In the early days of Hongwu, the number of Beijing officials was only about 27,000, but gradually increased after that. According to the data of the Zhengde period, there were 20,000 civil officials and 80,000 military attaches in Beijing.

In the current Jiajing Dynasty, in order to reduce expenses, the imperial court carried out the rectification of officials, and the number of people declined. But the base of the Beijing official is here, and the purchasing power is also here.

On the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year, the markets in Beijing are the most lively, especially the Drum Tower, City God Temple, Liulichang and other markets will add some entertainment programs to attract people.

Zhang Juzheng didn't go anywhere, packed up neatly, hung a sachet on his body, and came directly to the door of Xu's mansion.

When the porter saw him, he asked him to wait, and the housekeeper greeted him with a warm face: "Zhang Bianxiu, it's really early today!" But the master is meeting guests, you can wait with me in the side hall for a while! ”

The more powerful the person, the more unpeaceful the holiday, and there will be a lot of things to do with people. And Zhang Juzheng is also one of the people who disturb Xu Jie's holiday, and he will visit every holiday.

Zhang Juzheng followed the housekeeper to the side hall, and he was very familiar with this place, not only the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall and the porcelain vase on the table, but also the maid ring standing next to him to entertain him.

His appearance is not bad, he usually likes to take care of himself, he also has a beautiful beard, and the image of a handsome official who is alive and easy has also won the favor of these two girls.

"Miss Qiu Ju, do you know which adult the teacher is meeting with?" Lin Haoran took the teacup sent by Yahuan and looked at this beautiful Yahuan with a smile.

The beautiful girl lowered her head in shame, said "Master Li", and walked away like a deer.

It's just that Zhang Juzheng didn't have the slightest joy, but his face showed a dignified look.

The so-called Bachelor Li naturally refers to Li Chunfang, a bachelor to be studied in Hanlin Academy.

Speaking of this person, Zhang Juzheng still has a deep relationship with him, they are the same science jinshi in Jiajing for 26 years, Li Chunfang is the champion and the first, and he is only the ninth in the second class.

It's just that eleven years have passed, Li Chunfang has been promoted from the sixth-grade Hanlin to the fifth-grade Hanlin to study for a bachelor's degree, and now he is about to be promoted, and will serve as the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple in the fourth grade.

On the other hand, he Zhang Juzheng was only promoted from Shu Jishi to the Hanlin editor of the seventh grade.

Although he is a fellow scholar, but now it is almost like a cloud, which also makes him feel very uncomfortable. The only thing that made him feel a little relieved was that he was fourteen years younger than Li Chunfang.

This wait, but he waited for an hour.

Zhang Juzheng frowned slightly, but he was not dissatisfied with the teacher's neglect, but remembered that he had a face-to-face with the teacher in the palace yesterday. There was nothing rude about him at the time, but the teacher wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Looking back now, when the heavy rain was early and the weather was cool, where would the teacher sweat, it should be a teacher's usual action to hide his face. It's just that he's confused again, and he doesn't seem to have done anything wrong.

When he lost his mind, the butler came over and said with a smile: "Zhang Bianxiu, I've kept you waiting for a long time, the master has asked me to prepare wine and food, and let you go over to eat with him." ”

"It's better to be respectful than to obey!" Zhang Juzheng also breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, thinking that he might be too careful, and the teacher may have been delayed by the matter, and he didn't mean to snub him.

When he arrived at the dining room, Xu Jie was already sitting at the dining table, and raised his hand with a smile towards Zhang Juzheng, who came in, and said, "Sit!" ”

"Thank you, teacher!" Zhang Juzheng respectfully returned the salute, and then sat down carefully.

Xu Jie nodded to the butler, and the butler turned around and went out.

In just a moment, the dish was served, and the dish was very simple, just a steamed Songjiang fish, a plate of stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots, a plate of tofu in clear soup and an old turtle soup.

"No formality!" Xu Jie smiled and said, and then moved the chopsticks.

Zhang Juzheng is not only a little clean, but also picky about food. It's just that when he started to move his chopsticks, he found that the fish was tender and bland, the bamboo shoots had an astringent taste, and the tofu broke when he touched it.

If he was at home, he would have called the cook over and reprimanded him.

It's just that in the teacher's place, Zhang Juzheng's face dared to show half unhappiness, especially seeing that the teacher was eating with relish, he also endured the discomfort and reluctantly swallowed it.

During the banquet, Xu Jie asked about Zhang Juzheng's recent situation in the Hanlin Academy.

Zhang Juzheng also talked about his work as before, but in fact, there was nothing to say, so he talked about "Talking about the Past and the Present", and also talked about the fact that he was summoned by the saint yesterday.

No matter how big or small, Zhang Juzheng followed Xu Jie's step one by one, and raised the posture of a student, which can be regarded as reporting and asking for advice to the teacher, and it is also a normal way of communication between teachers and students in this era.

Xu Jie didn't say anything, but suddenly asked, "What do you think of Lin Haoran?" ”

He ...... Very smart, a bit sharp, but also knows how to judge the situation, is a very powerful person! Zhang Juzheng was silent for a while, and then replied seriously.

"Aren't there any drawbacks?" Xu Jie grabbed a piece of fish meat and asked him.

Zhang Juzheng saw the piece of Songjiang fish meat, and said with feeling: "Although he was born as a champion and received a plaque from the Holy Lord, he is too young after all, and he is only seventeen years old now!" ”

Xu Jie was noncommittal, and instructed the maid next to her to let her serve soup to Zhang Juzheng.

"Good soup!"

Zhang Juzheng blew off the hot air on the bowl and brought the turtle soup to his mouth, and his eyes immediately brightened.

This soft-shelled turtle soup is probably boiled over an old fire, and the essence of the old soft-shelled turtle seems to be melted into the soup, making this soup extremely sweet, which is a delicacy in the world, and it also made him drink two sips in a row.

Xu Jie commented on the three dishes on the table one by one: "Although this Songjiang perch is from a famous family and is known as the first fish in the south of the Yangtze River, the juvenile fish will be bland and tasteless!" If the heat of this bamboo shoot is insufficient, there will be a bitter feeling! This tofu and soy milk are insufficient, and it will be difficult to become a climate, and the chopsticks will break when you touch it! ”

Zhang Juzheng suddenly realized that this meal had another deep meaning, and his heart was immediately touched.

"Only this soft-shelled turtle, the meat is moistened by the sun and the moon, and boiled by the old fire, it becomes a real delicacy!" Xu Jie picked up the turtle soup and took a small sip, which was really endless.

Zhang Juzheng looked at the old turtle soup and the three dishes, and there were tears in his eyes.

"You go back first! Go back and think clearly, no matter which path you want to take, I will support you! Xu Jie saw that Zhang Juzheng had something to say, so he raised his hand to stop it.

Zhang Juzheng gave a long salute seriously, and then turned around and left, but he was extremely conflicted in his heart.

Leaving from Xu's Mansion and walking out of the mouth of Huaishu Hutong, he was slightly puzzled. But he saw a girl walking in front of him, and a group of matchmakers passed in front of him, all of them as if they were wine.