar, but like a farmer in the countryside. In the end, among the top seven people in the rural examination, Fang Yu Dingyou was not able to pass the exam, and the rest of the list were all unknown. It's really unpredictable to become a disciple of the emperor.

"It's been two years since we've been away. It's really not easy to get together now, but the days ahead are long, and we still have to salute and settle down now, so don't talk about the old days on the wind."

Fang Yu laughed: "Master Tong must have known that it was brother Sheng Jia who came to take up the post this time, but it was Wei Tong who revealed a little bit of information."

Ji Congyong pinched his beard and smiled, "It's just following the wishes of the magistrate Sheng. If the old man exposed it early in the morning, it would be a waste of the county magistrate's efforts."

"It's a breach of etiquette to patronize brother Fang to reminisce about the old days." Sheng Jia quickly saluted Ji Congyong: "I pay my respects to Mr. Tongju."

"Brother Chu, come quickly and meet Mr. Tongpan, brother Fang and Fulang Fang."

Fang Yu was a little surprised when he heard this, and turned his head to see Sheng Jia coming to the carriage, the curtain of the carriage was lifted from inside, and a little brother came out slowly, and anyone with a discerning eye knew that this person was Sheng Jia's family member.

"Brother Sheng didn't tell you that he was married. Missed, missed, he didn't even have a glass of wedding wine."

Sheng Jia was a little embarrassed and said: "I just got married last month. I know Brother Fang is not suitable for a banquet now. I thought that I would also bring my family to Yuncheng. It will be sooner or later to see each other."

"Since we can't attend the banquet, it's also a heartfelt wish for us to back up the wedding ceremony." Qiao Hezhi bowed to Sheng Jia's family members. He looked at his brother who was younger than him, as if he had stopped the car when he came back from Fucheng. Ma's young son of the Qi family.

Qi Qiu pursed his lips with a smile in his eyes, and returned a salute to Qiao Hezhi, and then, under Sheng Jia's introduction, saluted Tong Juan and Fang Yu in turn, but did not say a word.

Fang Yu sensed something was wrong, Sheng Jia said: "Your Excellency, brother Sheng, don't be offended, brother Qiu suffered from a serious illness when he was young, and he ran around the house to call for good doctors to save his life, but it's a pity that he can't speak since then. "

Speaking of this, Qi Qiu's eyes were stained with a layer of haze, but it was only a moment, and he still maintained a generous and soft complexion.

"Brother Chu left his hometown for the first time, and he has no relatives or old acquaintances. If you don't know the place where you live, please ask Fang Fulang to take you out for a walk more often."

Qiao Hezhi stepped forward and held Qi Qiu's hand: "Now that we come to Yuncheng to get together, we don't have relatives or friends anymore."

The smile on Qi Qiu's face brightened a lot.

"Okay, let's go inside."

Ji Congyong saw that everyone was chatting happily and couldn't stop talking. He couldn't help being disgusted and interrupted and urged him to enter the house. He threw his old bones and blew on the air outlet for a while, and his old cold legs hurt intermittently.

Originally, it was an ordinary meeting to see the county magistrate to take office, and it was almost over after meeting the person, but this is an old friend, and the friend came to Yuncheng to settle down, so Fang Yu naturally had to follow the busy schedule, but after the meeting with the magistrate Let Sheng Jia settle down first, and then come back to do the handover work of the county seat in two days, and go back first.

But once the elder leader left, everyone relaxed completely. Fang Yu asked Xue Zhu to go back and call half of his servants to help clean the county mansion, and packed up and carried Sheng Jia's salute to the mansion.

Qiao Hezhi went back to the house first to buy vegetables and meat for dinner, so that everyone could get together in the evening.

"It's better now. You came to Yuncheng to be an official. From now on, I will also be the one who has a backer and a shelter from the shadows."

Fang Yu helped pack Sheng Jia's things into the house, and couldn't help joking. To be honest, he was alone when he came to Yuncheng. Now that he has a family, a mentor, and friends, it's really not easy.

Sheng Jia didn't have two of his own things originally, most of them were bought by the Qi family as dowry, they were packaged in boxes, and when he was about to leave for Yuncheng to take up his post, he actually packed several carts.

But he didn't have any complaints in his heart, after all, Qi Qiu grew up with good clothes and good food, and he was also a boy in the family. He left the city to go to work with him after he got married, and he was afraid that the child would suffer if he prepared more things.

"When I was appointed as an official, I saw that I was arranged to go to Yuncheng to have fun all night. I thought that Brother Fang was from Yuncheng. If I were to take office, I would definitely have Brother Fang to take care of me, and I would be able to avoid many pitfalls then. .”

Fang Yu said with a smile: "In this way, we all thought of going to one place, remembering that we can take care of each other!"

"But speaking of it, you haven't told me carefully how you formed a good relationship with Young Master Qi?"

Sheng Jia was putting a vase, when he heard this, he stopped in his tracks, a smile appeared on his face, and he felt a little helpless.

After the rural examination, Qi Qiu stopped him on the way from the city. Although he was Yayuan at the time, compared to the Qi family's family background, he was still somewhat superior.The ancestor of the Qi family was a scholar, and he was also a doctor in the Imperial Academy. The family business is very large. Although it has declined later, it is still a well-established scholarly family.

He was born in a poor family and his parents died young. He was alone while copying and writing for others, and worked as a bookkeeper in a wealthy family to earn money and study. Life was tight and tight, and he borrowed debts everywhere. Cleared the account.

Even though he was moved when he saw Qi Qiu for the first time, even if he couldn't speak, it was because of this that he felt that his meager family property was really hard to match the Qi family, so he declined the Qi family's kindness that day.

Later, Qi Qiu sent them off, but he did not change his original intention and bluntly refused, but unexpectedly, he made people cry. Qi Qiu is sensitive by nature, and thought it was because he thought he was incomplete, and he said that he would definitely not pester him again. Wish him the best of luck.

Sheng Jia didn't like it, he didn't want the exam preparation sent by Qi's family, he only left a mosquito repellent sachet made by the young master next to him, and when he was tired of studying hard at night, he also watched carefully by candlelight. The emerald bamboo pattern embroidered with one stitch and one thread is better not to think about things that have no destiny.

Originally thought that we would never see each other again, but unexpectedly, when he passed the Fucheng to rest for the exam, he saw Qi Qiu again at the gate of the city. Only then did he learn that half a month ago, he waited at the tea shop at the gate of the city every day, only looking forward to To be able to see him again.

Sheng Jia's heart was not made of stone either. He was originally a scholar of scholar status, but his life was poor and poor, far from the status and glory that a scholar status should have. Over the years, he has received a lot of stares, and now some people will treat him like this Even if he is infatuated, he is also willing to kiss him for a while.

According to Fang Yu's words, he and Qi Qiu promised that if he would try to enter the house, he would definitely return to the city to marry him.

"I never imagined that the heavens intended to make this marriage happen. I was ranked first, and then this is what Brother Fang saw."

As he said that, Sheng Jia put down the vase and sat down on the stool.

He is considered complete in his current life, with fame, official position, and beautiful family members like flowers. The hardships of his previous life have come to an end, but there are new troubles in the new life: "Although I am a student of the Son of Heaven and a Jinshi , thinking that it is enough to match Brother Chu, but Brother Chu feels that he has favored me, and always refuses to go out with me to meet people, always afraid that he will lose my face."

Fang Yu couldn't help laughing when he heard the words: "This is for your consideration, so don't blame him. It's okay, just be patient with him, he can understand it, and it will get better after a long time."

Didn't he and He Zhi come here the same way back then?

Sheng Jia said embarrassingly: "I don't mean to blame him, I just feel sorry for him."

"This precious young master still needs to be coaxed." Fang Yu carefully passed on his experience: "If you put your heart into studying hard but treat him well, life will naturally be easier."

Fang Yu couldn't help joking again: "It seems that the "Lightning Avoidance Guide for Rural Exams" will be slightly revised~"

"Again, didn't Brother Fang say that he would print and distribute this book? After all, it was written with painstaking efforts by two masters, and there are still many things worth learning from."

Fang Yu said: "This must be printed and distributed. The teahouse at home has been renovated and turned into a bookstore. When the time comes to put the books written by the magistrate in the bookstore, the threshold will not be broken."

"Now that the county magistrate is here, even the light on my face can shine! In two days, I happen to be giving lectures at the academy to teach the experience of the provincial examination. It has been delayed for more than a year, and I will invite you to come to the academy to give another lecture together." .Your Excellency will not betray my favor."

As soon as the words fell, Xuezhu brought a letter: "Master, the husband brought a message saying that dinner is almost ready, please pack it up and go back."

"Not for Brother Fang's sir, but for Fang Fulang's craftsmanship, I definitely have to agree."