Chapter 298 The Good Show Begins
"Clang clang clang--" the music sounded again.
As dusk approached, the servants in the Minister's Mansion began to light the lamps.
Several colorful lanterns were hung high, illuminating the yard, and making Qiao Youyou, who was dressed in green in the center of the courtyard, look bright and charming.
Qiao Youyou, wearing an official hat of unknown dynasty, walked a few circles in the small square steps to the beat of the drum, and she seemed to have learned the art quite well.
Zhang Lun stroked his beard and smiled, "I didn't expect that our Ministry of Revenue is so full of talented people."
Minister Lu was also very pleased, "Yes, I can't tell on weekdays, but it turns out that each of them has special skills."
Both of them had expectant looks on their faces, and Eunuch Li, who was sitting at the door, couldn't help but look over here.
Qiao Youyou turned around twice and finally stopped. Everyone knew that she was going to sing, so they all sat up straight.
"I have worked hard for ten years, writing without stopping, and I have shed countless tears on the books. Today, my hard work is finally rewarded."
As soon as Qiao Youyou opened his mouth, Minister Lu almost sprayed a mouthful of tea on Zhang Lun's face.
What kind of weird singing style is this?
Minister Lu prided himself on being an elegant man and was well-versed in opera, but he had never heard of this kind of singing...neither northern nor southern, like singing, but also like reciting.
I can't appreciate it, I really can't appreciate it.
Minister Lu put down his hands that were about to cover his ears, but decided to just bear with it. After all, it was the good intention of his subordinates.
Not to mention Minister Lu, everyone else looked a little surprised by this shout, even Min Yuan was stunned.
What is Qiao Youyou doing? Is she really not embarrassed at all?
Qiao Youyou didn't care about that. She didn't blush or get nervous. She just focused on the singing with the half-baked singing method she had learned at the last minute.
She shook her sleeves, and seemed to see a big door in front of her. She half sang and half recited in a controlled tone:
"The gate of the Ministry of Revenue is really impressive!"
Then he pushed the door open, stepped over the threshold and raised his hand to adjust his "official hat".
"It seems that the play is about a newly-minted scholar who has just entered the official career and has just entered our Ministry of Revenue." Minister Lu poured a glass of wine for Zhang Lun and said.
Zhang Lun nodded and laughed, "That's quite creative. Lord Lu has worked hard for our Ministry of Revenue, and the whole office is united. I think she sang this to praise the atmosphere of our Ministry of Revenue."
As he said this, he couldn't help but glance at Eunuch Li who was sitting at the door, and thought that it would be good if these advantages of the Ministry of Revenue could be heard by the emperor.
Qiao Youyou pretended to walk into the Ministry of Revenue, looked around, and then seemed to see someone. He walked towards that "person" and asked, "Sir, I am new here, and I don't know what I should do to ensure a smooth career. I hope you can give me some advice."
After Qiao Youyou finished speaking to the air, she immediately stood at the opposite position, cleared her throat, and said in a lowered voice:
"How difficult is this? Let me explain it to you in detail..."
Then there was another round of gong sounds mixed with drum beats. Qiao Youyou turned around a few times and sang:
"First, you must be busy during the evening. Even if you have nothing to do, like sitting on a blank piece of paper, painting or practicing calligraphy to pass the time, you must sit on duty until the moon is high in the sky, so that the official will take pity on you."
The sound reached the ears of everyone in the courtyard, and everyone was shocked, but not because of Qiao Youyou's weird singing style -
She actually mocked the officials of the Ministry of Revenue at the birthday banquet of the Minister of the Court for deliberately slacking off and delaying their shifts. She must be crazy, otherwise why would she cut off her own escape route like this! ?
Not to mention whether her action would anger the Minister, just this one sentence of hers offended all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue, and from now on no one dared to associate with her. If she was convicted one day, it would be even more impossible for anyone to come out and plead for her. Not adding insult to injury was already the most righteous thing to do!
In official circles, only by being harmonious can one remain humble and humble.
Many officials in the Ministry of Revenue subconsciously turned their eyes to Zhao Shengping. Zhao Shengping had mediocre abilities and there were not many matters for him to handle. However, he had to stay in the yamen until late every day and only leave when Min Yuan got off duty.
The pile of rough papers used for practicing calligraphy on Zhao Shengping's desk was higher than the official documents.
Zhao Shengping's face was red and white, and he glared back at them one by one, saying with his eyes:
What are you looking at? You are no better than me!
The expressions of the people in the courtyard were very interesting. Minister Lu, who was sitting in the upper seat, was also very angry. Just as he was about to reprimand Qiao Youyou, he subconsciously glanced at Zhang Lun's face first.
Zhang Lun's face was slightly gloomy and it was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry. He didn't say anything, but just stared at Qiao Youyou.
Qiao Youyou continued singing.
"Second, you must be sharp-eyed and sharp-eared, like what your superiors like, and hate what your superiors hate—"
The lyrics then mentioned that because he was at odds with Min Yuan, no one informed him when Zhang Lun convened all the people in the Ministry of Revenue to discuss matters.
Zhang Lun raised his eyebrows slightly, then he remembered that the woman in front of him was the official who was late for the meeting last time, and he immediately understood.
Minister Lu finally couldn't help but wanted to scold Qiao Youyou, but Zhang Lun said calmly: "Let her sing."
Minister Lu had no choice but to sit down, feeling extremely flustered.
Qiao Youyou continued singing, describing all the absurd things she had seen and heard after entering the Ministry of Revenue, including how everyone tried so hard to please their superiors and how they excluded those who were different from them. She sang out all of them at once.
The music had stopped at some point, and the huge Minister's Mansion was so silent for a moment that only Qiao Youyou's absurd lyrics could be heard clearly in everyone's ears.
No one cared about the awkward singing style anymore, but an awkward atmosphere still spread in the courtyard, spreading to everyone's face and heart.
The strange atmosphere was finally broken by Min Yuan's furious roar.
He rushed to the center of the courtyard, not caring about his decency, pointed his finger at Qiao Youyou's nose, and loudly asked her what she wanted to do.
Min Yuan in front of him was already overwhelmed by anger, but Qiao Youyou smiled at him, and the heavy makeup on her face made her big eyes even brighter.
"Master Min, did I sing it wrong?"
Then she raised her voice a little more and asked word by word:
"Mr. Min, all the gentlemen and colleagues present here, may I ask which of the words I just sang was fabricated?!"
With great force.
No one answered.
Minister Lu looked at Zhang Lun again, only to see that his expression was somewhat complicated, but the corners of his mouth were gradually raised slightly... He was actually smiling! ?
Zhang Lun also worked his way up in the officialdom before he got the position of Minister of Revenue. In his eyes, what Qiao Youyou said were just tricks. He saw through them at a glance and was too lazy to even expose them.
He recalled that many years ago, when he first entered officialdom, he also sneered at these social practices and tactics.
But now, when I see these things, I have become accustomed to them, and even feel that this is how officialdom should be.
I couldn't remember exactly when I had this thought.
(After reading everyone's recent feedback, MeeMee has also been reflecting on this. This part of the plot is about Youyou's career on one hand, and is laying the groundwork for the upcoming battle for the crown prince on the other. The proportion is not well controlled, resulting in a slow progress of the plot, which makes many of you anxious to watch. I apologize for this.
The narrative rhythm will be optimized in the following text to avoid similar situations and ensure everyone's reading experience. Thanks again to the babies who are willing to grow up with this book, love you~)
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