The one who came to see Yan Erlang was Liu Wenzhi.
As they were both born in Lingnan, Yan Shang was also very good at making friends. Even though Liu Wenji was a proud and arrogant person, he felt excited when he met Yan Shang again in Chang'an.
Liu Wenji smiled and said, "After receiving the letter you were going to send me, I have already started to help you find a house in Chang'an according to your request..."
Yan Shang immediately bowed and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Brother Liu..."
Liu Wenzhi grabbed his hand and waved it, indicating that this was not necessary.
Liu Wenji blushed: "But I haven't found a very good house. So far, I have only found Yongshou Temple in Yonglefang. It is just a little far from the bustling area, but it is not so poor. Living in the temple will be convenient for you to study with peace of mind..."
Yan Shang thanked him again.
In fact, the residence Liu Wenzhi found was far from what Yan Shang wanted. He even thought Yongshou Temple was too crowded.
However, Yan Shang naturally did not let Liu Wenzhi down for his kindness.
Speaking of this, Yan Shang remembered something and said, "When my teacher Dou Gong learned that I came to Chang'an, he helped me get some connections and allowed me to study at the Imperial College for two days."
Liu Wenji was startled, then said sourly: "You are so lucky to have a doctor from the Imperial College as your teacher."
Books were so precious in that era, and the books in the Imperial College were rare and vast.
Even though the imperial examination was about to begin, Yan Shang's teacher allowed Yan Shang to go to the Imperial College temporarily...which also made Liu Wenzhi quite concerned.
Because his father was an imperial censor when he was an official in Chang'an, and the position of imperial censor had always offended all officials, Liu Wenji's father did not leave many resources for Liu Wenji in Chang'an.
Yan Shang glanced at Liu Wenji.
He smiled and said, "I asked my teacher, and he allowed Brother Liu to go to the Imperial Academy with me."
Liu Wenji: “……!”
He suddenly stopped in the street and looked at Yan Shang with disbelief.
Yan Shang was always amiable and easy to talk to, which was so rare for Liu Wenzhi, who had experienced the fickleness of human nature in Chang'an, that his eyes actually became slightly moist.
Liu Wenji held Yan Shang's hand and shook it vigorously. He opened his mouth several times, unable to express much gratitude, and finally said, "Su Chen, since you have helped me so much, I will never let you down in the future."
Yan Shang said: "It's just a little bit of emotion, why is it so serious?"
Liu Wenji shook his head: "I didn't know until I arrived in Chang'an that many times, even if others could help you with something casually, why would they ask for your help? Only you would do that."
The words are still silent.
After a while, he said, "I am not without selfish motives. You and I are from the same Lingnan lineage. When we serve as officials in the future, others will certainly regard you and me as one. Then you and I will naturally support each other and fight against the same enemy. Just like Brother Liu found a house for me, I will naturally help Brother Liu enter the Imperial College."
Liu Wenzhi laughed.
"Okay. No more talking, I'll treat you to a drink!"
Yan Shang refused: "Brother Liu knows me. I never drink."
Liu Wenji was surprised: "No way, Yan Erlang? You still don't drink alcohol? Really not even a single sip? You never make an exception..."
The two scholars blended into the crowd, and their voices gradually faded away.
Behind them, Mu Wanyao and his group were riding horses out of the city at a distance. They were just a group of noble men and women out for a spring outing.
They are unrelated.
-----
The next day, Yan Shang and Liu Wenji went to the Imperial College together. After handing over their badges at the gate, Yan Shang and Liu Wenji looked at each other, and saw a lot of suppressed excitement and excitement in each other's eyes.
An older brother came to lead them in. He said a few more polite words to Yan Shang, but just nodded perfunctorily to Liu Wenji.
Fortunately, Liu Wenji was observing the grandeur of the Imperial College and did not pay much attention to it.
The senior brother led them to a school and said, "Teacher Dou said that before the imperial examination, you can come and go in this school. You can also read the books in the Imperial College Library."
Yan Shang thanked him, and before his senior brother hurriedly left, he quickly said, "Excuse me, senior brother, when is the teacher free so that I can visit him?"
The senior brother turned around and glanced at the disciple the teacher had just accepted. He was impressed by the gentleman's gentle manner and replied, "The teacher has been borrowed by his old friend to compile history recently. I'm afraid he has no time to see you."
Yan Shang said politely: "Then I will visit the teacher again after the exam is over."
The senior brother looked at him in surprise, knowing that the other party had understood the teacher's meaning - if there was no result in the scientific examination, there was no need to meet.
After his senior brother left, Liu Wenji whispered to Yan Shang: "You see, right? People here look down on others. Even your teacher..."
Yan Shang interrupted: "Brother Liu, please be careful with your words."
Liu Wenzhi raised his eyebrows and said nothing more.
Taking a deep breath, the two of them stepped into the school. They saw that there were only a few people sitting in front of rows of small tables in the school, flipping through the books in their hands.
Liu Wenji naturally had no objection, but Yan Shang stood at the door in a serious manner, bowing to the students in the house and saying, "I am a newcomer, and I am honored to meet you, senior brothers."
No one looked up.
The room was awkwardly quiet.
Seeing that no one paid attention to him, Yan Shang withdrew his courtesy.
Suddenly, a young man who was sitting on a small table and flipping through a book casually looked up at the door and asked casually, "Where are you from?"
Yan Shang looked at the man who had helped him out and said softly, "Lingnan, Yan Suchen."
The young man who asked the question didn't say anything, but the other people in the library laughed and looked at Yan Shang and Liu Wenji at the door: "Isn't Lingnan a wild place? Are there people studying there? I heard that you eat raw meat and drink blood every day, what's the point of studying?"
Liu Wenzhi's face immediately turned pale.
But he also knew that it would be bad to offend people when he first arrived, so he tried to hold back his anger and said, "Lingnan is just a remote place, but it is also part of the Wei territory. Why can't I study there?"
Several people in the library looked at each other and laughed even more maliciously. One of them stood up and said, "May I ask, what books are you reading? Have you read the book that Master Zhang compiled for my son two years ago?"
How dare you use a book written for children to insult people in such a way!
Liu Wenji's face flushed with anger. He took a step forward, clenched his fist, and threw a punch. The opponent was slightly startled and stepped back, bluffing: "You dare to hit me?!"
When Liu Wenji was about to throw a punch, a hand came from the side to stop him. Yan Shang stopped Liu Wenji and turned back to the provocative student and said, "Where are you from, brother?"
The other party shouted: "I am a direct descendant of the Longxi Guan family!"
Yan Shang said gently, "The Guan family of Longxi is naturally a big family. I heard that the Guan family almost monopolized all official positions in Longxi. Your family has been in Longxi for generations. Even officials sent by the court have to look at the Guan family's face when they arrive in Longxi. Such heroic spirit, a small person like me from Lingnan, naturally admires it."
The other party's eyes showed a proud look, and his face was even gentle: "Thank you for the compliment. I didn't expect that even you have heard of my name Guan."
The young man who initially asked where Yan Shang and Liu Wenzhi came from did not get involved in their matter, but looked at them with interest.
Sure enough, Yan Shang said, "Brother Guan, do you know that the Longxi Guan family is looked down upon by the real noble families in Chang'an, Luoyang, Jinling and other places? When the imperial examination was first decided, when they discussed the pronunciation, they directly excluded Longxi from the ranks of noble families, saying that you are rough and barbaric people who only know how to fight and have no inheritance.
"As far as I know, the Guan family has not been doing well in Chang'an these years. You are the hegemon in Longxi, but without the classics passed down, you are not in the mainstream. People in Chang'an look down on you, just like you look down on me who was born in Lingnan."
The other party was so angry that he was shaking all over and glaring.
Yan Shang smiled and bowed before ending the topic: "...So it seems that where you come from doesn't seem to make that much of a difference."
In full view of everyone, the student opposite was defeated by a newcomer. Of course he was not convinced. His face changed from time to time. When he opened his mouth to curse, a man walked into the school.
The boy said in a cold and indifferent voice: "What are you arguing about? If you don't want to study, go outside and fight. Don't disturb others."
Everyone looked over and saw a young man with snow-white eyes walking in. Their faces changed slightly, but they dared not say anything and sat back down.
Yan Shangze stared at the young man with a bright gaze as he walked past them indifferently, as if thinking about something.
-----
That evening, Yan Shang invited the young man who had helped them out at the beginning and who did not join others in making things difficult for them later to have a drink.
He also invited the young man who came last, reprimanded everyone and indirectly rescued him.
The former smiled and agreed when he heard that they were going to drink, but the latter ignored them and it was only with Yan Shang's eloquence and good speech that he was able to convince the young man.
As Yan Shang's fellow townsman, Liu Wenzhi naturally went with them.
Yan Shang invited several people to Beili for a famous flower banquet. It was said that this was the most expensive banquet in Chang'an, and it would cost 300 coins just to start the banquet. Liu Wenji felt distressed when he heard this, but Yan Shang remained calm.
The invited young man and teenage boy all looked at Yan Shang for a second look.
After sitting down at the table and pouring himself a glass of wine, the young man introduced himself as Feng Xianyu. He said nonchalantly, "My grandfather was a businessman and was usually looked down upon by those people. Yan Suchen, you really enjoyed scolding them today."
Liu Wenji knew that Yan Shang didn't drink, so he took the initiative to replace the wine in front of Yan Shang with tea, and turned to look at Yan Shang: "To be honest, I have known Yan Erlang for many years, but this is the first time I have seen him argue with others. Our Yan Erlang is a Bodhisattva who never loses his temper!"
Yan Shang replied: "Allowing others to bully you is just stupid, not having no temper."
He then said to the young man, "Since you are still young, you should drink less."
The other party glanced at him and said nothing.
Feng Xianyu laughed and said, "You don't know this person, do you? His name is Wei Shu. Thanks to him being here today, those people didn't say anything more..."
Yan Shang: "But is it Luoyang Wei?"
Wei Shu looked at him coldly: "You know all about the noble families. But if you want to get close to them, you are wrong. I am a bastard, and the resources of the Wei family are not favorable to me."
Yan Shang said calmly: "If we are friends only for the purpose of using each other, then you are underestimating me."
Such a broad mind.
Wei Shu looked at him and said nothing more.
After that, they ate and drank, chatting about all sorts of things. Wei Shu didn't say much, but Feng Xianyu was obviously very clear about Wei Shu's affairs. Every time he looked at Wei Shu, he smiled, which made Yan Shang think about something.
Halfway through, Liu Wenji went out to change clothes. Wei Shu couldn't stand Feng Xianyu's constant staring at him, so he put down his chopsticks and said, "I know why you keep staring at me. Isn't it because I'm suspected of being Princess Shang? If you hate me so much, why bother to make friends with me?"
Feng Xianyu was startled, then shouted in injustice: "You are wrong! I envy you! I wish I could be favored by a princess and have a smooth career from now on..."
Wei Shu was stunned. He obviously didn't expect the other party to be so lacking in ambition.
Yan Shang mediated and poured tea for both parties, then asked, "The Princess Shang that Juyuan mentioned is naturally a way to seek an official position. I just don't know which princess she is?"
Wei Shu replied: "Princess Danyang."
The tea in Yan Shang's mouth immediately spat out and his face turned red from coughing.
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