It will be a separate dining system, with each person having a low table and cushion, and a brazier lit next to them.

　　Just kneel down and eat.

　　It was the first time that Gu Zhao had seen such dining rules. He was wondering if his legs would be numb from kneeling after a meal. Then he saw Mr. Sun sitting cross-legged on a mat in the middle of the front, smiling and saying, “Everyone, please help yourself.”

　　The Sun family of Chuzhou has been in existence for hundreds of years. They were long gone from the dynasty when the kneeling etiquette was popular. At that time, the royal family practiced the kneeling etiquette, whether it was eating or reading. Only ordinary and inferior people sat on the so-called stools without any rules.

　　It’s like in modern times, some people want to show that they are unique and don’t follow the trend. Some say that they dress like medieval European aristocrats and use their dining utensils in a fancy way, or that the royal family of a certain dynasty looked like this.

　　The further you push forward and the more you lean upward, the deeper your family background becomes and the longer your history becomes.

　　The Sun family is, but now Sun Mu doesn’t follow these rules, he does whatever he wants. This courtyard has not been occupied for more than ten years, and someone repairs it every year. The furnishings in the house have not been changed, and it is still maintained in the same way. When it is mentioned, Sun Mu said it is troublesome and not worth the trouble.

　　It is not known whether it is really unnecessary or they just want to seal the memory.

　　When Gu Zhao heard this, he immediately smiled and said, “Then I’m sorry. I’ve never attended such a banquet before. I’m afraid my legs will get numb if I kneel for a while, which would be even more embarrassing.” So he also sat down cross-legged.

　　Yan Jinxin also sat cross-legged in the same way. He had never seen the kneeling etiquette before.

　　Shi Mingwen, who was sitting side by side with Sun Mu, was originally kneeling with his back straight. But when he saw that there was no order in the room, he could only frown, then he changed his legs and sat down as well.

　　Just looking at Yan Jinxin, even when he was sitting down, he still had the upright demeanor of a gentleman, which I couldn’t help but admire in my heart.

　　Wine and food had already been served on the low table. The wine was warmed by the stove, and the dishes were easy to identify. The two boxes of braised duck and the cold-mixed pig skin jelly that Gu Zhao brought were all cold dishes, and there was nothing hot.

　　Everyone drank and ate, enjoying the snow scene outside.

　　Gu Zhao had just picked up his chopsticks when he heard Lord Shi from above suggest writing a poem with snow and peach blossoms as the theme.

　　“…”

　　”Jinxin comes first.” Shi Mingwen suggested with an appreciative look.

　　Gu Zhao was not blind, so he could see that Lord Shi loved and admired his second brother very much. He figured out what was going on. Lord Shi’s proposal was just like parents asking their children to perform in front of relatives during the Chinese New Year. Lord Shi would not be so boring as to simply show off. What was behind this show-off?

　　He looked up at Mr. Sun, who was smiling and stroking his beard.

　　Could it be that he wants Mr. Sun to accept his second brother as his apprentice?

　　Gu Zhao figured it out and his eyes lit up. It was to drink and watch his second brother compose poetry. After one poem, Gu Zhao clapped his hands and said good.

　　”Xiao Gu, please sing a song too.” Sun Mu said with a smile.

　　Gu Zhao: …

　　Did he just cheer too loudly? But he swore that the first person to say yes was Lord Shi, and he just followed behind to make an atmosphere.

　　”This? I’m slow at it. Let me think about it.” Gu Zhaoshi gritted his teeth and looked out the window.

　　The people in the room watched and waited. Fortunately, no one urged him. They just drank as they should, but they were all waiting for Gu Zhao to write a poem. Gu Zhao didn’t want to hide. Since he had agreed, he would write it. He calculated in his mind which rhymed with Ping Ping Ze Ze Ze Ping. This word didn’t rhyme, so he changed it.

　　The last poem came out with parallelism and rhyme, but it didn’t have any spirit at all and was very mechanical.

　　After hearing this, Sun Mu’s hand holding the cup began to tremble.

　　Gu Zhao smiled awkwardly, “My poetry writing skills are not as good as my second brother’s. We went to school together in the prefecture and county, and he taught me for a few years. I have already reached a higher level.”

　　The others looked at Yan Jinxin, who nodded and said it was okay.

　　”I also think today’s poem is really good. The rhyme and parallelism are neat.” Gu Zhao happily continued to eat duck wings and asked Lord Liang to feel free to write a poem as well.

　　He is quite shameless, Liang Zizhi thought.

　　Then I just made up a poem.

　　Gu Zhao put down the duck wings and clapped his hands, saying “Okay”, and acted as the atmosphere group.

　　The lunch was very lively, mainly because Gu Zhao was not polite. He wrote poems when asked and he did it openly. He listened to other people’s poems and his comments from the atmosphere group were quite meaningful. He was not pretentious when drinking and eating otherwise and really enjoyed himself.

　　When the servants served the hot soup, Gu Zhao asked if there were any noodles, and ordered a handful of noodles while cutting the braised duck offal. If you want soup, give me some vinegar…

　　Servant: …

　　”Yes.” The servant responded and went down to prepare the noodles.

　　Yan Jinxin told the two gentlemen that Zhaodi must have drunk too much and hoped to forgive him for any impoliteness.

　　”You’re welcome. I told you that you must have a great time when you visit me.” Sun Mu was quite happy and not angry at all. He even told Ah Zhong, “Give me a bowl according to how Xiao Gu eats it.”

　　Ah Zhong is Sun Bo’s real name.

　　Liang Zizhi naturally wanted some too, so in the end they all had braised duck offal noodle soup.

　　Shi Mingwen had been an official for so many years and had attended banquets, but today he was really “unbridled”. When everyone was having a good time and had drunk a little more, he suggested, “Lao Sun, what do you think of Yan Jinxin today? Is his poetry as good as yours? Just accept it.”

　　”Accept?” Sun Mu said happily, “Okay, I have the same idea. Then I will accept Gu Zhao, and how about you accept Yan Jinxin? We are from the same Imperial College, and we have been classmates and friends now. Those two juniors are similar to you and me, so why don’t you and I have a new disciple today?”

　　Shi Mingwen was stunned and hesitated for a moment, but then he felt that it was not a good idea. “No, I am a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. If I accept Yan Jinxin as a student, it will not be good for him.”

　　If there was a future Imperial Academy Examination, he would be the chief examiner. Originally, he would have no problem judging by his rigor and knowledge, but –

　　”A gentleman is open and honest. If you accept Yan Jinxin as your disciple, you will be more strict and will not let him go.” Sun Mu said, “Besides, you are in the Hanlin Academy, focusing on studying and not caring about the disputes in the court. We are the most useless scholars. If he moves up, it will not affect us.”

　　That’s right. Shi Mingwen never thought about relocation. He didn’t like the intrigues and schemes in the officialdom. Back then, his old friend was in a prosperous position and entered the cabinet, but now Chu Ningyuan is still lagging behind and can’t even catch up with him. What happened later?

　　Let’s not talk about it.

　　Sun Mu saw that Shi Mingwen was wavering. He knew his old friend’s character. The fact that he mentioned Yan Jinxin again and again showed that he admired Yan Jinxin’s character very much and had already examined him. He hesitated before, probably because he was afraid that he would affect Yan Jinxin’s future, so he wanted him to accept it.

　　After all, he is not an official, he just has some empty titles.

　　”You’ve already said that this boy won’t stay in the Hanlin Academy for long. Once he leaves, you can just be a leisurely Hanlin scholar without getting involved. Or do you want to curry favor with some family?” Sun Mu’s last sentence was amusing.

　　Shi Mingwen was convinced and made up his mind. He said, “I am a fifth-rank official and I am old. Who would try to win me over?” He added, “Are you sure you want to recognize that Gu Zhao? I’m afraid the poems he wrote are not as good as those written by people who were six years old—”

　　”As long as he’s interesting, I think he’s lively and generous, behaves straightforwardly, and protects his brother. He’s a good person.”

　　After the two of them said this, they also asked Gu Zhao and Yan Jinxin for their opinions.

　　”No rush, you two can go back and think about it slowly.” Shi Mingwen said.

　　Gu Zhao’s cheeks turned slightly red, and he raised his hand and said, “Mr. Sun, are you really going to take me in as your apprentice? I really can’t practice poetry, and I’m afraid that I’ll make you sick in the future.”

　　”…” Liang Zizhi.

　　Sun Mu laughed and said, “I want to give it a try.”

　　Gu Zhao nodded and said, “As long as you don’t regret it, I’m willing to do it.” He immediately knelt down and kowtowed three times, making a loud bang. Liang Zizhi brought hot tea and said, “Brother Gu, serve tea.”

　　The ceremony of paying homage to the master was neat and efficient.

　　Shi Mingwen frowned as he watched. Gu Zhao and Liang Zizhi were really unruly. Yan Jinxin saw Master Shi looking over there. He felt that it was not good to be so careless in paying respect to his teacher. It was obvious that Master Shi did not care about small matters. After being friends with Crane Immortal for many years, how could he be so bound by worldly etiquette?

　　”Teacher, accept the greetings of your disciple Yan Jinxin.” Yan Jinxin lifted his robe and knelt, also kowtowed three times.

　　Shi Mingwen looked at the new disciple in front of him, and threw all the auspicious days out of his mind. His brows were full of loving smiles, and he said, “Okay!”

　　After Gu Zhao drank a bowl of sobering soup, he sat on his own mule cart and felt the cold wind. It took him a while to come to his senses. He then thought back to what had happened that day, especially when he was drunk and his emotions were out of control.