Hello Chang’an

Chapter 670 Extra 8 - Trivial Matters in the Capital

It is autumn in the fourth year of Changhua.

Shepherd's purse and Xiao Min returned to Beijing from Jiannan Road and Lingnan Road, and the chaos in Dasheng's southwest territory was completely stopped.

In this year, the emperor officially abolished the official system of Jiedushi and the old system of separate administration.

The names of various roads, such as Huainan Road and Jiannan Road, came to an end and became sealed history.

This is a big restructuring, but Li Suining has already laid sufficient groundwork for this after he ascended the throne. Prince Cui Jing, the patron saint, has repeatedly visited the capital for inspections, also to implement the new military system. Many people have already been prepared for this.

So the transition is overall smooth.

Just as Shuofang Jiedushi appointed Xue Fu as the governor of Lingzhou, shepherd's purse will also be appointed the governor of Yizhou.

In terms of official rank, this was a demotion, but the court also made up for it - several governors who had served as Jiedushi were awarded titles and salaries based on their merits, and their titles could be passed down to future generations.

Regardless of others, shepherd's purse didn't have much pursuit of these things. She thought she had been satisfied for a long time. This time she specifically asked for the emperor's permission, but she wanted to stay in Beijing for a while longer.

Nothing else, it was actually a few years apart, and she missed His Majesty the Emperor very much. Although the word "miss" always seemed too superficial and casual, and it seemed that it should not be used for the Emperor, it was the truest feeling of Shepherd's Purse. Since she followed the emperor, she has never been apart for such a long time. She was a woman like a female eagle. In recent years, she often secretly wiped away tears because she thought about the emperor.

Shepherd's Purse has already thought about it. From now on, she will be the first person to come to Beijing every year to report on her work. When she was over fifty, and when the imperial court had trained His Majesty to have more trustworthy confidants than her, she would retire early and take root in the capital. She would not go anywhere but stay with His Majesty.

After shepherd's purse came to Beijing, she went to the palace every day. She always talked about official business first, then talked about what she had seen and heard, and finally chatted a few words about leisure. She only chatted a few words to avoid disturbing His Majesty.

Shepherd's purse mentioned some affairs in Tuyuhun. The new leader of Tuyuhun was appointed by the emperor and given the surname Li.

As for Murong Shouping, the son of Mingluo and Murong Yun, he was deposed and imprisoned by the Murong royal family when Mingluo was taken to the capital for trial. Shortly after that, an unexpected secret was exposed -

The child named Murong Shouping was actually a girl.

It turns out that Mingluo concealed the true gender of the child during the birth in order to be able to take over the regency smoothly.

Mingluo had her own power in Tuyuhun and officials who were loyal to her. This secret was not exposed until the child was deposed and imprisoned.

After Mingluo was beheaded in Beijing, the news spread to Yizhou. Shepherd's purse once went to Tuyuhun and met the child who was imprisoned.

She was an extremely taciturn girl. When she heard the news of her mother's death, she was not shaken at all and said calmly: "This is the fate she deserves." 】

Shepherd's Purse asked her: [Do you want to leave here? 】

She shook her head: [I don’t want to. 】

Shepherd's Purse: [Why? Do you want to be locked up by them like this? 】

She said: [I will die if I go out, but I don’t want to die. 】

Because of her mother, countless people would want to kill her, people from Tuyuhun, people from Tibet, and even people from Dasheng.

Shepherd's purse asked no more questions and turned to leave.

After Li Suining heard about this, he didn't say much and had no intention of getting involved. He just let Tuyuhun handle it by himself.

On this day, shepherd's purse brought into the palace a list of available talents she had screened out in Yizhou over the past few years. One of them caught Li Suining's attention. He was born in Yuezhou and had a surname of Zuo. He was originally from Jiannan Road under the rule of Li Yin. a county magistrate.

"Is this the son of the Zuo Yuanwai from Yuezhou?"

Shepherd's Purse smiled in surprise and said: "Your Majesty has such a good memory, he even remembers such small things! It's him! This person is rare to be pragmatic and usable."

Li Suining nodded: "I will turn it over to the staff for appointment."

Speaking of this left member, Li Suining couldn't help but think of the child named Xiaoyao. He wondered if he had gone to the military as he said back then. She would wait and see if there was a general named Xiaoyao the next day.

When it came to Shenshi, shepherd's purse, who chatted with Xi'er for a while, then left the Manlu Hall.

When shepherd's purse was about to step out of the gate of Ganlu Palace, she met Cui Jing, the patron saint prince, who was dressed in purple.

Shepherd's Purse smiled and saluted, sighing in her heart. Even though she had seen him many times, every time she saw the Protector Prince again, the same voice called "Oh God" would pop up in her mind, just like that It was the same as when I first saw it on the bank of Bianshui River.

The prince's robe Cui Jing was wearing must have gone out to attend to official business.

A Dian, who was following behind him, seemed to have followed them out of the palace. At this time, he was holding two bags of sugar-roasted chestnuts in his hand. He handed the opened bag to shepherd's purse and said enthusiastically: "General Hao, please try it." Taste it, it’s delicious!”

Shepherd's purse smiled and stretched out her hand to grab a few, and invited A Dian to visit her home when she was free: "...then I will make celery dumplings for General Dian to eat!"

Ah nodded like he was pounding garlic, and kept saying "Okay, okay, okay."

Not far from the Manna Hall, Shepherd's Purse met another acquaintance.

The young female official was neatly dressed, and beside her was a female historian holding an official document and a memorial.

"Master Yao is going to Ganlu Palace?" Shepherd's Purse greeted with a smile.

Yao Ran nodded lightly and raised his hand to salute the shepherd's purse without saying much greetings.

Shepherd's Purse was accustomed to Yao Ran's reticence and indifference. After she returned to Beijing, she also heard about Yao Ran's current reputation in the court. He was one of the most lonely ministers and never interacted with others. Even his father Yao Yi had to avoid suspicion. , it is said that he moved out of the Yao family last year and lives alone, and only returns home for reunions on the first and fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year.

In short, Mr. Yao is famous for only focusing on business matters and not giving anyone a good look - except, of course, His Majesty.

Wu Chunbai, another female official who was appointed by His Majesty when he ascended the throne and received actual duties, was often secretly compared with Yao Ran. In everyone's eyes, the two people's temperaments and styles were completely opposite.

Wu Chunbai served in the Honglu Temple of the Ministry of Rites, in charge of sacrificial rituals and communications with various states. He was very good at communicating with people. He had been an official for several years and almost never had any conflicts with his colleagues.

When shepherd's purse left the palace, six ministries were going to the palace, and many officials came out together.

In the fourth year of the emperor's accession to the throne, the busy period has passed. The country's political machinery has begun to see scale and order, and everything is operating in an orderly manner. With the great prosperity of academics and politics, the talent training and transportation are also considerable. The king does not encourage officials to light up the lamp and burn oil to work. , the imperial city gates will be closed on time every day.

At this time, there was still more than an hour before the door was closed. The officials of the Sixth Department were not in a hurry, and their colleagues walked slowly together talking to each other.

When some people saw shepherd's purse, they all stopped to raise their hands to salute and greet this powerful emperor's confidant.

Wu Chunbai, who came to the Ministry of Rites to report, was also among them. She smiled and saluted shepherd's purse, her behavior was generous and calm, clear and calm, and she felt a sense of intimacy in her smile.

She followed Shepherd's Purse for a while. Shepherd's Purse loved chatting with people about home affairs. She learned that Wu Chunbai had not yet made a marriage arrangement, and unlike Yao Ran, who had a face that said "Don't approach strangers and please stay away from acquaintances", Shepherd's Purse Then he asked Wu Chunbai if he had any plans to discuss marriage.

Wu Chunbai did not shy away from being embarrassed and said with a smile: "There is no rush. We will consider this matter in a few years."

Shepherd's Purse smiled and patted her on the shoulder: "That's it, big sister, I'll keep an eye on you then!"

Wu Chunbai nodded with a smile.

Not far away, Song Xian, who was surrounded by a group of officials from the Ministry of Punishment, looked at Wu Chunbai's figure.

After shepherd's purse separated from Wu Chunbai, as soon as she took Hao Huan on the carriage, she heard Hao Huan remind her: "Your Excellency, don't you know about that rumor?"

"Which rumor?"

Hao Huan: "Most of the officials in the capital know that the reason why Song Shilang of the Ministry of Punishment has not married yet is because he is waiting for Mr. Wu from Honglu Temple..."

Song Xian was born as the number one scholar and held a high position at a young age. He was a good son-in-law that many people dreamed of capturing. Everyone couldn't help but want to know more about it. After going back and forth, they uncovered many clues about Song Shilang's intentions. If you like someone and wait for someone like this, no matter how much you restrain yourself, you can't hide it.

This matter is almost a secret known to everyone.

"Oh, this." Shepherd's Purse was not surprised. She had also heard about it, but she said: "He's waiting for him. If he waits, will he have to marry him? You can't hold a knife to someone's will. ”

After hearing this, Hao Huan thought about it carefully and couldn't help but nod. This is true.

Shepherd's Purse rode all the way back to the capital's mansion. As soon as she stepped through the second door, Dumpling greeted her: "Mom, Manager Ping is back!"

The dusty steward hurriedly stepped forward and saluted Shepherd's Purse: "Master of the house."

Shepherd's Purse asked: "Has everything been done?"

Steward: "Don't worry, owner, I personally sent the person back to his home."

The "person" in the steward's mouth is Steamed Bun, the elder brother of dumplings.

This matter starts from the end of the year before last - after many twists and turns, Mantou finally found the capital from Hezhou.

At that time, the shepherd's purse man was in Yizhou. Jiaozi felt very pitiful when he saw that his brother had suffered all the way, so he wrote to his mother-in-law to ask her permission to take him in.

Shepherd's Purse has adopted many homeless children over the years. She had no intention of taking the initiative to take Mantou back, but now people have come to her door. Mother and child are having a fight. The children may not have been sensible before, so she does not need to drive them away as enemies. , and acquiesced to Dumpling's request.

But the subsequent performance of the steamed buns disappointed shepherd's purse.

He hated studying and refused to learn any skills. Instead, he quickly recruited a group of bad friends, got into bad habits, ate, drank, whored, and even injured an official's son.

Relying on the fact that his mother was the confidant of the emperor, he was a military governor and did whatever he wanted. He did not listen to anyone's advice and guidance, and even made dumplings because of gambling.

Shepherd's Purse is kind-hearted, but also decisive. She gave one more chance to fulfill the love between mother and son, but now it seems she can no longer bear it.

She asked her two female soldiers to return to Beijing first and take care of the matter on her behalf.

Mantou heard the news, stole the cash and valuables from the house, and ran away overnight.

The steward of the Hao Mansion led people to chase him. Mantou had been hiding for several months. Once he was drunk and was suddenly found. In the process of running away in a hurry, he broke a leg.

Shepherd's Purse didn't ask anyone to treat him, but just sent him back to Hezhou to find his father.

The father and son just happened to be able to find a pair of good legs. Hezhou is prosperous, and if they are more diligent, they should not die of hunger.

If you don't work hard, you will deserve to die. To put it in the words of shepherd's purse, it's time for bridges to return to bridges and roads to return, and people to humans and animals to animals.

Shepherd's Purse walked to the yard with dumplings and asked him about his recent homework.

By the end of October, the chill had already invaded the capital.

In Anxingfang, in a relatively simple house, a three or four-year-old child ran out and went to the two-entry house next door to visit.

The door plaque of this two-entry mansion has the word "Song House" written on it. It is Song Xian's mansion, where his parents and brothers now live.

The boy is Tan Li's son. He and Song Xian's two children are playmates. Of course, the most important thing is that the Song family's charcoal basin burns very warmly. Children like to rub the charcoal basin. In summer, Here comes the ice basin.

Tan Li naturally has a lot of salary now, but he was born in a very poor family, and his parents were used to being frugal. The old couple wanted to save money to buy a larger and more spacious courtyard in Beijing, but they were not as willing to use ice and charcoal as the Song family was. .

This child, who spends his days in winter and in summer, is about to turn three. Tan Li's hometown has a rule of hosting a banquet for the eldest son's third birthday. The banquet was held on a holiday, and Song Xian and others all received the invitations.

Tan Li invited all his familiar colleagues and classmates, including Wu Chunbai.

At the banquet, a colleague had two glasses of wine too much and joked about Song Xian and Wu Chunbai. However, just in the middle of his words, Song Xian interrupted and stopped him.

Song Xian was the minister of punishment with the highest official position at today's banquet. The colleague was sober that he laughed sarcastically and quickly drank himself a fine to apologize to everyone.

After the banquet, Wu Chunbai left Tan's house, and Song Xian followed him out, apologetically saying to her: "Brother Hu just made a mistake, don't blame Mr. Wu..."

"It doesn't matter." Wu Chunbai was still smiling and said as he walked: "If you want to really curb the rumors, it's easy. Master Song can just get married as soon as possible."

We have known each other for many years, and have been officials in the same dynasty for several years. We have become very familiar with each other, and we are no longer young and hesitant. Perhaps because of a bit of drunkenness, we are determined to make it clear. After a moment of silence, Song Xian said bluntly: "However, The person Song is close to has no plans to get married yet."

Song Xian escorted Wu Chunbai out of the square gate and came to an alley. A winter plum blossom bloomed faintly at the entrance of the alley.

Wu Chunbai stopped, and the smile on his lips slightly faded.

But then he heard the person who also stopped saying: "Song knows his own feelings, and if he marries another person as his wife, he will only mislead others and himself. This is not wise or upright."

The young man stood under the plum tree, his always sharp eyes softening at this moment, but the firmness and stubbornness around him remained the same as before.

Wu Chunbai laughed silently again and asked bluntly: "Does Master Song want me to feel guilty over time?"

Song Xian looked at her and asked, "Does Mr. Wu know it?"

Their eyes met, Wu Chunbai's eyelashes moved slightly, for a moment, he slowly raised his eyebrows and shook his head: "I don't know how. Even if I say I can on the surface, I'm just pretending."

Song Xian: "Yeah."

-Um?

Looking at those unsurprised eyes, Wu Chunbai was a little surprised.

It turned out that he had long seen her own way of doing things despite her approachability, and he had also long seen her selfishness beneath her calm and glamorous skin.

Yes, she had killed someone in front of him.

Seeing the change in her expression, Song Xian smiled slightly: "Marrying a wife and having children is an ordinary thing, but who said that living in this world must not be ordinary."

Isn't it good to have someone he likes deep in his heart, without asking her to respond, or expecting her to be coerced by his feelings? He is only loyal to his own feelings, and he can be free to express his feelings.

At least he knew very well that she didn't hate him, and even liked him a little, but her love was far less than her ambition.

She has been promoted two levels in Honglu Temple. She still has a long way to go. She wants to go to the Ministry of Etiquette. At this time, it is not a good thing to get married and have children. It is indeed not a good thing to be married to him, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment. Those who are targeting female officials Eyes will soon be drawn to her, and trouble is foreseeable.

Since it was foreseeable, it should be avoided, and he didn't want to be an obstacle to her, causing people to question her own abilities and efforts because of a marriage.

Marriage should be the icing on the cake, not the culprit.

He could wait for her to stand more firmly, and it wasn't that important whether he could wait for her to nod by then.

It would be nice to be together like this.

Song Xiandao: "Let's go, I'll give Master Wu another gift."

Wu Chunbai looked at him quietly for a moment, then walked in front with a smile, and Song Xian followed her.

The cool breeze blows, and the plum fragrance floats with it.

There are three extra chapters~

Everyone, please remember to read my new book. It is ready to be put on the shelves and the full text is half complete! It’s a short and medium-length novel that can lighten your mood: “The Rites of Passage”. I’d like to ask for a collection and votes for the new book~