Brother Donggong

Xiao Lian came back, Cui Bicheng brought it back.

Cucumber told me all about it on the way, and it is said that it cost 1 taels of silver.

So along the way, I started to mutter, how can I go back to the palace without telling Cui Bicheng, how can I renege on my debts, how can I not pay back the money?

I can't afford to pay him back.

When I returned to the palace, I heard that Xiao Lian had been sent by Old Cui to sleep in the backyard.I was thinking of going to the backyard to see him, but I was invited by a servant of Cui's family to the flower hall of Wangfu.In the main hall of the flower hall, Cui Bicheng was sitting alone, with his head bowed, smoking a hookah with a silver hookah.

Lao Cui's hookah was brought back from the south. It is made of sterling silver and very heavy. The cigarette holder is inlaid with red agate.

Sharp silver chimney, bright red cigarette holder.

It seems to have a sharp extravagance.

Cui Bicheng was sitting next to the warming incense burner, crossing his legs, holding a paper twister in one hand, and blowing gently.All of a sudden, his paper twisting flame suddenly lit up, and then he lit the shredded tobacco in the chimney, and began to puff out the clouds, his small face looked extremely ecstatic behind the smoke.

The mouth of this hookah is shallow, and there is little tobacco in it. After two puffs, it needs to be refilled, and it has to be re-lit. It is warm, and when you use it, blow it hard to get the spark out of the open flame, and you can continue to smoke after lighting the shredded tobacco.

If you want to smoke, you must have an open flame. If you want to have an open flame, you must keep the paper twister warm. If you want the paper twister to be warm, you must always have a charcoal fire. Therefore, when he smokes this hookah, he cannot leave the smoker too far away. Far.

I am afraid of charcoal fire, and I am also afraid of fragrance.

The incense burnt by Lao Cui was made by someone else. It smells soft, and the bones of the whole body are crispy. I don't like this.Coincidentally, I don't want to make do with him either, I'm afraid he will bring up the matter of asking me to pay him back the money.

I stood a long way without going in, so I quickly said, "Why is it so fragrant? It's still smoky, just like the General's Mansion on the street in front, we must build a mountain temple at the mouth of the hot spring. What is it?" What do you want to do? Could it be that you want to become a fairy? Brother, I'm sleepy, so I went to sleep in the back first."

"Stand—"

Old Cui dragged his tongue slowly, I walked out, and almost reached the edge of the corridor over there, I rolled my eyes and turned back again.

"I'm home?"

When Cui Bicheng heard me coming back, he didn't lift his eyelids, as if he was angry.

It was as if someone had cut out his heart and liver.

A nose is not a nose, and eyes are not eyes.

I walked back, picked up a grand teacher's chair by the door of the flower hall and sat down, I held a teacup and asked him with a smile, "Yo, brother, what's wrong with you? Who messed with you?"

Cui Bicheng blew another breath, and the open flame of the paper blower in his hand ignited. He took a sip of the hookah and seemed to sigh again, "I can't live anymore, I can't live anymore. This life is too difficult , living is too difficult, too difficult."

I answered, "Don't tell me. Don't be alive! Brother, you are a good man, and you have a good job. You have a house, land, business, ten thousand taels of gold, and every day you make a lot of money. Don't be alive, you have to Live well. Live seriously, live vigorously! If anyone makes your life unhappy, I will never end with him."

Cui Bicheng gritted his teeth, "Your Majesty, since you said that, let's open the skylight and speak honestly. Yesterday, when Director Huang went to Lingering Garden (Old Cui's house in Yongjing) to visit me, he made a deal. Yes. I will go to the Third Highness to invite your sweetheart back. I will answer what the Third Highness wants first, and then I will discuss it with you later. If the Third Highness wants a reward from a prince, county king, then I have nothing to do , even if I offend you, my lord, even if our relatives don't do it, I can't save your darling."

"But the Third Highness didn't make things too difficult for me. As soon as he saw me going, he just opened his mouth and asked for money."

When Lao Cui said this, he stretched out his fingers from his wide sleeves, and gestured, "Silver—a total of 1 taels!"

"I put down the banknote at that time, man, I brought it back for you. Today, Lao Pan, the chief treasurer of my Yongjing headquarter, came over and said that His Highness the Third Highness paid out the banknote yesterday afternoon. no disagreement."

"Third Highness, that's great, but it's hard for us. The Yongjing Manufacturing Bureau shipped a batch of wood from Yungui Mountain this summer. The money at that time was from Zhejiang. I was delayed after arresting a few high-ranking officials from Zhejiang, and they almost folded me in because of this shit..."

When Lao Cui said this, he glanced at me, and I leaned on the back of the chair to listen to him.

"This account cannot be owed. This is an errand of the Manufacturing Bureau, and I dare not delay any longer. Let Lao Pan keep the money in my own business account, and store it in the Yongjing General Office. This is good, His Majesty the Third Highness opened his mouth, and suddenly he was short of 1 taels. It’s the end of the year, everyone’s business has to start to settle their accounts, and no one’s money is rich. I can’t borrow it even if I ask someone to borrow it at this time. What do you say, my lord? Say, how can I spend this year?"

After I finished drinking the tea, someone next to me added water, I took another sip, put the teacup away, and said, "Okay brother, you make me dizzy. I don't have cash here, and even if I have, I can't take it with me." Let’s go. This 1 taels of silver, something less than a thousand catties, can’t you crush me? Here’s a bank note, the whole 1 taels of silver, you can take it! I’ll pay you for your transportation fee later, what do you think?"

I took the box given by the prince from my sleeve, walked a few steps to Cui Bicheng, put the box on the table next to him, and he glanced at me sideways.

Old Cui turned his head and continued to smoke his shisha, and then said, "The black sandalwood box is carved with two dragons going out to sea, and it is inlaid with pearls. It contains the banknotes of the dragon's head. When withdrawing the money, you have to go to the inner treasury...the silver in the East Palace ..."

"You take this bank note back, I don't want it."

I said, "Why not? This is a serious bank note. When you hold it in the inner warehouse, you can withdraw the silver immediately. It is of first-class quality, and it is absolutely 50 taels of Taizhou foot prints!"

Cui Bicheng said, "The crown prince's job is difficult to obtain, and the crown prince's money is difficult to get. I hold it for fear of losing my life, and I don't want his money. Chengyi, now you owe me the money, and pay it back with your own money."

I shook my head and said, "Brother, you are becoming more and more difficult to serve. You are not willing to give you money."

Old Cui stopped talking.

He put down the silver water pipe, got up from the chair, went to me, picked up my tea bowl, took a sip of water to rinse his mouth, and spit it into a pot of green bamboo in the center of the flower hall.

I said, "I am really poor and have no money. I am not an official of the Six Departments, and I am not in the cabinet. The New Year's filial silver, Bingjing and Tanjing from other provinces can't be sent to me.

I only pay 4 taels of silver a year. The crooked melons in my house have to eat, and there is a heartless old lady in the palace to take care of.If I repay you with the money, then I will have to drink the Northwest Wind in half a year.I am so poor, you still force me to pay back the money, brother, you are too unrighteous! "

Once Old Cui quit, he stared at me and said, "Are you still poor? Your lord, you almost emptied my pockets, are you still poor?!"

I said, "How can that be?"

"Why not?" Old Cui counted, "At the beginning of the year you said that you moved 20 taels and asked me to buy land for you in the south to plant mulberry trees. I bought the land for you and planted mulberry seedlings. Going down, the money is spent is a sure thing. A while ago, my life was dying, and someone wanted to use me to argue with that who knows where the princess came from, insisting that I had an affair with her, now it’s over. I took 20 taels of silver to pay back your account, and the crap about the princess is cleared up."

"That matter is clear, but I don't understand the matter of money."

I smiled and said, "What do you not understand?"

Old Cui was furious, "It's all about it. In the final analysis, you took 20 taels of silver and flashed it in front of me, let me see it fresh, and then took it back after hearing it. , The land is yours, the Sangtian is yours, and the silver is yours. I worked hard and spent 20 taels of silver in vain. I didn’t get anything except the unwarranted infamy of kidnapping the prince and embezzling the treasury!"

I was amused by his distressed look.

I grinned.

He got even angrier, "Laugh, you're still laughing! You heartless!!"

I tugged at his sleeve and said, "Brother, don't be angry. The noise is so loud that all the guards outside can hear it. They are all the sons of nobles. They are rich and powerful, and they have heard of you, Cui Da, Cui Bicheng. The boss has a great reputation, if you know that you are here to ask for a bill for a mere 20 taels of silver, and scold your poor brother—that is, me, Xiao Wang—as a bloody sprinkler, will you be ashamed? ”

Old Cui shouted, "Shame? If I lose face, I can get back my 20 taels of silver. Even if I throw my face at grandma's house, I will admit it!"

I said, "Yo, brother, don't say that, it makes me feel aggrieved."

"What?!" Cui Bicheng yelled strangely, and made a trembling 'two' in front of me with his finger. He yelled, "You took a full 20 taels of silver from me, and I said something to you, are you still wronged?"

I held his finger, and then I said, "Don't be wronged when you become a brother. This money plus today's 1 taels is considered as a loan to me first, and I can pay it back slowly. If It’s really impossible, don’t I still have the palace and the land? My father is not dead yet, I’m sure I can pay you back, isn’t that okay?”

"I haven't been back for a few days. I'll go and see Xiaolian first. He was so scared by the prince."

Cui Bicheng pulled me, "Don't go, he probably doesn't want to see you right now."

I was taken aback, "What?"

Cui Bicheng looked at me fixedly, "Are you really confused or fake? Could it be that you just didn't realize that he is from the Third Highness?!"