Clam Pearl

On the first day of October, when the northern gate of Shangjing is on time, the sound of drums is beating slowly from the Mu Drum Tower, and it enters the ears slowly, followed by the squeak of the huge door bolt being pushed and the sound of the soldiers at the city gate, and the rattling sound of pulling the mechanism valve. , when the drumbeat stopped, the four gates of Shangjing, east, west, north, south, all opened.

The crowd waiting outside the east city gate had long been impatient, but they did not dare to show their heads here and make loud noises.This is Shangjing, at the foot of the Son of Heaven, any door plaque that falls down at random is a Beijing official of the second or third rank.Not to mention, this is the east gate, and within a street, there are several old streets where officials and nobles gather. Therefore, among the four gates of Shangjing, the order of the east gate has always been the best.

The people entering the city were naturally divided into two sides from the middle.

There are many people in commoner and Geyi, and they go to the south. Although they don’t need to pay money to enter the city, they still have to check. If there are extra goods, they will take a small string of copper coins and throw them into a dustpan beside the city gate. The filial money given to the city gate officials, so that when they inspect the goods, their hands are too heavy and they damage the goods.

The two sides have a tacit understanding, and the speed is not too slow, except for those with particularly vicious faces, the city gate officials will take care of them. It has just been smooth for the past few years, and I don’t know where there are remaining bandits. Not one or two villains with sharp weapons are unlucky.Ordinary simple people, they didn't make things difficult, they just raised their hands and agreed.

Of course, there is also a decent team in the south, sitting in a vaulted car, and there are nobles in silk waiting inside the car for inspection to enter the city.These people didn't have any seals to enter the gate, so it looked like they were from other places. There was no one to answer them in Shangjing, and they had no way out.

The chariots and horses entering the city from the north of the east gate all have tokens from the city gate. These people belong to the privileged class. They ride on chariots and horses, and they can go all the way without hindrance simply by showing the tokens. The team of Gu Zhao’s family naturally belongs to this group. He was actually familiar with the city gate officer, even made a few jokes, and entered with a flick of the whip.

It was the first time for Gu Zhao to hear the drums of Shangjing. As a modern person, he had an inexplicable yearning and admiration for the ancient city, just like seeing the Qingming Riverside Picture earlier, the capital of a country, the national etiquette and culture. As the center, Shangjing is the center of the Liang Kingdom. Naturally, it has its luxurious and gorgeous side.Take the east gate as an example. With the width of the city gate alone, six double-horse carriages can be lined up side by side. The opening of the city gate is about 30 meters long. Only after entering the inner city, the inner city is a place where special classes live and gather. Of course, the core of the city is naturally the yellow circle.

Gu Yan was very homesick, and when he entered Shangjing, he relaxed. He had a feeling that this is my city, this is my territory, and he was proud of his younger brother. He wanted to share everything here with his younger brother, but It made him a little uncomfortable to keep his mouth shut. If his younger brother could ask, he would introduce him with dignity.

Gu Zhao laughed in his heart, but he didn't want to give the elder brother such a chance, isn't it all like that?Eldest brother is a well-known aristocratic lord. He was born as a general and behaved rudely. He would wake up early in the morning and go to the court. If he fell asleep, he would talk less. If he was in a bad mood, he would find something for others. Whether it is good or bad depends on the situation. Feeling.

The old man came down from the sky, sat in a sedan chair with eight loads, and before returning home from the street, there would be a reminder of a gong to be played, the monster would come out of its nest, and the crowd would disperse.

There is a big house in the old man's house, and there are a bunch of wives and concubines in the house. His wife has methods like Wang Xifeng. Every day, she either wants to kill this goblin or rub that vixen to death. When she is free, she will hide in the Refining medicine in a secret room, brewing all kinds of potions that will make your sons and grandchildren perfect, is better than modern pharmacists with civil servants, and you will definitely not wait until March [-]st to make your sons and grandchildren dead in March.

The Elder Master has many children, and a large group of concubines. These people must have their own little thoughts, thinking of ways to compete for favor in front of the Elder Master every day, either this one embroidered gloves, or that one wrote good poems. If the Elder Master is vigilant At this point, there is still order in the house, otherwise, the old man's house will be in chaos.

The old man is very busy, he has to eat all kinds of snacks every day, in the study, in the bedroom, in the garden, on the walk, and in the sedan chair, from morning to night, non-stop, so, the old man There will be a big belly that fits the status, and the belly will come first before the person arrives.

Gu Zhao glanced at his brother's stomach and thought, he must have eaten too much snacks.

The brothers had their own concerns, and sat in the car without saying a word. The carriage did not slow down all the way from the outer city to the inner city. The driveway was very wide, and there was a raised part several meters wide in the middle of the road. In Gu Zhao's view, This is to facilitate the drainage of rainwater from the low-lying areas on both sides. Interestingly, the bulge in the middle has gradually become a fast-moving lane for special classes. Common people generally dare not walk in the middle of the bulge at will. There are no brake pads, and there are traffic accidents in ancient times.

The east gate is a quiet area, all the people who come and go are chariots, and there are few shops. Occasionally, there are shops that are also high-quality clothes. The shop is a special shop that is inextricably related to officials, just like embroidering for officials. Embroidery shops for official uniforms, shoe shops for making official boots, etc.

Seeing the younger brother lift the curtain of the car and look carefully, Gu Yan felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He probably regarded Gu Zhao as a countryman who had never seen the world. In Yan's eyes, he was still a countryman, look at the few southern boys he brought with him, their heads were stretched longer than the neck of a turtle, their eyes were open, and their mouths were open in admiration.

"There is no good place to go in the east gate. I will take a rest in a few days and ask your nephew to take you to the west for a walk. There is a lively market over there, and there are many places to play." Gu Yan is coaxing Gu Zhao into a child Woolen cloth.

Gu Zhao just smiled when he heard it, then put down the curtain, closed his eyes lightly, and silently felt the unique noise of shops in the ancient streets. No Regrets Wonderful Realm, ah, finally... plunged into the crowd, this is time travel.

The frame walked through the streets and alleys, and I didn't know how to move forward. When I saw it, I came to a spacious alley. There were not many houses along this street. Occasionally, I saw a doorway, all of which were high-rise courtyards. There are screen walls at the entrance of the courtyard, a porch, and a porter. The gates are very carefully constructed. There are long benches placed at the gates, and some servants are sitting on the benches. Early in the morning, many chariots, horses and sedan chairs were waiting at the door, lined up in an orderly manner without anyone commanding them, waiting for posting and waiting for the host to call.

"This street was originally called Huaishu Lane, but they all call it Pingzhou Alley, also called Jiangjun Street. Our family lives in the innermost part of this place." When Gu Yan and Mr. Gu said this, the corners of Gu Yan's mouth were slightly hooked upwards, revealing A proud smile.

Gu Zhao also laughed, but he was a little apprehensive in his heart. After all, this is the home of the eldest brother, but not his home.

The car walked for a while, and finally stopped outside a gate facing north and south. At this moment, the main gate outside the gate was wide open, and there were two rows of servants standing outside the gate. The pedal was parked under the car, and another servant raised the curtain and stretched out his hand. Master Gu supported that hand, stepped out of the car, stepped on the pedal, and got out of the car.

The red vermilion lacquer door is obviously not opened often, when the servant pushes it, it makes a loud and ferocious sound, the very reluctant gada, gada, is propped open with a bang, the sound is full of indescribable solemnity.

Gu Zhao got out of the car following his elder brother's example, glanced at the five rows of bluestone steps and the stone lions standing on the left and right of the door, then followed Gu Yan up the steps and entered the door.

The car behind him and Bi Liangli didn't enter the door here, but went to the corner door of Suyun Courtyard in the north with his luggage.

After entering the gate, there were a few well-dressed old servants who carefully served the two brothers all the way. After a few steps, their own slaves carried two open-air shoulder sedans, helped them into the sedan chairs, and carried them again. Started straight along the brick flower relief road in the middle, and walked inward. No one spoke along the way, and the shoulder sedan was smooth and stable. After walking for a while, it entered the courtyard of the second gate and stopped.

This road is very short, and there is no endless luxury scenery, and there are no endless corridors and pavilions in the book.Gu Yan's house is very grand, but there is no special luxury. On the other hand, there are twelve huge sea tanks on both sides of the blue brick road in front of it. There are many koi over one foot long in the sea tank, and koi jump out from time to time. On the surface of the water, she flicked her tail, and brought out a string of water drops. On the surface of the tank, there were half-open water lilies, some pink and some white, which were quite elegant.

There are no particularly precious flowers and plants in the green areas on both sides. There are only short bamboo woven fences with the pattern of inclined wells. Behind the fences are only green grasslands and a few huge trees and rockeries. The shape is beautiful and atmospheric, half man-made, half natural. Home decoration style.

Turning around the huge Pingshan stone at the end of the main entrance, there is another courtyard gate behind the stone, which is the second gate. After entering the second gate, you will see a five-room building with pure wooden structure, three rooms on each side of the front five. The building is a traditional nine-beam model.However, it was the first time that Gu Zhao saw a two-story building in this era. This building has five floors and three floors, with the front facing the sun. The shape is simple and generous, showing the meaning of grandeur. There are three big characters on the plaque "Baochuntang"

This is the most important building of the eldest brother's house.

"This place used to be the house of the prince of the previous dynasty. It was given to our family by the first emperor. The most magnificent house here is the Baochun Hall. Your Suyunyuan is also good. It used to be the place where the prince, mother and concubine lived. Son, although it is a bit far away, it is quieter. There is a big osmanthus tree over a hundred years old, and the scenery is very elegant. There is also a garden behind it, called the Crane Garden, where there are about twenty cranes. Let’s also go for a stroll and relax.” Gu Yan introduced on the sedan chair next to him with a smile.

Gu Zhao nodded, um, it sounds good, he likes trees with huge canopies, he feels safe living in them, and has a feeling of being enveloped and taken care of.

The sedan chair entered the hospital, Gu Yan got off the sedan chair, took his little brother's hand affectionately and led him around a brick screen wall, and the scene in the courtyard came into view immediately.In the inner courtyard, Mrs. Lu brought her two sons, Mao De and Mao Chang, and two concubine sons, the second Mao Ming, the third Mao Feng, and so on. They all stood there with friendly smiles on their faces.

Seeing their brothers come in, Mrs. Lu first brought the whole family to salute Mr. Gu, and the juniors saluted Gu Zhao together. : "Uncle is so old now, it's all sister-in-law's fault that caused you to suffer in your hometown."

"I didn't suffer, I don't dare to bother my sister-in-law to worry about it. My hometown is very good. I haven't been back often in recent years, but I'm just busy and wandering around." Gu Zhao replied modestly.They didn't dare to look at the female relatives in this courtyard, because they were so ugly being looked at by dozens of eyes, so they lowered their heads and looked at Lu's pair of embroidered shoes embroidered with longevity patterns.

No one in Lu Shi Xu's life stared at her feet like this, so he shrank his feet, hid his shoes in his skirt, and was about to speak with his usual friendly smile on his face.

"Look, it's exactly the same as when our master was young. Needless to say, just standing together, they must be two dear brothers..." There was a woman beside her with a thin, crisp voice. joking.

Mrs. Lu looked at the other side, then swallowed the words.

Master Gu waved his hands impatiently: "The sun is shining, what are you doing standing in the yard, go to the house!" Wu Xun's family is really not that particular, so this group of people went to the house again and again. The main room was crowded, and Master Gu was a little tired, so he pointed at a few people and pushed them out mercilessly: "Take your people back, your Seventh Grandpa will be free tomorrow, and you will all go to the Suyun Courtyard to pay your respects. Don't get together, separate!"

No one complained, and no one said any harsh words. When the top leader of the family spoke, those people dragged their children and children, and most of them left, leaving only Mao De, Su Shi, and their family. Two sons, Gu Yunzhen and his wife Jiao Shi, Gu Yunping and his wife Qian Shi, two grandsons and a granddaughter, together with the fourth master Maochang, talked and laughed into the main room.

The second generation of the Gu family is the generation of Mao, the third generation is the generation of Yun, and the fourth generation is the generation of Ming.The girls of the second generation were a little messy, and some used Jin, saying that the main branch also used Jin.

The big and small family looked at Gu Zhao, and Gu Zhao also looked at his juniors. Perhaps it was because the family hadn't visited distant relatives for a long time. Master Gu also looked like this, sitting on the Zen chair in the middle, showing off very annoyingly.

The family sat down, and Mrs. Lu helped to introduce them. It was just Gu Maode's family. His eldest son was named Gu Yunping, his second son was named Gu Yunzhen, and his daughter was named Gu Jinfang. In Yang County, the fourth child Gu Maochang was not yet an adult, so he only came to salute.

When they came, Bi Liangli had already helped to prepare a lot of gifts, and they were all put in gift boxes according to each household. Because there were so many juniors, they couldn't give them one by one, so the gifts from the concubine were all in the purple satin gift box, and those from the concubine were in the blue satin gift box. In the satin gift box, the nephews are all palm-sized jade pendants with slightly different colors, the nieces and daughters-in-law are all a pair of six-piece jade hairpins, and the grandchildren, regardless of size, each have a big purse, inside the purse is a small jade pendant. There are six pendants, including Jade Monkey, Jade Rabbit, Jade Bat, Jade Butterfly, Jade Ruyi, and Jade Chaner.

The nephews of the concubine each have a jade ring finger, the nephews and daughters-in-law, and the nieces a jade bracelet, and the grandnephews and grandnieces each have three jade pendants, namely jade bats, jade rabbits, and jade monkeys.

The most indispensable thing in Gu Zhao's hands is jade. He doesn't know how many large pieces of jade materials he got outside. There are two jade craftsmen carving things for him all year round in his old house. Yes, Gu Zhao kept it by himself, and if he didn't like it, he asked Bi Liangli to take it out and dispose of the money for the inland. Now that gold and silver are less in circulation, everything is still dominated by copper coins.

This is an era where jade is regarded as a beauty, so Gu Zhao's meeting gift is very decent and generous.He also didn't want to look like he was poor and down and out looking for asylum. It was unknown how many years Gu Yan could shelter him. A man should have a man's way of life.

The jade pieces sent out are of high quality, and any piece of jade can be sold for dozens of pennies.The most valuable thing here is a five-soldier pendant for his sister-in-law Lu Shi. It is easy for military wives and daughters to wear this hair style nowadays. On a hairpin, there is a falling ax, ax, hook and fork. The style is very fresh and the carving is exquisite. , The jade is of high quality and worth more than a hundred guan.

Gu Zhao's generous writing inevitably aroused the murmurs of the woman. That night, Mrs. Lu chatted with Master Gu.In the end, he was scolded by Mr. Gu. Mr. Gu said, Xiaoqi bought the property by himself in the south. It has been eight years, and he has not given a penny here. Look at the grandchildren and men and women in the family. Father, mother, and father, they will be kicked out tomorrow, if Xiao Qi is half-promising, then he will be satisfied.

Lu Shi was taken aback, so he didn't dare to bring up this matter again. Finally, he thought about it for the same reason. What's the old man's business? They are the most clear about their birth. Stay well, and the old man loves this little brother very much, so she is even more careful.

Early the next morning, Master Gu's two concubines, Jiaohong Gao and Yunniang Ma, brought a group of children to pay their respects, and asked if the children could go to their seventh uncle to pay their respects. Wave your hands, let's wait another three to five days, Xiao Qi hasn't had a good rest all the way, so don't go in the morning when he's rested, he won't get up in the morning at all.

In this way, Gu Zhao has truly stepped into his ancient life in the fictional era.