"Second brother, this chicken leg is delicious, try it quickly!"
Thirteen-year-old Han Yan, smiling, offered the chicken leg in her hand to Han Mo, though her own mouth was constantly swallowing saliva, her hand showed no hesitation.
"Second brother has just recovered from his illness, and my stomach really doesn't want to eat meat. You eat it yourself!"
Han Mo smiled and then reached out to pat Han Yan's head.
"Sister Chun Tao, you have one too!"
After years of living under someone else's roof, only Chun Tao had accompanied them, siblings. Naturally, she regarded Chun Tao as a little sister.
"Eat it quickly. I need to finish embroidering this pomegranate picture these days. Don't get any grease on it, or it won't be worth much!"
Although Chun Tao was tempted, looking at Han Yan's thin body, she firmly shook her head.
"If you don't eat, I won't eat either! I only went to that manor for this. You guys..."
As Han Yan spoke, tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Alright, alright, I'll eat it, okay? My dear little ancestor, today is the first day of the New Year! We still need to worship our ancestors soon. You can't cry!"
Seeing Han Yan on the verge of tears, Chun Tao quickly put down the bamboo frame she was holding and said.
"Worship ancestors?"
Looking at the flickering charcoal basin before him, Han Mo's gaze began to blur.
Seeing Han Mo lost in thought, Chun Tao and Han Yan's voices naturally lowered.
Han Yan was still young and didn't notice the change in her brother, but Chun Tao was different.
Although this person was still the same person, Chun Tao, who had served him closely in his daily life for many years, keenly sensed the change in her young master.
Although Han Jiayan had instructed long ago that Han Mo could use the study in the manor.
However, their young master had not entered the study as many times in the past few years as he had in the last three months.
What was even more outrageous was that recently Han Mo's speech and actions were almost completely different from before.
Although the little maid herself had not studied, in her simple worldview, reading was good.
She even felt that her young master had been able to get through this illness entirely because their madam had appeared to her.
As a result, the usually stingy little maid had broken her rule and prepared a rather generous sacrificial offering for Han Mo in advance, to be used by Han Mo and Han Yan to worship their deceased mother after the fifth watch.
According to custom, on the first day of the New Year, the worship of ancestors would take place after the fifth watch, and the male descendants of the Han family would also worship together.
Han Yan was a girl, and it was understandable that she couldn't participate in the sacrificial rites.
But Han Mo had also been informed early that he did not need to attend the grand sacrificial ceremony of the New Year this year, as his health had not yet recovered.
While it appeared to be an act of concern for Han Mo, even the servants in the manor could see that this was clearly ostracism.
Time passed slowly. Han Yan had already fallen asleep drowsily against Chun Tao.
When the drum outside struck five times, Chun Tao woke Han Yan and then looked at Han Mo, "Second brother, it's getting late. Your body has just recovered. Why don't you go back and rest after worshipping Madam?"
"Alright, I have been up all night and I am indeed a little tired!"
Han Mo's health was not fully recovered, and coupled with the cold weather in January, the three of them, master and servants, simply set up a sacrificial table in the courtyard.
They hastily arranged the offerings and offered silent prayers, thus completing the New Year's rites.
After finishing this round of activities, Han Yan, unable to stay awake, returned to sleep. Han Mo also returned to his room and curled up in the quilt fully clothed.
Their small courtyard was usually rarely visited, and on such a day, no one would come.
Han Mo lay quietly in bed, contemplating future matters.
Seeing that the chaotic times were approaching, he should find a way to protect himself.
Joining the army was definitely not an option. The Great Song Dynasty ruled the military with civil officials.
Let alone whether he could survive the subsequent catastrophe, even if he could survive, he would definitely be living under someone else's patronage.
The only path he could choose was the imperial examination...
But his predecessor was truly a terrible idiot. He had been studying these few classics for eight or nine years, and he still only had a vague understanding.
If it weren't for Han Jiayan's relationship, he would have been kicked out of the Imperial Academy long ago!
However, fortunately, he didn't know if it was due to transmigration, but his brain was now exceptionally good.
In the past few days, he had also gradually discovered that he could remember almost everything he had read once.
With this ability, combined with his identity as a descendant of the Han family of Xiangzhou, it shouldn't be too difficult to pass the imperial examinations!
Pondering these miscellaneous matters, and having not slept all night, Han Mo didn't know when he drifted off to sleep.
He slept until noon, then Han Mo got up, washed himself, hastily ate lunch, and took the two young maids directly into Bianliang City.
Passing through Nanxun Gate and entering Baokang Gate, the entire Bianliang City had become a sea of joy.
The streets were crowded with people, making Han Mo feel like he was back at a rural fair in his previous life.
"Second brother, let me buy you a flower to wear!"
As soon as they entered the city, Chun Tao and Han Yan, like two little sparrows, chattered endlessly.
"I, I'd better not..."
Although he had to conform to local customs, Han Mo still couldn't quite appreciate the Song Dynasty men's habit of wearing flowers.
From Han Mo's perspective as a modern person, the sight of these grown men wearing a flower the size of a bowl on their heads seemed too strange.
"Little gentleman, buy one. It's only ten small copper coins. Look how beautiful this peony is! This is the 'Golden Girdle', a top-grade peony. Judging by your appearance, you should also be a scholar. The four prime ministers who wore flowers in their hair back then wore this Golden Girdle. Buy one to bring you good luck!"
The flower vendor's words immediately made Han Yan and Chun Tao smile knowingly.
"Second brother, just wear one. If it really brings good luck and you become a prime minister in the future, it will be a beautiful story! Hehehe."
As Chun Tao spoke, she directly grabbed a peony and placed it in Han Mo's hair, then ran back with a smile.
But accidentally, she bumped right into someone's embrace.
"What a beautiful young lady! Someone, take her home!"
ps: The four prime ministers wearing flowers refers to Han Qi, who was demoted to Yangzhou. By chance, the peonies in his mansion were in full bloom, and four miraculous flowers grew on a single plant. He then invited Wang Gui, who happened to be in Yangzhou, Wang Anshi, and Chen Shengzhi, who happened to be passing by.
The four of them admired the flowers together. During the banquet, Han Qi, feeling exhilarated from drinking, cut off four flowers and gave one to each of them. Unexpectedly, all four of them later served as prime ministers, and people at the time called it "Four Prime Ministers Wearing Flowers," which became a widely told tale.
Selection of officials was a unique system in the Song Dynasty. There were many official positions but fewer officials. After passing the imperial examinations, only the top few would receive appointments. The others were considered qualified to become officials, called "selectees." To become an official, one had to wait for positions to open up, a process called "selection of officials." Without connections or money, one could only wait slowly.