Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 13 Shuyu Villa
The next day, the sky was bright.

When the morning light streamed into the house through the window lattice, Lu Beigu had already packed his bag.

Pei Yan got up early and steamed a basket of locust flower cakes. The freshly picked locust flowers were mixed with coarse flour. Although it was a coarse grain, it was steamed soft. One bite filled your mouth with the sweetness of spring.

She wrapped the locust flower cake in oil paper and stuffed it into Lu Beigu's bag.

"If you get hungry on the road, this is something to fill your stomach."

Pei Yan straightened his clothes and frowned slightly when she saw the patch on it: "This clothes..."

"That's fine." Lu Beigu said with a smile, "At the book club, everyone is a scholar. They won't judge people by their attire."

Pei Yan hesitated to speak, turned around and took out a small blue cloth bag from the bottom of the box. She opened it layer by layer and found about a hundred copper coins inside.

"Take it."

Lu Beigu pushed her hand back: "Sister-in-law stays at home. She doesn't need any money today. I heard that the storyteller will provide meals. Maybe she can bring back some delicious food."

Lu Beigu had already explained clearly to his sister-in-law where he was going today and who would be traveling with him.

The Zhou family is a wealthy family in the town, so there is no need to worry about safety issues on this trip and they will not be deceived or kidnapped.

After a while, Lu Guangyu's voice came from outside the courtyard gate.

Because Lu Beigu didn't know the way, this classmate had to go find him.

Lu Guangyu was wearing a brand new lake blue robe, a square scarf on his head, and a sachet embroidered with orchids hanging around his waist. He was probably wearing his best clothes.

"Meow!"

Until the white tabby cat "Toufu" suddenly appeared out of nowhere and punched him.

"?"

"I'm saying hello to you."

Lu Beigu couldn't help laughing: "Let's go."

"Okay, the Zhou family villa is quite a distance from the town, so we have to hurry."

The two left Gulin Town and headed southwest along a tributary of Anle Creek.

Two and a half miles out of town, the stone road gradually disappears into the mountains, leaving only the dirt road.

Hearing someone passing by, a few egrets were startled from the reeds by the stream, and they fluttered across the water, drawing silver arcs in the morning sun.

After walking a few miles forward, Lu Guangyu suddenly pointed ahead and said.

"Brother Lu, look!"

But at the bend of the stream, there is a bluestone arch bridge lying on the waves like a crescent moon.

On the other side of the bridge, willows line the road, and you can vaguely see the four large gold-plated characters "Shuyu Bieye" on the stone archway shining brightly in the morning light.

Well, it was during the Song Dynasty that stone archways began to become popular.

A young servant in blue was already waiting at the foot of the stone archway, holding a list of names. Seeing the two approach, he bowed and asked, "Are you the gentlemen who are going to the book club?"

"Husband" was naturally a polite title. The two men, without official positions, did not dare to accept it and could only nod casually.

Referring to the registration information written by Lu Guangyu, Lu Beigu wrote the words "Lu Beigu from Gulin Town, student of Hejiang County School".

During the Qingli period of Emperor Renzong, it was stipulated that the imperial examination papers must be written in "beautiful regular script". My predecessor's regular script was quite standard, and I had muscle memory, so I didn't make any mistakes in my normal writing.

As for this kind of book club, anyone from all over the place who has some achievements or considers himself a scholar will come to it after hearing about it.

Of course, there are definitely those shameless people who come here to eat and drink for free.

Therefore, the muscles under the clothes of these young servants in green clothes under the archway look particularly strong.

If the person who comes to register has no status at all, and even fails to meet the minimum calligraphy standards, they will definitely politely persuade him to leave.

It was basically, "If you don't understand reason, I know a little bit about fighting." Lu Beigu and Lu Guangyu looked respectable. They were both locals and students at the county school. Although they didn't have official academic titles, they were still serious scholars, so naturally they weren't among those they stopped.

After passing the stone archway, the scenery in front of you suddenly opens up.

The flagstone path is lined with crabapple trees, which are in full bloom now. The layers of flowers weigh down the branches, making it look like a gorgeous dome for the road.

Several servants carrying book boxes walked through the room, and the petals falling from their sleeves fluttered on the bluestone slabs, leaving golden water marks all over the ground.

"This Begonia"

He bent down to pick up a fallen flower and found that the petals were patterned like golden threads.

"It is said that these 'Golden Thread Begonias' were specially transplanted from Chengdu." Lu Guangyu lowered his voice, "Each one is worth ten strings of cash. Mr. Zhou hired a fleet of ships to transport these flowers and trees by water."

Lu Beigu stared blankly at the crabapple tree in front of him.

To buy one plant, my sister-in-law had to work day and night for four months without eating or drinking.

And what I see before me is not just one plant? I'm afraid there are more than a hundred!
Poor people work hard all their lives but still cannot afford to buy the crabapple trees for viewing in the rich family's villa.

Lu Beigu, feeling a little uncomfortable, continued to move forward with Lu Guangyu, and suddenly heard the sound of gurgling water.

I saw a spring pouring down from the overlapping rockery, and the water droplets splashed on the Taihu stone, leaving blue-black spots on the stone surface.

Beside the spring stands a Lingbi stone over ten feet high. The naturally formed concave and convex texture looks like a splash-ink landscape painting, and the four characters "Shushi Zhenliu" are engraved on the stone surface.

Lu Guangyu stretched out his hand curiously, and just as his fingers were about to touch the stone surface, a servant boy suddenly appeared from behind the rockery.

The servant boy didn't say anything unpleasant, he just gave a reminder.

"My dear husband, be careful. This Lingbi stone needs to be wiped with orchid water every day. If it gets stained by sweaty hands, white spots will appear."

He withdrew his hand awkwardly, and the two continued walking.

After passing through the moon-shaped gate, a library with three eaves suddenly appeared in front of you.

In front of the building, an inkstone pool was carved out of a whole piece of Yixian bluestone, and several cinnabar carp were swimming in the pool.

There are dozens of pear wood desks by the pool, and on top of the desks are Boshan stoves with heavy smoke rising from them.

Many people had already sat behind the desk, and the two of them also chose a seat facing the inkstone pool and sat down.

Lu Beigu glanced around and found that most of the faces were unfamiliar, probably scholars from the surrounding counties.

There are many administrative regions adjacent to the Luo family's vassal area, and the Gulin Town in the north is surrounded by three states: Luzhou, Chunzhou, and Zizhou. Therefore, it is normal that he does not know many people.

"This is the library called 'Shuyu Tower,'" Lu Guangyu said, glancing at the building across the way. "I heard it houses five thousand volumes, some of which are rare copies from previous dynasties."

As they were talking, the crowd who had been whispering to each other suddenly fell silent.

A young man in his early twenties and a middle-aged man came here surrounded by a group of servants.

"I am delighted to have so many distinguished people here today," said Mr. Zhou in a resounding voice. "You are all welcome to read the books in the Shuyu Tower. I will be hosting a literary banquet in the Flower Hall at noon. I hope you will enjoy your writing."

The young man next to him was wearing a moon-white robe, a jade belt around his waist that shone brightly, and he looked quite proud with his chin held high.

"That's Mr. Zhou's only son, Zhou Mingyuan." Lu Guangyu leaned over and whispered, "He's had many teachers since he was young, and he's also willing to study. He's particularly good at calligraphy and calligraphy, but his poetry is a bit lacking."

"Besides, he passed the provincial exam two years ago. I heard that he's definitely going to pass the exam this year. He should probably be able to try his luck in the provincial exam. If the Zhou family really produces a Jinshi, then they're no longer just a family of merchants."

Lu Beigu nodded upon hearing this.

Under the imperial examination system of the Song Dynasty, being able to pass the examination at this age also showed that he was indeed knowledgeable and capable, so it was normal for him to be a little arrogant.

But what does this have to do with me?

I just came here to get free books and food.

(End of this chapter)