Vicissitudes know Jinhua

The [-]-mile journey was neither difficult nor difficult. Fortunately, the two of them were not in a hurry. They chatted while walking. Mu Zishi told Qi Shaochong what he had seen and heard before and some folk trifles he had read in books, and Qi Shaochong listened. With relish and curiosity, he asked, "Zi Shi, how do you even know that a load of rice costs four hundred copper coins?"

Mu Zishi said: "The fourth brother once showed me the memorial of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and also told me about the prices of folk rice, flour and cloth. Don't rush, if you want the society to be stable, you must have farmers and merchants. Food and goods are stable, and prices are suddenly cheap. The people of Guiding are panic-stricken, once the people's hearts are disturbed, great disasters will come."

Qi Shaochong came to a sudden, and said: "Sell it when it is expensive, buy it when it is cheap, and it will be fair."

Mu Zishi nodded, but he was a little bit worried: "We can neither read nor learn calligraphy on this journey. Even when we get to Zhuangzi, we can't invite great Confucian teachers. It will delay you."

Qi Shaochong is very appreciative: "The lost mulberry elm is harvested in the east, we travel thousands of miles, and we can see all kinds of people's livelihood. These palaces can't be learned in a lifetime."

The two of them were talking, when a black donkey came towards them on the small road, and a young man was sitting on the donkey's back, with long ears and bean eyes, fat and stubby like a big rabbit, originally looking tired, when he saw Mu Zishi and the two of them , Immediately puffed up his chest, swishing the little whip, and let the donkey run out of horse speed, and rushed past them. Mu Zishi hurriedly dragged Qi Shao to the side of the road to hide, although he was not hit, But he was choked by the dust raised by the donkey's hooves and coughed.

Qi Shaochong was furious, turned his head and said: "Zong... donkey hurts people, you are rude!"

The man had a look of beating: "Hey! What are you talking about, sir, the big donkey I just bought, it is your luck to meet you!"

After finishing speaking, he looked at his green cloth jacket with disdain, wiped his nose and walked away.

Qi Shaochong was so angry that his face was flushed, and he jumped like a freshly caught prawn. Mu Zishi knew that he could suffer but not be humiliated, so he was very angry and funny, and said, "Have you ever read the poems of that monk Wang Fanzhi?"

Qi Shao pouted and said, "What poem?"

Mu Zishi pulled him, and smiled as he walked: "Others ride big horses, and I straddle donkeys alone. Looking back at the bearer, I feel a little bit more serious... That man has a big horse to get angry with him. If we see Dan Chai Han can also be bullied."

Qi Shaochong said solemnly: "I don't deceive others, but I can't be deceived either."

Mu Zishi smiled sarcastically and said, "Then you will be pissed off sooner or later. We will inevitably be looked down upon along the way, and we will inevitably be bowed and bowed."

Knowing that his words were true, Qi Shaochong couldn't help being very sad: "Why?"

"The world is hot and cold, that's how it is."

"I treat people with sincerity, and people will not insult me ​​for no reason."

Seeing Qi Shaochong's innocent and firm face, Mu Zishi stopped and asked very seriously: "Shaochong, why are those servants in the palace kneeling down on you?"

Qi Shaochong was startled, and said casually: "I am the prince, and they are palace slaves."

Mu Zishi smiled softly: "No, they kneel down to you because they know you are the prince."

Qi Shaochong tilted his head and thought for a while: "You are right."

"Then you are living among the people now, and no one knows you are a prince. Naturally, the people's government doesn't need to kneel and respect you anymore, right?"

Qi Shaochong nodded.

"Then, officials don't know that you are a prince, but you know they are officials. It's not unusual for people to kneel down to officials, so maybe you have to kneel to them, right?"

Qi Shaochong's expression changed, he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Mu Zishi asked sharply, "Is that right?"

Qi Shaohong's eyes were red: "I don't kneel... I was very reluctant to kneel down to that fat lady yesterday, and you don't kneel in the future!"

Mu Zishi sighed: "You don't want to kneel to others, do you? I don't want to either, and the eunuchs and maids in the palace probably don't want to knock their kneecaps on the gravel... But you can't help it. Since you want to hide your identity, you want to If you don't show your flaws, you have to treat yourself as an ordinary citizen."

Qi Shaochong was silent for a long time, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand: "I see."

He stood quietly, his lips were extraordinarily red due to the bite, his eyes were drooping, and the curved shadows on his cheeks looked a little cold and handsome. Mu Zishi suddenly thought of Qi Yupei, with a heart It immediately softened and melted, and gently held Qi Shaochong's hand, and said seriously: "But you have to remember, even if you kneel to them a hundred times or a thousand times, you are still the flesh and blood of the Tian family, the seventh prince of your father, Qi Shaochong... ... others don't know, but you yourself will never forget, right?"

Qi Shaochong realized something, and his eyes gradually brightened.

Mu Zishi stared at him, his eyes were as bright as a star: "Although you lose your momentum externally, as long as you don't lose your ambition internally, no matter how ups and downs you have, you still have confidence, right?"

Qi Shaochong only felt that it was clear, and said loudly: "Yes!"

Mu Zishi smiled: "People who don't give up on themselves never give up. When I first met my fourth brother, he told me like this...Now I'll tell you, and I'll give you another sentence. The broken jade tiles can be worn through by water drops and stones. understand?"

Qi Shaochong nodded vigorously, then blushed suddenly, and said in a low voice: "Zishi...you are so kind."

Mu Zishi ignored him, Xin Dao Qi Yupei would feel at ease if he saw him treating him like this.

The two walked unhurriedly, and they entered Huangni Town near dusk.

The name of Huangni Town is both Huang and Ni, but it is paved with granite and there are many shops, which are very bright and clean. On both sides of the street are inns, grocery stores, clothing stores, teahouses, embroidery workshops, iron shops, and a three-story restaurant called Taibaiju. There was a lot of shaking, and there was even a loud and noisy brothel. There was even a small brothel with a water-red gauze lantern hanging at the door. There were two enchanting women standing there. The sign on the foundation read: "The third class in Yuanyangyuan...Brother, is this an inn?"

His voice was clear and loud, and when the two girls heard it, they twisted their waists and giggled, and one of them even gave Mu Zishi a wink.

Naturally, Mu Zishi had never been in Huajie and Liuxiang, but he had read some miscellaneous books. He saw the two women pinching their waists and standing in a snake shape, and then saw the sounds coming from the yard. What else did he not understand?Immediately scolded: "Why are you asking nonsense? If you don't study, you don't know anything!"

Qi Shaochong was blamed for nothing, and felt aggrieved: "I am not as good as you in reading, but if you know, just tell me!"

The two girls laughed even harder: "Come on, young master, you come in and my sister will tell you the story!"

Mu Zishi hastily grabbed him with one hand and fled away.

After running half a street, Qi Shaochong was blown by the cold wind, and seemed to understand a little bit: "Isn't that a decent place?"

Mu Zishi sneered and said, "It's not serious, but it's serious."

After thinking about it, I simply put it bluntly: "Yuanyangyuan is a third-class brothel, a place where women prostitute themselves and men seek pleasure."

Qi Shaochong nodded, with disgust in his eyes: "It really is a dirty place."

Mu Zishi said: "Don't underestimate the brothel, this place has something to do with the harem."

Qi Shaochong was startled, and then he was ashamed and angry: "Nonsense! How can the palace... I know you hate my mother, but don't think that you can slander everything in the palace arbitrarily. It is even more watertight, even palace servants and servants will never do anything shameless!"

Mu Zishi waited for him to lose his temper with a half-smile, then Fang said lightly: "Prostitutes also need to pay taxes, official prostitutes sell their bodies, every three draws are called gold flowers and silver, and sent to the harem internal affairs department, empresses and concubines are paid All the cosmetics and jewelry that are matched with the system come from this."

Qi Shaochong immediately died down, his face turned red and turned white, and he asked after a while, "Really?"

The corner of Mu Zishi's lips turned up very nicely, but the words he said were very ugly: "Are you worthy of my cheating?"

Habits are scary, and adaptability is strong. Within three days, Qi Shaochong had already learned not to care about Mu Zishi's thorns in his words. Anyway, those thorns didn't hurt very much, and sometimes he was a little bit happy to be pierced because of his closeness.

So Qi Shaochong just pondered for a moment, and said: "Then where are these women coming from?"

Mu Zishi pondered and said: "I only know that some offenders and women's family members want to pretend to be official prostitutes. For example, Shu Jingshan, the military selection officer of the Ministry of War in the 14th year of Yongxi, was wronged by Tao Ruopu for offending Tao Ruopu, and his whole family was imprisoned. Sent to the Shenzhou brothel."

Qi Shaochong said: "My mother mentioned this matter to me. It is said that Shu Jingshan was born as a Jinshi in the second list, and Yunwen and Yunwu are talents of pillars. It's a pity."

Mu Zishi also sighed: "Shu Jingshan has another son, who was less than fourteen years old when he was imprisoned. He was exiled in southern Xinjiang and will never be pardoned. I don't know whether he is dead or alive now."

Qi Shaochong frowned, and said: "The Tao family is very powerful, although my father has no choice but to do this, it is too hurt the hearts of loyal officials and good men... But according to my opinion, the wives and daughters of corrupt officials and violent officials are punished as official prostitutes." It is very appropriate, one person perverts the law and harms the whole family, this is the reason for the imperial court to deter and severely punish."

Mu Zishi said in a low voice: "There are official prostitutes even in small towns like this, and the amount of gold flowers and silver handed over to the imperial court every year is not a small amount. The tax of one draw every three is really not high."

Qi Shaochong opened his eyes wide: "Why is it not high? In this dynasty, the business tax is light, one out of thirty, agricultural tools, books, bamboo, wood, firewood, etc. are all tax-free, and the tax on deeds, teeth, pawns, and paint is only one out of ten..."

Mu Zishi praised: "It's hard for you, you know this, you can recite it very well!"

Qi Shaochong raised his chest: "I never went to the East Palace Study in vain!"

Mu Zishi looked at him sideways, and sneered.

Qi Shao Chong didn't understand and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Mu Zishi said: "It's nothing... I didn't know what it meant to be ridiculously stupid before, but now I understand."

Qi Shaochong said seriously: "Zi Shi, it's not that I'm stupid, but... there are not many people in the world who are as smart as Fourth Brother and you, and you can't even envy them."

After a pause, he said in a low voice: "Do you really think I'm stupid? In fact, as long as you are willing to teach me, I will pay attention."

Mu Zishi saw that his clear and dark eyes were completely devoid of shadow, full of sincere trust and eagerness, he couldn't help feeling a little apologetic in his heart, and said, "I don't dislike you, I was joking just now. Just don't rush, you need to know The salt tax is levied four times every ten... You see, it’s not dark yet, and the mandarin duck courtyard is full of people, which shows that the business must be very good. It’s not an exaggeration to draw one every two, not to mention that those official prostitutes are the relatives of criminal officials. ?”

Qi Shaochong was thoughtful, but he was not in a hurry to nod in agreement.

While talking, the two walked to the door of a small inn. Mu Zishi saw that although the half-open door was a bit old, the lobby was tidy and tidy. Is it?"

The shopkeeper raised his eyelids for a look, and said with a smile, "Two renminbi for the upper room, one koen for the middle room, and the lower class... You two don't look like people who live in the lower class room."

Mu Zishi secretly thought that the shopkeeper was good at doing business, and he still hesitated in his heart and wanted to ask the low price. Qi Shaochong tugged his sleeve and said, "Brother, let's live in the room!"

Qi Shaochong came out of the deep palace surrounded by gold and jade at a young age. Although he tried his best not to say a word of bitterness, Mu Zishi knew that he was on the verge of his limit, so he comforted him and said with a smile: "Well, anyway. My second uncle's house is in Lingzhou, not far from here, so it doesn't matter if you spend some money."

The shopkeeper smiled and said: "It turns out that the two young masters are visiting relatives. Fortunately, the journey to Lingzhou is very peaceful, otherwise the adults in the family must be worried."

Mu Zishi took out a small piece of silver from his purse, pouted and complained: "Who said no, mother planned to let people follow, father said he went to the south to do business when he was ten years old, the brothers didn't I'm young, after the outskirts of Chenjing is Lingzhou, so there's nothing to worry about."

Turning his eyes, he saw a coin in the corner of the counter, and said: "Old man help me weigh this piece of silver, it will be enough for a few days."

He kept an eye out, the money he took out was about the same size as the money he gave to old man Hu when he ate tofu nao, and it should be about four coins, and he just waited to see if the old shopkeeper would be fooled.