It is not unusual for a person like Zhang Xuezhou who wants to die to become a bachelor.
Many senior officials of the imperial court are half-dead as they age, and some even remain in office until the moment of death.
As long as Zhang Xuezhou is still gasping for air, he, the official of Jinmamen who is awaiting imperial edict, will be very stable.
As a member of the court system, if you don’t do anything outrageous, your rank will not be demoted, but will be gradually promoted over time.
The position of Jinmamen Daizhao Bachelor is very interesting. It means having an official position, but it is not an actual official position.
This position belongs to the imperial court's alternate officials. Considering Zhang Xuezhou's physical condition, Zhang Xuezhou feels that his waiting time will be extremely long.
He had to take it one step at a time. Zhang Xuezhou had successfully solved the problem of being unable to perform his duties normally, and he could not ask himself to do any better.
After visiting the conditions of Chunyu Tiying and Zheng Wukong, Zhang Xuezhou stayed at home for another night.
It was early in the morning before he wandered to the Golden Horse Gate.
“Here comes the meal, a big portion of meat!”
Jinmamen is the place where bachelors wait for orders. To put it simply, waiting for orders means that you have to wait. If you wait, you will get hungry. If you are hungry, someone will take care of the food.
The benefits of the imperial court are a waste if not used. He is making reasonable use of them at this time, even coming to Jinmamen for breakfast.
Zhang Xuezhou thought that this kind of thing would take a long time to wait, but he didn't expect that after just a short while, a boy hurried over with a tray.
There was half a chicken on the tray, which was steaming hot at this time, as well as a large portion of millet porridge. Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but marvel, and he felt that the cook at Jinmamen was very capable.
The tables and chairs here at Jinmamen are nothing to see. Zhang Xuezhou just wandered around in his free time and asked for a piece of food if there was any.
He thought that according to his rule of being sober for twelve days, it would be enough to come once a month.
After making this trip today, he will be busy with his own affairs for the next ten days.
“Where is my bachelor’s breakfast?”
Zhang Xuezhou was halfway through eating when he saw a tall and handsome young man walking into the inner hall of the Golden Horse Gate.
Holding the token of the Jinmamen awaiting edict, the young man also found a place to sit down, and then began to drink.
"I asked for half a piece of chicken and millet porridge in advance yesterday. You should prepare some preparations in advance." The young man said dissatisfied: "Please note that this time is wasted if delayed, and waste is a very shameful thing!"
< br>"Isn't this just...Huh?"
The boy came here again to run errands, and then he discovered that there were two bachelors at the Golden Horse Gate.
You cannot enter the Golden Horse Gate without a bachelor's token. Both bachelors are real.
But from what the young man knew, he knew that there was a new bachelor in Jinmamen who wanted breakfast and lunch, but the rest of the things were unclear.
He looked at Zhang Xuezhou and then at the young man.
"Sir, please wait a moment, we will ask the cook to do it now!"
The boy glanced at it and quickly replied to the young man's words, which made the young man raise his finger. Pointed at the boy.
"You mean you haven't made my breakfast yet?" The young man said slightly angrily: "This is really unreasonable, I clearly told you yesterday!"
"Sir, let's do it "Yeah," the boy said, "but we didn't know that two bachelors were coming today."
"You two...it seems that that dear friend has eaten Kong's breakfast," the young man said with a frown.
“He came early,” the boy squirmed: “We will cook it for you now!”
“If you are only going to cook one portion, you must not have much ingredients. It takes half an hour to get the ingredients back and forth, half an hour to cook, and it takes time to get them here. It doesn’t matter if Kong doesn’t eat this breakfast!”
The young man was angry, but he was very well-educated! , and after getting angry, decided not to eat.
This kind of anger made Zhang Xuezhou a little bit dumbfounded.
"Brother Kong, come on, I have half a portion here, let's eat together," Zhang Xuezhou extended his hand to greet him.
“Eat together... we will not be full together, we will share the meal without any hesitation, no fighting for the rice, no letting go of the rice, no singing, no eating, no biting of the bones. No eating of fish, no throwing of dog bones . Don’t seize the harvest, don’t raise the rice, don’t eat the rice. Chopsticks, don’t catch the soup, don’t prick the teeth.”
The young man thought for two seconds, then recited it, wiped his clean palms on his sleeves, and then quickly sat down at Zhang Xuezhou’s table. one side.
“Brother, if you are willing to eat together, you are truly a gentleman!”
“Uh~”
In order to let Medical Officer Zhao Rui see that he would rather eat as indulgently as a dead man, Zhang Xuezhou ate a little too much yesterday.
He was already full after eating half of his meal, and it didn’t matter whether he ate or not. After giving away the remaining food, Zhang Xuezhou didn't expect that he would receive a gentleman's evaluation.
To be honest, Zhang Xuezhou feels that his character is still far from that of a gentleman.
"Master Dong once said that a gentleman should be benevolent, righteous, polite, wise and trustworthy," Zhang Xuezhou said: "Only those who comply with these qualities can be considered a gentleman. Public food is not enough to be called a gentleman."
"Confucius once said that benevolence, righteousness, and propriety are the qualities of a gentleman, while Meng Sheng said benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom." The young man asked curiously: "What is this faith?"
"Faith and knowledge are opposites, and knowledge is appropriate. Those who do not know what is appropriate should only follow the words of others, and then follow the etiquette and approach. "Ren" Zhang Xuezhou said after recalling: "This is the letter!"
"Master Dong, are you talking about Dong Zhongshu and Dong Daru?"
"Yes!" "Dong Daru is truly a man of many talents!"
The young man praised him repeatedly.
He stretched out his hand and rolled up his sleeves to cover his mouth. While talking, he ate very quickly, but he could not see that he was eating.
This made Zhang Xuezhou marvel.
Compared to rural roughnecks like them, young people are undoubtedly very particular about etiquette, and they should come from a family with a long history.
He thought about the young man's self-identification, and how the other person spoke was somewhat similar to Dong Zhongshu, and he felt that he had roughly guessed the other person's background.
"Do you know Kong Zhong?" Zhang Xuezhou asked with a smile.
“Is the Kong Zhong you are talking about the Confucian Kong Zhong?” the young man asked doubtfully.
“Yes!”
“That is my father!”
The young man opened his mouth.
There are many people with the surname Kong, and the name Kong Zhong is also relatively common, but there is only one Kong Zhong among the great Confucian scholars.
The young man did not expect to meet his father's acquaintances while sharing a table while eating.
Based on how familiar the other party is with Dong Zhongshu, there is a high probability that the other party knows Kong Zhong.
This made the young man quickly stand up and salute.
"My dear Anguo, I haven't asked you your name yet," the young man asked.
"Kong Anguo, you have a reputation for governing the country and bringing peace to the country. It seems that you will show off your talents in the future." Zhang Xuezhou praised him and said with a smile, "My name is Dongfang Shuo!" Do you know where my father is?" Kong Anguo asked.
“What’s the matter, you didn’t find your father?”
This was the first time that Zhang Xuezhou saw his son asking his father for help from an outsider.
But looking at Kong Anguo’s appearance, the other party It seems that he has not reunited with Kong Zhong.
"I received a message from my father, saying that he had asked for a Jinmamen bachelor's position in the imperial court for me, and asked me to come to Chang'an City quickly." Kong Anguo said: "But I haven't seen my father in the past few days since I arrived in Chang'an City. , I have to look around!"
"Kong Zhong, Du Wencai and others returned to Chang'an City, weren't they at the gathering place of your Confucian family?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.
“I didn’t see Uncle Du,” Kong Anguo said: “Uncle Ye, Uncle Zhu, and Uncle Li didn’t see it!”
“Not even five of them were found?” Zhang Xuezhou said in surprise. : "You don't have to worry about them. They are so good at digging holes. They might be hiding in some hole to do their work!"
"Those are Earth Escape Techniques and Earth Movement Techniques," Kong Anguo corrected and added: "My father's techniques are naturally excellent, but these are troubled times. I heard that the imperial court has recently been strictly investigating official corruption and other issues. Mr. Zhao Wan Both Wang Zang and Wang Zang have been investigated for this, and they are worried that they will also be in big trouble!”
"Zhao Wan and Wang Zang are in jail?"
After learning the latest news from the court from Kong Anguo, Zhang Xuezhou looked a little strange.
Zhao Wan was ranked among the top three officials. Zhang Xuezhou did not expect that such a top official would be dragged into the water.
If you guessed it correctly, Kong Zhong and others should have played an important role in Zhao Wan's imprisonment.
It is indeed impossible to find Kong Zhong and others at this moment. These people may have entered the process of interrogating San Gong, or even exist as witnesses.
The level of confidentiality involved in this kind of incident is extremely high, so it is normal for Kong Anguo to not be able to find his father.