Although Zhou Shuren's mind was not a computer, he could only memorize things by rote or remember key words. He thought to himself that he would write them down from memory when he got home, repeating the names of people and places silently in his mind. An eunuch approached, "Zhou, the second-place scholar, the Emperor summons you."
Zhou Shuren had anticipated this; he had made the rounds like a busy bee, and it would have been odd for the Emperor not to seek him out. Correct, the banquet customs of our dynasty are so liberal, he thought he could only sit in his own place, drinking while listening to the Emperor's lengthy and soporific speeches. He hadn't expected that the Emperor had spoken only a few words in total!
