Zhao Hao coughed lightly, and Qiaoqiao woke up suddenly. She rubbed her eyes and looked at him and said, "Hey, why haven't you left yet?"

"Oh, aren't you waiting for me?" Zhao Hao asked curiously.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm waiting for my dad." Qiaoqiao rolled her eyes at him and pouted, "What are you waiting for?"

"Oh, Xuelang invited me to climb the Great Baoen Temple Glazed Pagoda. I wanted to ask you to come with us." Zhao Hao shrugged and teased her deliberately, "It seems that I can only find someone else to climb the pagoda."

"Really?" Qiaoqiao's eyes lit up immediately, and she smiled and said, "Then I'll go."

Before she finished her words, she saw Ma Xianglan, who was supposed to go home, appear at the door of the restaurant.

"Why is Sister Xianglan back?" Qiaoqiao asked curiously.

Ma Xianglan pointed to the piano stand and explained very reasonably: "I forgot to bring my piano."

"Oh." Qiaoqiao nodded. She couldn't understand why Ma Xianglan would forget to bring such a big piano.

As Ma Xianglan put her lyre into its bag, she asked casually, "Where are you going?"

"He said Xuelang invited us to the Glazed Tower." Qiaoqiao answered, and then added: "I have never been to the Glazed Tower in my life. I am afraid that such a good opportunity will not come again."

"Ah, I haven't been there either..." Ma Xianglan held the piano and chatted with Qiaoqiao, but her eyes glanced at Zhao Hao.

"Okay, you'll be one of them." Zhao Hao felt an atmosphere that he shouldn't have to endure at his age. He said this irresponsibly and ran away.

The next day, Zhao Hao came to Shangyuan County Government to visit County Magistrate Zhang regarding the Xiaocangshan project.

Zhao Hao had discussed this with him before, and this time he was submitting a formal application for the county to approve.

Building a garden is an elegant thing, and it can also increase tax revenue and attract popularity for Shangyuan County, so County Magistrate Zhang naturally has no reason to object. Moreover, he is also hoping to establish a good relationship with Zhao Hao and see if he can find some connections in Beijing. It would be good to serve as Shangyuan County Magistrate for another term.

"Don't worry, my friend Zhao. Shangyuan County lacks such an elegant place, which is why scholars and dignitaries have been running to Jiangning County." Magistrate Zhang patted his chest and said, "As long as I am in office, I will treat Xiaocangshan as my own business and escort you."

After a pause, he deliberately sighed and said, "It's a pity that my term of office will end next year. After I leave office, it's hard to say what the attitude of the next county magistrate will be."

"Don't worry, old senior. I will find a way to help you with this matter when I go to Beijing." Everyone was a smart person, so it was particularly easy for them to talk.

"No matter how much money it costs, I will prepare it for you." County Magistrate Zhang was overjoyed when he heard this.

"Alas, it's too polite to talk about money." Zhao Hao smiled and shook his head, saying, "I have been very grateful to my parents for taking care of me in the past. Now is the time to repay them."

"Really, really..." Hearing that he didn't have to spend any money, County Magistrate Zhang rubbed his hands together happily and said, "Friend Zhao is just too young, otherwise I would have sworn brotherhood with you, half-brothers."

"I already treat my elderly parents as my own brothers." County Magistrate Zhang's words were corny, and Zhao Hao's words were even more disgusting.

"Okay, okay, from now on Shangyuan County Government Office will be your home, and we brothers should visit each other often..." Magistrate Zhang is about the same age as Zhao Liben, but he doesn't think there is anything wrong with this.

He insisted on keeping Zhao Hao for lunch in the county government office before he was willing to let him go.

When Zhao Hao and County Magistrate Zhang separated, they saw Li Jiutian, who was still limping, waiting there.

"Sir, is everything going well?" It was drizzling in the autumn rain and Li Jiutian attentively held an umbrella for him.

"It went very smoothly." Zhao Hao walked towards the back door of the county government office and said casually, "I heard from your county magistrate that there is a vacancy for the county workshop clerk and it has not been filled. I will help you get the position."

"Ah?" Li Jiutian was stunned for a while after hearing that. Then he came to his senses with overjoyed eyes, kowtowed to Zhao Hao to express his gratitude, and burst into tears.

"Thank you for your promotion and your kindness in giving me a new life. I will never be able to repay you even if I work like a slave!"

The Dianli is the head of the clerks in a room, which may sound insignificant. But if you compare it to later generations, you will know why Li Jiutian was so grateful. The Dianli in the Gongfang is in charge of the engineering, construction, farming, and water conservancy of a county, which is equivalent to the director of the Construction Bureau and the director of the Water Conservancy Bureau in later generations. You can imagine how high his status is in the county and how much money he has.

Li Jiutian was originally a strong servant, but suddenly became one of the top ten figures in the county. How could he not be grateful to Zhao Hao?

"Hurry up, it's not good for others to see you." Zhao Hao smiled and patted his shoulder and said, "You can help me take care of Xiaocangshan and Caijiaxiang, which is the best reward for me."

Li Jiutian quickly wiped his tears and stood up, holding the umbrella for Zhao Hao again and said, "Don't worry, sir. If anything happens, I will come to you with my head!"

Although there was a misty autumn rain, the scholars, wealthy businessmen and guests boating on the Qinhuai River were still enjoying the trip.

On the contrary, it is the cow-hair-like raindrops falling on the rippling waves of the Qinhuai River, stirring up wisps of bright ripples and hazy mist, which make tourists more and more immersed in this dreamlike Six Dynasties gold powder.

Along the Qinhuai River, there are ten miles of pearl curtains and prostitutes lined up one after another. The pearl of this stretch of silk and brocade is between Wuding Bridge and Kuchao Street. This place is opposite to the streets of Yingtian Gongyuan, and is called Jiuyuan, also known as Quzhong. It is recognized as the gathering place of Qinhuai famous prostitutes. Those who can have a place here are all the best among the beauties with both beauty and talent, and their skills surpass those of other beauties. The Qinhuai River that makes people all over the world dream, in a narrow sense, refers to this section.

Since the Tang Dynasty, scholars have had the habit of taking prostitutes out to celebrate after achieving fame and fortune.

This good habit was naturally inherited intact by the scholars in the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, Zhao Shouzheng and his classmate from Yingtian Prefecture who had passed the imperial examination in the same year, boarded a large pleasure boat, brought along several female historians and a group of opera singers, and wandered along this section of the river.

On both sides of the river, there were brothels with carved beams and painted rafters, and silk curtains and gorgeous windows.

In each of those riverside towers, there lived a famous prostitute from the south of the Yangtze River who was both beautiful and talented, and more beautiful than any other prostitute.

Their every smile, every song and every sigh captured the hearts and souls of the princes, wealthy businessmen and tycoons in the city, making the entire Jinling city bow down at their feet.

Although the newly-appointed scholars were quite popular among the female historians, they could never dream of setting foot in these old courtyards and riverside towers and becoming the guests of those famous prostitutes in Jiangnan without making an appointment one month in advance.

However, just passing by these river houses that looked like fairy palaces was enough to make them excited, competing to write poems and lyrics, showing off their talents like peacocks spreading their tails, as if this would make it possible for them to be favored by a famous prostitute, who would suddenly open the window and smile at them.

At this time, Zhao Shouzheng was very calm. He sat on a mahogany stool with his eyes slightly closed, holding a wine glass in one hand and tapping the cold marble table with the other, as if he was appreciating the works of the same year, and as if he was enjoying the joy after this success.

He didn't expect the joy after passing the imperial examination to be so long-lasting, with different joys coming to him almost every day. In the face of such a huge sense of happiness, it seemed that all the hardships he had experienced in the past years were worth it.

"Brother, brother..." The shouting brought Zhao Shouzheng back to his senses. He looked carefully and saw that the person calling him was Tang Hezheng, the son of the famous Tang Jingchuan and the third place in this year's Yingtian County Examination.

"What's the matter, brother?" Zhao Shouzheng finally opened his eyes and asked in a gentle voice.

"There's a Zhejiang scholar making trouble over there!" Tang Hezheng said angrily, pointing at a riverside house in front.

"That's right!" Several other classmates also said indignantly: "How dare you act wildly on our territory? Brother, let's go and meet him!"

After passing the imperial examination, Zhao Shouzheng was unexpectedly elected as the eldest brother by his peers.

Friendship is different from friendship with classmates. After attending the Luming Banquet, everyone has stepped into the officialdom. The future career is treacherous, and we need to watch over each other and take care of each other, so we naturally have to manage the relationship well, so it is not as indifferent as classmates.

Therefore, Zhao Hao strongly supported Zhao Shouzheng in building good relationships with his peers, and allocated two thousand taels of silver to his father, asking him to pay more bills and hold more gatherings. This was what Zhao Shouzheng was good at when he was the son of the Minister of the Court, and he spent a lot of money, which really made his peers praise him, and he regained his former style.

Zhao Shouzheng is old enough, and the top scholar is also his apprentice's grandson. How can other people of the same age dare to be better than him?

In addition, there were many fellow townsmen from Xiuning who passed the imperial examination this year, and everyone supported him, so Zhao Shouzheng became the big brother of the candidates from Yingtian this year.

ps. Guaranteed second update, please give me monthly votes and recommendation tickets...