Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 61 2.38 Mingming has such a deep friendship with Rong Guofu
Volume Two

2.38 Mingming has such a deep friendship with Rongguofu
On the street, which is fifteen feet wide and more than two miles long, there are only five or six households lined up in sequence. Among them, two spacious and majestic mansions are located in the middle, occupying more than half of the street. It was the Jia family of Jinling who was "a family with two kingdoms". Because he came from the west of the city, Zhou Yang first passed by the famous "Emperor Rongguo Mansion" before he saw two white marble lions in the east. .

The tall vermillion-lacquered copper-nailed animal-headed main entrance is tightly closed, showing off the majesty and status of the mansion without reservation. There is a side door on each side of the main entrance. There is also a corner door on the edge of the mansion for servants to enter and exit. There are two side doors in front of the main door. There is a row of weapon racks against the wall, with six golden halberds standing on each rack, showing the status of the owner of the mansion as a military commander and a real official.

This "halberd in front of the door" is not random. Generally, it requires a military general, a solid job, and a third-level or above. It starts with six halberds on the left and right. You must have achieved great achievements and been granted an imperial edict before you can increase the number. A maximum of nine halberds are allowed, that is, " "Nine is the ultimate number", which means that the meritorious service is particularly huge. This was the case in Rongguo Mansion during Jia Daishan's time. The peak of Ningguo Mansion only had eight roots.

Even the people greeting the door are divided into two types. There is a well-dressed servant on the left and right sides of the door frame. There are two armored gun-wielding sergeants on the left and right sides of the weapon rack. The plaque "Emperor Ningguo Mansion" is placed directly above the door. The golden light reflected in the bright sunlight also showed the fact that the mansion in front of him was still in its prime.

"Stop anyone coming!" Zhou Yang's martial arts uniform just in case was clearly working. Even if the sergeant at the door blocked his way, he still bowed and saluted before asking questions, and he spoke politely, " I wonder if this young master has something to do? If nothing happens, please don’t linger in front of the door. "

"Thank you!" Zhou Yang jumped off the horse, smiled, clasped his fists, and reached out to hand over the invitation, "My surname is Zhou. I was invited by Mr. Chen to come to the banquet today. Please let me know."

"It turns out to be Lord Jie Yuang!" This time the sergeant returned to his station. The servant on the right side of the door came up to him with a smile on his face. He took the invitation by the way. Apparently he had been notified in advance. The servant on the left strode over. , neatly took the horse's reins and led him away, "Master Zhou, please invite me to a banquet in Huifang Garden. Someone will guide you after you enter."

Entering from the side door, a servant immediately came up to guide the way. After passing the Yimen, another servant took the lead. They walked all the way in the main courtyard, bypassing the main hall "Ning'an Hall", and instead walked along the corridor on the east wall of the yard. Walking all the way back through the aisle until you reach a door with hanging flowers, you find a familiar yet unfamiliar man waiting there.

"I've met Mr. Bai Hu!" Zhou Yang was stunned for a moment and recognized him as the military attache who invigilated his martial arts exam. He could be called "teacher" after all, but there was no requirement for this in the martial arts exam. He had some Strange why this person is here.

"Hahaha, Master Baihu, you're welcome, Junior Brother Zhou. Those who are here today are all brothers and have no official positions." Before Baihu could speak, another voice came into his ears, and Baihu smiled and backed away. In one step, another "familiar stranger" greeted him, and Zhou Yang never met him.

"Greetings to Senior Brother Chen!" However, being able to call him "Junior Brother" at this time, combined with the signature on the invitation, Zhou Yang had already guessed the identity of the person coming, and quickly stepped forward and bowed, "I don't know how good the teacher is. I haven’t had the guts to pay a visit since the Luming Banquet, really.”

This is just a polite word. Although in theory, Chen Ruiwen's invigilator Wuju Qiuwei is considered his student if he passes the exam, but as long as he doesn't officially admit it, he can be regarded as a "student" at most, and he has to have You can only recognize him after you have an official position. If you don't have an official position, even if you come to visit, they will not be received-of course, the Chen family in front of you now says "Junior Brother Zhou", that is to formalize the relationship.

"Junior Brother Zhou, you're welcome, my father is very kind!" "Senior Brother Chen" spoke very openly, and he didn't forget to introduce him, "I am the longest under my father's knees, and my name is Luocao. I also have a handsome character. You can call me Senior Brother; this is 'Master Baihu' is the eldest son of Duke Xiu's Mansion, Hou Yuan's courtesy name is Huaiyuan, of course, if you are willing to continue to call 'Master Baihu', it's okay as a brother, haha!"

"I've met Brother Hou!" Zhou Yang was naturally not stupid at this time. He took two steps forward and clasped his fists in a salute. The reason why he used the flat salute was because although the two people in front of him were both heirs to the Duke's Palace, they did not have titles after all. None of them are high. If we discuss the theoretical status of the imperial court, he, who can at least be equal to the martial arts scholar Jieyuan, is the highest.

"Okay, don't be so polite, we are all brothers." No matter what they think in their hearts, at least whether it is Hou Yuan or Chen Yejun, they are impeccable in etiquette and politeness, making people feel like spring breeze, and they are worthy of their backgrounds. They followed them all the way into the garden, and Zhou Yang got to know all the visitors through their introductions.Jia Lian of Rongguo Palace, Jia Zhen of Ningguo Palace, Chen Yejun of Qi State Palace, Ma Xin of Zhiguo Palace, Niuben of Zhenguo Palace, Liu Dong of Liguo Palace, Hou Yuan of Xiuguo Palace, and Shi Meng of Tuiguo Palace, " "Eight Dukes", many of the noble sons of each family are here; in addition, Han Qi from Jinxiang Prefecture, and even Qiu Liang, a third-class male and commander of the Five Cities Army and Horses Division, are here!
In addition to these princes who are either the master or half the master, there are more than ten young talents who look quite stylish. However, neither Chen Yejun nor Hou Yuan introduced them, and Zhou Yang did not have many Question: What’s interesting is that there are so many people here, but there is no representative of the “one family with two princes” historians, and there are no descendants of the Wang family.

"Come on, come on, brothers, you're welcome, take a seat, take a seat!" The person who came out to entertain this time was Jia Zhen, the eldest son of Ningguo Mansion. Seeing that he was good at dancing and spoke and behaved like everyone else, it was difficult for Zhou Yang to distinguish him from the person who came after him. Zha said to him, "We have a small gathering today. You are here to give me Jia Zhen face. You must be welcome!"

"Brother Zhen, don't worry. I've been coveting the good wine from Ningguo Mansion for a while." Niu Ben, the most powerful person in the Zhenguo Mansion, said with a generous smile, "Last time, my father ordered two drinks from Uncle Jing. I secretly drank half of the jar, even though I received a beating, but judging from the taste, even if I was beaten again, I would drink it!"

"Hahaha, why don't you say hello to Uncle Niu? Since Brother Niu likes it, you can take as many jars with you as you like when you leave. At worst, I'll get a beating too. It's worth it!" Jia Zhen spoke openly and directly, winning applause from the whole room. What's more, Niu Jizong, the inheritor of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion, is now the Minister of the Ministry of War and holds the title of Bachelor of Wuyingdian. "Hey, brother Zhou, what are you looking for? Sit here, don't you see that there is an empty seat next to your senior brother?"

"How does this make -" Zhou Yang obviously didn't react, because there were three tables in the garden, and the middle table was naturally the Eighth Prince. The only one, Qiu Liang, who was of the same age and often hung out with young people from various families, showed up. After saying a few words, he left. The others sat on both sides of the table. He really didn't expect that his seat would be at the main table.

"What can't you do?" Hou Yuan stood up in person, pulled him down and pressed him down, "It's true that you, despite having such a deep friendship with Rong Guofu, didn't say a word. If I hadn't given you the tools, Qian Juren, the famous guarantor, doesn’t know that he came forward for you only after seeing Uncle Zheng’s famous letter. I didn’t even think that you are one of our own, that is, you, how long do you want to hide it, eh?”

"Brother Hou, forgive me, Brother Hou, forgive me!" Zhou Yang broke into a cold sweat for a moment. His relationship with Li Wan must not be exposed in any way, otherwise both of them would end up dead without a burial place. "It's just that the government Mr. Li asked me not to say more, so that's it."

"Okay, only those few people can come across the second uncle's name card. I guess it's inconvenient to say more." Jia Lian took over the conversation with a smile, but his eyes were obviously dissatisfied, "But since Brother Zhou is already here , that is of course one of our own, this time Brother Zhen is so generous, we will naturally not get drunk or go home!"

Unlike what Zhou Yang was worried about, Jia Lian immediately suspected Zhou Rui, who was killed a few days ago, or suspected that Mrs. Wang was collecting cash in private, so she used Jia Zheng's name to vouch for others. It's just that now that Zhou Yang has won Xie Yuan, no matter what problems there are, it's time to turn the page.

"Speaking of which, the relationship between Brother Zhou and us goes beyond just a famous post." Jia Zhen said with a smile, "A few days ago, my father received a personal letter from Duke Xue of Jinling, praising Brother Zhou's ability. , and it was also from him that I learned that there is such a powerful brother with perfect arrows. Wait a minute, you have to show us wastes who can't even pull the bow."

"Since Brother Zhen has opened his mouth, I will naturally not be too proud of myself!" Zhou Yang quickly stood up and bowed before replying, "It's just a matter of Mr. Don’t take it seriously!”

"Xue Gong is a big businessman in the world. I don't dare to say anything else. No one should dare to doubt his vision." Liu Dong took over the conversation lightly, "Since he agrees, there must be no problem with Brother Zhou's skills, not to mention Jieyuan's identity. I won’t lie, brother Zhou is so humble!”

The meal was a feast for both the guests and the host, but it left Zhou Yang exhausted both physically and mentally. There was nothing he could do about it. He had the lowest status at the main table and basically could only follow the other people's conversation; the wine drinkers on both sides also talked from time to time. He came over to toast, and he took the opportunity to get to know a few of them, such as Wei Ruolan, who had a mysterious identity in the original work, but others asked him to stop drinking from time to time. Fortunately, he was used to drinking high-alcohol alcohol in modern times, and he could handle a little non-distilled alcohol. Can live.

(End of this chapter)