Chapter 0057 Secretly Happy

After throwing a huge basin of dirty water on the innocent Empress Dowager Sun, Xiao Rong returned to his residence leisurely.

The meeting took less time than he had expected. When he returned, it was only quarter past three in the afternoon, and Zhang Biezhi and others were still wandering outside.

Ten of the twenty guards were left here. Xiao Rong asked them if anyone came to see him this morning, and surprisingly, someone did.

Four noble families sent him invitations, inviting him to their homes for a chat. They all used the names of young people in the family, probably because they wanted to make friends with him. They didn't necessarily have any special purpose, but because they saw that he held a high position and was a rare scholar on the side of King Zhenbei, so they wanted to make friends with him and have more paths in the future.

Xiao Rong looked through the invitations expressionlessly. There were no truly big families here. Their rankings were all outside the third tier. This was normal. A truly big family would not rush to send invitations the next day. They would definitely wait and see for a while, seeing clearly Xiao Rong's true purpose and the attitudes of high-ranking officials like Sun Renluan before deciding what to do.

He thought it was just some waste paper, but as he was flipping through it, Xiao Rong paused.

The previous few letters invited him in the name of someone from a certain family, but this one was just from someone.

Xiao Rong narrowed his eyes, pulled out this letter alone, and stared at the words on it silently and slowly.

His attitude was so serious that the guards beside him didn't dare to breathe. They thought that there was something serious written in the letter. Otherwise, why would Mr. Xiao look so cautious?

Xiao Rong: Actually, it’s because I don’t understand it. …

Fortunately, after a period of practice, Xiao Rong no longer has any problem reading letters and articles written by scholars. He just needs to read them slowly. If he reads too fast, it will be as difficult as reading a heavenly book.

The letter didn't contain anything too complicated, except that the man used a lot of flowery words to praise Xiao Rong's performance in the court yesterday, so that it took Xiao Rong a long time just to translate those complicated words. In fact, the only two sentences that were really useful were the last two. He thought Xiao Rong was a very elegant person, so he invited him to his humble abode for a gathering, hoping that he wouldn't despise it.

The name of the person who signed the inscription is Song Suo.

Xiao Rong: “…”

Who is this? Never heard of this.

But he seemed to be from a poor family. He didn't mention his family and said that he lived in a humble house. It was obvious that he was very poor.

It's quite interesting. Anyway, he has nothing to do in the afternoon. The palace won't summon him again for a while, so he might as well go out and get to know some officials in Jinling. There are too many rules in the aristocratic families, and he doesn't want to be treated like a monkey there. Only Song Suo can catch his eye.

But being in Jinling, there could be traps everywhere, so Xiao Rong decided to do some divination first and then decide whether to go or not.

The next second, he held Song Shuo's invitation and thought firmly in his heart - I want to meet Song Shuo.

He held his breath and waited for a while, then he stretched his muscles and found that there was nothing abnormal in his body. He was immediately happy: "Get ready, I want to go meet this person."

Guards: “…”

They had a feeling something had just happened, but they had no proof.

Song Suo was really not joking, the place he lived in was indeed a humble abode. Since Xiao Rong did not know the layout of Jinling, he thought that Song Suo, as an official who could attend court, must live in the main city. However, after asking for directions all the way, Xiao Rong found that he was almost out of the city.

As they walked further and further, Xiao Rong began to regret his decision. He wanted to go back home directly, but then he thought about how he had come such a long way, and it would be embarrassing to go back without doing anything.

Especially since he had guards following him, how could he lose face in front of his subordinates?

Xiao Rong, who had been strong all his life, just held on. Under the scorching sun, even his physique that didn't sweat easily produced a thin layer of sweat. He wiped his face with a handkerchief. Finally, they arrived at the destination.

In a large area of ​​thatched houses, Xiao Rong and his companions rode on reddish-brown horses, which looked quite out of place here. To put it in an inappropriate way, they looked like they were coming to rob the locals. The women who were washing clothes by the river gathered together nervously. They were obviously very scared, but they still stayed here, vigilantly observing what they were going to do.

Xiao Rong: “…”

I regret it more and more.

Xiao Rong got off the horse with a little embarrassment and nodded to the guard, who then walked forward a few steps and knocked on the door made of branches tied together.

The scientific name of this door is Chaifei, and it is also the standard configuration of poor families. There is no privacy at all with this kind of door. Even the straightest branches will leave a small gap, so it is easy to see whether there is someone inside.

Xiao Rong found it more and more strange. He could receive a salary, so why would he live in such a house? Even if he was willing, would the court be willing? The court was much stronger than himself and would never allow officials to lower their status.

When Xiao Rong was wondering, a little servant who looked only eleven or twelve years old walked out of the thatched hut. He hadn't even reached the voice change period yet and still spoke in a child's tone.

“Here I come!”

As he spoke, he untied the rope on the wooden door. After opening the door, he politely bowed to Xiao Rong and said, "Xiao Lingyin, please follow me. My master has been waiting for you for a long time."

Xiao Rong looked at the servant, then looked at the courtyard inside. After a moment of silence, he smiled at the servant and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, little boy."

The yard was not big, and Xiao Rong arrived at the thatched hut after walking a few steps. As soon as he stepped in, he smelled a faint smell of medicine. Then, a heavy cough came from the inner room. The servant who led the way immediately ran over, lifted the curtain that separated the two rooms, and then helped the person inside out.

Xiao Rong had seen this man yesterday. Among the group of people who liked to listen to him and those who didn't, this man was an outlier. But Xiao Rong didn't take him seriously at all because his eyes were always fixed on Xiao Rong's face yesterday and he looked very interested. Xiao Rong thought he was a pervert, so he just glanced at him and ignored him.

When I saw him again today, I found that this pervert is actually quite young. He has a frail body, a delicate face, and an aloof temperament, but also a bit of cynicism.

Xiao Rong felt something was a little strange, but he didn't find anything strange at the moment, so he just bowed to the pervert and said, "Mr. Song. Mr. Song didn't mention his position in the letter, so I can only call him Mr. Song."

Song Suo pushed away the servant's hand that was supporting him, and leaned against the wall to smile at Xiao Rong: "You don't know your official position, but you still come to accept the invitation in the hot sun. Xiao Lingyin is a man of high character. Song Suo is ashamed of himself."

At this point, he coughed again and covered his mouth with his sleeve. After he finished coughing, he chuckled and answered Xiao Rong: "Song Suo's current official position is Shang Shu Lang."

Not all official titles are impressive if they have the word "Shangshu" in their name. The current Shangshu Lang is not even as high-ranking as the Zhishu Shiyushi who welcomed Xiao Rong into the city two days ago. It sounds impressive, but in fact it's just copying and writing work. Sometimes, you don't even have to copy, you just have to stay there and waste your time.

It was just a suspicion before, but now Xiao Rong is sure. He pursed his lips, and after a while, he laughed with an ambiguous meaning: "The weather is hot and humid, and there is no wind or waves. There are no cheap places to play in Jinling City. It is understandable that Shang Shulang needs to find some entertainment."

"But I never expected that Shang Shulang's entertainment would be me."

Song Shuo was still leaning against the wall, but his eyes were no longer as casual and relaxed as before. With an unchanged smile on his face, he asked, "Oh? Why did Xiao Lingyin say that?"

Xiao Rong looked at him and said, "If I answer this question, I will really become Shang Shulang's entertainment."

First, she wrote a letter like that to attract him, and then deliberately exposed her flaws, waiting for him to ask questions. If he really followed Song Suo's questions and smugly answered how he knew that, Song Suo would probably laugh until his stomach hurt.

As expected, after finding out that Xiao Rong was not fooled, Song Suo's smile became more sincere. He apologized to Xiao Rong: "Don't blame me, Xiao Lingyin. There are too many idiots and mediocre people in this world. Song Suo sees that Xiao Lingyin's appearance is different from ordinary people, but I don't know if Xiao Lingyin's intelligence is also different from ordinary people. Song Suo thinks that he is quite smart and quick-witted. If we are not the same kind of people, I will definitely not be honest with him."