While Fan Zhongyan and others were discussing things, at the beginning of the afternoon, Lu Yijian's sedan chair slowly left Donghua Gate and headed towards Ma Xing Street in the inner city.

Everyone knows that the Lu family is a prominent family and has produced high-ranking officials for generations since the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. However, few people know that in addition to being prominent, they are also very wealthy.

Lu Yijian's uncle Lu Mengzheng was the prime minister during the reigns of Zhao Guangyi and Zhao Heng. He was an honest, upright and rigorous official. In addition to Wang Anshi, he was also the prototype of the allusion that the prime minister had a broad mind.

But this great sage liked to eat chicken tongue soup for breakfast, and he had to kill dozens or even hundreds of chickens every day.

Although he later changed his habit of eating chicken tongue soup after learning that the kitchen was going to waste so many chickens, this was enough to prove how rich the Lu family was.

Moreover, this wealth was not acquired through corruption or abuse of power, but rather through generations of family wealth. For example, the Lu family owned countless farmlands in their ancestral home of Shouzhou, as well as numerous shops and businesses in cities throughout Shouzhou and Bianliang, making them a truly immensely wealthy family.

Therefore, the Lu family was not like Fan Zhongyan, a high-ranking official from a poor family who could only afford an ordinary mansion in Daguan Lane in the outer city. Instead, thanks to the family's wealth, the Lu family mansion was located on Ma Xing Street, where every inch of land was worth a lot of money, very close to the imperial palace.

Mahang Street was far more prosperous than Daguan Lane. The west side of the street was mostly residential, while the east was packed with shops, mostly merchandise stores and pharmacies. The street stretched for over dozens of miles, dotted with shops and stores, interspersed with officials' residences, and thronged with carriages and horses. Its night market was a hundred times more prosperous than that of Zhouqiao.

In addition to the bustling streets, there are countless alleys of various sizes on both sides of the streets.

The most famous of these is the tile houses, commonly known as tile houses or brothels. These high-rise buildings are connected together, like a large number of courtyard houses gathered together, forming a complex terrain like a lane.

There were brothels, teahouses, restaurants, inns, theaters, elegant gardens, taverns, etc. Especially during the Tiansheng period, when Zhao Zhen completely lifted the curfew, the theaters and the market became prosperous and bustling.

At night, countless people went out to get drunk, have fun, stay in hotels, and visit prostitutes. It was said that there was also a black market where many things could be bought that could not be seen outside. The scene was truly grand: "Everywhere you looked, you could see brothels and painted pavilions, embroidered curtains, and carved carriages parked in the streets."

Lü Yijian's sedan chair, surrounded by guards and servants, was traveling through the busy streets outside Donghua Gate. Just in front of the inner chamber was the inner chamber, and he heard a servant outside say, "My lord, the guards of Prime Minister Song just came over and said that Prime Minister Song is waiting for you in the east tower of the inner chamber."

"Um."

Lu Yijian said in a deep voice, "I understand. Let's go."

The sedan continued to move forward.

After a while, he arrived outside the Rivazi, turned around and no longer walked straight to Maxing Street, but entered the Rivazi.

Inside the theater is a straight street with various shops on both sides.

Donglou is a big restaurant. People who can open a restaurant in the inner city always have a powerful background. As far as Lu Yijian knows, there must be a military family behind him.

That's why it's safe to meet in the East Building.

At least the Imperial City Administration is now controlled by the Cao family. The current Imperial City Envoy Cao Xiu is the cousin of Empress Cao, and he will probably give Lu Yijian and Song Shou some face. When the matter is presented to the emperor later, at most it will just be Prime Minister Lu and Prime Minister Song having a simple meal together.

Lu Yijian got off the sedan chair and was greeted by the East Building's innkeeper as he ascended to the third floor. The first and second floors were both lobby areas, and since it was lunchtime, they were packed with guests. The third floor, however, was much quieter, with the faint scent of Funan sandalwood burning in the corridor.

The shopkeeper was very sensible and didn't ask any questions. He respectfully led Lu Yijian to the innermost room. Song Shou and Lu Yijian's guards and servants were guarding outside to eliminate any possibility of eavesdropping.

The door opened with a creak, and there was another room inside. The shopkeeper tactfully stepped aside. Lu Yijian lifted the pearl curtain and saw Song Shou in the inner room making tea for him.

"Mr. Tanfu."

Seeing Lu Yijian come in, Song Shou stood up and pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Please take a seat."

"Gongchui."

Lu Yijian came over, sat on a chair, and said, "Didn't we agree to try not to meet in private?"

Song Shou also sat down. The food on the table had just been delivered and was still hot. He picked up his chopsticks and said with a smile, "Isn't it possible for the prime minister to have a simple meal together on his way home from work?"

"Haha, tell me what you want to say."

Seeing that the table was filled with his favorite dishes, Lu Yijian thought to himself that Gongchui was thoughtful, and he also picked up his chopsticks. Thinking that he had forgotten the time in the afternoon due to his busy official documents, he was really hungry, so he simply ate something in the East Building and would not eat dinner when he got home in the evening.

"What could be the problem? It's just that the government affairs have been complicated recently and I feel a little depressed."

Song Shou personally poured a glass of wine for Lu Yijian.

Although tea is good, when discussing business, a cup or two of sake is still needed to liven up the atmosphere.

"We talk about business when we're on duty, so we should have some free time after we're off duty."

Lu Yijian smiled, picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

The two chatted for a while, and after two or three glasses of wine, they finally got to the point.

Song Shou picked up a piece of chicken with chopsticks and chewed it for a while. After swallowing it, he hesitated slightly, leaned over to Lu Yijian, and whispered, "Sir, to be honest, I do have something important to tell you."

"Go ahead."

Lu Yijian probably understood what he was going to say.

Song Shou said, "We haven't seen any guests recently, and Ziqiao and Ziming are very worried."

The Ziqiao and Ziming he mentioned were actually Xia Song, Jia Changchao and others. Most of the disciples and former officials promoted by Lu Yijian himself are now middle and low-level officials. Except for Song Shou, who was promoted by him, the other high-level forces are basically allies of interest with him.

In fact, Song Shou and he were not completely superiors and subordinates, nor were they slaves who obeyed Lu Yijian obediently. Instead, their alliance relationship was more of a favor than a political alliance.

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