Return to the rumor

It's summer.

A mule cart slowly stopped in front of Prince Yu's Mansion. The driver of the cart was a bearded man, travel-stained, and his cheeks were red from the sun.

He jumped off the wooden board with his bare arms, his legs and feet were big, and he jumped up the steps in a few steps, and shouted to the guard who stopped him: "Hurry up, let your stewards come out and check the tea cakes. I can go back and deal with business!"

The guards didn't pay much attention to him at first when he was dressed as a laborer. Even though he was no more than a guard at the gate of the palace, he still expected to use his shawl and armor to show off in front of him.Frightened by his appearance at this moment, he had a bit of a domineering temper, frowned and whispered to the other guards, and then stepped into the gate to find the supervisor.

Not long after, Wang An, the manager of the tea and wine department, walked out of the house slowly with his wide sleeves shaking, and asked slowly, "What tea cakes? Where did you pay the tribute? Why haven't I seen this transaction in the ledger?"

Without further ado, the man took out the receipt from his pocket, and handed it to Wang An: "I'm very thirsty! I don't have time to talk to you, see for yourself!"

Wang An unfolded the receipts that had been stained with sweat and some ink stains. He had been in charge of the tea and wine department of Prince Yu's Mansion for many years. He stopped and asked: "The receipt said in black and white that the tea cake should have arrived in Beijing the day before yesterday, but you delayed until today?"

The man's face turned pale, he spat on the ground, and said angrily, "You take me for granted? Our Weiyuan Escort Bureau is famous, even if it's the turn of the snowstorm, we will deliver it at the appointed time. How can we ever break our promise?" From Yunzhou to Beijing, you can take the water route along the Lancang River, and then take the land route, no matter what, you can only arrive early. Who would have thought that the whole box of tea cakes was loaded on the ship, and after three water stations, they were sent by officials Stop it, no more waterways, no amount of money to clear it!”

Wang An casually asked, "Why?"

"Why else? The emperor wants to build a garden, and large pieces of Taihu Lake stones have to be transported from the south. The waterways in the south are criss-crossed, which is more convenient and labor-saving than land routes. They all rely on boats to carry them to Beijing. The block is so big and heavy that I don’t know how many bridges have been demolished, and the roads for people to walk on can be demolished, not to mention the private boats that smuggle goods in parallel to block the road!” The weather was hot and the long journey was long, and the man suffered a lot. , Once the chatterbox is opened, it doesn't matter how important it is, not to mention picking someone who can eloquently, even if you encounter a barking dog, you will be too angry to give up.

The man is a rough man, which doesn't mean that Wang An is also ignorant, and he interrupted with a smile when he heard it almost: "The hard work pays off, the hard work pays off! So, follow me in and find a resting place to drink some water to quench your thirst , I will show the receipt and the tea cake to my princess, if the matter passes through her, there will be a conclusion from her." Since the delay was due to His Majesty's liking, even if he, Wang An, wanted to blackmail , save a few taels of silver, but also have to feel whether the head on his neck is firm or not.

Immediately, two swift guards were ordered to drive the mule cart to carry the tea cakes into the mansion from the side door.

There was a thick stack of ledgers on the table, Rou Ke picked up a pen to sketch, and made plans lightly, her brows were furrowed, unable to relax.

The father and the king blindly entertain themselves with poetry and books, and the mother and concubine passed away three years ago. Rou Ke is in charge of the house's internal affairs.Previously, he left Beijing to keep his filial piety, and handed over the matter of restricting the expenditure of the son and the king's money to the chief steward. At that time, he did not hope that he could persuade his two younger brothers who were useless and spendthrift, but after all, he never thought about it. The deficit is so severe, I am afraid that only the shops under the name of the palace will make more money this year, and the gap between the wheat ears in the farm can barely make up for it.

Rubbing his swollen eyebrows, he put down his pen and was thinking about going out to move around to stretch his muscles and bones, so Wang An hurriedly knocked on the door to inquire.

Rou Ke took a look at the receipt, and then remembered the matter she casually mentioned in Biyun Temple to find out the truth of Qingtang's speech.

Take a look at the two big wooden boxes in the yard, they must weigh about ten catties, when opened, the tea smells fragrant, they must be the best goods.

Tang Ci, the stunned young man, not only promised but also made such a big deal.

Although so far, she and Tangci have only met each other in a hurry three times, the last impression of Tangci on her is quite... It's hard to describe in words.But she always felt that she and Tang Ci seemed to have known each other for many years, and they hadn't talked in depth, but there was always a voice in her heart urging and calling her, wanting to get close to her, understand her, and make friends with her.

"Well, I asked a friend to buy this tea cake from Yunzhou. Although it is not as good as the Longfeng cake of Jianning tribute tea, I think my father who is keen on Pu'er should like it. You can take a few and try it with his old man. The eldest son and the county king will each give one catty, and the rest will be stored in a cool and dry place." Rou Ke remembered the man from the Weiyuan Escort Bureau mentioned in Wang An's words, "according to the Escort Bureau's compensation for missing work. Give him a reward for the share, and it’s hot, give him a bowl of sour plum juice.”

No matter how short of funds there is in the palace, it has to be pretended on the surface, so that outsiders can't read the joke and spread it out to offend people.It's really not easy for this man to beg for food on a hot day, and it should be so due to emotion and reason.

Wang An grinningly nodded and said yes, and bowed to leave.

Suddenly, I saw Qiaoqing trotting over, and said nervously: "Princess, the young master of Biyun Temple wrote to say that Master Jingci's old illness has relapsed. After two days of hiding it, it became more and more serious. Chunhua My aunt was sobbing and asked the little master to help deliver a letter."

Rou Ke's eyes darkened a bit, she didn't have time to think, and said as she walked: "Prepare the horse, I'll go first, and you take the medical officer in the carriage to adjourn. If the medical officer who used to give my aunt's pulse has gone to the palace to see a doctor, you Pick one at will, but be sure to explain the symptoms to him in detail on the way, and bring all the medicinal materials with you."

Qiao Qing was originally a smart person, and he also knew the importance of being quiet and kind to Rou Ke, so he didn't have to take a breather and rest when he got the order, and went to do things according to the order.

East Palace.

"Your Highness, I have ordered the guards in the prison according to your instructions. If you want to execute the execution, your lord will not starve and suffer from cold again." Wang Honghou, the deputy lieutenant of the infantry, had a beard and was very majestic and heroic.

The prince grabbed a handful of jade chess pieces and threw them on the chessboard without raising his head: "This is the second thing. He is going to be executed in prison. As a husband and father, his wife and children are most concerned about him."

Wang Honghou has been working under the Prince's command for a long time, and this master is not a moody and unpredictable person, so he is already familiar with his temperament, and said with a smile: "Your Highness is kind, how can I not know the reason? Before that, I rented a relatively spacious and clean house in Beijing on my own initiative, for Mrs. Xing and Young Master Xing to live in, and invited a famous teacher to teach Young Master Xing homework, I hope His Highness will not blame you."

Hearing this, the prince raised his eyes and slightly curled the corners of his lips: "This is a good thing, what can you blame?"

Wang Honghou saw that he was still looking downcast, and knew that he must have been suppressed by the King of Lu recently, so he was unhappy, so he boldly said: "I went to pick up Mr. Xing that day, and I happened to meet a recently famous man. Mr. Quwang, judging from his posture, he seems to believe that Mr. Xing has been wronged."

Since Xing Kangping's accident, most of his former friends in court and China have avoided him, but there are still people who dare to violate the holy will?

The prince became interested, raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Who?"

Wang Honghou concealed the joy of conjectures on his face, and replied: "The Xinke Tanhua who was judged to fail three years ago because he wrote Liu Feng style in the examination paper, is currently compiling the Tangci of the Imperial Academy."

The interest suddenly dropped a lot, and it turned into a faint cloud of sadness on the crown prince's brow, and he murmured to himself after a long while: "Tang Ci... let's see it again."

Outsiders who can't see the way clearly say that Tang Ci's offside Ren Liupin's compilation is the favor of the Holy Grace, but it is not the case.Emperor Chunyou, who was still the king of Qi, invaded the imperial capital and forced his own brother to death. He slaughtered many clans and close officials of the old emperor. Shangshu Qin Yan was imprisoned in prison, and provided with food and drink.Later, Qin Yan figured it out somehow, and wrote a ten-thousand-character letter of apology, kneeling down to submit to the new emperor of the Jin Dynasty who was known as Chunyou in the next year. The emperor was overjoyed, and immediately pardoned Qin Yan and returned to his original post.

Unexpectedly, Qin Yan's temperament changed drastically after he was released from prison. Not only did he not care much about the government and state affairs, but he often pretended to be sick and did not go to court. As a result, the rift between the monarch and his ministers deepened.

Unfortunately, in the spring of this year, there was a Tang Ci at the Qionglin Banquet, and he was Qin Yan's only protégé. Emperor Chunyou clearly wanted to make an exception for Qin Yan's face, but secretly wanted to test Qin Yan with the Tang Ci written in the late emperor's style. What kind of thoughts do you hold, whether you have two hearts.

A stable in the horse market.

The old man was wearing a big sun hat and hiding under the canopy to enjoy the shade. There were a few dilapidated books and books in front of his black cloth shoes. He was writing and drawing on the ground with a branch, chanting words.

After a long while, he patted his knees and sighed: "I just figured out that this amount is not right! Brother Hu Tang in Tianshui Lane has not paid off the first few loans on horse credit!" He nodded, and then calculated again, "I owe It's been several months, and if I dare to borrow a horse next time, I must force her to marry my daughter!"

With a sound of "ding--", a few pieces of silver fell into the empty bowl in front of him for drinking water to quench his thirst, and under the reflection of the sun, it shone with joyful light.

Hearing the sound of horses neighing and stamping on the ground again, the old man turned his head and looked, feeling strange—whatever he wanted.

Tang Ci led a tall and thin black horse out, stepped quickly, skipped the old man, and easily rode on the horse while holding the saddle.

Pulling the reins to turn the horse's head, and swiping the whip, the old man who was still thinking of stopping her to chat with her got ashes on the nose.

Squinting his cloudy eyes and ordering some silver, the old man raised his head again to look in the direction where Tang Ci was going away, and giggled: "This little brother is really interesting, whoever the wandering kid next to him doesn't want to go into the kiln with a car and a horse, she is fine." , running towards the suburbs all day long." The black horse that Tang Ci used to ride, every time he came back, the dirt on the horse's hoofs could be seen from the wilderness.

The reason is that Tang Ci came in a hurry and left in time. The old man saw that Qian's eyes were wide open, but he didn't see that she came in an official uniform today, otherwise he would regret chewing his tongue later.