Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 25 The Tale of the Three Su's, A Cluster of Literary Stars!

Both banks of the Bian River.

In early spring, the river flows gently.

Jiang Zhao stood at the ferry crossing, his clothes fluttering in the cool river breeze.

"Zizhan, Ziyou, Ziping, Zihou, Zigu, Zixuan, please." Jiang Zhao took the wine and drank it all in one gulp.

Two steps away, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Zhang Heng, Zhang Dun, Zeng Gong, and Zeng Bu stood side by side, each holding a cup of wine.

"Please!" The six of them drank it all in one gulp.

Jiang Zhao smiled faintly, a hint of arrogance in his eyes.

Because of a chance encounter at Yuqing Temple, he successfully connected the other six people closely, with him at the core.

Since the spring imperial examinations, and through the announcement of the results and the examinations for junior scholars, the seven men have developed a considerable friendship.

Apart from Zeng Gong, the other six were all spirited and vigorous young people, all with the ambition to rectify the ills of the world and govern the country.

With shared aspirations and similar ages, barring unforeseen circumstances, the longer time passes, the deeper their friendship will grow, and they will gradually become political allies.

Among them, apart from Zeng Gong and Zhang Dun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, and Zeng Bu all passed the imperial examination and became Shujishi, with unlimited potential for the future.

Jiang Zhao and Zhang Heng were both top scholars, one being the first-place winner and the other the second-place winner.

Such a combination is truly astonishing; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's the most valuable combination among the younger generation.

After all, Zeng Gong, who never passed the imperial examination for the position of Shujishi, was quite capable in his studies and would definitely become one of the leading figures in the literary world in the future.

Zhang Dun had already passed the imperial examination, but he believed his talent far surpassed that of his nephew Zhang Heng and was ashamed to be inferior to him, so he refused to accept the pardon.

Two years later, Zhang Dun took the exam again and was at least a probationary official.

A small circle, including two top scholars, four junior scholars, and one great scholar.

Whether it's the gold content or the weight, it's definitely top-notch.

If their friendship could have lasted a long time, it would have been a story that history books would have written about extensively.

“Zichuan, this journey to Huaizuo is a thousand miles long, and it happens to be the day of your wedding.” Su Shi said with a regretful expression, “It is a great pity that Ziyou and I have to go to Meizhou in a few days.”

As he spoke, Su Shi solemnly took out two letters from his bosom.

"These are a few poems I specially wrote. They are just a small token of my respect, but consider them as an early congratulations on your marriage."

Jiang Zhao was somewhat surprised, but then delighted and presented the gift with both hands: "In that case, thank you so much for your trouble, Zizhan."

Literati and scholars have always valued elegance above all else.

When it comes to congratulations, gifts may include writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, or rare calligraphy and paintings, or poems and articles.

Su Shi sent his congratulatory gift in the form of a letter, which was essentially a gift of poems and essays.

Su Shi's poems!

Jiang Zhao was overjoyed, as if he had found a treasure.

Upon seeing this, Su Zhe laughed heartily and took out a brocade box from his sleeve. "This is a Huzhou brush, a specialty of Meizhou. It is as smooth and warm as grease, and is most suitable for writing wedding invitations. I present it to you as a gift, wishing Zichuan and his wife a long and happy marriage, and that their hearts are united through writing."

"Haha!" Jiang Zhao gladly accepted, laughing, "You two were both on the list for the Shujishi examination, your reputations resounding throughout the literary world. I imagine you'll return home in glory after this trip to Meizhou, so I won't stand on ceremony. In that case, thank you, Ziyou, for this treasure!"

This time, more than 380 candidates participated in the examination for probationary officials, and Su Shi and Su Zhe were both listed on the roster, which was quite astonishing.

For a time, Su Xun, the father of two, did not forget his desire to pursue his studies, and the three of them showed signs of becoming a celebrated story.

Su Shi and Su Zhe rose from obscurity to become rising stars in the officialdom, attracting considerable attention.

Jiang Zhao has also repeatedly praised the father and his two sons in public, which has brought them a lot of attention.

Su Shi and Su Zhe exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.

Returning home in glory is something no one can refuse. The two brothers had already planned their journey home, and the first thing they would do was to pay respects to their ancestors.

Zeng Gong had retreated at some point, bringing over a mahogany box. He shook his head and said, "Everyone else is sending fancy, literary gifts. I'll send something more practical!"

Jiang Zhao quickly took it, and upon opening it, he found a twelve-piece celadon tea set.

"The new Yue kiln porcelain is perfect for Zichuan to enjoy tea and admire the moon with his wife if he has nothing else to do!"

They all laughed together.

It's true that what needs to be said shouldn't be said, but it is indeed useful.

"Thank you, Brother Zigu," Jiang Zhao said with a smile.

Zhang Heng smiled gently and took a scroll from the pageboy: "I know that Zichuan is fond of painting, so I specially made a painting called 'Twin Lotus Blossoms' to wish Zichuan and his wife a long and happy life together, just like these twin lotus blossoms."

"Thank you, Zihou." Jiang Zhao gladly accepted the greeting.

He could tell that the group had probably discussed it beforehand and had prepared things.

As expected, Zhang Dun and Zeng Bu successively presented a pair of Hetian jade pieces and a wedding invitation.

Jiang Zhao gladly accepted the gift and thanked him repeatedly.

"Zizhan, Ziyou, Ziping, Zihou, Zigu, Zixuan, take care!"

After carefully placing the gift, Jiang Zhao stood at the bow of the boat, bowing slightly with his hands clasped in greeting.

"Goodbye, Zichuan!"

See you in June!

"treasure!"

The six people responded in turn and walked back.

During this period, the examination for junior scholars had passed, and all examinations were completed.

This also means that all of them will be returning to their hometowns.

This time, the six people came specifically to see Jiang Zhao off, because he was the first one to leave.

It was both a farewell to Jiang Zhao and a mutual goodbye among the seven people.

From this point on, we will all go our separate ways and return home in glory.

The six people gradually walked away, and Jiang Zhao nodded slightly, about to walk to the cabin.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves approached rapidly from afar.

Jiang Zhao turned around and saw two black horses galloping towards him. The one in the lead looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old, with his clothes fluttering in the wind, and his cold and stern eyes. He was very heroic.

He looked anxious, with a hint of sadness flashing across his face. Behind him followed a man dressed in a gray robe, looking like a servant.

The dashing young man reined in his horse, dismounted, his robes still dusty from the journey, and shouted urgently, "Are there any ships going to Yangzhou?"

"All the boats for today have been chartered; it seems the next boat to Yangzhou won't be available until tomorrow," a boat merchant replied.

This time, it wasn't just Jiang Zhao who went down to Huaizuo; in fact, two or three hundred students from Huaizuo were also going back to their hometown together.

Because of the long journey, comfort was a concern, so the scholars from Huaizuo rented three boats, each several tens of feet long, for rest.

Normally, there is only one passenger ship going to Huaizuo per day, but this time, Jiang Zhi specially sent someone to coordinate with the ship merchants to bring three ships.

Therefore, there are naturally no boats going to Huaizuo today.

The dashing young man spoke hastily, his face filled with sorrow: "How could it be gone?"

He quickly asked, "Is the rented boat still there? Are there any seats available? Money is no problem."

Normally, upon hearing the words "money matters are easy to discuss," those ship merchants would have already gone to persuade people to charter their ships.

After all, bringing one or two more people or one or two fewer people doesn't really make a big difference.

But today is different.

The people who charter boats have special status. It would be difficult to get them to vacate their seats, let alone ship merchants or even some officials.

These ship merchants, of course, dared not lobby.

The handsome young man was also a clever man. He could tell from the appearance of the ship merchants that things were not simple. He quickly clasped his hands and said, "I wonder who the person who rents the ship is? I will ask them myself."

beg?
Jiang Zhao walked to the bow of the boat, cupped his hands and said, "I have rented all these boats. May I ask if you have any urgent business, young brother?"

The dashing young man was startled and quickly bowed, saying, "Please forgive my rudeness, Bai Ye. My maternal grandfather is seriously ill in Yangzhou, and I need to set off immediately to visit him. I came here to catch the boat. I wonder if you could make an exception for me?"

Speak human language to humans, and ghost language to ghosts.

Merchants value profit, hence the spirited young man's blunt statement that "money is easy to talk about."

Now, just by looking at the man's attire at the bow of the boat, Bai Ye knew that he was a scholar who was not short of money, so he never mentioned the word "money" and only hoped to move the other party with sincerity.

At the bow of the boat, the scholar nodded: "In that case, please board the boat. This boat is heading south and will reach the Yangzhou ferry."

Bai Ye was overjoyed and immediately bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you."

He really didn't expect that the scholar would be so easy to talk to.

"sail--"

(End of this chapter)