Clam Pearl

In the middle of the night, the crows flew over the roof of the Wujiang Gate, huh lah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. They were shot down, and before the dead crows landed on the ground, a person with agility went up, a kite turned over, caught them and hid in the dark.

Qiyuan Palace, the largest building complex in Shangjing, has more than 600 palace rooms in the inner courtyard of the former dynasty.

This is an imperial palace under construction. It is young and fresh. In the entire building complex, there is only one dead emperor. If the life of this dynasty can last for hundreds of years, every important palace has two or three emperors who died. here.Then, this place can truly be called the palace.

Of course, the ruler who lives here also hopes that this house that belongs to him can last long and healthy.Today is just the beginning, and the two generations are only 40 years old. The first emperor's year name is Chuyuan, and today he has chosen Tianshou. The meaning is very simple and straightforward, and it is easy to understand at a glance.

Emperor Zhao Chunxi, the God-given Emperor, was sitting in Yuanshou Hall, surrounded by neatly stacked memorials. It is hard to tell how many copies there are, but the servants need to use ox carts to fill up the cart every night. If government affairs are busy, it will take two The ox cart can only be pulled.

At this time, the second watch drum began to pass, and the butter candles in Yuanshou Hall were lit one by one, and there could be forty or fifty candles. The Emperor Tianshou was always simple, but this candle was consumed a lot every night, and it took a night to consume. A fine tallow candle of about a hundred.

This is about to involve a secret matter inside and outside the palace. There is one eye that cannot be seen today. Since ancient times, the princes with physical disabilities have not been able to inherit the throne. Why can today be able to stand out among the many sons of the late emperor?Ascension to the throne of God with a crippled body is a secret matter that must never be said, mentioned, or even thought about during the Tianshou years.

Don't say it, say it, it's easy to lose your head.

The candlelight was shining, and the Emperor Tianshou was reading the memorial unhurriedly. His eyes were not good, and the angle of his head was a little off, a little low. After reading for a while, he had to rest with his face up, and the servant behind him would hold a warm cloth towel , Help him apply it, loose, loose.

Liao Beilai knelt quietly on the ground of Qiyuan Palace, his head bowed silently, his appearance was extremely respectful, that Mr. Yu Geng who always had a modest and honest smile in Gu's residence, and always had a plan in mind, seemed to be someone else.

From the second watch, Liao Beilai knelt down to the third watch, not daring to show any impatience on his face.Finally, the Emperor Tianshou finished approving all the memorials on the table, and the servant lifted a tablet, placed the memorials carefully and lightly, and carried them out.

The Emperor Tianshou raised his face again, and an attendant quickly covered him with a cloth handkerchief. Perhaps he had completed the biggest job. The Emperor Tianshou let out a soft snort in a relaxed manner, then sat there lightly and said, "En, Speak."

Liao Beilai's body trembled slightly, and he hurriedly answered more politely while kneeling, even though Emperor Tianshou didn't look at him at all.

The content of Liao Beilai's report is very simple. Most of it revolves around the life of Mr. Gu Yan and Gu Gong. Some whereabouts of Gu Maode.

Because Gu Yan has a habit, most of the people in his family are old slaves who have been with him for more than 20 years. Liao Beilai's intelligence work reports are only superficial things, and there is not much valuable information.

Emperor Tianshou listened for a while, and interrupted impatiently: "Yes, I see."

Liao Beilai shut up.

The waiter changed another cloth towel and put it on the Tianshoudi. Perhaps he was very tired. The Tianshoudi did not speak for a long time, until a candle in the house lit a light, and the Tianshoudi asked slowly: "Are they still talking about the same thing "

"Yes, getting together mostly refers to some old things in the past, how close we were to the late emperor, how thrilling it was to save the late emperor, etc."

Emperor Tianshou stretched out his hand and took off the cloth towel. He still had the same old expression on his face, mean and sarcastic, and said in his characteristic bitter tone: "These old ministers of mine, if you don't ask me for credit for a day, you'll be fine for a day." If you don’t mention them, you won’t be able to eat or sleep well. I’m afraid that I will lose them. Hey... Speaking of which, there are not many people who lived with the late emperor earlier. Let them be. As long as they are safe and sound, I will …It’s not going to be a big deal, Gu Yan is 66 this year, right?”

"Yes, the old man eats three bowls of meat every day, and his voice is loud."

"Well... my temper is still so hot, which makes my morning court like a market place. I have nothing to do all day long, so I just find fault. This old thing is getting more and more flamboyant."

"Yes."

"Recently, Jing Zhaoyin has published a lot of secret books. Sometimes this Beijing really doesn't look like my world, but it looks like the world of these old ministers. Hmph..."

"Yes, Gu's mansion... but not. It's just that the fourth young master of his family sometimes causes trouble. It's just that some young people ate a few more drinks, made their voices louder, and played a little more erratically. It's Shang Yuanzi's Gu family. , it’s much more ostentatious than this side of Pingzhou Alley.”

"I don't need to mention that old thing about Gu Maohuai. Let him go. The education of Zhouzi (children of nobles) is also a big problem now, and we can't let it go. There is still not enough manpower at the Music Master's Mansion, and there is also a problem with Guozixue... um..." Emperor Tianshou lightly patted the table with his hand and sighed. Of course, there are some people who don't even want to mention it today. Obviously, Shang Yuanzi is not qualified enough to be heard by the king.

"Yes, there is something that I am very concerned about..."

Emperor Jing showed a hint of interest on his face, sat up slightly, and looked at Liao Beilai: "Speak."

Liao Beilai reported in detail what happened after he came out today. The more Tianshoudi listened, the more interesting he found it, and in the end he asked again.

"Is that what he said?"

"Yes!" Liao Beilai repeated Gu Zhao's words again. After he finished speaking, he quietly glanced at the emperor sitting above. As a spy, a spy who was trusted by the emperor, he knew that he had touched the emperor's itch. Sure enough, the emperor was smiling, and there were traces of smile lines on that masked face that was always flat.

"That's a good point. I also want to ask these officials, these scholars, nine abilities and six arts, and sage classics. If you read them all, these questions are easy to explain. How many books have these people read, eh? You can really ask " Tianshoudi stood up, and after turning around the room a few times, he muttered in his mouth: "Tell me, where did Gu Qi learn all this?"

Liao Beilai lowered his head and reported in detail what he knew, and finally concluded: "... Gu Qi, who has been running back and forth in the south on his own since he was eight years old, has no one to rely on, and has more experiences. It is normal for Gu Qi to know this kind of insight that others do not have, most of the knowledge in this world is due to tribulations, experiences, and setbacks."

Emperor Jing nodded slightly and waved his hand.

Liao Beilai stood up slightly, bowed his body and retreated.

Recently, there have been a lot of gossip in Shangjing, and there is a lot of gossip for people to chew on. Take these few days as an example, Gu Maochang, the fourth master of the Pingzhou County Government, holds a strange thing every day. For things, when he saw a crowd of scholars, he would sneak in without saying a word.

Are you a scholar, love to talk, love to argue, love to be stubborn, love to criticize, love to judge, love to point fingers, love famous prostitutes, love to pretend to be deep, this Beijing is the heart of the country, and naturally there are the most scholars here, plus the recent There is a lot of news about scholars, so naturally more people get together. There are more scholars, and when they get together, the sound is like a thousand bumblebees buzzing. Although there are too many women, it is like ducks quacking. Buzz buzz, is this wasp, it can sting!

The group of people like Gu Maochang don't read many books, and the children of officials like them, if they are mischievous and bastards, in the eyes of the elders, they don't actually provoke hatred. They are even cute, and they work hard to beat their ancestors , What is the reason for suffering? I just want my juniors to live freely and live like a dude without worrying about food and clothing. That is a blessing!

The dandies have been hanging out in Beijing for a long time, so they naturally have the depression of being a dandy, just like the scholars in all over the world, the circles they form a circle of dandies don't hang out, in fact, it's not that they don't want to hang out, but why do they have no common language?Why can't you just say that?

The dandies have a dandyish view on current affairs, the political situation, and the world. They stand on a high mountain and look down on those scholars. After all, they know more about politics and how unrealistic the world the scholars imagined. When this group of people is buzzing in the capital with high spirits, the dandies always want to criticize, preferably in a very noble and decent way. Summary!

Bitter too...

Back to the foreword, Gu Maochang got a precious book, and every day he brought a lot of dudes with him, disguised himself in disguise, and mixed into the circle of scholars. They usually just sit quietly when they arrive at the place, and wait until they are the most exciting. The moment is when the scholars raise their bar to a climax... Gu Maochang will stand up and use the most chic posture...

Or fanning a fan, or turning a big coin in your hand, or holding a teacup to stir the tea foam, or leaning on a certain building with your hands folded, or tapping your fingers on the table, etc. The description is very disgusting, but he enjoys it, and he can't sleep well without playing it a few times a day.

"Do you know... how much land, how many people, how many young and strong, how many women and children, how many literate people, how many craftsmen, how many merchants, and how many types of taxes are there in the world? How many old and weak are there? Where do you come and go? Can he know how much plain silk is a foot long, how to pick mulberries? acid……"

At first, Gu Wandan read it with a cheat sheet, but later he would memorize it after he read it too much. Once he memorized it well, he would have facial expressions and movements. Often after he finished his performance, there would inevitably be inferior servants at the meeting place. , merchants, and the onlookers nearby, there was a burst of applause, one piece after another, Gu Wandan was very proud...

Of course, there are naturally those who are not convinced come up to ask, since they ask us, do you know?

Alright, this is what I was waiting for...

pose as or...

or……

or…………

or………………

"Guess... do I know?" After finishing speaking, he left gracefully without taking a single cloud with him...

Later, the scholars stopped gathering, and occasionally they would look around at the gathering, like an underground party leader, for fear that such a person would come in.

Afterwards, the entire Wandan has learned this trick... Gu Wandan is also tired of playing this game, but as long as he appears, there will be absolutely no scholar within ten meters of him, he can be called a generation of scholar killers, none of them.

In fact, from Gu Wandan's point of view, this is just a little bit of fun in life. However, in the eyes and ears of many people, these words will inevitably have some special effects. For those adults in the third class in the court Speaking of them, they also couldn’t answer these questions. It’s amazing that no one in the court raised any arguments during this time, because they were very afraid. If His Majesty smoked that day, ask them. Guess, they know, or know?Still know?

Gu Wandan ran out of toys, so he naturally went to find his little Seventh Uncle. Unfortunately, Little Seventh Uncle naturally had something to do. Recently, Little Seventh Uncle fell in love with listening to wild books.

No matter which school of speaking or singing, as long as it is the full version of the story, he loves to listen to it. Every day, Xinzi, the first thing he does when he gets serious is to clean himself up, walk around the streets, look for those homeless people, Storytellers in teahouses and wine shops, they paid a high price to invite these storytellers home, from morning till night, telling wild books to amuse their father.

Early in the morning of this day, Gu Wandan went to the street, patrolled twice, and after having nothing to do, he went to an antique shop and found a bamboo pen holder for his little uncle as a curry favor. reason.

In the middle of the morning, Gu Wandan was walking northward from the main courtyard with a pen holder in his arms, and accidentally encountered evil stars, his father, Gu Yan, Mr. Gu, Mr. Gu.

When Gu Wandan saw his father, he was not as afraid as his elder brother, but his spine became inexplicably straight, and he didn't dare to sway when he walked.

"Animal cruelty! Where are you going?" Master Gu has always been rude to his son!

In fact, ancient fathers are also perverted, no matter Jia Baoyu's father or Gu Wandan's father, the question is really strange. If these words are translated into vernacular, the general meaning is the same.

Livestock, where are you going?

What kind of state is that to be able to produce such a large backyard of livestock?

"Father, my son is going to my little uncle's yard, please ask me." Gu Wandan was very serious, it seemed that he was a year older than his little uncle.

Gu Yan laughed at him: "Are you ashamed to talk about learning? I'm bah!"

Gu Wandan didn't dare to say anything, he could only contempt in his heart, outside of the capital, who doesn't know his father, he is the most famous boss, his handwriting is not as good as his own writing.

The father and father despised each other in their hearts, and in a blink of an eye they arrived at Suyun Courtyard, and as soon as they reached the door, the sound of storytelling in the courtyard rang out.

Master Gu chattered as he walked: "Say it, your uncle, it's really interesting. What's so good about a broken book? It's better to listen to a song... Mmmm! Hmmm!"

He remembered that this was with his son.

Gu Zhao was still leaning on his own big cushion, wearing comfortable clothes, lying on the felt mat in an unrecognizable manner, with a large plate in his hand, and there were piles of fruits in the plate, and he was holding a big peach in his hand. Crack, gnaw and eat.

"Yo, little brother is really in a good mood." Master Gu doesn't appreciate his brother's hobby very much, but he still admires it.

"Hey, big brother, come quickly, come quickly, they just brought a carload of big peaches from the south today, it tastes good, I'll eat here in a while, and take half a carload to my sisters-in-law and nephews when I'm done." Gu Zhao sat up, pulled off his clogs, and let his elder brother take the lead.

Master Gu held back for a moment, picked up a peach, and began to click, click, and asked while clicking: "Which one is this talking about?"

Gu Zhao sat beside him, took a sip of the tea cup, and looked relaxed: "This is a new wild book, it tells the story of our family, the first ten chapters say that our father holds two 150 Jin's gilt axe, entering a battle of tens of thousands of people is like no one's land, every three chapters our father will save a chapter master and kill hundreds of barbarians..."

Master Gu suddenly choked, a mouthful of peach mud stuck in his throat, and coughed endlessly. After coughing, he began to be overjoyed. After he finished his music, he asked, "What are you talking about after this?"

Gu Zhao looked up and down at his elder brother with a look of admiration and said, "Hey, the next few dozen chapters are amazing. It says that my brother is holding two big copper hammers weighing more than 200 kilograms. He enters the enemy line of ten thousand people like no one. Rebellion, married a wife before the battle and found me nine sister-in-laws, all of whom were as beautiful as flowers, and gave birth to eighteen sons, each of whom could wield two big axes or copper hammers..."

Before the words were finished, Master Gu became violent, and rushed directly in front of the storyteller, grabbed the poor old blind man and shouted loudly: "Master used a gun!"

Gu Wandan hugged the osmanthus tree in the yard, and endured the pain of laughing, not daring to laugh, and finally he cried, tears pattering, it was very uncomfortable.

Bi Liangli saw that the little master was happy, and he was also happy. He took the usual money, plus a few feet, hired a mule cart to take the blind man, and made an appointment for him to come back tomorrow.

Today's weather is exceptionally good, the sun is neither too cold nor too hot, and the wind is blowing. Occasionally, the residual leaves on the laurel tree will fall down and land on the low tree under the tree. Diligently hold the pot.

Although he eats and sleeps without talking, it is a pity that Gu Yan himself is not a fastidious person, and he is even in a good mood, so he naturally talks more.

"Little Seven" he looked up at the laurel tree, and then at his little brother: "You are not young anymore, you have been in Shangjing for the past few days, and you have experienced everything you need to see and play. After a few days, you will collect it." heart."

Gu Zhao smiled for a moment, "Brother, why did you suddenly mention this?"

Gu Yan still looks like a good brother: "Yu Geng chatted with me yesterday, saying that you are a transparent brother, and now this battle will not be fought again for more than ten years, so there is no good future for my brother to go to the Ministry of War to find vacancies. Yu Geng Mr. Geng said, now that His Majesty will definitely hold the imperial examination, people like us naturally don’t need you to take the exam, and we can choose the leisurely and affordable yamen. Brother has worked so hard for so many years, and it’s okay to arrange a few people.” After finishing speaking, he held up his chopsticks to compare with his own livestock son: "This evil is actually not bad, you help my brother take it, I know you are capable."

"Brother!" Gu Zhao put down the cup, his face was the same old, it was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry: "I won't go."

"Hey? Not going? Why?" Gu Yan didn't understand.

"I live a good life. I don't have to worry about food or drink every day. I can sleep whenever I want. I'm at home and I'm in charge. I don't need to ask anyone for instructions when I go there. I don't need money. I don't fear the cold in winter." I am not afraid of the heat in summer. I came to Beijing for a temporary stay, and I will go back in a few days. What the elder brother said is good intentions, but I am a leisurely person, and I don’t like to be restrained like that. It seems that everyone loves me. , but it needs to be divided, at least, I don’t love my younger brother, so, brother, let’s accept this idea.”

"Lun Shuo, brother can't say anything about you. I've also heard the recent stories in Shangjing, and my brother thought, my brother has been out of the house all these years by himself, what he should eat, what he should see, you are bright and dark You should know everything. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to say that. My younger brother is so knowledgeable that he will be appointed better than elder brother in his official career.

Not to mention, whether being an official is tiring, bitter or annoying, my brother has thought about it. From now on, you will have a family and a career, be the master of the family, treat your children and grandchildren, and worry about them. The country boy in the village was earned by our father. One day, my younger brother’s boy asked you, what can my younger brother earn for them when the boy grows up? "

Gu Zhao didn't speak, just added a piece of pig's ear to his brother, and said after eating a few mouthfuls of wine and food: "Brother, I won't go, I can't stand the sun and I can't see it, so I took a silly lantern to light it, boil it for a while." It will take 30 years to enter the house to see what the emperor looks like! I know what I know. Instead of worrying about other things, you should worry about your nephews. I have seen your bastards. They have come here a lot, I can't stand the grandpa Gu's descendants, who have small eyebrows and small eyes."

Gu Yan snorted: "That's the backyard, it's under your sister-in-law's management. The male outsider and the female female insider, the sage taught me, why should I join in there? Don't interrupt, I'm talking about you!"

Gu Zhao also snorted, bared his teeth and said, "If you don't want to go, you won't go. If you force me again, I'll go back to Pingzhou to eat my own food. I think you're just bored, and you don't like me to live in your place." House, spend your money!"

Gu Yan sat up abruptly, just when he was about to lose his temper, he thought of his younger brother, who has such bad virtues at all. Others are afraid of him, but he has seen through it since last year. He can do whatever he wants if he is happy. I won't give it anymore, Shengsheng is exactly the same as my deceased Laozi, and he has a dog temper!

Seeing that persuasion was useless, Gu Yan didn't force him any more and just talked about other things.

"Your fourth sister-in-law came here a while ago, crying with snot and tears, saying that you don't know how to be polite, and you don't go to see her when you come to Beijing. If you don't go, she comes to see you. Why don't you see me?" ?" Gu Yan ran on his younger brother.

Gu Zhao sneered: "When I first came here, I came to the door. They were afraid that I would beg for cheap, so they sent the concierge to tell me that the widow was unemployed, and she was afraid of causing gossip. In the end, they gave me two feet of cloth and told me to live a good life. Well. This is because I heard some gossip, and I think I can have something here, so I come again, I am impatient to deal with her, I don't like her. "

"Hey, she's like that. A widow's family can't help but have a weird temper. Anyway, for your fourth brother's sake, I still have to see you when I should, otherwise it will be bad for your reputation if it spreads."

"What reputation do I have? Who knows me in Shangjing? It's also your elder brother. You've been under a lot of anger lately, haven't you?"

"Angry? Call the emperor to be a long-term worker. That's it. In a blink of an eye, three generations have been like this for generations. It has been like this since ancient times. You say those literati are staring at us when they are full? What are they doing? Is it okay to focus on our efforts and worry about other things? They want to go to Wukang, think about Qianding, think about next year’s taxation, isn’t it good? It’s really meaningless to fight every day.” He pointed to his own The unlucky son, sighed: "It's not for them, I don't have to suffer so much..."

Master Gu's nagging was relieved, so he lay down on the mat, and after a while, his snoring sounded loudly.

Gu Zhao looked at him for a while, then went into the room to get his own blanket, and covered him up. In fact, he never hated his old brother. He just didn't care about himself, so what?No one owes anyone, he can think of himself, he can pick him up, this is good, he should keep it in his heart.

Who can say that he is wrong, the family is separated, but he still manages it, and he still thinks of tricks to please himself, hey, his heart is more or less really softened.

"Uncle, you really don't want to go? My father must be in short supply. Look at my concubine brothers who are so anxious that their eyes will bleed." Gu Wandan quietly came over and chattered in a low voice.

Gu Zhao rolled his eyes and said, "I'm still young, and I still... have to go to school to learn how to read and write!"