Chapter 358 How dare I, a poor man, mislead a beautiful woman

In the Hanlin Academy of Daxia, Yan Shu was still reading in the study on the second floor.

The study room of the Hanlin Academy is actually the emperor's library, and all the books the emperor wants to read are sent from here.

So there are a lot of books, and the place is very big.

People in the Hanlin Academy rarely come here unless the emperor sends a note asking for books.

Every day, the palace maids and eunuchs in the Hanlin Academy clean the place.

But Yan Shu particularly liked this place. Every morning before dawn, after registering his attendance at the Hanlin Academy, he would start cleaning the place and then start reading here.

Yan Shu was a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, and his main task was to help with the court's daily work, such as drafting imperial edicts, compiling historical books, and giving lectures at imperial lectures.

But the current emperor seldom needs them, so they only occasionally help the three ministries of Menxia, ​​Zhongshu, and Shangshu.

Now that the New Year is coming to an end, the three provinces, six ministries and nine temples are not very busy, so the Hanlin Academy is actually quite idle.

This gave Yan Shu a lot of time to read.

There was no floor heating in the huge library, but Yan Shu was wearing warm clothes, so he leaned against the window and flipped through the book in his hand. When his hands felt cold, he blew on them twice and rubbed them, and then continued to flip through the book.

Yan Shu's family was poor, and when he was a child he worked for the wealthy families in the village to read books. He did not ask for any wages, but just borrowed books from the wealthy families, exchanging his labor for books.

Later, he became a disciple of the village teacher and began to read books in the school. Later, when he arrived in the capital, he could copy books to make money in the Imperial College, and he could also read books. He continued to read books, and occasionally borrowed books from Liu Sanbai, Liu Xuan and others around him.

It was not that Yan Shu himself did not buy books, but that he really could not afford them. He would ask his fellow villagers to send the silver money he earned from periodicals and some of the money he earned from copying books back home to his mother, so he had no choice but to read books in this way with a thick face.

Therefore, Yan Shu wasted no time in reading so comfortably in the study of the Hanlin Academy, and he cherished the opportunity very much, not daring to waste even a moment.

Suddenly, a cold wind sneaked in through the gap in the window that Yan Shu had slightly opened to let some air into the study, and blew playfully on the book in Yan Shu's hand, but failed to turn the page, and instead made Yan Shu feel the chill.

But Yan Shu didn't care. He shrank his body, rubbed his hands, and continued reading.

But the next moment, Yan Shu heard footsteps.

When he raised his eyes and looked over, he saw a palace maid of good looks.

The palace maid was holding a broom and a sackcloth in her hands, but it seemed as if she had known that Yan Shu would be there. When she saw Yan Shu, she immediately bowed and said tenderly, "Lord Yan."

Yan Shu carefully put down the book, stood up and bowed in return, then smiled and said, "I have already cleaned this place."

Upon hearing this, the palace maid looked at Yan Shu coquettishly and blinked her eyes.

But Yan Shu stopped looking at the palace maid and sat down again to continue reading.

The palace maid frowned slightly, inevitably feeling a little self-pitying. She wanted to speak, but seeing Yan Shu reading seriously, she felt a little reluctant, so she had to bow and turn away.

In fact, she knew that the number one scholar was here. After all, ever since he came, he would be here before dawn every day. If he had nothing else to do, he would read until dusk before leaving. And she also knew that Lord Gu Chiyu was not here today, so she dressed up specially and came here.

but.

The champion was a very nice person, polite to everyone, and never arrogant.

Just don't understand romance.

With someone like me like this, many people would look at me a few more times.

The palace maid left.

Yan Shu rubbed his hands again and continued reading.

This handsome top scholar is indeed unromantic.

But in my heart I am well aware of the customs and practices of other places.

Like a sudden rain hitting the withered lotus, a light rain and breeze passing through the bamboo forest, a spring breeze blowing on the iron horse, a beauty looking at herself in a bronze mirror, a general wearing a precious sword, and heavy snow covering the green mountains.

In Yan Shu's heart, those are the most beautiful customs in the world.

Yan Shu continued reading. He had nothing to do today, so reading was the best thing to do.

When Yan Shu saw Mencius's "Look up and be worthy of Heaven; look down and be worthy of men" in the book "Miscellaneous Writings of One Hundred Schools of Thought" that he was reading, he copied it down.

“It’s here.”

Just after Yan Shu finished copying, he heard the voice. He looked up and saw Zuo Shaoweng walking towards him with a food box in his hand and smiling.

Zuo Shaoweng was also wearing a green robe. He was not polite. He took a small stool and came to Yan Shu's side, saying with a smile: "I thought you must be here and forget to eat and sleep, so I brought some food over."

After saying this, Zuo Shaoweng looked at Yan Shu and asked, "You didn't eat anything, did you?"

Yan Shu looked out the window and smiled helplessly: "I forgot the time."

Zuo Shaoweng smiled and shook his head, then opened the lunch box: "Chiyu asked me to come and see this, and she also said that she was seconded to Li Xiang to help with the Shangyuan Poetry Festival before her vacation. If she is not here, you will definitely forget to eat here."

When he opened the lunch box, he found the food was simple, not any fancy fish or meat. However, Zuo Shao Weng did not put it on the table, but placed it on the ground.

You can eat in the study, and the two of them are sitting next to the bed, far away from the books, so it's okay.

But after all, Yan Shu had piled up some of his copied things here, so he waited until Yan Shu took all the papers and books on the table to the shelf on the side before putting them on the table.

Zuo Shaoweng smiled and said, "These are just some home-cooked dishes made by your sister-in-law. Let's just eat them."

Yan Shu bowed and said, "Thank you very much."

Zuo Shaoweng smiled. He was used to Yan Shu's courtesy. After helping Yan Shu take the bowl and chopsticks, Zuo Shaoweng also took the bowl and chopsticks. But after thinking for a moment, he said, "If I were you, I would have been with Chi Yu."

Yan Shu was stunned and could only smile bitterly.

Zuo Shaoweng did not continue to joke, mainly because he saw the words "Looking up, I am not ashamed of heaven; looking down, I am not embarrassed by people" written on the paper full of beautiful sentences copied by Yan Shu and placed on the shelf.

He stood up and glanced at the book Yan Shu was reading, then said with a smile: "I remember you read this [Miscellaneous Notes by Hundred Schools of Thought] many times, and even copied many copies for the Imperial College."

Yan Shu said, "I saw it today when I was sorting it out. I flipped through a few pages and was quite inspired, so I started reading it again."

Zuo Shaoweng secretly admired him in his heart.

Scholars look down on each other. Zuo Shaoweng boasts that he has read a lot of books, but no one among his peers admires him. But now he admires these two people.

One is the Empress Dowager. Zuo Shaoweng knew clearly that the Empress Dowager's talent and ability were so great that it would be difficult for him to reach her level in his entire lifetime.

The next person I admire is Yan Shu. Yan Shu was studious all the time. Although he was still the top scholar, he retired after achieving success and worked hard to do other things, but Yan Shu was still diligent and studious. We have to admire him.

The Hanlin Academy is so huge that even Cao Shen, the Minister of Rites and an academician of the Hanlin Academy, felt many emotions.

Then, Zuo Shaoweng looked at the small signs on the bookshelf and the many categorized books, and sighed again. Those that were categorized were all the books that Yan Shu had read. At a glance, there were at least dozens of books.

Then, Zuo Shaoweng shook his head and said, "If you were the first, I would be the second."

After saying this self-deprecatingly, Zuo Shaoweng looked at Yan Shu and asked, "However, this is a really wonderful way to organize books."

Yan Shu nodded: "Thanks to Mr. Su's enlightenment, otherwise, it would probably be the same as before."

Mr. Su is Su Linhan.

Although Su Linhan was only a teacher, which was an official position similar to an assistant teacher, in Yan Shu's eyes, Su Linhan was qualified to be a teacher who taught and educated people, so he called him that.

But after saying this, Yan Shu smiled and said, "In the final analysis, it is still the Queen who is powerful."

It was Su Linhan who told him about the classification of books into categories, but Su Linhan was instructed by Su Changan.

According to what Su Linhan said, Old Tutor Su's books were also in a very messy state. Later, the Empress saw the Old Tutor sweating profusely while looking for books, so she came up with this idea.

The study room of the Hanlin Academy is actually not used all year round, but occasionally the emperor wants to read a book and tells him the title. There are too many books and it is very troublesome to find them. Sometimes it may take a whole day to find them. Although the emperor will not say anything, it is considered a dereliction of duty of the Hanlin Academy.

So Yan Shu thought of sorting this out while he was free from reading, and when he finished reading the book, he would have finished sorting it out.

Yan Shu didn't know when so many things would be sorted out, but he knew that he had to just look at them.

Zuo Shao Weng nodded, stunned, not knowing what to say. Mainly because he had said too many words praising the Queen Mother, and there was really nothing else to say.

However, when the Queen was mentioned, she thought of the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival. Zuo Shaoweng said, "Are you ready for the Lantern Festival Poetry Festival? I heard that many powerful people came to the poetry festival. I heard that Lin Ruoyun was also there from the Princess of Shu."

Zuo Shao Weng is usually calm and steady, and he only chats like this when he is with close friends.

Yan Shu also knew this, and he had few friends, but he was willing to open up to the people he recognized as close to him, so he said bluntly: "I'm not prepared."

After that, he added: "Your Majesty will also participate, just appreciate the poetry."

Zuo Shaoweng heard this and laughed a few times, then said, "I thought so too. However, I told Li Wei, Liu Xuan and the others that we are ready, so don't let them slip. I just want to see our queen take the top spot again and make those great poets on the poetry list feel humiliated. I heard that many people made wild claims that they would definitely win the first place."

Yan Shu nodded: "I want to see it too."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

However, after taking a bite of the meal, Zuo Shaoweng said, "We two are just trying to find joy in misery. Although we are happy to be from the same era as the queen, who is so beautiful and charming, and we can see the countless quatrains. But, how can the queen be from the same era as us?"

Yan Shu said nothing. He lowered his head to eat a mouthful of food and looked at Zuo Shaoweng: "Shaoweng, what's on your mind?"

Zuo Shaoweng was in a very good mood and never said such words, so Yan Shu asked this question.

Zuo Shaoweng knew he had been seen through, but he did not hide it and said directly: "My elders found me and wanted me to go to the Yang Mansion to plead for my brother so that he would suffer less in prison."

The dignified Zuo family went to Yang Guofu to plead for mercy with Zuo Shaoweng, a mere editor of the Hanlin Academy who had been driven out and divided up the family property a few years ago.

No one would believe this if I told them about it.

But those who know the truth understand the reason.

Just because Su Changan once said, "Zuo Shaoweng, isn't he pretty good?"

Such a sentence may seem simple, but there are only a few people who can be praised like this by the Queen Mother, and who can say it in public. This is enough to show that Zuo Shao Weng was remembered by the Queen Mother.

Then Zuo Shao Weng's importance is different, especially since Yang Guofu is now doing the work of the Empress. And for some reason, Lord Yang, who is so powerful in the capital, always speaks of the Empress in all kinds of exaggerated flattery. So it would be best to let Zuo Shao Weng go to find Yang Guofu.

Zuo Shaoweng did not explain everything, but although Yan Shu was only an editor in the Hanlin Academy, he could hear many things happening in the capital, especially Liu Sanbai and others who would always talk a lot. Yan Shu would listen to them, but he would also think that they were too far away from him, so he would not talk about them too much.

only

Looking at Zuo Shaoweng's expression, Yan Shu thought for a moment and then asked, "Do you still remember the four-character mantra that the Imperial College lady said when she was giving a lecture?"

Zuo Shaoweng was stunned for a moment, trying to recall, and suddenly a look of realization appeared on his face.

Yan Shu knew that Zuo Shaoweng had guessed it, but he still said, "A gentleman should not save someone."

Zuo Shaoweng frowned and fell into thought, but immediately, he smiled bitterly and said, "When I came here today, I saw Lord Qi came to see Lord Cui again. I chatted with him for a few words and learned that Zuo Guangli had that kind of thing. However, the second lady of the Zuo family and the son of the Qi family invited some young masters from the capital to come to the south, and some foreigners went to Qingquan Mountain to take a bath. With such a thing happening at home, they still had the leisure to play and talk about business. Instead, Zuo Guangli's mother came to me and asked me, a person who was squeezed out of the family by them, to do this. The warmth and coldness of the people in these aristocratic families are icy and chilling."

Yan Shu didn't know what Zuo Shaoweng meant by his sudden words, but he still listened carefully and didn't interfere.

Zuo Shaoweng also realized that it was wrong for him to complain to Yan Shu, and immediately shook his head: "Don't blame me, I'm just a little annoyed."

Yan Shu nodded to show his understanding, but after thinking for a moment he said, "Remember that a gentleman does not save others. And the sentence I just copied, 'Look up to the heavens and look down to the people,' is just the right one for you."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Shaoweng bowed to Yan Shu.

Yan Shu quickly returned the gift.

After all, it was time to eat, and Zuo Shaoweng didn't want to talk about this matter any more, lest it affect his appetite and ruin so many sage books, so he changed the subject and said, "Yan Shu, did Cui Yuer escape today? Yesterday she asked me to help her hide from Lord Qi."

Yan Shu was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I don't know whether he will escape or not, but he sent a note asking for leave a long time ago, saying that the Queen had summoned him and that he would not come for the next three days."

Zuo Shaoweng laughed: "She really escaped. And she even brought up the Queen?"

After that, Zuo Shaoweng smiled and said, "It's good to run away. Ruan Zhongshu is fine, but Qi Min suddenly wants to pursue her and even goes to the Cui family to propose marriage. What she is thinking at this time is known to everyone. If I were Cui Yuer, I would also run away. And now that the Queen has been invited out, the Qi family dare not say anything. It would be best if the Queen gave a decree to directly dispel the Qi family's idea. That family is not a good thing either."

But at this point, Zuo Shaoweng smiled and shook his head: "I've been with Li Wei and Wei Zijian for a long time, so I've been a bit talkative. Let's talk about you and Chi Yu and when you're going to get engaged."

Yan Shu almost spit out the food in his mouth, raised his eyes to look at Zuo Shaoweng: "Didn't I just scold myself for being a chatterbox?"

Zuo Shaoweng immediately said, "How can it be considered as gossiping to talk about your wedding banquet? Besides, the entire Hanlin Academy, from Lord Cao to the palace maids, and the National Academy, are all eagerly waiting for you two."

Yan Shu smiled bitterly, then looked at Zuo Shaoweng and patted his empty waist.

How dare I, a poor man, miss such a beautiful woman?

Zuo Shaoweng was the runner-up in the imperial examination, so he could not guess what Yan Shu meant. He immediately scolded him, "Just make excuses! One day, when the Lord Jijiu and Xun Siye can't stand it anymore, they will directly arrange it for you! Let's see if you can still make excuses then!!"

Yan Shu still smiled bitterly.

then.

He lowered his head and said nothing, just sighed softly.

…

It was already evening when Su Changan and his companions arrived at Qingquan Palace.

After all, they took a rest on the way and were not in a hurry to travel, so they walked and stopped. In addition, they were not going to Qingquan Town, but to take a detour to the palace in the mountains, so they were a little slow.

Arrived at Qingquan Palace.

(End of this chapter)