An Lingrong's Rebirth: The Lock of Qingqiu

Lin Xiu pouted and said to the portrait hanging on the wall: "Look, I bought this portrait from outside for one tael of silver each. Does it look good?"

An Lingrong took a closer look, wasn't it him and the emperor? Why, it was hung on the wall of his home, making him a star?

An Ling said dullly: "Mother, where did this come from? The painting looks so similar!"

Lin Xiu said seriously: "I bought it from an old fortune teller after get off work one day. He was walking around with the portrait in his hand and calling him. This portrait is really selling well. No, your father is already idle and has nothing to do. He said This is a good way to make money. I turned around and found someone to draw dozens of portraits of you and the emperor, enough for a basketful. At the moment, I was squatting in the lively market hawking. Yesterday I sold two More than a dozen pieces, one tael of silver each, sold for more than 40 taels of silver in the past two days. It was really easy to save. It was a year's worth of silver when he was the county magistrate in Songyang County. Yesterday he came back I couldn’t even close my mouth with laughter.”

When An Lingrong heard this, he said nothing and took Qin Sanyue to the market. There were people coming and going in the market. Looking from a distance, he could only see An Bihuai's semi-convex forehead, which was hidden by the crowd. Surrounded by the outer three floors, the baskets in front of him were all full of portraits of the same size in different poses. They were held in the hands of the people, passing them around to look at them, and they praised them while looking at them.

An Lingrong was hiding in the dark and did not dare to show up. If she showed up at this time, if someone recognized her, she would be in trouble.

Qin Sanyue stepped forward and just winked at An Bihuai, telling him that An Lingrong was back and he could no longer sell portraits in the market.

An Bihuai also knew what he was interested in, so he quickly collected his things and ran all the way to An Lingrong. However, the people wanted to spend more money to buy goods. An Bihuai walked in front, and the people behind him followed him for a long way. An Bihuai was helpless. , and secretly asked Qin Sanyue to cut off the queen. Qin Sanyue was too embarrassed to draw his sword against the innocent people, so he could only hold the sword coldly and block in front of hundreds of people, asking them to go back early and come back tomorrow. After persuading them for a long time, the crowd Only then could he disperse with curses.

As soon as he returned to Xiuzhuang, An Lingrong awkwardly persuaded An Bihuai: "Father, are you short of money? It doesn't matter if you take your daughter's portrait to the market to sell it, but there is a portrait of the emperor on it. How embarrassing would it be if someone in the palace saw it?"

An Bihuai said proudly: "The emperor is far away in the palace. He will not care about this matter. Besides, everyone likes it!"

An Lingrong stuffed a bag full of gold leaves into An Bihuai's arms, and then ordered Qin Sanyue to collect all the portraits and destroy them together, and ordered An Bihuai not to go to the market to sell portraits anymore, which was harmful. How shameless she is! She is no longer that mediocre little showgirl, she is now a noble concubine who is inferior to one person in the palace and superior to ten thousand people! "

An Bihuai was scolded by An Lingrong and had no choice but to put away his little idea of ​​making a fortune. He secretly regretted that he had lost such a good opportunity to make a fortune!

During the meal, An Bihuai said mysteriously: "Daughter, do you know who lives in the house not far to the east?"

An Lingrong asked in a depressed tone, "Who is that person? Has father seen him?"

An Bihuai said seriously: "How come I haven't seen him before? This person even came to your mother's embroidery shop to buy something! He is so generous. This person's name is Li Nanshi. I heard that Longkodo bought one when he was still alive. The golden house of the house hides the beauty. Now that Longkodo is gone, this house has fallen into the hands of Li Nanshi. What a wonderful house. This Longkodo really stole a lot of money from the treasury. Such a house, once Just spend money on it and give it away!"

An Lingrong was surprised. Isn't this Li Nanshi the girl Qi Guiren sent to the emperor in the palace to seduce him? An Lingrong heard the emperor say that the emperor had only met Li Nanshi once, and he learned that it was Qi. The person who sent the nobleman to the palace was so angry that he sent Li Nanshi to Longkodo's house on the spot. Unexpectedly, Longkodo valued Li Nanshi so much and even bought a big house as a gift to her.

But if the Queen Mother knew about it, she would definitely not let it go.

An Lingrong recalled that when he was looking at a courtyard in Beijing, the person who introduced him at the time said: "There is another courtyard nearby, also facing north and south. This one is the most expensive. No one has lived in this courtyard since it was built. I heard that It was built by a relative of a powerful person in the court. I heard that his family had so many courtyards that they couldn't even live in them. There were several buildings in the east and west districts of the suburbs of Beijing, but the person who recommended them didn't say which powerful family's house they belonged to. The origin of the house is unknown.”

An Lingrong wondered at that time who had such great economic power. He did not expect that this was Longkodo's house, which was a big advantage for Li Nanshi.

According to the investigation, the yard seller also said that in the east and west districts of Beijing suburbs, among the high-walled compounds that arouse awe and curiosity, some of them are far more eye-catching than other luxury houses. These houses have no names. , there is no plaque, it is just mysteriously called the home of the powerful. How many unknown secrets do seemingly similar buildings hide? Behind them are countless security guards, tight surveillance and towering walls. But even with these blessings, these houses still attract everyone's attention. Perhaps it's because the owners of these houses are always so mysterious. No one knows their true identity, and no one dares to inquire.

Moreover, these houses are built as magnificently as mansions, making people want to pry into who the owners behind them are. They must be people in high positions, with unlimited wealth and mysterious power.

Every time An Lingrong passed these houses, he had a feeling that there seemed to be many unknown undercurrents in this bustling and prosperous capital. These mansions have gradually become a strange symbol, symbolizing the unknown power that the people at the bottom can never touch.

An Lingrong went to see the old teacher with the gift. The teacher was in his late seventies, thin and had wrinkles on his forehead, but he still had an aura of majesty between his brows.

The old gentleman welcomed An Lingrong into his courtyard. His two daughters were already married and rarely came home to see him. It was said that they all married well, but he did not disclose the details to An Lingrong.

In the courtyard, An Lingrong saw a snow willow tree with a few strands of snow-white catkins hanging on the tree, as if the snow had stayed on the tree, which was mesmerizing. There are several plum blossoms planted in the corner on the other side. At this moment, it is the season of plum blossoms in full bloom. The red and white flowers blooming in the corners of the wall are colorful and intoxicating.

Standing under the tree, An Lingrong could not help but think of a poem by Wang Zhihuan, a poet of the Tang Dynasty: "There are tens of thousands of vast buildings, which can shelter all the poor people in the world. Don't laugh at the farmer's wax wine, which is full of chickens and dolphins for visitors in good years."