The elder brother who travels through is hard to do

Xu Bei asked Lao Qiu while thinking about what to buy and went back: "Old Qiu, you have also earned money, and you are here again at the feet of the emperor. Have you decided what to bring back for your sister-in-law and two nephews?"

Lao Qiu squinted and despised him: "I will hand in all the money when I go back. It will be the happiest thing for your sister-in-law. As for the two brats, it's fine if I don't give them a big meal. I still want to reach out and talk to you." I want something? You kid is full of fancy ideas, so you can figure out what to buy for Min Qing.” He could see through Xu Bei, he didn’t care about his sister-in-law and nephew, he clearly used them as an excuse to ask for ideas. .

Xu Bei was angry: "Whether you want to buy gifts or not depends on how you feel about your sister-in-law and two nephews when you go back, Lao Qiu. You have traveled so far, and my sister-in-law and nephew don't know how to worry when they are at home. , I really feel sorry for my two nephews."

Lao Qiu was amused by his nonsense, walked towards the inn with his hands behind his back, shaking his head, and said, "You don't understand now, raising a son is different from raising a younger brother, so don't ask me for advice." , The reason is not the same for different generations, if my son and your nephew dare to have the slightest opinion, see if I don't break their legs."

When Xu Bei quarreled with Lao Qiu, it was rare for Xu Bei to lose, but this time he was pulled back by Lao Qiu, and he stood there speechless looking at the sky.

He understood what Lao Qiu meant. It was also due to the different national conditions. What is emphasized here is a strict father and a filial son. In other words, younger brothers can be spoiled, but sons can be beaten and scolded at every turn. Lao Qiu is also such an adhering to death, don't know if there is a loving father?

Forget it, don't care about this dead-brained ancient, this generation gap is too deep, there is no way to calculate it.

As soon as he stepped into the inn, he saw a group of people talking together in the lobby. Lao Qiu walked quickly, listened to a few more words, waved to Xu Bei, and told him what was going on inside: "This is the same as us. Merchants who came to the capital from outside were engaged in medicinal materials and tea business, but they brought an urgent letter from home, saying that something happened to the old man in the family, and they wanted to sell the medicinal materials and tea in their hands as soon as possible, even if the price was lowered. "

Lao Qiu said while looking at Xu Bei, didn't Xu Bei say that he would bring the goods back?Whether it's medicinal materials or tea, they are all in short supply in the Northland. If you find cheap ones, this trip will definitely be very profitable.Satisfied, Lao Qiu took a trip with Xu Bei. He had gained a lot of knowledge and knew how to buy low and sell high. In the past, he only knew how to farm and kill barbarian soldiers.

Xu Bei looked at the sky again speechless. No, he could only see the wooden ceiling. Lao Qiu is indeed admirable in his field of expertise, but when it comes to doing business, he lacks that string. Cheap goods are not so easy to pick up. , especially the medicinal material business, he never thought of getting involved, wild ginseng and ganoderma lucidum are not easy to cause problems, but other medicinal materials are different, neither he nor Lao Qiu can identify materials and distinguish medicines, people are deceived out of nothing Returning to the capital is very possible.

Shaking his head towards Lao Qiu, he just stood aside and watched, anyway, he didn't want to interfere.

Lao Qiu scratched his face, could it be that he wanted to go wrong?They had no choice but to stand with Xu Bei.

Surrounded by the crowd was a young man, followed by a young and beautiful woman dressed as a woman, wearing plain clothes, with a thin layer of powder on her face, tears hanging from the corners of her eyes, looking extremely weak , making people feel pity.

The woman was weeping and crying very sadly, and the man also had a pained expression on his face. He cupped his fists and said to the gathered people: "Brothers and uncles, I and my wife came from the south of the Yangtze River and planned to go to the north, but there was a letter from home. Had an emergency and fell into a coma, my wife and I were so worried that we didn't dare to delay for a moment, so we had to reluctantly sell this batch of high-quality goods at a low price, so that we could go back as soon as possible. Standing up, she covered her face with her sleeves and wiped her tears. The woman was sobbing so hard that she had to rely on the support of the servants around her to hold on.

"Everyone, my young master and grandma had no choice but to make such a bad decision, but our products are of the highest quality. You might as well look at the products before discussing." The servants brought medicinal herbs and tea with them, and opened them for the onlookers to inspect.

"This medicinal material is indeed processed properly and is of high quality. This tea should be picked this autumn. Although it is not spring tea, it is rare because it is fresh, and it can get a good price if it is transported to the north. If there are merchants from the north , I can really pick up this bargain and go back."

"It's always inconvenient when you are away from home. Don't be too sad. Hurry up and dispose of the goods and go back to see the old man."

……

There was a lot of chatter, the hall was filled with various voices, some people shook their heads and sighed, some showed hesitation and could not make up their minds, and some persuaded from the sidelines, Xu Bei looked around and pulled Lao Qiu out, and some Like him, they didn't want to get involved, they glanced at each other and clasped their fists to signal to turn around and leave.

After leaving the lobby, Lao Qiu grabbed Xu Bei and said in surprise: "Could it be that the couple is lying? There is something wrong with that guy?"

"The goods displayed in the lobby are probably fine, but who knows if there are any problems with the rest, besides, which of the two of us knows medicinal materials?" Xu Bei laughed.

Lao Qiu shook his head hastily, and said hesitantly, "However, there is always a shortage of doctors and medicines at the border."

Xu Bei patted him on the shoulder comfortingly and said, "It's not something the two of us can solve. You think this..." Xu Bei raised four fingers to signal, "I don't know? That's all there is to it." How can it be so easy to solve? If the situation is harmonious, the government is harmonious, and the transportation between the north and the south is smooth, it will be easier. But the current situation is delicate, and the personal strength is weak. It depends on whether the fourth son can win more benefits from the court. .

Lao Qiu nodded lazily, admitting that what Xu Bei said made sense.

To be honest, Xu Bei felt that the couple's performance was a bit too much. There is a saying that it is too much to go too far. If you do it too much, you have to make people suspect that there is something tricky in it. Anyway, he made up his mind to just be a spectator. Not involved in the medicine business.

Besides, in his opinion, even if the medicinal materials are really good, it may not be easy to go to the north. On the way to the capital, he can feel that it is easier to go from the north to the south, but the search from the south to the north is extremely strict. , Those passing merchants are especially the key targets of interrogation. Among them, it is very likely that the imperial court is stuck with various materials from the north. How dare ordinary people deal with such sensitive goods as medicinal materials?

Besides, medicinal materials and tea leaves are prone to problems in storage, and if you are not careful, they will easily get damp, moldy and deteriorate.

After another two days, Xu Bei and Lao Qiu went to many places, and successively exchanged the money in their hands for goods and sent them back to the inn.

As for the couple that day, they never saw each other again, but Lao Qiu secretly kept an eye on their movements, wanting to see if they were liars.

On that day, someone did not know whether it was out of sympathy or because the goods were really good and profitable, so they took the goods from the couple. The couple left the inn overnight with their servants, and no one came to ask for trouble in the past two days. , Could it be that he and Xu Bei are just being overwhelmed?

On this day, Xu Bei and Lao Qiu negotiated a deal with someone to trade a batch of drinks. Food shortages and the weather in the north is getting colder. Drinks must be in short supply than before. People with free money.They didn't send this batch of drinks to the inn, but went to pick them up in person, and put them into the space halfway, so they didn't catch the eyes of others.

Speaking of wine, like the salt industry, the supervision above is relatively strict, and it is more eye-catching to send it to the inn.

Finally spent all the money in his hand again, Xu Bei felt relaxed, and he didn't feel that it was the hard work of the past few days, so he said to Lao Qiu: "I thought about it, I'd better buy some books for Min Qing and go back. In the world of literati, the books in the bookstore are also the most complete, Min Qing likes to read, and he will definitely like it when he buys it back."

"Then do you know what books Minqing needs?" Lao Qiu looked at Xu Bei suspiciously.

"This..." Xu Bei scratched his head, "Go to the bookstore and ask the people inside, you should know, don't worry, go and have a look first."

Anyway, Lao Qiu expressed his distrust. He felt that with the appearance of the two of them, he might be kicked out of the bookstore before they could even get in.Forget it, let's take a walk with him, and you will know what is good or bad after learning a lesson.

Xu Bei didn't know what was going on in Lao Qiu's mind, so he walked excitedly to a bookstore he had inquired about, but the scene in Lao Qiu's imagination did not appear, but the luck of the two of them was bad enough, and they ran into trouble again.

The last time when I met a scholar in a teahouse, I was furious and lashed out at Mr. Fu, but was taken away by the yamen. I don’t know what happened. This time, many students gathered at the gate of the bookstore, and their emotions became even more agitated. With the clean reputation of the Jiang family, he severely punished the thief Fu who manipulated the government and framed Zhongliang.

"Why did we get into trouble again? Isn't our luck too bad, we can encounter troubles wherever we go." Xu Bei looked at the traffic in front of him and said depressedly. He just wanted to buy a few books for Min Qing Hearing about the incident between the Jiang family and Taishi Fu, he not only complained about Taishi Fu, but even the Jiang family was angered by him. He didn't know whether the Jiang family and the Grand Master Jiang were wronged or not, but why did he always block it? His way.

"It seems that the situation is becoming more and more uneven. There must be someone behind it." Lao Qiu said in a low voice.

"Do you think it will be with this..." Xu Bei raised four fingers again, "It has something to do with it?" In his opinion, the fourth son is very smart. First disturb the court, so that they are too busy to deal with the north side.

"Impossible, that..." Lao Qiu followed Xu Bei's words, "You should recuperate in another hospital. Didn't Doctor Lin come with you? Besides, the third son of the mansion is negotiating outside."

Lao Qiu used to think that the third son in the palace was a good one, but since he knew the rumors about the Beidi and the behavior of the third son, he also knew that the third son did not respect the eldest son and love the fourth son as much as the rumors outside. When talking about the Dingbei Prince's Mansion, it was all about the third son. The fourth son was only mentioned occasionally, and it was an extremely bad rumor. If they didn't know that Miracle Doctor Lin was with him and knew the diagnosis result of Miracle Doctor Lin, they would have thought that The Fourth Young Master's illness really got worse and he didn't have much time to live.

Xu Bei rubbed his chin to express his doubts. He felt that the Fourth Young Master, no matter how poor his health, was capable of messing up the court.

But this time Xu Bei really thinks highly of the Fourth Young Master. If the Fourth Young Master knew what Xu Bei was thinking, he would probably laugh out loud. No way, how can he manipulate these self-important students, and it is very easy to be caught, so he will not take action for such an obvious matter.

"The king of Qi is here! Look, it is Mr. Wang, the number one scholar in the current division, who persuaded the king of Qi to come and uphold justice for us!"

"King Qi, Lord Wang, Chi Heng was captured by Thief Fu and died in prison for no reason. We want to defend Chi Heng!"

"Chi Heng is my fellow countryman. He was framed to death by Fu Thief just because he spoke a word of justice for Jiang Dashi. Fu Thief is trying to cover the sky with one hand!"

……

Seeing a majestic man with a moustache in a python suit appearing under the protection of two rows of guards, Xu Bei and Lao Qiu couldn't wait to step faster and leave the place of right and wrong quickly, and wait until they are far away. When the voice from the side could still reach his ears, Xu Bei wiped off his sweat and said, "I heard that Chi Heng who died in prison they mentioned, could it be the scholar who was taken away in the teahouse that day?"

"It's very possible that even King Qi has come out, I'm afraid it really has nothing to do with the Fourth Young Master," Lao Qiu whispered, "This is King Qi wanting to deal with Grand Master Fu."

Xu Bei is also greedy. To buy books in a bookstore, of course he must go to the largest bookstore in central Beijing. When encountering matters related to Min Qing, his mind will easily fall into a short board. I went into another bookstore and was recommended by Xiaoer and assured me again and again. I bought more than a dozen books before leaving.

Fortunately, after returning to the inn, someone finally found it. The two immediately packed their bags and followed the visitor to the suburbs of Beijing. When they settled the rent with the shopkeeper, they ran into another group of noisy people, and the two of them didn't listen. It's too clear, but the shopkeeper casually mentioned a sentence: "It's not because you have blind eyes and mistrusted people. I really thought that there are such good things in the world. In the end, it's not because I was deceived by others. That day I saw that the couple was not a good thing." Husband and wife? That woman doesn't look like she came from a decent family."

It was only after they left the inn that they figured out the meaning of the innkeeper's words. Looking back now, when the couple asked for help in the lobby that day, the innkeeper really just stood at the counter and watched silently. It took two days for someone to be fooled by such a scam, and it took two days to find out that something was wrong, but when they came to this inn again to look for someone, the couple had long since disappeared.

The two of them went out of the city in a carriage. In the carriage, Lao Qiu wiped his sweat and said, "I didn't expect that we were really liars. Fortunately, we were not fooled. You are still right, boy Bei. Some businesses are not so easy to intervene." There is something wrong with the tea leaves, it's no wonder that the two of them, who know nothing about it, can tell.

"Okay, don't worry, our money will only increase and not decrease." Xu Bei comforted.

Lao Qiu gritted his teeth again: "Those two liars are really not good people, they even dare to cheat on the medicinal materials, if the medicinal materials with problems are really used by others... Next time, let me meet those two." Liars, they must be killed." He thought that if the soldiers at the border came into contact with these medicinal materials, how many lives would be delayed, and such people must not be spared lightly.

Xu Bei could only pat him on the shoulder to comfort him. In ancient and modern China and abroad, there are many crazy things about money. It’s just that the information circulation in ancient times was not convenient, so some things were not known to people. Look at those things in modern times, water-injected pork Clenbuterol is a trivial matter, but eating those poisonous rice as fake medicinal materials will kill people. Xu Bei, who has been bombarded by modern information, has a much stronger psychological endurance than Lao Qiu.

After driving for half a day, the carriage drove into a Zhuangzi at a certain location, and after only staying for an hour, the carriage quietly drove out of the Zhuangzi again, without attracting anyone's attention, and it would never have occurred to anyone that in just such a short time, the Zhuangzi's storage The food piled up in several warehouses disappeared strangely out of thin air.

Xu Bei and Lao Qiu had already embarked on the road to the north, completely leaving the chaotic waters of the capital behind.Xu Bei was fine, but Lao Qiu couldn't control the corners of his mouth from curling up. He couldn't help but be happy when he thought that so much food would be transported to the border smoothly, making it impossible for the court to settle the Northern Palace.

"Ha ha……"

"Old Qiu, you better stop laughing, it's creepy." Xu Bei moved to the side, and wrapped his cotton clothes tighter. There was nothing he could do, it was getting colder and colder.

Lao Qiu graciously brought the hot soup just out of the pot. In his eyes, Xu Bei was a great hero, so he must serve him.

&&&

Two days later, the steward of Wan's family rushed to the outer study room, the astonishment on his face couldn't be concealed. Even though he had experienced a lot of wind and rain, this incident still made his heart pounding in shock.

"Master, the granary is empty!" the steward finished speaking while swallowing his saliva.

With a "bang", the teacup in Wan Guangbai's hand fell to the ground, the tiles splashed, and he dared not answer: "What did you say? Say it again!"

"Master, the granary is empty, it's really empty, there's not even a single grain left!" The man ran so fast that his brow was sweating in such a cold day.

Only then did Wan Guangbai make sure that there was nothing wrong with his ears, he got up hastily and said, "Quickly, call Jiu'er over and go right away."

"Yes, sir."

When Wan Qiushi rushed over, Wan Guangbai had calmed down on the surface, but as his son, Wan Qiushi could still see that his father's mood fluctuated greatly, and asked while saluting: "Father, what happened?" ?”

There was a teacup at hand again, which was filled with boiling hot tea. Wan Guangbai wanted to pick up the teacup to drink water to moisten his throat, but found that his hands were still trembling, so he couldn't help giving up with a wry smile, and said, "Jiuer, Weifu just wanted to tell you that the grain in Zhuangzi has disappeared, and our people have not noticed any traces of grain delivery."

Wan Qiu really smiled, the news that he had been waiting for for a long time was finally confirmed, the Fourth Young Master was really good at it, and said: "Father should be happy, we don't notice that the people in the court will certainly not find anything."

"Yeah, you should be happy as a father," Wan Guangbai was only concerned with astonishment before, but now he came back to his senses after Jiu'er said, "For our Wanjia, the fourth son is more powerful than Wanjia. The safer it is." As for how the fourth son quietly took away the food from under the noses of those people, it doesn't seem so important, and it's not for the Wan family to intervene to find out. Be confused.

"Father, it will be their turn to have a headache after a while," Wan Qiu pointed to the sky with his hand, pointing at those pretentious nobles, thinking that he also got involved and slapped them hard Slap, let them stumble, Wan Qiushi couldn't help being happy, and took the opportunity to say, "Father, shouldn't the medicine from the southern border be sent to hurry up? The fourth son's body is still waiting for those It's medicine."

Seeing Jiu'er's impatient expression, Wan Guangbai twitched the corners of his mouth, how could he feel that the son he raised had more confidence and filial piety towards that fourth son than his father.

His old son is too easy to trust others. He used to treat King Chen, but now he is the fourth young master Xiao. Send people to bring the medicine quickly."

"Thank you father, it's a pity, since the fourth son is in the capital, it's inconvenient for me to visit." Wan Qiushi didn't know what his father was thinking, and sighed regretfully.

Wan Guangbai glared when he heard this: "Get lost!"

Wan Qiushi looked at his father inexplicably, forget it, don't make his father angry, turned around and left with a smile, after rebirth, he decided to be a good son, and don't make his father angry.

Leaving the outer study room, Wan Qiushi patted his forehead again, forgot to tell his father one thing, that is, someone outside used the banner of the Jiang family to deal with Grand Master Fu, forget it, anyway, without him, his father and the Wan family He wouldn't mix it in. In his previous life, he was one of the people who had been stirred up, thinking that he was very righteous, but he didn't know that these scholars who thought they were upright and awe-inspiring were just pawns used by others.

&&&

Dingbei Prince's Mansion in Beijing.

The third young master walked towards the inner courtyard with a look of color on his face. Thinking of Xiao Qian who lives in the inner courtyard now, contempt flashed in his eyes, but a dying person is trapped in the inner courtyard like a woman all day long, such a person The father would treat him like a treasure, but in the end he would just watch him die in the inner courtyard.

Because there are no female relatives in the other courtyards of the Wangfu, the third young master drove straight in without anyone stopping him, and he stopped in front of the courtyard where the fourth young master settled down. The fourth brother was freed from the pain.

Yes, the fourth brother should be grateful to him for being a good third brother. The longer he lives, the more days of torture for the fourth brother. As the third brother, he really can't bear to see his brother suffer.

"Third Young Master, Fourth Young Master has just taken the medicine and rested." Zhu Kangcheng politely stopped the visitor, not letting him in to disturb the young master's interest.

"I also know that I shouldn't disturb the fourth brother. It's just that I received a letter from my father. Some people couldn't hold back and urged my father to pay for food. I'm worried that if we delay, those people will unite and harm my father." The third son Frowning slightly, he said worryingly, he was very familiar with the two people next to his fourth brother, one civil and one military, and it was not that he had tried to win him over, but these two were very loyal to his fourth brother.

He couldn't figure out what the future would be for his fourth brother who didn't know how long he would live. Lu Yunzhi was nothing but abandoned by the Lu family, but the rest of the Lu family had already moved closer to him secretly. But this Zhu Kangcheng is different, his grandfather was a powerful general beside the old King Dingbei, and his father is now also a person who can be used by his father.

The person in front of him is a soft-hearted man, but he can't use his status to threaten him.

Zhu Kangcheng heard the intention of the third son and immediately scolded him: "It's that bastard surnamed Ma. I'm not afraid that one day I will be full."

The third young master rubbed his brows, as if he had nothing to do with Zhu Kangcheng who was full of foul words, he handed over the letter in his hand and said: "When the fourth brother wakes up, the situation at the border is tense, and we need to take the initiative to negotiate with the court immediately. We really can't delay, otherwise, once the foreign race invades, the father and the king will suffer from the enemy, and the court will benefit." In other words, if you can retreat, let's retreat for the time being, let's get over the immediate difficulties first, otherwise the Xiao family will not even be able to keep their current position.

Zhu Kangcheng snorted coldly, took the letter, and said, "I will explain to you when you wake up."

"Thank you." The third young master thanked him politely, turned and left.

Zhu Kangcheng looked at his back with a look of disdain, and then wiped his face to hide the disdain deeply, even though he wished he could cut this man into ten or eight pieces immediately.What are they? Fortunately, the young master's health is getting better and better. When the young master frees up his hands, he will clean up these unstable things.

Passing through the corridor, Zhu Kangcheng came to the inner room, but the fourth young master he was talking about was leaning on the soft couch, holding a book, with an extremely peaceful expression.Lu Yunzhi was sitting on the other side playing chess, no one was bothered by the movement outside.

"My son, the third son just brought it."

Fourth Young Master put down the scroll, took the letter but didn't open it, and threw it aside, he couldn't be more clear about what was written in it.

Xu Bei and Lao Qiu had already left the capital, and he also got the news early in the morning, and the pressure all over his body suddenly felt relieved a lot.

Thinking of Mr. Ma who was jumping up and down and the gangster's lair in Mangshan, he said with a smile: "Father said that elder brother has been a little irritable recently, why don't you tell father to let elder brother go to the bandit's lair in Mangshan?" Have a look here, isn't Zongbing Ma complaining about the lack of food?"

"Young Master?" Zhu Kangcheng's eyes lit up. Yes, there is a severe shortage of food in the north, but no matter how short it is, it can't be short of Ma Zongbing, the court's confidant. There must be a lot of food hidden in the private soldier's place, "Young master, I will write to the prince immediately, the prince must be very happy with such an arrangement."

Lu Yunzhi also pursed his lips and smiled.

Zhu Kangcheng turned around and left excitedly.