Chapter 43 Running around the East Palace

With a certain idea, Chen Wanrong got up and left the house. He saw Chen Zairong practicing sword in the yard. A sword in his hand made it like a splatter of water without a drop of water. It has made a lot of progress compared to the previous sword skills. Although Chen Wanrong did not understand sword skills, he could see that there was a shadow of Gongsun Jianwu in his sword skills: "Zairong, your sword skills have made a lot of progress."

"Brother, where is there any entry?" Chen Zairong maintained his usual modest style: "Last time I danced with Sister Lou, Gongsun Jianwu's free and easy sword intent touched me a lot. My brother told me that I should abandon unnecessary fancy moves in the fight, and make the most effective defense and the most effective offense, and that's how it turned out to be."

The understanding is really good, Chen Wanrong praised: "I just say a few words and you realize it. It's really hard for you. Practice your sword well, and I'll visit Mr. Wu."

"Brother, I'll go too." Chen Zairong held back the sword and returned the sword to the sheath. Wu Jing was the one he respected, so he naturally would not miss the opportunity.

Chen Wanrong asked, "You won't practice swords anymore? You will take the exam tomorrow."

"Brother, it's okay. I have to spend time practicing swords for normal times, and it doesn't make much money." Chen Zairong's words meant the same as "I don't usually cook oysters, but I cram the Buddha's feet for the time being" and it makes sense.

Zheng Qing came with a lot of steps and light gait: "Brother Chen, I'm going to visit Uncle Wu, let's go together."

Wu Jing and Zheng Jianqiu are good friends, and it is understandable that she visits anyone. Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "That's OK."

Wu Jing's home is in Yongchangfang, only two yards away from Pingkangfang, not far away, and he does not take a bus. Chang'an's terrain is high in the east and low in the west, the west city is low and humid, and the east city is dry and clean, so the official's mansion is mostly located in Dongcheng. After leaving Pingkangfang to the north, passes by Chongren and Yongxingfang, and comes to Yongchangfang.

On the west side of Yongchangfang, Zheng Qing pointed to the East Palace and introduced: "Brother Chen, that's the East Palace."

The East Palace is where the prince lives and is an important place in the imperial court. When Chen Wanrong looked at it, he saw a thick wall with many houses inside and soldiers patrolling the walls. Yongchangfang can only see the backyard of the East Palace, and the situation at the gate is unknown.

Wu Jing's mansion is close to the street and is easy to find. Zheng Qing has been here many times and is familiar with the road. He led the Chen Wanrong and his brothers to Wu Mansion. The Wu Mansion is not big, but smaller than the Zheng Mansion in Chang'an. A vermilion door screen in the gate blocked the scene in the courtyard.

"Miss Zheng, are you here to visit the master?" The person guarding the gate was a 60-year-old man, who said very kindly to Zheng Qing.

Zheng Qing bowed and said, "Grandpa Wu, two friends are coming to visit Uncle Wu, so I'll follow you."

The old Cangtou smiled and said, "The master is working in the court. You go to the room to serve tea first. But it's still early, you have to wait." It's only noon, and it's quite early.

There was nothing to do, waiting for Hefang, Chen Wanrong had no objection and followed Lao Cangtou. Although the mansion was not big, garden buildings were popular in the Tang Dynasty, Wu Jing could not avoid the customs. He still repaired the small land into a garden. Although there were not many flowers, plants and trees, it was very quiet, and people would feel a sense of tranquility when they walked.

Lao Cangtou invited Chen Wanrong and the other two into the living room, served tea, and said, "Please use tea for three!" He left the house.

While drinking tea, Chen Wanrong looked at the room. There were many calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls, some of which were from Wu Jing, and some from a woman from Wu Liu. Chen Wanrong didn't know who Wu Liu was. Zheng Qing knew that he would be confused and explained to him: "Brother Chen, this is Aunt Wu's handwriting. Aunt Wu's family's surname is Liu. She has been studying and practicing calligraphy since she was a child. She knows that she can be good at piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, and she is good at all."

"Is it my niece Zheng?" A sweet woman's voice came, and a graceful woman appeared at the door. She looked like a man in her twenties. She only had a mature feminine look on her body and told people that she was quite old.

Zheng Qingying Ying Yifu: "I have met Aunt Wu."

Wu Liu held her, pulled her to her side for a while, and smiled and said, "Niece Zheng is even more beautiful."

Zheng Qing acted coquettishly and punched her shoulder with a pair of pink fists: "Aunt Wu, you make fun of me, but I won't come."

"Okay, okay, Aunt Wu won't laugh at you anymore." Wu Liu looked at Chen Wanrong and the others.

Chen Wanrong stepped forward to greet him: "Chen Wanrong has met his wife."

Chen Zairong will not fall behind naturally: "Chen Zairong has met his wife."

Wu Qi smiled and said, "So it's you, a distinguished guest! Last time I came, I didn't enter the door, so I only left a note. I have to linger a lot this time."

Last time I was selling soap and was anxious to go home, Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "The farmers have a lot of work and are in a hurry to go home. The courtesy is not good enough, so please forgive me."

Wu Liu said with a smile: "Wanrong, you are so arrogant. The master has been praising you, but I just wonder what kind of person I am? Unexpectedly, I finally saw him today, which is better than the master praised him."

"Mr. Wu has been too proud. Chen Wanrong is just a farmer, so he dare not be praised like this." Chen Wanrong is humble.

Mrs. Liu Wu still praised: "If you are a farmer, you are also a capable farmer!"

After the ceremony, Wu Liu asked Chen Wanrong and the others to sit down and talk with her. She had a good knowledge and was good at tea, calligraphy and painting. She told her in a casual manner, which opened her eyes and enjoyed another cultural feast.

Chen Wanrong spoke very well, Wu Zheng and the other girls had good knowledge, and Chen Zairong was able to speak eloquently. The four of them relaxed their conversation and were very speculative. Before they knew it, it was already dusk. It was already past Wu Jing's time to go to court, but they were not able to see Wu Jing return for a long time.

Wu Liu asked someone to serve food, not big fish and meat, but just a few home-cooked dishes. What makes people praise is the fine workmanship and skillfulness. After dinner, he said something for a while, but Wu Jing still didn't come back.

It was getting late, and today I couldn't wait. Chen Wanrong and the other two got up to say goodbye. Wu Liu did not leave guests and sent them out of the mansion. After leaving the mansion, Zheng Qing frowned and said nothing.

Since I met her, I have not had such a silent experience. Chen Wanrong asked: "Miss Zheng, are you doing something? If I need help, I will do my best."

"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Chen." Zheng Qing thanked her and then said softly: "Brother Chen, something big happened in the court."

How could she know that she had been together all afternoon? Chen Wanrong was curious and asked, "Where did she start this?"

Zheng Qing knew Chen Wanrong’s thoughts and explained: “Every time when something big happens in the court, Uncle Wu will not be able to go home.”

So that's the case. No wonder Wu Liu's brows were frowning. It turned out to be the same as Zheng Qing's idea. Chen Wanrong suddenly realized: "The Tang Dynasty is powerful in the world, and the countries bow down, and there are many major issues." There are so many major issues in the dynasty like the Tang Dynasty, and it is normal for court officials to stay in China to discuss matters.

Zheng Qing carefully explained: "Brother Chen, this matter must be a major event that shocked the court and the public. Since ancient times, historians have written straight, Dong Hu blamed Zhao Dun directly, and Han Wu was afraid of the words of historians. Historians were allowed to be circulated by the "Records of the Grand Historians". His writing is like lingering, even the emperor must be afraid of three points. Therefore, Emperor Taizong issued an order to ask historians to participate in the court discussion in order to supervise the emperor to avoid making mistakes. The Tang Dynasty avoided all officials and did not avoid historians. No matter what the matter was, the historians should know. Uncle Wu did not return late at night, which means that there has not been a resolution on major events in the court yet. If I expected it, there would be many important officials like Uncle Wu who did not go home."

Emperor Taizong of Tang wanted historians to participate in political discussions, which was indeed a very enlightened move. The emperor was not afraid of his ministers, but historians. No matter which emperor, whether he was good or bad, he wanted to be famous for his generation. The historian's pen forced him not to do bad things, or to do less bad things.

Zhao Dun was furious because the historian wrote that he killed the King of Jin, and asked the official to delete the section. However, one historian died, and another historian continued to write that after killing the three, Zhao Dun would never dare to kill the official again. This is the origin of the historian's allusion of "Dong Hu directly blamed Zhao Dun". Zhao Dun was the powerful prime minister of Jin State, and Jin Jun was just a doll in his hands and had to be afraid of the official, which shows the power of the official.

Wu Zetian conspired to replace the Tang Dynasty, and many things could not be exposed. The move to introduce Emperor Taizong of Tang into historians to discuss politics was abolished. Although Emperor Ruizong became emperor, he did not explicitly order the historians to restore the political discussion, nor did he exclude the historians.

So many important officials discussed in the court, which must have been a major event that shocked the government and the public. As for what happened, it was not something Chen Wanrong and the others could guess.

The three of them returned to Zheng's mansion, spoke for a while, and went to bed.

I got up early the next morning, washed up, and had breakfast, and rushed to the school with Chen Zairong. Zheng Qing had something to do today, so she didn't come with me.

Today's Chang'an is different from the past. The number of soldiers patrolling has increased significantly. In the past, I only saw one team occasionally on the street, but today there are teams one after another. Needless to say, Zheng Qing's guess is correct. Something big happened in the court, otherwise I would not be so vigilant.

The schoolyard was on the edge of the imperial city, and you could see three steps and one whistle in the distance, and you were on high alert. Chen Zairong handed over the document, and the soldiers checked it and took Chen Zairong into the schoolyard. Another soldier took Chen Wanrong to a room at the entrance of the schoolyard. As soon as he entered the house, he saw two middle-aged people sitting in the room. The family members of the students who met at the Imperial College yesterday must be waiting for the students here like him.

The soldier brought tea and snacks, and retreated on his own. Chen Wanrong clasped his fists at the two of them: "I have met you two."

They were all family members of the family, so they were naturally closer. The two of them were busy returning the gift. The taller man invited him and said, "Why don't you come here to sit down? We can talk."

It’s better to sit in a bored place than to talk about family matters and talk about interesting things. Chen Wanrong naturally sat over without objection. Another man came over with a teacup, and three of them sat around the table.

"From the left to the east, I don't know the two names of Gao." The tall man introduced himself.

Another man said, "He is young."

Chen Wanrong reported to his home: "I have met two of you here."

They were polite to each other and were about to talk and spend time together, when a fierce drum sounded in the schoolyard, the drum sounded like thunder, shaking the eardrums. Zuo He and the other two looked at each other and didn't know what was going on.

Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "You two don't have to be panic. I guess the martial arts performance has begun." The martial arts performance in the school is naturally to help the fight.

A word reminded the two of them, and they laughed at themselves and pricked up their ears to listen. The drum sound was extremely fierce and lasted for a long time before it stopped. As soon as the drum sound stopped, Zuo He and his men not only did not calm down, but instead became worried, but naturally they were worried about their children's future.

Although Chen Wanrong hopes that Chen Zairong can win the title for the prince, whether this matter is successful or not is at the hands of the prince, it is useless to worry, so drink tea and eat snacks with peace of mind.

After a while, the drum sounded again, and it was still as intense as it was just now. Zuo He and his men were worried and almost jumped out of their chests. The drum sounded and stopped, stopped and sounded again. It was several times, but it never sounded again. It should be that the assessment was achieved. Zuo He and his men were restless, stood up and sat down, and sweat oozed from their foreheads.

Look at them like they are participating in the assessment. Chen Wanrong comforted him: "You two don't have to worry, you will have your own results after a while."

"Left to east!" the soldier shouted outside the door.

Zuo Xiangdong said subconsciously: "The little one is here!"

"Come out!" The soldier pushed open the door.

Zuo Xiangdong ran out in a hurry, caring too much, and didn't even say goodbye. After Zuo Xiangdong went out, he never came back. After a while, He Younian called out again and never returned.

Chen Wanrong was the only one left in the room, not even a person talking. Chen Wanrong stood up and wanted to go out to take a look, but stopped the soldiers at the door, as if they were in a confinement.

Chen Wanrong was in such a situation. He stood by the window and looked at the situation outside, except for the soldiers, there was nothing unusual about the walls of the schoolyard.

After the boss for a while, Chen Zairong came out of the schoolyard with a happy look on his face. Looking at his joyful appearance, he seemed to have a beggar who had picked up ingots, and several tall soldiers surrounded him.

From his face, Chen Wanrong knew that the assessment was over, so he was happy for him and walked out quickly. This time, the soldiers at the door did not stop him and allowed him to leave the house.

"Brother, I've been waiting for you for a long time!" Chen Zairong rushed over.

The result was already written on his face. Chen Wanrong didn't need to ask questions, and said with a smile: "All Rong, congratulations, brother."

"Brother, no, this fight was so exciting!" Chen Zairong said enough to fool the shrewd Chen Wanrong ten times.

Chen Wanrong originally thought he did well in the exam, but he didn't expect that he was happy to fight. If he hadn't seen him with seriousness, he would have thought that his ears had been wrong, and he was stunned and said, "Then let's go back."

Chen Zairong clasped his fists and said, "I'm sorry, brothers, please give me a message. Chen Zairong thanked me here! Dear brothers, say goodbye!"

Several soldiers said, "Go away," and turned back to school.

Chen Wanrong looked at Chen Zairong, his forehead and back were covered with sweat. It seemed that the fight had been a long time and asked, "Who did you fight?"

"Brother, I fought with the prince." Chen Zairong said enough to scare people. A student who fought with the prince was not brave, but was very bold. How could he not scare people?

Chen Zairong knew what Chen Wanrong was thinking and explained to him: "Brother, don't worry, the prince is going to fight me. Brother, I didn't tell you that the prince's kung fu is this! It's great! I've fought so many times, but the prince's martial arts are the best! A sword in his hand makes that agile force is really convincing! I'm so convinced!"

The Kaiyuan prosperous era created by Li Longji has been famous for its generation. Although he caused the "Anshi Rebellion" in the later period and ruined his own hard work, no one can deny that he was an extremely smart person, with the best of the emperor, and his literary talent and martial arts skills. As for martial arts, this is a must-have skill for the emperor. He has worked hard since he was a child, and it is no wonder that his martial arts are very strong.

Although Chen Wanrong was not interested in martial arts, he was still very excited and asked, "Who are you better?"

"Can the prince lose?" Chen Zairong's answer made too reasonable.

Even if Chen Zairong's martial arts skills are better than that of the prince, he cannot beat the prince. This is a good way to deal with it. He smiled and said, "Zairong, it is right for you to keep one."

"Brother, don't be straitorous. I didn't hold back. I really tried my best. I really couldn't beat the prince. If I continued to fight, I would be defeated. The prince didn't want me to make a fool of myself, so I stopped." Chen Zairong shook his head.

This shows that the prince values ​​Chen Zairong very much, otherwise the prince would not show mercy. Chen Wanrong smiled and said, "The prince is treating you well, so he doesn't want you to be fooled."

"Brother, the prince wants me to go to the Eastern Palace tomorrow and serve the prince." Chen Zairong said enough to make anyone crazy.

This result is the best, and it actually came true. Chen Wanrong could not be happy. He congratulated Chen Zairong: "Zairong, congratulations to you brother! I have to rush back and tell my parents about this good news." If you serve the prince in the East Palace, you will have a bright future. When Chen and his wife know, they will definitely be happy.

Chen Zairong smiled and said, "Brother, don't be anxious for a moment. Although this matter is glorious, there is no need to promote it. I just need to invite the gentlemen and classmates from the county hall."

This is inevitable. Huang Boming and the others have been waiting for the meal to invite him. Chen Zairong changed his tone and said something that was enough to shock Chen Wanrong: "Brother, you are so amazing. You have made great contributions this time!"

"I'm making great contributions?" Although Chen Wanrong was smart, he had to be confused when he heard this.

Chen Zairong looked at Chen Wanrong's confused look and explained: "Brother, do you still remember the Jingxianting incident? Although your method is simple, it is effective. After that person ate it, it has improved. Brother, your achievements are really great, and it is even more admirable than if I go to the East Palace to run."

"Who am I saving?" Chen Wanrong's boss was in a puzzling mood.

Chen Zairong looked around and saw that there was no one, so he lowered his voice and whispered a few words in Chen Wanrong's ear. After hearing this, Chen Wanrong's eyes widened wider and became stunned for a long time, and he still didn't believe it: "Is it him who I saved?"
Chapter completed!