Water Margin people

Chapter 691
On New Year's Day, the city of Tokyo was crowded with people, people in brocade clothes and hats filled the streets, and teahouses and restaurants were full of people.

"Brother, do you really want to learn to compose poetry?"

Wen Huanzhang looked at Sun Lei in surprise.

"Otherwise, what should I do? I'm going to the palace in two days. Zhao Ji likes to be arty, and reciting poems and prose will be indispensable at that time. I can't pretend to be dumb!"

Sun Lei nodded.

"Mr. Wen, don't teach too hard. Let's do something quick. It's more mediocre. It's better to be able to deal with any topic."

Sun Lei didn't really want to learn poetry. Poetry requires long-term literary accumulation, and it can't be learned overnight. What is needed now is for Wen Huanzhang to come up with some temporary routines, and take emergency measures when the time comes, just in case.

It's not that Sun Lei didn't think that it would not be scary to pretend to be a fool and make a fool of himself as a joke. What's scary is that so many people stare at him as a joke. After all, where is his identity, being too conspicuous will only become dangerous.

Two days later, the champion building.

"Why are you all dressed so plainly?"

Sun Lei looked at the people wearing white shirts in the hall and asked suspiciously, although they also wear white shirts on weekdays, but the material is quite good, why are they all wearing ordinary fabrics today.

"Senior Sun, today we are going to the palace to attend a grand banquet. As students, how can we wear silk and satin? Integrity is the character we should have."

Cui Yulin said with a smile.

"Qingzheng! Qingzheng! Haha!"

Sun Lei laughed, a group of people who are willing to spend a thousand pennies to attend a banquet pretend to be upright here, it's really ridiculous.

Sun Lei smiled and followed Cui Yulin and others out of the Zhuangyuan building, along the imperial street to the imperial city. Along the way, there were more and more scholars in white lingerie, and everyone was talking and laughing.

Outside the Xuande Gate, the guards of the brigade lined up on both sides, and several eunuchs were checking the quota with a book.

"Housekeeper, this is our token!"

Cui Yulin smiled and handed over the tokens of the ten of them.

"Well, let's go in!"

The eunuch didn't even look at Sun Lei and the others, but just checked the token and let them go.

The next step is the body search at the guard gate. After all, it is the palace, so it is definitely not allowed to carry weapons.

Pass through the Xuande Gate and enter the imperial city. Inside, there is a guard at five steps and a sentry at ten steps. The guards in armor are very majestic.

"This is the palace!"

Looking at the surrounding palaces, Sun Lei sighed, from the outside, the imperial city is not too big, and the palace is not too tall, but after entering, he realized that the level of extravagance is far from ordinary.

"Senior Sun, don't look blindly, it will be troublesome if you are watched by the guards!"

Cui Yulin spoke hastily.

"Uh-huh!"

Sun Lei hummed twice perfunctorily, still looking around, looking strange.

After entering the Daqing Gate, you can see the Daqing Palace from a distance. The square in front of the palace is full of small tables, and there is a small cushion behind the table. However, the table is very small, and it is estimated that it cannot hold a few dishes.

"What does this mean?"

Sun Lei pointed to the rows of small tables on the square and asked.

"Where we sit!"

Cui Yulin opened the mouth and said.

"What? We spent a thousand pens to sit here?"

Sun Lei looked at the empty and unsheltered square, and it was not too cold to sit in the square in winter, but when the wind blows later, he might be swaying from the cold.

"Of course, the Daqing Palace is not that big. All the officials, the Taixue, and the Imperial College will come to this banquet. They are in the palace, so we are naturally in this square."

Cui Yulin said it as a matter of course.

"Fuck, isn't this being taken advantage of! You can't even enter the palace!"

Sun Lei cursed secretly in his heart, he never expected this kind of treatment.

Cui Yulin took Sun Lei and other nine people to the place led by the servants, which was a row of tables near the southwest corner.

"This is your position, sit down and don't move!"

The servant pointed to the row of seats and said, his voice was sharp and sinister, making people uncomfortable to hear.

"Sit down, everyone!"

Cui Yulin called everyone to sit down, and Sun Lei sat beside Cui Yulin.

"Brother Cui, that's all for a thousand guan? It's too shabby, a thousand guan is enough for me to go to Jinmingchi to charter a big flower boat!"

Sun Lei looked at Cui Yulin and asked, a thousand guan is not a small amount.

"Senior Sun, this is a great honor. The flower boat can go there at any time. You may not be able to enter this palace once in your life!"

"Yeah, Senior Sun is interested, and my younger brother will be the host another day. Let's charter a flower boat and swim along the Bian River!"

……

A few people around said with a smile.

Sun Lei was also laughing, and the candidates who had already sat down were chatting and laughing with the people around them, but the movement on Sun Lei's side was not so abrupt.

Sun Lei looked at the dragon flag fluttering above the Daqing Hall, the five-clawed golden dragon was very mighty.

"Your Majesty has a decree, give a banquet!"

An eunuch walked to the gate of Daqing Palace and shouted in a shrill voice.

"Banquet!"

The eunuchs around the square shouted in unison.

Immediately afterwards, teams of court ladies came out from both sides of the hall, each holding a plate in their hands, and began to serve the candidates on the square.

The examinees sat upright, without squinting, looking like good students and good babies. Only Sun Lei looked at the court ladies curiously.

"As expected of a palace, the quality is good!"

Sun Lei looked around, and it turned out that Yan thin and ring fat, each has its own merits, Zhao Ji is the one who will enjoy it.

Dishes and fine wines are served, one person has four rows of dishes, one bowl of soup and one jug of wine, nothing else.

"How shabby!"

Sun Lei said with a dissatisfied face.

"Senior Sun, this was made by the imperial chef, a reward from His Majesty!"

Cui Yulin said in a low voice.

"But these are not enough to eat!"

Sun Lei picked up the chopsticks and pulled the dishes on the plate. He said speechlessly, he thought he could have a big meal from the chef today, but he didn't eat lunch on purpose. There is only one small dish on this plate, and the total of four dishes is not enough He clenched his teeth.

"Senior, this is for the sake of looking good. If it's not enough, I'll give it to you later!"

Cui Yulin looked at Sun Lei and said, the dishes in the imperial palace are just a little bit, if the plate is full, it will be neither good-looking nor elegant.

"I see!"

Sun Lei picked up the food with his chopsticks and started eating.

"The taste is really good, even if it is cold, the portion is small!"

Sun Lei commented while eating the dishes.

Everyone around looked at Sun Lei in surprise. Someone dared to move their chopsticks before the emperor gave an order.

"The emperor has a decree, eat!"

The eunuch at the entrance of the Daqing Hall screamed again, and the eunuchs on the square also opened their mouths and shouted.

Only then did the candidates in a square dare to use chopsticks, but all of them were eating carefully, taking small bites, more delicate than everyone else.

"Here! Here!"

Sun Lei had already eaten up four dishes and one bowl of soup, and drank up the wine in two or three gulps. He waved his chopsticks and beckoned to the maid not far away to serve the dishes.

Thousands of candidates in the square ate their food slowly, knowing nothing about the situation in the hall.

Sun Lei took a few glances between meals, only to see the flickering candlelight in the Daqing Palace, the continuous sound of orchestral strings and bamboo, and it seemed that there were singers performing dances.

"The square is huge, without shelter, the palace is not high, and the guards are heavily guarded. It is impossible to hold the dragon flag during the day!"

Sun Lei looked around and thought silently in his heart.

(End of this chapter)