Has the Han Dynasty been restored today?

The vast Xu family mansion had only two male members, Chen Zhi and Xu You.

Normally, the two ate breakfast separately. Chen Zhi ate earlier and then went to the Ministry of Personnel to work after breakfast. Xu You, who had not yet entered officialdom, ate breakfast a little later. However, Xu You's life was also very regular. His main activities were concentrated in the morning, and he had more free time in the afternoon.

The Xu family was a noble clan, and Xu You's daily routine was typical of aristocratic sons since the Later Han Dynasty.

Xu You would spend half a day studying at Lai Min's residence every three days, half a day practicing horseback riding and archery in the east of the city, and half a day reading at home. In the afternoons, he would either go out of the city with Chengdu scholars or discuss current events and poetry. Since he hadn't yet entered officialdom, he had no days off to speak of.

When Chen Zhi returned from his long journey, Xu You, unusually, got up half an hour early to have breakfast with him.

The Shu region has been prosperous since ancient times, and ordinary people can eat three meals a day. Vegetables are not scarce, so people in Shu are slightly better off than those in the Central Plains.

The only difference between wealthy and ordinary families is that they eat better.

On the table for Chen Zhi and Xu You were only rice porridge, rice cakes, some fermented black beans and salted fish, but no meat.

"Brother, are you going to work today?"

Halfway through their meal, Xu You couldn't contain himself and asked a question.

"I have nowhere to go." Chen Zhi didn't look up, using his chopsticks to pick up some salted fish and put it into his bowl. "Even the Censor-in-Chief isn't on duty, and His Majesty isn't attending court. Where can I, a mere Imperial Censor, be on duty? Besides, I've just been on the move for twenty days. What's wrong with resting for a few days?"

"Today I'm going to the Fei family and the Wu family," Chen Zhi said casually, scooping up a spoonful of porridge.

The court system of Shu Han was actually not perfect.

Ultimately, the current territory of the Shu Han is only the size of one province, which is incomparable to the vastness of the thirteen provinces during the Later Han Dynasty. In addition, since the power is controlled by the Prime Minister's Office, there is no need to copy the Later Han Dynasty and create so many official positions and institutions, thus futilely wasting so much money on salaries.

The official system of the Shu Han dynasty was pragmatic.

The Three Dukes were not permanent positions, and the Nine Ministers were often vacant. The Censorate was merely a shell, with only a handful of officials. The current Vice Censor-in-Chief was Meng Huo from Jianning Commandery, who had caused trouble in the south. After being captured by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang, he was given the nominal position of Vice Censor-in-Chief and allowed to retire peacefully in Chengdu. Including Chen Zhi, there were only five or six permanent censors.

What use are there to have more censors? The supervision of local areas and officials is done by the Prime Minister's Office. The functions of censors are limited to accompanying the emperor, maintaining order at court, and observing the court proceedings.

Xu You laughed and said, "I also think you should go today, brother. I went to the Lai Gong residence yesterday and was originally going to go horseback riding today. It's not a big deal. I'll just let my friends know and go with you to join in the fun. I'll also see how Fei Cheng reacted after receiving the letter."

Chen Zhi swallowed and put down the spoon: "Are you acquainted?"

Xu You leaned forward, looking on with amusement: "Fei Cheng and I are the same age. We usually study together at the Lai Gong Mansion and ride and shoot arrows together outside the city. How could we not know each other? I never thought his sister would marry my brother! Hahahaha."

"But I have some concerns. According to custom, the six rites of betrothal, asking the name, accepting auspicious gifts, presenting betrothal gifts, setting the wedding date, and the wedding ceremony should all be handled by elders. Who will my brother ask to handle these rites?"

Chen Zhi shook his head slightly: "I don't know. Let's talk about it later. Fei Yi is still in Hanzhong. He should marry a wife first and take a concubine later. We should wait until Fei Yi returns to Chengdu. Let's go there today. Wu Ban's house is close to here. Let's go to Wu Ban's house first, and then go to Fei Yi's house."

"Given my current reputation and what I'll be doing later... I should be cautious in choosing this person."

Chen Zhi was five years older than Xu You, and the two had a very good relationship, often joking and teasing each other. However, if Chen Zhi seriously asked Xu You to do something, Xu You would carry it out diligently and without any compromise.

The importance of family in this era is unparalleled... With no elders in the family, even unmarried teenagers have to do the things that adults should do.

They all came from chaotic times, and even teenagers are not entirely naive.

……

Wu Ban had five sons, two of whom died young, leaving three sons: his second, fourth, and fifth sons.

Wu Ban was a general with a title and was related to Empress Wu, so his family members naturally had no shortage of official positions.

The second son, Wu Feng, was appointed Prefect of Jianning Commandery, stationed in Yuyuan County of Jianning Commandery, mainly responsible for copper mining, and not handling civil administration. The fourth son, Wu Pang, was appointed Magistrate of Han'an County of Jiangyang Commandery, and the fifth son, Wu Yin, served as a separate commander in Wu Ban's army; none of them were in Chengdu. In all accounts, Wu Pang had the worst future among Wu Ban's three sons.

Chen Zhi personally delivered the letter to the Wu residence and then left.

Ultimately, Wu Ban only betrothed one of his illegitimate sons' daughters to Chen Zhi as a concubine. Wu Ban himself probably didn't take this matter very seriously, and Chen Zhi was just going through the motions.

But Fei Yi's attitude was different.

Chen Zhi had already confirmed with Xu You on the way that Fei Yi's family only had two sons and one daughter, all born to the same wife, and no concubines. In order of age, the order was eldest son Fei Cheng, daughter Fei Shi, and second son Fei Gong.

The reason she was called Fei was because unmarried women in aristocratic families generally did not reveal their names to outsiders. Their names were usually only revealed to guests at their wedding. Although Fei Cheng and Xu You were acquainted, they would not casually discuss such matters.

Speaking of residences, the standards for the residences of Chengdu officials can be divided into two periods based on Liu Bei's entry into Shu.

During Liu Zhang's reign, officials were often rewarded excessively, and corruption among officials was common. Their residences were built to be extremely extravagant, and Liu Zhang never restrained them.

During Liu Bei's reign, the bureaucracy was cleaned up, the channels for bribery were cut off, and a coin called "Zhibai Wuzhu" (meaning one coin is worth a hundred) was issued to plunder wealth from wealthy and powerful families.

The Xu family mansion is so magnificent not only because they have always been wealthy, but also because Xu Jing once served as Minister of Works, and the mansion was a gift from Liu Bei, which he never took back.

Fei Yi's residence was only the size of an ordinary official of two thousand shi rank, far from being wealthy or grand. Even the gateposts looked somewhat old, far inferior to the Xu family's. Shu is a rainy place, and when Chen Zhi and Xu You came from the road, they could still see a lot of moss on the lower half of Fei's outer wall and the roof tiles.

While the imperial court advocated frugality, it did not encourage poverty. Fei Yi received double salaries from both the Prime Minister's office and the imperial court. His household situation was likely due, on the one hand, to the Fei family's thriftiness, small population, and few servants. On the other hand, Fei Yi enjoyed banquets, incurring high personal expenses. He also had to support his eldest son, Fei Cheng, in finding a scholar to study the classics and instructing him in horsemanship and archery—all expensive pursuits…

After a while, things have gotten to the point where we're not exactly well-off now.

In short, taking Liu Bei's entry into Chengdu as the starting point, if one had a good house before that, one could continue to live in a good house. After that, even if one became an official, one could no longer afford to build a large house, unless one was a general who could receive huge rewards.

If you can't get on the bus, the door will be closed forever.