Chapter 268 A stepping stone
Mr. Chen's house was easy to find. The gate was wide open in broad daylight. You didn't need to ask once you entered Anrenfang. A group of people dressed as scholars were crowded at the door of a mansion chatting animatedly. When he looked up, he saw the two big golden words "Chen Mansion" on the door, and the sunlight reflected by them blinded Lao Zhao's eyes.
Two servants stood straight outside the door, looking straight ahead. Zhao Yushu was just about to go forward to inquire, but the door god seemed to have foresight and turned his head towards the crowd, motioning him to go over there. It seemed that he was used to such scenes.
Zhao Yushu bowed and thanked him, then quickly squeezed through the crowd. Beside the mansion gate stood a large wooden board with something that looked like a government office notice on it. Zhao Yushu took a closer look and burst out laughing. It seemed that his great move of being possessed by the immortal poet was useless.
It turned out to be a couplet.
It was written on it that the second line of the couplet should be given to the gentleman behind to look at. If she nodded, she could participate in the dinner at the Chen Mansion tonight.
So Zhao Yushu first leaned over to look at the gentleman behind him. Well, there was a square table, an old woman, a servant boy, and a pot of tea, that was all.
Very stylish.
From time to time, someone would go to the old lady and take a piece of paper to write his own second line. The old lady would shake her head, and the scholar would sigh and walk away. The old lady would nod, and the scholar would smile brightly and leave his name, then take a piece of paper from the servant boy, and return to the crowd excitedly to give advice.
Zhao Yushu took a look at the few posts left in the servant's hand and took a breath. He thought he had gotten up late and the competition was quite fierce.
So he hurriedly looked at the bulletin board and stared at the first couplet.
There are three parts water, two parts bamboo, and one part bright moon.
When it came to the serious digital matching, Zhao Yushu scratched his head. He was not good at making pairs, so there was no way he could cheat.
Apparently, in the Tang Dynasty of this world, perhaps because other subjects are given more importance, serious literature is not that good. Not only poetry and prose are not prominent, but couplets are not prominent either. One can tell by the way the group of people around are scratching their heads.
In this way, Lao Zhao and I might actually have a chance.
Zhao Yushu took out his folding fan and fanned himself vigorously, pacing back and forth as he thought, water versus moon, bamboo versus wind, bright moon versus sky?
It sounds like it makes sense, but it doesn't make sense.
Even if it doesn't match, you have to make it right. You can't just go back like this.
Zhao Yushu walked to the desk, bowed, took a piece of paper, and started writing.
Ride on the moon a hundred miles away, the wind a thousand miles away, and turn into a flying wild goose ten thousand miles away.
No matter whether it is in rhythm or neat, just write it first.
The old lady picked up the note, looked at it carefully for a while, and frowned.
To be finished!
Zhao Yushu wanted to cover his head. Without Li, Du and Su, he was nothing.
“The handwriting is so ugly.”
The old lady spoke her first words of the day and then nodded.
The servant smiled, took out a note and a list and handed them to Zhao Yushu.
Zhao Yushu let out a long sigh, thanked him, wrote down Bai Jintang's name, and solemnly put the note into his arms.
This small victory made me break out in a cold sweat. If I had traveled through time and space and become just an ordinary person, I don’t know how far I could have gone in this world.
Maybe it can only appear in the synopsis of the second episode.
Zhao Yushu did not join in the fun like the other winners, but left Anrenfang directly and went to Xishi.
Before approaching the prince, he had to disguise himself as an ordinary person as much as possible, so the magic weapons could not be shown unless it was absolutely necessary. Therefore, a weapon to conceal his presence was necessary.
He wanted to buy a knife to completely paralyze the prince.
The West Market was crowded with people, even many Hu people were shouting. In the early Tang Dynasty, Hu merchants had to sell their goods in a special trading area, but now the management is lax and this place has completely become a noisy postmodern market.
There were many weapons along the way, especially in the hands of the group of Hu merchants. Every piece was shining with jewels and precious stones. When asked, they were all at least earth-grade, and there were even several heaven-grade treasures.
Zhao Yushu walked away with a smile. There was no treasure to be found here. Anything with a bit of spiritual power would have been taken away by the rich. Even the wine glass he had was taken away long ago.
Fortunately, he did not fantasize about getting a treasure, so he went straight to the iron shop, picked up a handy long sword, and left the West Market.
After returning to the courtyard, Zhao Yushu pretended to practice a few moves of the Luan Paofeng sword technique, then bought a pot of wine from the next door and went into Fangzheng's house, saying that he would go to Chen Yuanwai's house to attend a party that night, and would be back late, so he specially reported it.
If you are courteous and well-mannered, and have a chance to get close to the prince in the future, even if there are experts around the prince who want to check your background, you will get nothing but positive comments.
A sensible, down-to-earth and motivated outsider.
As dusk fell, Zhao Yushu changed into a moon-white scholar's uniform and came to Anrenfang carrying a long sword.
"Mr. Bai, this is an elegant place, please put down your weapons." The doorman took the note, looked at it, found his name on the list, and advised respectfully.
"Of course." Zhao Yushu put the long knife in the doorman's hand, patted his sleeves, and followed a servant into the room.
The Chen Mansion does not occupy a large area, even smaller than the private residence of Miss Lu, a grain merchant from Nanyang.
But this is Chang'an, where every inch of land is valuable. To be able to occupy more than ten acres of land here, the rank of this Mr. Chen before his retirement must have been quite high.
The banquet was held in the garden of Chen Mansion, which was different from the delicate and elegant garden of the south. Even though there were still mountains and water, the rocks were rugged and the atmosphere was extraordinary.
Led by the servants, Zhao Yushu sat among several scholars. They bowed to each other, flattered each other for a few words, and then began to chat.
It was called a banquet, but in fact it was just a pot of sake and some fruits and cakes. Zhao Yushu touched his stomach and thought to himself that he should have eaten dinner before coming.
There weren't many people, sitting in two rows. I counted and there were only twenty of them. Everyone seemed to know each other. Even though some people around me were chatting, they kept glancing over here.
The news of the emperor's death had spread. According to the rules, the whole country should stop singing and dancing for three months to express mourning, but the new emperor issued an edict, saying that the people were the most important thing and everything should be kept simple. After only three days, everything returned to normal, and he was praised for it.
The coronation ceremony of the new emperor was scheduled for the auspicious day of the seventh day of next month. Zhao Yushu calculated that there were only more than twenty days left. He probably wouldn't have the chance to cause any trouble, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to win. It looked like he would have to fight a protracted war.
After chatting for a while, with the sound of a bell, all the scholars stood up at the same time, and Zhao Yushu also hurriedly stood up.
How come everyone here looks like a regular customer? Is it possible that I, Zhao, am the only newcomer?
"I am very pleased to see all these talented people again!"
Before anyone arrives, the voice arrives first.
Zhao Yushu poked his head out and saw an energetic old man striding in from the gate, and he bowed to everyone from a distance.
"Meet sir!"
All the scholars bowed in unison. Fortunately, Zhao Yushu was a cultivator after all, and his reaction was extremely quick, so he did not stand out from the crowd.
However, everyone calls him sir, and it seems that this old man used to be in the education field. With your identity, even if you are retired, you hang out with young scholars every day in such a high-profile manner. Aren’t you afraid of gossip?
Or is there anyone who can make you truly not afraid?
Zhao Yushu's mind raced as he quickly thought of several possibilities. Maybe he had made the right decision this time.
"There are new faces today, how rare! Why don't you come up and introduce yourself to everyone?" Mr. Chen sat down in the main seat, glanced around, and then looked at Zhao Yushu.
Following this gaze, everyone looked over.