Clam Pearl

Hearing Fu Bo who was suddenly confused, Yue Duzhi jumped up and down, persuading and dragging him.These old family members who have served the family for three generations are indeed difficult to deal with. They are not slaves bullying their masters, but slaves who are too loyal, thinking what their masters think, and sympathizing with their masters.

He is like the elders of the three dynasties. In terms of loyalty, it is unmatched by ordinary people. In addition, after serving at home for many years, if the master encounters trouble, even if they die, they will not frown at all. These people It really makes people love and hate. If you say it seriously, you are afraid of hurting him, but if you say it, he doesn't understand it at all.

However, in such a situation, Yue Duzhi greatly underestimated Fu Bo's post-war recovery period. For this old man, his family's eldest lady, the eldest lady who was like a fairy, was robbed by someone. He also killed his two sons, causing the family to have no smiles for more than ten years. That is a heart-piercing pimple, expect him to receive Gu Zhao with tears in his eyes, don't even think about it, the eyeballs are gone, and the eyelids are missing what to do.

After finally coaxing the old Uncle Fu to go to the back, Yue Duzhi hurried out to explain, but he didn't want to, Gu Zhao didn't wait for him at all, turned around and left.He has his standpoint, the less messy things the better, that's all, he has no mood to accept his cousin's explanation.

In the past, no matter how big the family was, there were only ten or twenty cousins. Four or five weddings and funerals a year were considered a big deal.Coming here now, the social system is different from the original one. A whole family lasts for a hundred years, and the advancement and retreat are all related to the lives of thousands of people. Sometimes Gu Zhaozhen can’t cover everything.So he had no choice but to ignore it, and dragged on slowly, originally he had learned to give an explanation for bad things after a lifetime, and he didn't care what others thought, as long as he could live comfortably.

Seeing that it was summer and the temperature was just right, Gu Zhao walked slowly on the street with his hands behind his back. He was walking in a circle, and his cousin probably couldn't catch him by taking a shortcut.

Xizai and the others did not dare to approach, so they followed from a distance, carefully observing.

Today, Shangjing has more and more the style of a capital city. Vehicles roam around and businesses are bustling. The buildings in the street gradually have a cultural atmosphere different from the previous dynasty. The buildings are different from the previous dynasty. The worship is also different from some religions of the previous dynasty The characters turned to the fear of the emperor of heaven, so they gradually evolved into basic necessities of life. The form is reflected in the magnificent buildings, and the pedestrians wear shabby clothes, but their postures are full of confidence, and they come and go chicly.It is rare to see people who used to be disheveled and disheveled.Just by looking at it casually, one can feel that the atmosphere of the prosperous age of the great power can be vaguely felt now.

If he is not an operator, Gu Zhao may not be able to appreciate the beauty of this place.Now he understands these things clearly, so he feels much better after walking around, and he feels more and more that just looking at this market is not a waste of being a man once, and living a second life for nothing.

After walking for a while, there is a pavilion at the intersection in front of the street. This pavilion was built by wealthy households at the intersection to shelter pedestrians from rain and wind. The pavilion is named Shanhua and is made of hexagonal wood.It looks elegant, but it's a pity that the outside of the hall is now a small square market, and there are four or five butchers, bringing out meat butchers and wielding kitchen knives, chopping up the meat butchers with a loud noise.During the period, the yelling of selling vegetables and eggs and poultry was interspersed, which sounded warm and lively amidst the noise of everything in the world.

"Master, let's go out of the outer city again." Xizai stepped forward to stop Gu Zhao's footsteps.

It's not that he is bold, it's that Gu Zhao can't help himself now, even if his oily skin is broken, it's a big deal, and no one can take care of it.

Gu Zhao nodded and didn't make things difficult for them. He turned his head and saw Xizai's worried face, so he stretched out his hand and flicked his brain, and said with a smile, "What are you thinking? I don't have time to get angry. Go over and ask me about it." Ask the price of meat and vegetables, and make a list for me, I seem to have heard them say that a catty of red meat was sold for more than 40 yuan, and I remember it was [-] yuan last year."

Xizai was still worried, but he was still very obedient.

This kind of small vegetable market is mixed with raw chicken manure, and the smell is really unpleasant. It was originally a small market mixed in a small corner of the city. Naturally, the people who come and go are the common people. There is a sense of shabbyness in his body.Gu Zhao didn't know what happened today, he could clearly distinguish those smells from anyone who passed by, so he stood back involuntarily, and then as if remembering something, there was a wry smile on his face.

Gu Zhao went to class today, wearing a simple wide-sleeved gown. Although he was dressed in fabric, it was also made of fine cloud cloth. Although there were not too many decorations around his body, the details were delicate and precious. He had lived a rich life for many years and had power in his hands. , the demeanor he cultivated slowly in life has long distinguished him from ordinary people. What's more, without that guy Arun by his side, Gu Zhao's appearance would be first-class beautiful.

Therefore, the people in this square city all stared at him openly, and some older street women gathered together to point and point, laughing and discussing loudly.Fortunately, there are quite a few servants around Gu Zhao, if it wasn't for this, someone would have come up to inquire about it.

While discussing, the little official in charge of this square city came out of nowhere. This little official is in his thirties, and his mind is long on his appearance. He is dark and thin, and his eyes are wandering. Slick, he was wearing the official uniform of a lowly official in the captain's mansion, which has been washed to white, and there is a neat patch on the corner of the robe.This little official was hanging around in the capital but he also saw some eyebrows, so he trotted over, first saluted slightly, and then asked with a smile: "Little official, are you lost?"

Gu Zhao smiled and shook his head slightly.The new kid next to him took out a string of money from his sleeve. It looked like there was a hundred dollars. The money was strung with a thin red thread, and there was a small pendant underneath. The style was very festive. Prepared for Gu Zhao to go out and reward the servants.

The petty official took the money, and he didn't look ugly, even though he expressed his gratitude, he was not humble.Gu Zhao immediately liked it a little, so he said, "It's not that I got lost, it's just that I have nothing to do, just come out and wander around."

The little official said with a smile: "If you want to go shopping, you should go to the inner alley. This is just a place where the small people of the mustard beans are mixed. There is a land temple not far from three streets in front, and there are music carts there all the year round." There is a wonderful talk book there, and on weekdays, it also teaches the children in the neighborhood to read a few words. There are crowds of people, and the countryside is fun, but there is something lively to watch." At this point, he looked at the weather and said: "This will be I'm afraid I have opened a book. If the little official doesn't mind it, the villain will take you to see the excitement. Isn't this place a good place? The people who come and go are all haha ​​children who are fighting coolies outside the door. Will do something excessive, behave rudely but also afraid of offending the little nobleman."

This little official speaks quite elegantly, and it seems that he has some ink.Seeing that Gu Zhao behaved grandly and was quite powerful, he regarded Gu Zhao as a superior official. He didn't dare to report Gu Zhao without asking his name.

Speaking of the music car, Gu Zhao knew that the musicians he trained in the Ding Division had to go to the city and surrounding counties and towns to practice before they were sent out. Hearing what this little official said, he was really interested, so he nodded and said :"lead the way."

Hey, Gu Zhao doesn't know, but now he has some habits of words and deeds, which he has slowly developed. If he saw this little official a few years ago, he might have said, "Excuse me, now, he is raised by the surrounding environment." As long as you speak, it is imperative.

After hearing this, the little official knew what he was doing, and he didn't dare to be negligent, so he walked forward and led the way.

This group of people walked slowly through three small stone streets, which are called small streets. Today, the streets and alleys in Shangjing are all carefully repaired. They are all high in the middle and low on both sides. They are all contracted out. Although it is a place where coolies gather, the streets are clean.

After walking half a stick of incense, I could vaguely smell the scent of incense, and then a small temple appeared in front of me. The temple is not big, but it can tell that the fragrance is strong.Although the temple house is lower than the surrounding houses, there are seven or eight small wine carts and two or three dim sum and tea stalls.More people come and go, so lively.

Nowadays, music people give lectures everywhere, and the places where books are opened are mostly on the streets of Fangshi and around temples. Therefore, there is a music car culture. Zhang, sell some rough snacks and tea soup, three to five dollars, earn a few pocket money for a stack of dim sum and a bowl of tea.

Gu Zhao and the others came late, they had already finished telling a book, and now the musicians were taking a break, and there were voices of discussion around the tea table, but what they were talking about was the story just told.

The little official was so smart that he quickly drove away a few idlers at the Bai Zhan table, made a table available, rolled up his sleeves and wiped it back and forth, and then invited Gu Zhao to sit down.

After Gu Zhao sat down, he nodded slightly to thank him. The little official immediately felt that he had a lot of face, his face turned slightly red, and he puffed up his chest and looked around the neighbors.

"You sit too." Gu Zhao pointed to the side, and the little official quietly looked at the servants of the Gu family who were standing not far away, one by one standing upright, beating his heart, looked at the neighbors, and sat down with a gritted teeth.

Soon, the owner of the tea table gave all the snacks in the house, picked up the copper pot, picked up two new tea bowls, washed them back and forth, and then brought them up. It is a habit to be careful, and it is a bunch of tea bowls directly. The money is only a little less than what the little official gave just now, about twenty or so.On weekdays, [-] yuan is enough for two snacks and half afternoon tea.In the neighbors around here, there are also people who have goods at home, and those who reward one or two on weekdays, and those who sit for nothing and don't give money are justifiable.Twenty yuan is not too little, so the tea boss thanked him again and again, and in the end he just carried the teapot and didn't leave.

Gu Zhao sighed slightly in his heart. It seems that the people in Beijing are still not living well, but these small fighting people are the foundation of the country.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Gu Zhao was a little shy, so he coughed and asked the tea boss, "Which book did you just talk about?"

The tea boss held the teapot, lowered his head slightly and said, "To tell you the truth, today is a new book, about a well-known case in the market, and about a story book in the countryside of Wu County, Yuzhou. It's called "" "The Story of Meilan" is a new book, but I have heard a chapter of it yesterday." When the boss spoke, his expression was inevitably a little bit excited, waiting for Gu Zhao to ask.

Gu Zhao joined in, so he asked him, "Oh, tell me?"

The tea owner smiled and began to spit: "In Wu County, there is a rich farmer named Du Liang. His family has seven or eight acres of land, which is not bad. This person has a bad heart, and there is something wrong with him. He is a daughter-in-law. When a child is born, a water tank is prepared in the house. If his wife gives birth to a son, he will keep it, and if it is a woman, he will drown her life. Hey, that black-hearted thief is afraid that he will lose a dowry in the future. He really has a heart of.

But he didn't want to, that day his family gave birth to a daughter again, so the midwife drowned the baby girl at dawn, but he didn't want the midwife to kindly take the baby home and name it Meilan, who is as precious as jade. , Who knows what will happen to this person in the future?Na Meilan grew up, and because of her beautiful appearance, she was hired by a wealthy family in the city to fill in her own house, and she became the housekeeper's grandmother in no time.

Later, God has eyes, but Du Liang received retribution. He killed and murdered his family. One day in the fall, his house caught fire, and his neighbors were burned with him. The family’s seven or eight mu of good land was also lost. He also ate a board, so he had no other choice but to bring his whole family into the city to beg, and this day he had to go to Meilan's house to beg for food..."

The boss here is spoiling the excitement, but the musicians over there have rested, and the bamboo boards and books are opened on the other side.This musician was in the second batch, and they all trained in Dacang outside the city, so they didn't know his immediate superior.

Gu Zhao listened to it for a while, and probably could figure out the ending, but it was the result of good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be rewarded with evil. After listening for a while, he took Xizai and the others to leave quietly, but before leaving, he called Xizai and Rewarded the little official and the musician.

Out of the alley, Gu Zhao got into his carriage, and before he got up, he ordered Xizai to call Fu Ji to his elder brother's house for questioning.Today he will not go back to his own home to live, presumably his cousin has been waiting for him long ago.

Sitting in the carriage, Gu Zhao thought to himself, he didn’t know about the Biography of Meilan, and it seemed like a trivial matter nowadays, but it was the only publicity system in this country, and it was under Gu Zhao’s firm grasp something in hand.What you usually say and talk about can only be said after he, Fu Ji and a few assistants have reviewed and approved it.Speaking on behalf of the country, saying what you say is related to people's livelihood. This attitude must be rigorous.Although the story was a good one, he could tell that it was about the crooked trend of asking for dowry to drown a baby girl in the countryside, but he had never seen this book, and he had never seen anyone else report it, so whose hand was it?Under his eyelids?

When he came to the Duke's mansion, Gu Zhao went to his elder brother first, and then went to his own yard after talking with him for a while, but Fu Ji had been waiting there for a long time. Even if Gu Zhao wanted to ask something, he I also know, so after Gu Zhao cleaned himself up and took a simple bath, the master and apprentice sat together to talk about this matter.

Today Fu Ji was wearing a satin gown with agarwood flying fish and dark flowers, and a pair of fine plain cloud cloth shoes on his feet, his demeanor was quite chic, he was friendly with his teacher, and he spoke freely and intimately.

He sipped two sips of tea and said: "Teacher, the students asked about this book. It turned out to be an old official who was employed by our Ding Division last year from the Knives and Pens Division. It was nothing to read the files at the time. It’s from Xu Dongxing. A few days ago, I approved [-] new books, and when I sent them out, he took advantage of the loophole and mixed them in. I just asked someone to ask, and that guy didn’t hide anything, he just said the book was good. Books are good principles, but I don’t know why you can’t talk about them? He has a reason!”

After Fu Ji finished speaking, although his face was full of anger, he really didn't think it was a single chapter.

Gu Zhao nodded faintly, took a sip of white water from the little fairy cup in front of him, and said, "Fu Ji."

Seeing that Gu Zhao's expression was not good, Fu Ji quickly stood up and replied, "The student is here."

Gu Zhao said again: "Earlier, I told you that all things in the world have Tao and art, and it is the same for officials. Tao is metaphysics but principles and realms. Now you are in charge of many people. How did you take the path of superficial official skills?"

Fu Ji's face turned pale, and he thought over and over again what he did wrong, so he replied: "Teacher, the student just sent that old official back to the knife and pen department..."

Gu Zhao smiled lightly, waved his hand and said, "Go back and think about where you went wrong at night, and why you made a mistake? Come back after you figure it out."

Fu Ji's face was embarrassing, and he didn't dare to explain, so he could only salute and leave with a puzzled expression on his face.After he went out, Gu Zhao then told Bi Liangli, who was standing beside him, "Brother, you got some tubes of ivory pens a few days ago, you go and get some, and the bullfighting cloth that I respected you a few days ago Pick two colors and send them to his wife."

Bi Liangli nodded, and did not leave after nodding, but looked at Gu Zhao worriedly.Gu Zhao smiled and comforted him: "It's not a big deal, but this kid is sloppy. Although he usually does things in an orderly manner, he has no experience after all. He still thinks narrowly about problems. I said he was doing things for his own good. He thought of it a few days ago, it's two different things! Isn't it that his wife Webster is about to give birth?"

Bi Liangli sighed slightly, thinking to himself, talking about others, you don't have a wife yet, how old are you, and saying that others think too narrowly!Hey, after all, it is the breed of the old Gu's family, so it is born with a fairy air.I'm not an adult yet thinking about this, tsk tsk...

After admiring, Lao Bi went to...

That night, Gu Zhao went there today, what lessons he attended, what grievances he suffered, who he met, and what happened to Fu Ji.The spies had already written all the reports to Ah Run's desk one by one.

After Zhao Chunrun looked back and forth several times, he turned his head to Sun Xi and said, "After all, there are still few people available around him. He has recently looked down on me, and now he is afraid that he will be overwhelmed by others."

Sun Xi smiled, and personally took the hot footbath from the outside to Emperor Tian Cheng's feet, tested the temperature of the water with his hands, and then helped him take off the cloth socks.

Maybe it was because the water temperature was comfortable, maybe it was because he was tired during the day, Emperor Tiancheng snorted slightly, and closed his eyes to rest.

While washing, Sun Xi said: "Master Qi doesn't usually like idlers to stay by his side."

Zhao Chunrun nodded slightly and sighed, "I know. In the past, I thought I was a bitter person. In fact, I couldn't be more miserable than him. My mother didn't like it, and my father died early. I took an old slave alone. There is no one to protect them, so they came up with the idea of ​​earning a fortune. If it wasn't for... Forget it, don't mention this... You can ask them to go to the Ministry of Officials and help to pay attention. If there are any backgrounds and clean-minded ones, give it to Azhao Prepare a few, so as not to tire him."

Sun Xi nodded and said, "Hey, this old slave has made a note, and I will arrange someone to do it tomorrow."

Zhao Chunrun was stunned for a while, and then said again: "He has been wronged today, and he certainly won't say it. He doesn't know how sad he is at this moment."

Sun Xi sighed and nodded: "That's not it, Qi Ye'er is not good at this. He swallows all the sufferings by himself and never brings them out. This is the most distressing thing."

Zhao Chunrun laughed immediately when he heard the words. He pulled his feet out of the basin and put them aside to dry. Sun Xi hugged a drum stool and sat there, took the essential oil from the case on one side, unplugged it, poured out a little, and rubbed it in the palm of his hand to warm it up. , then properly hugged one of Emperor Tiancheng's feet, massaged it up and down, and said while pressing it: "Yesterday, I respected two big tiger parrots at the Hundred Beasts Garden, and they have been recuperated a long time ago. As good-looking as you want, let alone the brilliance of the feathers, you can speak well, and the mouth is no worse than a human being."

Emperor Tian Cheng closed his eyes and nodded, "Well, yes, I will send it to him tomorrow morning. A few days ago, I bought some fresh cloth from outside Xinjiang. I picked the color and asked someone to embroider twelve pieces for him. Has the sweat towel been smoked?"

Sun Xi helped change one foot, and replied: "It's smoked, it's the fragrance that Qi Ye loves, the fruity fragrance of water."

"Hey, who would have thought that it was our family's sins committed earlier, and now it has been reported to Azhao... How do you say this? The late emperor fought and killed all his life... Although he conquered a huge world, I But I feel that the first emperor did the best thing, the most holy... Otherwise, he would not be your Seventh Master, would he?"

"What do you mean..."

The master and servant were chattering, maybe Sun Xi was comfortable serving him, maybe Tiancheng Emperor was busy with government affairs today, anyway, after a while, Tiancheng Emperor fell asleep.

Sun Xi saw that his master was asleep, so he quietly put his feet away, took one side of the brocade quilt to help cover it, closed the curtain, borrowed a quilt from his apprentice and rolled it out on the collapsed board, After thinking about something in my heart for a long time, I fell asleep.