Great Imperial Merchant

Life on the boat was easier, because the journey had to stop in various counties, so I didn't arrive in Quzhou until midsummer.

Before the southern tour, Mu Chen had said not to disturb the people, so the governor of Quzhou had no choice but to vacate his mansion and move his family into a small house.

Quzhou is the richest county in Daliang. Except for Quzhou, all other cities are very prosperous. The tax revenue is sufficient, and the repairs in the county are also diligent. Therefore, when Mu Chen and Shen Xijing arrived, they saw the brand-new bronze of the Quzhou government. Nail the gate.

Regarding this point, Mu Chen didn't say anything.

His rule was strict, but anyone who was caught cheating for personal gain, taking money and breaking the law was a serious crime of ransacking the family and exterminating the entire family.No matter how courageous the officials are, they would not dare to joke about the lives of the whole family.

The sheriff of Quzhou is a little clever man, he is stupid without studying, and he also has a business mind, he let his family do some small business in private, which can be regarded as an extra income, and life is naturally much better.

Since he said it was private, he did it incognito and did not let others know that those shops were using his name.Of course, Mu Chen was not included in this group of people.

The carriage stopped all the way in front of the Zhaixing Building. The county guard didn't have the guts to let the emperor and the emperor live in their old residence, but instead carefully reorganized the originally vacant courtyard next to it and regarded it as the temporary residence of the Holy Majesty.

Mu Chen is not a person who particularly likes to show off, and neither is Shen Xijing. On the premise of saving time and effort, as long as there is no such thing as despising the emperor's grace, everything else is acceptable.

As it is now, when the two of them got off the carriage, Mu Chen didn't let the palace servants do anything, but turned around and hugged the third prince Mu Bin.

Shen Xijing patted his son's head and helped him tie the hairband: "Bin'er, do you like it here?"

Mu Bin opened his big round eyes and looked up and down the small building full of flowers.

Quzhou is different from the imperial capital. The buildings here have the gentleness of the Jiangnan water town, but also a little tenderness. Compared with Yong'an Palace, it is much less solemn and majestic, and more rare warmth.

It was the first time for Mu Bin to be so far away from home. Hearing his father's question, he immediately replied: "Bin'er likes it."

Mu Chen smiled rarely, patted him on the back, hugged him and walked in first.

The layout inside is quite plain, and the antique furnishings are very particular, but there are not so many precious things, only the word "elegant".Mu Chen nodded secretly, and glanced back at Shen Xijing.

Shen Xijing understands, knowing that this is to remind him that the governor of Quzhou's political performance this year is probably going to be top-notch.

Shen Xijing and Mu Chen had never seen any scenes before, and had no curiosity about this temporary bedroom at all, but Mu Bin was rarely seen, so he took his father, emperor and father to accompany him upstairs and downstairs, until finally tired, Just went to lunch break.

The two majesties watched him fall asleep peacefully, and then went back to their dormitory, changed their clothes and washed, and sat down at the desk.

Jiang Xingshui at the door was rather winking. Seeing that the two of them were ready, he hurriedly sent the sealed memorial to the case, and then stood aside to serve the pen and ink himself.

Because there is a crown prince in the imperial capital who governs with Prince Kang, there are not too many memorials sent to Quzhou. The two of them personally taught the prince to grow up, and his every move is very stable.Now I have to tie my hair to my age, but I can also order civil and military officials.If he can decide on the important affairs of the country, he will not send them to trouble his father. If he can discuss with the emperor's uncle, he will directly criticize them. The emperor decides with his father.

This is not the first time he has governed in court, but it is the longest time.When I first set off from the Imperial Capital, I passed through a county for the first time. The memorials I sent were stored in two small boxes. When I arrived in Quzhou, the number of memorials sent became less and less. Now only this small stack is left. up.

Mu Chen and Shen Xijing didn't distinguish between each other, each grabbed a book and quickly read it.

It was probably because the matter was not very important, so the two of them seldom talked to each other. After simply giving their opinions with Zhu Zhu, they put them aside and waited to send them away together later.

Until Shen Xijing picked up the last one, opened it and glanced at it, then gently put it down.

Mu Chen had just finished approving the memorial in hand, and was about to ask Jiang Xingshui to put away his brush and seal, when he looked up and saw Shen Xijing with his head half down, as if he was thinking about something important.

"What?" Mu Chen raised his eyebrows, took the memorial from him, and glanced at it hastily.

However, the next moment, he also paused, and spread the memorial on the table.

The memorial was not long, only a few lines, but it was written by Prince Mu Yi himself.

Roughly speaking, the Nangong Tai servant has been seriously ill in bed recently, and his time is numbered.

After passing the sixtieth year, Nangong Taishi's health has not been very good. He lost three sons in the middle age, and he was extremely sad. Later, he went to Huang'en Temple, but he kept eating fast and reciting Buddha, and he gradually looked down on things outside of him.

Last New Year's Day, he and Shen Xijing took their children to Huang'en Temple to visit a few fathers and servants. The other old people loved their children very much. Only he sat on the side and didn't say a word from the beginning to the end.

At that time, Shen Xijing saw that his complexion was not very good, he was pale and pale, and he could tell that he was disheartened just by looking at him.

When they came back, they sent the imperial physician over there to show some of them. The imperial physician came back and said that the others were all in good health. He shook his head only when he talked about it.

Thinking of this, Shen Xijing couldn't help but sighed: "I'm afraid my father also wants to go early. Now that we are traveling far away, Da Mao must make it more perfect, and let him travel well to the end."

Mu Chen nodded, picked up a pen and wrote a few lines, and finally thought about it, then asked Shen Xijing: "This posthumous title should be Cheng Yan."

Shen Xijing thought about it, and felt that these two words were good, so he nodded in agreement.

When Mu Chen finished writing, he asked Jiang Xingshui to seal the memorial into the box in front of them, and then waved him to go down.

The elders were about to pass away, even though they were not familiar with Nangong, they still felt a little uncomfortable.

After the two of them dealt with the political affairs, they took off their coats and lay down on the bed to rest. Shen Xijing tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. Mu Chen put his arms around his waist and advised him in a deep voice: "Go to sleep quickly, don't think about it."

Shen Xijing gave a "hmm", and then asked, "Do you want to know about the imperial tomb?"

Mu Chen didn't answer right away, he paused for a long time before he said: "It's about to be his day, after that day, send someone to pass it on."

After he finished speaking, Shen Xijing also fell silent.

Those old things back then were so chaotic as if they were indissoluble fog, making people unable to see the truth clearly, but blurred to the edge.

Shen Xijing suddenly murmured: "If back then...how would it be different now?"

Mu Chen gently pressed a kiss on his ear, and then said in a deep voice, "Xi Jing, there are no ifs in life, go to sleep, those have nothing to do with us."

Yes, the old things are gone, the old people will pass away, they just need to live in the present, and that's it.

There are many famous families in Quzhou. In the first few days, Mu Chen and Shen Xijing had no time to spare and were busy with business. Mu Bin also felt a little bored after visiting the entire county guard's mansion, so he pestered Shen Xijing to take him out to play. .

Even if he is a temper tantrum, he is very measured. He only goes to play after finishing his daily homework. He will only ask his father and emperor when he asks for help. He will not sneak out with palace servants casually, nor will he be playful and unruly. .

The royal education, even if it is a little looser for him, is still so strict that it surprises outsiders.

After five days in a row, Mu Chen and Shen Xijing took a breather and finally agreed to take him to Baozhu Street in Quzhou on the sixth day.

This street has become the best commercial street in the hearts of Daliang people. The dishes here are delicious, the tea and wine here are mellow and rich, there are countless treasures of groceries, and there is also Wenhuishuge with thousands of volumes of books.

All in all, it has it all.

After a night of excitement, on the second day, His Royal Highness the Third Prince still had to finish his master's class honestly before he was led by his father to change into the clothes of a young man from a wealthy family.When he came out after changing his clothes, Mu Chen and Shen Xijing also changed into light-colored brocade robes, one light blue and the other new blue, they looked a little younger.

The two fathers who had changed their clothes were a little more gentle and kind. Mu Bin threw himself on his father's knee with his short legs, and then stretched out his hand for him to hug.

Although he is seven years old, he is not fat, and Shen Xijing can still hug him.

He was willing to be close to the child, so he bent down and picked him up, watching his son smile.

Mu Bin rolled his eyes, opened his mouth and called, "Daddy, father."

The voice was loud and clear, and there was no discomfort at all.They also called it like this in Baoren Palace or Jinliang Palace in private, but now that they are away from home, there is an extra sense of intimacy.

Mu Chen came over and kissed his rosy cheek, and said with a smile, "Our family is rich and the smartest."

Mu Bin was very happy to get his father's praise, but when he heard him calling himself rich again, he pouted: "Father, we have agreed, you can't call him that when you are not at home."

Shen Xijing held back a smile and kissed him on the other side of the face, saying: "Okay, Bin'er is the most obedient, your father will remember you when you leave the house, don't worry."

Mu Bin didn't believe it, he looked at his father seriously for a long time, and saw that his face was very sincere, and finally let go: "Well, even if you call me Saner, you can't call that...that..."

Mu Chen couldn't help it, and said lightly while walking out: "Wealth and honor."

The Sheriff's Mansion is just to the north of Quzhou City, not far from Baozhu Street. The three of them didn't take a carriage, they only brought two palace servants and a dozen or so guards, and they went out.

This time out of Beijing, Cang Nian was left in the palace, so Jiang Xingshui was the one who came out.He brought Liuyun with him in order to concentrate on taking care of the third prince.

The guards in the back are all skilled military generals. They changed into ordinary clothes and surrounded the family of three in a shape of a circle, but ordinary people didn't notice it.

Mu Chen himself has not lost his martial arts skills, and he also believes in the ability of generals, so he leisurely told his younger son all kinds of flowers, plants, birds and trees that are different from Quzhou and the imperial capital. What a teasing grievance.

When they got to Baozhu Street, even Mu Chen and Shen Xijing, who often frequented Dijing Commercial Street, couldn't help being shocked by the heavy traffic inside.

At this time, it was lunch time, but there were not many pedestrians on the street, most of them were still shopping in the shops, it could be seen that they were tourists from other places.

And the shops with different signboards also do their best to greet customers. Once you enter Baozhu Street, you can clearly feel the true meaning of the word "lively".

It is not an exaggeration to say that Quzhou is extremely prosperous.

Quzhou is prosperous, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. Visitors from other counties come here to shop and shop, which can also show that ordinary people have a surplus at home.When people are no longer running around for their livelihood, they must make their lives better in order to be different.

Mu Chen has always known that after ten years of hard work, Daliang will eventually reach the pinnacle, but this is the first time he intuitively felt what the words "Guotai Min'an" actually contained and brought to the people.

All of a sudden, the emperor who rarely shed tears couldn't help but have red eyes.

He was happy, and Shen Xijing was also happy, but this was the street, so they couldn't let them vent their emotions wantonly.

He stretched out his hand and patted Mu Chen's arm, comforting him in a low voice: "A Chen, this is a happy thing, okay, okay, if you have anything to say, tell me tonight."

Mu Chen turned to look at him, a smile gradually appeared on his face, because there were so many people, he picked up Mu Bin and led him into the lively crowd.

Today's Fumanlou is still busy.

As of this year, Fumanlou has been in Quzhou for ten years.

In the past ten years, they became imperial merchants, opened two branches in Huai'an and Wanxi, and became well-known big merchants in Quzhou.

In the past ten years, they gave birth to their second child, Han Jin'an, and they also made Fumanlou a big restaurant that everyone in the south knows.

In the past ten years, winter has passed and spring has come, summer has ended and autumn has come, so many things have happened, and it seems that no one has changed.

Just arrived in the summer, Fuman Building changed a new menu, this day is also a coincidence, Yang Zhongyuan and Cheng Weizhe are busy here in the main shop, when the emperor's family of three arrived, one of them was working in the back kitchen, the other was Entertain regular guests in the elegant room on the second floor.

The waiter at the door was clever. Seeing that they were dressed richly, he quickly stepped forward and asked: "Guest officers, it's too unfortunate that there are no vacant tables in the private room or hall today. We have to wait. How about I'm in a hurry, can I have a cup of tea to moisten my throat with my little one?"

Mu Chen and Shen Xijing looked at each other, thinking that he was here to taste the dishes of Fumanlou, he nodded and followed Xiao Er to the newly separated front room on the side of the hall.

At this time, Yang Zhongyuan just lifted the curtain of the back kitchen to call people out. In a blink of an eye, he saw Shen Xijing talking to Mu Bin with a smile, and he couldn't help being stunned.

But in a short while, he immediately ran out from the back kitchen and followed Jiang Xingshui all the way. Then he took a deep breath and tried to make his expression more natural: "Guest officer, there is a private room upstairs, why don't you go upstairs with the younger ones?" .”

Shen Xijing heard a familiar voice, and turned around to see Yang Zhongyuan's smiling face.He couldn't help but smiled, nodded and said: "The boss is so polite, then we should be respectful rather than obedient."