Chapter 37 third quarter

Liu Kai and Ma Kuo came to the prime minister's mansion by riding together at a later time.They were treated with the same hospitality by a Marquis Yu, and the same respectful jogging - which can only increase his respect for the guests but not the speed of his running - lead them to the central place of today's banquet, "Six Cranes Hall" ".With the sound of drums welcoming guests, he loudly sang the official titles and surnames of the distinguished guests and reported their arrival.The voice of the title was dragged on for so long, from the beginning to the end, it seemed to be a full mile away, but from his cadence and tones that could be recorded, it was not because of the various official titles he reported. , are treated equally and equally.

Cai Jing's second son, the son-in-law of the official's beloved daughter Maode Diji, Cai Yu, heard the sound of drum music, and had long been on behalf of his "Lang Ba" and stepped down to greet him.Like a young prostitute who has considerable experience in receiving customers, Cai Wei also seems to have an invisible scale hidden on his body, always looking at the visitor's identity, status, experience, social relations, and the energy of how much he can give him, so as to be able to give him the right amount of energy. Everyone is welcome, and in addition to being sincerely entertaining, properly grasp and adjust the proportion of receiving him.The principle for a young prostitute to receive customers is always "to live within her means". She must first look at how much she can get from this visitor before she is willing to give him how much.

Liu Kai is a senior officer of the imperial guards and a trusted official, but he does not belong to their gang. Cai Kai received him with more courtesy than usual for such "respectful but not close" guests. .When he realized the unfavorable political position his "Langba" was currently in, his scale was much "fresh" than usual.Then, Liu Kai introduced Ma Kuo to him, and Ma Kuo had already been weighed on Cai Kai's scale.He gave Ma Kuo the same courtesy, on the one hand because Ma Kuo is a man of the moment, and on the other hand because of Liu Kai's solemn introduction.But his scales have a certain standard after all, even if they are a little fresher than usual.He couldn't forget Ma Kuo's lonely background and humble position.Both of these are unforgivable sins for Cai Wei, who was born in a noble family and married into an imperial family.So something more complicated appeared in his ever-changing facial expressions, as if besides loving, there was also a taste of condescension.

"Who gave you this honorable invitation?" He seemed to be asking, "You must know that today's host is the top-ranking grand master of the dynasty, and the venue of the banquet is set in the private residence of the prime minister, who is somewhat higher than yours. The big man with longer hands than you can't get this invitation if he thinks about it? People must know the good and the bad, and know how to be grateful, and then they can be regarded as knowing the good and the bad." He couldn't find the thank you in the picture of gratitude that he expected "must have" from Ma Kuo's quiet expression.He was stunned, and quickly came to the conclusion that this is a kid who doesn't know the level.But before he had time to change his expression of surprise and condemnation, the sound of welcoming drums and the cadence of reporting titles reported the arrival of Taiwei Gao Lian, the commander of the front of the palace.He immediately adjusted his expression to match Gao Li's identity and status, and walked a few steps forward to meet Gao Lian than ordinary guests—this kind of sensitivity seemed to be the same as a young prostitute from many years. It was trained in the practice of picking up customers.

Liu Qi and Ma Kuo who stayed here were immediately taken over by Xue Ang, the head of the prime minister's mansion. Ma Kuo carefully observed Xue Ang's words and deeds. After the introduction of Zui Xinglou, the chief executive had already given Ma Kuo a particularly deep impression.But today he is beaming, socializing, and well-rounded, and he is by no means the unlucky look that repeatedly covers his cheeks and shouts "Xue Ang, the humble official, deserves death". Xue Ang led them to a side hall first, and kneaded them like a ball of wet flour among a group of young officers. There was already Liu Kai's colleague Yao Youzhong in the Ma Junsi, and his nephew who was kind of a teacher. Chong Xiang, who doesn't look like a soldier or a literati, and several children of the Zhe family in Fuzhou.The Zhe family in Fuzhou and the Yang family in Linzhou were both generals who had meritorious service in guarding the border in the early days of the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty. The family is prosperous, and the world is rich and honorable.It's just that by their first and second generations, they have all become the sons of civil servants.The Song Dynasty was originally a dynasty that respected civil servants and despised military generals, and their brothers, uncles and nephews were all heroes who took advantage of the time to invite profits.

Ma Kuo didn't know them well, and Liu Kai didn't like them either, so they just exchanged some pleasantries, and two brothers Liu Ziyu and Liu Zihui came to the next door.Contrary to the children of the Zhe family, although Liu Ziyu and Liu Zihui were the children of civilian officials, they cherished the period of army life they had experienced after spending too much time in the Western Army.They and Liu Kai, Ma Kuo, and Yao Youzhong are all old comrades in arms. They haven't seen each other for a few years. Once they get together, they will inevitably join hands to talk about the past.Liu Ziyu still had that high-spirited, defiant demeanor.It seems that there is a damaged universe that must be rectified and repaired by him.Although Zhe Kecun and Zhe Yanzhi's uncles and nephews started to kill people, they didn't even blink their eyelids. After hearing his comments, they were so frightened that they were like birds that had been shot by a bullet. One after another, they drooped their wings. flew away.Liu Ziyu smiled sharply, not concealing his contempt, and then started talking again.He pointed directly at the host of today's banquet and those people who are particularly close to him.Ma Kuo felt that Liu Ziyu, who hadn't seen him for several years, seemed more like a new sharp knife than before, and wherever he touched the blade, everyone who fell victim to it would have their heads bruised.If this kind of person is not highly valued, he will be especially envied. There is no middle way.On the contrary, his brother Liu Zihui, although he is of ordinary background and experience, is a solitary Xuxu, who doesn't talk much, and looks like a Taoist gentleman.

Liu Ziyu had an unusual friendship with Ma Kuo, but this old relationship couldn't temporarily stop him from expressing his opinions vividly and vividly. It was not until after he had finished posting this discussion that he quietly pulled Ma Kuo aside to talk about his heart-to-heart. "The honorable old man recently visited Chenzhou," he told Ma Kuo with concern, "that villain in the Xuanfu department was disgusted. They made a big move and filed a document in front of the Xuanfu envoy to file a complaint, and the matter became serious Can Zichong know the details?"

"My little brother hasn't received the letter from the family yet. I only know that my father has come to the front line, but I don't know that there is still this holiday." "In front of Tong Xuanfu, there is his father blocking him, so don't worry too much. But that villain is used to throwing cold arrows and punching in the dark. When you fill in the family letters, you must tell the elders to be careful, and don't suffer from their immediate losses... " Without saying a word, Director Xue walked back to the side hall briskly.He estimated that Tong Guan would not arrive for a while, so he offered to accompany these young generals to visit the East and West Gardens of the Minister.

This "Xue Bazhang" is not only the well-known chief executive of Xiangfu, but also the general manager of today's "Peony Club".He took over all the public and private affairs of the prime minister's mansion, until he helped the remaining concubines of the prime minister to give birth to males and females.Some people say that Xue Ang is the prime minister's right-hand man and the most reliable confidant. This is a general theory, and it has not been found yet.In fact, he has long been an integral part of Cai Jing's body, Cai Jing's fifth limb, sixth organ, eighth orifice, heart, and twelfth viscera.Cai Jing's arm is sometimes inconvenient to stretch too long, he is his extended arm, performing the function of a through arm for him; sometimes Cai Jing's voice is inconvenient to be too loud, he is his enlarged voice, speaking what he wants It is not convenient to say the words; Cai Jing accidentally forgets a political opponent who has offended him, and he reminds him at any time that no one will have the chance to slip through the net by chance; It becomes absolutely absurd and unambiguously evil.Cai Jing, who was written in the annals of history or engraved in the word of mouth of the people, must not forget his contribution to Xue Ang.

The public minister needs such a big manager who can take care of everything, and the manager also needs a strong backer. They rely on each other and complement each other.At the current stage, this backer seems to have a cold feeling and is not so reliable, but the loyal Xue Bazhang still refuses to give up it easily.He is different from Yu Shen.It is not quite the same as the young boy Wang Fu.Whenever Wang Fu has the opportunity to be independent, he will fight for independence, but he, Xue Ang, is a parasite. Only when he attaches to other creatures can he maximize his functions.Although he is an extremist in action, so extreme that his accomplice Yu Shen and others are a little daunting, but he is not independent, like a blood-sucking bug that must attach to a snail to survive and harm others.

Now he is enthusiastically guiding this group of young generals to travel through mountains and mountains in the garden of the prime minister's mansion, looking for flowers and willows. Attached to the prime minister's mansion, the garden, which has been expanded several times, was originally the largest garden in Tokyo after Ouchi and Genyue, which has not yet been completed.Today, because the "Peony Party" is going to be held to entertain guests, she is even more dressed up, almost competing with "Gen Yue" for a day.The most unique arrangement is that in such a deep spring season, the host's family still thinks that the spring is not strong enough, so they specially cut light silk, gauze, grass and various leaves and grass to make many insects and birds. Children and flowers are placed in the middle of the flowers, competing with real butterflies and bees, jumping and flying, competing with real flowers to show off their beauty, as if adding a layer of artificial spring to the natural spring, making this The garden has double springs. This arrangement was learned by Xue Bazhang from the middle houses of Dongjier Lane and West Jier Lane, and was personally approved by the Minister, but it was used by others in other seasons. The essence of the garden is in the newly opened western part, which is the famous West Garden in the Prince's Mansion. There is a news circulating in Tokyo that the Grand Master drove away hundreds of neighbors in order to expand the West Garden.On the day of the completion of the West Garden, the Duke asked triumphantly: "The old man has poured out his heart and soul for this garden. Fortunately, it has been completed today. How do you compare the East Garden?" Jiao De, a vaudeville actor who accompanied him at the end, jokingly said, "The east garden is like clouds, and the west garden is like rain." People asked him, "How do you explain this?" He put on a sad face and replied: " The east garden is full of beautiful trees, and you can see it like a cloud. The original households in the west garden were driven out of their houses, wandered on the streets, and filled the ravines to death. Wouldn't they cry like rain?" This West Garden, which caused Jiao De himself to cry like rain, is really wonderful.Its essence is especially concentrated on a stone forest.Pieces of rocks turned into ghosts, fairy Buddhas, birds and beasts.Others can praise it as a treasure if they can get one or two of them, but here they are so many that they have become pieces, piles, and forests. To put it bluntly, it is nothing more than a trick to transport them from Genyue.The minister has a famous saying. "What I take is discarded by others." Taihu Lake's stone cold can't fill clothes, hunger can't fill food, and the common people discard it like a pair of shoes. They take it and use it for entertainment. After passing the stone forest, there is a small clear lake with winding hills on the other side.On the vast slope at the foot of the mountain, there are large clusters of red and white intercolored roses, supplemented by fine hairy golden grass.Xue Bazhang mobilized all flower makers in the suburbs of Tokyo to cut roses into a set of text patterns.They imitate the Taishi's thin and thin handwriting, and neatly arrange the eight characters of "Yu Dafengheng, National Fortune Prosperity", each of which is one foot square.Five years ago, the Minister used this famous saying for the first time in a memorial, and it has been widely circulated in the words and writings of Lord Jinshen since then.It has become an open reason for them to enjoy a more luxurious and profligate life than in the past, and it has become a theoretical basis for the imperial court to make great achievements and spend money like water in recent years.Today, these eight characters have been covered with Hua Dang, recorded in the history of the country, and become a temple article of the crown. At this time, the twilight gradually descended, and the last brilliance of the setting sun, reflecting the gorgeous sunset glow, stretched the huge shadow of the rockery long and obliquely, covering the lake.There was no wrinkle on the calm surface of the lake, only the reflection seemed to put pressure on it, causing it to shake slightly, followed by a soft sigh.As the darkness merges and the rays of the sun disappear, this piece of stone forest, this group of rose patterns, this rockery and this winding slope all turn into a blurred and confused piece, falling straight down from deepened gray to complete. go in the dark. At this time, all the colorful lights in the garden were lit, and the attendants brought by Xue Ang also pulled up more than a dozen lanterns, guiding them through a long corridor and returning to the Six Crane Hall. Liu Ziyu deliberately slowed down, quietly grabbed Ma Kuo's sleeve, pointed to a white wall illuminated by the light and said: "Young Master really deserves to be a brilliant plasterer," he paused.Leaving a little time for the listener to recall, he continued, "If it weren't for a few of them who worked hard and smeared everywhere, how could the world be so smooth and pleasing to the eye?" Ma Kuo and Liu Kai and Liu Zihui who were on the side laughed when they heard this.They all agree with this point of view: over the years, the dignitaries of the imperial court have really painstakingly used their hands that are good at painting and makeup to dress up the world like "Yu is rich and prosperous, and the country is prosperous" as shown in the group of characters and patterns.

---

Notes: .